My new Job!!! Promoting good health to a new generation!!!

Boy, it's been a long time since I've been on here.  I sure miss it... but I've been so crazy busy with my new job, I just couldn't bring myself to get on the computer.  But alas... here I am... and so happy to be here...

My new job is sooooo cool!!!

I am a cooking teacher at my two older son's private High School... and I'm loving it... but it's sooo much more now that I have a new way of thinking and eating food.

Now, I have the opportunity to help 16-17 year olds think differently about food, to teach them that food doesn't come from a window while in a car, or from the frozen boxed food aisle.  AND IT'S WORKING!!!

Teens, it turns out, will eat fresh food if it's put in front of them.  GO FIGURE!!!  If the only choice is good, wholesome, fresh, simple food... THEY WILL CHOOSE IT!!!  Wonder of wonders!!!

Parents... listen to me... YOUR KIDS WANT TO EAT GOOD FOOD... I PROMISE... the only reason they eat so much fast food is BECAUSE THEY ARE ALLOWED TO!!!  I know it to be the truth...

I have been talking at length to the students about the detrimental effects of fast food and processed foods, and they are giving lots of information and talking about how they've begun to cut back on bad foods and eating more fresh foods...  SOOOO GREAT!!!

I have a microscopic budget, and cooking really fresh for the students is the best way to make a small budget stretch as far as it can go... ounce for ounce fresh is always less expensive than boxed processed stuff...

I am sooo proud of my class... so grateful I have changed my eating habits and have some young people to share it with...

Yahooooo!!!

Food that Fuels... beans!

Beans, beans, beans and more beans...

Any eating plan that doesn't include a TRUCKLOAD of beans, is not a good plan... in my opinion.

When I eat enough beans, I can go literally 6-7 hours straight without so much as wanting for needing another meal.  That's saying alot, since most adults eat every 4 hours or so...

Beans help everything "move" along in our systems.  Packed with fiber, so much fiber, it's hard to match it with anything else except maybe going out and munching on fresh wheat stalks in a field... beans are the perfect "meat" in a vegetarians day.  Coupled with some brown rice, it's a perfect protein source.

Now, I know that rice isn't "allowed" on the LDL plan... but I beg to differ with BROWN rice.  In a pinch, if I'm in a hurry, I'll scoop out a cup or so of brown rice I made up earlier in the week with just some water and little salt, and add a tsp of Agave Syrup and a splash of milk over it and scarf it down.  It's stays with me until I'm ready for my big lunch meal... and it's got some fiber in it too.

Beans, however, are great in the morning too.  Scramble up an egg or two, mashed up some beans with some hot sauce and seasonings, and place the scrambled eggs over the beans... and WATCH OUT WORLD... energy is at  your doorstep!

Don't enjoy the "music" associated with beans?  Put on drop of BEANO on them everytime you eat them, and that will never be a problem again...

I make my own beans from a bag every week, but you can use canned.  Just be sure to rinse them so all the salt goes down the drain too.

Sooo... eat your beans... and lose that weight!!!

What to do with a 5 foot long zucchini!!!

Ya cook it!!!  That's what ya do!!!

And I did just that...

My Mom brought this home for me from my Uncle's house in San Pedro the other day...

It's 50 inches long.

For those of you that don't know what it is... it's a Squash... a buttery, light green ridiculously yummy one too!

When she presented it to me... it was like being in Zucchini Heaven!!!

My mind immediately started thinking of all the things I was gonna do with it...

Was I going to chop it, slice it, stuff it, fry it, bake it, steam it...

and the answer to all of those is...

YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, AND YES!!!

With a 5 foot long zucchini, you can do ALL of it!!!

Soooo...

I cut a 2 foot section off, and seeded it, rubbed it with Olive Oil, salt and pepper and baked it

to tenderize it... just for a few minutes...

Then I stuff them!!!

This is a mixture of saute'd onions, celery, mushrooms, romano cheese and a tiny bit of Feta on top...

I can smell them now!!!

Lunch is gonna be soooo good!

Then...

I sliced another 1 1/2 feet of it into diagonal medallions...

Sprinkled them with Dill, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and they are going to bake

in the hot oven until tender...

I will eat them as it...

My family will eat them over Fettucine Pasta dressed with hot olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and Pecorino Romano shavings...

I still have another 18 inches or so in the fridge... for another day...

Since it fits in the fridge now... I can savor the flavor another day...

Buone Mangiare!!!