Cheeseburger Salad

Cheeseburger-Salad

A fun recipe for you.  I have some friends who have tried it, and their boys now ask for it.  Yup!  That's boys asking for salad.  I'm telling you, this is good stuff, and sooooo easy!

Seriously, this is more a guide than a recipe. Its sort of 'a little of this, a little of that' in nature. I'll tell you how I did it, and you can make it work for your family. :)

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 small or 1/2 large yellow or white onion
cook together in a frying pan

When the meat is done add:
About 3 Tbl. Ketchup
about 1 Tbl. Mustard (yellow prepared mustard, just the plain stuff)
about 1 1/2 tsp pickle juice (Dill)
Cook and stir and taste. If it needs more of anything add it. don't get it too wet though.

To your lettuce add:
3-4 pickles chopped
1 large tomato chopped
1 avocado chopped (I LOVE avocados! I use them for everything!)

Put your hamburger (or turkey) mixture on top. Add about 2 cups of Med. cheddar cheese grated.

You can serve with some home-made croutons.

I served with Ketchup on top, but you can use thousand Island or Ranch or nothing. The meat has plenty of flavor. I actually think some french fries or potato chips would be tasty, but I am not advocating it. lol.

Cheeseburger-Salad

Exercise - Are you doing it?

Exercise has always lately been easy for me, but I haven't had success losing weight.  Until now.  I am finally moving the scale.  Guess what it is?  Moving faster, for longer every day.  (Well 5 days a week.)  I walked/ran 100 miles in 12 days.  That is so close to 10 miles a day.  That has been the turning point.  Now I am constantly trying to see how far, how long, and how fast I can go.  My legs and arms are screaming at the end of my first 60-80 minute work out- every day.  And Every day, I know that I will go a second time for another 60 min.

It's hard work.  But you know what's harder?  Carrying 30-40 extra pounds and knowing I am that much closer to diabetes.  So I'm learning to enjoy one hard thing, to avoid dealing with another hard thing.

What are you doing to reach your goals?  How are you avoiding diabetes, heart disease and other weight related illnesses?

I'll be back

okay so blogger is giving me fits about how many photos I've posted.  This is why I haven't posted in so long.  However, I will be getting a new blog up soon.  I have so many recipes to post.  Lots of them are diabetic friendly. 7-8 are salads that your family will actually want to eat!  Until then, please enjoy my old posts.  :)

I'm Too Busy to Eat Healthfully

 I don't know about you, but at 4:30pm, when I realize that I don't know what I'm making for dinner, and the family is rotating around me like natives on the warpath, I am not inclined to follow through with that plan for grilled salmon and wild rice.  No, I reach for a box of mac 'n cheese and hope I can get it on the table before the screaming starts.  Then I realize that I am starving, and since I am not going to take the time and I don't want to clean up the mess from making two meals, I sit down and eat some mac  'n cheese.  I don't even like boxed mac 'n cheese!!! ( Homemade stuff, well that's another story.)  Any way, I decided to take this problem in hand.  I purchased a huge amount of chicken from Zaycon Foods.  *Details on how to do that to follow.*  While separating 40lbs of chicken into 1 lb packages I saw some limes on my counter.  My favorite marinade is a lime-honey-southwest concoction.  Inspiration struck!  I made up a double batch of the marinade and poured it into 4 of the chicken bags.  Then I thought, "why stop there?"  So I grabbed the last of a container of ranch dressing, some poppy seed salad dressing and a teriyaki marinade and doctored up a couple more bags.  At the end, I had bagged 13 lbs of chicken with marinade and put them in the freezer.  All I have to do is pull a bag out in the morning and let the chicken marinade as it thaws.  Seriously - this is genius!  Okay- I know people have been doing this for years and that pinterest has tons of examples.  But I never do it!  This time I did.  I'm pretty excited.  The coolest thing is that I am less likely to order Pizza, go out to dinner or, --gasp-- make mac 'n cheese!

So one more excuse down for me.  I now have time, for at least 13 meals, to eat healthfully.  :)  What are your best tips?

Zaycon chicken is the most awesome stuff I have found.  It is about $1.68/lb. which is crazy low in my area of the country.  More than that, this chicken does NOT have added hormones!!  It is NOT pre-frozen and I have been so happy with the quality.  If you would like to get some check them out here. They also have bacon, and salmon and a bunch of other things.  They are not in all areas, but they might be in yours, and if they aren't, send them a message and let them know that you are interested.  Maybe, if there is enough interest, they'll come to your area too.  :)
https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf1982

Peanut Butter Smoothie & Chocolate 'Malt' Smoothie

This is a great smoothie.  It tastes like Reese's Pieces in a glass.  So good.  More than that, it is also healthy and less than 300 200 calories!  Sounds like a great breakfast to me.  It also keeps me full all morning.

Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 scoop Vanilla Attain Powder. (You could substitute SlimFast powder or any meal replacement or protien powder.)

1 Tbl. Creamy peanut butter

8 oz. or 1 cup Coconut Milk

1 Cup crushed ice

1 Medium Banana

Blend all ingredients until smooth.  Pour into 2 glasses.  Enjoy with a friend.  :)

 This tastes like a chocolate malt shake, only it's not a shake, and there isn't any malt.  How is this possible?  Nutella.  Oh yeah!  My friends know that I have a slight obsession with Nutella, but I had never considered adding it to a smoothie.   After all, it is a high calorie treat.  But- it's only 10 calories more than peanut butter.  I can work with this.  :)  Turns out, it is delicious and I still came in around 200 calories. And it seriously tastes like a creamy, yummy ice cream shake. Decide for yourself.  Make this soon!

1 cup Vanilla Soy milk
1 small to med. banana
1 Tbl. Nutella
1 scoop vanilla Attain powder
1 cup ice

Blend well and pour into 2 glasses, if you can stand to share.  But you must share, or it's not 200 calories. lol.

Calorie breakdown--

1 scoop attain powder -- 120 cal.
1 banana 90-105 cal. depending on size
1 cup soy or coconut milk 70-90 cal. depending on brand
1 Tbl. Peanut butter 90 Cal.
1 Tbl. Nutella 100Cal.

Each shake averages 190 Calories, based on 2 servings per recipe, or 380 calories for the entire recipe. :)

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon

My sister-in-law is an amazing cook.  By amazing, I mean Ah-Mazzzz-ing!  She was trained by a (the, at the time) head chef at the Sun Valley Lodge.  Yeah, the Sun Valley Lodge Dining Room, the one where you can run into Hollywood stars nearly any day of the week.  But truthfully, I think she would have been an amazing cook even if she hadn't worked under the great chef.  She is good at everything.  She took some cake decorating classes, and now she teaches the cake decorating classes for Wilton - not even kidding.  She is also a phlebotomist.  I have no idea how or why those things go together.  I suppose it shows how well rounded she is.  Any way --- the point of the brag-fest on my SIL is that once, when my family was visiting hers, she made us this super yummy dinner.  It was salmon, red potatoes, and broccoli with cauliflower.  Now my husband does not like fish and he had seconds!  Seriously, some of the best restaurants in the country have not tempted him with their fish, but he had seconds!  It was so good I can still taste it.  Mmmmmnnnn. . . . . .  Oh, yeah, um you're still here?  Oh of course you are, I haven't told you how to make it.

Well, when my sister-in-law made it, she used butter and brown sugar and oh my it was good, but my waistline can't handle that and neither can my sugar levels, sooooooo - I changed it.  WAIT!  Don't leave!  It's still good.  And by good I mean really really good.  I will not pretend that it is exactly the same, but it is delicious nonetheless, and there is absolutely NO guilt.  So I will show you how I make the salmon, and you can choose.  Make it my way, or my sister-in-law's way.  Either way it is delicious and fish is still good for you with all those omega-3 fatty acids.

There are no specific measurements.  Instead I employ the drizzle, shake and eyeball methods.  Trust me, it's easier than you think.

These are your ingredients.  Notice in the top right corner you can see a cedar plank.  The actual plank that I used is soaking in the sink in water.  You have to soak the plank for 30 min to a few hours or it will start on fire.  I soaked mine for 2 hours, and it still caught on fire, which is why in the next picture you will see a bottle of water.  You need this to cedar grill your salmon.  Trust me on this one.  :)

1/2 way through cooking.  See the smoke at the top of the picture?  Great flavor there.  However, I did smell like a campfire when I was done.

It's done.  Okay, I like mine a little more done that most people, but I still think it looks beautiful.

 Here's how you make it.  Score your salmon down to, but not through the skin.  drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over the salmon and use your hands or a spoon to push the mixture into the fish.  sprinkle with Splenda or whatever your favorite sugar substitute is, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper and parsley and your favorite flavorings.  But, the salt pepper and parsley are actually enough.  I did add some chili powder and garlic.  Preheat your grill for 10 min.  Then turn it down to low and put your plank on the grill. After about 5 minutes you should see smoke coming from the grill.  Open it, and if any of your plank is on fire, squirt it down with water.  Place the fish on the plank and cook about 20 min.  Check it often.  You can also bake this in your over, minus the cedar plank.  Eat immediately. 

 If you want to do it my sister-in-law's way.  Rub butter into the salmon, sprinkle about 4 TBL brown sugar over that, and squeeze 2  fresh lemons or limes over that.  Rub all that into the salmon with your hands.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper and parsley.

Seriously yummy.  Let me know how it turns out for you.  :)

Spices:
 juice from 1 fresh lemon or 1 Tbl. lemon juice
Old Bay (you will just sprinkle on top- so no real measurement, but I'd guesstimate 1 tsp.
1/2 tsp. garlic powder or 1 tsp. garlic salt (reducing the sea salt if you use this)
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chili powder
Pepper (again, sprinkle it over- not a real measurement)
Salt (see above)
1 Tbl. splenda or honey
1-2 Tbl Olive Oil

Drizzle Olive oil and honey (or sprinkle splenda) over your fillet.  Then drizzle the Lemon Juice over the salmon.  Next, sprinkle all other ingredients on the fillet, making sure to cover the entire fillet.

Poll

I have a question for you, my awesome followers.  I am no longer diabetic, but as I have previously stated, I should be eating as a diabetic anyway.  I have moved from needing to eat to keep my sugars in check, to needing to eat this way to lose the extra weight and then keep it off.  So I am going to continue the blog.  My question is, would you rather see:

a) Daily food logs
b) healthy recipes
c) exercise logs
d) a combination
e) who cares? do what ever floats your boat.

Please vote in the comments section.  Thanks. -- Oh, if I don't get any votes, I will assume it's e. ;)