Liking Lately

A combo of What's Making Me Happy This Week with a few Favorite Products thrown in...



// I saw these ring popsicle molds at Home Goods and bought them for the girls. For a second I thought I'd make my own popsicle recipe, but opted for the much more expedient bottle of mixed berry Simply Delicious juice. It takes less than a cup of juice to make a tray of 6 - it's a great small dessert. (When I had a dog I remember reading some quote by the Dog Whisperer that dogs only understand the concept of "one" - it doesn't matter if you give them a small morsel of dog biscuit or a steak - it's the unit of one that matters.)

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// The Chantelle Soft Stretch collection: I have several styles and they are so comfortable! (I also like the Wacoal B Fitting and Cotton Suede undies).


// Sports bra: I'm going to slowly replace all the ones I don't like that migrate to the bottom of the pile with this Zella one that is so comfortable yet supportive.


// This Eileen Fisher shirt that I'm going to wear all summer - to work, on the weekend, without fear of it getting stained, etc. Spendy but so flexible and ethically made, down to the dye. #costperwear


// Finding my favorite sunglasses - spending some solo time with Clemmie.

sidenote: I'm getting a keratin blowout in a couple of weeks because I cannot handle my natural hair texture in the summer. I leave for spin class at 5:15, home by 6:30, and either run out of time or interest before I have to go to work. Looking forward to losing a step (the ineffective blow-dry) from this routine. 


// Refried black beans, from a can, topped with pickled red onions and a spoonful of sour cream.


// Hospital cafeteria pro tip, breakfast edition:

  Step one: Ask for one (generous) scoop of breakfast potatoes with two made-to-order over-easy eggs on top.

  Step two: Ask for a sriracha packet (15 cents) from the secret stash behind the register and make your own sriracha mayo (mayo packets are free).

  Step three: Enjoy perfect eggs dabbed with sriracha mayo over crispy potato cubes. Whoever said you can't buy happiness obviously didn't have $3.85 and a thorough knowledge of the grill station.


// This chartreuse short tree/tall bush outside my spin studio. What is it? It's beautiful. I'm getting a yard consultation next week to jazz things up out there (my goals: stunning but also low maintenance) and this color/texture is my inspiration.

Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

My cooking is pretty simple these days - roasting meat and veggies, scrambling eggs, cutting up fruit, and some baking. Despite its simplicity I'm preparing more food more often and have a list of go-to gadgets and tools. Kitchen gadgets are a weakness of mine and I have lots - but here's what gets used week after week.


Thermapen // Game-changer, favorite, most useful. You can't spend $79 better in a more useful way. This was recommended by America's Test Kitchen and I finally bought it and my only regret is not purchasing it earlier. I used to fret about overcooking pricey steaks due to my old slow and inaccurate dial thermometer. Now everything turns out - HUMBLEBRAG - perfect.

Salad container // Handy for lunches al desko. I put greens in one compartment and goat cheese/salami/olives/sweet peppers/dried cherries/etc in the other and Tessemae's balsamic in the dressing container.

Cast iron skillet // I committed to getting rid of my nonstick pans after reading this terrifying NYT article on the evil and ubiquitous chemical PFOA and the coincident publication of an ATK cookbook Cook It In Cast Iron (ATK cookbooks are another weakness). I embarked on a multiday reseasoning process to restore mine to working order - a scrub, a stint in the auto clean cycle in the oven, and a warm/oil/bake cycle. Now I'm using it frequently to achieve a nonstick finish.

Vollrath baking sheets // Another ATK recommendation. These don't buckle in a hot oven and clean easily. I've used these at least 2-3 times a week for two years and they're still in great condition.

Frother // Jackie recommended this little gadget and we use it daily for bulletproof coffee (coffee + butter + oil, blended). A blender creates a better emulsion but this does a fine job (and quieter, if you creep around the house in the morning like I do).

Planet Boxes // I never use wasteful plastic baggies in the girls' lunches which feels awesome! These clean easily and dry quickly.

Garlic peeler // When I was cooking from recipes (RIP pasta), I used this a bunch. I never mastered the 'smash the clove with a chef's knife' technique because that sounds like a urgent care chief complaint if I've ever heard one.

All-Clad pots and pans // ATK recommendation. I gradually will replace my dark Calphalon cookware. These look great and clean easily (cleaning easily is a theme or maybe the sole criterion?) I like the light color which makes it easy to decide when the butter is browned, etc. Made in the USA!

What are your faves?

Low Carb

We've been eating a low carb diet for three months since Luke read Why We Get Fat after I read about it in Gretchen Rubin's Better Than Before. We wanted to lose some weight (like everyone else) and reduce our sugar consumption. Luke has gone on calorie deprivation diets before that made him (aaaaand those around him) grouchy and irritable. I was particularly interested as I'm cruising toward diabetes if I don't take serious measures - my A1c is elevated, I came close to failing glucose tolerance tests during my pregnancies, and I have a strong family history. Yikes.

First to go were pasta and bread. Buttered noodles and sandwiches were lunch and dinner staples and they were out. I started stocking the fridge with meals of meat + veggies or eggs + veggies. That eggs reheat well was a happy discovery. Breakfast is usually a bulletproof coffee or chilled coffee + a glug glug of chocolate milk (unbelievably delicious but has too much sugar).

In order to keep up with two (or more) meals for two adults a day, I've found I have to do a little bit of cooking everyday. To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross, ALWAYS BE ROASTING.

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I'll oven bake bacon and then roast veggies because it's tasty and less clean-up.

these are too crowded -- they'll steam not roast

Bratwurst and green beans, pork tenderloin and green beans, sirloin with vegetable kebabs.

Some favorite meals:

Broiled pork tenderloin - only clean up is the cutting board (recipe here if you're a member)
Bacon and eggs and veggies
Sausage cut into coins for easing of eating al desko
Sausage, acorn squash, onions
Flank steak
Chili
Veggies that hold up well in the microwave: green beans and brussels sprouts
Chicken is best eaten that day -- neither of us like it that much, particularly as leftovers, so I've given up on make-ahead chicken to decrease waste (exception: chicken salad)
Salads of spring mix, salami, olives, goat cheese. Umami!

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Takeaways

Luke has lost weight, I haven't. Boo. He is also much more conscientious about the diet which unfortunately isn't a diet with an expiration date but the way we plan on eating forever. The science backs it up. My meals are low carb but the treats remain... even so, I'm eating far fewer carbohydrates (50-100 grams per day - I track everything in MyFitnessPal) and less sugar.

Because of his strictness, Luke can perceive a difference in his mood and energy level when eschewing carbohydrates (stable) versus a high carb day (erratic). Even if some of it is a placebo effect, it's still powerful and motivating.

The girls eat fewer carbs too although they often manage to get two bananas a day apiece which is 28 grams of sugar! We feed them meat which they like, veggies (which C refuses), fresh fruit, hummus, cottage cheese. No more yogurt. Pasta is infrequent and usually reserved for those Friday nights when everyone is exhausted MACARONI TAKE THE WHEEL.

Meal prep has made me a much happier person. Dinner was always a stressful scramble - either trying to make something when I got home from work, reheating lasagna or enchiladas or some other 9x13 meal, or getting takeout. Now everything is already in the fridge. Oh - that's something else. If your family balks at leftovers this won't work. Neither of us mind reheated food so it works swimmingly for us.

The food is rich and satisfying. Who doesn't want to eat bratwurst? Incorporation of more chicken and fish is the next hurdle.

What's missing from the diet is CRUNCH. (Funnily enough, Quealy Watson just mentioned the extreme palatability of crunch in the ATK podcast I listened to recently). Luke and Josie love pork rinds (zero carb).

It's expensive. Responsibly sourced meat and eggs are expensive but worth it.

It's a little bit of work everyday to stay ahead.

Sauces are important - guacamole and sour cream are favorites. Store-bought sauces, especially barbecue sauce, are sugar bombs. I've been a diligent label-reader for years yet the insane amount of sugar in innocuous products has taken me by surprise. (My nutritionist set a maximum sugar goal of 38 grams per day; the WHO recommends no more than 25 grams. Guess how much sugar is in one Cadbury egg - 20 grams! One banana - 14 grams!)

Grocery shopping has become much, much easier. 1) I have some go-to items: pork tenderloin, chicken breasts + jar of salsa verde for the slow cooker, veggies, HEB ready-made jalapeño poppers and guacamole, lots of eggs. 2) I'm no longer zooming around looking for a can of this, a bottle of that. I shop the perimeter of the store.

Bulletproof coffee for breakfast is a breakthrough. Gretchen Rubin's book discusses how we have a finite amount of self control each day and the more decisions we can automate, the more we well up those reserves. Deciding to have the same thing for breakfast everyday is another decision I don't have to make. Forgoing the cinnamon roll* is easy because "I have bulletproof coffee for breakfast." It keeps me full and energized for three to three and a half hours until I'm suddenly STARVING. Then I'll have a mini meal of bacon and eggs and perhaps another mini meal at 2 or 3 (salad or meat/veg). When I arrive home I'm not ravenous. [This is an ideal day - most days are degrees of imperfect and sometimes it's birthday cake for lunch. Whoops.)

*I love to bake and still do but give everything away or freeze it. Like I said, the treats remain.

Carb-rich foods are better and luxurious now, perhaps because we hold out for delicious pizza or really great tacos or housemade pasta at a restaurant.

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This is our new low carb lifestyle! I have a long way to go in terms of cravings, better adherence, preparation of chicken and fish and leafy greens, and modeling healthy eating for the kids but I am encouraged by the strides we've made so far.

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