What's Cooking Beautiful?

Here we are the first segment of my May photo-log of food. However, before we get started let me state that this will indeed be a long post. Secondly, let us pay respects to my beloved Pink computer. She passed away April 30th, just minutes before the London Marathon ballot opened. She was a wonderful little computer - my first ever 'personal' one, gifted to me from my amazing husband. She lived a good little life and recorded lots of memories. Goodbye Pinky - I will miss you my friend.

Speaking of the amazing husband...he met me at the BX just yesterday and purchased 'Glow'.

I can't really call her 'Blackie' -every body has a black computer. So because she has an LED backlit keyboard, I shall call her Glow and today, she & I bring you...What's Cooking!

May 1st 2012 Breakfast: Begins with a small plate of cut up raw Spinach.

Then you add a fried egg (or an egg however you like). I add a few flakes of crushed red pepper to mine. Why, I like a little spice in my life and adding a little spice to your life can boost your metabolism by approximately 20%. Check out ideas on how to boost your metabolism HERE.

Next up: add whatever you like. What did I add? I had some left over salsa (onion, cilantro, red chili, jalapeno, tomato, lime juice) so I threw a bit of that on there. Then I added sliced bits of a pepper jack cheese stick and avocado. Strange concoction? Probably, but I have found that eggs taste good with just about anything. Experiment with them and you'll see what I mean.

Finally, I add one more egg on top the pile. Serve with coffee and bon appetite! Do you see 'George' in the background? How many of you know who George is? :)

Now, my downfall here is probably this:

...and if I'm gonna buy it, I should probably buy the non-sugar free, but I don't know. Something to look into. However, I figure for as little coffee as I drink...I'll survive. Seriously, 1/2 a cup to 1 1/2 cups 3-5 times a week, that's my coffee intake. :)

LUNCH: 1/2 a left-over Enchilada and Spanish rice topped with home-made pico de gallo. Now, this recipe needs work. Why, because it probably could be healthier. For one the rice comes from a packet - so I need to learn how to make my own. The tortilla could be gluten free vs flour. The beef is 93% lean. I buy block cheese (as I believe it is less processed) and shred it myself for the inside and over the top of the enchilada. The seasoning/sauce came from a McCormick packet mixed with tomato sauce...I'm sure I could tweak that too. What I have decided however is that each recipe takes work. My best friend Jenny says to start with your top 10 favorite foods and work them first. In order to tweak it just right and make sure the family doesn't notice too much of a change I have to take baby steps. So her advice works for me. :) I'm sure there is some way I could deceptively hide something healthy in these that they would not pick up on...

I'm the only one that eats the pico de gallo. Normally, I have sour cream on mine, but I am out currently. However, I recently read that you can swap Greek yogurt for sour cream. Not sure how it would taste or what the added benefit would be yet, but I'll be looking into it.

I pre-made some Green Monster Smoothies. My friend Cindy turned me on to them. If you check out this website, Green Monster Movement, you can get a lot of different ways to have them.  

Tip: If you buy water bottles...they can be reused at least once! We like to have bottles of water on hand for this or that, but we also have a large 5 gallon Culligan water bottle we use. I prefer drinking it to tap. Anyway, I've been trying to find a way to save $5.50. Generally, on Tuesday/Thursday after my training session with "H" I buy a lift me up smoothie. They are really good and I do really like them. I just hate their price. So I figured if I pre-made Green Monster's and froze them that I could take one with and by the time I finished my session perhaps it would be thawed enough to drink. I have not tried this yet as we've not had a warm enough day!!! However, today (May 3) I did set one out at home and when I returned from the gym I cut the bottom of the water bottle off and dropped it in my blender. Hit mix, pour it in a glass, and drink it up! It was great.

These smoothies here are made like this: 2 cups raw spinach (don't knock it till you try it baby!), 1 banana, 3/4's -1 cup strawberries, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tsp raw honey, and a pinch of flax seed. Now, here's a tip Cindy shared with me: Freeze your strawberries and you won't need to add ice! :)

One of the smoothies I swapped the banana and strawberries for peaches and a mango. That's the one I had today. YUMMY!!!

One more tip: Do not drink prior to working out unless you have had them before! First time I had one...yeah - lots of fiber baby!

DINNER: My son wanted Pancakes & Bacon.

I made the whole box and froze the left-overs. I will eat them. I know there has got to be a cheaper way to make GF pancakes though. I am still on the hunt for a healthy (and I know that just sounds wrong) syrup. I do not eat bacon, but my son is a bacon fanatic! He needs a shirt that says, "I love Bacon". Seriously. I did put a little bit of peanut butter on mine and I did have a glass of whole milk with them.

Now, I believe there is a huge debate on Milk. Whether or not we should drink it, we are weaned after all! Whether or not low-fat, no-fat, or full fat is best. Who knows?! Not me!!! When it comes to milk,  I have pretty much decided to each his own. Right? Nobody is ever going to agree 100% on which one is best, so I say, "go with what you like best". I use whole milk, almond milk, and sometimes coconut milk.

I believe the hardest most frustrating part of "getting" healthy is all the controversy over this or that. One minute eggs are bad for you and the next they're not. It makes me want to scream "Make up your dang minds people!!!" Cause let me tell you what, by the time I get the family switched around (which takes MAJOR baby steps) and then I find out the switch was bad (Example: Splenda or Turkey bacon) it makes it REAL hard to switch them back!

Therefor, I believe to each their own. You eat that way because that is what works for you and I eat this way because it works for me. Make sense? I will alter, change, add, deceive, and tweak recipes until I think "Okay, this works." My goal: Less processed foods, which is really, really, really hard. I've been working with recipes for months - I'm no pro, but something must be working right because I'm still dropping weight and believe it or not so has my husband. Yes, we both work out regularly...but it is said the hardest part of weight-loss begins in the kitchen.

So seriously, tweak things, make them a little healthier as you learn how and adapt. It's not a diet. It is truly a life style change and if that 1 change is not something you can stick with forever and ever...then you better rethink it, because change starts with YOU.

I know there are certain things I can change, will change and some I won't. I'm reconstructing my life - my way. Not yours, not hers, and not his. MINE. How bout you? Are you going to do Jenny Craig or Weight watchers for the rest of your life? How bout counting them calories day in and day out? Not me! But whatever works for you, whatever is best for you -that helps you to succeed...that is what you do for YOU. Not me, you.

What did I drink on Day 1 - coffee, milk and water. Lots of water.

I've decided while typing this forever long post that I shall do 3 back to back in order to catch up for the last few days and then I will post one each day. If a recipe or item has been mentioned once, it will not be re-listed or have the photo posted. I will make a recipe page soon.

Be sure to visit each day this month to get your name in the hat for a FREE give-a-way! And let me hear from you! What ya cooking? How's the weight-loss going? How's the workouts? Where ya struggling? Where are you winning? Ya know - all that jazz.

Question of the day: How do you eat your eggs and do you know who George is?

~T~