Aug 30 2011

Celebratin’ with the Fam

My Mom’s birthday celebration was a little delayed due to coughs and colds that swooped through our family after a long/emotional week. When most of that had passed, we gathered up the troops and spent Sunday afternoon together to honor my Mom.

Flowers from Davis Ranch were put in plastic buckets I picked up at Party City – Paper plates were sandwiched between glass plates, and party hats were placed…

Later to be customized by my niece. She broke out the Sharpie and wrote “Birthday Queen” on my Mom’s hat. Dan drew flames on his orange hat and I cracked up when my niece wrote my bro’s name on his instead of Dad or Daddy… so very formal.

My Dad ordered and picked up the cake – super chocolate on top of chocolate with a side of chocolate – just what the birthday girl ordered.

Happy Birthday Grammy! – I pretty much gave up the notion that my Mom would ever be known as “Mom” or “Mommers” after my niece was born. I am now officially and will forever be Aunt Kath. My Mom is Grammy, my Dad is Grampy and apparently my brother is still Rob 😉 If having an adorable niece means we all change or names – I’m definitely down.

We hung out in my parent’s beautiful backyard while my brother fired up the grill for his amazing tri-tip. An overnight marinade and the flavor was out of this world. Mental note: I must get him to do a Foodiddy guest post about marinades and grilling… probably the best tri-tip I’ve ever had. I’m sure it had nothing to do with not having red meat for 28 days, hah!

The Birthday Girl, aka Mom, aka Grammy, and my niece.

Super purple Barney hair Aunt Kath and her niece. Back story – I went to the salon on Saturday and decided I wanted something different. It was time to get rid of the chunky blonde highlights. My stylist usually uses a semi-permanent dye – but I wanted something vibrant. I picked a color and the blonde ate every purple and blue pigment out of the color. It turned out super cool, but not super cool for my conservative work place. So my stylist used a deep espresso on top of the purple/blue and viola! I actually love it and have been getting lots of “Oh my God, I love your hair” and Wow…. you look great! comments. In all honesty, when I pass by a mirror, I still think… who the heck is that girl?

My niece helped me build the salads. It’s a job she takes very seriously. I busted out the purple cauliflower that I had brought and I lost her. She wanted to know how it got to be purple and “Foodiddy McAuntyKath Pants” couldn’t answer her… so I made something up. Hah! I actually took time to look it up, so just in case she’s reading this post – The purple color in cauliflower is caused by the presence of the antioxidant group anthocyanins, which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine. Now we’re talkin’. All though, I liked my hand colored by artisans at the Crayola Veggie Plant story better.

Earlier in the day… I had gone out to Davis Ranch for some “Sloughhouse sweet corn” – this is as fresh and as good as corn gets. Wow! what a difference.

I wasn’t technically supposed to have starchy veggies after 2:00 p.m. on the 17 day diet, but I decided to go for it anyway. The corn was so sweet that you could eat it without butter…  lip smackin’ good! In case you were wondering… I passed on the cake and pretty much stuck to my “Cycle 2” plan with a few minor adjustments.

My niece wanted to make sure that I included her plastic salad on the blog. Grammy bought her plastic food when she was probably around 2 years old. She is obsessed with it almost 8 years later. She breaks out creations, takes customer orders, it’s hysterical… so yes, this is a mixed green salad. Green broccoli? How unoriginal. Apparently the paint and markers had already been put away.

Come on? Who doesn’t enjoy a good breakfast after dinner? Bacon, waffles, pancakes, lunch meat… oh me oh my.

The last photo of the evening. I present to you – Mr. Hedgehog – with my bro creating a “moment” that had the whole table rolling. There is a story behind the hedgehog. When I was a little kid – I referred to hitchhikers as hedgehoggers. “Look at that hedgehogger Mommy!” – It became a thing in our family. So yes, even now… as I’m cruising along a freeway entrance and I spot a lovely man or woman with a sign asking for a ride – I immediately think “HEDGEHOGGER!” and then I pee my pants laughing. It’s not pretty… but it’s a memory I will hold onto forever. I found my Mom’s hedgehog gift at Pier1 Imports – they had a whole bunch of little critters.

Happy Birthday Mom!  I love you more than any blog post or words could ever express. Cheers to another fabulous year!

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Aug 24 2011

Birds Eye – Steamfresh Chef’s Favorites

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I was selected to receive free trial samples of Birds Eye Chef’s Favorites. I’ve used Birds Eye Steamfresh products before. The broccoli florets, whole grain brown rice, and mixed veggies have sure come in handy in a pinch. I was excited to see that Birds Eye was launching some new products.

I received quite the selection of Chef’s Favorites. Lightly Sauced Creamed Spinach, Lightly Sauced Primavera Vegetable Risotto, Roasted Red Potatoes & Green Beans w/Parmesan Olive Oil Sauce, and Lightly Sauced Mushroom & Green Bean Risotto.

Since I’m pretty much preparing separate meals these days for my husband and I, these frozen packages have worked out great to add as side dishes to enhance meals I’m already cooking. When I first got the samples, I laid the packages out and asked Dan to pick which one he wanted to try first. He chose the Roasted Red Potatoes & Green Beans.

5 1/2 – 7 1/2 minutes in the microwave (Our microwave cooks hot, so I set it for 5 minutes) – 1 minute of rest time and I tore into the bag.

I had grilled some chicken breasts and this worked as the perfect side dish.

10 minutes of photos later 😉 – Dinner was served.

I loved that the green beans held their bright green color – I hate when frozen products end up looking “not so fresh”  – not the case here.

The Steamfresh bags contain 2 servings.

Nutrition Info.
Cal 120  | Fat 2.5 g  |  Chol. >5 mg  |  Sodium 290 mg  |  Carb 20 g |  Fiber 3 g  |  Protein 3 g

We are looking forward to trying the other flavors. They are slated to hit stores in September, but I’ve already started seeing them at my local grocery store.

Thank you Foodbuzz and Birds Eye Chef’s Favorites for letting me sample the new flavors/products. Working full time, I’m always looking for quick ways to get meals on the table and I love having tasty options to make that happen.

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=5639

Aug 23 2011

17 Day Diet Check-in…

I promise I haven’t abandoned my blog. Remember back when I announced that I was going to give the 17 Day Diet a try back on my Ginger Elizabeth Cupcake Day post? Well… I went through with it and have been pretty much eating like this…

Green tea with every meal – remember how I thought it tasted like lawn clippings? Well… after 23 days and 69 glasses/cups of it – I can actually say, I love it! I look forward to my daily green tea.  My least favorite part of the diet would have to be the hot lemon water in the morning.

I also have been enjoying my two probiotics a day in the form of Yakult shots. I sometimes drink them straight, other times I pour them over fruit in the morning. I have also been eating Dannon Light & Fit Carb and Sugar Control yogurt a few times a week. I prefer the Yakult over that. I SURE MISS my Chobani, but I just can’t do the plain without a bunch of fun mix-ins and the flavored is too high in sugar.

I’ve been eating veggies like it’s my job – giant artichokes have been a favorite. I usually dip my chokes in mayo and lemon… mayo isn’t on the condiment list for the 17 Day Diet, so I whipped up a fat free sour cream, fresh herb (mostly dill) and spices… dipping sauce. Fabulous!

Lean ground turkey taco salads – minus chips, guac and all of the other sinful goodies… the cheese is Fat Free Jalapeno Jack  and the dressing is a salsa and FF sour cream mix. I’ve not tired of taco salads this entire time.

I made turkey/portobello burgers and used the leftovers in a Greek inspired salad. FF Feta, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and spring mix with a balsamic, herb and olive oil dressing.

Sliced pears and more green tea.

Grilled lemon chicken salads with cucumbers, artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes, lemon zest and a Walden Farms FF/Sugar free dressing. I pretty much have been making my own dressing using olive oil, balsamic and herbs and spices – think LOTS of garlic… but I was craving a creamy dressing and Walden Farms was all I could find. It’s o.k., probably wouldn’t rush out to buy another bottle anytime soon. I would rather figure out a way to make my own. Maybe adding some agave to make the FF Sour Cream sweeter.

I’ve also been eating a lot of eggs and I’ve had tilapia and salmon a couple of times.

I completed Cycle 1 with absolutely amazing results. Jaw dropping… I followed the plan exactly how it was designed. I never substituted, never said WTF?, didn’t question daily 17 minute workouts… I just did the plan as it was designed. I lost 15.2 lbs. in 17 days.  That is NOT a typo… it’s crazy town USA. I am now almost a week into cycle 2 and the weight is still coming off. Not as fast, but at a pretty steady rate. I’ve introduced 2 servings of carbs into my daily diet (every other day) and I now have a bigger list of proteins to choose from. So far so good.

I am still shocked that this diet is working so well. I have only felt hungry a couple of times. I have lost all of my carb cravings. I’m definitely not overdoing it with exercise – only 17 minutes of cardio a day. I feel better than I’ve felt in a really long time. I don’t have afternoon crashes. I don’t wander into the kitchen searching through the pantry and fridge for snacks. I just check things off my list and go about my day. Food has not been my main focus for the past 23 days and counting and I like it. Hence… my lack of blog posts. I promise, I am still going to make yummy foods to eat. As I finish up cycle 2 and move into cycle 3 – my options continue to increase and I plan to take full advantage of creating some healthy recipes.

I thought for sure I would miss cheese the most. I was the girl that had 10 blocks of cheese in her cheese drawer. The girl that turned to mac-n-cheese at the first sign of stress or anxiety. Nope, I am managing fine.

I just recently went through a very emotional time. My Aunt passed away last Friday and if any time was going to be a time where I turned to comfort eating, it would have been then and now. After losing my first husband, I pretty much can’t handle death. Grieving is already a continuous process for me and adding more just sends me into a tailspin.  This time… I chose to continue to take care of myself and my body. I want to be the healthiest version of me that I can be. Putting healthy vegetables, lean meats, healthy carbs, low fat and low sugar foods into my body is working.

I have maneuvered family lunches in pubs and dinner with friends. I have carried my lunch bag to work and the mall to make sure I stayed on track. This has been a true commitment and I’m proud of myself for continuing to see it through.

Some may think it’s a gimmick and that’s o.k. Other’s prefer to do their own thing and that’s perfectly fine too. Some like WW, South Beach, the Zone, The Biggest Loser Challenge, the Paleo Diet… it doesn’t matter what you grab onto – it just matters that you believe in yourself and that you and your health are important enough to find something that works for you. Don’t ever give up!

I have always felt that I’ve been a fairly healthy eater. Sure, I indulged like most to celebrate or I have been known to comfort eat,  but I have always thought I had a pretty good understanding of nutrition. What I didn’t understand was that some people just don’t process carbs correctly. Raises hand… It absolutely amazes me that I can now eat a meal and not feel hungry immediately after. I used to eat something and 5 seconds later I was thinking about what I was going to snack on next. I constantly shifted from sweet to savory and salty snacks were favorites of mine. Think pretzels, pita chips and hummus, etc.

I’m not claiming to be an expert. I am still learning a lot about my body and how it reacts to certain foods. It’s been 23 days and I’m still excited. I’m excited to be wearing 2 sizes smaller. I’m excited to be in mediums and larges instead of XL’s… I’m excited to see what each new days brings… and for that, I am grateful.

I promise this isn’t going to turn back into my weight loss blog… but I wanted to share what’s been going on and why I haven’t been posting recipes that included a pound of cheese or a bunch of pasta. Not to say that you will never see those things on Foodiddy, I guarantee you will.

So that’s what’s up in my world… how about yours?

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