Around the Yard - Turkey - Giveaway

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends! I'm assuming that by now, some of you are at the computer checking out blogs, and some are asleep on the couch, due to that unbelievable dinner you ate a couple hours ago.

From About.com:

"Unless a microwave dinner is your idea of a Thanksgiving feast, you probably have had firsthand experience with the after-dinner fatigue that sets in after the meal. Why do you want a nap? To escape the dishes? Perhaps, but the meal itself plays a big part in the way you feel...

The turkey is often cited as the culprit in after dinner lethargy, but the truth is that you could omit the bird altogether and still feel the effects of the feast. Turkey does contain L-tryptophan, an essential amino acid with a documented sleep inducing effect.

L-tryptophan is used in the body to produce the B-vitamin, niacin. Tryptophan also can be metabolized into serotonin and melatonin, neurotransmitters that exert a calming effect and regulate sleep. 

However, L-tryptophan needs to be taken on an empty stomach and without any other amino acids or protein in order to make you drowsy. There's lots of protein in a serving of turkey and it's probably not the only food on the table. 

 

It's worth noting that other foods contain as much or more tryptophan than turkey (0.333 g of tryptophan per 100 gram edible portion), including chicken (0.292 g of tryptophan per 100 gram edible portion), pork, and cheese. As with turkey, other amino acids are present in these foods besides tryptophan, so they don't make you sleepy. 

L-tryptophan may be found in turkey and other dietary proteins, but it's actually a carbohydrate-rich (as opposed to protein-rich) meal that increases the level of this amino acid in the brain and leads to serotonin synthesis. Carbohydrates stimulate the pancreas to secrete insulin. When this occurs, some amino acids that compete with tryptophan leave the bloodstream and enter muscle cells. This causes an increase in the relative concentration of tryptophan in the bloodstream. Serotonin is synthesized and you feel that familiar sleepy feeling."

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For some of you, it may be obvious what is pictured in the photo above. For others, maybe not. It's fun for me when the beauty of ordinary, everyday objects jumps out at me. That's what happened on the day I took this photo.

So, do you know what it is? Please leave me a comment and let me know!

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And one more thing for which I'm thankful: That my husband, who does not love our dogs and cat quite as much as I do, does not call a divorce lawyer when the cat throws up on his side of the bed - as Tuppence did this morning. :-((((...................I did not say he was happy about it, however.

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Don't miss the HomemadeSoapnSuch GIVEAWAY Ends tonight at Midnight!


Be sure to enter - HERE 

Christmas 2012
Handcrafted, Vegan, Luxury Soaps

Sirloin with Broccoli and Carrots

You're probably starting to think that all my dinner meals look alike. I'll have to admit that very often I start with a piece of steak or chicken and add various combinations of vegetables. For example, I like to buy sirloin and package it in roughly 1.5 pound packages, then freeze it for later use.

This Sirloin with Broccoli and Carrots dinner is so delicious and so easy to make. The key is to think ahead in the morning, so you can move the frozen sirloin from the freezer to the refrigerator, then it will be just right for slicing very thin just before dinnertime. That way I never have to slice squishy meat, for who likes to do that!

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds of beef sirloin, sliced in very thin strips
Fresh broccoli, cut into chunks
Fresh carrots, cut into  1/8 inch slices
Olive oil
Celery, cut in 1/3 inch chunks
Fresh mushrooms, sliced
Garlic, 1 clove, minced
Onion, 1, sliced
Red peppers (bell), diced
Sea salt
Coarse-ground black pepper
Cayenne
Lightly salted Planters Peanuts (other brands have so many additives and preservatives!)

Sauce: (Stir ingredients together)
1/2 c. Kitchen Basics (GF) Beef Broth
1 t. honey
1/4 c. burgandy
1+ T. corn starch

Procedure:
Steam sliced carrots and broccoli for a few minutes until the color is darker. You don't want them overcooked and squishy. Set aside.

Stirfry beef and garlic in olive oil until only slightly pink in the center. Remove to a plate.

In same skillet, stirfry celery, onion, and red peppers.

Add beef and garlic, carrots and broccoli back into the skillet. Add mushrooms.

Mix sauce and pour over contents of skillet. Cook on low until sauce is translucent.

Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper, cayenne to taste. We like ours kinda hot.

Serve peanuts in a dish separately. You don't want to eat leftovers containing soggy peanuts!

Serve with brown or basmati rice. I'm trying to learn to simply sprinkle a little rice on top, rather than serving this stirfry over a bed or rice OR, better yet, to avoid the rice altogether. It's not like the vegetables don't have enough carbs.  You can see I didn't manage to do that this time, however. :-(

Planters - lightly salted, dry roasted...YUM

And here's the final product:

It's delicious. Then all you need is a little piece of 88% dark chocolate for dessert (like Endangered Species' Black Panther!)



This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
and Tasty Tuesdays
and Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods
and Tuesdays at the Table 
and What's Cooking Wednesday
and Lisa's Gluten Free Food and Health Blog
and Fun with Food Friday
and Fat Camp Friday