OVERHAUL...

I absolutely love Thanksgiving...it's such a great preview to Christmas - I love spending time with family and of course I LOVE the food (LOVE LOVE LOVE). It's pretty much the only time of year (that and christmas of course) I get super stuffed. Generally speaking, I despise the feeling of being stuffed to the rim - ugh, it just makes me mad. But Thanksgiving and Christmas are great occassions to let my guard down. So now - instead of 30 lbs to lose, I am confident I have 35. *ack* Hence the overhaul.

We were with Brent's family for Saturday (mine for sunday) and EVERYONE was there. It was so fun! Sarah, our newest sister in law is a *mostly* vegetarian, with the exception of fish, which she eats fairly often. Interestingly, she was just at the dr getting some bloodwork done and the dr was BLOWN AWAY at her results. All of her levels were perfect, including her iron which she mentioned she was a little worried about (simply because of being veg). I'm super impressed.

I truly do love to eat healthy...all the fruits and vegetables - I get excited when my house is well stocked. (that being said - I love eating the *crap* too...have you tried the new Angry Whopper from BK?? oh.my.word. soooo good!!!!) So I'm making a change - a major overhaul....My plan is to not only change our portions but to look at what we're eating as well. Fish is not my favorite but I am committed to making and eating it more. It's not something I hate, so truly I can make the decision to eat it. I'm hoping I'll learn to love it. And since Brooklyn discovered last night that she *loves shrimp now* and ate about 1/4 of a shrimp ring, I'm hoping to cook with it more as well. I always use lots of veggies when I make a meal so thankfully that won't be a huge adjustment. And I will likely throw in bits of chicken or beef in some meals for Brent. But for the most part I'd like to eat vegetarian...I'd say about 80%, but for now that might not be accurate. We'll see.

For lunches my plan is:
Veggie Wraps and CousCous Pitas (recipe to come)

For dinners (and as leftover lunches if successful):
Stuffed Pasta Shells, Risotto with mushrooms and dried tomatoes (Sarah's recipe), Potato Salad, Grilled Veggies, Stir Fry, Burrito enchiladas (soo excited to try these), Lentil Soup (it's getting to be that time of year), Harvest Vegetable Soup, Vegetarian Chili, and Cheezy Broccoli Soup.

A lot of these recipes have come from a book I've had for a while but never really jumped into (although wanted to, just never did. I'm soooo excited to try some of these recipes and hopefully have some more to add to my collection. The book is called *Original Fast Foods* and is really rather fascinating. Check out the website HERE to learn more about eating more *natural* foods (ie not processed) and the health benefits from doing so.

Brent and my brother were watching some documentary the other night - it involved a *mcdonald's diet test* and I'm sure I've seen it before...I'm also pretty sure I don't want to see it again. LOL It was SO gross...The *test subject* LOL started eating mcdonald's for EVERY meal. In just FIVE days he gained TEN POUNDS!!! SICK-O-RAMA  Then they showed an animated version of how the chicken nuggets are made/processed....and then showed the ingredients list. OH.MY.WORD. It was about 60 items long....for breaded chicken!!! I don't think we'll be going there for a looooong time *ugh*

So between my usual resolve to do better after spending time with Sarah (I was so excited she brought some recipes for me) and this documentary....I'm pretty pumped to try some new *healthier* recipes. And I'm also finally digging out some recipe books I have on the shelf but haven't really used (Original Fast Foods and Deceptively Delicious).

Brent just left with my long list of groceries - I'm so excited for when he comes back :) We'll see how many of the items he actually buys. hehe

And so - I suppose let's post some recipes :)

Kraft is a beautiful thing!

I went through a phase about 10 years ago of boycotting Kraft....Because they are owned or partially owned by the Tobacco Industry (ie they own a large portions of shares in Kraft). And you know that sounds all nice and activisty and I felt like somehow perhaps I was doing my part. But really...I'm just not that bothered by it (which is probably why the phase only lasted a few months). Do I want to support the Tobacco Industry - well not particularly (not at all actually)...but does Kraft happen to make some really fab products - YOU BETCHA! And you know, they make sooo many products I just found it really overwhelming almost to keep it all straight. And let's face it - I like their stuff. And it's not like Kraft picks and chooses who buys their stocks. It's possible they would prefer it to be a different company/organization as well (although I have nothing to base that on) - but money talks....
So I guess I'll just have to use my efforts to promote and benefit other causes, that for me - at this point take priority. I think when it really comes down to it, so many of these large corporations are tied together somehow....I don't know that we can possibly get it straight. Does that mean it's not worth trying...of course not. But make sure it's something you truly believe in and have researched, not something you choose to do based solely on what you've heard from ONE person. Find a cause that means something to you...for some that will in fact be the boycotting of certain food products and companies.

For me....bring on the Kraft! I love their salad dressings. And while I really prefer to make my own, sometimes it's so nice to have something equally as enjoyable just waiting to be used. No work involved. I love making a hearty salad....full of veggies - celery, carrots, red pepper (I don't like green), mushrooms, green onion, purple/red onion, cucumber, sugar snap peas...and sometimes a chicken breast or leftover steak cut up or slices of lunch meat.

some of my favorite dressings are: Italian (interestingly the Kraft one is healthier than the superstore no name one! I like Golden or Creamy or Zesty), Catalina, Three Cheese Ranch (actually, Brent's favorite), raspberry vinaigrette (I LOVE vinaigrettes), and their Signature collection - Roasted Red Pepper and parmesan, Greek with Feta and Oregano, Creamy PoppySeed, and Sundried Tomato and Oregano. I will say I thoroughly despised their Mandarin Orange with Sesame dressing and ended up tossing the bottle. I was pretty disappointed because I thought for sure I would LOVE it....oh well, can't love it all I guess! :)

**Any in Purple I have used as a marinade for chicken (although fish I have heard is great too)...Any in Blue I am wanting to try and think would be great**

But my new favorite product of theirs is THIS collection:


They only have 4 kinds listed on the website but there are more. I have had the Pesto Parmesan which was really yummy on salad but even better as a chicken marinade. And I have the Fig Balsamic which is good on salad but also a GREAT bread dipper (like oil and balsamic vinegar with pan bread...although Brent wasn't too keen on the flavor, he prefers oil and balsamic vinegar....I'm happy with either). I also want to try the Raspberry Vinaigrette and the Greek Feta.

I can eat salad often - really everyday if I have enough variety. Or make a salad and throw it in a pita or a tortilla shell for a little more variety. I love alternating between homemade and store bought dressings...and the great thing about a pita or a wrap is you need just a small amount of dressing for a big punch of flavour. It's a great way to have a fresh and healthy meal that's filling enough to keep you going between meals! And is particularly delicious (I think anyways) in the summer when you don't want to be cooking anyways!

Kraft actually has some really great recipe ideas on their website....so check it out!

ENJOY! Let me know what your favorites are...how you've used them to cook...or perhaps some recipes you would love to try! You can e-mail me at skitalz@gmail.com with any recipes you have!

This month...

I did end up having Subway twice this week...but I opted for the ever delicious veggie sub (on italian herb and cheese bread - of course!) and only had a 6" instead of my usual footlong. Truly the footlong is too much but I always got it anyways and usually finished it. I'm watching my portion sizes as well as my actual hunger and honestly, taking both into account - a 6" is plenty for a meal for me.

I also made spaghetti - making meatsauce for Brent and the kids, but sauteeing veggies and topping with sauce and parm for myself. I really do prefer it to the meatsauce. I also had some leftover salad and put it in a pita for lunch today with my new favorite spread...(it's really good just on soda crackers too!!). It's healthy and delicious and great in a wrap! You can get it at Costco - it comes in a two pack container for $10. So, split it with a friend....it's a much healthier option to miracle whip/mayonnaise and in my opinion is sooo much better (I also have used garden vegetable and Chive and Onion cream cheese - roasted red pepper and herb and garlic would also probably be great too). Of course I really do love garlic :)

Tzatziki
Of Greek origin, Skotidakis Tzatziki is a yogurt-based sauce seasoned with cucumber and garlic. It can be served as an entrée along with bread or pita bread. Also known as an excellent accompaniment for lamb, roasted pork, seafood and grilled meats, such as kebabs. For a fresh, zesty taste, try it as salad dressing or a vegetable dip. Our Tzatziki is made with probiotic yogurt that contains an active culture Bifidobacterium lactis.

Thanks to my mother in law for passing it along - I love great finds like this!

I will be looking at cooking the following items this month:

BQ soup (not vegetarian), Glorified Hash Browns, Balsamic Pasta, Sloppy Janes (vegetarian version), Vegetarian Chili, Chick pea Curry (Vegetarian), Seitan Fajitas (anyone cooked with Seitan??? I hadn't heard of it until today...), and some others I'm about to search for online :) I'm hoping to branch out and try some new ingredients - wish me luck :D

Check out the following websites for different ideas (vegetarian or otherwise):

http://www.webecoist.com/ (Thanks Radelle for the link), http://www.thebittenword.com/, http://www.allrecipes.com/ (a fave!!!), http://www.easysaladrecipes.com/, and http://www.recipezaar.com/ - oh don't forget www.kraftcanada.com and www.cookingwithphilly.ca

Please let me know of any others that you have stumbled upon or read regularly - you can never have too many resources!

Bon Appetit!