Posts from — February 2010

Hi Everyone!  How was your weekend?  Mine was great, except for the part when big daughter turned 13.  BOO!  I cannot have a teenager.  I just can’t!  It is very sad.  I want her to stop growing immediately and I told her so in my firmest Mom-is-pissed voice.  All I got was *blink*… *blink* … *blank stare*.  Yeah, I know I have no control over it, but I tried    Anyway, we had a great time celebrating her birthday with all the grampies and sat around the table telling our best stories of her when she was little. 

Food-wise we had all the usual suspects for our family get togethers, but I thought you guys might be sick of seeing ravioli, manicotti, chicken cutlets, etc., so I’m skipping posting that.  I was able to stick to my vegetarian lenten pledge and I think I did a pretty good job in the POINTS department.  Although I didn’t count, I did the best with what was available for dinner:  2 manicotti in bechamel sauce, salad, 1 piece of bruschetta , a small slice of cake and bite of brownie.  Yes, only a bite of brownie!  Miracles can happen

Sunday was back to counting.  I started with a yogurt bowl for breakfast:  Oikos plain nonfat yogurt, 3 drops NuNaturals liquid vanilla stevia, 1 cup of raspberries and a sprinkle of Special K granola …

I was feeling a little worn down (hope I’m not getting a rebound sickness) and wasn’t in the mood for working out.  But, after hanging out on Twitter for a bit and hearing everyone’s workout plans for the day, I decided to do something.  Yoga sounded the best to me, so I hit up yogadownload.com for Yoga For Weight Loss #2.  Chaturanga, baby!

I wasn’t hungry for quite a while, but finally decided late in the afternoon that I should eat so I’m not starving all at once.  I decided on a mix of hummus and leftover bruschetta topping on 2 slices of Dave’s Killer Bread and some carrots…

Oh my greatness, hummus and bruschetta topping is such an awesome combo!  I kept thinking …"why did I never eat this before”!

So good that I think it deserves it’s own ridiculous Rachael Ray –ish type name.  How about hummuschetta ?!  Try it;  you will love <3

Still not much of an appetite in the late afternoon, but I snuck in a Banana Maple Oatmeal Cookie…just in case…

The husband, teen (aaaahhh) big daughter and little d were having leftovers for dinner, so I cooked a hearty and comforting meal for myself.  I was in the mood for a big bowl of homemade soup and for some reason, I have been craving barley (I know that’s weird) so I threw this together …

 Vegetable Barley Stew

• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (about 2 large)
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup sliced baby portabella mushrooms
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 2/3 cup pearl barley
• 3 tsp. Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
• 3 cups water

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until barley is cooked.
Makes 3 hearty 1 1/3 cup servings.

Nutritional facts (calculated using calorieking.com) – per serving:
197 calories, .6 grams fat, 40 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams fiber and 5 grams protein.
3 POINTS per serving

Easy peasy, right?

I added an additional 1/4 cup of chickpeas to my serving for an extra boost of protein…

Very hearty…

I said goodnight with decaf and cream since I didn’t get to say good morning with any…

Total – 18 POINTS

I wanted to share a great question that I got on formspring yesterday:

How many blogs do you read? Do you comment on all of them or just the popular ones?

 

Great question!! I read A LOT of blogs. I have close to 200 in my reader! I know…get a job, right?! I try to comment on many of the blogs I read. I’m glad you asked about the "popular" ones b/c I notice that some people do only comment on the popular blogs, but I’m not one of them. I comment on ANYONE’S blog – popular or not. I usually comment when I can relate to something the blogger wrote or when I want to congratulate/spur on a blogger in whatever their efforts are (running, weight loss, etc.). I also tend to be a "loyal commenter". Once I start commenting on a blog on a regular basis, I usually stick with it. And I do comment on some of the popular blogs b/c they are the first blogs that I discovered and got me hooked on blogging, so I frequent them almost daily and feel connected to them, even though they probably have no idea who the heck I am – LOL!

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How about you guys?  How many blogs to do you read?  What prompts you to comment on someone’s blog?

This past Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent.  I’m not a very religious person in the sense of organized religion (12 years of Catholic school will do that to you!), but I do want to raise my children with a foundation of religion.  We are Catholic, so Lent is a time that we will observe which involves a sacrifice or giving up of something.  Of course, my choice was food-related   I decided for the next 40 days (really 46- until Easter) to be vegetarian.  I will be giving up all meat, chicken and fish, but will still keep eggs and cheese (so I think that’s lacto-ovo vegetarian).  I know it will be hard, but I’m kind of excited about it!

It’s been 2 days already and I’m realizing how much thought I need to put into my eating day.  A few years ago, I made an attempt at going vegetarian.  I did really well for a week, then I started to get lazy about it.  I discovered that pizza, pasta,  cheese, bread and chocolate were all “vegetarian” and well, let’s just say that the size of my butt may have inspired the song,  Baby Got Back.  Beside the fact, that I was not feeling well at all.  I wasn’t feeding myself the proper nutrients and I was tired, cranky and had dark circles under my eyes

So, this time around, I know better and I will definitely eat better!  I’m going to try to pay particular attention to getting in my protein and I’m going to attempt to avoid eating a lot of the processed veggie products like fakin’ bacon, meat and chicken-type foods.  Yikes!  A tall order, no?  I will do my best!

Okay, what’s up with my babbling lately?!  On to the veggie food!

Wednesday Eats

Breakfast started off with a new (to me) find:  Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Hot Cereal…

I love the texture of this cereal!  Much better to me than oatmeal. 
In the mix:

• 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Hot Cereal
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 drops NuStevia Liquid Vanilla Stevia
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (added at end)
• 1/2  cup blueberries

Then I hit the gym for one hour on the Arc Trainer!  Booyah!

Lunch was a Cuban Black Bean Patty on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with baby greens and salsa…

On the side, some strawberries and Oikos Caramel yogurt…

Yes, CARAMEL!!!

It was perfect for dipping…

Snack was a sweet orange…

and a Banana Maple Oatmeal Cookie…

For dinner, I wanted to try something very new to me – curry!

I came across a recipe for Quick Chickpea Curry in Everday Food…

It was great use for the tons of chickpeas I made in The Crocker…

I only made half the  curry recipe because I wasn’t sure if I would like it.  I have to say that the smell of it while it was cooking was a BIG turnoff!  Ugh, that curry smell permeated the house and I was sure I would hate this meal…

What a surprise!  It was amazing!!!  I loved the flavor;  it tasted nothing like it smelled!  I served it over whole spelt couscous and was altogether a filling meal.

I ended the night with some decaf w/ cream

Total- 21 POINTS

Thursday Eats

Another morning with Bob’s!  In the mix…

• 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Hot Cereal
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 drops NuStevia liquid vanilla stevia
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tbsp. Peanut Butter and Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl 

Serious yum!  Such a long lasting breakfast, too.  I wasn’t ready for lunch for about 4 hours!

I got in a good 30 minutes on the Arc Trainer and came home for 25 minutes of Yoga for Weight Loss on yogadownload.com.  I’m getting better at the yoga.  My downward dog is looking less like “shaking and having a seizure dog”

I was excited to dig into my leftover Quick Chickpea Curry for lunch.  I added some sauteed spinach and served it with carrots and a WW whole wheat pita …

I will definitely make that again!

Dinner was a recipe that I have been meaning to try for quite a while.  I’ve had it in my “Recipes to Try” file and decided to finally make it.  I got it from my friend, Heather at Leading The Weigh who is a Weight Watcher Extraordinaire and cooking diva!  Her recipe for Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Quinoa was fabulous…

I served it with a side salad of baby greens, more goat cheese, 1 tsp. dried cranberries and a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar…

Love, love, love <3

Total – 20 POINTS

I have been a little low on my POINTS the past 2 days, but I have been so satisfied with what I am eating that I’m not looking for anything else!  I like that feeling . We’ll see how it all works out;  might just be beginners luck

Have a great day, everyone!  And don’t forget to Ask Me Anything!

Have you ever tried being a vegetarian?  Would you?  Could you?

Wow, don’t ya love a good thought-provoking guest post?!  Thanks to Mish for bringing out such good points about dieting and the journey into an intuitive eating approach.  You guys had some pretty strong feelings about how you look at your particular way of going about healthy living.  It almost seemed split down the middle in the comments as far as those who feel it necessary to use a diet plan and those who would rather pay attention to their body’s cues.

I liked the post for so many reasons.  I liked to hear Mish be in a place that is so freeing.  I remember that feeling.   After the superfunk, I too, decided to ditch the dieting.  I was tired of battling myself and tired of the self-sabotage and guilt.  I needed to leave it all and try to let my body show me the way to eat.  It was a lofty aspiration.  And what I decided recently is that I was not ready for that journey yet.  See, what I realized is that letting go of the dieting mentality is hard, hard work.  Yes, you can wake up one day and say, “That’s it, I’m not dieting any more.  I will let my body tell me when it’s hungry and I will honor that hunger by eating healthfully”.  But, when there has been years and years of a dysfunctional relationship with food, it is near impossible to have that happen overnight.  It is a long road with many bumps.  And if you are not prepared for that, it can be almost worse than just sticking with the dieting.

What many people don’t realize is that moving toward an intuitive eating approach is not some natural thing that just happens one day.  It is also a program.  It also requires tools to master it.  It requires work, focus and dedication to be successful.  You can see how Mish has incorporated many different tools to help her stay with this approach.  She has found what is working for her, but she is absolutely working hard at it.  It has been a progression and not something she just “knew how to do” instantly.  Chime in here, Mish!

In essence, it could loosely be classified as a “diet program”.  I know I may catch some flack for that one, but it does require a set of skills to help you understand your body and how to react to food differently much like a “diet” like Weight Watchers.  There are many books out there on the subject of intuitive eating/non-dieting ( The Beck Diet for Life, Intuitive Eating, Overcoming Overeating, just to name a few) and they all suggest a set of tools,skills or a plan to get you there.

I agree with those of you who look at Weight Watchers as a lifestyle not a diet.  WW does provide many of the tools needed to achieve success for a lifetime.  Yes, they would love for you to count POINTS for the rest of your life, but along with that, the program teaches you how to listen to your body, eat when satisfied, honor your hunger and get proper exercise for good health so that if you do decide to no longer count POINTS one day, you can go it on your own.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to losing and maintaining weight.  The bottom line is that you have to do what will work for you.  The best part about this journey is that you can keep tweaking it until you find what’s right.   Why not give intuitive eating a try? If you are willing to do the work, it may be the pot-of-gold at the end of the rainbow!  And if you get frustrated, like I did, you can always go back to what you know works for you.  Until you’re ready for another adventure…

Have a great day, everyone!!

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I’ve jumped on the Ask Me Anything bandwagon!  This is so fun!  Feel free to ask me anything  you want to know -yes, this is my lame way of getting out of finishing up my FAQ!  http://www.formspring.me/loserforlife