No Sugar Day

Yesterday I saw a link on Facebook about a woman who decided to go a year without any added sugar (there were a few exceptions, once a month treat for birthdays and such). Her whole family joined her challenge and she wrote a book about it. And apparently, yesterday she organized a "Day of No Sugar" challenge, to promote said book. I saw this last night, when I had already eaten my meals for the day, so I thought I'd give the challenge a try today instead.

 breakfast: 1 banana, 1 orange, 2 scrambled eggs
George and Allen had sugary cereal. I tried to convince them they wanted me to cook something for them. After they saw my plate though, they changed their minds and ate some of my eggs, and Allen had some of my orange. Note to self: next time, just start cooking something. Then after they see it on the table and still decide they want something else to eat, that's ok.

 lunch: leftover homemade turkey noodle soup and salad (no dressing)
pretty much any store bought salad dressing has sugar, and I was famished, no time to whip something up. If I had a lemon, I would've squeezed some fresh juice over it, but I forgot to put lemons on my grocery list. The soup actually had a tiny bit of sugar in it because I used canned cream of chicken soup in it. I checked the label and there was sugar way down near the bottom of the ingredients list. Usually I don't use the cream of chicken soup, but I don't have as much time to cook up a substitute (still adjusting to life with a newborn).

 afternoon snack #1: plain yogurt with fresh strawberries
I couldn't resist the big 4 pound container of strawberries at Costco. They looked so good and the price was pretty good too (yes, they also tasted so good).

 afternoon snack #2 (to tide me over while I'm cooking dinner): carrot sticks
These were conveniently waiting in the fridge. I had chopped them up yesterday or the day before.

 Dinner: fajitas
I checked the tortillas, no sugar (it's probably going to be a while before I get back into regularly making my own tortillas). My fajita chicken marinade calls for taco seasoning mix and sugar. I omitted the sugar. My taco seasoning mix had sugar, so I found a sugarless recipe online and it was pretty quick to mix it together. The fajita mix definitely tasted different, but still good. I served it with homemade refried beans (that I had in the freezer), fresh pico de gallo, lettuce, avocado, cheese and sour cream. Another slip up, after my first fajita, I checked the salsa, it had sugar. So I omitted the salsa on my second helping.

Dessert: peanut butter balls
I didn't eat these because they're like 50% added sugar, but yesterday I had promised the boys I would make them today. Peanut butter (added sugar) mixed with crisp rice cereal (forgot to check, but almost certainly has sugar), powdered sugar (sugar!), and chocolate chips (more sugar). I have seen recipes for healthier balls of sweetness (using dates) but I haven't tried any of them yet.

Definitely a helpful challenge, to make one more mindful of reading labels and being aware what may be hiding sugar. I make my own pizza/lasagna/spaghetti sauces, but they all include a little sugar. I could cut that out. I usually bake my own bread, but I also always add honey and/or molasses to sweeten it. Lately I have cut back on how much sweetener, but I will try making bread without any honey or anything and see if anyone notices.

Cooking with Kids

I read on some blog somewhere about how to get kids to love vegetables, and one of the suggestions was to have them help you cook. This was not news to me, I do involve my boys in cooking, but a lot of the tasks are above their skill level, or so I thought. But this blog post mentioned how she had her young daughter peel potatoes or carrots. So when George was bored this afternoon and asked to help me peel the carrots, I said, "Sure!" It took him longer than I would have done it, but in that time I was able to chop up most of the other veggies. He didn't peel off any of his skin, and he did a pretty thorough job of peeling the carrots, not missing too many spots. He did take a few bites while peeling, and took two of the carrots out of the kitchen, one for himself and one for his brother. They ate half of them, the other halves were left on the floor and the dog finished them off. The boys also ate a good amount of cauliflower while I was chopping it up. If it's visible, it's more likely to get eaten!

My morning run

Sorry, this post has nothing to do with food, but I felt I needed to write these thoughts out and thought this would be a good place.

This morning I rolled out of bed and went for a run. I didn't get out the door as fast as I used to back during the RunSwimBikeCook challenge, but I got out the door. And saw snow on the cars. It was still lightly snowing during the couple miles I ran. I licked a big snowflake off my upper lip at one point. And yet I could still hear the birds singing Spring. The frogs have also come back to life; I heard them the other night when I took the dog for a quick walk.

As I was half way through my run, I thought of my friend, Lizzie, who was about to run her first Boston marathon. I thought of my Vibram FiveFingers, how once we're well past snow season, I'll start running in mine again. Maybe next month. I thought of how my friend inspires me: to run, and to do it not just to check it off your to-do list, but to enjoy it. Maybe in a couple years I'll work up to running a marathon myself.

Then later today, I saw the news of the explosions at the Boston marathon. My thoughts raced through shock, worry, then reassuring hope. A couple hours later, I did find out my friend was fine. But so many people are not fine. Lives were lost. Limbs were lost. Will those people ever be able to run again? Even if they are physically able, will they be able to handle it emotionally? I don't know really what to say, what to do. I just continue to hope and pray. And keep on running.

Arabic Cinnamon Drink

It's the end of the Run Swim Bike Cook Challenge. I ran 30 miles and biked 9. Not a whole lot really, but a lot more than I probably would have done during this bitterly cold February had I not decided to do the challenge. This week's cooking assignment was cinnamon, in a drink. I found a recipe for an Arabic cinnamon drink, which sounded really intriguing.

This is the kind of drink you cup in your hands to warm them. A drink you sip slowly at the end of a hard day, while you ponder, or just think of nothing and unwind.

It was the perfect way for me to unwind after putting the boys to bed and cleaning up the kitchen. It simmered on the stove while I washed dishes, wiped down the table and the sticky chairs. It was the perfect way for me to cherish some solitude, since Carlos is away working late. I have some time to myself in the mornings, when I awake before everyone, sometimes even after I get back from a run. But I never know when the silence will be broken, when the cries of "Mommy, Mommy!" will begin. At night, I am more certain of not being interrupted.

Tonight I sat alone at the kitchen table, sipping away my worries. "Lighten up," was the message a neighbor brought me this evening, when she stopped by just a couple hours ago. Learn to let go. It's okay if you haven't dusted in weeks. It's okay if your kid spills grape juice all over the floor. Life happens. Sometimes all we can do is change our attitude. And this soothing warm drink helped me accomplish that tonight.

It's the kind of drink that when you get down to the dregs, you decide you need another helping. Another dose of liquid tranquility.

Arabic Cinnamon Drink
adapted from Food.com

3 cups water
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
3 medium cinnamon sticks
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder (or a thin slice of fresh ginger, a little less than 1/4 t.)
3 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon chopped pine nuts (I didn't have any, so I used cashews, which just sank to the bottom, so they didn't really add much to the drink)

1. Boil all the ingredients except nuts in a saucepan on high heat, then simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Strain into cups.
3. Garnish with nuts.
4. Serve hot.

Butternut Squash Pizza with Crispy Sage

RSBC Status: I've run 26 miles, biked 8 miles. Only .2 more miles of running to go!

This week's food challenge was fresh sage, two ways. I found this recipe and knew immediately I wanted to make it. I love to make pizza, and I had a butternut that had been sitting on my counter for months. I was going to put chopped sage into the pizza dough, but I got on auto-pilot while pouring ingredients into my bread machine and totally forgot the sage, so I compensated by adding the chopped sage with the pizza sauce. I bit the bullet and bought some fresh sage from the grocery store. It does seem so pricey for so few ounces, but I must admit fresh sage smells so good, and it added a nice extra dimension of flavor.

Confession: I always set off the smoke detector when I make pizza. I love to use my baking stone, but to get my pizzas to slide nicely off the peel onto the stone, I have to sprinkle it quite liberally with cornmeal. Then during the transfer, the cornmeal falls onto the bottom of my oven and burns. But it's worth the hassle of taking the smoke detector down temporarily. And tonight, I got the crust crispier than ever! I must say I felt so gourmet serving this to my family for dinner.

For my boys, this seemed to be one-bite pizza. They both had one bite, they both seemed to sincerely like it, but neither ate any more of it. I guess it can't compare to their favorite pineapple pizza (which is what they filled up on that night). Carlos said it could use more butternut flavor. I think I didn't quite slice my squash thick enough. I was afraid 1/4" would be too thick, but I forgot about the shrinkage that would occur in the oven.

Butternut Squash Pizza with Crispy Sage

1 small butternut squash (about a pound, but you will likely have leftover squash)
olive oil

kosher salt
2 cloves garlic
pizza sauce of choice (I used my favorite tomato sauce from Joy of Cooking)
pizza dough (my go to recipe for this is also from JoC)
1-2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/4 t. thyme
15 sage leaves
canola oil for frying
lemon wedges (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice the top of the squash about 1/2-inch under the stem to create a flat edge. Repeat with the other end. Cut crosswise through the squash just above the bulb — cutting the squash into two pieces makes the peeling process easier. Note: I made only one pizza, so I only peeled the longer portion (the non bulb portion) of the butternut squash. Stand the squash upright and, being careful not to slice off your fingers, run your knife down the sides of the squash removing the peel along the way. Repeat with bulb portion if desired. After peeling the bulb portion, cut it in half, scoop out seeds and discard. Cut the peeled squash crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. 

2. Place the slices of squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with kosher salt to taste, toss to coat, redistribute onto sheet in one layer and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove from oven and increase heat to 500ºF. 

3. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic and add it to about 1/4 cup of olive oil. After rolling out a pizza round and placing it on a prepared baking sheet, brush dough with the garlic olive oil. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the garlic oil. Sprinkle with 1 T. chopped sage (about 4 leaves) and half the mozzarella. Top with baked squash slices, then sprinkle the thyme and the rest of the cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, fry the remaining sage leaves one at a time in a small sauté pan filled with a layer of hot oil (but not smoking). The sage leaves should take no longer than 5 seconds to crisp up, then remove them to drain on a plate lined with paper towel.

5. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the crispy sage. Serve slices with lemon wedges to squeeze on top as desired.

Lentils with Sausage and Kale

Run Swim Bike Cook, week 2
So far this month I've run 20 miles and biked 6 miles.
This week's cooking challenge was lentils. I've only cooked with them a couple of times; I've been meaning to get more acquainted with them. I was thinking about making lentil burgers, but I couldn't decide between the two recipes I had found, so I went with something else entirely. Which I am glad I did, because Lizzie's lentil burger recipe sounds much better than the ones I was considering.

So, this is not a very pretty picture (not that any of my food pictures are). Mainly because the kale got overcooked. I underestimated how much more cooking the lentils needed before adding the kale. It still tasted good though. Very sweet from the grape juice (subbed for the red wine, I thought about using chicken or veggie broth, but I liked the sweetness and purple coloring it gave the onions). Oh, and the original recipe called for sage, but I didn't have any. I guess I'll get acquainted with sage this next week (it's the next cooking challenge, and already on my shopping list).

I couldn't convince the rest of my family to eat this (my boys only accepted bites of sausage). I wasn't surprised by this, in fact I had planned to cook it the night I did because Carlos was supposed to be working late that night, but it got postponed so he ended up being home for dinner, and had to fend for himself. Carlos thought I didn't like the dish since there was some left on my plate when I finished eating. On the contrary, I quite enjoyed it, but it was so very filling, I just couldn't eat any more. I enjoyed it for lunch several days after.

Lentils with Sausage and Kale
Serves 4-6, adapted from this recipe

3 t. olive oil
8 oz cooked turkey sausage, sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves minced garlic
pinch of crushed red pepper
2 1/2 c. water
grape juice + 1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar to make 1 1/2 cups
1 c. lentils
1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
1/4 t. thyme
1/4 t. savory
1/4 t. salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from skillet.
2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and onion to the pan and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add water and juice/vinegar mixture, increase heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add lentils, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are almost tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Add kale and spices and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and kale are tender, about 10 minutes more. Stir sausage and pepper into the pan. Cover and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Turkey, Potato and Rosemary Frittata

So my friend Lizzie does this challenge every February. It's called Run Swim Bike Cook, or Ironman meets Iron Chef. The challenge is to do the equivalent of an Ironman (run 26.2 miles, swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles) spread out through the month, plus a weekly cooking challenge. 

I read about it last week and thought, "Maybe this year will be the year I participate, but just the running and cooking, maybe a little biking." And then I forgot about it until yesterday, so last night I planned my breakfast dish with rosemary (the first cooking challenge).

This was my first time making a frittata. It was not hard, and it was faster to cook up than I expected. On Sunday I cooked a turkey dinner, so I decided to use some of the leftovers. And what goes better with turkey than potatoes?

I didn't think I would have time to make this before Carlos left for work, because I really wanted to get a 3 mile run in this morning (so now this month I've run 5 miles). Luckily, he was still asleep when I got back from my run . As I started cooking, Allen kept asking for a cookie and George was furious that I was not making French toast for breakfast. I kept Allen at bay with craisins and gogurt. But George was not to be calmed. When it was done, he refused to sit with us. It wasn't until after Carlos left for work (and after much crying and yelling and knocking chairs over) that George calmed down and I asked him if he wanted to open up a new box of cereal from the pantry. He did, so I prepared him a big bowl of cereal. He started eating it, and I noticed there was a small piece of frittata left on Allen's plate, so I offered it to George. Surprisingly he took it.

This is a direct quote from George after his first bite: "Cook some more tomorrow." After his second bite, he said, "It's super, super good." Then to make sure I had heard him, "Mom, it's super, super good!"

I thought it was good, but not THAT good. I forgot to season the potatoes while they were cooking, and I was going to add some garlic too. I probably could've put more rosemary in as well, and of course I'm sure it would've tasted much better with fresh rosemary. I just don't really have much space near a window to grow herbs indoors. Also, my frittata deflated quite a bit as it cooled. It turned out quite thin, but still tasty. I think next time I'd up the proportion of filling to eggs. Still, not bad for my first try.

Turkey, Potato and Rosemary Frittata
Serves 4-6

olive oil
1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced
5 eggs
1/2 t. salt
pinch of pepper
1/2 t. dried rosemary
1/2 c. chopped cooked turkey

Heat 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, spread in a thin layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat until golden and crisp on the bottom. Turn and cook until the second side is golden. Transfer to a plate with a paper towel to drain off the excess oil.

Preheat the broiler. Beat the eggs and spices together until smooth. In a large, ovenproof skillet, heat another 2 T. olive oil over medium heat. Spread out the potatoes and turkey in the skillet, then quickly pour egg mixture over it. Reduce heat to low and cook until the bottom is set. Sprinkle a little more rosemary on top, then place under broiler for 30 - 90 seconds until the top is finished cooking. Cut into triangles and serve, with a squeeze of fresh lemon on top if desired.