Mango Salsa - A fabulous summertime dish

One of the best things about the summer season is how much fresh fruit is available.  Watermelon is something I look forward to every year!  Another favorite of mine is mango.  Now, mango is one of those fruits like pomegranate. It's kind of tricky to peel and eat but once you figure out the key to unlock the goodness you'll be so glad for it!!

With my new way of eating, I'm trying to add more color to my plate.  That way it's easy to see that I'm getting more nutritious fuel for my body.  So today, I whipped up some Mango Salsa to go along with the grilled chicken and corn on the cob I planned to eat for lunch.  It's so yummy, sweet, a little tangy, and very bright.  Like eating sunshine!!  Here is the recipe:

Mango Salsa
Serves 2

1 ripe mango
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
2-3 Tbs red onion, finely chopped
1 healthy pinch of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime

To see the best way to peel/slice a mango, please watch this video on You Tube.  Mangos can be quite juicy and, if not done properly, your hand could slip on the knife and that would not be good!  So watch this video first:



Once you have your mango all ready to go, combine the red pepper, red onion, and cilantro with the mango.  Then, take your 1/2 a lime and squeeze it over the top.  Set it all aside and let the flavors come together for a little while.  I left mine out on the counter for 30-45 minutes or you can put it in the fridge until you're ready to eat it.  Let me tell you, once you have this light, refreshing side dish you will want to move somewhere tropical so you may eat it all the time!  I absolutely love it!!  One serving is only 98 calories and is chock full of good things so I'm only happy to eat my share.  You could also add black beans to this for a complete meal.

Here is what it looked like on my plate today:

Yummilicious!!!

In other news this week, I had another visit with my nutritionist and my weight was down 2 more lbs.  WOOT!  It's nice to see the scale moving in the opposite direction for a change!!  Bernadette is so helpful and supportive.  It's so important to have someone on your side, who isn't going to judge you or recriminate you, only help and offer advice when it's needed.  Losing weight is not easy and the path the get to the final destination is incredibly long.  This is why having Bernadette guide me is so vital to my success.  I haven't been able to do this on my own in a long time but she is going to help me get to the point where I can.

I'm still working out every day, walking on the treadmill and lifting free weights, too.  To keep things from getting to stale I ordered some exercise DVD's from a company called The FIRM.  I had some years ago and they were great, high-energy, and HARD workouts!  Now I'll be able to mix up my routines a bit and keep my body guessing about what's coming next.  Hopefully that will help keep plateaus at bay.

Well, that's all I've got for you today.  This week I've been looking through some new healthier cookbooks and am looking forward to sharing some meals I make soon.  Until then, please take care and thanks for stopping by!!

A review and a pic of yours truly.

The other night we were at Target picking up a few things and I decided to peruse the frozen section to see if there were any new, interesting Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones offerings, specifically for breakfast.  Because our schedule is so hectic, it's nice to have something quick to prepare on hand for those times when I forget to defrost something or just plain don't want to cook.  Well, Smart Ones had some nicely portioned breakfasts and I decided upon the Waffles and Turkey Sausage.

You can see from the photo that the turkey sausage is not particularly photogenic, however, it was actually pretty good!  The package comes with two waffles, a small packet of syrup, and two turkey sausage links.  There was a fancy envelope which allowed you to microwave the waffles to the desired crispness but, mine weren't crispy.  :(  They still tasted fine but, if I did this again I'd just use the toaster. All in all, it was surprisingly good.  The syrup allotted was so much less than I'm used to using but it was exactly enough.  That's an interesting by-product of this journey I'm on; it's getting easier to see what a proper portion size looks like.

Today I decided to have my oldest take a pic of me so once I reach my goal, I have something to look back on as motivation to keep working hard.  So, here I am.  All 5'3", 201lbs of me:

Yep.  That's me!  I've got a long way to go but I know I'm going to make it.  This morning I worked out on the treadmill, walking for 30 minutes at about 3.7mph.  Let me tell you, listening to the Black Eyed Peas songs "Pump It" and "Don't Phunk With My Heart" will get you moving like nothing else!! I have a medley of songs by them Lady GaGa and Madonna on a playlist and it makes the treadmill time just fly right by!  After my walk, I worked out using free weights and did some crunches.  Can you tell I'm ready to get in shape??  :)

Finally, I wanted to share with you this delicious salad that was my lunch today.  It consisted of leftover grilled chicken, 1/2 a head of romaine lettuce, 1/4 of a red pepper, a tsp of raw sunflower seeds, a Tbs of capers, all topped with 1.5 Tbs of Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette.  It was so delicious!!!  There is something about eating salad during the summertime.  So light and crisp, I love it!

It's nice to feel so pepped up about something and not being submerged in self-loathing feelings.  Certainly makes for a much better day.  :)  I hope all is well in your world!!

Invigorated!!

Wow!  Can you hear me yelling that from where you are??  WOW!  Yesterday, I had my 2nd weekly meetup with my nutritionist, Bernadette, and was feeling pretty good about my progress through the week.  She had me get on the scale and I hopped on it like a dog jumps in the car to go for a ride; I was excited!  So, at my first appointment my weight was 205.  At this appointment.... 201!!!  Yep, I lost 4lbs in a week, only by reducing my calorie intake and making smarter food choices.  Oh my god, I was so incredibly elated to have a 4lb victory my first week!!

The beauty of this plan with Bernadette is, I can still enjoy the tastes of my favorite foods.  If I want a hot dog for breakfast, that's what I eat.  It's just a lite one.  For snacks, Bernadette originally suggested a small piece of Hershey's chocolate but, what I noticed was, when I put the chocolate in my mouth there is some kind of instantaneous response to it, a trigger, that makes me want to eat 20 more.  After discussing that with Bernadette, she ok'd my 2nd choice which is Zone bars.  I take a meal replacement bar and cut it in half for a snack.  These are great because I still get the taste of sweetness and chocolate that I'm looking for but without the emotional response triggered by the Hershey's chocolate.

Another thing that I'm finding really helpful is an app called My Fitness Pal.  It's free and you can download it to your phone or your iPad.  They also have a website if you prefer to go that route, too!  Oh and did I mention it is FREE?!  You just can't beat free.  They have an extensive database of foods and it's likely that if it's at your grocery store, it's on My Fitness Pal, too.  I'm trying to stay at around 1200 calories a day.  If you'd like to follow me at my fitness pal, you can add me as a friend there.  I'm listed as eviec1.

This change in eating has revived my interest in cooking, another great side effect!  There are several great sites out there offering a mix of inspiration as well as really awesome looking recipes which I plan to try out.  Check out www.skinnytaste.com, www.dashingdish.com, and www.canyoustayfordinner.com and I think you'll agree they have so much to choose from.  Last night, I made this pulled pork recipe from skinnytaste.com and it was really good!  Mine was a touch too salty but I think that is because I used a bottled sauce that had a mustard base.  In spite of that, it was really good and I'll be having leftovers for dinner tonight!!

So, this week I have added exercise to my daily routine.  Using my Spotify account I setup a playlist of songs to help me keep up a brisk pace on my treadmill.  It's so much more awesome to walk on the treadmill listening to music!!  For two days now I have walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5mph. Also, at 3 times during the walk, I pump up the speed for 1-2 mins to give my walk a little more oomph.  Man, my energy level is so high after working out!  It's great!!

So, it has taken me a long-ass time but this finally feels like the right fit for me.  I will keep you posted on my progress!!

Starting Something New - Nutrisystem

Losing weight has been a losing battle for me. I started this blog in 2007 and am in basically the same situation I was back then. Over the years I have read countless books and magazines on the topic of losing weight and in the end, just found myself confused about which path to take. Which one was right for me? I was just plain frustrated. Well, this week I decided to take thinking out of the equation altogether for a while. My brain needs a break from trying to figure out what to eat and I need to see some success at the same time. So what did I do you might be wondering. I signed up for Nutrisystem.

Janet Jackson wasn't the reason I did it. Nor were Terry Bradshaw or Marie Osmond. I signed up for Nutrisystem because it is afforable and gives my mind a break from the noise I was hearing with all my thoughts trying to battle out which diet was the right one for me. Will Nutrisystem work? I hope so. Today, all my food arrived and I will freely admit to being a teensy bit freaked out that everything is shelf stable. For whatever reason I was thinking that some of the things had to be frozen. At any rate, I'm starting tomorrow and hopefully will see great results this month!!

So my plan for now is to post pictures of my daily meals and list which ones I like and which ones I don't and why. I will also keep track of my stats. If you'd like to come by and cheer me on, I welcome your support!!

Scratch-Made Pizza!!!

Have you ever done something and failed miserably? Has that experience made you think you just weren't destined to be successful at that task? I have. ANything to do with creating something with yeast has been the bane of my existence for a very long time. Either my yeast was too old or I would kill it with water that was too hot. Well, today I wanted to make pizza for my boys from scratch. While their eating habits certainly need some major improvements, I realize that those changes aren't going to take place overnight and that baby steps are what are called for here. Pizza for dinner? Ok, fine. But we're not ordering Pizza Hut or Domino's nor are we getting Totino's Party Pizzas (oh I do love those) or Red Baron. If pizza is what's for dinner, then I get to control the ingredients and it's going to be really homemade.

My sister told me about a pizza dough recipe that she uses by Tyler Florence so, once I located one I gathered my ingredients and got to work. You can see the recipe on the Food Network's website here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fresh-pizza-dough-recipe/index.html

The first thing that thrilled me to no end was, I managed to get the yeast part right. I didn't kill it!!!! It was beautiful and foamy in the bowl. Next, I followed the directions for mixing it in my stand mixer then allowed it to rise for one hour. After an hour, I had two beautiful dough balls that I was able to top with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Here is what it looked like from beginning to end.



The boys loved it and I got to feel good about giving them a more reasonable version of one of their favorite foods!!! Also, if I can make this, YOU can make this. Believe me on that, ok?

When Life Hands You Lemons....

You know what? Sometimes, things happen and there is no rhyme or reason to it. They just happen and you've got to learn to roll with it. Otherwise, you'll get rolled over and what fun is that going to be?? After I met with the dermatologist the other day, she told me that I have a form of eczema as well as a mild case of rosacea. Man, can I just tell you that was NOT what I wanted to hear. It makes dealing with my skin a bit more challenging and, for the time being, I'm on some very pricey medicated creams and face wash. Oh well. What can one do? Deal with it. That's what. So, now that I now why my face has been looking like a chemical peel gone wrong, now I can focus on getting myself in shape.

This year, I turn 40. Yep, the big 4-0. Oh lordy look who's forty. I don't feel like I'm older than 25 and my husband would swear that at heart, I'm still a teenybopper. I do love me some pop music. :) But since this year is such a big deal birthday, I promised myself this was going to be the year that I got into shape. This year is supposed to be one where I am kinder to myself. So far, that is a goal that has gone unaccomplished. Now, it's time to get serious. My birthday is in October and, I'm not being unrealistic and expecting to be 120lbs by then. Or ever. But I do want to be eating better, eating more home-cooked meals and less fast food. I want to be MOVING a lot more than I do now. And those are all things that can be done, I just have to get off my tookus and do them!!

Today, my sister and I got together and she is helping me get back into the swing of cooking at home. The last few years have been pretty crazy here and I didn't deal with it well at all. My husband was hardly ever home for dinner and my kids hate to eat anything that isn't a nugget or cheese pizza. So it seemed like a lot of work to cook a full-on dinner just for me. Now I know though that the kids and I all need to eat better than we do and all it takes is a little planning. My sister also has a food blog called, For the Love of Food. She is a great cook and makes many things from scratch as well as on a budget. She does a great job of tentatively planning the weekly menu and sticking to it. Click on the link above and check out her blog when you get a chance. You'll be glad you did. And tell her I sent you!!

Anyway, I hope you will continue to stick with me as I pick up the pace and get this party started. This is the year of living better and treating myself with kindness. Won't you do it, too? You will thank yourself for it later. :)

Here we go!

So, after visiting the doctor I had a coming to Jesus party for myself. Things have got to change or else my life will be miserable and I don't want to be miserable. I've implemented some changes in my life that should help with that and here is what they are. First of all, I'm using weekly menus. This will help me keep a record of what I eat AND it will help me spend more wisely at the grocery store. Another thing I have done with the weekly menus is get the kids in on the action. Right now, they eat pretty much what they want which means I'm preparing at least 3 different meals, 3 times a day. I'm not going to do that anymore so we've made a compromise. They get to choose their meals 4x a week and then in turn, they must eat what I choose for them 3x a week. You can't make a kid go cold turkey onto grownup food so this seems like a decent way to get them to make the eventual switch to healthier eats. The kids and I sat down together and figured out or menu for this week and here they are, their menu and mine:

Kids
Friday: Chicken Nuggets, french fries (all from frozen)
Saturday: Pizza (homemade)
Sunday: My choice
Monday: My choice
Tuesday: Corn Dogs, Grapes
Wednesday: Spaghetti, Meatballs, Salad
Thursday: My choice

Me and Sean
Friday: Fish, Green beans, Rice
Saturday: Homemade pizza
Sunday: Meatloaf, broccoli, Potatoes
Monday: Oven Fried Chicken, Peas, Rice
Tuesday: Leftovers from Meatloaf night
Wednesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Thursday: Turkey Sloppy Joe's and Salad (from Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals 2 book)

There are some meals that we will eat with the kids like pizza and spaghetti because I use whole wheat crusts and noodles. And on the nights when the kids don't eat with us I'm able to incorporate leftovers into our meals. It's economical and healthful. I'm liking our plan thus far.

Here are some photos of what we've been eating this week. My new favorite breakfast is something the Pioneer Woman featured on the cooking portion of her website and it's called Egg-in-a-nest. I freaking love this now and eat it almost every day. There's just something about the combination of lightly toasted bread, seasoned with salt and pepper paired up with a gently fried egg in the middle. It is, in one word, divine.

I use a whole grain bread and cage free egg because the yolks are a million times better.

Another breakfast I make when I have the time is an egg and some sauteed potatoes.

For this version, I used red potatoes which I diced along with a green pepper that was grown organically in my container garden. The homegrown peppers pack a lot of flavor into them and are really sweet and delicious. I love eating an egg for breakfast, in case you couldn't tell. It just is a great start to the day.

Salmon is a favorite fish around here. It's hearty, pretty, and doesn't need a lot of adornment to bring out the wonderful flavor of this fish. Here is a piece of wild Alaskan Salmon that I bought at the store:

Isn't it beautiful? Anyway, I cook this under the broiler skin side-up after I season it with a tsp of olive oil, and a tsp of lemon-pepper. Once the skin begins to bubble, I pull it out of the oven, pull the skin off, flip it over and finish it off under the broiler for a few more minutes. The times will vary depending on the thickness and cut of your fish but this particular piece took 5-7 mins start to finish. I served it with a long/wild rice blend, and steamed green beans that I tossed in a pan with some garlic infused oil. Mmmmmmm. So good.


Yesterday, I got a little crazy in the kitchen and decided to make my own pizza dough from scratch. Baking and I don't usually get along because, let's face it. I'm one lazy sucker and I don't like have to be so precise with my measurements. Eyeballing it is more my thing but in order for me to have a healthy dough, I was going to have to make it myself. Last year, I bought a Wolfgang Puck food processor and it came with a couple of recipes for pizza dough. I used the one for whole wheat dough and it turned out all right but I don't think I would use it again. Anyway, here is the pizza in all it's crispy, golden glory:

Again, I used homegrown peppers, canned black olives, and canned mushrooms. Calm down! I was going to use fresh shrooms but they had gone bad. I'll use fresh next time, ok? Here is the pizza up close:

Can't you just smell it?

I'm feeling really positive about this direction in which we're going. It feels good including the kids in the menu-making process and it helps all of us make healthier choices. Since I've added wheat products back into my diet I'm expecting to see my weight go back up a bit but this week, I'm putting exercise into my routine and am hoping it may offset the gain.

I'll be back tomorrow to post pics of tonight's dinner!

A good day

Yesterday began fresh, as all days do, with the promise of good food and staying on course. While the kids were sleeping, I fixed myself a cup of tea and warmed up two of the biscuits I made the day before. After topping them with my favorites, butter and cherry preserves, I sat enjoyed and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the house before the day really got started.


Once the kids got up, we spent the morning hanging out, tidying up, keeping busy basically. When lunchtime rolled around I had planned to have an egg salad sandwich but decided on a salad instead. My favorite salad is one topped with chopped egg, bacon, and olives then drizzled with a bit of ranch dressing. Thankfully I had hard boiled eggs in the fridge. I don't know what it is but chopped egg is one of the yummiest things I think you can put on a salad.

This was really filling and really held me over until I had a snack later in the afternoon. Oh and what a snack it was!

One of my goals was to make homemade snacks and not buy any at the store. I bought a new cookbook while I was recovering from my surgery and was finally able to make something out of it! I chose chocolate chip cookies. They were so, so delicious! Thin, with crispy buttery edges and a chewy center. Oh man, they were good! The recipe made a ton of cookies, too.


For dinner, I made shrimp and grits, which you've seen me mention here before. This time though, I did something a little different. Instead of using a combination milk or cream with water to cook the grits, I used some homemade chicken broth that was in the freezer. I thought it would make the dish a little bit lighter. I used 4 cups of chicken broth and maybe a 1/2 cup of cream. That was the only thing I did different. It did change the taste but it was good, and the dish didn't feel as heavy as it usually does.


At the end of the day, I felt really good about how I did. The only thing I didn't accomplish yesterday was doing a workout video but that's ok. Baby steps. It's hard to make changes and if all I can do right now is change my eating habits then that's all I can do. trying to do too much can be overwhelming and self-defeating. Already, today feels like a good day. Like I'm in total control of myself and my emotions. It's a start!

Mini goals

I have been doing a lot of thinking and soul-searching lately. After finding myself at the center of a family drama (which I had a hand in) I turned away completely from my dietary/lifestyle objectives. All I wanted to do was wallow in self-pity. Well, enough is enough. I'm done feeling bad because that doesn't serve any purpose at all. It's time to get a grip and start making some positive changes, even if they're only small ones for now. Here are my goals for the immediate future:

1. This week, I am going to cook every meal my family eats. There won't be any fast food eaten by anyone in this house, except for Sean because he works outside of the home and I can't control that.
   
2. I'm going to prepare homemade snacks for my family as well. At the grocery store today I didn't buy any chips or yucky snacky things and am planning to fix some goodies instead.
3. This week, I'm going to start moving either by doing a workout video or going for a walk with the boys or both. My goal is to move my body in a directed fashion at least once a day.
4. Each month I would like to lose 5 lbs. I think that is a reasonable goal to set.
5. I am going to try at least one new recipe a week. Have already started that tonight by cooking collard greens.
6. I am going to be gentle with myself. If I fall down in my task of mindful eating, I will not beat myself up over it. I will just do better the next go round.

Right now, the greens are simmering on the stove, I cooked some fabulous biscuits earlier, and I'm getting ready to make some baked macaroni and cheese. I was craving a southern meal and tonight we're having Fried Chicken Breasts, Mac and Cheese, and Collards. The biscuits are for breakfast tomorrow. Of course, all of these things will have to be eaten in small portions because if I fill my plate with them, I will overeat and continue to be overweight. Tonight I begin practicing eating the right portion size.

I have already taken some pictures of the cooking I've done this afternoon and am coming back tonight to record it here.

Fooling Myself

Friends, I have been in deep denial. I somehow have been able to rationalize eating unhealthy food, which I haven't documented here. Frozen Pizzas, hot dogs, and McDonalds are not great choices and once in a very long while, it's ok to eat something like that. However, I have been eating like that a lot during the week and have been cooking less and less. My weight is back at 192, after having lost 3lbs by following the principles set forth by Dr. Clower in The Fat Fallacy so now is the time for me to get a grip. The holidays can be such a difficult time for dieters but for people who eat whole foods, not processed foods, it can be a cornucopia of delights. Eating whole foods in the proper portion sizes is my goal, along with banning all junk food through the end of the year. Not only is it bad for my waistline but it's bad for my wallet as well. You will begin to see more posts from me again regarding what I'm eating because it's gotten to the point of ridiculousness here. It is possible to lose weight eating good food. One just has to make the conscious choice to do it.

Thanks for sticking around and hopefully, you'll find the site a little more interesting once I get back on track.

Today's Eats - Won't You Take Me to Twinkietown?

If you read over at my other blog then you already know about my homemade twinkie calamity. I'll try and give a brief summary. Since we've decided not to eat any processed or chemical laden foods, we've had to put the kibosh on snacky foods like twinkies. A couple of days ago, my youngest was positively begging for some in the grocery store and was difficult to console when I told him no. He calmed down when I said we could make our own twinkies....little did he know that the first batch would be a disaster. Thankfully though, he was able to find another use for them and if you follow the link above, you will see what I'm talkin' about. Well this morning I decided to give it another go and, using a different recipe, made a beautiful yellow cake and filled it with cream. Not exactly like twinkies but much better for you and pretty damn good, if I may say so myself.



After doing that all morning, I still had to get ready for my lunch with Krista. Thankfully, I had planned something simple so once I had the kitchen cleaned up it was ready for me to destroy it all over again. I sauteed some chicken breasts in olive oil having seasoned them beforehand with garlic salt and black pepper. Along with it I fixed my trusty mashed potatoes and haricot verts. I meant to make tea but just didn't have time to do it and wouldn't you know it's the one thing Krista requested?! Anyway, here is my plate from lunch today:



You might look at that plate and say, "Wow, that is A LOT of food!" But it's not. It's half of a chicken breast, 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes, and about 15 green beans and that was plenty of food. The plate I used makes it look like a lot of food. It's an antique dinner plate and it's 7" in diameter. Okay, wait. I'm lying to you because I don't know for sure. Hang on and I'll go measure it.

Good thing I went and checked because I don't want to mislead anybody. It's actually 8" in diameter. Just for kicks I measured one of my current dinner plates and it's 11". That's a huge difference and it really illustrates the point that it's easy to overload yourself when you use a plate that big.

Krista and I really took our time getting through lunch today and probably took an hour to eat. It was a nice, slow lunch filled with good conversation. She and I only see each other about once a month so we always have a lot to catch up on when we get together. I really enjoy her friendship!

Not sure what dinner's going to be tonight but I have a whole breast leftover from lunch so I'll probably fix that with some rice and a veggie. You know what I'm going to say...come back and check for the dinner update!!

DINNER

Leftover chicken from lunch, Long grain and wild rice, and yellow squash and zucchini. I forgot to take a picture before I started and by the time I remembered my plate looked like this:



The rice was a prepackaged "natural" product. The squash was cooked in olive oil, butter, chopped onion, sage, thyme, and Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt. Tasty! I also had one of the heart biscuits that was leftover from the chicken stew from a few nights ago along with a glass of iced tea.

It feels like another good eating day!

Today's Eats - Simple Trend

The boys slept really late this morning so I was able to be up and completely by myself for a long time today. It was really, really nice! It's easy to underestimate the power of solitude. When offered it can provide a respite from the daily activities that can drain even the most super of moms. Anyway, my solitude this morning was greatly enjoyed while eating this for breakfast:



One egg and one piece of whole wheat toast with a light touch of butter. So, so good!

Lunch was a late one today, around 2pm. I got hooked on the movie, "Empire Falls" on HBO and didn't want to move until it was over. I was completely immersed in it! When I finally did come up for air, I fixed myself a tuna sandwich on whole wheat toast with a glass of whole milk. Really hit the spot!



The lemon slices were purely there to make the photo a little more colorful.

I think tonight for dinner I'm going to fix tuna, fresh though, not canned. Much like we had at the restaurant the other night, seared on both sides and rare in the center. Please come back later tonight and check for the update!

UPDATE: DINNER

sean had to work late and my tuna didn't thaw out so this is what I had for dinner tonight:



Ginger Beer which is a fancy ginger ale, quite good.



A big bowl of popcorn. This is two bags of 100 calorie pop secret, not exactly highbrow fare! The tuna will just have to wait until tomorrow.

One more addition. I had a teacup-full of ice cream. It's not a modern size though. It's an antique cup that belonged to one of Sean's aunts and it's pretty small.



Pralines and Cream ice cream. Delish!

Today's Eats - Off and Running!

What a great day this has been so far! Got up, fixed some breakfast and relaxed with a book for a while:



First, I cooked some of that Hormel Natural Bacon, it has no nitrates or nitrites added. One piece for me and two for Iain. I'm not sure why, but this bacon doesn't give off a lot of grease, not that I'm complaining about that, just curious about why that might be. What grease there was in the pan was used to cook my egg. In the meantime, I heated up a biscuit that I made last night from the dough leftover at dinner. Tasty, tasty breakfast!

My niece came over around 11:30 and stayed until 1pm. Then my dad came by to sell me some life insurance so I didn't have lunch until 2:00.



My lunch consisted of a Hormel Natural Ham sandwich topped with Claussen pickle slices, organic romaine lettuce, mayo, and a grind or two of fresh black pepper. It was accompanied by 2 Tbs of roasted red pepper hummus and some organic corn chips. I really took my time and ate it slowly, enjoying all the different flavors that were there. After that, I treated myself to a square of silky, Belgian milk chocolate that I had bought at World Market the other day along with some whole milk from our local dairy. Fantabulous, let me tell you!

I'm still trying to figure out what dinner's going to be but whatever it is I'm looking forward to cooking it, that's for sure!

UPDATE: DINNER

Tonight I didn't feel like having the leftover BFC Chicken Stew with Biscuits. It is a very heavy meal and we were eating sort of late and last night I had some WEIRD dreams. Like, I was married to Ben Affleck (so cute) and I was a co-host on the View. There was a bombing at the studio and Ben (first-name basis here) died. We had a tiny baby and I was devastated. Frankly I was amazed that I didn't wake up crying - it was SO real. Anyhoo, tonight's dinner was grassfed beef, London Broil. I seasoned it with McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning and cooked it under the broiler for about 15 minutes. Also I fixed some organic yukon gold mashed potatoes and tiny, sweet peas. Sometimes simplicity really is best.



And here's a nice close-up of all the seasonings. They were pretty spicy!



Today felt like a really good day eatswise. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Today's Eats - Barefoot Contessa Showed Up

Ahhhh. Sunday mornings. Quiet, except for the crinkle of the morning paper. It was a nice morning because we were all up early and ready to face the day. Sean was very sweet and went to Panera and got me a chocolate croissant-ish pastry for breakfast. It was tasty!



We hung out, watched tv, and then I ran to the grocery store by myself. Can I just tell you what a luxury it is to go alone? I could actually take the time to look at all the glorious offerings in our newest fancy-schmancy store and it was so, so nice. I have to tell you, I've been buying milk from a local creamery and they sell it in glass bottles and man, it is good! I cannot fathom going back to the plastic jug. Anyway, I got home and fixed lunch for everyone and then fixed some for myself. Sometimes with all the different orders that get filled around here, I feel like I'm probably qualified to work in a restaurant kitchen. For myself I prepared leftover crabcakes and a salad with a honey ginger dressing.



Sean took the boys to a batting cage which gave me more mommy time. Nice! Then we all went to a couple of open houses and came home. I finally had enough time to devote to the Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Stew with Biscuits. I haven't eaten it yet but here is a photo of the finished product:



It is wonderous. You will not believe how good this is and it's not hard to make at all. When I serve myself I will have a small scoop with one biscuit. Delish!

If you're interested in the recipe, please email me and I will see what I can do.

unschoolingwhimsigal@gmail.com

Yesterday's Eats

Yesterday was a crazy day but a really good day, too. We got up and went to visit Nan, Sean's mom, because the boys had been complaining that we hadn't visited with her in a while. I wasn't hungry when we left so I ate lunch when we got home. I prepared a ham sandwich on whole wheat bread with pickles, lettuce, some mayo, and a grind or two of fresh pepper. Also, I sliced a couple of strawberries to add a little personality to the plate! I did eat them though.



Then Sean and I took the boys out shopping at Toys R Us and got them each a couple of things. Oh, we took me to World Market so I could get a couple of things too! I was looking for a new plate, something pretty but there wasn't anything there that really wowed me so I bought a fancy chocolate bar instead! When we got home Sean and I spent at least an hour cleaning up the disgusting playroom - and when I say disgusting I mean disgusting, friends! Tiny bits of styrofoam, cotton candy, MOUSE POOP, all over the place. It was horrible!! To be fair, the mouse poop was old and behind the TV but it was g-r-o-s-s nonetheless.

After that difficult and exhausting task, I just couldn't face getting into the kitchen and cooking so we went out to a local restaurant that we had not been to before called Tripps. It serves general American fare and it was pretty good. They of course brought this to the table first:



I had two small slices spread with a thin layer of butter. Sean ordered an appetizer for us of seared Ahi Tuna served with wasabi, chinese mustard, and a teriyaki dipping sauce. Man that was good! I'm going to start eating more tuna because frankly it was better than the steak I had for dinner later!



God, I'm hungry just looking at that and it's 8am! LOL Anyway, we both ordered filet mignon, Sean's was crusted with horseradish and mine was undressed. It came with a choice of house salad or caesar and we both chose the caesar:



Usually Caesar salad is my favorite but last night it just had entirely too much garlic in it for me and as a result, I hardly ate any. A little while later, our steaks arrived at the table:



My steak was more done than I wanted and a little bit tough for the cut of meat. To me a filet should almost be like butter and this was almost like eating sirloin or a ribeye. It was fine but not something for me go ga-ga over!

My new book came yesterday, "The French Don't Diet Plan", by Dr. will Clower and as promised I read it so I could tell you which version of his book is better. Between this one and the "Fat Fallacy", the new one gives a lot more detail about HOW to eat this way and for that reason I would recommend the newest one over "Fat Fallacy". That said, there is some good reading in the "fat Fallacy" and if you can swing ordering both then I would do that. There are recipes in that one that weren't included in the new one and I'd hate for you to miss out on those. Really, reading this book last night re-energized me andhas helped me see what I've been doing "wrong" these past few weeks and I'm ready to start anew. It's almost as though you have to become a food snob and completely turn away from eating any kind of processed food. He gives some really compelling arguments in the book and I'm going to take some time today to plan my meals for the week so I can shop accordingly.

I hope you all consider ordering his book. Even if you don't need to lose weight it offers you a chance to learn how to eat healthfully without falling into the trap of tasteless low-fat, low-cal, or low-carb foods.

Today's Eats

Well, I thought I was going to make soup today but as I am wont to do, I changed my mind. I'm a woman and it's my prerogative, right? Good, glad we're in agreement there. Anyway, I skipped breakfast today, not intentionally, just didn't feel the need and by the time I was hungry I might as well cook lunch. If you read my other blog, then you are well-versed in the challenges faced by my family in trying to eat healthy. Ryan has been the biggest struggle because when he was younger I went for convenience vs. nutrition and it's been hard to get him to make healthy choices. His biggest weakness is chicken nuggets and although I have made my own countless times I've never been able to get him to eat them...until today!

Since I had decided to make chicken nuggets for Ryan, it just made sense for me to eat them as well. No sense in completely wrecking the kitchen. I had some organic chicken tenders and cut them into inch pieces as uniform as possible. Then I took two eggs and a splash of half and half and mixed them together in order to soak the chicken pieces. Next, I took some Panko bread crumbs, poultry seasoning, pepper, and salt and mixed that together in another dish. Then, I took my largest saucepan and put in peanut oil until it was about 1.5 inches deep and heated it over med high heat. I dredged the egg soaked chicken through the panko mixture and then gently placed it into the hot oil. They did not take long to cook and were a gorgeous golden brown in no time. I gave Ryan a few and he ate them! I was flabbergasted and pleased beyond all reckoning. Now I can stop buying the processed nuggets at the store and fix my own for him. I can't tell you how great that feels!

For myself, I had a few nuggets and an organic salad made up of baby romaine lettuce leaves. Delish!



I ended the meal with a serving of chocolate, which is equal to the width of three fingers:



I actually only ate two squares off one row of chocolate. It was plenty.

Today, I was walking upstairs and was struck by how good I feel. Generally speaking, I've been feeling more energetic and clear-headed. I have no doubt it is in regard to me preparing most of our food from scratch. The kids have been happier and easier to get along with and the credit should go in large part to our reconstructed diet. It really does seem to have made a difference.

at this point, I'm not sure what's on the menu for dinner but I promise to update later!

Yesterday's Eats

Yesterday was a pretty good day eating-wise. I got up in the morning and started the day off with this:



The sausage was not a natural/organic product but it was freshly made at my grocery store so it at least didn't have any additives or preservatives.

Later on for lunch I had a PB&J with a glass of cold, whole milk. It's really hard to beat that, I think. It's one of the top comfort meals of all time.



I think perhaps the jelly I used was bad because I felt nauseous a couple of hours after eating. The sandwich was composed of Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter, Organic Apricot Jam, and 100% Whole Wheat Bread.

Dinner was fabulous, if I may say so myself. I prepared chicken breasts seasoned with Lemon Pepper and cooked them in Coconut Oil. My new friend, Marin, told me that coconut oil is healthier than butter so I bought some and have been using it as an experiment. It doesn't impart any kind of odd flavor or anything. To accompany the chicken, I also cooked my favorite haricot verts and NC sweet potatoes baked in the oven. The potatoes were small in size and I scraped the flesh from mine because I prefer to mash it up. To the mashed sweet potato I added a tsp of butter, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of cumin, a pinch of kosher salt, and a couple of grinds of pepper. Really unbelievable!



Here is another shot so you can see the potatoes in all their glory.



You know what's funny? For years, I absolutely despised sweet potatoes. Then, a few years ago, I went to a low-carb lifestyle for a while and my taste buds changed. I began to like all kinds of things that had been hated in the past like brussel sprouts and asparagus. At Thanksgiving that year my mom sent us home with a plate of leftovers and later that night, I snuck into the kitchen for a snack and took a little nibble of sweet potatoes that she had put on the plate. They were glorious and I've been hooked ever since. I prefer to fix mine with slightly more savory seasonings though opposed to the uber-sweet concoction favored at the Thanksgiving holiday.

While I didn't take any pictures of it, I had a couple of teaspoons of Ben and Jerry's Butter Pecan Ice Cream. Usually I would fix myself a bowl of ice cream but now I realize that a taste is really all one needs sometimes.

I haven't eaten breakfast yet today and it's now 10am so I will probably start with lunch instead!

"See" you later!

Today's Eats

Today has been all about chilling out. Sundays in the Fall are my favorite day of the week because of the cooling air, the smell of the leaves during their metamorphosis, football, and today was no exception. Sean was kind enough to take Lily, our puppy, out this morning and let me snooze away until 9:30. Ahhhh. Lovely. Then, just to continue this path of kindness he went out and bought this for me:



I heard a chorus of voices singing with each glorious bite I took. I must tell you though that if I could figure out how to make these myself I think I would like them even more. Chocolate croissants are delicious but the place we get them from uses a Duncan Hines type frosting on the top and I'd be just as happy without it on there at all. That was enough to keep me satisfied until around 3:30 when I decided a snacky lunch was in order. Having had enough sandwiches this week, it seemed like a good idea to have something else so I settled on this:



On my favorite square plate I had a small bunch of organic grapes, my homemade mushroom soup, organic chips and some hummus. It was filling and oh so good. I hope you try to make the soup because I can't stop telling you how divine it is.

I will update later with dinner, if we have it!

UPDATE:

Dinner was from Panera and....I didn't like it. Sean ordered my sandwich wrong so it sort of sucked. I usually get a turkey artichoke panini on foccacia bread. Sean misunderstood a comment I made and ordered it on a whole wheat baguette. Eewww. The bread was way too dense and the denseness made the sandwich very dry. I only ended up eating half of it open-faced. Here it is in all it's gross glory:



That's all I have to say about that.

Stats

Ok, well I definitely overdid it this week, and gained back one of the pounds I lost last week so I'm at 191. That's okay though. This whole process is about learning how to eat healthfully and mindfully so I can enjoy what I eat while losing weight. Certainly I won't be eating McDonalds for a while unless I get a salad and a water! The key is to not beat myself up about it because that is counterproductive. We Americans still suffer from the Puritanical views of our ancestors and it is especially present in our attitudes towards food. Things are "bad", "guilty pleasures", "decadent". I'm guilty of using this vocabulary myself right here on this blog. It's hard to eliminate the ideas that have been handed down to us over the centuries but it's important to continue to try. As long as we continue feel deprived, we will have a tendency to overindulge. Allow yourself small indulgences and just don't overdo it. Set your own guidelines. You have to do what works for you. Only then will you succeed at losing weight or maintaining weight loss.

Changes to the Blog and Dinner Tonight

After trying to photograph each step of dinner preparation last night and then taking pictures of each meal today I have made a few decisions regarding this chronicle. Instead of step-by-step photos, I'm just going to photograph the ingredients and then the final product as it sits on my plate. It's just too much information the other way I was doing it. Also, I think I'm going to wait and post at the end of each day and just describe what I've eaten then. If I do individual posts again, it's just too much information. Any opinions you'd like to offer are welcome!

On to dinner this evening...leftovers! We had chicken and potatoes leftover from last night so that's what we had. Not too exciting but just as delicious. We didn't have any beans left so I substituted canned green beans and they were terrible so we threw them out! No pictures of dinner since it was just leftover from last night.

My stats are:
42-38-42
192

I actually lost weight in May due to a severe round of stomach bugs that went through here. I was down 10lbs and had lost 3" off my waist. Since that time, I have maintained that weight and haven't been following a particularly healthy diet and what I'm hoping is that by eating healthy, small portions of food and exercising, I will lose weight. It will be slow and if I lose 5 lbs a month I'll be ecstatic. No unreasonable expectations here. We're going for a family bike ride tomorrow so hopefully I make it back alive. It's been a while since I've done anything that strenuous. Wish me luck!