Let's Do Lunch Community

You are out enjoying sunny CA and we are here with fog turning to ice and cold.  Ha.  I do love it here but miss the sunshine lately.  Vickie do you have any grapefruit trees or orange trees where you live?  We stayed out there one month a few years ago and I was fascinated with being able to walk out to the back yard and pick grapefruit, oranges, avocado's, pomegranates, and nuts.  This place that we house sat was way up high in the hills of LA.  What a good time that was.  Even had a swimming pool.

How do you fix your salmon?  I don't care for salmon much and have tried several times to like it but it seems so dry with a strong taste to me.  I know people love it so know I'm fixing it wrong.  I probably over bake it.  My mil loves it so try to fix it for her once in  awhile.

Hope you had a nice weekend.

Carrole 

Ho Mary! Thanks for the visit and the encouaging word!

Carrole...I wish I had fresh fruit trees near me! I basically live right smack in the middle of the city.....across the street from a shopping center. I live in a condo so I have no yard. So...I go to the grocery store for my fruits and veggies like everyone else...LOL. It would be so nice to have fruit trees though. We do, however, have great weather here. You're right about that!

The salmon I had was already seasoned and made into patties. It's a frozen type that I get at Costco. I don't cook much salmon from scratch because I'm not good at it and it tends to be too fishy when I cook it too.

Ok...off to start my day...

Hi Sweetie -- I'm so happy to see you!

I get my salmon at Sam's - individually frozen portions wrapped separately.  I just thaw one portion at at time for a couple minutes in cold water, still sealed inside its plastic wrapper.  Then I unwrap and dry it between paper towels, coat heavily with blackening spices (see Emeril's Essence recipe) and pan broil in a little olive oil with the exhaust fan turned on HIGH!  I like to have it with the Asian stir-fry vegetables I also get there.  I just nuke them or lightly steam instead of stir-frying.  It's faster, saves oil and I get a more consistent result.  When I try to stir-fry frozen veg, they always turn to water and some stay frozen, while others get overdone.

The one & only time I tried baking a whole salmon filet, it was overdone and tasted more like canned salmon than the expensive filet that it was. 

I picked grapefruits a couple days ago and they were still sour and not at all ruby red like then have been in past years.  So don't feel bad - just buy some at the store & they will probably taste better than mine do.

dear Sweet Pea.

I was like you, I didn't like fresh sal, ut loved can sam.Little Mary (fixed) fresh Salmon for me last year, boy it sure was good, need to get her recipe.

ICL

Gene

Vickie,

Yes, getting back to totally LDL feels like "a relief", and makes me feel better all around when I stick to it.  So, good for you...gald we are both back!

Hoping 2009 will be a GOOD year for you, and that you are encouraged by all of us!

Happy 2009

Blessings & Hugs,
Doreen

Hi Gwen!!! I'm happy to see you too. It's good to be back on plan and back here posting as well. I've missed you.

Doreen...you're so right...I am so very relieved to be back on plan. And I'm glad I'm not alone in this. Let's make 2009 a good, healthy year!

OK...today was a good day. I went back to work after being on vacation since December 23. I love being off work and the holidays and all...but I love when my life gets back to normal too.

So Here's what I ate today...

2 mugs coffee
Pumpkin mush (pumpkin/apples/beans/lots of cinnamin/raisins all smooshed together and eaten like hot cereal)

Roasted chicken breast half
stewed italian seasoned tomatoes
great northern beans
iced herbal tea

peach/banana smoothie
popcorn
refried beans

Good morning Vickie, daughter of the KING.  I love that.

Sounds like you did great yesterday!  Hope you have another fantastic day at work and home.

Your mush sounds so good, I may have to try that.  I invested in a bullet yesterday with the money from items I took back that didn't fit( which would have fit next year), right?  I'm having fun using it and look forward to all the things I can do with it.

Love, Carrole

I noticed that too - daughter of the King...AMEN, AMEN!!!

Hi Carrole and Doreen! Yeah, I have to remind myself that I am "The Daughter of the King" otherwise I am sometimes tempted to settle for far less than His best for me!...and to settle for behavior that is unfitting for a princess...LOL

2 mugs coffee

skipped breakfast...got busy and just missed it

lunch...pumpkin mush...a pretty large bowl...maybe a cup and a half or so

decaf herb tea throughout the day

Dinner:
roasted chicken breast ...maybe 4 oz or so
refried beans
popcorn
strawberries
skim milk


Today I am going to be better about managing my time so that I get 3 meals in rather than being so hungry by the time I get home from work that I eat too much.

I started walking to work again yesterday. It felt good to walk and listen to a bible study teaching on my ipod as I walked. Sometimes I don't know which is more beneficial to me...the physical activity of walking or the bible teaching that I listen to as I walk! I am having a difficult time with my emotions over my son's impending divorce and listening to good teaching as I walk helps me to keep my mind on the Lord and my hope in Him...and not on the circumstances.

Here's my menu for yesterday...wednesday january 7, 2009

2 mugs coffee

Pumpkin Mush ...this is pumpkin, apples, black beans, and raisins all smooshed together and eaten like hot cereal...Yum!!)

Great northern beans and stewed tomatoes, mixed together like soup
cold pumpkin mush for dessert, about 1/2 cup
cinnamin spice tea

Spaghetti Sauce made with lean ground beef, onions, garlic, canned tomatoes, tomato paste and pureed black beans
served over spaghetti squash that I tossed with olive oil and italian herbs
Iced green tea


I am feeling frimly back on plan I'm walking in the morning and feeling much better about everything than I did in the weeks before Christmas.
It feels great to have my eating under control

I got an e-mail from Roger this morning, inviting me back to the boards...Here I am Roger, I'm right here...LOL 
later I'll have a bowl of strawberries and sliced peaches....they're frozen and I'm waiting for them to thaw out

Hi Vickie, 

Do you cook the apples first before putting them with the pumpkin and raisins?  I have to try that.

Glad you are feeling better about life and the hard time your family is going through right now.  I know your prayer is for little Autumn to have a loving secure and happy fullfilled life.  It's hard being a grandma sometimes, at least I think so.  You love these little ones so much and want their lives to be all you wish for them.  Hopefully she will come through this situation without scars as I know grandma Vickie is praying.

Love you princess of the  MOST HIGH GOD,
Carrole

Good morning Carrole. Thanks for your encouraging note about the situation with my son's impending divorce. You're right, it is hard, hard, hard on a grandmother's heart to watch as our grandbabies get dragged through difficult situations. I am trying really hard to not allow myself to fret over it and to trust that none of this has caught our heavenly father off guard and to believe that he will bring beauty from ashes in this situation. I know that God is faithful and I can trust him with my precious little Autumn's future.

Ok...so the apples...actually, I process the apples on the food processor and I puree the beans as well. Then I mix it all together and bake it in the oven for 30 or 40 minutes until it's all hot and cooked. Then I allow it to cool, keep it in a covered bowl in the fridge, and heat up a serving at a time for breakfast. It's also good cold as a dessert.

ok...here's what I ate yesterday:

2 mugs coffee

smoothie made from strawberries/apple/banana/ and mixed beans

Leftover spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash

refried beans
popcorn
strawberrie smoothie

Vickie, 

I made the apple mush today and it is so good.  Thanks for the recipe.  I find it a nice filling meal to have in the morning.  I had it this morning and still fill full and it is very tasty.  It is so neat getting ideas from someone else who has found a great recipe.

Hope you are having a great day!

Carrole

Carrole...I'm glad you liked it! It's good eaten cold too 

Friday January 9, 2009

2 mugs coffee

pumpkin mush

leftover "soup"
here's what I did..
I had some leftover roast beef, some leftover stewed tomatoes and great northern beans mixed together and some leftover refried beans. I mixed it all together and it made a soup that reminded me of Campbells' bean with Bacon soup...remember that?...anyway...it was similar to that. It was YUMMY!

Leftover roasted mixed veggies
a few mixed beans
sauteed in olive oil with tuscan seasoning
Popcorn

I had lots of herbal and ginger tea throughout the day.

I feel less bloated. I think my clothes might be feeling looser, it's hard to tell.

Hope you had a nice weekend Vickie.  We did, lots of friends and family around celebrating a birthday. 

I'm happy my husband is joining me on this new eating plan.  I need to keep foods ready in the fridge for him.  Going to make us some more apple mush to have for when we need something sweet. 

Take care Vickie, and God richly bless you.

Love, Carrole

Hi Carrole! Thanks so much for the visit!

Today, 1-12-09
2 mugs coffee

refried beans and eggs

strawberry/banana smoothie

Pumpkin mush

rotisserie chicken
green salad with salsa
roasted green beans

We keep a large container in the freezer for this purpose - whenever we have small amounts of leftovers that would otherwise be thrown out, we put them in the container.  When we have a good amount, we thaw and heat up as "Leftover Soup".

Vickie,

You are doing great   

Keep up the good work & have a BLESSED day!

Doreen