Surprise surprise, veggie surprise for Cinderelly

When Theo and Ida were little I think I was at the peak of my dinner-making powers. Which is weird because wouldn’t you think I would be better at dinner now that I don’t have babies? But no. I’m just defeated. Defeated by years and years of soccer practices and piano lessons and church activities and early mornings and late nights and other things that interfere with a normal dinner. I am pretty sure that I got more sleep and ate better food when I had toddlers than I do now.

But anyway a lot of my favorite recipes back then came from Real Simple. And one classic that could always be trusted—ravioli with zucchini and garlic— has evolved into what we now call Veggie Surprise.

Veggie surprise is always some kind of pasta. Usually some kind of protein (usually broiled sausage but sometimes mozzarella chunks) and always some kind of vegetable (often zucchini, sometimes peppers, green beans, or whatever I have) that’s been oven-roasted on a baking sheet with olive oil, minced garlic, S&P, + whatever else I feel like… usually including chili powder. Lately I’ve been doing black garlic, which is *chef’s kiss.*

Matt does not enjoy this meal, unfortunately. But—fortunately or unfortunately—he does not usually eat dinner with us. It’s so fast to make and clean up—one saucepan for the pasta, one sheet pan for the veggies, one broiler pan for the sausage (and sometimes I broil the veggies too if I really want a shortcut). And the kids love it and they’ll always eat it. With gusto. My work here is done. Veggie surprise every night, from now to eternity! Jk. We do have it about once a week, though… probably have averaged once or twice a month for the past 15 years. That’s a lot of veggie surprise. 😂

Thanks for pie

I’ve eaten a lot of it this past week. (I regret nothing)

Brought to you by TJ’s and my camera roll

Just because sometimes I can’t think of what to write on my blog so I scroll through old photos until something strikes me. Here’s a recent TJ’s find that I texted to my sisters. Shakshuka is one of those things I’ve been seeing everywhere and the TJ’s frozen section is an extremely low-cost way (in both time and money) to try it out. I added rice (also TJ’s also frozen) and it was Very Taste. As my niece Eve would say. Or would have said when she was little.

While I’m at it. Also new to me this year—and good:

Finally, certainly not new and certainly a perennial favorite:

Beets on earth, goodwill to men

Are you dying to know what my goal for the week is??

Well. I started off the week thinking I need to increase my vegetable intake, which is true. I googled “brain fog” (because I’ve been having it) and google told me to eat more vegetables. So, I thought I’d aim to get the recommended number of servings per day.

The fact that I do not know what the recommended number of servings per day is, might give you a hint as to how that is working out.

BUT, I have definitely been more conscious about eating some sort of vegetables each day... in some sort of quantity. I’ve been deliberate about fruit too. Any improvement is an improvement; right?

Brain fog may or may not be improving. Not sure. Still too foggy to tell. But I have eaten an apple a day and that should, theoretically, keep the doctor away. I have also been waking up earlier, and going for long walks every day, and I am super happy about both of those things.

I ALSO cooked beets today. My neighbor Mike came home from his friend’s farm with approximately 1,000,000 beets, and convinced me to try them. He was like, “Eliza, all we are saying, is give beets a chance” and I was all, “everybody’s talkin’ bout, revolution, evolution” (not really; unfortunately there was no John Lennon-themed exchange.) Upon his instructions, I steamed them, and peeled them, and diced them, and roasted them with oil, garlic and salt.

And then I ate them in a salad so that I could say that I tried them. And I knew in that moment that I would be fine never eating beets again.

Thanks for popcorn

Whoops! Forgot a day again! I’ll do two today.

I am thankful for popcorn. That sounds really silly, but it’s a pretty big part of my life! (And I just had some kettle corn, which is my favorite kind of popcorn.) We eat popcorn all the time. Popcorn forever!

Thanks for TJ’s.

Shoot! I wrote an eloquent post (so very eloquent) about how much I love Trader Joe’s, and then my blogging app froze and deleted it.

I’m not trying to rewrite that thing so please just know: I LOVE TRADER JOE’S!

Thanks for cereal

Cold cereal is my lifelong treat that I don’t know if I could ever give up. I’ve given it up temporarily now and then when I was giving up sugar, but I always come back to it.

When I was a kid I used to dump additional sugar in my cereal. We always had a sugar bowl, and there was also a phase where we had sugar packets. I would pour as many as three of those packets into my cereal. 

One day when I was about 8 or 9, my dad asked me if I had ever considered trying cereal without the pile of sugar. I tried it, liked it, and never put sugar in again. I still can’t fathom putting it in, and I don’t like “sugar” cereal anymore. Rice Krispies, cornflakes, Chex, all the “bland” classics where the sugar to fiber ratio qualifies them as a treat, are just the amount of sweet for me.

Thanks for green smoothies.

On Thanksgiving night I stuffed myself so full of pie that I felt a little sick. I went to bed at 8:30 pm and slept 10 hours straight. I asked Matt to buy me some spinach (because we didn’t have any in the house, because who needs spinach at Thanksgiving?) and I made some green smoothies. Ahhh. I finally felt better. (Pie is so good though... but apparently I have zero self control with it)

Thanks for my TJ’s.

That’s everything I love about TJ’s, right there.

The convenience

The frozen

The carbs

The seasonal

The cheese

I WANT IT ALL!

And for good measure and as proof. Here is a selfie of me, enjoying my seasonal frozen cheesy carby convenience food. I sent it to Matt a few weeks ago because he always wants to know what I’m doing at work. I’m eating, darn it.

Just kidding, he doesn’t actually want to know, but I send him selfies anyway.

Thanks for leftovers

Duh!

Thanks for Easy Night

Over the years we have generally done some sort of theme pattern for dinners each night. It helps me grocery shop/meal plan and it also helps me be sane. And it especially helps Theo because he likes to know what to expect; on the flip side it helps him practice flexibility when we vary from the routine for whatever reason. ;)

The current iteration is: 

Sunday is Dad Cooks Night, 

Monday is Leftovers Night (or sometimes Taco Night),

Tuesday is Pasta Night, 

Wednesday is Kids Cook Night (their favorite),

Thursday is Breakfast for Dinner Night, 

Friday is Pizza Night, 

and...

Saturday is Easy Night.

Easy Night usually means either a smorgasbord from the fridge and pantry (aka Fend For Yourself), or some sort of premade option that I dig out of the freezer, or, everyone’s favorite, we go out to a restaurant.

I love Easy Night. I’m very thankful for Easy Night!

Spinat mit Ei

(Picture has nothing to do with the post, I just scrolled through my photos looking for something relevant, found nothing, but did see this one from Polly's first day at home and it made me smile.)

There's a scene in Betsy and the Great World where Betsy, traveling in Munich and unsure of the German language, orders Spinat mit Ei at a restaurant because she can't remember the names of any other dishes. I have been thinking of that scene because I've been eating a whole lot of Spinat mit Ei. It's probably the most lasting effect of Whole 30 and the most positive food change I've made.

Maybe 75% of mornings, I pile a plate with a few fistfuls of spinach (and/or kale or chard or whatever I have, but usually spinach because it tastes the best) and wilt it in the microwave it for about a minute. Then I fry 2 eggs so the yolk is only slightly runny and put that on top with salt and pepper. Then, I add... something. Today I topped it with guacamole and ate it all with tortilla chips. Yesterday I topped it with cold roasted vegetables (only cold bc I didn't have time to warm them up). Another day I might add avocado slices with salt, or avocado toast, or whatever leftover meat, or hash browns.

On the mornings I don't have Spinat mit Ei, I try to have a smoothie with greens... Or eat something wrapped in lettuce... Or eat some salad. And if that doesn't work out, then maybe that day goes by without enough greens (or any greens...), but it's OK because most days have enough. 

So I just wanted to share that very non-revolutionary practice, which is to start the day with a bunch of leafy greens and some protein and then worry less about food the rest of the day. Basically what I did with the Whole 30 this time was follow it strictly for about a week; then slowly add foods back in. I haven't had a bowl of cereal in weeks, not because I'm not allowing myself to, but because other stuff is more appealing. For now. A few people have asked me how my Whole 30 went this time, and that's the answer. Starting off with greens and protein whenever I can, is helping the rest of the day go better.

Clearly I have some minor food issues. I think I have unintentionally passed them on to Theo, who is anxious about food. We don't restrict our kids' food, and our pantry and fridge are always open and full, but he worries whether he's going to get enough, whether someone else will get a bigger helping than he will. He takes for-ev-er to eat every meal and snack and he has to eat foods in a certain order. He will eat most foods, though, and even usually tries new foods. Sure, part of the anxiety is from his peanut allergy but part of it is from me. I have used (and still sometimes use) food to cope with life in general. Is this because I don't drink alcohol? Maybe. All summer, I ate junk food all day and almost no vegetables besides the occasional baby carrots. Oh, and of course the sauce on pizza counts as a vegetable. Once the Halloween season started, forget about it. All candy all the time. Then pie and ice cream in November, then December was a month of delicious cookies. 

The main problem was that I was eating this stuff so frequently, with nothing to contrast it, that I didn't actually notice whether it was delicious or not... and, I pretty much felt terrible all the time.

Also, because I wasn't really paying attention to my own food, I also wasn't paying much attention to what my kids ate. For all I know, they were eating as badly as I was all summer.

Anyway I hope my newfound discipline lasts longer than a Whole 30 does. So for now, here's to the leafy greens, and how they are helping my days go better, and helping me enjoy candy and cookies for what they are: a delicious treat.

Breakfast of champions

I've had some sponsor inquiries already for my new food blog.

Breakfast of champions

I wonder if I should become a food blogger.

Cauliflower couscous

I am just sitting down to lunch and I thought I'd share a few more of my favorite Whole 30 recipes that have made the cut into "regular life food." I guess I can't really call them "recipes" since I don't have good catchy names for them. I'll do my best.

Curried Cauliflower Couscous (say that 5 times fast)

Cauliflower couscous (also called cauliflower rice) is an example of something I'd never heard of before, but now realize that tons of people eat it. Voluntarily! Even despite the fact it makes my house super smelly for an hour or two after making it, I really like it. It tastes like rice to me. And it's very fast to make--definitely faster than rice! I've never liked cauliflower but I realized that's because I only ever had it in frozen mixed vegetables. Duh, of course I didn't like it.

So--take a head of cauliflower, break off as many florets as you want and put them into a blender or food processor, and pulse it a few times quickly so that it's very finely chopped, with the consistency of couscous or rice. Don't blend it so much that it purées. 

Then you can sauté it or roast it. I like roasting it. Spray down a cookie sheet with olive oil, add the cauliflower, spray it again, add salt and pepper, and roast 10 minutes or so at 400 degrees. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon, turn up the heat to 425, and roast for another 10 minutes, checking once in a while. For my purposes I think it's done when it starts browning a little on the edges.

And my favorite way to flavor it (although salt and pepper are just fine--also there are all kinds of other ways, like adding cilantro and lime, or garlic and butter, or whatever sounds good):

-Finely chop an onion. Sauté the onion in olive oil, with some salt and pepper, for several minutes until the onion pieces are translucent and very droopy = caramelized. I don't think you can cook an onion for too long. The droopier, the better (IMO), because it's sweeter.

-Add some chopped garlic. Stir and cook for a minute or less.

-Add lots of delicious curry powder. (To taste. I add a lot. I just sprinkle it straight from the thing.)

-Mix it up with the cauliflower. TA-DA!

I like to put this on top of wilted spinach (put a gigantic handful of spinach on a plate and microwave it for 1 minute until it looks like a normal human-sized portion), and top it all off with a fried egg. Yum! It practically took longer to type this all out than it takes to put the meal together. #winning

Smoothaise

Please enjoy my Sean Blumberg reference there in the title. "Smooooothaise." If you've never watched Felicity, might be time to start.

Anyways I'm a smoothie person. My smoothies have evolved over the years and currently this is my favorite recipe.

Bangarang Green Smoothie

-Start with a few big handfuls of fresh spinach or kale or both. Fill up the blender jar basically.

-Add a very ripe banana. (Two bananas are also fine if you want it thicker and sweeter; frozen bananas are fine but if you're doing frozen then add it later instead; an avocado is also fine)

-Poor in half a can of coconut milk (or as much as you want)

-Add a little water as needed, to thin

-Blend all of this until it's a lovely bright green liquid that takes up about half the blender jar.

-Add a cup or two of light-colored frozen fruit. Usually I use a bag of mixed frozen fruit that has mango, pineapple and peaches. (If you add strawberries it will be brown, which is fine I guess but mentally I don't like a brown smoothie unless it's chocolate. If you add blueberries and blackberries, great, it will be a cool deep purple color but it will taste more tart. Which is fine, depends on your mood, and also you'll have to call it Bangarang Purple Smoothie, just to warn you.)

-Blend everything.

SO GOOD!!! The coconut milk takes it over the top in my opinion. I'm in a coconut milk phase which is a lingering side effect of Whole 30. There could possibly be a BPA issue with this since it's canned but I haven't found a boxed coconut milk, of course I haven't tried that hard to look for one. My friend makes her own coconut milk with some sort of combo of desiccated coconut and boiling water and swears by it. Maybe I'll try that someday. Goya brand is cheap and good, but there's another brand, called Thai something, in a red can, that is creamier and only about a dollar more.

If my kids and I all have a glass, there's usually still some left over, and I put them in these silicone freezer pop molds with lids, which are awesome and my favorite thing. Google silicone freezer pop mold and you'll find them.

Anyway, it's seriously so good and decadent and fresh-tasting. You don't even notice the greens. Bangarang.

So Many Eggs

I call it "Bowl of Limp-Looking Kale, Zucchini, and Fried Egg, Plus Some Tiny Baby Toes in the Corner." Subtitle "A Little Too Much Green All at Once."

During the blizzard, my neighbor was telling me about her experience doing Whole 30 (basically a month-long paleo blitz diet, if you're unfamiliar...in other words you pretty much just eat meat, eggs, vegetables and fruit) and although I've heard about it a bunch, this time it piqued my interest for real. My sugar consumption was getting out of control and I was feeling so sluggish and gross. So I decided to do it, and Matt joined me.

16 days in, I'm officially over it. Luckily we decided from the beginning that ours would actually be a Whole 20.

I'd happily do it again in the future, but I'd only do it for a week or two. The pluses: I've been eating a ton of greens. I have never liked eating greens; although in normal life I dutifully stuff big bunches of them into smoothies a few times a week, I wouldn't eat them with meals if I could help it. This month I've eaten big bowls full of them with every meal and it doesn't even faze me. I think this is a habit I can keep up in some form. Another plus: I actually do feel really good. I am sleeping great at night and feel energetic during the day. I thought I read ingredients on packages before, but now I pay even closer attention. And possibly the biggest plus: in the past 16 days, I have eaten lots of big meals but not once have I regretted eating too much of anything, which has been a lifelong problem for me. I grew up with giant bowls of ice cream as the norm. For adult Eliza, giant bowls of ice cream are still tempting but they leave me with a hangover.

The minuses: Whole 30 is sort of a cult, and during the first week I could feel myself drinking the kool-aid, as it were. Not a comfortable feeling. Another minus: awkward at dinner parties. Another minus: not fun at restaurants. Another minus: no cookies. Another minus: more expensive and more time-consuming. Another minus: although my consumption of most vitamins and minerals went through the roof (hellloooo, vitamin A and iron), without fortified milk I really struggled to get enough vitamin D and calcium.

Another minus: so many eggs.

Because I know my mom will worry about this, I will also say that my milk supply has been great. Although I had a brush with mastitis, but I don't think that had to do with my diet.

Anyway so that was an adventure but I'm glad it's almost over. And when I get to day 20, I'll make myself some cookies, and I'll eat them without any spinach at all.

Thanks for pie.

I regret nothing.

Thanks for pumpkin things.

Dear pumpkin English muffins, pumpkin bagels, pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies: 

Thank you for being you. 

Mwah!

Thanks for unexpected treats.

I'm not president of the cookie butter fan club or anything--it's fine, but there are just a whole lot more treats I'd rather have--but when I saw this in the freezer section a while back I was too curious not to try it. I quickly ate it all within a day or two. (I let my kids have a little bit.) It was salty and sweet with just a little bit  of spice. So, sort of like cookie butter, but 100x better because it was in ice cream form.

Do give it a try if you see it. And maybe the lesson to be learned here is that Trader Joe's ice cream doesn't let me down.