90 Days and Mexican Omelet

Hey ya'll! I know it's been a while since I've checked in, but I'm back with news and a new recipe. I have been out of town, visiting my folks and managed to do some amazing things (at least for me). I found I can comfortably eat out at more than one restaurant. I must admit, one of them is at salad bar buffets, but the other was a 'real' meal at a local steakhouse. If any of you live near a Logan's, I really recommend there Health Nut Menu (on the back of the regular menu). I had a pretty guilt-free, flavorful sirloin and all I had to do was substitute lemon and oil for the lite dressing. Delicious!

I also spent two whole Saturdays judging for a children's creativity competition. I dreaded it, as it's a long day when you have to bring your own food, but I managed much better than expected. I made a few staples that I hoarded, and my wonderful parents provided additional healthy snacks for the whole appraiser team. It was awesome to see normal people happy to have healthy snack alternatives I could enjoy with them. (Not to say they weren't also nomming down on some chocolate. ;) ) I was able to reheat a filling lunch of ground turkey, steamed veggies and brown rice, which helped me avoid the temptation of the provided lunches. Over all, an amazing experience. And the best part of all was I finished my first 90 days on the anti-candida diet.

Since I've been home, however, there's been a bit of a dry spell as far as food goodness has gone. I haven't been recipe browsing as much (mainly because I've actually had the energy to get back to painting) and meals have been pretty simple. I did try reintroducing goat cheese (since it was post 90 days), but even in small amounts, I seem to react poorly to it. It was very discouraging, as regaining any form of cheese was one of my big deferred rewards I was looking forward to. Oh well, I'll try it again some day down the road and see if it's still disagreeable. I still seem to have no problem with yogurt, so I have contented myself to the substitution.

Which leads to today! I've been eating a lot of eggs because they're quick and easy and don't require an actual recipe. But today I found one I will definitely be making again. Full of veggies and flavor, this omelet is very satisfying.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

It was another...interesting week, recipe-wise. I'm still learning how to balance substitutions and flavors, as well as consistency. Let's just say, I was a little nervous about having a recipe for this week. But there was an eleventh hour reprieve. Inspired by The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook by Jackie Newgent, RD, I whipped up some of her Fresh Herb Quinoa Tabbouleh. I couldn't believe I had most of the ingredients on hand.


Tabbouleh is one of those dishes that I have a love/hate relationship with. I love couscous and tomatoes, and if those are the predominate flavors, I'm normally down for some. But too many times I've been burned by the overwhelming flavor of another ingredient (normally raw onion). So when I saw her list of ingredients (which is much longer than the tabbouleh I have made before), I knew it would be all about getting the balance right, especially with the quinoa taking place for couscous. Because of this, I'm going to leave the ingredient list pretty loose when it comes to measuring because you know what you like. If you like raw onion, kick it up a notch. If you prefer tomato, you can lean heavy on it. Being a cold grain salad, it's nicely flexible for personal taste. Here's what I used though, for a starting point.

Zucchini Latkes

Whether you're celebrating Hanukkah or just getting healthier, Zucchini Latkes are a tasty treat. And this version is gluten- and egg-free! (Eggs are allowed in my diet, but I wanted to post something friendly to my sister's own diet.)

I've been on my new diet for almost two weeks and I've learned a lot so far. It's been really challenging and I've certainly had ups and downs (including a lot of...unsuccessful recipe attempts). But this one is one of my favorites to date. I've unfortunately lost the original site that inspired it, but here's the modified version for your perusal.