Stopping the Spiral of Perpetual Unhappiness

Why do we do this to ourselves- especially women? We always thinks we’re too fat, too ugly, not toned enough, blah blah blah. We live our lives in a state of perpetual unhappiness in how we think of ourselves.  Why do we do this?  There are all kinds of reasons I’m sure- pressure from society to look a certain way is a biggie.  Some of us were perhaps thinner in our past, and think in order to be happy that we need to look that way again. Pressure and judgment from family members to be thin-  I have a friend whose mother basically looks down on her because she is heavier than her sister.  What a terrible thing to have to grow up with!  It’s no wonder with pressures like this that we have feelings like we’re never good enough or thin enough - that we always need to be on a diet or worse yet anorexic or bulimic!  Yet, in spite of all these pressures, it comes down to a choice that each one of us makes – do we like ourselves or not. Do we give into the pressure of society, families, our own thoughts or not?

Well I’m here to say that I’m trying to fight this negative self image and this spiral of perpetual unhappiness.  I am who I am- jiggly parts and all, and I’m going to be happy with that!  Now for all my friends out there- at work, on facebook- wherever you are – I wanted to say, and have wanted to say for a long time, that I think you are all so beautiful! I don’t look at ANY of you and think “you could stand to loose a few” or “gosh she’s ugly”.  I know we as women can sometimes think that’s what people think when they look at us, but I just wanted you to know that I’m not one of them, and I’m sure I’m not alone in my sentiments.  You ARE beautiful- you just have to believe it yourself!

Holy Guacamole!

Holy Guacamole!  I found a recipe on Weight Watchers for an Asparagus Guacamole. Basically you are using Asparagus instead of Avocado in this recipe. I was extremely skeptical. The reviews though were all really positive with a lot of “wow, I was skeptical, but it turned out great”.  As a lover of guacamole I thought I’d give it a try.  My thinking was, the worst that could happen is I waste a bundle of asparagus and a little bit of time.

Asparagus Guacamole

1 ½ lb aparagus trimmed

1 Tbsp mayo (light)

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

¼  cup chopped cilantro

3 scallions, thinly sliced

½ medium jalapeno, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 tsp worchestershire sauce

1/8 tsp hot sauce (Franks)

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add asparagus and cook until tender- about 10 minutes.  Allow to cool for a few minutes.
2. Blend tender asparagus in a food processor until smooth. Remove to a bowl and add remaining ingredients, stir and serve.

Family Verdict:

I’m the only guacamole eater in my house so it’s just my review today. 

Me: Holy cow! I CANNOT believe how good this is! So amazingly good I literally licked the bowl! You cannot taste the asparagus at all, all the other flavors come through giving it that guacamole taste. I bet it would be great with a chucky salsa mixed in or  just some fresh tomato too.  Seriously contemplating hiding away and eating the entire bowl.

Conclusion: If you like guacamole and are interested in trying something significantly lower in calories, I REQUIRE you to try this. Immediately. Go buy your asparagus right now!  Stop reading and go to the store.

Minor Disaster- Chicken Salad

Yeah it's chickens with guns. It's doesn't have to make sense it's 1am!

This poor chicken was doomed to disaster. It started when I came home for a minute to check on the crockpot chicken. This recipe basically takes a whole chicken sets it on foil balls and just a little dash of this and that and it’s done in several hours in the crockpot. There is no added water to this recipe. I’ve done it several times and it works great.

However, this particular occasion finds me coming home to discover that the lid to the crockpot is askew. Basically meaning all my precious chicken liquids have likely evaporated during the 5-6 hours it’s already been in there.

That night, I get home and try the chicken. It’s dry- like ridiculously dry. It’s all weird and kind of shreds in your mouth- kind of like eating chicken flavored sand. Needless to say, it’s take out night for the Strauss family.

So what can I do with a very dry chicken?  Toss that puppy in the food processor, add some mayo and make chicken salad of course! Do you know what dry crockpot chicken makes? Dry chicken salad! As a minor disclaimer (you know, for my reputation with my 5 fans!) I have to say that I made a pretty kick butt chicken salad a couple weeks ago so I’m not completely inept in the chicken salad department. Every day except for today of course.

This cat food looks BETTER than mine!

Mistake one (besides the already mentioned mistake(s) above):  I got a tad too happy with the food processor.  It looked good after whirring up the chicken. I couldn’t remember if I added mayo to the processor or manually stirred it in.  It’s after midnight so that’s no time for thinking. So, in the mayo goes into the processor, and whirr it up some more!  This resulted in something that looked remarkably close to whitish cat food.

Mistake two: I probably should have tasted the chicken and mayo at this point, but I don’t. In goes a perfectly lovely diced apple and some seasonings. I get smart and manually mix it this time!  Now my cat food looks like cat food with diced apples stirred in.  Just in case you haven’t figured it out this doesn’t look at all appetizing. I won’t even horrify you with pictures. I figure though, that if it tastes ok I can hide it under some bread or lettuce or something.

Nothing sadder than a sad apple

I taste it at last, it tastes- not like cat food as you may be thinking, but more along the lines of sand mixed with mayonnaise.  Whole batch goes right into the trash.  What am I most sad about? I lost a perfectly lovely apple.  

Ashes

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

These words were spoken to me tonight as the heads of myself, my family and my church congregation were marked with ashes for Ash Wednesday. I haven’t done this in 20 years.  My first thoughts go to death of course, my own mortality. I look down at my daughter and her ashes and realize someday she will die too.  That is life, but knowing that doesn’t keep me from being terrified of it. 

My thoughts then wander to: how many fellow Christians through the ages have been marked in this way- with ashes, with the same words spoken over them?  I would guess that for probably hundreds of years maybe over a thousand years men and women have been marked in this same way.  Ashes. My mind wanders again to the Old Testament where the mournful and repentant would cover themselves in ashes.

My fear and sorrow turns into awe and beauty, as I find myself united with my brothers and sisters in Christ and believers in God throughout the world, the centuries, and through the ages. I stand in awe of the enduring love, respect, and fear of God that has withstood the test of time. I stand in awe that I have been chosen to be a link in the chain that spans across time. That I, that we, are connected in a great and mysterious way to a great, powerful, and loving God-our King of Kings.

A New Beginning with Vegetable Soup

I started Weight Watchers again the February 14^th  week. I’m like a terrible yo-yo. I’ve gained and the lost the same 20 lbs so many times it’s ridiculous, but here I am again.  Since I last joined the program they’ve changed the system to this new Points Plus program. I’m pretty sure I get in trouble for talking about details, but one of the perks to this new program is that almost all vegetables and fruits are 0 points! That was a big promo for the new plan so I’m pretty sure I’m not getting sued here. So now I have an even greater incentive to keep trying new veggies and old veggies in NEW ways!

This week as part of the kick off to their new program they provided me with a very popular Fresh Vegetable Soup recipe.  I headed off to the grocery store and ended up with so many fresh fruits and veggies I had/am having serious space issues in my refrigerator.  I took their Fresh Vegetable Soup suggestion and made it my own.

Fresh Vegetable and Matzo Soup

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 celery stalks diced

2 small zucchini, diced

2 cups green cabbage, shredded/sliced thin

2 cups kale

2 cups cauliflower, small florets

2 cups broccoli, small florets

1 tsp dried thyme

8-10 cups chicken stock  (or my usual 1 box of chicken stock + 1 box of water-refill chicken stock + add bullion cube +extra water if needed)

Salt and pepper to taste

Additional:

1 packet from the box of Manischewitz® Matzo Ball Mix

Needed for mix: 2 eggs, and 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions:

After chopping all the veggies, put them in a large soup pot with the chicken stock, and start the water to get it to boil.

Mix up the package of Matzo Ball Mix according to the package (mix with fork, stick in fridge for 15 minutes)

After the 15 minute the soup should be boiling if not, then wait until it is.  Wet hands, and make tiny balls with the matzo mix. The box mix said that each packet should make between 9-12 balls, well I made mine so tiny I got like 17-18 balls in my soup.  Drop the matzo balls into the soup.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Family verdict

Me: I  thought should mention that I did my box of chicken stock, add water and bullion, however I forgot to actually add the bullion.  The flavor of stock actually still came through, but the soup needed a little more salt than it would needed otherwise.  The flavor was really good on the whole soup despite my little mix up.  Matzo balls really helped it be more filling. Oh! The Matzo balls- remember how tiny I said to make them- they blowup to the size of store bought meatballs.  Matzo is awesome it gets so huge! I need protein with my meals so I grilled up a chili lime chicken burger and dipped in mustard for my protein.  Very balanced and filling.

Toby: He actually liked it too.  He noticed the lack of salt thing actually, but still said it was good. 

Natalie was with Grandma and Grandpa that night so she didn’t try it.

Conclusion:

Bravo weight watchers (and Erica!) for your fabulously healthy soup.  I would make this again.  I may try adding chicken chunks to the soup in the future, but having the protein on the side worked fine too.  If you have not tried Matzo balls yet, I require you to make a soup using Matzo balls in the near future. They are just too much fun. 

Short and Sweet

Wow just a tad behind, sorry friends and family. This recipe/experiment is from the February 7th week. Digging into the recesses of my brain I remember we tried a new sweet potato recipe from my cousin-in-law (is that even a term?) Brenda Kendall.  It’s a crock pot side dish which was interesting. Our recipe this week was:

Coconut-Pecan Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/3 cup sugar
4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup reduced-fat butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Place sweet potatoes in a 5-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Combine the pecans, coconut, sugar, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt; sprinkle over potatoes.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until potatoes are tender. Stir in extracts. Yield: 12 servings.

Family Verdict: 

Me: The flavor was good, but it was very sweet. It was more a dessert than a side dish for dinner. I served it along side of rosemary herb pork chops to help balance the sweetness a bit.

Toby: Not such a big fan of anything sweet at dinner. I think he had some but not a lot.

Natalie: Sorry, it’s been a couple weeks and I’m stretching to remember. I want to say she ate a bite or two. I don’t think she devoured it, else I would have remembered that.

Conclusion:

Would not make as a side dish with dinner again, but perhaps mashed up and stuffed in a pie shell?

I was hoping to have tried the sweet potato biscuits recipe I also got from Brenda, but I ran out of time and sweet potatoes- oh well saving for another day.

What I DID and DID NOT do

This past week was not a very good week for the Strauss house. My plans for my vegetable- sweet potato, did not go quite so well. In fact, nothing I had planned actually went at all.  But alas, fear not my loyal followers, my vegetables endeavors did not go completely to the way side! So, here it what I DID and DID NOT do this past week: I DID-make a recipe using sweet potatoes, and a recipe using kale this past week. I DID NOT get pictures of any of these things, and, as I said, I did not use any of the actual recipes I had planned for.

Recipe #1

Roasted Balsamic Vegetables

½ small butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 bell pepper  (I had ½ green, ½ red)

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

½ red onion, chunked and separated

1 cup whole white mushrooms

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 tsp dried rosemary

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat Oven to 475
2. In a large bowl combine vegetables.
3. In a small bowl stir together thyme, rosemary, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss with vegetables until they are coated. Spread evenly on a large roasting pan
4. Roast for 35-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through and browned.

Family Verdict:

Me:  Pouring the balsamic vinegar for the recipe, I fell in love with it again. The smell brings me right to summer and caprese salad. The veggies had a nice glaze and good flavor. The butternut squash was disappointing I’d cut that next go around, and stick to my butter, salt, and pepper for those babies.

Toby: No mushrooms for Toby, but other than that he approved of the side dish.

Natalie: Not too crazy about the glaze. May consider roasting some without the balsamic for her next time. She’s not a real big potato person now, but I think she would have eaten some sweet potato and mushrooms had it not had the glaze on it.

Conclusion: Will make again with minor adjustments- no butternut squash, possibly a smaller roasted version for Natalie without the glaze.

Recipe #2:

It’s Thursday- almost the end of the week, home late after Karate and I just need something quick and mindless for dinner. Result: made to order eggs, bacon, and toast. My boring family had scrambled, and over easy eggs. I’m an omelet girl myself. Inspired by a recipe I got from Michelle Kendall. I created this omelet.

Vegetable Omelet

3 eggs, beaten

2 tsp olive oil

3-4 sliced mushrooms

2 tbsp red onion

3 tbsp chopped kale

2 tbsp chopped tomato

2-3 slices cooked bacon, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 slice cheese

*note: vegetable amounts are guesses, I don’t actual measure that stuff, which is why I usually have more vegetables than eggs in my pan.

1. Heat small frying pan with oil on med-high heat. Saute mushrooms, onion, and kale until onion is translucent.
2. Add eggs, tomato, and bacon to the pan. Salt and Pepper to Taste.
3. After first side is solid, flip omelet. Put cheese on top. Cook another 1-2 minutes then remove from pan, and fold in half on a plate.

Family Verdict:

    Just me this go around as my family is boring with eggs. I loved it though. You can add pretty much whatever veggies and stuff you want to omelets that why I love them. The tricky part is planning ahead to make sure your veggies are cooked through, or not overcooked. I imagine using broccoli or asparagus you would need to blanch first or something so it was half cooked, or at least sauté until soft, and then on the opposite methinks tomatoes wouldn’t do so well hanging out with the onions so long.

   Typically for omelets I do some form of bell peppers and onion, but I purposely left out the peppers this go around for a new flavor. The kale blended in fine I thought. Just like adding spinach to an omelet.  Bacon added the little extra it needed for perfection.

Conclusion:

Definitely have again.

As a side note for the week I did make the fajita vegetables with the kale the other night to go with carne asada. It was good as usual. Here’s hoping next week goes a little smoother menu-wise- and life-wise!  Until next time, Happy Cooking. As always, let me know if you try anything- curious to know your thoughts and ideas.