Elephants in the Oatmeal.....

Dreams often feel so real and yet they can be total nonsense. We often dream of things that scare us or bother us, mixed with things we see on TV or on the internet. Maybe it's something we read, or heard about from someone else that conjured up images in our minds that return in the night. I wonder if snoring has an effect on what you dream or are the dreams caused by the snoring? As in the Christmas Carol as Scrooge is talking to the ghost of Christmas past he says, "You could be a bit of undigested roast beef, or mustard."
Last night and early this morning the windows rattled from the sound of my dear hubby's snoring as he dreamed of elephants in Utah. He lost his elephant and was out to find it, but ran into his wife (not me) who had been in a car accident and let the guy go even though it was his fault. Hubby says he reamed this woman out unlike anything he would do to me. Snoring, fajitas, or what?
So I tortured my hubby this morning was oatmeal and steel cut oats made with a smidge of peach preserves and a handful of walnuts. Topped with about a teaspoon of maple syrup and then low fat milk, it was actually quite good. Part of the heart healthy diet we are trying maintain for my husbands health. I thanked him for not being a brat about the oatmeal as it's not his favorite, and his comment was, "Thanks, my heart feels better already" ....lol. I'm glad he can find the humor in this, but then I get a call a moment ago where he tells me he will be stopping for a burger on his way home from meetings in town and I say no! He asks about a fish sandwich and of course I have to nix that, to which he says, "I will work it out". He was in a good humor, but I wonder how long that will last as I keep having to say no. He's trying though. We had chicken fajitas last night and he agreed to corn tortillas warmed up over a burner as opposed to flour tortillas. Tonight we will be having leftover Fajita stuff. I wonder if he will be dreaming of elephants in the oatmeal....

Foodie Friday

Okay, so we were coming through Spanish Fork canyon on our way back from seeing Annie at school the other day. The snow was coming down but it was rather warm out so the roads were slushy and slippery. I'm white knuckling it as I try to read scriptures to my hubby for Sunday school. His cell phone rings and he decides to answer it as it's the doctors office. He stops, almost in the lane of traffic as he listens to test results. I'm poking him and hissing, "get off the road, GET OFF THE ROAD!" He kept brushing my hand away as I'm seeing cars and trucks including huge semis' bearing down on us in the rear view mirror. Then I see flashing lights as a trooper pulls up behind us having seen our situation and the flashers we had set. He asks if all is okay and I tell him that Kent's doctor is on the phone so we pulled off so he wasn't trying to drive and talk at the same time. The trooper yells that we are still out in the road so Kent moves. The trooper leaves, yay? and then the phone call finally ends. I'm chewing on my tongue, not wanting to yell, but already stressed out of my mind about sitting there like a target on an icy road. I behaved myself and found out that the news wasn't as good as hubby had hoped.
It looks like we will be making some changes to our lifestyle, as in getting Kent on a real exercise program and looking for heart healthy recipes. That's easy for me as I really love good tasting healthy food. Kent calls it trendy yuppie food, but he will have to give up the meatloaf and gravy made the old fashioned way if he wants to stick around for a few more years. I checked with his doctor as Kent said his cholesterol levels were fine. I know his doctor hasn't seen what he eats when we go out so I called to find out what the diagnosis meant. Also what about diet? So now I get to be the food nazi, which I'm so good at...hehee!
I found a very tasty looking recipe at RealAge that was provided by Eating Well magazine, which I love, so I thought I would share it with you. We love Salmon, which is loaded with omega 3 fatty acids among other good for you things. As soon as Kent gets back from DC we will be trying this one. I hope you will as well and let me know what you think!

Grilled Salmon with North African Flavors

Our version of the classic North African herb paste known as chermoula serves as both a marinade and a sauce for this richly flavored salmon. If it is too cool to grill outdoors, you can roast the salmon at 450°F for 12 to 15 minutes.
Nutritional Information
(per serving)
Calories 229
Total Fat 14g
Saturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 67mg
Sodium 134mg
Total Carbohydrate 1g
Dietary Fiber --
Sugars --
Protein 23g
Calcium 0
Serves: 4 Edit
Total Time: 45 min
Ingredients
U.S. Metric Conversion chart
1/4 cup(s) low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt
1/4 cup(s) chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup(s) chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoon(s) lemon juice
1 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
3 clove(s) garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) paprika
1 teaspoon(s) ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper , to taste
1 pound(s) center-cut salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions (see Tip)
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Directions
Stir together yogurt, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup for sauce; cover and refrigerate. Place salmon fillets in a large sealable plastic bag. Pour in the remaining herb mixture, seal the bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes, turning the bag over once.
Meanwhile, preheat grill to medium-high.
Oil the grill rack (see Tip). Remove the salmon from the marinade, blotting any excess. Grill the salmon until browned and opaque in the center, 4 to 6 minutes per side. To serve, top each piece with a dollop of the reserved sauce and garnish with lemon wedges.

Running....a wonderful addiction

Yesterday morning as I was out running I heard the "talkie" on the radio share a news blurb about how there's been an increase in depression among people who went to see the movie "Avatar". Because of the vision of how life could be in this fantasy world of Avatar, people I guess took the movie way too seriously.
So this morning the same "talkie" was mulling over the over abundance if you will, of Americans who suffer from depression. His take was that we have turned into a bunch of soft pansies and can't deal with anything. Of course he was railing on the few who really do need to get a life, but there are medical reasons at times for depression and those shouldn't be discounted.
I had a problem with being severely stressed when I was married to my ex. I won't go into details as it doesn't really matter anymore, but I did go see my OB/GYN doctor because I thought I was having terrible PMS. He suggested I change my diet, and exercise, but he did give me tranquilizers as well to calm me when I felt out of hand. I decided to follow the first two things on his list, exercise and diet, and wow what a difference! I never did take the tranquilizers, but I lost 25 lbs, and gained a new found confidence in what I was capable of. My main form of exercise? Running, which is no easy task when it's umpteen below zero, but I would put on tights, and knee high socks and thick fleece jogging pants, a turtle neck, a sweatshirt and a fleece jacket as well as my ski head band and face scarf and off I would go, running around our .6 mile circle until I hit 3 miles. That was almost 20 years ago, and I still love to run, even though I haven't been as consistent as I should be. The chiropractor would have heart failure, but I'm sorry it works for me and doesn't hurt me anymore than any other exercise does. For me, running is my only and favorite addiction. Here's something I found on running if you have been thinking about an exercise program. Oh, and for the record, I lost 15 lbs last year by adding running to my exercise routine.
Running is very good for your health. It provides a great cardiovascular workout, strengthens and tones your muscles. Regular jogging gives better overall physical condition as well as some other health benefits, including mental benefits such as relaxation and reduction of anxiety.

Regular running and jogging is a good way to improve your health and fitness. Many people are concerned about long term damage to joints such as knees, ankles and hips, as a result of running. However, with good quality running shoes and a sensible approach, the risks are minimal, and the benefits of being fitter outweigh those possible risks. There are several beneficial effects of starting a running routine:

Read more: http://www.motleyhealth.com/articles/2008/10/health-benefits-of-jogging-and-running.html#ixzz0cYYgm4yI

Have a great day, and happy running!