Happy Birthday to my husband, Bob! He's a wonderful fellow, and today's his 61st birthday...... He spent it as back-up ambulance driver for our local all-volunteer ambulance service. Isn't that incredible? Our little town of 2500 people has two great ambulances, staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year by ALL volunteers. This amazing group of extra-ordinary people rotate on and off of 24-hour shifts, ready to drop everything at a moment's notice and rush to the aid of their fellow citizens. Today has been a good day in our little town-- no ambulance calls today. No one has had a heart attack, a car wreck, a fight or attack of domestic violence.......  It's a good day when that alarm doesn't go off.

Since we couldn't go out to eat to celebrate Bob's birthday, I cooked a DELICIOUS dinner at home tonight. As per his request, we didn't have a birthday cake. Bob's meticulous about sticking to his low-refined-carbs diet. Instead, we had all 'legal' dishes in our dinner:
                                    Rosemary Baked Chicken Breasts
                                   Whipped Spiced Sweet Potatoes
                                   Green Pea Salad
                                   Cranberry Sauce

Here's how I did it:

Rosemary Baked Chicken Breasts
        Place 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed, in a baking dish. (One of mine was very thick, so I sliced it in half horizontally to make 2 thinner breast segments. This way, all pieces were about the same thickness for even cooking.) Sprinkle both sides of each breast with Cavender's Greek Seasoning (about the best all-purpose seasoning that exists). Using fresh Rosemary if you have it, strip the leaves off an 8 inch stem and distribute under and over chicken breast pieces. If using dried Rosemary, use 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon of leaves, to taste. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until juice runs clear when pricked with a fork.

Whipped Spiced Sweet Potatoes
      Peel 4 medium sized sweet potatoes and cut out any bad spots. Cut into chunks, approximately 2"X2"X2". Place in boiling water to cover. Boil for about 15 minutes, or until very tender when pricked with a fork. Drain and smash. Transfer to serving bowl, where you add 1 tsp (or more, if you want to) pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp butter flavor extract, and 1/2 cup Splenda. Whip with electric mixer until smooth. If necessary, add a little milk to thin. This is wonderful, and feel free to add more cinnamon, Splenda, or even a dollop of butter if you desire. After all, it IS Bob's Birthday!

Green Pea Salad (Bob's very favorite cold salad)
      Drain two cans early sweet peas, pour into large bowl. Add yummy crunchy things, chopped into about pea-size, or a little bigger: carrots, celery, water chestnuts, green pepper.... whatever you have available. Add 1/3 cup onion, chopped fine. If you have them, add two hard-boiled eggs, chopped. Some people like to add 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese.  (Not me, I'm allergic.) Stir in 1/2 to 1 cup light mayonnaise, depending on how many other vegetables you added. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, stir to mix, and refrigerate until serving. Keep in fridge, even better on the second day (if any makes it that long!).

Cranberry Sauce
     Open a can of jellied cranberry sauce. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the can, and shake out onto a serving dish. Slice into 1/2 inch slices. (Just kidding, I know you knew how to do this!)

This fragrant, filling, nutritious dinner meets all my good eatin' criteria: Tastes good, easy to make, good for ya! Serve it with a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc, if you're not on ambulance duty that day. Happy Birthday again to my dearest husband, and Eat good, my friends!

I'm back! First of all, I want to apologize to all my followers for my lengthy absence from the blog. I'm sorry! Life just gets so hectic, doesn't it? I've been having a good time, tho-- babysitting granddaughter Anna while her parents visited potential job opportunities, spending a couple of days at our primitive wilderness cabin near the Buffalo River, and (ok, ok) watching the Winter Olympics........ Those Black Beans you cooked 11 days ago probably are long gone, huh? Well, if you stuck your leftovers in the freezer instead, I'll tell you what to do with them. This is a favorite dinner at my house. Bob loves to eat it, and I love to make it; it's simple and quick, and I can use whatever I've got available in the kitchen or pantry-- substitutions are welcome! The only thing I insist on is the Mission Brand Carb Balance Tortillas. They taste delicious, fry up beautifully, and have 7 grams fiber (regular) or 8 grams (whole wheat). For us, the secret to weight control is to reduce our consumption of refined carbohydrates. I look for a minimum of 3 grams of fiber in all of my breads, crackers, cookies, tortillas, chips, etc. This allows us to eat most of the types of foods we like without that carbohydrate rebound-- hunger two hours after eating. We feel full and satisfied, and isn't that what we all want out of our "diet"?

Black Bean Nachos

8 Mission Brand Carb Balance Tortillas (whole wheat or regular), small/fajita size
Vegetable oil for frying
2 cups leftover black beans, warmed in microwave
1/2 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (good idea to wear rubber gloves) or 1 small can diced chilis
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup shredded cheese, any kind
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup salsa

Pour enough oil in the bottom of a 10-inch skillet to cover the bottom, heat on medium high. When oil is hot, place one tortilla at a time in the skillet and fry on each side until crispy and golden, adding oil if necessary. Drain tortillas well on paper towel, sprinkle with a little salt if you're not opposed to it. Place 1-2 tortillas on each plate. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 8ths. For each tortilla on the plate, place 1/4 cup hot black beans over the cut tortillas. Evenly divide and spread over the tortillas the shredded cheese, onion, jalapeno pepper, tomato, avocado, and salsa. Serve right away; makes 4-8 servings, depending on the appetite! Feel free to make substitutions, change proportions, etc. You can also add chopped olives, leftover kernel corn, bell pepper-- whatever you have in your kitchen that sounds good! 


So, there's the recipe I promised you. Again, I'm sorry it's so late! Thanks to all of your encouraging messages, I'll try to get back more often. I'm still here, and I've got lots more recipes and tips to share. In the meantime, Eat good, my friend!

SNOW DAY!! Waking up to a sparkling white world-- what a feeling! I still get as giddy as a kid when greeted with a winter storm. We don't ordinarily get much snow in our portion of Arkansas, so when we do, schools close, people stay home, and we alternately cheer and curse the glorious inconvenience. The energetic rush out to build snowmen, to slide down icy hills, and to hurl a hard-packed snowball at their nearest and dearest, while the rest settle in to drink hot cocoa, watch the fire in the fireplace, and cook. Ah, hearty winter food! Who doesn't love to dip into a steaming bowl of creamy chicken soup or a pot of bubbling chili? Stews... beans... food cooked on stove-top. That's the stuff that warms a winter soul.......

My daughter-in-law called yesterday and asked me what I would be cooking. She was looking for something hot and satisfying, but was tired of the usual winter fare (they get more snow where she lives in Missouri). Her question prodded me to mentally peruse my favorite stovetop dishes, hunting for something steaming, rich-tasting, and savory. Aha! Moros y Cristianos, otherwise known as Black Beans and Rice. This traditional Spanish dish commemorates the long-running battles between the Moors (black beans) and Spanish Christians (white rice) from the 8th-15th centuries. There'll be no battling in your kitchen-- the two components complement each other beautifully in flavor, texture, and color. Chock full of taste from the peppers, onions, and garlic, I pump up the flavor with bouillon cubes, turkey bacon, and hot sauce. Rich and tasty, but still reduced fat and high fiber. This healthy dish would be allowable on most popular diet plans: South Beach Diet, Mediterranean Diet, Weight Watchers, etc. My version is made the long way: dried beans instead of canned, brown rice instead of white...... but hey! It's a snow day! What else do you have to do?! So Linde, bundle up the kids and send them out to play while you prepare the dish, and then run join them-- this will cook for hours and be ready to greet Daddy when he bursts in the door after a long day at work! And for the rest of you, give it a try; Eat good, my friend!

Moros y Cristianos (Black Beans and Rice)
16 oz. package dried black beans (frijoles negros)
1/2 package of turkey bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
4-6 beef bouillon cubes (according to taste)
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
Louisiana hot sauce, to taste

1 cup brown rice, cooked according to package directions

Rinse black beans. Place in large pot, cover with water (about 8 cups). Bring to boil, boil for 2 minutes, then let stand for one hour. While the beans are standing, slice turkey bacon into half-inch widths, brown in a skillet. Remove bacon, add olive oil, onion, and bell pepper to skillet, saute until softened. Stir in garlic and ground pepper. After the beans' hour is up, pour off the water and add fresh water to cover (frankly, I never do this and just use the soaking water, but it IS recommended on the bean package.) Add the sauteed vegetables and bouillon cubes (these provide the salt and extra flavoring). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 2-3 hours.  Add a few drops of hot sauce if you like, to give it a little extra zing. Serve over cooked rice, preferably in a bowl! A one-cup serving contains 60% RDA dietary fiber, 9 grams of protein, and is a good source of iron.

This will make at least 8 servings, which means leftovers, and have I got a yummy recipe for you using these black beans. That'll come in a few days. For now, I've got to get out into the snow!

You found it! This blog is dedicated to good eating-- while eating stuff that's good for you! I love good food, but want to maintain a healthy diet. I'm not a nutritionist or diet expert, but three years ago my husband, Bob, and I went on the South Beach Diet and we both lost weight. Of course the challenge has been to keep the weight off, which means NOT going back to the way we ate before. I want to eat great-tasting, satisfying food that doesn't load me up on too many refined carbs and bad fats (good-bye, doughnuts and cookies!) and I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen! To that end, I've focused on adapting recipes, re-working old favorites, and just plain making-up stuff that's good to eat. I've learned that vegetables and fruits can be delicious, too, and that fiber is my secret weapon in weight control. I'll let you in on my favorite products: crackers, chips, cereals, breads, etc., that I've found that fit my healthy eating requirements. I'll share my recipes and tips with you, and hope to hear some of your favorites and success stories, too. Eat good, my friend!


This week's recommendations, in honor of Super Bowl snacking--High Fiber Snacks
Fiber is great for helping you feel full, which can prevent you from overeating. It helps keep your blood sugars stable, and keeps things "moving along" in your digestive system. We eat lots of high fiber foods, so below are some of the best I've found:

My favorite crackers: Kellogg's All-Bran Multi-Grain crackers
Delicious, crunchy crackers, 18 per serving with 130 calories, and best of all 5 grams of fiber!

Yummy chips: Harry and David's Multi-Grain Tortilla Chips
Big substantial chips full of crunch and flavor. No wonder: they're made with corn, rice, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and even black beans! 18 filling chips for 150 calories and 4 grams of fiber!

Great sandwich starter: Nature's Own Multi-Grain Sandwich Rounds
I love these toasted and then filled with anything-- meat, chicken salad, even peanut butter and no-sugar jelly! Each roll is 100 calories with 5 grams of protein and (here it comes) 5 grams of fiber!

And for a little sweet ending: Murray's Sugar-Free Vanilla Wafer Sandwich Cookies
Crispy, creamy, sweet; what's not to love? These are the layered wafer cookies of your childhood, made over with Splenda instead of sugar. 4 cookies for 130 calories, (wait for it.....) and 4 grams of fiber!