Squash Noodles

So in the continuance of my "try something new" attitude, squash noodles was on the list for today.  As I am sure many of you know, I LOVE zucchini so it seemed like that was the best option for my experiment.  I found a lot of different "recipes" for squash noodles - some required you to toss your julienne squash with salt to draw out the water.  As I am not a fan of salted zucchini I decided to omit this step.  After julienning and squeezing the excess moisture from the zucchini, I sautéed it in some olive oil and garlic to warm it up.  Finally I tossed something pesto and some with tomato sauce.  The results were phenomenal!!  The pesto one was a little much for me, though I am thinking if I added a piece of parmesan crusted chicken it wouldn't have been that bad.  Tossed with the tomato sauce, the squash noodles were great!  I wonder if I could get Brian to eat it - probably if I dress it up with the right meat.  The best part about this was that even with the oil, an entire pan (about 1 1/2 cups) of squash noodles only came to about 100 calories!!

I need to get a new julienne cutter

Sautéing the noodles I wanted to eat them right out of the pan!

This picture has one of my new favorite snacks as well - Light and Crisp Wasa Crackers!!!

Bugs, bugs and more bugs

Mosquitos have become the bane of my existence.  Not that I was ever truly enamored with them, but since they have decided that Linc's three year old flesh makes the best banquet hall, I find myself thinking of numerous ways to ward them off.  We have tried everything!  From essential oils and long sleeve/pants to dryer sheets and commercial bug sprays.

Of course Linc's age was an initial limitation to the commercial products.  We heard "deet free" from a very young age and, seeing the mosquitos did not appear to understand that our baby was OFF LIMITS, we searched out alternatives for bug spray.  Our search took us some weird places.  We were told by a few people that dryer sheets in belt loops would keep them away - didn't work.  We were also informed that eucalyptus and clove essential oils were excellent at warding off mosquitos - not in our case.   So now that we have dryer sheets sticking out of our pockets, as well as tied into our hair, and we smell like we bathed in essential oils we moved on to the commercial deet free products.  I was so excited - All Terrain KIDS Herbal Armor - it seems to work!!  It smells wonderful, Linc doesn't mind getting sprayed with it, life is grand - we can go outside again!!  That lasted for about 4 months, then it was like the mosquitos became attracted to the spray.

Was perfect, until it wasn't

By this time Linc was no longer just getting giant welts from mosquito bites, he was starting to swell.  The swelling initially would take a day to appear and would disappear in about the same time.  Now it takes about 5 minutes for Linc to swell and it takes at least 48 hours for the swelling to go down (that is with the help of prednisone normally).  Around the time the swelling started appearing the "no deet" mantra from the pediatrician's office started disappearing.  They started suggesting "low deet" options, Off: Family Care, as long as we ENSURED that Linc would be washed down every night.  So we switched - it was better.

Our armor against the hungry bugs now goes something like this - If we are in our own yard prior to 3pm then he uses the low deet, after 3 pm we switch to a 25% concentration of deet.  When we are in the woods, we don't even start off with the low we just slather on the 25%.  What else can we do? I know there is no (reasonable) way to make ABSOLUTELY certain that Linc will not be bit, but I will settle for something that is safe for him to use daily and gives reasonable protection. We do avoid dusk and nights outside, but the bugs seem to find him at the weirdest times of the day - 11am, 2:30pm, 7am on the way into school - and in places that are not necessarily "breeding grounds".  I know this is a long and fairly boring entry, but as he got bit, yet again, this morning on the way into school I figured I would appeal to the masses for information.  What do you do?  What do you use?  Do you have any suggestions?

This one got his ear -
it took three days for the swelling to go down

Bite to the temple -
don't like it when they are on his head

Corn, potato and BACON chowder

Prior to this recipe I had never ever heard of cooking "baked potatoes" in the microwave- I know, I live a sheltered life!!  I have always shied away from corn chowders for the very reason that if I am going to waste the time making a baked potato, I want a STEAK with it!  (The picture shows you how easily the potatoes peel after you cook them in the microwave - just be sure to let them cool a little or you will DEFINITELY burn your fingers.)

Seriously who in their right mind wouldn't want to eat that?!

In my quest to eat new and *hopefully* nutritional food I stumbled upon a recipe for Corn, Potato and Bacon Chowder - from WeightWatchers of all places.  (I should probably put in a disclaimer here that I am slightly addicted to FoodGawker and Pinterest so it is very possible that the recipe came off of one of them.  However I am equally as addicted to cookbooks so one never knows.)  After reading the recipe I decided to give it a whirl - I mean who doesn't want to try a recipe when they have all the ingredients readily available (which was yet another thing I LOVE about this recipe).

Everything is better with local milk

I made the chowder on a night when there was already a WONDERFUL pizza in the making so the chowder was just a thought for lunch the next day.  After I was done, and before the pizza came out of the oven, I gave Brian a little bowl - it was a HIT.  It isn't exactly a low calorie food, but it is super filling, and I can handle spending 180 of my calories on a serving of this chowder!!

CORN, POTATO and BACON CHOWDER

• 1 medium potato 
• 2 cups corn
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup broccoli (or veggie of choice)
• 2 cups milk
• 4 oz canadian bacon (chopped)
• salt and pepper to taste

Aren't our little soup bowls adorable?!

1. Cook potato in the microwave (be sure to wash and puncture then just stick it in the microwave for 4 minutes each side)  Once done, set aside to cool.
2. Sauté your vegetables in your saucepan or stock pot until tender and slightly browned (I just spray the pot with pam, but I think you are supposed to use some oil)
3. Once your potato is cool, peel and discard the peel (or if you are like me eat it cause that is the best part of the potato).  Then mash the potato.
4. Once vetegables are sautéd, add milk, mashed potato and uncooked canadian bacon.  
5. Blend all ingrediants well - make sure you mix the mashed potato in well so there are no clumps
6. Turn down burner to a simmer, cover your pot and let simmer for 10 or so minutes.  DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL.  

The recipe as is makes 4 servings at about 180 calories each (or for those of you doing WW: 6 points per serving).  The very first time I made the recipe I didn't have any defrosted canadian bacon, and I was simply to rushed to wait for it to defrost so I ended up using the caloric equivalent of crumbled regular bacon.  The chowder is wonderful both ways.  I have found that now I double the recipe seeing Brian will eat at least two servings if we have it for dinner and he likes taking it for lunch so we want leftovers!   Give it a whirl and let me know what you think :-D

Shanghai Cucumbers

• 2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce 
• 1 tablespoon of Rive Vinegar (I use a little less)
• 1 teaspoon of Sesame Oil
• Sesame Seeds (I use toasted)

• Cucumbers

This recipe has been a LIFE SAVER.  I am not sure if I am the only one, but there are those times when you just CRAVE something salty.  Most people would go for a bag of chips - I am more of a popcorn or cheese curl girl myself.  Well, when the craving hits and I am trying to be good (I mean Adventure Suites is calling me), I have found myself reaching for this recipe instead.  

At the beginning of every week I will make a batch of this up in one of those little tupperware snack containers.  The ENTIRE SAUCE RECIPE is ~77 calories - it lasts me at least a week (I dump any left over at the end of the week and just make a knew one).  I am a cucumber girl in a cucumber house.  My house can easily go through 8-10 hot house english cucumbers a week.  (We eat regular as well, but Linc makes me scoop the seeds to I have taken to buying english.)  I take that 77 calories and divide it into 8 (because I normally have AT LEAST one serving left at the end of the week) and just add the 10 calories per day to my calculator.  I know that this recipe isn't for everyone - you have to like soy sauce and sesame oil.  I cut up my cucumbers and dip them into a small saucer of sauce - seeing I don't like them to SIT in the sauce.  Give it a try - if you like the ingredients - and let me know how it goes!!

I know it doesn't look like a lot, but i just dip the cucumber in and then eat it, I am not soaking or scooping so it really does last me the entire week!  

A Little Change for Big Results

Hey everyone, it's been a while.  If I said I have done nothing post worthy since March it would be a complete lie, so let's just say I have been too preoccupied with life to sit down and ramble.  A quick blurb to catch you up and then we will get to the meat and potatoes*.  (*stay tuned for the irony)
The Lincles is now THREE.  Seriously where does the time go? It seems like yesterday we were teaching him how to walk, or even celebrating his first tooth.  Now he goes to school (preschool twice a week) and is LOVING it - much to my chagrin (I wanted him to stay my little boy forever - an impossibility I know).  We have taken two trips to Florida this year - Stinks is a great flyer - in addition to our many NH and ME trips.  The new Campy had its inaugural trip just a few weekends ago!  We FINALLY painted some rooms in the house (5 year mark).  All in all we have been keeping busy and HAPPY.

And now that you are semi caught up - the reason for this post.  Recently I decided to tackle the whole weight loss issue again.  As with most people, this is NOT my first time to the buffet (tee hee I couldn't resist).  I have tried Weight Watchers, I have done Curves (which if it wasn't so far away, open short hours and therefore I would need to find a sitter for Linc and a weird time of the day, and SO DARN EXPENSIVE - I would definitely be back at a Curves.  I enjoyed them), I have done regular Joe Schmo Gyms.  There has been discussions with my doctors about different programs and benefits of said programs.  I honestly think that if it out there and not SUPER CRAZY I have tried it.

**Let me stress this now and be done with it - I am NOT trying to turn myself into a size 2 (or hell even size 6) skinny bean pole.  I have never been teeny tiny and I have no ambition to be.  I want to be comfortable and healthy.  I know that the extra padding I carry is not something to be laughed off, especially not the with the health complications swimming in my gene pool.  I want to be fit, not a number.  Let's face it, I would love to follow in Nana's footsteps and live to the ripe old age of 95, spewing advise and creating mayhem where ever I may be. :-D**

Moving on... Brian and I have decided on an ulterior means for keeping our selves on track.  The programs that I have mentioned previously are all well and good, but they cost money - and in some cases LOTS OF IT.  With that in mind, we are determined to be one another support and to "pay" ourselves.  We have set REALISTIC goals (mine is 20lbs in ~3 months) and have rewards outlined for our goals (if, I mean WHEN I reach my goal we get to book a getaway at the Adventure Suites - something that you must know I love).

I have taken to counting calories.  In the beginning I would look up everything I ate.  I noticed within a week that, like you always hear, portion control was a BIG thing with me.  I could easily sit and eat a bag of Jax, not because I was hungry but because it was there.  (My biggest issue is that I LIKE to eat - not that I am hungry but I enjoy eating - lots and lots of water (96+ oz a day) and gum have helped me with this.)  I have curbed those "whole bag snacking" impulses by making my own little snack packs.  For dinner, I would make my plate using measuring cups - finally I got used to the sizes and now don't need the cups anymore.  I was that crazy person at the restaurant that asks for a doggie bag as soon as the meal is brought in order to divide my meal into healthy proportions - DO NOT BE AFRAID TO MAKE THE CHANGES YOU NEED.  NO ONE CARES IF YOU ASK FOR A DOGGIE BAG AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR MEAL - IF THEY DO THEN YOU CERTAINLY SHOULDN'T CARE ABOUT THEIR OPINION!!!!!!!

I decided on calorie counting for different reasons - 1.) I HATE having to convert things into points.  2.)  I downloaded an app on my phone called MyFitnessPal - I love it.  I have been recruiting people to join with me and I use it as my own little "Weight-loss Facebook" and it is a calorie counter.  3.) Calories are something that are easily determined and it doesn't limit the kinds of food you eat - I didn't want to start something that wouldn't allow me to each cheese, popcorn, or even that occasional piece of birthday cake.  It is all in my control and I determine how to use them.  4.)  Unlike points, I don't use my calorie count as a do or die line.  Some days I might go over by 5 or 10 and I have had days where I am under by 100+.  That line is not a brick wall - it is a guideline, and therefore not the end of the world if you miss the line by 5-10 calories.  (That doesn't mean that EVERY DAY going over your calorie count is a good thing!!)  That was something that I needed to learn as well.

I know I am rambling. I promise, I'm almost done.  Given my new approach to food (and lets face it I LOVE food), I have found myself trying new recipes.  Some are healthy recipes, made for their low calorie count, and others are just things I have stumbled across and want to give a whirl.  I am going to apologize now because my blog might turn into a type of food blog in the coming months.  I have been making so many different recipes and some of them I have a real urge to share.  I will most likely be writing about my ups and downs as well.  Bear with me please :-D

It is probably best that I point out that I have started myself on an exercise regiment as well.  For those that know me well, you know I have been having some serious feet issues lately (let's look back at that gene pool again and give a giant "thanks" to my father's side :-D) .  That being said, for many many many months just walking on a treadmill would have caused me pain to the point of hysterical crying (and I have a fairly high threshold of pain).  With the addition of Chaco's to my life my feet are starting to slowly like me again.  I decided to press my luck the other day and did a mile and a half SLOW jog on the treadmill.  It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, but the next day my feet were killing me.  I am determined to find something though and with that in mind I have dug out my old Gazelle.  I will keep you posted on how well that goes.

I am not an expert and I am certainly at the very beginning of my journey, but thanks for helping me with it!!