Zucchini!!!

It's that time of year where zucchini is growing in your yard and you don't know what to do with it or at least I don't.  I'm learning.  As with every vegetable that grows in my garden, I make it a point to find new recipes so nothing goes to waste.  Here are some recipe ideas and tips for zucchini.

• Zucchini bread - I use a family recipe so I don't want to put it up on here and plus there are a ton of recipes online.  If you want to make zucchini bread later on, you can always shred the amount of zucchini that you need, put it into a plastic bag, and freeze it for later use. 
• Eggs and zucchini - I've come across two recipes with eggs.  One I saw in a book I want to buy called The Kitchen Garden Cookbook.  It has a zucchini omelet recipe.  The other one is zucchini with eggs and parmesan.  I made it and loved it.  Here's where I got the recipe.  The Garden and Grill: Gagoots!!
• Grilled zucchini - Here's one very simple recipe that a friend gave me: You cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  In the hollowed out zucchini you put a little bit of cheese and dill on top then another type of cheese that you can sprinkle.  Then you grill it or broil it.  What is great about this recipe is that you can experiment with different types of cheeses.  I've put brie in the center and mozzarella on top and it was super tasty.
• Zucchini Casserole- I received a recipe for this from a friend and I have yet to try it but I'm sure it is tasty.  Again, there are a bunch of recipes for this on the net and I don't feel comfortable sharing the recipe I have.  Sorry!

That's all I have so far.   I hope this helps.  If you have any ideas, feel free to share them.  Happy cooking!

Going Out to Eat

I'm not a fan of going out to eat.  For one, the portion sizes are huge so I'm tempted to eat more than usual.  Secondly, it's usually not healthy.  Lastly, it's usually more expensive than eating at home.  Nonetheless, we still do, just not often.  When we do, I try to combat these negatives and here's how.

Portioning off food 
Instantly when I get my plate I look at it and decide how much I'm going to eat.  This does take some will power to stop eating when you say you will but if I don't listen to myself, I usually regret eating too much.  It helps if you aren't super hungry b/c if you are, you usually eat more than you should b/c you THINK you need more than you should.  Does that make sense?  So again, when I get my plate, I take my fork and separate only what I will eat.  With the rest, I take home as leftovers.  This keeps me from wasting food and money and a $5+ meal turns into 2 or 3 meals.  Yea!

Resist the meals
When I eat fast food I usually don't get a "meal".  So at McDonalds, Subway, Arby's, Wendy's, wherever, I don't ever get the #1 or #2.  I get a sandwich b/c that usually is enough food as it is.  If you have a wonderful significant other that you like eating with, you can share food.  So my husband gets the meal (sandwich with a side and drink) and I just get a sandwich and we both eat the sides and drink.  That way we both get some fries, some drink but not too much and we save money. 

Water
Try drinking a whole glass of water before you start eating the food.  You'll find you eat less.
In most restaurants, you can ask for a cup for your water and they won't charge you.  It's free and healthy!  Or you can just bring your own bottle of water to a fast-food restaurant.

Allow one indulgence
When I'm in line at a sandwich shop, I stand for quite a long time deciding.  It's not because I'm unfamiliar with the menu.  I'm deciding on the one "bad" thing I want to eat.  For example, I want the ham sandwich which I like on Italian herbs and cheese bread with a side of mayo and a slice of cheese.  All things that are not too healthy but I can't cut all of that out of my sandwich or I will start to hate being careful with what I eat.  So I'm deciding, do I want to take the Italian herbs and cheese bread out and replace it with whole wheat?  Or do I want to take the cheese out?  Or do I want to take out the mayo and replace it with oil or vinegar or mustard?  Well, the last time I went I got a 6" ham sandwich on whole wheat bread with cheese and oil and vinegar.  I love my cheese.  


Well, I hope this helps someone out there.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures.  Just to let everyone know, you can follow me on Twitter.  I will open my account to the public again but if it looks like your account is simply for spam purposes, I will block you.  Until next time!