BSI:Sweet Potato

What a gray morning awaited me this morning! It’s been raining non stop since I woke up at 7:15am! I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again...better than snow!! I also woke up to a sore shoulder from my efforts on the Wii last night. What a blast the 4 of us had! I played tennis with the hubby, bowling with DD and boxing with DS. The boxing match REALLY got my heart racing! Checkout this action shot of DD during her boxing match with her dad...



Notice the pony tail in mid flight and the red cheeks? She’s stiff today, too! :)

Here’s breakfast;



-1 cup water
-1/2 cup Quaker oats
-dash unsweetened almond breeze
-1/2 mashed banana
-pumpkin butter
-2 Tbsp granola
-cinnamon



DD was playing Wii music downstairs so I took my bowl and went to watch her. She showed me how to use a lot of the functions. Good to know, but I ended up not really tasty my oats because I was pre-occupied. I was surprised when the bowl was empty because it really felt like I hadn’t been eating! Thank goodness it wasn’t a full bag of chips or something in my lap!! :)

I had planned to get chores out of the way, do groceries and run errands all before lunch but that did not happen! DS didn’t wake up until 10am which put my vacuuming behind schedule and then I ended up doing a thorough dusting (under beds, along baseboards...). I was also waiting for the rain to stop as I despise running around and getting wet when it’s so cold outside, but the rain just kept coming so I ate my lunch instead. Mind you, it was 12:30pm by then!

I wasn’t terribly hungry so I ate the last of my yogurt cheese, about a ½ cup) with pineapple tidbits, and a sprinkle of each coconut and chopped walnuts. I also ate a small handful of Sahale almond mix which didn’t make it in the shot!



DD and I were on our way to get everything done by 1:30. I went to a locally owned grocery store that carries specialty items first in search of some of the Stonewall Kitchen pumpkin pesto. Although they carried many Stonewall items, the pesto was not one of them. I did pick up this fig jam and a beautiful purple kale...



Next was the regular grocery store, Zellers and the library. Finally, 2 hours later, we arrived home. I made a hot chocolate and relaxed for a while before getting supper going. Speaking of supper, I made my BSI submission tonight! Check it out and tell me what you all think!

Sweet Potato Barley Risotto


-1 tsp olive oil
-1 small onion, diced
-1 cup pearl barley
-3 cups broth or water
-1 sweet potato, cubed
-1 tsp each coriander & cumin
-1/2 tsp each chili powder & cinnamon
-salt & pepper to taste
-2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

*cube sweet potato and microwave in a bowl with a touch of water for 6ish minutes or until fork tender. Side aside
*heat oil in saucepan and cook onion about 5 minutes
*add barley and spices and cook 1 more minute
*Add broth/water, cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes or until thick, checking every so often that the liquid hasn't dried up. Add more fluid if needed.
*Once barley is cooked through, stir in sweet potato and cheese. Remove from heat and serve.




Spark People recipe builder says the following for 3 servings of risotto;

325 calories
3.4g fat
12.6g fiber

YUM-O! Need I say more? You could use rice if you like, but I love the texture of barley. Either way, it will be delish! I also tried my hands at kale chips a la Kath. Me likes!



What a great dinner this was! Thanks Melissa from Trying to Heal for the great ingredient pick!

Well, it's still pouring here....it hasn't stopped all day. Jeez! I'm think I'm going to play some Wii and then make like my cat, Octavius here...



and chill out! (by the way, he does this all day. Cushy life, eh?)

Bye for now!