For the last week or two, I’ve been biting my lip an abnormal amount of times while I’m chewing and I can’t quite figure out why. I was chewing gum for a couple hours this morning and I bit my bottom lip twice already, so I’ve since disposed of the gum. The other day I bit my lip as well while eating, and I vaguely recall at least one other instance of that happening within the last week. The frequency of this happening seems strange to me so I tried figuring it out. Aside from one of my back teeth being pulled in December, there has been no other significant change to my mouth or jaw. Maybe that has something to do with it, but it doesn’t seem like it would effect that much.

On another unrelated note, I’ve realized how low my vegetable intake has gotten since moving out on my own. I’ve decided to start adjusting my eating to remedy this. The one vegetable I do eat a lot of is broccoli, which is good because it’s one of the better one’s for you, but I still need more variety. I’d like to add more vegetable side dishes into my meals and make at least one of my dinners per week a salad of some sort. So I put the question out to you, my readers (assuming there’s anyone actually reading this); how do you prepare your favorite vegetable sides? What are your favorite kinds of salads?

Over the weekend I made some really good sweet & sour chicken in my new slow cooker. The recipe was from my new slow cooker cookbook. It was incredibly simple and came out really well.

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: Low 5 hours OR High 2 1/2 hours
Makes: 4 Servings

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
(2) 9-ounce jars sweet and sour sauce
(1) 16-ounce package frozen loose-pack broccoli, carrots, and water chestnuts (vegetables clearly can vary)
2 1/2 cups hot cooked rice (this made a LOT more than I needed)
1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted (optional, I didn’t use them)

1. In a 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker (came out fine in my 6-quart) combine chicken, sweet and sour sauce, and frozen vegetables.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 5 1/2 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 hours. Serve with hot cooked rice. If desired, sprinkle with almonds.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 430 cal., 2 g total fat (0 sat. fat), 66 mg chol., 418 mg sodium, 70 g carbo., 3 g fiber, 31 g pro.
Daily Values: 56% vit. A, 36% vit. C, 3% calcium, 17% iron
Exchanges: 1 Vegetable, 2 Starch, 2 1/2 Other Carbo., 3 Very Lean Meat

Yesterday, I made some chocolate chocolate chip muffins (yes, that’s two chocolates) for my staff breakfast today. They were quite popular. You know you want one.

The recipe is here: Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

After about 2 1/2 – 3 hours work, I just finished converting my second pack of Oreos into white and dark chocolate-covered goodness. Something about doing a repetitive task like this is peaceful to me, almost like meditating. Helps keep my mind off of things at least. Having Howard Stern in my ear the whole time is certainly an aid to the distraction. I go about this candy-making process every Christmas and I’ve been approached several times by people who would like to purchase these and other candies I make in the future. Come Valentine’s time, you may see some of this stuff for sale.