Day 6 - Teriyaki Chicken

Everyone is getting used to the restrictions and doing pretty well. The kids are always looking for snacks so I have to find more ideas for snacks.

Here is an easy dinner recipe for chicken.

You need three ingredients and you may have to go to the health food store for two of them.

A ketchup without sugar and a gluten free soy. They are good to have on hand anyway and I was very surprised how much the boys liked the ketchup.

Simply mix together the ketchup, soy and a little bit of maple syrup in a big bowl. Chop up one clove of fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Put your chicken into the mixture, toss it and cover the chicken. Cover it up and put in the fridge and let it marinate. It's up to you for how long. At least an hour. I made brown rice and acorn squash and edamame( frozen...it is like lima beans)

They all loved the chicken..not so crazy about the squash.

Everyone seems to munch on apples later in the evening.

Day Five - Breakfast

No time for dinner last night- everyone going in different directions - thank goodness for the left over turkey meatloaf and most of yesterday's loaf of bread. Only one son...(I won't say which) ate a piece of cake at an event.....but in general they are being good.

This morning I made a delicious bowl of Bob's 'Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal' - much more delicious than you would imagine AND it keeps you full for a long time.

I made a scrumptious apple compote for the top- super easy.

Peel and cut up two apples - cook in a big saute pan with a tablespoon butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Cook until apples are tender, stir often. About 8 minutes - can cook while you make the cereal.

Follow directions for the cereal. ( basically boiling water...)

Chop up toasted unsalted almonds( and raisins or cranberries). Top it off with a little pure Maple Syrup and a pinch of milk if you like. Really delicious and lunch can be a long way off.

Day Four- snacks

Weigh in-

Cameron - 136.5

Connor- 116.5

I am quite surprised by this. Three pounds since Monday.

Again...could it just be the removal of ice cream and sweet snacks??

I see Connor snacking on apples like I have never seen. He is at the wrestling club 4 night a weeks and again on Sundays. Cameron is still running Cross Country and has never had a big appetite ( except for ice cream...) he is chomping on apples, nuts and raisins - an ocassional slice of bread.

It is amazing what happens when you remove the snacky foods.

I am trying to have a healthy snack waiting when they get home.

Here is a quick snack idea that takes minutes to make.

Sweet Potato Chips

Preheat oven at 375

2-3 sweet pototoes - washed and scrubbed

cut into four long sections

put into Cuisinart and cut thin ( or cut by hand- they will probably be thicker)

Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil pam or use olive oil

place potatoes on the sheet in oven - set timer for 15 minutes

turn potatoes over - cook another 15 minutes

sprinkle with sea salt

They are delicious. Can be used as side for a sandwich or an entree.

Day Three - Dinners - snacks

Skip a weigh in day.

I made a chicken and chicken sausage dinner-

With Brown rice.

I added onions and sweet potatoes

4 legs or thighs chicken

2 -4 large chicken or turkey sausage

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

black pepper

2 lemons

Pre-heat 350 - mix seasonings in a bowl

place chicken and sausage in roasting sheet

sprinkle half of the seasoning- cook 15 minutes

sprinkle remaining seasoning- continue basting and turning and cook through.

turn once more and pour lemon juice over chicken and sausage

Well received. They loved the chicken sausage.

Day Two - Pancakes

Weigh in-Cameron - 137.5 - Connor - 118.00

Each Boy has lost one pound.

Now, I must say this could be a direct result of simply removing large bowls of ice cream at night.....

My kids love pancakes.

I don't want anarchy so I purchased Bob's Red Mill GF Pancake mix. Super easy.

I have to say I was really nervous that they would hate them.

I also sauteed some apples with cinnamon and butter and made a compote.

The kids began to eat and I didn't hear any loud protests. Then, the acid test - my chef husband.

The consensus- everyone said they were good!!!

As I was making the second batch(...yes...a second batch) my husband asked what my secret was?

I revealed my gluten free secret and he was quite surprised.

I put one left over pancake in the fridge and wrapped it tight figuring...well, they sell these things pre made.

Later, one of the kids ate it. Victory.

Bread Making

I know my kids will not be happy eating rabbit food. I have guaranteed them they will have bread and some baked products!!

I did a little bread making research and then visited our local store (Market Basket) to see what they offered.

To my surprise they have a pretty good sized selection of Gluten Free Bob's Red Mill products.

(www.bobsredmill.com) It can also be mail ordered.

There are lots of options for gluten free - Just be sure to read the ingredients and stay away from any with sugar.

At first I made bread using the All Purpose Flour. This involved buying other ingredients as well.

The bread was good - kid and husband approved!

Next time I saw GF Homemade Bread Mix.

This was much easier. It even has a yeast pack inside.

All you do is add the yeast to warm milk and let it rise for 5 to 10 minutes.

You add the mix, eggs, melted butter and salt together and then the yeast mixture.

Put it in the mix master and blend- then place it in a bread pan- 9x5

Let it rise 30 minutes until it is as high as the pan.

Bake for 60 minutes.

Done.

My kids(and husband) cannot wait the 15 minutes until it cools.

And here is an interesting note-

Initially everyone had a slice - with butter.

Later the kids said they were hungry.

I made ham and cheese sandwiches using THE bread - around 2:00pm.

When dinner time approached - No one was hungry. The bread has so much substance and the body is taking longer burn, raising the metabolism and keeping the blood sugars level as opposed to rising fast and crashing. Bingo!

Weigh in tomorrow

30 Day Wrestler's Diet - a family journey

Day One - CLEAN OUT THE CUPBARDS AND THE FRIDGE

It's that time of year again. The start of wrestling season for High School Athletes is in about 30 days. My two boys each need to loose weight. This is my fourth year as a wrestler's Mom and lord knows I have made my mistakes. ( like the time I told my son to drink tons of water the night before weigh in...he missed by half a pound)

I know a wrestler will be stronger if he/she goes into the season at weight and I also know that slow weight loss is better.

We are taking 30 days to get each boy where they want to be. Cameron wants to be 130 is now 138.5 and Connor wants to be 112 is now 119 ( he may decide on 103...)

My husband and I will join the boys in the diet so it will be a family affair and everyone will eat the same meals. Tom is hoping to lose 10 -15 pounds and I would love to lose 5!!

Here below is what we are doing. - It is a little bit of an undertaking but worth it.

No Sugar - No Wheat - biggest enemies for weight loss as they turn right into fat

Basically it is a very healthy diet - lean meats, fruits and veggies.
Also, no processed foods. Nothing in a box or bag.
And only two oils- olive oil and coconut oil - read about coconut oil..(http://www.coconut-connections.com/)
Also, use regular good old fashion BUTTER - no margarine or other tub butter the list of ingrediants is a clear indicator that it is not good for you.

For now, no white potatoes- only sweet potatoes and yams..(for now...sorry)

Brown rice.

Raw honey and real Maple syrup ok.

Remove all products with Wheat and Sugar -
So the first thing is to clean out the cupboards and the fridge. Read all ingrediants - Sugar and Wheat are everywhere!! Salad dressings, cereals, condiments, crackers - it goes on and on- Package up everything you want to save and or give some away to neighbors or bring it to the Senior Center. Put a big strong tape around your boxes - that way everyone will be less likely to retreive 'illegal' foods.

Removing sugar, not so hard...but wheat???
And, here's the harder part - If you go looking for a gluten free loaf of bread you may find one, but chances are it will have sugar. If you find one without it please let me know. Also, if you do find it, it is likely to be around $8.00 in a health food store- I have not made it to Whole foods yet- they may have some- What you are looking for rice bread, sprouted grains, millet etc- anything that does not have wheat& sugar.

So look for the next blog on making bread- I do not normally make bread nor do I have a bread machine. But, what I have found is....it is pretty easy and a bit relaxing.
The boys love having fresh bread, and it is more filling than regular bread.
It takes about 20 minutes to assemble the ingredients, a half hour to rise- one hour to cook. (Sunday mornings are a good time to bake)
Stay tuned to the blog for our meals and our successes and failures.
Weigh in tomorrow.