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Monday, July 12, 2010

Day 7: The best part of waking up....is burnt rice?

I should not be permitted near a stove in the morning.  I didn't get around to lunch-making last night because I was too busy destroying Alicia's crispy peanut butter treats recipe, so 6 a.m. found me chopping carrots and cooking rice.  "Hey, I'm using a huge knife in before I'm hardly awake!  Is this advisable?"  I still have all my fingers intact, but I did drop a plate on my foot--since it's good ol' Corelle, it didn't break.  I left my pot of rice cooking away while I hopped in the shower, and when I got out, I immediately smelled the burning and ran for the kitchen.  Nothing caught on fire, but the whole apartment had a lovely scent to it and I had to toss my rice.  Plus I'm going to have fun trying to clean my pot tonight (unless my wonderful husband reads this and cleans it for me?).

Well, here we are, Day 7, and, as my Great Aunt Doris used to say, I'm still kickin'!  The weekend had its difficulties--eating out on this diet is really, really difficult, at least for the places our family usually frequents.  We muddled through, however, and on Saturday I made a delicious vegan pizza from a store-bought flatbread crust (the brand was Rustic, I think, and sourdough, and sugar free, and yummy), plain tomato sauce, and Follow Your Heart mozzarella-style soy cheese.  I didn't burn it like I usually do, and it was tasteee.  My son loved it (he also loved helping me make it), but my husband didn't want to try it.  We also hit the drive-in movie theater that night and made a bunch of popcorn with Earth Balance buttery spread and sea salt, and the little guy was so happy because he was allowed "special pop"--the Izze fruit juice "soda".  (Mommy enjoyed it, too!)

Last night I made the crispy peanut butter rice treats from The Kind Diet,  and...yeah.  My first problem, I believe, is that I used brown rice puffs, not brown rice crisps.  Makes a huge difference.  I took a picture of it, but I'm not going to post it, because a food photographer I am not and somehow my pictures of food look way grosser than the food really is. Take my word for it.  I believe I got the topping correct--a whole lotta brown rice syrup, peanut butter, and I mixed in some grain-sweetened vegan chocolate chips.  In fact, my new taste buds think that this dessert is too sweet.

Wait a second...did I just say something was TOO SWEET?  I believe I did.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I think I've finally overcome the initial crazy craving period.  While my favorite vegan bananaberry muffin taunts me every time I go into the kitchen, and while it took an enormous amount of willpower not to share my boys' lemonade at the farmers market on Saturday, I don't feel faint with hunger or totally deprived anymore.  Everything I've read says that it takes anywhere from 3 to 10 days (some say 3 to 7) to stop craving sugar, and I was expecting the full 10 since I have such a sweet tooth.  I am a bit disappointed, though, because my moods haven't evened out like I thought they would...but let's face it, it's PMS week.  I have, however, lost weight--I don't really know how much, though, because our scale is way wacky.  It's an analog scale and fluctuates about 10 pounds depending on how you stand on it.  We bought a new one over the weekend and were not happy to discover that the actual weight was 15 pounds more than the highest number from the old scale.  But we'll just see how cocky I am tonight when I have to make banana muffins for 20 preschoolers.

Now I'd like to focus on introducing new greens into my diet.  I have kale in my fridge.  How should I cook it? 

10 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Yes, that stuff you made last night looks pretty bad. And the burnt rice smell stayed in the house most of the day.

    I did love our popcorn at the drive in. It is so much better than the movie theater and doesn't make me sick like Cinemark's does.

    Good job making it a week! That is 6 days and 23 hours more than I could have went.

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  3. I sauté kale in a little olive oil.. It's fantastic!! I also add it to my vegetable soup :)

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  4. I LOVE kale, like a lot.

    My two favorite kale recipes:
    1. Cannellini Beans & Kale - http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/healthy-bean-stew.html (I use kale instead of swiss chard, vegetable stock rather than chicken stock, and I usually leave out the parsley.)
    2. Saute onions, garlic, and chickpeas (in whatever quantities make you happy) in olive oil. Season with cumin and soy sauce. (Some folks also like a little chili powder. I don't.) Add kale (torn into whatever size you want) and cook 'til it looks delicious. I usually eat this over white quinoa, though I read you don't like quinoa, so rice is an adequate substitute.

    If you can't tell, in addition to kale, I like salty flavors, so be careful with your seasoning on both recipes so that they aren't too salty for your tastes.

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  5. I dont know any recipes but this is Patricia Keith O'Malley and I love that you are on this diet of great healthy food and have your boy eating it too. Great job!

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  6. What movie you guys see? How did little mister like it? We want to take Riley to see Toy Story 3 at the drive in. She loves the first 2 and all she talks about is getting a talking Buzz Light Year and Plush Buzz!LOL

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  7. Thanks, guys!

    Kelly, are you a veggie? Or a "flexitarian"?

    Amy, we saw Toy Story 3. Very cute movie. But I wish we could just see a movie without being bombarded by all the crap in the stores that goes along with it.

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  8. Hey Hollie. I haven't adopted a label for my eating habits (nor do I plan to). When forced, I tell folks I'm a 'social meat-eater.' But even that's not always true. I don't buy meat so never have it in my house, and I eat vegetarian most of the time when I'm out, but that's not always possible. I rarely eat seafood, beef (and most other meat from four-legged creatures), or turkey cuz I don't like it. I eat chicken occasionally and have a soft spot for ham and bacon (it's the salty thing again). In summary (cuz I tend to rant), I generally eat vegetarian, but if someone offers me free food and its meaty I'll usually eat some. (Also, I think 'flexitarian' is a stupid word.) :O)

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  9. Yes, I remember talking about the word "flexitarian" at some point. :) Feel free to share more recipes with me!

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  10. They had it at the drive in? I looked and it wasn't there this weekend : ( Riley LOVES toy story she has been pretending to be Buzz all day and all she wants is toy story stuff for her birthday. She's so cute about asking for it too! LOL

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