Broke the 320 barrier finally... taken a long long time. Eating virtually only foods we cooked ourselves plus all the shoveling after the big snow storm must have done the trick.
2/23/2011 morning weight: 318
(I checked 5 times. lol)
Coming soon, the recipe for "Cashew (Gesundheit) Chicken" stirfry... and it is REALLY good!
Breakfast today:
Breakfast sandwich; Green and orange peppers fried with some chopped onions in olive oil and minced garlic with a little salt. Beat two medium-small eggs, pour over veggies and add fresh ground black pepper. Flip. Served on two slices of Fiber One toast with some orange marmalade. Yummy!
Granted, I was hungry, but it was still awfully good. I'm estimating it was in the 400-450 calorie range. A bit high, but with the rest of the meals I have planned today I will still end up safely in the "lose 1-2 pounds a week" range.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Mid-week Recipe
We aren't going to wait for the weekend for this one. We made a stir-fry for today's lunch (and 2 more meals each) and it was awesome.
As usual, we started with a recipe but modified it as we went to fit our tastes and what we had on hand in the kitchen. But now we need to write everything down before we forget what we changed.
Makes six servings @ 328 calories each.
The only thing I did was cut up stuff. After all, that is the most manly part of food preparation. ;-)
Cube the beef roast while trimming out the bigger bits of fat. You can use beef that is pre-cut for soups, stews, stir-fry, etc. but we usually aren't very happy with the size of the bits. Plus it costs quite a bit more per pound than a big chunk of roast. Then chop the onion and the cauliflower (actually for the cauliflower it is more breaking than cutting I guess.) Carrie did the rest so here's her instructions:
Starting with a 12" cast iron pan on med/high heat (I love my cast iron pan!) Add the olive oil, beef, minced garlic, and onion. Fry on med/high heat until beef is cooked through.
There should be some bits of yummy goodness stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add about 1/2 cup beef broth to that and scrape all it off the bottom and into the broth. You want all that flavor to end up in your mouth, not the sink/dishwasher.
Add the raw veggies to the pan along with the soy sauce and ground ginger. Cover and let sit for about 7 min or until the vegetables start to become tender. I used some carrots we canned this fall so those just needed to be reheated. I left them out until the other vegetables were done. Add water chestnuts, stir and cook another 5 min.
Stir every now and then until everything is nearly done and as tender as you want. Take a cup and mix the rest of the beef broth and the corn starch together. Pour that in the pan and stir well. The the mixture will start to thicken almost immediately. Remove from heat.
Scoup ¾ cup of the stir-fry over ¾ cup white or brown rice and enjoy :D
As usual, we started with a recipe but modified it as we went to fit our tastes and what we had on hand in the kitchen. But now we need to write everything down before we forget what we changed.
Makes six servings @ 328 calories each.
- ¾ lbs chuck roast, cubed (approx ¾" cubes) (480 cal)
- 1 Med yellow onion, chopped (50 cal)
- 1 Tbs minced garlic (1 cal)
- 6 oz pkg frozen snow peas (70 cal)
- 1½ C cauliflower, broken into florets (25 cal)
- 1 C carrots, chopped or sliced (52 cal)
- ¼ C soy sauce (80 cal)
- 1 tsp ginger powder (0 cal)
- 1½ Tbs corn starch (45 cal)
- 1½ C beef broth (22 cal)
- 8 oz can water sliced water chestnuts (50 cal)
- 1 Tbs olive oil (119 cal)
- 4½ C cooked rice (approx 1½ C pre-cooked) (972 cal)
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbs brown sugar
The only thing I did was cut up stuff. After all, that is the most manly part of food preparation. ;-)
Cube the beef roast while trimming out the bigger bits of fat. You can use beef that is pre-cut for soups, stews, stir-fry, etc. but we usually aren't very happy with the size of the bits. Plus it costs quite a bit more per pound than a big chunk of roast. Then chop the onion and the cauliflower (actually for the cauliflower it is more breaking than cutting I guess.) Carrie did the rest so here's her instructions:
Starting with a 12" cast iron pan on med/high heat (I love my cast iron pan!) Add the olive oil, beef, minced garlic, and onion. Fry on med/high heat until beef is cooked through.
There should be some bits of yummy goodness stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add about 1/2 cup beef broth to that and scrape all it off the bottom and into the broth. You want all that flavor to end up in your mouth, not the sink/dishwasher.
Add the raw veggies to the pan along with the soy sauce and ground ginger. Cover and let sit for about 7 min or until the vegetables start to become tender. I used some carrots we canned this fall so those just needed to be reheated. I left them out until the other vegetables were done. Add water chestnuts, stir and cook another 5 min.
Stir every now and then until everything is nearly done and as tender as you want. Take a cup and mix the rest of the beef broth and the corn starch together. Pour that in the pan and stir well. The the mixture will start to thicken almost immediately. Remove from heat.
Scoup ¾ cup of the stir-fry over ¾ cup white or brown rice and enjoy :D
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Ability Do I have it!?
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz
I've come to a tough time on this journey. We are leaving for a cruise on March 4th and I want to lose 10 more pounds before that time. *sigh* I'm so frustrated with things...I'm not doing 'the best' that I can do and wondering why it's getting hard again for me. What am I thinking! I just want the weight off but it's just not that easy I guess. Tomorrow I'm fighting a little harder for that pound I've been waiting for! I have not been the best this past week and it shows by the scale not moving. At least it didn't move in the wrong direction! I have to be thankful for that :D I have to find my motivation again...that same motivation I seen a few months ago. I can do it :D Right?! I can!
I've come to a tough time on this journey. We are leaving for a cruise on March 4th and I want to lose 10 more pounds before that time. *sigh* I'm so frustrated with things...I'm not doing 'the best' that I can do and wondering why it's getting hard again for me. What am I thinking! I just want the weight off but it's just not that easy I guess. Tomorrow I'm fighting a little harder for that pound I've been waiting for! I have not been the best this past week and it shows by the scale not moving. At least it didn't move in the wrong direction! I have to be thankful for that :D I have to find my motivation again...that same motivation I seen a few months ago. I can do it :D Right?! I can!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Recipe Weekend - Brown Fried Rice
Each week Carrie and I want to post a recipe of something we have been cooking while trying to lose the weight. We're going to try to include some of the nutritional info too but can't guarantee it's 100% accurate. Should be close though.
We both really like Chinese food. Stir fry, fried rice, etc. It turns out that fried rice can be really easy to make. This recipe is a bit more involved, but it sure tastes good. It also reheats nicely.
Approx nutrition:
Servings/batch: 9 (1½ C each)
Calories: 325
Fat: 13 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.3 g
Weight Watcher Points (old method): 7
I'm a bit dubious about the amount of fat (and related calories) since we trim pretty much all visible fat from the roast, but maybe it's right. To reduce the calories from fat, use less beef, use chicken or substitute firm tofu for some/all of the beef. You can cut way back on the oil too.
Ingredients:
Cut roast into cubes. Start cooking rice according to directions on bag. In med-high pan, add the oil and beef, 1 Tbs garlic, onions and pinch of salt. Fry until well browned. Set beef mixture aside.
In same pan all of the remaining ingredients except the eggs. Cover and simmer on med-high, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender. Whisk the eggs and keep them handy. Remove cover and boil (stirring occaionally) until most of the water is gone. When you can push the vegetables out of the center of the pan without it filling back up with liquid right away, scramble the eggs in the center.
Remove from heat and mix in beef and rice when it is done cooking (which is usually about the same time everything else is done when we make it.)
We both really like Chinese food. Stir fry, fried rice, etc. It turns out that fried rice can be really easy to make. This recipe is a bit more involved, but it sure tastes good. It also reheats nicely.
Approx nutrition:
Servings/batch: 9 (1½ C each)
Calories: 325
Fat: 13 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.3 g
Weight Watcher Points (old method): 7
I'm a bit dubious about the amount of fat (and related calories) since we trim pretty much all visible fat from the roast, but maybe it's right. To reduce the calories from fat, use less beef, use chicken or substitute firm tofu for some/all of the beef. You can cut way back on the oil too.
Ingredients:
- 4½ C Brown Rice (1½C before cooking)
- 1 lb beef chuck roast, trimmed
- 2 large eggs
- 12 oz frozen vegetables (California mix - broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
- 2 C chopped celery
- 1 medium yellow onion - chopped
- ½ of an 8 oz can LaChoy bamboo shoots
- 8 oz can LaChoy water chestnuts
- ¼ C light Kikoman soy sauce
- 3 Tbs minced garlic
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- ¾ C water
- 1 Tbs peanut or sesame oil
Cut roast into cubes. Start cooking rice according to directions on bag. In med-high pan, add the oil and beef, 1 Tbs garlic, onions and pinch of salt. Fry until well browned. Set beef mixture aside.
In same pan all of the remaining ingredients except the eggs. Cover and simmer on med-high, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender. Whisk the eggs and keep them handy. Remove cover and boil (stirring occaionally) until most of the water is gone. When you can push the vegetables out of the center of the pan without it filling back up with liquid right away, scramble the eggs in the center.
Remove from heat and mix in beef and rice when it is done cooking (which is usually about the same time everything else is done when we make it.)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Counting Calories - how?
The first thing we had to do was figure out how much we can/should eat. After searching for a while we found this calorie needs calculator. Based on my info if I want to lose 2-3 pounds a week I should be in the 1750-2250 range.
So, just add up the calorie info from the foods you eat and make sure the total is in that range, right? Sure, as long as everything you eat has a nutrition label. Unfortunately, our hens don't lay eggs with labels and the onions at our store don't have labels either. That's where this nutrition data search site comes in.
What about foods you cook? Add up the info from the various ingredients (from the labels or search results) for the entire dish. Then divide by the number of servings in the final dish. The hardest part for me is usually figuring out how many proper-sized servings that is. We usually look up something similar and see how many calories that would be.
An Example - Today's Totals
Breakfast: Breakfast burrito with 2 eggs, garlic humace, fried onions, EV olive oil and salsa on a burrito shell. Total: 325 calories (1425-1925 remaining)
Misc: Several coffees with milk and sugar. Total: 150 calories (1250-1775)
Morning snack: Corn chips (1 serving) and guacamole (2 Tbs). Total: 176 calories (1099-1599)
Lunch: Ground chuck hamburger (3 oz), bun, pepper-jack cheese (1 oz), ketchup, mustard, onions, green and red peppers w/ 1 cup milk. Total: 479 calories (620-1120)
Afternoon snack: Pistachio nuts (49). 170 calories (450-950)
Dinner: Brown fried rice (2 Cups, recipe coming soon). 494 calories (456 left for 2 lb/week loss... over the 3 lb limit.)
Snack: Yogurt (6 oz container). 140 calories (316)
That is a total of 1934 calories. Unless there are foods I didn't keep track of during the day, that would leave me somewhere over a 2-1/2 lb/week range.
So, just add up the calorie info from the foods you eat and make sure the total is in that range, right? Sure, as long as everything you eat has a nutrition label. Unfortunately, our hens don't lay eggs with labels and the onions at our store don't have labels either. That's where this nutrition data search site comes in.
What about foods you cook? Add up the info from the various ingredients (from the labels or search results) for the entire dish. Then divide by the number of servings in the final dish. The hardest part for me is usually figuring out how many proper-sized servings that is. We usually look up something similar and see how many calories that would be.
An Example - Today's Totals
Breakfast: Breakfast burrito with 2 eggs, garlic humace, fried onions, EV olive oil and salsa on a burrito shell. Total: 325 calories (1425-1925 remaining)
Misc: Several coffees with milk and sugar. Total: 150 calories (1250-1775)
Morning snack: Corn chips (1 serving) and guacamole (2 Tbs). Total: 176 calories (1099-1599)
Lunch: Ground chuck hamburger (3 oz), bun, pepper-jack cheese (1 oz), ketchup, mustard, onions, green and red peppers w/ 1 cup milk. Total: 479 calories (620-1120)
Afternoon snack: Pistachio nuts (49). 170 calories (450-950)
Dinner: Brown fried rice (2 Cups, recipe coming soon). 494 calories (456 left for 2 lb/week loss... over the 3 lb limit.)
Snack: Yogurt (6 oz container). 140 calories (316)
That is a total of 1934 calories. Unless there are foods I didn't keep track of during the day, that would leave me somewhere over a 2-1/2 lb/week range.
Friday, January 28, 2011
It's time...
I REALLY need to start writing everything down in a tablet and keep it with me at work at all times. I know I eat too much in the day and I have to SEE this to believe exactly what I do eat. I think I will be surprised really. I have been doing much better the last couple days...I can tell by how I feel. I'm going to do a sample day tomorrow at work just out of curiosity. Then will continue through the rest of the week as well.
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