It's the Little Things

We've all had a really good second week start on our "fat2fit" program. My husband and daughter went to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 today. They split a nachos rather than purchase individual treats. It wasn't exactly on the food chart, but hey, they substituted it for both of their snacks today. Brownie points for planning ahead!

I'm working on a big project for school, so sadly, this has been a mostly sedentary day for me. I intend to remedy that in a few minutes. My daughter and the pups are excited to go for our nightly walk. It's funny how quickly the dogs have grown accustomed to our new routine. It's almost as if they know when we go. I'm pretty sure they use the dishwasher as a cue!

Dinner was a hit. I made gluten-free spaghetti and served it with some of the organic squash we received from Absolute Organics on Thursday. I also made a delicious salad from the organic green leaf lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, and scallions they brought. We are so fortunate to have such an outstanding organic resource. Even better - it delivers! I feel the same about our local farm co-op. It's comforting to know that the foods I'm serving my family are free of chemicals and pesticides. I've planned a future blog entry on the importance of reading labels and buying organic. I used to scoff at the idea, but not any more. But that's for another day.

Today, my family filled up on yummy pasta. This may not be a new idea for some of you, but it's one I thought I might share for those of you who add ground beef to your spaghetti sauce. Actually, I also do this when I make tacos. I brown my ground beef with garlic and chopped onions. After it's cooked, I rinse it off in the colander and then in small increments, I put it in my Blendtec and hit pulse several times. You can use your regular blender, food processor, or food chopper. This make your ground beef REALLY fine. Don't pulverize it! You want tiny pieces though. Not only does this help create a lovely texture for your sauce, but it also stretches the amount of meat you need. You will surprised just how far a pound of ground beef can go when it's finely chopped.

I wanted to make this an extra special dinner, so I set the table with candles, put out champagne glasses to be filled with La Croix, and set up my ipod to play Puccini. My family enjoyed the the little details like candles and fancy glasses. However, I'm not so sure they enjoyed my opera music blaring in the background. Actually, I think what they didn't like was when I sang along. Oh well, it's the little things that will always make this meal so memorable.