Veggie Roasting Sunday

What do you do on Sunday after buying a table-full of produce on Saturday?  You clean, prep and cook, cook, cook!


I know that if I don't address fresh veggies immediately, they will not be fresh for long and too many will be compost-bound.  Not acceptable!  


This morning I started with cleaning up the brown mushrooms from the farmers market and then letting them take a happy soak in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a bit of fresh ground sea salt and black pepper.  I then decided that I had too many bell peppers sitting there to not use some today, so a few of them got diced up and added to the happy bath...along with a bit of the scallions.  After the veggies were sufficiently flavored, they went onto the foil-lined baking stone in the oven to roast.


Then the house started smelling like something tasty.  I peeked in on my veggies and saw the pile of fresh zucchini.  They just looked up at me as if they were missing out on the fun.  So, the mandolin came out, the zucchini were quickly and evenly sliced and waited in a similar bath of happiness for the mushrooms to be done.  


Before getting to the Sunday cleaning and preparing to head to mom & dad's for dinner, the zucchini hit the oven for a good roasting through.  


Dinner is now done and was quickly consumed.  Grilled salmon, asparagus, roasted potatoes (for mom & dad), and the roasted mushrooms, peppers and scallions were DELICIOUS!  I didn't even slow down enough to grab my phone and snap a picture...my apologies.


When I get home, I'm going to finish up my roasting with the remaining peppers and tomatoes.  They will then go to the freezer for whatever use I find for them...the fridge is stocked with roasted veggies for a few days.

Stuffed Bella Caps

Tonight's dinner - after an afternoon of shopping and a great haul of fresh produce and meats - turned out to be Stuffed Bella Caps.  


It started without a recipe and evolved into a tasty dinner that I will be repeating sometime in the future, much to my tummy's happiness.


The starring players...

Portabella Mushroom Caps

Ground Turkey

Diced Bell Peppers

Chopped Green Onions

Shredded Cheese

...add in a few shakes of black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and 3 cloves of garlic.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook the turkey in a pan until not-quite cooked.
• While turkey is cooking, take care of the mushrooms and prep veggies:
• Clean out mushroom caps, a spoon and paper towel are all you need to make quick work of this.
• Arrange mushroom caps on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet.  I line my baking stone with foil and eliminate any messy clean-up.
• Dice peppers and green onions.
• Drain liquid from pan.
• Return to pan with turkey to stove and add the seasoning.  
• Add in diced peppers and onions and cook until turkey is cooked through.
• Once the turkey mixture is done, spoon into mushroom caps and sprinkle with cheese.

• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
• Enjoy a tasty and healthy meal!

Medifast followers: I made this recipe to serve 2 full Lean & Green meals.  The turkey was a little shy of a full serving of lean, the small amount of cheese made up the difference.  The mushroom caps equaled 2 greens and the peppers & onions made up the remaining green.

If you are not following a specific diet plan, go ahead and zest this up to your liking.  I'd recommend something like a simple tomato sauce with the turkey & vegetable stuffing.  

Happy Cinco de Produce!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Friends!


I spent my afternoon on an expedition to stock up for some tasty lean & green meals with my mom and dad.


We started at the West Allis Farmers' Market.  It was opening day for the season and today presently mostly plants - herbs, vegetables and beautiful floral varieties.  I was able to pick up a few pounds of fresh spinach and some beautiful mushrooms.  


Next was a trip to the fabulous Metcalfe's Sentry for some items from their amazing meat case.  I just packed up some chicken breasts, ground turkey, boneless pork chops and ground lamb.  Not to shabby for a quick run-in on a Saturday afternoon.


Finally, we took our maiden voyage into Pete's Fruit Market.  Oh...it was everything I thought it would be and then some.  I left there with a bucket of tomatoes, another bucket of bell peppers, a bunch of green onions, a head of romaine lettuce and some zucchini.  All for just over $11!

Now, I must decide...what's for dinner?

A KISS Weekend

My delightful group of Super Sexy MFers (Medifasters) has taken a new approach to weekends.  No longer is it the days of Martini Fridays, Sangria Saturdays and Bloody Mary Sundays.  We've grown up and gained some focus somewhere along our collective journey.  These days, we have KISS weekends - Keep It Simple, Sexies!


No snacks, no extra condiments, simple lean & green meals and lots of water and green tea.  We're sticking to the simplest form of following the Medifast program - wherever we are on that journey - as a form of maintaining our focus over what could be challenging weekends full of tempting smells, delicious drinks and divine dining.


After the success of last weekend, I've kept at the KISS approach.  I haven't stopped. Today marks day eight of my KISS journey.  I'm down over 4 pounds from where I was last Friday.  My official weigh in is Monday.  It's also the day I weigh in for the Biggest Loser contest at work AND the day I weigh in for the May challenge in my health coach's facebook group.

Could It Be...A Manic Monday?

Yes, it was 6 o' clock when I woke up and discovered it was a MANIC MONDAY! 

I was up much too late last night, caught up in a facebook chat with my delightful Medi-friend Kelsey.  I didn't get as much sleep as normal.  I was all worked up about the challenge starting in my coach's facebook group, the Biggest Loser weigh-in at school, and just the plain and simple fact that...IT'S MONDAY!!!

My daily dose of green tea brewing.

Now, like any well-planned woman who has to step on a scale at an appointed time, I was not about to be eating, drinking, slurping or biting on anything until ALL of my weigh ins were done.  And this wasn't any ordinary Monday morning.  

Oh no!  There was no waking up and doing the birthday suit weigh in and calling it a day.  Nope!  

Today, I had to take a picture of the number on the scale...showing my feet.  And I had to post it to the coach's facebook group for all the world - well, all the world of the super-secret-it's-okay-to-post-your-weight-facebook-group - to see.  Yep.  That's what I did first thing today.

Then, I got ready for a Monday at school...still no food...and headed to school.  I started my first class of the day and then...I weighed in AGAIN.  That's right, friends - today was weigh-in day for The Biggest Loser at work!  And - I'm down 4.5 lbs. since we first weighed in last Monday.  Oh YEAH!!!

And, as much as I was in a funk, waiting to get my first meal of the day in and waiting for the nurse to make her way to her 3rd floor office so that I could 1. get the weigh-in over 2. see how I did on her scale and 3. get back to my classroom and enjoy my Cappuccino, I can't tell you how great it felt to see the 4.5 lb. loss and Nurse Natasha's face when she did the math.  Oh yes!!!  THIS GIRL is going to be winning The Biggest Loser...work edition!

The rest of my day went on as usual and I'm safely back home about to enjoy my Lean & Green dinner of Romaine, Light Hidden Valley Ranch, Spaghetti Squash and Ground Turkey with Italian Seasoning...mostly leftovers from last night - which I have been looking forward to all day.  Then, it's time to lace up the shoes and head outdoors for some fresh air and a walk.

My friends, have a fabulous rest of a Monday and I will see you tomorrow.

Go get 'em, tigers!

Bring On the Challenge

And...we're all caught up with the blogs from my mymedifast blog.  
Here is today's installment...


It's here!  Tomorrow begins the May challenge on my health coach's facebook group.  Everyday there is a themed check-in.  There are prizes at the end.  We track points for participation and weight-loss.  There's even a "rest day" on Sundays.  Oh, I can't wait!

I've had a great weekend of preparation.  My other facebook group of fabulous MFing friends has been on a Clean & Simple challenge since Friday.  For that, I've cut out snacks, condiments and any little blt sneaks that may occasionally pop into my mouth for consumption.

I have been preparing for this.  I have tidied up my food cabinet - The Battle Station - and updated my BeSlim Club order for tomorrow.  The grocery list is on the fridge and I've been walking on a regular basis.  Yesterday, I ran.  In the rain. 

 

Tomorrow also is the official start of my training for the Wisconsin Bike MS event that I will participate in for my 6th year in August.  My last ride was way back in 2008.  I've been out of the loop due to injuries and surgery.  This year, I'm back!  

And, let's not forget that Biggest Loser competition at work.  Tomorrow is weigh-in #2.  Hmm...I wonder what my colleagues have been eating this weekend.

Well, whatever the challenge, I'm up to it.  I'm prepared, I have a plan and I will achieve what I set out to do.

Wishing you another great day of Medifasting success.

Go get 'em, tigers!

Keeping it Clean & Simple

Originally Published April 27, 2012


Yesterday I had the great fortune of being welcomed into a facebook group of medifriends.  It is an active and chatty group of ladies that are really working their journey - wherever they are in this process.  Some are very new, some are in transition and some - like me - are returning customers.  This is what inspired yesterday's Find Your Happy Place blog post.

Well, this group is taking on a challenge for the weekend - we're keeping it CLEAN & SIMPLE today through Sunday...longer if we're inspirted.  No extras in our meals, sticking to our water, adding in some green tea, and staying true to the program.  I love it!

Sometimes, we need a reminder of what it is that's going to get us to goal - and through goal into the healthy lifestyle that will keep us going and active for the rest of our lives.  It's good to review the program and sharpen our focus.  Not that we purposefully let things loosen up - but life gets a hold of us and sometimes, the picture is a little blurry, the scale is buried under a spaghetti squash (yes, that is the case this very moment), the measuring cup is in the pile of dirty dishes.  

Well, this weekend is the time for us to put on our glasses (maybe I should clean the lenses...), bake that spaghetti squash for another day and do the dishes!

If you're inclined to challenge yourself to clean up your routine, I welcome you to join me and would love to hear how it goes for you.  You know where to find me.

Happy Medifasting Weekend, my friends!

Go get 'em, tigers!