Messages By: idealw8

Curry Stuffed Peppers 

• 2 whole eggs or 4 whites
• 6 oz lean ground meat (turkey, lamb, beef, etc)
• 2 cups finely diced onion
• 3 cups finely diced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans or canned, rinsed
• 2 1/4 cups finely diced red bell pepper
• 4 green peppers
• 1 1/2 tsps olive oil
• 4 minced garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp "curry" powder
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/8 tsp celery salt or powder
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 1/8 tsp hot sauce, or to taste
• Salt to taste

In nonstick sauté pan, add oil, onion, garlic, mushrooms, beans, and red pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and cool. 

In a mixing bowl, place cooked vegetables, eggs, meat, spices, and hot sauce. Mix well. 

Cut the stem top off green peppers, remove seeds (you may have to trim bottoms to allow peppers to stand upright), and stuff each pepper. Preheat oven and bake in a tightly sealed baking dish at 400 degrees for one hour. Serve immediately 

Chicken with Roasted Vegetable Sauce (2 servings) 

• 6 oz chicken breast
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 1/2 cups spaghetti squash (1 large)
• 2 red peppers, cut in half, seeded
• 2 tomatoes, cut in half
• 4 cloves garlic, wrapped in foil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sprinkle of oregano

Fry chicken, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a non-stick pan. 

Slice squash in 1/2 and place in a microwave-able dish with 1/2 cup of water. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high approx 5 minutes or until squash comes loose. Scrape with a fork and measure out 4 1/2 cups. 

Broil tomato, red pepper, and foil-wrapped garlic on a baking pan until red pepper skin is blackened. Turn over and broil 5 more minutes. Do not turn tomatoes and do not salt at this time. 

Blend (or use a mini-chopper) roasted pepper, tomato, and garlic with balsamic vinegar, oregano, and salt. 

Pour sauce on squash and top with chicken. 

Peach Almond Soufflé (4 Servings) 

This is a French dessert that can be eaten warm out of the oven when still "soufflé" (inflated) or once it has cooled.  It's a little egg-y, but that's okay for special ocasions. 

• 4 egg whites and 4 egg yolks, separated
• 1/3 cup Splenda
• 1 cup pureed fresh peaches (2-3 peaches)
• 3 tblsp of corn starch
• 4 tsp slivered almonds
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 tblsp lemon juice
• 1/2 oz Amaretto
• Non-fat cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray 4 small or one large round oven ramekin. 

In a bowl, beat 4 egg whites with Splenda until stiff peaks form. 

In another bowl, mix all the other ingredients. 

Slowly fold egg whites into the other mixture until well blended, do not over-fold. 

Pour into ramekin(s), bake 25 minutes for 4 small ramekins or 35 minutes if using one large. 

Carefully remove from oven and serve. 

                                                         I am miserable.  

                                                         m i s e r a b l e  

First impression:  It’s the Dr. Phil Game Show! I don’t watch for the set, but I’m sure it’s considered perfectly attention-grabbing and holding by the appropriate media execs. 

Now it's the end of the show:  Quite appropriate considering the jackpot - three breast procedures and 1,000 fabulous prize packages.  Amazing. 

When it comes to appearance, I tend to see people as obese or not. And even those (obvious?) opposites don’t seem that dissimilar. I look at those one thousand women in the audience and find them all perfect. 

I can’t understand reducing someone (or yourself) to “flabby arms” or “big bust.” It seems very ignorant and childish. 

Anorexia is a serious psychological disorder. The victims’ perception of reality and self-expression are clearly psychotic. Their behaviors are dangerous. 

I like to think that if Phil was presenting a full program on anorexia, he’d present a wider variety of images of the disorder. In 2005, certainly for a long while, we know that anorexia can afflict all races, genders, ages, and body-sizes. 

I’m going though one of my ugly, useless phases again. 

I feel much better today, though I am concerned that I haven’t felt that poorly in a while. It’s frightening. 

But that’s a good sign. I used to find that mindset normal - now I recognize it as aberrant. 

I thought today’s Oprah show regarding people who find themselves too ugly to live would be helpful. It’s interesting but they’re discussing a very different disorder. 

~bleh~ 

I am going to start a website soliciting donations for my gym membership. 

Yep, it’s crass, but it‘s silly enough to work. 

It goes without saying, my issues pale in comparison to tens of thousands of displaced people in the Gulf Coast, or any other tragedy currently afflicting this planet. 

But I think via micro-donations through PayPal and the Amazon.com Honor System, this can give me some much needed help and inspiration. 

A year’s membership is simply not in the budget right now and I need to lose weight to function at a better job. 

Pool exercise is vital. 

What could go wrong? (Other than my current, profound feeling of guilt.) 

Monster Mom: I am glad to see Jackie accept the offer for professional help. She is filled with self-hatred and is abusive to herself and others. The actual words or particular topic isn’t that relevant. 

I was shocked by the audience’s initial reactions to her, though. Pots call kettles black because pots know well what the kettle is going through. Watching a love one experience obesity can be quite like watching them walking on cliffs blind-folded or stepping barefoot on broken glass - regardless of your own weight or eating habits. 

Empowerment: It’s blowing my mind to see these boards supporting the empowerment of women. As I recall last year’s discussions were over-run with quite the opposite. Women were divided into two camps - the spectacular, diva, princesses who were therefore always happy and successful and the and the rage-filled, aggressive trolls who’s physical plainness and jealousy made everyone unhappy. 

Getting, or receiving the gift of, breast augmentation doesn’t make you less of an empowered woman. Going without augmentation, aging, and breast feeding doesn’t make you more of one.