A Grown-Up Grilled Cheese and Thinking Outside the Box

Growing up my parents bought medium cheddar cheese for everyday use.  But on special occasions, my dad would buy a small brick of sharp cheddar to put on crackers. 

Ooh, how I loved that sharp cheddar!  Num!!

One time we were going to Costco and I was telling my husband this, how much I loved sharp cheddar and how we should get it for a special occasion sometime.  The Hubster gave me an odd look and said, "Why do you have to wait for a special occasion?  If you like sharp cheddar, buy sharp cheddar."

Duh!  Why had this never occurred to me before?  I was simply stuck in the habit of buying medium cheddar because it is what I had always done.

That day I bought a giant block of sharp cheddar (extra sharp white cheddar, to be exact) and never looked back. 

It is delicious and I get real joy every time I put it on my food.  It just adds much more flavor. 

Fast forward to tonight.  In a huge lack of imagination and preparation, The Hubster and I decided to have grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.  I opened the fridge to grab what I needed and saw a bottle of real bacon bits (another new staple in our house).

Mmmmmm...bacon bits.  I bet that would be really yummy on a grilled cheese.  All of the sudden I started thinking of what I could do to make a grilled cheese more interesting.  I grabbed a few things in sight and went to work making special grilled cheese sandwiches just for the grown-ups.

Voila!

I was in love with this new variation of grilled cheese.  It was so flavorful!  I am already thinking of making another one tomorrow.  

I figured I would just share what I did here.  Because food does not always have to be the same as it has been before.  Variety is the spice of life, right?

Sara's Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

INGREDIENTS:
Sandwich bread, 2 slices
Extra sharp white cheddar

Mozzarella (mine was shredded)

Parmesan (mine was shredded)
Real Bacon Bits

Tomatoes
Green Chiles

Miracle Whip

Butter

Spread a light layer of Miracle Whip on each slice of bread.  Sprinkle Parmesan and Mozzarella on one slice and put the white cheddar on the other.  Sprinkle on a few bacon bits and green chiles.  (Yes, I live in New Mexico now and everything has green chile on it.  Why should grilled cheese be any different?)  Slice the tomatoes and layer them on.  Squish sandwich together.

Melt about 1/2 TBSP of butter in your frying pan.  Fry on medium-low heat on each side until golden brown.

Want to make sure your cheese is melted?  Here's the trick my dad taught me.  Once you put the sandwich on, splash a couple of drops of water in the pan and instantly cover it.  This will create steam and lock it in to melt that cheese perfectly.

But the great thing?  You don't even have to follow this recipe exactly.  What do you like?  What do you have on hand? What sounds good to you?  Avocado?  Sour dough bread?  Feta cheese?  

Mix it up and try something new!

Accountability Journal

The last half of last week was a rough one. 

My husband was out of town, so I had no backup help.  My baby wasn't sleeping, instead he was crying all night.  Stressful!  I had very little sleep and found myself heavily leaning into bad habits.  I craved sugary things - probably for the quick energy that they provided.  And I especially craved soda and gave in to the cravings, hoping the caffeine would help me stay awake and more alert.

So I didn't do as well as I would have liked.

However, it is a new week.  Hubby is home. Baby is sleeping more (and me too). I'm off to a good start.

Sunday weight: 175.8

Accountability Journal

Weighed myself on Sunday.  I was 174.4

I have been having lots of dance parties with my kids.  Quick and fun ways to connect and burn a few calories - get my heartbeat moving.

I had a soda yesterday.  We ate lunch at Costco and cheap drinks are too easy to get, so I was tempted and caved...even though it was only Pepsi.  Overall, though, my drink choices have been much more healthful, which is good for me.  I am also still keeping tabs on my calorie intake.  I am usually a bit over, but I don't stress on it because I at least know it is in the correct range.

Accountability Journal

Today I am definitely over my calorie allotment.

Two words: Pie Day.

I splurged.

But I did make some good choices too. No soda (even though I was sorely tempted). And even though we ate lunch out, I ate till I was full and didn't polish off my plate completely.

It could be worse. Literally. :)

Accountability Journal

Last night I really wanted a sweet snack.

Really, really badly.

I had already gone over my calorie count for the day and had even given myself a special treat (a milkshake) with my dinner. 

I knew I didn't need it.  I simply wanted it.

It didn't help that my newborn thought that bedtime was optional and I was up until past 3 a.m.  I am sure it was part boredom, part exhaustion.

Nevertheless, I made it through. It helped to know that I was going to make myself accountable here today and in my food log.  I drank a lot of water and chewed some gum and waited for the craving to go away.

One choice at a time.

Acountability Journal

Back once again on my road to healthful living.

I do much better when I am accountable, so I am going to be journaling here on my continued progress.

I stopped counting calories while pregnant, but I still tried not to go overboard with my eating habits  (although I did give myself a few more treats than before).  I also continued my exercising up until the last month or two.  As such, my weight gain was within normal ranges for pregnancy.

I went back to counting calories this week.  Not crazy strict, but as a way to give myself an idea of what I am eating each day.

My soda intake increased when I was pregnant as well.  Now sodas are being pushed back to Soda Saturdays once again.  Once a week is good enough and makes the soda a real "treat".

I still have 2 more weeks before my follow-up appointment with my midwife.  I am not yet cleared for workouts, but I have been striving to get out and do some walking with the kids. Hopefully I will be able to ease back into my exercises soon.

My current weight is 175 pounds.

I don't really want to focus on weigh a ton.  Mostly, I would just like to fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans again so that I can stop living in sweats and leggings. :)