Pauls home...let's eat.

While Paul was out of town I lost 6 lbs! That's amazing! I really buckled down and ate super good and exercised a ton. Now Paul is back.... I love when Paul's home, but it makes eating healthy a challenge. I try to pin down why that is.....and I've come to the conclusion that I just love Paul. And when we are together I want to have fun with him every min. I want to go to fancy restaurants, eat desert in bed,and surprise my man with yummy goodies. Also Paul has a major sweet tooth.


This attitude isn't exactly bad. It's just not conducive to dieting. But considering the fact that Paul is only home 4 1/2 days in the next 2 weeks I think I can indulge a little bit when he's here.


Paul travels a lot and that make being a mother a little harder. It's all on me a lot of the time. Any woman who experiences this knows there are tricky aspects to this situation. Lets just start with the fact that there is no one to take care of the technical difficultys....Jonas helps when he can, but there have been many times that I have said "the computer isn't working?....oh, well you'll have to wait a week until your dad gets home."that never goes over well. You also have to drop off and pick up everyone, every time. All bedtime stories and kisses and complaints are handled by you and you alone. All question and needs have to be aswered by you.


Sometimes though, handling your spouse who travels is even harder then taking care of the kids. It's a tricky situation. Paul will call me at the worst times....like while I'm putting the kids to bed or making dinner or driving them to lessons. He's lonely and needs some attention, but all of mine is being directed at the kiddos. And then there are the times when I call him, because I'm lonely and I miss having him next to me and he is in a meeting or a sleep because he's in a later time zone. Most of the time our phone calls are hit and miss. It creates a little tension because we worry about each other and our relationship when he is away.


Traveling is hard on both of us, so when he gets home I want to soak up every min with him. And indulge in fancy dates and fancy food. I'm glad he's back for a day or two and if he wants to cuddle with me in bed and eat a dish of ice cream. I'll have a 1/2 cup and be grateful he's next to me.

Crack Cake

I had grand plans to make it through the weekend without falling off the wagon....It was a lofty goal. A goal which unfortunately I did not reach. I could make lots of excuses...but mostly it comes down to one thing..... junk food (meaning high calorie delicious goodness) it's my crack. Once i give in to it's heavily temptation I'm done for. This doesn't last forever just a good month or so. I seem to have to get it out of my system, once I do then I can have a doughnut or a plate of french fries and go right back to eating healthy. I really need to make it through a weekend.


I lost almost 3 lbs this week! Good for me, right? Well, it was until I gained it all back in 2 days. 2 days of glutenous fun. A Dunford doughnut, some bread pudding, yummy Thai food, and a fancy dinner with Paul at a new restaurant.


Now it's Sunday night and I'm jumping back on the wagon. I actually have a good chance to make it through this next weekend. Paul is out of town this week ( he is defiantly an enabler) until Saturday night.


I did find another tasty recipe. It wasn't as great as the last one, but it was only 339 calories for a good sized portion. It was also pretty easy and you can freeze it.



Baked Penne With Meat Sauce



8 ounces dried penne
1 14-ounce can whole italian-style tomatoes
1/2 of a 6 ounce can italian style tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine or tomato juice
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup sliced pitted olives
1/4 cup green pepper
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 Tbs fresh basil
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese (in all honesty I added a little more)
Salt as needed (i felt like it needed quite a bit)



Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.


Meanwhile, in a blender container or food processor bowl combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, wine or tomato juice, sugar, dried oregano, and pepper. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Set aside.


In a large skillet cook ground beef or turkey and onion, green pepper, and garlic until meat is brown. Drain off fat, stir in tomato mixture, bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 min. Stir in pasta, fresh basil and olives.


Spoon pasta mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish, Bake covered, in a 375 degree oven for 30 min. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered about 5 min more or until cheese is melted. Makes 6 servings.


Nutrition Facts per Serving: 339 cal., 11 g total fat, 59 mg chol., 349 mg sodium, 33 g carbo., 3 g fiber, 24 g pro.

We are all in this together.

A friend of mine and I were exchanging text all day yesterday. Texts encouraging each other not to eat doughnuts....not to snap at our children and husbands because of the hunger.....reminding each other that we are worth it and strong enough. It's nice to know that someone has your back and knows how you are feeling. Now to be perfectly honest this same friend is also the fist person to convince me to indulge on that tempting desert or yummy appetizer and I do the same for her. So we either diet together or we fail together.....but no matter what we are in it together. So this post is for this friend.....WE CAN DO IT! RAW RAW SHUSH CUM BA!!


So last night for dinner I made the yummiest dish. It was only 360 calories and was jam packed with flavor!! It was a little involved but totally worth it, my kids even loved it and my husband wouldn't stop talking about how much he enjoyed it....


Chicken-Scallion Rice Bowl

Directions

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth ( I added a teaspoon of better then bouillon)

2 cups water

2 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 bunch scallions (about 6)

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, caps thinly sliced, stems reserved

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

6 garlic cloves, sliced ( I added 2 extra cloves because my cloves were small)

1 small bunch basil, plus basil leaves, for serving

1 large chicken breast (about 12 ounces)

1/2 to 1 red jalapeno, thinly sliced (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)

1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed

3 ounces (1 cup) julienned jicama

Kosher salt

2 cups hot cooked brown rice

Lime wedges, serving suggestion

Combine the broth, water, mirin, and the fish sauce in a large saucepan. Cut all but one scallion into 1-inch pieces and add to the broth with the mushroom stems, ginger, garlic and bunch basil. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and continue to simmer until reduced by half, about 45 minutes. Remove the solids from the broth using a strainer or slotted spoon and discard.

Add the chicken, sliced mushroom caps, and jalapeno to the broth; adjust heat to keep the broth at a gentle simmer and cook 12 to 14 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and slice into 1-inch pieces.

Remove the broth from the heat; Stir in the edamame, jicama, and sliced chicken. Season to taste with salt. Scoop 1/2 cup of the cooked rice in each bowl and ladle some of the soup over it. Slice the reserved scallion on an angle and sprinkle over each bowl along with the basil leaves. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

I got this recipe from the food network web sight.

Nutritional analysis per serving (without lime wedges)

Calories 360 ; Total Fat 6g (Sat Fat 1.1g, Mono Fat 1.6g, Poly Fat 1.1g) ; Protein 36g; Carb 39g; Fiber 6g; Cholesterol 49mg; Sodium 645mg

The Kitchens Clean....Now What?

Do you ever feel if you clean your kitchen one more time you might lose your mind?.....or sweep up the same floor, vacuum that same carpet, pick up those legos and scrub that toilet…..clean the glass on the coffee table, pick up the same shoes, coats, backpacks, dolls …………AHAHAHAHHAHHAH! I think I just might go crazy….I may already be there.

All my kids are in school the entire day for the first time this year. At first I thought “the world is my oyster! I can do whatever I want!” And I guess in some ways that’s true. But the house still needs to be cleaned and groceries’ still need to be shopped for, the same laundry has to be done…..it’s endless. So day in and day out I do the same things I did when I had all my children at home….I just do it without company. At first I would blast my music (songs that I don’t want my kids listening to) and I thought this is great…as I danced around the kitchen. But I’m bored with the songs…and let’s face it I’ve never been much of a dancer.

I always thought I would have more children…but alas I think my eggs are old or I could blame it on Paul’s tight briefs…whatever the reason the baby isn’t coming and it’s time to find something to put in its place. I know I could get a job, (not a good one) but I want to be there when My kids need me…and financially I can do that so why not? The perfect job would be one where I could stay home and bake all day!! I LOVE BAKING!!

That brings me to my next problem…since December I’ve gained 10 LBS!! (Because of the baking.) I know I need to lose the dreaded weight…..I lost 52 lbs a year ago and I don’t intend on gaining it back no matter how tasty my cakes are. But If I take baking out of my life I’m just left with cleaning the kitchen…sigh.

So I’m trying this blog as a compromise. Instead of eating I will type…and exercise. And maybe in the journaling process I can figure out what to do with my days. I figure I will post some of the healthy recipes I will be trying, (because let’s face it for every one yummy low calorie meal there are 10 sick ones) So I will try them out on my family and bring only the good ones back to you. And then I was thinking every Friday I would allow myself to bake something sinful and I will give you that recipe as well. BALANCE IN ALL THINGS! I will fill you in on the weight loss or gain..gulp!

I’ll start my recipe sharing with something delicious but terrible for you…..enjoy

Chocolate Hi- Hats

I make these in mini cupcakes because I think It’s the perfect size for the major flavor.

Cake ingredients

1 package devil’s food cake mix

1 package chocolate instant pudding mix

1 8 ounce container of sour cream

4 large eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup warm water

Preheat the oven to 350

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil and water in a large mixer bowl: beat on low speed until just blended. Beat on medium speed for 2 min. fill the mini cup cake cups about 2/3 full.

Bake for about 8- 10 min. Cool in pans for 5 min and then remove to wire racks and cool completely.

Seven –Minute Frosting (big lie it’s more like 15 min frosting)

1 ¼ cups sugar

1/3 cup water

3 Large egg whites

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tsp teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract.

Make the frosting. Put the sugar, water, egg whites, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl or the top of the double boiler with at least a 2-quart capacity and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until opaque, white and foamy, about 1 minute, Put the bowl over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). The top container should sit firmly over the pan of hot water; be sure to keep the cord of the electric mixer away from the burner. Beat on high speed until the frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 to 15 min (7 min is a freaking lie). Remove the container of frosting from the water add the vanilla and almond extracts’, and continue beating for 2 min to further thicken the frosting.

Put the frosting in a pastry bag and make a swirl on top of the cupcake. I put them in the fridge for a min before I dip them in the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate

3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Melt in the microwave for one min then stir and a couple more seconds….make sure you do not burn the chocolate…let the chocolate cool for a min or two and then you can dip the tops of the cupcakes.

Enjoy chocolate heaven!!