For the love of food!!!

I don't think there's a person out there who doesn't have a food memory...or some food that they associate with an event in their life.  What's Thanksgiving without turkey, right???  I grew up in a family that celebrated with food...loved with food...showed our grief and sympathy with food.  I hardly have a memory of a big event that didn't involve gathering around the table.  We had food traditions...certain things that must be part of certain days or celebrations.  Christmas just wouldn't have been Christmas, without spending Christmas Eve with my Grandma Mullin, eating potato soup and oyster stew (which I did not partake in)..followed by a fresh bun covered in butter!  I don't think I had many birthday celebrations that didn't include my mom's taco salad...always served in that big yellow Tupperware bowl!!  Wedding showers and baby showers must include my mom's raspberry punch...I really could go on and on!!!

I know I've written about this subject before, but today I got thinking (never a good thing) about our societies feelings about food...about my feelings about food.  I got thinking about the short conversations that I heard (and had) many times throughout my lives at different events..."Oh, geesh, I shouldn't be eating this, but...".  For some reason, at these large gatherings, society has made it okay for us to eat and enjoy our food....all the foods that are "off limits" for the remainder of the year is somehow "okay" on specific days.  Those mashed potatoes, made with cream and butter...that potato soup with fresh rolls I mentioned earlier...and I haven't even talked about pecan pie...cookies....all those "no-no's" are okay, just for that one day...for those few hours.  So, what do we do???  We gorge ourselves like we haven't eaten for years, and won't eat for a couple of more.  Why???  Well, if you think about it, it's sort of true...we spend most of the year restricting ourselves to what we think (and have been told) we are supposed to eat.  We have developed a love-hate relationship with food in our culture...we love food, who doesn't...but we are constantly told that eating is bad, food is bad...food is killing us.  So, we obsess...we deny ourselves...we crave and long for those things we love.  So when those occasions come around to eat those sacred foods...we eat until we can't fit one more tiny bite of pie in our stomachs...then we sit around for a couple of hours talking about how terrible we feel!!  The conversations following most Thanksgiving meals I've been at usually involve a lot of talk about how we will be regretting eating so much the next day and will be working extra hard the following week to burn off all that indulgence! 

This is obviously a cycle that isn't only limited to special occasions...how many people, after spending an entire day of eating carrots and salads at work, sit on their couch at night and eat a whole box of cookies or an entire bag of chips??  I've heard so many stories of people secretly eating their fast food hamburger and fries in their car...hiding it from their family, their coworkers, themselves.  There are others who eat like birds all day when people are around...only to order and eat entire pizzas themselves.  Obviously, what we are doing isn't working...the system that we have in place is serving no one, except the diet industry (which is booming, by the way!!!). 

So, let's think for a minute...what could we all do to change this??  I've read lots of books on the subject of nutrition and whole food...and I remember one of the authors had a very simple theory...have tea before every meal and dessert every night.  Why??  Because they made a decision to make every meal an event…..make every meal special.  This was very small way their family enjoyed food...something they thought made their meal special...making everyday a special occasion.  It made sense to me...now, I don't make dessert for every meal (I really dislike baking!!!)...but I do agree with enjoying every ounce of everything we put in our bodies.  Eating should be something we do not just to feed our body, but it should feed our mind and our soul.  Everything that I put into my body goes there because I love it....and because it tastes good!  Now, don't get me wrong...I do think that we should feed our bodies with the best we can find.  I believe in decreasing toxins and preservatives that enter my body...and getting the most out of what I do eat....but I do not think this should be a confusing process.  Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full.  Enjoy your food and enjoy your life.  Feed yourself and your family the best that you can find.  Become knowledgeable about nutrition and decrease the toxins and processed foods that you put in your body...but if you really want those french fries...eat them!  If we enjoy our food everyday of our life...we would be much less likely to feel deprived, our cravings would decrease and so would our binging.  We'd feel better about ourselves, physically we'd feel better and again, our binging would decrease.  If we changed our internal voice and changed the way we think about food...I think we'd make huge steps towards improving our health.

I have been working on changing the little voice in my head that beats myself up when my family goes out to dinner and we order chips and salsa....I'm enjoying life...and loving my food!  I know that I'm not going to drop this extra weight overnight, I gained it over nine months (3 months on bed rest!!) while pregnant with my boys.  I'm not drastically decreasing calories and I do not have a workout routine...I spend most of my free time playing with my boys...enjoying them and watching them grow.  But, I'm happy right now with losing 1-2 pounds a month...and feeling complete, satisfied and happy in life.  It is definitely a process...it's hard to change something you've thought and felt for 25 years, but I'm working on it!  I'm really hoping that someday, I'll look back with disbelief about how I viewed myself and my food.  But most of all, I am hoping my boys don't carry the same burden on their shoulders.

So, for yourself and all the people in your life...start making some little changes...and make every day a celebration!!!!! 

Why skim milk is making us all fat!

So, this is information that I passed on to my family several months ago after reading some research...I was baffled at!!  One of the most startling statements that I read about research related to skim milk was that farmers, for years, have fed pigs skim milk when they want to fatten them up...pigs they want to keep thin, they get fed whole milk!  Now...farmers don't tend to do things that cost them money and don't work in the end!

The name alone "skim milk" made me think that the watery grey milk that I had been drinking and using for cooking for several years was just milk that the fat had been skimmed off of...pretty sure that's what most people think....but we are all wrong!!!!  To start...I'll just go through how the beautiful, thick and wonderful milk cows give us becomes that watery, strange colored liquid that is "fat-free" and "healthy".  First, milk is put into a centrifuge and all the fat is removed...along with this fat is most of the nutrients that are found in the milk...so to replace the protein, skim milk is passed through small holes under great pressure and high heat and turned into powder.  What you are left with is damaged proteins and oxidized cholesterol (a PROVEN cause of heart disease!)...this powder is then added back into the watery substance that is taken from the centrifuge...bottled and sold to us as "healthy". 

So, what happens to that watery, powdered milk when it enters our body???  Well, without the saturated fats that are normally found in milk...the milk quickly passes through our intestines, we have a spike in blood sugar and and insulin response...you receive no lasting feeling of fullness, and most likely feel more hungry than you were before!!  Not to mention you are putting denatured proteins and oxidized cholesterol into your blood stream.  What happens when you drink milk that contains the saturated fats??   Absorption of the milk is slowed, you feel more full and satisfied...your body is given a good source of energy, an immunity boost and fat soluble vitamins.  It has been proven that fats actually curb your appetite by triggering the release of the hormone cholecystokinin, which causes fullness. Fats also slow the release of sugar into your bloodstream, reducing the amount that can be stored as fat.

You are probably wondering, like I was...why are we told skim milk is so healthy then???  Well, I hate to say it all comes back to money...but....

Before the 1950's...as a culture we graded our milk based on how much cream there was on top...the idea of a milk without cream would have been laughed at!  Around that time, Americans began eating more cheese and the dairy industry needed to figure out what to do with all that leftover product....so they created low fat milk.  Lucky for them, around the same time there was a bunch of people spending a bunch of money to promote low fat, over processed diet as a "healthy" diet...and one that all Americans should follow!  Big industry has big money...which has big influence in our government...hence, the government recommendation to eat all these foods. 

Now, technically...the best milk to drink would be raw, non-homogenized, non-pasteurized milk...however, our government has also made that almost impossible to obtain (unless you grow it yourself!).  So, in our house, we by non-homogenized when we can...and whole milk at all times!  We have found a farm locally that we hope to buy our milk from in the near future...and we also hope to get some of our milk from our goats! 


I think we can all say that the diet that we have been told to eat is not a healthy one.  We are all fatter and much less healthy thanks to all these interventions...and if we don't start changing the way we eat...we are going to get worse.  Read up on it...there's lots of information and lots of studies out there...but I'll go back to what I always say...doesn't it make the most sense to eat food in the most natural form you can find it in???  Same concept applies here!! 

So, I read an article the other day that said that 70-80% of the food we eat contain genetically modified ingredients.  Now, a year ago, that statement would probably been disturbing to me...however, my thoughts when I first read this was that 70-80% is probably a pretty accurate number...that correlates pretty closely with the percentage of foods that we eat that contain processed corn and soybeans. 

My first glimpse into this reality came last year after I had a friend and a family member suggest that I read Michael Pollan's book "Omnivore's Dilemma".  (Thanks Diana and Kasi!!)  The book opened my eyes as to series of events that took place with the industrialization of food over the past decade and how corn made it into almost everything we eat today.  Pollan goes into a lot of detail about the how and the why of the changes to the corn industry in particular, but I'll sum it up...government farm programs had started after WWI, with the intention of using up some excess nitrogen and helping out the farmer.  During the Nixon administration the way farmers were paid for corn changed...this led to a chain of events that got us where we are today.  It started with farms changing from diverse ecosystems, to monocultures...farmers were just growing corn...the government was buying all this corn, then needed to figure out what the heck to do with it.  So...they began to promote feeding it to our animals, putting it in our fuel, and processing the heck out of it to create hundreds of different additives, sweeteners, thickeners, etc. and added to our food.  Farmers tilled the pastures and started putting their animals in feedlots...giving them mainly a diet of corn...the animals got sick, so we started giving them antibiotics and growth hormones...etc, etc, etc.  Here's just one example of a chart that shows the correlation between the consumption of high fructose corn syrup and obesity.


Did you know that the obesity rates is 1992 in the US were approximately 35%...today we are sitting right around 65%. To me that's telling...we are in need of some drastic changes in the way we think about food. 

I think most of us have seen something similar play out in our lifetime....a group lobbies in Washington, with enough money and enough promise, they get legislation passed through congress...fast forward a couple decades, and the entire way our food is made and almost everything the American citizen is eating along with our health has completely been transformed.  Sort of makes me a little angry actually...to think that our well being has been compromised so that a handful of people can get rich. 

Now...don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of science, progression and technology, and I am by no means trying to say that industrialization of our food supply isn't warranted.  With the population in our metropolitan areas, most people don't have access to land to keep their own animals or even grow enough food to feed themselves, much less a family...however, I don't like being lied to.  And I especially don't like being manipulated by a group of people for financial gain when my health and the health of my children is suffering.  I am also not saying that the only flaw in our diets is genetically modified corn products...there's also the increased consumption of artificial fats, colors and sweeteners...the push for low fat diets and fat free foods...skim milk and margarine...all things that we have been told for years we should be eating to help control our weights and control heart disease and diabetes...but what has happened???????  What's that old saying..."The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  What we are being told isn't working...so doesn't it make the most sense to look at what has worked in the past?????   Whole food...real food...the food that your grandparents ate! 

The one thing I dislike about Pollan's book...is his dietary recommendations "Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants."...I feel like this is the same old thing we've been told for years...and it's not working!  I could go on and on about this topic...but I just want to introduce this information...let you stew on it, research it and think about it...then get into specifics in future blogs. 

So...my challenge, once again...is to dump the HFCS!!!!  For the sake of your health and the health of your family!!  There are lots of great alternatives out there...lots of people are recognizing the health concerns and a lot of companies are responding with products that are free of HFCS.  Take this small step to climbing the mountain!!! 

Climbing the mountain

So, one thing I am most struck by when I converse with other parents about diet and nutrition is the general notion that making dietary changes give most people feelings akin to climbing a mountain.  I hear a lot of "I can't cook everyday" and "My kids would die without (blank)"...and I totally get it!  When my boys were younger, I remember reading a book about changing to a whole foods, all natural diet...and I laughed to myself, threw the book to the side and said "IMPOSSIBLE!".  I mean, seriously...get rid of all processed and prepackaged foods???  It couldn't be done!  Well...I suppose it could be done...but who could do that???  Not me!

The only difference between my situation when my boys were 4 months old, and 10 months ago...my outlook on the situation.  I started this process not planning on getting rid of every processed food...my goal was to get rid of 50% of it.  I figured, if I was feeding my family whole, nutritious foods 50% of the time...that was 50% better than I had been doing.  That is 50% fewer preservatives, 50% less artificial colors....50% fewer toxins entering my body and their body....and I was perfectly fine with that!  I did not ransack my cupboards and fridge and throw out hundreds of dollars worth of food.  I went through, found things I knew we would not likely use in the next 3 months (artificial sweeteners and condiments containing high fructose corn syrup were two big ones) and I donated what I could, threw away what I couldn't.  Then I slowly replaced foods in our cupboard with better choices.  I never had the intention that my husband and I would not go out to eat...and I sure never thought that my kids wouldn't enjoy ice cream or chicken nuggets!!  The difference was...I read labels and made the "BEST" choices I could.  As I continued to slowly make the transition, I easily found alternatives to 99% of our foods.  Transitioning slowly made the changes permanent...and I never felt like I was missing out.  I would say that today, we are making better choices 95-98% of the time...so I have FAR exceeded my goal...basically without thinking about it...almost accidentally!!  My theory...the fewer ingredients, the better!!  I also agree with a statement I've read several times "If your great grandparents wouldn't recognize it as food, neither should you!" 

Going to an all natural diet doesn't mean you'll be slaving over the stove either!  There are lots of options and choices out there that can help you to make a delicious and healthy lunch for your kids without spending the day in the kitchen!!  Keep things simple (that is the point!!!)...how about turkey burgers and steamed broccoli with butter???  My kids love peanut butter toast...we give them an all natural variety...ingredients "Peanuts, salt" and we've replaced our bread with one that is whole grain and doesn't contain HFCS (lots and lots of good choices out there!!).  Decreasing the number of ingredients in our food also is relevant to what I cook!  I have no intention of becoming a chef...just doing the best I can for myself and my family!

We are almost a year into this transition...I have lost several pounds without counting calories...without exercise and even more telling...I haven't gained any weight!  I eat butter and cream.  My kids drink whole milk and eat ice cream.  I just had a health screening for work and I passed with flying colors.  I am enjoying my life and my food and I am not a slave to dieting and "fake foods".  I am continuing to learn...continuing to further my knowledge, and my plan is to continue to to share that knowledge with others.  My blog might not always contain a recipe...but I will continue to share information...give suggestions on recommended reading and recent studies.  I really feel that knowledge is power and educating ourselves is key!

So, how do you climb a mountain???  One step at a time!  Good luck!

My attempt to return to writing!

So, the past couple of months have been crazy, to say the least, and it's left me neglecting some of my personal past times...like cooking...and writing about cooking!  A discussion with my mom today made me realize that I do need to start allowing myself some time to do things I love along with doing all the things that I feel I "need" to do.  (See mom, all that talking does occasionally pay off!!!!)  It has been a constant struggle in my life, the struggle between what I want to do, and what I feel I need to do.  I think, like most people, the "need to" comes long before the "want to".  So far, I've been unable to find anyone willing to take care of my laundry, or pay my bills, so I imagine most of my "need to's" will continue to take the top spots on my priority list.  However, I have become more and more aware that some of my personal "want to's" need to find a place in life as well!! 

Writing for me has always been an outlet, not something I always openly share, but it's been a constant none the less.  I find moments of peace and clarity while writing, and it's quite easy to express my feelings in written word...sometimes in ways that I'm unable to do verbally.  I often re-read things that I write and wonder if I truly wrote them...it's an odd thing to do...but something I've done since I was quite young.  When I write, I find I shut down the "thinking" part of my brain and I just "am"...all the things around me disappear and I am allowed to just "be".  Even when I'm interrupted (as I just was) with a little boy, holding his foot in the air, waving a shoe in my face yelling "Mommy help you??  Mommy help you??"...I'm still allowed to once again escape back to just, well, just being.  In life we have many roles to play...parents, spouses, children, siblings, coworkers, friends, aunts and uncles, grandparents, team mates...it's sort of daunting when you think about it.  Many times, you lack the time to just be you...and maybe not even the "you" that you have become in life...maybe the "you" that you once were.  Don't get me wrong...I love being all those things I've listed above...and I am thankful and grateful every day for the wonderful people that I have in my life...but I do think we all need time to center, to refocus and to recharge...something that's pretty difficult to do at a meeting, or while helping your child with a school project.  Without time to refocus, time to recenter and find peace, are we really filling all those roles to our greatest ability?  If you can only find 50% of yourself in your life, are you giving the best to your spouse, coworkers or kids??  I think for all of us, finding that "something" that helps bring us back to center is difficult.  I think it changes with life, and sometimes people never find it...while others seem to forget they ever did.  The most important thing to do, is to start trying...start looking and somewhere in the journey, you just might find yourself.  I'm one of the lucky ones, I already know a few different things that help me find my center...help me see and feel the beauty all around me...my problem is allowing myself the time and the privilege to participate!! I love to cook and create, try new things and experiment with flavors.  I love to take pictures, play with light and look for the beauty in our everyday....and I like to write.  I also like to help people...and I love to learn and share knowledge...so basically, this blog wraps up all those things and helps me get to my center...helps me recharge and refocus. 

The recipe today has absolutely nothing to do with finding your peace or your center...unless it's hidden inside an avocado...however, it is delicious...and it's a good change to your everyday, old fashion guacamole!! 

Chunky guacamole

4 avocados
juice of 1 lemon
Tabasco sauce, to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Cut avocados in half, remove pit.  Remove the meat from the avocados with a spoon, keeping it as whole as possible.  Pour lemon juice over avocados (this will help keep them from browning).  Add garlic, onion and Tabasco and salt and pepper to taste.  Take a large knife and roughly chop through the avocado mixture to break up avocados and combine ingredients.  Add chopped tomatoes and gently toss with a spoon.  You can serve immediately. 

**Even if you don't like spicy guacamole, I would add a couple shakes of hot sauce...it shouldn't make it too spicy, but it does add depth of flavor!**

There are moments for peace amongst all of our day to day...although it doesn't always  seem like it...they are there, hiding behind the grocery list.  There is peace to be found in the very simplest of things and I think the trick is realizing that peace.  Thanks for being part of my center....hope you find a little bit of yours today too! 

Never believe what you read...

So, recently there has been quite a fuss about the fact that we have been misinformed for years about the "dangers" of eggs...and salt.  I was not surprised by these two facts...I had read and been told for years that sodium does not raise our blood pressure (except for the people in the world who are sensitive to sodium) and that salt is an important part of our diets because our bodies need it for so many functions. My family also never bought into the thought that eggs are bad for you...my step dad is a "poultry doctor" after all!!!!

These two things however, are proof of the misinformation that we are fed all the time in our society.  We were told for years that margarine was "heart healthy", only to have it proven that all the trans-fats in margarine were, in fact, clogging our arteries!!!  I'm sure we could all think of numerous "healthy recommendations" we've heard through our lives that have been proven wrong.  I truly think the next "ooops" the FDA will be forced to admit will be artificial sweeteners.  This habit has been one of the mindsets that have been most difficult to over come.  I used these sweeteners in my coffee, oatmeal, baking, sprinkled it on my pancakes and used the jelly, jello, pudding, cake mixes, canned fruit, powdered drinks and cookies that contained it....not to mention my diet soda addiction!!  I didn't throw all that stuff away, but I used up what I could, donated things that were unopened and threw away the things that I knew I couldn't use up.  Changing my thoughts and habits about sweeteners has been one of the most difficult things to do.  Now...don't get me wrong...I love real maple syrup and honey...so it's not the flavor that I have difficulty with, it is the habit.  However, the more I read about these sweeteners, the easier it got to get out of the habit.  One shocking fact, most of these sweeteners are on the "potential carcinogen" list...and the FDA admits that they truly have no idea how much (if any) of these sweeteners are safe.  They each have a maximum recommended amount to consume each day...but there really hasn't been enough research to determine what is safe and what's not.  It's also interesting to know that most of the companies who "discovered" the sweeteners were working on some other chemical compound when they tasted what they were making (would hate to be that guy!!!) and found them to be sweet.  YUCK!!! 
Now...onto the point that hit closest to home...a very simple article about our bodies insulin response.  For anyone who knows anything about how our bodies work, this should really be a no brainer...but I never thought about it before reading this article.  To start, I think we are all aware that our body releases insulin (a hormone that regulates the storage of glycogen) is released in response to our ingestion of food.  So think about it, we eat food made with these sweeteners, our taste buds send a message to our brain "The sugar is coming!!  The sugar is coming!!".  This in fact triggers our liver to get storing the available sugar with the intention of it being replaced by the sugar we are eating and then...oooopss....no sugar available.  What happens then???  Our circulating blood sugar drops, our most readily available energy source, and what happens to our body??  Our brain gets the message that we need more energy...hence, we feel hungry.  Now, it's not quite that simple...but that's the basic principle. 

So all the talk of breakfast makes me want to share a recipe that is near and dear to my heart!  This is a variation on my grandma's recipe for what we referred to as "big pancakes", but the rest of the world calls a crepe!  We ate them with syrup and butter, but can easily be stuffed with fruit and whipped cream!!  Because they are made with whole wheat, they aren't quite as light and fluffy as your regular crepe, but delicious none the less!!

Grandma's Whole Wheat Crepes "Big Pancakes"

4 eggs
1/2 t salt
1 c whole wheat flour
1T ground flax seed
2 c milk

Mix all together in a blender.  Pour a thin layer in a heated, large skillet oiled skillet. Cook until batter begins to brown on the edge & flip.  Cook for another minute or so, remove from pan.  Serve warm. 

You could make a delicious filling with Greek yogurt, honey and cinnamon...you could even mix in a couple tablespoons of cream cheese to the yogurt mixture and it would be a cream cheese type filling.  Top with some fresh berries, wrap it up and you have a super easy, delicious breakfast!!  Also spreading with butter and fresh maple syrup or a raw sugar and cinnamon sprinkle is pretty darn good too!!!!


Our bodies are fine tuned machines...requiring everything to run with minimal confines...if we vary from these, we become quite sick and may even die...so it makes sense to think that throwing off portions of our natural bodily systematic functions would effect our health. Just another reason to eat foods in it's most natural forms!!!

Reinventing the old

Obviously this journey is not about giving up the things that I love or the things my family loves...but about finding better alternatives to those items.  I have two boys who would have an awfully tough time without cheese balls...so I searched and found a better alternative for them.  I also have two little boys who love a good cookie every now and then...again, I couldn't imagine them going through their lives without ever eating a cookie, so I've looked around and found a better alternative for them.  I don't think any of us can look at our lives and think we will never eat out at a restaurant, or ever eat food prepared by another person...perhaps someone who isn't following the same lifestyle plan as we are...but all things in moderation, right???  I think we could all find several items on almost every menu that would be considered "whole food"...I'm pretty happy eating a steak, baked potato and steamed veggies!!!

While doing research early on in my journey, I read an article about American's attitudes towards foods.  It talked about how we refer to certain foods as being "bad"...how many times have we heard someone say (or said ourselves) "Well, I'm going to be really bad tonight and have the _______" You fill in the blank, dessert, pasta, steak, bread...whatever it may be.  We have associated a lot of negative thoughts and feelings around what we eat.  We've limited ourselves so much in our day to day life, that when we are in a social situation where eating is accepted, you can often find people (or yourself) scarfing down foods like they've been stuck on a deserted island somewhere.  Most likely they've left that party feeling guilty, with thoughts of doing an extra fifteen minutes on the treadmill, or taking the stairs the next day.  It's amazing how we've programmed ourselves to have such a bad relationship with food.  I'm sure we all have some sort of crazy adrenaline dump when we are being "bad" and eating that huge piece of chocolate cake...after all, it sometimes feels so good to be "bad"...right???  How often do you find yourself eating because the clock says so??  Or finishing your entire plate, even though you aren't hungry, because it's there???  These habits have been deeply ingrained in our minds...along with our negative association with "bad foods"...so ingrained, most of us don't even think about it. 

The moral of the story...eat dessert!!  Maybe not the whole pie, but if you want a piece of pie after dinner (and you aren't full) eat it!!  Eat food when you are hungry, stop when you aren't.  And make sure the foods you are eating are foods you love and enjoy...you'll find your relationship with your food will change.  The article also talked about making your meals an event, have a beginning, a middle and an end.  Start to have your own routine for you meals, whether you start every supper with a prayer or a salad (or both),  make sure that you are dedicating some amount of time to just eating.  Try not to eat in front of the television or at your computer at work...there have been several studies that show we consume many more calories when we are blindly eating in front of the television or computer.  It's also important to have a conclusion to your meals, maybe a cup of tea or coffee, some quiet time to sit and talk with your spouse or children...making your meals an event helps to keep you more aware of what you are eating. 

So, today's recipe is my version of a favorite pasta dish I used to order from a local Italian restaurant.  I've added some leeks and tomatoes because the dish I ordered had no veggies!! 

Chicken Asiago Pasta with Leeks and Tomatoes

2 large chicken breasts, cooked, diced
1 lrg bag pasta (cooked to package directions)
1/2 c olive oil
2 T butter
1/4 t red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
juice of 1 lemon
5 cloves garlic, diced
3 leeks, chopped
1/4 c parsley, chopped
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
1 c asiago cheese, grated
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated
salt to taste

Cook pasta of choice according to package directions.  In a medium sauce pain, combine olive oil, butter, pepper flakes, garlic, lemon and salt.  Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes, allowing garlic to cook (watch carefully so garlic does not burn).  In the last 3 minutes of cooking time, add chopped leeks to pasta.  Drain and return to pot.  Add chicken, olive oil mixture, parsley and cheese to pasta, stir.  Add diced tomatoes, stir.  Salt to taste.  Grate fresh cheese over top of pasta before serving. 

You can use any type of pasta you prefer, I used a wider, fettucini style pasta because that's what the original recipe used.  You can also use whatever type of cheese you like.  The original recipe only used asiago, but I had Parmesan here to use, so I did.  You can also add whatever veggies you want...I kept this one simple because I hadn't made it before, but you could easily add spinach and broccoli.

So, enjoy your food...make sure if you are consuming it, it's because you are hungry and it's something you truly like...something you look forward to eating.  If you aren't looking forward to what you are eating...time to make a couple of changes...add something new to an old recipe, or work on creating one of your favorite dishes from a restaurant or maybe something your grandma used to make.  Whatever it is, make sure that you make your meals an event...not one you dread every day...but one you look forward to and sit down to enjoy!   Hope you like the recipe!!