Middle of winter blues

Well I can't deny it, I have got the blues. Whether it is from winter, Tim being gone for over two weeks, that I am in a new place, or a combination I am in a bit of a funk. which accounts for my not posting in well over a week. I do apologize.

In the last two weeks I have been a bit busy pursuing jobs, new friendships, and trying to learn the discipline of creating my own schedule. I really do miss having a job that I had to plan around. When I am not working my day has no structure, which is nice for a time but if it goes on to long it does not do me any favors. I keep meaning to make a daily structure and follow it but well.. the following part has not been to successful yet. But this is it! Tomorrow I am going to stick to a plan not matter how I feel!

No more reading my book while I finish my coffee. Instead I will do my back exercises and some stretching. I will get back to teaching myself violin and practice at least ten minutes a day. I will run every-other day when weather permits and do strength training on the days in between. I think I will do those in the afternoon. as for the rest of the time I will continue to pursue a job. I have taken steps toward volunteering at a couple of places and I got two finches for company when Tim is gone. Now time will tell...

Oh and do not worry I have not forgotten to talk a little about food. Last night I finally tried a recipe from pintrist for chilli pepper poppers topped with mashed avocado. I will admit to being lazy I skipped the step where you grind up the chilli before stuffing the peppers. I just globed it on, I figured hey I am the only one eating them so why not? Then while they roasted in the oven I mashed the avocado hoping upon hope that I would be able to eat this avocado reaction free. You see this avocado was organic, big whoop I know but after having an allergic reaction to avocados the last couple of times I tried them I thought that maybe, just maybe, I was reacting to a gmo or some type of pesticide. Nope it was just the avocado. Arggg! I guess this spells the end of avocados for me. Well at least for the time being, I am holding out hope that some day I can eat them again. Not to worry though I had a solution to these topless peppers..... CHEESE! I mean what goes better with chilli than toasty melted cheese?

They sure made a good dinner! I love toasty cheese!

I also decided to make my own version of this. Now I could have made it as it was supposed to be made but well you know me I always gotta play with a recipe haha. So here is what I did.
I boiled a bunch of water and set three or four green tea bags to steep, then after peeling and slicing I added about a one inch piece each of fresh ginger and fresh turmeric root,I was so exited to find the local co-op actually sells fresh turmeric root. I never seen it in whole form before!! Then I chopped up some lemon grass and tossed it in the pot with two large cinnamon sticks and a pealed lemon. Scents of ginger, cinnamon and a hint of something else filled the house. Not a warmer or more inviting smell will you find for a cold February day!
After a while I pulled out the tea bags, added a little apple cider vinegar and placed it in the refrigerator.
This after noon I warmed myself with a cup of the brew and have to say I do believe I have found a wonderful new tea!

Well that does it for food stories but before I go I have to give another blogger a shout out for her homemade cocoa puff recipes. I have made the grain free one twice now, substituting stevia for the honey, and love them!! try them out yourself and tell me what you think.

Happy eating
Grace

The delights of creativity

SUGAR
Yes that is right. Sugar, in some form, is in EVERY THING such as bacon, spice mixes, pasta sauce, even bullion cubes. Seriously those who make our processed foods need to stop. But that is one huge topic to discuss and I wish to move on to other delightful topics.

Cutting sugar and grains from my diet has been a challenge. Though it is increasingly a delightful one. I have had the delight of learning how to make my own almond milk, a satisfying healthier version of chocolate, and many vegetable dishes.

Last night I experimented in making a chocolate sponge cake/ souffle type thing. Though it needs a bit of improvement before I'll feed it to anyone else it has been a delightful dessert with some almond milk.

For lunch today I decided to make stuffed peppers. Now I do not care for the usual type of stuffed peppers. Hamburger, rice, and tomato in green pepper does not pique my appetite. So I did what I often do and mixed a odd combination of what I had.
Broccoli, peas, and onions with a mixture of white fish, fresh lemon juice, and bousin garlic and herbs cheese spread. I stuffed yellow and orange bell peppers with the mixture and set it to bake. About halfway through I covered the tops with shredded mozzarella.
This was the result.

I was pleased to find that my basic concept is workable. The dish however needs a little bit of work to really pop. I will keep working on the recipe and will hopefully post it someday for you all.



In the interim of being unemployed I have been enjoying myself. Not only am I able to experiment with food I have been able to pursue other things. I have plenty of time to read. Besides reading articles online about a range of topics I am also reading a book on keeping fowl, one on keeping bees, and another on horses. I have been able to enjoy time with new friends, care for my home, get to know my new city, and write this blog!

but time is getting on and I have things to do so go enjoy whatever weather you are currently experiencing!!

Happy eating
Grace

Failure of a new blogger

This morning finally having the determination to finally make myself post again I went to my google account thinking that is how I get to my blog, or whatever you call this thing. I look and look trying to find the page I needed and finally gave up went to my facebook account and clicked on the posting from the last time I wrote; then it hits me.... all I needed to do was go to blogger.com, you know that site that this is generated from, and login... hand smacks forehead. I swear I am a smart person but all to often I do something like this that puts that in doubt. haha oy.

Anyway to get to the topic at hand. The first few days after starting this diet were tough trying to figure out what I could eat, how to eat to be satisfied, how to deal with cravings, and finding good recipes. A bit overwhelming, but after a few days I had some snack items made as well as a few main dishes that I could just pull out and heat up.

Once I got to that point my biggest challenge was the chocolate cravings. Now I do like chocolate but I would not say that I get chocolate cravings very often and certainly not ones that persist like this. I had some cocoa power that I could mix into things but the problem was finding a good recipe. I thought maybe I had found a solution when I found a recipe for chocolate avocado pudding and so I promptly made a batch. When I was mixing I tasted it to adjust the flavor. The inside of my ears and throat started itching and my lip went kind of numb, Strange I just chalked it up to a low blood sugar reaction. The next morning I grabbed the pudding from the refrigerator eager to enjoy some with breakfast. Within eating 1 or 2 bites I was itching again. hrm... I kept eating. The pudding was ok as far a flavor goes but I was hoping it would quiet my chocolate cravings, not to mention how good avocados are for you. After eating a small portion I gave up with itching ears and throat and a bottom lip that was kinda numb I concluded that I was possibly having an allergic reaction one that made me kind of sick to my stomach and wiped out for the rest of the day. This is strange because I eat guacamole just fine and eat avocado on sandwiches and salads on occasion. Never had a reaction like this. In any event I will endeavor to try the pudding again when I build up some courage... in a day or two (says the procrastinator).

And so the search continued. Then I had an epiphany. One thing that makes chocolate bars rich and smooth is the fat in them. With that that theory in mind I took some coconut oil (an oil that is very good for you), some cocoa powder, and some stevia. mixed together made some very rich chocolate that conquered my craving with a resounding victory! The great thing about it is that though it is high in fat and thus calories they are fats that are very good for you. Plus it has no sugar or mystery ingredients and was so easy!

That was just one delight that I have enjoyed over the last week. I have enjoyed some roasted cauliflower soup, cilantro lime coleslaw, and roasted vegetable lasagna. Now the lasagna was a great experience to make for a couple of reasons. One was the discovery of how delicious roasted eggplant is. Who knew a veggie that turns a nasty brownish grey color when cooked could be so good! The other was an improvisation; now I had forgotten to get ricotta cheese last time I was shopping and not wanting to run to the store for it I looked in my refrigerator and pulled out some plain greek yogurt. I crossed my fingers mixed it with egg, mozzarella, and Parmesan. I assembled the lasagna and placed it in the oven. Forty-five minutes later I dug into the best grain-free veggie lasagna I have ever had.
Well granted that might have been the only grain-free veggie lasagna I have ever had but still... It was soooo good.

Aside from my adventures with food this week I've had a several pleasant experiences. This first was accompanying the people fro A-1 ranch to a ice-fishing competition to give free wagon rides on the ice. We only took two of their horses with us. They are black sixteen hand high Percheron mares that are half sisters named Daisy and Darcy. It was a delight to spend time around them; I was even allow to drive the wagon, twice! A first time experience for me.

I had one other first time experience this week. I want on my first singe digit degree run. It was ..... eight degrees. Yes that is right ladies and gentlemen I am that crazy. Oh wait I am crazier but you will come to the conclusion yourself if you keep following this blog haha.
I also had the pleasure of spending time with my husband and got to enjoy and afternoon with some new girlfriends.

Well that is enough on me for now so

Happy Eating

Grace

My first foray into this thing called dieting

Yes that is right ladies and gentlemen. Today I have begun a..... diet.
Something I, up to now, have never felt the need to do.
Oh and to answer the question in your mind; no I do not feel as though I must do this to loose some weight in response to some New Years resolution. Most of the time I don't do New Years resolutions. When I make a "resolution" it is really at any point in the year.

Last year through some normal testing I found that my globulin levels were a bit low. Not a big deal but considering that globulin is an important protein involved with you immune system I decided to see if I could do something to improve this. I don't know about you but I don't like being sick; and as such would like my immune system to be in top shape. So I talked to my chiropractor about it and he suggested doing this healing diet for a couple of months. It is his opinion that by the end of this time my levels should have doubled. hmmm I figure I can do that. Eat differently for a couple of months to allow my body to heal it's self. what can it hurt?

The diet, or at least my understanding of it, is basically a low glycemic diet designed to get you body burning fat's as it's main energy source instead of sugar. That means cutting out all sugar, even the stuff that quickly turns to sugar when being digested. Things like most fruits, all grains, even potatoes.


I am kind of excited. This holds some sweet possibilities for trying new recipes. I am however a bit nervous. I have never cut this much sugar out of my diet and am not entirely sure how the "withdraw" will look like.

Last night I made some nut granola. Sorry a lot of times when I modify a recipe I don't really measure. Something my husband is forever trying to get me to stop. lol.

 this was the original recipe
http://www.realfoodkosher.com/nutty-granola/

and this is what I made roughly

2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp hazelnut extract
1 tsp imitation rum flavoring
30 to 35 drops of liquid stevia
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
2 egg whites


Mix and spread on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for about 30 min.




It turned out pretty tasty. Had some this morning with some vanilla unsweetened almond milk and a bit of berry smoothie. I was delightful to munch on with my coffee. Hope eating that much nuts in one sitting doesn't come back to bight me later.....

A hour ago I made my first batch of homemade healthy mayo from the recipe on the maximized living nutrition book. It has egg yolks, salt, dry mustard, and olive oil in it. And now I am going to head down stairs to make some homemade ranch dressing and some chicken to have on a salad for lunch.

Happy eating
Grace