Sabotage

In yesterday’s post, I said that I wasn’t so good at healthy cooking. That’s not really true. I can cook healthy food as well as the next person. What I’m not so good at is healthy eating.

The day started great, with a yogurt smoothie, full of mango and strawberries and bananas. Healthy. Off we went to 24 Hour Fitness.

Again, that went very well. We both worked out hard, and felt good that we seemed to perform pretty well considering we had been sick with colds and had only worked out once last week.

After our good workout, we drove to Sprouts Market and got the fixings for a healthy dinner later that evening. Again, good job Kris.

Unfortunately, as we drove home from Sprouts, our car, practically on its own, pulled into the parking lot of the Chicago hot dog place, where the hot dogs are every bit as yummy as any I’ve ever eaten in Chicago, and the fries are better.

There, I’ve said it. Chicago friends, don’t be haters.

Seriously, the French fries are so hot they practically burn the roof of your mouth. Delicious. Worth every calorie. I barely thought about how Weight Watchers tells you not to let yourself get too hungry because that’s when you make bad choices and overeat.

I am really not making light of the fact that I had a not-so-healthy lunch, but I have learned something over the years. Deprivation doesn’t work well for me, especially when it comes to food. I have also learned that if you’re going to eat something that isn’t particularly healthy, then make sure it’s something that tastes really good. And I enjoyed every bite of my hot dog and fries.

Last night, to make up for the hot dog, I fixed some spicy Thai noodles that were simply delicious, and very healthy.

Let’s not talk about the cute little single containers of ice cream that I couldn’t resist buying on sale at 99 cents each. I took a picture

of them next to an artichoke so you can see how small and harmless they really are, and also to show you that I bought something healthy too! Again, the ice cream was worth every bite.

Spicy Thai Noodles

Ingredients
1 lb. spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1-2 T crushed red pepper
¼ c. vegetable oil
½ c. sesame oil
6 T. honey
6 T. soy sauce
½ c. green onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
½ c. cilantro, chopped
¾ c. peanuts, chopped

Process
Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the sesame oil, the vegetable oil, and the crushed red pepper over medium heat in a small pan for two minutes. Watch closely and keep moving the oil around.

After two minutes, strain out the pepper and save the oil. Discard the pepper. Whisk the honey and the soy sauce into the heated oil.

Drain your pasta. Pour the oil mixture into the pasta and toss. It takes a bit of tossing for the pasta to absorb the oil mixture.

Put the pasta into individual bowls, and finish off each bowl with the green onions, cilantro, and peanuts.

Serve warm or cold.

This recipe came from asmallsnippet.com.

Nana’s notes: I cut the recipe in half for my husband and me, and it was the perfect amount. Last night I added frozen raw shrimp to the pasta water during the last three minutes it was cooking and served the noodles topped with the shrimp. In the past, I have used cooked chicken, either leftover or stir-fried. Also, personally, I find sesame oil to be fairly overpowering, so I recommend you really watch the amount of sesame oil you use. For me, less is more.

It’s a pretty dish.