Happy new year, happy weight loss, happy diets!

So after a long season of weight-gaining, also known as the month of December, it is only appropriate to consider the weight-losing season. Since December, I've personally been trying to be more health conscious knowing that in the new year I'd do my best to stick to my guns and do this thing for real. I want to get into the best shape of my life. As in anything, the first step is research and education. It just so happens that my good friend Tim Ward had planned to release his book, The Theory of Fat Loss, in December. What a great opportunity to educate myself!! So I bought a few of these to give to friends, and for myself obviously. As I'm nearing the end it is definitely an informative read! His concepts are straight-forward, obvious, and he puts things in a new light.

I guess I'll throw my apology in here:

Dear readers, I'm sorry it has been so long since the last post. My computer and I ran into some problems so that definitely delayed me in this post. Good news is, I have purchased a laptop and now I'm up and running again. With absolute confidence I say that I will continue to write and do my part in educating the world about food.
Please forgive me,
E

Back to the food. So with the season of weight-loss, I figured it'd only be proper to follow suit. For now I'll admit that I'm a follower, certainly not a leader of fat losing nutritional trends. Being that my new job, at the country club is seasonal and I am in the off-season now, I have a lot more time to dedicate to fitness and diet nutrition. More time than I could have ever committed to when I was working. Tonight I created a little Quinoa stew with pulled pork and spinach. When eating "healthy" let us remember that we don't have to always eat "Fat Free." Sure sure "fat-free while trying to get into shape," it all makes too much sense. But to be sensible, you're going to consume fat. It happens. Just don't eat this and then, drink 2 cans of soda, and have an icecream shake before bed. First rule is balance. Eat, live, and enjoy life with balance.

What is quinoa? Quinoa is an amazing SUPER GRAIN. It holds the title of being the only grain to be a complete protein all on its own. [ Naturally has a slightly bitter flavor. Easy to digest. High levels of dietary fiber, iron, magnesium ] -- my paraphrase from wiki. Read that page. Its great. So if you're tired of chicken, and are looking for some new meat, try out quinoa, it's a complete protein. Great for gluten-free, vegan, and other common food allergens.

The meal.



I went kind of southwestern-ish kinda on this. I used some of my favorite salsa (you can use your favorite too :D) some left over home-smoked pulled pork, and served it with saute spinach. I'll be honest, I just winged this meal, there aren't any pictures, and much of a technique. Don't fear the quinoa!

Standard Quinoa Ratio:

1 part raw quinoa
2 part liquid

Put this is a sauce pot. Put a lid. Turn heat on mid low. Cook until the liquid is gone and the grains are tender (about 10-15 minutes) There is your ratio. Follow it, don't follow it. I don't really care. I don't use it. If you're one of those people who need a recipe to follow, I completely understand and there is no shame in that. Let us just say I tried very hard with pastries in school, and did a poor job.

E's Southwern-ish Kinda Stew w/ Pulled Pork and Spinach

1c       Quinoa
1/2      Onion, minced
3ea     Garlic cloves, minced
2c       Salsa - water mixture
2c       Sauteed spinach
1/2c    Pulled Pork

I sauteed the onion and garlic. I got some good browning on the onion and garlic. This complemented the salsa very well. After a good saute, I added the quinoa and toasted it in the pan to bring out some natural oils and flavors. This is a great technique with all grains, rices, and the sort. Once toasted, I added the liquid, in this case the salsa - water mixture. I cooked it for 10-15 minutes with the lid on, burner on mid-low. I stirred it quite often due to the thick nature of the salsa. If it was straight water, I'd probably just leave it for 15minutes without stirring it. Once the quinoa seemed it was almost tender enough to eat, I added my pork. At this time you could add anything, shrimp, chicken, or nothing if that is how you prefer. I sauteed my spinach. And put it all in a bowl. Yum!

I hope y'all enjoy this one, I'd say its my favorite thing of the new year! You can add salt and pepper if you guys like but I'm trying to cut back on my sodium intake so I skipped it for this one. The meal wasn't bland thanks to the salsa! woot!

E