Continue reading »]]> I will be the first to admit that homemade Cheesy Italian Meatballs are the best! When I have time they can be made ahead and frozen. Sometimes when life is busy (when isn’t it?) and I don’t have time to make everything from scratch it’s nice to buy some healthy ready made foods for quick and easy meals. Recently I discovered these Open Nature Italian Chicken meatballs at Safeway. They are really good! Hubby Tom added some to his soup. You could heat them up with some tomato sauce and make a meatball sandwich or toss a few with some whole grain pasta and your favorite sauce.

These are fully cooked so just heat and eat!

On my lower carb days I toss the meatballs with some sauteed zucchini and garlic mixed with canned diced tomatoes and Italian seasonings. It’s filling, low carb and low calorie. A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese adds even more flavor for little calories.

Nutmeg Notes

I have recovered from my chocolate filled weekend! Ha ha! I am happy to say that the little indulgences didn’t cause me to be off track – I managed to keep within my daily calorie range and so far this week the scale has been kind to me. Love that.

Allergy season is upon us and although I think we say this every year – this is a really bad allergy season! Even hubby Tom who is usually not bothered by the pollen explosion is experiencing some allergy symptoms. My daily walk outside usually ends with a sneezing session and watery itchy eyes. Even so it’s more fun to walk outside than to be on a treadmill.

Years ago our doctor gave us some good advice on how to survive the Spring allergy season so I thought I’d pass along some of his tips. When you are outside the pollen collects on your hair and your eye lashes. Yuck! You can wear a hat and sun glasses to help shield them from the pollen. If you spend a considerable amount of time outside say doing yard work, change your clothes when you come inside to lessen your exposure to the pollen that has collected on them. Wash your hair and your face before you go to bed to remove the pollen. Otherwise when you sleep the pollen gets on your pillow and then you are rubbing your face in it. Change your pillow case every day just to be sure. Don’t wear your shoes in the house (we don’t anyway) because pollen gets brought in on the soles of your shoes and then spread through out the house. Like wise if you have pets that go outside and come back in they are bringing pollen back inside with them. Maybe wiping their paws off with a towel would help – I don’t have pets so I’m not sure how to handle this.

Over the counter allergy meds are available and you have to try the different brands to find the one that works best for you. We like Allegra. Allergy eye drops  can be helpful when you eyes are watery and itchy. These products are so much cheaper at Sam’s or Costco and they also have the generic brands for less money.

I am getting ready to head outside for my walk with my hair pulled back, a hat on, sun glasses and a handful of tissues!

Tami

Add Your Thoughts

What are your allergy survival tips?

Do you buy any ready made main dish items?

Continue reading »]]> Breakfast is always a struggle for me – I don’t love eggs, cereal or the typical breakfast foods. The first thing I have in the morning are my couple cups of coffee with a little Stevia and some fat free half & half. After that I just need a little something in my tummy before I go for my morning walk or do a weight resistance work out. The individual microwave muffins have been a life saver for me! They are super easy to mix up, make one huge single serving muffin, are full of protein and fiber and they don’t break the calorie bank! An added bonus is that you only make one so there aren’t a bunch of leftovers tempting you to eat more.

Thanks to Lori @Finding Radiance for the 1 Minute Muffin recipe! Lori has a few different versions of the 1 Minute Muffin on her blog so be sure and check them all out to find your favorite.

This picture doesn’t do the muffin justice. It was made in a bowl that holds 10 ounces and it nearly filled it to the top. It’s a meal all on it’s own with all that protein and fiber – it’s huge and oh so filling!

Pumpkin 1 Minute muffin

•  1/4 cup flax meal
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp of canned pumpkin

Mix ingredients well in a small bowl. Microwave for 80 seconds. Eat and enjoy!

Yield: 1 muffin

Nutritional Information

195 calories, 13.5 grams of fat, 10 g of carbs, 8.5 g of fiber, 12 g of protein, WWPP 5

Recipe from Lori@Finding Radiance.

Nutmeg Notes

How was your Mother’s Day? I had a very peaceful, quiet day spent with hubby Tom. The college kids were on campus studying for their finals this week. I will celebrate with them when this week is over. We had our usual morning coffee and then we went for a short hike.

It was a beautiful morning and the views were fabulous.

 We have no idea what kind of trees have these blooms but they were awesome.

We stopped by the Newcastle Produce Deli-Store. It’s always fun to browse their produce, gourmet food selection, wines and treats.

The displays are eye catching so I had to capture some of them with my iPhone camera.

Hubby Tom didn’t even know I took this photo.

My mom makes Peppernuts and this is the first time I have ever seen them in a store. This bag says they taste like ginger but my moms have anise in them and taste a little bit like licorice – yummy.

This was the best looking rhubarb I have seen in a long time. It will be made into some of my fabulous Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce to have over Greek yogurt or home made Vanilla Frozen Yogurt. We also got some of those delicious watermelon radishes for salads, sun-dried tomatoes and some special chocolates.

The day included a little chocolate which always makes it a good day. Actually my parents sent me these chocolate covered apple wedges and strawberries on Friday so my celebration started early. I shared them with the family so don’t think I ate all of this myself! Thanks Mom and Dad! We ate lunch at a restaurant that had outdoor seating and it was perfect weather for that. I made it through the day without doing any housework, cooking or cleaning – yippee!

This is a photo of me with my mom! Not only is she an awesome mom but she is also a best friend. We can bend each others ear, solve all of the worlds problems over the phone and never run out of things to say. I love you mom! Hey you should have saved those clothes – they are back in style again.

Enjoy your day!

Tami

Leave me a comment and show me a little love!

How did you celebrate Mother’s Day?

Do you like rhubarb?

What’s going to be cooking at your house this week?

I will be cooking a lot of fish and salads this week. I have a mountain of fresh produce to use up and a freezer full of fish.

Continue reading »]]> A question I get asked a lot is what do I buy at Costco. That is a tough one to answer since their product selection changes all the time. I snapped some photos of my most recent Costco shopping sprees. It’s important to remember that product availability at Costco varies by location. Even here locally, different Costco’s carry a few different products based on the stores demographics. I don’t consume all the products I purchase at Costco - some of them are just for hubby Tom or the college kids!

Broccoli, spring mix, sweet potatoes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, baby kales, romaine, portabella mushrooms,corn on the cob, tomatoes, celery and baby sweet peppers.

Builders protein bars and Cliff Bars for son David, Fage yogurt, Laughing Cow light cheese, Pacific Gold Jerky, Premier Protein Bars – hubby Tom’s, Rosie chicken sausage and dried cherries.

The tortillas and bagels are for the college kids! I do love this salsa on my taco salads.

This is something new I just found at Costco this week. It’s kind of chewy like dried fruit. I thought it might be good to take on our hikes.

A little piece is all you need, it’s pretty good but not something I would buy again.

 These are something I keep in the freezer for quick meals like when we get home from a long hike and don’t want to cook.

Sometimes I have them on a whole wheat bun and other times I cut one up and toss it with a salad. They have a ton of flavor and just a little kick from the jalapeno peppers.

Salmon, Pacific Cod, Tilapia Loins – my personal favorite, shrimp and uncured Canadian Bacon.

Diced canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, Premier Protein shakes – great served ice cold or used as a base for a smoothie.

We use this for everything - cold cereal, oatmeal, baking and smoothies.

Nutmeg Notes

Not pictured, apples, whole wheat bread, sourdhough bread, quinoa, coffee filters, organic butter, Kashi bars, oatmeal, ground turkey, chicken breasts, chicken legs, lean ground beef, allergy meds, vitamins and fish oil. Edited to add almonds, walntus and pecans – Carol reminded me that we also buy cleaning products! Too many items to remember. Ha ha! Sometimes they have really cute clothes, great deals on cook books, hiking and vacation books, sporting goods supplies, towels, sheets, copy paper and copier and small appliances. We have bought outdoor furniture, book cases and all kinds of household items at Costco. It’s a great value!

I hope this list and photo recap of some of my shopping helps answer your questions about what to buy at Costo. It’s really fun to go to Costco and just go up and down all the aisles to see what they have. Caution though – if you see something you like – buy it because if you wait and go back it might be gone and they might not have it again. We have learned that the hard way.

We also have a membership to Sam’s Club and there is some cross over on product brands that both stores sell. There are some products that I can only get at Sam’s club so we keep both memberships going. My Sam’s club is never as busy as Costco so I can get in and out of there much quicker which I like.

If you click on the MY KITCHEN tab at the top of the home page you get a drop down menu with my Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s Shopping List that is printable. The blue highlighted items are a link to where I posted about the product. There is also a printable post about what to pack for lunch including links to recipes.

Happy Shopping!

Tami

Add Your Thoughts

Do  you shop at a big box store?

What are the top things on your list that you buy there?

]]> http://nutmegnotebook.com/2012/05/costco-shopping/feed/ 22 http://nutmegnotebook.com/2012/05/portabellas-stuffed-with-greens-cheese/ http://nutmegnotebook.com/2012/05/portabellas-stuffed-with-greens-cheese/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 16:59:30 +0000 Tami http://nutmegnotebook.com/?p=14644

Continue reading »]]> In my Nutmeg Notes today I am talking all about emotional eating and how healthy eating doesn’t need to be considered boring. If your’e not interested in the recipe skip on down to the bottom of this post.

I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day and she was telling me about some portabella mushrooms that she bought already stuffed at the grocery store. Yum! She had also made some portabellas by brushing them with oil and baking them for 20 minutes to serve as a side dish. Of course that inspired me to put portabellas on my menu this week. Thank you for a great idea Mom! I found this recipe on Whole Foods web site and with a couple alterations to accommodate ingredients on hand these became a lovely side dish to our fish meal yesterday.

Portabellas are meaty and very filling. We enjoyed the flavor combination of kale, onion and garlic with the salty sharpness of the feta cheese.

One of these with a salad could be a fantastic lunch. You could use this same filling in baby portabellas for an appetizer.

 Eating healthy can also be delicious!

Portabellas Stuffed with Greens & Cheese

•  4 large (4- to 5-inch) portobella mushroom caps, stems and gills removed
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided – I used less since Feta cheese is salty
• 8 cups chopped collard green leaves or other dark leafy greens (kale, mustard greens, turnip greens or a mixture), stems and tough ribs removed before chopping -  I used assorted baby kales from Costco
• 1/2 red onion, sliced – I used 2 small shallots and 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup crumbled Buttermilk Blue or other blue cheese – I used Reduced Fat Feta

Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle mushroom caps with 1/4 teaspoon salt and place rounded side up on an oiled baking sheet. Bake until just barely tender, about 10 - 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine greens, onion, garlic, pepper, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water in a large skillet. Note: I sauteed the onions and garlic in a little olive oil spray before adding the greens and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cover and cook, stirring frequently, until greens are very tender, 8 to 12 minutes. Add a few tablespoons water if the skillet starts to dry out. Drain any excess water before stuffing mushrooms.

Turn mushrooms over and fill caps with greens. Sprinkle with blue cheese, return to the oven and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Servings: 4

Nutrition

Per serving: 120 calories (60 from fat), 6g total fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 15mg cholesterol, 590mg sodium, 10g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 8g protein, WWPP 3

Adapted From Whole Foods

Nutmeg Notes

I was having a conversation with a business associate of Hubby Tom’s last week in Anaheim about healthy eating. This man is on high blood pressure medicine, high cholesterol, borderline diabetic and has a number of other health issues. He was asking about our health, how we eat and so forth. We are all in the 50 something age range and we have known each other for years so I was perfectly comfortable having this conversation with him. I told him what our “diet” consisted of, lean meat, chicken, healthy fish, tons of fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts. He stated that he wasn’t going to eat like that because it’s boring and he intends to enjoy himself! Of course that got me fired up just a little. I told him he should check out my blog and see all of the wonderful meals we eat. Our menu consists of flavorful food that also just happens to be healthy. Healthy eating does not mean you have to eat boring food! Our friends cook the recipes off our blog and serve them to company – would they do this if the food was boring? Of course not.

It’s interesting what people tell themselves in order to justify eating badly. Adopting a healthy life style is an adjustment if you come from leading a sedentary life and are use to eating a high fat, high sugar, high calorie diet. I have to admit it takes some time for the taste buds to adjust to less salt, less fat and less sugar. The rewards are so great if you give yourself a chance to experience the natural goodness of real food. Enough said, I am stepping down off my soap box now.

Emotional Eating

I am probably not alone when I say that I use to think I deserved high calorie, high sugar foods if I had a bad day, wanted to celebrate something special or was just feeling down a little bit – that type of food became my reward. I would crave the bad stuff! I am an emotional eater for sure. Happy, sad, angry, anxious all the varied emotions make me want to eat!

It took a long time to finally realize that what I deserved was to be healthy. The real treat is honoring your body by feeding it well and exercising. The rewards of good health far out-way the momentary pleasure that comes from eating outside of hunger. I am a work in progress but the healthier I eat the easier it is to keep eating healthy.

If you feed your body well, exercise and give it the nutrients it needs your body is so much happier. No magic pill, no miracle diet, just good nutrition and exercise. When the food and exercise are in order it makes it easier to control the emotional desire to eat outside of hunger. It is still there from time to time and I can recognize it. For me it happens most often when I am tired or bored.  I try and use distraction to combat it, turn on the computer surf the web, go for a walk, go do some errands – anything that removes me from the kitchen and pantry. It usually works. Sometimes though I give in and eat a bowl of raw veggies or pop some popcorn, it gives me a large volume of crunch for little calories. It is still emotional eating but it’s controlled. I’m not perfect – it works for me.

Eat well and treat your body with kindness – you deserve it.

Tami

Add Your Thoughts

Are you an emotional eater?’

How do you deal with it?

Continue reading »]]> I have a back log of recipes and food reviews just waiting to be posted! Last weekend I made a wonderful appetizer to take to a friends house for dinner. I first heard about this recipe from Helen @ Doing A 180 blog. The original recipe included a mayonnaise based sauce for dipping and Helen reported that all though the polenta fries were delicious she didn’t care for the dip recipe. I decided that polenta fries really called for marinara sauce and it was the right choice. This is a super easy recipe that yields a huge amount of appetizers that are outstanding! Everyone loved it. To keep it super simple I used purchased Classico Organic Tomato & Basil marinara. Fabulous!

 We had a little taste test of the polenta fries before going to our friends house for dinner. I wanted to make sure they were tasty and company worthy. Not to worry – we loved them. The marinara was the perfect dipping sauce. The polenta fries crisped up nicely in the oven, they had a delicious cheesy flavor and dipped in the marinara sauce they tasted like pizza! I haven’t had pizza in months so this was a nice flavor combination. Yum!

I had to take another photo of the baked polenta fries plated on my friend Carrie’s beautiful blue dishes. Carrie decided that she was no longer going to save her good dishes for only special occasions. She now uses them for everyday. I love that! We both agreed that beautiful dishes make us happy.

Baked Polenta Fries

•  4 cups 2% milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup frreshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste and more for sprinkling
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• Marinara sauce for dipping

1. Spray non-stick cooking spray on a baking sheet (or casserole dish). Bring milk, 1 cup water and butter to boil in heavy large saucepan. Gradually whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to low and cook until polenta is very thick and starts to pull away from sides of pan, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in cheese and salt. Add more salt if you like. Immediately transfer polenta to prepared baking sheet, spreading mixture to a 1-inch thickness. Mine filled up half of the baking sheet. No biggie. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool and firm, about 1 hour. (You can totally do this a day ahead. Just be sure to cover and keep refrigerated.)

3. Cut polenta into strips. I opted to make mine wider than the recipe called for so they would be better for dunking in the marinara. I got 45 good size fries. Cut them into whatever size you prefer. Set polenta strips aside.

4. Preheat oven to 450F. Transfer polenta fries to a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with about a teaspoon of kosher salt and some olive oil. Note: I ended up just using olive oil spray on mine instead of a drizzle of olive oil. It worked great.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping the fries at the 10 minute mark. Fries, when done, will be slightly golden brown at the edges. Note: baking time will vary depending on your oven. In my friends oven the fries took 4 minutes longer than in my oven. Also if you put the baking sheet on the oven rack closer to the heating element they will brown quicker so watch them carefully and flip when they start to brown.

Yield: 45 fries      Servings: 15      Servings Size: 3 fries

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1/15 of a recipe (3.8 ounces).

Amount Per Serving (not counting marinara sauce)

Calories 149.79,Total Fat 7.06g, Saturated Fat 3.1g, Cholesterol 13.51mg, Sodium 336.74mg, Potassium 143.21mg, Total Carbohydrates 17.33g, Fiber 1.34g, Sugar 3.43g, Protein 4.83g  WWPP 4

Original Source: Bon Appetit

Nutmeg Notes

Just a couple more food photos from our trip. I don’t want you to think I ate healthy the entire time! As I have said before, I allow myself to have a special dessert (usually just once) when traveling and hubby Tom and I like to get two different desserts and share them. He chose this pound cake with peanut butter cream and jelly. It was something different and quite good.

 This warm chocolate souffle with vanilla bean ice cream was even better! Hubby Tom was stealing extra bites off my plate – it was amazing and worth every calorie. This dessert was one of the best things we ate. The mahi mahi with a macadamia nut crust we had the night before was one of the best fish dishes I have had in a long time. I need to try and recreate it at home.

Back to the regular routine.

My mini vacation is over. It was fun but there is no place like home and sleeping in my own bed. Sunday was spent unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning out the refrigerators (yes we have two) and getting ready for the week ahead. Today I will make a menu for the week and restock the refrigerator and pantry.

I weighed in this morning and I am only up 1 pound! I think that’s actually not bad and I am sure that it will drop in a day or two with regular exercise, drinking lots of water and eating home cooked food.

It’s back to more wedding planning too. I need to start shopping for my dress and I am so glad that I am in my happy weight range and feeling fit! We joke about all of us being on the “wedding diet” but the truth is we all just need to hold our weight steady and keep making good choices about food and exercise.

I already got my 3 mile walk in this morning. This week I have to get back to my weight resistance work out since I missed it last week.

Back to my routine and loving it!

Tami

Add Your Thoughts

What was the best thing you ate over the weekend?