Burgers and more!

So I’ve been around the same weight now for what seems like forever. No worries, I’m not gaining. But I’m not where I want to be either. I think its time to step up my game and challenge myself to move as much as my body will allow. I have decisions to make! My pain has been pretty mild over the past few weeks so I think this is an opportunity to move.

I have been cooking/eating well, and taking photographs – just a bit busy recently working on my new project. Will have some news  shortly.

Turkey Burger on Grill

 

I’ve been playing around with some recipes but I get so frustrated with some of them. I made some turkey burgers the other day and there are so many different recipes for burgers online. I ended up just grasping the general ingredients and winging it. I should have written down what I did… but I didn’t. So  will have to do this the next time. They tasted great though. My kids did notice, however, that they were NOT from McDonald’s. I was told that these were not “burgers”. Its my own fault, I guess. LOL.

Lots of love went into making these burgers!

 

 

 

Lyn's Turkey Burgers

I’m also trying to have eggs a few times per week. I got tired of having toast with peanut butter. So here goes my eggs-periment. Get it? So I like to think of this as an open omelette. I just whisked an egg, added a little salt and pepper and poured it into my fancy little egg skillet thingy. Then put some spinach in top. Then when it looked like it was almost cooked through, I added some shredded cheddar cheese. Easy. Tasty.

Open omelette with spinach and cheese

There are some days when I don’t feel like cooking. Believe it or not. I jazzed up some leftover turkey mince with some Ramen noodles (gasp!) and green peas. Can’t say I didn’t get my veggies in there. Tasted pretty good too. (Side note – is it me, or is the seasoning in Ramen noodles hella salty? Sheesh! I used half the packet because I love my life)

Lazy Dinner - Ramen, Turkey Mince, Peas

That’s all for now! I hope everyone is doing well and working towards their health goals.

Take care! Back in a few!

Ciao

I didn’t burn the Risotto

It has been an interesting few weeks. Sometimes I get really bored with chicken. I find that I’m always looking for something else to please my figure watching palate.  So I tried boring fish… again! This time, a little different.

You know how when you hear how difficult and challenging a dish is, you might shy away from it? Well this happened to me with Risotto. I’ve been wanting to try it for a very long time. It’s a rice dish cooked in broth, cheese and whatever else that you might think compliment it. I read how easy it is to ruin this dish if you’re not super careful. I cooked mine with chicken broth, white wine, green peas and a little cheese for good measure. I hate ruining food. It really makes me upset whenever I burn something to a cinder. Not that it happens often, but anything is possible with two little ones tugging at your feet 🙂 I didn’t burn the Risotto and I’m very happy about it. I served it with Salmon. I have no idea if I did it properly, or if it tasted “right”. All I know is, I didn’t burn it. The Arborio rice was cooked, and it tasted great!

 

Baked Salmon & Green Pea Risotto

I also found Panko Bread Crumbs (Japanese cuisine) which is usually found in health food stores, to adorn some haddock that I roasted. I liked the crispness without having to actually fry it. I think I’ll experiment with it some more. I roasted it beside some Carrots, Butternut Squash, Egg Plant and… Zucchini!

 

Roasted Haddock with Roasted Roots

 

Roasted Root Veggies and Roasted Haddock

With a little additional exercise, I’ve noticed a little progress and the numbers on the scale are behaving themselves once again. Such an unruly little gadget at times, that scale! More on some goodies I purchased, in the next post.

Ciao!

A Romantic Meal And Little Treats

I use the word “romantic” very lightly because on Valentines Day, all my loved ones were under the weather.  I made a lovely meal that I thought would have been nice for everybody but… no one was well enough to enjoy it. (Except me – it was flipping fabulous!) Thankfully my pain does not affect my taste buds. So here was my first attempt at Tarragon Chicken, Pan Seared Zucchini, Pan Seared Fennel, and Carrots in Butter and Brown Sugar [with a side of Basmati Rice for the husband]. Dessert was supposed to be on the same night but happened a few days later ~ Lemon Madeleines, a french dessert (petite cakes). This was my first try at everything and it was great, but I’m going to do it all over again with some minor adjustments. Stay tuned 🙂

I never had Tarragon anything before. It’s an herb and the leaves have a licorice scent. The flavour of the chicken was awesome – like nothing I had prepared in the past. This will definitely be on the menu for a dinner gathering at my home in the future. Zucchini wasn’t really a favourite of mine. But when I made it myself? Perfection! I liked Fennel but this was the first time I had it cooked. I like the crisp licorice taste. Its milder once cooked but still tasty. Another veggie victory! Now that I think about it… the rice looked like it didn’t belong on this menu.

 

Tarragon Chicken, Pan Seared Zucchini and Fennel, Carrots, Basmati Rice

 

The white wine was actually used in the chicken recipe to make the sauce. I felt quite sophisticated cooking with a glass of wine in hand! A nice French wine to go with the French themed meal. Terrific!

 

French Cross Dry White Wine

 

I need to check to see if these are still called Madeleines if I used a square-shaped muffin tin. Ah well! I used what I had and they were very nice. They are supposed to be served with a fruit so I will do that next time.

Lemon Madeleines

 

And these little mini cupcakes were for my little bundles of joy whom I love so much. I wanted to cheer them up since they were under the weather and decided to spend time with them instead of being in the kitchen. I won’t think about the ingredients. I know I make everything much healthier. But it’s just this one time.

 

Chocolate Valentine Mini Cupcake

Take good care of you.

Ciao

Simplicity, is sometimes all you need…

I did my weekly Monday weigh-in and I’m at a respectable 137lbs. My weight is still fluctuating so I am monitoring myself as I plan my next phase of action. As usual, a good week. A busy week. I didn’t do much cooking but what I did prepare was very simple, colourful and healthy (of course).

I wanted a really simple meal with a lean meat and some veggies. And here it is, while still in the dutch pot and finally, served. Ground pork, Edamame, Tomato and Yellow Sweet Pepper – served on a bed of Basmati Rice. [Red, Gold & Green! :-)] Dinner doesn’t have to be a complicated production. Not often, at least 🙂

 

On the Stove!

 

One night last week, I didn’t feel for any meat. I steamed some veggies in some chicken broth and sprinkled a bit of sea salt over top. I was terrified that I might have tummy troubles but I’m sure I should be fine if I have broccoli once a week or so. Fingers crossed! It was delish!

 

Steamed Veg - Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, String Beans, Edamame

 

Last but not least, I was doing my weekly reading of some of my favourite blogs (food and photography related). I was looking at some cute, tempting little cupcakes (oh so tempting) – my son saw them and decided that he wanted cupcakes. After being nagged, poked and pulled 🙂 I decided to figure out what cupcakes I was going to make and how I was going to make it healthy. I looked for a recipe that had few ingredients. I didn’t need any shortening, a dozen eggs or anything else that was just a bit much. I found a recipe for Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes and made a few modifications. In an effort to avoid using regular white flour, I needed an excuse to use my stash of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour I bought from the health food store recently. I substituted it for the white flour, used Light Cream Cheese and omitted the chocolate chips. (Actually, I forgot to add it – but I’ll make it look like I did it on purpose. THIS TIME). This recipe is a definite keeper. Who knew chocolate and cream cheese went together so well? The cupcakes didn’t last very long. The little fellas didn’t stand a chance.

 

 

Have an amazing week! Give thanks for all the food that is available to us… because we actually have a choice!

Ciao!