A basic graham cracker pie crust.
Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients 1⁄4 cup graham cracker crumbs (gluten free) 1⁄2 teaspoon golden flax meal 1⁄8 cup almond meal 1 pinch cinnamon 2 teaspoons macadamia nut oil Directions Put the dry ingredients in a mini food processor. Pulse a few times to make coarse crumbs. Then add the first teaspoon of oil. Pulse some more to mix, then test. If the mixture will hold together when you press it with a spoon, it’s done. If it won’t form up, add another teaspoon of oil.
Please note: this one is not gluten free because of the 5-grain tempeh used.
This is my first attempt at making a home-made veggie burger mixture. I used a food processor to make most of it.
Southwest Veggie Burger Servings
6
Ingredients 2 cups black beans,, cooked, well drained 1 package WestSoy 5-Grain Tempeh 1⁄2 lime, juice of
Last night’s dinner was delicious! Sprouts has wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon on sale right now! I marinated the fish in light basalmic vinegar, lime juice, a little olive oil, 1 clove of garlic, minced and cilantro. Then it was grilled.
The Pineapple-Avocado salsa also has red onion, cilantro and 1/2 roasted jalapeno.
The Asparagus and Grape Tomato salad is really simple and the addition of the sesame seeds gives is a little crunch.
Tonight’s dinner was Lamb Burgers on Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Buns. I love these buns! They taste really good, and hold up well to a hefty burger with all the fixings piled on. We have used these same buns for Portabella Burgers and they were great!
The white sauce on top of the burger is home made tzatziki sauce. On the side you see avocado, red onion, tomato, green leaf lettuce, and grilled Mexican grey squash.
I’m still being asked about what I eat every day. In addition, I have been sending pics of many of our meals to friends and relatives. So, I’ve decided to post them here, rather than sending out so many individual messages.
This first post will contain a bunch, so you’ll have to scroll a bit, but after this, I will post them as I take them. I apologize for the quality at times, but the lighting in my kitchen is bad. (Actually it totally sucks! I’m working on it, but it’s expensive to change out that many light bulbs all at once.) Hopefully, the pictures will improve as we go along.
About Chickpeas: Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated. One hundred grams (about 3.5 ounces) of mature boiled chickpeas contains 164 calories, 2.6 grams of fat (of which only 0.27 grams is saturated), 7.6 grams of dietary fiber and 8.9 grams of protein. Chickpeas also provide dietary phosphorus (49–53 mg/100 g), with some sources citing the garbanzo’s content as about the same as yogurt and close to milk.
There are foods that are good for you… And foods that are not (or not AS good!) One of the major things I did was to “swap out” bad for good and, in some cases, good for even better!
My main goal was to feel better. If I lost some weight, that would be great, but initially I just wanted to eat healthier foods. I also wanted to change things in my husband’s diet. I wasn’t aiming specifically for weight loss for him either, but to lower his blood pressure and keep his cholesterol in check. As I sort of figured would happen, we lost weight in addition! So some of the swaps below were for him, and some for me.
We got 6 spaghetti squash, so that was “pre-made”. To cook it, I wash the squash, pierce it with a knife several times, and steam it. It takes about 20 minutes. I take it out and cut it in half to cool for handling, scoop out the seeds, and shred the squash with a fork into a bowl. Toss with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking together. For this dish, I held out about 1-1⁄2 to 2 cups. The rest went in the freezer.
I’ve mentioned Bountiful Baskets a couple of times now. They are a food co-op made up of people like you and me. You can get baskets of fruit and vegetables, either 100% organic or not, it’s up to you. In addition, they offer breads and other specialty items.
There are offerings in 20 different states, mostly in the Western half of the U.S. Not every city in every participating state has deliveries. However, some of the larger cities have multiple pick up points. If there isn’t a location close to you, you may want to start one!
Since people have found out how much weight I’ve lost, I’ve been asked a lot of questions about how I did it. So I’ll answer some of the most frequent ones here.
Q: What diet did you use?
A: None. I didn’t go on a “diet”… I changed my life!
I hate the “D” word! The very idea of a “diet” implies something temporary. Your brain instantly takes on the idea that you are going to deprive yourself until you reach a certain goal. When you hit that goal, you don’t have to do it any more. It doesn’t work.
Have you seen these ? They are a huge hit in our household!
My DH has to take his lunch to work every day. The LunchBlox allow me to pack all kinds of things, such as hummus, chips, yogurt, fruit salad, trail mix, etc.
There are three different basic kits: Sandwich, Salad, and Entrée. There are two different sized Blue Ice blocks and two different sized lunch totes designed to hold them. You can also purchase the various shaped containers and ice blocks individually. The containers are BPA-free and Microwave, Dishwasher, and Freezer Safe.
When I graduated from High School, I weighed 105 pounds. I’m 5'4" tall, so that was probably a bit less than I should have. However, I was active.. I danced a lot, swam a lot, roller skated a lot, walked everywhere (I didn’t have a driver’s license yet!)
Over the years, I’ve gained weight. A LOT of weight. It crept up gradually, almost unnoticed because it was a slow climb.