So Good!

Yesterday I made layered vegetable enchiladas for dinner. I first made them while I was at my sister's in Denver, but we froze those for later use so I didn't actually confirm that they were edible. I was hopeful, so I went ahead and made them anyway.

Verdict: really, really good!

Thanks, Bess, for introducing me to the recipe.


And here it is:

• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 8 ounce bag of spinach leaves
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 15-ounce can refried beans
• 1 15-ounce can low-sodium black beans, drained
• 10 corn (or whole wheat) tortillas, quartered
• 19 ounces canned enchilada sauce
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• green onions, sliced, for garnishing
• Vegetable oil

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat approximately 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they become translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the spinach leaves and continue cooking and stirring until they start to wilt. Add the corn and continue cooking until heated through. Set this spinach-corn mixture aside.

Spread one-third of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and top with one-third of the tortillas. Layer with the refried beans, the black beans and half of the remaining enchilada sauce. Top with one-third of the cheese.

Next, layer with half of the remaining tortillas, all of the spinach-corn mixture and half of the remaining cheese. Top with the remaining tortillas, the remaining enchilada sauce and the remaining cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the sauce starts bubbling and the cheese has melted. Garnish with the green onions before serving.

(recipe from Sunset magazine)




So, over the last year or so I've learned that when a recipe calls for vegetables, it normally doesn't matter if you don't use the quantity it calls for. That being said, I'm not sure how much spinach I used, but it was a TON. I just kept dumping it in there. And I used a full onion. I also used more corn than it calls for.

The recipe above is for a 9x13 pan and the one I used was bigger. I also doubled the beans for the bean layer and used two cans of each type instead of just one. I used more tortillas (didn't count how many, but just made each layer pretty covered), but only one can of enchilada sauce. I also used more cheese since it was a bigger pan. But again, quantity isn't that important.

The one change I would make to it when (not if) (: I make it again is that I will add cilantro to one of the layers. I may dump it in with the veggies after they're cooked, or I may mix it in with the beans (speaking of which, I mixed the beans together before putting them in the casserole dish, but I don't think that's necessary). Either way, cilantro (if you like cilantro) would be an excellent addition.

Enjoy!

Learning to Balance

via
I love this picture

So, I've been losing weight recently. Hallelujah. It hasn't melted off, but it's been fairly steady, and that's healthy and longer-lasting, right? It's all been through the way I'm eating* since I haven't taken time to throw exercise into the mix. I'm hoping I can make that change soon since I just feel better when I'm exercising. I was telling a friend the other day that the minute I exercise, I feel like I'm thinner. Exercise is like magic in that way.

Anyway, back to how I'm eating, and balance...

I've been eating mostly raw and/or whole foods. Lots of salads, fruit, beans, etc. I feel a lot better when I'm eating better things (go figure) but what I'm trying to figure out is amounts. Based on my weight watchers training, there's a certain amount of 'points food' we should eat a day. When I tried that equation it worked great for me. So I'm still keeping that in my mind as I'm working to lose weight. But, most the foods I'm eating are zero points. All vegetables - with the exception of corn, potatoes, etc. (really starchy veggies) are zero points, and all fruits - with the exception of avocados (I think that's the only exception) are zero points too. My daily points target right now - according to weight watchers - is 32. So... if I'm eating mostly zero point foods, I'm having a hard time meeting that target. Beans are not zero points - a can of black beans is 8, and a can of kidney beans is 9, etc. - so when I eat those, I'm getting something. I also will eat 9-grain bread from bountiful baskets that is amazing - and also not zero points.

Here's the problem. I'm eating so well, but I don't know that I'm eating enough. I've noticed that on days where I've eaten more non-zero point food than I thought I should I've actually dropped more weight than on days where I'm restricting so much what I eat and sticking to almost all zero-point food.

Obviously there's a balance in there somewhere that I need to find. Since I've started this internship I've had to bring food to work with me. The first month+ it was because they didn't have any kind of cafeteria or vending machines to eat from. Which was probably a good thing. Now, I'm in a building with a cafeteria but I'm still bringing my food since it's so much better.

I try to space out my meals so I'm not eating everything at once, but I'll have my salad or fruit sometime between 11:30 and noon, and then another part of meal around 1 or so... but I've noticed that when I feel hungry and I haven't 'scheduled' my eating, I ignore it until I want to eat. I'm not sure that this is the best approach. Especially when I'm eating all good things**, then it probably really doesn't matter if I'm eating when I think I should as opposed to eating when my body needs to.

I hope this makes sense. I'm still trying to work it out in my head, but I think I'm on the right track.

*I've focused on 'Eating to Live' before and had amazing results. Good things happen when you eat good foods!
**I don't want to deceive anyone into thinking that I'm eating 100% healthy, all the time, because that's not true. But I must say I'm eating pretty blasted well these days.

More Good Food!

Today I had coach's oats for breakfast, flavored with cinnamon and whey low (sugar substitute), a bunch of fruit and left over pancakes for lunch, and vegetable & bean fajitas for dinner. I was even going to make whole wheat tortillas from scratch, but remembered the TON of tortillas I found in the two refrigerators when I cleaned them out on Saturday, and couldn't justify adding more to the LARGE pile. (did I tell you that we have a WHOLE LOT of tortillas in this house?)

So, dinner wasn't quite as healthy as it could have been, but it wasn't bad.

I've been trying to eat more natural / whole / healthy foods. Since Saturday. And aside from Sunday when I had lunch at my sister's house, I've been doing pretty well. Lunch there wasn't even that bad (health-wise, that is - and it tasted really good), but I had too much dessert. But it was SO GOOD. So good. I had already decided that I'd give myself Sunday 'off' (to 're-tox,' if you will), but that doesn't mean I have to take Sundays off.

Tonight when I was craving something sweet... I actually thought about making more pancakes (because they're that good), but settled on a couple of oranges instead. And they were delicious. And satisfied the sweet-craving.

I think that's what they call a 'win-win(-win).'

Which goes something like this -

I Feel Like I'm a Real Cook...

Twice in the last few days I've used whole grain wheat in recipes.

Not just whole grain wheat.

Whole grain wheat that I've had to grind. (or not)

With my teeth.

Okay, that last part is a lie.

I do grind it, just not with my teeth.

On Saturday I made fresh spinach pasta.

It was great.

Tonight (for dinner), I made whole wheat blender pancakes (yes, it was for dinner).

So good.

I like using whole grain wheat kernels.

It makes me feel like a real cook.

And healthy.

Fresh Spinach Pasta

Made some last night.

From scratch.

It was gooooood.

I took a picture.

But then somehow it got deleted.

Guess I'll have to make it again.

got the recipe here

also - I created a recipe document with a bunch of recipes I've collected (but not necessarily tried) over the years. Then I invited a bunch of people to view it, edit it (add their own), and share it with others. If you were not one of those people, but would like to be, let me know.

Happy Sunday!

I hope you've all had a great day.

It's Swedish.

And it's really good.

flatbread
mashed potatoes
hot dog (turkey dog in this case)
spicy brown mustard

mmm...

Cabbage for Breakfast

A few weeks ago I picked up a basket at bountiful baskets that had two heads of cabbage in it. While I like cabbage, I'm not super-familiar with good ways to use it. So I googled it.

I found a discussion board with people talking about ways they use their cabbage. The only one I've tried - for breakfast.

Saute some cabbage (as much as you want) in some olive oil, when it's slightly browned, add a beaten egg and milk mixture and stir it until cooked. I normally use two eggs and a little milk.

Sometimes I cut up enough cabbage to the point where the eggs are barely noticeable. But it's still good.

Cabbage has a lot of great health benefits too. It's great for cancer prevention - and sometime even cancer treatment. It's a great source of antioxidants, and full of anti-inflammatory properties. Read more here.

I eat cabbage for breakfast, and I LOVE it.

This past Saturday I picked up a basket that had one head of cabbage.

Guess what I had for breakfast this morning?

Mmm...

Went to Les Madeleines today for lunch.

Good times.
Good food. &
Good company.



While there, we ate this, and it was wonderful.
Kathy describes it as the baby of a croissant and creme brulee.
And that's pretty much what it is.

Thanks Kath!

My Body Likes it When I Eat Good Things

- and why do I always forget this?

Remember when I said that I was cutting out sugar, white flour, and not eating after 8 pm for a week?

I did it.
Completely.
Didn't cheat once.
My body responded immediately, and very well.

Last week I slipped right back into not eating healthy things. Not that I think you need to eat perfectly 100% of the time, but I was not making fruits/vegetables a priority at all last week.

Bad things happened.
My body responded immediately, and not very well.

It's incredible how what you eat can influence ~so much~ the way you feel.

I need to remember this.

in case you're wondering, yesterday I made it a point to eat healthy foods again. on purpose. already I'm feeling better than I did last week.

My New Favorite Place

I've been there once.

Had a few different types that my mom brought home in the past.

I loved the store.

Right now I'm enjoying tomato and herb.