Hello!
Summertime cooking…. it’s hot, you’re hot, and very likely you’re pretty busy too. While I’m not running around with the kids anymore, I still find that taking time to make dinner during the summer is, well, a drag. There are other things I would rather be doing, like piddling in the garden, fishing, parked on the back deck with a good book, drawing, painting, you name it, if it’s outside I’d rather be there. Problem is, a lot of that activity is strictly limited by the use of the wheelchair. Also limited, is my ability to spend hours chopping and preparing meals. So, I try to find a balance, things I can prep for the whole week and then only prep small things for the actual dinner night. Add in that we try to eat pretty healthy and it can be a bit of a challenge at times.
Here is an example, this was last week’s menu:
Monday Homemade thin lasagna and cheese bread
Tuesday Grilled chicken sandwiches and mixed berry salad
Wednesday Southwestern Salad with sliced grilled chicken breast
Thursday Crispy chicken wraps, fruit blitz
Friday Sirloin burgers and fries
Two things you need to know here.
1) I worked out a plan with my gastroenterologist to manage the EDS related digestive issues and to prevent weight gain. I was a very active person prior to the hip giving me a permanent parking ticket. That meant a drastic change in calorie intake, not just quantity, but quality and substance. For me, it has worked wonderfully. I still weigh the same as I did when the chair first appeared 5 years ago. Unfortunately, the muscle has gradually morphed into fat from lack of exercise. That meant I had to ‘clean up’ the plan even more, limiting the ‘bad for me’ foods more tightly.
The plan works like this, and please do NOT take this as diet advice! I worked it out with the help of my doctor, so it’s tailored for me, other people have different dietary needs, so work out a plan with your doctor. For me, it’s three ‘skinny’ days followed by one ‘fat’ day. On the skinny days, my caloric intake is very low, fitting my forced inactivity burn rate. On the fat day, I can technically eat whatever I want, but as the years have gone by I've trimmed that back to mostly an uptake in healthy fats with a treat thrown in. (I’m a sucker for homemade frozen custard!) The reason the plan works for me is this, by tossing in a day with a significantly higher healthy fat intake, my body is happy. Without it, only having skinny days, my body went into ‘starvation’ mode. You know, the mode when you feel like you are starving and every calorie turns into fat because the body is trying to pack up what it can. Tossing in the fat day sends the signal to the body that ‘hey, it’s okay, plenty of food available, no need to pack rat fat’. I've also found that it makes skinny days easier when you know a fat day is coming.
So, look at the above menu and you will see what I mean. Monday is a fat day, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are skinny days, Friday is fat day again.
2) I’m married. Haha, but no really. My husband is one of those people that can eat an entire pint of gelato in one go and not gain a pound. So, he’s not always happy with my limited menu options. I have to find compromises, such as his salad options include higher fat dressings, lots of cheeses, etc. Though I have noticed more and more, he isn't using them and is doing what I do instead, just in double or triple portions. He also works a very physical job, so his daily calorie burn rate is much higher than mine. At the end of a hot summer day, he’s tired, starving, nearly in a food coma, and the last thing he wants is to eat something that makes him feel ‘cheated’, as he puts it.
So, for last week, I purchased a family pack of chicken breasts and two pounds of sirloin tips. Monday’s lasagna was meatless, so no big thing there. Tuesday all of the chicken breasts were brined for 30 minutes before going on the grill. If you aren't familiar with brine, you should be. It works wonders on chicken breasts, keeping them moist inside and giving them a lot of flavor. Two of the breasts were seasoned for the sandwiches that night, the rest only with pepper and a brush of olive oil before hitting the grill. So, no more ‘cooking’ the next few nights.
Throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday I made little kitchen stops, spending 10 minutes or so prepping. Once to do the romaine, wash, chop and bag for the upcoming salad. Another for the bell peppers, etc, until I have everything prepped out for the whole week. It works for me because my hands cannot take doing things like that but in 10 - 15 minute increments.
On Thursday I prepped the sirloin and made hamburger. If you haven’t ever done that, it’s beyond easy if you have a food processor. I learned the technique over at Cook's Illustrated, where I learned how to properly brine chicken also, I wish I could post a link to the process for you, but they are a bit stingy and you have to be a member/paid subscription person to see it. They are worth it, however, if you want to learn WHY things work and taste the way they do. At first I found the things to be complicated and overly fussy, but as I learned the why of it, it made a lot more sense and my cooking has improved a lot. Cook's Illustrated is the ONLY food magazine I subscribe to. They have a sister show on PBS called Cook’s Country, you can watch that free on your local PBS station.
I’m all in for healthy food, though there are still things that I either do not care for, or just cannot eat. Like bananas, I’m allergic to them, or cauliflower, I’m sorry but to me it tastes like dirt. So we eat a lot of beans and things like Amaranth; Quinoa; and Chia Seed. I toss amaranth in when making rice, and he doesn't even know it’s there, lol. Amaranth is an ‘ancient grain’, and is better for you in just about every single way than wheat or corn. It’s high in protein, also, which makes it an excellent choice for homemade power bars. Chia seed can be snuck into a lot of things, from our morning grain cereal (instead of just oatmeal, it’s rolled barley, rice, oat, millet, and buckwheat), to smoothies and salad dressing. These types of additions are a good way to stay low on the calorie intake while upping the value of each calorie because of it’s content.
Here is one of the summer recipes that we have fallen in love with it’s from a blog called ‘The Garden Grazer’:
This is a great example of how to have a decent quantity of quality food that actually tastes good. The dressing is made with Greek Yogurt, but you would never know it. There is no cheese called for, but the hubby has never noticed it’s absence. With the addition of sliced (leftover) grilled chicken breasts, it is a very nice meal. It’s really nice after a hot day. I don't ever mix the dressing with the salad in bulk, however, because it doesn't keep well as a leftover. So I put the dressing in a jar and dress each salad serving separately. The Cilantro Lime Dressing from this recipe is fantastic! I use it on a lot of things, such as a dip for the Crispy Chicken Wraps', or in place of sour cream for tacos. I've even used it as a dip for chips.
The next night is ‘Crispy Chicken wraps’, again using the leftover grilled chicken breasts, from a lovely blog called ‘Mel’s Cafe’.
These wraps are surprisingly filling as well as easy. This is also one that I would add Amaranth to the rice while it's cooking. It just ups the calorie quality a huge amount.
I must say, however, that I do not use a skillet, I use a panini press that I picked up at Aldi’s for $8. Add a salad or other healthy side and this is a great meal. On the upside, these can be pre-made and frozen. I freeze them in sets of 2, and then seal them with the vacuum sealer. Just set them out far enough ahead to thaw (in the fridge before you leave for work) and then grill them.
This is Aldi’s grill at full price. I simply waited for the sale to be over and it was moved to the ‘clearance’ rack. Still, even at $19 it’s not a bad buy. You can crank out grill cheese sandwiches in a hurry with it!
Thanks for reading! As always, any comments, suggestions, or ideas are welcome.
TH
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