Hi all! I am still here just haven't been in a blogging state of mind I guess.
I am still following my no-more-diets mentality and doing really well now. It can be difficult with all the Facebook posts regarding people on diets, losing weight, working out, getting "healthy". I put healthy in quotes because not everyone has the same idea to what healthy means. Most people equate healthy with weight loss and being skinny. Sorry, not me. I am trying to eat well, get out more, and walk more; but I am doing it all for me; for my own health reasons which do not include weight loss at all. People may find this hard to believe but after years and years of dieting and weighing. Losing weight and putting it and more back on. Feeling sad, depressed, and like a failure. I have had enough of that. I no longer weigh myself. My weight no longer tells me if I've failed or succeeded. I look at how I feel instead and I'm feeling happier. It is taking time and I do have set-backs but I'm still here and still pushing on.
​Supper last night was a variety of veggies and some store-bought chicken. Hubby isn't fond of eggplant, which I love, so tried it in Shake & Bake for a change. It was pretty good and Hubby ate it so win win :)

No more talking about good meals vs bad. I ate this meal, I enjoyed it, so it's good :)
Don't care about the calorie count or the portion size. Don't care if it isn't vegan. Don't care that is contains processed food. Don't care it isn't all organic. Don't care it isn't oil free. Don't care it isn't gluten-free.
I've spent too much of my life caring about what I ate and how I looked and what I weighed and what people would think and how they would see me, and not nearly enough time just living and being happy. Living in the moment and not worrying about the weight and food issues. That's where I strive to be now :)

Supper tonight was a Veggie Stir-Fry. No recipe, just threw together what I had on hand.
I used onion, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, red pepper, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. I stir-fried everything in some vegetable broth. I also made my own sauce; simmered low-salt tamari sauce (could use soy sauce), water, ginger, garlic, and honey together. Served it all on brown rice. Wasn't too bad. I will admit, stir-fry is not a favorite meal of mine but Hubby enjoys them and it's great when trying to eat more veggies :)

It is such a beautiful day, especially since it's only the last day of March, we decided to grill for supper. Had pork chops and grilled sweet potatoes. Even Meeka enjoyed the grill, she had steak and green peas after her regular dog-food :)

I am still loving this dish (with some tweaks of course)!
Starting making this dish a few years ago (One Skillet Paleo Mediterranean Chicken) and I am always changing it up a bit. Had it a couple of weeks ago and again tonight. It's delicious. Recently I have been making it vegan by leaving out the chicken and I add it to pasta for a wonderful and filling dish. I always use extra tomato and often add extra olives. So yummy!

Trying to do a girls' night out once a month :) We did a trivia night at Wing'n it in January which was great. For February we went to Vio's Bistro; another great evening :)

Service was wonderful as always and food was excellent. Everyone enjoyed what they ordered. For apps some people shared a Bruschetta Chippers and the Spinach N' Artichoke Dip. Mains were a couple of Fish & Chips, a couple of Eggs Benedict, Pork Schnitzel, Salmon with Mango, and a Fisherman's Fettucchine. Yummy!

Been trying more plant-based recipes again this past week as well as oil free as much as possible. Still not following any specific eating plan; no set rules. Just trying some new recipes, trying to eat less meat and dairy and oil when possible.
Some recipes have been great, some have been good, but others have been pretty gross.
Tonight I made Chickpea Ratatouille with Rice. This was good but not great. I decided to serve it with rice and I'm very glad I did as I don't think I could have eaten much of it on its own. It needs more seasoning and maybe a little something else as I found it bland. Perhaps olives may be a nice addition, may try it in my leftovers tomorrow. I didn't use the oil, used vegetable broth to cook veggies instead. I also didn't have any eggplant so simply left it out. I like eggplant so it would have been a nice touch but Hubby was happy as he is not an eggplant lover :)

Last night I tweaked the One Skillet Paleo Mediterranean Chicken Dish. I left out the chicken to make it plant based. I did use jarred artichokes that were packed in oil, although I drained them, it wasn't an oil free recipe this time around. I served it on pasta. This is still a great and tasty dish!

Over the weekend I made another new recipe: Vegan Mushroom Bourguignon. This was pretty good but Hubby really loved it. I used veggie broth in place of oil and it was fine. It also makes pretty big servings. 

Finally, I tried a simple Ramen Noodle Soup recipe that was pretty gross for both of us. We ate it for supper but I couldn't stomach it the next day for lunch.

I'm still trying to eat healthy and always willing to try new recipes. Tried a few new vegan/plant-based recipes last week :)
First, I made Creamy Wild Rice Soup and this one was fantastic! I questioned it as I made it: I wondered and worried if it would be any good. I thought it might be gritty using almond flour for thickening but it wasn't (I used only almond  flour and simply left out the chickpea flour). I also thought the rice vinegar would be an odd taste but it worked. I hate making new recipes and have them taste pretty horrible and then end up throwing most of it out. Not this one! This is a definite keeper! So creamy and tasty, even Hubby said it was like restaurant soup :)

I also made Vegan Orange Chicken, the chicken being cauliflower. This was pretty good as well, much better than I had expected. Note though, it isn't as good leftover, the cauliflower gets soggy. The battered and baked cauliflower from this recipe would be good as "wings" with a dipping sauce as well.

Finally, I made 30-Minute Stir-Fry (I used regular rice instead of cauliflower rice). This was my least favorite and probably won't bother to make it again. I wasn't a fan of the sauce flavor even though Hubby thought it was fine.

Tried a new plant-based, oil-free recipe tonight and it was really good. Made: Portobello Fajita Stir-Fry and used whole grain wraps. 

I am not really following any sort of eating plan right now and that is fine with me for the time being. I was trying AIEP before Christmas but started to make a few missteps and then pretty much completely gave up trying at all over the Christmas holidays. It is a lot of work trying to cut out a multitude of foods and food groups but I was feeling better. I am still trying to limit my dairy and gluten overall. Some days are better than others. My main focus right now is better food choices (for me and my health, not weight loss), eating more at home, and less unhealthy snack foods.
​We had a pretty good food week this week. I did eat a few chocolates and other things but didn't go bonkers and not feeling too badly.

After walking the dog on this chilly day, in the snow, it was nice to have a huge pot of Beef Stew simmering away for supper tonight. Used the recipe from my Chef Michael Smith cookbook; very yummy!

I have been doing a little better lately with my eating habits but haven't really gotten back to my AIEP full-time. I am still trying to note what I eat and how I feel as well as trying to avoid foods I suspect of being problematic.
​It has been a busy week getting ready for the last week of Pre-K classes and parties for the holidays, getting ready for Christmas myself, as well as having a new addition to the family :) I admit I have been a little more stressed with dog training but on the bright side we have a lovely new family member and I am getting out and walking most days now :)