3:08 pm

ever have those days?

This morning my sister left. She lived with my husband and me for the summer. We really got used to having her here, and it was hard to see her leave. It put me in a sad funk; I tried not to be like that but it happened. I went to get my engagement ring fixed, and apparently the company my husband bought it from 2 years ago is out of business nationally. Bummer. Now we will have to pay to fix it. It's disappointing but not that big of a deal, but I was really upset about it. It's just one of those days.

In the meantime, I made some good food over the weekend including pasta salad. I love pasta salad a lot but only occasionally, if that makes sense. I love pasta and then load it with veggies and it's super yummy. I used my mother-in-law's recipe:

Tri-color pasta
Diced green pepper
Celery
Carrots
Broccoli
Canned diced tomatoes
Black olives
Grated parmesan cheese
Italian dressing

*You can decide how you like the vegetables cut-- I prefer smaller bites
*Add as many of the veggies as you like just make sure it's proportionate to the amount of pasta you cook.

on the hunt

I'm job hunting. I have been searching for awhile now and have yet to find a match. I'm learning about being unemployed. It started out great. I had a lot of time to lay on the couch and watch TV and do nothing. Then I started to feel really lazy. Now I'm at the point of constantly trying to do important things to fill the time but not really accomplishing much it feels like. I always work best with deadlines and pressure and now I have neither, so I'm being quite unproductive.

But there's plenty to be done.

- My husband and I are contemplating putting our house up for sale. It's a great home and we love it so much but we need to be in another area. We are currently working/thinking/struggling with this.

- I have an RD exam to study for and pass!

- I have blogs to write.

- I have the rest of the summer to make the most of!


So now... I'm going to make brownies for an event tonight! But probably eat some of the mix.....

10:58 am

where did my love for meat go?

I used to eat a lot of meat. I used to eat red meat for most dinner meals in a week. For a long time I thought most entrees consisted of red meat--- ya, I was struggling. I didn't really know a lot about food or cooking or eating. Well, I knew how to eat but not how to eat good.

I never made a conscious effort to stop eating so much red meat; I just became more aware of cooking, recipes, and other options. Then as I learned more about nutrition I realized the benefits of not eating so much red meat. Did you know that a diet high in red meat can be an increased risk for developing certain types of cancers? Eating red meat is not a bad thing because it is a good source of iron and several vitamins, but it should be limited to less than 18 ounces a week & we need to choose leaner cuts!


In an effort to save money on our grocery bills, we started having vegetarian night intentionally one night a week (I say intentionally because I have vegetarian dinners probably half of the nights in a week). We still get protein-- from our beans! I am becoming a big fan of beans these days! And vegetarian night has been a lot of fun. Of course, most of the time, it consists of tortillas, cheese, beans, and salsa but we'll have to start branching out soon or we'll get tired of it.


My suggestion -- lay off the red meat a bit and give beans a try!










And no, not these kind of beans...




Picture Credits:

Mine (can you tell?)

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=401176

http://dialogue4health.ning.com/photo/beanspeasandlentilsposters-1?context=latest

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=257591

http://beckyandthebeanstock.com/?p=235

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/online_media/cpac_candy_coverage_pretty_sweet__152754.asp

cchini bread.

Is that a word? I hope it's not because if so, I have no idea what I just said. Today is my first attempt at making zucchini bread. I found a good-looking recipe, I have a giant zucchini from my neighbors garden, so I'm going for it!

I'll let you know how it goes...

Back Into It Week

That's what I'm calling this week. It's my chance to get back into a schedule and a routine.

This summer has been a little crazy. It has been challenging and fun and unscheduled (which is tough for me). We have had a great summer! It's been one of the best ever.

Now that it's August and we get back into the swing of things, I am making out schedules.


This week's meal plan: (I'm thinking I will plan for 3 meals because other things always come up)

Monday - Bowtie Lasagna from PW's Tasty Kitchen
with salad, fresh bread

Tuesday - Dinner out

Wednesday - Vegetarian tortillas with homemade salsa
rice, beans, low-fat cheese

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Chicken breast with fresh corn, and vegetables

Saturday and Sunday - out for dinner


It feels good to have a plan again. Next, I'm getting out my planner notebook that I haven't used in over a month!