Well, 'tis a new year full of promising new beginnings! Our family, along with the Milners started the New Year off with a bang at Disneyworld followed with a Caribbean cruise! It was nice to get away after a hectic Christmas. And though, sadly, Colin Firth didn't happen to cross our path - our male flight attendant bore a striking resemblance to him. OK, so not really - it was the hair - he had Colin Firth hair! Even my 14 year old son noticed and commented on it as we debarked the plane!
The day after we got home I came down with a terrible cold, as did the whole surrounding area. The weather here has been unbearabye cold this month - I can't remember a winter in all my 40 years that was ever this cold for so longggggggggggggg. Needless to say, it was hard getting back into the groove. I didn't get to Curves the first week back at all and it showed when I resumed last week. My energy level had bottomed out, but I'm on my way to recovery now! Curves started a new Jillian Michael's workout this month which they run 3 times a day. This is what I happened to walk into my first day back. Let me tell you, it's tough! Basically it is a more intense exercise during the recovery stations and can include planks, squats, jumping jacks etc. I was sore and achy for the next 2 days. Yesterday I tried it again and I really do like it! I think it's just what I need to push my metabolism to the next level as I'm struggling to lose the extra weight. Silly me, I thought I'd lose weight on this cruise like I did on the Mediterranean one in May - but no - in fact, I passed the 140 lb mark. Yikes!! Cruising on the back end of Christmas - not recommended, unless you want to have "thighs the size of tree trunks"! But we did have great times, great food, and memories to last a lifetime - and it just means I need to work extra hard to get back to where I was. I mean, I swam with a dolphin in Cozumel! I tried new foods- oyster, squid, turtle and escargot even! The important lesson here is not to feel defeated and depressed because the scale decided to visit it's past life, because that's all it was - a visit, but to savour those morsels and memories and resolve to fight harder. So scale, it's time to come back home and move forward (or downward depending on how
you look at it!).
And speaking of new foods, I'd like to get back to my alphabetical culinary challenge and cover D, E and F. Some letters are have more abundant selections than others. For "D" week, we have daikon, dandelion, dragon fruit, fresh dates, dill, Dijon mustard and demerera sugar.
The daikon is the elongated white vegetable and tastes like radish. I had never had this before and it was rather tasty. I washed and peeled it and then grated it and served it to everyone just like that - so very simple! Daikon is excellent for aiding digestion and is low calorie, rich in fibre, vitamin C, and potassium.
Dandelion greens - blech!!! I wish I could love them as there are so many health benefits associated with them, but they taste terrible! Perhaps I should try a different method before I give up on them entirely. They are helpful in purifying your blood and lowering blood sugars. Dandelion is also high in fibre and potassium. I just remembered that I tried dandelion ice cream a couple of years ago at an environmental fair in Toronto - and I actually liked it! So maybe that's the way to go! Hmmm...I think it was a pale yellow colour though so maybe it was the flower and not the leaf.
Dragon fruit is just plain fun - the name is fun, it has a pretty colour and surprises you on the inside. When you open it up you will find a white pulp mixed with little black seeds. The fruit is low in cholesterol, high in fibre and vitamin C and therefore a good antioxidant!
I'm sure you have all tried date squares before, and that's likely how you consume your dates. I found fresh dates at the grocery store. They were yellow and attached to a woody vine. Dates are one of the sweetest fruits of all and the high sugar content can lead to tooth decay and weight gain. The benefits however are the high mineral content and antioxidant vitamins that help reduce cancer risk, bone loss, heart disease and anemia.
One of the new recipes I tried was a Mushroom Dill Pasta that I found on Pinterest. The link to the recipe is
http://www.sweetpaulmag.com/food/mushroom-dill-pasta. If you like mushrooms and dill or just want to try something new, it's quite tasty! Dill is high in calcium and fibre and protects against free radicals and carcinogens.
I added the demerera sugar as a healthier alternative to regular refined sugar. Demerera is only partially refined and maintains a natural colour. It differs from brown sugar which attains it's colour from molasses added to white sugar.
Dijon mustard is high in selenium and magnesium which may help prevent cancer and high blood pressure.
Next, we have "E" as in eddoes, eggplant, endives, edamame, eggs. empire apples and escarole. The most unusual item here is the eddoe resembling a potatoe in size and colour but has a rough exterior like the cassava and reminds me of elephant skin with the bristly hairs. Eddoes are to the Caribbean what potatoes are to the Irish. It is a main staple. When googling what to do with them I read that some people may get itchy when peeling them so it was recommended that you put some vegetable oil on your hands first as protection. I peeled them as you would a potatoe and cut them and boiled them for about 20 minutes. The texture of a boiled eddoe is very much like that of the potatoe but as Jacob announced after swallowing a bite - "These are in"Eddoe"ble!". I had to admit that his wit was both clever and amusing to all - although I wouldn't necessarily agree that they were inedible!
Eggplants, otherwise known as aubergines, as my British friend Amanda calls them, are high in fibre and antioxidant nutrients and good for overall heart health. This time I sliced the eggplant into disks and coated them with some panko and make eggplant fries. Alas, my family still has not acquired a taste for them.
Endives have an unusual taste that can take some getting used to. They are high in vitamins and minerals and beneficial to overall heart health. The vitamin E may be beneficial for stalling the onset of Alzheimer's. As my grandmother suffered with Alzheimer's I think I'll be adding more endives in our diet!
I could only find a bag of frozen edamame so I prepared them the same way I would frozen peas. Edamame is rich in antioxidants, protein and fibre.
There is considerable debate over eggs and whether or not they are good for you. I've read that the yolk is where you find the high cholesterol, but it is also where the nutrients are. They are a source of protein, vitamins and potassium. My opinion is that once in awhile eggs are ok - just don't go overboard - and choose eggs that are labelled "free-range" meaning that the chickens are able to roam freely and eat what they choose the way they were meant to before agricultural giants took over and thought bigger was better and more profitable and began stuffing birds into overcrowded coops and proceeded to then stuff them with antibiotics and steroids!
Escarole lettuce shares the same benefits as other green leafy vegetables in the high fibre and nutrient content.
And lastly we have the "F" - flax seed, fennel, frisee lettuce, Fuji apples, filberts, fettuccine and my favourite - figs!!
Flax seed is good for preventing heart disease, lowering cholesterol, minimizing symptoms of menopause, reducing risk of cancer and preventing constipation. I often just add some to applesauce or a smoothie. In "Foods That Harm, Foods That Heal" published by Reader's Digest, a study performed at University of Toronto found that consuming 25-50 mg of flax per day helps to lower blood cholesterol significantly. As I'm reading this again I'm reminding myself to try to have some everyday as I have another diabetic appointment in March!
I've written about fennel before and commented on it's alien-like appearance - a larger replica of another alien-like looking vegetable - kohlrabi! Fennel is great in salads and roasted vegetables. It is full of fibre and beneficial for maintaining blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugars. The seeds can be used in tea to alleviate bloating and flatulence.
Frisee lettuce is a good antioxidant as it is rich in vitamin C.
Filberts, also known as hazelnuts were my favourite nut when I was young. When my parents bought bags of mixed nuts to shell over the holidays, I took all the filberts! You know when a host/hostess puts out a bowl of mixed gumdrops and afterwards all that are left are the boring white and black ones - yup, that's how I always was with my filberts! The black and white gumdrops were the Brazil nuts and walnuts! Nuts provide you with protein and fibre and vitamins. Filberts can increase your good cholesterol and lower the bad cholesterol.
I made a new recipe found on Pinterst - Fettuccine with Bacon, Almonds and Orange which was absolutely delicious! Here is the link
http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/01/fettuccine-with-bacon-and-orange/ . A friend emailed me a recipe for a fennel and apple salad that I paired with it. What a delectable and enjoyable pasta dish it was!!!
This year I have been extolling my love affair, not only to Colin Firth, but to the fig! Figs are so good for you and tasty too! They help prevent heart disease, cancer, and diabetes as they are full of fibre and potassium!
...And we cannot forget fish! Full of omega-3 and protein, it is important to include fish in your diet to help prevent heart disease, stroke, inflammation and memory loss. We usually have fish (primarily salmon) on Wednesday nights.
"F" week happened to fall on the week of Halloween and dinner that night consisted of Freekeh and spiders! The spiders are hot dog wieners with spaghetti noodles poked through and boiled to look like spiders (just something fun I do for the kids on Halloween) and Freekeh is a grain that looks very much like quinoa. I made a salad with it adding cucumber, tomato, basil and lemon juice. Of course if the kids wanted to go out trick-or-treating, they had to eat their spiders and freekeh first! My very tactful daughter Kristen announced rather vehemently that it was 'freekeh'n' gross!! Oh, my little drama queen!!! Amy and James came over and they both tried it - in fact Amy ate lots of it and became my favourite Milner kid that night!
Last, but by no means, least, I've left the best for last! Frog legs!!!
Oh, I had sooo much fun with this one. I kept telling the kids we would be having frog legs for "F" week and they weren't happy about it to say the least. Turns out I couldn't find them when I needed them anyways. But alas, when searching for octopus for "O" week, I discovered some in the frozen fish section. Why didn't I think of that before?? Well, it's because I've been buying fresh fish from the counter and I never go to the frozen food sections anymore. I've had frog legs several times in the past, but it's been probably 18 years or so. I remember the first time John and I spent a weekend in Quebec City and I ordered the frog legs! The great thing about frog legs is they are bendy! So of course I grossed John out by having my frog legs leap and dance across the fancy tableware!
The squeals of disgust and adamant disdain coming from my kids relating to the their pending meal I'd worked so hard to prepare was utterly priceless! It might seem somewhat cruel as to how much pleasure I gained from all of this! I waited with bated breath for Matthew to take his first bite and then asked, "What's wrong Matthew - do you have a frog in your throat?". Guess you had to be there but it turned out to be a pretty comical endeavour! Of course, the meal would not be complete without entertainment, so I had my frog dance an little Irish jig for everyone!
Well, kids, that's payback for telling me that my meals are In"eddoe"ble and "Freekeh"'n Gross!!!
And speaking of "F".....I still need to watch my new "Fever Pitch" movie I got from Santa!
Well folks, I did it! Today is the final day of my 21 day No Junk Food Challenge! I can't begin to tell you how invigorated I feel right now! I just got back from my final workout at Curves before it closes and weighed in at an even 145 lbs! So, since the first time I weighed myself starting the challenge I was up to 150.5 lbs (still cringing about that!), my total loss over the three weeks is 5.5 lbs! I also managed to hit my 300th workout before the closure today!! This just goes to prove that all it takes is WILLPOWER and DETERMINATION!
On Sunday night my daughter wanted to make dinner. In the fall while I was laid up with a broken ankle and John was recuperating from a hernia surgery, she enlisted my mom's help to create her very own thought out concoction which she has aptly named Broken Shepherd's Pie. She really wanted to make it again and was insistent about doing all the chopping by herself! I'm so proud of my little chef! She took care of everything - even setting the table with serviettes and candles! Revelling in the praise bestowed upon her, she suggested that from now on, the three kids should take turns making dinner on Sunday nights! DONE! What a superb idea! So next weekend Jacob decided he'll be making pork chops with carrots and corn. I think it's great! As I've learned myself over the past two years, there is such pleasure derived from creating a lovely meal and watching others enjoy it too. 
Although it was bittersweet leaving Curves today, I am happy about discovering a new little gem within the same plaza that just opened this week. Farmer Jack's Market! I walked in on Monday night to a little produce wonderland of sorts! They sell organic and local produce, but they also make homemade soups and smoothies! I was so impressed that I went back the next day to order a smoothie and a snack mix to take with me today. While I was there I met Felicia, the owner and soup chef! All the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better. Felicia's soups are amazing! I've tried the Potato, Leek and Spinach as well as the Creamy Coconut with Jasmine Rice. I couldn't resist getting a bowl of soup as well. I highly encourage you to visit this place! What a great alternative to caving to the drive-thru beckoning at McDonald's, or other fast food joints! As I type, I am slurping a Blueberry Bliss smoothie (blueberry, banana & spinach) that I picked up right after my workout! There is no guilt after consuming a bowl of healthy soup and/or smoothie! There is no feeling about your choices, making you upset with yourself for making those choices leading you to stress eat
What they ate
