Sunday Dinner

Today, my daughter texted me when I was on my way to church and informed me that tonight we are having family dinner at 6pm at our house. Family dinners are what we used to do for years every single night. Even when the kids were involved in sports, plays and orchestra recitals, we almost always managed to sit down together in the dining room and have a lively dinner. That all came to a pretty abrupt end when Anne left for college. Sure we would still have family dinner now and then, but the boys were often busy and slowly it became just my husband and I eating dinner in front of the TV. Recently, we somehow have managed to have a full house again. Family dinner is still pretty much a thing of the past or resurrected on a holiday or special occasion celebration. I miss it, and to be honest I think our family misses it too whether or not they realize it. So this afternoon, when deciding what to make for dinner, I settled upon a family favorite, "spaghetti in a pot". It is definitely not diet friendly, but it is a traditional comfort food that I know everyone likes. I'm making a choice again. It's only one meal and I will continue my diet tomorrow. To be honest, I am going to add a salad and I may just have a small enough portion of spaghetti that I will be fine anyhow.  The important thing to me is I will have my family around me, eating a meal that I have lovingly prepared. I just miss Ted.

Success!

I did not have one chip tonight! That is really pretty big for me. I copied everything that my sister ordered. I had one glass of red wine instead of my usual double margarita. We had a white meat only chicken tostado with boiled beans and no tortilla. (Shouldn't that just be called a salad?) Honestly, it wasn't really that hard to eat this way tonight. I am not sure if it was because I promised myself before I went that I was going to be good, or if having  someone else at the table eating the same way made me feel less alone. Whatever the reason, it worked! If I ate with her very often I think this blog would be out of business pretty darn soon!

El Adobe....Part 2

My sister and I thought we would both go to dinner tonight with Mom. Of course my husband always likes to take advantage of the proximity of my Mom's house with Lucy's El Adobe. If you read last Saturday's post, you know that it presents a problem for me. But rather than avoid the restaurant, I have decided to tackle the problem head on. I should follow my "skinny" sister's example and eat what she eats. I know she will stay away from the chips. I will try to also. Wish me luck. To be continued...........

Roasted Chicken

There are so many types of food to choose from when I go out to eat. I could easily go out for pizza, tacos, enchiladas, spaghetti, or even just a plain old hamburger and French fries. I tell you this to try and get you on my side before I tell you what I ate. I know I am not going to wake up any thinner than I did today. But.......there is a slight chance I won't wake up any heavier either. I've had a pretty good day. I had high fiber cereal, blueberries, and non fat milk for breakfast; a honey crisp apple for lunch; and a cup of homemade chicken soup as a snack when I  got home from work. For dinner, I went to a restaurant that had a roasted chicken Friday night special on their menu. I ate a chicken breast, green beans and baked potato for dinner.  Should I tell you what I didn't eat? No, I didn't have wine with dinner. I did not have sour cream with my baked potato. And, I definitely did not have dessert! Not at the restaurant, and not when I got home where I still have left over Halloween candy. Do I deserve to wake up thinner? I think so. Will I be satisfied if I wake up the same weight? Yup. It was a nice night and I didn't have to cook.

Mrs. Renfro

I know I often talk about my crock pot, but I guess I just can't say enough about it. Today I was craving a steak. Since beginning my Nutritarian diet a couple of months ago, I have had red meat only once. I actually was going to post about it a couple of weeks ago, but I got distracted. Anyhow, I went to the store today to buy a steak for dinner tonight and I just could not get myself to buy it. The price was almost $20.00 a pound! Granted, I was shopping at Gelson's but even Costco is $12.99/lb. and you have to buy almost $60.00 worth! So, I came home with a package of chicken breasts. ....again. Just how many ways can you make chicken? One of my all time favorites is chicken breast fillets in the slow cooker. I rinse them and put them in the pot on low. A couple of hours later I add Mrs. Renfros green chili sauce. The ingredients are all natural, (no preservatives)  and there are only 5 calories per tablespoon. The chicken falls apart, and most of my family make tacos out of it. I took out a few pieces, added a half of a sweet potato and an arugala salad. Delicious!

Pasilla Peppers

I bought 2 Pasilla peppers at Gelson's the last time that I shopped. For those of you who don't know what they are, let me describe them. They are large, dark green, shiny peppers with a mildly hot taste. I have had them at Mexican restaurants stuffed with cheese and melted to a gooey goodness that is delightful. I'm sure that was my attraction when I purchased them at the grocery store. I looked at them and imagined them stuffed with cheese and I bagged them before I could even think. Tonight, before they went bad, I decided to cook them. I broiled them in the oven until they turned black and placed them in a paper bag to steam. Then, I easily peeled the charred skin away and diced the softened flesh. I added it to my vegetable chicken soup and it gave it a spicy flavor that added another dimension to my low calorie dinner. The best thing about watching my weight, is the satisfaction I get from cooking more creatively.

Election Day!

I love Election Day! In an election year, I try to watch all of the debates and I try to read as much as I can about all of the propositions. Unfortunately,  I have grown more and more cynical the older I get, but I still try to be optimistic about the future of our country. Back to Patti's plate.......I usually order pizza. The second I get home on election night, I turn the TV on and I watch the results all night long. Someone orders pizza delivery, and I mindlessly eat, usually caring more about if I get a corner piece than who actually wins. (That's a little exaggeration; but you are correct, Vanessa, not much.) Anyhow, tonight was different. I started a new tradition. I defrosted White Roughy fish fillets from Trader Joe's and decorated them with blueberries and red peppers. I added a green salad and though I could definitely eat more, I am happy with the portion that I received. Hmmmmm. I wonder if that is what our entire country is thinking right now.