Tag: recipe

Change and Motivation

Christina BruniLeave a comment

I was known as the Salad Girl at my job because I consistently had salads for lunch in the staff kitchen.

Suddenly after 23 years of having salads for lunch I was done with having salads at noon time. The buying of the lettuce and other food, schlepping it to work, and preparing the salad nearly every day took its toll.

I remembered what my trainer at the gym told me a year ago after I lamented to him that I wondered what particular kinds of food I should eat to be healthy.

He responded to my granular ethic thus: “Eat food. You just have to eat food. Whatever kind of food it is just eat.”

That said it got easier when I changed up my weekly routine this winter. Buying organic lettuce and organic salad toppings in my weekly grocery order. Prepping salads for DINNER three or four days a week. Having the salad with a side of steamed shrimp one night or a can of Cento tuna in olive oil with the salad on another night. With slices of avocado.

The curious improvement was that when I started having salads for dinner I felt good in the evening. The food you eat can improve your mood. Feeling good was the motivation I had for continuing this new dinnertime habit.

In keeping with what my trainer told me I found other food to have for lunch at my job. Though I’m not a vegetarian and I have chicken I eat chicken only once or twice a week. Buying organic chicken to have as a meal for one dinner with an organic vegetable from a frozen bag.

My old friend the deli counter is where I buy a baked salmon filet to heat up on one other night. With regular Brussel sprouts or a beet salad from the friendly deli counter offerings.

Like I said it’s often when we decide “Enough is enough!” that we’re motivated to change our habits or our routine.

Turning 60 in the spring I’m going to create a 20-year plan in which to achieve my goals and resolutions. A person like me isn’t supposed to live to 80. We die 20 years earlier than the regular population according to naysayers who parrot this claim.

This simply isn’t true when you take care of your health the best you can with what you were given. Any of us with a disadvantage–popping pills we need to take to be well; having a genetic medical issue; whatever it is–we can choose to do what’s in our control to improve.

The things we can’t control we should accept. Focus instead on what’s in our power to change. Know that there’s no shame regardless of our fitness level or lack of fitness.

Perfection is a myth because it implies there can be no growth. What I’ve learned and have come to accept is that I can have other food and maintain my health.

In coming blog entries I’ll talk about the epiphanies that hit me in recent weeks re: achieving and sustaining wellness.

Bacon Butternut Squash

Christina BruniLeave a comment

This recipe is from the Joanna Gaines cookbook Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering Volume 3. Since the recipe is too long and detailed and owing to copyright I won’t reprint it here.

Of course my version looks nowhere near the prettified bacon butternut squash photo in the cookbook.

Plus I didn’t use bacon so instead of sauteing the butternut squash and shallots in bacon dripping I splashed a little organic EVOO in the skillet. Too I would say you definitely need to add a splash of water to the skillet halfway through so that the pan doesn’t get dry and burnt.

This is a tasty dinner I had that was listed in the Side Dishes section of the cookbook. I would definitely use this recipe again as the food is so delicious.

It calls for 4 cups of butternut squash and I was one person having this meal. For a side dish like it was intended it might serve 4 people.

In fact I might buy this Volume 3 of Magnolia Table as I want to try other recipes in the cookbook.

I buy the Magnolia Journal magazine which also has recipes and interesting articles to read.

Now that butternut squash is in season it’s the perfect lunch or dinner.

Be aware that you need counter space or else use your sink basin to prepare the ingredients.

I accidently bought a brick of parmesan cheese that I had to grate. It was OK to buy the parmesan cheese pre-grated however I didn’t realize this. Save yourself the trouble and buy a container of grated parmesan.

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

Christina BruniLeave a comment

I took this recipe from allrecipes.com. Just say no to boxed instant pudding with food dye. Per serving this had 33g sugar so it’s best reserved for an every-so-often treat.

To its credit the recipe per serving has 6g protein.

The recipe serves 4. Yet I used only 3 crystal bowls filled up near to the top.

For a summertime and year-round treat I say yes to this pudding from scratch.

The chocolate pudding tastes like real chocolate. Not the chemical chocolate taste of the instant boxed kind.

I had a bowl of this chocolate for breakfast. It tastes delish. I recommend steering clear of products in supermarkets. Instead use recipes or create on your own recipes for food like this that you can make from scratch.

Though you were supposed to stir constantly for 20 minutes on medium heat I have a hotter flame. So I stirred the mixture for only 10 minutes.

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups milk

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1. Stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir in milk.
  2. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
  3. remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.
  4. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in the refrigerator until serving.

White Bean Tuna and Roasted Pepper Salad

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Serves 4

1 15-oz can of cannellini beans rinsed

1/4 small red onion finely chopped

6 Tbsp classic vinaigrette below

3 hearts of romaine torn into pieces 12 oz about 6 cups

2 jarred roasted red peppers drained and cut into pieces

1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts drained and quartered

1/2 cup pitted mixed olives

1 5 oz can tuna packed in olive oil drained and flaked

First the vinaigrette:

1 cup

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 shallot finely chopped

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.

To a jar add vinegar, shallot, Dijon, salt, and pepper.

Cover and shake to combine. Add oil. Cover and shake until emulsified.

Dressing will keep in refrigerator up to 5 days.

  1. In a large bowl toss beans and onion with vinaigrette then add romaine and toss to coat.
  2. Fold in peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, and tuna.

How I created this recipe:

Marinated artichoke hearts are soaked in UN-healthy fat in the form of sunflower oil. So I used a can of Cento quartered artichoke hearts instead.

I didn’t buy the red onion and shallot. I used Cento food products and kalamata olives.

Since I’m only one person not serving 4 people I estimated the measurements for the vinaigrette and the salad ingredients.

The amount of vinaigrette and food in salad was fine the way I measured everything.