Was it a fluke?

Two days after the scale dipped below 160, it was back up again showing an 8 lb. gain. Was this possible? Since I am resding The Oz Principke about being accountable, I looked at what I ate over the two days rather than blame the scale. While I have determined that I do better (less to no snacking) on a high protein diet, some proteins are healthier than others. So, I'll stick to almond butter and kefir and skip the peanut butter and cheese. This causes a dilemma since PB&J is my favorite sandwich and I regard cheese as a spice. Well, now I know what I need to work on in the coming weeks/months.

The scale tipped

Finally! December 2014, I embarked on a  30-day nutritional cleanse with Isagenix and the help of a friend and health coach, Marie. I lost 5 lbs and my clothes fit better. This lead me to believe that I lost inches too. For over a year, my clothes have remained fitting better. My weight stayed between 160 and 165. Well, today it was below the 160 mark. In the past year I have learned that I need a high protein diet to fight off sugar cravings and snacking. Finally, three high protein meals is paying off. I am not at my goal weight yet, but now I am more hopeful that I can reach it. Awesome!

I don't get it....

Avacados and chickpeas are great sources of protein. There is always guacamole and hummus in the fridge. The packaged guacamole has less than 1 gram of protein per servings and the hummus has 2 grams. What happened? Where did all the protein go?

Vacations epiphany

I am on vacation, luckily to a sunny destination, and I realized today that food is my downfall. Funny thing is food is needed to survive. So I how do I change my mindset from food, especially sugar, most of the time to food for sustenance only. I guess I just need to tell myself this repeatly--make an affirmation for it. Any ideas?

High and low.....

Low: snacking on cold Chinese food before bed (rough evening)

High: completing 98% of a crossword puzzle on the across clues. The best I have done.

An old adage to reality....

The old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, try again." Well, when the first batch of Yorkshire Pudding failed, I made a second that worked. Why one batch and not the other? The oven temp. I failed to realize my recipe was European, so the temperature was Celsius and here in the US we do Fahrenheit. A quick ask to Siri on my phone told me of my mistake and the right temperature. At this time of year, the end that is, often, I think about the mistakes I made and what I learned from them. From this one, I learned that I should I think through what I read before I act on it. What did you learn this year?

Shout outs are due....

I have been recovering from surgery and tomorrow will be the two week mark. So some gratitude should be given out. First, to my mom who has taken care of me —finishing unpacking after our renovation, cooking dinner and giving me sponge baths, until I was allowed to take a shower. I remember loving sponge baths as a kid, but  not so much as an adult. Second, to my daughter who reminded me everyday that laughter is the best medicine (keep it up). Last but not least, to my extended family and friends, who sent well wishes in the form of cards, food, flowers and healing energy. At two weeks out I am rested, energized and ready for life in my new body thanks to all of you. At this time of year it is important to count our blessings and not the number of presents we get.

Rice pasta vs. Me — a clean sweep...

I love to cook and feel I am good at and yet not matter how many times I cook rice pasta and adjust the cooking times, it comes out overdone and so, rice pasta wins every round and tells me I should stick to spelt pasta.

GF Sweet Potato Pancakes

2 Medium Sweet Potatoes

2 eggs beaten
2 Tbsp. GF Flour
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cookie sheet with 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Wash and grate potatoes. Mix in eggs and flour. Form into large "meatballs" and flatten on cookie sheet. Brush tops with remaining olive oil. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve warm with apple sauce or sour cream. Makes 6 pancakes.

(P.S. These pancakes have been an excellent dessert this week.)

In the kitchen on Thursday or not....

For my Thursdays, I post a recipe that I have made recently and well since I had wrist surgery last week, I haven't been cooking and not starving either since I hired a caterer to prepare some meals for me, so my family could eat well (not take-out every night) and I wouldn't have to worry thankfully.

In the kitchen on Thursday: Orange Pecan cake

1 box vanilla cake mix (or butter or golden or yellow)
3/4 C. Orange Juice
1 egg
1/3 C. Pecans.
Butter or shortening for pan

Preheat oven to 350. Chop the pecans. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Grease a bunt pan. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the pan. Cake can be sliced and the individual slices frozen for up to 2 weeks.

In the kitchen on Thursday.....Mac n' Cheese reinvented

1 box your favorite mac n'cheese brand

1/4 C. pesto sauce

Prepare the mac n' cheese according to the box. Once the cheese sauce is all mine, add in your pesto and toss the pasta until coated. Serve warm with grated cheese as a topping.

In the Kitchen on Thursday....Oatmeal Pancaks

1 C. Oats
1/2 a medium Banana
2/3 C. Almond Milk (Soy milk or cow's milk)
1 egg.
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Maple Syrup
Oil or vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 350. Blend all ingredients in a Cuisinart or high powered blender (I use my Nutribullit). Grease a muffin top pan. Pour batter until each top is 2/3 full. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve with jam, syrup, butter or other topping. I spread almond butter on mine. Makes 6 pancakes.

A little TLC goes a long way...

In between loads of laundry, a quick grocery shop and making chili for Superbowl Sunday, I was called an "awesome mom" because I made Sylvie baked donuts to have breakfast this week with all the fresh berries in the house because she said she wanted to eat yogurt, berries and granola for breakfast to be healthy which lasted a few days before she got bored.

In the kitchen on Thursday: Festive Slaw

Take one medium green cabbage and cut it into quarters. Take one quarter at a time and remove the core. Slice into strips on the short side until the whole cabbage is cut. Place in a bowl and add 1/3 C. dried cranberries and 1/3 C. walnuts chopped. For the dressing mix 3 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar and 1 tsp. Dijon mustard. Poor this on the cabbage mixture and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In the kitchen on Thursday: Healthy Latkes

Baked Sweet Potato and Apple Latkes*

Preheat oven to 400. Grate 2 medium sweet potatoes (aka Yams). Peel half a granny smith apple and grate into the potatoes. Add 1/3 C. oat flour and 2 beaten eggs. Mix all the ingredients together. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and grease with olive oil. Shape mixture into large "meatballs" and flatten on cookie sheet. Brush tops with olive oil. Bake for 15-25 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 12. Latkes can be refrigerated overnight.

(There is no picture because I forgot to take one before I served them and they were devoured.)

In the kitchen on Thursday: Overnight oatmeal

1 C. Water
3/4 C. Oats

Place ingredients in lidded jar or bowl and shake. Place in the fridge overnight. In the morning warm up the oatmeal with whatever add-ins you like.

In the kitchen on Thursday: A Southern style cake

This recipe originally came from the Betty Crocker website.

Caramel Cake

Cake

1 moist yellow cake mix

1 C. Milk

1/3 Butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

3 eggs

Caramel Frosting

1/2 C. Butter

1 C. Powdered Sugar

1/2 C. Cake batter (reserved)

1/2 C. Evaporated milk

1 tsp. Vanilla.

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together for the cake. You can use an electric mixer on a low speed or a wooden spoon. When it is all combined, remove 1/2 C. of batter for the icing. Pour the batter into two greased 8" round pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes and allow to cool.

For icing, melt the butter in a 2 qt. saue pot. Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook for several  minutes until the mixture thickens and turns "caramel" colored. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Remove a cake layer from its pan and place on a plate. Ice the top with caramel frosting. Place on top the next layer and ice the top and sides.

I made this from my mother's birthday (she is Southern) and it was gobbled up before I could take a picture. I can say it is really delicious.

In the kitchen on Thursday: Easy Marble Cake

Take one box of yellow or vanilla cake mix and prepare according to package directions. Remove 3/4 C. batter to another bowl and mix with 3 Tbsp. Cocoa powder (I used sweetened powder). Pour 1/2 of "vanilla batter" into a greased Bundt pan. Spoon on the chocolate batter. Pour remaining "vanilla" batter. Using a knife in a back and forth motion, swirl the batter together. Bake at 350 for 35-45 miniutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.

Tuesday's Tip: Stuck-on Cake

When baking remember to loosen the sides and bottom of your baked good when still warm, so it easier when cool to loosen it completely.