Special Stir fry with Beans, Portobello and Peppers

Today I don't feel like writing about my status, it's not much different than yesterday, so I thought it was time for one of my whimsical recipes:


Special Stir fry with Beans, Portobello and Peppers

1 cup of cleaned cut green beans. Cut the next five ingredients in
medium chunks: 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 1 onion, 1 large
portobello mushroom, two tomatoes. 3/4c oil, 1tsp salt and pepper, 1/2
tsp cayenne pepper, 1/3 tsp garlic, 1 1/2c beef broth.


 Heat oil in wok-pan and add seasonings. Then add green beans, onions, peppers and half of beef broth. Cook over medium heat for eight minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and stir then cover for three minutes. Add remaining beef broth and stir. Add mushrooms to top and cover, remove from heat. Allow to sit for four minutes. Remove lid and stir mushrooms into mixture.

Serve with barley, couscous, quinoa, noodles, or eat as a side dish to your favorite meat.

No Clue

So after I realized that the scale isn't the best way for me to determine my loss of body fat, I sulked (who wouldn't). It wasn't for very long and I didn't beat myself up over it either (I surely would have in the past). This was my fun weekend and I didn't want the doom and gloom of pounds looming over me.

I went out Friday night and had pulled pork sliders and coconut shrimp, two beers and one dirty martini. Used a mere twenty-eight points, which was good because I only used six of my anytime points. I was proud of myself and had a great time dancing up a huge sweat.

Saturday I decided on a huge salad and football to get me through the evening. Turkey, pepperoni, Swiss cheese, tomatoes and one tablespoon of Ranch dressing completed the meal. I was so full after that I didn't think twice about the Menchie yogurt thoughts that had swirled in my head when I woke up. Later in the night I had some carrots and a small sandwich before I went to sleep.

I gave it quite some thought about how my body feels now versus four weeks ago. My clothes aren't really fitting any differently, a few items seem like they aren't as snug, but outside of those few items nothing. Maybe my feet aren't as swollen. I've no clue.

I am grateful to have an enormous support group and cheering section!! Toni sent me a wonderful book: Hungry Girl 300 (anytime dishes) Under 300 (Calories) by Lisa Lillien. I will be studying the recipes and making a few items a week. If I can keep the meals simple, full of low point items and still lose weight then I will WIN!!!

 I have to thank Nikki B. for this recipe. I'll be working on getting this in my food menu:

Quinoa & Smoked Tofu Salad

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Rest Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 50 mins

Ingredients
2 cup(s) water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup(s) quinoa, dry
1/4 cup(s) lemon juice
3 tablespoon oil, olive, extra virgin
2 clove(s) garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper, black ground
1 package(s) tofu, baked, hickory smoked
1 small pepper(s), yellow
1 cup(s) tomato(es), grape
1 cup(s) cucumber(s)
1/2 cup(s) parsley, fresh
1/2 cup(s) mint, fresh
Preparation
1. Bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa and return to a boil.

2. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Spread the quinoa on a baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice, oil, garlic, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooled quinoa, tofu, bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley and mint; toss well to combine.

Four Weeks 1 Pound Lost

From the looks of things I am failing miserably. I have been on WW four weeks and my entire way of eating and living has changed. Yet the scale refuses to reflect what I feel inside. What to do?

I think in life, sometimes, the very markers that we use to guide our lives, our hearts, our minds can give a false reading. I know that many tests can do this, so why not in other areas of our lives. If I have changed all of my eating habits and increased my exercise efforts then why isn't the one measure of validating this success not reflecting the outcomes?

Perhaps I need to start using a measuring tape as well. I may have lost inches and not even know it because I didn't do any pre-measuring. This is no excuse though. I simply must work a little harder than last week. I can't imagine a plateau this early in the game, but maybe I can use some of those plateau busting techniques to shake-it-up a bit for this month.

I was down when I saw the scale. I had high hopes for 2.4lbs off!! But, then the numbers blinked back at me (or perhaps it was me blinking in disbelief) and didn't waver. I stepped off the scale and tried to keep the smile on my face. The ladies must have sensed my disappointment and neither of them said anything goofy like, "You will have better luck next week!!" I don't need to hear that right now.

My right brain wants to run and eat a lot of chocolate. It's screaming that I've failed. My left brain told me to finish my couscous and broccoli and the water I have nearby. My left brain is my friend. So with this week down and a new one beginning tomorrow, I have four more weeks to lose one pound! I'm going to do it with pride!!

Still In This Race

Tomorrow (Thursday) marks four weeks of eating better, healthier and just making my life better. I've learned a lot about who I am, who my support system is, and what I really want out of all of this.

Not only am I determined, smart and sensible, I'm not all about the food. No longer can tolerate  me abusing food for comfort and overall bad eating just because I can. I have the smarts to eat better and I did. I am determined to change the shape of my body, and I am.

If I am to be what I eat then why not be fruits, vegetables, lean meats and grains? If I can reinvent my food habits then I've accomplished quite a bit. My sound judgement means that I can no longer go backwards in my life. I must keep moving forward into a good thing and embrace all that is good for me. I mean I wanted a better future for myself financially and am seeking that out so why not the same for my body?

I've learned that I can eat alternate foods that keep me full and happy without compromising taste, texture and bliss.Growing is about changing who you are. The things I hated growing up (chores, asparagus, boys...etc.) came to be things of pleasure (men), things I came to re-appreciate (asparagus) and things that I can't live without (chores...I'm a tidy person). So I changed my likes and wants to items that will do me and my body good (dark chocolate, frozen yogurt, martini's...instead of sugary drinks). Now I can have the things I want and like in small doses, I can eat more vegetables to make up for any over point eating that I've done. Vegetables are my best friends!

In thinking back to my bad food choices, I think it was always about self-pity (woe-is-me mentality) and how I NEEDED certain starches and carbohydrates to make me feel...feel numb. Well, I took back my sensory receptors. I want to feel again. I want to love what I eat, what I feel and what I look like. I want to know who I really am and not what the local fast food establishments have said I would be!!

My friends are amazing! Through this I've had many encouraging words of kindness, wisdom, helpful tips, and offers to exercise to keep me on track and on my goal!! I went into this not knowing how I would get through, but get through I must. I just want to say thank you to those who are here with me helping me reach my goals.

"Hey now, {I've} got to make it rain some how" (Red Hot Chili Peppers)...
I want it to rain great food in my body, soaking my roots good. The nutrients have to go deep so that my future comes blossoming out all over into a healthier me! I'm still in this race!

Cooking Fun

After JC and I cleaned the apartment (doesn't feel right to call it a house) & washed the dogs I wanted to make something GREAT for dinner. Before me, plenty of fresh items from the recent shopping trip. So I pulled out pork, prepackaged stir fry vegetables, mushrooms, onions (sauteed them Friday), green beans, zucchini and the yellow squash. Great cooking fun was straight ahead!

My first task was the stir fry and pork. After seasoning the meat up and cooking it in a little bit of oil, I tossed in the veggies and covered it so it could simmer down. Next I cut up the squash, poured egg beater over them, hit them with salt & pepper then tossed them in large portions in a bread crumbs.  After oiling the foil lined pan I baked them in the oven for 20-25 min. After they were done I sprinkled some Italian cheese on them (Mmmm nothing beats the smell of melting cheese) then set them aside for later. I turned back to the pork, removed it from the pan into a container, it smelled so delicious and I couldn't wait to taste the yummy! Next up: the beans.

These would be easy: cut off the ends, toss in the wok-pan with oil, add mushrooms (cut up) and the sauteed onions. Cook on medium heat until it all starts to sizzle. I added low sodium soy sauce, stirred once more, covered and removed from heat. Couldn't wait to get all of this on my plate!

As I was cooking I snacked on Surimi, a taste of crab salad (yes, only three crackers of it) and a few Scoop chips with bean/guacamole/cheese dip. It was like a Super Bowl party, without any football being on my T.V. (from the kitchen I can't see it anyway).

I felt great about the points too. The stir fry meal was three points, the squash five, and green beans zero. Even my snacking was a mere six points. It made me feel good to monitor my eating habits as I cooked a meal and scurried around the kitchen. I made sure that I drank lots of water today too. After last night and the alcohol I didn't want to chance getting dehydrated.

After a nice day watching Initial D movies with my son he was kind enough to go get some Menchies frozen yogurt. Now, I'm just waiting for my turn to use the T.V. and do  my Wii exercises before I call it a night (yes, I know it's 00:46 on Monday morning, but my life is always lived upside down).Oh, as for the frozen yogurt, I waited until midnight to add it to my anytime points!! Smart move huh.

Night Out On The Town

Since I had plans to go out last night in Ybor City with my female friends,  I knew that I had to watch what I ate early in the day and get my exercise in too. I played it safe with a bowl of cereal and some fruit, had chips and salsa for lunch with 1.5 margarita's and then came home to the Wii for 30 min.

On the Wii machine I start  with boxing, followed by the best of three tennis match, and then two games of bowling. If I'm feeling really energized I'll tackle the fit test. The golf is really for cooling down and the baseball frustrates me, I can't hit the ball. I think I can't see it coming across the plate, it's not 3D enough for me. It was so hot and humid that I  had a nice sweaty work out and felt amazing.

With the ladies all buzzing about where to eat, we settled on the Blue Dog Bistro, by then Justin had joined us and John was soon to arrive. Blue Dog is a  cool Cajun/American place and the menu offers great selections to chose from. I ordered the ribs and wings. I enjoyed the meal and only had three french fries off my plate (I was proud of myself for not even wanting them) and two shock top beers. My total points: 16. That means for my whole day I used up ten extra weekly points. Not too bad!

After dinner I stopped by a house party and danced up a sweat for an hour. Then I hustled over to Green Iguana for another hour of dancing. I knew that if I kept moving it would all count as exercise and that's added points (plus those chicken wings had to be danced off my hips).

I'm enjoying my ability to mix my new healthy lifestyle with having a normal style life. If I want to eat something I just monitor my point situation, log it all down, and then enjoy myself. It's so easy, where was this 15 years ago? 

I'm appreciating the path that I've chosen for my self. It's not going to be easy, but right now it's not that bad.

Down Day/ Chill Day

I decided, as I mixed up a blender of reds and greens with half the banana, that Friday would be my down day. I needed a day to not think about my food choices, not worry about what I was going to eat, and to just relax a bit. I had big plans to do bad things to a cheese burger with onions, BBQ sauce and a plate of fries. I wanted a hot fudge cake as high as the ceiling and nothing would get in my way. I had monster plans to eat whatever I wanted.

Unfortunately chores had to come first. I visited Publix and collected lots of healthy food items in my basket for the next few days (a small army could come to my house at this rate). I made sure to acquire all of the food groups not currently in my house, which amounted to plenty of vegetables, some seafood, pork and yogurt (oh how I've missed you so). I also stepped up my dry cereal game and got a few boxes that I could enjoy without penalty of using those weekly points (Cheerios is still around). It always helps to have a cereal (oatmeal too) as a backup for work in case I can't have a full meal.

After I put the groceries away and planned my menu items for next week in my head, I made a cute sandwich with two thin sandwich rounds, Surimi (the best imitation crab meat ever), provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo/mustard. Topped off with a serving of Scoops chips and mango salsa. It was a far cry from that burger thought I started my day with, but it was friendlier on the points scale (total meal was 14 pts). I was really satisfied and never thought about the burger again.

Since I was on a chill holiday I skipped out on the Wii and a walk,however, since rain isn't in the forecast for Saturday, I will get my swimming in. I love how it makes my muscles burn afterward. Later, as I relaxed and watched drift on live stream, I  enjoyed a few slices of pepperoni, Colby cheese and thin pretzel chips. Adding that and a nectarine made my points day well rounded. I only used six weekly points for my chill day!

Even though it's a nice long weekend off for me I will stay on track with my plan to exercise the entire weekend, no slacking. Being able to take a day off from the routine was nice ( I stayed on course really), the next one is a few weeks away.