The only changes I made were to add garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to the chicken filling and to the sauce.  Yum

You can tell I was too lazy to soften the tortillas — it still tasted good regardless!

Enchilada Sauce

Before the oven…

After the oven…mmmmm….

Word of advice:  make these soon.  So yummy with its cheesy deliciousness!

“A visit to the 56th Fighter Group will transport you back to an era of Big Band music and unparalleled patriotism. This charming 1917 French Style Allied Headquarters Farmhouse sits on the site where the P47 fighter aircraft was built during WWII. The rustic timbered ceilings and cozy dining rooms boast seven fireplaces and a romantic view of the runway of Republic Airport in the heart of Long Island. You can enjoy an extensive collection of aviation and WWII memorabilia as you dine in the museum-type atmosphere.”

We went to their Thanksgiving Champagne Buffet and it was a really great experience for us. The husband and I always celebrate Thanksgiving alone since it’s much too expensive to fly home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas (Christmas always wins!).

There were a TON of options and I was really sad that I wasn’t able to eat more than 1 plate of food and 1 plate of dessert, but a girl can only stretch her stomach so much!

My plate had all the Thanksgiving traditions:  turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes…yum!!

And can you believe I didn’t have any pie for dessert!?  Instead I had a cannoli, a small piece of rainbow cookie cake (I ate it before I remembered to take the photo!), a chocolate cake ball, and a small tart piled high with whipped cream!

I finished off with a cappuccino with some whipped cream, a cinnamon stick, and some chocolate chips.  Go big or go home, right?!

We had a really lovely time at this restaurant and we were both so happy that we didn’t have to do any clean up or eat turkey leftovers for days!

How was your own Thanksgiving?

And because I’m back to blogging on a Tuesday – it’s only appropriate that I do “Tuesday Tunes”.

And because any time things become madness, I reevaluate my life and who I am on a whole, I feel like this song is appropriate! (And I just really like this song!). 

“I feel like a quote out of context withholding the rest,
So I can be for you what you want to see,
I got the gesture and sounds, got the timing down,
It’s uncanny, yeah you think it was me

Do you think I should take a class
to lose my southern accent?

Did I make me up or make the face till it stuck?
I do the best imitation of myself.”

I hope everyone out there in the blogosphere is doing well! I’ve missed you all!

Happy Tuesday!

My decision to cut back on my sugar intake has been years in the making.  I’ve been thinking about it and then thinking about it some more, but I never actually did anything about it.  I guess you could say my addiction is STRONG.  And I know some people don’t like the word addiction when talking about food, but I really do think that for me, sugar is addictive.

Photo by Uwe Hermann

When I eat something high in refined sugar (anything from graham crackers to chocolate chips to cake to muffins..), I want to eat more of it and more of it.  I’m one of those people who can have a big piece of cake and immediately want another big piece of cake, regardless of my fullness level.  I literally feel a rush to the head.  I have a really hard time explaining what it feels like, but it’s kind of like a rush of happiness to my brain.  I’m not sure if other people feel the same way when they eat sugar, but I know for me, it’s hard to stop wanting to have more of that feeling — hence my use of the word “addiction”.

The problem with my addiction to sugar is that sugar isn’t good for me. Sugar has been linked to many diseases:  cancer, obesity, heart disease, tooth decay, ulcers, adrenal fatigue, gallstones, diabetes, hypoglycemia, osteoporosis, and on and on.

For a list of 146 reasons to cut  back on sugar go here.

I know with intuitive eating, no foods are supposed to be labeled good or bad, but I think that we all know that some foods are better for us nutritionally, and sugar definitely isn’t one of those foods.  I think the most important thing to remember with intuitive eating is that you shouldn’t feel GUILT over eating a certain food, and I don’t do that now.  Sure, I want to eat better, but I don’t really feel guilty if I eat something sweet or anything else really.  However, I still want to cut back on it for health reasons and so that I don’t feel so “out of control” when it comes to eating sweets each day.

Instead of cutting out sugar completely, I’ve decided to implement more of a No S way of eating.  But instead of cutting out all snacks and sweets during Non-S days (Monday-Friday – Saturday, Sunday, and special days don’t count) I’ve cut out sweets during the week.  This means that I can have a sugar free dessert (not one laden with chemicals, but made without sugar or just with stevia) or fruit for dessert during the week.  So far, it really hasn’t been too bad at all! And I’ve actually noticed that my cravings have gone down a TON.

Anyway, I wanted to keep you all updated, and I’ll be checking back in to let you know how it’s going.  In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying some 2 ingredient fudge (made with unsweetened chocolate and coconut milk!), lots of nuts, and tons of fruit (with whipped cream!).  Yum!

(Source)

“It’s a form of violence in the way that we look at women and the way we expect them to look and be for what sake? Not for health, survival, not for enjoyment of life, but just so you could look pretty.”

–Rosario Dawson on how she was complimented for her emaciated look for the film Rent.

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

She’s gorgeous, she’s curvy, and she makes and eats delicious food!  And if you don’t know her history, she’s had quite a bit of a tough life, losing her mom, her sister, and her first husband to cancer.  Yet she still seems to maintain such a positive attitude about life and I just love her!   She’s also all about not denying yourself the pleasures of food – intuitive eating at its best!  If you’ve never heard of her, I would recommend checking her out on the food network or checking out her cookbooks.  She’s awesome!

]]> http://imperfectlyhealthy.com/2011/08/05/girl-crush/feed/ 0 http://imperfectlyhealthy.com/2011/08/04/hacked-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hacked-2 http://imperfectlyhealthy.com/2011/08/04/hacked-2/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:09:26 +0000 Stacie http://imperfectlyhealthy.com/?p=3029 Continue reading →]]> Hey all! If any of you have visited in the past few days, you might have noticed some weird things going on with the blog.  Unfortunately, my blog was hacked this past weekend and it took almost the entire week to get it back up and running smoothly.  Not cool! I believe everything is good now and can’t wait to get back into posting regularly! Thanks for sticking with me!

I had no idea I’d love the video so much!   Such a good message!

Enjoy your Tuesday beautiful girl (or boy!)!