Sighs Contentedly

WHAT CAN I SAY about my Easter meal?   Just have a look:

The salmon came out just right – not over-cooked and still moist.  The dill was the perfect thing to season it with.  The deviled eggs were slightly dry and crumbly but still satisfied my craving for them.  They weren’t heavy at all, so I ate three — three halves, not three whole eggs.   The asparagus was al dente; the sweet potatoes were, well, sweet.   When that bottle of maple syrup runs out, it will be the last of two I brought back from Toronto.  What ever will I do then? 

I threw the asparagus stems into a pot with vegetable broth, garlic, white onion, carrot, and cauliflower, plus a little cracked pepper and sea salt, to make a nice soup base for later.

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Take My Salad, Please!

I’ve eaten this salad three times today – what is wrong with me?!   I have to say it is very satisfying – made of spring greens, spinach, carrots (not baby ones either!), red bell pepper, white onion, zucchini, balsamic vinegar.   And, oh my goodness, I found some good organic salsa at Target:  Archer Farms Organic Chipotle Picante-Style Salsa.   So good with my blue corn flaxseed chips, which also happen to be organic.  Yay, for Archer Farms!   

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Focus, People, Focus!

As tedious as it may be, I’m going to record my eating plan for this week.   I was on this plan for three weeks, then the last few days have been a bit chaotic in the kitchen.  Time to get back to the original plan:

Breakfast –  Omelet with veggies, coffee with a tiny bit of sugar

Morning Snack – Apple or pear with cinnamon and nuts

Lunch – Soup and salad

Afternoon Snack – Same as morning snack

Dinner – Chicken or soup and cooked veggies

There!  Now that’s simple enough – who couldn’t follow that?   And tonight I will report to you about my exercise. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, a delicious cup of coffee is calling my name.

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What a Great Morning!

I ran out to Native Roots Market, our fantastic local health food market, for some locally made bread.  They had a loaf called “Wholly Granola” and holy, holy, holy . . . this stuff is amazing!   It’s a very dense bread made with multiple whole grains, including untreated wheat, barley, millet, rice, oats, guinoa, and then the yummy stuff — pecans, walnuts, raisins, raw honey.   MMMmmm-mmmm.

Since I’m not going to eat much bread, I’ve divided the loaf into individual freezer bags, 4 slices per bag, with 16 slices total for the freezer, and I’ve kept 4 more slices out for this week.  I had two little “heel” slices with my breakfast this morning, just plain and untoasted and with no butter or topping.    You can see in the pics how delish this bread looks, and it tastes just like you would imagine, with the surprise of a raisin ever so often, maybe 2 per slice. 

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A New Healthy Low-fat Soup Recipe

I had a closer look at the Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup recipe from Cooking Light and changed several things about the recipe.   I cooked my version of it tonight and it was great!   The aromas were magnificent while it simmered and I couldn’t have asked for a better tasting soup.   Try it yourself!  Here’s my revised recipe:

3 medium chicken breasts, baked

48 oz. chicken broth

2 (16 oz.) cans white beans

1 (4 oz.) can green chiles

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T. white onion, chopped

2 T. dried oregano, crushed

2 t. cumin seed

Salt & pepper to taste and fresh cilantro for topping

Pour the chicken broth into a dutch oven.  Shred the chicken breasts and add to the broth.  Add the rest of the ingredients except for the salt, pepper, and cilantro.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the onions are clear.  Then salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot with pieces of cilantro on top.

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