A Look at the Classics

I sure was on a roll this past week for good recipe choices!  Until Thursday night.  It wasn't the recipes fault.  I tried to sub a couple ingredients.  What a colossal failure.  Looked nasty and tasted almost as bad.  Oh well, that's how the ball bounces, as we used to say!  I did however make an awesome blueberry omelet this morning.  Yes!  Blueberries in an omelet.  Very good.  This was an omelet made the way I learned in Home Ec class.  (In case you aren't familiar with that, it is a class that all girls took in high school so we could learn the basics of cooking and sewing.  At that time boys took Shop class so they could learn to be handy around the house.  While I think it was sexist to put you in either class based on gender, I must admit to having learned some handy skills to have.  Not just as a wife and mom, but as a "human bean" (as my brother says) living day to day.)

So anyway!!!  The way I learned to make an omelet, but not the way I do it most days in the interest of time, is to beat the whites separate until they are firm and hold soft peaks.  Then you fold them into the yolks.  If you have never done it this way, you will be amazed at how incredibly fluffy your omelet turns out.  It is worth the time if you have just a few minutes extra.  In the case of the blueberry omelet I made this morning, I just let the Kitchen-Aid run and fluff those whites up while I mixed together the other ingredients with the yolks, and got the pan ready.  I think it was well worth the little extra time.  And then it is finished in the oven which gives it a beautiful brown top without deflating the whites.

Fortunately the majority of recipes I try from other cooks turn out well. As do some of my own creations.  This week I am pretty much sticking with the classics.  At least they are classic in my house.  While I love a great meal, I don't want to spend all weekend or every evening cooking forever.

As I write this, there is granola baking in the oven.  MR likes to mix this with some plain Greek yogurt for a snack during the day.  I bake up a batch just about every week and store it in an airtight container.  No added stuff, just good clean granola!

This afternoon I will put a rosemary pot roast in the slow cooker.  This is probably one of my all time favorite entree recipes.  It is very simple but so incredibly full of flavor that I just can't begin to describe it.  Good stuff!  Try it!

One night I will make those coconut chicken fingers again. These are good as an entree or on a salad.  I have some fresh pineapple so I will grill that and serve it alongside the chicken.

MR loves chili.  Not as much as he loves pizza, but he does love chili.  This is another easy go to.  Just a pound of ground beef, sautee some green peppers and onions, and throw in a can of tomato bits, a can of green chili and tomatoes, a can of black beans (drained and rinsed), and a can of pinto beans (not drained or rinsed).  Can you eat clean from a can?  Sure!  Just make sure the ingredients are simple.  In the case of these ingredients, most are just one ingredient:  tomatoes, black beans, etc.

Did I mention MR loves his pizza? He admits that he would eat it every day.  We makes his with fresh whole wheat crust from Trader Joe's and MR's own pizza sauce (just tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and olive oil!), but you can use one of the many alternative crust recipes available online like this one.

Did you see the recipe I posted for meatballs alla parmigiana?  Boy oh boy were they good!  I wanted to eat them all week.  And I did!  At least until they ran out.  Okay, so this week I am going to experiment and see if I can just use the same recipe for meatloaf.  You think that will work?  I sure hope so!!!



One night we will throw steak on the grill.  This is easy because I just rub it with a little olive oil, sprinkle it with rosemary, and a bit of sea salt.  The weather continues to be great for grilling so I want to take advantage of it while I can.

So what's going on in your kitchen this week?  Whatever it is, Keep it Clean!!

Confessions of a Clean Eater

'Tis the season!  Labor Day has only just passed and already we are seeing all the great holiday recipes floating around the internet.  On your Facebook news feed, on Pinterest.  It's hard to look away sometimes, isn't it?  Soon and very soon, I will post some great holiday treat recipes, but for now please let me share with you why you may want to avoid all those sugar filled recipes clouding your view....

I am just going to be straight up about this.  If we don't all stop eating so much processed junk, we are going to wear our parts out way before their time!  I know we can get new knees and hips.  There are lots of meds we can take to combat hypertension, diabetes, and heart issues.  But wouldn't it be great to go into our old age without any of that or at least less of it?  I know that not everyone's issues and ailments, whatever they may be, are food related.  But I do know that we can do a better job of taking care of our bodies so that at least perhaps less medical intervention is required.  I personally know people who have been able to stop taking many or all of their medicines (with their doctor's okay) because they chose a clean eating lifestyle.  I'm sure no doctor, or any medical professional (although I did stay at a Holiday Inn once), but from my own personal experience I know how much better I feel in general when I focus on eating whole foods.

My knees have been a problem for me for a very long time.  And my hips have let me know they are not much happier.  I don't know if I will be able to avoid replacements forever, but I knew a long time ago that I didn't want to go down that road any sooner than absolutely necessary.  So two years ago I finally made shedding some weight a top priority.  All it took was a switch to clean eating.  Foods as close to their original form as possible, and no white flour or sugar.  I started subbing in stone ground whole wheat flour, coconut sugar, honey, blackstrap molasses, and dried fruits.

After a couple of years though I found that I had stalled, and even started picking up a few pounds again.  No.  We are not going down that road again!  You see, even clean treats are still treats, and I kind of lost sight of that I think.  So lately, and here is that big confession you have been waiting for, just since about Labor Day actually, I started paying more attention to my carb intake.  Now I know I always say the beauty of clean eating is that you really don't have to count anything.  And that is generally true.  But I just felt that I had gotten off track a bit so I wanted to start monitoring things more closely for a while.  I finally decided to give in and start using myfitnesspal app.  This really takes the work out of keeping track of things!  So at least it's been easy to break down and accept some help.  And boy howdy have I gotten some help!  This little tool is so cool!

As far as limiting my carb intake, it really has been mostly about limiting treats and increasing my protein.  And I truly have not felt hungry!  There is nothing worse than "dieting" and craving what you cannot have.  It just hasn't been the case.  And, to be clear, I am not going to low carb forever, nor am I going to track forever.  I am way too lazy for all that.  But for now, it is helping me return to my fighting weight and that is making me happy.

As I have traveled the low carb path I have found lots of amazing and oh yes so easy recipes to help me through!  Please allow me to share some favorites!

Meatballs ready to go in the oven!

First up, the ab-fab can't be beat meatballs alla parmigiana.  Holy moley, Batman, there is no denying these are the best meatballs I have ever had. Truly, madly, deeply!  I am lovin' these meatballs.  I had them for supper one night and for lunch the next two days.  I was sad when they were gone!  I put them together with my go-to marinara sauce and this meal was the bomb!!!

And they really didn't take that long to make and bake.  You can fry them in a pan or bake them in the oven.  I kind of combined the two methods so they would brown a bit more.  So amazing.



The quickest and easiest thing I have "discovered" is caprese salad.  I have had it before, but for some reason it has really hooked me lately.  And, in keeping with most things I do, it  is so easy!  Slice some fresh mozzarella, top with slices of fresh tomato, throw on some fresh basil, and drizzle a little olive oil over it.  MR likes a bit of sea salt sprinkled over the top as well.  Lunch in a minute!!!

Okay, and one more before I tempt you with a treat...  This soup was yet again very easy, and I love love love it!  Now don't let the name put you off.  I am not a gourmet cook so some combinations sounds odd to me, but this pumpkin chipotle soup was another winner.  (I have kind of been on a roll this week for finding great recipes!)  I actually made it the day before because it makes my life easier to prepare on the weekend as much as possible and then reheat during the week. I was concerned that the cream would not reheat well but I was oh so mistaken.  We just heated it slowly and stirred occasionally.  Quite good!  Quite good!  Doesn't taste pumpkinny (new word I just made up) but that chipotle gives it a great kick!

And now that treat I promised you!  I have been really really good for about three weeks, feeling even better than before, and shedding some weight, so yes I made a treat last night!  Remember moderation!  But these coconut chocolate bars will not totally ruin any progress you have made, that's for sure.  Minimal ingredients and you can sub whatever granulated sweetener you prefer.  I did use Stevia this time but may try coconut sugar next time.  These are not super sweet at all, but definitely allow you to feel just a little decadent!

Tonight I am using leftover grilled chicken to make pesto chicken salad. I haven't actually tried this recipe yet but I think it sounds so good!  I will forego the bread and put it on Romaine lettuce.  MR will enjoy some sourdough with this.

What are you eating today?  Whatever it is, Keep it Clean!