Friday, April 23, 2010

Bring it: Pioneer Woman vs. Jamie Oliver

I'm having some reservations about my project. CRISIS. WHAT DO I DO? PDub's recipes are meant for special occasions or for strapping cowboys who work hard all day and burn tons of calories on the ranch.

I was heavy all thru childhood and I'm so thankful that something just snapped one day in college and I have been very conscientious about the food I eat ever since then. It was the very typical issue of life revolving around food. I was sad...I had donuts. I was mad..I had chicken fried steak. I was happy...I celebrated with cake. Those habits die hard but for 17ish years, I've managed to stay within a much healthier range than my younger days. There are some years where I'm much tougher on myself but since I started running, I allow more leniency. It's not easy being the family nutrition Nazi in my house. Ronnie doesn't care about GI Index foods or cholesterol. I like 100% whole wheat bread. He likes Wonder Bread. I like skim milk and he likes whole. I say tomato...he says, "make me a german chocolate cake".
And then there's Scout who frequently dines at the Texhoma Sale Barn and spends the majority of his time around the best cooks in the country.

Ok...so my family thinks I'm a little obsessive.
Enter Pioneer Woman. AWESOME food, loaded with fat.
Enter Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I watch. I become so impassioned that a tear comes down and I jump up and yell, " want to be a part of his team". I swear it has more to do with admiration for his cause and less to do with the fact that I have a crush on Jamie. Ronnie said, "calm down"...and I said, "would you mind saying that with a British accent and slight lisp". He rolls his eyes.


So what's the deal? What do you do? Is it ok to throw in some indulgences here and there, or should we shift our mindset to be conscientious of everything we put in our mouths? This is the issue I'm working thru. I went to Jamie's Food Revolution site this week and signed the petition to make changes in the school cafeterias. The amount of processed foods they serve is ridiculous! And chocolate milk? Shhhheeeeez. What? Kids won't drink plain milk? So you have to serve chocolate? You know what Jamie says? He suggests we just start pouring sugar over everything that kids don't like. HA! If you care to have a conversation on the virtues of flavored milk, bring it on. Warning...I may punch you out.:)

Continuing my panic...this week at staff lunch, a friend of mine reminded the gals at the table that it's not a good idea to eat like the Pioneer Woman unless you have spent the day working cattle. UGH. She's right. I need more balance. On my way home that night, I bought a bag of whole wheat flour and a bag of zucchini. I bought salad ingredients, strawberries, and a ton of broccoli. I'm on point to rein this thing in. Hit it!


Jaden's Beef Brocolli. The sauce for this was very,very,very,good. I found the recipe on PW's site.



http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/jadens-beef-with-broccoli/







Chef Meg's Zucchini Muffins. This was a little TOO healthy for Ronnie. He wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. If you are ok with whole wheat flour and no fat, you will be ok with these. They were a good afternoon snack in leiu of something processes. I baked a big bunch and then froze most.

Annnnd, yes...I do have more PW recipes to tell you about. :) I made her pizza dough last week and we had a "make your own" pizza party. Ronnie doesn't like pizza, but he liked that he could control how much sauce was on his and said he would like to have that again. Dad said he wasn't really sure about the make your own pizza thing, but he said it turned out really great.

Egg in the hole: Bread, Egg, Salt, Pepper, Butter. No high expectations. This was so good! Loved it.




Soooo... you surely detect an undercurrent of obsession on my part. Sha. I'm food obsessed. Food/water: essential to life. How you approach food with your family will no doubt shape their future health. It IS a big deal.
Good luck.
Via Con Dios.

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