Chicken Chili and Costumes

I made chicken chili last night but I was rushed and I didn't feel like the flavors came together very well.

I had to make a "costume" for my race tomorrow and my supplies were failing me. I'm doing an obstacle course race with a team tomorrow and we're supposed to be "game characters." Since the team captain originally wanted to do Street Fighter characters and we vetoed him, I'm pretty sure he meant we should be video game characters, but I don't like to do the expected all the time, so I went more old school. I wanted a BOARD game character. And I found one! I am going to be the Operation game guy. I modeled my costume after the guy on the board game cover - he's wearing red polka dot boxers on his bottom half.

So I got a pink (closest to skin colored I could find) T-shirt, painted red areas on it for each of my body parts that can be removed then each of those areas received a velcro piece. Then I cut the parts out of white felt and stuck them to the velcro. I couldn't find red polka dot boxers, but I did find black ones so I went with that. And since it will be cold tomorrow, I'll be wearing tights and a long-sleeved shirt under.

Anyway, I bought a fabric marker for the T-shirt and it was dried out when I opened it. So I took it back and approximately four seconds after I started the exchange process with customer service my child has to go to the restroom...like immediately. Ugh. So we stop the process for a bathroom break, then make the exchange. Second marker is also defective. That when I switched to paint. But in the end a 5-minute trip took more like 20 minutes and I had less time for dinner. So that's making a long story longer.

I'm having leftovers of my soup for lunch and maybe it will be better.

Pollen Sucks.

I look outside at green grass and blooming trees and want to be happy about it, but it’s hard to smile through the sneezing, bloody noses and swollen eyes. 

I look like I’ve been crying non-stop for four days. But I haven’t been. Just breathing in the poisonous pollen. I need to find some local bee pollen…you think I can rub it in my eyes? 

I ate relatively well yesterday:

                Breakfast – shakeology with almond milk and a banana

                Lunch – crunchmaster crackers (14 = 1 serving), 1 bell pepper (cut into strips), baby carrots (I didn’t count) and some snap peas, hummus and three slices of turkey from the deli.

                Snack – apple and chocolate almond milk

                Dinner – bell pepper and broccoli stir-fry with ginger quinoa.

Then I slipped up and finished a bag of Sriracha Lays. The good news is they are now gone so they can’t tempt me any longer. 

Today’s plan:

                Breakfast – cantaloupe and blueberries

                Snack – Shakeology with water

                Lunch – crunchmasters again, three slices of turkey, ½ avocado, an apple, two clementines.

                Snack – cashews and a banana

                Dinner – Mexican rice bowls: brown rice, black beans, corn, salsa, avocado and maybe chicken if               I feel like I need meat. 

Boring post. Sorry nothing super exciting to report.

Slump Busting

I’ve been in a slump. I haven’t been posting here. I haven’t been drinking enough water and I’ve been eating too much junk food – too much sodium, too much restaurant food. 

The last six weeks have been very stressful – some work, some family, some general life stuff. Annyka started judo twice a week, I got a new (to me) car, we redid the floors and paint in the main part of our house, spring break was in there (which wasn’t a break for me, but a shake-up in the routine nonetheless)…it’s been a little crazy. 

The final piece of the painting should be done today though. The new furniture can come in and things can get back to “normal.” So my health needs to get back on track too. 

I got up and drank two glasses of water right off the bat today. Also, for the next several weeks – until we go to San Francisco – I’m only eating foods that are on the top two tiers of Michi’s Ladder. I’ve already built a skeleton meal plan and done the shopping for the next week or so. 

Next week, I’m going to start P90X again. And I’m going to graduate this time! If you want to join me in your own fitness challenge, or would like more information about my meal plan, let me know.

Chopped-worthy dinner dish

I feel like tonight’s dinner was almost Chopped worthy. It had a variety of ingredients that I wouldn’t normally think to combine but it worked. Here’s what went in it: 

Sweet potato puree

Chorizo

Gala apple

Frozen mire poix

Garlic

Cajun seasoning

Almond milk

Brown rice

 

I made a sauce that I put over the rice. It was inspired by a soup recipe in a magazine, but I didn’t feel like soup, I wanted something a little heartier. 

First I made the brown rice. 

I chopped one peeled gala apple and combined it with a little bit of olive oil and two cloves of minced garlic. If I hadn’t already browned my chorizo a couple nights ago, I would have put the apples and garlic in with the chorizo. However, since the sausage was already done, I sautéed apples and garlic for just a little bit, then added about half a bag of frozen mire poix and some Cajun seasoning. 

Then I added the browned chorizo and sweet potato. I had some cubes of frozen sweet potato puree in the freezer leftover from when I made chili a couple weeks ago. I threw four cubes in the pot with the apple and veggies. I tossed in a couple tablespoons of almond milk to the sauce. 

I brought everything to a simmer and let it thicken a little bit. Then I spooned it over the brown rice. 

It turned out pretty yummy.

Breakfast casserole...GF and vegan

I love other bloggers that post gluten-free recipes. They make me happy. A friend - thanks, Dee - posted a gluten-free oatmeal casserole on Facebook. I'm not saying it is the same as a hashbrown casserole with eggs and cheese and sausage and all that jazz, but it's got to be better for me, right!?

So I tired it out. I followed the recipe closely this time, but next time I'll make a few changes. Here the blog that had the original recipe is below. The recipe I will post will include the changes I will make next time. I baked this, then put it in the fridge. Each day for the past few days, I've cut a piece and warmed it up in the microwave. It only takes about 1 minute, 30 seconds to be warm and yummy.

http://alwaysamrsforeverakidd.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html

Baked Oatmeal Casserole
2 cups gluten free oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup fruit - I made it with mixed berries last time, I want to try it with diced apples or diced peaches
2 cups almond milk
1 "flax egg" (1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water. Mix together then let sit about 5 minutes until it gels a bit)
3 tbsp melted vegan "butter" or coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375. Spray casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients together. Place the oat mixture in the casserole dish. Mix wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour wet ingredients over the oats. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips before serving if you prefer.

I thought the chocolate and bananas in the original recipe were too overpowering. I think this would be awesome with apples and butterscotch chips though....

The mother grain

Quinoa...have you tried it yet? It's good stuff. I tried quinoa for the first time a little over a year ago and now we always have it in the house.

Quinoa is technically a seed rather than an actual grain, but you can use it in just about any recipe that calls for rice or oats. It has a nutritional profile that is very close to milk - with more protein than other grains. I have friends that use it in place of meat in tacos. Since quinoa takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it or mix it with, you can make it just about any way you want.

I had a bag of sugar snap peas and baby carrots in the fridge that I hadn't figured out what to do with. I've been eating out a lot the last several days so I felt like I needed to stick to the veggies today.

So for breakfast, I had GF baked oatmeal, Shakeology with a banana for lunch, an apple for a snack and for dinner I made a Asian quinoa salad with a cup of miso soup.

Asian Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 ready to steam bag sugar snap peas and baby carrots (or other veggies of your choice)
3 tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar

Bring water and quinoa to boil in a medium sized pot. Reduce heat to low and cover for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and leave covered about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam veggies and mix with tamari, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Add quinoa and toss. I tossed some sliced scallions on top and added some sriracha for heat as well. I bet the leftovers will be even better for lunch tomorrow.

Rough week...good weekend

This past week was a tough one. A week ago, last Sunday night, something with the steering broke on my van. That's bad enough, but toss in the fact that we've only had one working vehicle that we can use for the last several months. In both of our names we actually own several vehicles - two mini vans, a cargo van, a two-seater convertible, a 15-ft box truck...but only one of those mini vans is operational in such a way that it can be used for the family.

So anyway, we had a crazy busy week with me going to Chicago on Friday, Annyka having a judo trial on Wednesday and the normal getting to school and work each day to deal with. Did I mention I've also been nursing a muscle strain in my back all week?

I did get to take my little trip to Chicago though and see a good friend who lives across the country now and got some rest. Plus I was also able to purchase another vehicle so hopefully this week will be a little better - I have two doctors appointments, we have judo and a spring music performance.

So I only cooked once all week last week. Thursday night I had enough time to make tomato soup.

I came across a recipe for an easy tomato soup and decided to try it. Of course I doctored it up a little bit. The rest of the fam got garlic bread as well. I think I'm going to make some pasta to have with the soup tonight.

Easy Tomato Soup

1 24-oz jar of tomato-based pasta sauce
24-oz of chicken broth
1 15-oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
8 oz baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
10 oz baby spinach, torn
olive oil

In a large pot, saute the onion in a little olive oil until transparent. Add garlic and saute for about a minute. Add mushrooms and spinach. Stir for about a minute. Add pasta sauce, broth and beans. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings.