Fast, Easy, and Healthy Breakfast

Breakfast is an important meal.  I know some say, it is the most important meal, and I will agree that when one is trying to eat healthy this is extremely true.  You see if one gets off track right from the start, it's easy to stay off track all day.  It's kind of like running.  If you set a goal for how far you want to run before you stop, and then you stop before you hit that goal - you will continue to stop along the way many more times.

Here is a simple start to the day.  It's quick.  It's easy.  It's nutritious.  It may not be 'filling', as in the Cracker Barrel Country Boy Breakfast (679 calories and 45 grams of fat), but this breakfast will get the job done at 177 calories and 6 grams of fat.

1 hard boiled egg peeled and sliced
1 Arnold mini flat bread
1 slice Kraft fat free sharp cheddar
1 tsp of Hellman's reduced fat Mayo
10 grapes
Salt  & Pepper to taste

Just a note- Take the time to bite, chew and taste your breakfast.  If you wolf it down in the morning rush.. it doesn't matter what you eat.  Your brain will be seeking something to eat once you settle down.  Take five and enjoy your food.

ENJOY!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter.  My family and I are rejoicing the empty tomb. 

Enjoy your day.

Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Well the Testosterone Police showed up at the house today.  They punched my “Man-Card” again.  I’m not sure how many points I have left….   They showed up the first time when I started cooking and baking.  They showed up again when I started blogging about it.

Today they showed up because they found my Pinterest account.  They said next time they came I better be wearing a dress, pearls and heels….  (sigh…)   I guess I’ll go play golf with my baby boy tomorrow to try and build some points back up.

 

Anyway, I did find on Pinterest a recipe for Cajun chicken pasta, and decided to give it a make-over to a lighter version and use shrimp instead.  (Oh goodness! Was that the guys at the door for the make-over comment?).   I assure you, after 26 years of marriage, rearing two boys to adulthood (well almost) and a 7 year old girl, I have a lifetime MAN CARD – even if I do scare the bejeebies out of them when I let my daughter paint my toes.  

Ingredients-

1 cup of sweet pepper, chopped.  ( I used red and green)

3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

1 large or 2 small Shallots, peeled and sliced

3 scallions, sliced and divided (white and green)

6oz sliced mushrooms, slightly chopped

2lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 Tbsp. canola oil, divided (1 for shrimp marinade, 1 for veggies)

1 package fat free cream cheese

½ cup milk

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning – divided  (1 for marinating the shrimp, 1 for the veggie sauté)

Chicken broth or water (amounts vary to keep cream cheese from getting to thickened)

16oz box Fettuccini noodles

Salt and pepper to taste

Grape tomatoes, cut in half.

How to-

Marinate the shrimp with a Tbsp of Cajun seasoning and Canola oil.  Stir to coat and refrigerate for thirty minutes to an hour. Chop veggies!

Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat.  Add shrimp.  Stir occasionally until shrimp are cooked through.  (about 7-10 minutes)  Remove from heat and set aside.  Heat a large pot with water to cook the pasta at this time.  Then drain, and leave in colander until needed.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add Tbsp canola oil.  Once hot, add garlic, stir and brown.  Add the rest of the veggies - except the green part of the scallions and the tomatoes. Stir often.  Once softened add cream cheese and constantly stir. Add chicken broth as needed to keep the mixture fairly moist.  ( I ended up using about 1/2 a cup). 

Once cream cheese is melted, add shrimp.  Stir in to coat. 

Reduce heat to simmer, and add the green parts of the scallions and grape tomatoes.

Serve up the pasta and top with the shrimp

Romaine Lettuce - Salad Basics

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I love a salad.  I love it as a snack, a side, or a meal itself.  I like my greens to be crunchy, and occasionally mixed with a softer green such as baby spinach.  The greens also have to be cold.  I am really perturbed when I go to a restaurant and order a salad and it comes out in a bowl that feels like they just took it out of the dishwasher!  I've had sizzling fajita plates that didn't seem as hot as some of my salad bowls! 

  Well I like to use Romaine lettuce because it is readily available and it keeps crisp longer than some others.  I buy the bulk bags from Sam's Club in the summer time, but in the winter I usually buy smaller amounts at the grocery store.  So how do I get my greens cold and crunchy?  I wash and soak them in ice water after chopping!

We all have to wash the lettuce anyway, so ... what?  You DO WASH your lettuce right??  I mean come on, with all the e coli scares, and so forth?  You have to wash it.  Notice your lettuce probably doesn't have a lot of bug eaten leaves, therefore the farmer probably uses some sort of insecticide.  If you don't wash it - it's still there!  And what about the color of your lettuce?  Is it green?  Then more than likely it has received some fertilizer too, and yes, it's probably still there! 

Oh?  You buy only organic?  That's good.  Cow manure and compost are organic fertilizers too, so wash the lettuce really good please! (Compost is well... see the picture?) Since your going to wash it, you may as well give it an ice bath to get it cold and crisp too!

Source of Compost pile

 If you make salads, you need a salad spinner. Yes, you do.  Chop or tear the lettuce into the size that you prefer and put in the strainer.  Rinse the lettuce well under cold running water, then place in the spinner bowl.

Fill the bowl with cold water and swirl and swish the lettuce with your hand.  Kind of like the agitator on your washing machine. Then add ice cubes to the water - just enough to get the water really cold. (10 cubes or so)

Let the ice set on the lettuce for about thirty minutes, or until the ice is melted. 

Then remove the strainer from the bowl over the sink. Pour out the water, and return the strainer back to the bowl and SPIN AWAY. The little black button there is the brake.  Use it to stop the spinner.  Pour out the excess water and repeat one more time.

Then you have nice cold, crisp lettuce leaves ready for your basic salad.  If you are not ready to use then place entire bowl in the fridge.  When possible refrigerate your bowls or plates before serving as well.  (No, I don't always get to do that, but it really makes a difference - I just don't have a big enough fridge!)

ENJOY!

Cooper River Bridge Run Weekend

This weekend was fabulous.  My bride and I have been working toward our goal of "Getting Over It".  The IT being the Cooper River bridge that stretches from Mount Pleasant, SC to Charleston, SC over, for obvious reasons, the Cooper River.  This was the 35th anniversary of the event, but the first for us.

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We have been doing some training, and running some 5K's, but this was my first 10K and I was nervous yet excited.  For an old, one-time fat boy that used to get out of breath running from my La-Z-boy to the dinner table... well this was a major accomplishment to go with the 85 lbs I've shed over the last couple years.

The weekend started with a trip to Conway, SC to drop Natalie off at her uncle's house to spend the night with her cousin.  We conveniently timed the drop off around lunch so we could partake of one of the finer eating establishments in the state - The Rivertown Bistro!

I had the Grilled Chicken Pita with macaroni salad and sweet potato chips.

My lovely bride had the grilled shrimp salad.



So after leaving the Bistro, we headed off to Charleston to check into our hotel in the historic district.  We didn't realize at the time that our hotel would be just a half block from the finish line of the race!  Gotta love those bonuses in life, right?

Once settled into our room we ventured out for some touring and of course PASTA for the pre race eats.  We were told by the hotel staff to give Pane e Vino a chance for some great food - so we did!

Some fresh bread and oil to start...

We split a salad...

She had the spinach ravioli

and I had the Pasta and Pesto!

After enjoying a great meal with an even greater lady, we ventured out to the streets of downtown Charleston.  It was such a beautiful evening and we really wanted to do more, but an early start in the morning sent us back to the room to get some needed sleep.

Race morning!  We were pumped and ready - even after getting up at 4:30am to run.

My time was not record breaking by any means, but it was OUTSTANDING for me.  I finished my first 10K (with a 1 mile 4% grade uphill stretch)  in 1:20:28.  Yes, I plan to run it again next year and shoot for under an hour.  (gotta have goals right?)  Will you join us next year? 

Thanks for stopping by!