Getting Back Up

This past week, I've kind of fallen off the Healthy Wagon. Well, "fallen off" isn't really the most accurate term. "Swan Dive" is probably closer to it.

So now it's time to get back up, put down the Easter candy, and go for a walk. Today, all day, I will make good choices.

Still no head

Skirts got finished (though I want to tweak Lauren's), tops were found, walking was done (though not nearly enough to balance out the yumminess of Easter dinners), and now it's a new week.

I work today, morning and evening, tomorrow is Scouts & potluck for Lauren, Wednesday is Scouts for Sarah (she needs to bring mulled cider & custard) and I work that evening, Thursday is an open house/pictures/potluck and then I scramble right to work, and I work Friday morning. It's supposed to rain most of the week, again.

I'm glad the oven is fixed, but I can't imagine having the time to bake much of anything.

Chicken, sans Head

Gonna be busy the next few days.
Tasks include:

• make Sarah's Easter skirt--so easy, I'll probably let her do it herself (tomorrow)
  
• Lauren's skirt is more complicated, so it's all on me (today)
  
• find Easter tops to go with the skirts (today or tomorrow)
  
• get the oven fixed, finally! (tomorrow)
  
• buy myself some Easter clothes (today)
  
• work (tonight)
• check out cyber-school information with a friend (today or tomorrow--there is a deadline for this, so it can't wait)
  
• haircuts for girls (tomorrow)
• new glasses (was hoping to do it last weekend, but we're waiting to hear back about a deal at America's Best, so it's on hold)
• WALK (today, tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday)
  
• dinner with Jeff's family (Saturday)
  
• dinner with my family (Sunday)

I'd like to bring some healthy food to both dinners, as well. Not that there won't be any healthy options, but it'll be easier to avoid stuff that I know I love (my step-mom's potato salad, omg) if I can bring something in addition.

Soooo . . . think I should get off the computer? Uh . . . yeah.

Dragon Fruit

I've heard of Dragon Fruit before, and even seen them used in cooking shows. But I'd never seen one live and in the flesh, so to speak. So when we saw them at the produce market last week, the kids begged to get one. Hmmm . . . $4 for one piece of fruit. That's kind of a lot, especially when you don't know if anyone will even like it.

But I do try to get new foods, so we took a chance. It's an unusual-looking thing, pink on the outside, white on the inside with little black seeds. I knew to take off the skin and only eat the inside.

The taste was pretty mild. Sweet, but not overly so. The seeds were a nice crunch (as opposed to pomegranate seeds, which I dislike). Actually, I had expected more flavor. So it was nice to buy, but it won't go into standard rotation in our fruit bowl, even if it is regularly available.

Cold

It's spring, which means that sometimes it's nice out, and sometimes it's cold. Bitterly, miserably cold. Too cold to do anything except stay in the house and get the warm socks back on your feet.

It's also too cold to go out for a walk, at least for me. This presents a problem. Yes, I can still do the Wii Fit Plus. I did it yesterday for 90 minutes over the course of the day. Sixty of those minutes were spent doing Basic Step, which is just stepping on and off the platform for 10 or 20 minutes. Having loud, energetic music helps make the time pass faster. But for whatever reason, it is not the same as walking.

I've already walked 14 days this month, out of my goal of 20. That's great, but I'd really rather walk outdoors as frequently as I can.

We have some errands to do today, and I'm working tonight, so if I am going to walk, I need to do it soon. I should suck it up and go do it right now, but I'm pretty certain that I'm going to spend as little time as possible outside today.

Shot Down Again

Another new recipe, down in flames. Oh, well--I fully plan to make it again, with a few tweaks.

Whole Wheat Pasta + Cauliflower+ Red Pepper+ Shallot + Mushrooms + Broccoli + Carrot + Yellow Squash + Evaporated Milk + Cornstarch + Parmesan = Pasta Primavera, light style.

I blanched or sauteed the vegetables, boiled the pasta, and added the milk (some of it mixed with the cornstarch to make a slurry) and combined everything in a big serving bowl. It was not overly saucy, but there was definitely too much pasta. I also think I could have skipped the cheese, or rather left it on the table to sprinkle on top.

I thought it was good, but could have been better. Jeff thought it was OK. Lauren wouldn't stop talking about how she hated it until I added some salt & pepper (it really did need it, for all of us) and reminded her that there was garlic bread. Then she loved it. Sarah didn't much care for it, until I started talking about adding protein. Shrimp didn't interest her (I'm really trying to find a shrimp recipe we love, without a lot of success so far), ham is not a popular option with her, but bacon made her eyes light up. So, maybe I'll try a little bacon next time.

Bacon--is there anything it can't do?

March Stats, April Goals

I didn't start exercising until March 7, so these aren't for a complete month.

Total exercise time
March: 8.8 hours
April goal: 15 hours

Average daily time
March: 21 minutes
April goal: 30 minutes

Number of days exercising
(some days were walking, some were Wii, some were both)
March: 19
April goal: 25

Number of days walking
March: 9
April goal: 20

Total distance walked
March: 10.93 miles
April goal: 30

Exercise

I read a really interesting article yesterday, Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin. The premise is that 1) bursts of intense energy aren't enough to burn lots of calories, 2) you're more likely to indulge in high calorie foods after an intense workout, and 3) you're less likely to be active outside the gym. Aerobic exercise is great for your heart and even your mind, but it doesn't necessarily help you lose weight. What seems to be more effective is frequent activity throughout the day.

Here's where the forehead slap comes in. How many times have I said that I was at my healthiest/skinniest after I came back from Switzerland, because while I was there, I never stopped moving? Walking everywhere, chasing the kids, running up & down stairs, hanging up & taking down laundry--I rarely sat down during the day except for meals, and maybe to polish shoes or silver.

I know this stuff, intellectually. But it hasn't changed how I'm living now. I am very sedentary. I spend most of my time on the computer, reading, or watching TV at night. So now I'm trying to be more active even while I'm at home. I did three loads of laundry yesterday, and instead of having the kids take the clothes from the washer to the dryer (they're on opposite sides of the basement--don't ask) and bring the dry laundry upstairs, I did it solo. Instead of not going downstairs for days on end, I'm going to make it a goal to go up and down the stairs at least three times a day (and actually work down there on those trips--bonus!). It's still too cold for outside walks, so I'll try to do 15 - 20 minutes on the Wii twice each day, instead of just once. I'm not as concerned with intensity as I am with frequency and total time.

Spaghetti Dinner

Every year, our church's youth group hosts a spaghetti dinner as their big mission trip fundraiser. Ever year is a different theme; this year was "International Night." Sarah took India--no surprise there!

The servers are all the teens in the youth group, and they work really hard. Sarah got there at 8AM and didn't leave until after 8PM. The spaghetti sauce is all made from scratch, with fresh parsley, basil and oregano. Stripping all those herbs took a while, even with six of us doing it!

Most of the kids did black pants and a t-shirt for their country--one of the girls at the "France" table wore a very cute beret. Luckily, we have some Hindi friends who let us have some clothes and borrow a few table decorations and jewelry. Sarah got a lot of compliments on her outfit.

There is also a paper bag raffle, where people donate items. Each item has a paper bag in front of it, and you put however many tickets in each bag. Tickets were $1 each, or 25 for $20. People brought in English Muffin Bread, puzzles, books, pies, tote bags, handmade pillowcases, a gift certificate for a massage, framed art, a tv, and several movie night baskets. Since I am thoroughly behind the eight ball this year, Sarah made a batch of fudge on Friday night, and we threw a cookbook in with it in a cute Easter basket. We ended up winning it ourselves! But when some friends of ours at our table had said that they'd put in for it as well, I happily passed it on, because more fudge in this house is NOT what I need right now. Some other friends of ours won both of the homemade Polish sausages, so they let us have one. It's in the freezer now, waiting for me to figure out what to do with it.

So after a salad with Ceasar dressing, a plate of spaghetti I couldn't begin to finish, and some truly decadent desserts (Sarah made Halava, which was good, but had enough leftovers for her to have for breakfast) , my weight is up a little this morning. Which is fine by me--unlike my McDonald's breakfast of a few weeks ago, it was all totally worth it. My motto is, "everything in moderation, including moderation!"

Oh, and the youth group raised about $2200! W00t!

A Tale of Two Soups

Or rather, two soup recipes. Both Cook Yourself Thin Faster and Cook's Illustrated Best Light Recipe have recipes for Corn Chowder. I was looking for something to go with hamburgers for dinner last night, and that sounded good to me.

The recipes included many of the same ingredients, but had several differences as well. Both started with one slice of bacon. CYT had no dairy at all; CI had over a cup of milk and half & half. CYT used water; CI used chicken broth. CYT's version was 104 calories per serving; CI's was 400. Since this was a side dish instead of a main course (and the main course was hamburgers), I wanted something lighter.

So, being unable to resist tweaking a recipe, I did pretty much my own thing, and it turned out ok. Not fabulous, but a good starting point. I think that making this next September, when I can get fabulous fresh corn and the nights are maybe cooling down a bit, will be the best time for this soup. Frozen corn worked, but it just isn't the same.

I used the bacon (of course!), and water, but also added a bit of Veggie Better Than Bullion and cream I had in the fridge. I know it added calories, but I think anything called a "chowder" really needs dairy in it. Sure, pureeing half the soup did thicken it, but nothing can take the place of that creamy unctuousness.

Want to make some?
Simple Corn Chowder
- bacon 1 slice
- shallot 2 oz
- potato 5 oz
- broth 4 cups
- corn 16 oz
- half & half 1/4 c
- salt, pepper, thyme

Slice the bacon and fry in a large saucepan. When crisp, remove from the pan and reserve. Saute the shallot in the bacon drippings. Dice the potato and add to the shallots. Add broth and simmer until potatoes are softened, about 15 minutes. Add corn and cook five more minutes. Remove about half the soup and use an immersion blender (or regular blender) to puree the rest. Add the cream and let warm through, but do not boil. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Sprinkle the reserved bacon on top. Makes six servings, about 1 cup each, 175 calories each.

I had two bowls last night; everyone else had one. There is about a serving left over, which I'll have for lunch with a little leftover ham & extra corn to beef it up a little.

New Food Reviews

The family has had to deal with a lot more new food than usual lately. Here's the lowdown.

Ham & 13 bean soup: went over about as anticipated. Everyone ate the requisite one bowl, and I've been eating the leftovers. I don't mind; I liked it, though I think it could have used more vegetables. Next time, I'd make half the beans and double the veg for a batch.

Sara Moulton’s Orecchiette (er, Macaroni) with Broccoli and Chickpeas: not well received at all. Even I didn't think much of it, but that could be that there was too much tomato (I used a big can instead of a small one) and we'd just had mostaccioli the night before. There are lots of leftovers. We've used up some of them by taking out the broccoli, adding some bok choy and chicken broth, and making a kind of soup. I think it would have been better without the tomato & broccoli, and with some other flavors instead. Leftovers for me this week, because I'm trying to use food up.

Mostaccioli: always popular, especially when there's garlic bread. A baguette can be sliced thinly, and since it's a small piece, not a crazy number of calories.

Cod: I floured it and sauteed it in some butter. Both Sarah & Jeff said it tasted buttery, but I thought it had the most delicious fish flavor, like the inside part of really good fish and chips. Looking forward to more cod recipes, especially since it's supposed to be very heart healthy.

Haven't done the Moors & Christians yet. I'm soaking the beans now, and will throw them in the crockpot before we go to church. I'll use as much as I want tonight, but there is so much other food in the house, I'm not going to push them on the rest of the family. The rest of the cooked beans will go in the freezer.

Twice Baked Potatoes: A lot of the ingredients here were a concession for Sarah. Bacon instead of ham, mozzarella instead of cheddar, and spinach instead of broccoli. She thought they were ok, Lauren didn't care for them, but Jeff & I thought they were pretty good. I used the link above as inspiration, but changed it up a bit. Four big potatoes, 8 slices of bacon, a small shallot, a half a cup of milk, no butter, a bunch of spinach, wilted, and 8 oz of part skim mozzarella. I baked the potatoes in the crockpot, and finished them under the broiler, which worked out well. Will definitely make again.

The hockey game last night was fun (Lauren now wants to play hockey next year--we'll see if she remembers this come August), but it wasn't a healthy day for me, despite staying within calories. Almost no fruits or veg. I'll make up for it today. I can't wait for summer fruits to come in season. I'm getting bored with apples, grapes and bananas.

Dinners this coming week include IHOP for Lauren's birthday. I'll have to get requests for meals, and try to include some family favorites instead of so many new things. Sadly, biscuits & gravy will not be on the menu for a while.

I'm looking forward to . . .

. . . being able to get my wedding ring on again (hopefully by the end of the month, definitely by Easter).

. . . being able to dive to the bottom of the deep end of Greg's pool to retrieve swim toys (maybe by the end of August, definitely by June '12).

. . . being able to run through a cold parking lot to get into the warm store (not till next December, hopefully!).

. . . having a family portrait done (next fall, no later than early November).

. . . digging out some of my favorite clothes (next fall/winter).

. . . going for early morning walks that last an hour (this depends on both the weather and my building stamina--shooting for the beginning of May).

As of today, I'm 26 pounds closer to these goals.

How Much is Too Much?

I've been really dedicated to healthier eating since the beginning of February. Lately, I've started adding exercise. My doctor told me to shoot for 1500 calories/day. I've generally been able to do that, though some days are higher and some days it's actually hard to find enough calories. Since then, I've lost 23 pounds. That's good, right? Hmmm . . . maybe too good?

I've heard that your target calories should be 10x your target weight. According to BMI statistics, I should weigh 175. I can say from experience that at 175 pounds, I would look and feel unhealthy. When I came back from Switzerland (now that was a healthy, active lifestyle!), I weighed about 190 or so, I think. When I got married, I was at about 220, which was pretty good for me (bear in mind I'm close to six feet tall and pretty curvaceous, even at lower weights).

So maybe I should be shooting for between 1800 & 2000 calories a day. But 1500 isn't difficult at all, at least most days. And I'm losing really well so far (averaging 1.35% of my total body weight lost per week). I know that when you have a lot to lose, you lose more rapidly at first. I certainly don't expect to be able to maintain 23 pounds every six weeks.

So if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Right?

But I can't shake this feeling like it's too easy, too fast. Am I justifying something that is unhealthy? Or am I just overthinking it and making it harder than it has to be?

Cheap, Healthy, Good

Cheap, Healthy, Good is one of my favorite blogs. It's challenging for me to come up with meals that fit all three criteria, and I get lots of good ideas there. But when one member of the family can't have poultry, another doesn't like (most) meat or beans or cheese, when sodium and calories are issues, and cost is a big issue, it's a little daunting some nights.

That said, we don't do too badly. We all like a wide variety of vegetables, especially salads. Stir fries are a great way to have a lot of vegetables and make a bit of meat go a really long way. We do reasonably well with soups (most of the leftovers go for my lunches, though). I'm starting to do more meatless main dishes, including beans.

• Tonight's dinner is a ham & 13 bean soup.
  
• Tomorrow is miscellaneous, since only two of us will be home, and there are lots of leftovers around.
  
• Tuesday, I'm going to try Sara Moulton’s Orecchiette (er, Macaroni) with Broccoli and Chickpeas. I have a can of chickpeas, but I got a package of the dried variety, and I'm going to give those a try. Any I don't need for the recipe will go in the freezer, to be happily added to my salads & soups as I go.
  
• Wednesday is mostaccioli with a little Italian sausage and a lot of vegetables.
  
• Thursday is something with a bit of cod currently in the freezer (suggestions? there's only 3/4 pound). This is the night Jeff always has Mongolian Barbecue for lunch, and brings home leftovers for his dinner. If I make chicken, it's usually on a Thursday. If I can't think of anything else, I'll fry up the fish with some chips for the kids, and have some leftover soup myself. Kind of low on the "Healthy" continuum, though.
  
• Friday is Moors & Christians (aka black beans & rice--we'll get a little history in there, too!)
• Saturday we're going to a hockey game. The ticket includes a hot dog or slice of pizza, neither of which sounds all that appealing to me, so I'm not sure what I'll eat. I'm also working registration at a Homeschooling Fair (gets me in for free and I get early entry to the used book sale, woot!), so chances are I'll have a big salad for lunch and scarf the pizza for dinner. Once in a while, a splurge totally works for me.

De-Stress

Confession: I'm a stress eater. I eat when I'm stressed or bored. Carbs are my method of choice. Carbs, that is, that are loaded with fat & salt. Rice, potatoes, bread--I can eat huge amounts. Butter is a welcome accompaniment.

I used to walk my stress off, though, which actually was more effective. Eating really doesn't make me feel better once the food is gone. If I walk long enough, I will feel better.

Example: at my last full time job, at a major auto company that shall remain nameless but rhymes with "bored," my boss made me crazy on a regular basis. It got so that I would walk around the outside of the building just so I could stand the sight of him. One time, I was headed back into the building when I realized that I was still ready to kill him. I did another round, and when I came back, I was truly calm again.

I used to love going for walks in the mornings. The quiet was a huge bonus back then. I've been feeling the urge to walk again now that I'm eating better, but it's cold out there! And snowy and icy and some of the sidewalks are flooded.

As we say around here, "Suck it up, buttercup."

I went for a walk with the kids this afternoon. Lauren took her scooter, and we did have to cross the street once to avoid a small lake, but we were gone for half an hour, which was really nice.

Our forecast is for rain/snow later this week, but my goal is to get out for a walk at least twice more. I love my umbrella, so why not? It can't do anything but make life better.

Good Value

I like to plan out my meals. Since I'm keeping a sharp eye on calories, I can tweak how much I plan to eat at different times of day.

Last night, I figured the calories on my mom's pancake recipe, and it wasn't too bad, so I told Lauren we'd have pancakes & strawberries for breakfast.

When I woke up, the power was out. When Lauren woke up, the power was out. When we left to go to her cookie booth, the power was still out. Neither of us had eaten. Could we have made peanut butter sandwiches or figured out something else? Sure. But I really wanted to leave the refrigerator closed to keep all the cold air in in hopes that power would come back on soon.

Our options were limited; we stopped at McDonald's. In general, fast food isn't an appealing choice for me, at least intellectually. Sometimes I WANT A BURGER AND FRIES. But in general, I'd rather avoid it if I can.

We each had a sausage biscuit and I also got her a hash browns. I had no idea how many calories it had in it, but I figured it would be reasonable by fast food standards. When I got home (the power was back on, whew) and checked, I found that one measly sausage biscuit is 430 calories.

Are you kidding me? For that?

My whole pancakes with strawberries breakfast was only going to clock in at 425, and that included butter and a glass of milk! Yeah, it was tasty, but it took me just a few minutes to inhale it. I would much rather have had something more substantial for that same number of calories.

I'm really careful when I shop for food, to make sure I get the most for my money. I need to be just as careful to make sure I get as much ka-pow for my calories as bang for my buck.

SUPER Yum

Now that I'm eating more healthfully, I'm passing on the super greasy hash browns and fried eggs for breakfast. I'm much more likely to have loaded oatmeal (brown sugar & apples) or loaded scrambled eggs (ham, green onions, red peppers, cheese). Lots of food, really tasty.

But sometimes it's nice to have a treat, a splurge. I bought Cook's Illustrated Best Light Recipe a few years ago, but never used it that much. Their recipe for Cinnamon Rolls looked really good, so I decided to give it a try this morning.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Icing

Filling:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
  
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/8 tsp salt

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups AP flour
  
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
  

Glaze

• 3 Tbsp light cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp buttermilk
  
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray an 8-inch-square baking pan and a wire rack with the vegetable oil spray; set aside.

2. For the filling: Mix all the ingredients together; set aside.

3. For the dough: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter together. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed (the dough will look very shaggy), about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and kneed until just smooth and no longer shaggy, about 30 seconds.

4. Pat the dough with your hands into a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the remaining tablespoon of melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with the filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border of plain dough around the edges. Press the filling firmly into the dough. Using a bench scraper or metal spatula, loosen the dough from the work surface. Starting at the long side, roll the dough, pressing lightly, to form a tight log. Pinch the seam to seal. Roll the log seam-side down and cut it evenly into 9 pieces with dental floss. With your hand, slightly flatten each piece of dough to seal the open edges and keep the filling in place.

5. Arrange the rolls in the prepared baking dish (3 rows of 3 rolls). Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for about 12 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the edges of the rolls are golden brown, 12-14 minutes longer.

6. Use an offset metal spatula to loosen the rolls from the pan. Wearing oven mitts, place the greased rack over the pan and flip the rolls onto the rack. Let the rolls cool for 5 minutes before icing.

7. To ice the rolls: While the rolls are cooling, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (for easy cleanup). Set the rack of cooling rolls over the baking sheet. Whisk the cream cheese and buttermilk together in a large nonreactive bowl until thick and smooth (the mixture will look like cottage cheese at first). Sift the confections' sugar over the mixture; whisk until a smooth glaze forms, about 30 seconds. Spoons the glaze evenly over the rolls.

The lowdown on how it went:

• I don't have an 8" square pan, so I used a shallow oval baking dish.
• My cutting board is exactly 9x13, which helped with rolling out the dough to the perfect size.
  
• It is a very wet, "shaggy" dough, and I did need to use a fair bit of flour, on the board and on my hands, and it did still stick to the board a little, but not too bad.
  
• I also didn't really roll them up tightly enough, so they were a little loosey-goosey in the cutting (I didn't bother with the dental floss, and just used a butter knife). When I lifted them off the cutting board to put them in the pan, a fair bit of the filling did fall out. I took care of that be just pouring everything left on the board on top of the rolls in the pan.
  
• I didn't have tin foil, so I put a baking sheet on top for the first 12 minutes. They came out of the pan easily, and I separated them before drizzling the glaze over the top.
• They aren't super huge, but they aren't skimpy, either. It's actually a really nice portion.
  
• Total time was about an hour from when I walked into the kitchen to when I poured the glaze.
• 280 calories and 4.5 grams of fat.

WOW. So tasty, quick and easy. These are going into steady rotation around here. The kids went crazy for them, but Jeff isn't big on sweets in the morning, so he didn't have any. I only had one, and sent the leftovers to my Dad & Sharon with the kids.

Hat Girl

For Sarah's birthday, we went to The Henry Ford. We all had a great time, as always, though we almost missed the Rosa Parks Freedom Bus. Jeff & I agreed that since we hadn't seen it anywhere, it must have been a temporary exhibit. We told her that the easiest way to settle it was to ask a docent, who happily told her that it was just on the other side of a wall not too far away. So there, Mom & Dad! (no, she didn't really say that, but I bet she thought it)

Since it happened to be a free admission day, we told her she could get something small from the gift shop. She almost got a t-shirt with "When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." George Washington Carver on it, but eventually went for a Union Civil War soldier's cap.

That girl and hats. Last year, on her Girl Scout trip to Mackinac, she got a coonskin cap. The leaders assured me that it was faux, and yes, you can tell that the cap itself is synthetic, but I swear you can feel bones in the tail part. (shudder) When she was about 3, I did a whole page in her scrapbook of her in various hats. Many of my favorite pictures are of her in hats.

On the way home, I said, "I don't think Sarah's going to be a doctor when she grows up. (a frequently voiced ambition when she was younger) I don't think she's going to be a doctor, or a minister, or a botanist, or a baker. I think she's going to be a milliner." After a discussion of what a milliner does, she responded, "I'm not going to be a milliner. I'm going to be a minister . . . who likes hats."

Almost Perfect

Now THAT lived up to expectations.

I just finished a really good, filling lunch. I cut up some ginger and a couple cloves of garlic, and sauteed in a tablespoon of olive oil (yes, I measured). After a minute, I threw in a chopped scallion, some chopped red pepper, and the last of the steamed green beans, also chopped. I let it saute for a minute, then added a tablespoon of brown sugar and one of soy sauce. I put a lid on and let it steam for a bit, then took the lid off and added a cup of leftover cooked rice (it turned out very dry, almost like takeout rice, but I'm not sure why), and turn the heat up full power. I could barely hear anything else above the sound of sizzling. Let it go for a few minutes, then turned into a bowl and devoured it. The only thing that would have made it perfect would have been a few shrimp. But for 430 calories, it worked very nicely for today.

Kind of a Letdown

I've heard so much about roasted curried cauliflower, and been really eager to try it. Maybe it's that nothing could live up to my expectations, but it was just . . . ok. Jeff & Sarah both rated it a "B," Lauren didn't like it at all, and I would have given it a "C." The only part I really liked were the roasted almonds. I think most of us would be willing to eat it again, but no one would look forward to. That's not something I'm going to put into heavy rotation around here.

Tonight, it's Catch & Kill Night. That means there is a fridge full of leftovers that need to get used up in some way. Find something you want, make it, eat.