What's on your plate?

[lylysa]

Hello there, ladies and gents!

Keeping in line with all the fun and interactive threads asking about your most recent halls, items you have your eyes on, what you're currently wearing, what's your hair routine, and more, I've decide to branch out and ask:

"What's on your plate?"

The beauty world doesn't just stop at skin care and cosmetics, it also goes hand in hand with your overall health and well-being, so with that, I'm curious to see what we're all chowing down and snacking on be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or inbetween!

For those with apps that help count calories or to those who just want to keep a log, here's a place to share, possibly find and share some recipes, and even tips on maintaining a balanced diet.

Don't just share food items, but even drinks! I'm a huge fan of tea and at least have a cup of green tea a day (anti-oxidants) and drink plenty of water.

For lunch today, I had:

-Brown rice

-Steamed egg

-Steamed red snapper with green onion, sesame oil, and black pepper

-Gai lan (it's a type of Chinese vegetable/greens)

Now, tell me, Beauty Talk world, what do you have? 😄

[Blackwhiskey]

Four big ones left 😉

[DiVWA]

I wish I could feed all my friends who are snowed in some of the soup I made for tonight.

This is ham vegetable soup. It has celery root, rutabega, carrot, onion, leek, garlic and garbanzo beans in it. I roasted the root veggies separately from the broth; the broth contained a bone from leftover maple-syrup-glazed spiral ham. Along with the bone, I added some organic apple cider that I needed to use up to add an interesting dimension to the broth. Later I cut the ham off the bone and added the ham pieces with the roasted veggies and cooked beans to the broth. The broth tasted slightly sweet from the cider, so I balanced the sweetness with a splash of vinegar and a touch of liquid smoke.

[greenchilli]

Brothy ham stew - a perfect meal.  Looks so delicious. 

I now feel like having some Pho.

[RandeeBT]

I always feel like having Pho! Let's have a virtual Pho outing! 😉 

[greenchilli]

We must all have a Pho bonding moment.  There is never a wrong time for Pho. 

: You sick? - Have Pho

: Celebrating a lottery win? - Blow your money on some Pho

: Lipstick bled into your nose - Pho make it all betta

: Your TF lipstick package got delivered to the wrong address?  -go on...eat some Pho and count to 10.

: You discover Santa is not real?  - Pho will make him real again

: You ask someone to guess your age and they guess 4 years older than you are - toss some %#$#!@** Pho at them and they will see the error of their ways.

Disclaimer - don't do any of this.  Except eat it. 

[DiVWA]

Greenchilli, you're right about Pho.

BTW, do you like bubble tea?

[greenchilli]

Diva, I grew up on tea, but am not sure I know bubble tea.  Is that Thai tea?

[michelleshops]

Mmm...Pho(echoing DiVWA).  I'm in!

[DiVWA]

MMM Pho. I love pho!

[jozkid]

You know, the hubs and I were just talking about rutabagas when we were grocery shopping the other day. Neither one of us has ever had one (at least as far as we know) and were wondering what you do with them actually. What do they taste like? What's the best prep method?

BTW, your stew looks yummy. Hubs is prepping a slow-cooker beef stew for dinner as I type this. Perfect for this arctic weather we're suffering! Minus 30 wind chills today. This is just so wrong....

[DiVWA]

Hey Jozkid, slow-cooked beef stew sounds yummy! I love being safely inside with yummy food cooking while the weather is cold and unbearable outside.

Rutabega is a bit of an acquired taste. It's a stronger root veggie. Similar to turnips or parsnips in its unique strong taste. (If that makes sense.) It can be steamed or roasted or probably even sauted. It takes a while to cook, as most dense roots do, so cut or dice accordingly. Be sure to cut off the peel first!

Because it's a stronger tasting root, it's better with other veggies and with meats that can stand up to it. It would be perfect in your beef stew. Pork goes well with it too. Chicken or seafood, not so much because it can overwhelm. Be mindful of what you mix it with too; for example, it wouldn't play nicely with mild veggies (unless you don't care if it's stronger tasting than they are--like celery, it's fine with that) or with strong tasting veggies like asparagus. It plays well with celery root (similar in most respects to rutabega) or turnips or onions, etc. Again, use it in the larger context of having with a stronger meat or where it's with other veggies.

I don't want to make it sound like it tastes yucky or has a taste like beets that takes some getting used to. It's just not a bland veggie. It's worthwhile getting used to using it when it's in season, because it's a great source of nutrients and is a nice change of pace.

[DiVWA]

Happy Valentine's Day! I made lamb-rack chops for my honey. These are French cut type. My plating isn't as nice as usual though...

[greenchilli]

I am waiting for my husband to come back from the ski slopes so we can get some lunch.  But now I am hungry looking at these pictures. 

I need steak so bad...a salad won't cut it.

[jozkid]

What a lovely Valentine's Day dinner! The lamb looks fabulous (and I'm not even a huge lamb fan)!

I have to give major credit to my husband who went outside in an impending blizzard, brushed off about 2 feet of snow off our grill (this is NOT an exaggeration) and grilled steaks for our Valentine's Day dinner. Keeper!

[RandeeBT]

That is so nice of your husband, jozkid! Maybe he was hoping he'd warm himself in front of the bbq! 😛 

[jozkid]

:D! Too funny!

[DiVWA]

Wow your husband is definitely a keeper! [But you already know that!]

I hope the weather warms up for you soon!

[jozkid]

It should... around July. Here's a picture of my car in our driveway. We used it to go grocery shopping on Valentine's Day morning and it was clean then. This is a little over 24 hours later.

We got over another foot of snow again last night and the winds are howling right now. Wind chills below zero. 😞

[RandeeBT]

This is insane! I hope you are staying safe, jozkid. 

[jozkid]

Oh Randee, you have NO idea! No joke, we have piles of snow about 8 feet high on the corners of our property where my husband and the town have put snow. Generally speaking it's about 4-5 feet in most places in our yard. We have more snow than Colorado! The kids can't even go out and play in it. They'd sink and we wouldn't find them again until the thaw! 😄

[RandeeBT]

I hope they are not too sad that they have to stay indoors! At least it's a good time to get caught up on movies and books and drink hot chocolate!