Bake Away Day & Dieting

Do you ever have one of those days (or weeks) when you feel like all you've done is cook in the kitchen or bake all day?  The past several weeks have felt like that for me...basically since we returned from vacation.

So why do I feel that way?  There is something truly satisfying about cooking for your family (in my case, me and my hubby).  But there is something even more satisfying knowing that you are doing your family GOOD by cooking for them.

Last week saw us with three BIG meals that enabled hubby & I to eat from all week and even into this week.  I'm a big fan of cooking whole chickens in my crockpot.  Why?  It's simple, easy, cheap, and we get at least 3-4 meals from just one chicken.  So for us, it's truly a no brainer.  But last week not only did I cook a whole chicken, I also made pulled barbecue pork (a secret family recipe), & a roasted a whole turkey.  Needless to say, there was poultry galore, happy bellies, and good eating too.

We are having some company over tomorrow, so in the process of getting the house spring cleaned (yes, that means soaping down furniture, washing windows, and all those other things you don't like to do) I also did a significant amount of baking.  I made cookies for my hubby, 3 loaves of bread (still in process of being completed as they are from my starter mix), and a fresh batch of granola.  We're serving our guests a fresh fruit salad, spinach salad, and chicken wreath for dinner tomorrow night (watch for this recipe coming soon).  They are bringing dessert!  All this yummy food talk is making me hungry...how about you?

On a side note: I was asked by a friend lately how I can be cooking / baking such yummy things and still manage to be on a diet.  I told them that it was easy because I calorie count.  I deprive myself of nothing.  If I'm hungry and I want it, then I eat it.  This allows me to not feel like I'm on a diet, but still allows me the satisfaction of having whatever it is that I would like.  

After all, even going over my recommended daily calories (1400) by 200 calories is better than the 2,600+ that I used to have a day.  I never thought that I ate too much until I started counting calories and realized, "whoa...that's a LOT of food."  Amazing how our brains are programmed when you stop and THINK about what you are eating.