In The Cucina With Seamas

Seamas's Quick Mexican Rice

3 tablespoons avocado oil
1/2 cup of uncooked rice
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup of salsa

1. Pour oil into saucepan, heat over medium flame
2. Add uncooked rice, stir for 2 minutes
3. CAREFULLY add vegetable broth
4. Bring to a boil, cover saucepan, simmer over low heat for 10 minutes
5. Add salsa, cover and simmer for 5 minutes

In The Cucina With Seamas

If you've never made quinoa with vegetable broth instead of water, I highly recommend it. I used Trader Joe's low-sodium version with their white quinoa, and coconut oil instead of butter.

In The Cucina With Seamas

At the Pleasantville Farmers Market, I’ve been buying sun dried tomatoes, and peppadews from the Pickle Licious stand. They are pricier than the store bought versions but a lot tastier.

I use to cut the sun dried tomatoes but pureeing makes them easier to add to meals.

One night I made English Muffin pizzas for dinner and used the sun dried tomato puree on two of them, tomato sauce on the other two. Then I topped one of each with goat cheese, the other with shredded mozzarella. Into the oven at 350 degrees and 10 minutes later I had a tasty dinner.

Another idea I had was to add the sun dried tomatoes to refried beans. A ¼ cup of them is a good amount to add if you use canned beans.

Hey There Sugar Lips

I watch ‘Getting Doug with High’ and ‘Fatman on Batman’ and both hosts mentioned cutting out/down on foods with sugar which helped them to lose weight.

Looking at my Lose it! app, I saw that yogurt and dried fruit were my biggest sources of sugar intake, so I cut them out and substituted unsweetened oatmeal as a morning snack, carrots for the afternoon.

At first I’d crave foods like donuts, cakes, pies, etc because of the lack of sugar. Recently I had a Breakfast Cookie from Red Barn Bakery, which was such a shock to my system, my stomach had trouble digesting it while still wanting more of the sugar.

The free snacks at work were a big temptation since they were mostly junk food.

Mostly.

I like Nature Valley Oat n Honey Granola Bars which has 11 grams of sugar but eating them Monday through Friday paused my weight loss. Recently Lays Baked Potato Chips were added so I switched to those. I'm back on a gradual weight loss as of now.

Now to get back on my mountain bike...

Buying

A bad habit I’m working on stopping is talking myself into a purchase that isn’t necessary. For example, I’ll have a bag of frozen french fries in the freezer but I’ll want to buy fries from Five Guys. Because it takes 10 to 15 minutes for me to get home from there, the 5 Guy fries need to be heated up in the oven. This is an easy solution, just make the fries I have at home instead.

This past Christmas I got money from my parents and put half into savings, the other half into my pocket. I was going to buy the Lego Lakeside Lodge but recently my external hard drive stopped working. After I bought a new hard drive from the Apple Store in the Westchester, I was going to buy the LEGO set but as I walked back to my car (which meant going past the LEGO store again) I talked myself out of it since I used all of the money from the gift plus my own. I didn’t need another LEGO since I got the Star Wars Eclipse Fighter for Christmas as well.

1 Out Of 1 PDT Recommends Cutting Down Sugar

I cut down on my sugar intake about 2 months by selecting foods with low to no sugar content and have lost weight because of it. Of course, Trader Joe’s debuts their version of the vanilla wafer right when I do. Checking the nutrition information on them 5 cookies has 6 grams of sugar so I bought a box.

I kept them in the freezer to “forget” about them but that backfired a bit since they seemed to be more delicious cold. I maintained my limit to one serving several times a week so I wouldn’t have trouble losing weight.

For a while I used a low sugar milk but it was bothering my stomach so I stopped. I also switched to whole grain wraps and bread. Bread will make you fat, but these are also low calorie and only have toast 3 times a week.

A recent article about yogurt not having any significant health benefits prompted me to start eating unsweetened oatmeal. Adding cinnamon helps but not much of a flavor boost.

Not to mention I do exercise.

I began to notice that I was eating cookies more throughout the week. It was when I’d have a serving when I got home from work, then an hour later another serving where I felt that my body was craving the sugar in them. When I finished off the last batch I didn’t buy another box to avoid the temptation. This prompted me to lose another pound last week.

In The Cucina With Seamas

With the warmer weather approaching I like to make lunches that don't require cooking at home, and are cool to eat.

I decided to make my own chickpea/garbanzo bean salad. For the mobile users (and OCD web browsers) the ingredients are;

2  15oz cans of chickpea/garbanzo beans
1 15oz can of corn niblets
1 red pepper - chop as you like
1 yellow pepper - chop as you like
2-3 handful of cherry tomatoes - I cut mine in half

Mix all of the above into a bigger boat 
After the quinoa is cooked, you can add all of it or leave it out as I do since I like to use it in other dishes.

2 tablespoons of dressing*
1/4 cup of quinoa

*I don't put the dressing in the final mix because it tends to make everything soggy.

THESE DEADLY ITEMS COULD BE IN YOUR KITCHEN!

Warning! The following several items when combined are dangerous!

Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole made with Greek Yogurt, Restaurant Style White Corn Tortilla Chips with a Hint of Salt, and Flour Tortillas made with Whole Wheat.

Spreading the guacamole on the whole wheat tortilla, then laying the white corn chips around. Folding it in half makes a delicious snack.

If you have these items in your home, call me and I'll remove them. No need to thank me.

What's The Opposite Of A Silver Lining?

I'm glad the property management is getting the roof fixed, but the people they hired are working on a Sunday. I feel bad for them, but it would have been nice to sit in and relax this weekend.

I kept myself busy and out of the apartment yesterday with errands and a quick hike at Cranberry Lake.

After I make quinoa and hummus for this week, I'll take another hike. I haven't been to Croton Dam Park before.

What I'm Thankful For

That I landed safely at Savannah Airport.

That Fat Patties was open, and everything was delicious.

That the weather was beautiful all week long.

That Publix had good artichokes.

That I got to spend a great week with my parents.

That I landed safely at LaGuardia Airport.

In The Cucina With Seamas

Nothing like changing an ingredient when making hummus that works out great. Instead of cutting up the lemons and putting them with the other ingredients, I peeled the skin off and put them in the food processor. After a few seconds, it was a lot easier to pick the seeds out with a spoon.

Then I added in the chickpeas, spices, and canola oil for another spin of the blades and got a much creamier mix.

Last night was the Westchester Geeks Halloween Party, I brought the hummus dip and my world famous guacamole (using the new process of the lemon). People liked it so much, it's been demanded at all future WG events.

In The Cucina With Seamas

I love Trader Joe's Tahini Free Hummus Dip, however I was finishing off the container during the week. Luckily the first time this happened I had a can of garbanzo beans in my cupboard. Finding a tahini free recipe and using the ingredients listed, I made my own version of it. Though I put too much garlic in, a tablespoon.I like garlic, but it overpowered my concoction.

On my next shopping run I bought chickpeas to try it again. This time I cut it down to a teaspoon of garlic, but added cumin, and black pepper. It still had a kick to it, but better than the first batch.

Today, I went a teaspoon of each spice, 4 tablespoons of canola oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. I went an extra step and peeled the skin off each pea (which took 15 minutes).

This batch was creamier than the previous two, and the spices are subtle.

I bought 2 cans yesterday, because they're cheaper than 1 of the Tahini Free Hummus Dip. Also 1 can is 15 ounces while the pre-made hummus is 16 ounces.

Now it's a question of eating it too much because it's delicious.

Some Weekends Are A Blur

Yesterday I had a errand to run and decided to kill two birds with one stone. After I got my car from it's inspection, I went food shopping.

I dropped off my car Friday night so I spent Saturday morning, changing my bed sheets, rotating the mattress, and giving the Brita a thorough cleaning. All this was done after a hearty breakfast. I rediscovered quinoa and it's many uses in meals.

Since I had to walk an hour for my car, I made an omelette with black beans, sun-dried tomatoes, and red quinoa. This mix of power foods gave me the energy to do all fore mentioned chores in addition to walking.

Added Something New To An Old Routine

I went food shopping yesterday instead of the usual Sunday since I wanted to drop off my recyclables at the Pleasantville station. That's not the something new though, I took care of all the food shopping.

While I needed my usual weekly supplies, I was also low on toilet paper and cleaning products. Instead of waiting till I was out of those and going to Stop & Shop during the week, I picked those up before going to Trader Joe's.

I feel that I spend a lot of time and money when it comes to grocery shopping, especially for a single person so I'm hoping this will cut back on both. I'll use my spreadsheet skills and make a tracker.

In The Cucina With Seamas

Sun dried tomatoes Roasted sunflower seeds Hummus Tortilla Wrap Delicious in it's simplicity.

Trying Something Chew

For the past several days, I've been taking my time when eating meals. I'll chew my food thoroughly and pause between bites. I noticed how this approach has been beneficial last night after dinner with my parents. We went to Abatino's and I had eggplant parmigiana, the dinner version which includes a salad.

Because I took my time with the salad, I was half done when they brought out the eggplant parm. It was so hot the sauce was bubbling. When I finished my salad, my main course had cooled enough to not burn the inside of my mouth on the first bite.

Using my fork, I cut small portions and chewed about 20 times before swallowing. This gave me time to talk with my parents and enjoy the meal.

It wasn't till I got home that I realized my stomach didn't feel bloated or hurt as in the past when I would be taking a third bite while chewing the first.

Tonight we got dinner at The Cabin Restaurant where I did the same with my portabella mushroom burger and fries. As I write this, my tummy is full and feeling fine.

Only took me 43 years to try this.

In The Cucina With Seamas

like making my own re-fried beans when I have a craving for nachos. A cup of pinto beans makes enough for several meals, so I’ll make huevos rancheros for breakfast.

As the eggs were cooking, the flour tortilla was in the oven with a Mexican blend of cheese melting. Once the hot ingredients were done I put them on a plate and added my famous guacamole. Topping off the dish is a mixture of red onions with red, yellow, and orange peppers.

In The Cucina With Seamas

I recently went to an Irish Brunch and made Irish Soda Bread to bring. One of my friends doesn’t like raisins, so I made two loaves. To compensate for the lack of raisins in the one loaf, I added cranberries as well for the second loaf.

My friends who attended are excellent cooks themselves, so I limited myself to two slices of my contribution. Sadly I forgot to bring those leftovers home with me, but I did take a blueberry muffin, chocolate muffin, and a ginger cookie.

Now the diet begins.

A Silver Lining...

to being unemployed is that New York State offers free classes on Resume Building, Networking, and Stress Management. Each class taught me something new, and using the lessons has made me feel better. During the stress management class, I suggested meetup.com after everyone agreed that they feel isolated due to their situation, present company included.

Another suggestion that the counselor made was one I already read on lifehacker.com, keeping your routine. It's tough to keeping one when I'm unmotivated, but that is a vicious cycle in itself and glad I see when I'm stuck in it.

I can break out of it, by socializing with friends, getting out of the apartment, and treating myself. That doesn't mean I spend a lot of money, an everything bagel with vegetable tofu makes me happy.

Listening to a playlist on iTunes, reading a book of poetry, and of course a walk in the woods are my ways to deal with stress.

Getting back to my Sunday blog too.

Tasty Accident

During visits to my parents, I rarely have to cook, unless it’s breakfast. My parent's have an electric stove which I’m not used to, so I tend to set the top burners higher than I should. This year’s Christmas trip led to a tastier version of the Gordon Ramsey scrambled egg recipe.

While I was throwing out the shells, the eggs had a chance to cook and the whites formed. Luckily, they didn't cook all the way through so I was still able to scramble them. The yolks broke and mixed, so I kept stirring. The outcome was scrambled eggs with bigger bits of white in them. This combination with the butter made for moist, tastier eggs. Add in the guacamole, and it made for a new breakfast meal staple.