This past weekend we attended a wedding and had a church fellowship meal. These are the times it's tough to choose foods wisely and not give in to temptation. The wedding served brunch items, so I ate vegetable quiche, spinach and strawberry salad and one cinnamon crunch muffin, two lemon poppy seed muffins and a small piece of the wedding cake, which was a delicious triple berry. I didn't think that was too bad, but then my sister-in-law invited us for dinner that evening and I ate one helping of baked ziti (made from a healthy recipe), one buttermilk biscuit with butter and sugar-free apple butter and salad, but then she brought out dessert -- chocolate (one of my biggest weaknesses) brownie marshmallow peanut butter crunch. Yes, I ate a piece. I spent the rest of the night feeling uncomfortable, so I learned a lesson. I should have eaten much less at dinner, probably should've skipped the dessert or at the very least, had only a very small piece.
So, yesterday, Sunday, I strive to do better, fellowship meal or no fellowship meal, and bless whoever brought the Kashi bars and put them on the dessert table. I ate one beef and bean burrito, two small slices of ham, a little cheese ravioli, spinach and strawberry salad, and two Kashi bars (one of each of the two flavors). I was quite happy with myself. Then at home, for dinner, my mother-in-law had sent the left-overs of that chocolate dessert home with us Saturday evening, so I ate a SMALL piece of it with two-and-one-half scoops of Whoppers ice cream and two whole wheat hard pretzels with no salt (not the best choice), but I wasn't uncomfortable, and I knew that today I would be back on track.
I know there will be times when I will cheat, but I also know that I will do my very best to really limit the number of times I cheat and the choices of foods and the portion sizes I cheat on. I have already come to realize that my body feels physically better when I eat wise choices of foods in smaller portions.
Now for a couple of the recipes that I have been enjoying from the Fix-It-and-Forget-It Diabetic cookbook:
Tonight's dinner: Szechwan-style Chicken and Broccoli
2 whole, boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breasts
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 cup picante sauce
2 Tbsps. light soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 cups broccoli florets
1 medium red pepper, cut into pieces
1. Cut meat in 1" cubes and brown lightly in oil in skillet. Place in slow cooker.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Cover. Cook on High 1 - 1 1/2 hours or on Low 2-3 hours.
(I made rice to serve this over.)
Last week one evening for dinner: Chicken and Stuffing
2 1/2 tsp. salt-free chicken bouillon powder
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 - oz. can mushrooms, stems and pieces, drained (I left these out. My family isn't keen on mushrooms.)
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 tsp. rubbed sage (I didn't have rubbed. I had ground sage and used just 1 tsp. of it.)
1 tsp. poultry seasoning (I didn't have this, so I simply omitted it.)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
12 cups day-old bread cubes (1/2 - inch pieces)
2 eggs
10 3/4 - oz. can 98% fat-free, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup
5 cups cubed cooked chicken
1. Combine all ingredients except bread, eggs, soup and chicken in large saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Place bread cubes in large bowl.
3. Combine eggs and soup. Stir into broth mixture until smooth. Pour over bread and toss well.
4. Layer half of stuffing and then half of chicken into very large (6 qt.) slow cooker (or two medium-sized cookers). Repeat layers.
5. Cover. Cook on Low 4 1/2 - 5 hours.
The recipe says this makes 14 - 16 side dish servings, but we used it as a main dish and had a vegetable and some fruit with it.
You may be wondering what I drink with my meals, and I will tell you -- WATER! I drink water all day long and with every meal, except breakfast, where I drink about 6 oz. of 100% grape juice. Sometimes, in the evenings, I will have a cup of tea, but I do drink a lot of water. I have done that for years, so that is not something I needed to teach myself to do for my health. It was one thing I was already doing.
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