Computers and Food

are not friends. That cookie just disappeared. Rats.

Start overs

One philosophy from Weight Watchers I really appreciate is the concept of starting over each new day. It doesn't matter if I had a weekend that wasn't as healthy as I would like (not as much time to exercise and family dinner party), I can get right back on track today. There's much more hope in looking forward to what I can do this week than in looking back. Healthy plan for today: do the elliptical in the late afternoon because I have a meeting tonight and won't be able to do it at my regular time. What's your healthy plan for the day?

It's all about the food...

Right? Some people in my family have this philosophy, but we're also interested in overall health. Simple healthy food I enjoyed one day this week for lunch:
I drained some liquid from leftover homemade chicken tortilla soup and heated it in a pan with 1/3 c. brown rice.
I took some applesauce I froze last summer from the freezer - I like to buy cooking apples and make them into applesauce, freeze with no sugar. Then I just sprinkle enough cinnamon sugar over to offset the tartness when I get ready to eat. I freeze the applesauce in small portions.
This lunch described here is 4 or 5 weight watchers points and very filling!
Dinner last night:
shrimp cooked with a little (1/2 tsp.) butter and lemon juice
stir fry vegetables
homemade crusty bread (very easy recipe!)
I think this dinner was 9 or 10 weight watchers points and also satisfying.
Tomorrow, our Chinese fun!

Great reading

While doing a bit of research for the novel I'm writing, I stumbled on this great link for foodies.

http://www.foodtimeline.org/

Family dinners

They're as much fun to plan as to have. There is the enjoyment of looking forward to having everyone come. And, having people--anyone in addition to the two of us who live here--means I get to cook! My first step is to decide menu, with input from the others. We took a vote last night and the birthday girl was the tie breaker, so we're having Chinese. What fun! Today I'm thinking about which dishes we'll have and making grocery lists on scraps of paper. This is all healthy, trust me. Long lists of vegetables. :-)

Tentative menu:
P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps
General Tsao chicken
fried rice
chow mein
stir fry vegetables
Haven't decided yet if I want to experiment with fried shrimp.
Dessert will not be Chinese, since we're celebrating a birthday and Easter. We'll have lemon cake with strawberry filling (the birthday request) for the gluten-free/dairy-free people, and apple pie for the guys.
I'd better start saving my weight watcher points now!

Another salad creation

Some time ago, I may have mentioned a favorite salad I make based on a salad I enjoyed at a restaurant. Last night I made another such salad, loosely based on something I tried a few years ago. I wasn't sure I remembered correctly, so I did look up some ideas on the Internet. But I think my end result still doesn't really follow a specific recipe. I'm using combinations I like, and I'm keeping it simple.

Pear Slaw
pears, sliced thin or diced
raw carrot, grated
dried cranberries
cabbage or lettuce

Arrange the first three ingredients on a bed of cabbage (preferred) or lettuce. Drizzle with dressing.
Dressing:
1 T. orange juice
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
caraway or dill to taste

I used one pear last night, a couple of T. of carrot, 1 T. cranberries, and about 1 tsp. of dressing with caraway instead of dill. For me, it made about 1 1/2 servings of salad. Individual tastes will vary.

Recreating favorite dishes

One of the things I started to do last fall was reduce grains. An all-things-in-moderation approach. And I've experimented with more whole grains -- in small doses! Recently, I've had some brown rice I cooked earlier and froze. To make spanish-style rice (think paella) at lunch, I'm using only 1/3 cup rice and an equal amount of vegetables (peppers, mushroom, olives, celery--since I shouldn't have green onion) with seasonings and just 1 T. cheese sprinkled over top at the end. Yum. Still filling, but lighter than versions with more rice. I didn't have any bacon or ham for it today, but used a bit of bacon grease for flavor. Last week I had some bacon. Today's version, only 3 weight watchers points! With a banana, a filling enough lunch.