Day 21 Progress

Had a ctazy morning with terrible internet connection.  Didn't get around to breakfast until after 11, lunch around 4 and dinner at midnight lol  Trying to clear out some of the leftover New Year's eve appetizers sitting in my freezer.  This was not a healthy eating day.  Haven't been all that hungry the last few days either.

Log:

Activity:  Core workout, yoga

Breakfast:  2 muffins

Lunch:  leftover stew

Dinner:  chicken wings, shrimp and bacon wrapped scallops.

Snack:  3 cookies, carrot, hot chocolate milk

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  Made a cheesecake

Social activity:  Just chatting on social media and text messages.

Gratitude:  Getting to bake and not having to eat it all.

Day 20 Progress

 

Log:

Activity:  Shoulder mobility, yoga

Breakfast:  Protein waffles, Greek yoghurt, Chia jam, walnuts

Lunch:  Granola bar, apple

Dinner:  Salmon sausage, Quinoa, beets

Snack:  butternut squash seeds

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  Ermine Buttercream, Chia jam

Social activity:  

Gratitude:  A fridge full of healthy food.

Chia Jam

I really like fresh fruit on my waffles but fresh fruit is kind of expensive when you have to buy it.  I have my own fresh rasperries a good part of the year.  I might buy some blueberry plants as well.  Chia jam is great on pancakes and waffles intead of syrup.  I like to top my protein waffles with some thick Greek yoghurt, chunky chia jam where I don't mash the fruit and some nuts like walnuts, pecans or almonds.  You can also use it on yoghurt, granola, toast or anything you might use jam or pie filling on (though I have not tried to make a pie with it).

 

 

 

 

Chia Jam

2 cups frozen fruit thawed

2 tablespoons chia seeds, whole or ground

1 teaspoon lemon juice (sub any citrus juice)

Sugar or sweetener of your choice to taste.

Flavourings like vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, herbs, spices or extracts to taste.  Who knows... maybe a bit of cocoa or coffee might be good.

Mix the fruit with the chia seeds.  Mash the fruit to desired consistancy or leave whole, it's a matter of preference and use.  You can also cook the fruit if you like.  Stir and let sit until the chia seeds have absorbed the liquid (about 20 min to half an hour) and the mixture has thickened.  Sweeten, if desired, using your prefered sweetener to taste.  Add one or more flavouring to taste.  Store in the fridge for up to 14 days or freeze portions.

 

I'm using a strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry blend here.  The one on the waffles I mashed with a potato masher and the one in the container I left whole.  I may choose to chop the strawberries in half or quarters when I eat it but I added the chia seeds and lemon juice straight from frozen and let it thaw in the fridge and gave it a stir when it had thawed (just one of those moments I'm popping my head in the fridge anyway).

Day 19 Progress

Log:

Activity: 1 hr noon Degree Fitness class

Breakfast:  Weatabix, milk, apple

Lunch:  Chicken burger, veggies

Dinner:  Fiery Beef Pasta Stew

Snack:  Cookie, Greek yoghurt with blueberries and coconut

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  none

Social activity:  Had dinner with Andrew again.

Gratitude:  Thankful for good friends, wishing them a wonderful anniversary.

 

Fiery Meatball Stew

This is a recipe that is just easy to throw together and still creates a tasty simple stew.  I normally have all the ingredients lying around.

I try to follow  the plate model when I eat, which means a quarter of my plate is protein, a quarter carbs (with fibre), and half a plate of veggies.  I can't sort through stew that way on my plate, but I can think of those terms when it goes into the pot.  From experience a pound of ground meat is about 2 cups, a cup of dry pasta is 2 cups cooked, therefore to balance out this recipe I want at least 4 cups of veggies in the recipe.  This recipe has about 5 cups plus the veggies in the salsa.

Fiery Meatball Stew

• 4 cups beef broth (water and 2 bouillon cubes)
• 1 cup whole wheat/whole grain/smart pasta
• 1 lb meatballs
• 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 cup diced peppers
  
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 cup salsa
• Any kind of hot peppers/hot sauce/seasoning to give it the heat you like
• 4 cups water
  

Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add pasta, mixed vegetables, peppers and onion and cook for five minutes. Add meatballs and bring to a boil and cook for ten minutes. Stir in Salsa. Add up to 4 more cups of boiling water at any point as needed to get desired consistency.

If I don't have time to make meatballs, and I have none sitting in the freezer I will just start by taking a pound of ground beef (or any other ground meat) and scramble frying it kind of chunky, then I adding the broth and go from there.  It doesn't look as pretty but gives you more meat in every bite.  I'll be honest I could rarely be bothered to make meatballs for this.  In a pinch I have used spaghetti sauce instead of salsa.

Day 18 Progress

 

Log:

Activity: Shoulder mobility exercise, stretching

Breakfast:  2 banana muffins, apple

Lunch:  veggie omelet

Dinner:  sausage, potato, kale, mixed veggies, strawberry rhubarb pie

Snack: cinnamon hearts lol

Total water intake:   oz

Meal prep:  did groceries

Social activity:  had dinner with Andrew

Gratitude:  for safety on the road with winter weather

Day 17 Progress

Log:

Activity:  1 hr Degree Fitness evening class

Breakfast:  2 muffins, apple

Lunch:  grapes, carrots, granola bar, pb protein bar

Dinner:  2 hearty muffins

Snack:  nachos, cheese, salsa (about 20 chips... last of the bag).

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  chopped leeks

Social activity:  went for counselling

Gratitude:  The sun was shining and I could have used sunglasses!  It was a beautiful winter day.

Day 16 Progress

 Log:

Activity: 1/2 hr pt session, shoulder mobility

Breakfast:  2 banana muffins, apple

Lunch:  veggie omelet

Dinner:  Butternut squash lasagna, garlic bread

Snack: granola bar, Reese's protein bar

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  

Social activity:  talked with a friend, had a board meeting

Gratitude:  For tall boots to walk through the snow to get to the compost bin :)  It was up to my knees (above my boots).

Reese's Peanut Butter Protein Bars

This is another bar that I like to keep available.  This one is a protein bar.  My preference is to use whey protein isolate in many of my recipes because it doesn't have a whole lot of additives.  I don't want the sweetener (and other additives) that many of the flavoured protein powders come with.  I find the recipe becomes far too sweet.  I actually prefer these over an actual Reese's peanut butter cup!  I now find the real thing too sweet and not peanut buttery enough.  As well sweeteners have been said to trigger blood insulin levels just like real sugar (although thorough studies have not been done).  Sweeteners may be healthier than copious amounts of sugar, in my opinion it is still going to be far healthier to reduce both sugar and sweeteners from our diet.  The sugar in these provide some instant energy, the oats a little later (plus some fiber) and then there is the protein to keep you full longer.  Top this with a little bit of chocolate to satisfy the chocolate craving.  To me that's a perfect snack.  I make these in little containers so that I can throw one or two into my purse or lunch bag, just in case or as part of an on the go meal.

 

• 1 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup honey
• 3 tsp vanilla 
• 2 1/4 cups oats
• 2 cups whey protein isolate
• 2 tbsp water (if needed)
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup peanut butter

Place honey and the first amount of peanut butter in a small pan and heat over low heat, stirring until it is runny and well combined. Add in the oats and whey protein isolate and mix until combined. If it is too thick to stir then add water a little bit at a time. I use a 3 tbsp scoop per serving and place in containers using a teaspoon to press it down. Alternatively place in a 9x13 pan. Place chocolate chips and remaining peanut butter in a bowl, and melt in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time mixing afterwards until smooth. Place 1/2 tablespoon of chocolate in each container. Tap the corner of the container on the counter to help spread the chocolate around. If using a 9x13 pan spread chocolate over base. Place in the fridge to help firm up the chocolate. Cut into 24 bars.

You could use another protein powder if you wish.

Granola Bars

I always try to have these on hand.  I keep one or two of these in my purse in case I get delayed so that if I get hungry I have a little snack.  Otherwise I would probably end up stopping somewhere and grabbing a chocolate bar or some chips.  Sometimes one or two of these with some fruits and vegetables become my lunch when I have a day where I am running around from one place to the next without the time to stop and have a proper meal.  Making them right into these containers also means they are quick to grab, and there is no excuse for not grabbing them on my way out the door.

 

• 4 cups oats
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup chopped nuts (your preference)
• 1 cup chopped dried fruit (your preference) 
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt

Place oats, coconut, nuts and chopped fruit into a bowl.  Add peanut butter and honey into a saucepan and warm over low heat stirring until melted and combined.  Mix in vanilla and salt.  Pour over oat mixture and stir until combined.  Using a 1/4 cup scoop place mixture into containers and firmly press down using a teaspoon.  Alternatively place into a 9x13 pan and press down, chill, then cut into 24 pieces.

Day 15 Progress

Log:

Activity:  1 hr Degree Fitness noon class

Breakfast:  2 muffins, mandarin oranges, apple

Lunch:  Pumpkin lentil soup

Dinner: Fettuccine Alfredo with salmon and spinach, stir fried veggies

Snack:  Cookie, granola bar, chocolate protein ball

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  Made granola bars and Reese's peanut butter protein bars.

Social activity:  Wrote a card to the wife of someone who passed away yesterday; I worked with him and appreciate and respected him.

Gratitude:  Thankful for Dave and all he contributed to the Distribution Centre.

 

Get Outside and Explore

 

This weekends challenge was to get outside and explore. Going for a hike is a great fun activity for me that I really enjoy, and I can do it by myself. I would have loved to have done another activity like snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, tobogganing, tubing... I would have enjoyed it all. I don't have the equipment to do those however, and some of those the facilities are not open because of COVID , and they are better with company. Mary Jane has been trying to encourage me to try walking through town. Since this is supposed to be a challenge, and this is something I hadn't pushed myself to do because it didn't sound that great in my mind, this was the time to try that. I went for a half hour walk and realized this part of town does not have a lot of sidewalks. Driving through town today, I realize there are a few more sidewalks but a number of them are not cleared of snow. It's also noisy and more peopley than I like. One of the things I like about hiking is that I can either tune things out and enjoy the beauty of nature or just have the time to process thoughts in my mind without distractions. That said I wanted some enjoyable outdoor time so I went and hiked the Morrison MacNaughton trail and set a nice fast pace, a little faster than I did it this summer (5.0 km/hr vs 4.9 km/hr). The trail was great, not slippery at all and fast enough to keep my heart rate up and be a bit of a workout.

Day 14 Progress

Log:

Activity: Walked in town, hiked Morrison-MacNaughton trail

Breakfast:  English muffin, 2 eggs, ham, a bit of cheese, apple, mandarin orange

Lunch:  Salami sandwich, apple sauce, ambrosia salad with extra Greek yoghurt

Dinner:  Ham, pineapple, mixed veggies, quinoa

Snack: 2 protein chocolate hazelnut balls

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  none

Social activity:  none

Gratitude:  Beautiful weather, this winter has been easy so far.  The roads have remained relatively good so far.  No major snow storms.  (Though part of me wants a snowstorm just to see where it piles up on this property.... and if I can stay home and watch from the warmth of my house I actually like a snowstorm. I just want everyone to stay safe.)

Day 13 Progress

It is just so beautiful out there.  I just love to watch the snow fall.  It was a good day.  I got the house cleaned a little bit.  I had so much crap on me last week when I was done working out lol  Started the morning off by making protein pancake mix and making myself a waffle for breakfast.   I like to top it with Greek yoghurt, fruit and nuts.  Yum!

Log:

Activity:  Shoulder mobility.

Breakfast:  Protein waffles, fruit, nuts, Greek yoghurt

Lunch:  Cole slaw, 2 hearty muffins

Dinner:  Stuffed peppers

Snack: Cream puffs, apple, Ambrosia salad with extra Greek yoghurt, pumpkin seeds

Total water intake: 100  oz

Meal prep:  Made protein pancake mix, roasted pumpkin seeds

Social activity:  Sent a text message to a friend, responded to a message on a dating site.

Gratitude:  A good day, beautiful snow outside, got some work done that I needed to do, had some me time.  Life is good.

Protein Pancake Mix

I love waffles for breakfast, but the typical waffle is carb overload especially once you top it with a pile of syrup.  I'm trying to eat better, but every once in a while it's nice to still have something special for breakfast.  I started by buying a bag of Flourish protein pancake mix.  It was great and easy, but it's kind of pricey and you can only buy large bags at Costco, so I would have to get someone to buy it for me if they went.  I have also tried the Presidents Choice protein pancake mix and it was good as well, the bags are small though.  But this mix is easy to whip together if you have all the ingredients in the house.  If I have this mix sitting in the pantry it is then so easy to make waffles for breakfast, 5 to 10 minutes and I'm eating waffles.  I like to top my waffles with some nice thick Greek yoghurt, fruit and nuts (walnuts, pecans or almonds).  In the summer while camping I'll treat myself to 1 can of whip cream and I'll add a little whip cream.  (Okay, I now buy 2 cans, but one goes to the group camping trip where we cook waffles over a campfire as a group.)

Protein Pancake Mix

2 cups oat flour

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups whey protein isolate

1/2 cup buttermilk powder

1/2 cup ground flax seed

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 tablespoons baking soda

1 tsp salt
 

Blend all the ingredients together well.  I prefer to use a mixer so that I know everything is well distributed.  Especially watch out for lumps in the brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda.

Place into an air tight container.  Makes 7 1/2 cups of mix.

To make pancakes or waffles

For 1 person/ 1 waffle

Mix  1/2 a cup of mix with 1/4 cup of milk and a small egg.  I just use a cereal bowl and a fork or small whisk.  Mix until blended.  Place batter in a greased hot waffle iron and cook for about 2 minutes or until done and lightly browned. Or pour into a hot griddle or skillet and make 2 or 3 pancakes.

I have used half an egg in this recipe by mixing the egg and pouring approximately half into mix and reserving the other half for another purpose.  I have also used a whole egg which works fine, it just tastes a little more eggy.

For 1 cup mix add 1/2 a cup milk and 1 large egg.

Approximately 221 cal, 31.4 g carbs, 5.6 g fat, 12.5 g protein in 1/2 a cup mix.

With milk and egg, approximately 289 cal, 34.6 g carbs, 9.2 g fat, 17.7 g protein.

Calculated using MyFitnessPal using my best approximation of how many servings this mix will create.

Enchiladas

Enchiladas: 

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups onion

3 cups peppers (red and green)

1 cups corn

2 cups cooked diced chicken or 1 lb chicken diced

1 can beans, drained

1 can diced tomatoes, drained liquid reserved

12 8" tortillas

enchilada sauce

shredded cheese

Enchilada sauce:

4 tablespoons oil

5 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup chili powder

1 tsp garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

4 cups chicken stock (I use water and bouillon cubes)

salt to taste

 

Make the enchilada sauce first.  In a small saucepan cook the flour and oil together to form the roux and then whisk in the spices to briefly toast them before adding in the stock.

Gradually add in the stock, while whisking the sauce to blend in any lumps.  Then heat to a simmer, and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes until it has reduced and thickened a bit.

Season with salt (or any extra seasonings that you might like to add), to taste.

In large sauté pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté stirring occasionally.  If using uncooked chicken, add diced raw chicken and peppers, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.  Sauté the mixture stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked through.  Add in the beans, corn, tomatoes (and cooked chicken, if using) and stir until evenly combined.  Remove pan from heat and stir in 1 cup of enchilada sauce.
To assemble the enchiladas, set up an assembly line including: tortillas, enchilada sauce, chicken mixture, and cheese. Lay out a tortilla and add a generous spoonful (1/2cup) of the chicken mixture in a line down the center of the tortilla. Roll up tortilla and place in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Assemble the remaining enchiladas.  Then spread any remaining sauce evenly over the top of the enchiladas, followed by cheese.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, until the enchiladas are cooked through and the tortillas are slightly crispy on the outside.  Remove pan from the oven and serve the enchiladas while they’re nice and warm, garnished with lots of toppings.

 

To meal prep this for my freezer, I freeze 1/2 cup portions of the enchilada mix.  I personally use snack bags for this and then place 5 snack bags into one medium freezer bag that is labeled.  I can then easily take out however many portions I need for the meal.  The enchilada sauce I freeze in ice cube trays.   Once frozen I pop them out and into a freezer bag.  When needed I take out however many cubes I need for that meal.  My icecube trays hold 2 cups of fluid in 16 cubes, therefore each cube is 2 tablespoons.

Day 12 Progress

Just another day.  I talked to mom and dad this morning, which was nice.  Had my workout at noon.  Continued with painting this afternoon.  Then came home and did some housework.  Nothing special on the agenda, but it was a good day.

Log:

Activity:  1 hr Degree Fitness noon class

Breakfast:  banana muffins, mandarin oranges, apple

Lunch:  ginger carrot soup, hearty muffin, garlic toast.

Dinner:  Quinoa, butternut squash, shrimp, bacon wrapped scallops and wings

Snack: Granola bar, cookies.

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  Put quinoa and butternut squash in the freezer

Social activity:  Talked to mom and dad

Gratitude:  Thankful for my health.

Day 11 Progress

I'm back to painting.  Working on the hallway floor and stairs at the moment.  There is still more painting to do.  I still have to paint trim and a ceiling here at my house.  I should also paint some book shelves because they don't match any of the colours in this house.

Log:

Activity:  Shoulder mobility, yoga

Breakfast:  2 muffins, apple, 2 mandarin oranges

Lunch:  Enchilada and hearty muffin

Dinner:  Chicken stir fry on pasta

Snack:  Ambrosia salad with extra Greek yoghurt, granola bar

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  

Social activity:  I made dinner for Andrew and had dinner with him.

Gratitude:  It's good to be back to work, my motivation is slowly coming back.

Day 10 Progress

Just a quiet day.  I spent the morning at the food truck.  The attendance was up again.  It's sad there is a need but good that we're able to help.

Log:

Activity:  1 hr Degree Crossfit evening class

Breakfast:  oatmeal, apple

Lunch:  Salad, heart muffins

Dinner:  Butternut squash lasagna

Snack: Apple pie, Ambrosia salad

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  

Social activity:  Spent time at the food truck

Gratitude:  It wasn't as cold out today as I thought it might be.  It was nice to get out and interact with people.

Day 9 progress

I have been meaning to make enchiladas for ages... today I finally did.  Not that they are even hard to make.  I took the time to watch the funeral of a family friend who passed away recently.  I'm thankful for her life and how she made the world a better place.  Even though it would have been nice to see the family it was good to be able to view the service online.

Log:

Activity:  1/2 hr pt session, core workout

Breakfast:  Oatmeal, apple, mandarin oranges

Lunch:  Vegetable omelet

Dinner:  Enchiladas

Snack:  Apple pie, Ambrosia salad, granola bar

Total water intake: 100 oz

Meal prep:  Enchiladas

Social activity:  Not much... talked MJ during pt, a little to Andrew.

Gratitude:  Watched the funeral of a family friend... thankful for her life, the great person she was.

Day 8 Progress

I woke up to this gorgeous view this morning.  It's a great way to wake up.  The workout today felt good, the split squays are getting easier.

Log:

Activity: 1 hr noon Degree Fitness class

Breakfast:  2 muffins, mandarin orange, apple

Lunch:  2 hearty muffins, curried pumpkin lentil soup

Dinner:  granola bar, coleslaw

Snack: apple pie

Total water intake: 100 oz

Meal prep:  Oatmeal for breakfast tomorrow.

Social activity:  Actually talked to Andrew.

Gratitude:  Waking up to a gorgeous snowy landscape.  I love seeing the view outside my bedroom first thing in the morning whether it's snow, sunshine, birds or squirrels.

Day 7 Progress

I hiked Bannockburn today.  There were a few really slippery spots and I had to be really cautious but it was beautiful out with just a few snowflakes coming down.  Not enough to obscure the icy spots.

Log:

Activity:  Hiked Bannockburn trail (1hr)

Breakfast:  Protein waffles, Greek yoghurt, cherries, pecans

Lunch:  Salad, muffin

Dinner: Chicken, butternut squash, quinoa

Snack: Apple pie

Total water intake: 100 oz

Meal prep:  Cooked butternut squash.

Social activity:  Not much.

Gratitude:  The snow coming down is beautiful, and I got to enjoy nature on the trail.

Day 6 Progress

Today I spent a good portion of my day in the kitchen.  I usually start my Saturday morning making something special for breakfast and today it was eggs Benedict.  Saturdays are usually the only morning where I'm not in a hurry to finish breakfast and get going with my day, it's a bit more leisurely.  It's also a good day to tackle a dinner dish that takes a little longer.

Log:

Activity: Shoulder mobility excercises

Breakfast:  Eggs Benedict with stir fried veggies

Lunch:  2 Hearty Ham Quinoa muffins

Dinner:  Butternut squash and Spinach lasagna

Snack: Apple pie

Total water intake:  100 oz

Meal prep:  Hearty Ham Quinoa muffins

Social activity:  Chatted on a dating site.

Gratitude:  The blessing of good food and great music.

Try a New Recipe: Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

I have to say that I LOVE a good pasta dish.  It has to be fancy though.  You will not find commercial spaghetti sauce in my house.  I will eat spaghetti to be polite if it is served to me. You will not find KD or noodles and sauce in my house either (except when my nieces and nephews were little and I would buy KD for them if they stayed over).  I however love a good cheesy Alfredo sauce, a seafood fettuccine, jambalaya fettuccine and other fancy pasta dishes you'll find in restaurants.  Sometimes I'll shake things up at a restaurant and order steak or ribs, but often it is pasta.

This fall I had intended to make a huge batch of butternut squash soup, which I really enjoy.  I had already turned a 10 lb bag of carrots into ginger carrot soup, and then I turned the pumpkins I had decorated with into a curried pumpkin lentil soup. I just didn't think I needed more orange similarly flavoured soup.  I had already bought the butternut squash however and I need to use some up.

 

I googled what I could do with butternut squash that's different from just roasting whole squash, or cubing it and roasting along with other winter vegetables, which I both love, but only so often.  I came across this recipe for butternut squash and spinach lasagna: https://www.cookinglight.com/recipes/butternut-squash-and-spinach-lasagna?amp=true.  It looked good and a healthy version of a nice pasta dish.  I'm not a meatless dinner person though.  I'm getting better about using other sources of protein.  I chose to add two honey garlic sausage removed from their casing to the onion spinach mixture.  (I think ground chicken would be really nice here as well and would be leaner but I don't have any).  I also noticed that there isn't a lot of seasoning in the recipe so I added pepper, some hot pepper sauce and nutmeg to the yoghurt/egg mixture.  I also used full fat versions for all the dairy products and mozzarella for the provolone and Gruyere.  That said my regular ricotta cheese was only 0.8 percent butterfat, so very light to start with.  

I will say that slicing the butternut squash on a mandolin was not that easy, and I can't imagine keeping nice even slices trying to slice thin slices with a knife.  The butternut squash was too long for the gadget that slides along the mandolin and I couldn't force the butternut squash through standing up.  Especially as I got further down I had to watch my fingers near the blade and used another kitchen tool to push it towards the blade the last little piece.  I think that is the one big reason that I probably won't make this very often unless I figure out another way to slice the butternut squash.

 

However, it was so good!  Absolutely delicious.  Next time I know to cook the butternut squash a little more ahead of time; I had it in longer than it stated in the recipe but I have a tiny microwave.  It wasn't quite done when I took it out of the oven, which was quickly remedied by popping a serving into the microwave for a bit.  It may even be better for the leftovers that will need to be reheated anyway.

Try A New Recipe: Hearty Ham Quinoa Muffins

Okay, this one isn't 'try a new recipe', I invented an entirely new recipe.  It definitely needs some tweaking, they were a little mushy in the inside.  Aside from that, if I can improve the mushy texture they would be great in a lunch beside a bowl of soup or salad or as a snack.  This was an experiment in creating a hearty muffin recipe, and an attempt at using quinoa in baking.  I wanted to use quinoa and oats because they would add a lot of fiber, protein and nutrients.  I looked at some hearty muffins recipes and some recipes that used quinoa and threw caution to the wind and winged it taking some ideas from these recipes (that I have no idea if they were good to start with).  Some things I would experiment with in the future is reducing the quinoa to 1 1/2 cups, possibly adding a second egg, and not adding the milk until the end and reduce or eliminate the milk to get a thicker batter.  Oat flour doesn't give very much lift so these muffins really don't rise much above the level of the batter you put into the muffin tin.  I might add in some black pepper to the seasoning as well.

Hearty Ham Quinoa Muffins

(This is my original recipe that I need to tweak as stated above.)

• 1 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 cup finely diced ham
• 1 cup finely diced pepper
• 1 cup shredded carrot

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small bowl mix the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic and Italian seasoning.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl,on medium speed beat the Greek yoghurt, milk, egg, and oil.  Add the quinoa and mix well.  Next add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  On low speed or by hand fold in the onion, ham, pepper and carrot.

Spoon the batter into muffin tins (greased or lined with muffin liners) filling them all the way to the top.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the muffin pan and transfer them to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Try a New Recipe: Eggs Benedict

For our first side Challenge we were challenged to try a new recipe.  That is not hard for me.  The only thing that gave me some direction was that I won't be doing any groceries for the next week or two.  I'm trying to limit how often I go into stores during the lock down to only getting essentials and planning my grocery list to keep me stocked for two to three weeks.  Considering my pantry, fridge and freezer are all well stocked that shouldn't be a problem.  There are a number of recipes I have saved that I have been wanting to try but I don't have some of the essential ingredients.  There are lots of recipes that I can make with ingredients I have on hand.

Here's my first attempt at something new:  Eggs Benedict.

For the past three weeks I have been meaning to make Eggs Benedict.  The first challenge was to make the English Muffins.  Since I don't have a griddle, I had to fry them in a cast iron frying pan one by one, which was kind of tedious, and there was flour build up in the pan which over time caused the pan to smoke a little and the English muffins to get darker as I went on.  Here is the recipe for the English muffins:  https://www.bakedbyanintrovert.com/whole-wheat-english-muffins/.

Then I still had to make the Hollandaise sauce.  I used this recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/eggs-benedict-with-homemade-hollandaise-sauce/.  I only made a quarter of the recipe because I only needed one serving and mixed it in a cereal bowl over my smallest pan with some water as a double boiler.  I think I kept it over the heat a little long and it got a little thicker than it should have been which in hindsight could have been easy remedied with a little bit of white wine.

I toasted the English muffin halves, added a thin slice of ham, topped each half with half an egg (I wasn't looking for a huge breakfast) and topped it with Hollandaise sauce and had some stir fried veggies on the side.  Hollandaise sauce may not be the healthiest, but the serving isn't huge either.  Altogether with whole wheat and veggies on the side it was a great breakfast.  It was delicious and I may have to add it to my weekend breakfast repertoire.  I try to do something special for breakfast once on the weekend, keeping things quick and easy during the week.  (I do have another 7 English muffins tucked away in the freezer.)

That Kinda Music Just Soothes the Soul

So sings Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band in the song 'Old Time Rock & Roll'.   It's true, there is nothing like some good music to soothe the soul.  During some of the most difficult days I've had, when facing tough situations I turn to music.  What kind of music that might be depends on the person, we all have our own taste in music.  What one person likes will drive another person crazy.  While we all have our own favourite music, there is still some music that work better for various moods we might be in or various activities we might be doing.  Lyrics also play into this.  I can't imagine working out to a slow lyrical song singing about the challenges of life; I want something that has a fast beat and uplifting lyrics to keep me going at a challenging pace.  The same goes for our mental health.

Some songs are better at helping us to reflect on our lives and to mourn the challenges we face.  (We mourn many changes in our lives.)  It's easy to put on some great music and just ignore or hide our struggles and maybe dance (while no one is watching) ourselves into a better mood, but sometimes it's good to use music to face the struggles we are dealing with and use it to work though the thoughts in our mind.  My personal preference is to create playlists for some of the different moods I might face.  I do find however that for me it is helpful to either have a few more uplifting songs in the playlist or after a while to switch to a more upbeat playlist to move myself into a different direction.  Maybe I'd start with a song like Bob Dylan's 'Blowing In The Wind' but before I move on for the day I might find it helpful to listen to something like 'Old Time Rock & Roll'.

I recall a year or two ago having a playlist of six songs that in different ways spoke to me about the challenges I was going through at the time.  The different songs all helped from different perspectives, from mourning to encouraging to lifting me up.  Whenever I was having a particularly hard moment I would turn to that playlist and play it over and over.  The songs helped to me to mentally work through the challenging time I was having.  This has helped me to use music to get me through difficult times and maybe it will help someone else.

Day 5 Progress

This evening I finally baked whole wheat English muffins.  I have been meaning to do that for a couple weeks.  Breakfast tomorrow... eggs Benedict!  Let's see how it turns out.

 

I also cooked a large batch of quinoa.  I had some for supper, I'll put some in containers in the freezer for a quick side dish, and I want to try baking with it tomorrow.

While I had the oven on I figured I should bake an apple pie.  I have numerous bags of apple pie filling mix in my freezer, and before Christmas I had pulled pie crust out of the freezer which now needed to be used up.  This fall my brothers girlfriend and I prepped a whole pile of apples for apple pies and put them into the freezer to make pies with.  They have a couple apple trees with more apples than they knew what to do with.  I just had to thaw the filling and cook it slightly so the uncooked juices wouldn't turn the crust soggy, dump it into the crust, put the top crust on and bake it.  Making the apple pie filling together this fall was a great social activity.

 

Log:

Activity: 1 hr Degree Fitness noon class

Breakfast:  Muffins, 2 mandarin oranges

Lunch:  Apple, wrap with chicken, veggies and a Greek yoghurt  spread

Dinner:  Quinoa, coleslaw

Snack: Apple pie

Total water intake: 100 oz

Meal prep:  Cooked a large batch of Quinoa, made English muffins.

Social activity:  Messaged with my nephew for his birthday.

Gratitude:  I'm grateful for the blessing of awesome family members.

Day 4 Progress

Just a quiet day today, not much going on.  Had a big salad for lunch because I knew I'd be served pancakes for supper. Had a protein smoothie at night to get some more protein and fruits and veggies in as well as some dairy.  Getting lower into that container of protein powder that tastes yucky to me.  It's the sweetener in it, and probably the greens somewhat as well.  I prefer just using plain whey protein isolate, nothing extra.

I'm working on my shoulder mobility to extend my range of motion which will hopefully help me with a range of movements in my workouts.   Getting my elbows up when I have the bar in my front rack, to be able to maintain a weight over my centre of gravity on overhead squats, and probably many more things.  I definitely feel like I get a good shoulder workout even if they are 'just' stretches.

Log:

Activity:  Shoulder mobility exercises, core workout.

Breakfast:  muffins, mandarin oranges, apple.

Lunch:  Salad, salami

Dinner:  Andrew made pancakes.

Snack: yoghurt, protein smoothie.

Total water intake: 100 oz

Meal prep:  Chopped and washed the rest of my romaine lettuce.

Social activity:  Had dinner with Andrew while I was at the farm.

Gratitude:  I hadn't seen Blue Jays in a while.  Watched the Blue Jays while having breakfast.  I have a great view of the back yard from my bedroom.

Day 3 Progress

Today was a quiet day.  Got work done.  Had another class at Degree tonight.  The workout was good.  The air squats were tough but the lunges were good which is a general reversal for me.  Normally squats are easy and lunges are challenging.  I still have trouble with motivation.  I have to really push myself mentally to keep going, keep telling myself I can do this.  Without a class and a coach I may have been sorely tempted to quit and not push myself through.  The accountability is great and the motivation will come back overtime.

Log:

Activity:  1 hr evening Degree class

Breakfast:  Weetabix, milk, mandarin oranges, apple

Lunch:  Veggie omelet

Dinner:  Shrimp skillet dinner with extra veggies and shrimp (and seasoning).

Snack: Cookies, granola bar, greek yoghurt

Total water intake: 100 oz

Meal prep:  Chopped extra peppers while making dinner.  

Social activity:  Today was a texting only day.  Quiet but more productive.

Gratitude:  Thankful to have access to so much good healthy food.

Teriyaki Sauce

One of the things I do to make meal prep easy is to marinade a portion of the meat I buy before it goes into the freezer.  This way I just need to take it out ahead of time and it will marinade as it thaws.  Teriyaki sauce is nice for pork tenderloin, chicken breast, and salmon.

The reason I use arrowroot powder is because sauces thickened with arrowroot powder can be frozen when cooked, unlike cornstarch.

I will also keep some Teriyaki sauce in my fridge for quick meals.  If I want to store it longer I will put it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. Once frozen I put it in a freezer bag or container and take out what I need.  (I have ice cube trays I only use for freezing savoury stuff.)

Teriyaki Sauce

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 3/4 teaspoons ginger powder

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 3 tablespoons mirin

• 1/4 cup water mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, (or use a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave) bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Store in the fridge. Makes about 1 1/4 cups teriyaki sauce.

You can use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch instead of arrowroot powder but cornstarch does not freeze well.

I have used some white wine for mirin in a pinch (the suggestion is also to add sugar but in my opinion there's lots of sugar already in the recipe).

If you're only using it as a marinade you can omit the arrowroot powder and let the sauce cool completely before using.