Had my body fat measured (again) at my running class on Saturday. No, I'm not going to tell you what it is, but I will tell you that in the last month I've lost 3%! So even though I haven't lost any weight -- in fact, I might be up a lb -- I apparently have gained muscle mass. Yay! That's really motivating. Almost motivating enough to make up for the remaining soreness from the push-ups, squats, and leg lifts she made us do.
Food-wise, I did not earn a gold star this weekend. We went out Saturday night and I ate some delicious fried food. Somehow, Sunday ended up being completely green-leafy-veg free. I'm sure my bowels will make me pay for that today.
I made my red beans & rice (RBR) last night. It's free of leafy greens, but it's one of my favorite go-to meals even though it always takes longer to simmer than I think. The beauty is that it freezes well so a huge batch made on Sunday can produce many, many meals for the three of us.
I don't have a lot of original recipes (BBBAS aside) but I'll gladly share the few I have got.
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Flexitarian Red Beans & Rice
Makes a lot -- use a large skillet
Time: est. 1 hour?
Cooked brown rice, 1 cup per person (I use brown basmati)
1/4 lb (1 link) sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing (optional)
1 Tblsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers (I use red, yellow, orange 'cause I hate green)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tblsp ground cumin
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 cans red or pink beans, drained
3 - 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (don't drain)
2 bay leaves
1 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce
Ground black pepper, to taste
Hot sauce or pepper flakes, to taste (I use Thai chili garlic sauce)
Method:
If using sausage, cook it in 1 Tblsp oil over medium heat until the pink is gone and it's nice and crumbly. Leave the grease in the pan.
Add the onions, celery, peppers, garlic, and cumin; cook until everything is really softened and starts to caramelize. The finer you chop your vegs, the faster this will go.
Add chicken stock, beans, tomatoes, and remaining seasonings; heat to boiling then reduce to a simmer. Gently simmer, uncovered, until the tomatoes are broken down and the mixture is nice and thick.
Serve over brown rice.
As with most things like this, it is always better the next day. Freezes & defrosts very well.
p.s. A cup of it on top of 6 oz of romaine makes a great BAS.
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I should be able to get back on the wagon today. I have a BAS standing by for lunch and I don't have to cook tonight so I'll veg out again for dinner.
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