Veggiemania!

Perhaps I should have stuck to my plan to go grocery shopping on my way home from work yesterday morning, but I wasn't sure of a couple of ingredients, so I just came on home. The result was that I ended up eating leftover taco soup, fruit, and yogurt yesterday. This morning I woke up and had another bowl of taco soup while I worked out my menu. Finally, I headed for the store.

I am pretty proud of myself - over half of my list consisted of produce section items. I grabbed everything else first, and then got ridiculously excited when I got to the produce. I chucked the biggest grapes I've ever seen into the cart. Beautiful little sweet onions. A large, fresh pineapple. Crisp, green scallions. They were out of roma tomatoes, so I grabbed a few campari tomatoes. They aren't quite acidic enough for me, but they still taste pretty good this time of year. Suddenly, a beautiful eggplant caught my eye.

I never was big on eggplant. I found them to be bitter and tough-ish. Last week I made noodle-free veggie lasagna, and it called for eggplant. I fell in love. My mind started building flavors for me, and I got really hungry. I was literally giggling while I threw an eggplant, a large zucchini, and some sliced baby 'bellas into my cart. I couldn't wait to get home.

I preheated my oven to 425 F. My mom bought me a couple of quarter sheet pans a few years ago, and they've become super helpful since I started back on Weight Watchers. I scrounged a red onion, chopped it up with the zucchini and eggplant, cleaned off the mushrooms, and put it all into a bowl.I lightly coated the veggies in olive oil, salt and pepper, and poured them out on the pans. I roasted the veggies for about 25 minutes, getting a nice char on some edges, scraped them back into the bowl, and added a cup of marinara sauce. I placed the vegetables into a casserole dish and cooked them at 350 F for another 20 minutes.

Y'all. Pure bliss!

I am getting more and more enamored with vegetables. This is the time of year that things like acorn and butternut squash are plentiful. I have never cooked them, but it's time I try them! I am looking forward to eating more brussels sprouts, rutabagas, parsnips, and sweet potatoes. Yes, yes... I know sweet potatoes are starchy, but they are divine with fish and greens. I am thinking of branching out and trying them cooked in various ways other than roasted, my favorite way to eat them.

While making my Black Bean and Feta Quinoa Salad, I realized there wouldn't be room in the jar for the chicken I roasted, so I unintentionally made two of my three daily meals vegetarian. That's ok. I now have precooked chicken in the freezer, ready for whatever I decide to make in the next couple of weeks. It'll shave some prep time. My other meatless meal is chickpea and spinach stew. The brown rice will help boost the protein. Instead of taco soup this week, I decided to try a new recipe: Taco Casserole. It is actually pretty light on taco flavor and uses ground turkey. I added extra cheese. If I like it enough, I am going to halve the cheese. Unfortunately, I couldn't find fat free cheddar. Annoying to say the least.

I know I'm not slated to be a vegetarian unless it is unavoidable, but I am loving having one or two meatless meals a day. Truly, I wish that fruits and vegetables were cheaper. It's harder for many of my patients to access larger amounts of them, and it makes no sense for a small cup of pre-cut fruit to cost $4-$5. I always cut my own fruit now. Not only does it taste better, but for the same price of a cup of cut fruit, I can get much more. Instead of eating one serving of fruit, I usually have enough for the week. Admittedly, I spend $10 to $20 on fruit alone, because everyone in my house eats it.

On my next visit to the store, I plan to pick up butternut or acorn squash and try it. And believe me... An eggplant will also be in that cart!

What a Week

This past weekend, I threw my diet completely out of the window. I ended up going on an out of state trip for the first time in three years. This time, my daughter and I went to Alabama with a couple of my friends to visit some haunts for Halloween. We laughed a lot, slept too little, and ate way too much. I knew I'd have a gain, but honestly, I didn't care. It was a fantastic weekend!

If you don't come out of a haunted house looking like this, you didn't do it right.

 Anyway, I came home without a whole lot of time to recuperate or stock up on healthy dishes before I had to go back to work. Therefore, I ended up eating way too much take-out at work and eating unhealthy for a couple of days after. Last night, I finally went to the store and got good groceries and then cooked today. My fridge is now stocked for the weekend, so I can just grab my meals out, pack them up, and run.



I made Taco and Avgolemono Soup, low carb Veggie Lasagna, and my favorite quinoa salad. I also made a treat in the form of sugar-free Greek yogurt jello, and bought grapes, fresh pineapple, and mandarin oranges. I was truly shocked and dismayed at how much food I ended up throwing out prior to shopping. I really wish I could buy only what I needed for a recipe rather than too much. For example, scallions. They were starting to wilt, and I had far more than I needed. Also most of a head of butter lettuce that had gone over, celery, fresh mint and parsley, some fruit that went bad over the weekend, and soup I'd forgotten to freeze. So depressing! Soon, I am going to try to find ways to use up most ingredients without so much waste.

It's certainly soup season, and I plan to make a lot of it. I am also planning to try making more casseroles for one dish ease and multiple servings. While I still intend to try foods from around the world from time to time, it's a great time to make more comfort food, as well as trying to lighten up some of my family favorites. I'm still gauging favorite recipes and hoping to find others that will make a regular appearance on my menu each week. It's all a learning curve.

I did learn that although I like chicken on the side when I am eating my quinoa salad, it's too much if added in. I'm going to try eating it without the chicken on the side. The quinoa is already a protein powerhouse, so the chicken is just a little overkill anyway. Also, I am minding how much fruit I am eating. I was eating cut fruit by the bowlful, but it's time for me to eat servings and not as much as I want. That should help me cut back on fruit when shopping.

Anyway, time for a cup of coffee and a good movie on Netflix!

Food Focus: Aglio e Olio

Aglio e olio sounds so exotic, doesn't it? It's Italian for garlic and oil, and apparently originates from Naples. Simplicity in itself. I made three meatless meals while prepping today, and every single one shines in it's own way. Other than the quinoa I made, my new-found recipe for Zoodles with White Beans and Tomatoes was the only one that required cooking. My goodness, but the house smelled amazing while this was cooking!

A week or so ago, my mom bought me a spiralizer. It's got a few attachments, and I had to experiment with the two spaghetti attachments to find the right one for this dish. Let me just say that two standard zucchini make plenty of "noodles"! I was a little wary of zoodles at first, so the above recipe was perfect for my first try. Half real spaghetti noodles, half zoodles, this eases me into the world of spiralizing and eating veggie noodles.

I can't underscore it enough how delicious the aroma of garlic and pepper flakes sauteing in olive oil smells. The results were pretty nice, too. Since the dish doesn't have a heavy tomato base, but rather an addition of fresh tomatoes, it relies heavily on the garlic to flavor the base. I used a mixture of curly parsley and basil, but I think either one would be pretty good on their own. In fact, I plan to use only basil leaves next time. I used fresh shredded Parmesan cheese to top it all off.

The points are pretty high for this dish: a whopping 11 points! The deliciousness factor, though, and the fact I am eating some real pasta, makes up for that. I was able to finish up my day with a total of 19 out of 23 points.

I've looked for other ways to use this delightful, healthy sauce. This is what I found on a quick search:

Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino

Spicy Shrimp and Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Mushroom Spaghetti Aglio Olio

All of those look so tasty, and I am sure they can be lightened up in little ways.

I certainly look forward to having Aglio e Olio again. In the meantime, I am just going to enjoy it over the next few days or so. The big plus? My husband may not eat this, but he certainly didn't turn his nose up at trying it. One day, maybe that man will appreciate a few more veggies!

My Favorite Recipes

This is a spot for an ever-growing list of my favorite recipes, along with little notes for the changes I make to them, and their points values, which includes the changes I made. Points value will vary without changes.

Avgolemono Soup - 3 points. No changes.

Black Bean and Feta Quinoa Salad - 4 points. Added a light dressing of lime juice (2 limes, about 1/8 cup) and equal amount of olive oil whisked with salt and pepper. Heavier than quinoa tabbouleh salad, very satisfying!

Buffalo Chickpea Salad Sandwich - 4 points. I split  the recipe into 8 servings and eat this with a leaf of butter lettuce tucked inside a whole wheat pita pocket, one of the smaller ones.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad - 6 points. Very heavily changed. Removed parsley due to bitterness. Lowered mint to maybe 1/8 cup or so of leaves, finely chopped. Added cucumber and two Tablespoons capers. Dressing measured out to 1/8 cup each lemon juice and olive oil with salt and pepper.

Taco Soup - 3 points if split into 8 servings. Made from picture online. One can each pinto beans, black beans, and kidney beans rinsed and drained. One can each corn (drained), beef broth, rotel tomatoes with chilies, rotel tomatoes with lime and cilantro. Two cans petite diced tomatoes. 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix, 1 package Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix, and one pound 93% fat free ground turkey breast. I love to mix in a spoonful of fat free Greek yogurt (Fage 0% is my go-to!)

Zoodles with White Beans and Tomatoes - 11 points. No changes.

Food Focus: Avgolemono Soup

Lemons, lemons, and more lemons! Do you feel a trend going here? I know I do! When my husband and I went shopping the other night, I almost picked up a bag of Meyer lemons instead of a couple of loose ones. Part of me is gnashing teeth because lemons can be used for so many things, and I certainly have been using them a lot lately. They are a taste of sunshine in even the coldest of months. Not that it is even close to cold yet here in the Southeast!

This lemony, egg-thickened soup appears to have originated in places like Greece, Turkey, and the Balkans. While considering what to make for my next four days or so, I decided to look in on this recipe. I found it while hunting healthy Mediterranean dishes, and since lemon and chicken pair so well, it made my list of must-makes. The ingredients are fairly cheap and the list is short, which makes this a winner already. The added bonus of Vitamin C from the lemon, protein from the egg, and delightful starchiness and mouth-feel from the orzo just make it sound even better. I love chicken soup piping hot and filled to the brim with egg noodles, carrots, celery, and onions, but that has to move over for now.

Hurricane Michael rolled right over my sister yesterday (it still feels like today for me since I've been up since yesterday, and it won't be tomorrow until I go to sleep). I was extremely upset about the whole thing since she decided to stay. My nephews were also with her, and the oldest had a rare form of osteogenesis  imperfecta, otherwise known as brittle bone disease. She lives near Panama City in a mobile home (or did), so they evacuated to a hotel in Panama City. First, her windows started to leak as the rain started blowing sideways so they moved to the stairwells, then roof completely blew off of the building. The lobby was gutted, windows started blowing out, and the fifth floor of the hotel collapsed. They huddled with all of the other guests on the third floor corridors and stairwells until the storm had passed. Thankfully, they were safe. Sadly, I'm not certain everyone else made it out of the storm safely.

The storm is on it's way through Georgia to South Carolina, and we are expecting a bit of wind, a lot of rain, and tornadoes. To calm my nerves, I was glad to start cooking, even if the power is likely to go out tomorrow. I hope it won't, but it's more than a possibility. Tonight though! The kitchen was my domain.

Oh, Avgolemono Soup, how do I love thee? This soup is utterly fantastic and made much more than I expected it to. Originally stating that it feeds four, I was able to split the finished product into six nicely sized servings at only 3 points for the servings! It is a lovely white soup, thickened by the egg, and lightened beautifully by the lemon juice. I added very little salt and quite a bit of pepper. It got the seal of approval from my picky daughter, too!

If you'd like to try to make this lovely soup, go HERE.

This will certainly be made again. Soon.

Little Things Make a Big Difference

A few months ago, I made an emergency appointment for a feminine issue I'm not going to go deeply into. However, the OB-GYN I made the appointment with was a doctor I have not seen since 2001. He was surprised to see me, and a little shocked that I had waited so long to see him, but instead of berating me, he pulled out the step on the exam table while I sat on a chair. His NP sat to the side. Both of them asked questions and delved deep into possible causes for what I was suffering. The whole time, I wondered, "Why is he sitting on the step? He's sitting lower than my eyeline." Finally, I asked him, "Why did you not take the stool or the chair?" He said, "So I am not looking down on you."

That moment touched me. This doctor, who I knew to be very busy, had taken the time to sit down and really talk to me. It affected me deeply.

Last night, I had an elderly patient come in for a myriad of health issues. She was shrill and demanding, and her son was all but bowing to her every word. He hovered and fussed to the point that he was actually getting in the way of the admission. Her hand was bleeding heavily due to her IV coming loose and the blood thinners she had been taking. The patient care tech and I cleaned her up, got her settled, and got into the business of trying to do the admission on the EHR, carry out orders, and placate her. The woman was super impatient, barking orders and getting angrier if they were not complied with immediately. It came at a busy time, as my pod was split and I'd been told one patient was asking for pain medication and another had pulled his IV out in his sleep. I was also trying to sort orders from an admission two hours before, along with checking in with new orders from an admission that had come in just prior to my shift, and for the doctor that was doing late night rounds.

During the lengthier portion of the admission, I stopped and thought for a moment. Gently speaking to my patient, I told her I was going to raise her bed. I raised it until she was at eye level. Not hard when your nurse is only 5' 2". She asked me why. I said, "So you can look me eye to eye, and I am not looking down on you." I turned my computer in such a way that it was not between us and started talking with her. By this time her son had left to go home and she was alone with us. She started to relax and even smile. She reached out a few times and patted my hand, and I held her cool, bruised hand in mine gently.

Throughout the night, she pressed the call light multiple times. She wanted water. She wanted her light on. She wanted her light off. She wanted a new channel to watch on the television. She wanted to order her breakfast. Several times an hour, the call light would shrill, and more often than not, it was her.

Putting myself in her shoes, I thought about how lonely she must be, and how powerless and frail she must feel. Once, she was as young as me, and probably felt just as full as life before her health took a downward turn. It stood to reason that she was taking power from the only things she could control. It made me much more patient with her. She invited me to call her by her first name. I called her Ms. and she shook her head and again instructed me to call her by her first name. Going against every fiber of my Southern upbringing, I called her by her name and she smiled widely.

I made sure to check in on her before I left this morning, even after I had given report. She had been my most difficult patient. Not my sickest by far, but certainly my neediest. The last time I walked in, she took my hand and patted it. She said, "You are the best nurse, and I am so glad I had you. I wish I could make recommendations. Thank you for caring."

That simple moment made my entire night, and reminded me why I decided to be a nurse.

I imagine that she is still in that bed tonight giving another nurse and tech a hard time, and it actually makes me smile. I know what made her happy last night, and I'm hoping my night shift colleague figures it out. After all, who knows how many times she can push that call bell tonight?

The Joys of an Open Mind, and Tabbouleh Pt 2

In deciding to try Weight Watchers again, I realized that to develop a totally new relationship with food, it might be time to change gears and change up what I eat on a regular basis. To me, this means trying foods that I have never tried before and finding healthy recipes that have never been on my plate. It also means failure from time to time. This past week, that failure was my Tabbouleh Salad. I found the cucumber far too bitter, as I had left the skin on, and the flat leaf parsley was also pretty yuck. Very, very bitter. I immediately went to my refrigerator and tossed it. The red onion was far too strong overall. I decided to save what was left for a different dish, as it goes extremely well in my black bean salad.

I tried, I mean really tried to like my first attempt at Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad. The lemon and olive oil dressing was spot on, and the tomatoes were pretty good, but to actually be able to enjoy the dish called for pulling out some stops and deviating slightly from the original recipe.

This afternoon, I pulled out what I had available. I had half of a cucumber, half a pint of leftover rainbow-colored cherry tomatoes, a few sprigs of mint, a lemon, and something I'd never tried before: capers. They were an impulse buy in the pickle section the other day, as I'd always heard of them but never tried them. I looked them up, learned how to properly used them, and tasted one. As much as I dislike olives, they are probably the closest thing to an olive I have ever tasted and actually liked! Right then and there, I knew they were going in.

This time, I salted the quinoa water a little more liberally and added lemon juice to it. I peeled and seeded the cucumber, mixed up a little salt and pepper into my lemon/olive oil dressing, eased way back on the amount of mint I used, and set aside a Tablespoon or so of the capers. Once the quinoa had cooled, I again mixed up the salad while some chicken breasts liberally seasoned with Cavendar's Greek Seasoning roasted in the oven. Once everything was mixed up, I again jarred the salad in pint jars, put them in the fridge to allow the flavors to meld, and crossed my fingers.

Oh. Em. Gee!

The salad was a tiny bit on the salty side, but it was delicious! The chicken being slow oven roasted was the perfect companion. I only put about 2 ounces on the side because quinoa is a protein powerhouse. I was delighted with the flavor of the capers which permeated the whole of the salad, and served as a perfect foil to the coolness of the cucumber and acidity of the tomatoes. This is certainly going to be a dish I come back to again and again!

I decided to post in the Weight Watchers community about my dislike of olives, but my love for capers. Another member suggested I try a soup called Colombian Ajiaco, as it is served with capers. It's a chicken and potato soup, and from research, it's apparently traditionally popular in Bogota. I love the fact that it is made with ingredients I am mostly familiar with. The only thing I have not tried is an herb called guascas. Considering that many seasonings used in Hispanic cooking are bitter, which is not my favorite flavor at all, I am considering using bay leaves or oregano, which the poster of the recipe I found states are suitable substitutes.

I am truly not picky. Like anyone else, there are a few foods I will definitely turn my nose up at. Liver, olives, black licorice, and even Miracle Whip top my list of least favorite foods. Otherwise, I'm pretty much open to darn near anything. Except maybe flat-leaf parsley, now. Nasty, bitter stuff...

Food Focus: Middle Eastern Tabbouleh

This week, I made tabbouleh salad. From a quick peek on Google, it appears this dish originates from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Since I have actually eaten this dish commercially prepared before, I am not trying it for the first time, but it is the first time it's graced my kitchen. I made a few little changes in the spirit of experimentation. First, deviating from the recipe I found here, I added cucumber for that cool, distinct flavor, and traded out the standard red tomato for some heirloom-style cherry tomatoes I found. They are neat mix of colors and delicious blend of flavors. I remember mint being in the original salad. I couldn't get curly parsley from Walmart tonight, so I bought flat leaf parsley. It's be quite the same, but meh. Flexibility is sometimes key. I settled on tri-color quinoa to add even more color depth and visual interest, as well. Since I forgot the scallions, I used an extra shallot I bought tonight.

I am still scratching my head on that curly parsley. I mean, was there a sudden run on it? I mean, this is South Carolina, not exactly the center of health and well-being when it comes to food. Not knocking my beloved home state, but we are better known for our fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and peach cobbler! Too, parsley was never a huge part of our weekly grocery budget. No one in my family even cared about garnish, only filling their bellies.

Anyway, on to the final verdict on the tabbouleh salad!  The quinoa needed quite a long time to cool, as I left it in the little saucepan I made it in. I got so tickled by the colors!

Pretty huh? Yes, there's a little extra water around the edges, but it soaked in while the quinoa cooled.

I'm flabbergasted by how bitter flatleaf parsley is... The mint, however, smelled divine when I was chopping it up. The cucumber? Well, next time I am going to take the time to seed it. I think it would not only give a nicer, cleaner feel, but the seeds aren't all that tasty. Also, the different colored tomatoes are nice, but I would like to try cluster tomatoes next time. Maybe even roma tomatoes. At this time of year, tomatoes are generally grown in hothouses. Not the ideal flavor to be had. I am looking forward to the bounty of the Farmer's Market next year!

I packed the completed salad into four blue, wide-mouth, pint mason jars and closed them with the white plastic lids made for mason jars I found at Walmart a few years ago. The plastic lids prevent metal lids and rings from degrading from acids and oils, and they have a pretty nice, tight fit. I tasted the salad after I finished packing the jars. The flat-leaf parsley is super bitter. However, the contrast to that is the bright flavor of the lemon juice. I juiced a whole lemon and added the same amount of olive oil in a bowl, whisked it up, and drizzled it over the salad, mixing it well. I am hoping as the salads sit that the flavors will mix and meld better and that the parsley's bitterness eases up.

I will most definitely not be using flat-leaf parsley again. I'll try curly parsley next time. If it is just as bitter, I am pretty certain parsley won't grace my tabbouleh again. That being said, I will continue to experiment. This time I used big, standard cukes, but next time I will try the smaller, fancy cucumbers in hopes they are sweeter. I will also use scallion greens rather than shallots. The shallots are ok, but very strong here.

I look forward to the next Food Focus!

A Well Equipped Kitchen

The other day, my husband was digging around in our utensil drawer and held up one from the very back.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Oh! That's a zester. You take the peel from citrus fruits with it."

"But do you ever use it?"

It was an eye-opening question. I haven't used that zester in years. Until tonight, when it was needed for a recipe from my first Hello Fresh box.

I started thinking about how cluttered my kitchen and dining room are. I have all sorts of gadgets and whatsits, and I don't use them all very often, but they all come in handy. Many of my gadgets are to provide convenience when my time is short, or to make cooking a hands-off experience, such as my slow cooker.

Tonight while meal prepping for the next few days, this is what I used:

• sharp paring knife
• cutting board
• zester
• stainless steel quarter sheet pan
• non-stick frying pan
• large stainless steel pot
• wooden spoon
• stainless steel tongs
• pint size canning jars
• plastic food storage containers
• sandwich bags
• quart size freezer bags
• small mesh strainer
• large strainer

I have many, many more items to use in my kitchen, but it always amazes me that I have most items I need at hand when I need them. I think back to my very first kitchen, when I no longer lived with my parents. It consisted of a set of non-stick cookware, a few serving utensils, a strainer, and a couple of sharp knives. I used my counter-top to chop vegetables. I assume it had been used for that a few times judging from the scoring on it's surface when we moved in. I've come a long way from those days!

I am very grateful for a well equipped kitchen, especially now. As I experiment with recipes and learn how to eat in a healthier way for life, I have plenty of modern conveniences to do so with.