Thirteen

As of Wednesday I am down a total of 13 pounds - sweet! So what has this week taught me... even though I have had a couple* (yes that means more than one... I will explain in a minute) of slip-ups the scale still showed a loss. Here inlies the challenge - I can not let myself believe that esting food that is outside of my diet guidelines on a regular basis will continue to result loss of weight... it will eventually catch up to me.

*After last Thursday's "baked good debacle" Monday was another challenge - a vendor lunch at Ruby Foo's in NYC. I indulged in a couple of pieces of sushi roll with rice - but my main course was a delicious tuna steak crusted with sesame seeds.

I tried a new recipe this week -Turkey Stuffed Zucchini. I found the recipe on www.Skinnytaste.com - a website of a woman named Gina who posts all sorts of Weight Watchers (WW) recipes - now I am not on WW, but sometimes I can alter the recipes to be low carb (as well as low in calorie and fat). Here is a link to the recipe and a picture - http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/turkey-stuffed-zucchini-4-pts.html - I like recipes with pictures.  I started making this dish on Wednesday, but actually ate it on Thursday - it took a bit of time to prepare the turkey and zucchini before I had to bake it for 35 minutes. This is not a good weeknight (preparation wise) dish, but it was very tasty. My husband enjoyed it, but also commented on the length of preparation (aka all the extra dishes he had to do Wednesday night). Well I ate it again today for lunch (heated some up in the microwave) and I have to say it was still delicious. So I am going to recommend it with the footnote that it is best made on a weekend.

Here is recipe - Turkey Stuffed Zucchini

Servings: 4 (2 halves) • Time: 50 minutes • Points: 4 ww points

• 4 medium zucchini
• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 1.3 lb (20.8 oz) ground turkey (99% fat free)
• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 2 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Salt and fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4" thick. Arrange in a baking dish. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces.

In a large sauté pan, melt butter and add onion, shallot and garlic. Cook on a medium-low flame for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini and season with a pinch of salt, cook about 2-3 minutes. Add wine and cook until it reduces. Add ground turkey and season with salt and pepper, cooking until turkey is white, breaking up in smaller pieces. Add paprika, garlic powder, marjoram and basil. Mix well and cook another minute.

Place turkey meat in a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool. When cooled, add parmesan cheese and egg white, mix well. Using a spoon, fill hollowed zucchinis with stuffing, pressing firmly and top with bread crumbs. Place chicken broth in bottom of the baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake 35 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°.
 
I made some modifications -

1. I used butter and olive oil to sauté the onions, shallots, garlic, chopped zucchini and turkey.
2. I did not have any wine so I used chicken stock
3. I did not have all of the spices called for - I ended up using paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning - I did not measure them, just sprinkled them into the pan over the turkey.
4. I used a whole egg instead of just an egg white.
5. I left off the breadcrumbs and just sprinkled on a little more parmesan cheese.
6. I served the stuffed zucchini topped with some marinara sauce.

So there you have it - that was the most exciting news of my week... I have to find something more exciting!

Forgive me readers... I have sinned!

I have to confess - yesterday I ate some baked goods! I know what you are thinking... oh what's a small spurge going to do me, no big deal, don't worry. But when you are on a low carb diet it can have a pretty big impact and I am hoping it will not tip the scale too much. It all started with the snow... it was coming down quickly and everyone at the office was planning to head home early to avoid the dangerous road conditions (that were only bad on the less traveled roads). Like many days at my office there was a fair amount of baked goods available on the conference table near my desk... home baked funfetti cake with chocolate frosting, apple crisp, churros (this is a new item to the usual food that is often available - I do not know who brought them, but whoever you are please do not bring them again!), B&W crumb cake, large cookies (choc chip and sugar w sprinkles), and possibly other stuff. Well I was coerced (that maybe a strong word, but based on what happened later that day it is appropriate) into bringing some home for the kids and hubby - "oh, you will want some treats for the kids when you are stuck in the house" and "oh it will only go to waste if you don't take some".... my response should have been "the kids don't need anything, I went food shopping in preparation for the storm - thanks, but no thanks!" or "these will just go to my WAIST if I bring them home - thanks but no thanks". As you already know I brought it home - 2 pieces of crumb cake, 2 large pieces of cake, 4 cookies (2 and 2) and 1/2 a churro (damn that person - whoever you are!) The kids were enjoying a snack of these delicious treats once we got home, and I just gave in and cut a small piece off the churro and ate it.... that lead to eating all of it.... and that lead to eating a piece of the crumb cake! Then the worst part of the situation was when I heard those dreaded words..."Are you suppose to be eating that?" from my lovely husband. That made me feel like I had been "caught" (because I had been) but my response was "I can eat whatever I want, thank you very much." (And I can eat whatever I want... techincally) While eating the baked goods I did have thoughts of going carb-crazy for the rest of day, but that short conversation was all I needed to end it right then and there! So thank you to my husband for being a pain in the butt and getting me back on track!

As of Wednesday (2 days ago) I was down a total of 10.5 pounds - I hope that I can at least maintain the loss this week and not gain (but of course seeing another loss would be good too!)

That's all I have for now... I have to go in the kitchen and throw out some cake and cookies (sorry to my family in advance)!

Snow, Fevers, Working from Home... OH MY!

The last couple of days have been a little rough... my son was sent from daycare on Tuesday with a fever (most likely connected the ear infections), we got close to a foot of snow yesterday (and we ALL stayed/worked from home) and this morning my little man is still not feeling 100%.

I tried hard to stay strong when it came to my diet - I had a few unconscious mistakes, but other than that not too bad. I think I might do an off cycle weigh in today or tomorrow to give myself some incentive for the weekend.
The last 2 days at home have allowed me the extra time to try out 2 new recipes: Chicken Stroganoff and Crockpot Pork Tenderloin - both recipes were found on www.kimkins.com. Both were pretty good and will be made again in my house.

Chicken Stroganoff
Serves 4
2 - 7oz boneless chicken breast (no skin)
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms, any kind
1 medium yellow onion, cut into chunks
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
garlic powder
salt & pepper
oil

1. Season chicken generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder
2. Heat a skillet (not non-stick) on high & and add 2-3 tablespoons of oil
3. Sear each side of the chicken for about 1 minute, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes
Remove the chicken from the pan and discard the oil (if there is any). Put the chicken back in the pan and add 1/2 cup of broth. Cover and cook on med/low until no longer pink in the center. Add more broth as it reduces so there is always about 1/4" in the pan. Remove the chicken and the remaining broth from the pan and place in a dish.
4. Add 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan. Toss in the mushrooms and onions and sauté on medium until soft.
5. Pour the liquid (from the dish with the chicken) back into the pan and add an additional 1/2 cup of broth to deglaze. Turn off the heat to very low and add 1/2 cup of sour cream. Mix until well integrated.
6. Slice the chicken breast into 1" strips and add to the pan. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest to thicken the sauce.

Nutrition Info - these are approximate
Calories: 219
Carbs: 5 grams
Protein: 17 grams
Fat: 14 grams

This recipe was tasty - I used chicken stock instead of broth (I always think it adds more favor) and I do not think I let it sit long enough once it was done to really thicken the sauce. I was better the next day for lunch. I served it over penne for my husband - I ate mine with steamed green beans.

Crockpot Pork Tenderloin
Serves 8
2lbs pork tenderloin - trimmed of any visible fat
1/2 cups olive oil (extra virgin)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon thyme
black pepper

In a gallon size ziploc bag - mix up the olive oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, mustard, pepper and thyme. Place the pork tenderloins into the bag and marinate for 30 minutes to 3 hours. Place the pork and the marinade into the crockpot (or slowcooker) and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Nutrition Info - these are approximate
Calories: 201
Carbs: 1 gram
Protein: 34 grams
Fat: 6 grams

This was also tasty and pretty easy. The original recipe said to marinate the pork overnight but to me that is too much! I think pork tenderloin is so tender that it can easily get over marinated - yuck. I let mine cook for 7 hours and it basically shredded when I took it out the cooker... maybe 6 hours should be the max next time.

One thing I find difficult about being home on the weekends or working from home is the lack of schedule when it comes to meals... on a normal day my schedule is pretty set breakfast between 8:30 and 9am, lunch between 12 and 1 and dinner around 6:30.  I have a few snacks throughout the day along with plenty of water.  At home I barely eat breakfast and then I want lunch no later than 12... I rarely get a snack or water.
Throw a sick kid into the mix and forget it!  I have to end this post and go get something to eat!!!!!!!!!!

Early weigh in...

We decided to weigh in a day early this week due to the pending blizzard that is scheduled to hit the area tomorrow. I am down 2 pounds - would have liked more, but I will take whatever I can get! That is 6 total since I started.
Monday evenings my daughter has her gym class, and in order to make it to class on time the family eats on our way to class. We eat somewhere in between the daycare and the gym - we have multiple options including Panera Bread, Subway and KFC (these are our favorites). I have always liked Panera Bread the best - I love the soups, sandwiches and salads - I LOVE ALL OF THEM! We ate at Panera last night and I am sad to say it is not the best option for someone trying to stick to a low carb diet. I know what you are thinking - it is called Panera BREAD for goodness sake! Yes I can enjoy a salad (with or without chicken - I always include the chicken) and I did just that... I had the 1/2 Greek Salad (+/- 3 grams of carbs) and a small bowl of the French Onion soup without croutons (13 grams of carbs). But that is a lot of carbs for one meal for me (at this time). While I only went over my allotted daily carb intake by 6 grams I was not really satisfied after the meal. I would have preferred to have the creamy tomato soup and 1/2 a sandwich... and I would have liked to finish the mac and cheese my son did not eat, but alas that is not an option for me right now. Therefore the following must be said:

Dear Panera Bread,
While I am sad to have to break this type of news to you at this time - I cannot subject myself to your delicious menu items as often as I would like to these days - but that does mean I don't love you. Really it is not you, it me... I just need some time apart from you to find my best self. I hope you understand. Please try not to cry. Keep a bowl of creamy tomato soup warm for me... maybe next fall or winter we can see each other again from time to time.
Sincerely,
A former patron

Just to kick me while I down (figuratively speaking) my daughter said she would like to go to Subway next week! Ugh - I think that may be a bit of a problem for me ... I will have to do some major research of the menu and figure out what to order. If necessary I can go to Saladworks a few doors over, because it is snap to lug 2 children to 2 different eating establishments in the span of 20 minutes, right?

In case you were wondering I did not may the spinach muffins last night - I will attempt them tonight (or tomorrow during the blizzard).

Long Weekend

Well I am back at work after an impromptu long weekend - I ended up staying home on Friday because my daughter was running a fever. We took both kids to the doctor on Sunday morning - my daughter has pink eye (as a result of her cold/flu) and my son has an ear infection in both ears... yeah you can imagine how much fun we had at my house this weekend. But the good part - and for me I am amazed at this - I was able to stay true to my diet and not cheat once! That is pretty unbelievable for me - I hope the scale reflects my efforts on Wednesday.

I am planning to make 2 new recipes this week - spinach muffins (As you might have already figured out - I love spinach!) and chicken stroganoff. Both look pretty good - I am hoping to make the spinach muffins tonight. I will let you know how they work out!

I started drinking my protein shakes for breakfast again - not every day, but when it is convenient or when I need to save some carbs and fat for later in the day. I really like this particular protein shake - it is made by Syntrax and is called Nectar Whey Protein Isolate - I like the Cappuccino flavor. It tastes pretty good - I use the blender to mix it up with water and ice - it gets creamy and frothy. It tastes best if you drink it right away. Here is the nutritional breakdown:
Calories - 90
Calories from Fat: 0
Total Fat: 0g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: <5mg
Total Carbohydrates: 0g
Dietary Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 23g
Calcium: 160mg
Phosphorus: 75mg
Magnesium: 20mg
Sodium: 60mg
Potassium: 120mg 

For zero carbs, zero fat and 23g of protein you can't beat it! I bought it at Vitamin Shoppe, but you can also find it online at Amazon. It comes in many different flavors... I have tried the Cappuccino and Fuzzy Navel. As I said the Cappuccino is good... the Fuzzy Navel is drinkable. I think I will be going with the Chocolate Truffle flavor next.

This morning for some reason I did a few stretches and squats right after I woke up... maybe my body and mind are asking me for an exercise program? Not sure - let's see what the scale says on Wednesday before I start getting a crazy.

Four, Cuatro, Quatre Baby!!!

That is correct - 4 (FOUR) pounds down from last weeks weigh in for the office challenge! That is the motivation I was looking for!

I can see now that the extra time I have spent preparing my meals in advance is worth it and I will continue to do it. Although it is much easier when I can take left overs from the prior nights dinner than creating another whole meal for myself. I did that last night - I got my lunch and lunch for my son taken care of right after dinner - it saved me lots of time. Last night I made Spinach Meatballs - they were really good! At just 0.5 (grams) carbs per meatball how can you beat it! For anyone on Weight Watchers I entered the recipe into the Weight Watchers recipe builder on the WW's website and it came out to 1 point per meatball! Pretty good if you ask me... here is the recipe:

Spinach Meatballs
Makes 30

1lb 95% lean ground beef
2 eggs
10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 button mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon each salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Treat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a food processor combine spinach, parmesan, mushrooms, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and spices. Process until well combined.
3. Add eggs one at a time and process until well combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Add beef and mix until well combined.
4. Shape into thirty 1 1/2" balls. Place on the baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

I ate 8 meatballs (4 carbs) with 1/2 cup of marinara sauce and 1/4 cup of RF Shredded Mozzarella - my husband and the kids had spaghetti with their meatballs! I was happy the kids ate them - I would not say the LOVED them, but I did get a "I don't hate them" from my 4 year old! I think both kids ate 1 whole one cut up - usually they eat 2 or 3 traditional meatballs, so that is fine. I had 6 meatballs for lunch today (again with sauce and cheese) - heated it up in the microwave at the office.
Some good news - other than the 4 pounds I lost - I was able to wake up with my alarm this morning! Yay me... oh I also woke up with a start at 2 am. I thought it was 6 am, but no it was 2 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING! My son decided he wanted to get up and cry out for someone to come and rock him a little bit. I was back in bed by 2:15 - thank you to my husband for taking over. I was happy I woke up at 6 am when my alarm went off - I had lots of plans of what I would do with an extra half hour added on to my morning- but alas those plans went down the drain when my son woke up at 6:05am. I am afraid that if I try to wake up any earlier he will wake up at the same time! I will try it again tomorrow and hope he sleeps later.
My latest challenge - I will be heading out to dinner tomorrow night with my girlfriends... I will be reviewing the menu of the restaurant to see what the best options for my dinner will be. I know I will go over my max carb allowance for the day, but as long as I avoid processed sugars, etc. I should be fine. The only thing I will REALLY MISS will be the wine - oh lovely wine, how I will yearn for you, but that would totally kill my momentum. So I have to pass on that cold, refreshing, delicious, crisp, smooth drink and stick with a diet soda or better yet water. I know water is the best option to drink at any time, but I just can not get excited about water.
Well the day is coming to an end and I think I will head off to bed... and dream of sipping that cold glass of wine I will not be ordering tomorrow night.

Day 2: So far so good...

Well it is close to the end of day and all and all it was a pretty good day. I was able to pack up my breakfast and lunch last night before I fell asleep - I was also able to prepare lunch for my son (so that saved me some time this morning). I was pretty busy at work most of the day so I ate when I could and was not hungry the rest of the day.

Tomorrow is the weekly weigh in for the office challenge - now I have only been on my plan since yesterday - but I hope I will see a change on the scale (a good change). I can't complain if it does not show a loss because it has only been 2 days, but it would be a good motivator if it did.

What I will complain about is the fact that now I seem to be immune to my alarm clock! I wake up and it has either gone off and I have snoozed it in my sleep or it has been going off for 15 to 20 minutes and I did not hear it. I have it on the "buzz" mode because music doesn't work for me... I just hear it in my dreams like background music. This has never happened to me before - I am the person that wakes up when one of my kids rolls over in their bed or breathes heavily. Not sure what is going on, but I have to figure something out. I would like to be up earlier - to exercise* or at least eat breakfast before I leave the house in the morning. I am going to try and get to bed early tonight!

*Ok I watched the exercise DVDs I bought - Tony Horton's 10 minute Trainer... whoa! I am not sure I am coordinated enough to do the moves they are showing, but I am going to try.  A couple of challanges I am facing - where to do the exercising in my house - there is some jumping involved and I would prefer not to break anything or cause my house to collaspe. In addition, I would prefer not to exercise in front of an audience- see I already have an audience with me when I get dressed in the morning, go to the bathroom, and even at times while I am showering... oh the joys of having 2 small children! But at least the first couple of times I would like to be alone.  Maybe I have to think about exercising in the evening after the kids go to bed.  We shall see!

So far I ate today -
• 1 mini quiche
• 16 oz decaf coffee w 2 Tbsp 1/2 and 1/2
• 8 oz decaf tea
• chicken breast with salsa and cheese (same as yesterday w/o the sour cream - and yes I missed the sour cream)
• small salad - lettuce, cucumbers, tomato and sliced mushrooms with a little EVOO and lots of red wine vinegar
• 1 SF Jell-O (orange)

(I packed myself some turkey and RF swiss - but decided not to eat it - my carb count was getting a little high and I wanted to leave myself some room for dinner. I think I will eat it tomorrow for breakfast.)

Tonight I am going to try a new recipe for Spinach Meatballs - it has frozen chopped spinach, lean ground beef, parmesan cheese, egg whites, and some seasonings. I hope the kids will eat them - they will have them over spaghetti with marinara sauce... I will have them with the sauce and some RF shredded mozzarella. I will let you know how it turns out!