A Flavorful Evening

Yesterday I went to a baby shower for  an in-law relative who lives four hours away. As we chose seats to settle into for the festivities, the smell of lighter fluid and pungent spices filed the air, as more guests trickled in. Grilled chicken was on the menu.

My family and I chatted amongst ourselves, watched the children play,  reminisced on the old music playing, and took in the new tunes with interest. And, of course, we kept inhaling the delightful spicy chicken smell.

Presents were exchanged, a prayer was said, and then it was time to eat. We were treated to chicken leg quarters that were blackened with a crust of spices, and fried plantains and attieke, a West African couscous made of cassava, were also on the menu. I savored every bit of the chicken and  plantains that I had.

We spent the night with relatives a couple of hours closer to home and debated getting more food for a post-dinner, but when we thought about it, we realized we weren’t really hungry enough for a full-blown meal. I ate a couple of oranges from the refrigerator instead. It has been a while since I had had oranges, and their sweet juciness was a revelation.

It was a long day of hastily eaten meals in the first half, but the second half of the day was punctuated with meals that reminded me of the importance of choosing simple foods with big flavors, something that seems to be key to satisfying meals.

The 10-lb. Ham Challenge: Two Days, Seven Recipes

Around Easter time, I learned that I qualified for a free ham from my grocery store. But I had no plans to cook it for the holiday, so off it went to my freezer.

Every market day since then, I found myself staring at the 10-lb. ham in my freezer when I went to store other items, marveling at how much space it was taking up. This past weekend, I vowed to do something about it. I brainstormed and made a list of recipes, gathered some necessary groceries, thawed and boiled the ham, and made these items. (Note: If you don’t happen to have a 10-lb. ham lying around, don’t eat ham, or want to make these dishes a little lighter, you could substitute in turkey ham instead.)

About 2lbs. of the ham have been accounted for at this point.

Split Pea Soup

I made the soup to the specifications of my recipe using turkey ham, just substituting in a pound of the ham and using the water from the ham in place of water or fat-free chicken stock. (Next time I think I’ll do half ham water, half regular water, or just the chicken stock, to lessen the fat content.)

Ham and Apple Salad

• 2-3 oz. ham, diced
• 1 oz. of a smoky and/or sharp cheese–I went with gouda
• 1/2 Granny Smith apple, diced (Go with your preference for peeling. I kept the skin on.)

Add the ingredients on top of a bed of spinach (as I did) or lettuce. I ate it without dressing, but if I had it handy, I would’ve used low-fat honey mustard dressing. Thinly sliced red or white onion also would’ve been a nice addition.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This one also uses the recipe I usually use for turkey ham. The only substitution this time was using the ham.

Ham and Pineapple Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is similar to an earlier recipe I posted, with bacon and fat-free American cheese. This time, I’ve used the ham instead and given a foodie-worthy upgrade to the other fillings.

The before pic.

• 2 oz. ham, thinly sliced
• 1 light hamburger bun
• 1 slice smoked cheddar
• 2 thinly sliced pineapple rings
• 1T I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light

Preheat a nonstick pan to medium-high. Separate the bun halves. (You’re going to use the bun inside out, so the butter toasts the bread better.)

Add the slice of cheese. Top with a pineapple slice. Add the ham, then the other pineapple slice, and close the sandwich.

Spread 1/2T of the butter spread on one of the buns (again, on the white side, not the brown side). Add the sandwich to the pan, butted side down, pressing down on it a bit. Add the rest of the spread to the unbuttered bun half at this time. Flip the sandwich when the part that’s cooking is brown enough. Repeat with the other side.

The after pic.

Notes: The only thing I’d change with this would be to let the pineapple get to room temperature. Mine came from the fridge and it didn’t get warm, even though the cheese did melt.

Jerk Ham and Pineapple Hash

• 1lb ham, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• Approximately 2c diced pineapple (fresh or canned in juice and drained)
• 4-5T jerk marinade
• 4-5T apricot preserves
• 2T balsamic vinaigrette

Heat the onion in a pan (with or without oil) until it’s translucent. Add the ham; heat through.

Mix the marinade, preserves and vinegar together while the ham and onions are heating. Add the pineapple to the pan once the ham mixture is heated through. Pour the jerk mixture into the meat mixture; heat everything through.

Notes: I used the vinegar because I didn’t have a full bottle of jerk marinade. But if I did, I would’ve used two more tablespoons of the marinade and omitted the vinegar. (The vinegar didn’t dramatically alter the taste of the sauce, though.)

Serve the hash over brown or white rice or whole wheat or regular couscous, or as is, with a starch vegetable. Another interesting idea: Serve it as a burrito/wrap sandwich, with black beans and rice or arroz con grandules.

Creamy Spaghetti With Ham and Garlic Peas

I was inspired to make this by a gigantic pasta cookbook I got as a wedding present. Pasta with ham, peas and a heavy cream sauce or a boatload of parmesan cheese seems to be a beloved Italian meal; this is my attempt at making something skinny and also quick to bring to the table. (Again, using turkey ham instead of pork would lighten things up a bit more.)

• 1/2 lb. of ham
• 1 package Birds Eye Steam Fresh Garlic Baby Peas & Mushrooms
• 1/2 jar light Alfredo sauce (I went with Classico, but Ragu makes it, too.)
• 1/2 package whole wheat spaghetti

Cook and drain the spaghetti. Heat the vegetables in the microwave according to package instructions, then heat the ham in the microwave in a microwave-safe container.

Mix the pasta, ham, vegetables and sauce together. Voila!

Note: I typically don’t cook with Alfredo sauce and I was a little afraid scorching it, so I didn’t heat it up. Feel free to heat it if you’d like. Also, in researching it a bit, many recipes I’ve seen use a chunky pasta, like shells or bowties, or fettuccine over thin spaghetti; you can always go with your favorite pasta shape.

Epilogue: After making these recipes over the course of two days, I set aside a pound of ham for miscellaneous use (including omelets and other salads), and I gave the remainder to my mother, along with some of these things I made. In the future, before freezing the ham, I think I’ll cut it into 1-lb. and 1/2-lb portions, using my food scale as my guide.

I doubt I’ll find myself in this predicament again, but at least I know there are simple ways for me to make a ham disappear!

Bold Shrimp Cobb Salad

A month or two ago, I had an excellent chicken cobb salad. I don’t know what restaurant it came from, but I requested it during a working lunch to keep myself nourished and engaged, and it definitely hit the spot.

I have wanted another cobb salad since then, but I wasn’t really inspired to do something about it until I saw jalapeno bacon bits on the shelf recently at Walmart. And then it clicked: I wanted to make a cobb salad, but I also wanted to turn up the volume on the flavor. And because the combo and quantity of ingredients in a cobb salad are often pretty heavy, especially when you’re talking about a restaurant entree, I knew I wanted to start with a lighter protein that would still enable me to enjoy all the other usual flavors. I drafted shrimp for that role. Here’s the recipe:

• 2 oz. shrimp (I grilled them earlier, dusting them with Adobo spice, cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. If you can’t or don’t want to grill, you could also pick up steamed shrimp from your grocery store, with Cajun or Old Bay seasoning. Use room temperature shrimp, or if refrigerated, microwave them briefly, about 20 seconds.)
• Your favorite type of lettuce
• 1/4 of an avocado
• 1-2T jalapeno bacon bits
• 1 boiled egg, sliced
• 1-2T blue cheese (I didn’t have any in the house when I made this recipe, but I would definitely add it next time!)

Add the lettuce to a bowl. Top with the shrimp, egg, avocado, bacon bits and cheese. You could also garnish with thinly sliced red onion.

I didn’t add salad dressing to my salad, but you could go with light or fat-free ranch dressing. Or you could omit the blue cheese and use a light blue cheese dressing.

Things I Learned From a Month of Salads

My 2012 started off with me stocking up on lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, red cabbage, peppers, and other kinds of raw vegetables to turn into salads. In the month of January, I embarked on a challenge to eat a salad a day.

I was sick and missed dinner on Day 7, and on Day 26, the realities of salad fatigue had set in. But after those two missed days, I ate two salads on the following days. So I eventually crossed the finish line into February, today, with 31 bowls of veggies and proteins having made their way through my body in the month before. Someone figure out how to turn a radish into a medal for me!

I am happy to have completed my challenge with minor hiccups. I will be glad to get back to not having to limit my food options, but I think I will incorporate more salads into my life in general. I came up with a bunch of tasty ideas that I won’t let go to waste!

Besides filling up my mental recipe box with ideas, I learned a bunch of other things about salads and their place in my life. Here are 10 of those things:

Chicken Thighs: My MVP

Call me biased, because the chicken thigh has always been my favorite part to eat, but 9 times out of 10, when I make a dish using chicken these days, it’s with chicken thighs.

Why the love? Chicken thighs are more flavorful than breasts, in my opinion, and they are less likely to dry out in cooking. Plus, with their small size, they are already portion-controlled.

I can buy a bag of 8 to 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs for $5.99 from Aldi. Once I thaw out these thighs, here are some of my favorite things to do with them:

Grill them. This is the easiest way to prepare the thighs, and the one that I use the most. Sprinkle them with spices or marinate them, then throw them on the grill. My favorites are barbecue rub and sauce; jerk spice; and salt, pepper and garlic. Eat them in a light hamburger bun or sliced in a fat-free tortilla, on a salad or with your favorite side on a plate.

Light chicken parmesan. I grill the thighs seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and oregano, then top them with a tablespoon or two of spaghetti sauce, then a half or full slice of provolone cheese. Eat this with a little pasta and sauce and a salad, or worth your favorite sides.

In the slow cooker. I’ve made a chicken curry with the thighs, with sliced onions and green peppers, curry powder to taste, and chicken stock as the liquid. In the past, I’ve slow-cooked chicken breast with a couple jars of salsa verde; I’d try it with thighs as well, to eat in tortillas. Or, I’d experiment with one salsa verde jar, chicken stock, onions, white beans and cilantro to make a white chili.

If you decide to make boneless chicken thighs your go-to poultry option, like I have, lot me know what you come up with!

My January Salad Days

Here is my gallery of images for my challenge to eat a salad a day for the month of January. I survived!

My Salad Days of January: 10 Ideas

In years past, I’ve felt no interest whatsoever in eating salads this time of year. Who wants cool, crisp lettuce when the outdoors ground cover it resembles is coated with a layer of frost every morning? This was my previous line of thought.  Roasted veggies, or those that have taken leisurely baths in soups or stews sounded cozy and nutritious, while raw veggies fresh from the fridge sounded as appealing as a December swim in the English Channel.

But for some reason I’m interested in salads this winter. Maybe it’s the guarantee of getting in a bunch of veggie servings, or maybe that means I, as someone who dislikes winter, am really trying to ignore the fact that the season is here.

Whatever the reason, I’ve decided to kick off the New Year by eating a salad every day for the month of January. I look forward to this challenge after having had a heavy eating holiday season.

This Web MD article agrees that a salad a day is a good idea, for the fiber, the nutrients in the ingredients, the ability of salads to fill you up on minimal calories, and because it can be a good way to get in healthy fats (if you add nuts, avocado, or olive oil to your salad).

Here are some salad ideas I will undoubtedly use in January:

1. Turkey or chicken Caesar salad: top lettuce with the meat, add a light Caesar or Caesar vinaigrette dressing, and a tablespoon or two of grated parmesan. Pass on the croutons and opt for a carb side instead.
2. Tuna salad: top your veggies with 1/2 cup of tuna (packed in water), with 1T of light mayonnaise mixed in. Salad dressing is optional.
3. Taco salad: the next time you make tacos, add the leftover meat to your vegetables, along with reduced fat cheddar. As dressing, try mixing salsa (1/4 or 1/3 of a cup) with 1 or 2T of fat-free ranch.
4. Salmon salad: top your greens with grilled or blackened salmon, or canned salmon. If I’m eating blackened salmon or a flavorful grilled salmon, I might pass on the salad dressing. Otherwise, I’d go with a fat-free honey mustard vinaigrette.
5. Grilled shrimp salad: just like it sounds, grilled shrimp over veggies. I’d choose the dressing depending on the spices the shrimp are seasoned with (or go with no dressing).
6. Jerk pork or chicken salad: toss a little avocado in with the meat. I might also try adding a little pineapple or mango. I’d probably pass on the dressing to let the spicy flavors have control.
7. Cheeseburger salad: crumble a turkey or lean ground beef burger over the greens. Add reduced fat cheddar, Swiss, feta, or any other kind of cheese that you’d normally put on a burger.
8. Buffalo chicken salad: microwave and dice a breaded chicken patty. For the dressing, mix 2T of light or fat-free blue cheese dressing with hot sauce to taste.
9. Harvest turkey salad: along with the turkey, go with an ounce of Havarti cheese and a tablespoon or two of dried cranberries.
10. Italian salad: pair part-skim mozzarella or provolone with  turkey pepperoni and/or salami. Add pepperoncini if you’d like.

Here are 10 ideas, enough to get me a third of the way through my month of salad days! I’d generally eat 3 or 4 ounces of the meat (exception: 2 oz of sliced turkey breast, and 2 or 3 oz of the shrimp) and a carb side with the salad–pretzels, baked chips, tortillas or cheese curls, or a a slice of toast or a light hamburger bun (served plain or topped with light butter substitute or olive oil, with or without spices). As far as the greenery, I’d recommend anything but iceberg lettuce (like romaine, spinach, spring mix, etc.), because iceberg will have the least nutritional value.

If you are interested in ramping up your salad eating, I hope you find something you enjoy! If you have any additional easy salad ideas, please feel free to share.

Winter Survival Guide

Can I borrow someone's time machine to go back to this moment?

Tomorrow marks the first day of winter. The shortest day of the year, otherwise known as probably my least favorite day of the year.

I am not a fan of winter by any means. Put me somewhere where the temperature is always between 70 and 90, and the sun shines more often than not, and I’ll be happy. I don’t like cold or snow very much, and I don’t like kissing the sun goodbye before dinnertime. And mornings? I am a morning person, but this time of year, the call of my cozy bed is often too strong to ignore.

I am familiar with seasonal affective disorder–a relative has been diagnosed with it. Part of me thinks that people without a formal diagnosis start to get a bit sluggish during the winter months, too–cabin fever, anyone? And you can’t forget how so many people struggle right around the holidays, over family issues and loneliness. When things get dark in the physical environment, they get dark for many in their minds as well.

One way to cope with this is through eating. The 30-plus day stretch between Thanksgiving and the new year is probably the most socially acceptable time of year to gorge on goodies. But eating is not the most effective way to cope with all that’s going on, if we are honest with ourselves. It is only a temporary band-aid over a gaping, invisible heart wound.

I want to try to nip my winter blues in the bud this year–and to not throw excess food at them. Here are some things I’m going to do to nab a little more joy this winter:

Dream of the tropics. I think I’ll try to think warm thoughts when the temperature dips. But if/when that fails, I’ll queue up some equator-adjacent episodes of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (I’m still making my way through all the seasons on Netflix) or escape with a good fiction book–a change of pace from my typical reading habits.

Plan a mini getaway. The lack of major holidays between January and May is brutal. I won’t be able to inhabit the Caribbean for a week, but I can whisk the family away to an indoor water park/resort for a day or two–there are several to choose from in my area. Or even a walk through the gigantic heart at the Franklin Institute would warm my heart, with me hoping my son enjoys it as much as I did as a kid.

Get some activity in. Speaking of No Reservations, one episode I’ll never forget is the one in Iceland. There are times when there is no sun to speak of on that country; yet, natives seemed incredibly good-natured, considering the circumstances. Bourdain indicated that one of the favorite pastimes is getting in exercise. Dancing away the blues and some calories sounds like a good way for me to do that.

Pamper myself. This time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in holiday tasks, or to sleep in and quickly throw yourself together for work without much thought. This is definitely my M.O. But taking some extra time on self-care may make me feel a little more at ease when I have to scrape a few inches of snow off my car or trudge through the supermarket in search of rock salt.

Laugh more. I’ve mentioned recently that I’ve been enjoying many moments of silliness with my husband. It’s worked wonders on my outlook, as have the times I’ve gotten to play with my son lately. Thankfully I’ve found that several of the new TV shows this year are entertaining enough to further keep me in stitches. There is lots of laughter to be had; the challenge is choosing to embrace it. Mastering that will definitely make the dark winter days a little brighter.

Reach out to the great people in my life. Again, this is something I’ve been making a conscious effort to do more regularly, and the benefit has been fewer feelings of loneliness. Continuing to make calls and visits will help to make the winter months fly by a bit faster.

Embark on some color therapy. I’ve been wearing a lot of gray and black this season, but I think is high time I add some more color to my day-to-day outfits to lift my mood. I think some neon nail polish is also in order, to literally have a splash of color at hand.

These are the things I’m going to double-down on in the hopes of making it to March with a smile on my face. What will you do to cope with the winter blahs? Or do the cold, dark days not faze you at all? Do tell.

Blackened Salmon

I am a big fan of salmon. I used to bake it with celery salt and call it a day, but I take it to the next level these days with this recipe.

I’ve adapted this from a recipe in Essence magazine a few years ago. Enjoy!

• Salmon fillet (I usually go with farm-raised salmon, but choose your favorite variety.) I typically get more than a pound, because I have a household of salmon appreciators!
• Adobo seasoning, cumin, garlic powder, chilli powder, and cayenne pepper to taste (Omit the cayenne if you’d like to have something a little less spicy.)
• Oil (I have made this with cooking spray, and with 1 or 2 T of oil. I would recommend using the actual oil.)

Heat the oil in a stainless steel pan on medium-high heat.

Sprinkle the spices to both sides of the fish, rub in well. (I usually start with the skin side first.)

Add the salmon to the pan, flesh side down. Cover and shake the pan periodically, so the fish doesn’t stick. When the fish is cooked through some, flip over. (This is typically after 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.) Do the same thing for the fish skin side down, shaking the pan periodically.

Check the fish for doneness. If not finished, flip over to flesh side down again, and shake the pan as needed.

Remove the fish from the pan when cooked through.

That’s it! I usually eat this with vegetables on the side–maybe broccoli and sweet potatoes or squash.

10 Things I Learned About Weight Loss From NaBloPoMo

Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo blogging for me. One month ago, I started blogging daily. It was a good experience. I developed 30 days’ worth of topics, but somehow I only use about two-thirds of them. Instead, I wrote on whatever other ideas came up that seemed interesting.

Harder than coming up with ideas was finding the time to write them out. At the beginning of the month, I was a day ahead with developing blog posts. This week, some of the posts didn’t go live until 10 our 11 at night or so. (I hope to get back to posts going live at 6:30 a.m. by next week. And rather than a 3- or 7-day schedule, I’ll be blogging five days a week–during the weekdays.)

Despite the challenges, I had fun, learned a lot about myself (all good) and my tolerance for blogging (thankfully, quite high). I also “met” a bunch of wonderful people on the BlogHer site, and I got to reconnect with some friends on the blog. Thank you, all of you, for regularly visiting the site!

Aside from what I’ve mentioned so far, here are 10 things I learned about weight loss during this period.

1. There are still dishes to be cooked. I posted a number of recipes, but I’ve been inspired to keep experimenting. You can definitely expect more spice alchemy from me!
2. It’s been a month with a lot of ups and downs. I’ve eaten well, and I’ve eaten poorly. I’ve been content with love, and I’ve lost loved ones. I’ve met family members, and I’ve battled isolation. The things that I’ve experienced will help me to find balance in life and in eating, even when things aren’t going smoothly.
3. It’s been helpful to open up with talking and writing. Reaching out to others has made a difference in many ways.
4. I’m (slowly) learning to adjust my eating better. There have been times during the past month when I’ve not tracked my eating, or when I’ve eaten more than I normally would. But, in a small slice of intuitive eating, I’ve tried to balance out these negative behaviors by adjusting my eating when possible.
5. Physical activity isn’t so bad. I wrote on Monday about run/walking up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and I have to admit that I enjoyed it! Even though I became winded, I was proud of myself, for someone who doesn’t exercise regularly.
6. You really can eat what you want and lose weight–with modifications. For this, I’m reminded of what I learned from Oldways’ African Heritage Pyramid Diet, that many “soul food” dishes can still be enjoyed, with a few tweaks.
7. What I’ve learned about weight loss carries over into other areas of my life. The problem-solving I’ve used to eat better and stay on track can also help me to deal with complex emotions.
8. Read labels! I consider myself a careful label reader, but I was aghast to learn about the filler-filled hamburgers. Those burgers will make me read labels a little more closely.
9. The month wasn’t a failure. Despite eating with lax discipline, as of this morning, I am about 45 lbs. down.
10. A lot of people have the same challenges that I do. Being an introverted person, I tend to think that what I’m going through is different from what others in the same position are feeling. But it’s not true. Many people struggle with weight loss or with damaging self-talk, and they all need advice as much as I do. I would like to continue with this blog to give us a chance to talk through our fears, frustrations and challenges (and to also celebrate victories).

Thank you again for visiting my blog, and thank you for venturing through the wilds of the words I’ve posted, from easy recipes to trying to refocus myself away from negative behavior. I will have to take the daily blogging challenge again someday!