Lamb Burgers

Nothing tastes better to me than a delicious juicy cheeseburger. From Mcdonalds. That I can’t eat anymore. And really I’m incredibly picky about my beef now because I can’t stand the idea of ingesting hormone ridden fatty who knows what. So I go organic and grass fed now… but a friend suggested lamb burgers and I’ve never had lamb before, and I was not disappointed.

My friend came over and prepared these for me, and added rosemary and thyme to the lamb. He grilled them on our grill and topped them with wegmans organic horseradish cheese topped with a dill spread and ketchup and mustard. I ran to the gas station and when I came back they made sure to place mine on my whole wheat bread so I stick to my PCOS diet 🙂

The result was uhhhhmazing. I suggest treating yourself to some lambburger instead of hamburger sometime! 🙂

First Fail: Lebanese Lamb Rice

This dish definitely had potential! And looked and smelled delicious. However, I broke the cardinal brown rice rule… never cook brown rice in a dish like you would white 😦 in my experience you need double the water and time. Shockingly I already learned this lesson the hard way once… I just forgot. So NOW that I know for my future, I’ll simply cook the rice separate according to the bags directions. I will however breakdown what I was going for, because if done right I’m sure it’s delicious!!

I needed:

1 pound ground lamb

1 cup jasmine rice

2 cups chicken broth

Plain Greek yogurt

One sliced cucumber

1 ounce raw, shelled pistachios 

2 tablespoons of fresh finely chopped mint leaves

Pink salt

Pepper 

I started by cooking the lamb until it was brown, and added the rice (until coated and translucent, however don’t do this with brown rice… just cook it separate then add it in later. I usually use google and tweak a lot of things to fit my preferences and how to do them). After the rice is coated and translucent, add the chicken broth and cook on low simmering about 15-20 minutes then let sit for 5 min so the rice absorbed the stock.

Meanwhile, spread a nice layer of Greek yogurt on the bottom of the plates, and slice up a cucumber. When the mix is done cooking, stir in the pistachios and mint. I happen to hate both of those things, but I’m sure they compliment the dish immensely. I just left out the pistachios and substituted basil. 

So for me it was a fail, the rice was still crunchy. I tried saving it by nuking it with water but it was too far gone by then. Next time I think I’ll prepare the rice ahead of time with the chicken stock then add it to the pan and summer for awhile. 

UK snack Crate!

So… it kinda goes against like my diet restrictions and everything, but once a month I HAVE to have my snack crate.

If you don’t already know what that is, it’s a company out of Florida that ships you a box once a month with a foreign food from random countries all over the world, and every month they pick a new country.

Last month we had South Korea which had a ton of awesome snacks! This month was the U.K. which was good, but it had a lot of candy and I’m not big into sweets. I try a bite of everything and usually the boyfriend demolishes the rest. I’m sure he was in heaven because candy is the greatest thing in his eyes. 

My favorite thing was the Razzles, a bacon flavored chip, it had almost like a pork rine texture.

The grossest was the black licorice dip stick you could dip into the sugary powder.

I can’t upload videos to this account because it’s not “premium” so I’ve attached a link to my YouTube video 🙂 

<a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgcjY8bcDnA&amp;feature=share”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgcjY8bcDnA&amp;feature=share</a&gt;

Wegmans Flagship “boss” store!

 

Since I grew up in upstate NY my entire life I have a horribly unhealthy obsession with wegmans. I’m all about wegmans brand everything and their pizza shop and sub shop and hot food bar! The store I live ten minutes away from is pretty small but they’ve made some major changes in the last few years.

But in Pittsford, outside of Rochester, there’s an amazingly giant store, with everything a human being could desire.

After 27 years of being on this earth I finally got to go with my boyfriend and our best friend.

They have THE BIGGEST gluten free and organic section and more choices than I’ve ever seen in one place! Right now I’m gearing my diet towards purely organic (I totally failed and ate a piece of pizza yesterday… I’m a work in progress) and I got a few GF things because I NEED junk food! I’m still trying to perfect how I shop and what I buy.

On a serious side note I did one thing that I think might’ve been a no no for us PCOSers. I bought quinoa chips and these cheddar pepper cracker things and I read that there was potatoe starch in the ingredients. I’m hoping small amounts of these things aren’t a HUGE deal (after all be previous food intake was purely starch and potatoes and pasta and every bad carb you can think of) and that small snacks here and there won’t ruin my progress.

As for organic… I found every organic version of EVERYTHING I like!! (No added preservatives hormones or antibiotics YAY!)

I got organic chicken, beef, lamb, cheeses, sandwich turkey, whole wheat bread, wraps, bananas, quinoa chips, wegmans organic mac and cheese and SOUR CREAM!! I got so much more I just can’t remember it right now.

We spent 80$ even so I’m hoping it all lasts for the week 🙂 and as we were driving home I saw a Trader Joe’s… I’ll be there next weekend ❤

Mashed Cauliflower

So last night to go with my meatloaf I was craving mashed potatoes. But being diagnosed with PCOS and being insulin resistant I knew that wasn’t a healthy option. So I did some googling and found mashed cauliflower was a good substitute and I loooove cauliflower. And it was so simple. Of course I had to substitute though, and It came out kind of runny but the taste was there and now I know what not to do for next time!

I needed:

A decent sized head of cauliflower

1/3 cup non fat buttermilk (I didn’t have this so I ended up substituting 1 cup of milk and a teaspoon of vinegar. Less milk would’ve been less runny.)

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic powder to taste (or minced garlic)

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

I first chopped the cauliflower and steamed it in my microwave with 1/4 cup of water (time was of the essence) and drained it. I then poured everything else in and mashed it with a hand held purée. I’m thinking if I used a hand masher or less milk it would’ve been less runny. But it still tastes great and the boyfriend approved 🙂

Healthy Meatloaf

Tonight I came up with an awesome couple of recipes for dinner! I had enough for both of our dinners and lunches tomorrow, and my mom even tried it, loved it, and snagged the rest for her lunch tomorrow!

For the meatloaf I bought two packages of Walmart organic ground beef for $4.98 each. It’s slightly expensive but so very worth not loading up on the hormones and additives ESPECIALLY if you have something like PCOS or dietary restrictions.

Everything else I needed:

1/3 cup shredded zucchini

1/3 cup shredded carrot

1 cup gluten free bread crumbs

1 finely chopped green bell pepper

1 finely chopped sweet onion

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon chopped garlic 

Salt and pepper to taste

First I cooked the peppers and onions in olive oil then added the garlic and the end until everything was cooked through.

In a bowl I mixed eggs, bread crumbs, onions and peppers, salt and pepper, beef, and shredded zucchini and carrots, then mixed with my hands. (I used a handheld grater to do the carrots and zucchini, didn’t buy them already shredded)

I placed the loaf in a meatloaf pan and baked at 400 degrees for 35-40 min. The directions called for 25, but the middle just wasn’t done. I ended up nuking mine and the boyfriends pieces for two min in the microwave  and finished it off in the oven.

For the topping I mixed ketchup and worstechire sauce and it was delicious! Saltier than the normal brown sugar topping, but that’s exactly how I like it.

Definitely a wonderful healthy alternative to your typical meatloaf. And I served with mashed cauliflower which was AWESOME! I will post that recipe/experience later 🙂 enjoy!

Healthy pork and mushroom gravy!

Tonight I made an awesome pork dish. I’m really big into gravy and sauces, which can be bad for you and full of sodium. Unfortunately I grew up on Lipton French onion soup packet gravy, or McCormick brown gravy both LOADED with bad things, tons of salt and so much sodium. But so delicious. So I was pretty excited about this recipe!

What I needed was:
Package of organic pork chops (mine had 5, I got them at Walmart)

1/3 cup chicken stock 

1/3 cup beef stock (I used broth it’s all I had)

1/4 cup flour

1 lb mushrooms cut up

1 thinly sliced onion

Salt and pepper to taste

I started by searing both sides of my pork chops for about 2-3 min each and removing them and covering to keep warm.

Then I browned the onions and mushrooms about 5 min. After, I dumped the flour in and stirred until it was dissolved.

I then poured the stocks in and let it simmer and placed the chops back in the pan on low simmering about 15 min until the pork was done.

I sprinkled salt and pepper on everything through out cooking (I use pink salt for everything) and served this over brown rice. The bf liked it but dumped worstechire sauce on his. He’s not as much of a gravy lover as me. It was delish though and had enough left for tomorrow!

PCOS so far with life changes

So I’ve been attempting to change my life for about two weeks now and it’s been a damn struggle. I go to AA to begin with so you’d think I had a better grip on acceptance and willingness to change, but I sometimes think our addictive ways of thinking get in our way immensely especially when we’re in distress. That’s how it is for me at least. I work hard to be okay mentally and physically and I’m working harder than ever now. When my doctor diagnosed me we came up with a plan that she thought would be best. I went back on the nuvaring because that’s what I was on for 3 years with no issues, and I didn’t want to try something new and suffer a new list of issues. My only issue is that the hormones in birth control make me feel crazy and paranoid and negative and I cry. A lot. So it’s been a hard two weeks and I’m dreading having a real period. I need to impliment exercise into my daily routine, and I just started back up at my normal job for summer school so I can build a stricter schedule.

The plan is to stay on the nuvaring for 3 months for 3 regulated periods then to go off it and hope it stabilizes and hopefully with the right diet and exercise it will. Praying for some normalcy soon, it’s the worst feeling outside your own skin.

Dinner turned meal prep!

SO! After plenty of experimenting I came to a recipe I really liked, was incredibly easy, and simple enough to prepare for dinner and the following day for our lunches. It’s a chicken salad with salmon, and a homemade balsamic vinegar with sundried tomatoes. 

Salad:

Pan fry chicken with poultry seasonings (I did enough for 4 salads so about 6 strips out of an organic package)

Cut up 2 cucumbers

Cut up 1 avocado

Use one bad California Sun Dried Tomatoes

In bowl whisk 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste

Whisk in 1 tablespoon garlic powder (or chop a clove)

Whisk 1/3 cup olive oil 

Soak tomatoes in the mixture and pour all over salad at end

Place a bed of spinach leaves along with the cucumbers and avocados then place chicken on top and pour dressing over (I had enough for 4 servings, two for our dinners and two for our lunches).

Salmon:

Thaw 4 pieces and place in aluminum foil to be wrapped, and cover in salt, pepper, and old bay, then drizzle with olive oil.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

And that’s it! Super simple, keeps well, and cheap and easy enough for 4 total meals. I also used my homemade ranch on mine because the tomatoes were a little to bitter for me, but the boyfriend loved them!

Homemade Ranch Dip

Yesterday I opted to make my own ranch dressing for dip with my carrot fries. I pretty much tweaked every recipe I could find because I had basically nothing on hand, so I substituted A LOT. I like it and I will eat it, but next time I’ll be sure to use lemon juice and zest instead of subbing in the apple cider vinegar or just use less vinegar. I also quadrupled the recipe to be able to fill an entire mason jar, so I will put my original measurements that can be doubled or tripled as needed. It came out acidic as a warning, but that’s my taste preference. I also used regular mayonnaise but it was gluten free… I’m a work in progress with my clean eating. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Homemade Ranch Dressing:

1 Cup mayonnaise (paleo, or any kind is fine, I found an awesome homemade mayo recipe I can’t wait to try.)

1/2 Cup fresh Parsley (I used 12 teaspoons dried)

1/4 Cup Lemon Juice (I used 1/2 as much vinegar, so 2 tablespoons. I suggest 1.)

3-4 finely chopped garlic cloves

2 tablespoons fresh dill (I used 2 teaspoons dried dill)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Fresh Cracked Pepper

I can’t wait to try it without all the substitution!