Category: Food

A Good Breakfast for Energy

On By Michel McDonaldIn Food1 Comment

When I make breakfast for myself in the morning, it’s usually a bowl of cereal.  If we don’t have any milk for whatever reason I usually moan and stomp my feet like a child before nuking myself some oatmeal.  Or I might begrudgingly put my clothes on and go to the grocery store. This morning was different because I wanted to actually make a real breakfast.

Last night I decided that I wanted to make some hash browns for myself this morning so I bought a bag of potatoes from the grocery store with our dinner ingredients and got the food processor out to shred them.  Of course I peeled them first before shredding them and they were small enough that I could just stick them in the food processor.  Normally I have to cut things up but those bags of potatoes are always tiny so that was perfect.

After I shredded about 6 I put them into these containers that I also bought at the store to store them in all night.  A friend told me to put water in them to remove the starch to keep them from turning brown and sure enough when I went to do that they were all brown.  Before bedtime I went in there and drained them all and rinsed them all off and put them back in their containers with more water and I’m glad I did because they were still brown so changing the water was a good thing I think.

This morning I got up, grabbed my Big City Slider Station and filled each compartment with sausage so I could have some sausage patties, put 3 slices of bacon in the skillet to cook and when those were all finished I put 2 slices of bacon on the plate, 2 sausage sliders and then I put all the rest in a container for another time.

I took the hash browns out of the fridge and put them in the salad spinner to get the moisture out then put them in the bacon grease.  Ok I know now that I should have used margarine or oil.  Coulda shoulda woulda.  When that was finished I scrambled 2 eggs and put cheese on top of the eggs.

I was going to take a picture but it was very sloppy and too embarrassing but I will tell you that it was very good.  It was a very rare occasion that I would ever make that kind of breakfast and I can’t say I will ever do it again but you never know.

What am I going to do with the remainder of the hash browns though?  I’m thinking that maybe I can put some butter in the big city slider station then roll up some of the hash browns and stuff them in there and see how that works out.  Then I can put them in the container with the sausages and have some hash brown sliders whenever I want.  I could also freeze them for later.

The reason I did all of this is because I really needed the energy for today because I have 61 posts to restore today from March 2009 and I’m getting so burnt out on the whole thing.  Coffee just isn’t cutting it anymore, I figured I needed a real breakfast to get me through this day.

That kind of breakfast is good but so bad but it was so worth it.

Taco Bell’s Meat

On By Michel McDonaldIn Food, News2 Comments

I heard something the other day on the news about some allegations that Taco Bell’s meat is 35% meat and they were saying something about the rest being soy or something.  I don’t remember exactly what they said but I don’t listen to any of that BS.

I’ve been eating Taco Bell my entire life and if it’s the same stuff that they’ve always had before then I know it’s not going to kill me.  If anything, I eat it so often that I have built an immunity to anything that might be in the meat lol.

Guess what we had for dinner tonight?

The Wall Street Journal posted this article today about it.  The meat isn’t 100% beef, it’s actually 88%, the rest is water and spices which gives it flavor.  Go ahead and read the article.

I worked at Taco Bell when I was 17 years old.  Although I didn’t make the beef I don’t really know what spices are in it or how it’s made but I do know how the refried beans are made because I was there early in the morning to blend the beans that were being pressure cooked all night long.  I also shredded the cheese and cut the tortillas into triangles for the cinnamon crispas which they don’t even sell anymore.  They eventually put me on the line so I was assembling the food but that’s as far as I went, I quit after a month and went to Wendy’s lol.

So whatever false information you hear online about Taco Bell’s meat, ignore it because it’s not true.

Denny’s, Harry Potter, Sack Boy and DQ

On By Michel McDonaldIn Computer, Food, PSP, TechLeave a comment

I’m writing this late at night, past midnight so when you read this it will probably be Friday. Oh who am I kidding, you’ll probably be reading it 6 months down the road. At any rate, we had a pretty good and long day. It all started with going to Denny’s for breakfast. I had the Grand Slam Slugger for $8 which was 2 pancakes, 2 sausage, 2 bacon, 2 scrambled eggs, hash browns and it came with coffee or juice, I chose coffee.

The scrambled eggs were the best thing about that meal. Normally I’m saying how wonderful the pancakes and hash browns are but I gotta give huge props to the eggs. They were smooth as silk. I don’t know what their secret is but I haven’t had scrambled eggs that felt that good on my tongue in my entire life. And I’m an egg lover too so it’s strange to hear me say that I’ve never had eggs that tasted that good before. They were just so awesome.

After breakfast we came home and were just going to go about our day but Darrin decided he wanted to go to the movies so I printed the schedule from Fandango. I kept telling him the only movie that was playing was Harry Potter but he just didn’t believe me. I showed him the list and he agreed that we could go see Harry Potter. YAY for me!

So we got in the car and drove to the mall, got tickets and a soda then went in. The movie was about 2 hours and 27 minutes. I really don’t like buying drinks when you go see a movie that lasts longer than 90 minute but we got one anyway. I held it for as long as I could and when a scene came up where I assumed it wouldn’t be too dramatic I shot out of my chair and ran to the mens room. I was able to enjoy the rest of the movie pain-free which is how it should be.

I think they should install a bathroom in every theater right near the stairs with tv’s above the urinals or above the toilets for the ladies so you don’t miss a thing, especially when movies are 2.5 – 3 hours long or longer. It’s not fair to sell so much drink and then make us miss a few minutes of our movie or suffer the pain.

I thought it was a pretty good movie considering they usually don’t match the movies with the books. I was just expecting some of the basics but they were pretty good with this one. I loved the movie but I don’t think my movie companion wasn’t into it. He didn’t read the books so he doesn’t really care. It’s a futile effort to have to explain it to him when he probably isn’t listening anyway.

I really wanted to see it and knew I wouldn’t get another chance until it came out on DVD and I hate being the last one to see a Harry Potter movie.

When we left the movies we went into the mall and I bought a new PSP game with my $25 gift card for Game Stop from doing surveys at E-Rewards. They moved all of the PSP games so it took me several minutes to find them. Considering that store is about the size of our living room, you’d think that I would’ve found them right away but I didn’t. I did eventually find them right near the cash registers.

They had them on a display instead of on the wall and so I had to crouch carefully so I didn’t fall and also so I could let people look at the video games on the wall behind me. It’s not an easy thing to do in such small spaces but I managed to find a game that I wanted which was Little Big Planet.

I’ve actually wanted Little Big Planet since it came out but it was too expensive and I didn’t have a gift card for it so I went without. Poor me lol. I did download the demo and thought it was fun. A friend of mine brags to me every chance that she gets that she has it for her PS3 because she knew I didn’t have it for my PSP. I have it now Sue so what are you gonna say now? Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah :p.

I played it for a few hours on my HDTV instead of the tiny PSP screen only because my eyes are getting worse every day. I had a little trouble adjusting to the way the game is played but once you figure things out it becomes easy.

I went to look in the online section and it said I needed a system update first before I could access anything online and they added something new to the PSP but they haven’t really given us the ability to use it yet. It’s called Qriocity in the music section. All it says is coming soon. I looked at the video section (on their website) for it and I think that will only work on the PS3 but it appears to be a streaming video rental service like Netflix. So I can only assume the music one is the same thing but… you know… music. Meh, if that’s a monthly service then I’m not interested. I can just as easily turn my radio on to listen to new music.

When we left Game Stop we went to the Dairy Queen and got 2 medium Blizzards because I had an anniversary BOGO coupon. I ordered the new peppermint one but then changed my mind because I figured if it has hard candy in it I might not enjoy it as much so I got Pumpkin Pie. Darrin got the same but after a few bites he realized he didn’t really like it that much. I loved it so I ate his lol. I had 2 blizzards. No wonder I can’t lose weight LOL.

I think that we had a wonderful day, although at times boring for him but fun for me. Tomorrow (or today if you are reading this on Friday, or in 6 months then 6 months ago) I will start putting the tree up. My back has been really killing me but I really want to do it. Christmas is my favorite time of year even though I’m not a Christian. People have told me I have no right celebrating it but you know what I say to those people. Shush and mind your own beeswax.

I’m not celebrating the birth of Jesus, I’m celebrating the giving and receiving of presents. Mainly giving because I’m embroidering those Christmas stockings as a gift for the children. Plus I like the look of the trees and the lights and the ornaments on the tree. I celebrated Christmas my entire life since I was a baby so I think I have every right to continue celebrating it until the day I die if I wish to do so. Just because my religious beliefs change doesn’t mean I have to change my mind about the holidays. So to those who say I have no right to celebrate it, you can suck it because it’s a free country, I can celebrate it any way I want to. When you pay my bills then you can tell me what I can and can’t do with my life. Until then, shush.

Wow is it after 3am? Ok well I gotta get up at like 8 so goodnight all or if you are just waking up then Good morning. And if this is 6 months into the future and you are reading it with your brain implants well, I don’t know what greetings you future cyborg people so good 0101011010100101101 to you.

Save the Dollar Menu

On By Michel McDonaldIn FoodLeave a comment

It has recently come to my attention (via a comment in my KFC Dollar Menu post) that there is a website out there claiming the dollar menu is going away. ”Save the Dollar Menu!” has names, addresses and phone numbers of McDonald’s executives. You can call them and beg them to keep the dollar menu.

After a little research, I have found out that this is false information. The “Dollar Menu” is not going anywhere.

I came across a news article in the Media Post news website saying McDonald’s Considers ‘Tweaking’ Dollar Menu. The problem is with the increasing prices of food ingredients, they are going to lose money so they will probably raise the price of everything in the dollar menu but they aren’t getting rid of it entirely. In fact, they are even keeping the name “Dollar Menu” even though it’s going to be more than $1.

I know I’m gonna get comments from people saying that I’m advocating junk food and I’m a fat slob blah blah blah. Well, I’m not. I’m just setting the record straight.

I think there is a pro and a con to having the dollar menu. Wanna hear them? Of course you don’t but I’m gonna tell you anyway.

Pro: Groceries are very expensive. Try going to the grocery store and buying all the ingredients just to make 1 double cheeseburger or 1 chicken sandwich. It’s expensive! If you go to McDonald’s it’s only $1. That’s what I like about the Dollar Menu, it’s inexpensive and very convenient. You don’t have to buy the ingredients for many and you don’t even have to dirty any dishes in the process. It saves time and money.

Con: The problem with the dollar menu is that people take advantage of it and end up overeating because it’s so cheap. You can buy more than just 1 double cheeseburger or chicken sandwich, you can buy 10 if you like and sit there in your car and binge on fast food. Then you get fatter and fatter. That’s a reason people are so fat but not the only reason but it’s a reason.

You can blame McDonald’s for getting fat but the only real person to blame is yourself. You don’t have to order more than 1 burger you know. The dollar menu isn’t a challenge, it’s there to help people who can’t afford to pay $4 for everything else in their menu.

So the dollar menu isn’t going anywhere any time soon. There’s no reason to panic people with stupid websites like the “Save the Dollar Menu!” website. I’m sure there are better things to do with your time than to put people in a mass fast food panic.

Another Diet

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Exercise, Food, HealthLeave a comment

I went to the doctor’s office yesterday for my regular visit and found out how much weight I have gained. Over 20lbs.

Here’s the story for those who aren’t familiar. I was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year when I weighed 252lbs. I went on a diet and went down to 215lbs.

Our diet wasn’t very inventive but it was good enough for me since it had protein, grains and vegetables. I had cut out all breads from our diets (mine and Chips) and my diet gave me so much energy that I was always cleaning.

One night Darrin said to me that he didn’t want to eat this anymore, you’re working too hard and it makes me feel bad. Well, I had lost 37lbs and by telling me that, he discouraged me. He started asking for pasta and for other things and next thing you know, he’s buying cookies and donuts.

I started gaining weight again and before I knew it I was losing all of my energy and becoming lazy again. Now, I’m 239 according to the doctor’s office. The doctor said 20lbs but that’s according to where it says 218 in my chart.

What happened was, I was 218 then went to the doctors then lost more weight and before my next visit I had already gone back up to 218 because of Darrin not wanting to continue the diet. Then I just kept gaining more and more weight.

So now that he has a job, he can’t tell me what I can make for him for dinner or to not clean and I’m going to tell him flat-out that he needs to just let me do what I’m gonna do to help us lose weight. I can’t keep up with this yo-yo dieting. I have to lose this weight.

I’ve already started cooking vegetables for dinner again so when Darrin comes home from work he has a balanced dinner to eat before he collapses on the couch for the evening. I’m going to get off my M&M’s binge and stop eating sugar and breads altogether again. I can do this, I know I can.

I have a feeling I will be hosting Thanksgiving this year which means I gotta get this house clean lol. In order to do that, I need to eat balanced meals to give me the energy. I just drank a Red Bull to give me the energy to mop the kitchen floor which takes all of about 10 minutes to do lol.

You know your energy levels are at 0 when you can’t even do the simplest chores such as mopping the floor. I seriously don’t know how I cleaned the bathroom and living room last week.

If I am hosting Thanksgiving this year then I have a lot of work to do to get this house up to snuff. I’m sure I can do it all by myself… UGH! I’m gonna need a LOT of Red Bull. I wish I had the money to hire a housekeeper a couple of days before they arrive to make damn sure this house is spic n span.

Michelle Obama: I Love French Fries – Via Politico

On By Michel McDonaldIn Exercise, Food, PoliticalLeave a comment

For once I am in complete agreement with an Obama. Michelle Obama was at the National Restaurant Association’s fall board meeting where she was telling the restaurant industry to step up to the plate (the dinner plate?) and stop serving junk to our children and adults. Instead of serving fries with that, offer something healthier like carrots or apples. I actually agree with her. But it has to be something that the customer wants to order.

Side note, McDonald’s does offer apples for their kids meals as an alternative to fries. They also offer milk as an alternative to soda. They have for years.

You can’t turn “Fish N Chips” into “Fish N Apples Chips” or “Fish N Carrot Chips” although that does sound good. The last time we went to Long John Silvers their fish was so horrible, it made my stomach so heavy, I was on the crapper with cramps the rest of the day. The fries were the only thing that didn’t make me feel like crap, it was the fish. I think they need to clean their oil.

She also suggested to switch white pasta with wheat pasta but how about this, how about Wacky Mac? Wacky Mac pasta is made out of vegetables. Why not go all the way and suggest they make their pasta out of vegetables? That would make much more sense than just wheat.

And why not suggest to offer baked fish and chicken as an alternative to fried in all restaurants? I use the George Foreman grill to make my boneless skinless chicken so I think that should be an alternative too.

The issue though is you cannot expect customers to ONLY eat the healthy alternative. If you tell them they must request fries then they WILL request fries all the time. You aren’t going to force someone into eating healthy, that’s the reason they are going out because they don’t want to eat healthy.

I am not a vegetarian but lately I have been eating only vegetarian foods like Garden Burgers in place of chicken or any meat for that matter. And only eating salads or steamed veggies so I am certainly switching my attitude towards eating habits but that’s me.

Since I am diabetic I have had to take a serious look at the foods that I eat so I lower not only my blood sugar but also my cholesterol. I haven’t been going to fast food places or any restaurant for that matter. It’s not fast food places, it’s the restaurant industry as a whole that needs to change. I do agree with her 100% about that.

And by the way, the fish at fish n chips has more calories than the “chips” so if you are going to take the fries away you might as well take the fish away too because they are worse than the fries.

In the LA Times Blog there is another post about this but that post is so long, it would take forever for me to pick every little thing out to talk about so I’ll just give you that link:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/09/michelle-obama-obesity-restaurant-menus.html – Link broken

There are a couple of things I’d like to say about that one.

Quote:

“She, of course, has her own personal chef brought in from Chicago and took full parental responsibility for guiding her daughters’ diets because parents are crucial habit-formers and role models, even in food choices.”

This is what I’m always talking about. It’s not the restaurants who need to make sure your kids eat right, it’s you, the parent and if Michelle Obama is hiring a personal chef who knows what the right foods are to feed children then that’s what she has to do to make sure her kids eat right. It’s the parents responsibility to make sure you eat right, not the businesses. They are in business to feed people what taste good, not what tastes healthy.

There are businesses that are in business to feed us healthy foods and if you should want to eat out and eat healthy then go there instead.

Quote:

“She said she understood that healthy meals sell less, which is not a good thing for any business. But she said the problem of obesity is so great, it must be addressed urgently by all means.”

YES! That is what I’ve been saying is wrong. It’s not just restaurants that are giving us unhealthy foods for less but also the grocery store. It’s cheaper to eat junk and it’s way more expensive to eat healthy. Why is that? I think it’s backwards. I think they need to reward you for eating healthy by selling the healthy foods for less money and penalize you for eating unhealthy by charging you more money.

Also, why is it that the diabetic foods are so expensive? They aren’t helping my cause by making me pay up the wazoo to keep my blood sugar down. Also the vegetarian foods are so expensive.

There was one more thing. I think it was in the LA Times blog post saying restaurants aren’t offering nutritional information for their guests. They certainly are! You can go to the website of any major restaurant and they have the nutrition information right in their website. Most of the time in PDF format. Some also have it posted on a bulletin board or they have pamphlets with all that information. So that is wrong, they do offer that.

Amplify’d from www.politico.com

Michelle Obama admitted Monday that she’s a “lover” of french fries and confessed that her daughters enjoy mac and cheese. But at the National Restaurant Association’s fall board meeting, she asked restaurateurs to rethink the way they offer food in their eateries and implored them to provide more nutritious choices to both adults and kids.

Since Americans eat a third of their meals in restaurants, Obama asked the restaurateurs to add more healthful choices to their menus and provide customers with more information about what they’re eating.

“What I do know is that in the restaurant industry, creativity is your lifeblood,” Obama said at the Hyatt Regency before a packed crowd that included assistant White House chef Sam Kass. “It’s what sets you apart from the competition, and it keeps customers coming back for more. And today I am asking you to use that creativity to rethink the food you offer, especially dishes aimed at young people, and to help us make the healthier choice the easier choice.”

Obama told the professional foodies that she would like to see them use that creativity with children’s menus as well.

“I’m not asking any of you to make drastic changes to every single one of your recipes or to totally change the way you do business,” Obama said. “But what I am asking is that you consider reformulating your menu in pragmatic and incremental ways to create healthier versions of the foods that we all love.”

Obama suggested substituting wheat pasta for white pasta or cutting the amounts of butter and cream in recipes.

“Or you could make healthy sides like apple slices or carrots the default choice in a menu and make fries something customers have to request — which would hurt me deeply,” the first lady said to laughter. “I’m a fry lover.”

Read more at www.politico.com

End of Plateau?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Exercise, FoodLeave a comment

I’m finally losing weight again. I wonder if this is the end of my plateau or not. In order to give you a glimpse of why I plateaued I have to tell you this.

A few weeks ago I was doing great. I was losing 3-5lbs a week and I was happy. Every morning I would wake up and would be giddy after weighing myself. Ok giddy is a strong term, I was happy.

Unfortunately, both Darrin and I were sick of my menu. It was the same thing every day for lunch and dinner. 4oz of chicken (boneless/skinless) 1/2 cup brown rice and 1 cup of vegetables. After a few months anyone would get sick of that twice a day.

I said ok we can cool it with that for lunch. I started buying bread again which was my big no-no but the bread I was buying was only 50 calories and it was 100% whole wheat. I was also buying very low-calorie lunch meat but I don’t think I can blame that as the cause.

I was also starting to eat more junk food again. Darrin was tired of eating healthy all freaking day and so he started sneaking cookies into the house, Chips Ahoy to be exact. It has his name in the brand, what’d you expect?

So I caught wind of the cookies because he left the boxes all over the coffee table and I was bound to see them. Then he started going to Taco Bell and buying other things and I was eating them too because I am so sick of this diet.

Let me clarify that, I’m sick of this “new lifestyle change” lol. I’m not allowed to call it a diet because diets don’t work but a lifestyle change will if you stick with it.

In the last week or so we haven’t been eating so much bad stuff because we’re both broke so we have to save what money we have left on actual food instead of junk and now that I’m not eating as much crap anymore I’ve started losing weight again.

I think I was stuck at 222-224 but yesterday I weighed in at 219 and this morning it was 218 so I’m very happy to see those numbers dropping.  Also a pair of shorts that I haven’t been able to wear in years finally fit me but now they are getting so loose, too loose in fact.  I’m going to have to stop wearing them again which sucks because they are good shorts.

I’m hoping that those cravings will start to go away now that I’ve finally tasted the bad foods again. Unfortunately when you eat bad foods they taste too good to stop eating but we will see how it works out for me. I really want to get into the 2 teens and out of the 2 twenties you know?

Maybe when I’m 215 I will start to feel like I’m getting somewhere.  In reality I should be 215 by now if it hadn’t been for that plateau.  I should be 200 by October 12th so if I’m going to be there by then I have a lot of work to do and I need to start eating better again.

And by the way, the Nook was supposed to be my reward for going down to 200lbs and I’mplanning on buying it sooner for some reason so my reward system isn’t working for me at all.  I think if it were a sponsor who were rewarding me I would take it more seriously and maybe that’s why I’m plateauing because I’m offering myself rewards.  A reward for losing weightshouldn’t be a thing but more a feeling.  Nah screw that, I want devices.

People Say I’m Full of Bologna

On By Michel McDonaldIn FoodLeave a comment

Sing along with me. My Bologna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R. My Bologna has a second name it’s M-A-Y-E-R. Oh I love to eat it every day and if you ask me why I’ll say. Cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A.

My mother made me bologna sandwiches for lunch nearly every day when I was a kid until I was old enough to make them for myself. We alternated between bologna, ham and pb&j. When I took them to school as my lunch I much prefered the bologna or ham sandwiches as opposed to the pb&j because at least the mayo didn’t soak into the bread like the jelly did but at the same time, mayo shouldn’t be sitting in a lunch box or paper bag for a few hours before you can get to it. It’s a wonder I’m still alive lol.

I wasn’t really that big on the bologna though, I mean I liked it enough that I was eating it but I wasn’t this huge fan. I ate it because that is what was given to me. When I was on my own I never really voluntarily bought it for myself because after so many years of bologna sandwiches several times a week you get sick of it.

Over the last 20 years I’ve been more of a turkey or ham sandwich kind of guy. Occasionally a PB&J will do but not too often anymore since I found out that I was diabetic.

Yesterday I was at the grocery store looking for some lunch meat and I got to thinking, I haven’t had bologna in over 20 years. But, I’m trying to lose weight, should I? I looked carefully at each new type of bologna they had because there are more options now than there were in the last 40 years.

One caught my eye. Oscar Mayer 98% fat-free Bologna made with turkey. WHAT?!?! Turkey is a healthy alternative, a meat that I have been eating a lot of lately along with chicken. The regular bologna is about 170 calories (give or take) but this 98% fat-free bologna with turkey is only 25 calories with 0 grams of fat. Uh sign me up for that action.

The bread that I’ve found is called Nature’s Own and the whole wheat bread is only 50 calories per slice. The Kraft fat-free mayo that I’ve been using is only 15 calories for 1 tbsp which is enough mayo to spread on both slices with some leftover that you can put back in the jar. 1 sandwich is 140 calories with 3.5g of fat. That is not a bad sandwich if I do say so myself. It’s so good, I ate 2 and I didn’t feel one bit of guilt.

The turkey bologna tastes so much better than the original, although I’m not saying the original tasted bad, I liked it but this is better and has way fewer calories and no fat.

The good thing is that it wasn’t expensive either. Usually if something is good for you, it’s going to be expensive. I can’t remember the exact price but it was on sale for a buck and change. Although the regular price was two bucks and change.

So, I guess you could say that I am a bologna person again, as long as they keep making this stuff I’m on board with it.

Brussells Sprouts

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, FoodLeave a comment

Growing up my mother served this vegetable at least once a week.  Brussels Sprouts was a very good idea to give to children to help them get their veggies.  However, my stepdad tainted them for me by calling them “Monkey Balls”.  I didn’t mind the taste of them but the more I thought about the image of monkey testicles in my head the less appealing they were for me.  I would eat them because I had to, I didn’t want to upset mother but at the same time the image in my head was unappealing to me so they became disgusting.

Since I was thrown out onto the streets at the age of 17 I have vowed to never eat them or even think about them again.  Well, it’s been 23 years and I think that I’ve grown enough to get over it.

I didn’t know when they were in season and Albertson’s has had them for a little over a week now so I assume July is their season(?).  I’ve been waiting for them to carry them in the produce (not frozen) section so that I could steam them and last night I finally got that chance.

I posted on my Facebook wall “Cooking a healthy dinner. 4oz boneless skinless chicken breast with 1/2 cup white rice and 3 large Brussels Sprouts. Yum yum.” and got quite a lot of responses.  Nobody ever responds to my wall posts but I guess that one struck a chord.  Apparently people love these balls.  The conversation ended with 20 responses with 2 people “liking” that post.

I discovered in this conversation that it is ok to steam them as long as I keep an eye on them.  I steamed them in the rice cooker with white rice cooking below and the timing was perfect.  When the rice was finished and the steamer button popped to “warming”, the sprouts were finished.  When I cook brown rice and steam veggies, the brown rice takes longer and over steams the veggies so it’s good to know that white rice cooking time is precise.

We only bought 10 sprouts at the store and we each had 3 last night (they were huge) and Darrin loved them so much he ate the rest this morning so we will need to get more.  Although, I don’t want to make this an everyday vegetable, I don’t want to get sick of them too fast.

I have gotten over the name “Monkey Balls” and it’s a good thing because they are only 7 calories per sprout.  Hello!  7 Calories!  That’s awesome.

Free Adult Buffet Meal

On By Michel McDonaldIn FoodLeave a comment

Today is my 1 year anniversary since I signed up with Hometown Buffet through their website.  When I signed up I got a free adult buffet meal and then I got another coupon via email on my birthday and now today I just got another coupon for a free adult buffet meal on my 1 year anniversary.

I just thought I would pass along the savings by giving you this link to sign up with the Hometown Buffet eclub.  That link was given to me in my coupon to email to people but I thought I would do better by posting the link here in my blog for you all instead.  I’m not sure what happens by allowing people to sign up with me as a reference but who knows, I might get more free coupons lol.