Gratitude

To go along with my earlier post of Wishing, here are the things I am already grateful to have!
LOVE:  I have a loving family of three.  My husband is a passionate, strong, and clever man.  My daughter is a loving, intuitive, and resourceful little spark-plug, they both love me to pieces and aren't afraid to show it.  My two dogs follow me around the house like little puppies, making sure to be under foot as much as possible, and our kitty has been with us since our family was just a new couple.
HEALTH:  Our health complaints are minimal.  We have great health insurance that takes care of our little problems, but we generally leave the doctor impressed at our vitality.  And we value our health, so we all try to make good choices with food and exercise.
HOME:  We have a mortgage on a good solid home, with a good sized yard.  We have heat and air conditioning, and good insulation to keep the energy in.  We even have an extra room with a mini hide-a-bed for visitors.
TIME:  is money and money is time.  My husband is part of a union and therefore is making enough money to keep us where we are, and I don't work outside the home.  Because of his work I have time to read, write, garden, sew, teach our daughter, and cook.  
There's so much more I'm grateful for:  Snow, Sun, Flowers, Birds, My Hens and their Eggs, Turbo-Tax(I just finished doing taxes, it's so much easier when the computer does all the paper shuffling), Good Coffee, Electricity, Clean Water, Books and other Stories, Trees, Chocolate, and everything else that makes me happy each day.
It's been wonderful focusing on the things I'm grateful for and it's been wonderful wishing for more.  It is surprisingly empowering, I really do feel like I'm attracting more goodness into my life.  Thanks Rhonda Byrne!

Wishing

I recently watched "The Secret" on Netflix, and I am inspired... especially since the very next day I was offered $150 to participate in an online focus group.  My husband was equally inspired, and has just been told that whatever he's been doing he needs to keep it up, because his coworkers are really liking his positive attitude.

One of the tenets of "The Secret" is to simply wish, to tell the universe what it is you want....it's the old standby, "Ask and You Shall Receive."
So Here We Go:
I believe that we all deserve financial security, and the ability to get what we work for.
I want that Financial Security, and I'm closer to having that than many people
but I want MORE than just that.  I want the financial freedom to do what I want when I want.

I want more time to sew, to garden, to read, and to just be with with my family.  
I want to drink coffee and read books by the window, without having to watch the neighbors houses.
I want the money to invest in people and projects that I believe will make the world better for everyone, I want to be a Philanthropist.
My husband has our wish up to $10,000,000 , so that we can donate 2 million to help those in need.
We want a home in the woods, I want a yurt or a log cabin.  We want a place where our daughter can grow up wild, but safe.  
We want to bring our extended family in, we want to give them homes and jobs, so we can stop worrying about them.  I want to set up my disabled mother with a private home, and private caregivers so that she can have the quality of life everyone deserves.  I want to give my mom a flower garden, and the confidence to walk in it.
Most of all, I want to do good in the world, while also having the resources to do good for my family.

Well, we could all wish for hours if given the chance, but let me just put this out there.  If you want to help me succeed, by all means let me know.  

Beans 5 Ways Part 4: Hummus

Hummus, a healthy and delicious spread made from chick peas and sesame seeds.  At roughly 40 calories per tablespoon, it is a perfect guilt free snack food,  just don't get carried away with bread.  It's pretty good with just about anything and, unlike mayonnaise, you can eat it by the spoonful.  I used the Best Hummus Recipe from The Hummus Blog.


The first step is to gather your ingredients.

• Chick Peas.  I used the dried variety, which added several steps: soak, rinse, soak, rinse, cook, rinse, cool...they turned out pretty yummy.  It is pretty easy to find them canned though.
• Tahini (sesame seed spread) was the hardest to find, but I didn't really know what the package looked like or where in the store it might be.  If you've got a food processor you can just make it.
• Lemon juice.  Fresh is best!
• Cumin adds that smokey flavor, but kinda smells.
• Garlic.  I love garlic so I added extra, but I also used minced packaged, it would have been better with whole roasted cloves.
• Fresh Parsley.  I was half way through the recipe when I realized I didn't buy any, so I had to use dried, I think my dish suffered.
• Olive Oil.  Again, I used extra.
• Salt.  Yep, I had to add a lot to please my palate.  

When looking for pre-made tahini, I found Casablanca brand hummos! I believe Casablanca is a sister restaurant of Cafe Soriah, and that this is the same hummos recipe! I haven't had their hummos in so long I forgot what it tasted like. It was a little more bitter than I remember, but tasted more pure and simple than the stuff I usually buy. I'm very excited to try to replicate the authentic flavor. 

Here are the basic steps, see The Hummus Blog for more detail.

• Soak your chick peas overnight in clean water and baking soda. Rinse Well
• Boil Until Tender, remove foam and skins.  Save some of the cooking water.
• Puree and allow it to cool.  I rinsed mine in very cold water so it was pretty cool at this point
• Add additional ingredients...Blend
• Add whatever you want for extra flavor...
• Serve as a dip or spread.  I had mine on pitas, and also garlic sourdough bread. 

My first hummus didn't turn out perfect, but it was pretty darn close in flavor to the Casablanca Hummos that I bought.  I added extra salt, garlic, and olive oil, and I blended it pretty smooth...mmm...just writing about it is making me hungry.  Overall, Yes!, this is going into my snack menu...now if I can just get my family to eat it.

Beans 5 Ways:
Hoppin John
Garlic Sausage Lentils
Ramjah
Adzuki Bean Paste

Beans 5 Ways Part 3: Garlic Sausage Lentils

My Garlic Sausage Lentils were a big flop.  I could taste the garlic and the bay leaves, but the lentils were still bland, and adding salt and pepper didn't really help.  I'm not sure what, if anything I did wrong.  I could have used more fresh ingredients.  The sausages were very good, though, with lots of flavor.  I served them on top of the lentils, but I think it would have improved the dish if the sausages were cut up and it was all tossed together.  I used the recipe from Rachel Ray's Website.

Here's how it went:

I boiled the lentils with big hunks of onion and two bay leaves.

It smelled really good!

Then I soaked minced garlic and dried parsley in extra virgin olive oil, and I started my sausages.

I removed the bay leaves, but kept the onion, then my daughter tossed the cooked lentils with the garlic.

I used a small lid to keep my sausages straight while I gave them a nice crispy skin.

Here is the finished product, with strawberries....

My daughter said the sausage was too spicy, and wouldn't even taste the lentils.

Overall, it wasn't bad, but it really wasn't good either, I'm going to have to work more with lentils to get a better feel for the flavoring.

Beans 5 Ways:

Hoppin John

Hummus

Ramjah

Adzuki Bean Paste

"The Fast Diet"

The Fast Diet:  Have you heard of this weight loss plan?  I hesitate to call it a diet because I'm not sure if it's something you could continue forever.  However it may help get off the extra weight while also practicing a healthy diet for life.  I saw it on ABC the other night:

  Watch More News Videos at ABC

http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

Basically it goes like this:  They say you can eat, "whatever you want," five days a week.  The other two days you cut your calories to 25% of your daily recommended intake.  If you don't binge the other five days you end up cutting an average of  21.4% per day.  For a 2000 calorie diet you'd be cutting about 428 calories per day or  3000 calories per week.  In theory, a person can lose about a pound a week that way.
I looked this up on WebMD too, you can check out thier article on the safety and effectiveness of fasting diets.
Fasting has been around for a long time, for medical and religious reasons.  Here's the Wikipedia article on fasting.  This 'diet' is probably better described as caloric restriction,Wikipedia has a great article..  There are many proven and suspected health benefits of responsible caloric restriction.  Weight loss is an obvious one, but also improved cardiovascular health, and memory.  The Cons of continued caloric restriction are mostly the results of losing too much weight, or becoming obsessive about food.
 I worked at a natural food store for a while, so I heard about fasting and detoxing regularly.  I even tried a cleanse once.  It was a complete turn-around from the way I had been eating, and I knew half as much about nutrition as I know now.  I just followed the menu my roommate gave me.  It was awful.  I ate nothing but raw fruits, veggies, a few nuts, and a little olive oil for three days.  That much fiber meant that for the first two days I had to stay close to a bathroom.  The next step would have been a liquid only diet for a few more days.  I never made it that far.  It was just too much for my body to take.  I felt completely run down, actually sick, and I was craving carbs and protein in a bad way.  I gradually started eating normal again after that, and it took a few days to recover.  I know now what I did wrong.  For one thing I was eating really bad and drinking too much, on a regular basis, and for another the diet just didn't give me the right balance of nutrients my body needed.  I listen a lot more closely to my body these days.

I decided to try the 5:2 plan for myself...or rather to research and experiment with it.  I tried one day aiming for 500 calories....Here are my posts on MyFitnessPal :

• 
  ElizabethOak Have you guys heard about the 5:2 fasting diet? 500 calories, two days a week, eat normally rest of the days....the science looks good and fasting has been around. I'm gonna see if I can even do 500 today....might buy the book.

  • ElizabethOak Well today also happened to be the day my dear husband finally decided to work out again...this is getting complicated
  • ElizabethOak Ok, I survived. I'm hungry. But there's food in my guts. Cutting 1500 calories was only a little harder than cutting 500. I'm sure the exercise helped since I could eat and still get a super low net intake, plus it distracts from the hunger. On the forefront of my mind: I get to eat sensibly tomorrow.]

  That's it, typos and all, for the day I ate a Net 235 calories.  Now, I also worked out pretty hard that day.  The working out really helped ease the hunger.  Since I actually took in 1078 calories, it is hard to call that a fast, but at the end of the day MyFitnessPal gave me a warning that cutting too many calories is dangerous.  I have to say I've never enjoyed broccoli stalks as much as I did the one I ate while preparing dinner that night.  I usually throw that to the dogs, but I ate it like, well, a hungry dog.  
The next morning, that is this morning as I am typing tonight, I wrote this:
[This morning I feel nothing short of inspired. Waking up I watched as my thoughts came together from the muddled cloud of my dreams and the puzzle of my reality fell into place.  Sitting drinking coffee I meditated on the dangers of the flood of information we see everyday.  The idea that there is nothing we [can] truly believe that we did not experience first hand.  I imagined the internet as the great connectedness that is the closest thing to speaking to the universe that has been invented in human history.  Even as the words pour out I can see them as the ramblings straight from the depths of my brain.  There are little mistakes I'm making in grammer spelling, and typing effeciency.  It's a very odd feeling, somewhat akin to being high yet still being connected to reality. 
As I type this I am also frying turkey sausage and eggs for breakfast.  I am excited to eat again well again, but I am very intrigued by the way I feel now.  I have more research and testing to do before I endorse this diet, but so far I think the pros outweigh the cons.]  -All that was written with a head free and light.  It's several hours later now, and the best way to describe the change after eating normally is that I have been weighed back down to a safe and grounded position.  Compared to overeating the difference is awesome.  Overeating gives me a serotonin spike but a stuffed and heavy body, under-eating allowed me to feel lightened up physically and mentally.  It certainly isn't for everyday, but it was a new experience for me.]
What I wild ride.  Tonight, just like the lady in the video, I see that my appetite just wasn't what it was a couple days ago.   I'm still thinking about buying the book, but I can only recommend that you do your own research, talk to your doctor, and listen to your body.
Please keep in mind that the Fast Diet is potentially dangerous, as they say, 'Always consult your doctor.' 

Beans 5 Ways: Part 1

I've got a plethora of dried beans (and peas).  I've bought them for emergency food, camping, and just because they're cheap food with an excellent nutritional profile.  The only problem is I just don't use them.  They sit in my pantry getting older, and taking up space....So, in the next few weeks I am going to try some new recipes, and hopefully add a few to my repertoire.

Chick Peas

  I'm probably most excited to try hummus.  I Love hummus.  My favorite hummus comes from Cafe Soriah in Eugene, but alas I do not think they're going to share thier recipe.  I'm going to have to take my chances with a promising recipe I found online here.  For those of you that don't know, hummus is basically a puree of chickpeas and mashed sesame seeds(tahini), with lemon juice, cumin, and garlic.   It's a great savory spread or dip.  (go to: Hummus)

Kidney Beans

  Kidney beans are great, on salad, in chili, or just with salt...but I don't usually take it any further, and I usually use canned beans.  So I'm going to try my hand at this Ramjah (kidney bean curry)...I don't often eat or cook Indian food, but it sounds soo good.

Lentils

  I've got some Bob's Red Mill soup and rice mixes that include lentils, and they are pretty darn good, and make a great easy meal.   Rachel Ray has a simple looking recipe for Sausage with Garlic Lentils that I'm going to try.  Her foods always look amazing, if a little fatty for everyday meals.  I think I'll use the al fresco pre-cooked chicken sausage that I can get at WinCo. (go to: Garlic Sausage Lentils)
 

Black Eyed Peas

  I've had black eyed peas once, that I can remember, but for some reason I keep a bag in my pantry.  The traditional dish looks simple enough, a lot like your basic pork and beans, except the beans are black and white.  I found some beautiful pictures of Hoppin' John and then I found a step by step illustrated recipe.  It takes the traditional black eyed peas and then dresses them up with extra veggies, spices, and rice.  It looks yummy!  (go to: Hoppin John!)

Red Azuki Beans

  This is probably going to be the strangest one for me.  I've had things stuffed with bean paste before, from the Asian food store, they all seemed over-processed and just weird.  I'm hoping that by making it myself I can get that idea out of my head, and maybe my family will actually enjoy it.  The recipe I've found is well written and seems simple...

  So, there it is, If you want to play along just click on the links above ^
In Part 2, I planned to go into detail about my first recipe.....Hummus....I've got everything but the tahini, fresh lemons and parsley.  Unfortunately they don't sell tahini at my regular store...So check out Part 2: Hoppin John!
Part 3: Garlic Sausage Lentils
Part 4: Hummus
Part 5: Ramjah
Part 6: Adzuki Bean Paste

Eating Well

I had hoped to make this a list of gourmet recipes....then I did some research and soul searching, and discovered something very important- I am not a chef.  I only use recipes for things I've never tried and for pastries.  When I do use recipes I often eyeball the portions and make new stuff up as I go.  I have no real recipes of my own to share.  However I have been cooking in some form or other since I was a kid.  From quesadillas and peanut butter and jelly, to high end restaurant kitchen work, all the way back home to feeding my family three healthy meals and snacks.  
So here's some ideas for lighter foods with comfort food flavors:

• Add a premixed seasoning to cooked veggies or salad to give it the flavor you're craving.  You can add these seasonings to any dish to give it extra flavor without compromising nutrition.  For example:
• Steamed Broccoli with pizza seasoning and a sprinkle of shredded Italian cheeses
• Sweet Potato wedges baked with a little olive oil, sea salt, and Italian seasoning
  (keep your portions small for this one)
• Salad greens, tomatoes, feta, and dried garlic and herbs, salt and pepper
• You don't need to add sugar, fat, or flour to get an awesome desert.  The most important ingredient is often the fruit!  
• Pumpkin puree and Apple sauce with pumpkin pie spice
• Raw or Baked Apples with cinnamon
• Berries, frozen, hot, or anywhere in between
• Fresh Fruit salad. Not canned in syrup!
• Smoothies!  Just add your favorite fruit and crushed ice
• Some things I do almost every day, for my chocolate fix:
• Mocha: 1 mug of coffee and about 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1/2 Tbsp honey, less than 1/4 C 2% milk. about 65 calories/cup
• Mocha frappe: 1C cold coffee, 1/2C crushed ice,  1/2Tbsp cocoa powder, 1 serving chocolate protein shake or chocolate nutritional shake.  blend. about 150calories
• For meals:  watch your portions, skimp on carbs and fats, double the veg!  here's a few regular dinners in my house:
• Baked herb chicken breast, brown and wild rice cooked with bouillon, and green beans from the garden.
• Easy Three Bean Chili: 1 sauteed onion, 1 can each of black, pinto, kidney beans, and vegetarian chili, add chili powder, cumin, and salt to taste.  
• Rabbit Stew: Super easy in a crock pot- meat from 1 rabbit (or chicken), 2 potatoes (or turnips), 1 onion, and 2 cups carrots, all coarsely chopped .  Cover with 1 box chicken broth, cook on high. When potatoes are cooked but still firm, add 2-4 cups green veggies (celery, leeks, kale).  Season with parsley, salt, pepper, and whatever you like.   
  
     

BONUS:
Our Valentine's Day Menu
Pan Cooked New York Steak on a bed of Kale with Quinoa and Brown Rice
Strawberries in Sparkling Wine
Popcorn, Air Popped with Olive Oil and Sea Salt


Resources
What's In Season?
Circle h Organic CSA
All About Kale:Video
5 Most Common Mistakes When Cooking Quinoa
The Perfect Steak - Heston Blumenthal
How to Cook a Steak in a Pan - Gordon Ramsay
caramelized-pancetta-and-fennel-salad-recipe
myfitnesspal.com



It was delicious!