Lite Pina Colada

The other day I used 2 tablespoons of lite coconut milk for a recipe and then I was left with almost an entire can.  I didn't know what to do with it but today I was super thirsty and looking for something sweet to eat. So I threw the following ingredients in a blender and had a lite version of non-alcoholic pina colada.

Lite Pina Colada
13.66 fl oz Lite Coconut Milk
1 can of ice (I used the can of coconut milk so not to dirty a measuring cup)
10 oz of canned pineapple chunks  (fresh pineapple is aprox 1 cup)
1 banana
2 tablespoons Smart Sugar or any sugar substitute
Pinch of salt

Blend all the ingredients in a blender.  Pour in a cup.  Add maraschino cherry juice (optional).

Kale Chips and Brussels Sprouts

Who knew kale chips and brussels sprouts were so delicious? Not me and certainly not my children. Below are 3 recipes that I wish I could say I had been using for years because they are so yummy.  More importantly my children could have been eating these nutritious veggies expanding their list of veggies from 6 to 8. 

Of my own free will I would not readily chose to cook kale and have zapped brussels sprouts in the microwave on the rare occassion.  I only contemplated cooking these veggies because in the months leading up to the holidays I saw chefs on TV cooking brussels sprouts in a tempting way. And for years the radio hosts on Martha Stewart's Morning Living radio program have been singing the praises of kale chips.  I was intrigued by how everyone would lavish "yums and mmmmm" over the food, but didn't have the nerve to cook them.  Why not you ask?

2 REASONS WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO COOK THEM

1. HOURS:  I assumed that making kale chips would take hours. My prior experience with making banana chips was a 17-hour wait using the food dehydrator.  I ate most of the bananas while in the process of dehydrating because it took so dang long. We donated our dehydrator because it occupied up a lot of space and had only used it 4 times.
2. THE SMELL: I was turned off with the thought of cooking brussels sprouts because...well, frankly they smell like farts when cooking which isn't very appetizing. I had only cooked frozen sprouts before and I assumed the fresh ones would smell worse.

Getting my family to eat healthier has been weighing heavily on my mind. We need to eat more fish and green veggies. I decided it was time to take the plunge. When I got home from the grocery store I showed my husband the brussels sprouts. He was amused that they grew on stalks. He thought they grew in the ground like little cabbages which sounds so cute.  The recipe below is one that I had scrawled on a 3x3 post it note.  I don't remember where I got this recipe. I have recipes lying around the house on various papers and in spirals.

The solution to the bad smell from cooking brussels sprouts is to burn a lot of candles throughout the house while cooking.  The smell does go away and it is definitely worth it!

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

1. Cut sprouts off stalk and remove yellow leaves.
2. This is when I pre-heat my oven to 400 degrees because cutting the sprouts off the stalks and peeling the leaves can take more than a couple of minutes and I find it wasteful to have an oven on for no reason.
3. Rinse well in a colander.
4. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and tumble sprouts onto pan.
5. Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Season with salt and pepper. 
7. Gently toss to coat brussels sprouts evenly.
8. Roast for 35 minutes.  
9. Stir sprouts in the middle of roasting.

FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Pre-heat about 2 inches of oil at a medium setting.  

Clean and towel dry sprouts.  It is important that you dry the sprouts or the oil will splatter. 

You can cut the sprouts in half if you prefer more of the sprout to be fried. 

Fry brussels sprouts for 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

The sprouts should be light brown.  

DO NOT fry in high heat or the oil will pop like crazy.  

Place on paper-towel lined plate.

Season with salt and pepper.

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KALE CHIPS

Hubby and I want to eat healthier, but we love to eat crunchy things. There's just a satisfaction we receive from the crunch.  However, there's not really a lot of health food that is both crunchy and delicious and it feels as if we are on a never-ending search for healthy, crunchy food that is low in carbs.  

While dropping my kids off at school I heard Betsy Karetnick on the radio talking about kale chips again and she said it was fast and easy to make - not the hours I assumed. 

The Martha Stewart Kale Chips Recipe was a little vague. I was a first time kale user and it didn't say what to do with the stalks. So I searched for more recipes. There were a lot to chose from and I was a little overwhelmed. I am definitely jumping the kale chip bandwagon a little late.  

I found 2 recipes that I liked and combined them to suit my personal way of cooking.
http://www.shutterbean.com/kalechips/   I like this recipe because she used the word "glug" to describe the amount of olive oil to use and presented pictures.
http://eatdrawlive.com/kale-chips/  I like this recipe because it uses coconut oil and spices.

I tried using both oils.  Olive oil gives it a nutty flavor and coconut oil has no flavor at all which is what my kids prefer - no taste.

Rhonda's Kale Chips Recipe
1 bunch of Kale
Olive oil or Coconut oil (I used about 2-4 tablespoons. This really depends on the amount of kale you have)
Coarse salt
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.  
2. Cut the kale leaves off the stalk.  You can tear off the leaves but a knife is faster.  
3. I leave some leaves large and cut some in half. (large for me; smaller for kids)
4. Rinse leaves well and dry with a salad spinner but towel drying is fine.
5. In a large bowl toss the kale with the oil. 
6. Place kale on parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer.
7. Sprinkle salt to taste.  Be careful it's easy to over-salt.  
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 
9. Upon immediate removal from oven sprinkle with Parmesan cheese so it will melt. 

Salt

Me and the Skinny Salesgirl

I'm going to preface this post with the fact that I'm not a skinny girl.  I'm not obese either. I'm actually in the range of the national average size of a woman.  I'm not fooling myself.  I can definitely stand to lose weight and get in better shape, but I don't stand out in the crowd because of my weight. That's why they call it average. (Of course, I don't want to be average but that's another post on another day.)

Over the course of 20 years I've tried many different diet pills and most of them have had a negative effect on me. The ingredients hoodia and phenethylaminemake make me jittery or nauseated and actually put me in a bad mood.  The natural diet pills with acai, green tea, etc don't have any negative effects but they definitely do not work. I don't know if Alli actually works because I quit taking it after I almost had a bathroom accident in a parking lot.  With Alli you have to be near a bathroom ALL the TIME and that's just not possible.  I've also tried getting a prescription for diet pills but no doctor is willing to give me a prescription because and I quote "Oh, you can lose it on your own."  Really doc, just one month prescription, please?!?!

3 years have gone by since I tried a diet pill. I thought maybe by now there's a natural version on the market that really works.  So I went to GNC to look for an appetite suppressant and this is what transpired:

After looking around GNC and reading at least 10 different labels I finally decided on a protein shake for women that was a combination of an appetite suppressant, vitamins, and a metabolism booster. I really liked that the product was GMO-free and had a list of ingredients that were familiar. There was no flavor listed so I held up the tube asked the salesgirl if she had ever tried the product.

She said she didn't like the product because it had too much sugar. I looked at the label and the only sugar I could find listed was honey. That really didn't bother me. I told her I was looking for an appetite suppressant that didn't contain the bad stuff like hoodia.

The salesgirl walked around the counter towards the wall of protein shakes and I followed hoping she had the answer. Instead of showing me what I asked about she started pushing the GNC brand Lean Shake.  She said it had less sugar and was lower in carbs.  I said yes, however the price difference is $15 and the label promotes meal replacement, not natural appetite suppressant and I didn't know what half the ingredients were either. Salesgirl said she drinks it for breakfast so she knows it tastes good.  I eyed the salesgirl's very thin frame suspiciously and my eyebrow shot up. I asked her what she was using it for and she told me she was in light weight competition. So now I'm wondering if the product actually works or if she is just working off every inch of fat for competition. She's got motivation. I'm looking for something because I don't have motivation.

I said "Yes, but I want an appetite suppressant and this is just a meal replacement."

Skinny said, "If you use the shake as a meal replacement then you don't need the appetite suppressant."

I looked at the obtuse, young girl and thought to myself, "This skinny chick doesn't understand that I need help with appetite control."  I've had my fair share of meal replacement shakes and after 2 hours I'm hungry again.  So I said "No, I really want an appetite suppressant."

Then she picked a shiny glass bottle off the shelf and handed it to me.  The glass bottle was so pretty and the golden pills inside looked promising.  It was called Ab Cuts. I looked at the price tag of $60 which made me think that this must really work.  I quickly read the label but it didn't say anything about appetite suppressant.


I held the bottle up and asked "What's this for?"
She said, "That's to help you get rid of the fat around your waist and thighs."
My mind screeched to a halt...should I be offended?
I quickly figured no offense since I'm asking about appetite control anyway.  It is what it is, right?

So I flipped the bottle over and it was only a combination of herbal supplements like borage oil and other oils which didn't seem worth the $60.  Skinny pointed out that it was on sale fo $30.  Nope, still not worth it.  Most of the oils listed is stuff I've already taken before. So I put the bottle back on the shelf and again said that I was looking for natural appetite suppressant and it didn't have to be in a protein shake form. Just need something to help me.  She insisted that the Ab Cuts was exactly what I needed and if I also used the Lean Shake to replace 2 meals a day it would help me with my problems.

Wait a minute...what does this skinny girl know about my problems?  Moreover, implying that my stomach and thighs are my problem.  I only told her I was looking for an appetite suppressant.  If there was a pill that would help me with my problems it would be call "Autism & ADD Away" or "Negative People Repellent" or "Forget My Stupid Mistakes" that I could slip into someone's cup.
I know I need to lose some LBs but she was making me feel like I was Jabba the Hut.
At that point I started to feel very uncomfortable and was thankful that another customer walked in.
I told Skinny to help the other customer while I thought about it.  Then I walked around pretending that I was thinking about it, turned the corner and shot out the door.
In the car I told myself I was being too sensitive about her comments and that she was just stating the truth about my hips and thighs.
But even if she was stating the truth it still cut me to the core.
It's times like these when I think about all the stupid stuff I said I was young.
I sincerely apologize to anyone reading this if I've ever hurt you with my words.

So I guess there's still no magic diet pill that has been invented yet and I just have to learn to live with the hungry feeling if I want to lose weight.

Easy Beef Stroganoff (Budget Friendly)

Living on a budget is not always easy especially with the cost of food rapidly rising.  This recipe is very simple and cost friendly.  The most time consuming part of this dish is cutting the meat. 

I always try to buy as much T-bone or rib eye that can fit in my freezer when it's on sale, but sometimes we run out of meat.  Then we get stuck with sirloin tip, top round, or bottom round steaks. The problem is that these cuts aren't very tender. This recipe makes the meat tender with the long hours of cooking at a low temp. You can use any cut of beef for this recipe.

BEEF STROGANOFF

1 can cream of mushroom soup 

1 can French onion soup

1 pound bite size pieces of beef

4 ounces sour cream

6 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms (adjust according to taste)

In oven safe casserole dish mix the cream of mushroom and French onion soups and add cut beef. Cover with foil and cook for 3 hours at 325 F degrees.  30 minutes before done, add 4 oz of sour cream and fresh mushrooms.  Serve over noodles or rice.

Notes

1) If you like lots of sauce you can adjust the recipe to 2 cans of mushroom soup, 2 cans of French onion soup, 1-1/2 lbs of beef and 8 oz sour cream.  

2) Don't use fat free cream of mushroom soup.

3) Adjustment for Low Carb diet is to eat over chopped, cooked cauliflower. The cauliflower is rice substitute.

mix in sour cream

We like lots of mushrooms.

Kirstie Alley's Dramatic Weight Loss

Former weight 228 lbs
Kirstie Alley, who has struggled with yo-yo weight gain and loss for years, is showing off a body 10 sizes smaller after a lot of hard work. The 60-year-old actress strutted the runway during New York Fashion Week -- 100 pounds slimmer! – at her designer friend Zang Toi’s show. Inspired by her physically demanding "Dancing With the Stars" stint, Alley has gone from a size 14 to a size 4. Before her appearance on the show, Alley said she visualized one day fitting in a size 4, and now she does...

I'm just posting this for inspiration. I started a low carb diet today but I am already struggling. Having my emotional-roller coaster freak out yesterday just makes me want to gorge on carbs. Instead I pigged out on celery and organic black bean dip. The dip is not exactly low carb but "that'll do pig, that'll do."

Obesity Shrinks Brain

Oi! Is this what's been wrong with me?  
Well, I'm not exactly middle-aged but it's interesting that being overweight causes brain shrinkage.

Healthier Living Better for Brain Function

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Taking care of your health by watching your weight and quitting smoking is not just good for your heart and lungs. A new study suggests that a healthier lifestyle will stave off brain shrinkage and cognitive decline.

Health problems including being overweight, smoking, having diabetes, and high blood pressure likely put middle-aged people at an increased risk of brain shrinkage and decline in planning and decision-making skills, WebMD.com reports.

“Our findings provide evidence that identifying these risk factors early in people of middle age could be useful in screening people for at-risk dementia and encouraging people to make changes to their lifestyle before it’s too late,” says Dr. Charles DeCarli, of the University of California-Davis in Sacramento, a researcher involved with the study published in Neurology.

Study participants, whose average age was 54, were given tests to determine risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and others. They also periodically underwent brain scans. Those people with high blood pressure developed areas of blood vessel damage in the brain more quickly than participants with normal blood pressure levels, the study found. They also performed more poorly on decision-making and planning tests.

Smokers, people with diabetes, and those who were overweight also were more likely to experience faster losses in brain volume.

For more study details and to read the complete WebMD.com story,

http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20110801/brain-shrinkage-linked-to-smoking-obesity-diabetes