QUICK DINNER

It's been crazy busy the last two weeks.  Haven't tried any new recipes, haven't finished any books, and haven't finished planting my fall gardens.  But!  I wanted to share a new favorite find--love these salmon burgers from Costco. Wild Alaskan salmon, not farm raised.  170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein. Love.

I just pan fry these babies direct from the freezer in about one teaspoon of blood orange olive oil in a non-stick pan, sprinkle a little lemon pepper on both sides, and then cook the  patties for 4 minutes on each side. Excellent.  If you're interested, you can find them in the frozen food section at Costco.  I highly recommend for a quick, delicious, and healthy meal.

Enjoy!

GREEN (or Purple?) SMOOTHIE

Another weird healthy smoothie for you.  I was reading the "What's Your Workout?" column in yesterday's Wall St. Journal and thought the Green Smoothie mentioned in the article sounded good.  No recipe was given, just ingredients. I did the usual of a little of this and a little of that. I added a bit of Greek yogurt for extra protein. The almond milk really made the difference and I loved it. Kind of sludgy looking (another case of "don't judge a book by its cover"). A nice change from last month's Veggie Berry Smoothie.  So, give it a try.

Big handful of spinach
1 cup of fruit (frozen or fresh) - I added frozen blueberries or 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup strawberries
1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds
1/2 cup of almond milk
1/2 cup of water
Greek yogurt - spoonful (I added to recipe for a bit of protein)
A bit of Agave syrup
Stevia (natural sweetener)

All tossed into the blender.  That's it.

PEACH CARDAMOM SMOOTHIE

This is from Dr. Alex Junger's Clean Diet--which I have not done.  However, the combination of peaches and cardamom sounded intriguing. It isn't too sweet, actually a bit savory which I liked.  My sister and I split it and gave it a thumb's up.

PEACH CARDAMOM SMOOTHIE

Serves 2

Ingredients
1/4 cup almond butter
2 cardamom pods or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups pure water
1 cup frozen peaches
1 to 2 teaspoons agave syrup
1/2 cup ice

Blend together until smooth.

DR. PAT'S V8 DIET

In her book, Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, & Found Happiness, Dominique Browning shared a little diet her doctor gave her to lose 15 pounds.  At first glance, it appeared too strict (imagine that).  But then I noticed the plan calls for eating (or drinking) something every two hours.  And it doesn't require any special food.  And it is dirt simple.

So after vacationing for a glorious six days in Laguna Beach, I came home and went on this plan for five days.  I did not eat out at any restaurants during this time.  And I quickly lost what I gained on vacation and two pounds extra--what a deal!  Nor did I gain anything back when I went off the plan and back on WW. This plan also took away my sweet tooth since there are very few carbohydrates (that in itself is a miracle).

So while I would find it very difficult to be on this diet for a month, I think it is great for the days following a vacation (if you are like me and eat more on vacation than you do at home) or to jump start a new eating plan.  I will always love WW (when I actually stay within my points it does work) but this V8 diet was a good change.

Wake:  6 oz water, while still in bed (I do not stay in bed to drink this)

7:30   tea; boiled egg; bottled water (I fry my egg over easy in a nonstick skillet)

9:30   V8 juice

11:30  small container fat-free cottage cheese; 1/2 apple; 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon; 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed; water (I have a whole apple)

1:30   smallest water-packed tuna, or 1/2 grilled skinless chicken breast; greens; bottle water (I added canned salmon to the rotation)

3:30  V8 juice

5:30  small container fat-free cottage cheese; 1/2 apple; cinnamon and flax seed (I substituted greek yogurt for the cottage cheese)

7:00  4 oz. protein; 1 cup veggies (only broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, summer squash, green beans, or cucumber); water

9:30  2 oz. protein, preferably turkey; water (Although I bought the turkey, I just couldn't eat it at 9:30 pm)

Any time of day, V8 juice, as much as desired (I didn't do this)

(V8 juice is a great but I like Kndusen's Very Veggie drink even better.)

IN DEFENSE OF FOOD

Just finished another food-related book, In Defense of Food. It seemed like the right book to read after Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Although you would think after reading about all the down and dirty details of some of the ways food is processed that I would have lost several pounds by now simply because, at times, no good choice exists. But, sadly, that is not the case.

I like Pollan's basic premise, "Eat food. Not much. Mostly plants." Meaning, eat real food that your grandmother or great-grandmother would recognize, not the packaged processed food that fills the super markets. Don't over eat--eat until you are satisfied or 80% full. And eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and a little meat (from animals that are grass-fed and grass-finished--pretty much we eat what these animals eat). Does this sound familiar to any of you?

It is nice to know I have checked off a couple of boxes by growing herbs and vegetables at home and frequenting farmers markets. But finding grass-finished (or pasture-finished) meats has not been easy. I haven't started calling around yet but after going to Fry's, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods, I did not see anything about grass anything in the meat department (of course I could have talked to the butcher but I didn't). There is a website http://www.eatwild.com/ that lists Arizona grass-fed meat and poultry sources through farmers markets. I have no idea about the costs.

This really could have been an article rather than a book, so it is a quick read. I like that Pollan doesn't lecture. He quotes lots of research and I know you can manipulate research to reflect many different conclusions. But I think most of what he says makes sense. Now if I could just give up the ultimate processed item: Diet Coke.

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE - Book

I LOVE this book. Barbara Kingsolver has written a lot of fiction--I've only read Animal Dreams and don't remember much. This book looked intriguing so I picked it up at The Poisoned Pen--an independent bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona I try to support from time to time.

Kingsolver lived in Tucson for 25 years. A few years ago she moved with her family to a farm in the Appalachians committing to live off food they produced or was produced reasonably close to home for one year. Her husband and two daughters contribute to the story.

While I have no plans to live the same way as Kingsolver, she has made me think a bit differently about food production. For a while now I have been buying organic milk and organic eggs. More often I stop by the Farmer's Market across the street from my office to buy from local organic farms. I also have been paying more attention to eating fruits and vegetables in the appropriate season. But looking at the distance food travels from its production area to our homes is adding a new dimension. Barbara points out the cost and use of fuel to bring in that bag of spinach from California growers when we could either grow it ourselves or at least buy from local producers.

So last week when I was buying groceries I opted to buy an Arizona brand of corn tortillas, cottage cheese, milk, and eggs. Sometimes local is a better price sometimes it isn't. But the price difference isn't much.

I'm now trying to locate grass-finished beef, chicken, and pork and its not easy. I have no idea what the cost difference will be but I know it will be more expensive. Just don't know how much more expensive.

There are a number of recipes throughout the book that look good. I'm hoping to try a few in the next couple of weeks and will let you know how they turn out. Her daughter shares a recipe for an asparagus and morel bread pudding that sounds heavenly.

Kingsolver's writing is lovely. Her choice of words and her descriptions had me reading some lines more than once. Her message interested me and has caused me to make a few changes. I won't be raising my own turkeys and chickens to slaughter and it is unlikely I will make my own cheese but the ideas aren't so overwhelming as to be useless. I recommend this book.