Yesterday I made a big pot of lentil and kale curry - so yummy. Kale is just the best veggie ever. It's so great that some of the best tasting food on earth is so nutritious. What a great design of the planet.
I thought that the Halloween candy was prevalent in the stores last week; this week was worse. The message is clear: we are all supposed to buy tons of the stuff because that's what everybody does. I still haven't decided what I'm going to hand out; better get on the stick and make a decision.
I'm seeing the Christmas decorations now going in to the aisles beside the Halloween stuff at a number of stores. Haven't seen any Christmas "food" yet but I'm sure it's coming.
I am all bloated from the vast amounts of sodium I ate this weekend. I am anxious about DH (diet and job) and about my own health concerns. I'm still at a loss for motivation to get back into my diet/maintenance routine. I take stabs at it every Monday but then lapse back into the rut by Thursday, just to be able to drag myself through the week.
I think I've been "running on empty" so long I can't manage to get back into feeling anything but . DH landing a job (any job at this point) will ease the money situation and maybe then I can work a little less and try to regroup. I'm hoping the new job for DH happens in early November.
My yearly physical is on Nov. 12. My doctor has now become one of those who addresses one health concern per visit but I think I can squeeze a couple in because I'll have his attention for at least 15 minutes.
I ought to pick up some Halloween candy as we have a few little ones in the neighborhood who come by. I need to be prepared! I usually buy that which DS will eat if we don't get enough trick-or-treaters.
Had a wonderful weekend with DD in town. I took her Saturday for a haircut, then out to lunch and some shopping. Yesterday we went to see the Three Musketeers and then came home to make gyros and Greek salad.
I finally bought a bunch of kale and roasted it. Frankly I wasn't impressed. I guess I'm one of the few who doesn't appreciate it because everyone else raves about it.
Back from visiting dd. Great visit with her. I am so proud of her and all that she is doing at such a young age (she is 20, almost 21). She is student teaching in a special ed classroom and I went with her on Friday. It is what she is meant to do. So challenging, yet she loves it. Sunday I went with her while she taught religious school. I am so proud. Yet, she is struggling with her health and weight which just makes me so sad. We are trying to focus on the positive and hoping the rest will come.
Super busy day back at work so I'll check in later with more!
i have been on IP products for almost ten weeks and have lost over 35 pounds ...three weeks ago i switched to whey gourment naturelle....908 grams for 28 dollars..it is sweetened with fruit powder and sugar cane and stevia...i am still have a three pound loss every week..go figure..i dont know if i am out of ketosis or not but i am losing weight each week...it must be the naturelle line of whey gourment...just saying to those who ran out of money! LOL
I wonder how many bags of Halloween candy never make it into the trick or treaters' bags, and are instead consumed stealthily by adults in their own homes. What percentage would you all estimate never make it to Halloween Eve, or into a kid's carryall?
Around here, since we live within the limits of the village, we will see kids who live further out in the country being ferried into the village in groups inside their parents' SUVs so they can go trick-or-treating door-to-door -- something they really can't do in the country.
This seems almost quaint to me, as in my apartment building, we did not permit any trick-or-treaters to come in. (They'd have to be buzzed in past the lobby's iron gates.) In our area, kids tend to go to parties rather than going door-to-door. Though some do, and some businesses give out candy to kids, as if they were private homes with a candy stash.
My mother doesn't participate in Halloween, so there won't be candy on the premises. She doesn't want to be bothered, but also, she fears for her cat, who's mostly black. She worries kids may molest the cat. I do not know if this is a realistic worry but have heard that Halloween is hazardous to black cats. I don't know if that's true or an urban legend.
I'm having a morning of coworkers tugging at my skirts asking me questions or asking for help, and I haven't been able to get on with my own writing projects.
Also FEMA appears to have left a message on my work phone over the weekend. Last time they called, I had to resubmit Part "C" of my recent application. I redid it & faxed it. Now I'm pretty sure there is something else wrong. I should be more grateful but it's like having to refile taxes over & over again.
I did see some holiday-colored wappers on hershey kisses and the like across the aisle from the fall colored ones this weekend... sheesh!
Allison I like kale a lot better when it's in something - like a soup or maybe the curry Bill described- than if it's just roasted or sauteed. A couple of times I've made a saute with kale, tomatoes, and caramelized onions and garlic which I thought was pretty good.
I'm really hoping to just avoid "trick or treat" this year. I figure it should be ok if I just turn off the outside lights, but there's always the threat of some irate tweens toilet papering the bushes/trees (happened to a neighbor before, so not totally an unfounded concern). But since it's 6-8 pm on Monday, staying home to hand out treats would interfere with my gym schedule.
I also don't like plain kale, whether it's roasted or sauteed or what have you. All of those dark leafy greens? I only like them mixed into other stuff, like soup, or pasta sauce, or stir fry, or something else where you can't really taste them.
I've seen lots of Christmas decorations around too. I wish they would at least wait until after Halloween! Our Halloween candy has been purchased and safely stashed in the back of the closet. (DH told me he went looking for it and couldn't find it. )
Typically we have a bunch of candy left over, and bring it in to the office, where it promptly disappears. I just can't resist buying more than I need because first off I don't want to run out, and second I have to have one each of my favorite varieties and they don't put all my favorites in one package together.
We are having our annual Halloween party with our cooking club this weekend and I am a little disappointed we have so few people coming. Perhaps next year we'll skip it. I emailed a couple friends who are not in the cooking club to see if they want to come, otherwise we will only have 4 guests (and one of those is a new person who will probably no-show).
I appear to be in the minority. I like roasted kale, and have used plain steamed kale as a bed for some foods with sauces, to replace white rice.
I also have a recipe somewhere for long-simmered kale. (Well, had, since all my recipe print-outs were dissolved in the flood.) You cut it into ribbons, then sautee it for a little while in olive oil with with thinly sliced onions, a shake of red pepper flakes and a bit of something that will make it taste smoky, like a fragment of ham or turkey bacon or whatever. Then you pour chicken broth over it and simmer it for a long time. At the end, before you serve it, you spice it with a little vinegar. I think this is a pretty standard Southern greens recipe. It works for collards, kale or anything with a tougher leaf structure that can withstand long simmering.
I'll soon be eating stuff like that quite a lot, as the weather's turning colder. There's snow in the forecast for Thursday night.
saef Snow? say it isn't so! I still have a pair of shorts (!) in the laundry (and yes, we do laundry every week ).
I have tried kale chips and didn't like 'em much. An acquired taste? I do like to put greens into stews, stir fries and soups but DH finds them "slimy".
Speaking of I'd better get to making the dinner stir fry.
In dog news Javi and I are working up an a capella version of "America the Beautiful" (first verse only - lyrics aren't our strong suit) in honour of the beautiful grass plantings in the park we walk through daily (amber waves of grain). Javi is very enthusiastic but tends to come in too early for the chorus.
The gentleman eating his lunch on a bench (hidden from us by the tall swaying grass) gave us a round of applause. I will have to find the tune online and try to get a bit better grasp on it.
I was about to go to bed but the kale discussion caught my eye! Bill I also am in love with kale right now. Kale, butternut squash, sweet potatoes... oh I love thee.
Actually I found a very fresh-looking boquet of kale at the store today on my way home and I had a massaged kale salad with dinner (kale, EVOO, apple cider vinegar tonight or lemon juice - I prefer the lemon juice, apple pieces, grapes, sunflower seeds). MMMMMM... but I totally admit it tastes sort of "earthy" and isn't for everyone! You've got to cut the ribs out, too.
Kale chips are best with a little good parm sprinkled on top! After lining my cookie sheet w parchment paper for easy clean-up, I toss kale w a little EVOO and lemon juice. Sprinkle w salt, pepper, a little cayenne or red pepper flakes for some kick, garlic powder or other spices optional, then sprinkle with the parmesan. I think I bake at 325 for about 13 minutes. Let it start to crunch up but don't let it burn! Collard chips are also delicious this way. I don't really expect them to taste like potato chips - they are something different - but delicious.
Saef, I had a roommate who insisted on buying Halloween candy despite my insistence we would not get a single trick-or-treater. Sure enough no t-o-t-ers, and we ended up eating all the candy! After two years of this she finally turned to buying small tubs of play-do for the would-be t-o-t-ers. No one showed up, at least this was better for our waist lines.
Going to sleep now. So tired. I've been working long hours and my activity has been relegated to a few walks with the dog and what I do with work (not much), but my diet has stuck. Back in a few days. Have a good week all!
You are all making me long for greens. I need to do the grocery shopping and get some. My mother never thinks of it when she's out, not being a fan of greens.
What I actually want is a big pot of minestrone with all kinds of vegetables in it, including escarole, and cannellini beans, and also some turkey meatballs floating inside. Maybe I will make that on the weekend, since cutting up the various vegetables is time-consuming.
Yes, snow is coming, Dagmar. Wednesday night, according to our local weather report.
Except that the grocery store didn't have chestnuts and I hate celery so it will be a bit modified. I haven't made it before but I have high hopes! I do love farro. I know I've posted my standard "minestrone" recipe on the recipes sticky before. Cooking Light's website has a bunch more recipes for similar soups involving turkey italian sausage and cannellini beans...
Although it has only been a few years that Angie and I have taken on kale...along with collard greens and swiss chard...we really love it! Don't know why we never did before but then, to be honest, I had never met someone from southern California, that ate the stuff...or admitted it...lol
Good stuff!!
But honestly, I think the kale chips are a waste of time.
Angie is a big fan of minestrone...I may save those recipes Jessica!
Maintainers weekly chat October 24 - October30
now going in to the aisles beside the Halloween stuff at a number of stores. Haven't seen any Christmas "food" yet but I'm sure it's coming.
so long I can't manage to get back into feeling anything but 
. DH landing a job (any job at this point) will ease the money situation and maybe then I can work a little less and try to regroup. I'm hoping the new job for DH happens in early November.
Perhaps next year we'll skip it. I emailed a couple friends who are not in the cooking club to see if they want to come, otherwise we will only have 4 guests (and one of those is a new person who will probably no-show).
say it isn't so! I still have a pair of shorts (!) in the laundry (and yes, we do laundry every week 
).
