splurging

February 9, 2012 update No comments

Also known as going overboard.

You can tell I was bad about my goals this week because I went MIA. Food-wise I’ve been snacking WAY too much. Exercise-wise? Well. Nothing.

The Super Bowl was bad news bears. I decided to make homemade soft pretzels because I found this awesome recipe. The bad news? It meant that I had too many soft pretzel bites around my apartment for my own good. Carbs abound. And don’t get me started on the tortilla chips.

Today two of my friends from HS and I decided to take advantage of the last few days of Restaurant Week by going out for an awesome lunch. I wasn’t going to pass out the chance to hang out with my friends who I don’t get to see very often and I certainly wasn’t going to pass up a $25 meal at a really nice restaurant that would have normally cost far more than that, so I went.

The menu is prix fixe, which is great, but it also meant that I went overboard on the eating front. Well, OK, it was mostly on the dessert part. But considering all of the poor choices I’d made earlier in the week I was certainly not enjoying my splurge day. The scale agrees.

But you know what? Sometimes you just have to splurge. I shouldn’t have been getting a $25+ lunch and I certainly shouldn’t have been getting a slice of chocolate espresso cake, but sometimes you just need to let go.

So I did.

But I felt guilty. So guilty.

I’m not a runner by any means. In fact, I hate running. It’s just not fun at all. But today? My guilt got to me and I threw on my running shoes for the first time in months and went out for a “run.” By “run” I mean a brisk walk with the occasional sprint for good measure, but in my mind it’s the thought that counts. I actually went out and purposefully attempted to exercise. That’s more than I’ve done in the past.

Baby steps.

And chocolate cake.

just in time for the super bowl: (healthy!) mini taco bowls!

February 3, 2012 recipes No comments

I’ve been on a kick of trying to make stuff using only what I have lying around the house lately.
This resulted in some pretty delicious blueberry coffee cake muffins (coming soon!) and today’s lunch: mini taco bowls! What’s great about these is that they use eggroll wrappers instead of actual chips (yay for lower salt content!), they’re just enough for 1 person, and they’re SUPER cheap to make!

You’ll need:

  • ~1.5 tbsp of black beans, drained and rinsed. (I also like to give mine a quick boil on the stove. I don’t know why. I usually do that as soon as I open the can and then keep them in a tupperware in the fridge)
  • ~1.5 tbsp corn kernels (drained)
  • ~2 tbsp salsa, split (I used a salsa I made a few days ago from a recipe on The Pioneer Woman, but regular salsa or pico de gallo would do the trick too)
  • eggroll wrappers – 1 per bowl(usually by the tofu in the grocery store)
  • 1 tbsp shredded cheese (mexican blend is my preferred, but up to you!)

    • optional additions to the mix

  • jalapeño
  • raw onions (purple or white)
  • shredded chicken or other meat
  • BACON
  • pretty much anything else that you would put on nachos

    • optional toppings

  • avocado
  • cilantro

Now the fun part:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

For the inside: Mix together the black beans, corn, and salsa in a small bowl. Set aside.

For the shell: Line a small ramekin with the eggroll wrapper. I find the easiest way is to hold together the 4 points of the wrapper, lower it into the ramekin, and then let go of the points. Push them up against the sides a bit. It’s best if you keep the 4 points as independent as possible so that they crisp up.

Once your ramekin is lined with the eggroll wrapper, spoon your filling into it. You want it to reach slightly below the top of the ramekin.

Hacks:

  • If you’d like to remove your mini nacho bowl from the ramekin before serving, be sure to use some cooking spray before lining it with the wrapper.
  • Cooking for more than a few people? (say, a Super Bowl party?) Use a muffin tin instead! You’ll DEFINITELY want to use some cooking spray in this case. And try not to let the wrappers intermingle. You want each bowl to have its own, awesomely crispy 4 points.

Top it with some shredded cheese.

And into the oven it goes! Let it hang out in there for about 5-8 minutes. It won’t take long at all. You don’t want to burn the wrapper, but you want everything inside to be nice and melty.

When it’s good and ready, remove it from the oven and add your toppings of choice. I went for some more salsa (to add a bit of coldness to it) and a bit of avocado. Mmmm. If I’d had some fresh cilantro on-hand, you can bet it would be in there as well!

Grab a fork and enjoy!

Hack:
If you’re using a muffin tin (or, if you’d like to remove the bowl from its cooking vessel before you serve it) you might want to throw the tin or ramekin + wrappers into the oven for a quick bake BEFORE you add in the mix. This will toast up the wrapper independently and make sure the bottom is as crispy as the top. It should make removal much easier.

If I were having a Super Bowl party (or any party for that matter!), I’d make all of the bases ahead of time (some without cheese) and have a bit of a topping bar: avocado, salsa, cilantro, onions, you name it! That way everyone can mix together their own deliciousness.

I’m definitely planning to experiment with this method a bit more – it may be my new go-to for using any leftovers I have in the house!

What would you put in your eggroll wrap bowl??

perspective

January 28, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

I was getting kind of bummed out last week – my weight was going up instead of down. After losing nearly 10 lbs during my juice cleanse, I kind of expected to gain some of it back when I returned to “normal” food, but to see you weight creep back up to 195 from 191 (which was my lowest weight in at least 3 years) was just disheartening.

This morning as I was walking the four-legged pal, I got to thinking: you know, I only -really- started focusing on getting my weight in check after I returned home from the holidays. Sometime around Jan 3. That’s just about 20 days and I’ve already reset my base weight to somewhere around the 195 range – a full 7lbs lower than my base weight at the end of 2011. I weighed in at 193 this morning – just by staying diligent about what I eat and how much of it I eat.

I managed to lose nearly 10lbs in about 20 days (less, if we’re REALLY being honest about when I decided to go into this full-bore). That’s nothing to be ashamed of!

These last few weeks have been all about learning: learning what I can and can’t eat. What I should eat and shouldn’t eat. How much I can eat and when I need to stop and realize that I’m eating just because I have nothing else to do, not because I’m actually hungry.

So as we’re headed into February that’s what I’m going to keep in mind. This process seems to be pretty slow-going, but it’s going at a rate that I can see myself keeping up and not giving up on in a week when the novelty wears off.

Not to mention I’m cooking so much more instead of just snacking! It’s amazing what a difference a few changes to your diet can make.

Since I’m a goals-type person, I’m going to set a goal for myself now that I feel I’ve gotten the hang of the whole eating thing a bit more: I’d like to be in the 180′s by the end of February. 185 to be exact.

What’s worked for you to keep a steady decline in weight without going on crazy fad diets?

omg oiaj!

January 26, 2012 food No comments

ok… so reading through all of these healthy eating/living/fitness blogs has been pretty eye-opening so far. I’ve stockpiled a list of recipes that should have me going until the summer at the very least.

one thing I discovered in my travels around the blogosphere (are people still calling it that?) is Oats in a Jar (aka OIAJ). It didn’t seem like anything all that special, but I figured I’d give it a try.

oh. em. gee.

so freakin’ good.

I (finally) reached the end of this jar of peanut butter that I’ve had for over a year and figured it’d be the perfect chance to try OIAJ – not to mention my breakfast lately has been a slice of toast with PB & banana on top. I thought I’d replace the bread with oats and give it a shot.

Best. thing. ever.

This OIAJ had:

  • 1/2 cup quaker old fashioned oats
  • 1 cup of organic almond milk (plus a splash into the oats after they were in the jar because that’s what my grandma used to do)
  • about a teaspoon of vanilla
  • a dash of cinnamon
  • 1/2 banana
  • skippy reduced fat PB

Amazingness.

I may have had a little bit TOO much PB left in the jar, but it was totally worth it. Amazing. Now the only sad part is that I may have to wait another year before I reach the end of another PB jar!

What I Ate Wednesday: Week 1

January 25, 2012 food One comment

I learned about What I Ate Wednesday last week and knew I wanted to get in on the fun! Since I completely forgot to take pictures of an entire day’s worth of meals this week, I figured I’d do a rolling one today.

Breakfast!

Plain and simple, really: 2 hard-boiled eggs, no yolks (I hate the yolk).

Lunch

Been looking forward to this one for a few days now, even thought it’s nothing special! Lunch was an open-faced turkey sandwich. 1 slice of toasted multigrain bread on the bottom, some guacamole that I made for dinner last night as a spread, then piled on some onion, cucumber, american cheese (for lack of having anything else), and topped with a bunch of iceberg lettuce which also acts as a really great top slice of “bread”. Side was a bunch of red grapes. MMMMmm.

I’ve actually been paying attention to my food intake for once, and it’s AMAZING how many fewer calories you can consume just by a) keeping track of portions and b) not eating crap. Today’s lunch was AWESOME and it was only about 200 calories. I approve .

Dinner Tonight: Black Bean Soup

January 23, 2012 food No comments

Thank god the whole vegan thing is over!

Tonight I celebrated by making some black bean soup. I found this recipe on Okie Dokie Artichokie a while back and have been dying to make it. If it weren’t for the dairy requirement I would have made it during vegan week, but it was totally worth the wait.

A few differences in my version:

  • I substituted veggie broth for chicken broth
  • I used a lot more veggie broth than the recipe called for (maybe even double?). Perhaps it absorbs more quickly than chicken broth?
  • I forgot to pick up some new limes so I substituted lemons in the cream sauce
  • I didn’t have queso fresco so I used some taco mix shredded cheese

I actually ended up treating this as a bit of a pureed chili in my toppings choices. So good.

As for the rest of the day, I’m working on portion control this week. Eating small meals every ~2 hours seems to be the name of the game. Not because I planned it that way but because I find myself REALLY hungry every 2 hours. Hopefully that’ll calm down as the week progresses.

I’m also trying to make food choices that don’t cause any spikes in my energy/sugar/etc. Slow carbs and all that.

One thing I’m on the hunt for to help my healthy breakfast endeavors: granola! Do you have any suggestions for an affordable and tasty granola that doesn’t have raisins?? (I hate the things!)

Vegan

January 21, 2012 food No comments

I think I mentioned in my last post that I’m trying to go the rest of this week on a vegan diet. If not… well… I am!

It’s not -too- terrible, but I can say with absolute certainty that I won’t be keeping this up. It’s just NO FUN AT ALL.

While I’ve been generally able to control what I’m eating while I’m at home, as soon as I change up my routine and, say, try to have a social life, it all goes to pot.

Take yesterday for example. I met up with some friends for dinner. They didn’t know about my vegan challenge and picked a burger place for dinner. Shake Shack was the first choice, but given the lines and lack of seating, we decided to try a different place (and good thing too because the only thing I could find on the menu that could arguably be vegan was the french fries… I hate mushrooms and their shroom burger is a portabello).

I figured it wouldn’t be so bad – most burger places have a veggie burger. But this place that we went to? Apparently has the best burgers in the city. But I wouldn’t know. I had to eat the veggie burger. It was pretty decent actually (they masked the taste of beets and mushrooms pretty well), but it wasn’t a burger.

The thing is – though I was able to find something eventually, I spent SO MUCH OF THE DAY worrying about whether I’d be able to find something vegan in the restaurant that everyone agreed on.

I don’t want to be “that person” that makes it all complicated for everyone to go out to eat. The one who has to ask 500 questions about every ingredient in the dish they’re considering just to make sure that some random non-vegan item is in it. It’s just too much work.

And I like burgers! It’s the ONLY red meat I eat!

So suffice to say that I cannot WAIT until Monday when I can go back to eating meat and dairy. I don’t even -like- meat and dairy all that much, but I like having the option. Having the added stress of worrying about what I’m allowed to eat all day long is just not something I’m interested in. I’d much rather use that brain power for something else.

This whole experiment has left me with a whole new respect for vegans. (At least the ones who aren’t all preachy and judgmental). It’s no easy feat!

Grocery Store Paralysis

January 20, 2012 food No comments

So the juice cleanse is over. It was interesting. Can’t say I enjoyed it, but I also can’t say that it was all that terrible. It’s certainly not something I want to do often, or for a prolonged period of time, but I definitely felt better as I was doing it!

But it’s over now, and I’m finding myself in an interesting predicament: I get analysis paralysis when I go to the grocery store.

I needed to restock a bit after the juice cleanse yesterday considering all I had left in my fridge was juice ingredients, so I headed out to the grocery store with a bit of a list. But then I got there and I couldn’t make decisions! I swear I walked back and forth through the store at least 3 times as I weighed the pros and cons of each of the things I added to my basket.

I ended up coming home with a decent amount of stuff, but then came the 2nd dilemma: what to cook with this stuff?!

With the juice cleanse over, I’ve decided to finish out the rest of the week on a vegan diet. I’d done some research about it a few weeks ago (did you know that Cheerios aren’t vegan!?) and figured, hey, I’ve already done 3 days vegan thanks to the juice cleanse, may as well try a real vegan diet while I’m at it.

The thing is: I’m pretty much petrified to put anything into my body that would undo everything I did during the juice cleanse. I dropped nearly 10lbs over the course of 3 days and the thought of putting that back on just kills me.

I need to find foods that aren’t juice that I don’t feel guilty about eating. Already today, having weighed in and gained 2lbs back I realize that juice cleanse weight loss may come back more quickly than I’d hoped. I need to keep it off and keep moving in the negative direction. But I need to figure out how to eat along the way.

I don’t get why it’s so tough! I’m a pretty healthy eater to start. I’ve already stopped eating at least 2 hours before I go to bed and my diet is almost entirely fruits, veggies, and the occasional grain. What gives?!

Needless to say, I’m a bit frustrated. Frustrated that I can’t figure out what to eat. Frustrated that when I DO figure out what to eat, I can’t regulate the quantity with any sort of willpower. Frustrated that I don’t feel as good about myself today as I did during those 3 juice cleanse days despite being cranky about the whole thing.

How did you learn to eat to accommodate your weight loss? What got you through it?

Juice Cleanse: Day 2

January 17, 2012 food No comments

Ugh.

Yesterday was tougher than I thought it would be. I ended up getting so cranky at one point that I made myself take a 2-hour nap. That helped. Kind of.

I’d miscalculated the number of cucumbers in my fridge and ended up having to take a trip to the grocery store: good in that it made me get out of the house and go for a walk. Bad in that it was a store full of food that I couldn’t have. Not even bad food! I went to the health food store! It smelled delicious in there. I found myself wanting to buy foods that I don’t even eat!

But I didn’t. I got what I needed and left. Home and back to juice. Yay…

Thankfully none of the juices have been all that gross (except for one where I overdosed on cayenne) – I made it through all of the juices for the day except for the cashew milk. I was just too full to drink anything else.

My mid-day nap meant that I wasn’t at all tired until around 1AM. I had the -strangest- dreams last night! To top it off I ended up waking up about 10 mins before 8 this morning. I’m not an early riser by any means. Mostly because I stay up coding or doing who knows what online until 1-2 in the morning, but for some reason I was WIDE awake this morning.

I’m hoping today’s juice adventure will be slightly less cranky. I’m certainly less hungry than I was yesterday and, shockingly, I weighed in at 196.5lbs this morning – a full 4lbs less than yesterday. So maybe all the crankiness is worth it?

That’s what I keep telling myself at least. In between chewing on ice cubes.

Juice Cleanse: Day 1 (morning)

January 16, 2012 food No comments

I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to join my friend in a juice cleanse, but I did, so now, true to my word, I’m doing it. We’re doing a 3-day cleanse.

It was originally suposed to be the Blueprint Cleanse, but that’s a bit out of my budget at the moment, so thanks to already having a juicer at home, I’m going to be replicating the juices as best as possible as my friend does the real deal.

You’re supposed to keep a pretty vegan/raw diet the day before to get the maximum benefit, but I thoroughly failed on that front. A combination of going out with friends and family over the course of the day put my diet on hold. The numbers prove it, too. Stepping on the scale this morning displayed a whopping 199.2.

I’m petrified of 199. It’s a few ounces short of the dreaded 200 that I promised myself I would never return to.

The cleanse couldn’t have come at a better time.

green juice

bottom's up!

I just mixed up my first batch: The Green juice. I think I’m supposed to drink 2-3 16oz servings of these throughout the day. I may have grossly underestimated the amount of vegetables I’d need to produce 16oz. A trip to the grocery store may be in my near future.

Starting off, the green juice is not at ALL as bad as I expected it to be. It’s actually quite good! But then again that could just be because I didn’t get the ratios correct and I was supposed to put in a whole lot more of a gross thing than I actually did. Looked like a whole bunch of kale, celery, spinach, and parsley to me!

So that’s this morning. I was so focused on this cleanse starting today that I didn’t make any other sorts of plans to keep my mind off of it. I need to find a project today.

How did you make it through your cleanse?

« Older Entries