Food War - Husband VS Wife

I'm not sure how other families operate, but in our household, I do the weekday cooking and my husband takes over the kitchen on weekends. As a stay-at-home-mom, I don't think this is a bad setup. Unfortunately, we (my husband and I), don't exactly share the same ideas of what "good, healthy" dinners are. When Jason is deployed and it's just me and the Weasel, we probably eat meat once or twice a week. In Jason's mind, a meal is NOT a meal unless it contains meat as a protein source!  


I love adding new grains and veggies to my existing cache of recipes. Jason would be happy if I added sausage to everything. So in our house, it's:

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Versus

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So how do those of you in a similar situation make it work? How do you have happy meal times where both parties are happy? I tried to sneak zucchini into our spaghetti with meatballs and sausage the other night. That resulted in a happy me and a pile of zucchini on my husband's plate. I'm running out of ideas. My garden is in full bloom, so it's easier to convince him that we HAVE to eat salad as our side dish or the lettuce/radishes would go to waste, but I'm struggling. 

Making two separate entrees is not an option because our food budget is already too high in my opinion - particularly when we factor in that we don't always feed Weasel what we're eating (i.e. if we eat a spicy meal, she gets something different). So I'm open to ideas...

Salads are the Perfect Summer Food

Yes, I know it's only April, so technically not yet summer, but it sure feels like it down here in Eastern NC (and I'm sure it felt like that for all the Boston Marathon finishers!). I recently harvested a bunch of lettuce from my garden and we made huge salads for dinner. I thought I'd share mine with you:

Homegrown Lettuce & Spinach

Grape Tomatoes

Frozen Corn (cooked)

Black Beans (from a can)

Green Peppers

Cucumbers

Southwest Style Chicken (Deli Section)

Red Quinoa (leftovers from a previous meal)

Sliced Oven Roasted Almonds

I think I'd eat this every night if my husband was on board. Delicious, filling, and super easy! 

My Other Hobby (besides running of course)

From a very young age, my father had Jessica and I out in the garden helping him tend to the vegetables. This instilled in me a passion for fresh produce - from the garden to the table. We are lucky enough to have quite a decent sized yard, so I took advantage of that a few years ago and put in three raised beds to grow a variety of plants. This year, I've already harvested enough lettuce for 5 or 6 GIANT salads, about 40 large radishes, and my new favorite: Spinach:

For the past couple weeks, every morning, I wake up, water the garden while the Weasel eats her breakfast, and return with a large handful of spinach leaves for my smoothie. My husband refuses to even taste it, but I think it's quite possibly the best masked way to get your veggies early in the day:)

I use a cup of frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries), 1 or 2 kiwi, a Yoplait blueberry/pomegranate flavored yogurt, and the spinach. I top this with a little apple/carrot juice and some water and some chia seeds. It's a quick process and a delicious treat!

Note: If you add chia seeds, DO NOT let the smoothie sit unattended. It swells up into a fruity sludge of sorts and is a bit more difficult to stomach:)

It's A Bird...It's A Plane...No, It's the Nutless Wonder!

I had every intention of tasting all 4 of my sample Picky Bars BEFORE writing a review, but after the first bite of the Nutless Wonder bar, I absolutely had to tell you about these things. 

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Honestly, I was skeptical at first. The bars are small and individually wrapped in resealable plastic bags (a huge plus)! I headed out on Monday morning to hit the gym, and in my typical fashion, I only had time to get the Weasel her breakfast. So I grabbed the Nutless Wonder bar and hopped in the car. The bars are very dense, but less than 200 calories each. I took my first bite and tasted pumpkin seeds and chocolate...YUM! I was shocked at how tasty it was. 

Take a look at the ingredients:

Ingredients: organic dates, organic sunflower butter, raw honey, organic rice cereal (Organic brown rice, Organic brown rice syrup, Sea salt), rice protein (protein from whole grain sprouted brown rice, natural vanilla flavor), organic apricots, cranberries, organic pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, semi sweet chocolate chips (cane sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (soy), vanilla extract), cinnamon, kosher salt, canola & sunflower oil. 

HOLY COW...you can pronounce every last word! Now that's refreshing!! I am so excited to try the other three bars they sent: All-In Almond, Lauren's Mega Nuts, and Smooth Caffeinator.  

Let's break it down. Here are the PROS:

1. Small, easily digestible for pre-workout fuel. 

2. Resealable packaging means you can eat a few bites and save the rest for after your workout.

3. They have tasty chocolate bits!

4. I've finally found a nutrition bar that doesn't make me want to gag.

5. Picky Bars is a small company started by runners and made for runners. Why wouldn't you want to support them?!

CONS:

1. I would have to order the product online because the only place they are available in NC is about 2 hours from my house. 

Seriously, only 1 con, and luckily, you can grab these online with no hassle. I'll be providing more reviews of the other flavors in the near future, but I really couldn't wait to share this with you. So go grab a bar and find out what the craze is all about!

A New Favorite Recipe

Since getting married, I have learned a LOT about cooking, and I actually enjoy it now. My husband never complains about my cooking, in fact, he'll eat just about anything. However, he never raves about anything either:( Thus, it's sometimes difficult to decipher wether or not I should make a meal a second time. 

Over the last three and a half years, we've developed somewhat of a system. If he just consumes the meal without mentioning anything, I put that recipe in the toss pile. If he asks for seconds, it goes in the keep pile. And if he asks for leftovers, it goes in the you-better-never-lose-this-one-and-make-it-once-a-month pile! Hey, it works for our family:)

So here's a recipe I made last night that rates being taken today for his lunch!! 

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Spanish-Style Noodles w/ Chicken and Sausage (Found in Food Network Magazine) Serves 4

Ingredients:

-3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 in chunks

-1/2 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, cut into 1/2 in chunks

-Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

-1 tsp dried marjoram or oregano

-1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

-2 medium onions, diced

-3 cloves garlic, chopped

-2 bay leaves

-3/4 cup tomato puree

-12 ounces spaghetti, broken into 3-in pieces

-Grated Manchego or parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional) 

Directions:

1. Bring a large kettle or pot of water to a boil. Season the chicken and sausage with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the marjoram. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add the chicken and sausage and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.

2. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, and tomato puree to the pot. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring, until the oil turns deep red and the onions are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. If the onions are sticking, add a splash of water and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

3. Add the spaghetti to the onion mixture and stir-fry until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken and sausage and enough boiling water until the pasta is al dente and the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with cheese, if desired.

Per serving: Calories 776; Fat 36g (sat 8g); Cholesterol 102mg; Sodium 1,600 mg; Carbohydrates 76g; Fiber 5g; Protein 30g)

I realize this isn't the healthiest meal, but with a few tweaks, you can definitely cut some of the calories and fat. Swap the chicken thighs for chicken breast and the Italian sausage with turkey sausage. Leave the cheese off as a garnish. I'm sure it would still be delicious! And I honestly wish I had tried this recipe last week, because leftovers would have been perfect for carb-loading on Friday or Saturday!

What is one of your favorite, go-to recipes (share the link please!).

Picky Bars Review - Part 1

As you know, my sister is in Afghanistan right now, but she managed to find time in her busy schedule to review one of her FAVORITE products ever! Here's what she sent me:


It kind of reads like a sales pitch...but I really do believe all of this stuff! (I'm not sure I was supposed to include this disclaimer:)

Over the years I have tried so many pre/post workout snacks...but none have compared to how tasty and filling the Picky Bars are.  They are much smaller than a normal energy bar, but that's part of what is so great about them!  I can eat one 20 min before a run or a long bike ride and it's not overly filling.  It gives me the energy I need to make it through a long workout.  Additionally, as you can see from my picture below, it's great post-workout fuel to reenergize my body.  After a seven mile run, I definitely needed to refuel the tank!

When we flew over here to Afghanistan, I didn't want to carry a ton of extra stuff, but I knew that the food on the plane might not be vegetarian-friendly...I was right.  Luckily, I had packed a bunch of Picky Bars, which came in very handy!  They are small, so I could pack lots of them!

Picky Bars also taste awesome!  I love that they put a few chocolate chips in there!  So, if you haven't tried them - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  I promise that you will not be disappointed!


(Ok, so there you have Jessica's two cents. Mine is forthcoming as I recently received this awesome package in the mail courtesy of the fine folks at Picky Bars:

I'm a Picky Bar virgin, and a hater of most energy bars, so I promise to give you my honest perspective. But I'm feeling pretty confident about them after hearing Jessica's rave!)

Food Prep: The dreaded chore

For anyone like us, you're incredibly busy from Monday through Friday.  The last thing you want to do after a long day on Tuesday is prepare a healthy meal for yourself for Wednesday's lunch!  If you're reading this blog, we know you are very active and HEALTHY and a quick trip to the McDonald's drive-thru will NOT cut it for you.  This leads us into the dreaded chore....Food Prep.

I'm notoriously terrible about planning ahead, but when I remember, I build in an hour on Sunday to prepare a dish that I can take in my lunchbox all week.  It's never anything fancy and it has to be something that doesn't need to be microwaved...MIL continues to warn me of the dangers of the microwave!

Here's an example of what I make:

Start with the base of the dish, which for me was quinoa.  A quick 20-minutes on the stove and I have a HUGE helping of quinoa to last all week.  Then I choose some vegetables to add, this time I went with mushrooms and green beans (I picked up the beans at one of the local farmer's markets!).  I like the veggies to stay crunchy, so I quickly sauteed them in a tiny bit of sesame oil, which adds a great flavor!

As a vegetarian, I also like to ensure I add a protein to my lunch.  For this dish, I went with some delicious tofu!  I'm a huge fan of all those fake meat products, but I am trying to avoid them - it takes a LOT of processing to make a soy bean taste like turkey...

Combine it all in an air-tight container and VOILA - you have a ready made lunch for the week!

While we were at the farmer's market, I also picked up a spaghetti squash.  So easy to make and very delicious.  This was going to also go with me to lunch this week, but Sean and I were hungry when it came out of the oven...and ended up eating 2/3 of it.  I have a little bit left, so I'll use this for dinner one night this week.

Other things I make sure to have on hand for lunch packing:

-Raw mixed nuts

-Bananas and Apples

-Celery and carrots

-Small packets of almond butter

Do you pack your lunch for work?  Is it a daily process or do you prep your food on Sunday?  What's your favorite "Take to Work" Dish?

Ho, Ho, Hold Up...What Happened to My Workout Routine?!

It's holiday time and that typically spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R for workout routines and eating habits! Well, not this year. Last year, my goal was to run the Beach to Battleship half marathon in early November, just 3 months after the birth of my daughter. Once that race was over, I quit running and just ate whatever was within arms reach (one of the perks of breastfeeding, right?). When April rolled around (yes, I realize the holiday season was well over by this point), I joined a running club and realized just how badly I needed to get back in shape.

Feeding pre-half

Making a detour to tell my baby hello

So this year, I have a plan. It started off with a Turkey Trot on 19 November and I have continued to stay true to my workouts. I've already signed up for a few more races (5ks and one 10k) to keep the motivation level high. I think this is key. If you stop having events to look forward to, then the monotony of running takes its toll. Additionally, I'm going to make it clear to friends and family that staying in shape is important to me. Whenever I lace up, inevitably, someone says, "Can't you just skip today?" My first instinct is to respond, "Sure. Bloody Marys for everyone!" But at the end of the day, will I be happy with my decision? Not a chance. If people around you know it's important to you, then they will be supportive.

With regard to eating, I'm not the best giver of advice. However, this year that changes. I will not attend parties on an empty stomach, or sabotage my early workout plan by drinking one too many champagne cocktails (this isn't really a problem any more since becoming a mom...Reagan makes sure I'm up bright and early EVERY day). I will not make cookies for the neighbors and sample one or three from each batch. I'll make cookies with coconut so I'm not tempted:) And when the big dinner on Christmas Day arrives, I'll give myself a break and just enjoy, but not eat to the point of gluttony. Seriously, no one needs a third helping of mashed potatoes, no matter how delicious they are.

I've also got a secret weapon. My husband is coming home after a 7-month deployment and I plan to look my best for his arrival. That's motivation enough to steer clear of the chips & dip at the next Christmas Open House!

Reagan and her daddy at 2am the night he left

So how do you plan to hold yourself accountable this holiday season?