I say all the time that I’m a lazy cook and don’t do well with recipes. Tonight though, my dinner was really flavorful, fit my dietary restrictions, and was EASY!

First, sorry I didn’t measure things exactly. I just throw it together and hope it works.

I am no food photographer, LOL

Pesto Spaghetti Squash

Hat tip to Paleo Comfort Foods (affiliate link) for the idea. I didn’t follow the recipe. It’s a GREAT cookbook, I was just being lazy and tried to match flavors.

• 1 spaghetti squash
• fresh chopped basil (1 bunch from the store is plenty)
• extra virgin olive oil
• garlic, minced (fresh)
• leftover chicken, chopped
• sea salt
• pepper
• several grape tomatoes, cut in half
• optional (but delicious): sun dried tomatoes, sliced thin
• optional if you don’t have dairy restrictions: shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook spaghetti squash. It’s super easy – here is how I do it, although you can microwave as well
2. When it’s done, shred it into a bowl
3. Throw in chopped basil
4. Drizzle some olive oil and mix – just enough to slightly coat the squash – it should be light
5. Throw in minced garlic – I used 3 cloves
6. Throw in your leftover chopped chicken (I used 1 medium chicken breast)
7. Throw in your sun dried tomatoes if you’re using them
8. Throw in your cheese if you’re using it
9. Season with salt and pepper as desired
10. Mix it all up
11. Throw it on a plate
12. Top with tomatoes
13. Eat

That’s it! I ate half of it for dinner and will have the other half for lunch tomorrow. Nom. It took all of 10 minutes to prepare, including 5 minutes of me trying to split the spaghetti squash open. The worst part is waiting for the spaghetti squash to cook.

I rarely share recipes here because a) I always screw them up; b) I tend to cook basic foods and think it might be boring to everyone else.

This week, however, I made something that I really, really liked. I have been trying to get my veggie intake up more, and picked up a cabbage at the grocery store. I seriously can’t remember the last time I cooked cabbage – maybe 3 years ago? It’s just not a vegetable on my radar.

Sauteed Cabbage

Makes 4 generous servings

• 1 large head of cabbage
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 slices of nitrate-free, uncured bacon, cut into pieces (really any bacon will work, this is just what I use)
• pinch of sea salt
• dash of pepper

What’s your favorite way to prepare cabbage?

Once again it is Sunday night and I’m wondering where the heck my weekend went. Dang.

Anyway, just a quick note tonight.

Today is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. I am not going to write a long post about it because no matter what I wrote, it wouldn’t be eloquent or reverent enough to convey the deep pain the attacks had on me as an American, us as a country, and even the world. I would also not be able to describe the gratitude for the first responders and those who have fought for our country since then. I could never imagine the grief of the families who lost loved ones, nor can I say enough about my admiration for their resilience as they allow the nation to grieve with them. I wish for unity, peace, and community for the world every day. Hate destroys, love builds.

No graceful way to jump out of that topic, so insert awkward pause here for me to go on to totally less important things…

Tonight, I made a paleo peach cobbler. I was craving something dessert-like for a couple of days, so I tried to cook (laugh all you want) to find a suitable solution. I found a recipe from Everyday Paleo for blackberry cobbler, and subbed peaches because I had a lot on hand from the Farmer’s Market.

My lazy instructions: peel and cut up fresh peaches. I did maybe 6? I mixed them with 1 egg, 1/4 cup of unsweetened apple sauce, lots of cinnamon and a splash of coconut milk. Poured it into a casserole dish. Drizzled a little raw honey on it, but tried to limit it (hence the reason I added the unsweetened apple sauce). For the crust, I mixed 1 cup almond flour (it’s all I had left), cinnamon, 2 tbs. coconut oil and 1 egg. It was clumpy, and I just spread with my fingers over the peach mix. Baked on 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve warm – pour coconut milk over it if desired.

This photo is titled: why Emmie is not a food blogger

Nom nom!

Yummo! I didn’t burn the house down and I made something yummy. Victory.

Last, but not least, I wanted to share some links for this week. I’m a blogging fool all over the internet!

• ENELL blog: Fall fitness
• ENELL blog: The buddy system
• ENELL blog: Motivation
• Emmie Loves blog: ideeli alert: plus size perfection
• Emmie Loves blog: Geeking Out: Macy’s HER Catalog

For the second week in a row, I have tried to make something new. Last week was yogurt, which I declared a ridiculously easy and resounding success. In fact, I have another batch in the crock pot right now.

I went to Whole Foods on Friday to get their deal-of-the-day which was troll caught coho salmon. I think I could eat fresh fish every day, so I was happy it was on sale. While I was there, I perused the aisles and grabbed some quinoa. Call me ignorant (because I am with all things cooking), but I didn’t realize you could make quinoa in the rice cooker. Duh. Anyway, I thought quinoa would be a good substitute for rice, of which I can’t control myself much around (unless it’s those frozen Trader Joe bags, which are ridiculously good. Given I’m half-Chinese, I think my rice palate is pretty developed).

A quick Google for recipes while I was in the store, and I found something that looked tasty: a mediterranean quinoa salad

Because I’m the laziest cook on the planet, I cooked and cooled the quinoa the night before making the salad. I was too impatient to wait for it to cool, then mix it all. Also? I hate chopping. I don’t mind cutting fruits, but chopping onions and herbs? Makes me stabby.

The basic recipe I followed is here. These are the ingredients I used:

• quinoa
• fresh parsley
• fresh cilantro
• grape tomatoes
• kalamata olives
• red onion
• extra virgin olive oil
• apple cider vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon
• chopped garlic
• feta

My lazy instructions: cook the quinoa and let it cool. Whisk together lemon juice, EVOO, apple cider vinegar and garlic. Chop everything else up. Dump it in a bowl and mix together. Serve chilled.

Verdict? Very flavorful! Although I believe I added too much cilantro and parsley. While I still prefer my olives in extra dirty martini’s, they were very good in this also. Bonus? It’s super filling.

When I put it in MyFitnessPal in the proportions I used (my haphazard mixing method meant my quantities of ingredients were slightly off from the recipe), I’m calculating 301 calories, 34 grams of carbs, 9 grams of protein and 16 grams of fat in one 3/4 cup serving. This could be totally off, but I’m going with it for now.

Do you eat quinoa? Do you ever use it in salads or anything? I’d love to know what else to mix it with.

A friend told me that she made crock pot yogurt and that she was as excited as when Tom Hanks made fire in “Castaway”

As I’ve said before, I’m a lazy cook. Yes, I like to eat fancy things, but if I prepare food, it’s fast, easy and flavorful. Minimal cleanup.

I approached the yogurt-making with great hesitation and a deep sense of an impending epic fail.

I warmed up the milk, then cooled it to the proper temperature.

I then inoculated it with the cultures, then let it do its thing overnight. I poured it into a colander that had coffee filters over the holes so I could drain the whey to make it more of a Greek consistency. It looked like yogurt and smelled like yogurt!

After 6 hours of draining, the yogurt was complete! Look how thick and creamy! I did a little dance in the kitchen to celebrate. Thankfully, no photo evidence.

So hooray, I made fire yogurt! If you want to try (and you definitely should), the recipe is here. I’m mixing the yogurt with strawberries and pineapple (separately). I already have another batch in progress!

Also made this week? The less intimidating Taco Beans ala Krissie. Although when I was at the grocery, I completely forgot which beans I was supposed to get, so ended up with pintos, garbanzos and black. Random mix, but it was still good! This is going on my “must-make-weekly-because-I’m-lazy-and-it-tastes-good” list.

And to throw in a non-cooking-related random fact- I lost the 3 remaining pounds of my 5 pound gain from 2 weeks ago. Still at my magic number of 343, but hopeful that will change soon!

Tell me, what else am I missing out on? Remember friends, I’m very BASIC. Go!

I’ve been asked a few times in the past couple of weeks if I ever post my food and menus. The answer is “not really,” but I have a hard time putting into words the WHY behind it. Let’s explore into the deep depths (ha!) of my mind and just talk write this one out.

image via Christian Cable on Flickr

1. I’m not good at planning. I don’t have set menus. I am just not that organized!
2. It would be boring. I am a creature of habit, and tend to eat the same meal over and over for weeks at a time. If it tastes good and is easy to make, it goes on repeat. Remember spaghetti squash? Yeah, that went on for like 8 weeks. The Rocco macaroni and cheese went on for about 3 weeks. I’m currently on a cilantro rice and black beans kick. I had it for lunch and dinner today. And yesterday. And for dinner Sunday. I think I’ve had the same breakfast since mid January.
3. I’m scared of criticism. I don’t want to put my food out for everyone to see for fear of criticism. People telling me I’m eating too many or too few calories, telling me to add in more protein, cut my starch, etc. Food is so personal and individual to each person, that I don’t want anyone telling me that I should do differently. I know myself- I will push back and rebel against what someone tells me to do.  It’s been a battle to get to this place of relative comfort and control with my food, and I don’t want to jeopardize that.
4. One size does not fit all. I’m not a nutritionist by any means, and I certainly don’t always know what the hell I’m doing. The food and portions of food might work for me, but wouldn’t for others. So, to each their own!

Later this week, I’ll share my grocery list. My creature-of-habit ways mean I can recite the items in order as I pick them up in the store. It will give a good glimpse of what is constantly in my house.

Do you blog about your food? Why or why not?

I talk about workouts a lot, and post videos of the gym and such, but I never talk much about the other third of the weight loss equation (the first two thirds being workout and mind) – FOOD.

I haven’t typically posted food  photos or menus as many bloggers do because I think food is a very personal choice. As explained over on my Explaining Eats page (which now desperatley needs to be updated):

I’m a big believer that you should follow whatever eating regimen works for YOU, and that just because I eat this way doesn’t mean everyone should.  I’ve had to change the way I think about food so dramatically during this weight loss journey. I used to eat for entertainment, satisfaction, comfort. Now, I try to eat to live.

All of this is still true. However the past couple of weeks (funk withstanding), I’ve made a decision to change my eating habits to give myself more variety and hopefully produce better results – switching things up a little bit. Instead of focusing solely on carbohydrates, I’m now eating many more carbohydrates (but still trying to be moderate with my of white flour and most sugar) but focusing on calories and feeling satisfied. I lived a super-restricted low-carbohydrate lifestyle off and on for 5 years, and I just wanted to try something different. So good ‘ol calorie counting for me!

Here’s some of what my week looked like:

I measured (and ate) my rice - these bowls are cool- they have the measurements on the inside so you can measure + eat in one bowl

I found I love taking 25 calories-worth of this rice seasoning I got at the Asian Market to flavor the rice.

I "rotisseried" a chicken in my new fancy-dancy rotisserie I got for Christmas

I weighed out each portion

I remembered how much I love cereal (measured out, of course). That's low sugar OJ to beat the funk.

I baked sweet potato fries (and measured out the portions)

and used steamed veggies to fill up my plate at lunch

and replaced my coffee-guzzling habit with tea

People have given me some really great ideas over on my Facebook page of things to eat, including tonight’s success of sweet potato fries. So far, I feel great. No carb-crashes as feared. The biggest shocker? IT’S EASY! I had dreaded all the counting, weighing and measuring, but it’s so simple it’s stupid.

So no matter what eating program you follow, here are my three personal rules for food:

1. You must enjoy the food
2. Your body must feel good on the food
3. You must feel in control with your options

We’ll see how my body responds, weight-wise, in a couple of weeks, but I just wanted to give an update on where I’m at with that.

Do you have a specific way of eating?