I am trying to follow my own advice and pactice good eating and execise habits. So, today I got up and walked 2.2 miles with a really hip beat I downloaded from ITunes. They have a set of podcasts done by Fitness magazine. Talk about a good workout! They have workouts for people of all levels, and you can copy the podcasts onto your ipod to carry with you. Best of all, they are 20 minutes to an hour long, and they are free. The beat is infectious and instead of the drudgery of a workout, you find yourself dancing down the street. Try it – you might really enjoy it.
Today, I decided to make some homemade hummus. I ground up the garbanzo beans and then added sweet red peppers and spices: Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Onion Powder (didn’t have onions) garlic powder, salt, garlic salt and pepper. Oh, and olive oil. I have enough hummus to last the week now. It’s so good on vegetables and crackers and used as a spread in your sandwiches.
Speaking of sandwiches, I had a group of tomatoes just in from the garden, so for lunch, I made a tomato sandwich. I toasted the bread, spread hummus on one slice, mayo on the other and then sliced one of our home grown tomatoes, and put two slices on and then some lettuce. The hummus really flavored the sandwich, added more fiber and thereby helped to make the sandwich more nutritious. I used whole wheat bread. It was also very filling.
For supper, I am thinking of grilled peppers, mushrooms and potatoes with some flank steak. To feed four adults, I purchase two flank steaks, about 3 lbs of red potatoes, a bottle of Grill Mates Monterey Steak Seasoning, 6 peppers: red, yellow, and green; one sweet onion; and a small bottle of extra virgin olive oil (or olive oil spray).
Slice up peppers. Spray with olive oil. Place on grill and cook for 3 – 8 minutes on the skin side, turn and grill for 2-4 minutes on the flesh side. You can use a grill basket, which will give you the same ending result. Some folks add garlic or other seasonings, but I like the peppers on their own.
I use Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning on the steaks and potatoes. For the potatoes, I slice an onion, add it to quartered red potatoes and spray it all with olive oil. After mixing the potatoes and onions up with the oil, I add the steak seasoning to taste. Mix them up one more time to coat the vegetables well. Put the mixture in a grill basket, and set it on a medium, peheated grill. I shake it up every few minutes so that it doesn’t burn. It takes at least 45 minutes to get good and done. We like this dish well cooked, so some of the potatoes and onions will be crispy. If you don’t like yours this way, remove the potatoes earlier and keep warm in oven.
Meanwhile, I pour olive oil in a small bowl, and using a paper towel, I spread the olive oil onto the steaks. Then I dust the steaks with the steak seasoning like a rub. Then, I flip it over, and repeat on the other side. Let it sit for at least fifteen minutes.
When the potatoes are nearly done, bring them inside and place in a preheated 175 degree oven. Place the steaks on the grill. Grill for 5 minutes on each side.
Supper is very tasty and delicious cooked this way. Spaying the vegetables rather than coating them with olive oil keeps the calories down. (Spraying the meat might work better for those of you who need to watch calories).
Happy eating!
Edgewater Grace 