January 12th, 2010

Not So Tasty Squash

I used my leftover stuffing from my Stuffed Pumpkin the other night to stuff my kabocha squash. I added some sunflower kernels we bought for salads to the mix. The squash was too bitter to really taste good. My wife says I am obsessed with kabochas... I do not believe this to be true. We have only bought them three times. This is twice now that they just have not tasted good. I think I am done with them now. One magical squash was tasty, the rest of them are just too bitter. The sunflower kernels on the other hand were a delicious addition to my stuffing mix. They may find their way into more of my mixed meat and veggi dishes.

When my youngest daughter went down for her nap my 2 year old and I did some body weight exercises in the living room. She loved making circles with her arms and her assisted sit ups. She especially loved watching me do jumping jacks... she ran circles around me screaming the whole time. She is a very random kid.

My Meals Today:

My appetite has been crazy today. Everything looks good enough to eat.

Breakfast:
12 oz. Tri-Tip
B.A.S. (Big Ass Salad)
12x Grape Tomatos
3x tablespoons of Marie's Ranch

Snack:
1/2 Orange

Dinner:
1/4 Stuffed Kabocha Squash
1.5 cups of Brocholi and Cauliflower

Snack:
3 oz. salted Cashews

Review:

1. No Sugar. I will give myself an A. I ate an orange, but I am not going to count fruit as raw sugar.
   
2. No Grains. I will give myself a B. There was some rice in my stuffed squash.
   
3. Move around a little every day. I have to give myself a C. I did play with my kids, but it was nothing significant. I did a few sets of side-straddle hops which had me beat.
   
4. Move really fast every once in a while. Another day without sprints.
   
5. Lift heavy things. I will give myself a B. I worked up a sweat and I can feel it in my arms.
   

Overall Grade: B About time I started having better days. Now let's keep it up.

January 6th, 2010

Not Induction Flu, Head Cold

Turns out I was not suffering from induction flu. Or, if I was, I also have a head cold. In any case, I am sniffly and achy and coughing. Fun stuff. Hopefully it will pass quickly and I can begin to reap the energy benefits of avoiding heavy carbohydrates.

We left the house today, to run some errands, and I ended up napping in the parking lot of Old Navy with my 1 year old while K and the 2.5 year old went shopping.

Recipes: Stuffed Pumpkin

1x small Baking Pumpkin
1 tablespoon of Butter
1/2 lb. Ground Pork Sausage
1 lb. Ground Beef
1x chopped Yellow Onion
1x bunch chopped Spinach
2x chopped Zuchini
3x chopped Celery Stalks
4x chopped Young Carrots
8x chopped White Button Mushrooms
1 1/2 cups Cooked Wild Rice

The basis for my stuffed pumpkin was Alton Brown's Stuffed Squash.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut 1-inch off the top of each acorn squash and scoop out the seeds. If necessary in order for the squash to sit upright, cut off a small portion of the bottom. Put 1 of the 4 pieces of butter in the cavity of each squash. Set squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, brown the ground pork until no longer pink. Remove the meat from the pan, add the olive oil and saute the onion, celery, and carrot until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine.

Return the pork to the pan along with the cooked rice, spinach, pine nuts, oregano and salt and pepper, to taste. Stirring constantly, heat mixture thoroughly, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Divide the mixture evenly among the squash, top each squash with its lid and bake for 1 hour or until the squash is tender. Serve immediately.

I used a small baking pumpkin in place of acorn squash. The wife and I have never had good luck with the smaller, weirder squashes. I purchased a Kabocha Squash to use with this recipe as well, but I figure I will save it and cook it another night. I had plenty of left over stuffing.

I had plenty of assorted vegetables in the fridge and I decided to chop them all up and toss them into the pot. The more the merrier.

The last few times I have attempted to stuff a pumpkin, either the skin burned or turned out too hard and raw. This time, I had perfect results, and the flesh was amazingly delicious.

My Meals Today:

Breakfast:
1x Banana

Snack:
2.5 oz Dark Chocolate (67%)

Dinner:
1/6 Serving of Stuffed Pumpkin
Hefeweizen Beer

Review:

1. No Sugar. I will give myself a B. I ate some dark chocolate, but I was otherwise a good boy.
   
2. No Grains. I will give myself a C. I drank a beer and had wild rice in my stuffed pumpkin. The beer is a bad habit that will be gone as soon as the last beer is gone. The rice was a mix of wild rice so it was not as bad as say a plate full of Uncle Ben's Minute Rice.
   
3. Move around a little every day. I will give myself a C. I amazed myself by actually leaving the house. K did not give me much choice in the matter. But, the way I was feeling leaving the house at all on my day off was an achievement.
   
4. Move really fast every once in a while. I will pass on this one until I feel better. No sprinting, but my accelerated heart rate just climbing stairs and walking to the car was good enough today.
   
5. Lift heavy things. I will give myself an F. I did no body weight exercises. Getting out of bed with my 1 year old this morning was enough work for me today.
   

Overall Grade: C- I feel like crap. My activities reflect this trend. My meals today were quite well planned. I hope to get a lot of rest tonight and feel significantly better in the morning.