Cenula Valeo

Feelin' Vital!

2011-01-29T14:17:00.002-06:00

This week has been pretty good overall. I definitely feel better than I did last week and when I forgot to take the pills, I felt noticably more tired. I had a difficult week this week. I get the winter time blues in January. It's just a fact of my life! I just want to curl up in bed and never come out until it's warm outside again. Hibernate like a grizzly bear. And if you try to wake me up before spring there will be some beheadings going on! At least, that's how I normally feel this time of year.

Vitality has been taking the edge off of that feeling. No, it doesn't get rid of the feeling entirely but it does make it manageable. Without it this week would have been a whole lot worse than it was. I wouldn't have gotten ANYTHING done. Instead, I can look at this week and go, y'know, I didn't do to bad. I still got things checked off my list and I still managed not to bite Matt's head off about anything. Hurray!

Meal Plans Jan 29th - Feb 4th

2011-01-29T13:59:00.002-06:00

This week I'm gonna try Indian Fry Bread. I'm so nervous. Nothing I've ever deep-fried has turned out well. I don't know if it's my stove, my pan, or me! So we'll see how this goes!

Meals

Saturday: Spaghetti, Salad, Rolls

Sunday: Roast w/Mashed Potatoes, veggies & Apple Crisp
I use a pork loin roast that's packaged in it's own marinade. I throw it in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. Makes for an easy meal and great leftovers for the week. For desert I'm going to try this Betty Crocker recipe.

Monday: Indian Fry Bread
My aunt is a native american, adopted into our family. She would make this for us occasionally for dinner while we were growing up. It's great because the fry bread serves as a base for both dinner and desert.

* 1 cup Flour
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 cup milk
* Oil for frying
* 1 can chili with beans
* shredded lettuce
* chopped tomato
* shredded cheese
* sour cream
* honey
* powdered sugar

Mix flour, salt and baking powder together. Slowly pour in milk and mix until combined (don't knead!) Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Flour your hands well then stretch and spread the dough into rough disc shapes 5-7 inches in diameter. Heat oil in a deep pan to 350 degrees. Oil should be about 1 inch deep. Gently drop the dough into the pan. Press down with heat-safe tongs while it frys. 3-4 minutes per side. Set onto a plate with paper towels on it. Repeat for other pieces. Top two of the fry bread pieces with chili, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. For desert, top the other two with honey and powdered sugar.

Tuesday: Ham Fried Rice

Cook rice according to instructions. Meanwhile, in a small pan pour 1 Tbl oil and toss in some chopped green onions. Add an egg and cook until scrambled. Remove the egg mix from the pan and set aside. Now brown some cubed ham and set aside when done. Lastly cook up 2-4 slices of bacon. Let cool then crumble and set aside. When rice is done, combine all the ingredients with the rice and a dash of soy sauce or 2 Tbl of sweet'n'sour sauce.

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Shrimp & Swiss Grilled Cheese Sammich
I'm making this recipe up so we'll see how it turns out. I plan to cook it like a normal grilled cheese sammich except for the filling I'll use slices of swiss cheese and pre-cooked shrimp with tails removed.

Friday: Black Bean Soup
I'm using this recipe from Eating Well.com. Matt and I have done it before and it's delicious!

Vitality 3-4

2011-01-24T09:59:00.003-06:00

Saturday I didn't notice much of a difference than Friday. But Sunday I definitely did. Sundays are generally difficult for me to stay awake because I've usually been up late the night before for one reason or another. And getting up an hour earlier than I usually do also adds to the problem. I was looking forward to taking Vitality and seeing if it made a difference to me on Sunday.

Well....I forgot to take them in the morning. By the time I got home I was slap-me-down ready for a long nap. But I couldn't take a nap. I had to get lunch ready then after lunch I had to get dinner in the crockpot so it would be ready at a decent time. And that involved removing the skin from several pieces of chicken thighs. Then, since a World Event began in World of Warcraft and there were some changes to it in the expansion I had to get to work updating the info we had on the website so people would know what changed and be easily able to adjust. That was going to take a few hours at least. Blarg!

So I popped my lunchtime pills and, I kid you not, within an hour and a half or so I was feeling like I had plenty of sleep and plenty of energy to keep tearing through my to do list. I even stayed up until almost midnight just chatting with the hubby and writing. I knew how my day was going to go. It was going to be awful. It was going to take some mighty effort to get anything on my list done. But instead, because of these pills, I was able to have a pretty normal and productive day!

Vitality Day 2

2011-01-22T10:16:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I definitely felt a difference. I was physically tired but despite that I felt more alert and awake then I normally would have. Usually by this point, after a couple days of restless sleep, I just want to do nothing and think about nothing except maybe getting some sleep. But I managed to get work done and at least a good chunk of my to-do list done yesterday.

Then, without a nap, I managed to go to book group and follow the conversations without my mind wandering too much. And I stayed up with my hubby after I got home too. So here goes with taking pills on Day 2!

Meal Plans 21st-27th

2011-01-21T10:23:00.004-06:00

I figured I might as well start this up again too. I won't have calories attached since I haven't been tracking them for a while but I hope to pick that back up again soon too.

Meals

Friday
Ranch Noodles
2 Servings | Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
* 4 oz Spaghetti noodles
* 1/2 cup mixed frozen vegetables (corn, peas, carrots etc.)
* 1/2 cup ham, fully cooked, cubed
* 1 cup Ranch dressing
* 1 Roma tomato, chopped

Instructions: Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook veggies according to package instructions. Place cubed ham in a small skillet on medium heat and cook until browned slightly. Strain the noodles and run cold water over them until the noodles are no longer warm. In a large bowl, mix noodles, vegetables (including tomato), ham, and Ranch dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve later.

Saturday
Stuffed Crust Pizza
4 Servings | Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
* Refrigerated Pizza Dough
* 1 package Turkey Pepperoni
* 2 cups Part-Skim Mozzarella
* 1/2 cup Pizza or Spaghetti sauce
* 8-10 Mozzarella sticks (aka string cheese)

Instructions: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out pizza dough on a floured surface. Place Mozzarella sticks along the edges of the dough and roll the edges of the dough over the sticks and then pinch closed. Spread sauce, cheese and pepperoni over the rest of the dough. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Sunday
Chicken Thighs with Carrots & Potatoes
4 Servings | Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 6 hours

Ingredients:
* 1 medium onion
* 4 medium potatoes
* 2 cups baby carrots
* 1/4 cup chicken broth
* 1/4 cup white cooking wine
* 1 tsp minced garlic
* 1/2 tsp dried thyme
* 1-1/4 tsp salt, divided
* 1/2 tsp pepper, divided
* 1 tsp paprika
* 4 skinned, bone-in chicken thighs

Instructions: Slice the onion and potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices and place in a medium-large slow cooker. Toss in the baby carrots. Combine broth, white wine, garlic, thyme, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Pour over the vegetables. Combine paprika with remaining salt and pepper and rub over the chicken thighs. Arrange chicken on top of the vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Monday
Pancakes, eggs & bacon

Follow instructions on Bisquick box for pancakes. :P

Tuesday
Shrimp Noodle Bowl
2 Servings | Total Time: 15 min

Ingredients:
* 2 (3 oz) packages Oriental-flavored ramen noodle soup mix
* 1 green onion, chopped
* 4 Tbl chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 cup fresh, trimmed snow peas
* 12 peeled and deveined medium size raw shrimp (26/30 count)
* 1/4 cup shredded napa cabbage
* 2 Tbl chopped peanuts

Instructions: Stir together flavor packet from the soup mix, 4 cups of water, green onion and cilantro in a medium-large pot. Bring to a boil then add noodles and snow peas. Cook 1 minute then add shrimp. Cook for 2 minutes more or until shrimp turns pink and noodles are tender. Transfer to two bowls and top with cabbage and peanuts.

Wednesday
Hoppin' John Stew with Grits
2 Servings | Total Time: 50 min

Ingredients:
* 1/2 Tbl butter
* 1/2 cup chopped, smoked ham
* 2 Tbl Onion powder
* 1 15oz cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
* 1 10oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
* 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
* 1/2 tsp sugar
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* White Cheddar Cheese Grits

Instructions: Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add ham and onion powder and saute 2 minutes. Stir in black-eyed peas, diced tomatoes, corn and sugar. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook grits according to package instructions. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve immediately over grits.

Thursday
Taco Salad
4 Servings | Total Time: 20 min

Ingredients:
* 1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
* 1 package taco seasoning
* 1 bag of Fritos chips
* 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
* 2 bags of salad of your choice
* Ranch Dressing
* Salsa
* Sour Cream

Instructions: Cook and crumble ground beef/turkey in a pan. Drain fat and add taco seasoning. In 4 bowls, divide and layer chips, ground beef, cheese, salad and your choice of topping: salad dressing, salsa, sour cream.

Vitality

2011-01-21T10:03:00.003-06:00

When I had gallbladder surgery just a few weeks ago my mom came out to help a bit which was really awesome of her. She and my Dad are reps for NuSkin so while she was here she showed me this new product they have called ageLoc Vitality. It's a dietary suppliment that improves physical vigor, mental acuity, and sexual desire. While I have no problems with the third part the first two I feel I could use a little help with. Especially trying to get back on a healthy track after surgery and the months of craziness before that.

My mom gave me a bottle to try for free. You're supposed to take 3 pills with breakfast and 3 with lunch. So here goes! I took my first three this morning! In order to keep track of how well it works for me, I've decided to pick up my blog again and write down how I'm feeling every once in a while.

This morning I felt tired. A couple restless nights are likely the cause but I had been fighting the 'tired' feeling before that too. You know those mid-winter blues that make you just want to curl up in your warm bed and never leave it until spring? Yeah I don't really want to be a grizzly bear this winter. I want to DO things! But I just don't feel like I have the motivation to because I just feel tired and sluggish. So maybe vitality will help. We'll see!

There are so many stories associated with these pills. Good stories, great stories! My dad, for example, has suffered from severe (and that word is terribly inadequate) migraines for the past 5 years. NOTHING worked to get rid of these headaches. It was always just pop migraine medicine and drink a diet coke and hope the caffine punch would turn the headache down to a bearable level. His headaches were an almost daily occurrence. My dad has been taking Vitality since October and hasn't had a single headache since. It was simply miraculous.

My mom told me the story of a secretary who was chatting with my dad and she mentioned being tired all the time. Dad gave her a bottle of Vitality to try. The secretary had some mandatory bloodwork that needed to be done every few months. She was positive she was going to totally bomb it because this was in December and the holidays were hectic and she hadn't been eating right or exercising for a while. She figured she'd give Vitality a try. She took it for a week and then went and had her bloodwork done. The doctor who compared the bloodwork results called her and asked her what she was doing because her bloodwork was the most perfect of all the people who had their bloodwork done and it was, in fact, the most perfect and healthy he'd every seen. She called my dad back and told him about it and ordered another bottle of Vitality.

That last story is a hope I hold for myself. Because of my PCOS, I'm borderline diabetic and my body treats foods a little differently. That's why it's difficult for me to loose weight, even when I was on my 1100-calories-a-day diet. I've also got borderline high cholesterol. So I'm hoping that Vitality can help me in those areas of my health too like they've helped other people.

Homemade Lunchables

2010-04-19T12:46:00.002-05:00

I haven't had a ton of extra time the past month but I'm going to try and update when I can and post meal lists when I can. ^_^

Lately, Matt and I have been trying to do something different for lunches. Sandwiches get really boring after doing them every day for months on end. And since we're now also trying to watch our sodium (thanks for the suggestion julie!) we've cut out mac & cheese and chili. So this week we experimented with homemade Lunchables. It actually works out really well! It's like a meat, cheese, and fruit tray for lunch! It's also great because you can use leftovers or whatever meat and/or cheese is currently in your fridge. For example, we have a half a bag of turkey pepperoni and some hotdogs. So that got added to our lunchables plate. We also added some diced lunch meat. For cheeses we had some cheddar slices and a bit of cream cheese. Put all that on one plate with some grapes, kiwi, and strawberries and it's a nice alternative meal to the usual sammich.

Meal Plans March 13th-26th

2010-03-19T11:25:00.003-05:00

Me: 240
Hubby: 230

I continue to feel looser in the jeans but I seemed to have plateau'd on my weight for a while. I'm really going to cut snackage as much as possible this week to try and figure out if the problem is in the snacking. I know I'm doing fine with meals but I do have a tendency to snack and I have an inkling that I'm not being as careful as I think I'm being.

I was so busy last week I didn't get around to posting my meal plan but things have mellowed out this week so I'm posting both. From last week, the Fettucini did not turn out very well. I think it was the whole wheat pasta that did it in. I'm starting to learn there are some things you can use whole wheat pasta for and some things you just can't. It tastes gross and leaves a worse aftertaste. But on a good note the Chili turned out fabulous!

...working on filling in the calories throughout the day so check back if you don't see calories...

March 13-19

Meals

Saturday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Grilled Ham& Cheese Sammiches(300) -- 300
Misc Leftovers -- Unknown

Sunday
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast & Butter(135) -- 275
Hot Dogs(130) w/chips(150) & salsa(35) -- 315
Ultimate Beef Chili(235) w/rolls(100) -- 335

Monday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Sammich(230) w/fruit(100) -- 330
Southwestern Corn & Black Bean Salad(410) w/rolls(100) -- 510

Tuesday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
PB&J(200) w/Chips(150) & Salsa(35) -- 385
Roasted Red Peppers in Fettucini Alfredo w/rolls(100) --

Wednesday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Leftover Chili(235) w/Mac&Cheese() --
Pork Chops w/Zucchini & Corn, Rolls(100) --

Thursday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Tuna Sammiches(200) w/chips(150) & pudding(80) --
Date Night Out -- Unknown

Friday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Sammich(230) w/chips(150) & applesauce(80) --
Breaded Salmon w/Asparagus & Rice --

March 20-26th

Saturday
Brunch: Omelet(75), Fruit(), Toast, Cereal, Yogurt, Juice --
Swiss Chicken w/Broccoli & Mandarin Oranges --

Sunday
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast & Butter(135) -- 275
PB&J w/Lipton Rice
Leftover Chicken Sub Sammiches w/Asparagus

Monday
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & banana(110) -- 294
Sammich(230) w/chips(150) & applesauce(80)
Taco Salad w/jello fruit cups

Tuesday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Tuna Sammich(200) w/Chips(150) -- 350
BLT Pasta

Wednesday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Sammich(230) w/Chips(150) & Salsa(35) --
Beef & Veggie Kabobs w/Fruit Kabobs --

Thursday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Leftover Pasta w/Mandarin Oranges --
Pork Chops w/Mashed Potatoes, Gravy & Corn/Zucchini

Friday
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & banana(110) -- 294
Grilled Ham & Cheese() w/Pears() --
Soup & crackers

Recipes

Cheat Days

2010-03-19T09:29:00.003-05:00

It's important to have cheat days.

What's a cheat day? It's a day you decide to eat out or eat what you feel like eating. Eat what you've been craving for weeks. It's the day you can look forward to when you really want a peanut buster parfait from Dairy Queen. You say to yourself "Self, I can have a peanut buster parfait. But not today. My cheat day is next week and that's when I'll have a big, yummy, peanut buster parfait." It helps you mentally maintain your diet for the long term. When you're trying to really make diet a lifestyle instead of just a crash diet to loose weight and loose it now.

I've been learning that cheat days are quite important for your body too. It needs time to adjust and you will find that you will have legitimate cravings of the food your body has been used to for a long time but that you don't eat anymore because of your diet. You need to satisfy them to a certain degree to keep yourself steady on that path of loosing weight instead of your body holding onto it and going into 'survival' mode that you always hear about. You know, when you crash diet to loose a lot of weight but when the diet is over it just comes back and is worse than before because your body is preparing for the next time you'll starve it? Yeah, having cheat days helps you prevent that. Over time, your body will lose the craving for that peanut buster parfait and the food you eat on a regular basis will be quite enough for you. In fact, that parfait might but just a too much sugar once you've weaned your body off of eating those kinds of things regularly.

Shuffling!

2010-03-11T12:46:00.002-06:00

There comes a time in everyone's week where you realize the best laid plans....are all worthless. Every week something happens that requires us to shuffle around which meals we're doing when or end up going out to eat instead of making our own dinner at home. It could be that I forgot to pull out the pork chops to thaw. Or I misjudged how long errands would take and don't have time to get the meal ready by a decent hour. Or we had to go somewhere and were gone longer than planned so we eat out instead. Something always happens. And you know what? It's okay.

Shuffling around meals is not the end of the world. But when you do it just make sure you're thinking about what foods need to be used sooner than other foods. For example, if you've got strawberries to go with a meal make sure you use them sooner rather than later as they have a tendency to go bad quicker than other fruits. Or if you got some meat on sale that says 'use by date' then make sure you either freeze it or use it before it expires and goes back. Keeping these things in mind as you do the shuffle will help you have less waste at the end of the week.

I also wanted to point out to anyone who might think I'm super awesome for sticking to this meal schedule....that I'm just as average as anyone else and have to change plans all the time!

Meal Plans March 6-12th

2010-03-05T16:24:00.003-06:00

My Weigh in: 240
Hubby's Weigh In: 231

My hubby wants me to help him keep track of his weight too so you'll be seeing his up there with mine each week.

Matt and I have done the oven fried chicken before and it's DELICIOUS! If you ever get the hankering for some fried chicken THIS is the way to do it. When I first served it to Matt he couldn't tell there was no skin! Skin makes it tastier and juicier but also a lot fattier. By removing the skin and just by the way it's cooked he couldn't tell until I pointed it out. Chicken legs are on sale at Price Chopper so I definitely recommend this one this week.

Meals

Saturday
Pancakes(530), Fruit(100), Bacon(60) -- 690
Chicken Spinach Salad(250) w/Rolls(100), Brownies(75) -- 425

Sunday
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast & Butter(135) -- 275
Tuna Wraps(200) w/Chips(150) -- 350
Green Pizza(323) w/Apples(80) -- 403

Monday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Sammich(230) w/Applesauce(80) & Crackers(140) -- 450
Pork Chops(150), Coleslaw(120), Rolls(100), Brownies(75) -- 445

Tuesday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
PB&J(200) w/Chips(150) & Salsa(35) -- 385
Mexcian Lasagna(340) w/Strawberries(50) -- 390

Wednesday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Chili(190) Mac & Cheese(180) -- 370
Crab Cakes(163ea) w/fruit(100) -- 263

Thursday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Hot Dogs(130) w/chips(150) & salsa(35) -- 315
Hamburger Hash Browns(390) w/Pears(100) -- 490

Friday
Cereal(220) w/Toast & butter(135) -- 355
Sammich(230) w/fruit(100) -- 330
Oven Fried Chicken(226) w/Green Beans(50) & Mashed Potatoes(270) -- 550

Recipes

Chicken Spinach Salad
1/2 bag of Spinach leaves
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 cup of craisins and/or sunflower seeds
2 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced
1/2 cup raspberry vinaigrette

Toss everything together except chicken and dressing. Place chicken on top and drizzle dressing over.

Green Pizza
Eating Well Recipe
I modify this one slightly by using spinach instead of arugula, I add some crumbled turkey bacon for added flavor and I almost always make my own dough.

Pork Chops
There's no recipe for this one. Just a little salt and pepper then cook it on a non-stick skillet so you don't have to grease it with any butter or oil. Careful not to over-cook it or it will dry out!

Mexican Lasagna
Source: Woman's Day Magazine April 2009
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cups copped onion
1 zucchini, diced
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can corn niblets, drained
1 can mild enchilada sauce
1/2 cup chopped cilantro or 1 tbl dried
5 flour tortillas
1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Fat Free Sour Cream

Heat oven to 100 degrees. Coat a 3qt round baking dish with nonstick spray.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Add succhini and cumin and saute 5 minutes or until zucchini is crisp-tender. Stir in tomatos, beans, corn, and enchilada sauce; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
Put 1 tortilla in baking dish, top with 1 1/2 cups of mixture, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of cheese. Repeat layering 4 times.
Cover with foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly around the edges and cheese is melted. Cool 5 minutes, cut into wedges and serve with sour cream garnish if desired.

Crab Cakes
Eating Well Recipe
Crab Cakes are good with or without a bun. The recipe doens't include a bun even though it calls them a 'burger'. We won't be trying this with a bun.

Hamburger Hash Browns
I made up this recipe according to what ingredients I currently had or would have when I was done shopping for other things we're having this week. So we'll see how it turns out!
3 cups frozen hash browns
1 cup cup fake eggs/egg whites
1/2-1lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
4 slices turkey bacon
salt
pepper

Cook hash browns 3 minutes less than package instructions. Meanwhile, cook ground beef with onions until no longer pink. Cook bacon according to package instructions and crumble. 3 minutes before hash browns are done, add eggs and gently mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes then add ground beef and bacon Mix gently and cook until hash browns are done and eggs are not runny.

Oven Fried Chicken
Eating Well Recipe
This recipe is the bomb! Takes a little while if you have to remove the skin from the chicken yourself but well worth the effort!

I Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!

2010-03-05T16:19:00.003-06:00

I promise I'm alive and still out here and still cooking and exercising. Feb was a disaster month with so much going on that I just couldn't keep up with it all. But March is looking better so I'll be posting meal plans as usual this evening or tomorrow morning.

My weighing in: 240

I had gained some weight on the cruise we took in Feb but it appears to be all gone again. Woot!

Meal Plans Jan 30th-Feb 5th

2010-02-02T17:47:00.003-06:00

I had a sinus issue this weekend so sorry the post is late! I'll add in calories for what's missing as well as recipes.

Meals

Sat
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
PB&J Sammiches () --
Misc Leftovers -- Unknown

Sun
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast(100) & butter(35) -- 275
Hot Dogs(200), w/chips(150) -- 350
Out -- Unknown

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & banana(110) -- 294
Sammich(230) w/chips(150) & salsa(30) --
Eggs, Bacon, Toast, Blueberry Muffins --

Tues
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Tuna Wraps() w/chip(150) --
Chicken Spinach Salad() --

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Chips(150) & Pears(50) --
Tex Mex Taco Salad() --

Thurs
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Sammich(230) w/Applesauce() --
Baked Mac & Cheese() --

Fri
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Leftover Mac & Cheese() --
Out -- Unknown

Extra
Chili() & Crackers() --

Recipes

Size Not Weight

2010-01-28T16:00:00.003-06:00

Firstly, As yummy and the sweet & sour cabbage rolls were they don't make all that yummy leftovers in my opinion.

Secondly, Mangos are nasty. It's like....chewing on pine needles.

Third, Creamy Asparagus Pasta was very good! It worked fine with plain mustard and with skim milk if you don't mind the sauce being just a little thinner. I'm not a fan of mustard so I use the normal plain kind instead of the kind in the recipe because strange mustards tend to be stronger in flavor.

Now on to my post!

-----

When my younger sister was pregnant with her first child I remember my oldest sister telling her, "Now Candiss, when you've had your baby and you're trying to lose weight from your pregnancy, just remember one thing. Don't judge your progress by your weight, judge it by your size. When you can fit back into your old jeans that's all that really matters."

That kind of stuck with me. And I was reminded of it especially in the last two months. I see the scale every week and I'm not quite at where I wanted to be by this time. It's discouraging to say the least, especially on weeks where I gain a pound or I don't gain or lose anything.

But despite the evil scale not telling me what I want to see all the time, I have noticed a difference in my clothing sizes. When I feel down, all I need to do to perk up is try on some of my old clothes that are gathering dust in the closet. The jeans I just bought around Christmas were pretty tight when I bought them. Now they fit perfectly and if I keep going, I'll bet they'll start to get a tad loose in a month or two.

There's other things too. My belt was cinched on the first knotch in December and I'm now tightening to the third knotch. Since we're going on vacation soon I pulled out my shorts (I haven't worn shorts in...uh...years) and tried them on today. One fit perfectly, one fit tightly and one didn't quite fit yet. I even dug out my swimsuit *GASP* and it fits. A little snug but definitely wearable without wriggling into it. Neither my shorts nor my swimsuit fit me before I started my diet.

So despite the fact I've lost 20 pounds (which is awesome! don't get me wrong!) instead of the 30-35 pounds I was hoping to do by this time, I'm okay with it. Because I've been dropping sizes. Thanks Laura & Candiss for teaching me how to judge my weight loss from a different perspective.

Delicious and Nutritious

2010-01-25T11:52:00.002-06:00

The Sweet and Sour Cabbage Rolls and the Green Pizza were excellent! I added some leftover turkey pepperoni and some crumbled turkey bacon to the top of the pizza but honestly it could have done well without it too. It was especially yummy with a little bit of fat free ranch dressing to dip or put on top. They were decent calories but more importantly they had lots of veggies.

Honestly the pizza had me worried. I really, really don't care for cooked spinach. It gets all mushy and gross. I like it raw in a salad or slightly wilted is fine too. So I was worried when I had to wilt it and then cook it for another 10 minutes in the oven. But it turned out alright. As long as I didn't think too hard about it it was yummy. Matt certainly seemed to like it because he had two helpings! Then again, Matt always likes pizza. :D

I used a lot of dishes. It feels like I've been washing dishes for three days straight. I don't know if it's because I need more than couple mixing bowls or if I need less of them!

Meal Plans Jan 23rd-29th

2010-01-23T15:53:00.003-06:00

Weighing In: 242

Lots of really good sales this week at Price Chopper! Mangos were on sale so I rummaged around and found a recipe that used mangos. We'll see how it turns out! I've never had mangos except in a canned fruit cocktail.

One change to the way I'm posting recipes. If there is a link to the recipe I'll just post that and note any modifications I'm making. If it's from a cookbook I'll write it all out as usual.

Meals

Sat
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Misc Leftovers -- Unknown
Sweet & Sour Cabbage Rolls(272) w/Sliced Apple(80) -- 352

Sun
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast(100) & butter(35) -- 275
Hot Dogs(200), w/crackers(100) & string cheese(80) -- 380
Green Pizza(323), w/Crasins(100) -- 423

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & banana(110) -- 294
Sammich(230) w/broccoli(45) & cauliflower(25) -- 300
Curried Chicken & Mango Salad(289) w/ Rice(75) -- 364

Tues
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Tuna Sammich(200) w/chip(150) -- 350
Creamy Asparagus Pasta(359) -- 359

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Chips(150) & Apples(40) -- 420
Baja Fish Tacos(250ea) -- 500

Thurs
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Fried Rice(270) w/sliced tortilla(100) -- 370
Beef Stew(265) w/Rolls(100) -- 365

Fri
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Green Beans & Bacon(75) -- 305
Chicken Spinach Salad(290) w/Rolls(100) -- 390

Extra
Grilled Cheese Sammich(250) & Chicken Noodle Soup(120) -- 370

Recipes

Sweet & Sour Cabbage Rolls
From Eating Well

Green Pizza
From Eating Well
Instead of Arugula I'm using Spinach since I have a whole bag and it was on sale. I may put a little bacon or shredded chicken on top as well.

Curried Chicken with Mango Salad
From Eating Well

Creamy Asparagus Pasta
From Eating Well

Baja Fish Tacos
From Price Chopper
Fat Free Mayo & Sour Cream
Tilapia was on sale this week so we use it instead of cod
Olive Oil instead of Vegtable Oil
Lime juice instead of lime wedges (cheaper sometimes!)
I cook my own taco shells from corn tortillas instead of buying them

Autumn Beef Stew
From Price Chopper
Using regular potatoes because they're on sale
1/2 cup celery instead of celery seed
Use half the amount of onion and a dash of onion powder instead

Chicken Spinach Salad
1/2 bag of spinach
1 can mandarian oranges, drained
2 packets of crasins
1 chicken breast, pounded, cooked, sliced
6 tbl raspberry vinigarette
Croutons or sunflower seeds if desired

Mix all and toss in dressing. Serve immediately.

'Fried' Rice
1 bag of Bird's Eye Steamfresh rice w/veggies of your choice.
4 slices of turkey bacon, cooked, chopped
2 flour tortillas
4 tbl sweet and sour sauce

Cook Steamfresh according to instructions. Remove from bag and place in medium bowl. Mix in bacon and sweet & sour sauce. Slice tortillas into quarters and serve with rice.

Diet & Travel Don't Mix

2010-01-23T15:40:00.003-06:00

It's not so much that it can't mix. It doesn't mix. You do the best you can for sure but it's difficult to stick with the diet when you're out and about. Your eating schedule is dependent on other people's schedules. Your dietary selections are depedent on what's in other's people's fridges. Or where you happen to be at the time and what restaurants are close by.

I didn't think it'd be that hard when I went to Utah last week. Actually it wasn't too bad, or so I thought. I really thought I did really good! Except for saturday night (which was a gaming night so I expected to eat and snack more) I was able to keep my calorie intake lower than I'd usually do when I visit Utah. I made concious decisions on what I was eating. I even made an effort to put some exercise in there!

I walked (briskly too!) to the wedding reception even though it was cold and I could have driven. I also made myself walk around more than I normally would. Instead of yelling around the house for a parent or a sibling or a niece/nephew, I walked around and looked for them. Instead of grabbing all my snacks and bringing them to the game table so I wouldn't have to go get any snacks for the whole game, I purposefully only brought my drink and crackers. So if I wanted something else I'd have to get up and walk over to get it. That was a two-fold trick I'm proud of! Firstly I had to get up and walk across the house to the kitchen and while I walked there I could decide if I really wanted to have the snack or if I should just get a drink of water instead.

So it's not like I went pig-wild (as matt would call it) and sat around the whole weekend. I really tried hard to still be on a diet! I was very disappointed when I got to the gym on Wed and saw that I hadn't lost any weight at all. I had to give myself the pep talk and say, "Self, at least you didn't gain anything!" My next blog topic (excluding the meal list that is incoming) I'm going to post my self pep talks and some of my inspiration when things aren't quite going the way I hoped. Stay tuned!

Meal Plans Jan 9th-18th

2010-01-12T17:13:00.003-06:00

Weighing In: 246

Yeah I know, I know. I gained a couple pounds this week instead of loosing them. I've been sick! And it was the holidays! (Excuses! Excuses! I need more excuses!) Because I've been sick I also didn't get around to posting our meals for this week even though I had them written down. So here they are even if they are a bit late.

I'm doing meals through monday next week because I'm gone for the weekend. So this weekend's meals are mostly leftovers for Matt so he doesn't have to try and cook while I'm gone. Also, I've given up on a grocery list, it just takes too much time! I'll do them when I can but I hope I'm not disappointing anyone by not including them all the time. ^_^

Meals

Sat
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Hot Dogs(200) & Orange(70) -- 270
Date Night OUT -- Unknown

Sun
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast(100) & butter(35) -- 275
Tuna Wraps(205) w/carrot(45) & ranch(15) -- 265
English Muffin Pizzas(195ea) -- 390

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/banana(110) -- 340
Easy Warehouse Soup(312) w/Cornbread(90) -- 492

Tues
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Chili(190) Mac & Cheese(180) -- 370
Baked Apple French Toast(200) w/Bacon(60) & Yogurt(110) -- 370

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Orange(70) -- 300
Herb & Lemon Chicken Breasts(165) w/Rice(75) and Mixed Veggies(35) -- 275

Thurs
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Leftover Sirloin Salad() w/Pita bread() -- 432
Pork Chops w/Apple & Thyme(219), Mixed Veggies(35) & Cornbread(90) -- 344

Fri
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/chips(90) & salsa(30) -- 350
7-Layer Burritos(425) -- 425

Sat
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Mac & Cheese(180) & Apple(80) -- 260
Leftover French Toast -- 200

Sun
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast(100) & butter(35) -- 275
Hot Dogs(215) w/chips(130) -- 345
English Muffin Pizzas(195ea) -- 390

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & banana(80) -- 264
Sammich(230) w/chips(130) -- 360
Spaghetti w/meatsauce(190), Lite Caesar Salad(135) & Bread(110) -- 435

Extra
Grilled Cheese Sammich(250) & Chicken Noodle Soup(120) -- 370

Snacks
Fat Free Jello Pudding, chocolate & vanilla(80), Yogurt(110), Flavored rice cakes(50), Popcorn(140), Nutri-grain Bar(140), Crackers(120), Cookie Pack(100), String Cheese(80)

Recipes

English Muffin Pizza
Source: Me
4 english muffins, sliced in half
8 tbl pizza sauce
8 tbl mozzerella cheese
16 slices of turkey pepperoni

Preheat oven to 350. On each slice of muffin put 1 tbl pizza sauce, 1 tbl cheese and 4 slices of pepperoni. Place on a cookie sheet and bake 5-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Easy Warehouse Soup
Source: Emealz
1/2 turkey kielbasa
1 can condensed cream of potato soup
1 can condensed split pea w/ham soup
14 oz can of diced tomatoes undrained
1 soup can of water

Cut sausage into cubes and bron in soup pot on medium high. Drain grease. Add remaining ingredients, mix well, and heat through about 15 minutes.

Baked Apple Cinnamon French Toast
Source: Modified from Eating Well
3 cups skim milk
2 cups fake eggs
3 tbl honey
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 loaf of french bread
1 apple, peeled, chopped
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbl powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whisk milk, eggs, honey, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Cut bread loaf into cubes and pack tightly in a grease baking dish. Slowly pour egg mixture over top and press down on bread to make sure all bread is moist. Cover and Refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake, covered for 40 minutes. Mixed apples, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Uncover and spread apples over top. Bake for 20 more minutes uncovered. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm. Add syrup if desired.

Herb & Lemon Chicken
Source: Modified from Eating Well
Recipe inc when I figure out how I'm going to modify it. ^_^

Pork Chops w/Apple & Thyme
Source: Eating Well

More recipes inc later

Getting Going Again

2010-01-12T17:03:00.003-06:00

Matt and I had not gone to the gym since the end of Dec, just before we left for Utah. Since then we've had a bout with the flu and then a bout of cold and sniffles. We managed to get there last Monday but we were still feeling so-so and didn't complete our workout. Yesterday was the first time back where we actually felt like we were exercising our muscles and not our willpower. Let me tell you, when you stop, it's hard to get going again!

I almost felt like I was starting from square 1 again. It was really hard to do the weights and the devil machine was out to kill me. But I worked through it and it actually did get easier as I got into it again. It made me think a lot about how if you're not progressing, you're regressing. I think that's doubly true for your body. You can't just get in shape and then be done with it. You can't stop everything and stay in great shape just because you got there. You have to maintain it. Everyone tells me maintenance is much easier than getting to where you want to be in the first place. I sure hope so.

Getting healthier isn't just a road to a destination. It's a lifestyle change. It's a never-ending journey. You have to constantly want to be in good shape and do things that are healthier for you. It's hard at first. And when you have to stop it's hard to get going again. But I know it'll be worth it.

Meal Plans Jan 2nd-8th

2010-01-02T15:50:00.006-06:00

Edit: 244 pounds as of Monday the 4th.

We haven't gone to the gym since we got back from Utah and probably no gym this week either. Matt and I have been fighting head colds. >.< Here's this week's meal plans. I won't be including the grocery list or price chopper ads this week because I don't want to have to think too hard when I don't feel well LOL!

Meals

Sat
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Hot Dogs(200) & Orange(70) -- 270
Hamburger Hash(300) -- 300

Sun
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast(100) & butter(35) -- 275
Tuna Wraps(205) w/carrot(45) & ranch(15) -- 265
Greek Pitas(350) w/Cantalope(50) -- 400

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/banana(110) -- 340
Ham & Cheese Stuffed Chicken(236) w/Green Beans(25) & Roll(90) -- 351

Tues
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Chili(190) Mac & Cheese(180) -- 370
Shrimp & Pesto Pasta(303) w/Roll(90) -- 393

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Orange(70) -- 300
Salsa Sirloin Salad(312) w/Roll(90) -- 402

Thurs
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Leftover Sirloin Salad() w/Pita bread() -- 432
Quick Cassoulet(353) w/Roll(90) -- 443

Fri
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/chips(90) & salsa(30) -- 350
Leftovers Misc -- Unknown

Extra
Grilled Cheese Sammich(250) & Chicken Noodle Soup(120) -- 370

Snacks
Fat Free Jello Pudding, chocolate & vanilla(80), Yogurt(110), Flavored rice cakes(50), Popcorn(140), Nutri-grain Bar(140), Crackers(120), Cookie Pack(100)

Recipes

Hamburger Hash
Modified From Starving Student's Cookbook
1 tbl olive or canola oil
1 lb ground beef or turkey
2 med potatoes
1/2 onion or 3 tbl onion powder
1/2 can whole kernel corn
1/2 can chili beans
1 can/jar of beef gravy
pinch of parsley
pinch of thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Chop onion and potatoes into bite size pieces. In a skillet over medium heat, heat oil until hot. Add ground beef/turkey and stir until cooked. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes or until potatoes are done.

Greek Pitas
From the Starving Student's Cookbook
4 tbl cream cheese
2 tbl sour cream
1 cup lettuce, shredded
2 tbl chopped black olives
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 banana, sliced

Combine sour cream and cream cheese and spread inside pita pockets. Next, fill pockets with remaining ingredients.

Ham & Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Original Recipe
1/4 cup grated Swiss, Monterey Jack or part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons chopped ham
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
1 egg white
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Use a baking sheet with sides and lightly coat it with cooking spray.
2. Mix cheese, ham, mustard and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up the breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
4. Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in egg white, then dredge in breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

Quick Cassoulet
Original Recipe

1 cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs, (see Tip)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound turkey kielbasa sausage, thinly sliced
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 15-1/2-ounce cans great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed
1 1/2 cups diced cooked turkey, or chicken
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and bake until crisp and light golden, stirring occasionally, 6 to 10 minutes; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, carrot and garlic; cook, stirring often, until just beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Add kielbasa and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, wine, beans, turkey (or chicken), thyme, salt and pepper; bring to a simmer.
3. Sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs over the top and transfer the pot to the oven. Bake until browned and bubbling, 25 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.

Shrimp & Pesto Pasta
Original Recipe
8 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup sliced jarred roasted red peppers
1/4 cup prepared pesto
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound raw shrimp, (21-25 per pound), peeled and deveined
1 cup dry white wine
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions specify. Add asparagus and continue cooking until the pasta and asparagus are just tender, about 3 minutes more. Reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water, drain the fettuccine and asparagus and return to the pot. Stir in peppers and pesto. Cover to keep warm.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 3 minutes. Add wine, increase heat to high and continue cooking until the shrimp are curled and the wine is reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and the reserved cooking water to the pasta; toss to coat. Season with pepper and serve immediately.

Salsa Sirloin Salad
From E-Mealz
1/2 lb top sirloin steak, cooked, sliced into thin strips
1 bag mixed salad greens
1/2 can chili beans
1/2 can corn
1 tomato diced
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup italian or oil/vinegar dressing

Combine salad, beans, corn, salsa and dressing. Top with sirloin strips and diced tomato.

New Year Resolutions

2009-12-31T15:53:00.002-06:00

My topic today is traditional and appropriate! It's the time of year for people to take a good look at themselves and ask the big questions. Am I who I want to be? What do I need to change? What goals should I make for myself this year? Did I complete goals from last year? Am I who I want to be? As we ask ourselves this question, do we consider all aspects of our lives? I checked out a lot of websites out there to find out the most common new year's resolutions that people make. You know what's in the top 3 on every list I've looked at? Getting physically healthier.

In this day and age it seems everything is all about the outer appearances. Are we ever as concerned about our mental and spiritual health as we are about our physical health?

You hear all the time about keeping our lives in balance. We need to balance work and play. We need to balance school and job. We need to balance family and friends. Diet and Exercise. Chocolate vs. Broccoli. But what about the balance of things without substance to them. How do you measure spiritual calories? How do you trim down the excess emotional pounds? How do you gauge your mental exercises?

I think they're all tied together for sure but that doesn't mean we can focus on one and one alone. Dieting and exercising will certainly get your physical health improved and it may help your emotional and mental health as well. But it's not going to boost your emotional or mental health as well as if you focused some time on those things individually too.

So as you are planning out your New Year's Resolutions, don't forget to look inward as well as outward. Consider what you can do to improve not just your physical health but your emotional, mental, and spiritual health as well.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-19T12:16:00.002-06:00

Matt and I are heading out to Utah next week so I didn't do a meal plan. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Notoriously Unhealthy

2009-12-15T11:16:00.003-06:00

Maybe it's just me but I've always thought of Mexican food as bad for you. Maybe it's the loads of greasy beef. Maybe it's the salt in the beef, on the chips, in the salsa...Maybe it's the cheese in it's ooey gooey must-have-in-moderation goodness. Whatever it is, something about mexican food is notoriously unhealthy.

But I love mexican food!

So I set about this week trying to find a mexican-style recipe that wasn't terribly bad for you. I managed to find a good one for chinese sweet'n'sour chicken (the ultimate challenge in my opinion) but I had yet to come across a good mexican dish. Then, as I pulled out all my cookbooks and brought up all my recipe source websites, I stumbled across my 'Starving Student's Cookbook'. It's full of very simple meals with few ingredients. I flipped through the pages and found 'Beef Mexicana'. I added up the calories on the ingredients and found that it'd actually be okay to try!

I'm learning as I go that subbing ingredients will go a long way to making your favorite meals much much healthier. I can also usually put in quite a few spices without increasing the calories hardly at all! So I took this simple recipe and added/subbed a couple things. Firstly, the ground beef I traded for ground turkey. Ground turkey has half the calories and 1/10th the fat of even extra lean ground beef. And you never taste the difference especially when it's in a meal like this one.

But I digress. The other thing I substituted in Beef Mexicana was the onions. Matt doesn't particularly like them. He likes their flavor but he doesn't like the onion. And I'm willing to work with that because I hate chopping onions. I don't know if I'm sensitive to onions or what but I have a really hard time with them. Sure they make me cry but it's more than that. They make my eyes sting and my nose gets all stuffed up so I can't breath through it. OMG there I go on a tangent again! So I replaced onions with 2 tbl onion powder. This is great too because onion powder has that kind of saltiness to it without actually being salt. So I skipped the salt.

Since I wanted it to be kinda mexican I also tossed in a dash of my favorite spice in the whole wide world....Cumin. It's the most fragrant of the spices they put in those taco seasoning packets and in the ground beef at Taco Bell. Mmmmm Yum! So a couple tbls of Cumin and I left the rest of the ingredients alone.

It turned out delicious! We rolled some of it up in tortillas with a sprinkle of cheese. It was nice and spicy because I'm generous with the hot sauce. And it was messy like good mexican food should be. We just used the tortilla chips to scoop up what fell out of the burrito shells. What made it taste even better though, was the fact that it was a reasonable calorie amount and it was low-fat.

The moral of the story is, SUBSTITUTE! You can always make your favorite foods healthier by subbing! You don't have to forever shut out those notoriously unhealthy dishes. A little ground turkey here, a little extra spice and part-skim mozzarella there and you can eat healthier and get your fixes in.

I think next week I'm gonna try to find a good tamale recipe that I can alter. Mmmm tamales.

Meal Plans Dec 12th-18th

2009-12-11T16:37:00.006-06:00

Weighing In: 249

Monday I weighed in at 250 so just 1 pound this week. Here's this week's meal plans with the grocery list at the bottom. Price Chopper is having a good meat sale this weekend.

Meals

Sat
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Mac & Cheese(180) & Apple(80) -- 260
Ham & Veggie Pasta(435) -- 435

Sun
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast(100) & butter(35) -- 275
Hot Dogs(215) w/chips(130) -- 345
Beef Mexicana(300) w/Pizza Bread(125) -- 425

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & banana(80) -- 264
Sammich(230) w/Pringles(130) -- 360
Stuffed Bell Peppers(310) & jello fruit salad(150) -- 460

Tues
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Egg Salad Sammiches -- 460
Chicken Stroganoff(156) w/green beans(30) & cookies(100) -- 286

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Pringles(130) -- 360
Cream of Veggie Soup(240) w/Pizza Bread(125) -- 490

Thurs
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Tuna Wraps(205) w/carrot(45) & ranch(15) -- 265
Leftovers Misc -- Unknown

Fri
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Hot Dogs(215) w/chips(130) -- 345
English Muffin Pizza 1.5 (195ea) w/jello fruit salad(150) -- 442

Extra
Grilled Cheese Sammich(250) & Chicken Noodle Soup(120) -- 370

Snacks
Fat Free Jello Pudding, chocolate & vanilla(80), Yogurt(110), Flavored rice cakes(50), Popcorn(140), Nutri-grain Bar(140), Crackers(120), Cheddar cheese snack(90), Cookie Pack(100)

Recipes

Ham & Veggie Pasta
From Taste of Home Tailgate Cookbook
2 cups cooked bite-sized mixed veggies like broccoli, carrots, peas
2 cups cooked spiral pasta
1/2 cup chopped, cooked ham
1/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Dressing:
1/3 cup fat free mayo
1 tbl cider vinegar
1/2 tbl dijon mustard
1 minced clove of garlic
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp pepper

In a large bowl combine veggies, pasta, ham, cheese and onions. In another bowl combine the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and toss to coat.

Beef Mexicana
From The Starving Students' Cookbook
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbl onion powder or 1/4 onion sliced thin
1 tbl butter
1/2 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 can whole kernel corn
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
salt, pepper to taste
splash of hot taco sauce to taste
handful of tortilla chips (topping)

In a skillet on medium heat, cook onion, garlic and butter until golden. Add beef/turkey. Stir and cook until done. Stir in all other ingredients except chips. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Crunch up tortilla chips and sprinkle on top just before serving.

Pepperoni Pizza Bread
From Gold Medal Bread Machine Recipes
3 cups flour
1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese
2 tbl sugar
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 3/4 tsp yeast
1 cup + 2 tbl water
2/3 cup pepperoni

Carefully place all ingredients except pepperoni into bread machine pan. Add pepperoni at the raisin/nuts signal or 5-10 minutes before last kneading cycle ends. Select basic/white cycle and use medium or light crust color. Removed baked bread from pan and cool on wire rack.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
Modified, Original Recipe
2 large green bell peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
3 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground beef/turkey
1/2 can corn
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce, (1 cup), divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt, (optional)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut out stem ends of bell peppers and discard. Scoop out seeds. Bring 8 cups water to a boil in a large pot and blanch the peppers until tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Drain and cool under cold running water. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add turkey and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, just until it loses its pink color, about 2 minutes. Drain the fat.

Transfer the turkey mixture to a medium bowl and mix in corn, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, parsley, salt (if using) and pepper. Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place them in a 2-quart casserole dish. Spoon the remaining 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the peppers. Cover and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through, 30 to 35 minutes.

Hearty Chicken Stroganoff
Modified From Grandma's Kitchen Treasured Family Recipes
1 cup cooked wide noodles
6 tbl flour, divided
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 chicken breasts, lightly pounded & cut in half lengthwise
2 tbl butter, divided
3 med mushrooms, quartered (I'm excluding this)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 tsp ketchup

Mix 4 tbl flour with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Heat 1 tbl butter in large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken in the butter until just browned on both sides 6-8 minutes total. Add mushrooms and onion. Cook, stirring often, 4 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken and veggies from pan, leaving the juices. Add cooking wine and let boil for 1 min. Add remaining flour and butter and the dry mustard. Mix well then gradually stir in broth. Cook, stirring frequently for 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream and ketchup. Return chicken and veggies to pan. Cook, stirring until heated through but do not boil. Place noodles on serving platter, spoon chicken mixture over the noodles.

Cream of Veggie Soup
Modified From Taste of Home Tailgate Cookbook
1/2 cup chopped ham
3 tbl onion powder or 1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup skim milk
1 cup half&half cream
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2.5 cups cooked mixed veggies such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower

In a large pot over high heat, saute onion in butter until tender, add flour and stir until bubbly. Gradually add chicken broth then cook and stir until thickened about 5-7 minutes. Stir in milk, cream, basil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add veggies reduce heat to medium-low and cook gently until heated through and thickened, about 10-15 minutes.

English Muffin Pizza
4 english muffins, sliced in half
8 tbl pizza sauce
8 tbl mozzerella cheese
16 slices of turkey pepperoni

Preheat oven to 350. On each slice of muffin put 1 tbl pizza sauce, 1 tbl cheese and 4 slices of pepperoni. Place on a cookie sheet and bake 5-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Grocery List
Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. Still new at this. x.x

List:
--Meats--
Ground beef or turkey 1lb
Deli Meat
Chicken Breasts (2 needed for this week)
Oscar Meyer Fat Free Turkey Wieners
Farmland Ham (2 4oz slices for this week)

--Baked Goods--
Sliva's Flour tortillas -medium
Save Hot Dog Buns
Save Wheat Bread
Thomas Smart Start English Muffins

--Boxed/Canned--
Ronzoni Rotini Whole Wheat Pasta
Kraft Whole Grain Mac & Cheese
Tortilla Chips
Pringles Low Fat Original
Starkist Tuna Creations (Teryaki this week)
Best Choice Whole Kernel Corn
Best Choice Tomato Sauce 8oz x2
Taco Bell Salsa
Swanson Broth (Can) Chicken Broth x2
Jello (any flavor) 1 box
Best Choice Fruit Cocktail
Best Choice Pizza Sauce
Best Choice Wide Egg Noodles

--Refrigerated--
Skim Milk
Yoplait Vanilla Fat Free Yogurt
6-pack Eggs
Best Choice Part-Skim Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Best Choice Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Belfonte Half&Half Cream
Hormel Turkey Pepperoni
Fat Free Sour Cream

--Frozen--
Old Orchard Misc Juice x4
Mixed Veggies x2

--Produce--
Bananas
Green Onions
Bell Peppers x2
Mushrooms medium x3

--Staples--
Country Crock Light Margarine
Kraft Fat Free Mayo
Cider Vinegar
Dijon Mustard
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Dill Weed
Onion Powder
Hot Sauce
Yeast
Oregano
Garlic Salt
Sugar
Flour
Parsley
Canola Oil
White Cooking Wine
Dry Mustard
Ketchup
Basil

--Snacks--
Crackers
Nutri-grain bar
Fat Free Jello Pudding
Flavored rice cakes
Popcorn
Nutri-grain Bar
Crackers
Cheddar cheese snack
100 Calorie Cookie Packs

Price Chopper Ads
Fat Free Jello Pudding 12 pack 2/$6
100 Calorie Nabisco Cookies 2/$5
Shredded Cheese 1.99 ea
Farmland Ham Buy One Get One
Swanson's Broth Chicken Broth (can) 0.99 ea
Yoplait Yogurt 10/$5
Belfonte Half&Half Cream 1.29ea

Exercising by Example

2009-12-11T12:02:00.004-06:00

Last week when we went to the gym I didn't have my audio book so I was paying a lot more attention to my surroundings. I noticed that there is a guy that is always there about the same time that Matt and I go to the gym. He looks like he's in about as good a shape as we are but he hops on the devil machine and starts going like there'll be no tomorrow! Seriously, this guy cranks up that machine and moves faster for longer than I've seen anyone else do. Needless to say I was impressed. If this guy can stay on the devil machine for an hour and a half surely I could stay on it for a half hour if I put my mind to it.

So I did! Normally this week would have gotten me up to 13 minutes on the devil machine. But after watching this guy and having seen him keep on going forever and not have a care in the world...I decided I'd push it. First, I hopped on a machine right next to that guy so my motivation was right there next to me. Then, I made it to my 13 minutes and I told myself...I can go to 15. Just 2 more minutes. That's not hard, I've already done 13...what's 2 more? So as I worked my way to 15, I distracted myself with the television. I concentrated on reading what the ticker was saying and by the time we got to a commercial break I looked down at my machine's timer and it said 15:42.

Sweet! I made it almost 16 minutes and you know what? I can do a few more minutes. I've already done 16, I can do 4 more minutes and go to 20. It's not so bad. Again, as I got closer to 20 minutes, I turned my attention back to the TV for a while until there was another commercial break and I looked down. 22 minutes. Awesome! Well, I'm already at 22 minutes, let's round up and I'll stop at 25 if I'm really tired and just can't take it anymore.

When I got to 25 minutes I was really glad I was on the machine next to that guy. I suddenly understood why girls hang up their swimsuits in the kitchen while they're dieting to remind them why they're dieting! At 25 minutes I was positive I was too tired to make it to 30. But once glance to the side showed me that guy, huffing and puffing and sweating like a pig BUT....he was still going. I glanced at his timer and it read 1 hour 9 minutes. If he could do it, so could I. So I bucked up and kept going.

I made it to 31 minutes on the devil machine. I hopped off and my legs were a little wobbly and I was really thirsty. Later that first night I had to spend 10 minutes stretching my legs cause they were cramped up. The next day I couldn't bear to think about getting on the devil machine again. But when I got to the gym, there was that guy. So I got on the machine.

Monday I did 15 minutes, Tuesday I did 31. Wednesday 15 minutes and Thursday 35. Today it will be back to 15 minutes again. Every 30 minutes I'm on that devil machine I burn 250 calories. On the treadmill I was burning 100-120 in the same amount of time. That rocks! So I plan to continue my schedule and hopefully make that 30 minutes into an hour in the future. I know that that guy will be there at the gym to inspire me. And even when he's not there, I'll remember him for a while yet. Maybe someday I'll get up the courage to thank him for his example that helped me to push myself when I exercise.

Meal Plans Dec 6th-11th

2009-12-05T13:52:00.003-06:00

I totally forgot to weigh myself last night at the gym so I'll give an update to that Monday when we go again.

Since my birthday is coming up my sweet darling hubby put together the meal plan for this week. He's also taking care of all our weekly clean-house chores and he made me lunch. <3

Sun
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Chili(190) & crackers(130) -- 320
Spaghetti w/meatsauce(190), Lite Caesar Salad(135) & Breadsticks(110) -- 435

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Out for birthday lunch -- Unknown
Misc Leftovers -- Unknown

Tues
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Sammich(230) w/ cookies(100) -- 330
Burgers(300) w/tator tots(100) & pears(83) -- 483

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Pringles(150) -- 380
Fried Rice(270) w/sliced tortilla(100) & cantalope(130) -- 500

Thurs
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Mac & Cheese(220) & apple(80) -- 300
Breaded Salmon(185), Mashed Potatoes(160), Corn(80) & Breadsticks(110) -- 535

Fri
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammiches(230) w/pringles(150) -- 380
Sweet & Sour Chicken(345) w/breadsticks(110) -- 455

Extra
Grilled Cheese Sammich(250) & Chicken Noodle Soup(120) -- 370

Snacks
Fat Free Jello Pudding, chocolate & vanilla(80), Yogurt(110), Flavored rice cakes(50), Popcorn(140), Nutri-grain Bar(140), Crackers(120), Cheddar cheese snack(90), Beef Jerky(30), Cookie Pack(100)

Recipes

Sweet & Sour Chicken
1/2 cup of uncooked rice
2 tbl canola oil
4 tbl sweet and sour sauce
1/2 pound chicken tenders, cut into small pieces and breaded lightly
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger
1 cup chicken broth
6 cups of bite size pieces of vetables (fresh or frozen;thawed) such as peas, broccoli, bell peppers
1- 5 oz can of chopped water chestnuts, drained

Combine rice and 1 cup of chicken broth/stock in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered until rice is done. (20 min white rice, 1 hour brown rice usually, check package) Meanwhile, heat 1 tbl oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan and set aside. Add 1 tbl of oil to pan, add garlic, ginger and cook for 20-30 seconds. Add vegetables, reduce heat and simmer until veggies are cooked to desired tenderness. Add sweet and sour sauce and chicken. Heat through and serve on top of rice. Serves 2.

'Fried' Rice
1 bag of Bird's Eye Steamfresh rice w/veggies of your choice.
4 slices of turkey bacon, cooked, chopped
2 flour tortillas
4 tbl sweet and sour sauce

Cook Steamfresh according to instructions. Remove from bag and place in medium bowl. Mix in bacon and sweet & sour sauce. Slice tortillas into quarters and serve with rice.

Grocery List
I've taken a page from emealz book and put the list in several sections. Items needed for the meals in the first column. Staple items in the second column which you may or may not already have. And snacks in the third column, which you may or may not have from the week before or you have your own list of snacks or whatever.

Next week I'll keep better track of brands that we get and make note of it. I'd also like to note that we buy all our meats, fish and cheeses from Costco so that cuts down on our grocery bill quite a bit. Especially the salmon. One bag of salmon is between 15-$20 but it lasts us a good 6 months. One piece can be divided between two people as long as you accompany it with enough sides. Anyways...apologies in advance if I miss an ingredient here and there.

List:
--Meats--
Ground beef or turkey 1lb
Deli Meat
Chicken Breasts (2 needed for this week)
Salmon
Turkey Bacon
--Baked Goods--
Bread
Hamburger buns
Flour tortillas medium
--Boxed/Canned--
Cereal x2
Oatmeal, Plain
Chili
Mac & Cheese
Spaghetti noodles
Spaghetti Sauce
Pringles
White Rice
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Whole Kernel Corn
Chicken Stock/Broth
Chicken Noodle Soup
--Refrigerated--
Yogurt x10
Milk x2gallons
Cheese Slices
Pillsbury breadsticks
Crystal Lite flavor packets
--Frozen--
Tator Tots
Steamfresh rice w/veggies
1 bag frozen mixed stir fry type veggies
Frozen Juice Concentrate x4
--Produce--
Lettuce
Apple x2
Lite Caesar Salad kit
Cantalope
Pears x2
Minced Garlic (I buy a small jar of it cause it's easier than chopping garlic yourself)

Staples:
Butter
Honey
Mayo
Pickles
Fish Breading (I get chicken and fish breading from the 1$ isle at Price Chopper in Bonner)
Canola Oil
Sweet & Sour Sauce (We use La Choy)
Ginger

Snacks:
Crackers
Nutri-grain bar
Fat Free Jello Pudding
Flavored rice cakes
Popcorn
Nutri-grain Bar
Crackers
Cheddar cheese snack
Beef Jerky
100 Calorie Cookie Packs

Chili Rubbed Tilapia

2009-12-02T21:15:00.002-06:00

I'm normally not terribly interested in fish dishes. I cook and serve them because they're good for you but I always have a small portion. But this chili-rubbed tilapia was delicious! Matt told me three or four times that he really liked it and it was really tasty. Definitely doing that meal again in the future! It's amazing what just a little bit of spice will do! Tilapia is a pretty cheap fish so it's not a budget buster or anything. And I've noticed that fish in general are really low calorie. I highly recommend this one! The recipe is on this week's meal plans just a few posts down.

Eat When Hungry

2009-11-30T16:42:00.003-06:00

I've had to learn the difference between being actually hungry and just being 'not-full'. For so long I've snacked whenever I've wanted to and over stuffed myself at meal times. I got used to never, ever being hungry except on fast sundays and those days were really hard. But as I've proceeded with this diet I've really had to learn when my body is telling me I'm actually hungry and when I'm simply feeling 'not-full'.

I think you'd be surprised that there is a big difference. Everytime I feel snackish I stop and ask myself, am I hungry? Or am I just 'not-full' so my body thinks I need to eat. Asking that question helps me not to snack nearly as much as I used to and it helps me recognize when I really am hungry.

That brings me to the point of this post. You have to pay attention to when you really are hungry. I've recognized that even though I'm on a diet and I'm trying to keep my calories low in order to lose weight, I have to eat if my body is telling me I'm hungry. Eat when you're hungry. Don't starve yourself. Even if you go over your calorie limit it's okay as long as you're responding to true hungry and not to 'not-fullness'.

Your body is telling you you're hungry. That means that for some reason your body needs extra energy for something. Whether it's fighting off sickness, dealing with stresses, heavy workouts, long days or long nights, your body needs the energy for some reason. So it's signaling to you that it's hungry and needs food. Listen to your body and eat when hungry!

Meal Plans Nov 28th - Dec 4th

2009-11-28T16:59:00.003-06:00

Weighing In: 252

Another two pounds this week. I technically lost 3 but I gained one back from thanksgiving. LOL!

Sorry I'm a little behind. ^_^ Here's this week's meal plans. I got a request to include my shopping list but it won't be on this week's plans. I'll do it for next week! Snacks & recipes are at the bottom as usual but there's no Price Chopper sales this week that I found relevant to my meal list.

Sat
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast(100) & butter(35) -- 275
Sammiches(230) w/chips(150) -- 380
Broccoli & Cheese Chowder(205) w/Rolls(100) Leftovers -- 305

Sun
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Chili(190) Mac & Cheese(180) -- 370
Taco Salad(450) -- 450

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Tuna Wraps(205) w/carrot(45) & ranch(15) -- 265
Fried Rice(320) w/sliced tortilla(100) & apples(80) -- 500

Tues
Egg(30), Hashbrowns(70) & yogurt(110) -- 210
Homemade Chicken Nuggets(150) w/tator tots(130) -- 280
Chili Rubbed Tilapia(120) w/green beans(30) & rolls(100) -- 250

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Pringles(150) -- 380
Chicken Fettuccine(330) w/Brussel Sprouts(84) -- 414

Thurs
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Fettuccine leftovers(414) -- 414
Ham & Cheese Rosti(210) w/corn(80) & pears(80) -- 370

Fri
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammiches(230) w/pringles(150) -- 380
Roast(220) w/Green Beans(30), Apples(80) & Rolls(100) -- 430

Extra
Soup(120) & Crackers(130) -- 250

Snacks
Fat Free Jello Pudding, chocolate & vanilla(80), Yogurt(110), Flavored rice cakes(50), Popcorn(140), Nutri-grain Bar(140), Crackers(120), Cheddar cheese snack(90)

Recipes

Taco Salad
1 bag of Fritos Chips
1/2 pound ground turkey, cooked and drained
1 cup chopped or shredded lettuce
1/2 cup of shredded cheese
4 tbl salsa
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
8 tbl fat free ranch dressing

Place two serving sizes worth of chips into two bowls. Divide all other ingredients and and layer on top of chips: meat, cheese, lettuce, carrots, celery, ranch, salsa.

'Fried' Rice
1 bag of Bird's Eye Steamfresh rice w/veggies of your choice.
4 slices of turkey bacon, cooked, chopped
2 flour tortillas
4 tbl sweet and sour sauce

Cook Steamfresh according to instructions. Remove from bag and place in medium bowl. Mix in bacon and sweet & sour sauce. Slice tortillas into quarters and serve with rice.

Chili Rubbed Tilapia
Original Recipe
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic, powder
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
2 tilapia fillets
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combine chili powder, garlic powder and salt on a plate. Dredge fillets in the spice mixture to coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook until just opaque in the center, gently turning halfway, 5 to 7 minutes total. Place on plates and immediately add lemon juice.

Chicken Fettuccine w/Brussel Sprouts
Original Recipe
6 ounces fettuccine
1/2 tbl olive oil
2 cups thiny sliced Brussel Sprouts
1/2 tbl minced garlic
1 cup of alfredo sauce

Cook pasta in a pot of boiling water until tender 8-10 minutes. Drain and return to pot then set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add brussel sprouts and cook for until done 3-5 minutes. Add sauce and stir until bubbly. Remove from heat, add fettuccine and gently toss until coated and well mixed.

Ham & Cheese Rosti
Original Recipe
1/4 cup of fake eggs
1 cup diced ham
1 cup shredded cheese
1 green onion, minced
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 cups hash browns
2 tbl olive oil, divided

Beat egg in a large bowl. Stir in ham, 1/2 cup cheese, onion, rosemary, pepper and salt. Add hash browns and stir to combine. Heat 1 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pat the potato mixture into 1 large even round in the pan. Cover and cook until browned and crispy on the bottom, 4-6 minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Place a rimless baking sheet on top. Wearing oven mitts, grasp the pan and baking sheet together and carefully invert, unmolding the rosti onto the baking sheet. Wipe out any browned bits from the pan. Return it to the heat and add the second tbl of oil. Slide the rosti back into the pan. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese, cover and cook the second side until crispy and browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Slide onto platter, cut into wedges and serve. 4 servings.

Roast
1-2 lb roast
2 tbl olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano

Coat Roast in olive oil and rub salt, pepper, and oregano all over the meat. Place in a crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until cooked through.

Enjoy!

Portions

2009-11-26T10:07:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! While we're waiting to head out to the family's house for the thanksgiving feast I thought today would be the perfect day to talk portion control. Of course thanksgiving is the day to overstuff yourself with food. It's the overstuffing myself all the other days of the year that's gotten me in trouble.

The first week that we focused on portion control was the hardest. Our stomachs were stretched so we felt hungry but it didn't last long. Soon our stomachs shrunk and now it's much easier to 'get full' and not over eat. So how did we go about it? I don't put out the food on the table to dish out onto plates.

I plate our food directly from cooking pot to plate and set the plate at the table. (I made that part amusing by trying to plate food like you'd see at a fancy restaurant) This way there's no, second scoop of mashed potatoes or one more slice of roast. I make sure I stick with the portion size on the Nutrition Information. I've also cut out planned deserts with every meal. Some meals I plan a desert so I don't have to give it up entirely but usually only about twice a week. Deserts are just one of those ways I can over eat if I'm not careful.

But if I do get that sweet tooth urge and I haven't gone over my calories then there's always the pudding, brownie bites, or flavored rice cakes.

I've discovered that the biggest part of counting calories revolves around portion control. I can look at peanuts and say oh it's only 150 calories but then I look at the portion size and it turns into Oh it's only 150 calories for 1/4 of a cup! It's so easy to just look at the calories and forget to look at the portion size. You think you're giving yourself a normal portion size but come to find out it's double the size on the Nutrition Info! So you've just doubled the calories you thought you were eating.

So my motto for you all today is: Even if you over eat today, you can always cut calories tomorrow by controlling your portion sizes!

SnapFitness Gym - Free Trial

2009-11-24T12:01:00.003-06:00

Since I've started writing I've had a couple people interested in the gym that I go to. The rest of this blog post will probably sound like a sales pitch to you and I apologize for that. Please know that I only want to share what Matt and I love the most about the gym.

It's called SnapFitness. It's at the shopping center on the northeast side of the intersection of K7 and Johnson Drive. It's small, so you don't get that lost-in-a-large-place feeling. With the exception of the treadmills and devil machines there's really only one of every type of machine. You'd think that it would mean you'll never get a chance to use them because someone else will always be on them. That isn't the case and I'll tell you why a little further down.

All the machines are easy to use. Any adjustment that you could make to them is marked in yellow. So if you need to adjust the seat or change the weight you don't have to spend five minutes, feeling dumb and looking all over the place for the lever or weight knob. The electrical machines, like the treadmill, all have the same interface/faceplate. So once you know how to use one, you'll know how to use them all.

We really liked the clean environment. When you join, you're told that you are expected to clean up after yourself. There are spray bottles of cleaning solution everywhere with paper towels and hand sanitizer. Once you're done using a machine just grab a bottle and a towel, spray it down and wipe it up and it'll be nice and clean for the next person. This clean environment makes the gym not smell bad too. :P

The gym is 24/7 and it has cameras everywhere for safety and security. It's awesome! You can go to the gym anytime day or night. During staffed hours the staff there is always nice and helpful if you have a question about anything. They mop and vacuum regularly too to keep things clean.

There's also 9 TVs in the room. The gym has dish network with all the channels(even BYU TV! *squee!*) and the remotes are attached to the machines they are in front of so if you want to change the channel, just do it. All the TV's also have their own radio frequency so you can tune your walkman/radio/whatever to the frequency and listen to the TV without disturbing anyone else. It's also nice if you're not going to be on the machine that's in front of the TV you can still listen to it as you go do other exercises.

The best part, in my opinion, is that when you join you get a free consultation with a personal trainer. That's really what I wanted. I needed someone to tell me what exercises I needed to do to reach my goals and why. Julie was the trainer I met with and she was awesome! She showed us exactly what I wanted to know and showed us what settings we should put the equipment on and what weight to do for how long and how many times. She showed us how to use the machines, not just told us. She had us climb on and try them out to make sure the settings were right. It was perfect. Everyone who wants it will get this personalized training outline.

Julie gave Matt and I a basic 8 spreadsheet on which we wrote down our exercises so we wouldn't forget them. The gym has a basic 8 program that anyone can use but since we had specific goals she changed our 'basic 8' a little to target what we wanted. The basic 8 program keeps you moving to different machines in order to work 8 different core muscle groups. You don't stay at any one machine for more than 5 minutes. In my opinion, that's why the gym can remain small and not have multitudes of machines. They keep people moving around for a more productive and well-rounded workout.

Anyway, I believe I've babbled on enough about what I like about the gym. There's much more too but I wanted to focus on the main things that impress me. If you're thinking about getting in shape or getting a gym membership just send me an email and I can talk to the gym manager and get you a free 1 week pass and/or a tour with the manager. You'll like Jen. She's absolutely hilarious and has way too much energy.

Meal Plans Nov 21st-27th

2009-11-21T11:17:00.007-06:00

Weighing In: 254
2 pounds this week and my pants don't quite fit anymore. I had to dig out a belt so I'm not constantly hiking them up. I may need to head down to good will before too long and find some cheap jeans to wear!

Oki doki! Here's this week's meal plans. Again, snacks and price chopper sale ads are at the bottom. I've decided not to put what we have to drink with our meals because that's a little too structured. I generally just have whatever I feel like having as long as it's within my calorie limits.

Sat
Nutri-grain Bar(140), Toast(100) & butter(35) -- 275
Sammiches(230) w/Peanut Butter(100) on Celery Sticks(10) -- 340
Ricotta Stuffed Shells(375) w/Carrots(35) -- 410

Sun
Granola(115), Nutri-grain bar(140), apple(80) -- 335
Leftover Stuffed Shells(375) -- 375
Oven Barbecued Brisket(228) w/Green Beans(55) & Rolls(100) -- 383

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Tuna Wraps(205) w/Pringles(150) -- 355
Broccoli & Cheese Chowder(205) w/Rolls(100) -- 305

Tues
Cereal(220) w/toast(100) & butter(35) -- 355
Chili(190) Mac & Cheese(180) -- 370
Brisket Sliders(220) w/Carrots(35) -- 255

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) -- 184
Sammich(230) w/Pringles(150) -- 380
Pepperoni & Bacon Pizza(180) & apples(80) -- 440

Thurs
Yogurt(110), Apple(80) -- 190
Thanksgiving out -- Unknown
Ham(120), Mashed Potatoes(120), Gravy(25), Corn(80), Rolls(100) -- 545

Fri
Cereal(220) & Toast(100) w/butter(35) -- 355
Sammiches(230) w/carrots(35)-- 265
Leftovers Misc -- Unknown

Extra
Soup(120) & Crackers(130) -- 250

Extra
Soup(120) & Crackers(130) -- 260

Snacks
Fat Free Jello Pudding, chocolate & vanilla(80), Yogurt(110), Flavored rice cakes(50), Popcorn(140), Nutri-grain Bar(140), Crackers(120), String Cheese(80), Granola(217 1/2 cup), Cheddar cheese snack(90)

Recipes

Stuffed Pasta Shells
Modified Original Recipe
20 large pasta shells, cooked
2 cups Ricotta cheese
5 slices Turkey Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 slice/3 oz of cooked ham, finely diced or ground
1/4 cup fake eggs
1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat Ricotta, bacon, ham, and egg together in a bowl. Stuff approx 1.5-2 tablespoons of the mixture into the shells and place in a baking pan. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Arrange shells on a serving plate and pour sauce over the top. Serves 4.

Broccoli & Cheese Chowder
Original Recipe
1 tbl olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbl flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 14 oz cans of vegetable or chicken broth
8 oz broccoli crowns
1 cup low fat cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/8 tsp salt

Heal oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery; cook, stirring often until onion and celery soften, 5-6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook stirring for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, mustard, cayenne and cook for 2 more minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Covernand reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Stir in broccoli and simmer covered until broccoli is tender, about 10 more minutes. Transfer 2 cups of the chowder to a bowl, mash and return to pot. Stir in cheese and sour cream. Cook until cheese is melted and chowder is heated through about 2-5 minutes. Season with salt.

Oven Barbecued Brisket
Original Recipe
2 green onions, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tsp chili powder
4 tsp paprika
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
2-4 lbs of brisket, flat-cut and trimmed of fat
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Combine onions, garlic, chili powder, paprika, cinnamon, oregano and salt in a small bowl. Rub into both sides of meat. Set the meat in a baking dish, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Pour worcestershire sauce over the meat. Cover the pan with foil and set aside at room temp while oven preheats to 350 degrees. Bake brisket covered for 2 hours.

Blend tomatoes, brown sugar and vinegar until smooth. After 2 hours, pour tomato mixture over meat and continue baking, covered, basting occasionally with pan juices every 30 minutes for about 1.5 more hours. Remove meat from sauce and let rest for 10 minutes then slice against the grain. Pour sauce over meat and serve.

Brisket Sliders
4 slices of leftover brisket from above meal
4 Dinner rolls(Sara Lee)
4 slices of low fat cheddar cheese
2 cups of shredded lettuce or 2 leaves of romaine cut in half
4 tsp fat free mayo

Slice dinner rolls in half and make sandwhiches with the mayo, lettuce, meat and cheese. Serve with carrots.

Price Chopper Ad
Cornish Hens are still on sale 5.49 for a 2-pack
Apples 1.99 per 3lb bag
Brisket 2.49/lb
Best Choice Diced tomatoes 0.59
Sara Lee Dinner Rolls 1.99 ea
Potatoes 2lb bag 1.00
Heinz Gravy 2/$3
Celery 0.69

Have a Happy Thanksgiving week!

Game Hens and Brussel Sprouts

2009-11-19T10:42:00.005-06:00

Y-U-M!

I've checked off another vegetable on my list of things-I've-never-tried. Brussel Sprouts. They're like a mix between broccoli and cauliflower in taste but have a totally different texture to them.

Last night we did the Game Hen with Brussel Sprouts and lemme tell you it was excellent! It was a bit more work than my usual meals so it's definately something to do when you have the time to do it, but it all turned out just perfectly. The hen was moist and juicy and had rich flavor to the meat that I don't think you could get with chicken. Then with the seasonings on top of it that it was very good. And the veggies probably would have been good just roasting them but after you pull them out of the oven you saute them in a dash of white wine vinegar and let it cook down into a sauce with the hen juices. Then you could also dip pieces of the hen into the sauce as you eat it. It was very very good.

If anyone tries this recipe (Cornish hens are still on sale at price chopper this week!) I would recommend when you are frying it at the beginning, start on it's side first then the other side next. This little bird was kinda hard to truss so cooking it on it's side helped the wings stay in place a little better.

I'll probably be posting my next week's meal list Fri or Sat so stay tuned!

Mmmm Brownies

2009-11-18T16:38:00.003-06:00

I'm not cheating I swear! Just hear me out!

Normally when I make brownies, I make them from scratch. Making anything from scratch is healthier than buying it pre-packaged, most of the time. But when I make a pan of brownies, I make a whole pan. Now, I hate wasting so Matt and I generally try to eat the whole pan in a week or so. Not that I mind eating a whole pan of brownies(Mmmmm).....but it's not very healthy.

When I started my diet, I said, "Self, this means no more brownies." But I had to get my chocolate fix somehow. Chocolate rice cakes are not very tasty. The other flavors are tasty, but not chocolate. Blech. Chocolate pudding is oh-so-delicious and has carried me through for a whole month of no-cookies-brownies-candybars-donuts. But this week I just had to have something more substantially chocolately to nibble on. So, when Matt and I went grocery shopping we scoured the baking isle looking for acceptable sized premixes with a decent calorie per serving.

Pillsbury Brownie Minis! It comes with two baking trays and two seperate bags of mix. So I don't have to make a huge batch of brownies! I can just make one batch this week and save the other for when I get a brownie craving again down the road. Each brownie that it makes is only maybe 2 bites but it's just enough to gimme my fix. And it's 75 calories per brownie! That's just as good as pudding...but it's a brownie!

So for the brownie loving chocoholics out there who are trying to trim those calories, fear not. There is a brownie you can eat.

Meet the Devil Machine

2009-11-17T12:38:00.014-06:00

This is the Devil Machine.

When the gym manager pointed it out to us, she named it the devil machine. I thought it was a funny name but she was totally serious. "It's an elliptical on steroids," she said. "It'll kick your butt and get you in shape fast. It burns 3 times as many calories as a treadmill and it works not just your legs but your core and upper body too."

I found out how serious she was about what she called it when I hopped on to try it out. Sure, it looks easy, but I couldn't stay on it for more than a minute. Granted, it was at the end of my workout so I was tired already. But I decided to do it again the next day at the beginning of my workout. 3 minutes was as far as I got and I was sweating like crazy. Mean ol' machine! Now I really understood why she called it the Devil Machine. It was perfect! If it was going to get me in shape faster than I was determined to continue trying it. So began my love-hate relationship with this machine.

My legs especially killed me every time but that first week I got up to 5 minutes. I found that the best way to deal with it was to not pay attention to it. Unlike a treadmill, you don't have to worry about balance at all. There's no moving belt to force you to maintain a certain speed. You move it, it doesn't move you. It's very easy to use and you don't have to think about what you're doing. I make sure I'm watching something interesting on the T.V. or listening to an audio book. Distraction is key so I'm not counting the seconds until I can stop. It works perfectly!

I've been adding 1 minute every week after getting to 5 minutes. This week marks the start of 9 minutes on the Devil Machine. If I can completely replace the treadmill with it then I'll be a happy healthy woman. Bring it on Devil Machine!

Asparagus

2009-11-16T10:08:00.002-06:00

I've never eaten asparagus until I moved to Kansas 6 years ago. There's a variety of picky eaters in my family. That's probably why I'd never had them before. The first time I had it was at Matt's parent's house. They served it with dinner or lunch or something like that. I had just moved here and I was nervous and didn't want to offend anyone so I gingerly took a few stalkes and I ate it. O.O It wasn't as bad as I probably imagined actually.

I tried cooking it shortly after Matt and I were married and let's just say it was one of those meals were your husband tries it and he says "Mmm" but doesn't eat the rest and then you try it and go "Eww! What was I thinking!?" Yeah it didn't turn out so well.

A few years later I tried again but this time I was determined to make it taste good. And everything tastes good soaked in butter right? Right? >.< So I pan fried it with like a half a cup of butter and some garlic because I like garlic. I thought it turned out okay this time but it was definitely very very buttery. I was pretty sure that probably ruined the point of having asparagus.

Then I started on this diet. Asparagus were on sale so I added them to our meals. This time though, I went to google and typed in "how to cook asparagus". I found a couple articles and recipes that all said the same thing. Roasting asparagus brings out it's best flavor. Huh. I never thought to roast it. I've boiled it, microwaved it, fried it but never roasted. And this recipe was simple. Oven to 425 degrees. Toss the asparagus in 2 tsp of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on a pan and put it on the top rack for 10 minutes, being sure to shuffle them at 5 minutes.

It was the most tasty asparagus I'd ever had (no offense Marty! ~_^). It actually tasted more along the lines of broccoli, which I love. And I didn't feel bad about what I cooked it with either! You can't go wrong with that small amount of olive oil (which was just to keep it from sticking to the pan) and it just had a little salt and pepper. No butter or cheese or sauces or mixing it up with my mashed potatoes so I'd eat it. Very tasty. So if you're going to cook asparagus to have as a side with dinner, definitely roast it!

P.S.
We had Spring Asparagus w/Pasta last night and it was rather tasty. It was more soup like than I expected when I read the recipe but still very good!

Breakfast in the Mornings

2009-11-15T12:07:00.001-06:00

I'm not a very good breakfast eater. Glass of milk and toast or a nutri-grain bar and I'm good to go until lunch. The problem is breakfast is an important meal. It'll set the tone for how much you snack for the rest of the day and how big of a lunch or dinner you might eat. It's also important when you're dieting and exercising to not let your body think you're starving it. That will make it harder to lose weight.

But I can't help it! I just can't think about eating so much food so early in the day. Blech. I don't know why it makes me nauseous to even think about eating more than my milk and toast. So I've been working on a strategy to beat my senses. Instead of having a full 8oz glass of milk I'm only having half. And instead of two pieces of toast, I might have one. Then I replace what I'm not eating with something else. A fourth of a cup of oatmeal instead of a half cup. An orange or a banana to replace my milk fix. This has been helping me to eat just a little bit more. Over time perhaps I can have a full-on breakfast.

Another thing I'm trying to do is eat slowly. I always go do something while I'm eating breakfast. So I'm not thinking about how much food there is. I also give my body time to adjust to the meal. One bite at a time while I check my email and get situated with my work. Sometimes it can take me over a half hour to finish breakfast but at least I've eaten it.

I also try to eat a little later in the morning instead of when I first wake up. It helps me avoid that nauseous feeling I get if I eat to much in the early morning. And by early I mean anytime before 10am. So after or around 10, I can generally eat a decent sized breakfast and be okay to go. If I'm hungry before 10 I'll just grab a nutri-grain bar or a banana to munch on with some water until I have my acutal breakfast.

These methods I've been trying have actually led me to eat less over all and here's why. Eating breakfast a little later in the morning starts a chain reaction for the timing of my meals throughout the day. I eat lunch a little later, like around 1 or 2 instead of right at noon. Then, I'll eat dinner a little later like around 7 instead of at 5. So I have a snack at 3 or 4 to tide me over. Go to the gym with Matt at 5, get back at 6 in time to cook and have dinner at 7. This is very important to me because of lot of our extra eating had been coming at night. Since we used to eat dinner at 5 we would have another 'meal' around 8 or 9 just before bed because we were hungry again by then. Nowadays we generally don't even have a snack before bed.

Now I understand most people with jobs and kids have their own meal schedules to stick to and can't really follow what I've done but I wanted to post it to point out that just a small adjustment here and there could make a big difference. And it's also important to snack to tide yourself over until meal time.

Meal Plans Nov 14th-21st

2009-11-13T14:53:00.000-06:00

Weighing In: 256
Didn't gain anything but didn't lose anything either. That's honestly better than I expected after all the calories I had last weekend. LOL

The Sweet and Sour chicken recipe(posted yesterday if you want it) we had tonight was DELICIOUS! I altered it from the recipe I posted only slightly. Didn't add the water chestnuts since Matt doesn't care for them and I used white rice instead of brown because I needed a faster cooking time. 310 calories for sweet and sour chicken ROCKS!

Okay here's this week's meal plans. I'd like to note that I always plan a reliable, easy, extra meal in case one of the other meals doesn't work out. Second thing I'd like to note is that all the recipes I post are intended to feed two and sometimes have leftovers. If you decide to do one of these meals you may need to double your ingredients! Also, I have a snack basket in which I put all our snacks. We allow ourselves 2 snacks a day whenever we feel snackish. Unless it's a hard workout day, then we can have 3. Snacks are listed at the bottom. Lastly, I noted the items that are on sale in this week's Price Chopper ad at the very very bottom.

Sat
Homemade Granola(217), Yogurt(110), Juice(110) -- 437
Sammiches(230) w/pringles(150) & milk(80) -- 460
Hamburger Buddy(326) w/Rolls(100) -- 426

Sun
Cereal(115), nutri-grain bar(140), milk(80) -- 335
Vegetarian Chili(190) Mashed Potatoes(150) w/crackers(130) & flavor water(10) -- 480
Spring Asparagus w/Pasta(334) & Rolls(100) -- 434

Mon
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 264
Sammiches(230) w/pringles(150) & flavor water(10) -- 390
Artichoke, Olive & Tuna Salad(210) w/Rolls(100) & juice(110) -- 420

Tues
FakeEggs(30), Bacon(60), Toast(100) w/butter(35) & milk(80) -- 305
Mac & Cheese(180) w/carrots(35) flavor water(10) -- 225
Pizza Rollups(220) w/cucumber slices(15) & brownie(150) -- 385

Wed
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 264
Sammich(230) w/Granola(108) & pears(50) -- 338
Game Hen w/Brussel Sprouts(313) & brownie(150) -- 463

Thurs
Cereal(115), Toast(100) w/butter(35), Orange(70) -- 320
Tuna Wraps(205) w/milk(80) - 490
Ham(120) & Potato Galette(220) w/Peas(35) & Ice cream(90) -- 465

Fri
Oatmeal(140) w/honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 264
Sammiches(230) w/pringles(150), pudding(80), & flavor water(10) -- 470
Leftovers Misc -- Unknown

Extra
Soup(120) & Crackers(130) -- 260

Snacks
Fat Free Jello Pudding, chocolate & vanilla(80), Yogurt(110), Flavored rice cakes(50), Popcorn(140), Nutri-grain Bar(140), Crackers(120), String Cheese(80), brownie(150), Granola(217 1/2 cup)

Recipes:
(Some of them I have adapted from their original recipe but I provided a link for the ones that aren't mine entirely)

Spring Asparagus with Pasta
Recipe Source
8 ounces of angel hair or thin spaghetti pasta
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
8 medium asparagus stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 can of peas
1 cup of fat free mayo
1/2 cup of chopped tomato
1/2 cup feta cheese (I'm using mozzarella instead)
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 tbl basil
1 tbl parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Cooking spray

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to an oven proof dish. Spray pasta generously with cooking spray and toss to keep from sticking. Place bowl in oven at 200 degrees to keep warm. Spray a medium skill with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Saute onion one minute then add asparagus and peas. Saute until asparagus is bright green, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide pasta into 4 bowls and top with vetables and their liquid. Sprinkle cheese over top, drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with parsley and basil.

Pizza Rollups
4 flour tortillas
4 tbl of pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
2 cups of mozzarella cheese
turkey pepperoni

Spread 1 tbl of sauce on each tortilla. Spread cheese on top of sauce and pepperoni on top of cheese, about 15 slices. Roll tightly and heat in microwave for 15-30 seconds or until cheese is melted.

Game Hen w/Brussel Sprouts
Recipe Source
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Cornish game hens, 1-1 1/2 pounds each
1 tsp butter
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion cut into wedges
1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half if large
1 tbl white-wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Remove giblets (if included) from game hens and trim any excess skin. Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat and rub half the thyme mixture under the skin. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Heat butter and oil in a large roasting pan set over 2 burners on medium heat. Add the game hens and brown on all sides, turning occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add onion to the pan, transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts and remaining thyme mixture then roast for 30-35 minutes until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 165°F. Transfer the game hens to a large cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Place the roasting pan over 2 burners on medium heat. Toss the vegetables with vinegar and bring to a simmer, gently stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Remove the string from the game hens, turn breast-side down and slice in half lengthwise using a large heavy knife, cutting straight through to the breast side. Serve the game hens with the vegetables. Serves 4.

Tuna Wraps
4 flour tortillas
4 tbl fat free mayo
2 cups lettuce or 4 romaine leafs
4 tbl of cheese (your choice, I use cheddar or mozzarella)
1 tuna creations packet, flavor of your choice

Spread 1tbl mayo on each tortilla. Divide lettuce, cheese and tuna on tortillas. Roll tightly and serve.

Potato Galette
Recipe Source
4 tsp olive oil
1 lb potatoes sliced very thinly
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet with 1 teaspoon oil. Toss potato slices with the remaining 3 teaspoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the potato slices in an overlapping 10-inch circle on the prepared baking sheet, forming a layered potato cake. Bake until tender and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Granola
Modified (I hate raisins & Coconut!) Original Recipe
3 cups Oats
1 1/2 cup nuts
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color. Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl and let cool.

Price Chopper Ad Sales:
Naval Oranges 1.99 4lb bag
Klondike Potatoes 5lb bag 2/$5
Concorde Pears $0.99/lb
Best Choice Pasta 2/$3
Best Choice Instant Oatmeal 2/$3
Tyson Cornish Hens 2-pack $5.49
Healthy Choice Soups 3/$5
Honey or Virgina Ham (Deli for sammiches) 3.99 lb.

Calzones - Dough Recipe

2009-11-13T14:41:00.000-06:00

Instead of using store bought pizza dough for the Calzones in this week's menu I used homemade. I have a bread machine that can crank out dough for me so I cannot provide you with how long to let it rise or how long to knead it but I can give you the recipe I use! And I haven't tried it yet with wheat flour but I'm sure it'd work just as well.

Calzone Dough
1 cup water
1 tbl olive or canola oil
2 1/2 cups Bread Flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp Yeast

That's it! I throw it in the bread machine and put it on Manual/Dough and let it go to work for me. This dough is not nearly as thick as pizza dough usually is and I found it much easier to work with. It made enough for 4 large calzones. This recipe came with the bread machine recipe book.

All Hail the Flavor Packet

2009-11-13T11:05:00.001-06:00

Drinking water is a very important part of diet and excersize. Why? Is what I wanted to know. I understand that we need to drink and remain hydrated but I never understood what was so special about it. Doctors told me to 'Drink more water, of course!' as if I knew why drinking more water was important.

So I did what I do. I googled it! Here's a few tidbits on what I found interesting:

If you're drinking water, you're not drinking something else.
Drinking water briefly increases your metabolism after you drink it, burning more calories for a short period. Drink more water to increase your metabolism more often.
Drinking a big glass of water whenever you feel hungry and before a meal or snack fills the stomach briefly and makes you feel fuller and stop eating sooner.
Don't drink too much! Don't start drinking an extra gallon of water a day - that can kill you, especially if you are fasting or eating very little. Water taken in must be in balance with body salt - electrolytes.
Exercise such as walking causes the metabolism to rise and body water to be lost through increased respiration and sweat. (Okay I knew this one but it's good to point out again!)
Transportation of nutrients / elimination of waste products produced while exercising.
Temperature regulation while sweating.
If you are dehydrated, your body will try to conserve water (you will retain it). This will reduce your weight loss.
Water flushes your kidneys (kidneys purify the body of all toxins etc, if you do not drink water, the kidneys cannot function properly and then the liver starts helping out the kidneys to flush out the system and puts on hold its own function, which is to break down fat…

Okay so that's all well and good. It's nice to know there's a bunch of reasons to drink water other than just to 'stay hydrated'. But I don't like drinking water. It's...boring, for lack of a better word. But I have to drink it so how can I help it?

The answer has been right under my nose for years! Crystal Lite makes this convenient little flavor packets that you dump into a bottle of water, shake it up and drink! It's like having koolaid without the sugar! I've always had a box of them in my house just because they were tasty. I'd have one maybe once or twice a week. Now I'm having one almost every day. It's only 10 calories for a packet making it easily worth it if it helps me to drink more. And for the budget conscious like me Walmart has off brand flavor packets for cheap in a variety of flavors so you don't get bored.

Flavor packets help me drink more water. All hail the flavor packet!

Meals for Week 1 & 2

2009-11-12T21:27:00.001-06:00

To get caught up....
As of Nov 6th I weighed in at 256 pounds. (yay!)

And this was our meal plan for the last two weeks. This weeks will be coming in the next day or so.

Friday
1/2 cup Oatmeal(140) with 3 tsp brown sugar(45) or 1 tbl honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 230
Leftover Tuna Salad(152) with apple slices(80) & flavored water(10) -- 242
Bacon, Lettuce and Apple Wraps(260) w/Cucumber slices(15), pudding(80) & juice(110) -- 725

Saturday
Bagel(260) w/ cream cheese(30), banana(110) & juice(110) -- 510
Bacon, Lettuce, Apple Wrap leftovers(260) & cookie(100) & flavored water(10) -- 370
Burgers(300) w/tator tots(100) & coleslaw(50) w/ juice(110) or milk(80) -- 560

Sunday
Nutri-grain bar(140), milk(80), banana(110) -- 330
Lunch OUT Grandma's b-day -- unknown
Paprika Shrimp & Green Beans(245) w/brown rice(100), flavored water(10) & Ice cream(90) -- 445

Monday
1/2 cup Oatmeal(140) with 3 tsp brown sugar(45) or 1 tbl honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 230
Sandwich(230) w/pringles(150) & flavored water(10) or juice(110) -- 390- 490
Carrot Chowder(220) w/rolls(100ea) & milk(80) -- 500

Tuesday
Bagel(260) w/ cream cheese(30), banana(110) & milk(80) -- 480
Hot Dogs(200), chips(150) & coleslaw(50) w/juice(110) or flavored water(10) -- 410-510
Chicken(75) w/Oriental rice(120), asparagus(35), milk(80) & ice cream(90) -- 400

Wednesday
1/2 cup Oatmeal(140) with 3 tsp brown sugar(45) or 1 tbl honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 230
Sandwich(230) w/carrots(35), 1 tbl ranch(70) & flavored water(10) or juice(110) -- 345- 445
Campells Broccoli & Cheese Soup(70) w/rolls(100ea) & water, milk(80) or juice(110) -- 270-380

Thursday
Cereal(115) w/milk(80), yogurt(110), kiwi(50) -- 355
Tuna Wraps(235) w/milk(80) -- 550
OUT Wendys Spicy Chicken Sandwhich no mayo(223), side salad light dressing no croutons(156) & water -- 379

Friday
1/2 cup Oatmeal(140) with 3 tsp brown sugar(45) or 1 tbl honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 230
Mac & Cheese w/hot dog(280) & juice(110) -- 390
Leftovers Misc -- unknown

Saturday -Cheat weekend, anniversary
Brunch: Egg & Bacon Bagels(370) w/nutri-grain bar(140), yogurt(110), banana(110) & juice(110) -- 840
OUT Ruby Tuesday, Only ate half of everything: Wing Sampler(243- shared 60ea),
Briana- BBQ Ribs (986-493), Mashed Cauliflower(136-38), Broccoli(90-45), Root Beer(150) -- 786
Matt- Bacon Cheeseburger(1227-613) fries(323-161), Root beer 1/2 (50) -- 884

Sunday
Nutri-grain bar(140), milk(80), banana(110) -- 330
Ruby Tuesday Leftovers - 786-884
Spaghetti w/meatsauce(190), Salad(20) w/carrots(15) and ranch(140), Rolls(100) & flavored water(10) -- 465
Chocolate cake(170) w/ice cream(90) -- 260

Monday
1/2 cup Oatmeal(140) with 3 tsp brown sugar(45) or 1 tbl honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 230
Sandwich(230) w/pringles(150), applesauce(50) & flavored water(10) -- 440
Honey-Soy Pork Steaks(260) w/Mashed Potatoes(150), veggies(90) & milk(80) -- 580

Tuesday
Cereal(115) w/milk(80), banana(110), toast(100) & butter(35) -- 440
Leftover Spaghetti(190) w/Rolls(100) & flavored water(10) -- 300
Bean Burritos w/corn, rice, salsa (225ea) & milk(80) or juice(110) -- 530-560

Wednesday
1/2 cup Oatmeal(140) with 3 tsp brown sugar(45) or 1 tbl honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 230
Hot Dogs(200), chips(150) & w/carrots(35), 1 tbl ranch(70) & flavored water(10) -- 465
Ham, Broccoli & Corn Calzones(350) w/milk(80), juice(110) or water(10) -- 360-460

Thusday
Cereal(115) w/milk(80), toast(100) & butter(35) -- 330
Sandwich(230) w/pringles(150), applesauce(50) & water-- 430
Artichoke, Olive & Tuna Salad(210) w/Rolls(100) & juice(110) -- 420

Friday
1/2 cup Oatmeal(140) with 3 tsp brown sugar(45) or 1 tbl honey(44) & 1 cup milk(80) -- 230
Leftover Calzones(350) w/milk(80) -- 430
Sweet & Sour Chicken(345) w/rice(100) & flavored water(10) -- 455

Saturday
Cereal(115) w/milk(80), banana(110), toast(100) & butter(35) -- 440
Leftovers Misc -- Unknown
Hamburger Buddy(326) w/peas(70) & juice(110) -- 506

Snacks: Fat Free Jello Pudding, chocolate & vanilla(80), Yogurt(110), Flavored rice cakes(50), Popcorn(140), Nutri-grain Bar(140), Crackers(120), String Cheese(80), Cookie(100)

Recipes:

Bacon, Lettuce and Apple Wraps
1 apple sliced very thin (julienne)
1 tsp lemon juice
8 slices of turkey bacon
4 tbl fat free mayo
4 flour tortillas
4 romaine lettuce leaves
4 tbl of shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, or parmesian)

Toss apples in lemon juice. Cook bacon as directed. Spread 1 tbl of mayo on each tortilla. Place 1 leaf of lettuce, 1 tsp of cheese, 2 slices of bacon and 1/4 of the apples into each tortilla. Roll tightly. Serve right away or wrap in plastic and refrigerate for later. Makes 4 (serves 2 IMO)

Paprika Shrimp & Green Beans
2 cups of green beans, timmed and cut in half
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 pound of raw shrimp, peeled & deveined & tails off
16 oz can of Butter Beans or Cannellini beans, rinsed
1/4 cup of sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
Pepper to taste

Place green bean in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1 tbl water, cover and cook for 4-6 minutes on high until tender-crisp. Meanwhile heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and paprika and cook, stirring constantly until just fragrant but not browned about 20 seconds. Add shrimp and cook until pink, about 2 minutes per side. Stir in butter beans, vinegar & salt. Cook, stirring constantly until heated through. Divide green beans and top with shrimp mixture. Serve with brown or wild rice. Serves 3.

Carrot Chowder
1/2 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery (1 stalk)
1/4 cup chopped onion or 4 tbl of onion powder
1 can cream of celery
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 can of tomato soup
1 3/4 cup of water
1/3 tsp garlic salt
pinch of marjoram (optional)

Brown beef/turkey - drain - add sugar, salt peper. (At this point you can put everything in a crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. If you don't want to crockpot it, continue...) Add celery, onions, cream of celery. Simmer 5 minutes. Add carrots, simmer 5 minutes. Add tomato soup, water, garlic salt and marjoram. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer at least 1 hour. Serves 4

Chicken w/Oriental rice & asparagus
1 chicken breast
1/2 bunch asparagus
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup of uncooked white rice
4 tbl olive oil
2 tbl chopped onion or 2 tbl of onion powder
2 tbl chopped green pepper
1/2 chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 tsp ground or rubbed sage
1 cup of chopped celery
5 oz can of chopped water chestnuts
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Add chicken stock and rice to a pot, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until rice is done.

Meanwhile, spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. Pound chicken breast to 1 inch thickness. Brush with 1 tbl olive oil then sprinkle with salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp of sage and pepper to taste. Place on baking sheet. Cut 1/2- 1 inch off the bottom of asparagus. Toss asparagus in 2 tbl of olive oil then spread onto baking sheet next to chicken. sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place in oven, top rack. Shuffle asparagus @ 5 minutes. Remove asparagus @ 10 minutes and set aside, covered to keep warm. Flip chicken on the baking sheet, reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees and cook chicken for 5 more minutes.

When rice is done, heat remaining olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Saute onion and celery over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Stir in green pepper, pecans, sage, water chestnuts, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Heat through. Fluff with fork and serve with chicken on top and asparagus on side. Serves 2

Honey-Soy Pork Steaks
2 pork chops or steaks 1 inch thick
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbl onion
2 tbl soy sauce
1 tbl honey

Combine all ingredients in a plastic bag. Seal bag and place in fridge for 4 to 24 hours. Remove steaks/chops from marinade, discard marinade. Grill over medium heat, 7 min per side.

Bean Burritos w/corn, rice, salsa
1/2 cup of cooked ground beef or turkey
1 can fat free refried beans
6 flour tortillas
1/2 can of corn, whole kernal
1/2 can of sliced olives
1 green onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
Romaine or Iceberg lettuce
1/3 cup of Mozzarella cheese (part skim or fat free)
1/2 cup of cooked rice
4 tbl salsa

Combine beans, beef and corn in a microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high 3-5 minutes until hot. Divide and spread mixture on the tortillas. Add rice, cheese, lettuce, tomato, olives, onion, and top with salsa. Roll or fold closed. Serves 3-4.

Ham, Broccoli & Corn Calzones
4-6 oz of lunchmeat-type ham of your choice, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1 can corn, whole kernal
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (part skim or fat free)
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (part skim or fat free)
4 green onions, chopped
3 tbl dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Flour for dusting
20 oz Pizza dough (storebought or home made)
2 tsp of oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.

Combine ham, broccoli, corn, mozzarella, ricotta, green onions, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. On a lightly floured surface divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into an oval. Divide filling mixture into four and place filling on one half of the dough, leaving a 1 inch border on the edge. Brush borders with water and fold the top half over the filling. Fold edges over and crimp with a fork to seal. Make several small slits in the top to vent steam. Brush each calzone with oil and transfer calzones to baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes with one pan on the top rack and the other on the bottom. Then switch them and cook another 8 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before serving.

Artichoke, Olive & Tuna Salad
1-12 ounce can or 2- 6 oz cans of chunk light tuna, drained and flaked (ie, break up gently with fork)
1 cup chopped canned artichoke hearts
1/2 cup chopped or sliced olives
1/3 cup fat free mayo
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp of dried oregano

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir until mixed well. Serves 3

Sweet & Sour Chicken
1/2 cup of uncooked rice
2 tbl canola oil
4 tbl sweet and sour sauce
1/2 pound chicken tenders, cut into small pieces and breaded lightly
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger
1 cup chicken broth
6 cups of bite size pieces of vetables (fresh or frozen; thawed) such as peas, broccoli, bell peppers
1- 5 oz can of chopped water chestnuts, drained

Combine rice and 1 cup of chicken broth/stock in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered until rice is done. (20 min white rice, 1 hour brown rice usually, check package) Meanwhile, heat 1 tbl oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan and set aside. Add 1 tbl of oil to pan, add garlic, ginger and cook for 20-30 seconds. Add vegetables, reduce heat and simmer until veggies are cooked to desired tenderness. Add sweet and sour sauce and chicken. Heat through and serve on top of rice. Serves 2.

Hamburger Buddy
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
10 ounces of white mushrooms, finely chopped
1 onion roughly chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups of water
1- 14 oz can beef broth, divided
8 oz whole wheat elbow noodles
2 tbl Worcestershire sauce
2 tbl flour
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1tbl chopped parsley or green onions for garnish

Cook beef in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Drain then return to pan. Stir in chopped veggies, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook, stirring often until the veggies start to soften, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups of broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook. Stir occasionally until pasta is tender 8-10 minutes.

Whisk remaining broth and flour together in a small bowl until smooth. Stir into the hamburger mixture. Stir in the sour cream. Simmer, stirring often until sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve with sprinkled green onions or parsley.

I'd like to please note that these are not my recipes. I'm not that creative. They are printouts from a collection of recipes in my cupboard that unfortunately don't have names attached to them. In the future I will do the best I can to properly give credit where credit is due.

To health and good eating! Enjoy!

Cenula Valeo; My journey to good health begins

2009-11-12T20:50:00.000-06:00

My name is Briana and I created this blog as a way of sharing with my friends, family and the world, my journey to health and good eating. I chose two latin words to name my blog. I think they fit nicely for what I intend to do.

Cenula - [a little meal]
Valeo -[to be strong , vigorous, in good health]

I put them both together and with a little wordplay (*wink*) we have Cenula Valeo; By small and simple meals are good health and wellness brought to pass.

So what is it I intend? First some background!

As some of you may know, I've been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Finally finding out what was wrong was a huge relief to me and now I'm on a mission to control it. PCOS prevents me from ovulating which in turn prevents me from becoming pregnant. My husband and I have wanted to have kids for a while now and we hope that this journey will take us in that direction. My loving hubby is joining me on this path to health.

First order from my doctor was to get exercise. We have no excersize equipment at home and with winter looming ahead of us we deemed it practical to put a gym membership in the budget. We found a great SnapFitness center just a few minutes away. The staff, atmosphere and equipment are perfect for what we need. And to top it off, we got a free personal consultation with a personal trainer who spoke with us, tested us and then showed us what we needed to do to reach our goals. Right now Mon, Wed, Fri we are doing a hard workout with strength training and cardio. Tue, Thur and sometimes Saturday we just spend 45 minutes on the treadmill in a 'long cardio' session. My meal plans are now done accordingly with more sustaining foods and snacks for hard workout days.

The second order from the doctor was to begin a weight-loss diet program. The doctor was not specific and after spending a week trudging through diet plans and meal options online I decided to go with the tried and true calorie counting method. To be honest, counting calories did not sound like fun. And it isn't. But it's free and it is pretty easy. There are tons of free tools out there to help me on my way.

I found, for the last three weeks that we've been carefully counting calories, that if I'm going to go through all this work of meal planning and excersize....then I might as well share it with everyone. So if you're looking for some help planning healthy meals or just need an idea for dinner tonight because you're totally brain-dead...then look no further! Feel free to stop by anytime and see what we're having for breakfast lunch and dinner this week or to just stay in touch with us on our journey.

We began our workout on Oct 17th. I weighed in at 263 pounds. I plan to weigh in once a week from here on out to keep track of how I'm doing. My goal is 100 pounds by the end of June 2010 (and hopefully loose my batwing arms too!)

We began our meal planning about 2-3 weeks ago, keeping in mind our budget and doing our best to shop healthy and shop the sales. My daily calorie goal is 1100-1550 per day.