I'm going out to plant a field of nickels....

Sometimes I need to be reminded of why I'm doing this.

Sometimes I need to be reminded that I decided that this was worth it. Physically, emotionally, and financially.

Those first two, I'm coming to terms with. I'm coming to terms with them pretty quickly. That last one? Yeah, it keeps becoming the bugbear that jumps up to bite me in the ass.

By the way, I had another dentist appointment this morning. Finally finishing the root canal that was started WAAAYYY back in like March.

If I totaled up the amount I've spent on my teeth so far this year, it would come to nearly $2000. Actually, probably more than that. I'm scared to tally it up. And I'm nowhere near done. And every time I turn around, I get inundated with more crap about how good oral health is essential for overall good health.

Well, that's bloody well brilliant, but not having bill collectors on the phone every other week is pretty damn good for my overall health too. And right at the moment, it's becoming a real challenge to do both.

*sigh* Deep, cleansing breaths, Cassandra.

I hate days where I feel so negative. That being said, at this rate, I'm going to have to look for part-time work in addition to my full-time job. That doesn't exactly make me happy either.

Shake it off. Just shake it off.

I wish I could go for a run. Stupid ankle. Was talking to my brother last night (who is rather... experienced... in sports injuries and he was saying he'd give it at least two weeks before trying running again. TWO WEEKS? I might go nuts.)

Shawn was so great last night - made me feel a lot less stupid about injuring myself, and offered lots of suggestions for making sure I heal quickly. However - as I suspected - this injury likely means no step class for at least this week. And by likely, I mean definitely. Which makes me sad, because I'm going away the next two weekends, so I'll miss step both of those days. I might try Zumba, though, next Monday, since I'll have the day off for Victoria Day. It shouldn't be too bad, right? I'll have to ask Shawn (though he firmly vetoed Zumba last night when one of the other trainers invited me).

I've been making my meals and freezing or keeping them in the fridge, so all I have to do when I get home is pop them in the microwave and make veggies and sometimes rice - have to say, this was a brilliant idea on days I'm at the gym. Going to do it again tonight with the spaghetti squash & chicken dish I'm planning (that might turn into chicken and rice casserole - I haven't decided actually). This weekend I made stuffed sweet peppers with ground turkey - thought I'd share the recipe with you all! (Maybe I should put out a recipe book - that might make me some money).

Stuffed Sweet Peppers with Ground Turkey
You can use extra lean ground beef or ground sirloin for this but I don't eat red meat, so I used turkey. Plus, if you've never tried ground turkey, I'd really recommend it!

Ingredients
4 medium sweet peppers, halved, seeds and cores removed (any colour - if you're making it for your family, a myriad of colours would definitely make it fun)
One pound extra lean ground/minced turkey
Approx 2 c whole grain rice (I just used the Minute Rice Whole Grain, because I wasn't sure how much I needed, and wanted to be able to make more quickly, but any will work)
Approx 1 cup sweet pepper, diced
Approx 1 cup onion, diced
Approx 1 c fresh mushrooms, diced (I don't use canned b/c of sodium content)
2 garlic cloves, minced
crushed red pepper to taste
ground black pepper to taste
onion powder to taste
Approx 1/3 c low-fat cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
Put rice on to cook according to instructions.
In a large nonstick pan, cook turkey over medium heat until slightly pink in the middle. Increase heat to medium-high, and add diced peppers, onion, mushrooms, and garlic (feel free ignore all my instructions about heat and just cook this as you want too - I expect most of you can cook). Once meat and vegetables are cooked, reduce to low heat and season to taste - watch the crushed red pepper if you've never used it before, because this is freaking spicy. I had very spicy stuffed peppers. Add cooked rice and mix well.

Spoon mixture into pepper halves, filling well. Place stuffed peppers FACE UP (this is important) in a single layer in a shallow baking pan (I have an awesome Pyrex one that works perfectly for this). Top with cheese if desired. Add approx 1/3-1/2 c of water - enough to just create a thin layer of water on the bottom. Place in oven for 30-35 minutes or until pepper shells are soft when poked.

Serves four (two halves per person), or works as my supper and lunch for like three days (I take one half and a salad for lunch).

By my estimate, each full serving has approx 250-260 calories. Not bad, really!


In the meantime, I'm going to go plant some nickels and see if I can convince one of them to grow into a money tree. Happy Wednesday all!