Dr. Oz Breaks Into Our House

I use the warm lentil salad as a snack or paired with many of the diet's main meals, particularly as a base with greens and a bit of the brown rice for a very filling dinner with a nice piece of poached or grilled salmon. The dressing for the lentils is made in large batches as well.

We’re a happy bunch, not really into worrying over those carbs or GMOs in our daily doings. But then Dr. Oz started popping up on the TV that seems to always be on in the, well, TV room.

And he makes sense. I’ve been checking out the RapidWeight-Loss Plan and I got hooked on the veggies and all the healthy snacks.

While we may have a regular booth at McDonald’s, we are big on healthy stuffs too. And maybe that's why we're, um, big. We like the raw nuts, berries over bananas, hummus, Greek yogurt for just about any time of day or recipe substitution and leafy greens are a go-to dine and dash for those nights when time is eating into our bedtime reading rituals.

So I decided to try the diet. I made it a week. It was easy. It wasn’t expensive. Everybody could eat the same dinner, with a few more fun things thrown in for the kids throughout the day.

But…I had no idea I’d miss certain foods and libations.

Eggs. I love eggs. I love to dress them up with little carrots and olives to make them into bunnies and penguins for the twins. They don’t eat them but we all get a kick out of the process and end-product. Plus, more for mommy.

Coffee. I love green tea. Drink it nearly every day. And I usually only partake of one cup of bold Starbucks brand home-brewed coffee with a splash of FF dairy creamer. I crave that cup and a splash all day long. All. Day. Long.

Juice. I love me some juice and seltzer. The twins call it spicy juice and the Burger King by the thrift store (our weekly sojourn into shopping on the skinny), has one of those choose-your-own flavor machines. Oh man, it’s like a mommy bar! Lite cherry syrup with seltzer. Mango syrup with a splash of Minute Maid Light lemonade with the flavored club soda. Sigh. Nope, just my lemon water, thank you. Kids! Eat your fries before they are cold (or confiscated!).

And that brings us to the lemon water in the a.m. I buy lemons in bulk. I drink lemon water all day, ice cold. Sometimes I add cucumbers for a little kick. Cucumbers! But that morning cup of hot lemon water is a little much. Maybe it’s the lack of French Roast flavor and a splash, just a splash, of FF creamer.

Anyway. I lost six pounds during that one week. Six pounds! Every one in the family was elated...when I went off the diet and stopped being so cranky. I drank three cups of coffee that day on the strong Keurig setting with extra splashes of the hubby’s Coffee Mate Girl Scout Samosa full fat creamer. Heaven.

Good news is that I have included more veggies in our daily and some of the recipes I came up with when the chicken and rice became too boring are now family faves.

Here’s the first of many I’ll post as the hubby lost a bit off the middle while I was trying to shred, so we’re getting back on the Dr. Oz health train. What is it about that man?!

Warm Lentil Salad

(4 servings, but you can eat it anytime on the Dr. Oz diet)

Prep time: 20 minutes

I adore lentils. They soak up the flavor of whatever they are bumped up against and make cozy partners with nearly any veggies you may have on hand. This recipe is good hot or cold, eaten as an anytime snack (very filling) or laid out as a bed for a beautiful piece of grilled salmon (recipe to follow). I make a big batch at the beginning of the week to have it on hand.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs of olive oil

1 leek (or green onions)

2 carrots diced

1 tsp garlic, minced (more if you like a big flavor)

1 C lentils

1 onion, diced

1 turnip (I use leftover raw turnips on hand from making Dr. Oz’s veggie stock)

Cloves or a dash of all spice, to your taste (it brings a depth to the flavors you’ll )

For the dressing:

(I make a mason jar of this stuff and use it as salad dressing or pour over the brown rice at dinner if you are following the Dr. Oz diet)

1 tsp olive oil

4 tsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbs red wine vinegar (I only had apple cider vinegar and that tasted just fine as well.)

1 Tbs kosher salt (or sea salt)

1 tsp black pepper (I add more depending on how I plan to use it, as a side or a main meal)

Directions:

Cook the lentils to package directions (about 20 minutes of boiling time with 4 C water) with the turnip and onions.

Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan to fit all those veggies, add the leek and carrots and cook over medium for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and swirl it around for about 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and put ingredients in a bowl. Add the cooked lentils after discarding the turnip (which you could save for mashed turnips for b-fast or a main side, but that’s a future recipe post).

Whisk together the dressing and pour to your desired taste over the lentils. Done! (Add salt and pepper to your own taste, but don't leave it out completely!)

This is a great go-to dish when you have to whip up something awesome in no time. Serve it with tortilla chips as a cold dip as well!

 

Super Bowl Brings Inspiration

In Vegas, it's all about the spread for the biggest game of the season. I was bored with the 10 avocados we bought on sale. (Hubby: "Why do we need 10 avocados?" Me: "Because they are less than .25 cents each." Everytime we have to have this conversation, everytime!)

So I got a few of my favorite food MVPs and came up with Bacon Avocado Creamy Horseradish dip.

It's one avocado, 1/2 cup of sour cream mixed with teaspoon of horseradish, along with a dash of cumin, cilantro or parsley for a little green, green onions for some crunch and mixed until that heavenly creamy green hue. Top with crumbled bacon (a hubby addition, of course!) and it can be a made a lowfat dip for game day!

We also bumped up the couch time with Super Bowl Bingo, since we're not big bettors in this Vegas casa. SBB is a mix of commercial info and game play moments. For instance, check off the horse box when the animal comes on the screen (just once!) and if the Broncos fumble. Had no idea I'd jinx the team! Thought we'd also use this idea the next time we have to watch a princess movie for the umpteenth time! It took about 10 minutes in total (finding the paper was the time sucker) and we can use it for Disney movies that tend to drag on for those over 12.

Valentine's Day Time Arrives

I've been putting in more face-time for my job and getting ready to go out to yet another entertainment event tonight on the Strip. I hope they have reclining seats! I'm a tired mama after three race track runs and a Valentine's Day craft - chair back envelopes. Easy peasy with my Tacky glue squeezy!

Since February decided to start on time, I had to jump on this project I'd been planning for, oh, years, since I first neatly organized it on my must-do craft board on Pinterest.

I looked around a few sites and found what would work best for these eight hands was glue (not hot) and felt. I found a big roll of stiff pink felt in JoAnn's remnant bin along with a few scraps of red felt. Total cost $3 and change. Score!

I folded the pink felt in half, cut it down the middle.

Then folded over the top to make a triangle.

Then folded up the bottom, glued and waited about three hours before gluing on some hearts and letters the hubby happily drew and cut for me. Having an artist on hand is, well, handy!

It could use some ironing, but I still need to slap on some makeup before our 7:30 p.m. dinner reservations. The wrinkles will fall out with all the use we plan to give these V-day chair-back envelopes! They are surprisingly strong and sturdy. We plan to put in cards, stickers, candies (left over from their birthday pinatas last month!) and use it as a reward system of sorts for chore completion. Wish us luck!