Say Goodbye to all that is good and delicious...

Today starts 8 weeks of all that is supposed to be healthy and nutritious, but come on...let's face it...I know it means 8 weeks of craving everything I'm supposed to avoid and rarely ever think of, but because I CAN'T HAVE IT...IT'S ALL I WILL THINK ABOUT!

It's called the Whole Life Challenge and in a nutshell, it's challenging yourself to eat healthier and get moving...for 8 weeks...which will hopefully change your eating habits forever.  My entire family has jumped on board, so do I have a choice?  Not unless they've decided to do all the grocery shopping and cooking!  I'm going to try my best, but I can assure you, I won't be as strict as they are, I mean after-all, I gotta have my dairy!  I pretty much eat Zone everyday, but I like to cheat on the weekends, so I'm going to try to stick with my Zone and NOT cheat for the Challenge.  So 20 lbs...in 8 weeks...that's the goal.

It all started here...in Upland...just steps from the old store.  My son's friend and his wife opened a gym (then he became our Pastor, but that's another story).  My entire family is addicted to this little sweat box. Crossfit Kinnick Website

This is where the magic happens.  No machines, no fancy gimmicks...just good old free weights and cardio...and did I mention sweat?  Yeah...you sweat.

So..Day 1...Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs with veggies, a small bunch of grapes, and a cup of coffee.  Mainly because that's all that was left in my fridge!  The veggies were leftover from the other night's dinner and eggs were the only protein source I could find!

I'm working the store today because it's Wine Walk...on the first day of the diet...wine walk...wine...and delicious food...prepared by Chef Alain...today...ugh.  Since I'll be at the store so late today, shopping and prepping for the week will happen tomorrow.  I'll keep you posted!

Wish me luck,
~M

Lemon Peel Candy

In honor of our Annual Lemon Festival, I decided to make lemon peel candy.  I have tried to make orange peel candy in the past with some success and thought that lemon would work too.  I have a good friend whose tree's seem like they continuously produce lemons so its nice to find another use for them.

The recipe is really easy and goes like this. . . . .





Cut the top and bottom off of about 10 lemons and then quarter them.  Peel the skins off of the lemon quarters (save the lemons for another recipe like lemon-aid or you can freeze for later).






Cut the skins into about 1/4 inch slices.   Place in a pot, fill with cold water and bring to a boil.  Once it boils drain and rinse with cold water.  Repeat process of cooking the peels with fresh cold water, boiling and rinsing.

In a saucepan put 4 cups of sugar into 2 cups of water.  Whisk mixture,  bring to a boil, and add the peels.  Simmer for about 45 minutes.  Peels should be tender.




Transfer the cooked peels to a drying rack with wax paper and let dry for about 1 hour.  Roll the slices in sugar and there you have it- Lemon Peel Candy.  Store in an airtight container.


We will be serving some during the Lemon Festival so stop by before its all gone!

Hope to see you this weekend!
Corrie

A Good Egg

Since my whole family decided to follow the Zone Diet, we've been going through eggs like crazy.  I've been hard-boiling just about every other day.  I thought I'd pass on what I've learned on how to hard-boil a perfect egg because the only way I knew how to do it was boiling it to death like my mom did...then I found a better way!  

I only put as many eggs in the pan as will fit on the bottom and cover completely with water.  I cover them and bring them to a boil.  As soon as they're boiling, I turn the flame down to simmer, leave the cover on, and set the timer for 15 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, I drain the hot water out, immediately cover with cold tap water and then plunge handfuls of ice into the pan.  The cold water keeps the yolks nice and yellow and the ice causes the egg to shrink away from the shell so they peel easily.  I can't tell you how many years I struggled with peeling eggs.  But the ice works every time!  Of course all of this only works if you remember that you actually PUT a pan of eggs on to boil, unlike me the other day who proceeded to take a shower and forget all about them!  Yep, that's right, eggs exploded, water boiled away, and the kitchen smelled just dandy!

Easter dinner at our house means deviled eggs.  Everyone seems to love my deviled eggs, especially my kids, so I'm passing on the recipe.  It's really nothing stupendous.  All I do is add Miracle Whip, Seasoned Rice Vinegar, Mustard, and Pepper to the egg yolks.  Yep, that's it.  There's something about the Miracle Whip and rice vinegar that just gives them a good tang - better than regular mayonnaise and regular vinegar.  I can't really tell you amounts because I just plop a little of each and keep adding until it's right.  Sometimes I stir in a little bacon, sometimes I don't.  I prefer them sprinkled with a little dill, rather than paprika, but you can do whatever you like.

 Happy Cracking!
~Mary