Surrounded by Treasures: It's NOT a resolution. (complete with recipe recommendation.)

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Tuesday, January 06, 2009

It's NOT a resolution. (complete with recipe recommendation.)

Corny as it is to do this at the turn of the year -- which was not our motivation -- T and I have both decided that it's time to stop shoving our faces full of as much crispy... savory... spicy... delicious... FAT as we can physically manage, and be more sensible. After all, one of us will turn forty this year (and it's not me).

Also, HE SAID I WAS TOO FAT. Now we'll find out how long it is before I'll take off my clothes in any environment other than absolute pitch darkness. (He's right, though. And he did say it more nicely than that. And he used the term "we". He's not mean, just a little too honest.)

This means that now, with the whole Thanksgiving-to-New-Year dietary trainwreck behind us, we have begun to attempt to settle into healthier eating habits for our entire family. We are, in fact, on day three of this mission. Congratulate us! I warned T on Sunday that I would not withstand accusations of being The Bad Guy and would go back to feeding us deep-fried and/or cheese-covered comfort-yumminess, BMIs and heart health be damned, if this whole thing turned into one long whiny complaint about "is this all you made?" or "where's the meat?" There's a lot of strain on the shoulders of the family's commissariat when she is solely responsible for this sort of lifestyle change. In two weeks, when everyone (including Daddy) has forgotten Daddy's pep talks about being healthier and living longer and being able to run farther and jump higher et cetera et cetera et cetera, and Mommy's still cranking out boring grilled chicken and green salad and vegetable soup instead of cheesy, saucy, greasy enchiladas, and juicy cheeseburgers with curly French fries... and crunchy chicken strips with that sinus-clearing punch of buffalo sauce... and crispy-bottomed pizza with extra mozzarella and a little sprinkling of Parmesan on top of the hot red rings of pepperoni...

...where was I?

Oh yes. It's easy to become the big blue meanie, is what I was saying.

So I was glad when everyone liked the soup I made for dinner last night, courtesy of Cooking Light online and an almost uncanny event wherein I had everything in my refrigerator or pantry that was called for in a randomly-located recipe from the Internet. That never happens.

It's called Roasted-Chicken Noodle Soup, and it's much, much heartier than any chicken-noodle soup you ever had before, as evidenced by the fact that my broth-hating husband asked me to make it again. I kept having to remind myself that there was no bacon in it. It's THAT GOOD. I only used half the potatoes called for, and I didn't peel them, and I used a half-cup more condensed milk because that's how big my can of it was, and my chicken wasn't technically leftover since I cooked it with this soup in mind, but otherwise I made it exactly as presented. Excuse me while I go count the minutes until I can eat the leftovers for lunch.

(I should note that we will still have a place for our beloved junk food. Fridays will be something of a cut-loose day -- I'll cook our favorites, although maybe not in the quantities we've been accustomed to [that is to say, quantities that would feed your average family of, say, twelve].)

Posted by Rachel on January 6, 2009 09:52 AM in recipes

Comments

On New Year's Eve I made Italian Pot Pies, a recipe I found on someone's LiveJournal. Very easy - you saute carrots and onions until soft, brown some ground beef, add tomato sauce, dump into ovenproof bowls, and top with a dough that's basically just flour, baking powder and parmesan. (The recipe says to use good Parm, not the stuff in the green can. I used the green can, that being what's available here.) I think it would be reasonably healthy with extra lean ground beef (also not available here, so I just poured off the fat after browning) but there's no reason you couldn't use ground chicken. And the tofu that comes in little bits is actually hard to tell from ground beef, with enough sauce.

The recipe is here

Posted by: Anonymous at January 6, 2009 06:01 PM

The recipe is here

Posted by: dichroic at January 6, 2009 06:02 PM

You are NOT too fat! You are beautiful and gorgeous and funny and talented, and you take awesome pictures!

Life is made up of delicious food. I think it's okay to enjoy it. :-)

Posted by: thicket dweller at January 13, 2009 09:06 AM

Firstly, if T thinks you are fat, than he needs new spex.

Secondly, you are good. I can't imagine ever getting my family to eat *anything* I put before them, particularly if they haven't had it before.

Posted by: Carol at January 13, 2009 01:42 PM

Wow, it sure has been a while since you've updated. :)

I've never tired to post a link before, but this recipe here:

http://www.weight-watcher-recipe.com/salads/bistro-chicken-salad-recipe-weight-watchers-reci/viewlink.html

is truly incredible. My family LOVES it. Not that I think you NEED it, but since you're trying...

Posted by: Susan Wilcox at January 29, 2009 08:38 AM

Wow, it sure has been a while since you've updated. :)

I've never tired to post a link before, but this recipe here:

http://www.weight-watcher-recipe.com/salads/bistro-chicken-salad-recipe-weight-watchers-reci/viewlink.html

is truly incredible. My family LOVES it. Not that I think you NEED it, but since you're trying...

Posted by: Susan Wilcox at January 29, 2009 08:38 AM

Blasted double comments. :)

Posted by: Susan Wilcox at January 29, 2009 08:41 AM

I had no idea there was milk in chicken noodle soup ;-)

I'm glad you are eating healthier. You're gonna have to if you want to live long enough to see the day I have children :-l

I just recently found out that shell fish has more cholesterol than any other meat and that skinless chicken breasts have almost as much as beef (They lie on the packages so that people will actually eat it). This is from a cholesterol class at Kaiser Permanente. That in itself is odd because I was under the impression that Kaiser wants people to die...

Anyhoo - I've learned that milk-based foods are much worse for you than meat...Cheese/ice cream/cream cheese, etc. will make you have a heart attack before a steak will. This coming from the vegetarian. Well, we all know I don't do it for the health.

I'll shut up now.

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