Food Revolution Perfect Pot Roast

February 7th, 2012 No Comments Tags: ,

I don’t know why I’ve never made a pot roast before. There isn’t a lot of prep to do while your oven does all of the work. A perfect dish for my wants and needs AND it tastes delish with leftovers to spare for the looming busy week. What’s not to love!!

Ingredients
3-4 pound beef pot roast (i.e. blade, cross rib, top/bottom blade, shoulder, brisket)
season with salt and pepper
1-2 cups red wine
1-2 cups chopped onion, celery, carrot, garlic

Finish with
3-4 cups prepared vegetable chunks (i.e. mushrooms, green beans, potatoes, parsnips, squash, carrots)

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Pat the roast dry and season all over. In a heavy deep pot with a tight fitting lid, add oil to the bottom and heat on medium high and brown the roast, searing on all sides for 8-10 minutes turning often with tongs.

Remove the seared roast to a dish and turn the element down to medium. Add the chopped vegetables to the hot oil and cook until lightly browned. Stir in 1/4 cup red wine, scraping the browned bits from the bottom, then stir in the remainder of the wine and return roast to the pot and cover with the lid. Turn off your element and put the pot in the preheated oven for 2 hours maintaining a constant simmer, topping up liquid if the pot looks dry.

Turn roast over and scatter the 3-4 cups of prepared vegetables in the pan and cook for an additional 45-60 minutes, until the veggies and meat are fork tender. Remove the roast and veggies to a platter and strain the sauce and return it to the pot.

Taste the sauce and if the flavour is weak, simmer vigorously to reduce. Season to taste.

Commentary
I love trying out a new recipe that takes so little time to prepare yet tastes terrific. I felt like I earned a hero sandwich and had enough leftovers to make one the following day!!

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Posted in Food Revolution Recipes |

 
 

Act of Contraction

February 6th, 2012 No Comments Tags: , , , ,

Ooooo I got up out of bed and felt it. Ahhhh I walked up the subway stairs and felt it. Eeeee I reached to the top shelf in the cupboard and felt it. Iiiiii I stretched my shoulders back and felt it. Yes, I’m feeling those muscles strrrrrrretch and strrrrrrrengthen that I’ve neglected for some time that I made a confession about on last week.

I talked about only needing a mere 7 minutes or so to sneak in my basic mat routine. Yes, 7 measley minutes, that’s all. It didn’t involve a costly membership to Gold’s Gym, any new equipment, an appointment with a personal trainer. No sir-ee, just a wake-up call between me and my conscience and, well Dr. Oz and eventually I won!

The day I made that post my conscience started niggling at me. Yes, you T & T, preaching your face off, while sitting idle while watching Idol. “Come on girl, step away from the easy chair and practice what you preach,” is what went through my mind that evening.

Truth be told I was in my flying pig jams and figured, “ok, you win” and got into the upright position:

  • A stretch to the left and right, over and over again, it felt oooooh so good.
  • Then with my slippered feet shoulder-width apart, bend and stretch touching alternate toes. Hey this is easy, I actually touched them.
  • Grabbed the weights and the dust blew off and got into that routine. Oooo clearly it wasn’t quite as easy to make all of the repetitions, but I did all I could on that day 1, yet again.
  • Getting into this groove now I sat on the mat with feet apart and stretched some more – to the left, then to the right again and again.
  • Then over I went to do bent knee push ups – I can feel muscles in my arms, back, tummy and more being woken up from their winter sleep.
  • Then over again doing ab crunches reps. In no time 7 minutes were up. Only a few bad songs and a few more bad commercials played, and I did it. Yes, back on track with my mat routine. It wasn’t that bad. In fact it felt good. Seven minutes, who doesn’t have 7 minutes? No one, that’s who!!

This act of muscle contraction is working for me, yes from this day forward.

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Posted in Miss Behavin', Nutrition News, Who's Zoomin' Who?? |

 
 

An Idle Mind…..

February 5th, 2012 No Comments Tags: , , , ,

I don’t know what’s worse, being overly busy or having too much free time leaving your mind a-wandering, hmmmmm. My schedule and routine have been clipping along at a good pace lately, working full and fulfilling workdays and decompressing with free time to recharge my battery to jump right in the next week on weekends. This following my few month hiatus being in semi retirement mode of sorts. I’ve experienced both worlds and am glad I am moving in the direction along a productive path.

I started off this first part of the year purging both physical and mental baggage, feeling more and more peaceful outing each bag full. The peace has given me time to garner a deeper meaning about what’s important. And any free time has been used to channel my thoughts to work out those important things needing extra pondering, double hmmmmm.

It’s been a rewarding time in a positive direction – thinking about a family reunion in earnest, planning a family vacation celebrating more significant milestones plus how to get this dang manuscript of mine finished and more. It’s true, give a task to a busy person because they’re more productive to get things done and do it right. When you’re sitting in neutral rehashing old thoughts, focusing in on everybody else’s business all you create is a whole lotta nothin’.

If you have free time, get busy. There are books to read; people to help; recipes to perfect; problems to solve. The sky’s the limit really. There is no time for boredom. After all, you know what they say about an idle mind: it’s the playground of the devil. Yes indeed.

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Posted in Edit-Storial By A Foodie |

 
 

Take a Jump from the Winter Slump

February 2nd, 2012 No Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

As the winter slides full force you don’t want your eating efforts to. With the passing of January you can almost see spring from the mountain top. Don’t lose heart, lose the bad attitude!! Here’s a refresher on a few tips to take heed.

Breakfast Bonzai – Don’t be a Butt-Head and skip this golden opportunity to start the day off right. Do have breakfast every single day.

Lunch & Munch – Lead, don’t follow and bring a lunch to work. You’ll eat well and save money for a rainy day.

Surge to Purge – What’s lurking behind your milk carton?? Have you looked lately? If you haven’t already done so, out with the old and in with the new. Clean out your fridge and pantry of the expired and fuzzy foodstuffs plus the junk you have on hand “for visitors”. This is my kind of cleanse.

Make a List & Stick to It – Get in the habit of making and using grocery lists chocked full of positive eating opportunities to guide your shopping and weekly healthy eating. Say “ni” to the mountain high specials of junk food. Didn’t you just chuck it out anyways?? How much money are you saving binging on that stuff?? NOT MUCH, that’s what!!

Saving & Misbehaving – Don’t skip any meals because you think you’re gonna save calories. Eating all of your meal is your insurance your metabolism won’t waver thinking you’re going into starvation mode. A regular meal pattern is your friend. Don’t forget it!!

Family Affair – Get the family in on the plan. Have them add to the weekly list, make suggestions, help with the shopping, label reading, food preparation and even the clean up.

Clue in the to Cues – Check in on the hunger and satiety cues regularly. Cluing in can help you scale back if you’ve been overdoing it.

Pre-Dinner Noshing – Get in the habit of curbing your dinner appetite with a piece of fruit and glass of water either at that 4pm witches hour or 30 minutes before dinner.

Flexi-Plan – Go meatless now and then and join the flexitarian revolution. Old traditions die hard, but it’s easy to fill that protein void with diary dishes, eggs and nutty snacks.

Drink Klink – Have fewer calorie laden bevy’s and aim to scale back on the alcoholic ones.

Waistband Wanna-Be – If you wanna waist by spring ditch the elasticized waistbands now! Funny what you can hide under a cable knit sweater. Who are you fooling? Nobody, that’s who…..and sadly, only yourself….

Movement Movement - You are not a hibernating bear, so get outside and play. Start a movement movement and don’t stop until I say so…..

Ok folks, it never hurts to have a mini refresher from the stuff we already know. Do a spot check on your routine and see what you can do to tighten the screws. We’re all in this together after all right, Through Thick and Thin!!

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Posted in Eating Vortex, Foodie Fundamentals, Miss Behavin' |

 
 

Time and Muscle Tussle

February 1st, 2012 No Comments Tags: , , , , ,

I’ve fallen off my mat routine wagon lately….. yet again. Yes the only sit up I’ve been doing lately is getting out of bed in the morning. Since starting 2 half time jobs in December I went from having “free time all the time”, to wondering what free time actually is. Good grief.

Now anyone who follows T & T has heard about my mat routine. It’s my simple toning sequence of stretches, arm weights, ab crunches and push ups that takes no more than 7 minutes to do. It would seem my resolve has gone soft along with my abs.

Oh the ebb and flow of a routine change. Even though I’ve been stretched I know I must have a measly 7 minutes to spare to GET stretched. Who doesn’t??

A groundswell of guilt has been mounting as I brush the dust off my dumb bells now and then, hmmmm. What’s really dumb is not using them, what gives?!

I picked up the February O Mag where Dr. Oz is smiling widely, giving a reminder about the importance of using your muscles and getting going. I know, I know for I’ve written about it. But knowing isn’t always doing, is it? And I’m guilty as charged.

Ok Memet, I promise thee to begin with this today. No excuses. Thanks for the reminder!!

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Posted in Miss Behavin', Nutrition News |

 
 

I’m Down for More Brown

January 30th, 2012 No Comments Tags: , , ,

I love a reminder of why we should get outside and play in the dead of winter: our brown fat gets kindling. I just read about a study published finding that one type of it gets turned on when people get cold, sucking fat from the body to fuel itself. Oh Mother Nature, how I love thee and your wonders!

One study showed that brown fat can burn ordinary fat. In fact “…when the cells run out of their own small repositories of fat, they suck fat out of the rest of the body.” Subjects in a study were put in a cold environment, not to the point of shivering. Their metabolic rates increased by 80% and kept the subjects warm.

In another study looking at a different type of brown fat found that exercise can make it appear, by turning ordinary white fat brown. Well sign me up to that plan, put me down for more brown. Makes me appreciate winter just a little more after reading that!

I would deduce then that exercising outside on a cold winter’s day could be a double whammy of sorts to burn baby burn. Despite the fact that amounts of brown fat vary widely among individuals and occurs minimally in obese individuals matters less knowing the joy a jaunt out in a winter wonderland can bring.

An other good reason to get out side and play!

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Posted in Miss Behavin', Nutrition News, Successful Loser Logic |

 
 

UNdisposable

January 29th, 2012 3 Comments Tags: , ,

I was riding on the subway the other day and stood in front of a woman sitting crocheting. It got me thinking, hmmmmm. My eyes smiled as I watched her maneuver the windy needle and wool from her purse, as she sat lodged between others in transit. Was it a sweater she was creating? What was the pattern? Who was it for? Was it a Valentine’s gift perhaps? I looked away as she noticed me watching attentively.

My thoughts wandered to the past of my Grandma who used to crochet and knit. I remember leaning in her lap, looking up at her asking “Grandma will you crochet me a vest?” Our Matriarch with a multitude of grandchildren, and there I was opening the door to that slippery slope of an avalanche of requests. She never said “no”. I don’t believe that word was even in her vocabulary….well until some of my younger cousins came around :-)

Then my thoughts waned to the notion of how disposable everything is these days – from sweaters, to computers, to mobile phones, to TV sets, to shoes, to home furnishings, to jeans, to business suits, even relationships. Just because something is made in a far-away place doesn’t mean it’s any less special. For instance before Christmas my neighbourhood held a Christmas Caravan collecting nonperishable’s, gently used clothes and house wares for those in need. I went through drawers and closets and cupboards in every room of the house and gave away reams of stuff. And yes there was at least 1 sweater. And a crocheted one at that.

It made me mindful about the importance of being mindful about my stuff; about respecting it, treasuring it and treating it right. It got me thinking to change that “disposable” mindset on its head for people, places and things.

Enjoy the photo of my beloved Grandma – Katie, or as we would sing “Ka ka ka Katie”!. It would have been her birthday today  - Happy Birthday Gram xoxoxo

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Posted in Edit-Storial By A Foodie |

 
 

Food Revolution Arugula Salad

January 25th, 2012 No Comments Tags: , ,

Stuck in a rut making the same great salad day after day? Need a change? Give this green salad with a twist a try and you’ll revitalize your salad course at dinnertime or anytime.

Ingredients
cleaned arugula
white onion sliced thinly
cucumber pared, sliced and quartered
red grapefruit, peeled, skinned and cut in pieces
sliced toasted almonds
dried mango chopped in small pieces
goat’s cheese
salt and pepper to taste
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Instructions
Prepare the ingredients using the amounts to your liking. Add to a salad bowl. Before serving season, add oil, vinegar and seasoning, toss and serve.

Commentary
I love changing things up to ward off boredom in the salad bowl. There are certainly a 1,000 ways to make your tossed salad right, that’s for sure!! Give this a try and let me know how it goes!!

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Posted in Food Revolution Recipes |

 
 

Trade-off Turnaround – Alcohol Overhaul

January 24th, 2012 No Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

I have written many times about the bevy’s we drink being food too. Those alcoholic ones put the “happy” in “happy hour”, but the can also put a ring around your trunk if you have too much, not to mention other health side effects.

Protein, carbohydrate and fat, plus alcohol are macronutrients that contain calories. Alcohol has more calories per gram than protein and carbohydrate. Here’s how each add up: protein has 4 calories/gram, carbohydrate also has 4 calories/gram whereas alcohol has 7 calories/gram and fat has 9 calories/gram. Hmmmm, good calorie tidbits to know…..

Staying on the theme of trading off, let’s look at how a few tweaks in your alcohol drink repertoire can help you tip the scale in your favour (plus provide more health benefits to boot) in the long run with this scenario:

  • Let say you drink a 12-pack of beer each week (which adds to your six pack!). Plus, let say you drink 2 glasses of wine each day. All averaged throughout the week.
  • You decide to scale that back in half (to help your six pack return!) for both of your favourite alcohol bevy’s – beer and wine.
  • The beer added 2,196 calories/week while the wine provided 1,260 calories/week. No small number, that’s for sure.Having fewer each week provides 1,098 calories/week of beer and 630 calories/week of wine. Yes a significant calorie savings.
  • The change in having fewer barley sandwiches can result in a 16-pound weight loss in a year! While the change in decreasing your wine-time can result in a 9-pound weight loss in a year! Changing both can add up to a 27 pound weight loss in total in 1 year.

Being more mindful and cutting back when say bottoms up can save you loads of calories, hands down. Not to mention the benefits to your liver and number brain cells saved!!

And what’s even more important, DON’T drink and drive…..

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Posted in Funnies By a Foodie, Miss Behavin', Successful Loser Logic |

 
 

Cherish is the Word…

January 23rd, 2012 No Comments Tags: , , , ,

I’ve been doing some New Year reorganizing around my cave. Funny when you look at your spaces with an objective eye you may notice some accumulation nation and junk piles galore. While thoughts wander to “how did THAT get THERE??” hmmmm.

I decided to follow that Nate Berkus’ old adage to surround yourself with stuff you love. For me, it’s about stuff I love and stuff I cherish. Stuff with meaning.

Indy’s Great Grandfather, named Gido made some wooden farm tools and a storage box eons ago. I decided to get all jiggy with the re-org and put such treasures in places of honour. Funny how an hour spent doing this can bring peace and serenity to a cozy corner. I did the same thing in my den.

The following week I was reaching for a water glass in my cupboard and spied an old tea pot. It read at the bottom “To Danny Love Auntie Nettie, 1960″. While the football playoffs were on I brought it to the family room and found a special nook to showcase it. Ahhhh Indy had a sparkle in his eye as I did more reshuffling of stuff.

As much as I love those redesigning spaces programs, I always find myself dismayed with all of this new stuff. It’s nice to look at, but the spaces are far from being treasured places. Like designing without meaning. So think about what you cherish and find places of honour for them. It’ll be your connection back in time to your ancestors and loved ones.

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Posted in Edit-Storial By A Foodie |

 
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