Confessions of Impulsive Eating

Sometimes maintaining weight is the greatest success a person can have. If you've struggled with your weight throughout your life like I have, you know that reaching your goal and staying near it can be the most rewarding experience.

After yo-yo dieting throughout my childhood, I didn't know how important it was to simply maintain weight. Loosing weight was my only focus, and gaining it was my continual battle.

When I was about 20 yrs old I lost over 40 lbs by starving myself and overexercising. Surprise, surprise, I gained much of it back. Fortunately I was about 22 when I learned the importance of eating real food and small balanced meals. When I began to do this, I didn't lose a bunch of weight, but I maintained the weight I was...a feat that I under-appreciated at the time (I just wanted to be skinny).

Exercise and healthy eating were my hobbies, and over time I became more lean, I felt good in my clothes, and the weight became secondary. I maintained a healthy weight for a long time, and I was in the best shape of my life when I got pregnant. Although losing the baby weight took longer than I wanted (about 13 months), I still lost it all and then some.

Here is my confession: I've gained 15 pounds in the past 3 weeks. (It looks a lot less here than it does on the scale--or my waist).

As a mom, I was not prepared to make the time to think through my meals, exercise 6 days a week, and pay attention to everything that enters my mouth. I find myself eating impulsively, consuming crackers, bars, left-over lunches, and toast.

I'm tired, and it's easy. But I have taken the easy path for a few too many months! I am making a commitment to myself, my family, and my skinny jeans to meal plan, exercise every day, and cut out the empty calories.

Look for my healthy, easy meal solutions here over the next few weeks.

Tasty Treat

I've made a version of these fig balls before, and Mylah loved them. However, when I went to make them today, I didn't have any pecans in my freezer or fridge. I decided to improvise with almonds.

Since raw almonds are so dense, I decided to soak them in warm water for about 20 min.

Then I strained them and pulsed them in the food processor.

Then I removed the ground almonds and put about 2 cups of figs (tips off, chopped) in the food processor with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. (I also added some cranberries b/c my fig/almond ratio was off.)

Then I smooshed them together into little balls. These are spectacular, healthy, and WAY better than the store bought alternative!

But as I said earlier, I had an strange ratio of figs to almonds, so I was left with an excess of ground almonds that only had a little bit of fig in them. Hm...what to do? I searched my pantry. Raisins? Cranberries? Honey? Oats? Nope. I settled with dark chocolate chunks.

I placed about 3/4 cup of chocolate chunks in a bowl with a splash of soy milk. Then I put it in the microwave for 20 sec and stirred until the milk was incorporated well.

Then I poured my almonds into my chocolate, added a dash of salt, mixed it together, and smooshed them into little balls.

Yummy! Mylah will not be eating the chocolate variation. They are so rich and decadent, but it's like a healthy little truffle. Homemade with love!

My Own Spanikopita

Combining my Italian roots with my husband's Greek, I make my own healthy version of Spanikopita, while paying homage to my neighbor, Sarah.

Here's what I do:

Heat olive oil in pan, cook 1 chopped yellow onion with some salt until translucent. Then add 1/2 box of tofu (squeeze the H2O out over the sink, then crumble in the pan). Add chopped spinach and a bunch of fresh basil, oregano, and thyme.

Set that aside and then grate some mozzarella cheese and get your feta and organic whole grain filo dough ready.

Follow filo instructions on package, and then fill with a bit of veggie/tofu mix, a little feta, and a little grated cheese.

I use olive oil (not butter) and these turn out really good.

My Greek hubby loves them, and so does my little sweet pea.

She eats them all up!

Fruit Smoothie (AKA "Special Treat")

It's no secret that we don't eat a lot of sugar around here, but my daughter certainly knows what a "special treat" is. To suffice her sweet tooth, I began making her the simplest smoothie that is astonishingly delicious and delightful.

There are only 3 ingredients (all organic):

1/2 cup of soy milk, plain

1/4 cup of frozen cherries

1/4 cup of frozen blueberries

Put ingredients in a blender, with the milk as the first thing in. Blend until you reach your desired consistency. (Amounts may vary depending on your preference). If I ask Mylah if she'd like a frozen yogurt or a fruit smoothie, she chooses the smoothie every time!

"I want to make a Pocket!"

Mylah was watching an Elmo cooking movie from the library the other day, and she learned that some cultures eat "Pockets." From that day forth, she asked to make pockets. I searched high and low for an outer to a pocket that was healthy, and I finally found one at Whole Foods.

Essentially, we made summer rolls.

Ingredients:

tofu, cubed

Teryaki sauce

Rice noodles (thin, vermicelli-type)

Rice paper

carrots, julienne

Cucumber, julienne

Fresh Mint, chopped

Sauce:

Peanut Butter

Tamari

Honey

First, make the tofu by cooking it in a nonstick pan over medium heat until it begins to brown. Then, flip it a few times. When all of the liquid has been cooked off, remove from heat and add Teriaky sauce.

Next, cook the rice noodles per instructions and set aside to cool.

Then make the dipping sauce by mixing the ingredients together to desired taste and consistency. (Or buy some from the store).

Now you're ready to make the summer rolls!

Follow the directions of the rice paper by placing one sheet at a time in warm water for about 5 seconds until it is soft.

Put it on a plate and add your goodies.

We start with the noodles.

Then we add the tofu.

Then the veggies; and lastly we add the mint. Roll like you're making a burrito.

Dip in your sauce and enjoy!

Mylah actually did not like these, but it was sure fun to make...and Stephen and I loved them!

Father's Day Treat

While Mylah napped this afternoon, I decided to make the zucchini-carrot muffins that I want to serve at Father's Day Brunch tomorrow. I took out my fresh-from-the-farmer's-market veggies and grated them in my food processor. The next thing I knew, Mylah awoke from her nap and I had a little helper.

First she helped me mix the dry into the wet.

Then she helped me stir in the raisins and walnuts.

And she even helped me to put the mixture in the muffin cups. To think that I was trying to hurry through this so she wouldn't make a mess...it was so much more fun with my girl helping to make this special Father's Day Treat.

Ingredients:

3 cups zucchini, grated

1 cup carrots, grated

3 1/2 cups whole grain Spelt flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

2 Tbs cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp grated ginger

4 eggs

1/2 sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup ground flax

1/2 oil

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 walnuts, chopped

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Then mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Alternating zucchini and dry ingredients, incorporate everything into the large bowl with the wet ingredients. Then add raisins and walnuts.

Cook at 350 for about 25 min (at altitude). If you use a loaf pan instead of muffin tins, you will need to cook it for about 50 minutes.

Healthy, delicious, and made with fresh local produce.

Vegan Sushi

I love Sushi, but I do not love raw fish. I love the ritual of getting the perfect ratio of wasabi, ginger, and Tamari. I love the crunch of the raw veggies, and I love the seaweed. More than anything, I love that Sushi is something that you have to sit down and eat slowly, savoring every scrumptious bite.

I make Sushi at home a lot during the Spring and Summer, when cucumbers and avocados are ripe and plentiful.

When making my Sushi rolls, I start by rinsing 2 cups of sushi rice (brown rice is not sticky enough for good rolls). I soak my rice for 30 min, and then put it in my rice cooker. When it's done let it cool until room temperature (or at least 30 min).

While that's cooking, I slice tofu in long rectangles and cook them in a nonstick skillet (without any oil) over med heat. Cook the tofu for about 8 min, flipping it a few times. Then remove from heat and drizzle about 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce over it. Set that aside, and then slice carrots, cucumber, and avocado into long, thin pieces.

When my rice is cooked and cooled, I lay out my seaweed on my roller.

The trick is to put the rice in a thin layer; I spread and smoosh and the same time, leaving about an inch without rice on the part of the seaweed closest to me (where all of the filling is going to be placed.)

Then lengthwise on my seaweed/rice I put the prepared avocado, carrots, cucumber and tofu. Get the seaweed around the filling once really good, and then slide your hand over the roller to make sure it's rolled tightly, and then finish rolling the sushi. It's important that there isn't too much filling and rice inside.

Slice the Sushi in half, and then slice each half into three pieces, making 6 pieces from each roll. I make 2 T of wasabi, put out a bunch of pickled ginger, and use wheat-free tamari instead of soy sauce.

Fresh, healthy, and filling, with all 4 of the food groups present in each roll. Enjoy!