Groceries and change

Week of November 13

Yes, that is an awful lot of sugar on the list. But it was on sale and I  was thinking ahead to Christmas baking. Honest! And we realized it's the 3rd time in 2 weeks that we'd made the TexMex bake, so that's being retired from circulation for a while. It's yummy, but overused. Sunday ending up being pizza delivery. And Monday was Swiss Chalet. The pizza we made on Thursday was phenomenal. The crust turned out so light and perfect. Usually it's rather dense and hard to work with. The boys had fun rolling it out!

Week of November 20th

This week is looking good. I'm off of sugar again. YAY me! Today is day 5. Read all about my adventure over on my main blog... but it's going well. This time, I'm not messing around - taking yeast busting tinctures  and extra fiber supplements. Wish me luck!

As of this morning, I'm at 170 lbs. Yipes!!! My arms are going numb at night, every night. It happened a lot when I was pregnant and very heavy. Guess I crossed that line again.

March 9th

Oh what a hungry day!!!

Breakfast, 7:30
4 pc yeast/gluten free bread with soy butter spread
Steel cut oatmeal with blueberries & apples

Snack, 10am
coffee with almond milk
Gluten/sugar free pumpkin muffin

Lunch, 12ish
Leftover vermicelli with tofu sauce
Apple

Snack, 2pm
Steel cut oatmeal with blueberries & apples

Snack, 5pm
Several handfuls almonds

Snack/supper, 6ish
Several ryvita crackers with goat's cheese
Crockpot chicken chili
Corn chips

Crockpot Chicken Chili
(liberally modified from A Year of Slow Cooking ~ Thanks!)

1 cup dry green lentils
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup shredded carrot
3 cups water (or chicken/veggie broth)
2 tbsp vegetable bouillon base (optional, if using broth)
Cumin, coriander, curry, chili powder, pepper, cayenne pepper: to taste
1 tsp minced garlic
2 whole chicken breasts

Add all but chicken to the crock pot, stir together. Place chicken on top. Cover and cook on low for 7+ hours. (Ours was in for at least 10 hours.) Before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return to pot and mix together.

The verdict: well, the boys ate it up! YAY! A crowd pleaser. I thought it could have used a more heavy hand with the spices, but it was still very yummy. The boys had a dollop of sour cream on theirs. They actually cleaned their plates!

March 8th

Breakfast, 7:30am
Gluten/sugar free pumpkin muffin
Organic corn puffs with almond milk

Snack
-coffee with almond milk
-organic energy bar thing. Forgot I wasn't having sugar today, but it was all natural and with maple syrup, etc, so not tooooo bad.

Lunch
Leftover chicken & broccoli risotto with romano cheese

Snack
Gluten/sugar free pumpkin muffin

Snack
Carrot & celery sticks

Supper
Brown rice vermicelli in a todu & veggie sauce (soft tofu, blended with almond milk, heated with butter, broccoli, red pepper, spices, romano cheese)

Moan and groan

Today started out ok - oatmeal with blueberries. I had a decent enough lunch: bean quesadillas with tomato, carrot and goat's cheese. With sour cream and fresh guacamole for dipping. Then I raided dear hubby's chocolate supply. Yummilicious! Supper came mostly out of a box: processed fish cakes (lots of sugar, salt) and homemade sweet potato and carrot fries with curry dip.

I'm tired. It's possible I have a thyroid problem - routine bloodwork came back with low levels. This would explain the extreme tiredness lately, and a few other weird symptoms I've been having. but it could also be I'm pushing myself too hard.

We'll see.

I'll try to stay on track and keep up with my updates.

Today's creation: Pumpkin Currant muffins

2 eggs
2 cups spelt flour
2 cups pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup oil
splash of vanilla
handful of currants
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix

Mix everything together and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!

January 31

Breakfast, 7am
2 bowls puffed rice with raisins & almond milk
2 cups tea with almond milk
1 hardboiled egg

Snack, 10am
2 blueberry lemon muffins

Snack, 11:30
Handful potato wedges

Snack, 12:30
2.5 blueberry muffins

Lunch, 1:30
Leftover chili-style beans with corn & sausage
Lots of corn chips



Note: This is an unfinished entry. No idea what I ate the rest of the day, but I'm certain it wasn't all good!

January 30th

Ok, lets see if I can remember - this was a crazy work day, so busy I had no time to stop!...

Breakfast, 7am
Steel cut oatmeal with apples & blueberries & almond milk
2 blueberry coconut muffins
tea with almond milk

Snack, 12-ish
blueberry muffin

Lunch, 1-ish
Small bowl of cold oatmeal with blueberries & apples

Snack, 4ish
blueberry muffin

Supper, 6ish
Chicken & veggie cakes, rice, peas, corn
1/2 grapefruit
Approx 1.5 cups chocolate frozen yogurt

January 29th

Ugh - here I come around again. I don't want to keep up this meal plan. The candida regime is kicking my butt and I'm tired. I miss my old foods. The ease of them. The comfort. The last 4 days have not been good - a steady decline into my old ways. Sure, they'd start off good enough and with the best intentions. But by the end of the day, I'd be polishing off at least 2 cups worth of chocolate frozen yogurt. Or raisins. Or half a box of After Eight mints.

Yes, tomorrow is another day. I can try again. Today I made a yummy batch of lemon coconut blueberry muffins. I ate 2 at breakfast and another 3 throughout my work day. Then another 2 after supper. I'm trying to save the remaining ones for work tomorrow - they're easy, portable snacks. We'll see how that goes.

I work in close proximity to a Starbucks. Mmmmm, how I love thee, Starbucks. I've not had my standard *drool* mocha since before I started the Candida Diet back in mid-November... I've been getting their tea, but it's just not the same. I'm a week into my 'no-coffee' kick. Is there anything left to take away? All my favourites are blacklisted.

Ok - positives: I love how I feel when I'm not eating sugar. I sleep better. I have more energy. I'm happier, less cranky. My nails are growing so strong and fast! I'm a better mom and wife. I'm losing weight. I'm re-learning (ok, that's a stretch) self-discipline. Still... all good things and excellent reasons not to quit.

Of course it's totally worth it to keep all this up. I just don't want to. But maybe that's the After Eight's talking.

Lemon Coconut Blueberry Muffins

2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2/3 cup oil
1 tsp lemon extract and/or fresh lemon zest
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup blueberries

Mix well, bake in muffin tins at 350 for 30 minutes. Makes 12.
Enjoy!

January 25th

Wheee! First day back in the office today. I missed it there. I'm a seasonal employee, so it's only for 3 months... gotta make the most of this "me" time. And, I also have to make every bite count... I tend to not eat when I'm working, which is great most of the time, except that I'm a ravenous beast who will devour anything as soon as I get home. So I need to go prepared with all sorts of nutritious snacks - snacks that don't need to be heated, as I usually eat at my desk. On days that are crazy busy, I don't even take a lunch break. I plan to make lots of muffins - easy and portable. I would love to find a granola bar I could eat, but they're all made with honey/maple syrup... something sugary and sticky to hold it all together. Haven't yet found something to fit the bill without the sugar.

Breakfast, 7:30
Steel cut oatmeal with apples & almond milk
Lg tea with almond milk

Lunch, 1pm
Hard boiled egg
Spicy Chickpea salad

Snack, 2pm
Lg green tea

Snack, 5pm (Ravenous Beast alert)
1/4 oatmeal cookie
2 pc partly-skim mozza
Handful canned pineapple chunks
1 mini-box raisins (approx 24g sugar. Oops.)
More spicy chickpea salad

Supper, 6pm
1/2 homemade pizza
3/4 homemade garlic fingers

I made garlic fingers by melting butter and then mixing in minced garlic and some dried parsley. Elliot had fun 'painting' it on the crust. Topped with grated goat's mozza. Tonight's pizza was topped with crushed tomatoes, pizza spice, 5 pc small ham rounds, sliced mushrooms, goat's mozza and a few chunks of pineapple. They both turned out yummy, but the crust on both was a bit soft. I baked them for 20 minutes, but should have gone 5-10 more minutes. Felix was shrieking though, since supper was late and he was melting down... so I took everything out of the oven early. (The boys' regular pizza was done in 20 minutes...)

Gluten-free crust

1 cup spelt flour
1 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp oil
pinch of salt
1 cup of water

Mix first 5 ingredients together. Slowly add water until a stiff dough is formed. Press into 2 greased pie plates. (Can be made in one plate, depending on sizing.) Add toppings of your choice and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Enjoy!

January 24

Breakfast, 9am
3 cups tea with almond milk
2 chocolate muffins
'Cranberry Delight' granola with goat's yogurt & almond milk

Snack, 10am
Apple
Few corn chips with guacamole

Lunch, 12:30
4 ryvita crackers
1 egg chopped up with a smidge of mayo and goat's feta cheese
100g almonds

Snack, 3pm
Apple
1 cup tea with almond milk
Spicy pork, carrot & noodle soup (ginger, garlic, onion)

Snack, 4pm
Several handfuls Ritz Bitz with peanut butter - approx 9g sugar :(

Supper, 6pm
Beef Hash: diced potatoes, fried with ground beef, onions, green pepper & butter
1 tsp chocolate frozen yogurt

January 23

Oooookay, so I took my measurements this morning...

To recap: 6 months ago, they were: Bust: 44, Waist: 39.5, Hips: 41
Today, they are: Bust: 39.5, Waist: 37, Hips 39.5 (I did an extra measurement of my belly at it's largest, around the belly button: 41)

So, I've lost:
4.5 inches from my bust (I knew my bras were fitting differently - this is what drastically cutting down nursing sessions will do to you!)
2.5 inches from my waist
1.5 inches from my hips.

That's 8.5 inches total, simply from changing what I eat (and reducing nursing, which is sad) ... awesome!!! It's good to see the numbers, because other than my boobs, I couldn't see a difference after the 13 lb weight loss.

Breakfast, 8am2 cups tea with almond milk
'Cranberry Delight' granola with goat's yogurt & almond milk (yes, and sugar.)

Snack, 10:30
2 pc potato bread, toasted with soy 'butter' spread

Lunch, 11:30
leftover creamy eggplant & rice with pork

Snack, 12:30-2
7 chocolate muffins
1 cup tea with almond milk

Snack, 4pm
Apple

Supper, 6pm
Large bowl of veggie noodles with crushed tomatoes, sautéed onion, celery & mushroom, and goat's feta cheese. Yum! (Rest of the family had spaghetti)
3 more muffins

Snack, 8-midnight
lots of toritilla crackers (homemade by Jay), corn chips, rice crackers, hummus, guacamole, nacho dip (with sour cream & yogurt), herbed goat cheese, homemade salsa
2 gin & sodas
1 soda water with lemon

January 22

Well crap. I snapped and had sugar instead of supper. It was a long day, we were later than usual getting home, I was in a seminar all day and didn't bring enough food with me, I didn't sleep well last night, Elliot was being *special* the whole way home from daycare.... le sigh.


Breakfast, 8am
2 hardboiled eggs
1 apple
Tea with almond milk

Snack, 10am
Goat yogurt with blueberries
1 ryvita cracker with almond butter
6 rice crackers

Lunch, 12:30
1/2 serving Greek Chickpea salad
1 ryvita cracker with almond butter
1 bag Corn Twists

Snack, 3pm
Green tea
2 ryvita crackers with almond butter

Sugar-binge, 5:30
1/2 cup raisins (approx 48g sugar)
2 oatmeal raisin cookies (14g sugar)
1/3 box mini ritz bits with cheese (approx 15g sugar)

Supper, 6pm
1/2 serving Greek Chickpea salad with a side of roast pork

January 21

Breakfast, 9:30
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 ryvita cracker with almond butter

Lunch, 12pm
New York Fries' poutine - mmmmmmm - forbidden deliciousness. (Fries, cheese curds, gravy.) Only 3 g sugar, but 950 cal, 50g fat, 1320mg sodium, 25g protein.
Chai tea with soy milk

Snack, 2-4pm
2 cups tea with soy milk
3 ryvita crackers
1 apple

Supper, 5:30
Amy's Organics' vegetarian chili
Potato bread with organic soy buttery spread


Man oh man did I ever walk today! I went 30 minutes in one direction to get my blood work done (took 3 tries before she found a vein willing to spill), then back-tracked 15 minutes to the mall where I shopped for 2 hours, then walked home (15 min) to drop everything off before heading out 30 minutes in another direction to another appointment. Then 30 minutes in yet another direction, then 15 minutes to home again. Exhaustive! And wowee - 12.1 kms, not including all the walking around the mall!!! Whew!

(Point D is also A = home.)

January 20th

Yes, peeps, once again I changed the design of my blog. Got to keep you on your toes! I like the feel of this design, but I'm not 100% sold on it just yet. Close, but not quite. Anyhoo.... I spoke with my doctor this morning (and had a lovely pap done, thank you very much) and was asking her what she thought of my current diet. She said she didn't feel there was a lot of science behind it, but if it was making me feel better then that was a good thing. I reassured her that this wasn't a permanent diet change for me. She counseled me on the rations of fat/carbs/proteins in a full and healthy diet.

I asked, and she agreed, to send me for a full blood work up. So I'll head out tomorrow morning (have to fast first. Fun times!) They're testing the usual suspects, including thyroid, cholesterol, calcium, iron and a variety of other vitamins. I think I get to pee in a cup, too!

Morning weight, unclothed: 156 lbs (+1)

Jay, my clever husband, asked if we were having kidneys for breakfast.

Breakfast, 7:3o am
2 pink pancakes
Tea with almond milk

Pink Pancakes
Modified from original buckwheat pancake recipe here.)

1 ripe banana, mashed
1.5 cups buckwheat flour
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup cooked & pureed beets
1 tsp pure maple syrup
dash of salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
almond milk as needed (at least 1/2 cup)

Blend all ingredients together in a bowl, adding liquid to desired consistency. Cook in a frying pan. Yum yum!

Snack, 11am
Starbucks green tea
Miso soup

Lunch, 1pm
Spicy tuna roll (unknown sugar in spicy sauce)
Veggie roll (avocado & cucumber)
2 side salads (lettuce, tomato, celery, corn and ginger dressing - unknown sugar in dressing.)

Snack, 2pm
Starbucks chai tea with soy milk

Snack, 4:30
1 pink pancake
Handful of chickpeas

Supper, 6pm
Creamy Creole Eggplant Bake

Creamy Creole Eggplant Bake
Liberally modified from Diet Dessert & Dogs' recipe ~ Thanks!!

1 small eggplant, peeled and chopped

2 Tbsp Braggs soy sauce

2 Tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil

2 tsp 3 Onion Dip spice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and then cut into chunks

Several shakes each: (dried) parsley, thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, onion and garlic powder, basil, oregano (then added more to taste)

1 cup (120 ml) cooked chickpeas (about 1/2 cup dry)

300g soft tofu

1/2 cup (120 ml) unsweetened almond milk

2.5 cups uncooked basamati rice

I prepared the rice in the rice cooker while I prepared the rest of the sauce.

In a large frying pan or wok, heat the oil over medium heat and add the eggplant, garlic and Braggs. Once the eggplant softens and absorbs the Braggs, add zucchini and continue to cook until the zucchini starts to soften. Add spices, mix well, then add the chickpeas.

In a high speed blender, combine the tofu and almond milk. Blend smooth then pour into the fry pan and stir to coat.

For a quick meal: Ladle warm sauce over the rice and serve, topping with fresh parsley if you want.

For a Casserole: Preheat oven to 35o F. Add rice to sauce and stir to coat everything. Pour into a casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, until the top begins to brown. Serve and enjoy!

I think next time I'll try with pasta - the rice got a bit soft, not quite mushy, but too close for my liking.

January 19

Breakfast, 8am
tea with almond milk
'Cranberry Delight' granola with goat's yogurt & almond milk. No dairy or wheat, but some sugar. Mostly in the form of currants and cranberries. Delish!


Snack, 11am
rest of yesterday's large bag of chips

Lunch, 12:45
Bowl of Amy's Organic minestrone soup
Chocolate mug cake

I couldn't take it anymore. I needed a 'sweet' fix. With the oven out of commission, I haven't been baking. And I was jonesing something awful. So I decided to try to customize an old stand-by: the microwave cake in a mug. VERY pleased with the results. Of course, as soon as I hauled everything out, the repair man arrived. Oh well - I was determined!

5 Minute Chocolate mug cake

1 large coffee mug (Microwave Safe)
4 tablespoons spelt flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons cocoa
pinch of baking powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons almond milk
3 tablespoons oil
A small splash of vanilla extract
1/4 cup frozen cranberries

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the vanilla extract and cranberries and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake may rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT !

(See original recipe here.)

Snack, 2pm
Blue corn chips
Peppermint tea

Supper, 5:30
Sweet Potato burrito, filling baked in a dish, minus the tortilla wrap, with 1 tsp sour cream
1/4 each red & green pepper
2 stalks celery
1 tsp chocolate frozen yogurt

Sweet Potato Burritos

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1-2 tsp minced garlic
* 2 cans kidney beans
* 2 cups water
* 3 tablespoons chili powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 4 teaspoons prepared mustard (optional)
* 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce (optional)
* 4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (I use 2-3 potatoes)
* 12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed (tonight I used 8, and put the rest in a small casserole dish)
* 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (I estimate, and usually add a lot!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
3. Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.

Serve these with sour cream and salsa.

In re-reading this recipe, I see that tonight I forgot the water. And could have used more cumin. Still turned out delicious!

January 18

Pretty bland blog today, folks. I forgot to write everything down so am going by memory. Which has been spotty lately. Hopefully I haven't missed anything. ... Oh yes, have I mentioned my horrible gas? Something I've been eating lately is not agreeing with my digestive system. I've been looking over the past week and have narrowed it down to the lentils in the Rockin' Moroccan stew, the potato bread, the pumpkin muffins (which tasted a bit different than normal) or all the extra coffee I've been drinking. So I'm going to try cutting things out to see what happens.

Breakfast, 7:30am
tea with almond milk (Day 1 = no coffee.)
oatmeal with apples/cinnamon
4 pc potato bread with margarine & almond butter

Snack, 11
most of a large bag of potato chips

Lunch, 12:30
1.5 hamburgers (no buns)
leftover sweet potato fries
1/4 avocado

Snack, 3pm
handful of raisins, mini-ritz crackers & cheese (oops!)

Supper, 5:30pm
Greek Chickpea salad with add red & green pepper, omitted feta cheese
decaf green tea with almond milk

January 17th

Breakfast, 9:30
lg coffee with almond milk
oatmeal with apples/cinnamon/almond milk
pumpkin muffin

Snack, 11:30
4 small pc toasted potato bread with almond butter
pumpkin muffin
apple

Lunch, 2pm
last of the Rockin' Moroccan stew

Snack, 4pm
1/4 bag of organic corn puffs

Supper, 6pm
Swiss Chalet chicken noodle soup
Chopped salad: garden salad with sliced chicken & sunflower seeds & feta
grapefruit
bite of apple pie

January 16th

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. The layout/design of my blog has changed several times over the last few days. I'm just trying to hit upon a proper fit. I like the colours and layout of this design, but it feels kinda bland to me. So keep checking back to see what new looks I come up with. Oh, and to read the recipes too, of course!

Breakfast, 7am
lg coffee with almond milk
4 almond coconut cookies
oatmeal with apples/cinnamon/almond milk
Snack, 11am
Pumpkin muffin
Starbucks' tall coffee with soy milk

Lunch? 12:30-1:30
1/4 loaf of gluten/dairy/yeast/sugar free potato bread with margarine. (Unfortunately, this bread has issues rising without sugar - needs the chemical change brought out by the sugar - and as such, there was a very yummy crust all around the loaf, but it was pretty well hollow inside. The rest of the dough had formed a dense brick along the bottom. Tasty - but not toasty, sadly. So Jen from GFG tells me they probably can't custom make this bread for me anymore. Insert sad face here.)
Rockin' Moroccan Stew, with some rice

Supper, 5:30
1 cup tea with almond milk
Naked salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red cabbage)
1 hamburger, no bun
Sweet potato fries
1/4 mashed avocado

Snack, 7:30
One more pumpkin muffin

Snack, 9:30
More potato bread with margarine

And sad news to report. I won't be baking anything in my oven for a few days. We had ourselves a bit of a light show tonight And since I didn't bake anything today, I have no pictures, either! Boooooo!!!!

But another reason to keep tuned.... remember back when I posted my measurements? Hmmm, wait a second - I bet you can't because I don't think I ever did!!!! (psssst: 44, 39.5, 41 - freakin' rectangle!) Well, I'm gonna do it. Soon. Eep! Anyone else biting their nails along with me??

January 15

I've started yet another blog! I wanted a place to house all my recipes, so I could refer back to them quickly and easily while blogging, since many of my foods repeat themselves. Right now, it's a bit of a mishmash, but as I cycle through our weekly meal plans, I'll be posting more info and photos.

Breakfast, 7am
lg coffee with almond milk
steel cut oatmeal with chopped apples, cinnamon & almond milk

Snack, 10:30
3 ryvita crackers
decaf coffee with soy milk
'Breakfast biscuit' - egg & bready concoction from Perks. No idea on volume of dairy/sugar/wheat content

Lunch, 2pm
Rockin' Moroccan Stew

Snack, 3pm
1/2 apple
2 tsp almond butter

Snack, 4pm
oatmeal with apple/cinnamon/almond milk

Supper, 6pm
1 scrambled egg with almond milk

Snack, 6:30-8
9 cookies (EEP!) - I made up a recipe and was VERY pleased with the results!

Almond Coconut cookies

1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup oats
1 1/4 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup almond milk, approx

Mix first 5 ingredients in bowl. Add flour, oats and coconut. Mix well, adding milk slowly until desired consistency is reached. Drop by spoon onto prepared baking sheet. (I prefer a parchment lined sheet). Bake at 325 for approx 25 minutes. Cookies will be slightly crisp on the outside and chewy inside.

January 14th

First off - oh my FRACK! I stepped on the scale this morning, and I still don't quite believe the number: 155 lbs. Unclothed. That's a 5 lb loss in a WEEK! Granted, last week had extra water retention happening due to PMS or the moon shifting into Venus or something, and I was clothed when I weighed myself, but still.... I'm in shock. Now, imagine what that number would be if I were actually working out??? Get on it, girl!


Breakfast, 7:30
lg coffee with almond milk
pumpkin muffin
gluten & sugar free granola with almond milk

Snack, 10
several handfuls sunflower seeds
1/2 apple

Lunch, 11:30
Left over chicken & rice
2 pc spelt toast margarine & goat cheese

Snack, 2pm
4 pc ryvita crackers with almond butter
chocolate hazelnut tea with almond milk

Supper, 5:30
2 servings Rockin' Moroccan Stew with rice and added lentils
lots and lots of blueberry cobbler

Rockin' Moroccan Stew

2Tsp Olive Oil
1 Cup chopped onions
1/2 Cup each: diced celery and chopped green bell pepper
1 Clove garlic, minced
3 cups of vegetable broth
3 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
1 Can (19oz) tomatoes, drained and cut up
1 Can (19oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tsp grated ginger root
1 tsp each ground cumin, curry powder, ground coriander and chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup raisins *optional (I never add them - they swell up like bugs.)
2 tbsp each: light peanut butter and chopped fresh cilantro *optional (I often omit these.)

Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, green-pepper and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 mins. Add all remaining ingredients, except raisins, peanut butter and cilantro. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 20mins. Stir in raisins, peanut butter and cilantro. Mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot. Yummy over basamati rice.

January 13th

Breakfast, 7:30
4 pc spelt toast with margarine
lg coffee with almond milk

Snack, 10am
Pumpkin muffin

Lunch, 11:30
Rest of last night's mock-lasagna

Snack, 1pm
lg coffee with some almond milk and some regular milk

Snack, 3pm
3 ryvita crackers with goat's cheese
pumpkin muffin

Snack, 5pm
pumpkin muffin

Nothing fancy about tonight's supper, folks. I knew tonight was going to be busy, so before I left this morning, I fried up some chicken, using Braggs soy sauce and some Thai spice, then put some basamati rice and baby carrots in the rice steamer. When I got home, I tossed everything back into a frying pan with more soy sauce. It was very tasty! I drizzled the boys' with a bit of Greek salad dressing, but it was perfect on it's own.


I paired it with a side salad. The fanciest thing about this dish was the salad dressing. I made a simple lemon and oil mixture: about 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 TBSP oil, and a pinch of Lemon Dill spice.


I topped everything off with fresh guacamole & blue corn chips: 1 avocado and 1/2 tsp chopped garlic, mashed together with a fork. This is one of Elliot's favourite snacks!

Supper 5:30
Chicken with rice & carrots
Salad with lemon dressing
1-avocado guacamole & corn chips