What I ate Wednesday 5

Well we're at another Wednesday and another day off of school.  With temperatures in the negatives all day there isn't much reason to go outside.  So of course I ate well and enjoyed my meals slowly and looking out a window.  I don't always get this at school for lunch.

Breakfast: Buckwheat protein pancake again, 1/2 grapefruit, blueberries and green smoothie. I love this breakfast so much! It really keeps me full until lunch.

Lunch: With the time I had today I decided to try a recipe I had sitting around.  Kale, mushroom & lentils.  The recipe called for topping toast with it, which would be delicious, but I had a left over baked potato so I used that instead.  I also added a side of red cabbage kraut from a local fermentation stand at our farmers' market.

I'm not a big snacker, but since it was so cold I couldn't help but have a cup of homemade hot coco.  I added some Kahlua and extra bittersweet chocolate to make just that much better. Oh of course whip cream too. 

Dinner:  This is an old favorite of my daughter's.  Stuffed shells with leftover meatloaf, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.  The veggie was braised parsnips and celery. I'm still using our local veggies when possible.

Dessert:  Mexican Chocolate Bundt cake.  Again a family favorite with our without some more whip cream. 

As always I hope this inspires you to spend time in your kitchen at least for one meal a day.

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Anatomy of a Snow Day

Well it's already snowed 7" and it's 10:30 am. The snow just keeps coming.  Honestly I don't know how much school we'll have this week. The weather looks awful; I've never seen anything like it predicted.  Highs at -10, yes in the negatives.  So we'll see.

5:40 am - I still woke up early.  I set the alarm a bit later, but the dog had other ideas.  Honestly, I still slept in so I was happy and got close to 8 hours of sleep. 

5: 50-6: 50 am -For the next hour I practiced yoga and meditation. I'm really lucky that I have my own space and a bright cheery room in my basement. 

When I came upstairs I heard my husband outside snowblowing.  As I write this my daughter just came in from shoveling a second time.  

7:00-8:00 am - Breakfast time! I love breakfast on a snow day, because I don't have to rush.  I even have time to make multiple breakfasts. 

For my husband - 1/2 grapefruit, OJ and a few slices of banana bread.  

For me - Buckwheat protein pancake, 1/2 grapefruit, baked apples and coffee.  This is a great protein packed pancake that just happens to be gluten free. I topped mine with maple syrup. 

My son- came down stairs a bit later so I made homemade waffles.  

8:00-9:00 - Reading a book on my sofa.  I'm currently rereading An American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin. It's a light easy read.  

9:00-9:30  - I decided to take a short walk on my tread mill.  I listened to a new podcast for me, Pantry Raid.  It was about 16 minutes long -so perfect for a short mile.  

9:30- to the rest of the day - who knows?  I'll bake something for dessert, read more, knit, paint and watch some TV.  What ever I do it will be relaxing.  Oh, I'll also shovel some snow.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

What I ate Wednesday 4

Well without thinking about it much this day was a no added sugar day. The only "cheat" was the Simply Heinz ketchup I used in our meatloaf. I'm far from perfect, however it is very easy to not add too much extra sugar to my day.  

Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit and sea salt, avocado toast on homemade sourdough bread and a sunny side up egg, juice (made with apple, carrot, and orange) and of course coffee.  It's  been fun trying new blended juices this winter.  I like using my Vitamix to keep the pulp and fiber of the fruit and veggies.  Also this week I starting sectioning my grapefruit the night before.  This is a total time saver in the morning.  

Lunch: As usual in my classroom.  I much rather do a lot of work at school and come home and do things I love such as reading, exercising, blogging etc.  So today I had soup with quinoa, kale and chick peas along with other vegetables.  On the side a quick slaw with plumped apricots. Water to drink as always.  I've also made this soup with black beans and it is super.  I do reduce the amount of cream to about 1/4 cup.

Dinner: Meatloaf, couscous, roasted mixed veggies (brussel sprouts and Jerusalem artichokes) and a green salad.  Of course wine and water to drink. 

This is what the Jerusalem artichokes looked like before I roasted them.  They didn't seem to have much flavor, kind of like a water chestnut.  I'll try another recipe in the next week or two.  

Dessert: Banana, cherry, lime nicecream.  Nothing else is added.   I must say I was skeptical of this at first, but the flavors are very bright and the texture is much closer to ice cream than sorbet. Also the whole idea of nicecream is a great way to add an extra serving of fruit in your day. 

As always I hope this post inspires you to try different meals in your week.  

Bon Appétit.

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

What I ate Wednesday 3

Well another successful day of remembering to take pictures of my meals.  I started this Wednesday with a 3 mile run on the treadmill. It's not my favorite, but at least I have one and don't have to go to a gym.  I always try to watch something light since it's 5:30 in the morning.

My oldest daughter made me breakfast. She had everything ready to go and on the table, what a treat!  Protein pancakes, blueberry compote, maple syrup, home made applesauce from the fall and of course coffee.  There is no extra sugar in anything she made - just the maple syrup that I added.  

Lunch was at home yesterday because of final exams.  So I didn't have to eat out of a Pyrex dish.   I came home and made carrot soup in the Vitamix and avocado toast topped with Herbes de Provence sea salt and olive oil.  We had Perrier  to drink.  I would say the soup was just ok. I know I can do better and have done so.  But it's always fun to try something new.

For dinner I made chicken cacciatore with large roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and red onions.  On the side I served polenta and a simple kale salad.  Of course I had some wine too.

Another treat for dessert. My middle daughter made a swiss roll cake since she needed a break for studying.  Lucky me.  

I hope this inspires you to get into your kitchen and start cooking.  

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

Green Smoothie

Green smoothie! I'm not on a super foods/fruits and veggie/vegetarian January cleanse kick, but I do like to consume my fruits and veggies.  We recently did a staff challenge at the school I work at; it was as simple as putting down how many servings of fruits and veggies you consume a day.  There was also a category for water, sleep and exercise.  I must say this made me more mindful.  We all know that we need to eat a diet rich in fruits and veggies, and I also think a variety is good as well.  It was nice to see in numbers everyday.

So I turned to my Vitamix.  I have a juicer, but I thought I'd see if the Vitamix worked as well, and it did.  The only change from the original juice recipe to the smoothie was the addition of ice cubes and water.

I started with celery and apple.

Next I added spinach, cucumber, ginger and lemon juice.  I blended it all up and came up with this green smoothie.

Originally I added a bit too much spinach; the taste was a bit earthy so I added a bit more lemon juice and water.  It worked out very well, and I had a great juice to start my day.

Here are measurements I used. Please change them up for your taste.

3 celery stalks

1 apple chopped

1 1/2 cup spinach

1/2 cucumber

1/2 lemon - juiced

2 tsp ginger

1 cup water

4 ice cubes.

As I said if you make a juice with a juicer just omit the water and ice cubes.

Bon Appétit,

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

What I ate Wednesday 2

Well let's see how long I can keep up a What I ate Wednesday post.  The problem will be remembering to take pictures of everything, but I'll do my best.  I do enjoy reading about what people are eating so I hope you enjoy as well.

I always start my day with exercise.  Yesterday was a yoga and weight lifting day.  Okay so mostly yoga and meditation for 40 minutes and 10 minutes of lifting weights. 

Breakfast: Carrot bread from my freezer and cottage cheese topped with berries.  Coffee and splash of milk to drink of course.  My husband went shopping at Costco so I have a lot of berries; they are a nice change of pace. 

Lunch is always in my classroom on Wednesday.  My oldest made me sesame chickpeas.  I added them to a grain bowl of Basmati rice, buffalo cauliflower, shredded carrots, spinach and avocado.  I also added a splash of soy sauce. I made white rice the night before because it was simply easier.

Dinner: I had leftover frozen sea food medly from our Christmas fish soup so I wanted to use it up.  I found this recipe for seafood rice skillet.  It was delicious; my son ate seconds.  I served it with a green salad and homemade olive oil/balsamic vinaigrette. 

We served our house wine.

For dessert my daughter made cranberry bliss bars.  She needs to be gluten free; I do not.  I can say these were delicious and I would continue to make this recipe.  They were way better than Starbucks'. 

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

Winter Fun

Well if you looked out my window at this time you'd see a darkening sky, about 1" of snow and wet drizzly weather.  The temperature is about 38 degrees.  Yes it gets like this in Northeast Wisconsin in January.  At this time of year I feel I really need to keep my creativity flowing in several ways. It's so easy to get caught in a rut.  This rut can be of foods to cook to books to read. 

I'm still working on my paintings this year.  Yesterday I went with my middle daughter to a coffee shop and painted for 1 1/2.  It was so nice just to paint and not have the distractions of home.  I came home  with 2 small watercolor paintings in my little notebook.    Obviously I need some work, however I'm still proud of myself for sitting down to paint.

I'm currently reading A State of Wonder by Anne Patchet for a new book club.  I'm very excited about this new book club our first meeting is in a few weeks.  

Also I'm try to shake up my exercise routine a bit during the winter.  My oldest daughter just introduced me to MADFIT on you-tube. There are a lot of excellent videos that require no equipment at all.  How easy is that?  

And last but not least let's not forget about food.  I just tried these spinach banana muffins, and they were really good.  There are so many fun things to try out there; just keep cooking!

As always,

With love from the Midwest,

Beth

What I ate to Start the Year or Wednesday

I love reading about what people are eating in a day.  It's kind of like taking a walk for me at dusk when I can see how people decorate their houses without really looking inside.  It's a glimpse into someone's life.  

Well to start of yesterday I ate my absolute favorite avocado toast with a sunny side-up egg and my coffee.  I've got this down to a science and can cook it in about 5 minutes on a school day.  It always keeps me full until lunch.

Yesterday's lunch was soup and salad.  Kale salad with pepitas, oranges and leftover baked falafel.  All of these things I had in my fridge.

Roasted cauliflower soup that I made the day before as well.  I served it with a bit of Aleppo pepper and chia seeds. 

Dinner was tamale beef pie.  It kind of fell apart, but the base and top crust were polenta.  I browned ground beef with refried beans, salsa, cumin and coriander.  I topped it with cheddar cheese and baked in the oven.  On the side we ate sautéed cabbage .  Of course we drank our house wine, which is currently Chateau Ste. Michelle chardonnay. 

It was a delicious and veggie packed way to start the year.  For dessert?  Yes I still have rum balls and fudge.  I love to enjoy a little sweet.  Everything in moderation.

Bon Appétit! 

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth