Mirror Icing - ho hum

Ok, so it's true I haven't been here for a while. Like, in years. But that's the thing with Google, no matter how long you go away, it never deletes you. Scary, but that's another topic.

Have a look at this;

So, what's the big deal? Well, I wanted to try this mirror icing thing that I saw on tv. Every recipe I saw was the same and I thought was waaaay too much icing for a 2 layer cake. And I'm here to tell you that even 1/2 the original recipe was too much. 

Here's 1/2 the recipe, and this will still give you about 2/3 of a cup of LEFTOVER icing after you pour it over a 9 inch 2 layer jobbie;

3/4 c granulated sugar
1/3 c sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c water

1 Tbsp gelatin
1/4 c water

1 c white chocolate chips
drops of food colouring

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a saucepan, place over medium heat and stir until simmering and bubbles appear on the sides of the pan. While you're stirring the saucepan mix, in a small bowl combine the gelatin and water so the gelatin can soften.

Once the saucepan mix begins to simmer, remove from heat and stir in the blob of gelatin.

Measure the chocolate chips into a bowl then pour the hot mix over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for about 5 mins for the chips to soften, then stir so they are completely melted. Stir in your choice of food colouring.

Let the icing cool to body temperature; place your wrist against the bowl and if it doesn't feel warm or cool then it's ready for pouring. Give it a stir because it may have formed a crust on top. 

So now what? Well, the cake awaiting should be cooled. I had made a 2 layer butter pecan with a cream icing as a crumb layer. Don't be impressed, it was a mix and a basic icing you can make in your sleep. When applying the crumb layer, try to get it as smooth as possible because every groove and ridge will be visible under the mirror icing. Anyway, the cake had been in the fridge for a while. When it was time to impress with the mirror icing, I put wax paper over our round pizza pan, put a coffee mug in the centre of the wax paper and balanced the cake on top of the coffee mug. Why? Because the mirror icing will drip down over the whole cake, and continue to drip for about 15 mins afterward. 

I slowly poured the icing over the cake and before I was finished the cake was covered. I had about 1/4 cup of icing still left in the bowl. Hmm, so glad I only made 1/2 the original recipe. Then it dripped and dripped AND DRIPPED some more, further adding to the left over icing. Oh well, maybe I should have had the mirror icing cooler than body temp so it didn't run as much. 

Once the cake had finished dripping, I used a spatula to clean up around the bottom of the cake and put the cake back in the fridge. The icing needs a while to set, convention says a few hours. 

A couple of things; the icing was easy to cut through so serving the cake slices was no different from a regular icing. However, it was sticky so when my son tried to remove a berry to give to Daddy, the whole strip of icing lifted off his piece; the mirror icing stuck to the crumb layer of icing and it all peeled off his piece of cake. No more passing berries. 

The verdict? Well.....I'm not sure. White chocolate chips are expensive and their wonderful flavour completely disappeared in the overall finished product. 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk called for in the recipe used less than 1/2 the can so now I've got to figure out what to do with the left over sweetened condensed milk. If this is the biggest problem in my life, I consider myself the richest person in the world, trust me. 

Uh oh, this is supposed to be a weight loss blog. See what happens when you disappear for years? You forget where you started. Well, I will say that I've always found it easier to Up the exercise rather than Curb the eating so yes, I recently added a little extra distance to my runs. Do the same if you can, it won't kill you. 

Blessings to all of you. 

Versatile (oatmeal) cookie recipe

....I really should do a blog specifically about cookies....

Anyway, here is another fantastic recipe that I found a few weeks ago. I made a few modifications to the original; I reduced the salt from the 1 tsp listed to 1/2 tsp; didn't bother adding the chopped nuts (we've never been a fan of nuts in our cookies); and I left out the step about shaping the dough into rolls, freezing, then slicing them to bake (who has the time for that???). And as with any recipe I make, I never put in all the sugar that's called for. 

The recipe is plain and entirely delicious on it's own. But you can zip it up by adding your favourite spice and get a new result every time. The first time I made them, I added 2/3 tsp ginger and they were amazing. Second time I made them, I put in a bunch of cinnamon and voila, a completely different cookie. Today I'll try a hint of cloves to see what happens. So without further ado, write this down:

Company's Coming Cookies      (Good Cookin' from the Kitchens of Richmond Hill United Church, 1988, p.260)

with some currents and cloves thrown in

Mix together;
1 c margarine
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
and add;
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Combine in another bowl;
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 c rolled oats
any spice(s) you like

Stir the dry ingredients into the first mixture, put dough on cookie sheets and bake at 350F for 15 minutes. The cookies spread nicely and give a soft, chewy result, guaranteed to be gone in a day or two. 

Remember; everything in moderation and having ONE cookie does not constitute criminal activity.  

12 ways to lose weight today

Hands up if you want to lose weight with absolutely NO EFFORT!!!!

Oh dear. 

Do you also want to get a university degree without studying, writing exams or paying tuition? Have a ton of money without working? (oop, that's me....). Want perfectly behaved children and a serene marriage?

While you wait for Nirvana when all those good things will come true without you lifting a finger, here are a few tips you can implement today to help you along on your weight loss journey. Because the reality is, a healthy weight and healthy life style does take a little bit of effort and discipline but the Earthly rewards make it all worthwhile.

12 Ways to Lose Weight Today

1. write down everything you eat. EVERYTHING. You're going to look at this list at the end of the day and if it's as long as your arm and full of things like chips and pop and natchos and cake then geepers creepers, Lesson Learned.
2. mark your calendar. This is Day 1 of your journey toward choosing healthy habits for a healthy lifestyle. You need to know your start date so you can celebrate your anniversary dates later. 
3.  IF you have dessert, have it earlier in the day and not late at night before you go to bed.
4. tell 2 people that you're taking action to improve your eating habits and health habits and tell them you're going to report in to them on a regular basis whether they like it or not. You need to be accountable to someone, they're your support team!
5. drink a big glass of water before each meal, even breakfast if you can manage. The water will help fill you up so you eat less.
6. take the stairs. And don't use the handrail unless you absolutely have to.
7. get off the bus before your stop and do some extra walking.
8. go whole wheat. Whole wheat bread, whole wheat rolls, whole wheat crackers. No more white bread allowed, even the "fortified" stuff. 
9. stop adding salt to your meals. If you're accustomed to putting salt on everything, stop cold turkey. Everything will taste awful for a little while but you'll be amazed at how quickly you adjust.
10. don't butter your bread or your toast or your rolls. You won't miss it, I promise.
11. add cinnamon where you can. Sprinkle it on your cereal, add a smidge to your coffee, get creative. Cinnamon is making the news these days for all the right reason so it's a good time to up our intact of this ancient spice.
12. lastly, buy one healthy item at the grocery store that you haven't bought before and DON'T buy one unhealthy item that you usually buy e.g. buy some snow peas if you've never tried them before and leave the Doritos on the shelf.

It's all about the little things you do because they make a big difference in the end. 

Eggs. Fair game any time of the day

2 eggs with 2 toast 4 dinner

I've always enjoyed eggs and I'm sure I've eaten enough to keep more than a few egg farms in business over the years. I know they are high in cholesterol but I don't have trouble with my cholesterol levels likely because I'm not overweight. I also know that eggs are high in fat but I don't have trouble with that either because, well, see above....

When I was in university and living in my basement apartment scraping by with next-to-no-money, eggs were one of the few things I could afford. They were cheap, filling and easy to make on my hotplate. Fast forward a gazillion years and here I am, still enjoying eggs as much as ever. They are still cheap (thank goodness) and very easy to prepare. My favourite dinner lately has been a couple of eggs fried in a bit of olive oil and served on toast, sometimes with grated cheese, usually with ketchup. It's quick to do and very filling so when there aren't enough left-overs for all of us, I'll feign disappointment then run and grab my crepe pan.

So next time you're caught a little short on supplies and the dinner bell is about to ring, grab the eggs out of the fridge and ask everyone how they want theirs done. You might feel like a short order cook, but dinner will be on the table in no time and happiness will prevail. Maybe.

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

Christian made these cookies last night.

I love oatmeal cookies and I have tried countless recipes over the years with limited results. Somehow they'd never taste as good as the ones bought at trade shows or county fairs. But if those families had great recipes to follow, surely I could find one too.

Cookies are a part of our diet and they can be part of your diet too. If you're overweight and you love cookies, they don't need to be your downfall. They are a DESSERT and if you treat them like a DESSERT, cookies will always know their place.

As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as a "healthy" cookie. The only cookies that exist are "dessert" cookies. If you try to convince yourself that a cookie is healthy, you won't have just one, you'll have 10 "because they're healthy". But reminding yourself that cookies are DESSERTS, you won't be tempted to overdo it. Having one with your afternoon coffee is ok. Having 5 is criminal activity and a major set-back to reaching your weight-loss goal. 

My oldest will be 9 in March and lately he's been in charge of making the cookies on the weekend. I help him read the recipe and I crack the eggs but otherwise I limit my hovering and let him do the measuring and stirring. Last night we tried yet another oatmeal cookie recipe and * wait for it * it might actually be a keeper. In other words, we'll make them again and this is major progress in the search for The Perfect Homemade Oatmeal Cookie.

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies  (Darlene Kronschnabel, Cookie Cookbook, Wisconsin 1977, p.6)
Mix together;
1 c butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
In another bowl, mix together;
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Add flour mixture to butter mixture then stir in;
1/2 c milk
Once that is combined, add;
2 c uncooked rolled oats
2 c raisins
Stir to combine. Bake at 375F for 11 mins. 

Old-fashioned oatmeal cookies with a few missing....

Pizza your way

Homemade pizza means you control the calories

Pizza is a big deal in our house. It's on the menu every Sunday night and has been for years. I used to buy some of the popular store brand pizzas when they were on sale, but when I'd bake them up and see all the oil on the surface and taste all the salt, I really questioned whether I was doing myself or my family any favours by serving it. Sure homemade pizza is more work, it's probably one of the more involved meals you make during the week, but when you think about the control you have over the ingredients, it's a classic case where the pros (health benefits) far outweigh the cons (time it takes to prepare).  You're in control of the calories and in the 'big picture' approach to your new habits for a healthy weight and healthy lifestyle, this goes a long way. Health is not about sacrificing and self-denial, it's about being smart; cooking smart and eating smart. 

This is the pizza I made last night. It has "no vegetables" on the kids' half, orange and yellow peppers on our half and hot hot hot peppers on my section. Made to order. Which is a lot easier than picking off the toppings the kids don't like from the store bought pizzas.

Pizza making tips

• make your own dough. Switch some of the all purpose flour for whole wheat (no more than 1/2 cup) and add some oregano. You'll have a crust way better than any you can buy.
• use your favourite pasta sauce with vegetables instead of pizza sauce. They boys throw a fit if they think there are any vegetables on their pizza. By using pasta sauce with the chunks of tomato and carrot in it, they have no idea there are veggies lurking under the pepperoni and cheeses
• buy skim milk (or light) mozzarella cheese, NOT the mozzarella cheese that's marked 'For Pizza'. The 'For Pizza' cheese is much higher in fat and adds nothing but calories so choose the light cheese instead
• store the mozzarella cheese in the freezer and defrost it when it's time to make the pizza. The lower fat content in the cheese makes is very easy to crumble when it's been frozen. This is a big time-saver because instead of grating the cheese, all you have to do is rub 2 chunks of it together and it falls apart into little beads. Super easy to spread.
• be smart when you choose your toppings. Orange peppers, yellow peppers, green onions, anything goes. If you're using mushrooms, cook them in the microwave first to get rid of the moisture, then put the cooked mushrooms on the pizza. Zucchini is the most gutless vegetable out there, it has absolutely no flavour so adding slices of it to your toppings doesn't ruin your pizza but it does give it more vitamins.
• slice the pepperoni THIN and if you like, cut each slice in 1/2 (so they look like 1/2 a circle). Spread them over the pizza but not so they're touching. The pepperoni is adding flavour and you don't need a lot of it.
• cover the entire pizza with fresh ground black pepper. It adds a really nice twist.

So when you're doing your grocery shopping this week, plan ahead and pick up a few extra things so you can make pizza on the weekend. I guarantee it will turn into a family tradition.

Bran muffins

Elaine's bran muffins; healthy and amazing

I've always loved bran muffins for the molasses. There's something about that added flavour that makes bran muffins my #1 choice every time. 

If you're a muffin lover as well, don't be fooled by some of the products prepackaged in the grocery store. Many are way too sweet and way to full of fat to make them still qualify as muffins. You may think you've chosen a healthy snack to take to work but that little calorie bomb may be worse than a piece of cake with icing. 

Making muffins yourself isn't a ton of work. All you need is a fork, 2 bowls, the muffin papers and the pan. When you find a recipe you like it's easy to double it, throw the extras in the freezer and have a supply of great snacks to get you through the week. And choosing a muffin to have at night is much smarter than going for the container of ice cream and the chocolate syrup.

I believe in healthy but I also believe in flavour. Recipes that use all whole wheat flour or that have very little sugar in them and very little fat end up tasting awful in my opinion. This recipe is a modification of Jane Brody's Best-of-Bran Muffins (New York, 1985. p.596). The first time I made them, I followed her instructions faithfully and the results were pretty darn bad. If you want to look up the original, you can, but here is her recipe with enough modifications for me to almost call it my own;

Bran muffins
In a large bowl, combine
3 c shredded bran cereal (All-Bran, Fibre First, etc)
1/2 c vegetable oil (use your Becel)
1 c raisins
1 c boiling water

In another bowl, combine
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 c white sugar
2 1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

Now that the cereal mixture has cooled down a bit, use a fork to stir in
2 eggs
2 c buttermilk (I use vinegar + milk rather than buy buttermilk itself)
1/4 c molasses

Add the flour mixture to the cereal mixture, stir to combine. Heat the oven to 400F and get the pans ready. I like large muffins so I fill the papers to the top. Bake for 20 to 25 mins. Check at 20 mins, you want the muffins moist rather than dry. I hope you like them!

Time for an oil change

I don't use a lot of cooking oil but for the times that I do, I use a better quality oil that hopefully won't be too damaging to our hearts. Sure they cost more than the cheap stuff but that's money well spent in my opinion. And a bottle of oil will last you a long time; it's not an item that should be out on your kitchen counter every time you prepare dinner.

There are 2 oils I buy; Becel and Crisco. The Becel is canola and sunflower oils, the Crisco is soyabean. Both are a source of omega-3s. Neither have any flavour and I certainly can't tell the difference between them. I tend to use the Becel in recipes and the Crisco for frying.

I'm guessing you've got cooking oil in your house, and if you've got a few less-than-ideal habits that you're trying to modify as you head toward a healthy lifestyle and a healthy body weight, changing the oil in your cupboard is a simple improvement you can make right now. Look for a product that is a source of omega-3 and - obviously - has no Trans fats. Keep an eye on how much oil you're using when preparing your meals and cut back when you can. If cooking oil is on your shopping list more than once every few months, you've got other work ahead. But an oil change right now is a good start.

Cut the soda, and save your money and your health

I'm not a pop drinker. We never had it in the house when I was growing up, and after hearing what it did to your teeth, it was never something I was remotely interested in reaching for when I was older and doing my own grocery shopping. 

But I realize that pop is in a lot of households so if you didn't see this article, give it a quick read. Then cross pop off your grocery list for the coming week. And the week after that and the week after that until you form a new habit of not buying the stuff at all. 

3 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Soda

Healthy bodies and health lifestyles are the culmination of a bunch of little habits; good eating habits, good exercise habits. Letting go of your soda habit is a good move in the right direction, one little change that carries a big benefit.

Red potato fries

You're looking at delicious french fries.

I could live without french fries but it's not all about me so over the years I have tried various products in the endeavour to serve edible fries for dinner. Not much luck. The no-name frozen fries weren't that bad so I used to buy those, fry them up in the pan and pretend they were ok. Once I tried the McCains SODIUM REDUCED frozen fries and they were so salty only my husband could eat them. I never bought them again.

Then one day when I was buying the no-name frozen fries, I started to think about the plastic bag they were in, the manufacturing process to peal, slice and package the potatoes, the salt and oil that the company added to coat the strips of potatoes and I began to get annoyed with myself. Was I so incredibly lazy that I couldn't wash and cut a few potatoes myself? It would be cheaper and healthier. And I'd much rather support the farmers directly than some manufacturing plant.

I put the bag of frozen fries back in the freezer and returned to the produce section to buy some big red potatoes and support those American growers (Ontario reds were not in stock).

Now any of you who have made fries from scratch know that it takes forever for the potatoes to actually cook in the oil. No matter how thinly you slice and how high the temp, you're looking at an hour of stirring and turning, minimum. So try this method instead, you'll be thrilled with the results and think nothing of whipping up these potatoes at the drop of a hat:

Red Potato Fries

• wash potatoes, do NOT peal!!! Most of the vitamins and good stuff are in the skins and right near the surface. You want to eat that part!
• cut potatoes in wedges. If the potatoes are small to medium in size, 4 wedges per potato, otherwise 5 or 6 so the wedges are not really thick
• spread in microwave, cover and cook on high for 4 mins (until wedges are cooked)
• heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
• remove wedges from the microwave and place in the hot oil, cut side down
• brown one cut side, then turn to brown the other cut side. Don't bother trying to brown the outer skin side
• put a napkin (or paper towel) on your serving plate and lay fried wedges on the napkin, cover with another napkin (or paper towel) to keep them warm
• continue to cut potatoes, microwave, then fry the wedges in oil until you've made enough for everyone. Then make some more, I'm not kidding, there won't be left-overs.

Oh my gosh, they are amazing. And for some strange reason, the potatoes do not absorb the oil. You will see a lot of oil soaked into the napkins, and if you don't use a napkin on your serving plate, you will see the excess oil left behind on it's surface. Who'd a thunk eh?

Red potato fries are simple to make, and healthier and cheaper than store-bought fries. Do yourself and a farmer proud and serve some up tonight.

Just because it's on sale, doesn't mean you should buy it...

A good price doesn't mean it's a good value

About once every 2 months our local grocery store has a larger-than-usual sale and it seems like everyone in town drops in to take advantage of "Dollar Days". Whereas it can be a good time to stock up on regular items, some of the things that go on sale should be left on the shelf, and I don't mean your shelf.

Any of you who are married know that training your spouse is an ongoing endeavour. But I finally feel like I've made some headway with Ivan in this area of buying foods that are on sale simply because they were a good price.

The last time this happened, he came home with something akin to Pizza Pops. Of course the kids were interested so when he was heating one up for himself, extras went into the toaster oven for the boys. My innocence is far reaching - how bad could these things be with bread and cheese and some pepperoni in the middle? I was horrified when they were ready and he took a bite and I saw the innards first-hand. I got the package out of recycling and had a look at the ingredients. Full of Trans fats (Canada is slow at banning Trans fats from everything) and saturated fats. Enough sodium to meet your monthly requirement. 

When I showed it to my husband, I got the standard "but they were on sale, 2 for $1". I told him it didn't matter if they were free, stuff like this should never be eaten and there was no way the kids would be having it. No one's arteries deserves this kind of onslaught. Harm is harm, even when it's cheap.

For me, I'm not tempted into buying things I don't normally buy just because they are on sale. PopTarts aren't good for you regardless. And from a health perspective, they are a lot more expensive then you think. 

Let's talk turkey bacon

Try it. You'll like it.

Considering the things my Dad ate, it's a wonder he lived to 89. 

When I was growing up, bacon was not exactly a mainstay but we did have it once a week. Dad got the most number of strips and Mom would make 'dips' for him - bread fried in the bacon fat left in the pan. Imagine.

I've successfully ignored bacon for a number of years until last summer at the cottage when I was cruising the meat section at the grocery store and noticed a product I had not seen before. I thought I'd give it a try and I've been buying it ever since.

Before you turn your nose up at turkey bacon, let me tell you that it has a ton of flavour, it's already cooked so it can be eaten right from the package, and it's incredibly lean - not even a teaspoon of fat will remain if you try frying it. Warm it up in the microwave between 2 sheets of paper towel and it's ready to be added to your sandwiches. Cut strips right from the package to add to your scrambled eggs. Or what I use it for mainly is an added topping on our weekly pizza. 

So if you've been clever and cut pork bacon from your menu a long time ago (as well you should!) but you're still missing it terribly, cruise through the meat section again at your local grocery store and have a look for turkey bacon. Times have changed, better options are available and bacon doesn't have to be the walking heart attack it used to be.

Sleeping and eating, eating and sleeping

In keeping with our non-technical theme here, let's talk about when to eat and when to wait.

I'm a firm believer in eating when one is hungry. The habit of having a little something frequently during the day keeps your body and your mind going. Fasting is the worst thing you can do. Your body goes into panic mode because it is expecting food, wants food, isn't getting food, so figures it better switch over to shut-down mode because it doesn't know when food is coming. This is counter productive. We want to keep all pistons firing during the day and park for sleeping at night.

That said, you can apply some smarts and some self-restraint when deciding what you eat at what time. A large meal right before bed is going to inhibit digestion, make you feel lousy and disrupt your sleep. Your body wants you to move around after eating, keep that blood flow up, help dissipate those nutrients from your stomach to those outer reaches. Going to bed a number of hours after eating will let your body concentrate on the task at hand (sleeping) and not digestion.

Another trick I have learned over the years is to have my high-calorie treats earlier in the day rather than last thing at night. I, personally, have very little self discipline so denying myself foods I want just makes me grouchy. I remember seeing an interview with Victoria Beckham and she was asked how she maintains her beautiful figure. I'm sure she said other things but what I remember her saying is that she never ate cookies. Two things came to mind when I heard that; she's either very self-disciplined or she does not have a sweet tooth. Hats off to her regardless.

I have a sweet tooth. I grew up in a household where there had to be dessert every night because Dad had a few sweet tooth's and a meal without dessert was a disaster. In my own household, the thought of not having sweets or desserts around is, well, unthinkable. Through trial and error, I have learned that eating 1/4 of a chocolate cake at 9pm will guarantee I'll still be awake at 2 in the morning but having cake with my coffee in the afternoon and I'll sleep like a baby.

So practice some smarts if you can. Don't eat a lot just before going to bed and move your high-calorie treats to earlier in the day. You really can have your cake and eat it too.

Granola. Let's talk breakfast, Part 1

I'm big on breakfast and if you learn anything from me, you will be too. There are many MANY reasons for eating healthy and doing your body proud and having breakfast tops that list. Eating in the morning after a night of 'fasting' sets your body straight for the day. Think of breakfast as your daily foundation and like any good foundation it will keep you upright, strong, stable and yes, even friendly as you set out to face the world. Put it this way; if you don't have a proper breakfast, you'll likely be snacking all day on foods that are less than ideal because you're trying to make up for that missing foundation.

I'll do a number of posts on breakfast but today since we're out of granola and we'll be making it later, I'll be sharing that recipe and some reasons why you too should take 5 minutes to make your own granola.

Preparing from scratch some of the foods you eat makes sense on a number of levels (saving money comes to mind), but when you make your own food, you control what goes into it. You know the ingredients, you mix them, you're in control of the amounts. Granola from the store can be high-end and very expensive or it can be fairly cheap, tempting you to grab a bag or 2 every time you're shopping. But there are cons to that. Check the list of ingredients on the packaging to see what I mean. The oils they use, the amount of sugar...consume this stuff over time and the harm can really add up. And some granolas contain almonds or other ingredients that you or the kids are picking out but you're paying for them because it's part of their product.

I started making granola a long time ago because I didn't want the kids having the saturated oils and all that sugar in the store-bought products. I'd found a good recipe that was simple to make each week when we were doing the pizza. Cost was a factor too; I could double the recipe and make enough granola to get us through 2 weeks for a fraction of the price of the store-bought stuff. So give this recipe a whirl, it's easy to make and you can adjust it any way you like. I'll give you the original though, so get creative and make it your own.

And when you sit down for breakfast tomorrow morning, put some of your new granola in the bottom of your bowl (then put some back - see my other post!), top it up with your regular cereal and feel good about the foundation you've laid to face your day.

Great Granola             (Jane Brody's Good Food Cookbook, New York 1985, p.508)
Melt together
1/4 c marg 
1/4 c honey
Stir in
3 c rolled oats
1 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1 c raw sunflower seeds
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Spread in a 9 x 13 pan, bake at 350 F for approx 15 mins, stirring several times. 
Add
1/2 c wheat germ
and bake 10 mins longer or until the granola is lightly browned. 
Remove from oven, and stir in
2/3 c raisins
Let the granola cool completely before storing.

Put some on, put some back

This is another expression to help keep you on track.

Years ago when the boys were sitting down to breakfast, I let them take as much sugar as their spoons would hold and told them to "put some on then put some back". They were happy because they were in control; they were the ones in charge of scooping and sprinkling it over their cereal, and I was happy because 99% of it was going back into the canister. (It's all optics when it comes to children.)

But this expression has served me well over the years and it can apply to a lot more than the sugar you use. When I'm putting jam on my toast, I'll put some on then scrape some of it off and put it back in the jar. The days of lathering it 1/4 inch thick edge to edge are over for me. And I do this with just about everything I eat. I'm not denying myself anything but I'm not over doing it either.

So whether you're having ice cream, a wedge of cake or a bowl of beef stew, try serving yourself what you would normally eat then put some of it back. It won't kill you and you won't starve. But over time, your new habit of 'put some on, put some back' should have a big impact on your waist line and your grocery bill.

Addicted to the Biggest Loser

At the risk of losing all credibility, I'll admit I love watching the Biggest Loser. Every week I cry at least once during the show. I can relate to the amount of effort needed to complete those killer workouts and even some of the emotional trauma the contestants share resonates with me. 

But one thing about Biggest Loser that I find particularly interesting is the anxiety at the weigh-in. It reminds me of a course I took in university about Indonesian cultures, and one particular culture had a number of rituals it would perform AFTER the harvest in the belief that the corn would multiply while in storage.

Sure, for some people a free ride through life seems to be their burden but for the rest of us, the majority of us, we get out of life what we put into it. Working hard toward a particular goal usually brings you closer to that goal. And if losing weight or getting in shape or turning toward healthy living is your goal, you have to put some work into it to get there. It takes effort. It takes changing some of your habits. It takes adding some things (exercise) and removing others (3 hrs of tv a week). 

If you do the work, have faith that the results will follow. Those contestants are anxious at the weigh-in because they haven't done the work. They are trying to increase their harvest without working the field. 

Stop favouring Left

If you are right-handed, do you favour your left side? Do you always start climbing the stairs with your right foot, carry the grocery bag in your right hand, open the door with your right arm, reach your right hand ACROSS your body to pick something up so left doesn't have to?

This type of favourtism makes the right side of your body much stronger than your left and all sorts of muscle imbalances ensue, from the tilt of your shoulders to the way you walk. And swimming straight in the pool is impossible; the pull from that skinny left arm just can't keep up with the right. Muscle imbalances are not a good thing and your body sends you all sorts of aches and pains to let you know it's unhappy.

A big part of maintaining a healthy body is to have a good look at your eating pattern to see if you're favouring one type of food over another. Is your Right always reaching for processed foods, packaged meals, desserts, or snack foods? What have you relegated Left and decided to pass over? Do you never/seldom reach for grains, vegetables, milk?

If you have an eating 'imbalance', I'd hazard a guess that your body is letting you know. Maybe you feel exhausted most of the time, not refreshed after sleeping, short-tempered with the kids or have trouble concentrating. 

We are effected mentally and physically by what we eat because everything in our bodies is integrated. Favouring your left side over your right has consequences for your whole body. And favouring unhealthy foods over healthy foods also has consequences for your whole body. So today, try to balance things out if you can. Your body will thank you.

Let's hear it for snacking

I'm big on snacking and I believe it's important to eat when you're hungry. Maybe another way of saying this is I don't believe in denying myself when I want to eat. 

But what I eat, when and how much is important. If it's 10:30 at night and you're in the kitchen plowing through a bag of chips, it better be because you just finished a 7 hour bike ride and you're waiting for your dinner to cook.

Though I'm not big on rules, I do try to keep tabs on a few of my habits when it comes to snacking. First, I don't let the snack turn into a meal. I used to, but my metabolism at this age is a lot slower than it was when I was in my 20s and I would definitely notice the effect of eating that whole bag of chips, even if I had just finished a long ride.

I also keep tabs on snacking at night. This can be a toughie but one thing that works well for our family is having a later dinner. When we're having dinner around 7:30pm and heading to bed a few hours after that, I'm not getting hungry again and wanting to eat. But eating at 6pm would always have me starving by 9 and grabbing the bag of cookies to eat in front of the tv. 

Which brings me to what I snack on. An apple or an orange just doesn't cut it for me and it never has. I need a snack with guts and right now my favourite snack is yogurt with cereal, which is what I lived on when I was training for ironman. I buy the large containers of Astro Smooth & Fruity yogurt and pour the cereal right in, eat through that then pour in more cereal. A few pieces of toast with honey is another fave.

So when you're snacking, try to keep a few things in mind; 1. Quantity. If you find yourself eating a huge snack, stop and have a proper meal instead, then have a few of those cookies for dessert. 2. Timing. Try not to eat late at night and don't have dinner while you're making dinner. 3. What you choose. If you need something light to tide you over, then grab something light - not a piece of cake because it's there. You're smarter than that and nothing speaks Smart like smart snacking.

Pizza dough recipe for your Bread Machine

Place ingredients into the canister in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

Pizza Dough
1 tsp dry yeast
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup water

Select the 'dough' cycle and press Start.

Variations: replace 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.
Add 1 tbsp dried oregano flakes, or your other favourite dried flakes.
Use olive oil instead of cooking oil.

For my bread machine, the dough is ready in 50 minutes so I usually chop the toppings and grate the cheeses so everything is ready to assemble the pizza when the timer goes.

When you discover how simple this is, you'll be having pizza more than once a week. And that's not considered criminal activity in my books.

Naan recipe for your Bread Machine

Naan is a delicious Eastern flatbread that is served with a meal. I absolutely love it but I've been dismayed by it's price. 2 pieces in the Frozen Foods section are $1.99 and believe me, 2 pieces are not enough for everyone at dinner.

A simple alternative that works well for me is to make my own dough, then roll small pieces and fry them in Celeb margarine in the frying pan. I never seem to manage to keep more than a few on the serving plate because thieves come into the kitchen and steal them as soon as they're done. They are so delicious that you likely won't have any better luck.

Naan 

Place ingredients into your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

1 tsp dry yeast
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 c water

Select the 'dough' cycle and press Start. 

When the dough is ready, remove it from the canister onto a floured surface and cover with a tea towel.

Using a sharp knife, cut off sections of dough approximately 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Once you make a few, you'll know the size you like. Keep the unused dough under the towel. Roll the small section into a circle, fairly thin. It's called 'flatbread' for a reason...

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and melt a small amount of margarine. Turn the frying pan to spread the marg then toss in the section of dough you've rolled. It will brown fairly quickly. Turn it to brown on the other side, then remove to your serving plate. 

Put more marg in the frying pan, reduce the heat if needed, and repeat the process. Make the naan larger or smaller, thicker or thinner, depending on who you're serving and what else you're serving for the meal. It's not a beauty contest, you don't get points for perfectly round naan, so don't bother trimming edges and making them all look the same. The goal is to finish quickly so the naan is still warm when it hits the table. 

Don't stress, even if you burn a few. The results will be so delicious, no one will notice anyway.