My Inner Child

We watched the movie Julie & Julia for the first time last night. I loved it! Dustin’s been telling me that I would like it, so it finally arrived from Netflix after being in our queue for the longest time. Meryl Streep was absolutely brilliant! I could relate to Julie Powell a lot, but I was fascinated by Julia Child’s story. I had previously read a bit about her life, but to see it breifly portrayed on the silver screen gives you an even better sense of her passion. Her life in Paris was remarkable and something I, too would have enjoyed during that period of time and even in present day. She and her husband actually remind me of Dustin and me. I often think back to my favorite Julia Child quotes when I try to cut corners with “lighter” foods or eliminate foods that American society frowns upon:

“Because of media hype and woefully inadequate information, too many people nowadays are deathly afraid of their food, and what does fear of food do to the digestive system” “I, for one, would much rather swoon over a few thin slices of prime beefsteak, or one small serving of chocolate mousse, or a sliver of foie gras than indulge to the full on such nonentities as fat-free gelatin puddings.”

“The pleasures of the table ” that lovely old-fashioned phrase ” depict food as an art form, as a delightful part of civilized life. In spite of food fads, fitness programs, and health concerns, we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal.”

From “The Way To Cook,” written by Julia Child and published in 1989.

I’ll probably never even be close to the chef that Julia was, but my inner Child pretends to be. I have my own style and I like it a lot, but I truly appreciate all cooking techniques and recipes. Not much cooking went into my breakfast yesterday, but that’s ok, it was still awesome!

• 6oz Fage Total 0% plain yogurt (90 cal) topped with 4 large strawberries (25 cal), 14g slivered almonds (85 cal) and 1 tsp honey (20 cal)
• 1 Kashi Heart to Heart multigrain waffle (90 cal) with 1 TBSP MaraNatha dark chocolate almond spread (90 cal)

Calories: 400

Deeeeeeeeelicious! I know strawberries are WAY out of season, but wherever these came from, they are in season and taste great. This kept me full for quite awhile, yum!

Dustin’s still sick, but feeling better, YAY! I went rummaging through the chest freezer to find something easy for him to eat. I found pot pies. Well, mine wasn’t exactly a pot pie, it was an Amy’s Light in Sodium Sheperd’s Pie (vegetarian)…

Being it’s only 160 calories, I paired it with some peas & carrots and warmed up a white bean burger that I had previously frozen from the last time I made them.

But first, I made a mess with the peas & carrots

Easy as (sheperd’s) pie!

Half a tablespoon REAL butter on my peas & carrots, Julia would approve.

• 1 white bean burger (~200 cal) warmed in the microwave for 1 min, then drizzled with 1/2 TBSP Heinz no salt added ketchup (10 cal) and 1 TBSP Mr. Spice salt free garlic steak sauce (10 cal)
• 2/3 cup peas & carrots (50 cal) with 1/2 TBSP butter (50 cal)
• Amy’s Light in Sodium (vegetarian) sheperd’s pie (160 cal)

Calories: ~480

Delightful, but quick comfort food. Amy’s sheperd’s pie wasn’t the most attractive thing to graze my plate, but it tasted really good! I was pleasantly surprised to see chickpeas inside of it–YUMMY! I really liked the ketchup and steak sauce on my bean burger. This reminded me of meatloaf with mashed potatoes, the light-in-calories-and-sodium veggie version. hehe

After the movie, Dustin was in Benadryl coma, but I was hungryyyyyyy! So I trotted down to the kitchen with a parade of kitty cats behind me to make something to eat. I haven’t had many cold, raw foods, like leafy greens, since I got sick, but now that I feel much better, salads sound SO good to me!! I know that I jumped the seasonal gun with the salad, but I couldn’t help it. I also found some past-their-prime shrimp in the freezer when I was down there earlier, but that didn’t stop me from using them anyway.

I planned on topping my salad with the gorgonzola crumbles that I picked up last week. Well, that’s when I discovered that they weren’t crumbles, it’s a gorgonzola spread !!

I debated putting dobs of it atop my salad, but then decided to just spread it on the roll I was having on the side. Good choice, it was amazing!

• ~2 cups mixed leafy greens (10 cal) tossed in 1 tsp EVOO (40 cal) and 2 TBSP red wine vinegar (10 cal), then topped with: 3oz grilled shrimp (100 cal), 2 large strawberries (15 cal), 26g avocado (45 cal) and 1 tsp honey (20 cal) drizzled over the top
• 1 Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain roll (170 cal) with 14g gorgonzola spread (45 cal)

Calories: 455, 240 calories just for the salad

Wow! Despite the shrimp not being the greatest, this salad was still INCREDIBLE! The bread with gorgonzola on the side complemented it perfectly. Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, chewy, creamy–OMG, heavenly. LOVE! I had to add up the calories 3 times to make sure it was accurate. LOL So low in calories for all of that deliciousness. Next time I make this I’m going to do grilled salmon. I can’t wait!

It’s so warm out today. I woke up and it was 73 in our bedroom even though the heat is only on 66. Spring is on its way, hooray!! I feel so energetic and bubbly today, I’m going to take a shower and make something to eat. Be back later!

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Tagged as: almonds, Amy's Light in Sodium Sheperd's Pie, avocado, bean burger, butter, carrots, gorgonzola spread, Julia Child, Julie & Julia, Kashi waffle, MaraNatha dark chocolate almond spread, peas, salad, shrimp, strawberries, yogurt