Summer is Almost Here…
I know it’s only May, but with the warm weather becoming more frequent, with the exception of 2 frost-warning nights in a row this week (but at least we’ve escaped Jersey’s freak April Thunder Storms, which are more like torrential down-pours than showers), college Spring semester is nearly over, and I have so much more time on my hands to focus on my passion of cooking.
I know this blog got off to a rough start, with a serious lack of frequent postings. But, after “Tastespotting” and reading so many other foodie blogs, I feel rejuvenated to get a good jump on my own project.
Before I start talking about change and things like that, let’s back track, and cover some old news.
Weight loss? I’m walking more, and trying desperately to still tinker with my eating habits, but I haven’t seen any loss significant enough to rejoice. I’m still in my yo-yo phase, but now that the semester is basically over and finals have passed, I feel much more confident about slimming down and toning up. The only good part is that I’ve stayed consistent with my weight; it may not have gone down, but at least it didn’t go up.
Gardening? I have a garden! I couldn’t decide where it should be planted, so it’s all currently a container garden, and I’m using window box containers for my little plants.
Here’s a list of things I am growing/hope to grow this summer: Lettuce, Peas, Eggplant, Broccoli Rabe, Oregano, Purple Potatoes, Ginger, Garlic, Onions, and we’re contemplating a Blueberry bush.
My little pea plants are getting huge, my lettuce is sprouting wildly, and my eggplant is a little slow to start, but it should catch up soon. Once this batch of seedlings are replanted, I’ll start my oregano and Broccoli Rabe, and then buy more window boxes for my roots and underground buddies. If we get the Blueberry Bush, it’ll be added to the existing landscape in the backyard.
Cooking? My cookbook idea hasn’t gone very far, if only due to the fact that I wrote 3-4 papers this semester, two of which had to be seven pages. Now that I can breathe a little more easily, and will have some time to work on a book/compilation idea, I think a themed book might just be a lot to undertake right now. If anything, I’ll take the top (insert number here) recipes I like, and adapt them to be something inspired by the recipes I like, but totally different beasts. Books like my Organic Kitchen cookbook will come in handy, so I can stay organic and seasonal.
I recently purchased a fresh coconut, and after a little online hunting, I found (and tasted) a recipe for a coconut candy. It came out very nicely, even though I used half fresh and half dried, sweetened coconut, and changed a few proportions around to suit what I had. It was tasty, and that’s all I was hoping for.
A blog, Norecipes, has inspired me to “wing it” more often, especially with things I know I enjoy and can cook well. Baking, on the other hand, might still need at the very least ratios to follow but they can always lead to a wonderful avenue of culinary exploration.
I want to be healthy, borrow some good ideas from smart chefs, and still make food my own. Instead of cooking so-and-so’s famous whatever it is, I want to say “Well, so-and-so inspired me to make this dish”. I’ve been good at this kind of thing for a while, but always on a small scale.
My end goal? To be able to cook with whatever is in the house, whenever, and still have it be healthy.
And where will I start? With NoRecipe’s Japanese Curry and Rice. After watching the YouTube video, I feel as though this is something I could almost make en masse, and keep it light and fun. Art will never let me out of the kitchen if I perfect the seasonings on this.
Along with winging it more often, I want to learn to cook a lot of more different styles of food. I’ve got Japanese down pretty well; I’m working on rustic Italian, since I mostly know Italian-American “traditional” foods; I can make some Southern American dishes, but I’m learning more when I can (making those figure friendly is daunting, at best, with a limited budget).
I want to learn other Asian styles, like Indian and Thai Cuisine; I want to learn more rural Chinese dishes and use my wok a lot more often; I might even try my hand at some rustic African dishes, like an Egyptian Lentil spin, or re-visit Ethiopian cuisine (I was only mildly scarred for life the first time I ate Ethiopian. I was 7, a picky eater, and the only thing that was appetizing to me at the time was mashed sweet potatoes, and their NY Style Cheesecake); I need to learn more Scandinavian foods; I’d like to work on some French Provencal dishes; I’d like to cook with alcohol as a flavoring agent more, as well.
Essentially, I want to overcome my food fears, be more adventurous, and expand my boundaries.
It’s a long laundry list of things I’d like to do.
So, how am I going to set about doing this, learn to bake healthier, and still try to keep losing weight?
Easy: Scheduling.
If I keep myself on a regimen of cooking, then bread can be made in no time; I can bake desserts to last the whole week that won’t kill my family’s wallet or waistline; I can try to make at least one new dish a week.
When will this whole adventure begin?
Today is May 10th, so I’m giving myself 2 weeks to compile some new recipes, get used to the idea, and be prepared to take on this self-discipline challenge.
That means that I’ll be posting again on May 24th, and get the ball rolling.
Of course, I’ll be interrupted by some trips, weekend excursions, and the like, but I can now factor in cooking for the Anime Convention, baking and freezing goodies for later in the summer, and give myself a few weeks built-in to rest from this “challenge”.
Did I mention I’m going to Poland for a wedding? I am, in June, so that will be a good time to take a step back, reflect, see how much I have impressed myself yet, or if I need to push myself a little harder when I get home from Europe.
Also, I’m sure somewhere along the line I promised pictures of food, and never delivered. I’m not an A+ photographer, but I’ll do my darndest to keep the camera handy when cooking, so I can show you all the lovely recipes I make.
Until then, keep it light, fun, and be true to yourself.
Your lovely Otaku Cooking Host,
Angie.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
A Dissertation on the Detox
Hello, people of the Internet!
I'm really bad at updating as often as I'd like to. I was going to comment each few days during my Detox about how I was doing, but to be fairly honest, that was a lofty goal. I update best, and feel that I have the most to say, when I chat to myself on here about every 2 weeks. Hopefully my life will get more interesting, or I'll find more things to say, and I can update once a week.
So, how did the Detox go?
Well, I started on Monday, February 22. So today is day 12. I'm almost done with my original 14 day plan, but to be honest, it panned out to be smarter as a 10 day plan.
I started the detox by tracking my food intake for the first 4 days. This worked well when I remembered to write it all down, and helped me eat at regular times, and take my vitamins.
The basic breakdown of my detox was as such: Little Gluten, No Artificial Flavors or Colors, No Preservatives, No Artificial Sweeteners, Little Eggs, Little Dairy, Barely Any Meat. LOTS of Fruits, Vegetables, Flax Seed, grains, rice, and Quinoa.
I altered it from the original plan, and to keep myself sane, I allowed one little "cheat" food every day. One day it was whole wheat toast. One day it was an egg. Once it was a little morsel of some organic fried halibut. An ounce of chocolate.
I really do mean "little" cheat.
So far, the weight loss is about 3.5 pounds, I've been riding our exercise bike more often (this week I've gone for 15-20 minutes each time, about 2-3 times this week), I'm drinking much more water, taking hotter showers, and using less cleaning products.
Hotter showers? Yes. To sweat. Lots of sweating. (Don't worry, I wear deodorant) I basically bake a little in my bathroom with the heat lamp going for about ten minutes, then jump into the shower, and make it a faster, hotter shower than I used to. Then I jump back out, open the window, and give myself a little temperature shock. It feels great in the morning, quite invigorating.
What vitamins did I take? Omega 3-6-9 Complex Softgels, Milk Thistle Extract, and my Chewable Gummy Bear Multivitamins (I was so happy to see on the label they were naturally flavored and colored).
Why do I take Gummy vitamins? Because the One A Day vitamin makes me nauseous; I still don't know why, but I'd rather avoid them because my breakfast is precious to me.
Now that my detox is essentially over, I've decided to change my Diota, instead of just falling back into my Fast-Food-Chinese-Cafeteria Comfort Zone.
I thought this all out while on my detox (or thought it out most of the way) so that I can keep up the steady weight loss, keep up my exercise, and still feel good about what I eat. So I give to you, the New Angie List of Stuff, in no particular order.
1. I'm going to eat meat 6 days a week. Once a week will be Pork, Twice a week will be Fish (one of those an oily fish, like salmon), and Three times a week will be Poultry. The seventh day of the week will be tofu, seitan, or a complete protein via a vegetarian combination. (Rice and beans, grains and leafy greens, etc)
This means I will eat meat at one to two of the meals of my day.
2. Breakfast will be vegetarian in nature. Toast, oatmeal, cereal, fruit smoothie, eggs, vegetable fried rice, all are viable options. I'll only have bacon or sausage with Breakfast if I'm eating it for dinner.
3. I will eat red meat once a month. Hamburgers, cheese steaks, steaks, and red meat of any form counts to this. So if I'm going to eat a burger, it better be a good one.
4. I'm essentially beginning to follow the Asian Food pyramid (If you'd like to see the food pyramid I'm using as a guide, check out the Mayo Clinic website )
5. Milk and cheese intake are going to be limited. If I find myself lacking Calcium, I'll eat more Yogurt. Since yogurt is cultured, and things like Greek Yogurt or Skyr are made from Skim Milk, they're still totally good to eat.
6. I will exercise a minimum of 3 times a week. I will define exercise as at least 20 minutes of activity that raises my heart rate, not including the necessary warm up and cool down. I have a pedometer, a recumbent exercise bike, and my Wii Fit. I need to use them more often.
7. I will drink more tea. I haven't had coffee for 12 days, and I'm not really missing it. I've been drinking Black and Green tea, but found that with better eating and more exercise, I already have a pep in my step, and don't need much help in the morning to get moving.
8. I will have dessert once a week. (Give me a moment to collect myself, this is a big one) Desserts are not allowed to have artificial stuff in them, so I either need to read lots of labels, or make my own stuff. Fruit with a very light drizzle of honey does not count as a dessert. (That's not really a cheat, as long as I'm honest, and remember that a "Drizzle" is less than a tablespoon.)
My breakfast fruit smoothie doesn't count as dessert either, since it's just fruit, rice milk, flax seed, and unsweetened fruit juice.
9. I will use my bento box and lunch box more often. Packing a lunch is so much smarter, and easier if I remember to pack it all up the night before. I spent 70 dollars on two weeks of groceries for my Detox, and that averages out to 5 Dollars a day for my meals, excluding any of the pantry items I used. $7 A day Organic, eat your heart out. :D
10. I will learn how to make sushi. Sushi is very filling, very tasty, and pretty darn healthy too. If I use asparagus, avocado, carrots, snow peas, and other fun delights, I can really use my bento box for what it's meant.
11. I'm going to learn how to make ramen. If I can make ramen, it'll be cheaper and healthier than the fresh Ramen at Mitsuwa. And if I can make ramen well, Art will never go hungry again. :)
12. Alcohol will be a once a week treat. I will allow myself two servings of alcohol in each week. A serving is a 12 oz beer, a shot of hard liquor, or 4 ounces of wine. That's it. Nada Mas.
13. I gave up soda for the detox, I don't really miss it, so I'll keep it out as best as I can. I drink naturally flavored seltzer, but soda very rarely. Rarely is something like less than once a week, maybe once every 2 weeks.
To me, this sounds like a sensible, healthy, happy plan that I can stick to. I'll have to be aware of what foods I eat, track when I eat them, and know when to say "stop". Another thing that I'm doing, which I forgot to add to the list, is I'm eating slower. I talk more when I eat, or read a book between bites, to help me know when I'm full, and know when to stop.
I'd like to keep a food journal, and I think I will. My goal is 5 meals. Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Nibble, Dinner.
Breakfast needs to be brain food, so I might start eating a protein complex in the morning, to keep me zippy until my afternoon snack. Breakfast smoothie, a tasty sweet whole grain combo, something that will make me happy to eat it. I like sweeter things in the morning, to help keep me away from the coffee.
Snack will be some fun salty, crunchy craving that will replace my junk food wants. Something like Rice Cracker Snacks, or Nuts, with Grapes or another fruit. I like the fruit and nut combination, and the protein and little fat content will keep me alert until lunch.
Lunch will be veg City, with a little morsel of meat. Salads, Beans, stir fry, or soup with a whole grain. This means I'll have to prep it the night before, and plan out my lunches weekly. I only want to have 1 serving of meat with my lunch, so that means between 3 and 5 ounces of my choice animal. Yeah, that's it. That's all I need.
Nibble could be before or after dinner. It could be popcorn, fruit with a drizzle of honey, or my coveted once-a-month dessert.
I have the portion sizes in my head, and some say soon I'll take pictures of all of the foods I eat for the day, to show you portion sizes and all.
That's all I've got for now, but I think it's enough to keep me going for a while.
Oh, my cook book? Once I'm off my detox, and transition (hopefully) smoothly to my new Diota, I'll update on cookbook ideas. I'm still in the research phase.
So remember kids, ITS FRIDAY!
Have fun, be safe, and you'll hear from me soon.
The Angie Monster.
I'm really bad at updating as often as I'd like to. I was going to comment each few days during my Detox about how I was doing, but to be fairly honest, that was a lofty goal. I update best, and feel that I have the most to say, when I chat to myself on here about every 2 weeks. Hopefully my life will get more interesting, or I'll find more things to say, and I can update once a week.
So, how did the Detox go?
Well, I started on Monday, February 22. So today is day 12. I'm almost done with my original 14 day plan, but to be honest, it panned out to be smarter as a 10 day plan.
I started the detox by tracking my food intake for the first 4 days. This worked well when I remembered to write it all down, and helped me eat at regular times, and take my vitamins.
The basic breakdown of my detox was as such: Little Gluten, No Artificial Flavors or Colors, No Preservatives, No Artificial Sweeteners, Little Eggs, Little Dairy, Barely Any Meat. LOTS of Fruits, Vegetables, Flax Seed, grains, rice, and Quinoa.
I altered it from the original plan, and to keep myself sane, I allowed one little "cheat" food every day. One day it was whole wheat toast. One day it was an egg. Once it was a little morsel of some organic fried halibut. An ounce of chocolate.
I really do mean "little" cheat.
So far, the weight loss is about 3.5 pounds, I've been riding our exercise bike more often (this week I've gone for 15-20 minutes each time, about 2-3 times this week), I'm drinking much more water, taking hotter showers, and using less cleaning products.
Hotter showers? Yes. To sweat. Lots of sweating. (Don't worry, I wear deodorant) I basically bake a little in my bathroom with the heat lamp going for about ten minutes, then jump into the shower, and make it a faster, hotter shower than I used to. Then I jump back out, open the window, and give myself a little temperature shock. It feels great in the morning, quite invigorating.
What vitamins did I take? Omega 3-6-9 Complex Softgels, Milk Thistle Extract, and my Chewable Gummy Bear Multivitamins (I was so happy to see on the label they were naturally flavored and colored).
Why do I take Gummy vitamins? Because the One A Day vitamin makes me nauseous; I still don't know why, but I'd rather avoid them because my breakfast is precious to me.
Now that my detox is essentially over, I've decided to change my Diota, instead of just falling back into my Fast-Food-Chinese-Cafeteria Comfort Zone.
I thought this all out while on my detox (or thought it out most of the way) so that I can keep up the steady weight loss, keep up my exercise, and still feel good about what I eat. So I give to you, the New Angie List of Stuff, in no particular order.
1. I'm going to eat meat 6 days a week. Once a week will be Pork, Twice a week will be Fish (one of those an oily fish, like salmon), and Three times a week will be Poultry. The seventh day of the week will be tofu, seitan, or a complete protein via a vegetarian combination. (Rice and beans, grains and leafy greens, etc)
This means I will eat meat at one to two of the meals of my day.
2. Breakfast will be vegetarian in nature. Toast, oatmeal, cereal, fruit smoothie, eggs, vegetable fried rice, all are viable options. I'll only have bacon or sausage with Breakfast if I'm eating it for dinner.
3. I will eat red meat once a month. Hamburgers, cheese steaks, steaks, and red meat of any form counts to this. So if I'm going to eat a burger, it better be a good one.
4. I'm essentially beginning to follow the Asian Food pyramid (If you'd like to see the food pyramid I'm using as a guide, check out the Mayo Clinic website )
5. Milk and cheese intake are going to be limited. If I find myself lacking Calcium, I'll eat more Yogurt. Since yogurt is cultured, and things like Greek Yogurt or Skyr are made from Skim Milk, they're still totally good to eat.
6. I will exercise a minimum of 3 times a week. I will define exercise as at least 20 minutes of activity that raises my heart rate, not including the necessary warm up and cool down. I have a pedometer, a recumbent exercise bike, and my Wii Fit. I need to use them more often.
7. I will drink more tea. I haven't had coffee for 12 days, and I'm not really missing it. I've been drinking Black and Green tea, but found that with better eating and more exercise, I already have a pep in my step, and don't need much help in the morning to get moving.
8. I will have dessert once a week. (Give me a moment to collect myself, this is a big one) Desserts are not allowed to have artificial stuff in them, so I either need to read lots of labels, or make my own stuff. Fruit with a very light drizzle of honey does not count as a dessert. (That's not really a cheat, as long as I'm honest, and remember that a "Drizzle" is less than a tablespoon.)
My breakfast fruit smoothie doesn't count as dessert either, since it's just fruit, rice milk, flax seed, and unsweetened fruit juice.
9. I will use my bento box and lunch box more often. Packing a lunch is so much smarter, and easier if I remember to pack it all up the night before. I spent 70 dollars on two weeks of groceries for my Detox, and that averages out to 5 Dollars a day for my meals, excluding any of the pantry items I used. $7 A day Organic, eat your heart out. :D
10. I will learn how to make sushi. Sushi is very filling, very tasty, and pretty darn healthy too. If I use asparagus, avocado, carrots, snow peas, and other fun delights, I can really use my bento box for what it's meant.
11. I'm going to learn how to make ramen. If I can make ramen, it'll be cheaper and healthier than the fresh Ramen at Mitsuwa. And if I can make ramen well, Art will never go hungry again. :)
12. Alcohol will be a once a week treat. I will allow myself two servings of alcohol in each week. A serving is a 12 oz beer, a shot of hard liquor, or 4 ounces of wine. That's it. Nada Mas.
13. I gave up soda for the detox, I don't really miss it, so I'll keep it out as best as I can. I drink naturally flavored seltzer, but soda very rarely. Rarely is something like less than once a week, maybe once every 2 weeks.
To me, this sounds like a sensible, healthy, happy plan that I can stick to. I'll have to be aware of what foods I eat, track when I eat them, and know when to say "stop". Another thing that I'm doing, which I forgot to add to the list, is I'm eating slower. I talk more when I eat, or read a book between bites, to help me know when I'm full, and know when to stop.
I'd like to keep a food journal, and I think I will. My goal is 5 meals. Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Nibble, Dinner.
Breakfast needs to be brain food, so I might start eating a protein complex in the morning, to keep me zippy until my afternoon snack. Breakfast smoothie, a tasty sweet whole grain combo, something that will make me happy to eat it. I like sweeter things in the morning, to help keep me away from the coffee.
Snack will be some fun salty, crunchy craving that will replace my junk food wants. Something like Rice Cracker Snacks, or Nuts, with Grapes or another fruit. I like the fruit and nut combination, and the protein and little fat content will keep me alert until lunch.
Lunch will be veg City, with a little morsel of meat. Salads, Beans, stir fry, or soup with a whole grain. This means I'll have to prep it the night before, and plan out my lunches weekly. I only want to have 1 serving of meat with my lunch, so that means between 3 and 5 ounces of my choice animal. Yeah, that's it. That's all I need.
Nibble could be before or after dinner. It could be popcorn, fruit with a drizzle of honey, or my coveted once-a-month dessert.
I have the portion sizes in my head, and some say soon I'll take pictures of all of the foods I eat for the day, to show you portion sizes and all.
That's all I've got for now, but I think it's enough to keep me going for a while.
Oh, my cook book? Once I'm off my detox, and transition (hopefully) smoothly to my new Diota, I'll update on cookbook ideas. I'm still in the research phase.
So remember kids, ITS FRIDAY!
Have fun, be safe, and you'll hear from me soon.
The Angie Monster.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Cookbooks and Detoxes Ahoy!
Hello, Internet.
I've been poking around a lot, but unfortunately it's all been cute baby animals, oddly specific signs, and internet memes. And not very much research.
So, for the past two days I fixed that, mostly.
Hello, people who read my blog!
I have some good news, and some bad news. I'll give the bad news first, so that we can work off of the good news and try to fix the bad things.
Bad News: I have not lost any weight, and I've had dreaded fast food a lot recently. Like 3 times a week. My school hasn't given me my refund yet for my Saturday class yet, so I've been flatter-than-a-pancake flat broke. The money issue and my lack of enthusiasm has contributed to my current weight.
Good News: I have a Detoxification plan relatively well mapped out, in such a fashion that when I get my paycheck tomorrow (Hooray!) I'll be able to follow through for the 2 weeks I feel would be best for the dietary change, and then gently shift into the Alton Brown Diota I talked about in my last post.
Also, I ate tofu for lunch. Baby steps, right? :)
Doubly also, I've got a basic theme for my cookbook all picked out, and I can't wait to start compiling all the recipes I'll need. I won't tell you guys just yet what I'm planning, but I will tell you I'm on a quest to learn how to make Sukiyaki, and real Ramen. (No, it's not an all Japanese cookbook, but good guess!)
So, what's my detox plan? Well, I'm going to take the idea of a breakfast fruit smoothie, and change it into an all-day food smoothie. It will have soy milk and fruit (maybe a few vegetable) juices, and will be supplemented by other foods, so that I'm not on a juice fast. While I'm doing my detox, I'm going to do my best to get my energy levels high, and sweat out all the icky stuff that's stored away. This means I have a goal of working out 2-3 times a week, and riding our new recumbent exercise bike 2-3 times a week, making for a total of at least 5 days a week of doing some kind of physical activity.
My mom and I also recently purchased pedometers, so I'm going to make a conscious effort to park as far away as I can, so that even those steps will be steps in the right direction. (See what I did there? Took a real life situation and made it into a metaphor.)
So, I'm happy and relatively confident that I can get this detox done, and I plan to do it for 10 to 14 days, and updating this little blog of mine will keep me honest, and it'll also be a good food diary so I can track my journey into the Land of Good and Healthy. :)
For now, I'm off to go look up breakfast replacement smoothies, and I'll let you all know my progress as soon as I can. It most definitely won't be another two weeks between posts. :P
So remember kids, don't ever do a juice fast, unless you want to lose muscle mass.
Diet smart and be safe!
I've been poking around a lot, but unfortunately it's all been cute baby animals, oddly specific signs, and internet memes. And not very much research.
So, for the past two days I fixed that, mostly.
Hello, people who read my blog!
I have some good news, and some bad news. I'll give the bad news first, so that we can work off of the good news and try to fix the bad things.
Bad News: I have not lost any weight, and I've had dreaded fast food a lot recently. Like 3 times a week. My school hasn't given me my refund yet for my Saturday class yet, so I've been flatter-than-a-pancake flat broke. The money issue and my lack of enthusiasm has contributed to my current weight.
Good News: I have a Detoxification plan relatively well mapped out, in such a fashion that when I get my paycheck tomorrow (Hooray!) I'll be able to follow through for the 2 weeks I feel would be best for the dietary change, and then gently shift into the Alton Brown Diota I talked about in my last post.
Also, I ate tofu for lunch. Baby steps, right? :)
Doubly also, I've got a basic theme for my cookbook all picked out, and I can't wait to start compiling all the recipes I'll need. I won't tell you guys just yet what I'm planning, but I will tell you I'm on a quest to learn how to make Sukiyaki, and real Ramen. (No, it's not an all Japanese cookbook, but good guess!)
So, what's my detox plan? Well, I'm going to take the idea of a breakfast fruit smoothie, and change it into an all-day food smoothie. It will have soy milk and fruit (maybe a few vegetable) juices, and will be supplemented by other foods, so that I'm not on a juice fast. While I'm doing my detox, I'm going to do my best to get my energy levels high, and sweat out all the icky stuff that's stored away. This means I have a goal of working out 2-3 times a week, and riding our new recumbent exercise bike 2-3 times a week, making for a total of at least 5 days a week of doing some kind of physical activity.
My mom and I also recently purchased pedometers, so I'm going to make a conscious effort to park as far away as I can, so that even those steps will be steps in the right direction. (See what I did there? Took a real life situation and made it into a metaphor.)
So, I'm happy and relatively confident that I can get this detox done, and I plan to do it for 10 to 14 days, and updating this little blog of mine will keep me honest, and it'll also be a good food diary so I can track my journey into the Land of Good and Healthy. :)
For now, I'm off to go look up breakfast replacement smoothies, and I'll let you all know my progress as soon as I can. It most definitely won't be another two weeks between posts. :P
So remember kids, don't ever do a juice fast, unless you want to lose muscle mass.
Diet smart and be safe!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Did She Die? No! She was Lazy!
I figured that if I waited until tomorrow to update, then it would have been exactly 2 full, Holiday-filled and gut-busting months since my last update. So, I wanted to nip my procrastination in the bud!
Well, at least the procrastination of updating.
My apologies, dear readers. You're probably wondering why it took me so long to come back to this dusty keyboard, and bang out a couple cool ideas.
Honestly... it's hard looking in the mirror, and pointing out your flaws. And even harder when you have to make it entertaining for other people to read. Like you lovely people out there, wandering the interwebs.
So! I may be a month late with starting my New Year's Resolutions (or Reallocation of Energy's, as I call them), but at least I'm starting them, and this little blog is keeping me honest.
Oh, Christmas presents? Yeah, lemme fill you in a little on what you guys missed out during the holiday season.
I got a bread machine. And it's pretty. :D
I got snowboarding gear, a snowboard rental, and went out once so far. I fell a bunch. :( Mah bum hurts, but it was good exercise.
I had a Yule party between Christmas and New Years, complete with a little ritual. The outcome was a great success, and a nice bonding experience for myself, Art, and our friend Lew, since we're all Asatru, and led the little ceremony. :)
My weight is right back where I started, meaning i gained like 10 pounds back during the holidays. :(
I Will overcome that hurdle!
Hope that's enough filler arc for ya. Now, onto the main event.
Recently, I rummaged through my garage (which has shelving units that double as extra pantry space and cooking appliance storage) and cleaned off a shelf all for myself. Over the past few weeks, I've gone shopping and collected a few great ingredients that I need to put to delicious use.
I have some dried quinoa, dried black beans, brown rice, mild green chiles, and more fat-free refried beans, to name a few things on those shelves from memory.
I'm half-way tempted to do some kind of detox diet, and start fresh, but I did a little research, and there is no quick-fix with a detox, and it can last up to 4 weeks to do it correctly, before coming back to a normal food assortment.
And quite frankly... I'm a college kid. I'm lucky if I eat correctly 2 days in a row, let alone limit my nutritional intake for 28 days in a row.
so! Back to that alluring idea of $7-a-day organic eating!
If I watch for coupons, I can make shopping at Whole Foods much easier, and it really is my best choice for Organic grocery shopping that's close to home.
Alton Brown, the ever inspiring geeky hunk of love that he is, made a change to his diet and lost 50 pounds in 9 months. I don't want to shed that much ugly fat, but his approach is something I can live with.
(The following is my interpretation of his material, from his show Good Eats. I don't own this it's his intellectual property, and all that stuff.)
The best thing you can do for your body is to have a food assortment high in nutrients, and lower in energy (or calorie) density.
So, there are certain foods you should eat Daily.
Foods like:
Fruits, Leafy Greens, Nuts, Carrots, and Green Tea.
There are certain foods that should be eaten 3x A Week, at least.
Foods like:
Oily Fish, Yogurt, Broccoli, Sweet Potato, and Avocado.
Now, here comes the Will power. There are certain foods that should not be eaten more than 1x A Week.
Foods like:
Red Meat, Pasta, Alcohol, and all Desserts.
Then, the hard part, foods that should not be eaten at all, or 0x A week.
These foods are:
Fast Food, Soda (except club soda), Processed Meals, Condensed Soups, and "Diet" Anything (Anything with artificial sweeteners).
I'll do my best to stick to these guide lines, but I need to go get some sweet potatoes, fresh broccoli, and avocados before I can get this kick-started.
As for news on the Recipe Side of the Story, I made Brussels Sprouts the other day. And they were tasty. Then again, anything with the right seasonings, kielbasa, and some caramelized onions will be tasty.
Recipes that I've made up along the years, or anything I've edited or revised from any of my many sources, will soon be compiled in my very own cookbook. I might even bind some of them, and sell copies. But that won't be until the summer. I'm still in my research phase. :)
I think that's all for now. And Hopefully I can be a better little duckie and update every week, maybe twice a week, to keep you posted on my culinary adventures, and use this as inspiration to shed some un-wanted pounds.
Until then, I bid you Good Eating,
And Remember Kids:
A Role Model, like Alton Brown, is sometimes all the inspiration you need.
And it doesn't hurt that I think he's hot.
Well, at least the procrastination of updating.
My apologies, dear readers. You're probably wondering why it took me so long to come back to this dusty keyboard, and bang out a couple cool ideas.
Honestly... it's hard looking in the mirror, and pointing out your flaws. And even harder when you have to make it entertaining for other people to read. Like you lovely people out there, wandering the interwebs.
So! I may be a month late with starting my New Year's Resolutions (or Reallocation of Energy's, as I call them), but at least I'm starting them, and this little blog is keeping me honest.
Oh, Christmas presents? Yeah, lemme fill you in a little on what you guys missed out during the holiday season.
I got a bread machine. And it's pretty. :D
I got snowboarding gear, a snowboard rental, and went out once so far. I fell a bunch. :( Mah bum hurts, but it was good exercise.
I had a Yule party between Christmas and New Years, complete with a little ritual. The outcome was a great success, and a nice bonding experience for myself, Art, and our friend Lew, since we're all Asatru, and led the little ceremony. :)
My weight is right back where I started, meaning i gained like 10 pounds back during the holidays. :(
I Will overcome that hurdle!
Hope that's enough filler arc for ya. Now, onto the main event.
Recently, I rummaged through my garage (which has shelving units that double as extra pantry space and cooking appliance storage) and cleaned off a shelf all for myself. Over the past few weeks, I've gone shopping and collected a few great ingredients that I need to put to delicious use.
I have some dried quinoa, dried black beans, brown rice, mild green chiles, and more fat-free refried beans, to name a few things on those shelves from memory.
I'm half-way tempted to do some kind of detox diet, and start fresh, but I did a little research, and there is no quick-fix with a detox, and it can last up to 4 weeks to do it correctly, before coming back to a normal food assortment.
And quite frankly... I'm a college kid. I'm lucky if I eat correctly 2 days in a row, let alone limit my nutritional intake for 28 days in a row.
so! Back to that alluring idea of $7-a-day organic eating!
If I watch for coupons, I can make shopping at Whole Foods much easier, and it really is my best choice for Organic grocery shopping that's close to home.
Alton Brown, the ever inspiring geeky hunk of love that he is, made a change to his diet and lost 50 pounds in 9 months. I don't want to shed that much ugly fat, but his approach is something I can live with.
(The following is my interpretation of his material, from his show Good Eats. I don't own this it's his intellectual property, and all that stuff.)
The best thing you can do for your body is to have a food assortment high in nutrients, and lower in energy (or calorie) density.
So, there are certain foods you should eat Daily.
Foods like:
Fruits, Leafy Greens, Nuts, Carrots, and Green Tea.
There are certain foods that should be eaten 3x A Week, at least.
Foods like:
Oily Fish, Yogurt, Broccoli, Sweet Potato, and Avocado.
Now, here comes the Will power. There are certain foods that should not be eaten more than 1x A Week.
Foods like:
Red Meat, Pasta, Alcohol, and all Desserts.
Then, the hard part, foods that should not be eaten at all, or 0x A week.
These foods are:
Fast Food, Soda (except club soda), Processed Meals, Condensed Soups, and "Diet" Anything (Anything with artificial sweeteners).
I'll do my best to stick to these guide lines, but I need to go get some sweet potatoes, fresh broccoli, and avocados before I can get this kick-started.
As for news on the Recipe Side of the Story, I made Brussels Sprouts the other day. And they were tasty. Then again, anything with the right seasonings, kielbasa, and some caramelized onions will be tasty.
Recipes that I've made up along the years, or anything I've edited or revised from any of my many sources, will soon be compiled in my very own cookbook. I might even bind some of them, and sell copies. But that won't be until the summer. I'm still in my research phase. :)
I think that's all for now. And Hopefully I can be a better little duckie and update every week, maybe twice a week, to keep you posted on my culinary adventures, and use this as inspiration to shed some un-wanted pounds.
Until then, I bid you Good Eating,
And Remember Kids:
A Role Model, like Alton Brown, is sometimes all the inspiration you need.
And it doesn't hurt that I think he's hot.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Two Bean Soup
After a Turducken-filled Thanksgiving, and much delicious chili made with the leftovers of said Turducken, I finally had a chance to sit down and write up my Two Bean Soup recipe! Now, there's a variation on this soup that I'll mention at the end, but this was my first version, a Beta soup if you will.
If I can find any way to improve upon it, I'll surely post it.
Variation: A possible variation to this recipe would be to take the onions, carrots, and half of the black beans (reserving some of the liquid, then rinsing the beans) and buzz them up with a Food Processor. This mixture could then be heated, the rest of the steps followed, and then the other beans added as normal. This would produce a much creamier soup, with a few whole black beans for presentation.
I hope you enjoy my little spin on the two bean soup recipe, and remember kids:
Love, Hugs, and Lollipops!
Chef Angie
If I can find any way to improve upon it, I'll surely post it.
Two Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 T Vegetable oil
1 c Carrots, medium dice
1 c Onion, medium dice
1 heaping T garlic, or to taste
1 15 oz can Black Beans, drained and mostly rinsed
1 15 oz can Fat-Free Refried Beans
2 c Chicken or Vegetable Broth
Seasonings: (Suggested, can be altered to your liking)
1 T
1 T Red Wine Vinegar
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Black Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- In a large saucepan (3 Qt or more) over Medium heat, add oil, carrots, and onion. Sweat for 5 minutes, until carrots and onions look soft.
- One the onions and carrots are to your liking, add the Vinegar, Cooking Wine. Let this cook for about 1 minute, then add Garlic.
- Allow mixture to cook for about 5 minutes, adjusting the heat to Medium-Low.
- Add the mostly drained Black Beans, seasonings, and half of the stock.
- Add the refried beans, stir well, and add the rest of the stock.
- Get out your favorite potato masher, and gently work the majority of the mixture to a pulpy consistency.
- Turn the heat to Medium High, and bring to a boil.
- Once the soup boils, drop the heat to a simmer, and allow the flavors to marry for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Tortilla Chips
Ingredients:
2 Whole Grain Tortillas (Recommended Brand:
Olive Oil Flavored Cooking Spray
Salt, to taste
Preheat Oven to 350° while preparing the first 3 steps of the soup.
- Cut the tortillas into 8 triangular pieces. Spray a baking sheet with Cooking Spray. Place the Tortillas on the sheet, and spray the tops with a little more Cooking Spray.
- Put into the oven for approximately 5-7 minutes.
- As soon as the chips come out of the oven, sprinkle salt on them and allow them to cool.
Serving Suggestion:
2 Chips, placed on the bottom of the bowl. One ladle (one cup) of soup on top, and one more chip in the center for presentation.
Enjoy! Makes 4-6 Servings, for a snack or main course.
Variation: A possible variation to this recipe would be to take the onions, carrots, and half of the black beans (reserving some of the liquid, then rinsing the beans) and buzz them up with a Food Processor. This mixture could then be heated, the rest of the steps followed, and then the other beans added as normal. This would produce a much creamier soup, with a few whole black beans for presentation.
I hope you enjoy my little spin on the two bean soup recipe, and remember kids:
Love, Hugs, and Lollipops!
Chef Angie
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Moving in a Good Direction, After a Dietary Mis-step
So, this weekend was filled with food, fun, and debauchery as most of my weekends are.
After eating a heart-stopping 40 Points(R) worth of food at Applebee's, spending a 25 dollars that I totally couldn't afford to lose, I came to a realization:
I will never, ever lose weight eating this way.
I now finally understand that even if I eat crappy one day out of the week, I will probably stuff all of the week's worth of crappy food into that one day.
Damn.
Also, convenient foods are great for me, since I spend so long at school with little money in pocket, but all that sodium is keeping my water weight in tact.
Double damn.
Since I am paying 40 dollars a month for the Momentum Plan(R) through Weight Watchers, I am currently throwing that money away.
Triple damn.
My solution to all of this? A three pronged plan:
Work out at school and at home. Cook a lot more foods at home that can easily be eaten at school. And change the way I think about food.
My inspiration:
I found an old print-out from the internet I saved for myself from MSN Health, about being able to eat Healthy and Organic for $7 A Day(The article is still available online). Yes, Seven dollars for one day's worth of eating. Two dollars for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner; and One Dollar for snacks.
That's a bit of a challenge, but an amazing idea for a college student who wants to work on their health, their food consciousness, and their portion sizes. I fit all of those criteria: Hooray!
So, Step One:
I made soup yesterday! 2 Bean Soup to be exact. I made the recipe off the cuff, after staring at two cans of beans with a sad and rumbly belly.
I used onions, carrots, fat free re-fried beans, cooked black beans, and chicken stock to make 4 servings worth of a very hearty soup. Once I refine the recipe a bit, and make the soup again, I'll post the recipe. Right now, the 'recipe' looks like about 10 ingredients on a paper with numbers placed about, either for amounts or cooking times. It needs a few touches.
Step Two:
I scoped out a local Whole Foods today for inspiration, ideas, and a general idea of the new foods I'll be eating soon. Things like cooking my own short grain rice, millet, quinoa, and other grains I can use to replace white rice, pasta, and more expensive grains like them.
I'll also need to cut the cheese. Out of my diet, that is. Oh, and most meats too.
What? No! HELL NO. I'm not going vegan. I'm going smart.
Don't believe me? I'll make some turkey chili soon to prove my point. Maybe I'll even top it with Cheddar or a Mexi-cheese blend. AND keep it within my budget. Challenge? I think Yes!
That's all for now. Once I get a paycheck, and my wallet stops crying at me, I'll organize my shopping list and show you the bounty I'll be purchases, as well as a plan of attack.
Enjoy your turkey days, I'll keep you posted on my progress.
And remember kids:
Building vocabulary makes us seem cool. Or funny, like when we say "Quinoa" (Pronounced Keen-wah)
After eating a heart-stopping 40 Points(R) worth of food at Applebee's, spending a 25 dollars that I totally couldn't afford to lose, I came to a realization:
I will never, ever lose weight eating this way.
I now finally understand that even if I eat crappy one day out of the week, I will probably stuff all of the week's worth of crappy food into that one day.
Damn.
Also, convenient foods are great for me, since I spend so long at school with little money in pocket, but all that sodium is keeping my water weight in tact.
Double damn.
Since I am paying 40 dollars a month for the Momentum Plan(R) through Weight Watchers, I am currently throwing that money away.
Triple damn.
My solution to all of this? A three pronged plan:
Work out at school and at home. Cook a lot more foods at home that can easily be eaten at school. And change the way I think about food.
My inspiration:
I found an old print-out from the internet I saved for myself from MSN Health, about being able to eat Healthy and Organic for $7 A Day(The article is still available online). Yes, Seven dollars for one day's worth of eating. Two dollars for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner; and One Dollar for snacks.
That's a bit of a challenge, but an amazing idea for a college student who wants to work on their health, their food consciousness, and their portion sizes. I fit all of those criteria: Hooray!
So, Step One:
I made soup yesterday! 2 Bean Soup to be exact. I made the recipe off the cuff, after staring at two cans of beans with a sad and rumbly belly.
I used onions, carrots, fat free re-fried beans, cooked black beans, and chicken stock to make 4 servings worth of a very hearty soup. Once I refine the recipe a bit, and make the soup again, I'll post the recipe. Right now, the 'recipe' looks like about 10 ingredients on a paper with numbers placed about, either for amounts or cooking times. It needs a few touches.
Step Two:
I scoped out a local Whole Foods today for inspiration, ideas, and a general idea of the new foods I'll be eating soon. Things like cooking my own short grain rice, millet, quinoa, and other grains I can use to replace white rice, pasta, and more expensive grains like them.
I'll also need to cut the cheese. Out of my diet, that is. Oh, and most meats too.
What? No! HELL NO. I'm not going vegan. I'm going smart.
Don't believe me? I'll make some turkey chili soon to prove my point. Maybe I'll even top it with Cheddar or a Mexi-cheese blend. AND keep it within my budget. Challenge? I think Yes!
That's all for now. Once I get a paycheck, and my wallet stops crying at me, I'll organize my shopping list and show you the bounty I'll be purchases, as well as a plan of attack.
Enjoy your turkey days, I'll keep you posted on my progress.
And remember kids:
Building vocabulary makes us seem cool. Or funny, like when we say "Quinoa" (Pronounced Keen-wah)
Friday, November 20, 2009
Welcome to the Haunted World of... My Kitchen
Aha! So you've found me. Did it take long to shuffle past all the Chinese food boxes, dirty laundry, and unwashed dishes? Don't worry, I'll wash them tomorrow. Or I'll make Art do it.
You'll soon find out a few things about me, and so this is an appropriate time for me to list them:
1. I have a beau, his name is Art. We cook a lot in his tiny apartment kitchen.
2. I live with my parents, and I get to cook in their big kitchen.
When possible, I'll go to friend's houses, and use their kitchen.
All of these things make me a very well versed cook, and pretty flexible when it comes to cooking.
I usually require a plate, a bowl, a knife, a wooden spoon, and a heat source (this does include microwaves) for me to cook just about anything, just about anywhere.
3. I am a Food Network junkie. I choose to watch it all the time, find it better than news, sports, and other entertaining programs (most of the time). I find inspiration in chefs such as Alton Brown, Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, and occasionally Rachel Ray. I'm not a fanatic about any of them, nor do I own any of their fancy gadgets or cookery, but I enjoy all of their recipes.
4. I live on a shoe-string budget, or the typical yo-yo budget of a college kid. When I have money, all of my friends are happy because I love treating for them and cooking semi-fancy things. When I don't have money, I'm sad, and sometimes revert to what is known as the "Ugly Soup" method (see the Ugly Soup blog for more info). My pantry is my best friend at these times, and I can usually whip up something tasty and kind-of good looking.
5. I'm a Biology and Education major, hoping to be a Biology Teacher when I graduate. But that is not the end of the journey for me, oh no. I want to be a Chef. With the Culinary School and everything. So why aren't I in Culinary School now? Because I came to this realization last year, when I already owed Kean XX,000 dollars for my education. So I think I'll finish one career before hopping to another. In the meantime, I am working on whatever skills I can refine, taking a few nutrition classes, and when I have the money over the summer, I hope to take a few cooking classes at some local schools, just for kicks.
6. What do I like to cook? ...Everything. I am Italian, Irish, Lithuanian, and a touch of Polish (though that's disputed within the family), and I worked in a Chinese/Japanese restaurant for 5 years, am currently part-time employed at a big chain Bakery, and I can be found cooking at home at least once a week. I like to keep my horizons wide, and am always willing to take suggestions and post my pictures/results.
So, there we have it.
Oh, once more thing... I'm Norse Wiccan. So any recipes connected to any holidays on the Wheel of the Year will also be tried out and posted here.
I think you'll find these food adventures fun, different, and hopefully humorous.
So enjoy your Freaky Friday, and remember kids:
Be a winner, not a weiner.
Angie
You'll soon find out a few things about me, and so this is an appropriate time for me to list them:
1. I have a beau, his name is Art. We cook a lot in his tiny apartment kitchen.
2. I live with my parents, and I get to cook in their big kitchen.
When possible, I'll go to friend's houses, and use their kitchen.
All of these things make me a very well versed cook, and pretty flexible when it comes to cooking.
I usually require a plate, a bowl, a knife, a wooden spoon, and a heat source (this does include microwaves) for me to cook just about anything, just about anywhere.
3. I am a Food Network junkie. I choose to watch it all the time, find it better than news, sports, and other entertaining programs (most of the time). I find inspiration in chefs such as Alton Brown, Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, and occasionally Rachel Ray. I'm not a fanatic about any of them, nor do I own any of their fancy gadgets or cookery, but I enjoy all of their recipes.
4. I live on a shoe-string budget, or the typical yo-yo budget of a college kid. When I have money, all of my friends are happy because I love treating for them and cooking semi-fancy things. When I don't have money, I'm sad, and sometimes revert to what is known as the "Ugly Soup" method (see the Ugly Soup blog for more info). My pantry is my best friend at these times, and I can usually whip up something tasty and kind-of good looking.
5. I'm a Biology and Education major, hoping to be a Biology Teacher when I graduate. But that is not the end of the journey for me, oh no. I want to be a Chef. With the Culinary School and everything. So why aren't I in Culinary School now? Because I came to this realization last year, when I already owed Kean XX,000 dollars for my education. So I think I'll finish one career before hopping to another. In the meantime, I am working on whatever skills I can refine, taking a few nutrition classes, and when I have the money over the summer, I hope to take a few cooking classes at some local schools, just for kicks.
6. What do I like to cook? ...Everything. I am Italian, Irish, Lithuanian, and a touch of Polish (though that's disputed within the family), and I worked in a Chinese/Japanese restaurant for 5 years, am currently part-time employed at a big chain Bakery, and I can be found cooking at home at least once a week. I like to keep my horizons wide, and am always willing to take suggestions and post my pictures/results.
So, there we have it.
Oh, once more thing... I'm Norse Wiccan. So any recipes connected to any holidays on the Wheel of the Year will also be tried out and posted here.
I think you'll find these food adventures fun, different, and hopefully humorous.
So enjoy your Freaky Friday, and remember kids:
Be a winner, not a weiner.
Angie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
