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| Christmas Day Dinner Prime Rib, Steamed Potatoes, Green Beans with Turkey Bacon, Strawberry Salad, and Punch |
My beautiful daughter-in-law, Amy, taught me something very interesting. When she goes anywhere to eat, she takes pictures of the food. She travels a lot so some of the pictures are really interesting and mouthwatering. Now, whenever we go somewhere to eat or have special meals here at home, my Love reminds me to get the camera and take a picture.
So, today i'm uploading photos of some of our meals this holiday season. i love to cook and most of these are dishes i have prepared myself.
As far as holiday food goes, i have recipes that i prepare during the holidays...these include Strawberry Salad (strawberry banana jello, crushed pineapple, mashed bananas, thawed frozen strawberries, with sour cream in between layers); green beans with turkey bacon (instead of the traditional green bean casserole); quiche (cheddar cheese, swiss cheese, turkey bacon or ham, mushrooms, eggs, and 1/2 & 1/2); cranberry relish (uncooked ground up cranberries, ground up oranges with the rind on, ground up apples with the peeling on, and sugar). Dessert isn't just one dessert....Oh, No....that just wouldn't do...so this year i made Coconut Meringue Pie, Pear Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Cake with homemade Buttercream frosing, Cherry Cheesecake (which didn't set up :( ), and Chocolate Cream Pie (which i didn't make). A couple years ago i made Apple Dumplings with Rum Sauce which was a real winner!! Then there is the cream puff dessert that my friend Tamera shared with me that is to die for! i usually try several new recipes since guests come for dinner and i find the best way to try new recipes is on unsuspecting guests!!
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| New Year's Eve Dinner 2010 Dungeness Crab, Steamed Cauliflower, Potatoe Salad, Lime Jello Salad, and Merlot |
Dieting is a heck of a lot more difficult than say quitting drinking. At least you can make sure there is no alcohol in the house...but food? It's HAS to be in the house. And if you are the only one dieting, and you do the cooking, you have to cook food you love but can't eat!! What's up with that?????? And if you have the philosophy that you only go around once...meaning you Only Live Once...does dieting make sense? When you are on your deathbed are you going to wish you had dieted more? I DON'T THINK SO!!
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| New Year'sDay Breakfast 2011 Apricot Crepes, Turkey Bacon, Sliced Oranges, and Orange Mango Juice |
The hardest part of dieting for me is that i have been on diets all my blooming life!! Doesn't there come a time when you throw in the towel and become resigned to the fact that your body just wants to be at that unmentionable weight? i can't tell you how many diets i've been on...let's see: Liquid Diet, Grapefruit Diet, Starvation Diet, Weight Watchers (twice and now starting again), Steak and Eggs Diet, Special Diet through a doctor, Fen/Phen Diet (the only one that was successful for me), Atkins Diet, Dash Diet...and i'm sure there are others i've forgotten. And, when you diet you need to be single-minded about food. You need to think about what you will eat all the time....so you don't just pick something up and put it in your mouth. It takes a lot of planning and preparation. You have to turn down dinner invitations...and you dread that dinner out because it'll throw you off. And vacation....Vacation is the KISS OF DEATH!!!
ok, i have ranted on about this long enough...i DO have people i'm going to have lunch or dinner with in the coming weeks and i AM going on vacation in Seattle in February and i WILL be eating what i want during those times but in between all of those things i have vowed to follow a carefully constructed diet with exercise regimen.
So, do you cook a special food or foods during special celebrations or holidays? i would be more than happy to share my special recipes with you. Just let me know....:D
So, i hope your New Year's Day was filled with friends, good food, interesting drink, and a few profound thoughts of the past in preparation for the future. Be well...
Jane, I take lots of photos of food, too! I started another blog just for my very favorite recipes. Hope you'll check it out: http://whatscooking-suddenlysusan.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI face the very same thing you are talking about here. My knees started giving me big problems last year. My orthopedic doctor said I should lose weight. That was hard to hear!! But my knees aches to badly that I'd do just about anything to make the pain go away. I should be 30 lbs. lighter than I am. It's crazy. I've had ALL the same thoughts you have re: food & dieting. The bottom line is that when I eat better, I feel better.
I LOVE your photos!!
Hey, don't fall off the wagon before it even stops to pick you up! I'm sure Will Rogers may have spoken this at one time or another. One of the best ways of kicking a habit is to no longer spend time around those that continue that habit, but how do you do this with food? Hello? If you inform all around you that you will dine with of your goal and ask them for their suggestions. That way, when you DO go to visit with them, they are forewarned and would be racked with guilt as they offer you the 'sweets'. Beware, avoid Ruth's Chris Steakhouse!!! Always go for the salad and sea food. Use a toothpick sparingly.
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