Once a week, I try to cook a meatless meal for my family. This usually occurs on Monday (thanks, Foodbabe!), but I'm happy just to get it in one day a week.
The end of May and the beginning of June was a roller-coaster time for our family. We experienced many highs and lows. We had visitors, we traveled, we cried and we celebrated. We also ate a lot of fast food. We ate a lot of bad food at restaurants. We ate a lot of junk food at home.
When I returned from Wichita, I decided I wanted to sort of detox from everything bad. I didn't fast, but I didn't eat meat. I came back craving veggies. So, on Wednesday I picked up a bunch of fruits, veggies and wonderful sprouted grain tortillas. I made yummy burritos, veggies pizzas, salads, and other vegetarian dishes. On Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with donuts and take out from Applebee's, but I ordered tilapia with steamed veggies.
Today is Thursday and I have not had meat since Sunday (if you count fish). I'm not saying that I won't eat meat, but at this point I like exploring the veggie options. Murad has been surprisingly supportive. While he isn't joining me on this journey, he does provide me with encouragement. Today he picked up tacos and made sure to get me black bean tacos! So sweet!
I went to the doctor on Wednesday and I've already lost four pounds. When I see immediate results, it motivates me to continue on this journey. After I left teaching, I started gaining back the baby weight I lost. I'm hoping that with this new lifestyle change I'll have more energy to exercise and get my weight back to an ideal size. If I lose ten pounds, I'll be happy! Since I'm returning to work full-time this fall, I'm sure I'll lose more weight!
If you have yummy vegetarian recipes, please send them my way!
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Monday, July 23, 2012
Summer
Who convinced me to move to Texas? It's so hot! I'm allergic to grass. In fact, I think my allergies have increased since moving here. West Nile mosquitoes are out like crazy!!!
Joel and I have been trying to beat the heat. It was difficult a couple of weeks ago when our air conditioner went out and Miss Rebecca (his sitter) was out of town. We have stayed cool though, and Sonic Happy Hour is mama's BFF!
We love going to the mall play place. Joel really loves to climb the play place blocks. I was surprised that he was able to do that especially since he just started walking last month. He's so active!
We like to go to story time at the local library. At first, Joel did not do too well. All he wanted to do was run around and scream. He quickly changed his tune. He knows to sit right in mama's lap, clap his hands and listen to the songs. He even is starting to recognize some of the barnyard puppets. His favorite thing is the bubble machine at the end. He goes crazy! I love the story time because the families there are so multicultural. We mostly see Asian, Indian, African,Arab and Caucasian families. I am a little bummed that there aren't more African-American and Hispanic families there. I guess that kind of goes with the territory of where we live.
Last week my friend brought over some yummy veggies from her mom's garden. We used the tomatoes to make pasta sauce. We used the potato, green onion, and green pepper to slow cook with chicken, chicken stock and cream of chicken for a yummy soup.
We love summer seasonal veggies. Today I made a pasta bake with whole wheat pasta, cream cheese, pesto, chicken, zucchini, corn and Parmesan, mozzarella and fontina cheeses. So delicious! I think both dishes would go well with the fall weather.
We've had lots of visitors the summers and some people move to North Texas. We've had lots of changes, but we've made it through them. Right now we're dealing with my grandmother and her health. Without disclosing too much, but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
As August approaches, I remind myself how lucky I am not to have to return to traditional work this fall. I try to take time to remind myself of this when I get frustrated with Joel or I'm feeling less independent.
Joel and I have been trying to beat the heat. It was difficult a couple of weeks ago when our air conditioner went out and Miss Rebecca (his sitter) was out of town. We have stayed cool though, and Sonic Happy Hour is mama's BFF!
We love going to the mall play place. Joel really loves to climb the play place blocks. I was surprised that he was able to do that especially since he just started walking last month. He's so active!
We like to go to story time at the local library. At first, Joel did not do too well. All he wanted to do was run around and scream. He quickly changed his tune. He knows to sit right in mama's lap, clap his hands and listen to the songs. He even is starting to recognize some of the barnyard puppets. His favorite thing is the bubble machine at the end. He goes crazy! I love the story time because the families there are so multicultural. We mostly see Asian, Indian, African,Arab and Caucasian families. I am a little bummed that there aren't more African-American and Hispanic families there. I guess that kind of goes with the territory of where we live.
Last week my friend brought over some yummy veggies from her mom's garden. We used the tomatoes to make pasta sauce. We used the potato, green onion, and green pepper to slow cook with chicken, chicken stock and cream of chicken for a yummy soup.
We love summer seasonal veggies. Today I made a pasta bake with whole wheat pasta, cream cheese, pesto, chicken, zucchini, corn and Parmesan, mozzarella and fontina cheeses. So delicious! I think both dishes would go well with the fall weather.
We've had lots of visitors the summers and some people move to North Texas. We've had lots of changes, but we've made it through them. Right now we're dealing with my grandmother and her health. Without disclosing too much, but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
As August approaches, I remind myself how lucky I am not to have to return to traditional work this fall. I try to take time to remind myself of this when I get frustrated with Joel or I'm feeling less independent.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Cooking for a toddler
Like most toddlers, Joel absolutely loves finger foods. If I'd let him, he'd eat Cheerios all day. The only food he'll eat spoon-fed is yogurt. I'm so thankful for The Baby & Toddler Cookbook. It really is a book that the entire family can use.
Yesterday I made Lasagna Roll-ups and Tomato-Veggie Sauce. I've never seen Joel eat so many! I had to cut them into small pieces for him. Warning: eating them can be a little messy! (or a lot messy!)
Tomato Veggie sauce
1 small carrot (chopped)
1 small zucchini (finely chopped)
1/2 small red bell pepper (seeded and finely chopped)
1/2 yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup of Veggie Stock (or Chicken Stock)
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small roast pan combine carrot, zucchini and bell pepper. Drizzle with 1/2 table spoon of Olive Oil Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until tender 20-25 minutes
while vegetables are roasting, in a large saucepan over medium heat, warm 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and garlic. Saute until onion softens, about 5 minutes. add tomatoes and broth, stir to mix well and simmer gently uncovered until the sauce thickens slightly 15-20 minutes. Add roasted veggies to the sauce.
Let the sauce cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor or blender. Process to a smooth or coarse puree (depending on your toddler)
Lasagna Roll-ups
6 dried whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 cups tightly packed baby spinach
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Olive Oil for greasing
1 cup Tomato-Veggie sauce, warmed
MAKES 12 roll-ups
preheat broiler. Bring a large pot 3/4 of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente (8 minutes) Transfer to a colander and rinse under cool water. Lay flat on kitchen towel to drain and cool
add the spinach to the boiling water and cook until wilted. Drain in the colander and then squeeze spinach to remove as much water. chop coarsely. in a large bowl combine spinach ricotta and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.
lightly oil an 8 inch flame-proof baking dish. cut lasagna in half crosswise. Place 1 lasagna noodle half on a clean work space. Spread thin layer of spinach-ricotta mixture evenly over the noodle. Roll up noodle to enclose the filling, then place, seam side in the prepared baking dish. repeat with remaining noodles, placing the roll-ups snugly together.
Sprinkle remainder of mozzarella cheese onto the roll-ups. Broil until cheese on top is melted and the filling and noodles are heated through (3-5 minutes).
Click here
for a Weight Watcher's version
Yesterday I made Lasagna Roll-ups and Tomato-Veggie Sauce. I've never seen Joel eat so many! I had to cut them into small pieces for him. Warning: eating them can be a little messy! (or a lot messy!)
Tomato Veggie sauce
1 small carrot (chopped)
1 small zucchini (finely chopped)
1/2 small red bell pepper (seeded and finely chopped)
1/2 yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup of Veggie Stock (or Chicken Stock)
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small roast pan combine carrot, zucchini and bell pepper. Drizzle with 1/2 table spoon of Olive Oil Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until tender 20-25 minutes
while vegetables are roasting, in a large saucepan over medium heat, warm 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and garlic. Saute until onion softens, about 5 minutes. add tomatoes and broth, stir to mix well and simmer gently uncovered until the sauce thickens slightly 15-20 minutes. Add roasted veggies to the sauce.
Let the sauce cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor or blender. Process to a smooth or coarse puree (depending on your toddler)
Lasagna Roll-ups
6 dried whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 cups tightly packed baby spinach
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Olive Oil for greasing
1 cup Tomato-Veggie sauce, warmed
MAKES 12 roll-ups
preheat broiler. Bring a large pot 3/4 of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente (8 minutes) Transfer to a colander and rinse under cool water. Lay flat on kitchen towel to drain and cool
add the spinach to the boiling water and cook until wilted. Drain in the colander and then squeeze spinach to remove as much water. chop coarsely. in a large bowl combine spinach ricotta and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.
lightly oil an 8 inch flame-proof baking dish. cut lasagna in half crosswise. Place 1 lasagna noodle half on a clean work space. Spread thin layer of spinach-ricotta mixture evenly over the noodle. Roll up noodle to enclose the filling, then place, seam side in the prepared baking dish. repeat with remaining noodles, placing the roll-ups snugly together.
Sprinkle remainder of mozzarella cheese onto the roll-ups. Broil until cheese on top is melted and the filling and noodles are heated through (3-5 minutes).
Click here
for a Weight Watcher's version
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Debbie's Sugar Cookies
I know it's hotter than Hades outside, but who doesn't love homemade sugar cookies? Murad is out of town, so I whipped up a batch to bring to him. Joel and I are going to meet him there (OKC) and meet up with Nana and Papa (my parents) for lunch! How fun will that be?
Here's the recipe:
2 eggs (cage-free)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup of shortening (I substituted with coconut oil)
1 bag of Debbie's Sugar cookie mix
I switched from using traditional shortening to coconut oil after reading up on it on Food Babe's website.
Coconut oil is the star of these cookies. Coconut oil was deemed horrible for you and your heart years ago when scientists didn’t understand how this saturated fat worked in the body. Since then, they now understand that coconut oil is made up of “medium chain” fatty acids and contain lauric acid that actually prevent your body from absorbing the cholesterol from the fat and actually help improve cholesterol levels already in the body. These also play a huge role in improving your metabolism (i.e. weight loss!) by removing stress from the pancreas and promote better digestion by helping your gut fight bacteria and fungus.
I love Debbie's stuff, especially her Dr. Pepper cake mix. She is in Dublin, TX, where the world-famous Dr. Pepper Museum is located, but I've found most of her stuff at local farmer's markets. Definitely need to have the DP cake if you haven't already!
Here's the recipe:
2 eggs (cage-free)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup of shortening (I substituted with coconut oil)
1 bag of Debbie's Sugar cookie mix
I switched from using traditional shortening to coconut oil after reading up on it on Food Babe's website.
Coconut oil is the star of these cookies. Coconut oil was deemed horrible for you and your heart years ago when scientists didn’t understand how this saturated fat worked in the body. Since then, they now understand that coconut oil is made up of “medium chain” fatty acids and contain lauric acid that actually prevent your body from absorbing the cholesterol from the fat and actually help improve cholesterol levels already in the body. These also play a huge role in improving your metabolism (i.e. weight loss!) by removing stress from the pancreas and promote better digestion by helping your gut fight bacteria and fungus.
I love Debbie's stuff, especially her Dr. Pepper cake mix. She is in Dublin, TX, where the world-famous Dr. Pepper Museum is located, but I've found most of her stuff at local farmer's markets. Definitely need to have the DP cake if you haven't already!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Garden Gourmet Mac'n Cheese
Yesterday I went to the market to get some peaches to put in Joel's barley cereal. I try to go twice a month because the veggies are just so good there! My favorites are the sweet carrots, and Murad loves their giant green peppers. I also wanted to pick up some squash to make the dish I'm going to share below. Joely doesn't really eat baby food anymore, but we keep a few pouches on hand for quick lunches. The other day I was feeding him some baby food mac n' cheese. I was looking at the back of the pouch at the ingredients and thought, this would be good for adults to eat if it wasn't blended. His pouch listed squash, onions, cheddar cheese, heavy cream and macaroni as the ingredients. My mom had a recipe that had a yummy cheese sauce made of some of my favorite cheeses. So, I used that (and added canned chicken for my husband) to make the Garden Gourmet Mac n' Cheese! It was so yummy and filling. My husband loved it and asked for seconds. I'm so glad to have found Mac n' Cheese that is yummy and healthy. That means we won't have to rely on Kraft or Velveeta for Joel!
Garden Gourmet Mac n' Cheese
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/4 cup milk (I used plain Almond milk)
1 Tbsp instant minced onion
2 tsp dry mustard
1 lb mix of shredded cheddar cheese, fontina and feta
3 1/3 cups of cooked whole wheat macaroni
2 4.5 oz cans of organic chicken
1 cup of chopped sweet onion
1 1/2 cups of cubed, steamed yellow squash
Melt butter in skillet over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Add minced onion and mustard. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Add cheese and let melt.
Combine macaroni, cheese sauce, squash, onion, and chicken in 1 1/2 quart greased baking dish. Bake on 350 for 35 minutes.
Garden Gourmet Mac n' Cheese
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/4 cup milk (I used plain Almond milk)
1 Tbsp instant minced onion
2 tsp dry mustard
1 lb mix of shredded cheddar cheese, fontina and feta
3 1/3 cups of cooked whole wheat macaroni
2 4.5 oz cans of organic chicken
1 cup of chopped sweet onion
1 1/2 cups of cubed, steamed yellow squash
Melt butter in skillet over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Add minced onion and mustard. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Add cheese and let melt.
Combine macaroni, cheese sauce, squash, onion, and chicken in 1 1/2 quart greased baking dish. Bake on 350 for 35 minutes.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
FOOD
As we enter month 7 of being parents to Joely, we are entering the fun world of foods. Things were much easier when all he consumed was milk/formula. Now, we have to read labels and make conscious decisions concerning his eating habits. We also realized that we need to make changes to our diet as well. While, we've been successful in losing the baby weight we gained (yes, Murad gained sympathy weight), we want to make sure we have good eating habits that benefit us as well as Joely. I already make most of Joel's babyfood from veggies and fruits from local growers (I do buy the little Earth's Best baby foods at WalMart from time to time to see what he likes), but in five months, he'll start eating real food!
Our goal is to do the following over the next five months:
-seriously lower the amount of high fructose corn syrup we digest (it's insane. it's tasty. it's in everything. we eat it everyday.). Yeah, the commercials say it's okay in moderation, but my husband thinks that it's impossible to consume in moderation if it's in EVERYTHING. So, he really wants us to be better consumers.
-cut processed foods and snacks--this is going to be hard. no more lean cuisines for me, damnit! sad face
-in five months, Joel will be able to drink milk. not just my milk. not just formula, but real big boy milk! we need to decide what milk he will drink, since he's not going to drink cow's milk. Murad and I drink almond milk, but I need to see if it's okay for a toddler? I really have no clue what I'm doing in this whole food thing. It's like I went from not caring about what I put into my mouth at all, to caring way too much. I went from cooking casseroles to experimenting, especially with veggies (I love it when my husband turns his nose up at a dish and then ends up loving it!)I also kinda feel like I've stepped back in time. think the 1800's. ugh. Anyways, we hope to make gradual changes over the next five months that will affect our little family for the rest of our lives.
Can you tell I secretly love all this? I complain, but I love it all.I love food. I love creating foods for my family and letting the house smell good from my cooking. I love being a mom and creating a nurturing environment for my little boy. His smile and giggles remind me that I'm living my dream come true.
Our goal is to do the following over the next five months:
-seriously lower the amount of high fructose corn syrup we digest (it's insane. it's tasty. it's in everything. we eat it everyday.). Yeah, the commercials say it's okay in moderation, but my husband thinks that it's impossible to consume in moderation if it's in EVERYTHING. So, he really wants us to be better consumers.
-cut processed foods and snacks--this is going to be hard. no more lean cuisines for me, damnit! sad face
-in five months, Joel will be able to drink milk. not just my milk. not just formula, but real big boy milk! we need to decide what milk he will drink, since he's not going to drink cow's milk. Murad and I drink almond milk, but I need to see if it's okay for a toddler? I really have no clue what I'm doing in this whole food thing. It's like I went from not caring about what I put into my mouth at all, to caring way too much. I went from cooking casseroles to experimenting, especially with veggies (I love it when my husband turns his nose up at a dish and then ends up loving it!)I also kinda feel like I've stepped back in time. think the 1800's. ugh. Anyways, we hope to make gradual changes over the next five months that will affect our little family for the rest of our lives.
Can you tell I secretly love all this? I complain, but I love it all.I love food. I love creating foods for my family and letting the house smell good from my cooking. I love being a mom and creating a nurturing environment for my little boy. His smile and giggles remind me that I'm living my dream come true.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
champagne cupcakes
I'm posting pictures of the champagne cupcakes. They were a success. One thing that proved to be difficult was folding the eggs into the batter. I googled for tips and found a video to help me, but it was still a challenge. The frosting was not a success. Luckily, I planned for this and bought regular frosting from Wal-Mart. I then added champagne and food coloring to it (violet + sky blue = periwinkle). So we have champagne cupcakes with periwinkle frosting to celebrate our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. Murad is taking me out to eat in a little bit, so I need to get back to getting ready! Enjoy
Saturday, February 13, 2010
cooking with the campbells....for real, son!
I am a collector of recipes. I love collecting recipes and then redistributing them as my own to others! No lie. some of my favorite recipes include: zesty barbeque chicken, turkey/spinach meatloaf, chicken croissant casserole, fiesta chicken casserole (can you tell I like casseroles?), chicken roll-ups....but I don't have too many baking recipes, so I'm taking all the dessert recipes that you have!
so tomorrow is valentine's day. since we are low on funds due to some rather large upcoming purchases, I will be making some edible treats to celebrate my man! I am very lucky that my husband loves my cooking. He is always encouraging me to try new recipes and he usually loves everything I make. However, pastries are another story. We both love buttercream frosting, but our tastes kind of end there. So, if you have anything extra sweet and buttercreamy, please send it my way.
We both love chocolate covered pretzels, so tomorrow I'm making candy-covered pretzels and I'm wanting to try out this new recipe I found....champagne cupcakes. Mr. Soup and I have 6 or 7 bottles of champagne left over from our wedding. We plan to open a bottle of wine or champagne from our wedding every anniversary until we run out. However, I kind of want to open a bottle tomorrow to make these yummy treats. I'm a total dork and think it's kinda cool that they are champagne cupcakes and one of our wedding colors was champagne. Maybe I could find some periwinkle sprinkles to go on top!
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