ArcaMax

I was reading a little ditty by a fashion blogger the other day. It’s not something I have ever done. I’m not a fashion and style reader. I was trying to expand my horizons a bit.

I was not only entertained by what I read, but she also inspired me. She got me thinking of fresh ways to start off a new year. So many people make resolutions this time of year. I thought maybe it would be fun to just start Fresh Initiatives. Here are a few of my ideas. I hope it will spark some of your own.

Fresh Dress

The fashion blogger was talking about how she let her husband choose her outfits for an entire week. Horrors! Fashion bloggers are picky about how they dress, so she knew she was taking a lot of risk by letting her husband choose her clothing. She just wanted to see what would happen, and vowed to not only wear what he chose, but to keep her mouth shut if she hated what he put in front of her to wear.

In the end she was pleasantly surprised. Her husband even said things like, “I thought this outfit needed a pop of color so I chose these bright heels to go with it.” She never had any idea he paid that much attention! She loved most of the combinations he chose. He even selected handbags for each outfit. She learned a lot about his fashion sense and got some new ideas of her own.

So I started thinking about how we could all use a little freshening in our lives...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Related Recipes at PlanZDiet.com:

Pink Punch a la Zola
Famous Burger Meatloaf

Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

This is a ZReduction recipe. The flavor and aroma of this dish will bring a little bit of the Italian countryside to your dinner table.

Servings: Serves 4 but can be doubled easily.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lb pork loin roast
½ cup of roasted red peppers. You find these in the Italian section of the grocery store. They are pre-roasted and packed in a jar. You just need to pull out enough to cover the roast and rinse them well before using them. Pat dry. Store the rest for another use.
1 cup of baby spinach
1 tsp of garlic
1 tsp of Italian seasoning, divided

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

You are going to “butterfly” your pork roast. This means you are going to open it up so the whole roast will lay flat and you can stuff it and roll it. It’s not difficult to do if you are careful. Take a sharp knife and cut across the roast about 1” down from the top. You are then going to continue to cut in a circular motion as though you are opening the roast in a spiral. This is very difficult to describe with just words but all you have to do is imagine that your pork roast is spiral, like a cinnamon roll and cut into it to “re-open” the spirals.

Then lay the roast opened flat on your work surface. Spread the garlic across the roast and sprinkle with half of the Italian seasoning. Now take pieces of the roasted red peppers and cover the surface of the roast. On top of that scatter your spinach leaves.

Carefully grab one end of the roast the long way and begin rolling it back up. If you tuck in the edge as you start you will roll it up jelly-roll fashion and your stuffing will all be encased inside the roast. You can secure the roast to stay closed by wrapping kitchen twine around it in a few places or if you are lucky like me, when you put the roast in the roasting pan with the seam side down it will stay rolled up and stay put. Whichever works best. You could also use turkey pins and hold it shut that way if you prefer.

Sprinkle with the rest of the Italian seasoning and give it a good grind of sea salt on top too.

Roast your meat until it reaches 170 degrees. This will take up to 90 minutes.

When you take it out of the oven, slice it in half-inch to three-quarter-inch thick slices. They will hold together best that way. Gently place on your plate and serve with side veggies.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola