Michele's Healthier Times

Quiz from happiness project

2009-10-02T01:17:00.000-07:00

What part of the newspaper do you read first?
front page headlines, comics,

2. What are three books you’ve read in the past year?
Sookie Stackhouse series, Lord of the Flies, Gernsey Literary & Sweet Potato Pie Society

3. As a child, what did you do in your free time? read, made mud pies, wrote, dreamed, mainly activities to entertain myself

4. What’s a goal that has been on your list for a few years? write a book, learn HTML

5. What do you actually do with your free time? [This is perhaps the most helpful question. I finally switched careers from law to writing when it dawned on me that I was always writing books in my free time.] write blogs, read facebook, watch tv (a lot less than I used to), exercise

6. What types of activities energize you? sleep, blogging, hanging out with friends

7. What famous people intrigue you? spiritual leaders who aren't mainstream, quirky people like Steve Jobs, theatrical people like John Malcovich, people who are passionate about their marriage, family etc

Day 21

2009-08-21T19:58:00.001-07:00

breakfast: not listing it, let's just say I went to Cardinal Glennon and leave it at that.
Lunch: grilled turkey with cheese, no bread, grapes
snack: jerkey
dinner: piece of cheese
WOD: 15 burpees; 25 kettle bells; 800 meters farmers walk; 15 burpees; 25 kettle bells
COLLAPSE!

I've been getting veggies/fruit in but have had an occasional bad meal this week. Generally it's two good meals and one not so good. It's a long way from what I used to eat.

We may go to Springfield tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it but will be ok if plans change.
Too tired to write more. signign offnow.

Keep Up the Pace

2009-08-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

Last night was Cross Fit and we had an excellent night.
WOD - 3 rounds of
300 meter row
10 burpees
200 meter run

I ate great yesterday and today.
Today's breakfast:
grapes, bacon, sausage
lunch: vegetable napolean with tomato roulade, small amount of polenta
dinner: 1/2 a buffalo burger, 1/2 a chicken patty, a few green beans, a little spinach
couple squares of chocolate

My legs hurt but I can't help but feel that I'm improving.

Tuesday -- Day 4 of the Challenge

2009-08-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today marks the fourth day of the Primal Way.
Breakfast: salmon, grapes
lunch: tuna on lettuce (I was very hungry later)
dinner: mongolian bbq (shrimp, pork, beef, salmon, veggies ... all yummy goodness)
carrot/orange juice
smoked salmon snack
That's really all I can think of that I ate. maybe two macadamia nuts

AND, I walked quite a bit around my neighborhood.

I felt full after dinner. Finally.

that's all folks.

Monday tired

2009-08-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Kelley and I scrapbooked today. I finished 2 pages. Not a record but I was pleased with the pages.

breakfast: salmon, frozen grapes
lunch: french onion soup, ahi tuna in a salad, dressing on the side
snack when arrived home: pork, mixed veg
Cross fit
WOD: 5 dead lifts, 200 meters, rest 1 minute
four rounds
Home: pork, zucchini and shaved carrots with orange squeezed over and light seasoning

I'm worn out.

Let the Triumph Begin

2009-08-03T04:35:00.000-07:00

We've finished two months of Cross Fit now and this month, the month of August, we're starting a month of primal eating. The weekend I did great.

Here's what I had yesterday:
salmon, grapes, nuts
shrimp, pineapple, roasted red peppers
hamburger with special spices (I added a very small piece of wee brie to mine... I haven't given up dairy entirely)
snack: more salmon

Throughout the day I had approx 3 juice glasses of carrot/orange juice. I need to measure today to see how many ounces are in that cup.

Today will be interesting. I'm going with Kelley to scrap, go to the movies and scrap more.

Here's to feeling great in 2010.

The Best Decade is Yet to Come

2009-07-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

A milestone was achieved today. Not just that I turned to a new decade, but a new level of cross fit.

Tonight the WOD was:
25 kettle bell swings
flip a tractor tire 100 meters, Nate let me not do it maybe four flips less there and 2 less at the end
run up and down a hill, twice, while carrying a fire hose (granted I had a smaller one than the guys)
flip the tractor tire 100 meters back
you guessed it, 25 more kettle bells

It's difficult to type and I never should have had the coffee drink but it was lots of fun.
Food intake today:
breakfast: salmon, avacado
lunch: celebration of amici salad, tortellini in butter/olive oil with mushrooms and peppers
1/2 a slice of tiramisu (although I did not eat 1/2 of it, there is some left over)
dinner:
left over tortellini, not certain what else I'll eat. Maybe my birthday cupcake. At least it's not an entire cake!
This was a celebration day so my intake is not like what I've been eating.

Struggling to Fit

2009-07-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

WOD: 3 rounds of
8 pullups
8 pushups
8 situps
25 kb swings
8 knees to elbows

Tonight was a hard mental class. I was frustrated when I finished but I'm feeling better about it now. I think I did a lot better on my push ups but I think about things too much.

Next time, if we have to do 25 kettle bells, I'll use less weight.

Lights out...

The Road to Good Health

2009-07-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

Since I've worked in healthcare for more than 14 years, you would think I would know a lot about good health. Oh contrare. In season 4, episode 1 of Northern Exposure, Marilyn asks Chris Stevens to teach her to drive. Chris says that he's basically a student in the game of life and had never thought of himself as a teacher. This scene sticks with me because I can really relate to how Chris says he feels. I am a student and have a long journey ahead to find a healthy life.

I'm learning about paleo and I'm doing Cross Fit three days a week. Next week will be the beginning of my second month. By the end of this month, Kim says I'll be able to do push ups. I have a lot to learn.

Todays breakfast:
avacado, salmon, cashews

And now a quote from Chris on NE:
Rain usually makes me feel mellow: curl up in a corner time, slow down, smell the furniture. Today... it just makes me feel wet.

It Keeps Getting Harder

2009-07-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a substitute instructor at Cross Fit. The WOD for the day was
100 meter run
15, 12, 9
box jumps
kettlebell swings
cleans???
what else? Anyway, this was extremely hard last night and I just felt worn out. Frankly I'm glad we're off a couple of days. Maybe I'll take the time to adjust my food habits. I love to snack so today I did not eat breakfast (yeah, I know that's a no-no in most books) and I had a few cashews. Lunch was a turkey burger. I've had water all day. Munched on some pretzels this afternoon. I still feel extremely bloated.
We're over the month mark but my nutrition has to get better.

We DID It!

2009-06-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

Guilty, as charged. We completed our first month of cross fit. Rather, tomorrow night will be an entire month of Cross Fit. I'm really surprised I've hung in there, although I think a lot of it had to do with Kim's teaching, Sean's encouragement and everyone making it fun.

Today I did 6 laps around the nearest track ... for a total of 2 miles.

Breakfast: pizza (tsk, tsk)
lunch: salad with smoked salmon
dinner: yet to be but I'm making scallops with zucchini

gulping lots of liquid today! Mainly water but some apple juice

My apologies for using this as a food diary!

Ideas for 4th of July:
tomato, mozzarela and avacado salad
artichoke stuffed mushrooms
roasted tomatoes with italian cheese
trifle (fruit and maybe shortcake)

Cross fit & healthier eating

2009-06-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight was an intense night of Cross Fit. My eating was better today.
Food intake:
egg waffle for breakfast
snack: snow peas, pecans
lunch: gr turkey sandwich, baked bbq chips
snack: more snow peas and healthy chips
dinner: yet to be determined, it's 8:15 pm

Cross fit was intense. The WOD was:
400 meter run, I would say I ran for 3/4 of it
2 rounds of the following:
15 walking lunges
15 thrusters
15 body row
15 KTE
500 meters of rowing

Holy Cow! I think I did it in 16 minutes, something. Although I had to wait to get on the row machine. lots of people in the class.

I just looked at Kim's blog and she said she fell off the health food wagon with sushi over the weekend. Sushi sounds fantastic.

Yummy Alton/Orie Skirt Steak - A HEALTHY MEAL ON MY SITE!

2008-11-30T15:01:00.001-08:00

This recipe combines two great recipes ... a marinade from Alton Brown and a quick Chimichurri from Orie's blog. It took one hour to marinade and two minutes to cook (although this was RARE!). I liked it a lot and it satisfied my steak craving. I made mushrooms and zucchini with this.
Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions, washed and cut in 1/2
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or Mexican brown sugar
2 pounds inside skirt steak, cut into 3 equal pieces
Special equipment: blow dryer

In a blender, put in oil, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, lime juice, red pepper (I left this out), cumin, and sugar. In a large, zip top bag, put pieces of skirt steak and pour in marinade. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Allow steak to marinate for 1 hour in refrigerator.

Remove steak from bag and pat dry with paper towels. On a very hot pan, cook 1 minute per side. When finished cooking, place meat in double thickness of aluminum foil, wrap, and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

You can stop there or make this while you're waiting the hour for the marinade to work. It needs to sit at room temp for an hour.
Chimichurri
2 Tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 bunch of fresh flat-leafed parsley, chopped
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Teaspoons crushed red pepper (I left this out)
1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 Large Flat Iron Steaks, preferably grass-fed

Place the garlic, parsley, and red pepper in a bowl. Pour in the lemon juice and stir to combine. Pour in the oil and whisk vigorously. Season with pepper and salt (if using). Allow the chimichurri to sit a room temperature for an hour or so at room temperature. Look at Orie's site to see the photo of this awesome meat! I have to admit, mine looked as good as the photo.

On the Cheap Side

2008-11-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

The previous entry sort of cracked me up. I just now noticed that right after cheap meals I had coq au vin. Coq au vin sounds very expensive but here is the breakdown:
chicken thighs (boneless) - if you dig around in the stack you can find a package for $3.50 or less
cheap, cheap bottle of wine - I grabbed the cheapest that I could find. that was really my criteria which was about $6
Mushrooms - $2.50
Bacon - this has definitely went up lately. There are some packages that are as much as $5 but some as little as $3.

Considering you can give two people two meals at least out of this, it's a nice treat when you've been eating a lot of the cheap meals but it still doesn't break the bank like excellent steak from Whole Foods.

:)
Happy Eating.

Coq Au Vin

2008-11-15T12:49:00.001-08:00

When I made this, it was a little too salty but really tasty. I also made a side of grits to go with it. This is definitely a great meal for a chilly winter evening.

Serves 4 to 6
1 bottle fruity, smooth, medium-bodied red wine (Cooks Illustrated said to use a Pinot Noir)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
10 sprigs fresh parsley leaves (I didn't have this and it was still good)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
4 ounces bacon, preferably thick-cut, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces (oops, I may have used more bacon when I made mine)
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs , trimmed of excess fat and cut in half crosswise
Table salt and ground black pepper
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted butter and this may have been why it was too salty)
24 frozen pearl onions , thawed, drained, and patted dry (about 1 cup) (I used diced oion)
8 ounces mushrooms , wiped clean, stems trimmed, halved if small and quartered if large
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Bring all but 1 tablespoon wine (reserve for later use), broth, parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 3 cups, about 25 minutes. Discard herbs.

2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large Dutch oven over medium heat until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons fat in small bowl; discard remaining fat.

3. Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper (remember to do this lightly). Cook chicken in 1 T of bacon fat.

4. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in now-empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally, until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and flour; cook, stirring frequently, until well combined, about 1 minute.

5. Add reduced wine mixture, scraping bottom of pot; add 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Return chicken, any accumulated juices, and reserved bacon to pot; increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and simmer until chicken is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time.

6. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to large bowl; tent with foil to keep warm. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer sauce until thick and glossy and measures 3 1/4 cups, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and reserved 1 tablespoon wine. Season to taste with salt. Return chicken to pot and top with minced parsley. Serve immediately.

VERY rich ... this adds a nice, different taste to everyday meals.

Cheap Meals

2008-11-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

Ground Beef:
tacos
spaghetti
meatloaf
chili
lasagna
hamburgers
stuffed shells

Stew Meat:
beef stew
beef barley soup
company beef casserole

Chicken:
white chicken chili
grilled chicken
fried rice
chicken & Dumplings

pizza
bratwurst

Hmmm. What else is there?

Spaghetti & Meatballs

2008-09-07T18:38:00.001-07:00

The Sopranos refer to this as Sunday Gravy. It takes a while to make but it's great!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound pork spareribs
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 (28- to 35-ounce) cans Italian peeled tomatoes
2 cups water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
***For the Meatballs***
1 pound ground beef
1 pound pork sausage
1 pound pork sausages (optional)
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs, preferably homemade
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon very finely minced garlic
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
***To Serve***
1 pound shells or rigatoni, cooked and still hot
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Pat the pork dry and put the pieces in the pot. Cook, turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer the pork to a plate. Place the sausages in the pot and brown on all sides. Set the sausages aside with the pork. Drain off most of the fat from the pot. Add the garlic and cook for about two minutes or until golden. Remove and discard the garlic. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.

Puree the tomatoes, with their juice, into the pot. Or, for a chunkier sauce, just chop up the tomatoes and add them. Add the water and salt and pepper to taste. Add the pork, veal, and sausages and basil and bring the sauce to a simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water. Meanwhile, make the meatballs: Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a large bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Rinse your hands with cool water and lightly shape the mixture into 1-inch balls. (Note: If you are making meatballs for lasagna or baked ziti, shape the meat into tiny balls the size of a small grape)

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the meatballs and brown them well on all sides. (They will finish cooking later.) Transfer the meatballs to a plate. After two hours, add the meatballs and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the meat is very tender. To serve, remove the meats from the sauce and set aside. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve the meats as a second course, or reserve them for another day.

Cheesy Bacon Bites - Pot Luck

2008-09-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ok. This recipe is a pampered chef recipe. I took it to a friends house who was having a potluck. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

Cheesy Bacon Bites

1 package (3 ounce ) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup bacon
2 tablespoons chopped onions (add as little or as much as you prefer
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of salt
1 package (8 ounce) refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine cream cheese, bacon, onion and pepper in a Batter Bowl.

Separate crescent rolls into triangles. Pinch seams together. Spread cheese mixture on each triangle. Roll up, starting at longest side, and seal. Cut each roll into 16 slices.

Place slices cut side down, on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Yields: 32 appetizers

Mickey Mouse Pancakes

2008-09-02T17:26:00.001-07:00

When I woke up yesterday, Sean had made me breakfast and delivered it to me while I was still in bed.
Pancakes in the Shape of Mickey Mouse!!!
They were very yummy but the ears were the best part!

Splodge

2008-08-30T15:54:00.001-07:00

Splodge, splodge, it's happy, it's tasty, it's good. Splodge, splodge, it's better than bad, it's good. Everyone wants some SPLODGE. You're gonna love this splodge.

I found this on some Australian foodie site. We tried it and it's great!
This is extremely simple and very tasty.

Potatoes
Carrots
Celery
Any other root vegetable

Bring pot of water to a boil. Add above ingredients and salt. When veggies are tender, drain water from pan. Squish the veggies to as lumpy or smooth as you prefer.
Add a little chicken broth (maybe 1/4 cup) and two handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese. You also can add butter. This works great with Cuban Picadilo.

Sean added sour cream and put a little splodge on a tortilla and topped it off with Cuban Picadilo.

Cuban Comfort

2008-08-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is an inexpensive meal that may be Paleo friendly. If you want to add another level of comfort, try putting it over Splodge.

Cuban Picadilo
Ingredients
an onion
Olive oil to sauté
1 pound ground beef or ground round
one large can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup chopped green olives
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Sauté onion in olive oil in a large frying pan.
2. Sauté about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened, then add the ground beef.
3. Cook until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes.
4. Put everything in a crockpot set to low heat.
5. Add the tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, oregano and olives.
6. Cover and let simmer in the crockpot for an hour or two or more. The longer it simmers, the better the flavor!
7. Salt and pepper to taste.