Category Archives: cooking

Food! And Holidays

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Growing up I had an Italian-American Grandfather, and two Polish-American Grandparents on my dad’s side.  Holiday’s were about church and FOOD.  Christmas may have belonged to my Italian Grandfather, but Easter, that belonged to my Polish Grandmother.

Kielbasa, Pierogis, Ham, Golabki, and on and on until you are really full.  Oh, and then candy, you cannot forget the candy.

My grandparents are all gone now, and if you have read any of my earlier posts, you know I am not exactly a chef.  I do try to carry on some traditions.  Right now my girls are grown and on their own, and I do not have any Grandchildren yet, so Easter is a quiet holiday for us.  I decided this year to make Easter dinner.  This is not the first time I have made Easter dinner, but today I am thinking about the foods of my childhood.  I am on a diet, so any excuse to think about food seems reasonable.

I cannot make the labor intensive foods like pierogis and golabki, but I can make a ham, and grill up some kielbasa.  Also, deviled eggs were always around on this holiday, guess they needed to do something with all of those dyed eggs, and they are easy enough to make.

I see a Monday morning workout in my future.  I intend to enjoy every nostalgic bite.  Maybe even a peanut butter egg for dessert.

Happy Easter!

Feed Me Seymore

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Here I am again, thinking about all of the healthy meals I could prepare and eat to help me lose weight.  However, I HATE cooking.  To lose weight, I need to eat well and exercise.  The exercise, no problem.  Eating well, that is the hard part.  Not because healthy options are not available, but because healthy options require prep.

I know that whining about cooking is ridiculous.  But, I want you to think of the thing that you like doing the least, more than anything else. That is how much I dislike cooking.

There are a lot of prepared low-calorie foods available.  However, these foods do not satiate.  Also, I have Celiac disease, so many of these foods are off limits to me anyway.  This leaves me with whole food, requiring prep option.  This is the best way to eat, right?

Any suggestions for a good ingredients list out there that is healthy and easy to use to prepare meals?  What should I keep in my kitchen that I can throw together for a quick, healthy meal or snack?  You should know for the record that salads make me sad sometimes, so I do not want to eat just salads.  Whine over.

 

When cooking is not your thing

 

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Cooking is not my thing, I mean I really dislike doing it.  When I was not watching my weight it was easy, just eat whatever is handy, or order delivery, anything to not have to think about what to eat.  Now that I am trying to eat better and feel better, I have to think about what I eat, I have to put ingredients together in my head that will be healthy and filling.

I am going to share some of the things that I keep in my house, that keep me happy and out of the kitchen, well at least I am not in the kitchen for very long.  By no means is this list meant for everyone, but maybe it will spur you to find a few of your favorite things for your kitchen.  I would also like to state that not all of these things are healthy and natural, but they are not awful either and fit into my eating plan.

So, here goes –

  • White Corn tortillas – these are tasty, not a lot of calories, and keep for a very long time.  You can have them with breakfast, lunch or dinner
  • Jennie-O Turkey sticks – White breast turkey, 25 calories, cut them up in a salad.  Yummy!
  • Reduced fat string cheese – grab and go
  • Spring Mix and baby spinach – hundreds of things you can throw in it for a quick meal
  • A mix of Chard, Kale, and spinach or other greens for smoothies.  (Invest in a smoothie blender, I have a Ninja, totally worth it!)
  • Oscar Mayer Natural Turkey Breast – Tasty, low cal, and easy with just about anything
  • Pico de Gallo – everything already cut up and ready for you!  I do not have to cut onions, or peppers, or tomatoes.  Heaven!
  • Grated Romano Cheese – or Parmesan – whatever you like.  Delicious on salads, over meats, obviously with pasta.
  • Pasta – good go to in a pinch and just about everything I listed here can be added to pasta to make it better!
  • Bananas –  I love bananas 🙂  Pick another fruit if you do not like these, keeping any fruit on hand is good for a quick snack.
  • Rice Cakes
  • PB2 – for my rice cakes.  If you have not tried this powdered PB I recommend that you do.
  • Coffee –  I love coffee, more than I love bananas, it is a necessity.
  • Tuna – I always have a few pouches of tuna on hand.
  • Frozen Berries – they do not go bad and are great for smoothies

I keep a lot of other things also, spices, etc to use when making these, but looking at this list, I could make a weeks worth of meals and spend very little time in the kitchen.  Also, only using my stove top, never having to turn on my oven!

That is it.  Nothing new, or earth shattering here, but if, like me, you are cooking adverse, maybe you could think of some things to do with these ingredients.  I promise, just a few minutes from the kitchen to hiking, or shopping, or watching TV; anything other than cooking.

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