Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wednesday



Bison meatballs for supper...they are simmering away as I speak. The little darlings come in at about 50 calories for each with sauce (the standard ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, onion, water combo)...you sure can't beat that one! I made the sauce with Splenda brown sugar and dehydrated onion flakes..what an easy way to go. It will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable change in the flavour. But the good news is, that with a simple (as in I haven't hit the grocery store so there isn't a lot in the frig) tossed salad, and some Basmati rice, supper is a fait accompli!

With hubby on the road, I find myself waiting until I could lick the paint off the wall before I will enter the kitchen...when I do? It is not to make the healthy meal I should. Last night, it was a chicken sandwich at seven and a bowl of Cheerios and milk at three in the morning. Not a good thing. But it was easy. And in my defence, it was real chicken, left over from the other night. I am beginning to really appreciate leftovers, and actually plan to have them now. A lot better than reinventing the wheel every time, that is for sure.

So, today will be an easy supper, on the table at five. The bean soup from yesterday is cooling down, right here at my desk..another thing I do when I am left to my own devices, is to eat here with "company".
I really hate the bacon in it, though. The yucky little blobs may give the soup its body, but ick. Slimy little beggars. Next time, I will remove it immediately after sweating the goodness into the vegetables. It can be recycled in a number of ways, although how do you account for the calories in it? I think the best way would be to just cook it in whole slices and then remove it, and count the slices as you use them. Yep. That is the way to go. And of course, adding a few calories to the soup pot isn't an issue, as it will be stretched over the ten servings. Even talking about it is making me hungry, so I guess I am in for an early lunch today!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Bean & Bacon Soup


Just had a craving for this today, so it is on the stove simmering.


1 tsp of grape seed oil ( I have super non-stick pots, so just a kiss to get the onions started)
1 small onion, diced
6 strips of Costco pre-cooked bacon (240 calories, very lean, cut in small pieces - saute with onion till very well done)

1 small potato, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
8 baby carrots, small slices
1 can of navy beans (450 calories)drained and rinsed
1/2 can of tomatoes
1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder mixed with 4 cups of water
3 cloves of garlic

Sweat the vegetables with some chili flakes, adding vegetables in order of recipe. Add canned tomatoes. Simmer, to let flavours mingle. Add broth and beans. Simmer, and smash chunks a little with potato masher when vegetables are tender, to give it a nice thick texture. The calorie count of this is not as low as a vegetable soup, but boy, is the flavour high! On a cold winter's day, it is just the ticket. Yields 10 servings of 3/4 cup each. The next time I make this, I think I will leave the bacon in large strips to get nice and crispy, then remove them before adding the liquid. That will give me nice crispy crumbles to put on top, or to save for a salad. I don't like the soggy bacon pieces in the soup, so I just left them behind in my bowl!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Weekly Meal Plan January 25 to 31

So, here we go...week two of the big plan. I loved having all of the meals ready and waiting to go last week, so I hope this week works out well too. I will be on my own for one supper this week, but I must learn to cook for myself, and not take deadly shortcuts. Individual bags of Doritos are not meal replacements, although I am sure they are a lot tastier than Slimfast or Ensure! I have tried to limit my choices to meals that take minutes to prepare, yet give me a happy feeling at the end of the meal. There are some foods that you eat that as you are eating them, just don't make you feel good.....as in
"ohhhhh ohhhh...shouldn't have done that...where's the bathroom...".
My goal is to limit my choices to things that when eaten, leave me with
"Boy, that was really good!"
Sunday
eggs & toast, milk, bacon
veggies & dip
oven fish and chips, cole slaw

Monday
oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon & milk, egg & toast
soup, crackers
Salad, baked Chicken breast, yams JELLO

Tuesday
scrambled eggs, dry fibre cereal & milk
veggies & dip
tossed salad, bison meatballs, rice

Wednesday
omelette with cheese, mushrooms, toast
soup
Chicken breast stir fry veggies & rice, JELLO

Thursday
eggs & toast, milk
Chicken Caesar salad with L/O chicken breast
Soup & crackers, JELLO

Friday
poached eggs on toast
vegetable stir fry with almonds
side salad, fish & potatoes

Saturday
eggs, toast, bacon & milk
OPEN
OPEN

As the week wears on, and life happens, I can always switch things around a bit. I have a tendency to overbuy vegetables. I am working on buying "enough" each week, and since there is just the two of us, the shopping is pretty easy these days. I have learned, that fresh appeals to me rather than frozen. The other day, we had "reheated" meatloaf, and it just wasn't as good as the first time around. So, the moral of the story is to just make enough for one meal, or to plan leftovers within the next two days. I would love to have this worked out to a fine art so I will be able to just "tweak" the plans next year.

So, here we go...another week!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

And another weekend bites the dust...

We spent a good deal of time out and about this weekend, and found ourselves at Tim's for lunch both days.

Now, the good news is, that I have a hubby that will share...he doesn't like it much, but he does share! Yesterday, I had a bowl of chicken noodle soup to myself (I don't eat the noodles...just don't like them) and half of his whole wheat roll, and half of my 'soup' role. For a treat, I splurged on an apple fritter. Total calories:650.

Today? We shared an egg salad sandwich on whole wheat and yep, another half bowl of chicken soup, again minus the noodles. Just have a hankering for the stuff. It was a whopping 255 calories for my half of the meal. I had no idea that you could have a delish egg salad sandwich for only 390 calories, or I would have had one all to myself! Of course, that could explain why I am starving now!

I hate to speak too soon, but the scales are moving downward again...although it was "gained" weight that I am losing.

Tonight's dinner is fish and chips..in the oven of course. And then? Two movies and a major snore fest!

Total movement on the scale this week? 6.2 pounds. Can you believe it? It is mainly "travel" weight, and I am assuming a lot of water, but dare I repeat? WHO CARES! LOL

Thursday, January 22, 2009

A dream is a wish your heart makes...

I have had that song running through my mind all day! In any case, this menu plan is a real dream...so much easier to not have to think about what to eat and when!

Breakfast: Bacon (2 slices precooked), two eggs, one slice of rye toast and butter, glass of skim milk MMMMM my favourite!

Lunch: 15 Multigrain Crunchmaster crackers, and 30 gms of Boursin cheese, diet grapefruit pop, one piece of fudge for 42.5 calories.

Supper: Leftover bison meatloaf from the freezer with mashed potatoes and creamed corn...we are going out tonight so need fortifying before facing the cold....nothing does it like comfort food!

Snack: orange

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Wednesday

So, today's meals are:

Breakfast: two egg omelet with mushrooms and one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of rye toast with 1 tsp of butter

Snack: orange

Lunch: 10 multi grain Crunchmaster crackers with a teaspoon of Philly herb and garlic...trust me, it would have been more but I am scraping the bottom of the container here! Diet grapefruit pop.

Supper: baked fish (cod loin), boiled potatoes and carrots

Snack: oranges

Now, nothing profound has happened, other than realizing that the battery in my scale is wearing out...where do you buy lithium batteries anyway? Sounds like a man thing to me, so delegate I will. My scale is important to me, being the obsessive kind of person that I am...I weigh myself three times to make sure that I am getting an accurate read. Today, I was only able to weigh myself a couple of times Seems like the travel weight is disappearing quickly...wish it would all go this fast so I could be one of the ones that loses ten pounds in as many minutes! But, I am much too jaded to think that would even be a remote possibility. Stay the course, count the calories and hope for the best is my plan!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Had my little fling...

after two years, and such slow results, I took a break from recording every little detail. Big mistake. I have the poundage to prove it .... but over the last few days, I finally have gotten back into the routine of recording, and more importantly, planning what I eat. In fact? I made a menu plan for the next two weeks. Of course there are minor changes, because life happens, but for the most part, I have followed the plan since Sunday. If you would like to see it, just drop me a note, and I will send it to you...It took me a bit of time to put together, but I had a couple of goals in mind. First, I wanted to change up my breakfasts, perhaps finding a lower calorie alternative to my usual two eggs, toast, butter and milk. For instance, yesterday we had oatmeal, one egg, and one slice of toast, and it worked really well. This morning, I made scrambled eggs (one whole egg, one white per person) and 3/4 cup of Cheerios. I want to see the difference between the dry cereal and the hot oatmeal in staying power. Usually, a light lunch such as veggies and dip, or soup will be enough to keep going until supper, unless it is a particularly hungry day!

So, here is hoping I will be more disciplined in the coming months, to spite the disheartening results. I catch the testimonials of people who have lost "78 pounds in 7 months" and just smack my forehead. I have been counting, measuring and in general being a food Nazi for two years, and I have a lousy little bit of loss. But I guess that is how it has to be. At least I am giving my skin lots of time to shrink to fit!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Salt is a killer....

Friday night I tasted dips on chips....bad idea. This morning, I was up three pounds, and I know for a fact that 14 chips can not do that to a person! Especially when they were a planned "expense". Hopefully it will go away. Sigh. Two steps forward, three steps back. Again.

All in all it was a busy day. We shared an order of A&W onion rings and a diet root beer when we took our coffee break, so lunch was a non-issue. I think I got away with a "semi-skipped" meal. Leftovers made supper a breeze tonight. Once again, it was chicken, potatoes and peas. As a treat, I cracked open a box of low sodium stuffing to make our chicken dinner a bit more festive. The difference was not that noticeable, and salt has become an issue of late. Snack of the day was apples, again. The gala apples are my favourite, and it is pleasant to sit snuggled under my fuzzy throw and munch on apple slices while I watch TV - now that is the life!

We splurged on a brand new scale today...it has two inch LED numbers. If that isn't going to impress my daily weight on my brain, I don't know what will!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Out with the old...

and in with the new year. Time to start blogging again, and getting serious about this whole diet thing. Truth is, that I am really discouraged. I have been working the program for two years, and the loss has been painfully slow. Last time I visited the doctor, he told me that no matter how hard I tried, if my body produced too much cortisol, fat I would be. The solution? De-stress. Now this has taken a lot of thought. To begin with, I didn't realize I had a stress problem. So, now that I am aware of the stress I can deal with it.

1. First of all, I am going to give people back their problems. I can't do anything about their lives...I am working on my own.

2. I am not going to stress over every morsel I eat. My little friend calls me a "foody" - I am inclined to agree with her because I do love the subtleties of food. Sticking to a bland diet just isn't my thing. I love variety, and sometimes, the price to pay is a few more calories. So pay I will, and save calories on the mundane! One good piece of bread is far better than two slices of sawdust put out by Weight Watchers! Danes eat open faced sandwiches, so now? Time to follow my roots.

3. This year, I bought myself a "page a day" spiral bound, 5x7 book type calendar..ugly as sin but already, it is proving to be quite useful. The days are divided by hours, and there are three areas on the bottom of each page to record important data...like the news the scales tell every morning! I am going to record every detail, as usual, but horror of horrors? I am going to use pen and paper so I can look back and see patterns as they develop...the good and the bad.

4.After a month of "freestyle" menu planning, I am hoping to come up with a pared down menu based on past successes. I hope to compile a menu complete with a shopping list for each season from the info I collect this year. My aim is to have a "real" (I don't want the chemicals and excess salt in packaged meats)source of protein available for the "little meals" during the week. Leftovers are a dieter's life line. Think of the times you are tempted to stray from the path because there is no plan for your next meal.

To start the year off right? I made a little roast chicken which I rinsed, patted dry, rubbed with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with herbes de provence, then placed a clove of crushed garlic in the cavity. The secret is to use a thermometer to test for doneness. It read 155 on the button, and when tented with foil for fifteen minutes, finished cooking, and drew all the nice juices back into itself. I have a tendency to overcook meats, and having a thermometer has been a real eye opener for me. I have reduced the cooking time by at least 25%, and the results have been wonderful. Who knew?

Anyway, we had the basic meat, potatoes and vegetable lunch as the bones from the chicken simmered to make our soup for supper. Supper was soup, a few Breton crackers and Bourson cheese. Snack last night was cut up apples and some Cheetos. Take a slice of apple,then a little nibble of Cheetos. Not handfuls, but just a little bite. Result? A veritable party in your mouth!

My days are all mixed up. It really felt like yesterday was Sunday and now? I have to remind myself that it is Friday, not Monday! I am going to a spice party tonight, so hope to find some low cal tricks for dips. Eating a plate of fresh crunchy veggies is so much better if you have a nice creamy dip! So many times, as dieters, we forget about the big picture when reading the calorie count on a product. The fact is, if you can spend 100 calories on a good dip, you get a very filling lunch of fresh vegetables and dip for about 200 calories. 250 if you really are starving! And think of the servings of vegetables that you give your body. And yet? So often we put back the tub of Marzetti's because it is "fattening". Time to readjust my thinking, and get on with life!