French Onion Soup Tartine

Tonight's menu: French Onion Soup Tartine! I found the recipe on the Vegetarian Times website. It's a thickened version of french onion soup, served as an open-faced sandwich on a thick slice of Indian bread, with shredded Gruyere cheese sprinkled over the top and melted to gooey perfection in the broiler! It was supposed to have some pretty caramelized onion slices on the top, but since it's just me, I skipped that step. This was quite an undertaking for me, but soooo worth it! The recipe made enough for 4, so I have enough for yummy leftovers! Thanks for looking!

Vegetarian Pot Pie

I found a recipe for Vegetarian Pot Pie that I couldn't wait to try, and tonight was the night! Easy peasy and really, really good! It used butter for the crust and to saute some of the veggies, so it's not real low in fat. Plus, I wish I would have used wheat flour for half of the flour in the crust. I will make some changes the next time I make it!

Brussel Sprouts ROCK!

Wow, I used a recipe that I found on the internet to make my brussel sprouts, and they are awesome! Even the grandkids liked them! I will share the recipe here...

Sprouts with Sour Cream

Ingredients:
1 pound brussel sprouts, halved
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 TBS butter or margarine
1 1/2 tsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. sour cream

Instructions:
1. Add 1 in. of water and brussels sprouts to a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour, brown sugar, salt and mustard until blended. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; oil for 1 minute. Reduce heat. Stir in sour cream, heat through.
3. Drain the sprouts; place in a serving bowl. Top with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley.

I hope you try this recipe and like it! The creamy sauce is lightly sweet, yet savory from the onion and mustard. Wonderful! I can't wait to try them again!

'Til the next pound down....

A New Food

I will be cooking Brussel Sprouts tomorrow night for the first time ever. I have been looking for recipes on the internet so I will let you know how it turns out! I've never had them before!
'Til the next pound down....

Going Down.....Again

Well, the official stat is: almost 7 pound gain from this spring and early summer. But at the weigh-in this week I lost 1.8 pounds of it! And I still have some summer left! I wanted a re-do of last summer, since I lost most of it to radiculopathy and spine surgery. So I'm going to make the most of the rest of this summer! Anyone want to join me? I'm willing to try almost anything!
'Til the next pound down.....

Ninja

My early birthday present....a ninja! No, not the teenage mutant turtle kind! It's a Ninja Master Prep Professional food prep system! It has pitchers and bowls and cutting blades and lids and a master pod (motor). It can crush, blend, and chop. I wanted something to make my green smoothies (that's another post...and soon, I hope). A Vitamix, which would have been my first choice, was WAAAAAYYY too expensive, so Chuck did the research and found great reviews on the Ninja. ($60 and free shipping from Target.com.) I used it last night with some ice and orange juice to make an orange slushie. Mmmm. (It turns ice into snow.) One recipe calls for orange juice and yogurt to make a creamsicle flavor. Can't wait to try that. But this morning I tried it on my green smoothie. I put in a banana, some frozen strawberries, some protein powder, some ground flax seed, some kale, and water, and it turned out perfect! It's good and filling, so I don't feel like snacking before lunch. Here's to another weapon in my arsenal to help me achieve lasting weight loss! Yay! And thanks to hubby for the early birthday present!
'Til the next pound down.....

July 5

OK, today is the start of the new eating plan! I will not call it a diet, but a lifestyle change. I will be giving my blog address to a few select people who I believe will be a support to me, and whom I can support in return if that is their desire.

My primary eating style will be "nutritarian". It has to be the MOST nutritious thing I can eat. Raw is better than cooked, lean meats only (in small amounts) and NOTHING processed. All of this will be hard, so I may have some setbacks at first, but I know this is the right way for me to eat, and I know it will result in the weight loss that I need and want.

Another thing I will need to do is exercise! I have been fighting some pretty bad pain in my hips, and also my left knee, in addition to my upper back. I believe, inside myself, that eating "nutritarian" will help tremendously in getting rid of the pain, along with losing weight. I'm hoping to see a significant improvement in 6 weeks.

If you're still with me, thank you! I truly need your support and welcome all comments, and will try and answer any questions that you have. I expect to be held accountable, too! Thanks in advance and hugs!