this little life of mine

Clean Eating: Turkey Pot Pie

 

This delicious low fat version of one of my favourite meals is from the November/December 2010 issue of Clean Eating magazine. I remember as a child I would get to have a steamy chicken pot pie fresh from the oven as a special treat. It wasn't homemade like this one, but a frozen dinner - probably Banquet brand - that came in its own little tin and had creamy chicken and veggies inside surrounded by a flakey crust outside. Despite seeing the steam pouring out of it when I broke the crust with my fork, I was unable to wait for it to cool down, and more often than not, burned my tongue on that first bite. Oh, that takes me back!

The Clean Eating version uses turkey instead of chicken (I'm sure you could use chicken if you wanted, but it was one of those "What to do with your leftover Thanksgiving turkey" recipes) and has a brown rice and parmesean cheese "crust".  It was pretty easy to make though there was a lot of prep work with all the peeling and chopping of carrots and turnips and onions,  and cutting the turkey breast into bite-sized pieces, and my stove/oven just takes longer to cook foods. Still, the final product not only looks wonderful but tastes amazing as well!

 

Clean Eating: Black-Eyed Pea Stew

This week's clean and healthy recipe comes from the March/April 2009 issue of Clean Eating magazine. Like last week's Salmon Corn Chowder, this is the first time I've tried this recipe and I'm wondering why?. It was super easy - just five ingredients! - and was a delicious vegetarian meal!

 
I've never had black-eyed peas or collard greens before and found both of them to be pretty darn tasty! The stew coulda used a little sprinklng of sea salt and fresh ground pepper - I totally forgot both of those things, and had used salt-free organic vegetable broth and diced tomatoes so there wasn't any salt in there at all! It was still pretty good, though and and the leftovers will make a yummy lunch tomorrow afternoon!

I'm really glad that one picture came out because right after that I tried to get a shot of the rest of the stew in the pot and totally dropped my camera in the stew! The camera still takes pictures, but the screen in the back is dead so I can't tell if I've turned off my flash or not, and can't tell if I'm on macro or not until I plug the card into a computer and check out the pics! Gah! I guess I'll be getting a shiny new toy for Christmas this year. Any suggestions on what my next camera should be? 

Tilapia Citrus Couscous Salad

The latest edition of the Clean Eating magazine arrived last week, and I was finally able to make one of the recipes from it for dinner tonight: The Tilapia Citrus Couscous Salad. It was super fast and easy to make and was really delicious. The only thing I would change would be to add more fish. The recipe called for either 4 small fillets or 2 large ones. I opted for the two large fillets, but really I think the recipe needs four large fillets to have enough fish to go with all the couscous.

Furlough Wednesday

Last week we had our second furlough Wednesday at SupCo (furlough days are the third Wednesday of every month and run through next June, I believe), and I worked a half day with the other half being used to visit a couple doctors. The morning was awesome: Shauna and I shifted files at our off-site storage space and did some loose filing out there while we were at it. It was (in my opinion) a good enough workout that I cancelled my trainer for the evening without an ounce of guilt!

When I finished my shift, I headed to the Rheumotologist's office to see what other options/tests/ideas he had regarding my nearly two-year-old battle with iritis and whatever underlying inflammatory issue is causing it to persist. He didn't have any other tests he wanted me to take and he still doesn't have any idea what could be causing my problem, but he said it was time to try a more aggressive approach: a prescription for methotrexate. Taking a medication in and of itself doesn't bother me - I'm quite despirate to get my broken eyeballs back to normal and not have to put drops in them every day or wonder if I'm going to wake up to a violent flare that renders me legally blind thankyouverymuch - but the list of possible side effects the doctor recited to me was a bit unnerving: nausea/vomiting, mouth sores, temporary hair loss, persistant cough or shortness of breath, liver damage (therefore absolutely NO alchohol for the six months to one year I'm taking this stuff), skin rashes ... gah! 

Would it sound at all pathetic if I said the one thing that bugged me the most was not being able to drink wine/martinis/Scotch/beer/other alcoholic beverages for six months to a year? Probably, yeah, but that's the one restriction that really bummed me out. Seriously, how am I supposed to eat a plate of nachos without a Top Shelf Margarita? Or watch a Packers game without a beer? Or celebrate the end of another workweek without a glass of wine on Friday night? So, I went to Novo to drown my sorrows in a plate of Caesar salad with grilled chicken and a glass of Talley Estate Chardonnay. It was delicious - the salad and the wine. Oh, vino! I will miss you!

Anyway, my other doctor appointment with the Opthamologist was okay. Nothing new really: eyeballs are pretty much the same; no better, but no worse, either. I told him about the new medication, how the side effects were kinda scary, and he told me he didn't know of anyone taking methotrexate who had too much trouble with it. That made me feel a little better and I left the office less upset about that. However, I was still disappointed that my eyes weren't any better than the last time I was in there, and I must admit I felt a little down about the whole situation.

And so I decided it was time for some Retail Therapy! I stopped at Old Navy first in search of two pair of cords - dark green, which I found, and dark brown, which I did not. I ended up with a couple blouses, a Packers T-shirt for me and a Huskies T-shirt for my mom, and two pair of jeans as well. Next I went to the new Forever 21 that just opened in the space once occupied by Gottschalks. I went in knowing I could only purchase accessories, but I still grew more depressed after I saw all the adorable, fun, cute, funky, totally awesome clothes they carry. None of which I fit into. But, then I got to thinking, hey, maybe some of the side effects of my new meds won't be so bad after all! Nausea and vomiting?* No alcohol? Sounds like a perfect weight-loss combination to me! I'll be fitting into these darling skirts and skinny jeans and bedazzled t-shirts in no time!

Then, just when I had decided to embrace the nausea and vomiting I might suffer with my methotrexate in order to fit into cute clothes, I saw it: Faith21! Plus sizes! Granted that section is less than 1/4 of the entire store, but still ... Forever21 has PLUS SIZEd CLOTHES! And they're not all hideous - there were some really cute things. I ended up buying a pair of plaid pants, a dark purple tank top and a cropped, grey cardigan sweater (totally cute outfit, btw), and a faux leather biker jacket. I was surprised and thrilled and started to feel much better!

And now, today (Friday) I actually feel a lot better. I'm starting the methotrexate on Sunday and am confident that it will clear up my problem and by next spring all will be right with my world! The power of positive thinking, right?

*Great Big Fat Ginormous Disclaimer: okay, so I'm really kidding here and DO NOT AT ALL think that bulimia is an intelligen way to lose weight, just in case you didn't get the sarcasm there. kthxbai.

The Fullbar Experiment

So, I heard about this Fullbar thing on TV a while back - it's a flavoured puffed wheat bar you eat with 8oz of water a half hour before a meal. Supposedly it makes you feel so full that you'll eat less, kinda like gastric by-pass surgery, but without all the cutting and changing the size of your stomach. In fact the creator of the bar is a bariatric surgeon who apparently wanted to help those of us not fat enough for surgery to lose weight.

Well, I found some of the bars at Long's Drugs recently, and yesterday I tried one before lunch.

 

It's pretty good taste-wise. I had the Cranberry Almond which also contained a lot of cinnamon and sunflower seeds along with the almonds, cranberries and puffed wheat. It did make me feel full - although to be fair, I should confess I had been snaking on strawberries, red grapes, a Kashi cereal bar and half a fresh (as in still warm and gooey!!) rice crispy treat throughout the morning, so I could easily been just as full from all that. But, I must say that I had all morning been planning on getting the special from the Cafe downstairs (pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw and fries), but felt so full by noon that I just heated up the Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer (Southwestern Style Chicken) meal I'd brought from home, and it took me the whole lunch hour to eat it, rather than wolfing it down in ten minutes like usual.

So, in conclusion, I guess this first Fullbar experiment wasn't a very good one. I will have to try it again, on an empty stomach this time, to see if it really fills me up. Stay tuned!

Here in Ohio

When I came out here to visit my friend Jewel I knew there was a distinct possibilty I would be doing a lot of reading and playing with kitties while she rested and recovered from the bi-lateral PE she suffered a couple weeks ago. I did not anticipate, however, spending most of my first day here with her in the ER. But I guess we never plan these things; they just happen.

She was in a lot of pain and after we had lunch and were browsing a warehouse furniture store for a comfy chair for her new house, she started feeling lightheaded and the pain was worse. She called her doctor and he told her to go get it checked out. So here we are: Jewel getiing blood tests and Xrays and scans, and me waiting to see if I get to drive her home tonight, or if she'll be admitted.

Thursday Thirteen: A Smoke-Free Entry

Today is the Great American Smoke Out– the day smokers are encouraged to quit smoking for one day. Years and years ago – it was either the first or second year of the Smoke Out, '77 or '78, I can't remember now – I asked my dad to please quit smoking just for one day. He did, and never smoked another cigarette in his life. He smoked a pipe occasionally, but not too often. I have no idea if it was hard for him to quit. He never complained to me anyway. Then again, I was a little kid, so he probably wouldn’t have complained to me anyway.

As for me, I foolishly started smoking at 16. I’ve quit off and of many times since then, but last Friday I quit for good. I mean it this time. I'm done with cigarettes. For reals. And, in celebration of quitting, I came up with a list of thirteen good reasons to quit smokingand to never smoke again:

1.     You’ll be healthier. It’s been proven that once you stop smoking, your lungs start to become healthier. Eventually, you will have lungs as good as a nonsmoker.

2.     The air smells fresher and cleaner.

3.     Food tastes better.

4.     You – your clothes, your hair, your breath - won’t stink.

5.     Your house – your carpets, sofas, draperies, etc. - won’t stink. And your walls won’t be discoloured either!

6.     Your car won’t stink – if you smoke in your car, that is. And there’s less chance of you starting a wildfire by throwing your cigarette out the window!

7.     You’ll be more active. I find I can do more cardio now with less wheezing and coughing than before.

8.     You’ll be prettier (or more handsome). No more nasty yellow nicotine stains on your fingers or your teeth!

9.     The world will be a better place without all the second-hand smoke polluting the air and all the nasty cigarette butts on the streets, beaches, parks, etc.

10.    You’ll sleep better. Fewer coughing fits waking you up at night!

11.    You’ll save money.

12.    More people will like you. I'm just guessing here, but there are more nonsmokers than smokers out there.

13.    One positive healthy change will lead to many more! Since I'm feeling so much better and feel empowered by kicking this bad habit, I'm going full force into losing weight!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

 

Since I'm still recovering from a nasty cold/flu-thing and my mom just suffered a relapse of the same thing, I decided to make some homemade chicken noodle soup for us. It was a lot of work - more work than I thought it would be - but it was all worth it because it was so good!

The recipe is out of my all-time favourite cook book Eating for Life by Bill Phillips. I love this cookbook for many reasons: first and foremost, there are tons of super easy, truly delicious recipes! I've tried nearly every recipe in this book at least once - some of them I've done many, many times (Just check out all the stickies in the picture below!). Second, I love the large, full-colour pictures of the finished dish. Most cookbooks just print the recipe and cooking instructions without a picture, but I really need a visual to decide if it's something I want to try. Third, another great visual that helps me out, is the picture of the ingredients included on some of the recipes, including the soup I made tonight. Here's what I mean:

 

And, finally, the best thing about this cookbook, is that every single recipe in it is 100% healthy! You don't have to lower the amout of salt or replace a fatty ingredient with a low-fat alternative, because it's already done for you. This book is a no-brainer, and that's what I like best about it!

Getting Adjusted

Last night I went to a chiropractor for the very first time ever in my life. Tonight I'm going back again.

You see, I ended up getting a free consultation after having some tests done at the guy's booth at the Health Fair last weekend (where I'd taken my mom and grandparents to get flu shots). According to his tests (which included standing with each foot on a different scale, and standing in front of a series of vertical coloured strings) I am 11 pounds heavier on my right side, and my spine and neck are seriously messed up. I figured, what the heck? I'll go in and see what he's got to say.

So, I went. He did a few more tests along my spine with electrodes or something, and came up with the computer equivalent of the coloured string test I'd taken previously. It seems my spine is curving slightly to the right (very likely caused by my incorrectly placed computer mouse at work; I just figured that out right now!), and my neck is a bit out of sorts as well. I also have a hump between my shoulders (which I already knew about, although I was previously told by another medical professional it was just a large lipoma, or fatty tissue tumour, whereas it's actually a "dowager's hump" - a bone-on-bone deformity - and NOT something that can be fixed with a little liposuction, dammit!), which we can't do anything about except work on preventing it getting worse.

Then I laid down on the table - and for those of you who've been to a chiropractor will know what I'm talking about - and he manipulated my spine, causing loud pops and snaps which were a little disconcerting, but not painful at all. Then I flipped over onto my back and he massaged and manipulated my neck, and before I knew it, he snapped it right then left - the latter causing not only a loud sharp SNAP, but also made my ears ring! Apparently this is a good thing all this popping and snapping - it means my vertebrae are getting put back into place. However, they won't likely stay that way, and I'll have to return for several more visits in order to correct the problems I already have.

I'm sure some of you are thinking I've been taken in by a quack, and maybe I have, but I've decided to go for it and see if anything can be done to fix the damage that years of poor posture have done. Who knows? Maybe I won't be as achy when I get up in the morning. Maybe I won't get as fatigued as I do now. Maybe I'll stand up straighter. We'll see.

November Resolutions

I actually forgot all about my October resolutions. I even had to back just now to see what I'd even resolved to do!  But, that doesn't mean I'm not going to try again in November! I am going to keep it simple, though in the hopes that I can actually accomplish them this time:

1. FinishNaNoWriMo.

2. Cook up healthy and hearty soups/stews/casseroles.

3. Hit the gym four days a week.

4. Drink more water.

Wish me luck!!