Don't let the title mislead you...there's nothing Palinesque about this diary...it's just the same diary I forgot to post last Saturday evening as I had promised.
So, without further ado, here's Saturday night's WHEE entry on a Thursday morning:
WHEE for Saturday - recipe edition
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
Hey everyone...this is the first time I've volunteered to take a stab at a series diary, so please bear with me. For today, I have decided to share some recipes off the top of my head which I find tasty, don't leave me feeling 'deprived'...because one of the things that really inhibits my ability to keep my weight down is the pity parade I invariably take when considering diet options.
So, without further ado, here are some menus I find work well for me.
Update [2009-8-6 9:49:58 by darthstar]: Ooh...I said "without further ado" on Saturday. So it's actually in this diary twice...which means it's not without further ado at all, but with a little more ado... Must be some kind of annoying rhetorical device of mine...interesting...or not.
Steamed Salmon w/Arugula salad
Take one salmon filet (Two if you're not eating alone), rub with olive oil (olive oil is your friend...don't be afraid of it), then sprinkle generously with lemon-pepper blend. Place in steamer(if you don't have a steamer, make one--a large pot with a cup of water in it, and a small plate set on top of three upside-down shot glasses will work). Steam for 15-20 minutes.
Salad: Place arugula in a salad bowl, sprinkle olive oil(again!) and lemon juice over it, and shave a little parmesan cheese on top after tossing. A little ground pepper and a couple of pinches of sea salt and you're good to go.
Add a vegetable on the side if this sounds like it's not enough food. It's summer, so get some zucchini, tomatoes, and an onion and toss them around in a pan with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs (oregano, basil, whatever...fresh or dried)
Cheesy Chicken w/eggplant
Get a large eggplant or two, slice into 1/2" slices, and place in a strainer over the sink. Sprinkle the slices generously with salt on both sides and let them sweat out some of their moisture for about a half-hour. Shake off the water, and pat them dry with paper or cloth towels. Oil a baking sheet and add the eggplant slices to it and bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While they're cooking, prep the chicken (described below) and heat up some pasta sauce (tomato-basil pasta sauce is always good). Turn them after about 12 minutes or so so they brown on both sides...you want them to be a little crispy if possible. When you take them out of the oven, lay them on a cutting board and slice into thirds before plating.
Get a couple of chicken breasts (with skin on, as they're cheaper that way...for $1 a pound, I can pull the skin off myself and throw it away--that step is important, by the way). Pound them out with a meat hammer...if you don't have a meat hammer, use a full wine bottle or full beer bottle...you don't have to beat the crap out of it, just break it down a little so the breasts are wide and uniform in thickness. Slice a little bit of the cheese of your choice (I like Gruyer or Comte, but you can use Jack, Fontina, parmesan, etc.)...you want enough cheese for flavor, but not enough that you're eating a gooey mess (that whole portion control thingy...sucks, but you get used to it after a few days and realise that those hoity-toity French restaurants know what they're talking about when they give you enough food to survive, but not enough to make you want to call for a bucket after you're done eating). Salt and pepper the chicken (again, a few drops of olive oil rubbed onto the chicken adds a nice bit of flavor). Place on a baking sheet and into a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes and they're done...or broil five minutes on each side, then add the cheese and broil to melt and carmelize a little.
The tomato sauce will be good with both the chicken and the eggplant.
Darth's veggie delight
I know not everyone eats meat here, so here's a dish I enjoy making when I'm eating alone and banjosmom is working late.
Rice: I like brown rice...it takes about an hour to cook versus the quick 15 minute white rice, but it's far tastier and better for you (in my opinion). So get it started now.
While the rice is cooking, enjoy your one drink...and chop up some mushrooms, onion, a bell pepper, zucchini/squash, and maybe a tomato--oh, and a jalapeno sliced and minced into little bits. Grab two cloves of garlic (nobody can eat just one), and when the rice is almost done, heat up a wok or any pan you may have. Splash a little olive oil (a splash is about the size of your palm in the bottom of a flat pan) and add the onions...let them get transluscent, then add the now-chopped/crushed garlic. Toss in the pepper, squash and mushrooms and sprinkle some salt and pepper over the mix. I usually go asian at this point, adding a dapple of sesame oil, soy sauce, and some garlic-chili sauce. Put a lid over the mix and let it cook for five minutes or so, tossing occasionally.
Serve over the rice and enjoy.
Now, none of the above recipes are difficult to make. If you're not a cook (or THINK you're not a cook) remember to just trust yourself and trust the food. It's really hard to screw up food if you just work with it. You've been on this planet long enough to learn to use a computer, so mastering the ability to feed yourself can't be that far off.
Oh, and did I mention that pretty much every one of these recipes can be made for under ten bucks? That brings me to my financial digression. Having been through times in my life where I rolled pennies to buy food for my Xmas dinner(thankfully, I'm not there anymore), I do understand what it means to eat on a budget. Now, I can drop sixty bucks at my local market in a heartbeat and still not have what I need for a meal, but I can also walk out of there for under $15 and have a feast. The counter people are your friend. If paying eight bucks for a piece of cheese bothers you, ask the cheese monger to slice you 1/4lb for your meal (now you're only paying two or three bucks). You want ground meat? Again, there's no law that says you have to buy a pound or two for every meal--in fact, you only need a few ounces to get the protein you need and the flavor you desire. Bulk veggies are also a much better deal. I got about four ounces of arugula for my salad tongiht (no salmon though...decided I didn't want fish tonight) for probably a buck and a half. Had I bought the pre-packaged arugula, I would have gotten twice that for about six bucks...why do that?
Okay...so I've rambled on long enough...now it's your turn. Please share recipes for dishes you enjoy (no need to be specific...I sure as hell wasn't). And remember...just about anything you cook from scratch is going to be far better for you than ANYTHING you get out of a box.
[Pre Diary posting Update - Actually FROM Thursday morning]
Oh, and we got another dog! His name's Aussie and he's an 8 1/2 year old Aussie Shepherd/Border Collie mix (i.e. Rocket Scientist). Banjo, our 3 year old and ultra-posessive Australian Cattle Dog, is, well, adjusting. But hey, what else does a person have to do sixteen days before their wedding besides get another dog and add another layer of complexity? But one of banjosmom's employees was in a tight spot, so we took him in...and he is a sweet boy. Bflat, our cat, still actually slept with us last night despite our decision to make him a minority species.