April 2008

Today kicked off the start of a very busy week for us. I didn’t have much time to spend on cooking today, so I revamped my menu to go light on cooking in an effort to save myself time. I don’t think I stopped moving all day long. I even cleaned our bedroom, office, rec room, and did laundry. The Energizer bunny has nothing on me today. It’s around 4:00AM now and I haven’t even finished my menu and I still have a bunch of work to get done. *sigh* We seem to have one of these weeks just before a holiday or special occasion. Our anniversary is on May 5th, so of course, everything up to then will be total chaos as we prepare to take one day off LOL. We’re going to NYC for the day, so it’s all worth it.

I did 30 minutes on my elliptical on low/medium resistance for about 3.5 miles. I like to start my day off with light cardio now, it wakes me up. Then I had my breakfast, which wasn’t exactly traditional, but it was a nice plate of comfort on this sunny Spring day:

Grilled cheese made with: 2 slices Alvarado Street flax seed bread (100 cal), 1 slice Jarlsberg lite swiss cheese (50 cal), 1 oz Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese (60 cal) and 1 slice Monterey Jack reduced fat cheese (60 cal). I cooked it in my nonstick frying pan without any cooking spray, it still came out great without all the butter or oil.

I warmed up 1 can of Health Valley no salt added tomato soup and had 1 cup of it (100 cal) and 1 cup Birds Eye broccoli (30 cal) along side my gooey grilled cheese. The soup is a bit deceptive, I shared it with my husband and it says “About 2 servings” on the can, but it’s more like 1 and ¼ servings. My husband’s portion wasn’t very big, but he got to have butter on his grilled cheese, so we’re even if you ask me!! hehe

I dipped my delicious grilled cheese sandwich into my cup of soup and enjoyed every bit of it. This meal was a little high in saturated fat, but that’s ok. I just can’t stay away from cheese, I love it so much!!! And I can’t do fat free cheese — YUCK! — but at least reduced fat saves a lot of fat and calories without sacrificing flavor. This was an unusual breakfast that was made a bit healthier with some broccoli for only 400 calories. Technically the tomato soup is 2 fruit/veggie servings too, but I don’t really count it lol.

I didn’t get to my lunch yet, maybe it will be my before bed snack if I don’t get to the cereal. I did get to try one of the frozen watermelon fruit bars I got the other day. Wow, only 50 calories and so full of watermelon flavor without any artificial ingredients, loved it. It’s going to be a great summer with those little gems.

We had dinner a little while ago. Yes, this late at night. lol I found whole wheat crumpets in Whole Foods when we were there last week, but I’ve never had one before and wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. I always thought “tea and crumpets”, but the package suggested pizza, and nobody has to convince me to have pizza! lol!

I preheated the oven to 425F, then layered the crumpets with: ¾ cup Del Monte no salt added diced tomatoes (45 cal), 2oz Price Chopper low fat mozzarella (120 cal), 40g green bell pepper (10 cal), and 30g red onions (15 cal). I sprinkled garlic powder and dried oregano over them, then popped them into the oven for about 12 minutes.

I’m not sure if I liked them or not. They weren’t very crispy on the bottom, probably because of all the toppings, but the actual crumpet tasted too much like a pancake to me. I dunno. It was good, but not “WOW! I WANT MORE NOW!” good. Maybe if I got the bottoms a littler crispier? Not sure. I like thin crust pizza, so anything that’s too spongy doesn’t float my boat for pizza. On a scale of 1 to 10 I’d give these a 6. I still ate all 3 of them, so they weren’t terrible, but I think I’d rather have crumpets with fruit spread and something less dessert-like with pizza. For 655 calories, including my bigger-than-usual side salad, this was an interesting twist on pizza. I’d definitely try it again though. I want to be sure before I erase it from the virtual recipes in my mind lol.

Tomorrow is a “3400 calorie” day so you can just imagine how much cooking I have planned lol. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never had a day that high in calories that I planned a menu for. It’s going to be fun!

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The past few days I’ve let my husband help me cook because we have so many things going on and he’s actually been pretty good. I mean, not great, but helpful lol. I haven’t let him help me cook since an incident with frozen mozzarella and the microwave. *shudders* He’s been a huge help the past few days and I could really get used to having the extra hand in the kitchen. As long as I’m giving the orders of course LOL. He’s not really interested in cooking, but he’s kind enough to help me when I’m in a frenzy. Now, if I could just get the cats to help out too, I’d have an army of cooks! hahaha

I wasn’t very hungry when I woke up today, so I went on my elliptical on low/medium resistance for ~32 minutes and did 4 miles. That turned on my appetite, but I didn’t want to have my real post-workout smoothie yet. So I saved that for after my intense lifting and cardio and made lunch instead:

I tried Nayonaise for the first time and it’s pretty good. Pretty much tastes like any other fat free mayo, minus the eggs. I liked it, but 2 TBSP (30g) doesn’t go very far and with 100mg sodium per serving, it can really add up.

I made the sandwich on 2 slices Alvarado Street flax seed bread (100 cal) with 1 cup arugula (5 cal), 1 plum tomato (15 cal), 30g red onions (15 cal) and tuna made with: ¼ cup Bumble Bee low sodium tuna (70 cal), 2 tablespoons fat free Nayonaise (20 cal) and black pepper. With 106g Granny Smith apple (55 cal), this was a yummy sandwich with fruit for only 295 calories.

I did strength training a little later, ate a banana, then headed back to my hamster wheel to do 30 intense minutes on highest resistance. I was dripping with sweat, but it felt good. Invigorating even. I was sooooo thirsty when I got done. I made the biggest, thickest smoothie I’ve ever had. It tasted like a very thick peanut butter/vanilla milkshake, but of course the yogurt makes it have that “chalky” flavor and texture. That’s ok though, I enjoyed it. I didn’t take a pic, but I made it with:

1 cup Fage Total 0% yogurt (120 cal)
6 TBSP (36g dry) PB2 powdered peanut butter (162 cal)
1 cup skim milk (90 cal)
1 scoop soy protein powder (60 cal)
Liquid Stevia
1 teaspoon vanilla (12 cal)
Lots of ice cubes

= 444 calories, 54g protein! It was thick enough to eat with a spoon, but I drank it. It made about a quart, maybe a little less. It might be a little bland or chalky for some people, but I found it to be tasty. Not quite as good as a milkshake, but the closest thing to it? Maybe.

I took a gamble on dinner and decided to try “fish tacos” with salmon. It was a major success! Even my husband liked them and he’s a picky eater at times.

First I weighed out 4oz sockeye salmon (192 cal, raw) and baked it in the oven on 400F for about 15-18 mins. While that was in the oven, I chopped my veggies for the tacos and cooked 6oz scallops (150 cal) with 1 cup Birds Eye broccoli (30 cal) and a touch of lemon juice in my nonstick frying pan that I sprayed with a bit of Pam olive oil spray. I had leftover Eden Cajun rice and beans from the other day, so I warmed up the rest of them and measured out ½ cup (110 cal) for my plate.

When the salmon was done, I let it rest for a few minutes while I warmed 2 corn tortilla shells (100 cal) in a nonstick frying pan that I sprayed with Pam olive oil cooking spray. I warmed them for just a few minutes on one side, then moved them to my plate where I began piling on the salmon that I removed the skin from and crumbled into pieces and the veggies. Just before I ate them I put ¼ cup Fage Total 0% plain yogurt (30 cal) across the top of both tacos. Wow, this was a really great twist on tacos! I loved it. And filling, OMG! I could barely finish it, but of course I did anyway lol. I was filled up to the brim! For only 729 calories, this is definitely recipe I’ll use again. The salmon almost tasted like chicken under all of the wonderful toppings. Mmmm! Muy delicioso!!!

I didn’t get to my PB&J sandwich and I don’t think I’m going to. I’m very tired and we have a meeting with our attorney in like 4.5 hours lol. *sigh* It’s going to be a looooooooooooooooooooong day. I’m taking a nap when we get home though. I’m sure hubby will follow if I whine enough. lol

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I’m stuffed!! I started my “high calorie week” today and kicked it off with an fabulous menu. It wasn’t anything fancy or special, but everything was delicious and very satisfying. I haven’t even finished all of the menu yet and I’m not sure if I am going to. I really enjoyed everything that I did get to have though.

I started off the day with 30 mins light-medium cardio on my elliptical, then revisited French toast circa the other day, minus the blueberries:

This was so simple to make, it only took about 5 minutes. I mixed ½ cup Egg Beaters (60 cal) and ¼ cup Just Egg Whites (30 cal) together in a large bowl, then coated 3 slices Martin’s 100% whole wheat potato bread (210 cal) in it and moved the well coated pieces to my nonstick frying pan that I sprayed generously with Pam olive oil cooking spray. The bread is so thick and moist that it soaked up all of the egg. It makes incredible French toast.

I ate the French toast along with 2 TBSP 100% pure maple syrup (104 cal) and a side dish of ½ cup Friendship no salt added cottage cheese (90 cal)½ cup with (72g) fresh sliced strawberries (25 cal). That was the first time I tried the no salt added cottage cheese and it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. I guess I expected it to taste like regular cottage cheese without all the salt, and it did, but not quite the same. It was a lot more like ricotta; not very much flavor, but I liked it. The strawberries were so ripe and sweet, which gave it great flavor. Yummy! I guess it would be asking too much if they could make a version that had maybe half the salt instead of no salt? I never realized that sodium is what gives cottage cheese it’s flavor. Weird. Well anyway, I haven’t met a cheese that I didn’t like, so this is still a keeper.

At just 559 calories, that’s usually much more than I spend on breakfast, but being today was a “2800 calorie” day, I budgeted it in and still had plenty leftover for the rest of the day. Maybe too much!

Later on I did another 30 minutes of light cardio on my elliptical, then my appetite really kicked in and I headed to the kitchen to make this petite veggie pita sandwich:

I totally forgot to add my alfalfa sprouts to it! Oops! They aren’t something I usually eat, so it slipped my mind. I made a really simple vegetable mixture of: 26g fresh cucumber (4 cal), 30g red onions (15 cal), 60g grape tomatoes (20 cal), 5 Lindsay low sodium green olives (25 cal), and 1oz baby carrots (15 cal). I sliced the cucumbers thinly, diced the onions, shredded the carrots, cut the grape tomatoes in half and sliced the olives into smaller pieces. Then I mixed it all together in a bowl with 2 teaspoons olive oil (80 cal), red wine vinegar (10 cal), a very small sprinkle of garlic salt, 2 TBSP shredded parmesan cheese (40 cal), and a little Mrs. Dash tomato/basil. I warmed 1 Joseph’s Heart Friendly pita bread (60 cal) up in the microwave for about 15 seconds, cut it in half, then stuffed it with the veggies. With 1oz Kettle Bakes baked BBQ potato chips (120 cal), this was a very tasty stuffed pita lunch for only 394 calories. Joseph’s pitas are very thin, so it got a bit soggy. Maybe I’ll try it on a whole wheat pita or just folded over as a wrap next time. I loved the fresh, crispy flavor. It actually reminded me of antipasto. Mmm! Delish!

Speaking of Kettle Bakes baked potato chips — why exactly are they considered empty calories? Each serving has: 120 calories, 3g protein, 420mg potassium, 1g sugar, 160mg sodium, 2% of daily Vitamin A, 4% daily Iron, 15% daily Vitamin C, 3g fat (2.5 of which are unsaturated aka healthy fats), and they’re made with completely wholesome ingredients: Russet potatoes, expeller pressed oils, and spices.

I just took this pic in my office lol. Anyway, they aren’t the most nutritious thing to eat, but I wouldn’t exactly call them “empty calories” either. *shrugs*

Tonight’s supper was as elegant as turkey chili dogs can get; I had them with broccoli! LOL And wow, were they TURK-A-RRIFIC!!

I started by weighing 202g sweet potato (180 cal) on my food scale; sliced them into thick wedges; added them to a plastic baggie with 1 teaspoon olive oil (40 cal); coated them, then moved them onto a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil. I sprinkled a bit of black pepper and garlic salt over them, then baked on 450F for about 20-25 minutes.

While the potatoes were cooking, I prepared the turkey chili with:

4oz ground turkey breast (120 cal)
1 cup Hunt’s no salt added tomato sauce (80 cal)
60g diced red onions (30 cal)
Chili powder (lots!), black pepper, garlic powder

I omitted the beans, I didn’t really need them on hot dogs. That cooked in just a few minutes, so I let it simmer on slow while I steamed 2 cups Birds Eye broccoli (60 cal) in the microwave.

Just before the sweet potatoes were done, I boiled 2 Applegate Farms uncured turkey hot dogs (90 cal) in a pot of water. They cooked super fast! I took the sweet potato wedges out of the oven, then put the hot dogs in 2 Martin’s potato hot dog rolls (260 cal) and topped them with: the turkey chili, 1.5 oz Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese (90 cal), 60d diced red onions (30 cal), and 2 teaspoons organic spicy deli mustard (10 cal) just before I ate them.

These… were… FAN-TAST-A-YUM! I tried desperately to find whole wheat or whole grain hot dogs buns to no avail. So I just went with an old favorite; Martin’s potato buns. They taste just like their whole wheat versions, but they don’t make a hot dog shape. They’re still pretty healthy, with 6g of protein per bun. They tasted awesome with these gigantic chili dogs. MMmmMMmMmm!!

They were ENORMOUS and messy and just perfect. They turkey hot dogs had only 280mg sodium each, still very, very high but not nearly as high as the other packages I read. Ugh! Worth it. Totally worth it. This was a grand hot dog dinner for 990 calories. Yeah, I know. That’s almost an entire day of calories to some people, but it’s definitely worth the splurge once in awhile. I could have been full on just 1 of those glorious beasts, but I ate both, of course!! hehehe I couldn’t even tell that the chili or the hot dogs were turkey, it tasted just like the beef version with less fat and calories. The buns were devilishly soft and fresh, heavenly. Summer is coming, so these are definitely going to make several appearances on upcoming menus. YUMMMMMM!

If you can believe I had room after that mountainous hot dog feast, I ate this for dessert:

1 Deep Chocolate VitaMuffin (100 cal) that I added 2 teaspoons Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter/chocolate spread (60 cal) to. It looks like a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing, but it tasted a lot like a Reese’s peanut butter cup. I warmed the VitaMuffin in the microwave for just 20 seconds, then added the peanut butter spread on top. The warmth from the muffin melted the peanut butter. OOOOOOOOOH, SOooooooooo gooooooooood! The perfect little chocolate/peanut butter treat for only 160 calories. Something like this is infinitely better tasting to me than “sugar free ice cream” or something or the sort. Real food: Embrace it, love it!!

Well, it’s been a long day and an even longer week is ahead. Time to head to bed. We have to be up early tomorrow and everyday this week for that matter. And it’s going to be raining, which will make me want to stay in bed all day. *sigh* lol

Oh, before I forget, I wanted to mention that Stonyfield Farm organic fat free French Vanilla yogurt (130 cal) is WONDERFUL! It’s so smooth, creamy and flavorful, I couldn’t believe it was yogurt. It’s like a thin, creamy custard. I had it in between meals today as a snack with berries… love it. I would even have it as a dessert, that’s how good it is! Hmm… I wonder if it would be good with a chocolate VitaMuffin? Too soupy maybe? It’s worth a shot. I’ll take the chance and try that this week. How bad could it be? lol

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16.2 lbs! That averages out to about .5 lb a day loss. Being I had taken 10-14 days or so off in mid March while we were traveling and moving, I gained about 9 lbs during that time off from counting. I went back on track March 27th and started counting again and quickly lost all of what I had gained, plus more. Granted a lot of that weight loss was water weight from all the excess sodium and liquid I had consumed, but even if half of it was just water, I still think that having that time off boosted my metabolism. I’ve also had 3 “free days” and some higher-than-planned calorie days since March 26th, so that right there proves that my “free days” do not hinder my weight loss, even a extended break and perhaps even help? I’m convinced!

I started the day with 30 mins of light/medium intensity cardio on my elliptical. I did about 3.5 miles on it, then ate this fantastic breakfast:

I toasted 2 slices Alvarado Street flax seed bread (100 cal) while I made an omelet with: ½ cup Egg Beaters (60 cal), 40g green bell pepper (10 cal), 30g red onions (15 cal), and 1oz Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese (60 cal). I steamed the peppers and onions in the microwave for about 45 seconds, then added them into the nonstick pan that I sprayed with Pal olive oil cooking spray. Then I added in the cheese, let melt for a minute and flipped it over. With ½ cup (72g) very sweet, fresh strawberries (25 cal), this was a great way to start the day for only 300 calories.

I waited a little while, then did my strength training and another 30 minutes on my elliptical at highest resistance (level 16) and did just over 4 miles in strides. I worked up a huge appetite, so I ate my turkey sandwich snack, showered, and skipped right over lunch to make dinner:

Ooooh, this meal was incredibly filling and wonderful!! I already had chicken breast cooked, so I sprayed my nonstick frying pan with Pam olive oil spray, then I put down 1 large La Tortilla Factory low carb wrap (80 cal) with 86g cooked chicken breast (142 cal) and 2 oz Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese (120 cal). I let the cheese melt and flipped it over. Meanwhile, I was steaming 30g red onions (15 cal), 3/4 cup Birds Eye mixed summer squash (20 cal), and 80g green bell pepper (20 cal) in a shallow covered bowl of water in the microwave. When the quesadilla was done, I moved it over to my plate and cut it into 4 triangles. Then I added the veggies that I just steamed to the pan I was cooking the quesadilla in, just to cook them a bit more and take advantage of the leftover cooking spray.

While the veggies were finishing up, I warmed ½ cup Eden low salt Cajun brown rice & beans (110 cal) in the microwave, then plated them along side the quesadilla and veggies. I dipped my quesadilla in ¼ cup Fage Total 0% plain yogurt (30 cal), which is the perfect sour cream substitute. With my favorite side salad that I sprinkled Mrs. Dash tomato/basil over, this was a lot of delicious food for only 747 calories. I could barely finish it, but of course I did lol. It made me free-day-type of overstuffed full, which doesn’t happen too often when I’m on a regular planned menu.

I think my increased hunger lately is due to eating my biggest meal of the day too early on. The whole “eat breakfast like a king” doesn’t work for me because I get hungrier later in the day and then I’m out of calories. So even though my husband and I keep wacky hours, I find it’s best that I start my day small and end big. Though today’s second meal was the biggest, it still worked better than eating big early on and then running out of calories too soon.

Later on we watched a movie, then I made lunch:

I saw someone on a message board mention using mayo and dijon mustard as a sauce for fish. It sounded good, so I decided to give it a try. I mixed 1 tablespoon Hellmann’s Canola mayo (45 cal) with 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (5 cal), then slathered it all over 3oz (raw) flounder fish (77 cal) and broiled it at 475F for about 15 minutes. I’ve never cooked fish under the broiler or with this recipe, so I wasn’t certain I did it right. I cooked it on the lowest rack to avoid overcooking it too quickly. While that was broiling, I microwaved 130g sweet potato (before cook, 100 cal) and steamed 1 cup Birds Eye broccoli (30 cal). When the fish was done, I added 1 teaspoon Earth Balance buttery spread to the sweet potato and enjoyed it along side the fish and broccoli for only 292 calories. The fish was very good, but it didn’t have the flavor I imagined it would have. In fact, the flavor of the mayo/mustard was very mild, but I liked it and would like to try the sauce with another type of fish sometime.

I’m very pleased with today’s menu. I wasn’t ravenous like I have been some other days this week. Yay! Tomorrow starts my “high calorie week” and the first menu is a doozy! Woooooooo! I’m so looking forward to it. You know what’s gonna happen though… I probably won’t be hungry lol. Ah well, hopefully I’ll have my normal spunky appetite and if not, I’ll enjoy what I can. Time to get some sleep, the sun is already up! LOL

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