Y’all Don’t See This!

Leave a comment

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!  🙂

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Food Prep

Leave a comment

Three days from now and around this time (8:27 p.m.), most people will be rubbing their bellies trying to digest dinner. Maybe even contemplating second or third helpings, or another trip to the desert table.

I was not feelin the kitchen after work this evening, but I’ve been on a roll cooking my share of Thanksgiving dinner, so just like I push myself to go to the gym some days, I pushed myself to cook another dish.

This year’s Thanksgiving eve, I just want to chill and don’t want to be slaving in the kitchen. Everything, except the salmon will be cooked in advance.

Here is six pounds of a blend of collard greens and kale. I wanted to cook the greens vegan style, but my peeps wouldn’t have that. But I think for Christmas dinner, I am just going to cook them without the smoked meat.  That stuff is bad for you! :0(

greens

I cooked them using smoked turkey legs. However, I just couldn’t contribute too much to the clogged arteries, high blood pressure, and added fat. I’m serious! I parboiled the four (4) smoked turkey legs in a handful of fresh garlic cloves and crushed red pepper.

The legs boiled until the skin begin to fall off. I then remove them from the pot and take off the skin, fat, and bones. It’s still unhealthy, but slightly better than with the excess fat.

I layered the greens in the pot with a little of the broth from turkey legs, sweet onions, and this seasoning.

seasoning

The outcome is amazing! I compromise this way because I understand that 20+ folks coming for dinner have not interested in eating clean. A small section of the kitchen counter will be dedicated to clean eating.

I am just about done my cooking.

freezer

The garage freezer!

On Saturday, I cooked six pounds of mac and cheese and  B’Dazzle helped me with 15 pounds of yams by peeling them for me. I’m so lucky! He’s an awesome kid and did a super-duper job. :0)

tailor peeling

On my way home today, I was deeply saddened when I saw a long line at the local food bank. The parking lot was full, an attendant directed traffic, and a long line of cars sat along side a busy roadway waiting for their turn to pick up donated food. I haven’t seen it like this before. A recent and sudden surge of casino closings in Atlantic City has many families struggling… struggling to find work… struggling to provide food for the family… struggling to pay rent/mortgage… heat… electricity… etc…

Regardless of where you live, if you are blessed to enjoy the festivities of a holiday dinner or a daily meal, heat, or a warm and safe place to sleep, I urge you to help someone in need. Invite them to dinner or give food, clothing, or whatever it is you can offer. Every bit of help can make a difference to someone in need.

Don’t judge, be kind, and be generous.

giving

Sweet dreams!

Saturday kitchen marathons

4 Comments

This was my third consecutive kitchen marathon Saturday. I nicked named it that because, with the exception of attending my son’s Pee Wee football games Saturday afternoons, I’m in the kitchen cooking dinner all day Saturday for the upcoming week.

Saturday I cooked black beans with smoked turkey in the crock pot. The beans soaked Friday night and after parboiling the smoked turkey legs with fresh garlic, and a few other seasonings, I removed the skin and bones, and tossed the turkey in the crock pot with the black beans, onions and other spices. I’d be lost without my crock pot.

I enjoy fresh vegetables, so I took two large heads of cabbage and shredded them. Then I sliced three large Vidalia onions. Instead of sautéing them stove top, like I usually do, I put them in a large tin baking pan. I seasoned them with Lawry’s all season salt, olive oil, black pepper, and a little of the juice from the smoked turkey legs and tossed them in the oven. Yep! In the oven. Thanks for oven tip Butch! I cooked them in the oven on 350 degrees for about an hour or so. Cooking them in the oven was so much easier and relieved me of standing over the stove and having to wash another pot.

I also slaved over five pounds of homemade mashed potatoes. Hubby was leisurely walking around the house, so I put him on potato duty and had him peel the potatoes. He didn’t look thrilled about his contribution to dinner, but he didn’t complain and very nicely peeled them.

On to the turkey loaf– A couple of pounds of ground, freshly diced garlic, red, yellow, and orange peppers, whole wheat bread crumbs, crushed red peppers, a few other spices and a new special ingredient that a friend gave me that made the work all the worthwhile. The sauce is a Pineapple, Coconut, Mango, Tequila Sauce and is unbelievably smack your momma good! It’s all natural and gluten-free (makes up for the smoked turkey legs). I mixed the sauce in with the loaf and poured a little on the top. I covered the loaf and tossed it in the oven. OMG! My loaf had a completely new flavor that delighted my taste buds!

Tomorrow I’ll make a couple of cups of brown rice in the rice cooker, and we’re pretty much set for the week.

Are we eating left overs? Yes! Am I tired from all the cooking? Yes!!! The good news is that I don’t have to cook again until next weekend. I might steam some fresh vegetables later in the week, but that’s a quickie. So while I despise spending so much time in the kitchen on Saturday, I am not stressed during the week by simultaneously trying to cook dinner, walk the dog, help my son with his homework, and getting him to football practice on time.

All that cooking yesterday freed me up today to do two things that I haven’t done in a while.  Take a nap and update my blog. Yeah, finally!  Both felt good.

Forrest Gump was right, “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get!” Just when I had my old routine down pat, our son started a new school, so I’ve had to figure out a new system.