Um, I have a confession...

I bought and ate rice cakes.

Anyone who knows me will think the real Bekki was abducted by aliens.

But it's true. I, Bekki Blahblah, being in sound mind (somewhat), did on this very day, around noon, place in my cart with the intention to purchase one bag of Lundberg Farms brown rice cakes. I then proceeded to the check-out (after piling other items in as well) and did authorize the transfer of funds from my bank to theirs, so that I could take all the items home.

I have rice cakes in my kitchen.

I ate two for dinner. Well, not FOR dinner... with dinner. Basically as an edible plate. Tasted a bit better than stoneware, I'm guessing. I've never eaten stoneware. But... after the events of the day, I won't rule it out entirely.

What led me to take such drastic action? The ingredient list. Rice, salt. That's all. No preservatives, no funky "ose" things that I have to remember what they're derived from... rice and salt. I can eat that. And they're much cheaper than the everything-free toast that I have for breakfast, and would feel guilty about eating too much of.

So, tonight's dinner:















That's it. No, I swear I am not on a diet. I put it on a wild plate, to make it look better... and all that green looks kind of like vegetables.

I'm in a bit of a vegetable rut, as I suddenly can't have green beans. Didn't realize how often I ate green beans before... but I guess they were my crutch veggie. I love broccoli and cauliflower, but being brassicas (I think, cabbage family anyway), they can suppress the thyroid a bit if eaten too much. So, I try to keep them to just twice a week... and I don't know what else to make. I like to just pop something in the steamer pan while I give my full attention to the other parts of dinner.

Today was a major football day, (with Kentucky BEATING #1 LSU!!!! in triple overtime) so I planned a simple dinner. Tuna salad. On salad. Then I didn't feel like salad. So... I, um... had rice cakes. The tuna salad was just a can of tuna (hunted down at the health food store, so as to not have weird ingredients), some mayo and dijon mustard, white pepper, dill, and cayenne.

Lunch was really good, so I feel like I can get by with a bad dinner. I was starving, though, so didn't remember to take pictures. It was Spicy Apricot Chicken, rice, and... um... green beans. For the last time. A goodbye to beans, I suppose.

Spicy Apricot Chicken, my personal adaptation


INGREDIENTS: (Serves 2)

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 tsp dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, pressed
1 Tblspn apricot preserves

several splashes Tabasco sauce (to your heat preference)
3 Tblspns chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chicken broth

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the chicken thighs in a casserole or small baking dish, skin side up. Put next 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stir together. Pour broth over chicken, then baste or smear the other ingredients on top of the chicken. Cover and bake for 45-60 minutes at 375 degrees, removing lid for last 10-15 minutes. (Makes the glaze get nice and brown.)

This was dinner last night:

Ok, I was nice and didn't eat those all by myself. I just had to share the pic of the mountain of grilled hamburgers. Such a lovely sight.

I only ate one, despite being constantly hungry these days. We also had Sidedish, which is our official thing to have with most grilled meat. The basic elements are potatoes, garlic, and onions, with olive oil or butter, and salt. Wrap that up in heavy duty foil and cook while the grill heats up for the main course. Other delightful add-ins include mushrooms, peppers, and squash.

The charred bits are the best.

So, this was actually dinner:

Both pickles and sauerkraut was probably overkill, but I have the tendency to eat anything I can eat, whether or not I actually want it. Must be one of the stages of food allergies, like the stages of grief.

And, that would explain why I bought rice cakes.

By the way, I didn't actually post this until Saturday, the date says Friday (making me a football psychic) because I opened the window to type my post on Friday night, and then didn't get to it.