Past the Flowered Mailbox…and Other Things

I made it past the flowered mail box! I almost stopped just out of surprise when I kept going to the next driveway and could actually still take in oxygen.  If you read my post from the Olympics about “Faster, Stronger, Higher”, then this is to let you know that saying that didn’t really change anything, but not giving up did. I hope you are making some exercise goals and trying some new things to get yourself motivated if you need it. I used to think that running alone was no fun, but now that I have discovered my hill I get excited about getting such a great High Intensity Interval Training workout in about 30 minutes. See the link if you want to know more about that work out philosophy. I love it.

On to the leafy greens. …I’ve been harping about kale and such for a really long time now. A good friend told me that she actually cooks with them now because of me and I feel like my life had new meaning. I am joking of course, but honestly very excited that it has made a difference to someone.  I’ve really been focusing on this one lately because one of the Orange Tree Lane taste testers fractured a bone and I am all about building healthy bones right now.  Metabolizing protein requires calcium, so a high protein diets requires a good amount of calcium from natural sources, and that would be the dairy products and the DARK leafy greens.

Spinach is going in the morning fruit shakes and scrambled eggs with feta cheese, everything with ground beef like the One Dish Tamale Pie gets a whole bunch of finely sliced kale or collard greens, home made burritos are bursting with chopped romaine and watercress combined, salads come with a portion of cider vinegar softened kale strips, and greens simmered in broth with onions are a more regular side dish all on their own.  Have you found some creative ways to eat your greens more regularly? I would love to hear your ideas or success stories.  I just make it my goal to empty the crisper drawer of all the greens I bought, and it is happening. Yeah! BTW, all of this week’s menu entrees are DGLV friendly…kale in the Super Spaghetti w/ Beef and Carrots and Super Nachos, swiss chard in the Ultimate Healthy Baked Beans Dinner and salad greens with Buffalo Chicken Salad.

And finally, I have had some greater success with doubling entrees and freezing them in order to save myself time in the busy back to school life we now lead. I work in a school so there are those nights that if I want to exercise, then dinner will be at 8pm and that is pretty late. Tonight would have been one, except for the fact that I had more than doubled One Dish Tamale Pie, gave some to a sick friend, ate some for dinner, and froze the rest.  How wonderful it was to get that great exercise when I would ordinarily have been standing in the kitchen! I made a fresh green salad to go with it and found a great combination of ingredients for a tasty dressing.

Salad: romaine sliced very fine, water cress, celery, cucumber, green apple and purple grapes and lots of feta cheese

Dressing: In a blender whip together approx. ¼ c. mayonnaise, 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 clove garlic, 1 Tablespoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and enough olive oil to make it all move and taste right.  I’m saying this from memory so keep it in mind that you will have to adjust according to taste like a real chef.

Hope you enjoyed the update. Now how about you? I would love to hear about how your are doing with some of your new goals and inspirations, so send me a message at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Take a look at the very GREEN 100th Orange Tree Lane Menu!

Molly

PS- We just got done eating Spontaneous Black Bean Burritos, the recipe that helps you use what you have on hand as leftovers!  I put a whole chicken in the crock pot before church and shredded the meat when I got home. Got a baggie of refried beans I stored in the freezer from a very large can a few months ago, frozen olives, slices of sandwich cheese, salsa and large tortillas from my staples, and the extra salad I purposely made from last night’s dinner (mentioned above).  Melted the cheese in the middle of the tortillas on the pancake griddle, then folded them in burrito fold while warm. To fill them, opened up and spread with the refried beans, then piled all the rest on top and did a nice burrito fold.  Layered the lettuce last inside and added some of the dressing from last night too. I made a few extras for lunches tomorrow and covered them with saran wrap. Now we’re full!!