Eating Well Inspires Eating Well

I sort of have this philosophy that eating healthfully makes you want to continue to do so. The adverse is also true. I had a chat with a work pal Thursday about how the holidays are difficult because your body gets accustomed to having a “sliver of pie here” or “some chocolate covered pretzels there” and before you know it you are starting to crave fatty calorie laden foods. With my 2011 weight loss and fitness goals in front of me, that simply would not do! That is why I spent my morning at the supermarket spending the majority of my visit with my new BFF, produce.

I spent a lot of time at the store looking at different items, comparing nutritional content, and figuring out “Points Plus” values. I also wrote recipes in my head as I scoped out the different ingredients. One of my goals (which I will be posting soon) for 2011 is to try one new recipe a week. My Rachael Ray cookbooks will certainly be earning their keep this year!! After a long morning of shopping I had purchased all of the goodies I needed to do a complete overhaul of our kitchen. My poor little bug could barely carry it all home!

I bought tons of produce, lean meats, whole grains, and other “whole” or “clean” foods. Besides a few convenience items such as organic toaster waffles and dried fruit I completely stayed clear of processed foods, desserts, or “junk food” of any kind. Some of my favorite grocery store finds today were…

With all of this great new food in the house I was inspired to prepare my first new dish of 2011. Tonight I decided to make Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter and Creamy Farfalle with Bacon, Tomato and Peas. As you might have guessed this a recipe from my culinary hero Rachael Ray and you can find the original HERE. However, I modified the recipe a touch to bump down the calorie/fat content.

First, I start with a totally clear cooking space and my ingredients out and ready. This is a fairly quick paced recipe and you will need everything right at your fingertips.

• Bring water up to boil and set a deep skillet to medium heat. To that skillet add 6 slices of chopped bacon. I chose center cut because it is the leanest cut of natural bacon you can buy.

• After the bacon begins to crisp up add in 1 medium onion, white mushrooms (to taste), salt and pepper, and a bay leaf. I like the dried leaves from Penzeys.

• Allow this to cook for approximately 5 minutes. Then add in a large can of crushed tomatoes (or whole and crush yourself). Bring the sauce up to a bubble, adjust spices, and let it simmer for 15 minutes

• Next stir in 1 cup of peas and ½ cup cheese. I substituted 2% mozzarella cheese instead of the mascarpone that is called for due to calorie/fat content

• As you stir in the cheese prepare your wheat bow-tie pasta per the box instructions and set aside

• As the pasta cooks and sauce simmers, prepare the tilapia with salt and pepper on each side and lightly flour it. Then place the fillets in a large pan with 2tbl olive oil per 4 filets and allow them to cook 4 minutes on each side

• When the fish is finished remove it from the pan and add in 2 -3 tablespoons of light butter and ¼ cup balsamic vinegar per 4 filets. Allow this to reduce by ½ and remove from the heat

• To complete the meal combine the pasta with the sauce and take a small serving, drizzle a tiny bit of the balsamic sauce over your fish and enjoy!

Read Full Post »

The Cost of Eating Healthy

We all know the potential costs of being unhealthy; visits to the doctor, obesity, high cholesterol etc so choosing healthy foods seems like a no brainer. However, let me paint a picture for you of my night at the grocery store. A woman who was sporting a cart overflowing with pop tarts, hot dogs, white bread, chips, pasta, etc literally paid half of what I paid for an equally ample cart full of produce, organic yogurt, brown rice, lean meats, etc. This never seems quite fair to me. It feels almost like being punished for making healthy choices. I try not to think that way, because it is extremely negative and counterproductive.  However, after shelling out quite a bit of cash for our grocery run I started thinking What is a reasonable grocery budget for a healthy diet?

The hubs and I are not excessive wine drinkers nor do we pick up random non-food items such as Tupperware, cosmetics, etc while at the store.  For example our cart tonight consisted of….

Lots of fruits and veggies

juice, milk, hummus, yogurt, applesauce

Plenty of salad staples and extras (craisins, nuts, dressing, etc)

cran bran muffin tops, frozen veggies/fruits, organic meals on the go

lean turkey, steak (for spinach salads), and lean chicken breasts

Reduced fat feta, cheddar, and plenty of breakfast items

A couple of "extras" like organic arugula, fresh baked bread, and apple jacks (dont judge)

Overall, we purchased whole foods and meal making options.  I would estimate 60% of the items were organic.  Two week’s worth of groceries for two people cost approximately 160.00. At first this caused me to panic a little. I wondered if we were being too indulgent or excessive. However when the hubs broke it down we are coming in under 100.00 per week for food and approximately 40.00 per person per week. You can easily drop 40.00 on a (just semi-nice) meal out so I am choosing to look at this as a positive thing we are doing for our bodies.

Ultimately, you cannot put a price on being good to yourself and your body. However, those grocery bills do hurt the wallet a bit.  Did you notice an increase in your grocery bill when you began eating healthier?

 

And what did I end up making with all of these fab ingredients? A small (ie less caloric) version of my favorite sandwich. Perfection!!

Read Full Post »

Great Expectations (and exciting news!)

I had my weekly weigh in today and I expected it to go well. I have come in on target with my calories and I worked REALLY hard at the gym(really really hard this week) so I was all psyched for a 2 pound loss this week. The scale had other plans for me. For the second week in a row I have lost a big ZERO pounds. Zero. I wonder how is it I have hit my first plateau when I still have so much to lose? This was not nearly as hard to handle last week when I had no high expectations for the weigh-in. It kind of makes me wonder Do great expectations help or hurt the weight loss process?

I decided the second I got in my car to think of three positive things to concentrate on. I know this sounds cheesy but it truly helps that deflated defeated “Why do I even bother” feeling that tries to worm its way in after a bad morning. I came up with these-

1. I have dropped 2 (almost 3 sizes in 10 weeks)
2. I am working out like I haven’t been able to do in AGES
3. I am not tired at the end of the day. I might be emotionally drained when I leave work by my feet don’t ache and I am not physically tired anymore when leaving the office.

All good things.  Of course I called the hubs for some emotional support and he offered the idea that he feels very strongly that I lose more efficiently when I am running and the last two weeks have been almost running free. He also noted that I have been on the low side with my calorie intake this week and I may not be eating enough. So, I am as you already know working the running back in this week. If that does not help I will slightly bump up the calories next week and if that STILL does not help I will need to sit down with my Weight Watchers leader (IE: My cousin-in-law) Steph and figure out what is wrong. That is the plan.

With that said I am proud that my moment of defeat was just a moment and I went on with my day as usual. I figured that unless I am some sort of freak of nature (which I am not) the scale will start to reflect the eating/working out that I have been doing.  I just need a little patience.

I had a huge cup of coffee with some splenda and fat free 1/2 and 1/2 to start my day followed by an Ezekiel English muffin and a V8 fusion.

Lunch was a basic salad with chicken and some whole grain rice.

Work was so busy I was done and out before I knew it (even though I was working a longer day). I had grocery shopping to do so I headed over to Kroger to stock up for the week. I bought some POM juice for the first time (the cherry blend) so I am looking forward to making one of those cherry bomb smoothies I keep seeing on other people’s blogs. I also stocked up on organic veggies, salad making supplies, and yogurt. Lastly I bought the items to make Bryan’s favorite dishes all week. He does not like a big deal to be made for his Birthday (which is TODAY btw) but I made sure to stock up on his favorite snacks and meal ingredients. Tonight he requested my famous Skinny Pigs for dinner which I made.

Now onto my exciting news. I just made the reservations for my very first trip to Dallas for this fall! I have loved the Dallas Cowboys since as long as I can remember. If you ask my dad he will say it’s *just* because I had a crush on Troy Aikman in middle school but truthfully this has been going on LONG before then. When I was really little I wanted to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader when I grew up (I thought it was a job hehehe) and my love for the team kind of just stuck through the years. Anyway, I am a HUGE fan and have always wanted to go to Texas and see them play. This October I’ll be there along with my less enthusiastic husband who happens to hate them, but whatever. 😉 I can’t wait. Do you like to watch sports? What is your sport/team of choice?

Have a happy and healthy Monday!

Read Full Post »

Weigh-Ins and Revolutions

First things first- I dreaded my weigh in after the little incident I had yesterday with the happy meal and my lax calorie counting over the weekend. I am usually much more diligent but today I was prepared to pay the price for my mistake. I am somewhat relieved to say my weight stayed the same. No more, no less than last week. That means that other than a lesson learned I do not have to head into this week with any of last week’s baggage. That is a good thing. I started to have a moment of self doubt where I said “I wonder what I could have lost had I done what I was supposed to..” but I cut that line of thinking off (no negative self talk this week) and decided that onward and upward was where to put my focus.

I started today with a Green Monster. My body was practically begging for fruits and veggies after that little calorie fest last night.

I also made my smoothie with these cute Mickey ice cubes making this my “Mickey’s Not So Scary Green Monster”. Yes I just dropped a Disney joke on you. Smile! 🙂

Work was busy and I snacked on my favorite CLIFF bar mid morning. I love these. Sometimes peanut butter and jelly flavored snacks just taste weird but these are great!

No picture of lunch today simply because I forgot. Bry had made some whole grain spaghetti with lots of veggies and he packed a container for me to take to work. It was really great. Its always great to eat food I didnt have too cook. 😉

After work I headed to the grocery store and I found a new product to try. I am so excited to try this meatless BBQ.  I always have really high hopes for meatless products but they truly are hit or miss. I will make sure to review this brand in the next couple of weeks.  What is your favorite meatless substitute?

Monday is normally my rest day but I had to ask myself “Rest from what?” I was a total slacker last week. Even though it was getting late I decided to pop in a DVD- Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred so I could get a little activity in before dinner. I would love nothing more than to have her scream at me in real life (at the gym not at like Macys or something). Who is your favorite Biggest Loser trainer- Bob or Jillian?

After my little mini workout I decided to make dinner. This is a favorite dish in our house Spinach and Feta turkey burgers with baked potato wedges. The burger is a Rachel Ray creation subbing 99% Fat Free Turkey Breast and Reduced Fat Feta. I also use Natures Own Sandwich thins instead of buns. I only use 1lb of meat and make 4 burgers rather than the over sized version called for. Finally I eliminate all unnecessary butter and oil. The less fat the better and the final taste doesnt miss the extra oil at all!   The potatoes are oven baked with olive oil and sea salt. Good stuff! I am attempting to make sweet potato fries later this week. I might need to channel my inner Rachael Ray for that!

I am spending my evening once again researching ½ marathon training programs. I am starting to get super excited for the Disney Wine and Dine ½ this fall!

The hubs and I are settling in to watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. Click Here to support Jamie’s quest to get healthy, fresh, unprocessed food into the school system.

Tomorrow is a super long day for me with a work day starting at 5:00am!! Normally on these days that involve 6+ hours of travel time a quick fast food stop for a wrap or grilled chicken sandwich is on the agenda. However as part of my fast food challenge that is not an option this trip. I am going to spend 15 minutes researching healthful food options in Winchester, VA so that I go in prepared!

Have a Happy and Healthy Monday!

Read Full Post »