Yesterday's Eats

For those of you who are new, let me give a brief refresher on what I'm doing. I read a book called, The Fat Fallacy by Will Clower and it completely changed the way I look at the food I eat. GET THIS BOOK or get the updated version. You won't be sorry. It's all about looking at the French model of eating. Good quality ingredients, rich meals, in small portions. We eat too much and we eat poor quality food and it's really taking a toll on our health. So much of our food is filled with chemicals and we need to take control of what we eat and give our bodies as organic and as wholesome food as we possibly can. This is not easy by any means. With the economy in its current state, food prices have soared which makes organic food that much more expensive. Also, it can be difficult to find time to prepare things from scratch when one leads a busy life. But I say this to you, isn't it worth it to make the time in order to live a better quality life? Isn't it worth the extra expense to buy organic when you can? Start small and pick a few things to buy organic. Work your way into it gradually. Another book I'd like to recommend is To Buy or Not To Buy Organic by Cindy Burke. She has done a lot of research and has comprised a helpful list of the things that are important to buy in their organic form. It's a wonderful guide to organic shopping and I highly recommend you purchase it!

Okay!! Now that I've gotten that out of the way, on to what I ate yesterday! It was a much better day for me eatswise. Breakfast was very simple, a French roll and an egg, served alongside a glass of whole milk. Mmmmmm. Whole milk is the only way to go!



After breakfast, my sister and I dropped our kids off with our mom and went hunting for a cookie cutter in the shape of a beer mug. Bridget at Bake at 350 made some freaking adorable cookies for St. Patty's Day and I thought it would be fun to make them to take to my mother-in-law's party on Saturday. Well, Greensboro, NC is not a hotbed of baking fanatics apparently because I couldn't find one. We had rhinos but no beer mugs. Go figure. After all that walking I was tired and just wanted to fix an easy lunch. There was still some rotisserie chicken in the fridge so I cut off some breast meat and put it between two slices of whole wheat bread and mayonnaise. Easy Peasy.



Later in the afternoon, I did snack on some baked pita chips and roasted red pepper hummus. Yum!

Dinner was delicious. I was finally feeling really good yesterday and I was able to get in the kitchen and cook an entire meal. We had some pork chops that had to be cooked or frozen yesterday and it had been so long since we'd had pork that I decided to cook them. They were loin chops, thick cut, on the bone. I seasoned them with a touch of Lawry's seasoned salt and some fresh ground pepper on both sides and then placed them in a skillet with about 1 Tbs of olive oil. While these were cooking, I boiled some yukon gold potatoes that I had earlier chopped and placed in a boiler with some salted water. When the pork chops were done, I placed them on a plate and covered them with a tent of aluminum foil to keep them warm while I prepared a sauce to go with them. First, I poured about a 1/2 cup of chicken broth into the pan to deglaze it. White wine would be another good choice for that but I didn't have any. Once all the brown bits had been released from the bottom of the pan, I added a tsp of butter, some salt and pepper, a 1/4 cup of cream, and 1 or 2 Tbs of capers. I let this come together over Low heat while I mashed the potatoes. With the pork and potatoes I also served some romaine lettuce topped with a vinaigrette. It was DEEE-lish!



One thing I'm going to have to concentrate on is small portion sizes and eating slowly. I got out of the habit while I was recovering and now it's a challenge. But! I did it once and I know I can again.

Thanks for reading!

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.

Weight Down A Little More!

Got up this morning and weighed 189. Yeah baby!! It has been a good while since that number popped up on the scale. I'm feeling really good about losing weight and getting healthy following Will Clower's method. I've been feeling better, sharper mentally, and just plain good! Now with starting yoga as well I expect to feel even more energetic as things progress.

Thanks for staying with me, friends!

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.

The Plan

Stephanie had asked me to explain my "minuscule" portion sizes and, after seeing the word "minuscule" I felt compelled to do so. The idea is to take less than you normally would and put it on your plate. For example, if you normally would have a whole chicken breast, a whole baked potato, and a large helping of some other side, then start with eating half of what you normally would. Use a small plate. Research has shown that over the years, our dinner plates have grown by 2-3 inches in diameter. If you see a plate that size with small amounts of food on it, you're going to think you don't have enough on your plate. But by using a salad plate, which is the old size that dinner plates used to be, you will find that you get just enough to eat. It's not really that you're eating minuscule amounts, you're just taking less and finding that it's enough.

Dr. Clower's book goes into it much better than I can and in a fun, friendly voice, too. Here is an example of a day on Dr. Clower's plan which was part of a course I took offered on his website:

Breakfast: Target time 15-20 mins
2 egg frittata with onion and garlic
whole wheat toast with butter
small glass of juice
Lifestyle tip of the meal: Wake up 30 minutes early. Sit in the peace of your kitchen to begin your day with your partner, paper, or favorite cup of coffee.

Lunch: Target time (15 minutes)
Open faced tuna sandwich on whole wheat toast, topped with a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese, small spinach salad with tomatoes and raspberry vinaigrette.
1/2 pint of chilled whole milk

Dessert: Target time 10 minutes
One square of rich dark chocolate, about "two thumbs" in size.

Ender: target time 20 minutes
For the ender sip on a small cup of coffee or tea.
Lifestyle tip of the meal: Estimate the size of half your sandwich and resolve to finish with only that half after 7 minutes or so.

Snack:Target time 15 minutes
Handful of unsalted nuts (brazil, almonds, cashews) approx 10

Dinner;
Main target Time 20 minutes
Tilapia baked in olive oil and crisp white wine with capers and onions.
Garlic green beans (5-10)
Rosemary red potatoes (3-4 quarters)
1 glass pinot grigio or similar
1 glass water

Dessert Target Time 10 minutes
Creme Brulee in a ramekin

Ender: Target time 10 minutes
End with a cup of hot herbal tea or cocoa
Lifestyle tip of the meal: Set the table tonight, chill the wine, set out the candles.

You can see that the whole idea is for the meal to be an experience, not just shoveling food in one's mouth as quickly as possible. It does call for some common sense, which is something I have been having a little trouble with. It's easy in the beginning to go crazy with the things you're allowed to eat. That's something I definitely have to watch because the plan is also about learning how to balance the meal. Lean protein like fish and chicken are better choices than red meat, which is ok to eat once in a while. Don't drown things in rich sauces and butter, let them highlight the dish that you've prepared.

I hope this makes sense. I cannot recommend more strongly that you get your hands on a copy of this book. Amazon is selling used copies for $1 and some change for goodness sake! I just ordered a copy of the newest version, which I've heard is similar to the original but, I have to see for myself. :) Hopefully it will be here this weekend and I will be able to let you know.

Use small plates.
Take bites no larger than the end of your thumb, chipmunk cheeks are a no-no.
Take less than usual - amounts that might make you think you'll need seconds.
Eat slowly, converse with those around you, savor the flavors of the meal.
Use nice silverware, linens, and glasses. Every meal is good enough for the the good stuff.
Put your fork down between bites and don't put a new bite in until the first is completely chewed and gone.

You really are what you eat so use the best, whole, nutritious ingredients possible. I hope this made things a little bit clearer. If not, please let me know. I'll be happy to try and explain it better!

Today's Eats

The day started out great. The puppy slept until almost 9am and the kids slept longer than that. I crept downstairs to check email and have some quiet time to myself in order to ponder what sustenance I would give my body today. Yesterday's croissant and jam was decadent and delicious. Did I want to repeat that fare? Instead I settled on a "fried" egg (cage-free), Stonyfield French Vanilla Yogurt (3-4Tbs), and Bear Naked Granola (1Tbs) with dried fruit and nuts. It was fabulous! I used a little Pam (with apologies to Mother Earth) and cooked the egg in a frying pan with a touch of salt and freshly ground pepper. The only way I can eat the yolk is in egg salad or scrambled eggs so I only ate the white this morning. Once I had finished eating (about 15 mins) I poured myself a tiny cup of hazelnut coffee and added a touch of sugar and cream. A nice little ender to the meal.

Around 1:30 we decided it was time to eat again. Lunch was a simple affair which consisted of a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with 2 tsp mayo and 2 Claussen's pickle slices. You will see a peach in the picture but once I finished the sandwich I was too full for the peach. I had a glass of whole milk to drink and was quite satisfied until dinner time at 6:30.

Tonight we were celebrating my youngest brother-in-law's 21st birthday. It was a cookout and as you see in the photo it had the standard cookout items. I chose a hot dog with a touch of slaw and mustard, heaping tablespoons of potato salad, nunu salad, and baked beans. Nunu salad is something my mother-in-law makes which is macaroni, tuna, and mayo. It's not swimming in mayo though. Why they call it nunu salad I have no idea! Here's my plate:

My sister made the most beautiful cake. It was a Boston Creme Pie cake and man, it was good! I didn't have a large slice but it was definitely more than I needed to eat. Here are a couple of photos of the cake pre-candles:

Prior to this journey I now find myself on, I absolutely would have pigged out because I love all the things we had for dinner tonight. Hot Dogs are my all-time favorite food, in fact. But, with taking my time, eating slowly, and concentrating on taking small bites, I really had the opportunity to enjoy my meal, and eat less than I would have though possible before. When I fix my plate, I always take a portion that makes me believe I'll be going back for seconds. As of yet, I haven't done so. In fact, I've been sitting tonight watching Lord of the Rings on tv and haven't even had one snack. Haven't wanted one amazingly enough. It's a wonderful feeling and it's been a great day!