You want me to change what?

I started blogging as a way to chronicle Bob's and my journey to healthier happier humans. Both of us need to make some changes in our lifestyle, one is doctor ordered, the other is for solidarity AND because one does not eat vegetables and keeps reading about the what veggies can do to prolong your life, keep you healthy, avoid illnesses, blah, blah, blah. The word that is giving us both a run for our money is (say it in a tinky*, tiny, little voice very quietly so no one will hear) c h a n g e.

Change. Didn't Obama use that as part of his political platform? And the only change I want from him is the kind that stays in my piggy bank. Young moms probably talk the most about change but that conversation quickly 'changes' into a conversation about poop. As in 'I changed little Joey's diaper yesterday and there were raisins in there.' Interesting how they re-plump upon exit isn't it? Which proves the point I'm eventually going to get to, even raisins are resistant to change, their last ditch effort is to get back to being a grape before it's too late.

I'd have to say most conversations about change involve 'but I don't want to.' I am with you on this one. Changing is hard. I hate it. I resist it. I spend more time trying to figure out how to avoid it than the time it would have taken just to change. Changing is a bit like being pregnant. It starts as a little nugget inside you and you are a little bit excited but mostly you are freaked out. Then you settle in and realize you're going to have to deal with this but you think, I will keep it inside for as long as possible, before any real action has to be taken. And so for nine months it grows and grows and makes us uncomfortable and becomes the only thing we can think about. So encompassing that it begins to make even the easy stuff difficult to complete. Eventually we become resolved to the fact that this has to come out. And we know that the exit is going to be painful. And after all the screaming and crying and screaming and cursing and screaming and praying. It is born. And it is wonderful and we think how on earth could I have kept this beautiful thing inside for so long?

Now I am not saying that once you accept the change you are done and your life is a peaceful calm place and you live happily ever after. Far from it. That one change leads to many others and the course of your life is permanently altered. Some days for the better, some days for the worse.
People say when it becomes more difficult to suffer than to change, then you will change. We all know, change is the only constant. More will come.

"It's not a diet, its a lifestyle change" is not working, it feels like diet. It's hard work to cook healthier and it involves vegetables. The excuses for why we are not changing are infinite. Last night Bob and I went to the grocery store after work to pick up the healthy ingredients we needed for dinner. We came home with 18 pounds of Easter candy. Bob somehow started us out in the Easter candy aisle. "Let's make Easter baskets for the girls." My logic is that all the girls would rather have money than candy (they are 17 and older), let's save us the pain of resisting the candy for an entire month. So I tried to stop this. "But it would look pretty all set up as decoration on the table." I think this is a good idea as long as we don't eat the candy until Easter, so that it remains a decoration for the next month. Do I know somewhere in my subconcious that this is not going to happen? Yes I do, but I am going merrily along anyway.

Later this week we are going to be packing for our trip to North Carolina to see Bob's parents. He is going to be packing shorts. Shorts that he has to try on. When the bewilderment starts "Why are these so tight?" "Do you think they shrunk from the dampness in the basement?" "Somehow, someone has gotten into the basement and switched out all my old shorts for smaller ones, who does this stuff?" I am going to show him this picture.

*tinky, my made up word for the day. It means smaller than small and just naturally goes with tiny.

Kid Food Made Adult

We ate the Butternut Mac 'n Cheese.  Way better than I ever expected.  I have the leftovers in the fridge for lunch and it is all I can think about.  I'm pretty sure there is a way for me to link to the website I got the recipe from but I am not sure how to do that yet... http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2007/11/butternut-mac-n-cheese.html ...let's see if that works.  If not I will type up the recipe in my next post.

Okay, don't expect this to taste like KRAFT.  It looks an awful lot like it but it's adulted up.  (Yes, adulted is my made up word for the day, please give me credit if you plan on using it yourself.) Yes, you could tell squash was in it but let me just say squash has a bad rap.  I mean really?  Squash?  It just sounds...bleh.  Oh but this sexy roasted beauty got mashed up slowly, lovingly 'til all the lumps were worked out, like in a relaxing massage kind of way.  And you roast it with the skin on so when it's done the skin just falls off like a naughty little strip tease, exposing delicious golden flesh.  (See what I'm sayin about adulted up?!)

No, I don't think you could trick your children with this, but quite frankly, it's too good for the children.  Currently the two children that live with us are gone so I can't even give testimony from them and I think I will eat it all before they get home!  Is that bad? It was noodley and cheesy and the top cheese got a little brown and crispy just the way Bob likes it.  He said he could tell it was made with love and that it was thee most delicious mac and cheese he had ever eaten in his entire life (Bob is working on foreplay skills.) Bonus-squash generally doesn't cause gas.

With this dish I also made Chicken Fingers with Chipotle Honey.  This part of the meal was better than the mac and cheese!!!  Chipotle Honey.  Say it slowly Chipooootleeee Hhhhooonnnneeeyyyy.  Oh yes.  Spicy sweet goodness.  The recipe came from Cook This Not That.  Tops any chicken nuggets I have ever had, was very, very, very easy to prepare and quick.  I think it took me less than an hour to get the whole meal on the table.  (I made the mac and cheese the day before and just reheated for 30 minutes).  In hindsight I should have added a green vegetable but green veggies and I are not yet on good terms.  Baby steps.  Bob's take on these?  "How many more can I have?"  The sauce makes them irresistible.  Bob has a hard time with portion control.  Quite often I make enough food for lunch leftovers.  For some reason, Bob feels that if it is made for dinner, it should be eaten for dinner.   Why dirty tupperware when I can just finish this up right now? It showed great restraint on Bob's part not to eat the remaining nuggets.

One good meal on one day.  That was Thursday.  Friday?  Bob was supposed to go out for lunch with a colleague.   So I did not pack a lunch for him.  My lunch would be the leftover Greek chicken upon a bed of rabbit food with Marie's Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette (my new favorite dressing!) Alas, the colleague did not show up and Bob was forced to eat in the grill at work.  I sat down and started eating my healthy lunch while Bob went down to see what they were serving up in the grill. Shepherds Pie.  One of the best comfort foods out there if you ask me.  Robin  knows Bob and I and she knows we eat lunch together. She thoughtfully heaped enough on Bob's plate just in case I wanted a taste. There was a huge birthday party the night before and there was enough cake for two hundred.  Only fifty people attended.  The grill is giving cake to everyone for dessert.  Robin, once again, kindly cut an extra large piece of cake for Bob and I to share...can you see where this is going? I ate my lunch and so did Bob.

A friend of ours is a little overweight.  His doctor gave him some very simple advice.  He said "You know the food you put in your mouth?"  Our friend nodded, "Well, just put in half."  No wonder doctors make so much money.  Brilliant.

Chicken Fingers

1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut into nugget size
Salt and black pepper to taste
3 egg whites, slightly beaten
2 cups Panko bread crumbs (asian food section DO NOT SUBSTITUTE REG BREAD CRUMBS)
2 Tblspns Dijon mustard
1 tspn honey
1tspn chipotle pepper puree
(for puree get a small can of chipotle peppers (mexican food section) blend them up in a food processor.  Super duper hot!  Use the leftovers to spice up anything but use sparingly! this can be kept in fridge for a few weeks)

Preheat oven to 450.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Place egg whites in bowl.  Place bread crumbs on a plate and season with salt and pepper.  Dip tenders in egg white then toss in crumbs being sure to coat thoroughly.
Place on cookie sheet lightly sprayed with nonstick cook spray and bake 10-12 minutes until crumbs are lightly browned and chicken is firm.
Combine  mustard, pepper puree and honey, toss cooked tenders in sauce so they are all coated.  (I just used the sauce as a dip)

To our health

My husband is over 50.  52 to be exact and he is a bit of a drama king.  It keeps life interesting.  Now, don't get me wrong, he is not a whiner, or a complainer, he's just a bit over the top with things.  Let's say he is passionate. I think that is pretty politically correct and polite to boot.  And for the record I adore him.  He makes me laugh everyday and though his drama can be exasperating at times, I will say for the most part it teaches me.  Teaches me patience.  It has also made me wiser because quite often to dispel the fear of imminent death I have to do some research on the internet.  Facts are my weapons.

This is my second marriage.  After the divorce I prayed a lot.  Mostly for Him to step in to take control as my controlability (I do tend to make up my own words) was on a fast track to depression, slovenliness, depression, weight gain, depression and some low self esteem issues. I may have thrown in a prayer or two for patience as well...God sent me Bob.  Prayer is answered.

Last week Bob got some blood work done.  About three days later the nurse called with the results and amidst wails of "I'm going to die!" we learned Bob's cholesterol was a little high and that perhaps he should take a look at the zone diet.  (PC for you need to lose weight!) I tried to calmly explain that a few simple dietary exhanges, some walking and smaller portion sizes would be an easy fix for this...he started calling around for cemetary plots.

These are all things Bob and I have been working on for about a year.  We have trouble sticking to it.  I think the worst part is that I hate vegetables.  Hate 'em! Can eat a salad with the best of them but hate the idea of spending the time chopping the  ingredients for a salad so those don't get made too much. I never serve veggies.  In my house, if I cook, you get meat and carbs and dessert. If we go out I generally just eat dessert and french fries.  Can you hear my internal organs screaming for something healthy?

So, to save my husbands life and to live a healthier one I am trying to make more veggie dishes.  Most are disguised.  I have found some wonderful websites, have a collection of great cookbooks and rip pages from a lot of magazines.  Here is my effort for today.

Butternut Mac and Cheese.  Butternut squash, whole wheat pasta and cheese.  It's the same color as KRAFT.  I made it today as I have most Wednesdays off but will not bake it until tomorrow.  I got this recipe from 'A Veggie Venture'.  It's a great vegetable side dish resource on the web.  She also has variations of the Weight Watchers One Point soup which Bob has for lunch most days  I do not like the idea of cabbage in soup but I do sit next to him while he its it hoping for osmosis. After he it's eat I do not sit next to him as it can bring on a little gas.  Please don't recommend any gas removing products as Bob enjoys this expelling of air often exclaiming "Better out than in!" among many other clever sayings.

I am also going to make chicken fingers...this meal is kinda like a little kids paradise.  A propos no?

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