An Honest Opinion of Myself & the Food I Eat!

  Good Monday morning to you. Today is activity day for the Allstars.(at least for me it is.) Today's activity is a little different, controversial, as well as interesting. It is a subject that is on everyone lips and minds. This month we are making, rating, and reviewing a couple of recipes but that is not what I am doing today. Today we are talking about your heart and ways to keep it healthy.
  To be honest until Mom came to live with us I didn't give eating healthy a thought. I cooked how I like and what I like. That would translate into comfort foods like BACON and every starch under the sun. My cooking oil for the most part bacon fat, my preferred method of cooking frying, my favorite vegetable french fries. I was for most of my life a thin person 105 lbs being my normal weight that is until 2007 when I quit smoking and replaced it with food. I saw 200 lbs and a size ex large before I could blink an eye. That didn't last long because I am vain about my weight so I dropped 50 of those extra pounds and was happy there. My eating habits didn't change I was still eating all the wrong foods just eating less. 
   Then with no notice things changed drastically in this house. Mom came from Michigan to live with me because she was ill. Her diabetes out of control, a heart rate that scared the medical staff here in NJ beyond words. Mom has kidney failure, congestive  heart failure as well as a messed up thyroid, on top all of that Mom  has dementia so she was not taking proper care of herself and it was taking its toll on her.  She has been here over a year now and the change in her health is almost unbelievable. Her sugar levels are better then good, her weight has never been better, all the test come back with positive results her kidney's heart and thyroid all working to the best of their abilities and not getting any weaker. 
  This all happened because I changed her eating habits as well as Bill's and mine. We all feel better for it. Now I read labels and research what I am feeding my family. I no longer blindly trust that what ever we put in our mouths is going to in some way be good for you. It isn't just calories it is nutrition, it is not just about taste anymore it is about what it will do for you. Don't get me wrong I have not given up taste or comfort food. I find ways to have both with out putting our health in jeopardy. For instance I have taken to replacing heavy fat foods like sour cream, mayonnaise, and sometimes even cream cheese with Greek yogurt. I was surprised at how much I enjoy the flavor in some of my favorite recipes. When I make dinner now I look for balance in the food there has to be fresh crisp vegetable and a green veggie on the plate as well as the meat and potatoes and the green portion needs to be more then anything else. Portion control has become very important here. I leave the bread butter and other side goodies off the table and cook so there is only enough for dinner and a little left for Bills lunch.  Eating out some thing all of us did more often then not has become a rare treat that we appreciate so much more now. Fast food almost a thing of the past I still gotta have a cheese burger here and there. I have traded up I think it is a trade up anyways to Wendy's The food certainly taste better that is for sure. We try to walk regularly and keep active gardening, splitting wood, and this winter shoveling snow. Mom is a little harder to get walking and keep active but she does her best.

Information about Mazola
    So when I read that Mazola Corn oil was naturally heart healthy I have to admit I was a little excited. I do worry about corn, soy bean and other food seed being GMO but that is another subject in it self and for today I am going to leave it alone. Mazola gave us a bottle of their corn oil to try and a nice selection of heart healthy recipes on Allrecipes to try the oil with. I have yet to try the recipes but before the month is out I will have tried at least 2 of them. 
allrecipes mazola collection
   I am looking forward to preparing the Pork Carnitas this coming weekend. The recipe really does look tasty.
   Corn oil is naturally cholesterol free with 0 trans fat. That sounds heart healthy to me. But is it helpful enough to reduce the risk of heart disease? I don't know and as of right now there is not enough scientific evidences or studies being done to answer that question. 

  You can believe I will be watching for these studies and research very anxiously. I am always happy to learn new and easy ways to keep my family in good health. Wouldn't it be just a real bonus if the research reveled not only is corn oil good for your heart, but that Mazola uses only organic grown corn for their products. 
  "What Was Dinner"?  It wasn't heart healthy but it wasn't totally unhealthy either. If it weren't for the cream cheese (Neufchatel Cheese actually) and bacon it would be healthy. With portion control you really are only getting enough to satisfy the craving without causing any lasting damage or poundage. For us I used 1 breast half giving each of us plenty to eat.

  4 boneless chicken breast halves pounded thin
3 oz Neufchatel cheese
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
5 oz frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
5 or 6 medium mushrooms ruff chopped stem and all
4 slices bacon cooked and ruffly crumbled
1/2 cup stuffing mix bread crumbs unseasoned
1 small onion ruffly chopped
5 cloves of garlic
6 slices provolone cheese

  Preheat oven to 400, lightly grease a baking dish large enough to comfortably fit your rolled up chicken.
 Pound the chicken thin enough to roll easily but not so thin it falls apart. Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides and set  a side. Place the next 7 ingredients into a food processor and pulse to a texture you like. The chunkier the texture the harder to roll into the chicken. Once you have the mixture the way you want it spread a thin layer on each piece of chicken and roll the chicken up. Secure the chicken roll ups with tooth picks and place in the baking dish side by side. Cover each piece of chicken with 1 and a 1/2 slices of provolone. Bake uncovered about 45 minutes until chicken is cooked through
   I don't have a title for this one yet other then yummy good. Check the chicken in 30 minutes you don't want to over cook and dry the meat out. The cream cheese mixture yields a lot you could get at least 6 breast stuffed if not a few more. The mixture has a good shelf life in the fridge and can be used for other things.
  A very cheery Monday to you! Thank you for stopping by.