Frimp Cabobs!

So my almost 3 year old son still calls shrimp `frimp`, I think that is the cutest thing ever.  I so I don`t correct him.  Tonight I marinated some shrimp in lemon juice, oregano, dijon mustard and some broth from a soup I made.  Then skewed them red peppers, cherry tomatoes and broccoli (stems and flowers).  So good!  Oh and the best part was the drizzle of garlic and hot pepper infused flax seed oil, after grilling of course!  (I wouldn't want to lose any of the healthy EFA's to the heat)

I love love love this new find!!!  I got it at organic garage in Oakville!  13$ - I normally keep my flax seed oil in the freezer, but I think I will use this up so fast so it's staying in my fridge!

Garden Herb Salmon with mango salsa.

So I love fish!  I haven't always loved fish, probably because when I was a kid my dad always caught it and we were served it for breakfast, lunch and diner!  (not everyday, but you know... on fishing trips and camping)  Eventually I moved out and realized that when I bought fish... Yikes it was expensive, so now it's a treat for me!  I love fish!  I've been eating less and less meat these days but then suddenly I need an oily addition to my diet.  Enter salmon!!!  super duper oily, good fats of course!  Yay for EFA's.  I was inspired by my garden herbs to season everything. 

Top right corner is my summer savory, which has a bit of a black licorice flavour.   I also used the parsley (bottom middle) in my salsa, mostly because my cilantro is from seed and is still considered a "baby" in my garden and won't get "picked on" for a few more weeks! (you can see a tiny bit of it in the very bottom right corner of the picture)

Here is my dill growing like weeds everywhere, even in the grass this year.  My fault!!! at the end of last year's season I just shook out the seeds and they must have gone everywhere!!! 

Terrible picture but I also have green onion growing and chives which I also used in the salsa.

Mango Salsa

Half a mango cubed

Couple inches of cucumber cubed

Parsley, green onion, chives all chopped up

Squeezed lemon juice (about 1/3 of a lemon) however just use it to the taste you like!

Grilled Salmon Directions

Chop savory and dill, rub on salmon.  Coat salmon and herbs with oil (I used a grain oil). Grill on very hot BBQ for a couple of minutes each side. Depending on the thickness, but I find that if you sear the outside the flesh will keep cooking but will be wonderfully moist not dried out!  I grilled my asparagus at the same time.  I did not coat them in anything when they were on the grill only after they came off did I drizzle them with olive oil mixed with garlic!

Ha ha, I did make two pieces of salmon but if you ask my brother, he will tell you that I made him give me part of his too!  I think I ate 6$ worth of salmon...  Again special treat for me, to be sure!

Cooler 1 preperation: a lesson on GOOD FAT!!!!

Well this is the third times since having the baby that I'm getting ready Sunday night for the big "cooler 1" event.  And hopefully the last in a long while.  I really can't live without berries and peanut butter.  I could easily live without GF bread/buns, corn products and rice chips.  But it's the nuts that I miss the most.  It's funny today someone mentioned to me that they thought I was a vegetarian.  Ha ha, I giggled because last night was my big date night with Mark and I had a 9oz steak with a plate of steamed veggies. "Steak!!! medium rare please!!!"  Red meat is a special treat, mostly because of all the fats it contains, not the good kind of fats.

 I am always consuming fats while on my "strict" diet plan, but those are used to increase my body's metabolism.  Did you know "good fats" (EFA's = essential fatty acids) cannot be produced by our body so we need to get them through food.  You've all heard of omega 3 and omega 6, well these are the two types of EFA's that contribute to fat loss.  Here's why: "Both types of EFAs are required for the production of the eicosanoids – hormones that are responsible for regulating the major body functions, including digestion, insulin production and the storage of fat."

So here's the thing...  insulin is KEY in weight loss.  You do not want your body to produce insulin (in excess) because it will promote fat storage, we want the opposite.  We want our body to use the fat that is stored on our body as fuel.  It was found that EFA's could reduce the amount of insulin production by 50%, SOOOOOOo have a healthy fat with every carbohydrate you eat.  It makes fat burning more efficient.  Try to get the old mantra "fat is bad" out of your head.  Because truly good fats (EFA's) are your best buddy in weight loss.