sushi!!

Today's lunch is a sushi roll. It's tempura shrimp wrapped in spicy crab meat with tobiko. I haven't had sushi since before my surgery last December so I decided to treat myself.

Delicious!!

This roll had 8 pieces and I had already eaten three by the time I decided to post.

I'm getting a little full already!

last night's dinner

I made steak last night, one of my favorite dinners.  I actually hadn't planned on making it, but someone (I won't name any names) unplugged the deep freezer and didn't plug it back in.  I discovered it a couple days later. Luckily everything was either cold or frozen.  But I didn't want to refreeze the steak, so I cooked it.

I was able to eat about 2/3 of the steak, plus the rice and corn.  I had about a tablespoon of each.

today's breakfast

Today I decided to make an omelet with some dill havarti cheese and a Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Patty.

I don't usually make omelets anymore, mainly because I can still eat only one egg if I'm having something with it.  Plus, a one-egg omelet is pretty small, which means you have to be careful not to overcook it or to tear it when you flip it.  I started out making scrambled eggs for both me and my husband, but halfway through I decided I didn't want the bacon crumbles and shredded cheese I put in them.   I had some leftover dill havarti cheese from a party so that made up my mind.

I also treated myself to half a glass of 2% milk.  I don't drink milk anymore, mainly because it has a lot of sugar:  16g per 8 oz. glass.  I can probably handle that, but I don't like to chance it.  And I usually don't even remember that I have it in the fridge; I'm too busy drinking water and Crystal Light.

today's breakfast and lunch

Remember the Swiss Chard grilled cheeses I made over the weekend?  I had a half of one for lunch today. :) For dessert I had two coconut macaroons (leftover from my party).

Breakfast was two herbed goat cheese and sausage egg cups.

Snacks were dry roasted peanuts and some dill havarti cheese.  I'm really not supposed to snack, but I find it really tough not to snack, especially when I'm bored and unhappy at work.  Hopefully the job situation will change soon.

swiss chard grilled cheese

I really wish I could take credit for thinking this up, but I can't.  I learned how to make this from our neighbors at Atkins Barnes Farm.  They open a small farm stand every weekend and offer free samples.  This is where I discovered the Swiss Chard Grilled Cheese.  It's delicious!  And it's "me"-sized. (They use mini ciabatta rolls.)

I bought some Swiss Chard from the guys last weekend in preparation for a gathering I had this weekend for some friends of mine.  It stored very well.  I simply wrapped it in some paper towel and kept it in the fridge.  It was a little less firm than it was last Sunday, but it held up very well.  It wasn't brown or wilted at all.

With all the preparation I had for the party, I decided to cook the Chard the night before and then put it in the fridge.  All I did was chop it up and saute with olive oil.  It cooks way down, just like spinach.

I made the grilled cheeses about an hour before eating.  I reheated the Chard in a small frying pan on low.  I then melted butter in another frying pan, put the bread in (I used 9 Grain from Stew Leonard's bakery), added some shredded sharp cheddar, put some chard on it, put more shredded cheese on top and then put another piece of bread on top.  I cooked until browned, flipped it over and finished browning.  I then put them in a warm oven on a cooling rack set in a cookie sheet so the bottoms wouldn't get soggy.  They kept warm and crispy.  I made four regular-sized grilled cheeses. I then cut each one into fours to make four mini grilled cheeses.

They were delicious and everyone seemed to like them.  I was smart enough to leave enough Chard and bread so I could make two more grilled cheeses the next day.  I ate half of one for lunch and I plan to save the other one and a half to eat during the week.

I know, I know.  I'm not supposed to eat bread.  But I eat bread maybe once a month, so I'm OK with it.

today's breakfast

I had some old friends from my former job over yesterday and we had a great time.  It was so nice seeing everyone again.  Makes me realize how much I miss my old job and the culture we had there.

Anyway, I made artichoke dip, among other things, and served it with crostini from Stew Leonard's.  I thought about making my own crostini, but I was already making a few other things, like those Swiss Chard grilled cheeses, and didn't want to add to the stress.

So, my breakfast today was three crostini topped with artichoke dip, which I warmed in the toaster oven.  Breakfast of champions.

protein balls: recipe fail?

A friend of mine tagged a protein ball recipe on Facebook and I decided to give it a try.  It was only three ingredients:  Vegan protein powder, rolled oats, and a banana.  Only three ingredients?  Right up my alley.  But I was skeptical of how it would taste with ONLY three ingredients.

I made two batches:  strawberry and chocolate.  Both came out identical, even though one had twice as much protein powder.

I used non-vegan protein powder and, on the first batch, added more than the stated amount.  I hadn't planned on adding more protein powder, but once I mixed it into the recipe, the dough seemed very sticky, like there wasn't enough dry ingredients.  And the recipe didn't state the amount of powder to use, actually.  It just said, "one serving of vegan protein powder."  Well, how much is a serving?  Half a cup, a full cup, a whole container?  I posted in the question in the Comments on the Facebook post, but the author didn't answer.  It could be that maybe I processed the dough too much.  The other change I made was to roll the balls in unsweetened coconut.

I then made a second batch with chocolate protein powder, but used what is considered "one serving" for the brand I use.  I also didn't process the dough as much.  I only processed until the ingredients came together.

As far as taste goes, they're pretty good.  But the primary taste is dry oats.  Not a bad thing, but I prefer the more complex taste of other recipes that use some sort of nut butter.

I wouldn't call this recipe a fail.  It's just not a recipe I'd used unless I was truly being lazy, or if I didn't have nut butter in the house, or maybe if I had to use up the last overripe banana.

Strawberry.  I was hoping for a nice pink color, but my husband says they look like meatballs with coconut.

Chocolate.  These look a little more normal.

today's breakfast and lunch

I've decided to try something different for lunch:  shrimp.  I'm getting tired of the usual chicken, cheese, etc.  I had some in the freezer I forgot about so I defrosted them and there you go.  I also added some leftover stuffed mushrooms and extra stuffing from my get-together over the weekend.

Breakfast was the usual Greek yogurt with peanuts mixed in.  It's weird that I've become such a yogurt eater by choice.  I used to eat it a lot, but only when I was on yet another diet.  I got really sick of it.  But I like the Greek yogurt; it's thick and creamy.

something new to try: swiss chard

I visited the neighbor's farm stand this weekend and stocked up on some veggies.  They'll be away next weekend and therefore won't be open.  I bought some eggplant for a recipe I want to try.  It's kind of like eggplant parm without the sauce.  I also bought more tomatoes to make sauce, four heads of garlic, and some Swiss Chard.  

I have to say, I was quite shocked at how large the Swiss Chard leaves are.  I didn't think the guys would be able to get the bunch in the little bag for me, but they did.  They take up half a shelf in the fridge! I've never cooked with Swiss Chard before, but I'm told they cook down to almost nothing, similar to spinach.

My neighbors have been making samples with the Chard and it's delicious.  They make these awesome Swiss Chard grilled cheeses on ciabatta bread.  This weekend they used 9-grain bread and it was even better.  (I purposely walk down there for the samples, although I do buy something while I'm there.)  They also invented two desserts:  Swiss Chard Tarts and Swiss Chard Mini Pies.  So delicious!  You would never know it's made with a leafy green.  It's got brown sugar, raisins, and other yummy stuff.

So, they've convinced me that I need to make the grilled cheeses at home for some company I'm having next weekend.  I can't wait!  I'll be sure to post a pic of the finished product.

Lily's No Sugar Added chocolate

Lily's has become my new go-to chocolate when I'm craving something sweet.  It's rare that I crave sweets nowadays, but it does happen occasionally.  

I'm one of the post-ops that can have sugar in small doses.  It's not totally off limits, but I can't eat as much of it as others can.  I'm somewhere in the middle.  Two bites of [insert sugary dessert here] and I'm done.  One more and it's usually too much.  I start dumping:  my stomach feels a little queasy and I get tired.  Four bites?  Forget it!  I did that twice and I won't do that again.  I felt nauseous, dizzy, very lethargic, and I wasn't sure if I was going to pass out or throw up.  It lasted about 20 minutes and then I was fine.  I guess if I'm willing to go through that for an extra bite of dessert I could, but who wants to feel like that for the sake of 30 seconds of pleasure?

Although I've found some low sugar or no sugar treats, I still have to be careful because there's often sugar alcohols, which can cause diarrhea and such.  But I don't have to worry about that with Lily's.  It's sweetened with Stevia, so any sugar alcohols are kept to a minimum.  Even though I don't have to worry as much about dumping, I still don't go overboard.  Three squares is about it for me.  It satisfies my craving with a minimum of calories.

The price tends to be abound $4.00 a bar.  I don't mind paying that, though, since it lasts me a long time.  I buy mine at Whole Foods.  

This chocolate tastes great and it's smooth.  I feel that it tastes the same as regular chocolate, but some people think it's a slightly different taste.  Could be.  Depends on your palate, I guess.  I think the texture is the same, too.  It's not crumbly or grainy.  It's nice and smooth like regular chocolate.