Grillin' and chillin'

You know when you get a whiff of someone grilling up something amazing for dinner and you get a little jealous??  Watch out neighbors.  Here comes the whiff...tilapia and asparagas sizzlin with a little lemon pepper, dash of salt, drizzled with some olive oil and garlic...oh yeah.  Squeeze a little lemon on there and you've got yourself a meal.

Neither Tom nor I had ever grilled tilapia before so I looked it up online.  Pretty easy.  Spray your grill with non-stick spray.  THEN light it.  Very important.  Okay so now spice up your fish however you like.  Place on grill at 300 degrees.  5 minutes on each side.  Throw your asparagus on after the first 5 minutes.  Easy.  No heating of the oven.  BAM!  You've got yourself a healthy dinner :) 

These are the days I miss having a nice adult beverage.  Nothing crazy...maybe just a glass of wine.  Yeah that would be nice.  But unfortunately, I havn't been able to reintroduce anything in March.  I've had seven.  Yes SEVEN migraines so far this month.  However, I think I've found the culprit.  Let me explain.  At the beginning of the month Tom and went to Aldi's (great store) and found a great price on pstachios.  I love me some pstachios so we got a great big bag of them.  I was so proud of myself for getting a heart healthy snack I could actually eat!  So I've been rationing them out for the past two weeks taking 1/4 of a cup every day for my snack at work.  Well, the past two weeks have been awful for migraines and I also had weird stomach issues. 

Well, I finally decided that those little nuts were the only different thing I had been eating for the past 10 weeks, so I googled "migraines and peanuts" and yes, sure enough nuts are a HUGE trigger for migraineurs (that's what we are called-kinda cool to actually have a name.  Hello my name is Laura and I'm a migraineur. Haha.)  Okay back to business.  Apparently there are food allergies and then there are food intolerances.  Food allergies cause drastic physical issues such as extreme swelling or even death.  Food intolerances cause stomach aches and head pain, but not death.  It's just your body's way of telling you that it doesn't process foods well.  Migraineurs can actually be "intolerant" to certain foods, but there is no intolerance test...only allergen tests so you have to do an elimination diet as I have been doing this year.  As a result of this research I have concluded that I am intolerant to refined sugars and nuts.  So I'm cutting nuts out of my diet, which isn't a huge issue, but that means no more homemade sugar free peanut butter cups...super sad face :(  And I've been having almond milk with my cereal every day because I thought maybe dairy was the issue.  One step closer.  I also think a bulk of my issues come from hormone inbalances, which can be tested via a saliva test.  That's my next step! 

Here are the running totals:

January total migraines: 4
February total migraines: 4
March migraines to date: 7
That brings my total to 15.

But I am still very thankful because I could have had 30 by now.  The average number of migraines I had per month prior to the anti-inflammatory food plan was 8-10.

Pounds lost : 16

My pants have been falling down and I was rockin the low rise ghetto look at school so my awesome co-worker brought me a whole bag full of dress pants, khakis and capris the next size down that she doesn't need anymore cause she lost a bunch of weight in the past couple of years.  Go her!  She totally rocks my world. 

Now I'm off for another bike ride to soak up this incredible weather. :)

Migraine x 4 plus a couple recipes

Hi friends.  I'm back.  It's been quite the struggle to keep up with normal life this week.  It started with waking up to a migraine at 2am Monday morning.  I took my meds and I was able to get up and go to work.  Then I was greeted once again by a migraine at 2:30am early Tuesday morning.  I took my meds and thankfully I was able to go to work again.  Then I woke up at 6:30am on Wednesday with another migraine.  I had to call in and take my meds.  The medication took away a big chunk of the pain, but I was still feeling the migraine.  Plus was completely exhausted and jittery from all of the meds so my day consisted of sleeping, sleeping and more sleeping.  Tom left for work and I was sleeping, he came to check on me for lunch and I was sleeping, he came home from work...guess what?  I was sleeping and then he came home from Bible Study and once again...his wife was sleeping.  At some time during the night, the migraine had come back full force and had to take the meds again.  Ugh.  Thank the Lord I woke up pretty much pain free this morning...still jittery and exhausted, but I could deal and I HAD to get back to work. 

Well thanks for listening to my rant.  I have no idea why I had so many migraine attacks.  Maybe it's due to my time of the month.  I don't know what I could have eaten because I've been so diligent in my eating and exercise.  I am thinking about going to a holistic doctor since my General Practitioner, Gyno, Chiropractor, Neurologist haven't been able to do much for me even though they have definitely tried.  I've heard some good things about getting tested for food allergies, hormones, etc. from friends and co-workers.  I just don't want to shell out more money for something I don't know will work.  It's so frustrating.  Any suggestions are appreciated!

The Great Migraine Battle continues...

February- Laura : 12  Migraines : 4

Year to date- Laura : 40  Migraines : 7

Here's a couple of recipes I tried the past couple of days...

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta

• 8 oz fettuccine or linguine
• 10 tbsp butter, divided
• 8 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)
• 1 lb cooked shrimp

Boil your pasta according to package directions. While your pasta is cooking, cook your shrimp if necessary and reserve.  If your shrimp are pre-cooked and frozen, quickly thaw them under running water.  In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown.  Season with salt and pepper.

Reserve cooked mushrooms and melt remaining butter in the skillet.  Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs.  Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from your noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce.

Keep sauce hot and add shrimp and mushrooms, mix well and simmer (stirring often) until everything is hot and thickened, about 10 minutes.  Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve.

This was AWESOME!

 This is a homemade whole wheat biscuit from Hodgson Mills.  It's the same mix I use to make pancakes.  Delish!  You should definitely try this mix.

 This was the most disappointing meal I've made since I tried to make whole wheat macaroni and cheese.  It looks good doesn't it??  It's Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos.  I may have done something terribly wrong, but I did not like it.  Tom ate it.  I did not.  I had puffed wheat cereal with almond milk instead.  I have included the recipe in case you would like to try it because it really does sound good.  I don't know...maybe I cooked the garlic too long and it got bitter.  I'm not sure. 

Ingredients:

·         1 lb tilapia fillets, rinsed and pat dried

·         1 tsp olive oil

·         1 small onion, chopped

·         4 garlic cloves, finely minced

·         2 jalapeño peppers, chopped (seeds removed for less heat)

·         2 cups diced tomatoes

·         1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

·         3 tbsp lime juice

·         salt and pepper to taste

·         8 5-inch white corn tortillas

·         lime wedges and cilantro for garnish

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté onion until translucent, then add garlic. Mix well

Place tilapia on the skillet and cook until the flesh starts to flake. Add jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and lime juice. Sauté over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking up the fish with the spoon to get everything mixed well; season to taste with salt and pepper and add tomatoes.  Meanwhile, heat tortillas on a skillet a few minutes on each side to warm (no oil needed). Serve a little over 1/4 cup of fish on each warmed tortillas

Cajun Seafood Pasta and Southwest Chicken Tostadas

Prepare yourself for a taste sensation when you make these two meals.  Seriously.  These are two of my favorite meals I've made the past month.  You should try them for sure. 

Last night I made Cajun Seafood Pasta...yummm.  I wasn't sure about the "cajun" part, but it was just the right amount of spice.  I found some wheat fettunccini made by Hodgson Mills (same company that makes the awesome pancake mix) and oh it was good.

I won't make you wait any longer...here's the recipe.

Oh yeah check out that creamy goodness.

Cajun Seafood Pasta
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. fettuccini
1/2 lb. shrimp (I bought frozen)
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 c. fresh grated parmesan

Directions:
Boil fettuccini.  Combine heavy whipping cream with basil, thyme, salt, pepper, parsley, and red pepper flakes.  Simmer for 7-8 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally.  Add cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.  Add shrimp and drained noodles.  Toss together and serve :)

Crispy Southwest Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup shredded cheese (You choose your type)
1/2 c. sour cream
Tostadas or tortillas

Directions:
Cook and shred chicken.  Cook rice.  Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Stir together until warmed.  Add the cheese until melted.  Remove from heat and add the sour cream.  Stir until well mixed and serve on shell of your choice!  Garnish with tomatoes.

Oh and I added pics to my last post.  :)

The Great Migraine Battle continues...

Laura : 7  Migraines: 0 

YES!!

Cilantro Crock Pot Chicken & Homemade Taco Seasoning

I have been getting frustrated with my hair lately and just don't know what to do with it.  Limp, no umph, no real style, too many layers, blah, blah, blah...you know what I mean.  Anyway, I have been toying with the idea of getting a perm. 

The style now is long, sleek and straight, but eventhough my hair is straight, it takes a lot to get it sleek.  I need a wash and go type of style so I finally decided just to go for it and got a textured wave, which uses the biggest curlers a perm can have. 

Here's how it turned out...

I love it!  It's fun and fresh...just what I needed.  Wash, gel, scrunch and go!  YES!

Here's kind of a cool shot of the back.

Another huge plus on the textured wave is that I didn't have to get my hair re-highlighted.  The curls hide the roots.  YAY for saving money! :)

In other news, tonight's dinner is Cilantro Lime Crock Pot Chicken.  My house smells awesome!  I think I'm going to serve it up on tortillas with some rice.  Mmmm...here it is cooking in the crock pot.

Whew...just had a lil' taste and it is spicy!  Tom will be happy. :)

Oh Mexican food...I love you.  That's some spicy chicken dip over in the right hand corner.  I made it for girl's night on Friday and it went over REALLY well...I will have to post that recipe later.

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

12-ounce jar medium salsa

Juice from one lime

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1.25-oz. package taco seasoning

1 jalapeno pepper

3 boneless chicken breasts, defrosted

Directions:

1. In a slow cooker, mix together the salsa, lime juice, cilantro, taco seasoning and jalapenos.

Add the chicken and coat with the salsa mixture. Allow the chicken to cook, covered, in the

slow cooker on Low setting for 6 hours. Serve chicken with salsa mixture spooned over top,

or shred and use as a taco filling.

I'll try to add more pics of when it's done and has a nice presentation. 

Also, the only taco seasoning I can ever find has sugar so I made my own today.  Here's the recipe for taco seasoning.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

The Great Migraine Battle:  February Edition

Laura : 4   Migraines : 0

Creamy Mushroom Pasta, Berry Banana Ice Cream & Homemade Pizza

Sundays used to be my least favorite day of the week because it meant that I had to wake up to an alarm the next day, but now they are my favorite day of the week.  It's a day I get to spend the day with my hubby going to worship at church, go grocery shopping, get some good cooking done, read the newspaper, and most importantly, put my feet up and just relax. 

Unfortunately, last night I started to feel "migrainy" and woke up with a big start to a migraine. 

I was desperate for it to not turn into a full blown migraine so I took Tylonol and busted out the ice pack.  It took me through church, but on the way home I started to feel it coming on stronger.  When I got home I took more Tylonol, but to no avail.  It was a migraine.  However, I am thankful because I was able to take my medicine and it worked within an hour. 

Three migraines is way better than ten so I'll take it!

So the Great Migraine Battle continues...

Laura : 26  Migraines : 3

I have been trying to figure out what the trigger was and I haven't had any sugar, got plenty of sleep, exercised regularly and I've narrowed it down.  I think it may have been the huge increase in dairy I have been eating the past couple of days.  The anti-inflammatory research claimed dairy was an inflammatory food, but I didn't want to believe it because I feel milk's calcium and Vitamin D benefits are so important to a healthy diet.  However, I had LOTS of sour cream and butter on my baked potato at Tom's work dinner Friday night plus my fish was swimming in butter. 

I also ate 1/3 of a block of cheese these last couple of days as my snacks.  Then yesterday I made a new recipe...Creamy Mushroom and Shrimp Pasta which has 10 tbsp of butter and 3 oz of cream cheese and washed it down with a nice big glass of milk.  Yeah.  I think the dairy did me in.  So when Tom and I went grocery shopping I got some almond milk to try.  I've heard good things about it so we will see.  It has calcium and lots of vitamins in it and I will continue to eat cheese but will be eating it sparingly.  I will continue to try to figure out these triggers.

Here's my creamy shrimp and mushroom pasta from last night.  Had the leftovers for lunch after church today it was even better the second time around.  I don't even have to convince you to try this because the picture says everything. :)

Here's my afternoon snack...blueberry banana ice cream.  Frozen banana + frozen blueberries + milk + Magic Bullet = yumtasticness (no that's not a word, but it totally describes this concoction)

So I've been telling you all about Tom's famous Sunday night homemade pizzas and I kept forgetting to take a picture before we cut into it and started eating because it's so darn good!  Tonight Tom reminded me to take a picture as soon as it came out of the oven.  His side has pepperoni and Italian sausage.  My side has fresh pineapple.  The crust is Jiffy Pizza Crust and has no sugar :)

We found some great snacks on our grocery shopping adventure this afternoon. 

These are delish and sugar-free!

I got to eat cookies for dessert tonight!!!

On another note, I am wanting to do something different with my hair.  I'm thinking about getting a body wave.  I'm trying to grow it out and the last time I got my hair cut, my hair dresser cut REALLY short layers and I want to do something simple and easy with my hair while it grows out.  A body wave might just do the trick.  Wash, gel, scrunch, go!  Any other suggestions??

Lemon Pepper Salmon Time and Go, Go, Go, Away Vertigo!

I see the light!  The dizziness is succumbing to my meds. 

YES!!! 

Praise the Lord for modern medicine!  Now we just need to get past this tiredness and we'll be all set.

Lemon Pepper Salmon has been on my "to make" list for a couple of weeks now and I finally got to make it.  Super easy.  I just got those little individual salmon fillets, threw on some olive oil, a sprinkle of lemon pepper and popped them in the oven.  Match with a side of brown rice, spinach saladnaan and steamed edamame.  Yum...I love edamame.  I found some salted edamame in a steamable bag, which equals happy Laura.

  There was so much food on my plate I couldn't even finish my naan....yeah I know.  I couldn't finish my naan...my favorite part.  It's true.  I tried a new kind of naan and it was super yummy...not as flavorful as the garlic naan but delicious none the less. 

Here it is...

Here's my meal:

Just looking at it is making me hungry again.  I might have to go pop some popcorn now. 

Ok, I'm back with a huge bowl of popcorn so now I'm better :)

Anyway, tomorrow is going to be my first venture out to a Steak House on this anti-inflammatory diet.  It's a work party for Tom's workplace.  I don't know what they are serving so it might be a rough meal but I know I can have veggies, fruits, baked potatoes, cheese, fish, chicken, and more. 

I can do this. 

I've done this thing for 26 days so I can do another day, right?

And plus it's COMPLETELY worth it because......

The Great Migraine Battle continues...

Laura : 24  Migraines: 2

Awwwww...yeah.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia & How I Met Your Mother

First of all, I wanted to thank all of you for reading my blog.  I have received so much positive feedback about it.  I'm glad you are enjoying reading about my adventures in the kitchen and I have been praying that God would use my blog to inspire you through my writing and of course, lots of pictures. :)  I also appreciate all of your encouragement as you come along with me on my fight against migraines.  This whole not eating sugar thing has taken some serious prayer and lots of support from my amazing husband, family, co-workers and friends like you.  Thank you.

The Great Migraine Battle stats are in:
Laura : 21   Migraines : 2

I tried another Larabar today.  My friend from work was so sweet to bring me an assortment of Larabars this morning.  Cherry Pie, Banana Bread and Peanut Butter Cookie.  Guess which one I tried first???

Well yes of course!  Peanut Butter Cookie :)  It was really delicous and satisfied my sugar craving this afternoon.

I love you Larabar...and it's not just because you have a rockin' cool name ;)

Oh a random note, I love How I Met your Mother.  So I'm writing this as I'm watching Monday night tv in my pjs.  Doesn't get better than this.  Tonight I was really tired so I made a super easy recipe. 

I found a recipe through Pinterest that is a Rachel Ray creation. 

Here it is friends...

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400°. In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the fish with the lemon wedges.

**Miss Rachel claims 10-12 minutes, however, I must have had some stubbern tilapia because mine took about 23 minutes to cook through.  I baked it on a Pampered Chef baking pan with foil so I don't know if that affected the cooking time or not.  Just keep an eye on it and when it flakes with a fork it's done.

I served it with couscus, naan, sauted mushrooms and a spinach salad.  Awesome and easy.  Love love love.

Tom also loved it.  I blinked and his fish was gone.  Sweet. 

Well, I'm off to go make some banana blackberry ice cream. 

1 frozen banana + handful of blackberries + 1/4 c. milk + magic bullet = tricking my brain into thinking I'm eating ice cream.  Yessssssss.....

Ice cream temptations, homemade pizza and shrimp scampi

Today was a good day, no it was a great day.  It started out with a foggy drive with a frozen turkey rolling around on the floorboard of my car and ended with a relaxing night at home with my hubby.  A rolling frozen turkey you ask?  Well, my mom is being a sweetie (this is nothing new...she is awesome) and fixing a family dinner that I can have to celebrate my cousin coming home to visit so I brought her the turkey we had in our freezer before work this morning.  It always makes me smile to get to talk with her.  The kiddos were really on their A game today too. 

 One of my students even brought in ice cream cups to celebrate his birthday....ooooh ice cream cups...I love those things.  They remind me of being a kid at my great-grandparent's house eating out of a tiny cup with a little wooden spoon.  Why of course I would like one!  Thank you!  ERRRRRRRRT!!!!!!  STOP!  What are you doing Laura?  That's ice cream and ice cream has sugar in it.  Sugar = migraines (possibly).  Oh man...what could a little tiny vanilla cup hurt?  You think I caved don't you?  Proud to say I didn't.  I gave it away to another teacher.  YESSSS!  Score 1 for Laura.  The day got even better with another successful dinner.  It only took about 15 minutes too! 

Here it is:

Shrimp Scampi (adapted from the Barefoot Contessa) Serves 6

8 oz. whole wheat pasta
12 oz. pre-cooked medium shrimp
1/2 stick (4 tbsp.) unsalted butter
3 tbsp. minced garlic
3 tbsp. olive oil
dash black pepper
dash salt
1/2 c. lemon juice (4 lemons squeezed)
1 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Boil noodles while melting butter and olive oil over medium heat in large heavy bottomed pan.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add the shrimp and stir often for 5 min.  Remove from heat, add parsley, lemon juice and red pepper flakes.  Toss shrimp mixture together with the pasta.  Enjoy!

Tom made pizza yesterday for lunch and here's his recipe:

Tom's Homemade Pizza (It's supposed to serve 4, but we usually eat the whole thing between the two of us because it's just that good)  ;)

1 Jiffy pizza dough mix according to directions (super cheap...less than 50 cents a box)
1/2 jar pizza sauce (check the label to make sure it's just tomatoes and spices)
1/2 bag Italian cheese
Toppings of your choice

Preheat the oven according to Jiffy box directions.  Make the pizza dough and spread on a greased pizza pan.  Add the pizza sauce onto the raw dough.  Put toppings of your choice on top of the sauce.  My half got fresh pineapple.  His half got pepperoni.  Top with cheese.  Bake according to pizza dough box directions.  Yum!!

Oh and the updated Migraine Battle is:

 Laura 8 : Migraines 1...YAY!

I also weighed myself this morning...lost 0.2 lbs in a week.  Honestly, I was really disappointed but I'm not eating this way to lose weight, but it would be a nice bonus.  I've increased my work out to 40 minutes 5-6 days a week for the past month.  Maybe I'm building muscle tone...let's think positively :) 

The Journey Continues...and a bonus smoothie recipe!

Day 6 of no sugar, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup or red meat...etc.

Migraines 1 : Laura 5

Yep, yesterday I got hit hard with a migraine.  I was really frustrated.  Praise God for my Imitrex!  It works within an hour or two and I am so thankful for that.  I just wish I could figure out what my triggers are exactly.  The barometer has something to do with them and the weather has been funky lately.  Also, I slept poorly and I know that my sleep patterns determine my migraine activity as well.  But I'm just gonna keep on keeping on.  As the slogan goes, "I have migraines, but migraines don't have me!" 

On a side note, this anti-inflammatory eating isn't all for naught because today I noticed that my jeans are getting loose and I have a lot more energy :)

Last night I had planned to have tilapia tacos, but the corn tortilas had dextrose (sugar) so we just had garlic and lime seasoned tilapia with a side of garlic noodles, spinach salad and some heavenly garlic naan.  Would you like a little food with your garlic, you ask?  Why yes, I will admit that I am a smidge obsessed with the stuff and was very thankful that Tom and I had no plans to socialize with anyone other than our garlic soaked selves last night.

This is how much I love garlic...

No sissy little jars of minced garlic for me!  This big guy is about half way gone and I just opened it a couple of months ago :)

As for how I'm hanging in there without sugar...well yesterday was tough especially when I started to feel the migraine coming on.  I'm thinking..."Seriously??  I've been working so hard to only eat anti-inflammatory foods and I get a migraine??................Ugggggggggggggggh!" 

Then I promptly threw an extravagant pity party for myself.  But with the encouragement of my super supportive hubby...please give him lots of props and respect when you see him for he truly rocks at being encouraging....I was able to put an end to the pity party and move on.

Today is better...haven't thrown a pity party for myself all day.  I've been eating lots of fresh fruit, which I think has been really helpful in keeping me away from sugar and snackies. 

I made a really delicious smoothie this afternoon.  Here's how I made it:

1/2 c. blueberries
1 medium banana
1/2 orange
splash of milk
1/2 c. plain yogurt
2 ice cubes
(Sometimes I put in a 1/4 c. quick oats to make it thicker, but today I didn't cause it was a snack)
*I mixed it all together with my Magic Bullet (love that thing) and voila!

Most importantly though, I don't think I would have been able to succeed in my anti-inflammatory eating without God.  It seems rediculous that the creator of the world would care what my plan is for what I eat, but He does.  He's been teaching so much lately about how much He truly loves me and cares about even the tiniest of things in my life.  It overwhelms me to think about how much God loves us all even though we mess up, sin, and don't give him the glory.  Matthew 19:26 says, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  What an incredible truth.  I know that without God, I would not have been able to stay true to my plan to fight against these migraines.  You know, if I didn't suffer with migraines, I may not have been open to God teaching me all these things.  Now I'm not ready to be thankful for them just yet, but I do hope that God can use my migraines for something good.

Lemon Pepper Salmon & Stuffed Peppers

Tonight I made two anti-inflammatory meals in tandem!  Was a little stressful, but glad I did it.  I was really craving some sugar during the few minutes of stress, but thanks to my amazing enourager of a husband it was all good. 

So here's what went down in my kitchen tonight...I made salmon for dinner with Tom's parents and now we have 3 lunches for the rest of this week.  Sweet!

Recipe #1 Dinner: Lemon Pepper Salmon

Season 2 salmon filets with lemon pepper and olive oil.  Bake at 425 for 14 minutes.
Cook 1 c. brown rice while salmon is baking.

Drizzle baked fish and rice with squeeze of lemon.
Serve with veggie of your choice...I like asparagus or a spinach salad.


Yumm!!

Recipe #2-Lunch for tomorrow: Stuffed Turkey Peppers
(This is a variation of my mom's stuffed peppers-she makes them perfectly!)

3 green or red peppers
3/4 lb. ground turkey
1 c. brown rice
2 tsp. Worchesershire Sauce
1 can low sodium tomato soup
dash of pepper
dash of salt

De-stem peppers and take out seeds.
Boil peppers in salt water for 5 minutes.
Cook brown rice while peppers are boiling.
Brown turkey and strain fat.
Place peppers in greased 8x8 pan.

Mix browned turkey, cooked rice, tomato soup, Worchestershire, pepper, salt together and stuff into peppers.

Bake for 25 min. at 350.

Top with your favorite cheese and enjoy!



Delish!

Success!

This afternoon Tom and I went on our first grocery shopping adventure for anti-inflammatory foods.  At first, it was easy as we filled our cart with snap peas, strawberries, yogurt, milk, broccoli, cauliflower and salmon.  Then it was time for cereal and bread...that was a different story.  Anti-inflammatory does not include sugar (unless naturally found such as in fruits) or enriched flour so we looked at countless cereal box ingredients and bread ingredients. 

 EVERYTHING has either enriched flour or sugar added!!!  No wonder America has an obesity issue. 

 Finally, we ended up with 3 bags of Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice and no bread.  I guess I will be making my own bread or shopping at the natural food store.  However, we did not let that stop us.  Our cart looked very healthy and we were very pleased with what we were able to buy. 

After that, we came home, I fired up the oven and started in on my trial run of Roasted Lemon Garlic Shrimp....and....

Our first anti-inflammatory meal was a success!  The kitchen smelled terrific and best of all, Tom loved it.  :) So yes folks, it is husband approved.

Here's my version of Roasted Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Whole Wheat Noodles

 Here's what it looked like in the pan straight out of the oven.

I tweaked the original recipe and made it easier and just as delicious.

1 lb. bag of pre-cooked medium shrimp (take tails off)

2 lemons (sliced)

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

dash of pepper

dash of salt

dash of thyme (to taste)

olive oil (cover bottom of pan)

1/2 pkg. whole wheat noodles

Combine all ingredients in 9x13 pan.

Bake 12 minutes at 400 degrees.

Boil noodles while the shrimp is cooking.

Makes approx. 4 servings.

Bon appettite!

Resolutions & Roasted Lemon Garlic Shrimp

This morning God turned on the lightbulb for me.  Our pastor spoke on resolutions and focusing on the "main thing" which is to love the Lord your God.  He encouraged us to make a resolution this year, but not just make one, but thoughtfully consider what specific thing you could do keeping in mind the verse "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. (Matthew 22:37).  That's why we were made and that's our purpose.  There are so many ways to do this by talking to people around you when you are at home, out and about or relaxing.  Make loving God the forefront of your life and show others that you love your Lord.  Wow.  That sounds hard.  I guess it's both overwhelming and encouraging at the same time.  I love to talk so that part comes easy to me.  Now I just need to show love when I talk without complaining or judging...now that's the tricky part. 

I also have other goals for myself such as appreciating more, looking on the brighter side, working out on a consistent basis, eating healthier foods, staying away from chocolate, improving my attitude and so forth.  There are so many things I want to improve about myself.  Our pastor continued and said once you have a resolution in mind, write it down, review it and most importantly SHARE it with someone.  Well, that's what I am doing right now.  I am sharing it with you.  Because I have so many things I want to work on AND I tend to be a perfectionist and get very discouraged when I do fail I've decided on a different type of resolution:  "When I mess up, I won't give up."  Notice the "when"...I know I will mess up because I am human and imperfect.  Thankfully Jesus died for my imperfection and took my sins away when he did or else I'd really be up a creek.  But back to my point, I know I will mess up...that's a given.  However, it's the getting back on the proverbial horse that's the hard part.  That's what I need to work on.  So this year I am going to keep on keeping on no matter how many times I mess up.  If you are reading this feel free to call me out if I don't! :)

So, to keep my promise from yesterday I am going to post my first anti-inflammatory recipe from CinnamonSpice&EverythingNice...Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp. 

I'm making it tomorrow night so I'll let you know how it turns out...enjoy :)

Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp

(adapted from Fine Cooking)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 lemon, zested then half cut into thin slices and other half into wedges

3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed (I'm using the thyme that's in my spice rack)

sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
whole wheat spaghetti/pasta, couscous or brown rice for serving

1 pound fresh shrimp, medium-sized, deveined with tails off
5 cloves garlic, minced (I'm using about 3 tbsp. out of my super sized jar of minced garlic)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a 9×13 baking pan combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Meanwhile cook pasta, couscous or rice.

2. Remove pan from oven, add shrimp, garlic and the thin sliced lemons (don’t squeeze them), toss to coat with oil mixture. Bake for 8-10 more minutes or until shrimp turn pink and start to curl. Serve over whole wheat pasta, couscous or brown rice tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and fresh-squeezed lemon with additional lemon wedges for serving.