Vegetable Cornbread

(makes 16 servings)

Ingredients for recipe:

• ½ package (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
  
  


• 1 tbsp butter
  
  


• 1 (8 oz) package corn muffin mix
  
  


• ¾ cup low-fat cottage cheese
  
  


• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  
  


• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  
  


• 1 jar (2 oz) of diced pimiento, drained
  
  


• Low-fat cooking spray
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degreesF.
  
  


• Coat an 8 x 8 square pan with cooking spray. Add butter then place in oven until melted. Remove pan from oven and rotate until melted butter is spread on bottom. Raise heat of oven to 425ºF.
  
  


• Remove excess moisture from broccoli by pressing a paper towel on the pieces.
  
  


• In a medium bowl, combine muffin mix, broccoli, low-fat cottage cheese, pimientos, eggs, black pepper and mix thoroughly.
  
  


• Pour bread mixture into pan then bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of bread comes out clean.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving (1 square (44 g)): 88 Calories, 4 g Protein, 11 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 218 mg sodium

Way down

...my eating that is!

I have noticed that since fill #20 - yes, twenty - I have been eating a lot less.

Today I had the most stressful day for ages. Stress always gets my band tight when its filled nicely, and today was no exception.

To kick off we had an Sky HD upgrade planned for between 8am and 1pm. I was shattered after finishing work yesterday at 10:30pm and then having to spend 2 hours with DS finishing his homework when I got in so I was looking forward to Sky man coming at about five minutes to one this afternoon!!

No such luck. The bloke rings at 8:25am and says he will be there at 9:00am. Ah well, at least I can go back to bed after he has done his thing, thinks I. Nope.

He arrives at 9:30 (!) and then does one of those "Oooh, Ahh, I dunno" scratches of the heads that tradespeople seem to do when they think they have wifey at home all dumb and stupid. He says "Think your tubes have gone in your telly."

"Tubes?" I ask - perplexed as to why my plasma telly has tubes... then he goes "er... yeah, there's horizontal lines there on the blue screen... they are at the back of the plasma screen". Hmmm well yes, I can see lines, as I have done since we got the thing new. I flick the channel to one that actually has a picture rather than just a plain blue screen, and no sign of lines. "Oh that's good look, I cant see it now its actually on a channel, so I wont mind that matey" says I.

Then blow me if not 2 minutes later hes scratching his nuts again and oohing and ahhing over the state of my wiring to the phone socket "Oooh i dunno luv, looks like that's gunna be dodgy. Might need a new socket..."
"Well its not plugged into the phone line at the moment, nor has it been for the last 8 years, so don't bother plugging it in mate ok?"

"No no no no luv" he goes "You have to av it plugged in like cos yous taken out another contract".
"Oh no no no no mate, it slows the broadband, makes a shitty noise on the line and I am gunna whip it out the minute you leave anyway - even if you do get it in there - so just don't bother yeah?"

"Oh alright then"

Fuck me.

There were several other mini dramas that I totally ignore... line to the box, wrong cables bla bla bla. I am paying you to do the freaking job mate, so quit whining and do it!

Finally, and hour after he arrived, he gets the box out of his van. Surprisingly it all works. After the palaver he made you would have thought I needed a hot bath and a razor. Life just wasn't worth living the way he was going on! Do I have "M.U.G" written on my head? Well I must have because just after he left at 11:30am, I get a call from Microsoft technical support.

Yes, Microsoft technical support. Apparently they don't normally ring, but they had had a log of several threats on my computer and wanted to help me clear them.

Oh course I put the phone down straight away didn't I.

Ummm.... nope. I didn't. I quizzed the bejayzus out of them - I really did - about how did they know it was my particular PC and not one of the other 4 in the household; how did they know it was MINE that was causing the error; where were they calling from exactly again; and how did they get my name, number, dob, email address, postal address and mothers maiden name etc? THATS RIGHT!!!! They had all that info.

So I thinks... Ok maybe they are for real, but I am no pushover. I consider myself pretty darn computer security savvy. I know what a phishing email is/hoaxes look like and I don't get pushed into changing gas/electric supply every week and I know a scam when I hear one. How many rich uncles in Nigeria can one girl have right?

They were very patient "yes, its totally understandable that you want to verify us Mrs. Bunny... bla bla" so I let them guide me to the relevant files they had had issues coming through on. I needed to check and low and behold there are an amazing array of threats on my computer. Loads of warning files and errors. I was really worried! They should have fucking Oscars for con men cos they were fucking brilliant!

So I am totally convinced that the chap I am speaking to is who he says he is, and am going along with all this guff. He took control of my computer remotely and even as I type this I know you are all hanging your heads thinking I am a freaking foooool of gargantuan proportions but I am telling you I WAS FOOLED.

I 100% believed every word they said, and was sucking it right up and it actually worries me MORE because there must be thousands of people out there who wouldn't even have questioned these people. I questioned them for about 10 minutes and they still managed to convince me...

...right up until he showed me a screen where some log shows that my security layer on my computer was expired and I needed to reinstate it.

Uh oh... ding a ling a ling. Bunny you stupid bastard!!!!

This was 30 minutes into the call. Alarm bells started to ring and I though Oh My GOD. I am in the middle of a scam. The next breath and he shows me a website saying the prices of the different packages I can buy to reinstall my security shield ranging from £20 to £120. Yep. A website lashed up just to take cash.

Well by this time I was fully aware, but hold my cool and said "Oh no, my handbag is in my husbands car and hes at work. Can you call me back this evening and we can do it then when he gets home?" and a "sure ma'am" came from him. Then he proceeded to give me his phone number 02081239216 and his name Austin Wells and that we could call him back any time.I thanked him SOOO much for helping me and I hung up.

I am well aware that often if you hang up or are rude at that point (when they are still in control of your PC!) they can execute files etc that can cause grievous harm, so I just kept it cool...

After hanging up I immediately shut my computer down and disconnected it. My PC has been thoroughly cleaned and thankfully there are no key loggers, no jammers or viruses or spyware thank god, but it was the fright of a lifetime. I thought as a precaution I would just change all my passwords and pins and everything as it's probably a good idea anyway.

So, friends of mine, if you get a call from Windows support and services department because your International IP address has been showing errors and they don't usually phone, but there was like Sooooooo many... you know what to do. They used the run application on windows to enter the code eventvwr which showed up all the logs... go ahead on your computer and have a look. You will find errors and warnings as that's what it logs. Its a LOG. lol. What a dumb ass I was. they used www.logmein123.com to remote access my PC  and the website they took me to that was basically phoney was techsupportonline.in Obviously don't go to these websites cos they might have viruses on - i dunno - but I am just adding this info so that they cant scam anyone again and others who got sucker punched like me can hopefully see ahead of time that its bollocks.

It might seem like I am trying to save face after the event, but I honestly never thought I would ever be tricked into doing something like that and it was relatively easy, so everyone must beware. At the end of the day I didn't need to write this here!! It really really scared the shit out of me at how easily and readily I was fooled.

Upshot - have eaten fuck all today!! HAHA

I felt like crying immediately ofter the call, was shaking and not in a good state because my computer would not immediately tun back on so I was kind of freaking out. It tightened my band up to squeaky badgers ass tight and I could not eat allllll day long.

By 1pm I had managed to change my bank details and gone through on my sons laptop other accounts - ebay, paypal etc etc and ahything else I can think of that might mean I get robbed! By 2pm I decide to have some soup. GLERK! One teaspoon sat there on the band like a cork plug so I thought forget it.

Spent some considerable time on the phone to my mum, TB and DH at the shop and recanting the days dramas then got my shit together to look at lesson plans for the afternoons work and dragged my ass out the door to go to work all strazzled (Stressed + Frazzled).

I get in the car and RRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr RRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr clunk.

O h h h h h hhh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I jump out the car like a mad thing just as my next door neighbour walks onto my drive (who can hardly walk as she has had a stroke - except not a nice person AT ALL and a complete beeyatch unless she needs something)

"YES?" I scream????

This is the same neighbour that fucked me off over our extension so pleasantry's are hard to come by and I am all out of nice today anyway!

She has locked herself out and do I have a spare key.

"No, I gave it back after you shopped us to the council!" I said. Then smiled sweetly. Her face was a PICTURE - It was so worth the 16 month wait! (Funnily enough the council sided with us YAY but thats another story)

I turned on my heels and marched back up the drive, grabbed the WD40 from the porch and whipped up the bonnet. Neighbour from hell is in the passenger seat of a car, and in the drivers seat is some snotty looking woman who is obviously doing her good turn of the year

"I say, do you know what's wrong with the car?" she asks.
"I am a mechanics daughter. Of course I do!" I yell back like a fish wife.

I dress very smartly for work so it must look quite comical as with WD40 in hand, I swish my cashmere shawl and beautiful handmade french necklace out of the way, stand well back to stop the car grime getting on my wool suit and pop the bonnet. I rake around, lift the plastic cover from the bit my dad tells me to and squirt away. I squirt all wire connections and belt this metal drum style thingy (tip from dad too), slam the bonnet, squeeze loads of antibacterial gel on my hands to get rid of the grease (works like a dream btw!) and then fire up the old horse.

Blue smoke blows out and we are off! With a cheesy grin to posh woman and hell neighbour, I back out leaving them to sit on their drive until someone comes with a key.

When I say day from hell! PHEW!

However it doesn't end there! I get 5 miles up the road and realise I have forgotten a cruicial book for my 2nd pupil! After mending the car, there is not enough time to do lessons one, go back to get the book and then go to lesson two.

In a blind hunger starved panic I about turn, ring pupil one and explain that I have had car faliure and reschedule for later in the evening. I dive home to see hell neighbour still sitting in the car on her drive -  GLEE! (Yeah, I know but it made a tiny chick of sunshine in my day!)

So I grab the book and off I finally go to work.

I hadnt eaten or drunk a drop all day. I was so shattered by 9pm, with still 2 lessons to do that I got one of those teeny tiny small power shots from the garage for £2.50. They are 5 calories for 25mls of caffeine and what-not but wake you up for hours. Well its 3am in the morning and I am still awake but JEEEEZ it gave me well bad acid heartburn and I threw it up about 45 minutes after I drank it down - and even then I had to sip it!

There is nowt so demure as a cashmere clad fat lady barfing up in the headlights of her car on the side of a country road, knee deep in grass and most likely roadkill.

I dunno about anyone else in the UK, there just seems to be an awesome amount of dead shit on the road tonight. Huh, random!

So when I got in I was glad to see a nice curry sitting on the counter. I had a green tea whilst I didn DH's accounts (he had deep cleaned my computer up even more once he got home), did the bills and sat down to eat at midnight. I had about a cup of rice and curry, 1 popadom, 1 glass of red wine and half a bag of tootie fruities (little sweeties).

What a day.

Thank god it's over!

Now I am off to bed, and I am NOT getting up until lunch for love nor money!

Rosemary and Sweet Onion Focaccia

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients for recipe:

• 3½ cups all-purpose flour
  
  


• 1 tsp white sugar
  
  


• 1 tsp salt
  
  


• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
  
  


• 1 cup water
  
  


• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  
  


• 1 egg
  
  


• Non-fat cooking spray
  
  


• 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
  
  


• 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
  
  


• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  
  

Preparation:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, salt ,sugar, yeast and mix well.
  
  


• Heat water and vegetable oil until warm, and add to flour mixture and then add the egg. Blend with an electric mixer at low speed until moistened. Beat for 2 additional minutes.
  
  


• Gradually add 1-¾ cups flour while beating, until dough pulls away from side of bowl. Knead in ¾ cup flour on floured surface.
  
  


• Cover dough with a bowl, and let stand for 5 minutes.
  
  


• Spray a baking sheet with non-fat cooking spray. Press the dough out evenly onto the pan. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 20-30 minutes.
  
  


• Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  
  


• Uncover dough, and press indentations with your fingers at 1” intervals. Spray dough lightly with non-fat cooking spray and sprinkle with crushed rosemary and Parmesan cheese. Arrange onion rings evenly over the dough. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
  
  


• Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, until golden brown.
  
  


• Cut into wedges and serve warm.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving (1/6 of recipe (111 g)): 350 Calories, 11 g Protein, 59 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 7 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 38 mg cholesterol, 463 mg sodium

Rosemary and Parmesan Lavasch

(makes 16 servings)

Ingredients for recipe:

• 1 package active dry yeast
  
  


• 2 cups warm water
  
  


• 1 tsp sugar
  
  


• 3¼ cup unbleached flour
  
  


• 2½ tbsp vegetable oil
  
  


• 3 tbsp fresh rosemary
  
  


• 1 tsp salt
  
  


• 3 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese*
  
  

Preparation:

• In a small bowl, add water and sugar until dissolved then sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand for 10 minutes to activate yeast then add vegetable oil.
  
  


• In a food processor, add flour and salt and mix well. Slowly add yeast mixture and continue mixing until dough forms a ball while scraping sides with a spatula.
  
  


• If you don't have a food processor, use a wooden spoon to mix by hand and add yeast mixture a little at a time to evenly combine. Add more flour as needed if dough is too sticky or water if too dry.
  
  


• Turn dough out on a floured work surface and knead dough by hand until it is smooth. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator until it rises to nearly double its size (about 1 hour.)
  
  


• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  
  


• In a small bowl, combine rosemary and Parmesan cheese.
  
  


• Turn dough out on a floured work surface and roll out until it is the shape of a rectangle. Cut dough into roughly 16 equal portions. When working with one portion of dough, place the others in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to prevent from drying out.
  
  


• Take a portion of dough and roll until paper thin (should resemble a very flat rectangle or strip). Using a spatula, lift the dough strip and place it on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.
  
  


• Evenly sprinkle with rosemary and Parmesan cheese over the tops of the dough strips and lightly press into the dough.
  
  


• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, then cool on wire racks.
  
  

*Other suggested topping combinations of your choice:

• fresh chopped rosemary
  
  


• pine nuts
  
  


• crushed garlic
  
  


• cumin
  
  


• red pepper flakes
  
  


• curry powder
  
  


• sunflower seeds
  
  


• etc
  
  

Make 9 Servings:

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving (1 cracker (30 g)): 118 Calories, 3 g Protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 164 mg sodium

My Gluten-Free January

I've been avoiding most gluten, particularly wheat, for over a year now. I never had obvious symptoms that I could clearly link to eating wheat, although I had my suspicions. I've made many changes to my diet over the last decade, and I feel much better than I did ten years ago, but it's hard to disentangle all the factors. I don't think I ever went an entire month without eating any gluten at all before this January. After posting Matt Lentzner's challenge to go gluten-free this January, I felt obligated to do it myself, so I signed up!

I succeeded in avoiding all gluten for the month of January, even though it was a pain at times. I felt good before January, and didn't start with any health or body weight problems, so there wasn't much to improve. I also felt good while strictly avoiding gluten this January, perhaps a little better than usual but it's hard to say.

At the end of the month, I did a blinded wheat challenge using the method I described in a previous post, which uses gluten-free bread as the placebo (1). I recorded my blood sugar at 30 minute intervals after eating the bread, and recorded how I felt physically and emotionally for three days after each challenge.

The result? I think the bread gave me gas, but that's about it. I'm not even positive that was due to the wheat. My energy level was good, and I didn't experience any digestive pain or changes in transit time. There was no significant difference in my blood glucose response between the bread and the gluten-free bread.

I decided that I didn't have any symptoms, so I celebrated by having a porter (1) with friends a few nights later. I slept poorly and woke up with mild digestive discomfort and gas. Then I ate wheat later in the week and slept poorly and got gas again. Hmmm...

Some people might say that the body adapts to any food, and wheat is no different. Go without it for a while, and the body has a tough time digesting it. But I can go for weeks without eating a potato, a chicken thigh or broccoli, and all will digest just fine when I eat them again.

I'm pretty sure I don't have a severe reaction to gluten. I think I'm going to stick with my mostly gluten-free habits, and eat it occasionally when I'm offered food in social situations.

Did anyone else do a blinded wheat challenge? Describe it in the comments!

41/365 - Delicious Brussel Sprouts. Yes! Delicious

I am not a big fan of Brussel Sprouts. Neither is my family. But it's the benefit they offer to our bodies that gives me reason to buy them. 

I thought I was doing pretty good with the new Beef Soup recipe that included Brussel Sprouts I posted a few weeks ago. But I've found something better, Roasted Brussel Sprouts.  I know, that doesn't sound too spectacular, but it is.  

I first put them into the oven on faith.  My mom had told me how wonderful they were when she made them.  I believed her.  When I put them into the oven, I had hoped I didn't just ruin a package of sprouts. (I originally bought them to make the soup)

While the little, green orbs were baking, I admit, the scent was a bit confusing.  When my hubby walked into the kitchen, he took a whiff, and gave a look. I told him, "No opinions until after you try them." At that time, I hoped I didn't have to eat those words.  Secretly, I agreed with him and was only sharing the same thoughts I was telling myself.

When I took them out, I wasn't impressed.  They looked like burnt Brussel Sprouts. MMmmm...... *not*

After they cooled enough so I could taste without scalding myself, I gave one a try.  To my surprise, it was one of the most delicious green things I have ever eaten!! I piled up a plateful and dug in.  Hey, the family wasn't interested so I had my fill. 

Then my oldest walks in and inspects the tray I had cooling on the oven.  He says, "They looked burnt." I smiled. He goes in for a sniff and says, "These don't smell so good." He pokes one with his finger and licks it. He looks to me and asks if I liked them. I told him I thought they were really good. I assumed he'd walk away and be done.  But he didn't.  He grabbed a plate and served himself.  While he was eating he told me, "Mom, if you ever make Brussel Sprouts again, you have to do them like this." WIN.

Just cut off the brown ends, wash, dry, and cut in half-lengthwise.

Toss well in olive oil on a cookie sheet. 

Spread to single layer and sprinkle with salt/pepper.

Bake at 375-400 for about 30 min. or until edges are browned and crispy.

Pumpkin Muffins

(makes 9 muffins)

Ingredients for recipe:

• 2 medium eggs, beaten
  
  


• 1 cup sugar
  
  


• 1 cup pumpkin, canned
  
  


• 1 tsp baking soda
  
  


• 1⅔ cup all-purpose flour
  
  


• ¾ cup vegetable oil
  
  


• ¼ cup water
  
  


• ¾ tsp salt
  
  


• ½ tsp ground cloves
  
  


• ½ tsp nutmeg
  
  


• ½ tsp baking powder
  
  


• ½ tsp cinnamon
  
  


• ½ cup nuts, chopped (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  
  


• In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vegetable oil, and water
  
  


• Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and spices in a separate bowl.
  
  


• Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir to blend.
  
  


• Pour the batter ¾ into the prepared muffin pan
  
  


• Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean. Remove from pan right away.
  
  


• Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them.
  
  

Make 9 Servings:

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving (1 muffin (98 g)): 307 Calories, 21 g Protein, 42 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 14 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 42 mg cholesterol, 421 mg sodium