Vicky Learns to Cook

13 days in, 7.5 lbs down, and missing burgers and pizza. It isn't easy to explain, this change in my way of eating. Basically in a nutshell, i had tests done, needed a detox, and now I cannot have red meat nor onions until October. boo. Whining a bit. I hate it because I love cheeseburgers, but, I do love the weight loss. I do love that I am digesting food better and am not waking with stomach aches anymore. I just really really hope I can have a cheeseburger when I get done. :) Here is a  recipe I've used as part of this diet. Very good, actually. I use zucchini and swiss. More to come. <3 Vicky aka The clumsy Chef.

Soups ! So in the lunch meals that I haven't had so far there are actually 3 different types of soup.  Since Hubby and the kiddos went up north a day earlier than I, I made not only the three soups but some zucchini casserole for tomorrows dinner.  I just had "potato soup" and "vegetable soup" as my guide along with approved foods. They didn't include onions, so I had a small challenge there.  For the Potato Soup:  Redskin potatoes, chopped  Celery chopped,  carrots, chopped 2/3 c chicken broth garlic paste - 1 dollop Water 1 T pampered chef dill mix For the Vegetable soup:  Carrot, sliced Celery, sliced zucchini, diced Tomato sauce - fresh from canned by farmer 1 T italian seasoning For the Lentil soup:  1 c lentils 1 c cut up tomatoes 2 bunches spinach hand full of chopped carrot Now I am letting them cook while I wait for the casserole Zucchini casserole:  2 c sliced zucchini 6...

Well I got the news yesterday from the Nutritionist.  I'm a bit shocked to be honest. While I'm healthier than I thought, I'm also in need of some changes. And for the next 90 days those changes don't include red meat. While Hubby has another set of rules meaning he gets not only beef but lamb. He has other challenges with his diet, though, that I would not want. We are doing this together, however, we have two different paths to follow. Another shock? I shouldn't be trying to get to my high school weight. I should actually be 10 lbs heavier than that. How about that. Hmm. So anyway, making and eating dinner has it challenges.  I'm picking my way through to figure out how to do it. My go-to cooking method is frying in butter and oil. Hubby can't have any fat added, so I'm having to figure out how to cook without it. Yesterday we had chicken, so I added some Pampered Chef Parmesan garlic spice mix and braising it in water. That turned out pretty...

Saturday, July 8:  In a little over a week, we are going to a Nutritionist. I know me, and when I do something, I do it to the fullest extent. Which, kinda makes me sad, because frankly we all know what stuff they are gonna say to give up, for the most part, right? I had one of those tantrummey moments where I decided I really didn't want to give up anything, thank you very much. I wanted to eat junk food and as much as possible. Why couldn't I just eat what I WANT?! But then, in another moment, my stomach was unhappy with the "hurry up and eat all the junk before she tells me no" decisions. And then there is looking in the mirror -- or rather avoiding it lately. I have a feeling this is going to be a big struggle. Sunday, July 9 So I had oatmeal with almonds, cherries, raisins and honey with my coffee. That was good but I dumped the second bowl when I went to sit down. Portion control, right? Except it landed on my carpet. Gross. For lunch, I had a wh...

Hello Readers! I've been asked to teach a class on Middle Eastern food.  It was actually a while ago, but some things take time and I forget sometimes to do things. Also I have so many favorites, it's hard to pick what to teach. And if I teach them all we would have to start the day before! So right now, I am going to blog my journey to narrowing down the foods to teach. Or maybe make it more than one class? Or heck, a cookbook. Who knows where this will lead (laughs). World domination! Okay maybe not that far. Today's test came from getting a new grill (thanks to my neighbors who are awesome and got a mega super awesome grill with sensor lights - its really a holy moly kinda thing - so they sold us their original one. ) I'm not a grill person, well, I have not been up until now. So I didn't really know what I was doing. I'm not entirely sure I do quite yet, but I have learned a few lessons: 1.) The grill must be on, properly. If it has a trip switch, c...

I'm so tired I have no desire to bake, Yea you heard me. I'm that tired. :) But I can direct, so I am having the boy make oreos. Because everyone should know how to make this! I mean, just look at them: Oh yes, homemade oreos! The dough is so dark and yummy it's all i can do not to eat it all before we bake it! Must. Not. Eat. The smell is just killing me. (drool) I need another oven. Hurry up please. They take a whole 20 minutes to cook because they are so dense and dark. Yum! Get them off the pan right out of the oven or they stick. Just don't eat them yet. HOT. I kid you not, I said make ONE. He put about 1/2 cup of the bakery frosting in the cookie. It was gross. I made him turn it into a double stuffed sized cookie. Jeez. Anyway here is the recipe. We had left over frosting from the bakery supply store after making a cake, so we didnt use their filling. Hope you enjoy! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/oreo-cookies-r...

Sorry I've been gone so long, blog readers! Mostly I was transitioning my work and home schedules. When I go through a transition, I tend to set things down and ponder the best way to fit all the pieces of the puzzle that is my schedule back together in a new way. Once done, I tend to go back to the things I love doing. Guess this is one of them. :) So, here we are. Back from being "on the lamb". It's time to eat! I've never really been a fan of lamb. To me it tasted ... "doggy". It smelled kinda funny too. But adventurous me wanted to give it another shot. And I can tell you, I am now a convert. Unfortunately I am alone in my family for liking lamb. The spices used were good to use on beef as well. Heck, my imagination was spurred to even consider selling spice mixes such as this one. Of course, rather than do the smart thing and make sure I have all the ingredients before landing on this recipe, I do the opposite most of the time. I buy t...