Thursday, April 27, 2017

W.I.A.Y. (What I Ate Yesterday)



The last few mornings I've noticed the most gorgeous lighting looking out the front of our house (looking west toward the foothills).  It's a brief fleeting moment where the sun hits the tree tops in the distance, made more dramatic by some dark clouds in the background.  It only lasts for a minute or two and I am always pleased when I catch it before it's gone. 

I've been sick the past week.  Long story... perhaps I will share more in another post.  This week I am focusing on hydrating, eating really healthy, and walking. We are going for two walks a day; I am aiming for 15,000 steps a day.

Breakfast today was steel cut oats, banana, walnuts, chia seeds, almond milk, and cinnamon.  I had this oatmeal in my freezer (you can see more HERE about Make Ahead Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats).


Lunch today was my new favorite soup. It's a recipe I've come up with to use up left over odds and ends in the refrigerator/freezer/pantry. It's a very flexible recipe and you can find the recipe HERE.



Dinner tonight was another favorite.  Zucchini noodles (Zoodles) topped with Tomato and Basil Marinara Sauce (Barilla brand from a jar).  Into the sauce, I add cooked, crumbled Jenni-O brand Italian Seasoned ground turkey. I also add in extra garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, and crushed red pepper flakes.  My husband his dinner with bow tie pasta; no zoodles for him.


After dinner, I decided to play with my food a bit. Yes, I am a bit stir crazy being home sick this week.  Is it only Wednesday?  I saw this recipe idea on Facebook this morning.  I realized I had all of the required ingredients on hand which means I am ethically and morally obligated to make the recipe post haste!  Right?!? 

The recipe called for a cucumber.  You cut the cucumber into 1 inch lengths and scoop out the insides but you leave a bit at the bottom to make a cucumber cup.  Next, you combine 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 can of drained tuna, 1/2 cup of corn, and season it with salt and pepper. You can chop up the cucumber you scoop out and add it to the cottage cheese and tuna mixture as well.  To finish off the dish, you scoop your yummy tuna mixture into the super cute cucumber cups.  Viola!
 

I went a little rogue with this recipe.  I found a can of Bumble Bee Tuna in my pantry.  It's tuna in olive oil and it is seasoned with pesto.  In place of corn, I added finely diced red bell pepper and sweet onion.  I love the idea of this recipe, I just did not care for my execution.  I learned I do NOT like tuna in oil. It has a greasy feeling in my mouth.  I also learned that it's better to use a cucumber with a wider diameter. My cucumber was a super narrow English cucumber and I did not have much room for scooping or filling.  Finally, it's important to make your cucumber slices only 1 inch high, otherwise this is hard to eat this.  But like I said, I LOVE the idea of this recipe.  Can you think of fun combinations?  Just think of the recipe base as 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 1 can of tuna.  What would you add in?

Lemon zest and Dillweed? 
Dijon Mustard, celery, and onion?
Sweet pickle relish?
Finely diced jalapeno?

I'd love to know what clever ideas you may have for these cute cucumber cups. 

So this concludes my What I Ate Yesterday (WIAY) post.  I am actually typing this up the night before I post this and I think there is a glass of cabernet sauvignon and some roasted almonds in my very near future.  Good night!

Up next... Slow Cooker Banana Nut Steel Cut Oats...

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