On the Menu ~ week of June 11

Monday - Beyond easy pulled pork  with green bean bacon bundles (minus brown sugar)

Tuesday - Rosemary lemon chicken with grilled asparagus

Wednesday - Grilled pork chops with peach salsa and roasted beets

Thursday- Tacos with bib lettuce "shells" guacamole and chopped black olives

Friday - Crock pot roast chicken 

Saturday - Father's Day dinner out with Jay's Dad

Sunday - It's Father's Day!  Rib Eye Steaks with Chipotle Butter  (minus brown sugar on mine!)  My dad is coming over for dinner and I will make baked potatoes for the boys, sweet potato for me. I will grill some zucchini for myself and have chocolate cake pops for Dad & Jay to enjoy made by my friend Candi

My Everyday Life ~ June 4 - June 10, 2012

Here's what my past week looked like:

captured some pretty clouds after work

grilling dinner

view from the 15th row at U.S. Cellular field

Jay & I at the Sox game

scorecard... missed scoring the first inning... we were eating dinner :)

SOX WIN!

I did end up getting that Weigela bush - its called wine and roses.  Someday it will be nice and big with beautiful flowers, and totally hide that gas meter :)

NW Illinois countryside

Recap: My third week of Whole30

Monday - Basil pesto balsamic chicken skewers 
review:  The pesto smelled great while I made it, looked beautiful on the food, but when we sat down to eat, we could barely taste anything.  Regardless of how green our food was, the flavor wasn't there.  I would like to try again with a different pesto recipe in the future.  In the front is zucchini, then two skewers of chicken, then a skewer of mushrooms in the back.


Tuesday - Citrus shrimp skewers and mashed cauliflower
We had were having a new patio door being installed and it turned into a giant fiasco.  I skipped cooking dinner and ate some leftover spaghetti squash with chicken meatballs for dinner instead.



Wednesday - Citrus shrimp skewers and grilled asparagus
review:  I love shrimp.  I love how quickly they thaw out in a little water, I love how quickly they pick up flavors of a marinade and I loooove how quickly they cook :)  This marinade was simple to throw together and tasty.  I tossed the asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper.  We each had a skewer of shrimp and I ate all the asparagus myself!  It tasted so good! 


Thursday- At U.S.Cellular field for a Chicago White Sox game -  I had a chicken sandwich sans bun and coleslaw.  I may have eaten too many cherries on the way home, but I had to stay awake somehow ;)



Friday - salad from Sabrosa in Roscoe, IL... love this restaurant, they are so nice and easily accommodated my goofy order


Saturday - In Iowa for TOMRV - I had fruit, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, chicken and roast beef at the banquet.  I got nagged by other riders to eat more carbs... ice-cream, pasta, dessert but I resisted.


Sunday - Salad, I was so tired and needed something easy :)

lately

Here's some stuff I have been enjoying lately...

Phat Jilly called me for the first time, I didn't know it was her so I Googled the number.  One thing led to another and I found this article.  I am so glad to know this inspiring strong woman :)

Heard about this book on NPR this morning, and I want to download it to my Kindle.  Have to find some time to sit around and read first ;)

It was Joy the Baker's birthday and she wrote a very wise list.

I learned something new today.  Did you know that cane sugar is filtered through bone char to bleach it?

I know I am a week behind the curve on this one, but I was balling at my desk this am watching this amazing video.

Movies for your ears... LOVING!!!!

Deciding if I should put one of these by the front door... want to hide ugly gas meter on my house.

Make it a great day!
xoxoxo

On The Menu ~ week of June 3

I am keeping it easy this week, its a busy one!

Monday - Basil pesto balsamic chicken skewers and asparagus


Tuesday - Citrus shrimp skewers and mashed cauliflower


Wednesday - Grilled pork chops with peach salsa and roasted beets


Thursday- At U.S.Cellular field for White Sox game


Friday - leaving in afternoon for Iowa and Tour of the Mississippi River Valley bike ride


Saturday - In Iowa for TOMRV


Sunday - In Iowa for TOMRV

My Everyday Life ~ May 28 - June 3, 2012

Here's what my past week looked like:

Planted green peppers...

and  tomatoes!

Planted my herb garden for cooking...

and one for making tea (somebody ate my chamomile!! grr)

Planted my own strawberry plants :)

Discovered a new tea at my local international market (Polish strawberry tea!)

On Fridays, I add 1T of cacao powder to my green smoothies for an extra treat!

North End Farmer's Market :)

My lunch at the Milk Days party, I brought my own salad and drink.
"To be prepared is half the victory" -Miguel de Cervantes

My friend's 6 year old daughter was in the Milk Day Parade, and we walked along the sidewalk while she did her thing ;)



Bought some parts...



and made a camera mount for my bike :)

Recap: My second week of Whole30

Monday - Pan seared pork chops with braised red cabbage & apples
review: I used supermarket pork chops for this dinner, but I really wish I had some more of the bone in chops from the farm.  They are so much more flavorful and juicy!!  I seasoned the chops with Gateway to the North Maple Garlic seasoning blend from The Spice House, then I seared on the stove top and finished in the oven.  The cabbage was delicious, will definitely make it again.



Tuesday - Jerk chicken and mango stuffed avocados with side salad
review:  I got lazy and just put cut up mangoes on top of my chicken, which by the way was very good!  It was not hot however, and my husband didn't believe that I put a whole habanero in the marinade.  Maybe next time I will add two!!   I had a homemade balsamic vinaigrette on my spring mix.



Wednesday - Green chili turkey burgers with Asian asparagus and orange salad

review:  I must have been tired when I put this combination together!  I was pretty much laughing at myself while I was cooking the meal.  The burgers were ok, there was waaaay too much cumin in the recipe, so instead of tasting like turkey and chili, they tasted like CUMIN!   I will never get sick of using avocado as a condiment!!!  Agian, I think I prefer to just have ground beef burgers and skip using ground chicken and turkey.  Then there was the asian asparagus, this was a easy salad.  I love sesame oil & seeds and the oranges were a nice way to change things up a bit. 

Thursday- Mustard lime chicken with brussels sprouts & prosciutto
I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.  I didn't want to cook dinner so I thought I could eat out if I could find something acceptable to eat... where there is a will there is a way!!  I went to the Chipotle website to confirm that their pork is raised antibiotic free and then I ordered a salad with carnitas, green salsa and guacamole.  It was so ridiculously tasty!!!!!  I didn't even miss the rice, beans, cheese, sour cream or CHIPS!  Actually I did miss the chips, and put them in the way back of the car for the ride back across town ;)  Sorry you didn't get a before picture of my plate, I was obviously extremely hungry!




Friday - Mustard lime chicken with brussels sprouts & prosciutto
review: We only had lemons, so I whipped up Mustard Lemon Chicken on the grill and made the brussels sprouts in the house... also forgot to get prosciutto so I used bacon!  My method is slightly different than the recipe, I pan steam the veggies, take them out of the pan and render the bacon, then add the vegs back in and season.  I like color on my veggies so these were perfectly done to me.  I would definitely make both dishes again, they were easy and delicious.  Thanks to my buddy Beth for the heads up on the chicken recipe, great recommendation :)




Saturday - Grilled spice-rubbed flank steak, roasted portabello & herb mashed cauliflower
review:  we looooved this rub on the flank steak and can't wait to have it again.  I added a little olive oil to the paste to make it more spreadable and only marinated it 30 minutes while waiting on the coals.  The flavor was fantastic.  The mushrooms were good, and strangely resembled the meat in shape & color.  I was too tired to make the cauliflower and was full from this so it all worked out. 


Sunday - Dry Brined Rotisserie Chicken with Cuban Flavors with fresh artichoke and lemon-tahini sauce
review: no, there is nothing wrong with your screen, that is not chicken.  Long story short, I didn't make chicken.  I did have the dry brine made so I put it on the pork chops for a few hours, then rinsed them off and prepared  by pan searing and finishing off in the oven.  The pork turned out great, quite juicy compared to the same pork chops I made earlier in the week.  A bit salty in spots from the brine, but overall a solid recipe.  I made some thyme mashed cauliflower as a side.  I was pretty tired from working in the yard and doing other chores, so I saved the artichoke for another day.

Week 2 recap... I was tired.  I spent Sunday and Monday very low on energy and then woke up Tuesday with a sore throat.  Wednesday and Thursday were no better, sore, achy, tired.  I went to bed early on these nights and tried to take it easy during the day.  By the time I woke up Friday I was feeling back to my normal self and ready to tackle the weekend. My friend Danielle told me that it could be Low Carb Flu.  I had never heard of this before, but sure enough it exists.  The body has to learn how to make energy from burning fat instead of using carbs.  What I realized is that this temporary setback pales in comparison to the benefits once the transition has passed.  I just cant wait for the transition to pass!  I am happy to say that I am down another three pounds this week!  I really enjoy planning my menu every week, something I did before Whole30.  The difference is now it really helps me get excited about the things I can eat :)  I find my confidence in staying positive... and now I am going to go whip up another weekly menu!