Blueberry Raspberry Whole Wheat Oatmeal Muffins

Like I said in my last post, I got the urge to make muffins this morning.  And, despite (or because of?) a minor miscalculation on my part, they turned out REALLY good.  And not just like "they're pretty good for being healthy muffins," but like, "I'd want to eat ten of these even if I didn't know they were only made with wheat flour."  Want to make some too?  Here we go...

Blueberry Raspberry Whole Wheat Oatmeal Muffins
(recipe adapted from the basic muffin recipe in Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, pg. 115)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats*
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 3/4 cup frozen (or fresh) raspberries and blueberries

*I used quick oats since that's what we had, but I imagine old fashioned oatmeal would work fine too.

Combine whole wheat flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.  Once ingredients are combined, make a well in the center.

In another bowl (I do it in my 2 cup measuring cup so I can measure my ingredients and then I don't have to get another bowl dirty) combine milk, oil, and egg.  Pour all at once into the flour mixture.  Mix until combined.

Mix in blueberries and raspberries (no need to thaw, if frozen).

Spoon muffin batter into 12  lined or greased muffin cups.

Bake for 18 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack.

Mmmmm.  Try not to eat too many.  ;)


I'll admit that I kind of messed up.  I meant to do half white flour and half wheat flour, but I miscalculated (story of my life) and realized that I had added the entire amount of flour after I finished adding the wheat flour, so I figured I'd just see how things turned out.  And they turned out great!  Really--so, so yummy.

Olivia and I already shared 4.  (eek!)  :)

Enjoy!

Frugal Food Friday: Green Pepper Tomato Salad

I'm back!  Sorry to be MIA for so long.  We were super busy with the move, getting settled, and then starting the school year that I've been pretty busy.  We LOVE where we're living and are just enjoying life.

Let me tell you, I am LOVING having a dishwasher.  It's making it a LOT more enjoyable to cook.  I wish I could say that all of the things I've been cooking are worthy of going on The Skinny...but they haven't all been. :)  One of my goals now is to be better at serving veggie based side dishes with dinner.  We've always had home cooked main dishes, but by the time I'm done cooking the main dish, I often skip the sides...or we just had green salad that the kids weren't very interested in eating.

But no more!  I've been experimenting with a lot more side dishes, especially salads.  This is a great one we tried a few days ago.

I didn't have cider vinegar, so I used balsamic instead.  I also used green onion instead of the red onion because our kids like the milder flavor better.

Green Pepper Tomato Salad
from Taste of Homes Light & Tasty Annual Recipes from 2005, pg. 53, submitted to them by Lili Hill

3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, green pepper, celery and onion.  In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Stir into tomato mixture.  Cover the refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stirring several times.  Serve with a slotted spoon.  Yield 6 servings.

One 3/4 cup serving has 34 calories.  (Only 34 calories!!!)

Lazy Days of Summer: Stir Fry

As I mentioned before, I have not been in the mood to cook all that much lately. Between the hot days, cranky tired kids by the time dinner rolls around, and a husband who has been gone for dinner most weeknights, I've been looking for easy dinner solutions. (Tonight was Hubby's last day as a teaching his evening college chemistry class though...so now he'll be home for dinner. YEAH!)

This week, I made some stir fry. If you have a garden, this is a great way to fix all those veggies that you're getting from your garden.  This is the extra easy version though, so here's what I did.  I pulled out the bag of stir fry veggies from the freezer (I like the Kirkland Signature variety from Costco).  I thawed them a bit by dunking them in hot water and stir fried them on the stove with just a bit of vegetable oil.  Then I mixed some cornstarch in with about half terriyaki sauce and half cold water.  Then I mixed it in with the cooked veggies and heated until it was thickened.  Then serve over brown rice.

Of course you'll want to look for low calorie/healthy terriyaki sauce.  There are probably healthier options out there...but like I said...I've been a lazy cook lately, and this is a great way to load up on lots of veggies.

And this is definitely kid tested and approved.  My kids love to call the baby corns "candy corn" and my oldest discovered she loves waterchestnuts.

And sorry no picture of my son...he chose to eat sans clothing.

Kathy Week 29: Eat Your Vegetables!

Kathy's Week 29 Stats:

Today's Weight: 134

Last Week's Weight: 137

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 17 pounds

Slow and steady...I am getting so much closer to my goal weight! 

I'm still using myfitnesspal.com to log my food every day. So easy, and it really helps me make better decisions about what to eat. (Be sure to read Alex's recent post about how to choose what enters your mouth.)

My husband and I are still doing our weight lifting every morning - my muscles are getting stronger! I feel stronger and healthier than I can remember in a l-o-n-g time. It's a wonderful feeling!

Today I want to share some wonderful advice from a wonderful person. 

Introducing...my dear mother-in-law, LaVerne!

Here we are at the ocean in Morro Bay, California, near her home. We are visiting her this week because she is having her 80th birthday party this week! Doesn't she look great? 

When I asked LaVerne for some advice to live a long and healthy life, she paused, and then smiled. 

"Well," she said, my mother (who lived into her 90s) always used to say that the way to live a long time was to eat your vegetables." Let me tell you, LaVerne really follows that good advice herself. I don't think I have ever eaten a meal in her home that didn't include some healthy vegetables or fruits, almost always served fresh or prepared from fresh foods.

She and I spent the day today preparing foods for the party on Saturday, and of course we baked cakes and mixed the ingredients for homemade ice cream, but we also spent the morning making some great vegetable salads to go with the chicken bar-be-que.

So, from LaVerne's kitchen, here is a delicious recipe for Carrot Salad. It's a great recipe for potlucks because it serves lots of people. If you make some for your family this week it keeps well in the fridge. And remember...keep eating your vegetables!

LaVerne's Carrot Salad

3 lb carrots, sliced 1/2" thick

Sauce:

1 can tomato soup

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon dry mustard

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1 or 2 medium onions

2 medium bell peppers

Cook carrots until crisp-tender.

Boil sauce ingredients.

Slice onions over cooked carrots and pour hot mixture over both and cover.

When cool, add chopped bell peppers.

Will keep in the refrigerator for 3 weeks.

Carrots washed and ready for slicing.

We sliced the carrots in a food processor - they were a little thinner than 1/2", but that was ok - we just cooked them for a little less time.

Cooking the carrots in a steamer.

Boiling the sauce ingredients.

Chopping the bell peppers.

Tasty Pineapple Turkey Burger Wraps: Frugal Food Friday

Hi All...I'm back.  Sorry I've been AWOL lately.  I've been busy with family reunions and crafts...and truth be told, I've been in a bit of a slump with cooking healthy, well-thought out meals.  Hubby is teaching a class that runs smack dab through the middle of dinner and bedtime...and it's been hot...so I haven't been very modivated to cook. 

I finally decided to cave-in and buy a bunch of hambergers and hot dogs last time I went shopping to feed the kids quickly when I'm too lazy to cook.  Not exactly healthy.

But never fear!  My kids won't be eating garbage all summer.  Instead of hamburgers, I found turkey burgers that are only 160 calories a piece and less than 1/3 of the fat of the hamburgers, but for the same price...$2 a pound which I consider a good price for meat. 

I didn't buy buns because I wanted to get them at a cheaper store...now I'm not sure I'll be buying buns at all.  As I pulled them out to start cooking some, I noticed the suggestion on the box to grill them with sliced pineapple.  We don't have a grill or sliced pineapple, but we do have a frying pan and chunked pineapple, so a new favorite recipe was born.  My pan can cook two burgers at a time, but if you have a bigger pan or grill, you could cook more at once.

Polly's Tasty Pineapple Turkey Burgers

Cook together in a frying pan or on a grill
2 turkey burgers
1/2 can chunked pineapple with a little of the juice (I let the kids drink some of it and used the rest)
some thinly sliced onion, amount to taste

When meat is thoroughly cooked and onions are translucent, place burger with some of the pineapple and onions on some lettuce leaves to wrap.  Drizzle about 1 tsp teriyaki sauce over the burger and wrap in the lettuce.

Serve fresh fruit on the side.

As close as I can calculate, these cost about 75 cents each and are about 265 Calories for the turkey burger wrap (not including the onion and lettuce, but I don't think those add much), so if you're trying to eat 400 Calorie meals, you've got some extra room for fruit and/or salad.  You could also make more of a salad and cut the turkey burger into pieces and sprinkle on top of salad.

For the kids, I sliced their burger up and served it with the pineapple and onion on top of a lettuce leaf.  They LOVED them and begged for more.  I liked it as a lettuce wrap, but Hubby preferred his on a bread.

I'm linking to:

Mexican Chicken Stew

Mark and I tried this for dinner last night, and it was simple to make, delicious and healthy!
(But Mark wanted to know where I'd found a Mexican chicken - haha!)

Mexican Chicken Stew

Serves: 6
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: About 25 minutes

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut bite-size
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled, cut bite-size
1 yellow pepper, cut bite-size
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups water
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
2 1/2 Tbsp salt-free chili powder blend
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup frozen corn
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed
1/2 chopped cilantro

1. Sprinkle chicken with flour; toss to coat. Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in a nonstick Dutch oven. Add chicken; sauté 5 minutes until cooked through remove. (I probably won't coat with flour the next time I make this. My chicken was a little damp from thawing, and it turned into a slimy mess. Still tasted ok, but I don't think the flour is necessary.)

2. Heat remaining 1/2 tsp oil. Add sweet potatoes, pepper and onion; cover and cook 7 minutes, stirring often, until lightly colored.

3. Add water, tomatoes, chili powder, garlic and oregano. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes until vegetables are almost tender. (Who knew there was salt-free chili powder? The chili powder I had on hand contained salt, but there was only a little left, so I used it up and will shop for salt-free next time. Sounds like a good idea!)

4. Add corn, beans and cooked chicken; simmer 2 minutes until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro. (I had black beans on hand, so I used those. Delicious.)

Per serving: 305 cal, 25 g pro, 44 g car, 10 g fiber, 3 g fat (1 g sat fat), 9% cal from fat, 44 mg chol, 514 mg sod.

Preview of Coming Attractions:

Be sure to check back on The Skinny tomorrow, when I'll be telling you more about this little gadget and how it's helping me lose weight!

picnic food!

Picnics are my very favorite. Back in the single summertime days, Katie and I went on many many good ones. I think we usually had pretty healthy foods, but picnic fare can easily turn fatty and sugary and processed (those things are so easy to pack!).

Some of my favorites to bring along:

-lots and lots of fruit and fruit salad (not with whipped cream or pudding or any of those fruit salad ruiners--just make sure there are chopped strawberries in there and the whole thing becomes nice and syrupy)
-veg for eating plain (little tomatoes, sugar snap peas) or dipping (carrots, celery, cucumber)
-a good dip (hummus is my favorite and has no dairy to get hot and rotten)
-favorite salad (cucumbers + tomatoes + avocados + sea salt)
-tabouli (packs well and tastes great made from a package)
-crackers and cheese

I know Katie posted about Hungry Girl long ago, and I recently found that the site has a whole lot of "bite it/fight it" recipes--good old recipes made much healthier. I saw this potato salad recipe and want to make it for our next day out to the park.

The Good German Potato Salad
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cored and roughly chopped
10 oz. baby red potatoes, roughly chopped
3 cups dry coleslaw mix
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 tbsp. precooked real crumbled bacon (like the kind by Oscar Mayer)
2 tbsp. Hellmann's/Best Foods Dijonnaise
1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
Dash black pepper
1/4 cup chopped scallions

Directions:
Place cauliflower and potatoes in a large microwave-safe bowl with 1/3 cup water. Cover and microwave for 6 minutes. Stir, re-cover, and microwave for 8 minutes, or until tender. Once cool enough to handle, drain excess water and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add coleslaw mix and onion. Stirring frequently, cook until soft and slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add contents of the skillet to the bowl with the cauliflower and potatoes. Set aside.

To make the dressing, combine all remaining ingredients except scallions in a microwave-safe bowl. Add 2 tbsp. water, stir, and microwave for 1 minute, or until warm. Mix thoroughly.

Add dressing to the large bowl with veggies and potatoes, and toss to coat. Add scallions, gently mix, and serve! (P.S. If you're making this ahead of time, refrigerate and then warm it up just before serving.)

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Serving Size: heaping 3/4 cup 
Calories: 85 
Fat: 0.75g
 Sodium: 324mg
 Carbs: 16g
 Fiber: 3.25g
 Sugars: 6g
 Protein: 3.5g

You can find this and other recipe swaps here.

What do you bring on picnics? And, please go on one soon!

Lightened Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo: Frugal Food Friday

I love just about any kind of pasta, which of course are known for lots of carbs and especially creamy sauces (like most alfredo) are high in fat...but not this one!

I'm not an expert in Italian food, so I don't know what makes an alfredo "alfredo."  This isn't what I would normally have thought of as alfredo, but it's delicious and I like it better than most alfredos I've had.

Lightened Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Taken from Cook It Light: Pasta, Rice, and Beans by Jeanne Jones, Pg. 163

Heat in large skillet (you can reduce this some to make it slightly lower calorie):
1 Tbsp margarine
1 Tbsp oil

Add the following and cook until chicken is no longer pink:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut up
3 green onions (about ½ cup)
¼ cup shallot (one medium sized one)
3 cloves garlic

Add the following to the skillet:
1 Tbsp cornstarch (add to 2 Tbsp of the milk)
1 cup milk
½ cup (2 ounces) Romano cheese
12 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms (It says 4 cups, but 2 cups works just fine)
1 (16 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Bring to boil over high head, then reduce to medium and simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the following and remove from heat.
2 Tbsp dried basil
1 pound cooked fettuccine noodles

Top with grated Parmesan or Roman cheese if desired.

Makes 8 servings. Each serving contains approximately 388 calories; 43 mg cholesterol; 8 g fat; 582 mg sodium

A few notes for making this cheaper.  Romano cheese is expensive...especially at a regular grocery store.  Once we tried this recipe and decided we liked it, I buy the Romano at Costco in a big block, cut it into single recipe size pieces and freeze it in the freezer until I'm ready to make it the next time.  It's been a while since I compared prices, but last I checked the big block at Costco was about 2-3 times as expensive as from a grocery store, but was 10 times or more larger.

I also didn't know what a shallot was before making this.  It's kind of like an onion crossed with a garlic and is slightly pinkish/purplish and you find it in the produce section.  They're not really expensive since you don't need very much, but not all stores will carry it.  I don't always have it since some of the grocery store here don't carry them and I don't like making a trip to another store just for that.  When I don't have shallots, I just use a little bit of onion instead.

Wal-Mart has a great low cost whole wheat pasta option.  We're still getting used to whole wheat noodles, and if you are too, mixing half white noodles and half whole wheat noodles is a good middle ground (if they have the same cooking times.)

Garden Linguine - Frugal Food Friday

This is one of our favorite summer recipes.  Just thinking about it makes me miss having a big garden because it's such a good way to use all those yummy veggies.  I used whole wheat linguine noodles for the first time in this last time I made it and they were really good.  (Wal-Mart has a line of whole wheat noodles now that is just as cheap as their regular generic line.)  Pretty much all of the veggies in this are optional and you can add just about any other garden veggies you want as well and in just about any amount.  I love to choose veggies that are different colors to make it more colorful.  Watch for whatever veggies are in season and on sale (or free from your garden.)

Garden Linguine from pg. 288 Favorite Brand Name Best Loved Casseroles
8 ounces linguine
3 tablespoons olive oil (I use less.)
1 tablespoon butter (You can use less or omit it altogether.)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced onions (I use a whole one.)
2 cups snow peas, cut in halves
2 cups diced zucchini
1/2 red pepper, cut into strips
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves or 3 tablespoons fresh
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook linguine as directed on package; drain.  Set aside.  Heat oil and butter in saucepan; saute veggies until crip-tender.  Remove saucepan from heat.  Add seasonings to vegetable mixture.  Toss with linguine.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese over the top.

Sorry, there is no nutrition information that came with this one.

Kathy: Week 19: Blehhhh...

Week 19 Stats:

Today's Weight: 140

Last Week's Weight: 140??

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 11 pounds

Not much movement, as you can see. I am stuck here in 140-ish land, where I've been since early March. Blahhhhhh... Now what?

Here are this morning's photos. I think I look way better than I did back in Week 1. But I don't honestly see any difference at all between today and Week 13.

Duh. I weighed the same this morning as I did back then.

I've known for a while that it is probably time to keep a food diary. Sigh. That always seems so nit-picky, to write down every little mouthful. But then I read about a study where the people who kept a food diary were the ones who lost weight and kept it off.

So I've decided to take this one week at a time. Dear Skinny readers, I promise to keep a food diary for this week, and tell you about it next Saturday. I'll be keeping it simple, but I WILL be keeping it. Promise!

This morning I learned an astounding fact. Our stomachs are only as big as our fists! Whoa! I've always thought of it as kind of balloon-sized. But no. A fist. That's an empty stomach. It's stretchy, and we can eat up to about 1 liter of food at a time. But I'm going to be looking at my fist with every meal, then eyeballing my plate, to decide just how much I want to fill up that little fist-sized munchy-musher inside of me.

One more thing I'm trying out this week: I'm trying to learn how to run. I can't wait for Emily's next post to give me some hints! When I told my husband that I wanted to be a better runner, he said, "I know how to run." And you know what...he does! We went over the the track last night, and he coached me for several laps. (No, I did not run all that way...I mostly ran the straights and walked the curves.) Gosh, there are so many things to think about that I do wrong! But it feels better when I get closer to doing it right. He was coaching me on how to hold my arms, and how high to bring up my heels and knees, and...there was more, but I can't remember right now. So I'm going to drag him over to the track several more times this week, and see if I can begin to learn how to run.

Those are my three goals for the week:
1. Keep a food diary
2. Visualize my stomach the size of a fist
3. Learn how to run

What do you think? Any suggestions or tips for me?

And, to wrap up this post, here's a yummy dessert recipe I found in Prevention magazine this month. I'm going to make it for our family Mother's Day dinner tomorrow.

Frozen Strawberry Pie

I haven't made it yet, but here's what the magazine says: "Loaded with sweet berries, this luscious pie doesn't need full-fat cream cheese to taste delicious. The buttery cookie-crumb crust saves calories over a regular pastry. You can make and freeze the pie up to 2 weeks ahead. Just defrost at room temp for 35 minutes before serving."

Work time: 20 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes + chilling times

Servings: 8

Crust:

6 1/2 oz vanilla wafers (about 3 cups)

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp canola oil

Filling and Topping:

8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 lb strawberries, hulled

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1. Make crust: Crush wafers to fine crumbs in food processor. Mis crumbs, butter, and oil together until combined.

2. Pack crumbs on sides and bottom of 9" pie plate. Chill crust at least 20 minutes or up to a week.

3. Heat oven to 325. Bake crust until golden, 15-18 minutes. Cool completely.

4. Prepare filling: Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar at low speed. Beat thoroughly at medium speed to combine.

5. Puree one-quarter of the strawberries in food processor. Fold puree (about 1/3 cup) into filling, saving any extra puree for topping. Pour filling into crust (will not reach top).

6. Freeze pie until just firm, about 1 1/2 hours.

7. Make topping: quarter or halve remaining berries. Toss with granulated sugar in medium bowl. Let stand at least 5 minutes. Serve toppings over slices of pie.

Nutrition (per serving): 283 cal, 4 g pro, 31 g carb, 2 g fiber, 17 g fat, 7 g sat fat, 206 mg sodium

Have a great week! And Happy Mother's Day!!

Oriental Pork Cabbage Stir Fry - Frugal Food Friday

I've been a bit more in a cooking mood this week.  I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Hubby is finished with classes for the semester, so dinner is not a rush to have him out the door by 4:45 to get to class every night.  I cooked Sweet and Sour Chicken one night, but then wanted to try something new.  I opened up a cookbook my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas (Taste of Home's Light and Tasty Annual Recipes 2005) and came across Oriental Pork Cabbage Stir-Fry.

We eat very little pork...as in I can't even remember the last time I cooked it...but we had a bunch of cabbage in the fridge left over from making Rainbow Cole Slaw as well as some carrots that really needed to get used up.

Unfortunately, I did not remember to take a picture of it, but a quick internet search turned up the picture from the book itself.  I could take a picture of the leftovers, which are quite tasty.  The only problem with that is that the purple cabbage color has spread a bit and doesn't really look good enough for a picture...but is yummy none the less.

Oriental Pork Cabbage Stir-Fry
6 cups cabbage chunks (1 inch pieces)
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
4 medium carrots, julienned
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoons minced fresh gingerroot
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
4 teaspoons cornstarch

We also served this over brown rice.

In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry cabbage in 1 teaspoon hot oil for 1-2 minutes.  Add carrots; stir-fry 3-4 minutes longer or until carrots are crisp-tender.  Remove and keep warm.

Stir-fry the pork in remaining oil for 2 minutes.  Add ginger and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until pork is lightly browned.  Stir in 3/4 cup broth and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until meat juices run clear. 

Combine cornstarch and remaining broth until smooth.  Gradually stir into pan.  Return cabbage and carrots to skillet.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2-3 minute or until thickened.  Serve over rice if desired.

One serving (2 cups stir-fry calculated without rice) equals 252 callories, 8 g fat, 63 mg cholesterol, 855 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 27 g protein.

Note:  We served it over rice and got far more than what we consider 4 servings from this recipe.

Kathy Week 17: Katie is in Town!

Week 17 Stats:

Today's Weight: 139!

Last Week's Weight: 141

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 12 pounds

Kathy & Katie at Curves

It is so fun to have Katie and her family in town this week for their college mini-vacation. This morning she and I both went down to the Curves gym for a workout.

I was sweating...Katie, on the other hand, completed each machine with ease, and said she didn't feel like it was a difficult workout, after the more intense workouts she's been doing with the postpartum weight-loss study in Provo.

How can this be? I know I've been working out consistently, and I know that my muscles are much stronger than they were back in January. After all, I completed the Goat Mountain Gallop, right?
I think Katie and I are just used to working out on different kinds of machines. Katie is used to working out with machines where you actually add weight to the workout, and the Curves machines work with pneumatic (air) pressure, so you have to push against the machine in a different way than the ones with weight.

But they must be working for me, because I'm not even sore from the Goat Mountain Gallop last week! I had mild muscle aches for two days. The only residual ache I have is one little toe that is sore; I think it was banged somehow inside my shoe during the Gallop. So I haven't done much walking this week, to be kind to it and let it heal.

Hooray! I'm down another pound!

Did you notice that I'm into the 130s??!! Woo hoo!

The last time I weighted 139 was a year and a half ago.

Even though I haven't been exercising as hard this week, I feel like my body somehow knows that I'm not "in training," and can get back to the gradual weight-loss plan.

So, what are we eating, you ask?

Yum, yum, here we come!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

This nifty little recipe comes from the Northwest Guide to Heart-Healthy Living by Providence Heart & Vascular Institute.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3/4 pound lean ground turkey

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint ( I have used cilantro here when I don't have mint)

1 teaspoon lime juice

1/4 cup peanut sauce (see note below)

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (teriyaki sauce makes a fine substitute)

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

8 butter lettuce leaves or Savoy cabbage cups

1. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add onion and sauté until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned, 5-6 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine cucumber, mint, and lime juice in a bowl; set aside.

3. Add peanut, hoisin, and soy sauces to turkey. Stir and warm through.

4. Place the mixture onto leaves and top with cucumber mixture. Fold sides over filling, roll up, and eat!

Per serving (2 wraps): 209 calories, 24 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 4 g mono fat, 53 mg cholesterol, 2 g finger, 305 mg sodium.

Caution! You will need extra napkins.

These are so tasty...and a little messy...

Peanut Sauce Substitute:

My husband is highly allergic to peanuts, so I avoided making Asian Lettuce Wraps for a while. (But they sounded so good!) Then I looked up a recipe for peanut sauce on the internet, and just substituted...almonds! Yum! It works really well. Here's my recipe for...

Almond Sauce

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh red chile

1 Tablespoon fish sauce "nuoc mam"

2 spring onions, sliced

Stir together and heat. Do not boil. Store extra in the fridge, and save for future batches of Asian lettuce wraps.

Mandarin Orange Cake: Frugal Food Friday

This week the Hubby and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  It's hard to believe that we've already been married 10 wonderful years...but it's true!  (Believe it or not, no wedding pics have been scanned into our computer, and we were married before the digital boom...but here's one from our honeymoon.)

We had a pretty low-key anniversary celebration since he had class that night, but we'll do more to celebrate when the semester is over.  I thought about making pineapple cake since I'd made it for our one week anniversary, but the kids were helping me and wanted to branch out a bit, so we made Mandarin Orange Cake.

Instead of the suggested brown sugar/milk glaze, we topped it with some whipped topping.  It was delicious!  We were a bit surprised that you couldn't really taste the oranges in it.  Of the two, the pineapple cake I shared earlier is our favorite, but this is a great choice if you want a smaller batch and less fruity flavor.

My 5-year-old had her heart set on frosting the cake with the whipped topping.  I'm not sure exactly what went wrong.  I think maybe stirring the food coloring in while it was still partially frozen was partly to blame, because it was a runny...but delicious mess. 

I plan to experiment more with whipped topping as frosting and get back to you.  I had some great success with a previous experiments decorating a baby food lid.  This one stayed looking this way for half and hour or so in the warm kitchen before it was eaten, while the "flowers" on our anniversary cake turned to blobs in less than a minute.

No matter how it looked, though...it definitely got the kids' stamp of approval.  The especially had fun with the mashing the oranges step.

This is once again from one of my favorite cookbooks "Quick and Healthy Recipes and Ideas" by Brenda J. Ponchtera, pg. 217.

Mandarin Orange Cake

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 cup egg substitute (equal to 1 egg)

1 can 11 oz. mandarin oranges, drained

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

2 Tbl. oil (canola)
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients, mashing the oranges, and pour into a 9-inch by 9-inch pan that has been sprayed with non-stick coating.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Prepare topping (below).

Topping: 2 Tbl. firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp. skim milk

Combine sugar and milk.  In the microwave, heat on high until mixture starts to boil.  Drizzle over hot cake.

Yield: 9 servings
One Serving: 1 piece
Calories per serving: 140
Fat: 3 grams
Exchanges 1 3/4 starch

yogurt-making

Now, everyone knows that I am in love with good digestion. Fruits and veg and fiber! But, let's not forget about yogurt. I'm not a big fan of dairy in general, but yogurt makes me feel great (and of course, ummm, ice cream).

The good works of healthy bacteria (probiotics) in yogurt have become quite the hot topic the past few years. Grocery shelves are lined with probiotic drinks and "digestion yogurts", but you can really get the good bacteria from any good yogurt--doesn't have to be Activia or anything special.

One of the downsides, though, is that yogurt isn't cheap. The good news: it is SO easy to make. My mom made it by the gallon when I was a kid and we had it in banana smoothies every morning. And really--it is easy! This is all you need:

• 1 Half gallon of milk
• 2-3 Tbs of plain yogurt (as a starter)
• 1 8-10 Qt stock pot
• 1 4-5 Qt pot with lid
• 1 Metal or plastic spoon
• 1 Dial thermometer with clip
  
• 1 heating pad
  

As easy as it is, the best instructions I found were nice and detailed, so you can just check them out here.

Please do try it out! Then eat it plain, drizzle honey on top, mix with fruit, mix with sweetened yogurt from the store... and let me know how it goes.

Mustard Chicken - Frugal Food Friday

This isn't the most frugal of our favorite family recipes...but it is super easy.  Sometimes a super easy and healthy recipe that costs just a bit more is still frugal because you can throw it together on one of those nights when you otherwise might be tempted to eat out.  This recipe originally came from a recipe card a grocery store was giving out...sorry I can't remember which one.  I also don't have nutrition information on this, but maybe someone with a nutrition calculator can figure it out for us. 

I usually buy the frozen veggies at Costco in their frozen foods section.  I've had good luck finding inexpensive honey mustard or brown mustard at dollar stores are as a generic brand.  I also buy the chicken ahead on sale and freeze it in single meal portion quantities.

Mustard Chicken

Cook: 2 cups brown rice in rice cooker or on stove.

Cook:1 lb. Chicken breast, cut up with water or a little oil in frying pan.  (I usually start with a little oil to cook the chicken and add a little water to help cook the veggies.

Add: 1 pkg. Frozen stir fry vegetables. Cook until thawed and tender-crisp.

Separately combine:
1/4 cup Dijon mustard (We always use honey mustard or brown deli mustard.  We never have dijon on hand to use.  We've used regular yellow mustard.  It can work, but we don't like it as well.)
2 tbsp. Chicken broth (can add 1/2 tsp. Chicken bouillon instead)
1 tsp. Cornstarch. (I usually add more like a tablespoon, especially if you've added a bit of extra water to cook the veggies and/or chicken.)  Stir into cooked vegetable and meat mixture. Heat until thick and bubbly. Add a little water or more mustard/cornstarch mixture until sauce is desired consistency.

Add: 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts (optional)

Serve over cooked rice.

Leftover Soup

Here's a quick and healthy soup recipe. You can use the basic recipe or add all kinds of leftovers.
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
1 cup barley, rinsed
1 14.5-oz can low-sodium diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil, black pepper
1 cup water
plus leftovers (see below)

Begin by sautéing some vegetables:
Heat oil in a heavy pot on medium high and sauté onion for 4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add carrot and celery and sauté 2-3 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until barley is tender, about 35-40 minutes.

10 minutes before completion, add leftovers, heat through and serve.

As you can see, I added a leftover chicken breast (diced before it went into the soup) and some garbanzo beans. Other suggestions include any cooked lean meat or low-fat sausage, two cups fresh or cooked veggies. You might have something yummy tucked into the freezer that you could add to the soup--the possibilities are really pretty unlimited.

Sorry...I forgot to take a photo of the finished product! But it was yummy. Many servings for just the two of us--we ate it for leftovers at lunch and suppers for several days...but it was good every time! By the 2nd or 3rd day it was getting pretty thick, so I added some more chicken broth then.

Nutrition info: per serving, based on the recipe before adding leftovers: 192 calories, 9g protein, 33g carbohydrate, 4g fat, 1g sat fat, 2g mono fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 8g fiber, 99g sodium.

This recipe comes from the "Northwest Guide to Heart-Healthy Living" from Providence Heart and Vascular Institute.