Eating Habits

I'll be the first to admit that my diet is lousy. I don't always put forth the effort to eat well though I do want to.
The trouble is, I don't cook. At all. I've tried enough times in the past to know it's never going to be something I'm good or even decent at.

To ensure that we don't starve to death, my husband has taken over cooking. He's far, far better than I and enjoys it. Most of the time.

I always feel a twinge of guilt making him cook for me after he's been at work all day, often cooking two meals because we don't always want the same things.

Because he's at work all day and doesn't want to come home and play chef our dinners are almost always the same around here.
Tuna Fish Sandwiches (he has chips on the side, I do not)
Eggs with toast or toast and sausage or bacon
Steakums
One night we usually order Chinese and the other is Pizza.
The remaining nights are leftovers.

Breakfast for me is usually a bowl of cereal or Eggo Waffles.
I almost always skip lunch. On the off chance that I'm hungry after boot camp, I will often make myself a smoothie with a frozen banana, a tablespoon of peanut butter, a scoop of protein powder and either coconut water or skim milk with some vanilla yogurt if I have it.

See? My diet SUCKS.
That 5 & 5 of fruits and veggies you are supposed to get? Yeah, almost NEVER.

I'm completely aware that my eating habits are why the weight isn't coming off as fast as I'd like but up until the other day when I realized that I'm totally my own worst enemy I didn't do a damn thing about it.

That changes today.

In my fridge I have a massive batch of fresh Kale and a package of baby spinach leaves. A huge bunch of bananas is on my counter and pears are in the crisper. There is even a container of Almond Milk in there purchased with the specific purpose of these recipes:

With these ingredients I'm going to make these smoothies:

Ingredients

2 cups frozen torn greens (I used spinach and kale)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 peeled banana (can be frozen as well but will make color muddier)
1 cup Lactaid lactose free milk
Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender, cover and blend until smooth and creamy.  Pour into one or two glasses.

1 cup spinach
1/2 cup low fat vanilla (or banilla my current favorite) yogurt
1 cup strawberries
1 cup skim milk

Blend all ingredients. (Depending on how thick you like your smoothies you may want to add more milk)



Kale Spinach and Pear Smoothie


1 heaping cup spinach leaves
1 heaping cup chopped kale leaves
1/2 pear
1 frozen banana
1 1/2 cups cold almond milk (or soy milk or orange juice)
1 tablespoon honey

Remove kale leaves from their rough center stalk and coarsely chop.  In a blender, combine kale spinach and almond milk.  Blend until no big kale bits remain.  Stop blender and add banana honey and pear.  Blend until smooth.  Enjoy immediately. 



Since I don't cook, I knew that I had to have foods on hand that require little or no prep on my part and that I can't screw up too badly.
I also have 4 pre cooked chicken breasts and pre sliced mushrooms and diced onions.

I've been reading a whole lot about this grain Quinoa (Which I just discovered is pronounced Keen-Wah and not Quin-oah the way I'd assumed) and I'd really wanted to try it. I have a box in my cabinet and I'm going to make this:

Quinoa with Mushrooms

Ingredients

    * 1 tablespoon olive oil
    * 1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, chopped
    * 1 onion, chopped
    * 1 clove garlic, minced
    * 1 tablespoon butter
    * 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
    * 3 cups chicken broth
    * 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

   1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in the hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes; set aside.
   2. Melt the butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the quinoa to the melted butter and let it brown, about 3 minutes. Pour the chicken broth over the quinoa; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the sauteed mushroom mixture and cook another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.





Since I'm a total total sugar addict and I'm aware it's my downfall all the time I'm going to try to make desserts that are better for me and have little or no sugar in them.

TAHINI TERRIFIC NO-BAKE ENERGY BARS    

Looking for a quick snack on the run?  Maybe a quick snack BEFORE a run?  Either way, these delicious and very-satisfying bars will fuel you up for the day or road ahead. Lots of taste, a snack bar to enjoy anytime of the day. Makes 16 bars.

1 C. tahini

½ -3/4 C. brown rice syrup , to taste

½ C. soy milk

2 T. unsweetened carob powder

1 ½  teas. ground cinnamon

1 C. chopped pecans or walnuts 

1 C. hulled unsalted sunflower seeds  

1 C. unsweetened shredded coconut  

 ½ C. uncooked rolled oats    

  1 C. raisins                                                                                                

 Line a 9” square OR  7" x 11"  cake pan with wax paper, grease and set aside.  In a large saucepan, combine the tahini and brown rice syrup and heat over low heat. Add soy milk, carob powder and cinnamon and stir to combine thoroughly, forming a smooth paste. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off heat, leaving saucepan on burner, just to stay slightly warm.  Add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine thoroughly, mixture will be stiff. Pour into prepared cake pan and smooth top using a spatula. Score top to form 16 equal bars, don’t cut through. Cool in fridge until firm (about 2 hours). Cut into bars and enjoy.

Note: These bars keep well in freezer for longer storage.





I'm going to make this and omit the sugar and see how it is

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Rinse and drain the quinoa. Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Blend together the milk, bananas, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour the milk mixture into the saucepan with the quinoa.
3. Place the pan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture becomes thick and creamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla and serve warm.