's motd Sunday Feb 20, 2011 - Freezers

[Guest guest]

NEAT &

CLEAN!

Sunday, 20 February 2011

No, I'm not talking about myself

this morning. (Although...I am neat and

clean! LOL.) But instead of me, I'm talking about my

freezer on this Sunday morning. Oh, you should

see it. In fact, one magazine wants to do a photo

spread...on my freezer! But wait, I'm not

finished. A famous director here in Los Angeles even

wants to do a documentary on my gorgeously arranged

freezer! (Am I making you laugh yet? Good!)

But seriously, what may not

make you laugh so much is the way your

freezer looks this morning. In fact, can I come over

and take a look in it? Do you have a big freezer?

And is it filled with a lots of those reduced calorie

pre-packaged meals? Oh, I hope not.

See, those dinners, besides the foods they're made

with, are also filled with lots of additives and

sodium. (Hey, they've got to use something to

give them what seems like an indefinite shelf-life!)

But eating those frozen meals can often leave you with

a bloated feeling, thanks to all of the additives.

(And that's not a good feeling, is it?) Hey, I know

how convenient they are. All you have to do is whip

them out of the freezer and toss them into the

microwave. What could be easier, right? But I have

to tell you, those frozen meals you buy in the

supermarket don't sit so good on my palate!

Now let's get back to your freezer.

Do you have everything arranged

neatly in rows, like you see in the supermarket

freezer cases? Or does it look like everything was

just tossed in and yours looks like a hoarder's

freezer? I know foods last a long time in the

freezer. But I'm willing to bet, there're probably

some things in your freezer it's time to toss. Okay,

let's talk a little more about my freezer, shall we?

Surprise! My freezer is also filled with

pre-packaged meals. But there's a "part-two" to my

surprise. And that is, the pre-packaged meals in my

freezer are ones I made myself. See, the

meals in my freezer weren't prepared in some factory

by a bunch of people wearing little white hats and

plastic gloves. My frozen meals were made in my

kitchen with my own two hands. Let me tell

you some more about those meals.

Right now in my freezer, you'll find six containers of

marinara sauce. It's a simple recipe. I make it with

whole canned tomatoes, crushed garlic, fresh basil and

finely chopped onions. Next to the marinara sauce,

you'll find a big container of my minestrone soup. I

also keep some of my soup in individual serving-size

bowls for when I want to heat a quick bowl of

minestrone. My minestrone is another easy recipe

available to my Clubhouse

members.

On the next shelf, I keep my turkey entrees. This

morning on that shelf, you'll find four frozen turkey

meat loafs, a dozen turkey burgers and about 30 turkey

meatballs. So if I feel like having an Italian-themed

meal for dinner, I take out my marinara sauce, some

turkey meatballs, prepare a pot of pasta and...viola!

My Italian feast is ready!

I also love barbecued chicken. My homemade barbeque

sauce contains molasses, honey, ketchup, vinegar and

my secret blend of " Spices." I also keep

pre-cooked frozen chicken breasts in my freezer. So

when I'm in the mood for some juicy barbecue chicken,

all I have to do is take everything from the freezer

and heat it all up. I keep several rice dishes in my

freezer, too. I make them with brown rice and an

assortment of vegetables. (I like lots of variety

with my rice dishes.) So if I want barbecue chicken

and a nice rice dish on the side, I just take

everything out of the freezer in the morning, let it

thaw and by dinner time, all I have to do is heat and

eat.

There's a simple reason I do a lot

of my cooking ahead of time and freeze it. See, there

used to be a time I might be at home and find myself

saying, "Oh, there's nothing in the house to

eat." Then I might end up ordering out.

(Fat and calorie alert!) But hey, not anymore. By

cooking my own meals ahead of time, I'm able to keep

myself happy with the numbers I see on my scale. And

it's all thanks to my neat & clean

freezer!

Love,