Banner

Friday, August 17, 2012

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Pesto & Spinach Pizza



For the past year, we here at the Gibson Abode have been on a special diet.

For instance, we don't cook with beef or pork anymore; which means we eat lots of chicken, turkey, and fish.

We also don't drink sodas, eat fried foods, or purchase white bread.

In the past few months, we've slacked off a bit, partaking in steak, hamburgers, fried pork chops {which is a double no-no, since it's PORK and FRIED!}, and we've been ordering pizza from Papa John's {we can't help ourselves-- better ingredients, better prices, better pizza....}.

But this week we were again reminded of what we should be eating. Colt's hepatologist sent us some test results which showed us what swaying from this diet can do-- nothing too drastic, but it definitely made a difference with Colt's liver enzyme count! So we're back at it-- back on the horse, or the wagon, or whatever you're supposed to ride to dedicate yourself to a cause.

As a part of changing our diet, I-- as the cook of the house-- needed to take another look at what I have been cooking lately.

For the most part, I stick to the diet pretty well with the things I buy. For one, I only buy whole wheat bread/tortillas/noodles/etc. In recent months, Colt requested we switch back to white noodles... but alas, I have restocked the whole wheat in the pantry. I also never buy beef. Why would I? We can't eat it. I do admit, however, I have purchased pork sausage a few times. :-X

One thing that I wanted to replace in my meal planning was our Friday night pizza.

Let me start by saying, the Gibsons love pizza.

Colt loves a supreme pizza with cheesy crust; I love a thin crust with pepperoni, white onion, green olives, and extra cheese; and Wyatt loves any kind of pizza we'll let him stuff in his tiny mouth.

So on Sunday night when Colt and I sat up late watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition, featuring a great guy named Jonathan who loses an amazing 266 lbs in one year, I took note when the dietician showed Jonathan and host Chris how to make a healthier pizza.

I changed the recipe a bit, adding spinach, but I think I kept the whole basic recipe's integrity! So here it is:


 
Ingredients
Cal.
Fat (g)
Protein (g)
Fiber (g)
2 Whole Wheat Tortillas
340
8
10
6
4 tbsp. Basil/Pesto Pasta
120
11
1.5
½
1 Whole Tomato
22
0.2
1.1
1 ½
2 c. Spinach
20
0
2
2
¼ c. shredded cheese
90
6
7
0
Total calories for two people to share!
592




That’s 296 calories for one person!!

And here are the steps for creating your own Pesto & Spinach Pizza:

 
1.   Preheat oven to 425˚! Place the two tortillas onto a nonstick bake sheet; spread your basil & pesto sauce across both.
2.   Sliced into 8ths, place your tomato slices onto the tortillas.
3.   Add fresh spinach {I find that rolling the spinach, then tearing pinches off makes it a nice, eatable size!)
4.   Top with cheese! {Keep in mind that cheese goes a long way once it’s melted down—so even though ¼ c. for two tortillas doesn’t seem like a lot to us cheese lovers, it actually does a great job covering the entire pizza!}
5.  Pop into the oven. Let bake until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are beginning to turn gold-brown along the edges)
6.   Slice each pizza into 4ths and serve!

I hope you enjoy this pizza recipe as much as I did! Sadly, the hubs was working late the night I made this dish for the first time, so the jury is still out on whether or not it will be added into weekly rotation. But I can definitely say that Wyatt and I enjoyed it!!

|MrsG

Monday, August 6, 2012

It was a quiet afternoon...


And then I smelled vomit.


Just another day with WL... :-)









|MrsG

Friday, August 3, 2012

10 months already?!

Ten months ago, I was in active labor with my WL. That day, I was scared of so many things.

Would childbirth be the most terrifying thing I've ever or will ever experience?

Will this baby change my husband's and my life into something horrible?

Will I be a good mother?

Then I met our little guy, and of course he was perfect.

When he went into the NICU a day and a half later, I was completely blindsided. I had given birth to a healthy baby boy, not one that would need NICU services, and definitely not one labeled "premature" at 36 weeks 5 days. My doctor had broke my water for Pete's sake!

I prayed so hard those 9 days. I prayed he would keep growing. I prayed he would grow big and strong. I prayed that he would live up to his name {brave, strong, and hardy}.

And then he was finally released from the hospital.

We went home.

He learned to hold his head up.

He began sleeping through the night.

He sat up.

He rolled over.

He said, "Dadda."

He crawled.

He babbled.

He pulled to standing.

He stood.

And before I knew, I glanced at the calendar today and realized that I don't have an infant anymore. That's long gone. I have a 10 month old!


Ten months ago, I was terrified of so many things about becoming a parent.

Now, after that stretch of time, I've realized the most terrible, horrible thing about actually being a parent is this:

You pray they will grow up; then they do.

|MrsG