Forbidden Pizza Love

Love.

Have you ever made a pizza that you'd sell your car to eat? I have. Just now. Of course, I have the supreme honor of co-owning (with my husband) a 1995 Ford Taurus. But that's still saying a bunch considering it's still worth a couple of hundred smackaroos. Maybe five. I'm not good with numbers.

Anyway, back to the pizza.

The pizza that I made this weekend was freakin' awesome!!!! Da bomb!!!! I basically mixed the best ingredients from all previous recipes together in one insanely cool, yummy in the tummy, MASTERPIECE. I'm totally not bragging. Kevin loved it too.

But it's all gone. And now all I have is the picture above picture. And two other pictures that aren't quite as good.



Darkish picture of whole pizza.



Strange lighting picture at an oddish angle.

The dough was a perfect combination of crispy and chewy. The cheese didn't taste like the way goats smell. The veggies were well done, but not burnt. The sauce was super spicy and plentiful in every bite. But there's no more. I ate the last two pieces yesterday. I'm not sure what else I have to live for.

Wait a minute! Wait a minute. It's just pizza. Get a hold of yourself girl!

Here's the recipe

• chopped zucchini
• diced onions
• chopped brussel sprouts
• shredded sheep cheese (yes, sheep, the hard cheese, from a wheel)
• 3/4 pound all natural pork sausage
• chopped celery
• 1 small can tomato sauce
• 1 package of Bob's Red Mill Pizza Crust Mix (Gluten Free)

Cook according to the Bob package.

Side note:
I just noticed that I have a tag called "pizza dogs" (see list of tags on the bottom-left of the page). [Update: tag no longer available]. That's wasn't intentional. I've never eaten a pizza dog in my life. Truly.

Summer Night Runs and Bean Bloat

Watch out! They may be small but their feisty!

It’s hot. It’s summer in Texas. So the runs outside have been pushed to the time slot after sunset. That means what I eat after I get home from work is super important for a pleasant run. And like placing a keepsake in a safe spot and then forgetting where it's located, I've evidently misplaced all of the important techniques of late night running. Hey! What can I say? It’s been a while. So let's review the disasterous consequences of poor food choices before a run.

My wake up call came on Wednesday night of this week. Kent, the Super Border Collie, and I start off at a respectable sub-9:30-minute-per-mile pace on our 3 mile run. Kevin’s close to the curb with Kaiya. We’ve both got a buddy system (leashes tied to belts). Kent’s breathing like an asthmatic. Kaiya’s sniffing everything in sight. I’m feeling the cool breeze that’s missing while the sun is out. We’re having fun. Then a mile into the run, I develop a sharp little knife pain in the gut and it dawns on me...

Oh yeah! I need to watch what I eat before these evening runs. Crap. Literally.

During the second mile, that sharp knife pain in the gut turns into a larger knife pain (let’s say a cleaver or bowie). Then ye olde rock in the gut appears. That’s the rock that makes you feel like you’ve gained about 10 pounds around the middle. It’s also the rock that, like molten lava from a volcano, likes to push upward towards the lungs, providing an itty bitty working space. But it's not a rock; it's gass in the stomache. Then, because I had beans for dinner, bean bloat rears it’s ugly head. I look like I’m a couple months pregnant. But no, family peoples! It’s the beans.

This is a man-gut. Mine's not this bad.

So I'm about to resign myself to suffering through it all. And it dawns on me. I’m not training for anything. There is no half-marathon or marathon in my future. I’m not living off a schedule ("schedule" reads “torture”). I can walk off my aches and pains. So that’s what I did. I don’t like walking during my runs because I like to maintain a good steady workout, but hey, one walk is not going to kill me.

They're not that bad! Just don't eat'em before running.

So my dad likes to keep several things in mind when he’s buying or selling retirement stocks/mutual funds or the like, but one of them is the old saying “buy low, sell high.” It’s a good mantra for forcing one to think before one acts. I think I need to find something just as catchy on days when I run after dinner. How about the following. Perhaps they could be made into t-shirts? Perhaps you can come up with better ones?

• "Eat smart, run smarter."
• "Eat smart, don’t fart."
• "Feed the run, not the tum-tum."
• "Want to run? Don’t eat a ton."
• "Run to end bean bloat."
• "Don’t eat and run."
• "Friends don’t let friends eat beans and run."

While I decide on the best slogan, here’s my personal list of guidelines for when I’m running after dinner. I really need to force myself to go through this list before each run! If you want more tips on digesting beans in particular, try out this great article at http://www.lbveg.com/Articles/digestingbeans.php.

• Don’t eat nuts, dried fruit, chips, beans, or milk products (goat or otherwise) for dinner.
• Eat foods low in sodium and fat for dinner.
• Don’t go back for seconds during dinner.
• Drink lots of water during and after dinner.
• Don’t drink a lot during the 30 minutes right before a run.
• Wait at least 3-4 hours after eating dinner before running.
• Don’t get frustrated by digestive issues on the run. It'll be okay, little one. It'll be okay.

Oatmeal Morning Mash Up

That Ain't Mud

What tastes like oatmeal cookies, but it's healthy for you? That'd be hot oatmeal cereal. My latest good friend...for breakfast that is. Ha! Thought I was going to say something brilliant like "a rainbow, because it's pure and refreshing" or something, didn' ya? No. People. This is a food/exercise blog. :)

Oatmeal is gluten free and I make it up cheap and quick. I love it. L-o-v-e  it! We buy the largest tub of whole oats we can get our hands on. Here's my current favorite recipe. Use whole oats or steal cut oats (the less processed the better).

Big Tub

Ingredients
1/2 c whole oats oat meal
1 tbl Splenda or Truvia
1 tbl coconut flakes
1 tsp cocoa powder (or carob powder, a cocoa replacement)
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tbl dried fruit or nuts (optional)
1 c water or low fat milk (cow, soy, coconut, almond, flax—you’re choice; it's all good)

Microwave Directions
Mix all ingredients together and microwave on high for 2 ½ to 3 minutes. Make sure to use a microwave safe container that can hold at least twice the amount of ingredients listed here (it'll expand when cooked like a creature surfacing from the black lagoon). Feel free to mix and match ingredients. You might try adding a little allspice, ginger, nutmeg, rosemary, turmeric, or cloves. Slice up some fruit like strawberries, peaches, pears, or apples. No two oatmeal bowls need to be the same. Just add a little spice at a time at taste it before adding more and cooking (raw oats are safe to eat).

Calories
About 250 according to http://caloriecount.about.com/ and http://www.quakeroats.com/

Dying in Dish Detergent, Help Wanted

Do you have this problem?

Or this problem?

We do. On average, with just the two of us we'll (I'll) typically do about 3-4 full loads of dishes a week. A week! That's just us! Insane! But eating out is not so much fun for me, so I (we) cook a lot, which creates a lot of food like this.

White and dark turkey meat baked this past Wednesday. Yum!

And this.

GF Pancakes a la Gluten Free Pantry

And this.

Japanese Sweet Rice. Have some? We've got plenty.

And this.

Katherine's typical dinner during the work week (lately).

But it also creates a lot of these.

Typically, I'll eat out once every other month (food allergies don't make it very fun). No joke. My husband eats out a bit more, but not by much (poor guy). But according to the US Department of Agriculture, not everybody eats at home as much as we do. According to their findings, "Spending on food away from home was 48.6 percent of the $1,182.0 billion in total food expenditures in 2009." That's almost 50% of people's food monies!

Are we eating healthier because we're not eating out? Yes. Are we saving monies? I think so. Even with the cost of washing dishes, we're still saving money. According to the GE Web site, a dishwasher costs on average about $8 a day to use in Texas. So we're spending approximately $24-32 dollars a week to wash our dishes. Dude! That's a lot. But it's only the cost of eating out for a meal or two for two people, which equates to very few dishes (two-four plates or bowls and silverware, plus a cooking container or two, not an entire load).

But we still wash a lot of dishes, and that means a lot of pre-washing. So, I'm taking out an add in today's blog. See below.

Magic Dish Washing Tutor Needed.
Teaches spells that make dishes wash themselves (see example).
Preferably has white beard, reading glasses, and wears blue robe (oh, and a hat).
Jazz band included.
Will work for home cooked food.
No squirrel or fish spells, please.



Might look a little like this. Wand is necessary.


YouTube Video Update

The sound quality and video angles weren't quite what I was hoping for, so an upgrade is needed before the next AllergictoSitting video extravaganza. Looking to purchase this.  And thinking about this.

Gettin' Jiggy Wit It

I haven't been experimenting with food lately, but I have picked up a new fitness hobby. DANCE! I took a lot of dance classes as a kid and I never knew just how much I missed it until wonderful husband got me a gift card to the Civic Ballet.

Over the past year or two, I've been collecting different dance shoes and randomly surprising my husband with impromptu dance workouts. For example...

• Kevin was working on the computer one evening after work, when I decided to break out the ballet shoes and some 90s music. The scene reminded me a lot of that Garrison family video of the Christmas Carol, where the Garrison trio were eloquently playing their roles a la the Mickey Mouse version. There's a couple of shots of Glenn reading the news paper totally ignoring the spectacle. Well, Kevin was Glenn and I was the trio. We're goofballs!

Anyway, I guess I finally drove him crazy enough that he wants me out of the house when I'm dancing. Ha! Not really, but it makes for a good story.

Speaking of story, let me get back to it. Locally they offer hour-long "community classes" for people who are not in training and just want to have a good workout. So far I've taken a Broadway dance class where we learn the dance steps to a Broadway musical each week. Lots of spirit fingers! Several of the people in that class were in their 30-40. I even went out to eat with several of the ladies after class. They were all, "what are you 20," and I'm like "no, closer to 30."  That made me feel good. They talked a lot about their kids, but it was fun! I did borrow my knowledge from my visits with my new nephew. Came in handy, Kayla and Terrell! Sorry for using your son!

Two nights ago I took their modern dance class, which is a mixture of Jazz and Ballet. I liked it even more than the Broadway dance class because the dance moves weren't as corny, but more fluid, and the other students were more my age with similar backgrounds. One of the girls graduated with a minor in dance while in college. I was in really good company! And the language of dance is coming back too (slowly, very slowly).

In terms of a workout, it's pretty good. Nothing can come close to running as a high impact sport, but dance can be pretty intense. Mainly a lot of controlled, anaerobic muscle movements coupled with periods of aerobics. I actually feel more fit now in these classes than I did when I was a kid because I've got more power. When we were doing several jumps the instructor commented on my "air time." So cool! Then in the same sentence she reminded me to point my toes while jazz walking. Darn!

I think there's no doubt the strength I'm feeling is from the running. I wish I had developed a love for the run at a lot earlier age. But that's okay! There's no pressure now to memorize, practice, practice, improve, and move to the next level. Now it's just DANCE! Fun dance. Plus it's really motivating me to stay fit now that we've regained our sanity and are not training for a marathon.

After the dance workouts I'm so pumped that I get home and have to show off the routine to my husband and sometimes I have to ride the bike so that I can get out all that excitement and energy. So I think I'm still driving Kevin crazy, but now I can say that I'm not nuts and that "other people are doing it tooooo!!!"

Thanks Mom and Dad for encouraging me to dance!

Spring Fever and Peachy Chicken

I've been on a hiatus. Sorry! But it's spring time and my husband and I have been spending a lot of time outside and not by a computer. To make up for it, I have a peachy keen recipe to go with the lovely weather and a picture montage of our outdoor work!

Peachy Chicken

6  skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 oven safe pan (at least 1-2 inches thick)

2 cups of orange juice

1-2 cans of sliced peaches (in 100% juice)

salt and pepper to taste

aluminum foil or oven-safe lid

Place chicken evenly spread apart in pan. Add orange juice and sliced peaches (the tops of the chicken should not be completely covered in juice). Add salt and pepper to chicken. Cover with aluminum foil or lid and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

microwave recipe

Use a microwave safe dish and vented lid to cook chicken with salt and pepper (15-20 minutes). Add 1 can of peaches during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Orange juice is optional.

Picture Montage

Here's a bush that we planted in the back yard between the two windows of our master bedroom. It's a Hawthorn bush that has white blooms in the spring. Should get pretty tall and wide.

Here's a better view of where we planted the Hawthorn (attempt number one). It's also a great picture of the dog who dug it up 24 hours later. She also kicked half of the mulch into the grass. Glad we started with one plant and not two.

Great picture of our retaliation efforts (attempt number two). We built up the stones around the bed so that if digging occurs, it all stays inside. That's wire used to keep out rabbits (Kaiya's an awfully big rabbit) and wooden stakes for support. And we have a success now. A new Hawthorn (with pink blooms) is now planted in the center of this new fandangled contraption. It's been over 5 days now and everything still looks pretty good.

Here's the front/side yard landscaping attempt number one. We've planted a new Oleander bush up front since the old one died a horrible death. Then side by side, we've planted three grape vines! Two are red grapes and one is white. They're all seeded, but should be tasty just the same. We also installed another hose and covered up our sorry looking air conditioner. Currently the grapes are doing great (they've already grown a couple of inches) and have another successful yard project accomplished. Yeah us! \

Doesn't seem like much, but that's about two weeks worth of planning a construction. Lots of trips to Lowes and Wal-Mart.

Gluten-Free, Cow Milk-Free, Soy Free Beef Stir Fry, on YouTube!

Ingredients:

1 pound of beef

2 medium onions

1/2 large can of green chillies

1 cup frozen green beans

1/2 can of mung bean sprouts

1 cup frozen peas

1 large sweet potato

dried minced garlic

fresh chopped ginger

caraway seed



Instructions:

See my video! Or visit my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.allergic2sitting/ .