Most of us don't get gold medals for the work that we do on a daily basis. I will go as far as to say that moms know this truth better than most. The mundane, routine tasks that mothers perform every single day to keep her children healthy and her home functional, often go unnoticed and unappreciated. The endless loads of laundry, the countless number of meals and snacks that she prepares and the piles of dishes that she washes are just the tip of the iceberg. I don't say all of these things because I'm looking for some sort of recognition - I simply want to encourage the mom's out there who are in the depths of parenting at this moment. You ARE appreciated. Repeating any task over and over again can make it seem ordinary and routine. Try and remember the very first time that you had to change a diaper on your newborn baby. I imagine that it was a challenge at first and it took time before you successfully mastered the skill. And just when you thought you had mastered the skill of diaper changing, you were forced to change your baby on an airplane or even on a subway train. And just when you felt like you got the knack of diaper changing away from home - your baby started to crawl and you had to learn the skill of diapering a baby while on the move. It seems weird to talk about diaper changing on my FOOD blog but it perfectly describes how doing anything over and over again can make it routine but adding a new challenge to that ordinary task can make it exciting again. The same principles apply to my cooking techniques. Cooking an egg every day for breakfast can get really boring but figuring out a new way to cooking it or new ingredients to add to it, makes it more challenging and more exciting. Stirring some green chilies or black beans into my scrambled eggs in the morning makes breakfast way more interesting than eating a plain old hard boiled egg. There are a lot of things that I have to do every day that really are routine and boring. Even though there's nothing special or rewarding about straightening my comforter and fluffing my pillows, it's something that I feel is important to do everyday. So I straighten and tighten and fluff and plump to make my bed look neat and tidy. There are plenty of things that I do everyday that I would consider mundane but cooking does not have to be one of those things. My kitchen is the place where I get to be creative and challenged and free to break out of the routine of the day. I love to experiment with new ingredients, recipes and techniques because it makes the daily task of preparing dinner - exciting. Spice up your dinner routine with this recipe for Santa Maria Grilled Sirloin. Santa Maria Grilled Sirloin 4 Tablespoons paprika 3 Tablespoons brown sugar 2 Tablespoons chili powder 1 Tablespoon garlic powder 1 Tablespoon white pepper 1 Tablespoon celery salt 1 Tablespoon cumin 1 Tablespoon oregano 1 Tablespoon pepper 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon ground mustard 2-3 pound sirloin roast 2 cups hickory wood chips 2 Tablespoons canola oil
Slice. I love the versatility of a sirloin roast. I served this roast with vegetables, rolls and baked potatoes on the first night and then I served it with tortillas as fajita meat the second night. I also served it to Ben on top of lettuce as a gourmet steak salad for lunch. I got a lot of milage out of this one roast - this is my kind of recipe.
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Do you love to grocery shop? I know it sounds weird but I really do enjoy spending an afternoon at the grocery store. Cruising up and down endless aisles of pantry staples and weaving in and out of giant bins filled with fresh produce in search of the perfect ingredients. I get strangely energized by grocery shopping. I feel accomplished when I have a cart full of raw ingredients - a cart full of endless possibilities - a cart full of deliciousness. Based on the recent popularity of meal delivery services, I'm guessing that not everyone enjoys grocery shopping as much as I do. I recognize that it's entirely possible to make delicious, homemade meals at home without ever stepping into a grocery store but personally, I think that you're missing out on some of the fun elements of meal preparation if you get all of the ingredients delivered. Even though I normally look forward to going to the grocery store, I admit that grocery shopping doesn't ALWAYS bring me joy. When the store is so crowded that I can barely get my cart up and down the aisles, when I'm in a hurry and I have to find an ingredient immediately or when I am in a completely unfamiliar store where I don't know where to find anything, I find it a frustrating experience. Normally, I go to the grocery store armed with a list of ingredients that I need to buy in order to make the meals that I have planned. I'm not much of an impulse buyer unless it comes to amazingly fresh produce or Halo Top ice cream. LOL I'm kind of obsessed with sticking to my list so that I don't end up with a bunch of groceries that I don't really need. The only problem with that is that it makes it harder for me to pull together an unplanned meal with pantry staples. Just the thought of "unplanned meals" gives me anxiety but let's face it, we all have to pull together a meal at the last minute at some time or another. Flour, sugar, yeast and oil are things that are ALWAYS stocked in my pantry and if I'm really lucky, I have leftover cheese and pizza sauce too. Impromptu pizza nights are the best. Making personal pizzas is a great way to use up leftover cheese and veggies but its also a great way to share the dinner responsibilities with my family. Personal Grilled Pizza 1 cup white flour 2 cups whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon yeast 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 1/4 cup warm water Marinara Sauce Mozzarella Cheese Fresh Basil
Return to grill and cook 2-4 minutes until cheese is melted. I'm not always a fan of ordering pizza at a restaurant because it usually comes loaded with more cheese and toppings than I like. I guess I'm somewhat of a minimalist when it comes to pizza. I prefer pizza with very little sauce, just a scattering of cheese and just a few choice vegetables. I'm more of a crust fan than a pizza fan really. At least this personal pizza crust is made with whole wheat flour.
Ciao! It's January and like many of you - I'm trying to eat just a little healthier in 2019. In order to help me make better food choices, I started counting my macros. It's basically a way of counting the grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates that I consume in a day. It's a little more involved that just counting calories but I feel like it gives a more accurate picture of my daily nutrition. Everyones macro needs are a little different and as far as I can tell, the calculations that are used to estimate macros, vary quite a bit as well. It took me a little time but I finally managed to calculate my macros and based on my dietary needs. I'm shooting for 18% fat, 37% protein and 45% carbohydrates in my diet. I don't have aspirations of eating every single meal according to my macros but I do think it will be interesting to see where I'm falling short as a whole. Am I getting too many of my calories from carbohydrates like sugar or am I falling behind on my protein consumption? As part of my healthier eating plan for 2019, I made a giant pot of homemade ramen soup. What could be easier than warming up a bowl of this delicious soup for lunch when I'm in a hurry? It's warm and hearty and super satisfying on cold January days. One bowl of this delicious soup has 110 calories, 4 grams of fat, 18.8 grams of carbohydrates and 7.8 grams of protein. I used the recipe calculator on the My Fitness Pal app to calculate the exact nutritional components of my homemade ramen soup. This soup is made up of 13% fat, 27% protein and 60% carbohydrates. I've got to say, this soup is pretty darn close to my macro goals. No man or woman in the world has the time to calculate the fat, protein and carbs for every single thing that goes into their mouth throughout the day. As much as I'd like the idea of being able to track all of my macros on a daily basis, let's face it - that's not going to happen. I rely on My Fitness Pal to help me estimate my calories and my macros and as long as I take the time to enter the food that I eat into the app, it does an excellent job of calculating my daily nutrition. I'm not sure what is more challenging - sticking to my macro plan or remembering to enter my food into the fitness app. Homemade Ramen
Serve with a half of a boiled egg. I need to hear from my readers who are experienced macro counters. What are your tips for making it easier? Which apps do you use to help you keep track? I'm new to this whole macro counting world and I need all the help and support that I can get. The only reason that I didn't add the kale to my ramen soup is that I didn't have any. (And I didn't want to make another trip to the store.) I do think that it would boost the nutritional content even more without adding additional calories so I am already looking forward to making another pot of ramen - WITH kale next time.
Ciao! Happy New Year!!Anyone else feel like they need a sugar detox after overindulging over the holidays? I normally do a complete pantry clean out during the first week of the new year to get rid of all the excess sugar in the house but quite honestly, there isn't a whole lot of sugar left for me to throw away today. Apparently, I was anxious about the impending sugar pillage because I consumed all of the sugar last month without leaving anything to chance. Obviously, I'm in need of a sugar detox now more than ever. It's not going to be easy but I'm ready. A few months ago I decided to go cold turkey and completely eliminate sugar from my diet. It was kind of a disaster. I was grumpy, irritable and I craved sugar 24/7. You can ask my family - they'll attest to the fact that I (and consequently everyone else) was miserable. This time, I'm taking a more reasonable approach. My plan is to reduce my ridiculous consumption of white sugar and replace it with smaller amounts of more natural sweeteners like maple syrup and molasses. My plan is to trick my brain into thinking that I I don't need sugar by eating lots of foods with big, bold flavors. This Apple Walnut Quinoa Salad is really tasty and the touch of maple syrup in the dressing adds just enough sweetness to satisfy my overactive sweet tooth. Apple Walnut Quinoa Salad Dressing 1/3 cup olive oil
Whisk together dressing ingredients. Combine salad ingredients in large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat. Did you do a pantry clean out this week? What things did you throw away? What did you buy at the grocery store to replace the things that you threw away? Send me a comment with your thoughts.
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