Try this quick and healthy dish

Now that I am retired, and although I am not quite settled,  you can expect to hear more from me more than you ever did in the past. Yay!

I want to share my lessons with you and to improve my writing. One way to get better is to write more frequently.

Sleeping past 4:30 a.m., my old morning ritual, is doing my mind, body, and spirit well.

After the gym, I felt a strong urge to whip up a nutritious meal in the kitchen.  Of course, my new kitchen is fabulous and enhances my cooking experience. I thank God every day.

If you keep vegetables in the fridge, you can always put together a fast meal.  Even if you think you can’t cook, I betcha that you can do this!! 

When I opened the fridge, I did not know what I was going to cook.  That said, check this out…

Mushrooms, sweet onions, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, crushed red peppers, and olive oil sautéed in a pan.


My new and simple toy. A George Foreman grill.


Unseasoned natural turkey patties. I buy them when they are on sale and keep them in the freezer.

Since I am shopping in a new community and at new grocery stores– Kroger and Publix, I am feeling my way through the aisles, looking for healthy food items at the best prices.


I recommend buying meat unseasoned because you can control the amount of sodium and other ingredients.  Here I sprinkled freshly ground pepper, a dash of sea salt and a little Cheyenne pepper.


I planned to make a kale salad, so I had a bunch of kale already cleaned in the fridge. I grabbed two handfuls and tossed them in a pan with onions. Sprinkled with the same seasoning, except the Cheyenne pepper, they cooked for less than 10 minutes.


Finished product- two turkey patties smothered with mushrooms and Vidalia onions (no gravy, sauce or additional condiments needed), next to freshly sautéed kale.

There is no way possible that you can convince me that you can’t cook this. Give it a try and please tell me how you made out.

Besides this dish is an ideal post-workout meal, it’s an easy meal prep idea, as well as dinner.  I could take this turkey patty to a new level but the idea was to be simple.

If you don’t eat turkey, sub with beef or seafood. If you’re a vegan, have the mushrooms over quinoa.  There are always options, the main idea is to put your creative hat on and have fun.  Cooking shouldn’t be serious.

After lunch, I unpacked more boxes.

As I write this from my cell phone, I’m getting a much-needed pedicure. My feet are tired.

I worked legs this morning at the gym and the hardwood floors at home make the bottom of my feet and ankles hurt.  I recovered a few years ago from a severe case of plantar fasciitis. I should not be walking barefoot on hard surfaces but I am a woman with island roots so I love to walk barefoot!  Hahah! But no more. Tomorrow I’m buying footwear that is it strictly to wear at home.


Children Model OUR Behavior

Mom, can I make an omelet when we get home?

The time is just around 3 O’clock  Sunday afternoon.  This kid loves eggs.  Oh my goodness! To further persuade me, he goes on to say,

There’s protein in the egg.  I need my protein after my workout…

LMAO!!  How on earth can I say no to that?  Hahaha!

Omelet and tobasco

Here’s what’s left of his 3-egg omelet.  That red stuff is Tabasco Sauce, which he’s been eating since he was around 6!

On the weekend, B’Dazzle participates in a rigorous football conditioning camp. I like the program because the coaches push him beyond his limits. Like me, he doesn’t always realize his full athletic potential.

The camp is an intense hour of various drills sprinting, running ladders, crawling, pushing sleds, wrapping, and more.  I like it because there is no slacking, horse-play, or performing half-ass. Before the boys walk in the door, the bar is raised and they know exactly what type of performance is expected of them. Makes for a great work ethic.

In an hour’s time, the boys burn an enormous amount of calories! It is important to their growth and development that after practice, they fuel up and replace the calories burned. While my son is young with an active metabolism, I still stress, to him and to hubby, that he eats “good”  food instead of filling up on empty, high fat, and sugared calories. Even though I cringe, an occasional slurpee isn’t going to kill him.  I hope not! Lol!  Okay so you know, I had to sneak a peek!! Read More


Y’all Don’t See This!

I share pictures and recipes of healthy meals here, on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and a few other sites.

What y’all don’t see is the daily mental tug-of-war and the inner turmoil that I grapple with. Ugh!  Oh Lord, the guilt of feeding my family unhealthy and processed foods. I hate it!

The other day I brought a package of Jennie-O Hardwood Smoked Turkey Kielbasa.  My family likes them and I was struggling with what to cook for dinner, without repeating the same ole same meals.

I feel like I’m chickening them to death!  I also needed to cook something that would last for a couple of days… Umm.. leftovers!  I don’t have time to cook everyday nor do I want to.

I usually prepare the Kielbasa with garlic, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce served over some sort of whole wheat pasta… just the way they like it.  😦

While hubby zoned out on the laptop at the kitchen counter, I read aloud the ingredients. He was not moved, surprised or even batted an eye.  I don’t think– no, I know he was not listening, so I read the ingredients again, but this time a little louder…  Lol!!

“Turkey, manufactured, turkey, water…

Me:        “Hon!!  Did you hear that?”

Him:       “Huh?”  “What?” (looking and sounding a little annoyed)

Me:        “I just read the disgusting ingredients in this turkey I’m cooking for you guys!”

Him:       “Well what else are we supposed to eat?!?”

Me:        (Thinking) “Is he freakin serious?!?!?”

Me:        “Well we could eat more vegan based meals.”

Him:       (seemingly more annoyed) “What’s that?”

Me:        “Ugh!  Really?  Plant based meals.”

OMG!! The look on his face. Like I just called him a pervert or something. LMAO!!

Welcome to my world!

The process entails pureeing or grinding the carcass left after the manual removal of meat from the bones and then forcing the slurry through a sieve under pressure. This puree includes bone, bone marrow, skin, nerves, blood vessels in addition to the scraps of meat remaining on the bones. The resulting product is a blend of muscle (meat) and other tissues not generally considered meat.

HOLD UP!

That’s foul! I’m not buying them anymore.

Manufactured turkey is pretty much the same as “mechanically separated meat.”

Barfing yet?

I just can’t!!

If you care about your health, you should read labels on everything you eat. While I continue to educate myself, I try to share my knowledge with my family. Actually, I will share with anyone, who expresses the slightest of interest.  🙂

Some days my family are not interested in my chatter, but I refuse to stop because I care.  Caring is the frustrating part. As I continue to educate myself about food and nutrition, the need to share is only natural for me. I share with my family, my friends, my followers, and anyone else who cares to listen.  Other than my household, I try not to give unsolicited info, but I have been busted for making faces.  I’m working on this!  Lol!

I don’t want to be the pain in the ass wife and mom; however, I do my best to paint the ugliest, nastiest, and graphic images (in their minds and mine) to drive the message home.  Hahaha!!

Anything that’s good is not going to be easy and will demand more time and diligence from us.

Grocery shopping takes longer.  Why?  Because I am:

  • Scrutinizing food labels
  • Looking for healthier food options
  • Checking prices
  • Buying for two, sometimes three different meal plans
  • Buying from several different stores

I cook two sets of meals, so cooking takes longer, but I’m cool with that.

The troublesome  part for me is, even though I am pretty creative at introducing new food, subbing and swapping out bad ingredients for healthier options, my peeps still want processed foods like those nasty smoked turkey kielbasas.  What am I supposed to do?

For now, I will continue to plug away at it and incorporating healthier meals for them. I do realize I am still helping them, but I just feel like it’s not enough.  This past Sunday, I made baked ziti. I used whole wheat pasta, added zucchini and mushrooms but it still had three cheeses!  They loved it!

 I sucked on one noddle and was perfectly fine with that. 🙂

I’m dead serious.

Anyways, I would have never thought that  in 2015,  hubby would be eating avocados, flax seeds, chia seeds, and zucchini spaghetti, so I guess I am making a little progress. Hallelujah!!

Whatever you do, do not give up on your goals of living a healthier lifestyle; the benefits are endless and worthwhile.

Thanks for stopping by… and please… keep it movin!  🙂

 

 

 


Try Something New!

I like to challenge myself. I like to learn – so I like to try new things and try to keep growing.

-David Schwimmer

I loooooove to try new things; it’s scary and fun!

If you are on a journey to live healthier, whether it is to eat better foods, get into better physical condition, or just to adapt a healthier lifestyle, it begins with having the courage to be open-minded to trying new things and a willingness to view life through a different lens.

I am so excited! Why? Because today I am trying not one, but two new recipes!! Heeey! I’m dancing around the kitchen. Lol!

To eat healthy and clean (as clean as possible), you have your staple food items (avocados, leafy greens, brown rice, quinoa, and more). However, the six meals a day can get boring really quick, so just like fitness, you’ve gotta mix it up!

This is suppose to be a quick post, so I’ve got get back to cooking, but check out the ingredients. I forgot to include the black beans and two other spices in the recipe, but everything else is included in the picture.

These ingredients may not look like much, but oh… wait until you see the results!

ingredients

I’ll chat with you later!  🙂