The KitschenBitsch

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Chocolate Covered Spinach: The Other Milkshake… err… something

Summer’s here and the time is right for dancin’  in the street drinking creamy, frosty beverages. Seriously, it’s wet-blanket, poor air quality, crap-I-developed-asthma hot and humid down here. It’s gross, and I’m trying not to eat my weight in ice cream as I do every summer. I was not made for heat. I was made for cool, crisp autumn days and warm baked goods.

When avoiding massive amounts of ice cream, smoothies are an option. I’ve talked to you all before about how much I LOVE green smoothies, how they reduce cravings, help Mr. B lose weight, are portable, etc., etc., etc.

Well, a couple months ago I experienced extreme smoothie burnout. I drank essentially the same stuff every day for ages, and my belly and my tastebuds were OVER it.  Then, I took a summer job that has me on campus all day, going straight from campus to the gym most days. I’ve cut waaaay back on animal products which is great, but it often means that my tummy gets a bit rumbly three or four hours after I eat. Also, I need a tiny caffeine hit in the afternoon, and I ALWAYS crave a chocolate chaser after eating super-healthy food. Combine this with actively reducing my refined sugar consumption, and we have a problem.

I’m not a problem-haver; I’m a solution-finder. I knew that a delicious “milkshake” could be made by merging frozen banana, peanut butter, and chocolate. My favorite smoothie back in the day at Planet Smoothie was the Frozen Goat, a meeting of chocolate, peanut butter, coffee, and banana. With these concepts, a new idea was born.

If you make the smoothies for immediate drinking, toss in some ice cubes or freeze your banana first for a thick, frosty delight. Another great tip is to freeze your leftover coffee in ice cube trays. It will keep your iced coffee from getting watered down, and the cubes are great to use in this smoothie or in at-home blended coffee drinks, saving you $4 at That Coffee Store.  Dates can also be used as a natural sweetener. I plan to try my hand at date syrup in the near future. Feel free to change it up and let me know in the comments if you have any successful combos.

This shake is an excellent pre- or post-workout treat, and it’s been keeping my milkshake cravings at bay for quite awhile now.

Alternative Chocolate Milkshake (no, not really the Pearl Jam of milkshakes… sorry)

For two servings (16 oz each, about one liter total), toss into the blender:

Two big handfuls washed spinach (I prefer organic baby spinach because I’m inadvertently becoming a giant hippie)

Two bananas

1-2 tablespoons peanut butter (depending on your calorie/protein needs)

Optional: 2 tablespoons-1/4 cup oatmeal (depending on how much “sticking power” you need)

1-2 tablespoons of cocoa

½-3/4 c. coffee

½-1 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Splash of vanilla

Optional: 1 tsp. sweetener of your choice – I’ve used agave and maple syrup and usually my bananas are sweet enough to go without it, unless I put in too much coffee and/or cocoa, making it bitter

Pulverize until smooth. Pour into lidded vessels of your choice and refrigerate until consumption. The oatmeal will cause the mixture to thicken overnight, and you may notice some separation. I store mine in two pint-sized mason jars so that I can shake them before drinking, and I like drinking out of glass containers. It’s one of my classier traits (though of course, I drink my beer straight from the glass bottle in restaurants and on planes, horrifying servers and probably embarrassing the shit out of Mr. B).

No Comments by TheBitsch on June 24, 2010
filed in Recipes
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Cleaning up the Kitschen

*Vacuums cobwebs* Hi there.*sneeze*

So, I guess you’ve figured out that whole “summer off” thing didn’t pan out. I’m such a fool for thinking it would. I’m tremendously bummed that my much-needed break isn’t going to pan out, but I’m glad to be getting the money and to be getting experience in another job.

I was asked at the last minute to stand in for a coworker on maternity leave, so my plans have been thrown out, clearly. I’m only working four days a week, but those four days come with a long commute, a hefty chunk of time at the gym, and then on my days off I’m just trying to catch up. Maybe next summer I’ll get to that list of 30 Before 30. This summer, I’m not even going to get out of state, let alone across the country.

So what’s been going on? Welll….

I went with Mr. B to Biltmore again.

I went to Salt Lake City with Black Witch to see Blonde Witch and her little Red Witchling.

I spent a weekend at the coast watching Mr. B catch and release sharks.

I had a Beauticontrol spa party which only my mother and one friend came to, and I was so exhausted that I served all storebought food – blasphemy in my own house.

We joined a really awesome gym and go most days of the week. It’s taking up a lot of time, but totally worth it.

During the week, Mr. B cooks and I take frozen Amy’s entrees and smoothies to work, and I’ve been 85% vegan for the last few weeks. Crazy.

The good news? I’ve got a backlog of posts that I’m trying to turn out, and I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ll be able to resume regular blogging in a couple weeks once we finish a little more work on our house.

Thanks for hanging around, and the Bitsch will be back in posthaste.

Xoxo,

KB

No Comments by TheBitsch on June 24, 2010
filed in Musings

/Semester

My semester is over. I haven’t processed this because so much has happened in the last 24 hours, and I’m preparing to go see the cutest redheaded teacup human ever and try to find a way to spoil her mom a bit.

I’ve been gone so much that nothing has happened around this here blog, and I’m sorry about that. Soon I’ll be in the midst of two glorious months off, and three glorious months of not teaching to recharge my rundown batteries. Of course, you’ll be hearing much from me in that time as I cover my garden (and its inevitable demise), my home projects, recipe developments, and a fabulous hat brunch. I think I’ve cooked twice in the last month. Aside from taking time to make a wee wedding cake (yes, I’ll be posting it!), I’ve been spending my free time sleeping and trying to get out of town a bit.

To tide  you over, Seth of Americano To Go! was featured in an article about DC’s Chinatown Coffee. Go check it out, and wander over to his blog for a little vicarious living and Mr. Wizard-esque approach to coffee. The man can make an insurance brochure interesting.

Back soon, y’all.

No Comments by TheBitsch on May 11, 2010
filed in Musings

Hi there

No, I did NOT run off to join the circus, though that whole aerialist thing is rather appealing right now (as is an excuse to dye my hair in hues typically reserved for crayons and to have a legitimate excuse to wear rhinestones). I’ve just been abso-freaking-lutely exhausted. And I found out why yesterday — seems I wasn’t breathing correctly.

Yeah, I know, it’s pretty simple, so simple that we aren’t supposed to think about it. Hee. Well, apparently my lungs effing hate pollen. I convinced myself I had lung cancer after running out of breath trying to tell my students about an assignment. I hightailed it to urgent care as soon as I got off work. They then sent me upstairs, and after three hours of waiting and a nebulizer (I wish I’d known that was going to make 80% of my body numb — that was interesting), we determined that my lungs hate pollen and that my airway is thus restricted. (For those of you not lucky enough to live in good ol’ NC, our pollen counts are triple to fiple what they usually are. And yes, I made up fiple, but it means quintuple.)

I received two types of inhalers and learned that this condition is also why my neck and shoulders have hurt so much; all those muscles have been working overtime trying to get my lungs to take in air. This also explains some of the stupid crap I’ve done in the last month — not enough oxygen getting to my brain. (Ok, that’s not really true, but I like it as a theory.)

All this is to say that I’m sorry I went away, and I’ll be back soon. I’ve got photos to edit and entries to write, but I haven’t cooked much of anything for two whole weeks. I did make these luscious beauties — even if you don’t like citrus, try them. The Kitchn’s Lemon Sticky Rolls are amazing, outstanding, and they were my first attempt at a yeast roll and they came out perfectly. If that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what on earth is. They were perfect for my exhausted state — mix, lie down an hour, make into rolls, lie down an hour, bake, lie down for thirty minutes, eat. You can also make them up the day before and let them do their second rise (which we called The Ascension in honor of the Easter holiday) in the fridge overnight, thus making them perfect for brunch.

Did you have anything delicious to eat for Easter? Mom made her fabulous coconut cake, and I gorged on it as I do every Easter. I’d love to hear what you beasted upon!

No Comments by TheBitsch on April 9, 2010
filed in Musings

Take a Gander

…but don’t steal a goose.

Stuff you should check out:

Sally of Aprovechar has a new blog chronicling her attempt to make and create 60 recipes in 60 days. Sally is a great resource for allergen-free cooking, especially soy, gluten, casein free, along with some others I can’t remember. As a bonus, her new blog is probably the prettiest one I’ve ever seen. I keep wandering over to it and gazing and wondering if I’ll ever be able to make a pretty blog myself without going to tug on Mr. B’s shirt and saying, “Boyfriend. Can you…” or writing someone a large check.

Kris and Leigh of Cheap Healthy Good have a piece on CNN.com, and Kris and her Husband-Elect (her phrase, though I wish I’d been smart and quick enough to coin that) are going to be on the CBS Early Show. How awesome is that?

Debbie at Words to Eat By has many fabulous recipes for passover. (Sidenote: I made her chocolate chip cookies this week, and it’s the first time in the history of the world that I have made good chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Post and photographic evidence forthcoming.) This lovely lady is also working on a cookbook that helps parents of small kids manage their cooking during naptime spurts of activity. I bet it would also be effective for childless people with ADD… hmmm…

My beloved Blonde Witch posted a compelling piece about body image and her daughter, Bonecrusher Moonpie, who is waiting in the wings.

No Comments by TheBitsch on March 27, 2010
filed in Musings

Egg Salad

I have never been much of a fan of egg salad, or hard-boiled eggs, or even eggs, really. Eggs are something I want rarely and in rather small quantities.

However, eggs are little protein-powerhouses and have built-in portion control, and most dudes I know love eggs, especially boiled ones, and especially especially deviled ones. The man I share my heart and space with is no exception. Thus, I give you (and him) egg salad — he has been eating egg salad sammiches for lunch for the last week, and has been digging them. I recommend toasted whole wheat or rye bread as your delivery device, and as always, jack with the quantities — these are guidelines. Make the salad yours. My version is very savory and heady with lots of herbs and spices (actually more than I’ve posted here — I think we burned our palates off with years of strong coffee, cheap alcohol, and cigarettes (in other words, college) and they’re still recovering). As a rule of thumb, start with a little and add more, and remember that if you’re refrigerating it, the flavors will get stronger on the second day.

Ingredients:

6 boiled, cooled, peeled eggs

mayo

2 tsp prepared mustard

1-2 tsp dried dill (knock yourself out if you’ve got fresh on hand)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (fresh garlic is really strong in this dish — if you make egg salad with a dozen eggs, you can add a wee bit of fresh)

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1 Tbsp dill pickle relish

salt

fresh ground pepper

optional additions: diced olives, pimientos, celery, rosemary, tarragon, onion

Method

Rinse eggs until free of all shell debris. Mash the eggs with a fork until your desired consistency (you may dice them, but it’s egg salad — it’s going under bread, so who cares?) has been reached. Add mayo, starting with about three tablespoons. Stir in the rest of your ingredients. Add in more mayo or some dill pickle juice if the mixture is too dry. Refrigerate to let flavors meld, or add bread and lettuce and feed directly to your significant other.

(Oh? A picture? Good question. I can’t find the pictures I took. Don’t worry, egg salad is naturally hideous looking, which is probably why people started hiding it in bread.)

No Comments by TheBitsch on March 26, 2010
filed in Recipes
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Challenge Wrap-up

So that was a hot mess, no?

I kind of gave up/gave in this last week — Mr. B got into the swing of cooking dinner for me while I worked late and was eaten alive by an all-consuming tired. It’s been a week of forcing myself through dance classes I enjoy but can’t bear because I am SO tired and leaden-feeling. He’s done the lion’s share of cooking and cleaning while I’ve been coming home and collapsing for long sleeps that never seem to make me feel better. Allergies? Low iron? Cancer? Aliens? Who knows. I think I’m just ready for Easter Break.

The Totals

Three weeks of accountability at approximately $85/week for groceries and 2.5 restaurant meals per week

Conclusion — we are some spoiled, indulgent mofos. Kidding.

Lessons Learned:

1. A challenge should last two weeks, tops.

2. A challenge shows you that you can do anything, but you can do it a lot better if there is a definite end in site.

3. A clean, uncluttered kitchen and good tools make us happy to cook at home. I overhauled our kitchen last Sunday, and Mr. B excitedly cooked on both Monday and Tuesday nights, and did not want to go out to dinner for over a week. Success!

4. Egg salad and pimiento cheese are amazingly economical and filling.

5. As long as Mr. B and I are in the cooking and grocery game of life together, a meal plan will never be stuck to in this house. Our best defense is going to be a well-stocked freezer so that there are choices — this well-stocked freezer will be a summer project of mine.

6. We are tired. We work weird hours. Going out to dinner saves our sanity from time to time, and gives us time to talk to each other outside the house, which is amazingly good for us both.

7. We are thankful that we CAN spend this much money on food. We enjoy cooking and eating good, real food. We buy some organics (not as much as we should) and make most everything at home from scratch (even pasta now!). We are both short on time, but we have time to cook and shop and the money with which to do so. Three years ago, Mr. B ate mostly packaged/processed/fast/restaurant food. Now he makes fresh pasta. Five years ago, I stopped at Taco Bell when I worked until 9 at night. Now Taco Bell makes me nauseous and I eat an apple and sandwich to hold me until I can come home and eat something real.

8. My body will thwart my attempts at budgeting.

Am I giving up? No. $3-400 a month on food is too much for us to spend, end of story. Yes, theoretically, we can afford it. We don’t have too many dietary restrictions (I have to go easy on meat and dairy, which actually saves us money more often than not). We need to get a handle on how much we eat out, and we have since I cleaned up and reorganized the kitchen. This past week, we didn’t eat out at all, whereas in other weeks we went out two or three times.

I’ll be revisiting this challenge over the summer. I’m getting ready to start seeds (a bit late, yes) for a small garden. I’ll be home in June and able to focus on getting the hang of this whole Householding for Two thing. We’ll get a freezer and I’ll be able to cook double batches of dinners to feed us when we’re both overworked and exhausted.

Good Results

1. We did not waste much food. I had some kale and cilantro go bad, and I think there’s still some egg salad in the fridge I have to toss.

2. Mr. B has been eating less meat but staying fairly satisfied.

3. Less packaging has been tossed — we’ve eaten more fresh foods, and with making so much food from scratch, there’s much less waste in the trashcan.

4. The combination of the challenge and my dodgy body took a couple pounds off me.

5. I’ve started making grocery lists and using coupons (for staples) very judiciously.

6. I discovered that vinegar will clean almost everything and I may never have to buy commercial spray cleansers again.

7. Mr. B will now use a hand towel instead of wads of paper towels! We got through the month on a roll and a half of paper towels! Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!

8. We both pay more attention to sales, what we have on hand, and to what our bodies are asking for.

In sum, the challenge did not go as I wanted, but I learned a lot for the future, and about how we deal with money and food. These lessons were enough for me. As I mentioned, I’ll revisit this, probably in May or June, not in a challenge format, but just as a method of keeping track. Building good habits surrounding grocery spending and cooking while I’m off in the summer should make the coming year easier.

3 Comments by TheBitsch on March 26, 2010
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And then…

Purchases

Costco ~$1.50(Half and half)

Fresh Market ~ $9 (three sausages and veggie kebabs)

Kroger ~ $4 (AP flour * cilantro * lemons)

Thursday

Breakfast: Banana and peanut butter

Lunch: Oatmeal

Dinner: Mr. B dragged me out the door to PeiWei while I offered to make him pimiento cheese for dinner. Ploy to not go out to dinner so much — not successful

Friday

Breakfast: Banana and peanut butter

Lunch: Leftovers from Pei Wei

Dinner: Pimiento cheese and cucumber sandwiches

Saturday

Breakfast: Breugger’s with Mr. B’s dad

Lunch: Cucumber sandwich

Dinner: Numerous beers and a sausage

Our schedules have been erratic and the process of trying to clean the kitchen and organize the house have kept us from planning and pre-cooking as I’d like. Adding to this has been my ever-unpredictable belly; you’ve probably noticed that my daily green smoothie habit vanished this week (along with a good chunk of my appetite).  As we enter this final week, I’m not worrying about it. I’m going to tabulate on Friday and discuss what we’ve learned.  And maybe, just maybe, I’ll finish cleaning the kitchen today and get some damn recipes posted. You know, cause that is what I’m here to do…

1 Comment by TheBitsch on March 21, 2010
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Onward!

Purchases

Costco~$12 (3 lbs cottage cheese * 3 18 oz containers Duke’s mayo [the egg salad/pimiento cheese habit has gotten out of hand] * paprika)

Harris Teeter~$11 (1 gallon Almond Breeze (cheap and had dollar off coupons!) * 4 cans Campbell’s Select Harvest (BOGO!) *  bananas * strawberries ($1.50/lb!))

Kroger ~$20 (2 lbs cottage cheese [4 half-pound containers on mgr special for .45 each!] * mozzarella [mgr special 1.99 -- fresh, half pound] * pound cheese (the good stuff was on sale at less than half the usual price) * cage-free organic eggs  [mgr special $1!] * all natural bread [half off] * pimientos [yeah, they were on sale too] * cabbage [30 cents!] * apples [$1/lb!] * 2 slices of cake on mgr special at $1 each [having a sugar fit])

Tonight was a visit with the grocery gods for sure. We had no plan except to go use coupons for the new Harris Teeter. Unfortunately, Harris Teeter is the most expensive grocery store in our area. Kroger is much cheaper, and Food Lion is even cheaper than Kroger on most items with a few notable exceptions. Kroger is right by our house and has a great selection, so we usually shop there.

Stuff at Harris Teeter was so expensive that we couldn’t even get to the $40 minimum to use the coupon — neither of us could bear to spend that much money on groceries there. The produce section was beautiful and bountiful, but it was mostly quite expensive. I stocked up on Almond Breeze to due to the lower price there and the coupons, and we headed on to Kroger with no plan for the week.

It was a manager’s special bonanza. I don’t eat much dairy these days, but since Mr. B has cut back on fat and meat, dairy and eggs are his proteins of choice, and boy did we luck out. When all was said and done, my groceries at Kroger and Harris Teeter were half price tonight — and you can’t beat that. I still have some restocking to do around here, but it will probably be the weekend before I get to it because this week has not been conducive to cooking.

Tuesday

Breakfast

Me: Peanut butter and banana

Lunch

Me: Strawberry oatmeal

Dinner

We both went to a sports bar up the street to watch the NC State NIT game. I had chicken pastry with stewed tomatoes and green beans (one of the healthier choices) and Mr. B got the beef tips. Good dinner, and a good game.

Wednesday

Breakfast

Me: Green smoothie. It was not that good. I really need to switch up my smoothie ingredients — spinach/apple/banana + other fruit is getting old

Lunch

Me: Oatmeal, small veggie sub

Pre-bellydance snack

Oatmeal (my stomach was out of whack for days and now that it seems to be working again, I am starving and craving sugar and carbs)

Dinner

Cucumber sandwich and a can of Select Harvest veggie soup and some manager special cake

I’ve got much to do before I go to bed, and I should have been in bed an hour ago. When on earth will I get these recipes done for you? I don’t know. But I’m working on it! :)

Will KB’s debit card melt at the grocery store? Will Mr. B have adverse affects from overconsumption of cottage cheese? Will KB give up green smoothies and start eating spinach salad for breakfast? Stay tuned…

4 Comments by TheBitsch on March 17, 2010
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Challenge, Week 3!

Sorry, I got a little sucked in by basketball and family and friends this weekend. So, hey there!

Let’s see… need to catch up.

Friday

Breakfast

Me & Mr. B: Green Smoothies

Lunch

Me & Mr. B: Cucumber-dill pasta salad

Dinner

Mr. B roasted eggplant, asparagus, potatoes, and onions for us. Yum.

Saturday

Breakfast:

Me: Green smoothie

Lunch

Me: Had lunch with Mom, Cousin and my Aunt at The Pit. That place is badass. They know barbecue, sides, and dessert, and I’m a connes, conna, expert on such items. It was much fun.

Dinner

We had ribs at a friend’s house. Mr. B can flat cook ribs. We also had pear-brie tarts, baked beans, and pie!

Sunday

Breakfast

Me and Mr. B: Green smoothies

Lunch

We split a shrimp plate at the farmer’s market

Dinner

Customary Sunday night old people dinner at Sweet Tomatoes.

Monday

Breakfast

Meh. My stomach has been unhappy.

Lunch

PB and bread

Second Lunch

Half veggie sub, half apple

After work

Strawberry Oatmeal, and debating on seconds. I think my tummy is starting to want food again.

Mr. B has eaten leftovers today.

******************************************

Holy moly. So that’s the last few days in food here at the Bitsch household. We’ll be making a grocery run tomorrow and I’ll run the totals so far, and maybe finally get those recipes posted. I had them slated to do last night, but an angry belly does not for good food writing make. Also, I’ll be posting about Apartment Therapy’s Kitchen Cure. I started late, but I’m documenting the process and will be carrying it much longer than the month they suggest. I’m also coming up with some tips as I move along, and can’t wait to see what input you all will have.

I’ll be back in the swing soon… for now, I’m all bitsched out.

No Comments by TheBitsch on March 15, 2010
filed in Challenge

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