Simple Summer Supper

This is more a formula than a recipe. What follows is my usual way of preparing it, along with a few variations. It's low fat, meatless, high fiber but most importantly, YUMMY!

Ingredients (for 4 people; our family doubles it).

1 cup brown rice (prepare according to package directions)

1 can (15 oz) black (turtle) beans, undrained (heat in saucepan)
1 package baby spinach
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup ricotta cheese

Assembly:
Line meat platter or large shallow bowl with all the baby spinach.
Top with hot rice (spread it out over the spinach so it wilts)
Add cilantro to the black beans
Pour beans over rice
Place the ricotta cheese in dollops on the top
Garnish with cilantro

Variations:
White rice instead of brown

Marinated veggies: marinate cauliflower, carrots, bell pepper in vinaigrette; the veg go on top of the beans!

Boost the Veg:
Cook carrots and/or celery in the beans until done

Don't like ricotta?
Substitute Fat free sour cream

Top with green onions, as desired.
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A shout out to my friend Bruce who often served me something similar;  that was the origin of this!

Kraft "Homestyle" Macaroni and Cheese

Sometimes I am just a little snarky.  And frankly, some products are just asking for it.

I make homemade mac-n-cheese almost always.  I was raised on it and nothing in a box will do it for me.  Nonetheless, I have "normal" kids who also like the box stuff, so sometimes I buy it for them.  This week, I came home with the title product.  I probably would not have bought it, but I got it for free in a special.  So we tried it.

When I read the directions, I thought, "Hmmm, this sounds suspiciously like making white sauce."  When I opened the "special seasoning," it tasted a lot like flour.  Then I added the "cheese sauce."  I tasted it of course.  It tasted like a cross between Cheez Whiz and Velveeta.  The bread crumbs were dry, bland and apparently unseasoned.

Here is the thing, with the exception of using the "cheese product" instead of actual cheese, you are basically making homemade macaroni and cheese.  Most times when I make it, I top it with buttery cracker or bread crumbs and run it through the oven for a bit.  But if I'm in a hurry, I do it all stove-top like the aforementioned product. 

So I guess my real question is why anyone would buy this product and not just make homemade mac and (real)cheese?  And if you love the creaminess of processed cheese, you can always use velveeta for half the cheese.  It will not take any longer, I promise.  I spent more time trying to open the "easy open" sauce packet than I would grating the cheese! 

My homemade mac-n-cheese has 8 easy-to-pronounce ingredients:  Macaroni, skim milk, cheese, butter, flour, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper.  This "homestyle" product has at least 23 ingredients, including canola oil and several stabilizer, colors, and preservatives.  (I say "at least 23" because I am generously assuming their bread crumbs and macaroni are the same as my "at home" versions.

So please, people, do me a favor.  Do not buy this stuff.  We have to stand up for home cooking sometime!  And if you do not buy it, you will save money, come out even on calories, save or break-even on time and enjoy a savory dish made with love!  If you need a recipe, let me know.

A Wrench in the Works

I know, I've been quiet.  It's simple really, things got pretty busy around here and once again, I let myself fall to 7th on the list  I noticed about a week ago and course corrected. 

Anyhow, still slowly dropping weight.  I'm hoping now that Sunshine done with All-Stars softball, we won't be running around so much; that plays havoc with my plans.  I am setting a goal to lose 2 pounds in the next week and a half before we leave on vacation.  Then I will have a goal of maintaining while on vacation.

The good news?  After weeks of 100+ temperatures, fruit and veggies are really palatable.  I am totally loving the watermelon and salads these days.  And all this softball and toddler chasing is keeping me active.

I recommit to blogging; I sometimes forget I actually started the blog for myself to keep track of my learnings.  So there ya go!

Woo-hoo Friday! Tips, Tricks and Inspiration

Woo-hoo!  It's Friday!  As a stay-at-home mom, weekends are pretty much like all the other days  to me except we get to see a lot more of dear hubby.  I love Fridays, though, because that's the day I share with you my week's gleaning of tips, tricks and a little inspiration for your journey!

Since we are coming onto a holiday weekend in the US, we'll focus on that.

 First the Tricks:  Consider a plan to maintain for the holiday weekend.  If you are hosting or attending a holiday gathering -- especially one that spans a couple of days -- maintaining may be a more reasonable plan than weight loss.

Trick #2 is painstakingly obvious:  If you are contributing a dish or two to the holiday festivities, make it a guilt free one.   Take a giant salad, a fresh fruit salad,  Homemade Hummus with low-fat pita chips, or anything else you really love that is filling, fresh and easy on the waistline. 

Tip of the Day: 
Do you ever wonder about whether organic foods justify the cost?  Are you harming yourself or your family by buying "regular" produce?  The debate on these questions rages on but I have settled on a happy medium.  I carry with me a list of the produce most likely to contain harmful pesticides -- The Dirty Dozen -- as well as it's companion list, the cleanest fruits and vegetables, and it helps guide my decisions.  We all have to make a personal decision about these matters but this list helps me hit the middle ground.

Finally, The Inspiration of the Week.  I know from personal experience that teaming up can make weight loss more fun and successful.  I lost my first 45 pounds with dear hubby.  I am making the second half of my journey with my friend Tammy; we are succeeding together.  Here's a great story from Woman's Day about a married couple who underwent a huge transformation together.  Enjoy.

Happy 4th of July everyone.  I am grateful for the freedoms I enjoy and often take for granted.  Have a thankful holiday!

News of the Day - Schools - Arghhh

And now for something completely crazy!  If I had 2 million dollars to reform school lunch, how would I spend it?  I would hire extra staff to prepare fresh fruit, cook actual potatoes (not fries, hashbrowns or tater tots), and prepare food that is fresh and wholesome.  Here is how San Antonio Schools are spending the money!

 (Thanks to Weighty Matters for the news brief!)

A couple of years back, Jamie Oliver worked to reform the school dinner program in England.  There were news stories of parents standing outside the school-yard fence to hand their kids fish and chips.  Since then, people love to blame parents for the trouble with what kids eat at school.  I think that is a bunch of bologna.

I can tell you from my own experience of parenting children who have been parented by others that kids eat what you serve them.  At home, the kids are thrilled for a "snack" that is an orange, an apple, watermelon, carrots, or some baked good that is made from whole grains and little or no added sugar.  Yet when they were visiting weekly with their bio-mom, they were also thrilled with the french fries, soda and pastries she brought to the visits.  I am under no illusion;  if you put a pop-tart and an apple in front of my kids, they'd probably choose the pop-tart.  But if you give them a choice between an apple or melon, they do not say, "No, I want a pop-tart!"

School is a huge part of a child's life.  Why can't schools model healthy eating?  In fact, I daresay that if we do not redeem our school food programs, we will not defeat the obesity epidemic in this country.  I agree that children need choices.  But that choice can be between an apple and an orange, it does not have to be a choice of pastries. 

Yes, it will cost more, in the short term.  We have to be able to look at the long term.  What will be the cost of all the obesity related health issues and diseases our country is facing and that continue to expand exponentially year after year?  Get real, San Antonio!