EVERYTHING SMOOTHIE

I had to have an endometrial biopsy following an ultrasound to confirm my PCOS. Shadows, thickening of the lining, etc... Still haven't got the results on that, but should sometime this week.

Bloodwork results are in, confirming PCOS through insulin levels. Everything else-- and I do mean everything was tested-- is back negative or normal. The prescription is...my old standby, the low carb diet. Plus a diuretic and an upped dosage of metformin.

On this low carb diet, which is a glorified Atkins Maintenance diet or a glorified Weight Watchers Power Foods diet, I'll be having vegetables and fruit in addition to low-fat meats. I already know how this works, and how this plays out, and told the NP this. But she insisted on speaking on and on about the benefits of a low-carb lifestyle. Duh. Got it. Lemme go... Please! :)

We know I won't be eating my veggies or fruit without the proper method of delivery. I'll eat just meat and nothing else, or mess up and end up grabbing something from the restaurant. So I, not being one too keen on eating my veggies and a very busy person of late, dragged out my blender. This will be a green smoothie jumpstart to my weight loss adventure.

I looked up recipes and such, bought a crap ton of healthy stuff, prepped and froze and prepped. Dragged out my new blender. Trucked it all to my tattoo studio. Ignored the recipes for now... Made my first "everything" smoothie.

EVERYTHING SMOOTHIE:

1c Water
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
2c Kale
1 Rome apple, cored
1 Granny Smith apple, cored
1 Orange, peeled
2 Bananas, frozen
1c strawberries, frozen
1c blueberries, frozen

Blend it forever, way longer than the couple minutes I did, adding ingredients in that order, until it's super smooth. Mine had some green bits that weren't quite ground, but it has a pleasant taste. Gotta get over your texture issues! :D

Next time, I'll play with another recipe. It was a weird experience, but very filling.

PROGRESS: Week 7, Hello Ketosis!

The Franken-Diet is what I call the Frankenstein's monster of diet parts and pieces that work for me. 

Now I'm in the low carb stage of the Franken-Diet. Ketones are the byproducts released as the body burns primarily fat instead of carbohydrates. The ketones are purged through urine, saliva, and probably through every other gland. Testing high for ketosis is bad if you're not trying to make it happen through dieting. But I'm trying...

I'm testing Moderate for ketosis, finally. For the first week or two of low-carb eating (via Atkins Induction), I purge water weight rapidly, due to the diuretic effect of ketosis. After that, weight loss slows to a normal, "healthy" rate as I increase my carb intake by measured increments. This initial stage of the diet fools the body into thinking it's starving (no/low carbs= starving) even though you're cramming food into it (mostly protein). As a results, hunger is suppressed. Blood sugar is incredibly stable. My stomach is nice and calm. The food is rich and satisfying. The cravings and food addictions subside. And your body is forced to mobilize fat because you're not giving it any carbs!

Go to the official Atkins site for more information: http://www.atkins.com/Program/Phase-1.aspx . 

Weight 2 Weeks Ago: 277.2

Weight 1 Week Ago: 280 (From the "Crap, I didn't lose weight because I didn't focus" files!)

Weight This Week: 271.8

8.2 Pounds Lost!

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting a wonder diet. The science behind low-carb is sound. I also eat more naturally on this diet than any other. (Seriously-- God may have made sugar, but He only facilitated the production of Twinkies with that creation...) This is only a "diet" if you have no intention of changing your habits for the long term. The Lifetime Maintenance on Atkins is full of vegetables, occasional fruit, and some dairy. And regardless of the avoidable minor inconveniences, I'm going on how I feel, which is awesome!

Good Things That I Ate:

1. Breakfast: Eggs with Bacon Pieces. A bit of Mexene Chili Powder (my favorite egg-topper!)

2. Lunch: Lean Hamburgers with Mayo and Ketchup

3. Alternate Lunch: Chicken Salad (made with canned chicken breast, dill relish and mayo)

4. Dinners: 20 Carb Avocado Salad, Plain Salad with Ranch (bleh!), 20 Carb Taco Salad, McD's side salad with 2 Chicken Grill Patties and Ranch, 

20 Carb Taco Salad

Easy Recipe: Prepare taco meat using lean ground beef (or what-have-you) and serve with fresh spinach, chopped onions, sour cream, a drizzle of taco sauce, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese!

20 Carb Guacamole Salad

Easy Recipe 2: Prepare guacamole by mashing a ripe avocado and either 1) adding lime juice, cilantro, onion powder and garlic powder OR 2) using half a pack of prepared guac seasoning (has more carbs). Then serve over spinach with sour cream (didn't like this in the salad), bacon pieces, Parmesan cheese and some pepperoni slices.

Low Carb Snacks:

1. Mac's BBQ Pork Rinds (like no other! *sigh*)

2. Portioned beef jerky

3. Cream cheese (sometimes WITH the pork rinds. Don't knock it til you tried it!)

4. An occasional spoonful of peanut butter (I think I had one all week)

Here Are Some Things I Did:

1. Saved almost all of my allotted carbohydrates (20g/day) for dinner. I will continue to do this because if I veer off the all-protein path during the day, I'll screw up at night. It feels like splurging when I wait! And for each of these "splurge" dinners, I ate a SALAD!

2. Measured and counted everything with carbs! Grippo's Powder is now on my list of no-nos. It has 4 carbs in just one teaspoon. So I made a couple mistakes early in the week. 

3. I had an avocado a day for over half the week. 15 carbs, well worth the scrounging and saving of carb grams. Oh, and something about Omega something-something good for me...

4. Did at least one full day of burnout sessions with the exercise bands at work. I did a different routine between each call until I was a tired little puddle. I spent about 5 hours (minus call time) playing with those rubber bands, not realizing how sore I would be today! I shall call it Chair-Fu Calisthenics and Rubber-Band Boxing!

And I'm trying to do more of the same for this upcoming week! I just realized I can make my baked salmon and avocado recipe! Mmmmmmm....

Cuddles,

Tamara

RECIPE: Chicken and Pasta Soup

This is an update to my Chicken Soup recipe. I made it right this time, which is to say that my noodles didn't disintegrate. My inspiration? Waking up sick and having to stay home from work Thursday. I expect this soup to be miraculous. :) 


POWER FOODS CHICKEN AND PASTA SOUP

It ain't pretty, but it's tasty!

4 Chicken Breasts
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 box wheat pasta (I picked rotini)Pepper, Ginger Powder, Italian Seasoning, Salt, Garlic Powder and Onion Powder

In slow cooker, cover chicken breasts with water (a few inches from the top of the cooker) and cook on HIGH until chicken is done. (It will sorta float!) This is the leave it until you smell it phase. I fished out the white squishy blobbies (technical term, folks!) with a fork. Tear apart chicken with two forks while still in broth. Or dirty a plate if you must. Add spices to taste, in the order they're listed, stirring chicken and broth. (I hold off on the salt as much as possible. I add a lot of pepper to cut through the cold. :D) Stir thoroughly. Add pasta and stir. Cook for about a half hour, stirring occasionally, until pasta can be easily cut with your stirring spoon but before it's gooey mush.


NOTE: I added Ginger on a whim, for it's good-health properties. And I can't really taste it much (can't taste much of anything at the moment) but it has added some extra good spiciness. I will add it to my broths from now on as the "What the heck is that good flavor?" ingredient. 


STYLE NOTE: Add celery and carrots if you must, early in the cooking process. I just didn't have any today. And other than aesthetics, the veggies don't entice me at all. With my cold, it's all about the chicken and broth. The noodles are just healthy carb filler. Adding anything else is just sneaky! :)


Sniffle-cough Cuddles,


Tamara, who gets frustrated when sick and does things like this instead of dosing up and sleeping

RECIPES: Venison

Now I should say I'm not a big fan of venison. The taste of wild deer, even when cooked "right" isn't my favorite thing. And I've eaten this critter in several forms-- jerky, steak, burger, AND stir fry. But it is very lean, therefore good for you, and if you disguise it just right... :D If you're brave, try my simple, very similar recipes and let me know how it goes! Don't worry. Bambi will forgive you!

VENISON BURGERS WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS:

Skilleted!

4 Venison burgers (buy the meat, or get some FRESH from your father-in-law's recent kill!)
1/2 Green pepper, sliced
1/2 Sweet onion, sliced
Seasoning of choice (I chose Grippo's powder!)

Drain the burgers (lean meat = blood. Just sayin'!). Cook in skillet on low-medium heat until halfway cooked. (Just a few minutes, but I'm no expert!) Flip burgers. Dump in veggies among the cooked, ah, fat and juices (*grins awkwardly talking about blood again*). Stir fry veggies in and around the meat until onions gain some transparency. :) Turn up the heat. Flip the burgers. Liberally season one side and flip. Season remaining side and season vegetables. Flip burger. (Searing the sides a bit, to avoid the "boiled hamburger in the lunchline" look!) Move burgers to outside of pan to continue cooking. (I'd rather overcook a venison burger than under-cook it. Because it's ground meat, it doesn't become shoe leather like a steak!) Stir fry vegetables in center of pan until tender. Serve immediately. Tastes like... venison.

Plated!

NOTE: Venison has a distinctive smell when you add heat. It's the "game-y" smell that only goes away with the addition of onions and peppers, in my experience. My hubby says that onion "draws the wild out of it." I think you're covering it up with another smell, and they're cancelling each other out. Almost as soon as the onions heat up, the smell will dissipate.

VENISON STIR-FRY

4 small venison steaks, cut into thin strips

1/2 Green pepper, sliced
1/2 Sweet onion, sliced
Teriyaki sauce
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Rice wine vinegar
Sesame seeds
Prepared brown rice, optional

Rinse meat in water. Drain. Heat sesame oil in wok or skillet. Add venison and stir fry on medium-high heat. Add vegetables and stir fry until onions gain some translucency. Lower heat to medium. Add equal parts teriyaki and soy sauce to skillet (enough to thoroughly coat venison and vegetables, but not until there's standing liquid in the pan!). Stir until coated. Add a splash of vinegar to help deglaze the pan. Stir over medium heat until sauce thickens. It will incorporate with pan drippings to make a yummy thing! Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the whole thing. Serve over brown rice!

NOTE: Don't have a pic yet. But I like this recipe because you can insert your meat of choice and it'll turn out great! I usually make chicken this way, and have made pork and beef as well.

Cuddles,

Tamara

RECIPE: Simple Texas Hash

As a former Atkins dieter, I'm wrapping my head around this one slowly. It's got potatoes, for cryin' out loud! The no-no food of the low carb world is scary. But WW Power Foods include potatoes as a permitted "free food" vegetable. (And I have to cook the leftover potatoes I have, or they'll go to waste!) Lunch at school this week will alternate between this recipe, and my baked salmon recipe. Let's see if I can lose weight this week, under the influence of the evil potato!

SIMPLE TEXAS HASH:

This is before the meal is cooked completely, but it only got prettier!

1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, sliced in slivers
3 medium to small potatoes, thinly sliced or diced
1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilis. Do not drain.
1 can tomato sauce
Salt, Pepper, Garlic to taste
Seasoned salt
Olive oil

Optional:
Pepperjack Cheese, sliced thinly
Beans- Kidney or otherwise, drained
Fat free refried beans
Fat free sour cream

Brown lean beef over medium heat in a large pan. (Lean beef means you don't have to drain anything!) Move beef to outside of skillet and put some olive oil in center of pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic in the oil. Dump in onions and stir until hot and aromatic. Pile in potatoes. Sprinkle them with seasoned salt. Cover and heat through. Stir the whole mess together. Add Rotel, liquid and all (this may have been a mistake, since I don't like my food TOO spicy-hot!). Stir into the mess. Add tomato sauce, stirring again. Simmer on low, covered, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender. I let it go for about forty minutes without a problem. (I forgot it a lot, too!)

Serve topped with a slice of Pepperjack cheese, with refried beans and sour cream on the side... Or stirred in.

NOTE: My taste-test said this was spicy hot, a little more so than I go for usually. But other than the heat, it's pretty bland. Feel free to play with the spices and let me know how it goes!

STYLE NOTE: I have noticed that when eating only Power Foods, I like to make meals with chunky ingredients to keep it texturally interesting. You could dice the potatoes really small so they'd cook faster and look more like traditional hash, but you'll lose the visual appeal! :)

MY WORK MEAL LINEUP:

Top: Slabs of baked salmon, Bottom: Simple Texas Hash, beans and cheese!

RECIPES: Chicken Parmesan Peppers and Tomato Beef Peppers

I'll confess: I'm addicted to the stuffed pepper dinner (or lunch, or breakfast) for a variety of reasons. Other than yumminess, I love the portion-sized convenience of it. I love a ready-made container that I can eat. I love that, with few exceptions, I can make them with all Power Foods. I love that they're freezable and nuke-able and that I can make them in large batches that will last for days. They're cheap to make for the number of servings I get. And that I sneak in vegetables without minding all that much! I'm even thinking about some venison peppers later on. (Brandon's dad sent fresh venison our way this hunting-holiday season!) Also considering making some deer jerky, if I can bring myself to it. :) Don't know how the leanest meat in KY will taste in a stuffed pepper, but I should be able to come up with something...

CHICKEN PARMESAN STUFFED PEPPERS:

UPDATE: A pic, in my lunch container!

2 Red (or other color) Bell Peppers, prepared and slit vertically
1 lb Chicken Breast, cut into 1in cubes
1 c Pizza sauce (low sodium, if you can)
1/4 to 1 whole small onion, sliced vertically into thin strips
2 tbs Olive oil
Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder
4 slices Mozzarella cheese, fat free or low fat
Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup chopped pepperoni (optional, depending on points allowances)

Preheat oven to 350. Gut and rinse Bell Pepper halves and arrange in casserole dish. If you don't use glass, line the pan with foil. If your peppers won't stand up, prop them with small rolls of aluminum foil. Cram 1 slice fat free mozzarella cheese or 1/4 cup shredded cheese in pepper. Heat oil in pan on medium heat. Cover chicken in pan until sizzling. Pan fry chicken in olive oil, stirring frequently after the first few minutes. When chicken is done, add pizza sauce and stir. Then throw in onion, pepperoni and spices, stir. When sauce is hot and thickened, turn off heat. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spoon high into peppers, pressing down with the back of the spoon. Pour in water bath halfway up the sides of the pepper for even baking. Add some salt to the water bath. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350. When peppers wrinkle at the tops, they're soft and done!

NOTE: I didn't freeze these. They were just too good. Plus, I didn't know how the chicken and sauce would hold up in the freezer. I didn't want to mess up the texture. If you try freezing them, maybe add more sauce to keep the chicken from drying out in the process.

UPDATE: Unfrozen, just nuke for 4 minutes. Sprinkle some Parmesan on top first.

NOTE 2: Points, spread across 4 servings, are negligible.

TOMATO BEEF STUFFED PEPPERS

4 Bell Peppers, cleaned and halved as above
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can Rotel, drained (mild to hot... whatever you want!)
1 can Tomato sauce
1 small onion, roughly chopped
Italian seasoning and seasoned salt
1/2 cup crushed crackers
3 tbs ketchup
Salt

Preheat oven to 350. Gut and rinse Bell Pepper halves and arrange in casserole dish. If you don't use glass, line the pan with foil. If your peppers won't stand up, prop them with small rolls of aluminum foil. Cram 1 slice fat free mozzarella cheese or 1/4 cup shredded cheese in pepper. Combine all other ingredients with your hands in a large bowl, making sure that beef is thoroughly broken up and integrated. Mixture will be very soupy compared to my other recipes because of the amount of tomato products. Split beef mixture among all peppers, pressing into all nooks and crannies. I just used my already-icky hands. Pour in water bath halfway up the sides of the pepper for even baking. Add some salt to the water bath. Bake for 1.5 hours at 350. Pepper edges should be wrinkly and cut easily with a fork.

NOTE: FREEZING: I didn't freeze these, because they're lunch for work this week. But if you do... Remove from water bath and cool at room temperature. Wrap completely in aluminum foil. Then refrigerate for an hour or more. Place in freezer bags and freeze. I can place several peppers in a gallon-sized bag and just grab what I need. REHEATING: If frozen, microwave on HIGH for 5-7 minutes. If not frozen, microwave on HIGH 3-4 minutes.

NOTE 2: Points, spread across 8 servings, are negligible. I actually only made four pepper halves out of this recipe, intended to buy more peppers and didn't, and ended up wasting a little under half the mixture. Shame on me!

RECIPES: Susan's Spaghetti Chicken with Brown Rice AND Chicken Soup

SUSAN'S SPAGHETTI CHICKEN WITH BROWN RICE:

(no pic. It's ugly, but delicious!)

3 Chicken Breasts
1 Can Spaghetti Sauce
2 Cups Leftover Brown Rice
1 small Onion, chopped
1 Celery stalk, sliced
Some Vegetable Oil
Onion Salt
Garlic Powder
Pepper
Italian Seasoning

Cube chicken. Heat oil in a skillet. Add spices. Add chicken and pepper it. Cook chicken until mostly done. Add celery and onions and cook until onion is translucent. Add spaghetti sauce. Stir. Add Italian Seasoning to mixture to taste. Add rice. Stir. Simmer for 10 minutes. Eat. Yum!

Note: Count WW Points for oil if you're on the Simply Filling option. Otherwise, this is basically an all Power-Foods meal! :)

POWER FOODS CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

(no pic. Looks like Campbell's Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup. Except better and with wheat rotini.)

4 Chicken Breasts, chopped into medium cubes
1.5 cup sliced celery
1.5 cup sliced baby carrots
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 box wheat pasta (I picked rotini)
Italian Seasoning, Pepper, Garlic Salt

Pile all this in the slow cooker: in the order of vegetables, chicken, bouillon, spices and pasta, bottom to top. Fill with water to within an inch of top. Cook forever. Til the chicken's done. I don't know how long yet. It's still cooking!

Note: This is my attempt to get back on task. From what I can tell, the only difference between Campbell's and this is the wheat pasta. :) All Power Foods. Again, yum!

RECIPE: Beef & Bean-tastic Chili

BEEF & BEAN-TASTIC CHILI

 In the pot, ready to simmer....

... and in the bowl, with cheese, on the chili-covered counter!

1.5 lb lean ground beef

1 medium- large onion, diced

1 can light red kidney beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed

1 big can Bush's seasoned pinto chili beans

1 can Rotel chili-fixins seasoned diced tomatoes

1 medium can tomato sauce

1 tsp Mexene chili powder

1 tsp Ground cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar

Crackers if you're splurgin' (count the points!)

Combine everything but onion, beef, cheddar and crackers in a medium sized slow cooker and stir well. Season to taste and to the desired heat. Turn on slow cooker to "high" setting and replace lid. 

Brown beef in a large skillet on medium heat. Do not drain if you use lean beef... not enough fat to bother! Push the beef to the outside of the pan and dump diced onion in center. Use the tiny amount of fat from the beef to cook the onions until just translucent. Dump it all into the slow cooker and stir thoroughly. Simmer on High for an hour, stir, turn down on low and cook for two more hours. Stir occasionally. 

Dip into bowl and sprinkle on cheese. Devour!

Note: This is a mostly-Power-Foods recipe, but some seasonings in the prepared beans and tomatoes should be noted as costing points. I'm experimenting to see if the cost is negligible. So I'm officially saying a cup of this stuff, with fat free cheese and no crackers is made of all Power Foods and shouldn't be much of a "cheat". Now, seconds and thirds are a different story... :)

Note 2: COST-- For a 3.5 quart slow cooker full of chili, it cost about $13, which is a splurge for my budget all at once. But considering for a moment that, if I didn't have company, 3.5 quarts of chili would last all week, it's a pretty sound investment...

Note 3: This stuff could probably freeze really well, in meal sized portions!

Style Note: If you're a spaghetti-in-your-chili person (weird to me, but tasty, I guess...), then cook some whole wheat pasta and throw it in there. Or pour your chili over it. Or whatever you guys do... :D

Style Note 2: I made a very mild chili with a lot of good flavor. Plus, I cheated by using pre-made, pre-seasoned ingredients. If you pay close attention to your Power Foods list, you can make it all from base ingredients instead. You'll end up with a more true-to-Simply-Filling result by controlling all ingredients. I could have cooked dried beans and painstakingly seasoned them in measured portions, diced real tomatoes, pureed them and made a sauce. Like I'd do that on a Tuesday. Bah! ;)

RECIPE: Baked Salmon and Avocado Salad

BAKED SALMON AND AVOCADO SALAD:

Behold! The yummy things that await you... (Also, the healing burn from my last photo post!)

1 Haas avocado
1 Baked salmon fillet, seasoned with Cajun Seasoning (See below if you don't have one lying around!)
Cilantro
Lime Juice
Cajun Seasoning

Microwave salmon fillet 1-2 minutes, until hot. Cut Avocado into chunks. Use a fork and knife to tear salmon into chunks. Pile avocado chunks on salmon chunks. Sprinkle with cilantro and a couple splashes of lime juice. Enjoy!

My Avocado Technique: Cut along longest side all around circumference, all the way to the pit. Remove the pit by digging the edge of your knife into the side and prying it out. Take your (dull) knife and slice into exposed fruit to the rind, vertically and then horizontally. Use a spoon to scoop out chunks. Or just invert the rind to pop out the flesh. If you're a worry wort or super-clumsy, scoop out the avocado first, then chunk it up. :)

How to Bake Salmon: Place skinless salmon fillet in glass dish or on aluminum foil in a pan. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning and lemon juice. Top with a couple pats of butter. Bake at 350 degrees for around thirty minutes.

*Note: This dish is great because the fish is warm and a bit salty, and the avocado has a cooling effect that is a nice flavor contrast as well. It's tastes very light, but fills you up with double the good fatty acids!

*Note 2: Good girls would split this up into half an avocado and half the salmon fillet. I am no such girl. :) I CAN believe that I ate the whole thing! I've been waiting to make this forever!

*Style Note: I guess you could ruin it with lettuce if you had to... But, why would you do that?

RECIPE: BAKED SALMON

Sorry for the flurry of posts lately. I've just been cooking and baking-- albeit simply-- so much recently that I want to share it all. I'm feeling all domestic today, since I've also washed dishes and done laundry. Today, I baked next week's dinners, with some baked salmon for lunch. So yes, I still baked 3lb of chicken and Baked Veggies, but I also baked two full fillets of salmon, splitting them into four servings. And I'm enjoying a very yummy pre-work lunch today!

BAKED SALMON

(What? Carrots and fat-free Ranch dip don't go with fancy baked salmon? You hush! It was good! My burning mouth says this one's Cajun. If you look closely at my hand, there's a red streak that runs horizontal. It is now a red-rimmed white burn, with a smaller, matching one on the other hand. My first cooking burns since I moved to this house and bought the new oven! I'm very proud of myself, considering my relative clumsiness.)

2 Frozen Wild Caught Salmon Fillets, thawed (OR fresh, if you can get it that way!)
Cajun seasoning
Garlic Salt
Ginger Powder
Lemon Juice
4 Pats of butter or margarine or other fake replacement (I don't count it since the fat addition is nominal and runs into the bottom of the pan anyway.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a glass casserole dish since salmon won't stick to it. My salmon doesn't come with skin, but the skin will slip right off if you bake it skin side down. Cut each fillet in two, or smaller if you prefer, and arrange in dish. Sprinkle Cajun seasoning on two fillets and rub Ginger Powder and Garlic Salt onto the other two. Drizzle a bit of lemon juice on each fillet, and top with halved pats of butter. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until salmon is slightly flaky.

Note: Half a fillet is a serving, says WWPointsPlus, which is about the size of a pack and a half of regular playing cards, or one Rook deck. :D

P.S. I may do a points-splurge on an avocado for tomorrow's dinner so I can get some pictures of the salmon and avocado salad in my meals list. Also, so I can eat it all. Sooo yummy!

LAZY RECIPE: MEXICAN RICE AND REFRIED BEANS

Easiest protein-rich salad ever, made with leftovers, canned stuff and on-hand things... And even better, it's ALL POWER FOODS! No counting points or messing up for me!

MEXICAN RICE AND REFRIED BEANS:

1/2-1 cup cooked brown rice (leftover from yesterday's stuffed peppers!)

1/2-2/3 cup canned fat-free refried beans

1-2 cups shredded lettuce

1-2 dollops fat-free sour cream 

1 slice fat-free cheese or an ounce shredded fat-free cheese

Seasoning: Chili powder, garlic salt, onion powder, cumin and cilantro

Splash of lime juice, optional (mostly because I set it out and forgot to use it!)

Place beans and rice side by side on a plate or in a medium sized bowl. Leave room for lettuce. Sprinkle both of these with cumin powder and garlic salt. Sprinkle only beans with chili powder and onion powder. Stir beans and mash down. Sprinkle only rice with cilantro. (Not too heavy handed with any of these spices, mind you! Measurements? Silly! Don't you know me better than that?) Cover beans with cheese slice. Microwave for 2-2.5 minutes, or until hot and cheese is melted. 

Splash lime juice on rice and lettuce. 

Pile lettuce on plate or in bowl and add sour cream dollops. 

Dig in! I incorporated lettuce into every bite. Made me feel less naughty. Odd, since every ingredient was a Power Food, and therefore permitted. But it tastes just like the same items in a Mexican restaurant!

Note: If you're making this as a side plate to a meal, you may wanna decrease the amounts. I ate this as a meal. And I ate all of it. With great enjoyment. I'd say my beans portion was double what it should have been, and so was the sour cream. But it was my third meal of the day, dinner if you will. 

Style Note: This could be all artfully arranged and pretty. But I was hungry, and you don't get pictures because it was not pretty. I basically made a fat-free version of the side of rice and beans that comes with fajitas in the local Mexican restaurants. The only thing missing is the pico de gallo. And, as I said, I was hungry, so no fanciness from me this late at night!

NON-RECIPE PROGRESS:

This meal ends a full day without cheating on the diet! No brownies, no Kashi GoLean, no using up non-existent points on fast food, no "Just a bite of this or that", no excuses! It feels good. I think I've only had two days this week that I can truly say this about. I am doing better at making healthier choices, regardless of my frequent faltering. It doesn't hurt that some of my choices are also delicious! 

I bought a digital scale today. If it doesn't cry out in pain and say "one at a time, please", it may work better than the dial-a-scale I've been using. At least it'll be more consistent and precise. I won't be able to adjust my posture and gain or lose pounds with this one! :D 

So, weight loss or no come Monday morning, I've gotten... somewhere. I don't know where yet, but I think it's good for my lifelong change more than my short-term weight loss.

Cuddles,

Tamara

RECIPE: BROWN RICE AND BEEF STUFFED PEPPERS

BROWN RICE AND BEEF STUFFED PEPPERS

4 Red Bell Peppers
4 Green Bell Peppers
1-2 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 can tomato sauce
1 can Rotello, your choice of heat
1 yellow onion, diced
Pepper trimmings, diced (see below)
Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, Seasoned Salt, Garlic, Pepper
5-6 cups cooked brown rice
6-8 slices or 8oz shredded fat-free cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut off tops of all bell peppers, remove membranes and seeds, trim pepper strips off of pepper caps and dice those (a habit I picked up to avoid being a wasty-waster), dry bell peppers with a paper towel and invert on another paper towel to drain inside.

Dump all ingredients except beef, whole peppers, cheese and rice into a bowl and mix. Season this mixture to taste with above seasonings. (I make mine a bit too hot, pre-rice and pre-meat, so it turns out just right with those things added in!) Stir in two cups of rice. Reserve half of this mixture in a freezer bag and use it next time you make this dish.

Add beef to remaining tomato base, combining thoroughly with your hands (like meatloaf, without the bread products) and set aside. (Hands too dirty for pic. Ewww!)

Arrange your bell peppers in the baking dish(es) so that they are sitting fairly level. Roll up aluminum foil as a prop if your peppers will not sit up on their own. Add 1/2-1 slice of cheese (or 1 oz shredded) to the bottom of each bell pepper.

Top with 1/3 cup brown rice. Press down firmly with a spoon or your fingers. Divide meat mixture into 8 portions and press into peppers. If you're a measurer, it was about 2/3 of a cup of meat mixture for each pepper, because I have large meal-sized peppers.

(With brown rice added and a whole slice of fat free Mozzarella wrapped around the inside. See the nifty foil ring?)

(With the meat mixture crammed in. Added a green pepper strip. Yes, I made a worm in the apple reference. But it was cute until it burnt in the cooking process.)

Pour a water bath halfway up your baking container or halfway up the side of your dish, whichever is shallower. This will help the peppers cook, keep them from sticking (much) and keep everything moist and un-burnt.

(Ha! Action pic!)

Bake FOREVER!!! I time it at an hour and check 15 minutes after that. After an hour and 15 minutes, the meat was fully cooked (the part that can make you sick) but the peppers were still more crisp than I would like. (But I had to head out to work! Done is good!) You'll know it's close to being finished when the meat mixture pulls away from the pepper and expands upward. And when the pepper gets wrinkly.

Note: Even if you make this with non-Power Foods, it would still only be 9 WWPointsPlus Points. But if you're doing the Simply Filling option and use all Power Foods, and stick to one of this recipe's huge peppers as your meal, then you don't even count the points!

Note 2: These also freeze and nuke exceptionally well. I made a pouch out of aluminum foil and placed the wrapped pepper in a freezer bag after it was completely cool. When you want one, just unwrap it and pop it in the microwave. My half-pepper nuke time was around 5 minutes, so these whole peppers will definitely take longer.

Style Note: I accidentally on purpose used a half-slice of Pepper Jack in each of the green peppers. I'll just count it as a couple extra weekly points when I eat those. Trust me, if these are yummy as they smell, it'll be worth it! My eyes are burning out from the baking of so many peppers.

Style Note 2: When I make "normal" stuffed peppers (not the ones I've made for WW), I use crackers and ketchup in the meat mixture, plus instead of a water bath, they get tomato sauce with a tiny bit of water mixed in. And I periodically dump this mixture over the baking (or stovetop cooking) peppers.

Style Note 3: Avoid putting any cheese ON TOP of the peppers while they're baking. It'll burn. Wait til the end. Yes, I know, "DUH!". But I have moments, too. Don't place any cheese on top if you plan on freezing, either. That'll just form a partially-edible leather shield between you and the food you wanna eat. :)

WW SIMPLY FILLING RECIPE LIST

After posting that monster list of Power Foods the other day, I realized that I had quite a few meal possibilities. So I doodled another list yesterday-- a list of potential meals. I made an informal, long-term meal plan which should be fairly foolproof. We'll see. As I make these things, I'll post some pictures and recipes.

1. Fish, imitation crab, or meat & teriyaki/soy sauce stir fry with brown rice and veggies.
2. Baked or grilled fish or meat & grilled or baked veggies.
3. Sushi prepped with only Power Foods. (This one will be experimental!)
4. Pinto beans and onions with sauerkraut and greens. (The stay outta the office meal!)
5. Refried beans on salad with tomato, perhaps avocado, and a dollop of fat-free sour cream.
6. Salads with veggies, fat free cheese and zero dressing.
7. Baked or grilled or seared wild-caught salmon & avocado chunks tossed salad with cilantro and lime juice. (This is sooo good, and very simple!)
8. Tuna salad with mayo, avocado salad, or salad with fat-free deli meats.
9. Chicken or lean beef stuffed peppers with brown rice
10. Lean meatloaf with brown rice.
11. Spaghetti meatloaf casserole (Sounds horrible for healthy eating, but I’ll healthify it!)
12. Spaghetti & meat sauce with fat-free parmesan cheese. Or simple parmesan pasta.
13. Baked green beans, carrots, and any other veggie I can throw together!
14. Eggs: boiled, deviled, fried, with salsa & sour cream…
15. Oatmeal prepared with fat free milk and cinnamon.
16. Less simple snacks: Sour cream dip with veggies, baked apple with cinnamon, grilled banana in milk, carrots—fried and sweetish.
17. Kashi GoLean with fat-free milk and banana. Mmmm…
18. Of course, the ever-simple grab-n-go fruit, vegetable or piece of cooked meat. 

 I don't think I'll feel too deprived with this list backing up my resolve. :) Many of the meals can be made cheaply in large batches and components can be frozen. Some components can make several different meals at once or over a few days. And other options are ready-made or quick to make. This'll save time, money and my wavering resolve as I drive past Taco Bell on the way home to waiting food.

I'm down to two fast-food meals I can lean on if I must eat fast-food: Wendy's chili and a side salad (and a dab of fat-free sour cream!), or McDonald's grilled chicken and a side salad (maybe I'll make some fat-free sour cream Ranch for this, too.).

I am still only partly joking about planning a week of eating only watermelon. (Cuz it's a Power Food!) It may kill me, but what a way to go!

MORE RECIPES, AND LIVING WITH A SKINNY PERSON

BAKED VEGGIES:

1/2-1 Yellow or Sweet Onion, cut in vertical strips

1 Red Pepper, cut into bite-size squares

3+ cups Broccoli Florets, frozen or fresh

Seasoned Salt

Black Pepper

2 Tbs Soy Sauce

2 Tbs Olive Oil

I dumped frozen broccoli directly into my small glass casserole dish and layered the other vegetables prettily on it. :) Then I sprinkled the lot of it with seasoned salt and a bit o' pepper. I drizzled the remaining ingredients over the surface and threw it in the oven at 350 for about 45-50 minutes. Best of all, a cup of this stuff is 0 WW points!

BAKED CHICKEN: 

(Baked chicken is not for pretties. It is for efficient eating. But clockwise from top left: Cajun chicken, garlic ginger, and Montreal spiced. Is kinda bland without this stuff or Ranch dressing, though.)

3lb Chicken, fresh or thawed

Tony Chachere's Original Creole/Cajun Seasoning

Ground Ginger

Garlic Salt

McCormick's Montreal Chicken Seasoning

Arrange chicken in casserole dish or deep-sided pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of chicken with the creole seasoning, 1/3 with ginger and garlic salt, and 1/3 with the Montreal chicken stuff. Bake for 1 hour, so that you don't die from salmonella. Because it'll simmer in its own juices, the chicken will still be very tender. 5 WW Pts per 3 or 4 oz.

Style Note: If you're not a wasty-waster, you can save the rich broth from your chicken bake and re-purpose it for soup, stock or drinking. Just cool it completely and either refrigerate or freeze it. (Ice cube trays are great for the latter!)

LIVING WITH A SKINNY PERSON WITH "THAT METABOLISM":

I had to split up our perishable cabinet into two sides-- mine and Brandon's-- because this is what it looks like on his side: mac n cheese, brownies and syrup. Usually there are Nutter Bars, Swiss Rolls and some bread. Oats are healthy, right? Not when you eat them without heating by adding whole milk, a ton of brown sugar and--in his defense-- cinnamon. But at least he's cute, right? :D

Then I bought the new Kashi cereal (with a whopping 9 grams of protein in each serving, recommended by a trusted nutrition nut) and had to stash it over here until I run outta Cheerios. :) Just thought it was a fun juxtaposition.

A note on off-brands: We're big on the cheaper off-brands of most staple foods like oats, peanut butter, milk, sugar, and so on, because on the whole, it's pretty much the same stuff. But in junk food (like Brandon's brownies, cuz Wal-Mart brownies sucked), cereal (Kashi is pretty expensive for cereal. *sigh*), and flour (White Lily all the way!), and, when I buy it, broth (no MSG), I kinda play favorites. Fresh vegetables are an exception to the "name brands" concept as well, because if supermarket "brands" look better or are bought locally in season and look great, they're cheap as well. I still come out ahead financially, because I use so little of the "expensive" things.

For now, my snacks are GoGoSqueez AppleApple or AppleCinnamon applesauce snacks and Fat-Free chocolate Snack Pack pudding. Because I'm a grown-up! :)

RECIPES AND MY BUDGET

During this past work week, I ate whole vegetables, "low-flavor" baked chicken, cereal and milk, and some snacks while at work. But for dinner, because I was working during the daytime for that week only, I sort of cooked. I baked a very healthy pizza. Today I'm making some low-carb stuffed red peppers. So I thought I should share. 

But I give you fair warning: the points values I give are based on what's in the WWPP book. I'm still losing weight on ballpark figures, and I'm just starting out, so I know I'm not accurately counting some of it. Substitute healthier options when you can, like wheat pizza crust instead of regular. Also, leftovers are your friend!

YUMMY CHICKEN and BACON PIZZA

(Not low carb, really, but it is very easy to make. It yields 8 slices at only 5 WW Points per slice!)

3-4 oz Leftover baked or grilled chicken, plain, crumbled or diced

1/2 cup prepared pizza sauce

1 pkg pizza crust mix

2 tablespoons Real Bacon bits, or three slices bacon, crumbled

1 fresh banana pepper, large, cut into rings(or a serving of the jarred stuff)

3 spring or green onions, washed, trimmed and diced on the bias (or a half of a yellow onion, diced)

8 oz mozzarella cheese slices (or shredded)

2 tbs olive oil

Italian Herb Seasoning

Preheat oven to crust mix package directions for regular pizza. Prepare crust according to package directions, usually by frantically stirring in 1/2 cup hot water and using your hands to ball the dough up and press in all the remaining powder, like picking up bits of Play-Doh. Roll it into a ball, smear a tbs of olive oil over all the surface with your hands, and cover. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

While you're dirty, smear the remaining olive oil all over the surface of your pizza pan. Twiddle your thumbs for the remaining 5 minutes, or cut up your veggies if you haven't already. Now take your dough ball, splat it in the middle of your pie pan, and pinch and knead it out to the edges of your pizza pan. The oil on the outside of the dough makes this easier. Try to keep the thickness uniform. 

Now add toppings. Pour half the sauce in the center and smear over surface with a spoon. Leave at least a quarter inch of dough so you can see when you've burnt it! :) Add three slices of mozzarella on top of this, sorta like a pinwheel. Anal-retentively place the chicken all over the surface of the sauce, then drizzle remaining sauce. Then add the banana peppers, then the onions. Sprinkle bacon evenly over the thing. Tear up the mozzarella into squares and arrange on top of this. Finish with a sprinkling of Italian seasoning, and perhaps a smattering of Parmesan. 

Bake until exposed crust is crispy, almost burnt (seriously) and cheese is melted. Cut into eight slices. Pig out at 5 points per slice. It also tastes dreamy cold. 

ITALIAN-STYLE STUFFED RED PEPPERS

(If they're gonna sucker me into eating more vegetables by making them all zero points, then I deserve to enjoy it! Red peppers on sale, so looks like my vegetable o' the week now! These are all half-measurements because I made spaghetti and meat sauce with the other half of the meat and onions mixture. Each serving will be between 9 and 12 points, depending on prep and ingredients.)

1/2 lb chuck or mostly lean ground beef

1/4 roll of Italian sausage (the WW Points wild card. Didn't factor this into the points.)

1/2 yellow or sweet onion, diced

1/2 banana pepper (still have one more fresh one left for pizza number 2!)

1/2 can spaghetti sauce (get healthy stuff if you want, but I didn't discriminate!)

2 medium to large red peppers

Olive oil

Italian seasoning and garlic powder

Mozzarella cheese slices, 4

Parmesan cheese for sprinklies! 

Brown all meat. Drain if needed (mine was very lean). Add onion and banana pepper. Stir on low-medium heat until onions are translucent. Add seasoning, garlic, and sauce. Stir and simmer until ready to use. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice red peppers in two vertically, carefully cutting around the stem. Remove membrane and seeds, rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Line dark pan with aluminum foil, or oil glass dish, and place pepper halves side-by-side, skin side down. Pour a small amount of oil in each pepper "cup" and smear around inside. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes until soft. Remove from oven and fill according to below:

Place a half slice of mozzarella into bottom of each pepper cup. Divide meat mixture into four portions and fill pepper cups. Place remaining half-slice of mozzarella on top of meat mixture. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 

Style Note: If your red (or green or yellow or orange or purple) peppers are small and globe-shaped, you would use a whole pepper for each serving and just cut off the cap instead of slicing vertically. I just bought these large peppers on sale and they were not the "ideal" pepper shape. They wouldn't have set upright. Also, the mozzarella on top browned into a crust of sorts. If you don't like the crusty cheese on pizza, I would suggest that you wait until the last five minutes of cooking to add it.

Other Note: This is not my usual stuffed pepper, which consists of using a whole green pepper vertically and filling with my meatloaf mixture and way more tomato sauce, ketchup and crushed crackers. Nor did I use rice like I've read in other recipes, even though it's tasty too. I wanted a lower-carb, meaty version and this is what I came up with. It's deceptive. It looks really yummy and bad for me! :)

BUDGET: 

Both of these meals cost me 5 or 6 dollars each to make, and that's for all servings, not just per serving. In the case of the pizza, I even have leftover sauce, bacon, chicken, and banana pepper to go toward making it again! So I just bought a few more packs of the crust mix on sale for 40 cents a piece. For the stuffed peppers at the same price, I doubled the meat mixture for use as spaghetti sauce. I prepared some wheat pasta I already had and there's another couple of meals to eat for pennies more. 

CONTROLLING MY EATING AND MY BUDGET:

I just realized that I ate lunch at work all week for less than about 3 dollars a day, and that's for baked chicken, applesauce, celery, Ranch dressing, fat-free pudding cup, and cereal and milk. Pretty snazzy. And if I buy the non-produce stuff when it's grouped and on sale, I save even more. But that's math, and well, ya know...

On a full late-shift work schedule, I can also eat breakfast, a pre-work snack, a first break snack, lunch (the veggies and chicken), a 2nd break snack, and something small when I get home. That's the six meals I was going for to keep me from slipping into hypoglycemia. Hmmm. Worked out without me realizing it!