Where does the time go?

(arriving home from the hospital)

(a year later)

It seems like just yesterday I was holding my newborn in my arms , staring at him in dis-belief, just as I had done twice before with my girls. Where did the time go? How did he start crawling so quickly? Did he get his 1st tooth earlier than my girls?Is he eating solids sooner?Is he trying to accomplish more sooner than they did in order to catch up with them? How do I have so much love in my heart to love them all equally? Why do I want to cry when my kids get hurt(but can't)?How can my son melt my heart with one little smile? Or make my heart skip a beat with a simple, slobbery kiss? Where did the time go? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was up all night...wanting and needing sleep so desperately? Wasn't it just yesterday when we brought him home and shared him with our family and friends?

Maybe I'm just being sentimental...or over sensitive because I know that he is my last baby. Actually, I think I'm being more appreciative. Thankful that I have 3 healthy and happy children and enjoying each and every moment with them. Sharing my heart and soul with them,being silly with them and having fun with them. Realizing that they are unique individuals, with their own thoughts and desires and their own personalities.May I continue to be Inspired to teach them all that I can and watch them find themselves and encourage them to do so. My job is simply to Nurture them and most of all LOVE them unconditionally.

May the next year be exactly as it should.

8 Minute Veggie Pasta

The key to keeping all those delicious carbs in your diet is 

(1) fiber-dense whole grain bread or pasta 

(2) adding more veggies to the meal than pasta or bread

(3) portion control.

For me, this means pre-measuring everything.  But it works, and I get to eat pasta, so I'm not complaining.  Especially when I get to eat this:

8 Minute Veggie Pasta

I know when you think peas, broccoli and pasta, you think of heavy cream sauce. But if you use tomato sauce instead, you get an unexpectedly delicious dish with lower calories & fat, along with loads of nutrition.  Oh, and this is a great way to get your kids to eat their veggies...Sammy gobbled up his and begged for more!

For each serving:

3/4 c dry whole grain pasta

1/2 c fresh or frozen peas

1 1/2 c fresh or frozen chopped broccoli 

splash veggie broth

1 t. chopped garlic

2 T. fresh grated Parmasean cheese

1/2 c tomato sauce

While pasta is boiling, sautee the veggies with a little EVOO and veggie broth.  After 2 minutes, add the tomato sauce and put a lid on the veggies (heat on medium-low.)

Drain pasta when al dente, toss with the veggie sauce and add a bit of grated cheese.

YUM!

Veggie Not-fried Rice

I've started altering old recipes to make them healthy.  As I've no doubt mentioned several times, my husband is a chef.  A darned good one too.  Case in point: he makes an incredible pork fried rice the day after he roasts a pork loin.  It's better than any restaurant version I've ever tasted.  The pork is flavorful and juicy, the rice is fluffy, the veggies are crisp and the egg is cooked like an omlette and then diced so you get a piece in every bite.  It's loaded down with soy sauce and fried in canola oil.  WOW.

 But I'm veg now, and I'm not eating white rice and not frying foods.  So what do to when the fried rice mood strikes?  CREATE MY OWN RECIPE.  Here's what I came up with.  It's big on veggies and flavor, low on fat and empty carbs.  It's veg, but I'm sure pork, chicken or shrimp would be a delicious edition for those carnivoires out there.

Meg's Veggie Not-fried Rice

1 cup rice (I use 1/2 c brown, 1/2 c red Thai)

1 T chopped garlic

1/2 small chopped onion

1 c sliced carrots

2 c pea pods

2 large eggs

low-sodium Soy Sauce 

Rice Wine Vinegar

Method: cook rice to package directions.  The combo of red Thai and brown takes 3 1/2 c of liquid and about 40 mins to cook.  During the last 5 minutes of cooking, place veggies in a microwave dish, cover with water and nuke for 5 minutes, until tender-crisp.  Beat the eggs with salt & pepper to taste.  When the rice is done,  add Soy Sauce and the vinegar to taste, while keeping the flame on medium low.  Add a t. of olive oil and stir.  Add the egg, stirring quickly so it cooks evenly and incorporates into the rice.  This will give the rice a creamy texture.  Once the egg is absorbed, add your veggies and toss/fold to combine.  Plate up and add extra soy, vinegar or hot sauce to your taste.

Roasted corn, pepper & egg scramble

We have 12 inches of snow and are in hibernation mode over here in Sam Land.  Literally, it's 12 noon and we're still in jammies.  I wanted to make something FAST for breakfast, but in light of my new-found dedication to health in the new year (hello! the AWBC is only 6 months away!) I wanted to make something good for me and Sam (since he always eats what I do.)  I rummaged around in the fridge and freezer and came up with this in about 5 minutes.

Roasted corn, pepper & egg scramble **

For 1 large serving (to be split w/ a toddler) or 2 small servings with toast:

2 large eggs (broken and scrambled in a bowl w/ a little salt)

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 c corn (frozen is fine)

1 t garlic, chopped

handfull of shreaded cheese

PAM or other non-stick spray

Coat skillet w/ Pam, then put on medium-high heat.  If your corn is frozen, put it in the pan first w/ 1 T of water and let it thaw.  Then add the garlic & pepper w/ some S&P to taste.  Cook long enough to get some color on the pepper and corn (I like them carmelized!), then add your egg.  Stir around and just before the egg is set, sprinkle on some cheese.  We used moz because that's what we had in the house and it was delicious!

** if you had more time than I did, you could remove the veggies when cooked, and make the egg into a formal omlette, then add the veggies & cheese and fold over.

Per serving: approx 200 cal (depending upon your egg size), 13 g carb, 18 g protein, 12 g fat, and 2 g fiber.

Oh, and did you spy my fabulous Breast Cancer mug in the picture?  Just another reminder of the upcoming AWBC in June.

Best soup ever!

I know I should be posting a holiday recipe today, but I simply HAD to share this quick, easy and DEEE.LISH.US soup with you.  Its from my friend Christine, over at Five Gems.  Christine is a super-busy mom of 5 amazing kids, ranging from 1 to 18 years!  Christine and her husband work very hard to feed their children the healthiest meals possible and the whole family is veg (by choice.)  I tweaked this recipe a bit, because I used what I had in the house at the time.  Please tweak it yourself and let me know the results!

Chickpea & Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

For 4 servings:

2 cans fire roasted tomatoes, undrained (use whatever you have in the house -- I used tomatos w/ green chilies)

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 onion, chopped

1 T garlic, chopped

16 oz broth (chicken or veg)

Herbs/seasoning to your taste **

Sautee the garlic & onion in some EVOO over medium-high heat until the onion is translucent.   Add all other ingredients, and turn the heat down to low.  Stir, and lid, and put the timer on for 20 minutes.  IF you want your soup spicy, add your seasonings now.  If you want it milder, add them at the end.

After 20-odd minutes, turn off the heat.  If you want a creamier soup, blend w/ a hand blender or in your food processor.  I actually added some quinoa with all the ingredients and cooked for 30 minutes.  It thickened the soup (which I then blended) and added grains so I had a complete meal in one bowl.

I did the cost breakdown and the soup is $0.60/serving without quinoa and $0.80 with the quinoa.  Calories are 188/serving for the quinoa type.  
The next day I had it with some tortillas w/ melted cheddar cheese and WHOA MAMA was that good!

**Christine used Indian spices, but I used Ethiopian (Berber) and it was fantastic.  Spicy! but fantastic.

Leafy greens are your friend

On my never-ending journey to better nutrition and health, I've discovered leafy greens.  Specifically "dark" leafy greens.  These guys are POWERHOUSES of nutrients, and shockingly low in calories.  Oh, and they fill you up like nobody's business.  When I eat 4 cups raw (cooked down to 1 1/2 cup) I barely have room for the rest of my meal. 
I get the bag of mixed greens (collard, turnip, mustard) or a large bunch of kale (yes, I said kale, don't be afraid!); whichever is on sale at the store that particular week. 
The first thing you should know about these beauties is you DO NOT need to boil/steam or otherwise, pre-cook them before your sautee.  Its unnecessary and will leech out some of your yummy vitamins.
Here's how I cook them (same method as my other fav: red and napa cabbage!)

Leafy Greens with Garlic
4 cups of greens, washed, patted dry & stems removed
1/2 t. chopped garlic
1-2 glugs EVOO
1/4 c chopped onion (any kind), if you have it around
Chili powder to taste
S&P to taste

Add your oil to a med-high skillet.  NEVER add oil to a cold pan.  Sautee your onions & garlic a minute or so.  If you don't have garlic, you can use garlic powder.  If it's salted garlic powder, just omit the salt later on.  Add your greens, 1 cup at a time.  Turn heat down to medium.  Stir quickly to avoid burnt greens.  You may add some veg or chicken broth (just a bit) if you don't have enough oil to keep the greens from sticking.  Keep adding greens as they cook down.  When adding the last bit of greens, turn your heat off, add chili powder, S&P, and put the cover on your pan.  Let sit for 2-5 minutes.

I like to have greens w/ tofu & a 1/2 sweet potato.  I find the savory and sweet flavors really compliment each other.

Do you have a favorite healthy veg recipe?  Please share it.  either post in comments or post a link to your blog posting.

Baby it's cold outside: Slow-cook Chili

With the chilly fall weather we’ve been having in Chicago, I’ve been doing a lot of crock-pot cooking, specifically: chili. I make different types of chili, depending upon the ingredients I have on hand. I rarely, if ever, purchase something specifically FOR chili; rather, I just pull things out of the pantry and freezer. If I have dry beans on hand, I’ll use those (make sure you sort, soak and rise before using.) However, the majority of the time, I use canned beans.

If you can open a can, you can make homemade chili. It’s that simple, really. Chili is cheap & filling. Make a large vat: it freezes well. I think it’s better the second day, so we always have chili 2 nights in a row.


Slow-cook Chili
**Adjust amounts depending upon the crock-pot or stove-top pot you’ll be cooking in. These amounts are approximate for my 4 qt crock-pot.


1 15 oz can pinto beans or other white bean cannellini (white kidney) are nice too.
1 15 oz can black beans or other dark bean, like red kidney.
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes. Flavored tomatoes are fine, and Rotel would be good.
1 small can diced green chilies (optional)
1/2 t. chopped garlic
1 small or medium sized onion, chopped

½ lb ground meat. We have tried beef, chicken, pork, pork sausage and soy chorizo.
Salt & pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste (could substitute paprika + red chili flakes + extra cumin.)
Ground cumin to taste (this gives it a smokey flavor.)

I make this in the crock-pot, but you could make it in a heavy pot on the stove too. I don’t brown the meat at all, I literally throw everything but the spices in the pot, turn on low, and walk away for 3-4 hours. If it cooks down too much, add some more beans or tomatoes, depending on whether you like a thicker or thinner chili. About ½ hour before serving, add your spices to taste. Remember that if you use red chili flakes, the longer you cook with the flakes in, the hotter your chili will be, due to the oil in the flakes (source of heat.) Feel free to use one of those chili seasoning packets, if you don’t like to mess around with spices “to taste.” If I have room in the pot, and corn in the freezer, I add some frozen corn in the last 1/2 hour.

We serve chili with grated cheddar cheese on top. Sometimes with a bit of sour cream and tortilla chips on the side. I also like extra green chilies on mine.
Enjoy & have a great weekend!

Foodie Friday: Applesauce

 

I tend to say "too many apples, too little time" this time of year.  I make applesauce and pies.  I LOVE making pies.  I'll post my carmel apple pie recipe soon, promise.  But today I want to share something so easy it's pathetic.  Once I started making sauce I could not believe I had been purchasing it for too many years.  Sam likes chunky sauce and so do we.  We also like tart sauce, but you can make it sweet; just adjust the apples you use and/or

add brown sugar (which I find superior for apples over white sugar.)
Apple sauce can be made on top of the stove or in your crock pot.  I prefer the crock because I don't have to stir and just load it up at night and have sauce in the morning.  I usually do this on a Friday night so I can cool and store the sauce Saturday morning (wouldn't be able to do this on a weekday.)  This year, instead of just quart freezer containers (sauce is good for up to a year in the freezer) I'm doing 4 oz containers as well, because that's perfect Sammy and/or snack size.

EASY-PEASY HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE
Choose the apples to your taste.  I use a mix of Gala & Granny Smith.  But Fuji, Red Delicious and Pink Lady make great sauce as well.
Peel, core & slice enough apples to come almost all the way up in your pot or crock.
Add enough water to prevent sticking.  In my 4 qt crock, this is just about 1/4 c. You have to watch and add more water if you are using the stove top method, but just cover and walk away if you are using your crock pot.
*Cover and set crock on low for up to 7 hours, or on high for 2-3, until apples are smooshy OR
*Cook in a heavy pot on the stove (cover on) on low-medium for 2-4 hours, stirring and adding more water as needed.
When apples are smooshy, you can stir & smash for chunky sauce, or cool and put in the blender for smooth sauce.  Add cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg or whatever combo you like, to taste.  Add brown sugar in SMALL amounts if you desire a sweeter sauce. 
I promise you'll love this sauce more than anything you purchase at the store AND you'll save money.  Right now you can usually get a 10lb bag of apples for $10... I made 2 batches in my 4 qt crock, using approx 9 lbs of apples, which yielded about 6 1/2-7 qts of finished sauce.

If you want that fancy-schmancy sauce w/ additional fruits, add those (thawed frozen or fresh) in the last 1 hr of cooking.  Peaches and pears are particularly good.
ENJOY!

Foodie Friday Guest Blogger: Hidden Pumpkin Cupcakes

From our friend Gretchen.  She is a busy working mom with both home-grown children and a lovely girl born in Ethiopia.  She is raising healthy/happy children and has a surprisingly healthy cupcake recipe that both kids and grown-ups will love.  I thought it would be perfect for Halloween!
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Hidden Pumpkin Cupcakes



1 cake mix (I like Devil's Food best)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup water
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips


Mix together and pour into greased or papered cupcake pan. Bake @350 for about 20 minutes. Top with FF Cool Whip. I can usually get 24 medium cupcakes or 12 giant ones.

Medium cupcakes are 2 Weight Watcher pts.
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Experiment with this quick and easy recipe.  I think Spice cake mix with butterscotch chips instead of the chocolate chips would be fantastic.  Hmm, I might just have to make some this weekend. 
Happy Halloween everyone!

Foodie Fridays Guest blogger: Butternut Squash Soup

This is a great fall recipe from our friend Seaweed Snacks.  It's quite low in fat and high in beta-carotene which = super healthy for you and your family.
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Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash skin and seeds removed, chopped into cubes
4 cups stock
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 onion chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
juice of a lime
1 tbls. olive oil

I use an immersion blender to make this soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, then you can pour the soup into a blender after it has been cooking about 40 minutes. Make sure you put a dish towel on top of the blender lid to prevent burning yourself while blending.
Return to soup pot and cook for 30 minutes more.
This is a really basic recipe. You can add things....like vanilla seeds, roasted peppers or leeks. Crumble goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes on top. Oh that would be good.
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Fall cooking: your crock pot is your friend

To be a hot mama, you need some time for yourself, and that means finding creative TIME SAVING ways to care for your family.
Gearing up for Foodie Fridays, saving time makes me thing about my  CROCK POT. 
Steaming veggie soups, thick stews, pasta dishes, and the list goes on and on.  Crock pots equal HEALTHY FAST meals for your family. Because crock pots cook with low-constant heat from all sides, no oil is needed, so it's a great way to cook tender meats without the fat. It also allows you to throw a couple ingredients in in the morning, and have a hot & tasty meal at night, with NO EFFORT.  Being busy moms we can use all the help we can get, right?  Try bulk cooking in a crock pot, freezing the meal in portions for use during the week. 
Although I should use it year-round (and have friends who do) I usually only use it during the fall/winter.  I make a mean 3 bean chili and a great Ethiopian stew.  I'll post those recipes in the future, I promise.
Today, to gear up for the weekend, I wanted to direct you to Stephanie O'Dea's blog: A year of Crock Pot Cooking.  Stephanie did an experiment, using her crock pot everyday for a year;  and wrote a cookbook about it.  This posting, has a link to healthy recipes including some killer soups and stews.   Remember, because of the slow heat and need for liquid, crock pot cooking is virtually fat free.  Most of the healthy recipes you make for your family now can be made in the crock pot.  When I'm using my trusty 'ol crock, I prep any veggies the night before, then just add the ingredients to the pot in the morning before work and cook on the lowest setting all day long.  When I come home at night, our dinner is READY, with lots of leftovers to spare.
So get creative, pull out the dusty crock pot (because we ALL got them as wedding presents, right?), and make an easy/fast/healthy meal for your family this weekend. 
Some suggestions: chop up leftover chicken/beef/pork, add your favorite root veggies, water and some broth and slow cook a delicious soup.  Or, throw some canned beans in with canned tomatoes, onion, beef/chicken/pork/tofu, spices and make a mean chili.  I even know a mom who makes "baked" pasta dishes (put the pasta in dry) and Mexican fare.
On Monday, I want to hear all about your delicious crock pot masterpiece!