Happy(ish) Easter!

For the first time since 2011, I was able to spend Easter with my family. The past two years, Easter has fallen right in the midst of finals, so a quick trip to Florida was out of the question, and in 2012 I was being world-traveler in Istanbul. This year, not only did I get to celebrate Easter with both my mom's side of the family and my dad's, but my brother's 18th birthday also fell on Good Friday. I never feel old until I realize that my siblings are old so I must be too. 

With so many wonderful things to celebrate, you can imagine that there was a lot of non-healthy, sugar-filled food involved. We celebrated my brother's birthday at the Melting Pot, which is more or less my immediate family's restaurant of choice for all occasions. For those of you local restaurant snobs judging, when you're from Orlando your entire world is a franchise. My dad worked at the very first Melting Pot and he and my mom were secret testers for a time. Needless to say, I have been countless times and my mother countless times multiplied times two. We have seen Melting Pot through its ups and downs, menu changes and quality changes. I always feel bad for our waiters, because it is the one place where I will complain and insist upon my meal being correct.  I am sad to say that we are in a definite down period for the Melting Pot. 2-3 years ago they changed the menu, reducing portion size and price, while focusing on seasonality and quality. That experiment must have failed because the menu more resembles the old menu, has re-adopted the higher prices, but they further reduced portions and quality. Not that portions should be any bigger. I left in actual physical pain from being too full, even splitting with my mom.

Strawberry, Toasted Pecan, Feta and Spinach Salad

The next day was Easter with my dad's family. My Meemee and I kicked it off with a 2 mile walk at 6:30 am. For 18 years my Meemee and her "walking buddies" have walked 2 miles every morning before work and on the weekends. It's no leisurely walk either, I was having a hard time keeping up with Meemee's pace. I hope that when I am in my mid-seventies that I am able to be as active and young as her. One machine-pitch little league game, (studying), egg dying, and two egg hunts later, I was stuffing my face once again with honey glazed ham, yeast rolls, green beans, spinach salad, potato salad, deviled eggs and key lime pound cake. I did pretty well on portion control until the cake. Downside of not eating sugar regularly = you're an actual animalistic fiend when you do. I am seriously a work in progress on this point, because I went to bed feeling actual physical pain again; but it was so delicious!

My three positive food points of the weekend were: 

(1) I discovered Chipotle ingredients are all added-sugar free, except for their vinaigrette. As much as I try to avoid eating out, this is great news for when I just don't feel like cooking, which is going to be a lot with finals rapidly approaching. I also tried the new tofu option "Sofritas" at Chipotle and it was really good. I prefer the texture of the baked tofu that I made (see Sugar Free Survivor post), but it was basically the same as having the ground beef. 

(2) I had the most delicious green smoothie I've ever tasted. In my hometown of Winter Garden there is a juice bar, which I tried for the first time. I got a "hybrid smoothie," which is part juice, part smoothie. I picked the "Dean's Jet Green" - kale, spinach, apple, banana, mint, ginger, turmeric and lemon. It was SO good, it tasted like springtime and happiness, I wished I had a gallon of it. Perhaps I will make it in gallons, because the Juice Bar of WG charges WAY too much not only for me to be a regular customer, but for them to have any regular customers. So, on the top of my list is recreating the Dean's Jet Green. 

(3) the final eating high point was bitter sweet. I took control of cooking Easter brunch, which I would enjoy with my mom, brothers, grandparents, and my Yulia and Elizabeth (I don't know whether they are more like my aunt & first cousin, sisters, second mom and sister - they're close wonderful family). I really wanted to make something added-sugar-free and highlight that healthy eating can be delicious. 

Brief segue for a confession: I do care what some people think of my blog. I said in my first post that I don't care what people think about it and that I am doing this for my record-keeping and satisfaction. Well, that isn't entirely true. I honestly really hoped that by trying to make create better eating habits, to eat cleaner and healthier, that it may rub-off on my family and that they may try and find just one thing even to swap out and adopt. Too many of my family members are not in good health, in large part due to poor diet. This is the main reason I am trying so hard, to prevent disease and risks for myself later in life and to maybe encourage my family to make some changes in theirs, before its too late. Needless to say, it disproportionately hurt my feelings when my first nay-sayer came from one of my dearest loved ones. So, I have to recant my earlier proclamation and say, while I don't care what someone I knew in high school thinks while reading this, I do care what my family and friends think. 

Anyway, I pressed on regardless and cooked a brunch with prosciutto and spaghetti squash breakfast casserole, a big batch of chocolate banana peanut butter overnight oats, fresh fruit, whole wheat biscuits and carrot cake breakfast cookies. I didn't win over my teenage brothers, but I think I picked up fans in my mom and my Yulia and Elizabeth. This is all very much trial and error for me, especially  being no expert and cooking for a large number of people. There are definitely things I would have tweaked, but for the most part it was very good. The carrot cake breakfast cookies are a recipe that I have been working on, as mentioned in my last post Sugar Free Survivor, but I am thrilled that I think I've gotten it right. They were so moist and topped with some whipped cream cheese and cinnamon, tasted just like carrot cake. I've included this most recent version of the recipe below. Most importantly I was so excited to be eating food that was good for me again after such a sugar-laden weekend.

I talked with my mom about how disheartened I was feeling about even trying to be healthier and writing my experiences down. She told me not to view it as a negative but to turn it into a positive - that if you want to make positive changes in your life you can't let others stand in your way just because they don't want to make any changes in theirs. She is of course as right as moms always are. Social situations are so much part of the culture of eating, which is why holidays and restaurants are so hard for healthy eating and living. The choice to eat in a way that is better for my body is my choice and makes me feel better physically and emotionally. As much as I would like to convert all of my family and friends, I have no control over convincing them to eat better. I only have control over the choices I make and that includes the choice not to let others' unwillingness to make positive changes stand in the way of my own. 

 Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies, makes 18 cookies

Ingredients: 

1.5 c rolled oats

1 c whole wheat flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1.5 c shredded carrots (use food processor to shred)

8-10 dates

1.5 tsp vanilla

1/3 c unsweetened applesauce

1 egg

1/3 c walnuts

1/3 c unsweetened raisins

Instructions:

1. Whisk flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a medium bowl. 

2. Run dates, vanilla and applesauce through food process until smooth. Add egg and pulse until mixed. 

3. Add shredded carrots, date mixture, walnuts and raisins to dry ingredients and stir until combined. 

4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to overnight. 

5. Preheat oven to 325. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

5. Spoon dough onto cookie sheet and press flat into desired shape. These cookies will not spread as you bake them. Makes 18-20 cookies. 

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on pan for 15 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool. 

7. Enjoy as is or top with cream cheese and cinnamon.