NOT SO YUMMY NOODLES

NOT SO YUMMY NOODLES

Have you heard of Shirataki Noodles? Dr. Oz talks about them a lot and highly recommends them and so does Hungry Girl. They are super low in calories and they have fiber and protein. I had been wanting to try them, but of course couldn't find them in our town, so on a recent trip to Natural Grocers in Norman, I picked up 2 bags. I used Hungry Girl's recipe, which I have used basically the same recipe with whole wheat or whole grain noodles and we all loved it. However, there will be no more Shirataki Noodles in the Newton house. They were disgusting! They don't have a flavor, so it wasn't that they tasted bad. But, the texture is like rubber. It was so disgusting that I thought I was going to be sick. Kevin has been so good to let me try all these new health foods on him, but he said he doesn't want those noodles ever again.

My mission is to prepare foods that nourish my family's bodies. In order for my boys to actually eat foods that nourish their bodies, they have to taste good. So on this journey, we have had some hits and some misses. I have only blogged about the good ones, but thought you might be interested in knowing our thoughts on the not so tasty ones as well. However, you might try them and like them. We also don't like octopus and calamari, which have that rubbery texture. If you enjoy those types of foods, you may love Shirataki Noodles. So, here is Hungry Girl's recipe just in case you want to try it. If you do, please tell me how your family liked it. For me, the greatest thing about the internet is sharing with others. Have a blessed day and weekend.

REMEMBER - EAT TO LIVE, DON'T LIVE TO EAT  

Shrimptastic Fettuccine Hungry Girlfredo

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 210 calories, 5g fat, 550mg sodium, 13g carbs, 5g fiber, 2.5g sugars, 24.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 5*

Ingredients:
1 bag House Foods Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine Shaped Noodle Substitute (found with the tofu and refrigerated Asian products)
1 tsp. reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese
1 cup chopped spinach leaves
1/2 cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed
3 oz. frozen ready-to-eat medium shrimp, thawed
2 tsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping
Optional seasonings: salt, black pepper

Directions:
Use a strainer to rinse and drain noodles. Thoroughly pat dry. Roughly cut noodles.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add noodles, sour cream, garlic, and cheese wedge, breaking the wedge into pieces. Cook and stir until cheese has melted, mixed with sour cream, and coated noodles.

Stir in all remaining ingredients. Cook and stir until spinach has wilted and dish is hot, 2 - 3 minutes. Eat!

MAKES 1 SERVING

EASY CHEESY BROWN RICE WITH FLAXSEED

The Belly Busting Soup did it's job. I lost 3 pounds in 4 days and my entire body was noticeably less puffy. I think the soup is a great cleanser for one thing and would be good if you wanted to drop a few pounds quickly & healthfully before an event or big weekend.

I came up with this rice dish last week and thought it was pretty good. I served it with baked pork chops. The guys ate it all & never said a word. Trying to sneak that Flaxseed in as much I can and the brown rice covered it up perfectly. They had no idea they were eating heart healthy Omega 3's, plus the fiber from the brown rice.

A LITTLE NOTE ABOUT FLAXSEED - Flaxseed is loaded with Omega 3's which makes it a superfood for your heart. Omega 3's are anti inflammatory, lowers bad cholesterol, raises good cholesterol and helps your blood to flow better. Flaxseed doesn't really have a taste. It blends in well with other foods. I sprinkle it in oatmeal, on shredded wheat cereal, scrambled eggs, smoothies, etc. I have been trying to sneak it into at least one food everyday. If my picky 16 year old son will eat this rice and not spit it out, you should be able to sneak it in on anybody.  LOL 

FAST & EASY CHEESY BROWN RICE

2 cups brown rice
1 3/4 cup water or chicken broth
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp butter
1 or 2 chopped jalapenos (optional, but nice kick, plus antioxidants) 
1 tsp Basil
2 tsp Garlic Salt
1 tsp pepper (our favorite is McCormick Hot Shot)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 wedges Laughing Cow Garlic Herb cheese
1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
3 tsp Flaxseed

Pour rice & water (or broth) in glass bowl with lid. Microwave covered 12 minutes.

While rice is cooking, melt butter in small skillet.  Add onion & jalapeno.  Saute until tender.

When rice is cooked, add onion & butter to rice. Add remaining ingredients and mix together well.
Microwave covered 5-7 minutes. Mix well again to incorporate melted cheese throughout dish and serve.

This is great as a healthy side dish or you can add shrimp, chicken, pork, etc. and make it a one pot meal. Also great for a meatless meal on it's own.

I hope you enjoy. And Happy Valentine's Day! Jesus is the ultimate Valentine. He paid the ultimate price for us just because He loves us.

Lori

TURKEY SAUSAGE VEGGIE SOUP

My son's wedding is just a little over a month away & I am still not happy with my belly. The rest of my body is looking better, but that belly just refuses to budge! I tried cutting out all breads & grains and all that did was make my blood sugar drop too low and make me dizzy and light headed. Years ago, I tried the Cabbage Soup Diet. I love cabbage, so I actually liked it, but got bored with it after a few days. I have learned that my body needs lots of protein. So, I made up my own version of Cabbage Soup with a little turkey sausage and beans thrown in for protein. I'm hoping that after eating this soup for lunch a few times a week, my belly will be gone... or at least noticeably smaller.

HEALTHY TURKEY SAUSAGE VEGGIE SOUP

1 head cabbage, chopped

1 bag frozen okra

2 cups frozen corn

1 onion, chopped

2 tsps Garlic salt

2 tsps McCormick Hot Shot

2 tsps minced garlic

1-2 jalapenos, chopped (optional)

½ pkg of Turkey Smoked Sausage, chopped

1-2 cans Ranch Style Beans or any beans

2 small or 1 large can All Natural low sodium chicken broth

1-2 cans Rotel tomatoes

1 small can Hunt’s tomato paste

2 – 8 oz cans Hunt’s tomato sauce

In crockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add chicken broth, tomato paste, Rotel tomatoes & tomato sauce. Add water using your cans if you want. It all depends on how much liquid you want.

Add remaining ingredients, place lid on pot & let cook about 30 minutes. Or can turn on low & simmer for a few hours.

NOTE:  This is the basic recipe. You can add to or take away according to your taste. I also like to add chopped zucchini when available. I had about 1 cup of taco meat leftover that needed to be used, so I tossed that in as well.

You can add a bag of whole grain pasta or serve over a bowl of brown rice.

Super healthy & loaded with vitamins, antioxidants, fiber & protein.

*** I SPECIFICALLY USE HUNT’S PRODUCTS BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL NATURAL AND HAVE NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP OR ADDED SUGAR.

Check the labels on the other tomato products & you will see either corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar. Del Monte does have “Organic Tomato sauce”, but it is more expensive than the ones with the corn syrup & sugar in them.

CRAZY BLOOD SUGAR & YUMMY PIZZA

NOTE: I wrote this on 2/1/2012, but apparently forgot to "publish" it.

The wedding is getting close! I am at a standstill with my weightloss and wanted to lose more before the wedding, so the last 2 weeks I have ate NO bread, rice, pasta, etc, even whole grain. I have just been eating meat, veggies, fruit & eggs. I dropped 3.5 pounds, but was feeling pretty shaky & light headed. I took my blood sugar and it was 54. I drank a big glass of 100% Blueberry Pomegranate juice & ate a piece of whole grain toast with All Fruit Jelly, then checked it again & it was 116. So this week, I have been eating whole grain toast for breakfast with my eggs and about every other day I eat tuna on pita bread or whole grain bread. It seems like the only way I can drop pounds is to cut out ALL carbs, but then my blood sugar bottoms out & I know that our bodies need some carbs. It looks like I am not going to be the size I wanted to be for the wedding, but at least I can walk without limping and hopefully won't be passing out.

So, the day my blood sugar bottomed out was last Saturday. We had a wedding that evening & had to get dialysis done early. I can't get very far from Kevin while he is hooked up to the machine. So, I took a shower while he was getting the machine ready because there would not be time for me to shower & get ready after dialysis. I had not had time to go to the grocery store, so the pickings were slim for lunch. I made cheese pizza out of pita bread. It was absolutely YUMMY! 

PITA PIZZA

Organic whole grain pita bread

olive oil

marinara sauce

garlic powder

Italian seasonings

Basil

Provolone cheese

Shredded Italian cheese

Place the pita bread on a cookie sheet. Drizzle pita with olive oil. Spread marinara sauce on pita. Sprinkle garlic powder, Italian seasonings, basil, etc. whatever your favorite herbs are. I tend to go heavy on the garlic & basil. I placed Provolone (oh how I love Provolone) circle slices in the middle of the pita. Sprinkle with shredded Italian cheese. Bake in oven at 450 degrees about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted & gooey. 

You can add any veggies you like or meats, etc.

Beef enchiladas

Today is my 24th wedding anniversary. Where has the time gone? We were so young... and thin back then. It hasn't been perfect, but we have survived. We have gone through job layoffs, his & mine, health crises, bankruptcy, etc. but we have come out stronger, wiser, closer to God and closer to each other. We went to Norman on Saturday and celebrated with friends. Tonight our dear friend, Ricky, will be Kevin's nurse while I cook his anniversary dinner. He has requested beef enchiladas and butterscotch pudding.

So, I thought I would share my beef enchilada recipe with you. It is easy, delicious and filling. I make it all the time for church potlucks, funeral dinners, etc. and everyone always ask for the recipe. I started with the recipe that my Mom used to make, but changed it up to how my family likes it.

BEEF ENCHILADAS

2 pounds ground beef
1 onion (chopped)
1 pkg taco seasoning (we prefer Taco Bell)
1 can refried beans
2 pkgs tortillas (any kind you like)
1 large can Wolf brand chili
2 cans Old El Paso red enchilada sauce
1 can Ro Tel tomatoes
2-3 cups shredded cheese

1)  Add ground beef and onion to skillet, sprinkle liberally with Garlic Salt. Brown beef.
2)  When beef is done, add taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water. Mix thoroughly.
3)  Add refried beans to meat and mix together, you may need to add a little more water.
4)  In a large saucepan over low heat, mix together chili, Ro Tel tomatoes and enchilada sauce.
5)  Take tortilla and dip in chili mixture. Add beef mixture in middle of tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in pan.
6)  Repeat until all of beef mixture is gone.
7)  Pour chili sauce over the top of enchiladas.
8)  Sprinkle cheese over all.
9)  Bake at 350 degrees 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and all is hot & bubbly.

Enjoy! Please let me know how you like them and if you make any changes. I always enjoy changing things up.

Lori

Life is crazy - so adopt some puppies

Did anybody get the number of that bus? Wow! What a busy few days. Friday night watched our niece & some kids from church play basketball. Great kids & very talented. Saturday attended another niece's bridal shower, then took Tiffany to set up her bridal registry. That morning, before the shower, we adopted two 5 week old puppies. We haven't had a puppy in 9 years, so had to get the house set up for the new babies. We only get one day a week off from dialysis, so everything that we do revolves around "will we have time to still do dialysis?" or "is that the day we want to take off this week?".  Dialysis takes a total of about 4 hours. Actual treatment time is between 2 hrs 40 mins to 3 hrs 15 mins, but the set up & take down time is about another hour. We hadn't gone to a basketball game all season, so we decided to take our day off on Friday to go to the game. So, that means we had to still had to do 4 hrs of dialysis Saturday & Sunday no matter what.

Hank & Lucy

Sunday we drove to Durant to help Cole get moved into his & Tiffany's new apartment. Most weeks we only make it to the Sunday morning church service because of dialysis, but since we had to do dialysis that evening, we decided to not go to church Sunday morning, so we could get Cole moved & get back home & get Kevin hooked up. Their apartment is absoutely adorable! I am so happy for them. They got a loft apartment in downtown Durant over one of the businesses. How they got that apartment is a story in itself. Basically, God gave them favor in a big way. We are still in awe of how it all came about. God is faithful. The only thing is that the stairs are extremely steep, but I managed. This time last year, I would not have been able to climb those stairs. Praise God! I made it up & down them twice. I mainly worked on his laundry & getting things set up while Cole & Kevin moved in the furniture & boxes.



Hank



Lucy



We took the puppies, Hank & Lucy, to Durant with us. They did great! They whimpered a little, but not too bad. They are 1/2 Australian Shepard and 1/2 Heeler. They are a lot of work right now, but it will be worth it. Having puppies is like having a baby. Some people don't take being a pet owner seriously, which really upsets me. A pet, especially dogs, will be a loyal loving companion if you just take care of it & spend time with it.



Slick



Our 19 year old dachsund, Slick, does NOT like Hank & Lucy at all. She is a dog snob anyway, but she definitely wants no part of these puppies. They laid on her favorite blanket and now she refuses to have anything to do with the blanket and I think she is mad at us for letting the puppies lay on her blanket.

Life is crazy. Life is hectic. Life is stressful. But, my family, my wonderful friends and my dogs make it all worthwhile.





Turnips - God's food vs. Man-made "food"

A co-worker plants turnips on his land for the deer. Deer season is over, so he brought me turnips that the deer didn't eat. I got so excited pulling them out of the sack. They were fresh out of the ground and dirty.

They smelled fresh & dirty. I used to would not touch food that had dirt on it,  but now I cherish it. It reminds me that it is food that God made. The food that God put on the earth to nourish our bodies. It took me over 45 years to realize that the more of God's food that we eat, the healthier we are and the better we feel. It makes sense, because God created our bodies and He created the food that we need to keep our bodies healthy. Man-made "food" destroys our bodies. It really is as simple as that. So these days if I don't get all the dirt washed off my veggies and fruits, I don't panic. (Unless purchased in grocery store, then I make sure I wash extra extra good because they are probably full of pesticides.) I am so blessed to have friends that have beautiful gardens & share with me. I also try to buy organic when I can at the store.

I sliced up those gorgeous turnips, drizzled olive oil all over them & sprinled with salt & pepper & roasted in the oven at 450 for 30 minutes. So satisfying & delicious.

You just don't get that kind of satisfaction from a fast food place or a box. Wishing you all a happy, healthy & prosperous 2012.

Lori