dinner – Just a Dash

Since my omelette post was so well received, I’ve since done another dish that has a recipe that can be shared. I’m the kind of cook who throws things in the pot at the last minute or according to how I want things to taste, with that said, I do not really follow recipes. However, I do a few simple things that I can average and share a “recipe” with you. Today’s is… shit I didn’t think of a name. Ok, we’ll go with the title – Eat your veggies. After all I did this to force myself to eat veg.

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 small bunch of broccoli chopped

4 brussel sprouts chopped

1 tsp unsalted butter

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp black pepper

(salt optional)

In a non stick pan, add all of the ingredients on a low heat (like the omelette) and stir occasionally so that everything is covered with the seasonings. Do not overcook your veg! When the broccoli and brussel sprouts become a bright green color it’s ready! The pic below is when I warmed this up today for lunch so it’s leftovers. I forgot to take a pic last night when it looked bright green lol. The paprika and red cabbage also add a reddish tinge to it.

I’m really trying to reduce my flour intake so I have to be creative with my vegetables as I can get bored of the taste very quickly. I tried brussel sprouts before and steamed is not the way for me. It’s actually the brussel sprouts that led me to do this, kind of disguise them in some other veg I don’t mind eating. Again, feel free to modify this as you see fit. Maybe add some red onions or green onions and tomato. I used unsalted butter because I don’t like how vegetables taste/look when you cook them in oil, even olive oil.

I cooked some chicken thighs with this as I did a quinoa pasta/veg dish for my husband and just the chicken and veg for me. I couldn’t dream of giving him veg alone, he’d be forever snacking on something because it wasn’t filling, so he got pasta. The good thing about this meal is that it could be done for a quick lunch (it warmed up nicely in my toaster oven today) as well and would be nice with fish. I’m going to add the same ingredients to a chicken stir-fry for myself tonight. I have the chicken boiling right now! I do that now – instead of putting the raw chicken into the pot and continuously adding seasonings, I boil the chicken breasts with onion, shred and then use accordingly. It helps get rid of some of the fat .My husband will be having chicken chow mein for dinner and I get chicken and veg.

I’m hoping to be bikini ready very soon. I’m trying out Pilates tomorrow and I have training today with my trainer – kind of excited. I love how I feel after working out but I hate doing it lol.

Anyway let me know if you try this or have a way of improving it. I winged this out so feel free to add more of something if it isn’t to your liking.

For the new year, I’m trying to use more fresh seasonings in my cooking. I mentioned before that I cook Sunday – Thursday, so in an effort to be healthier and fitter this year I am changing what I cook and how I cook it. Less sodium wherever possible and less flavoring from jars – I bought a little device that crushes garlic cloves by rolling it along a hard surface. Last week, I crushed fresh garlic, chopped chives and a red and green sweet pepper. I also bought thyme, basil, marjoram and rosemary. I’ve been using these as the base for omelettes for breakfast and cooking my meat, of which was a lot of chicken and some fish. This has led to some very colorful and fresh tasty dishes. I used to buy my garlic pre-minced but I’m throwing out that jar and only using fresh garlic from now on. It’s amazing how much sodium is products like soy sauce and hoisin sauce – two of my favorites for stir-fry and chow mein. I intend to keep using them but I won’t be doing those dishes as often.

At my heaviest last year I was around 125/126lbs (I have no problem exposing my weight) and I’m now 118/119lbs. I was very proud of myself for not being a pig and getting out of hand with my eating when I went home as I didn’t gain any extra weight there. I bought a Nutribullet when I came back to do smoothies with as an option for breakfast and another way of getting my daily veg/fruit servings. I’ve used it once but I also have been eating hardboiled eggs and egg white omelettes for breakfast. I don’t intend to get above 120lbs any time soon. I know where I’m comfortable and I want to stay there. I worked out once while I was home and I haven’t since I returned but I once I start I intend to keep going. I’m happy that even though I haven’t been going, I haven’t been eating terribly either.

Kale, cucumber, ginger, spinach, apple and flax seed smoothie

I don’t subscribe to “new year new you” I believe “new year better you” should be your goal. Let’s face it, there won’t be a new you, people prefer to see that you’ve become a better person than totally changed and have them wondering who you are. Work on the small things and work your way up. Hope I’ve provided you with a little inspiration for getting on with your resolutions/goals for the year.

Tag: dinner

Eat your veggies!

Eating Right