I eat healthy, but not because I want to

Coworkers and clients are always surprised to learn that I hate vegetables. I recently had a lunch meeting at work and a coworker was extremely surprised to see me knock all the rabbit food to the side and remove the lettuce and tomato from my deli sandwich, I prefer just meat and cheese thank you (but it was a whole grain roll). I guess I just give off the vibe or appearance of someone who eats healthy? I hate eating healthy! I know I’m supposed to, I know it’s good for me, and I do feel better when I eat a light veggie-packed meal vs. this past Thanksgiving when I over-indulged on carbs and fats and couldn’t even sit without feeling sick for hours after. But I’d still rather cover my plate in gravy made from fatty pan drippings than eat a boring piece of plain grilled chicken with some asparagus spears any day! Unfortunately, I reserve those gravy covered days for the winter holidays and stick to my chicken throughout the rest of the year, with some exceptions of course. You can’t expect me to give up my vices entirely, can you?

As discussed, a few years ago, I started making over my eating habits. It hasn’t always been easy, and it surely isn’t fun to say no to a bedtime slice of cheesecake, but it’s a work in progress. I now eat vegetables, which if you asked my mother, is something she never imagined I’d give in on after 25+ years of refusing. I still can’t stomach a salad though, the taste and crunch of lettuce makes me gag; however, I can eat most vegetables if they are cooked. I’ve not yet worked up to raw veggies and please do not bring broccoli around me, the smell of cooked broccoli makes me ill. I have also cut down significantly on fast food, take-out, pizza (whimper) and even my regular fountain sodas. Side note: it wasn’t hard to cut down on pizza for my first 5 years in TX but unfortunately, I found a really good east-coast style pizza place recently and it has been so hard not to go get a slice every Saturday!!

Although I miss just ordering dinner and having it magically appear on my doorstep, I consider myself a fairly decent chef (no Kelly, not a “cook” like Bethenny), and so I enjoy the challenge of making over all my favorite recipes. It was a (mostly) win-win. I get to play around in the kitchen with new ingredients and still get to eat all my favorite dishes. There are some drawbacks of course, non-fat and low-fat ingredients don’t always melt and blend the same as the full fat versions and I hope with all my being that I am never forced to live a low-sodium lifestyle, but all-in-all; you can eat healthy while still enjoying your favorite foods. It just takes a little more work and a lot of experimentation. Thank goodness Dan has an iron stomach!!

I would still much prefer an order of mucho nachos, a muchaco and an extra large regular coke to my daily lunch of Campbell’s healthy request light soup (with the nasty chicken bits picked out), 4-5 whole wheat saltines and a big jug of fresh water. And sure I don’t mind my lunches as much when I have the time to make a vat of (healthy) homemade soup to freeze for the week or when I have the foresight to throw an additional chicken breast on the grill the night before, but nothing can or will replace my cravings for Bueno. Whole wheat lasagna noodles with ground turkey, reduced-fat ricotta and part-skim mozzarella fill my pasta void for the most part (as long as I have time to make homemade sauce); however, it’s just not the same!! I always thought once I started eating healthier, it’d get easy, I’d miss the bad foods less and less over time. I sincerely doubt I’ll ever feel the same way about turkey burgers or black bean burgers as I do about ¼ lb angus or sirloin burgers cooked to medium doneness perfection topped with a thick slice of aged cheddar and a few slices of peppered bacon.

I guess I’m just still waiting for it to get easier, I know I’ll continue to give in and get a Sonic bacon cheeseburger toaster from time to time, but I refuse to give up! And dangit, now I want tacos, stupid Bueno!!!! Oh well, maybe tomorrow ...

İCelebre Cinco de Mayo!

I love random holidays that give me an excuse to spice up a normal weeknight with something festive for dinner. Cinco de Mayo is not actually the same as our Fourth of July like many think it is; in fact, it is much more similar to our Battle of Bunker Hill or Battle of Bull Run. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, where the Mexican army was victorious over much stronger French forces. Mexican Independence Day is actually in September. And yes, I knew this without having to search Wikipedia like some of you may be doing right now in an attempt to prove me wrong! Nonetheless, Cinco de Mayo is a day we Americans use as an excuse to consume entirely too much tequila and cerveza. In fact, I think Corona may have invented this holiday for just that purpose (personal opinion).

Enough of my history lesson, let’s get to the purpose of my writing today: I love Mexican food!! I live in Texas where fresh ingredients for Mexican cooking are plentiful aaaand Dan could eat Mexican food every day and never get bored. Therefore, I prepare Mexican dishes quite often at home. They’re typically pretty simple and if you’re making authentic dishes, they’re not all that bad for you! I tend to stay away from canned sauces and smothering everything in cheese and instead use traditional spice combinations to give delicious flavor to my creations. The one thing I don’t make from scratch: tortillas. Sorry, I’ve tried, it’s just not pretty (or yummy); I use store-bought tortillas and pop them in the microwave or oven for just a minute or so to give them that fresh from the griddle feel. Plus now, I can find whole grain flour tortillas and tortillas infused with various vitamins and minerals … living in TX definitely has its advantages when it comes to cooking.

For dinner tonight, I’m making Tex-Mex loaded beef nachos and I was going to make traditional fajitas but Dan was more in the mood for some cheesy enchiladas. Since I’m trying to watch what I eat (ha!), I’m making a healthified version of my normal chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce, Mexican rice & black beans.

Loaded Nachos
1 bag tortilla chips – I try to get the kind that have big individual chips vs. the little round chips
1 can refried beans (low-sodium, non-fat)
1 lb ground beef (97% lean)
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar made with 2% milk)
2 tbsp taco or fajita seasoning
2 tbsp water
¾ cup salsa
lettuce, tomato, jalapeño (optional)

Cook the ground beef in a skillet and drain, return to pan and add taco seasoning and a tablespoon or two of water and allow the beef to simmer in the seasoning for at least 10min. Heat the refried beans in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are heated through and the consistency thins.

Lay tortilla chips out in a single layer on a baking sheet with very little overlap (you’re going to make two layers); top with about half of the refried beans, half the beef, 1/3 of the cheese and ½ cup of salsa. Lay out a 2nd layer of tortilla chips and cover with the rest of the refried beans, rest of the beef, ¼ cup of salsa and the rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 7-10 minutes until the cheese is all nice and melty/bubbly. While that’s baking, shred your lettuce, dice your tomato and slice your jalapeño into thin rings (or drain the jar if you bought already prepared jalapeño). Let the nachos cool for about 3-4 minutes then top with the lettuce, tomato and jalapeño (I only put this on half because I hate lettuce and tomato); serve warm and enjoy!!

Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce
3 skinless/boneless chicken breasts
12 whole wheat flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese (either Monterey Jack or Cheddar made with 2% milk)
¼ cup light butter
¾ cup chopped onion (about ½ of a large onion)
¼ cup flour
2 cups low-sodium non-fat chicken broth
1 cup non-fat sour cream
2 jalapeños, diced finely (or a small can of diced green chilies)
Salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder
Olive oil

Lightly sprinkle the salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder on both sides of each chicken breast then bake in the oven until cooked through. Pull/Cut/Shred the chicken into little pieces and set aside. (I was lazy tonight and picked up a rotisserie chicken that I shredded then sprinkled with cumin and chili powder so I could skip to the next step)

Sauté onion in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil until they are clear, add chicken and sauté with a little more cumin and chili powder for about 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.

Microwave the tortillas (only 3-4 at a time; don’t put the whole stack in there) for 15-20 seconds to get them to soften so they roll without breaking. Add the cheese to the cooled chicken mixture and spoon into the tortillas, roll the tortilla from one end to the other and place seam side down in a baking dish (I use my lasagna pan). I usually add the cheese to the chicken mix and fill the tortillas as they come out of the microwave

In a saucepan, melt the butter, whisk in the flour and add the chicken broth. Cook about 3-4 minutes until it starts to thicken. Stir in sour cream and jalapeños and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes while stirring. Spoon the sauce over the tortillas then bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes; let them cool for a few minutes before serving or they fall apart.

The Great Debate

Saturday afternoon in the Watson living room …
Me: I’m bored; I think I’ll bake a cake
Dan: Did you say cuuuupcaaaakes??
Me: No, I said a cake
Dan: But Missy, I want cupcakes.
Me: Ugh, you have to fill all those little wrappers then they take forever to frost (insert pouty face here)
Dan: Missyyyy???
Me: No
Dan: Missssyyyyyyy???
Me: No!!
Dan: 3-2-1-1-2-threeeeeeeee
Me: Fine! But you’re doing the frosting, hmpf!
Dan: SWEET!

I do have to admit, I much prefer a cupcake to a slice of cake, but why? Is it the frosting to cake ratio? Is it the individual size? Perhaps it is because I don’t need a plate and fork? Whatever the reason, there is just something oh-so-irresistible about a cupcake. I can turn down a slice of cake pretty much any day of the week, but I absolutely, without a doubt, cannot turn down a cupcake!

So here is my absolute favorite recipe for chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, I hope you enjoy them as much as Dan did!!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s, it didn’t turn out as well with Nestle)
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
3 eggs
½ cup warm water
1 ½ cups buttermilk
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 bag (8oz) miniature chocolate chips

Sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in large bowl; mix together with a fork. Add in eggs, ½ cup warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix on medium-high until smooth. Stir in the mini-chocolate chips then fill your cupcake wrappers.
(ps-I never sift anything even though it tells me in all my recipes that I should)
Bake at 350 for 18-20minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick butter (½ cup)
1 lb cream cheese (two 8oz pkgs)
1 cup powdered sugar (sometimes more)
1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter and the sugar together with an electric mixer, add cream cheese in chunks and blend on high until smooth, add vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.