Sushi!!

I've been wanting to try sushi for years, but no body I knew was adventurous enough to try it. In my conversations with Mari I learned that she loved sushi, but then we didn't get anywhere to eat it until yesterday. It was purely happenstance that we found this restaurant in Mankato. I have to say, I love sushi. I've already ordered a cook book and I plan on trying to make my own. And most sushi really does stand up to my dietary restrictions. So, keep watching the blog because I will undoubtedly share my experiences with you, and maybe you'll get invited to a sushi party. :)

Anyone Can Make This

I know I've been rather silent for awhile again, but between the holidays, and the fast track I'm teaching, I just haven't focused on one thought long enough to actually get it posted.

As I expected, I ate too much during the holidays, and I'm working at taking it off again. I've gotten back into the diet and I've been walking, albeit not as regularly as I'd like, at the wellness center. And I think through the early months of the year, I'll really be able to establish good habits. I just hope we don't have too many snow days. I'm too close to the refrigerator on snow days.

I know some of you were interested in my efforts to pull up the carpet in my living room and dining room. I got the last of the carpet pulled up last week. There are still some tack strips and a few staples left (I got cold and achy down on the floor after awhile), but they'll be easy enough to pull up a bit at a time. Although the living room and dining room are essentially one single room, the floor in the living room has a higher finish. It's sort of weird. I do plan on refinishing them to a certain extent this coming summer, but isn't really going to take much.

Last night, I had Mari over for supper. She was game for playing the guinea pig with a new recipe. I was a bit anxious about it because it could have been a real dog of a recipe. Happily, I can say that it turned out very good. As we talked about it between our groans of pleasure with each bite, I kept on reassuring Mari, who claims to be not much of a cook, that she could easily make this. After saying "Anyone could make this" about 3 times, she suggested that that's the title I should give my cook book Anyone Can Make This. I don't know about the cook book idea, but it's true, if you can read directions, and sensibly make changes, anyone can make most of the dishes.

So anyway, the dish I made was Broiled Tilapia with Frisée-Apple Salad and Mustard-Parsley Sauce found on page 48 in the December 10, 2010 Best of Cooking Light: Fast Healthy Meals in 30 Minutes or Less. I wasn't able to acquire the arugula and frisée. For some reason, greens aren't as well accepted in this part of the country. Considering this is grassland, you'd think it would be a natural. So instead, I substituted my beloved spinach. I'm glad I could find the mint leaves. They made a real difference in the salad. The recipe makes 6 servings, so I halved it. Once we dug into it, we both wished I had made a full recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup water
4 teaspoons salt divided
1 teaspoon sugar
6 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets.
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
8 cups arugula
6 cups trimmed frisée
1/2 cup mint leaves
2 Gala apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

Preparation
1. Combine 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon salt, and sugar in a shallow dish. Add fillets; let stand 15 minutes. Remove fillets from brine; pat dry. Discard brine. Brush fillets with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.
2. Preheat broiler
3. Place fillets on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 7 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
4. Combine arugula, frisée, and mint in a large bowl. Combine apple and 1 tablespoon oil; toss well. Add apple mixture and 1/4 teaspoon salt to arugula mixture, and toss gently.
5. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, chopped parsley, and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk until blended. Divide arugula mixture evenly among 6 plates; top each with 1 fillet. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon sour cream mixture over each serving.

Yields 6 servings

Nutritional information:
Calories 294
Fat 11.5 grams
Protein 35.4 grams
Carbs 15.2 grams
Fiver 4.1 grams

All of which equals 8 weight watcher points plus value points

Blissful inactivity

I've remained blissfully inactive since the end of the semester...ok, yesterday I went in and did some work in preparation of my Christmas Break fast track, but it's not really working. Mostly I've been reading, eating, knitting, eating, crocheting, eating, listening to recorded books, eating, watching movies, eating, watching cheesy Christmas specials, and, oh yes, did I mention that I've also been eating? I know it doesn't sound healthy, but it's been very restful. This evening, I finished crocheting a Santa hat for my grandma's ceramic black lab...yes, you read that correctly. That's about as pressing as anything I've done in the last week or so.

Joey's also really enjoyed it. She gets downright indignant if I go anywhere for even a short period of time. My purpose in life is to provide her with a good scratch and a place to rest her head when she's feeling a bit drowsy. My knee is perpetually warm.

But this wouldn't be bliss if it lasted forever. It'll be just long enough to refresh and rejuvenate and not so long it becomes boring. My class begins in a little less than a week. And I will get back to dieting and exercising come the new year. So "Eat, drink and be merry, for next year we will diet." :)

Breathing

Yesterday and today, I've been taking it easy. It's snowing outside right now, which makes it a perfect day to curl up under a warm blanket and read. This is a necessary part of the process. When I've been working so hard at the end of the semester I have to learn what it feels like to be in my skin. I have to remember who I am. I know that may sound silly, but when you've gone full-bore for a couple of weeks on end you forget.

I'm also taking a holiday from the diet. One of the bad things about being on the diet, when I cheat, I binge. I have this mindset of "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow I diet." I try to get my full of everything even if I don't want it because I know I won't be able to have it when I'm back on the diet. So, I've decided to give myself my blessings to go off the diet for awhile, not just a day and eat what I want to eat when I want it and no more. Then, at the beginning of the new year, I'll start fresh. I feel a lot more relaxed since I've made this deal with myself, and I need that right now.

End of Semester

I'm sorry I haven't been here for awhile. I've literally been buried under papers. Every semester this happens. I can't even begin to tell you the number of papers I've had to read and grade over the last couple of weeks. I submitted grades this morning and I've spent most of the afternoon and evening just breathing in and out, trying to remember what it's like not having the weight of all those papers on me.

Unfortunately, the stress of the end of the semester always defeats my dieting efforts. I need to chomp on something while I chew my way through the papers. Peanuts and pistachios in their shells are the most satisfying. The janitorial staff at school isn't very happy with me. But I think peanut shells would be easier to clean up than the mess they'd have if my head exploded.

I did however do something constructive. I joined the Regional Wellness Center. I've only been able to go once, but I'm hoping to go again tomorrow.

I know the last time I wrote, I was complaining of joint pain. My tests all came out negative. The multiple doses of Aleve help. I still have my moments of pain, but it's better. Hopefully it'll get better the more weight I lose. Of course, I'm working of weight I've lost and regained and lost and regained. It's been a vicious cycle, but I know it'll be easier from the new year until spring break, as long as the weather isn't too nasty and I find myself trapped at home with the refrigerator.

Getting Back to Myself

I saw my doctor yesterday. He took some blood tests and I haven't received the results yet, but he also told me to take Aleve...6x the normal dosage! But you know what? I've been doing it and I'm ever so much better. I still can feel a twinge, and I know when it's time to take more, but I can move and I don't feel 110 years old. I'm back to my more moderate and agile 85.

I even took Joey out for a walk in the cold this afternoon, and shoveled a path to my back door. That I only did a half-ass path is my modus operandi. :)

This evening Mari and I her daughter McKenzie and I are going to the college's Madrigal Festival. I'm looking forward to it. I'm feeling a bit Medieval. Ok, I really think it's closer to the Renaissance, but people rarely recognize that. This should be fun. I know most of the students involved, and I know they'll be pleased to see us.

A Fresh New Start

Two dynamos came into my house last night and ripped up the carpet in my dining room. I'm referring to Mari and her daughter Maddy. They recently ripped up carpet in their home and they thought it was so much fun, they couldn't wait to tackle my floor. Boy, I felt my age. I really found it hard to keep up with them. Mari was so efficient at it, I threatened to knit right in her face. Knitting is one thing I do fairly well that Mari doesn't. It was my way of bolstering my ego. However, I really appreciate their efforts. As you can see the floor came out very nicely. There are a few stains and scratches. I'll have to sand and varnish, but not a lot of either one. And the floor is nice enough, I'll be able to put off those two tasks, and putting in quarter round until next summer. Mari will probably be wanting to get to the living room carpet even before the splinters in her butt heal.

On the dieting front, things are much better. I'm still dealing with joint pain, but I see the doctor on Friday. I think once that appointment was made, I was able to renew my efforts. In addition to starting fresh, Weight Watchers has changed their program. Whereas, the program counted calories, fat grams and fiber grams in the past, it now has us counting fat grams, protein grams, fiber grams, and carbohydrate grams. No calories are in the figuring. This has really enlivened my diet because it has made most fruit and vegetables free, and believe me, I tested it. I plugged in things like 20 apples and it still counted them as zero points. And although it's only been a couple of days, I can tell it's working. I've lost all but maybe 2 of the 11 pounds I put back on over the two previous weeks. And I'm full!!! If I feel the need to munch, I grab some carrots, cauliflower, an apple, grapes, or an orange. It's awesome!!!