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

December's Eats

Well Christmas is coming up soon.  And I could do a post of all of the Christmas cookies I have been making, believe me our kitchen island is very festive with all sorts of cookie tins.  However, I do believe in balance so along with my cookies I still like to continue to eat healthy whole foods that have a minimum of processed ingredients.  (Dessert does not fall into this category at all.)  

Last Friday, my husband and I were alone for dinner so it was cheese souffle.  When all 5 or even 4 of us are at home the dish is not enough for us all, but for 2 it's perfect maybe even a bit much.  Served with homemade bread, a green salad and wine and dinner is all set.

I love kale, especially in salads.  I can make a large batch, and it will keep for a few days.  So of course I made some for lunch this past weekend and topped it with roasted squash, feta, avocado and pepitas. Delish!

Another lunch:  left over mix roasted veggie soup.  On the side sautéed chanterelle mushrooms on top of sourdough bread and grated manchego cheese.

We had a crazy night of meetings, concerts and work the other day.  I made taco meat so my son could have something to eat early and others could eat when they needed to.  I also roasted some cabbage.  Most of my family had regular soft tacos, but I thought I'd take a different spin on dinner and use some of our leftover rice and beans, taco meat, the cabbage and a little cheese.   It also worked well for lunch the next day.

Breakfast Tuesday: Sunny side-up eggs over left over roasted veggies and a piece of toast.  I know I made this after a 4 mile morning run.  This has become one of my go-to breakfasts because it's an easy way to add more veggies in my day and super quick to prepare. I try to make a large amount of mixed  roasted veggies once or twice a week to have on hand for such breakfasts or any other thing I can dream up.

Bon Appétit! 

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

Rum Balls

As with many other people who like to cook and bake, this time of year revolves around the kitchen.  I can't think of a better way to spend a day than with family members, listening to Christmas music and making a treat.  The other day I made an old family recipe, rum balls.  They used to be bourbon balls, but I don't like bourbon so I switched my alcohol to my liking.  The recipe is simple enough to make on a weekday after school, especially if you have help.  The problem is waiting to eat them.  They really are best if you wait a week before eating them.

The ingredients are simple enough: 1 box vanilla wafers, 1 T cocoa powder, 3 1/2 T corn syrup, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup walnuts or pecans and 1/2 cup rum.  This can easily be doubled. 

After I pulverized the wafers and nuts in a food processor, I combined the wafers, nuts, cocoa and powdered sugar in a large bowl and mixed together. 

This is what the mixture looks like after I added 1 cup rum and 3 1/2 T corn syrup.  It's not very pretty, but it will taste so good.

Shape into small balls, about 1 1/2" in diameter and roll in granulated sugar.  Let the rum balls sit out for about 1 hour so they can set before putting them in a cookie tin.

Remember a week is usually good enough before eating, however they age very well.  

Bon appétit and as always with love from the Midwest, 

Beth