Lipton Mandarin Orange Green Tea

Since most drinks are off limits, I've been drinking a lot of tea recently. I never would have guessed that you have to watch out for corn in tea :(

Cincinnati Scramble

The day I went to my first allergist appointment to find out if there was a link between my symptoms and the food I was eating, my husband and I went out to breakfast first so I could take have one last meal of "freedom" to choose my meal. We went to a local diner and I had what they call a Cincinnati scramble - it was hashbrowns, hamburger meat, two eggs over-easy, chili, and cheese. It was sinfully delicious and I'm sure it had well over 1,000 calories.

It's been over two months since that day and I've had a lot of moments of being hungry. Hungry because I'm out at a restaurant that doesn't serve much I can eat. Hungry because all I can eat at the holiday meal is a baked potato with olive oil. Hungry because I can't have one of my traditional comfort foods after a hard day.

Earlier this week I was craving a Cincinnati scramble and I realized (to my delight) that I could make myself one with ingredients I already had in the house! I had made a simple slow-cooker chili earlier in the week and I had bought some sausages from Costco that I could sub for hamburger meat. (Note: there's nothing wrong with hamburger meat, I just didn't happen to have any in the house.)

I threw everything together and it was a bit dry without cheese, so I added some organic ketchup. It wasn't pretty but it was delicious and kept my tummy full and happy for hours!

Spaghetti

When my husband and I first got married, there were a lot of pasta dinner nights. A bag of noodles, some meat (usually ground beef or chicken) and some store-bought sauce. I'm sure this (along with Top Ramen and chicken nuggets) was part of the reason we both gained weight in the first year of our marriage. Even now that we're older and wiser (and richer), we still enjoy a simple pasta dinner at home sometimes. This was one of the things I have most missed since changing diets.

Problem solved. Combine a bag of Tinkyada pasta with some good organic sauce and add in 1 pound of ground beef. This spaghetti is the best we've had in a while - even my husband agrees. With organic ingredients it's fresh and flavorful. 

Quinoa - Seeds of Change

I've heard a lot in the past few years about how wonderful quinoa is. I've never tried to make it myself and I've been luke-warm about the dishes others have made with it. I went out on a limb and bought a six-pack of these "instant" packs from Costco because they were on sale. Holy moly is it delicious!!! I could eat this stuff plain, but I also had some with grilled chicken breast. This is definitely on my re-buy list.

Sesame Snaps

After a stressful (and unsuccessful) attempt to find a place to eat out in a new city on New Year's Eve, I have been searching more more snack-y things to keep with me. I've loved sesame crackers/cookies/snaps (they're called many things) since I was little and I used to get them with my dad on special outings. At the local grocery store a single package is 60 cents. Yesterday, I found this box of 36 packages for around $8 at Costco. The best part is they're fresher and tastier than the brand at the grocery store!