Laughing Ladybug Yoga

All my blogging energy has been spent lately on my new food blog, From Cows to Quinoa.  This is where I’m writing about the journey my husband and I are on, led by our uncovering of his gluten sensitivity. Join me there for stories, insights, tips, and recipes.

Uncooked Quinoa

I’ve been experimenting a lot with quinoa. I grew to love it very quickly. It’s easy to cook and extremely versatile. It’s the only grain that’s a complete protein all on its own, so it’s a great addition to vegetarian dishes. And it adds a loving, feminine fluffiness to this otherwise manly bowl that I’m going to tell you about. Sorry I don’t have a photo for you this time. I’ll get one next time for sure. It’s a beautiful dish and it was so good that we gobbled it up before photos could be taken.

Beth and Weldon’s Bowl of Vegetarian Superpowers

Layer in your favorite shallow bowl:
About a third cup of Fritos, crushed. Not to dust, but you want the pieces smaller than regular Fritos.
About half a cup of cooked quinoa.
About half a cup of black beans. I used canned. You can get fancier if you want, but there’s really no need.
Half an avocado, diced.
Salt to taste.
Top with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and a couple of spoonfuls of your favorite salsa. For us, it was Mrs. Renfro’s Roasted Salsa.

It’s really as simple as that. If you’re a die-hard carnivore, or even a flexitarian, you can sub diced chicken for the black beans. Weldon thinks you could have both, but I think that might be too much. It’s already a very filling dish. I’d choose one or the other.

Try it and you’ll join me in my new motto, Quinoa gives me superpowers!

From Twitter and my friend Bryan: bryanjd  At J’s practice yesterday, I was mistaken for a runner. Wait…I AM a runner. After 2.5 years & 50 lbs less, I’m still getting used to this.

This is a weird phenomenon, and one that I’ve experienced several times. Even after losing 95 pounds, it took a while for me to remember that I actually lost 95 pounds! It’s like I didn’t quite own my new body yet. Years later, I still have moments of disbelief, or dysmorphia, or whatever. Even during the process of weight loss, I still needed reminders.

A couple of years ago,  I was shopping with a friend for a hiking trip we were going on.  I tried on a pair of jeans in the size I’d been wearing for the past year. She took one look at me and said, “Those are too big for you.”

“No, this is my size,” I insisted.

“Maybe it WAS your size,” she said, “but now you need a smaller size.”

“No, that can’t be right,” I said, looking at her like she was crazy. “This is my size.”

“No,” she said, looking at me like I was crazy. “You need an 8.”

“AN 8?” I cried out. “That can’t be right!”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve never worn a size 8 in my whole life.”

“Well,” she said, bewildered by my rock-solid logic, “you do now.”

She made me put on a pair of size 8 jeans, and sure enough, they looked and felt better. I bought them, but still felt for a while like someone would come take them away from me since they “weren’t really mine.”

Isn’t it strange how it can take us a while to grow into our new body after a large weight loss (or grow out of our old one)? It’s like we continue to carry the energy of our former body even after the literal mass is gone.

Weight loss is as much work in the mind and emotions as it is in the physical body. There are many beliefs to be changed, negative habits to be replaced, and much unkind inner dialogue to reprogram. It’s most definitely a journey that doesn’t end when your goal weight appears on the scale.

Friday night is our pizza night. We make it at home. It’s a lot less expensive and you know exactly what you’re getting since you have control over the ingredients. We’ve come up with some really great stuff, too. I’ve made spinach, pine nut, and gorgonzola pizza, for instance, that’s fabulous! I also have learned to make my own sauce. It’s easy and delicious.

Last week, we got an eggplant from our co-op and we weren’t entirely sure what to do with it. Thursday night as I was going to bed, Weldon suggested that we substitute Eggplant Night for Pizza Night. I suggested Eggplant Pizza. He’s up for anything, so he agreed that was a good solution. Friday, I found a great recipe for Eggplant Garden Pizza.

In addition to eggplant, it has zucchini, tomato, onion, and red bell pepper. These ingredients are diced coarsely and sauteed until tender. Then the vegetable ingredients are spread lovingly atop a pre-baked crust of your choice (for us, two small Udi’s Gluten Free frozen pizza crusts; more on why GF in a later post) with a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. That’s right, this is a sauceless pizza and you won’t miss it a bit!

Finally,  sprinkle with dried thyme, oregano, and basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and slide into a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The result is fine, fine pizza.

One of my favorite dinners is pizza and wine. My choice for this meal was a $6.95 bottle of Delicato Chardonnay. Vanilla-y and buttery and good. Not a traditional choice for pizza, chardonnay, but since it wasn’t competing with a spicy tomato sauce, it was just perfect.

See photos of the process on Laughing Ladybug’s Facebook fanpage.

Reata's Trio Platter

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a business lunch today at Reata Restaurant in Fort Worth. They are famous for their Texas cuisine, which includes things like Jalapeno Cilantro Soup, Smoked Quail with Jalapeno Cheese Grits with Molasses BBQ Glaze, and Chicken Chile Rellenos with Roasted Corn Chowder. So what did I choose to eat, a person who gains weight easily and prefers to eat somewhat lightly? The Trio Platter! It includes chicken breast, a choice of salad, and fruit!

It was perfect! Two small chicken breasts that were grilled and smoky and flavorful, a huge wedge salad with a vinaigrette dressing of pico de gallo, lime, and blue cheese crumbles, and TONS of beautiful, fresh cut fruit, including raspberries! I was so excited, I wanted to hug my plate!

I remembered to take a photo to share with you, my friends, I expressed my gratitude for the countless being that gave their lives and labors so I could eat, and I ate joyfully and was nourished much.

If you’ll remember my post from August 8, I was musing quite heavily on the power of bacon. Some of you had wonderful insight into why bacon is so good. It turns out there’s a scientific basis for the appeal that bacon has to us! http://www.mrbaconpants.com/science-proves-why-bacon-so-popular/

Why is bacon so good?

I was vegetarian for about 4 years, until my body started crying out for chicken. I struggled with this craving for months before finally understanding that if my body was needing it, there must be a reason. I started listening to the wisdom of my body. This was about 5 years ago.

I do eat very mindfully.  Though my diet is no longer 100% plant-based, I do make sure I have at least one vegetarian day during the week and I’ve recently started having one vegan day. My meat consumption is usually lean chicken or fish, and of course, I always thank the animal for the gift of its life. I rarely eat red meat. This kind of mindful eating isn’t rooted in guilt, but in the interest of my physical, mental, and spiritual health, and in ahimsa, or non-harm, having compassion for myself and the creatures and earth around me.  ANYway. . .

Weldon found a great little diner on the west side of town. (Finding great little diners is one of Weldon’s biggest strengths.) They have full breakfasts for $4.99. Their decaf is good and fresh and they serve real half and half, not non-dairy creamer. And their bacon, oh my stars their bacon. . .

They serve the best bacon I’ve ever eaten in my entire life any time anywhere.

Usually I forego breakfast meat and ask for a side of fruit. But this is the kind of diner that doesn’t have a side of fruit. So I figured I would get the standard bacon and give it to Weldon. I took a bite, just to try it before I handed it over to him. And oh me oh my. It’s cut thick, but not too thick. Tender, yet crispy on the edges. Not tough or chewy like some diner bacon can be. And the flavor? Smoky and genuine, the bacon-y goodness coming through loud and clear. No burned taste, no fatty taste. Just honest, real, good bacon. I ate all 3 pieces they had generously loaded onto my plate. (That’s worth 4 Weight Watchers point, for you that keep up with that sort of thing!)

So what it is about bacon that can take a healthful and benevolent yogi and turn her into a shameless carnivore? Maybe it’s my deep southern heritage. Maybe it’s because I live in Texas. Or maybe it’s just because bacon is goooooood.

Weldon’s answer: “Pigs is magical.”

OK. Maybe. Farm pigs do carry the energy of some kind of Zen-like bliss. They’re pretty happy with what they’re given, their lot in life. They’re very accepting. But ham ain’t this good. And neither are pork chops. It’s something about the bacon.  Maybe it has to do with where the cut comes from. American bacon comes primarily from the pork belly. I’m not sure what that would imply. Is it that the part of the animal closest to the earth is the most magical? Or is it something particularly about THIS bacon at THIS diner?

I told the waitress how much I was enjoying the bacon and asked her, “Why is this bacon so good?” A look of panick and perplexity swept across her face and she stammered, “Because. . .  we. . . cook it. . .  well??” Then she qualified her answer with a quick, “Idon’tknow,” and a shrug of her shoulders. And she walked away.

She obviously doesn’t share my angst about this question.

So you tell me, good people of the world: why is bacon so good? Where have you had your dream bacon? Maybe we can answer this together.