Good morning! It’s another beautiful day here. I’m debating taking all my work outside today instead of sitting at my desk. It’s way too nice of a day to be indoors.
I’ve read blogs where every single post has a picture of them waking up, then a picture of what they ate for breakfast, then a picture of them working out, followed by a picture of them eating something bizarre that is supposed to be uber healthy. My first question is, who is taking all these pictures? My second question is, no offense, but do I really care? My third question is, flax as a salad dressing? What is flax, anyway? I doubt you really care what I ate for breakfast this morning (Life cereal with 1/2 a banana, lactose-free nonfat milk and a glass of calcium enriched, medium pulp Simply Orange, in case you do care). I don’t want this to be that kind of blog. But I do like to share some of my favorite foods with you. I have recently stumbled across a few recipes that might trip your trigger.
Here’s a confession. I’m not uber healthy. I am a total food junkie. Growing up, I didn’t get to have potato chips, ho-hos, Cheetos, pop-tarts, frozen pizzas, or any of the fancy, fun cereals. So, when I got to college I went nuts. I stocked up on all the junk foods I craved as a kid and never could have unless we had a coupon, of course (my mom always told me that you had to have a coupon to buy Lucky Charms, like it was some kind of unwritten rule that everyone knew about). And I realized on my fourth trip through the McDonald’s drive-thru to get my beloved Happy Meal with a girl toy (yes, I did that as a 19 year old college student) that I wasn’t really lovin’ it. I didn’t like the way it made my body feel and since I wasn’t quite as active as I was in high school, it wasn’t going anywhere. I gobbled up my last sans onion cheeseburger and fries and made a decision that I was ready to try some new foods. Okay, I know I make it sound like I had an epiphany, but I kind of did. My mom was right – healthy living really does start and matter most when you’re young. After living on my own for a few years now, I’ve really taken her advice seriously and flourished in new foods and healthier options.
The Pilot and I have similar likes and dislikes when it comes to foods.
Things we avoid:
- Onions (at all possible costs)
- Bell peppers (we don’t like the texture and can’t taste them)
- Mushrooms (Fungus? No, thank you.)
- Sushi
- eggplant
- bad Mexican (who doesn’t?)
- tomatoes (much to my dismay)
- dark chocolate (drat)
- wine
- “funky” cheeses (blue, feta, goat, brie, cream cheese, gouda, etc.)
- artichokes
- cabbage
- olives
- all seafood
- onions in any way shape or form (I can taste an onion in anything)
- plain jane chicken (texture)
- raw baby carrots (unless they’re in something)
- figs
- cucumbers
Chicken Piccata with Pasta
- 6 oz whole-grain angel hair pasta
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 4 chicken cutlets (3/4 -1 lb total), trimmed
- 3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 Tbsp fresh peas, rinsed (I used capers)
- 2 Tbsp butter (I used olive oil)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
Meanwhile, whisk 5 tsp flour and broth in a small bowl until smooth. Place the remaining flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper and dredge both sides in the flour.
Simply DE-lish. |
Any meal is always complimented with a bowl of fresh greens, crumbled feta and kalamata olives. Top it off with a splash of raspberry walnut vinaigrette.
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the Pilot’s pick:
Red Beans and Rice
- 2 lb hot hickory-smoked sausage, sliced
- 3 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 (15 oz) cans red beans, drained
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1-2/3 cups water
- 3 Tbsp sweet pepper sauce (we recommend Pickapeppa Sauce)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp hot sauce (we recommend Sriracha hot sauce)
- 1-1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
Cook sausage in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat about 5 minutes, stirring until sausage is browned. Remove sausage, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 Tbsp drippings in Dutch oven.
Saute bell peppers and next 3 ingredients in hot drippings 5 minutes or until tender.
Stir in red beans, tomato sauce, 1-2/3 cups water, pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in sausage. Simmer, covered, 1-1/2 hours.
Prepare rice according to package directions. Serve beans and sausage over hot cooked rice.
A great dish with a little kick in the mouth. This was excellent! It’s very ‘Nawlins style. We served it over white rice for the Pilot and whole-grain rice for me. |
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“Seize the moment. Remember all those women who waved off the dessert cart on the Titanic.” -Erma Bombeck
Fwesh stuawbewies. |
Angel Food cake with orange glaze and fresh fruit. Nom, nom, nom. |
I went light and delicious on the dessert. Mix 3-5 Tbsp thawed orange juice concentrate and 1 cup powdered sugar in a bowl until smooth and drizzle over angel food cake. Add your favorite fresh fruits and enjoy!!
Finally, I would like to leave you with some of the best advice every given. My sister, Alison, found this online and sent it out in an email. Some of you may have already seen this before, but I just don’t think you can get enough of it. Except for the part about algebra class in #21. I use algebra every day – we all do.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts over things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t overdo. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. Be grateful for what you have been given.
18. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
21. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away (like algebra class) but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
22. Smile and laugh more.
23. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
25. Each day give something good to others.
26. Forgive.
27. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
28. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
32. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
33. God heals everything.
34. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
36. The best is yet to come.
37. When you awake alive in the morning, thank God for it.
38. Your inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
Alison says
Thanks for the shout-out on the Handbook to Life. This is one of my ALL TIME favorites! I think I'm going to make a "wall hanging" of it for my bathroom….somehow. Oh and the mom and cereal thing: totally me now. The kiddos know that we only get sugar cereals a) when I have a coupon or b) when camping or on vacation. It just works…I bet you money you do it too someday 🙂 Turns out…moms do know a thing or two!