Jan. 22: How long before it's official?

Tomorrow it will be one week since I stopped eating meat.  I've noticed a few differences during this week.

1.)  It seems easier to say "no thanks" to food if I choose to now.  I feel like I have willpower again.

2.)  I don't feel guilty when I say "yes" to food.  I went to a party yesterday and had cake and enjoyed every bite without guilt because the rest of my day was moderate in calories.

3.) It's way easier to keep my calories lower when I don't eat meat.

4.) It makes it way tougher to find a drive-thru to hit.  The only thing I can think of that I could eat in the car would be a bean burrito from Taco Bell, which, when compared to an Angus Bacon Burger with Cheddar and fries, seems like a pretty reasonable choice.  In fact, I ate at home all week except for work functions.

I wonder how long before I can officially call myself a vegetarian?  Two weeks?  A month?  It seems sort of premature to do it right now.  I can tell you though, I have no craving whatsoever for meat, which, while it really surprises me, makes life much easier.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day - wish me luck!

Jan. 18: Another Day in Paradise...

And yet another day on the veggie wagon - woohoo! 

I really hope this helps the weight loss battle.  I am feeling better digestively today, thank goodness!  My gosh - that was pretty rough.

Today's Eats:

~ WW English muffin, natural pb ~

~ FF yogurt, protein powder, blueberries, granola ~

~ baked veggie rotini w/ spinach and mushrooms, tomato sauce ~

~ quiche w/ spinach, cheddar and mushrooms ~

No soda pop and no excess sugar today!  I'm especially pleased with that because two people brought in donuts and one brought in cookies.  All I had was one donut hole and felt perfectly content with that.  BIG CHANGE!  Being broke and having no money for junk food helps, but I realized by eating vegetarian, it rules out a lot of things - trips through McDonald's drive thru for example.  Unless I feel like french fries are a reasonable lunch, there just aren't too many "eat-in-the-car" options.

I'm staying off the scale for a week - not easy since I tend to be a daily weigher-inner!

Happy Tuesday - one day closer to the weekend~

Jan. 17: Day 2 in Veggieworld

A successful day 2 today!!! Even with the company buying dinner I stuck to a plan - hooray!

I've had so much trouble getting on the wagon of any kind of food plan that I'm thrilled to get through day 2.  I know, 2 days isn't long to stick with something but for the way things have been going for me lately, it is a cause worthy of celebration!

Today's Eats:

~ whole wheat English muffin w/ natural pb, skim milk
~ fat free yogurt w/ protein powder, blueberries, granola
~ egg salad sandwich on whole wheat, baked potato chips
~ eggplant Parmesan (no pasta), half a roll

When I look at this, I see that I need to up the actual fruits and veggies.  My original lunch was a veggie pasta dish but when I learned dinner was Italian food, I wasn't dying for it twice in one day.

My tummy is rebelling a little bit, however.  I spent a bit more time, ahem, (tmi alert) in the bathroom than usual today.  I hope this part goes away soon - or perhaps it is my key to weight loss success!

Jan. 16: New Plan...Again

Yet again, I have a new plan of action.

First of all, I'm sorry that I'm sucking so much at blogging.  While I realize that blogging has been a key to success for me up until now, I've had a lot on my plate lately and it's been hard to put my personal stuff aside and concentrate on  this.

Years ago (15 to be exact) I had been a vegetarian for 5 years.  I was at my all-time healthiest and most fit with very little effort whatsoever.  I'm sure that maintaining at age 41 vs. maintaining at age 25 will not be quite as carefree, but I'm ready to try anything.

For many reasons, I've been toying with becoming a vegetarian again.

~ The Environment ~

~  Health ~

~ Animal Welfare ~

~ Weight Loss ~

~ Economic Reasons ~

Not necessarily in that order.

So this week's meal plan is a little different and I have photographic evidence of it.  Because my 10 year old daughter is an athlete and not a vegetarian, I did some prep for her including meat.  We'll see how things go - we as a family will have several vegetarian days a week, but I'm not going to insist she follow my lead.

Oh, by the way, before we get into the week's meal plan, I didn't lose this week but I didn't gain either.  Considering Thursday's (or should I call it Cookieday's?) fiasco, I'm content with that.

Our nicely prepped eats for the week:

I bought a package of tart shells at the grocery store today to make life easier - I'm going to work on making my own for next time.  With the shells, I made wee little spinach quiches for me and beef pot pies from leftover beef stew for the little one.

I made a big batch of baked rigatoni (vegetarian) which we enjoyed today with garlic bread.  (recipe below)

For quick sandwiches I made devilled egg salad (recipe for this as well). I haven't made it yet, but I'm going to finish off this evening by making a broccoli cauliflower salad.  I have some chicken breast made for my daughter and she can eat the other stuff as side dishes.  I have to limit the eggs for my daughter, as she is mildly allergic.

Baked Rigatoni



2 cups of cooked whole wheat pasta

1/2 a container of low fat cottage cheese

1 package of chopped spinach (thawed)

Finely chopped mushroom, onion and garlic to taste

1 can of pasta sauce

Shredded cheese of choice

1 egg (optional)

Olive oil

Parmesan or Romano cheese

In a large baking dish, coat the sides lightly with olive oil for an easier clean up.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375*F

On the stove top, saute all the veggies until lightly browned and fragrant.

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and egg, if using.

After all is prepared, mix everything but the Parmesan in the baking dish.  Bake at 375* for 45 minutes.  Top with the grated Parmesan or Romano and return to the oven, heat turned off, for 10 more minutes.  Serve while hot and delicious.

Devilled Egg Salad

6 eggs, hard boiled

1 tsp honey

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp light mayo

seasoning salt to taste

Chop the hard boiled eggs and add the other ingredients.  Stir lightly with a fork to mix.  Spread on bakery fresh buns or bread and top with lettuce and tomato.

Jan. 9: Drumroll....

Finally, the scale is moving downward.

I can't believe how quickly I gained back 22 pounds.  Apparently, the physics law of weight goes like this:

Weight goes on twice as fast as it comes off.

So finally, at long last, I've actually lost two pounds.

How, you ask?

Simply by not eating anything that did not come from my own kitchen.  I didn't eat any takeout all week, which nearly killed me.  Also, I'm eating fruit for an afternoon snack.  So far, so good!  Another change I made?  I only had a half of a Diet Coke all week - otherwise I've been sticking to water.

This weekend was tough - I had a wedding shower to go to.  Social stuff makes me very anxious, so a stuffed in a few handfuls of cinnamon hearts to bolster my courage. I have to confess, I ate with some reckless abandon when I got there, too.  I ate cake and dammit, it was delicious.

Back in the saddle now for supper tonight, though - something simple from my kitchen!

Meal planning for this week is off to a rough start, however.  I had to work all day Saturday, I finished making my gift for the bride (a recipe and meal planning book, done scrapbook style) Saturday night and Sunday morning, and then went to the shower all afternoon.  I'm way to much of a homebody to consider this a weekend, gotta tell you.  My house is less than tidy since I had no spare time and I got absolutely NO cooking done.  I feel pretty stressed about this.  I did 3 rounds of Flylady cleaning when I got home, and that helped a little. I'm going to do one more round during commercials in DD10's disaster room.

Monday

Crock Pot roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans

Tuesday

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Wednesday

Mexican Pizza

Thursday

Salad with Roasted Chicken

Friday

Enchiladas (I have the day off!)

So the week hinges on getting that roast in the crock pot in the morning!  Everything else on the menu is from items I already have in the cupboards or freezer. Wish me luck, my friends!

Jan. 2: I've been thinking....

I didn't post New Year's Resolutions yesterday.

I have more changes than a blog post could hold that I am hoping for this year.  I've been trying to cull it down to a few simple items so I don't overwhelm myself.

So here they are, in no particular order.

1.)  I plan to reduce my "stuff" by 50% this year.

2.)  I plan to lose 20 pounds by my birthday, April 5.

3.) I plan to get control of my finances, once and for all.

Really, all of these boil down to the same thing: self control.  I need to stop buying things just because they are on sale and stop saving things in case I need them.  I need to limit dessert and other treats to an occasional indulgence and stop using them as Zanax.  I need to stop the hemorrhage of money from my bank account so I can live without the overwhelming, sickening stress of wondering how rent will be paid and how food will be purchased.

When I am feeling stressed, which has been a lot lately, all sense of control flies out the window.  Then I become fat, broke and messy.  This is obviously pretty counter-productive.  Spending money on junk food because I'm broke? No logic there.  This is my pep talk to myself, and possibly to some of you who struggle with the same issues.

We are still relying heavily on turkey this week.  The kids are off from school and we will be eating three meals a day from home all week.  This meal plan will encompass two of those meals.

Sunday:

Turkey Sandwiches, baked chips

Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and garlic green beans, whole wheat rolls

Monday:

Personal Pizza, Salad

Turkey Fried Rice, steamed veggies

Tuesday:

Mexican Pizza

Broccoli Cheese Soup, Garlic Bread

Wednesday:

Cheese and Crackers, veggies

Garlic Roast Beef, Potatoes, and Carrots

Thursday:

Turkey Noodle Soup

Leftover Buffet

Friday:

Leftovers

Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

After this, the rest of the turkey is just going to have to stay frozen for a while.  It could be a mighty battle to get the kids to eat the turkey-filled menu from above!  The good news this week? My grocery bill was only $40!

Jan. 1: Meal Planning 101

The key to eating properly is preparation. I find that most of us fall off the wagon when we aren't prepared. Hunger is a powerful motivator to grab something at Taco Bell's drive-thru. I find that if I make a bunch of basics all at once then there is always something to grab quicker than you can say "Happy Meal"!


This is a revamp of a post I wrote almost exactly a year ago - Jan. 2, 2010.  Clearly, this plan has worked for over a year for us!
Once a week I do a big food prep and usually there is a little more cooking once or twice a week. I like to have certain basics on hand so that I can put a meal on the table (or in the cooler) in a snap.

I always have the following items prepared because I can change up the flavors and have many different types of meals according to how the day is going:

soup stock 

baked brown rice (recipe below)

cooked chicken breasts

veggie steamer bags (instructions below)

ground meat (usually turkey or chicken, sometimes beef) (recipe below)

some type of salad

I always have these staples on hand:

canned beans

salsa

whole wheat pita bread

frozen corn

cilantro

yogurt

whole wheat pasta

canned spaghetti sauce

tomato juice and tomato paste

baby spinach

eggs

raisins
nuts

natural peanut butter

crackers

frozen fruits and vegetables

a nice organic granola


This is the stuff that works best for my family and our particular tastes.  You have to balance this out with your own family's favorites.  For example, f you detest yogurt, clearly that isn't a good option.

Steamer Bags of Veggies:

My kitchen would not be complete without steamer bags full of veggies. As soon as I get home from the grocery store, all veggies that are to be cooked over the week get washed and prepped for cooking (cut up, peeled, etc.) Then the veggies are placed in steamer bags with a sprinkling of Mrs. Dash or other seasonings. I always have several in the fridge to choose from. Right now in my fridge I have bags of : cabbage, broccoli, broccoli and cauliflower, cauliflower and carrots, asparagus, and green beans and carrots. They get nuked for 4-6 minutes and then are all set. (Note: in the winter when produce is very pricey and not so fresh, I substitute frozen veggies for fresh - you can still use the steamer bag method, or you can just nuke them in a covered dish.)

If I am in a hurry ( which is most of the time) I steam the veggies before adding them to the stir fry skillet - it really speeds things along!

Mexican Ground Meat

1 pound of ground meat ( lean beef, chicken breast or turkey breast)

1/4 cup diced onion

2 cloves of minced garlic

chili powder to taste

1/2 can of tomato paste (or a squirt of ketchup)

Saute veggies in a bit of olive oil. Add meat and cook until browned. Add chili powder and stir in tomato paste. Thin with water if necessary. Cook for a couple of minutes until blended. This mixture is good for a quick taco filling, spaghetti sauce, or chili. It is also good stirred into rice and topped with salsa for an all in one dish.

Baked Brown Rice

This recipe is a modified version of Alton Brown's Baked Brown Rice - you can check out Alton's version at this link.

1 1/2 cups of brown/wild rice mixture
2 1/2 cups of homemade stock (you can use an organic canned chicken broth - you don't want MSG!)

1 cup of baby spinach

1/2 cup carrots

2 cloves garlic

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375F. Bring stock to a boil on the stove. I use a pot that can go in the oven to make things easier. While boiling stock, put spinach, carrots and garlic into the food processor and pulse until it is coarsely ground. Add the veggie mixture and the rice to the pot and immediately put the lid on it to seal it tightly. Place this in the oven for exactly one hour and you will have a big pot of perfect fluffy rice.



I usually have my chicken breasts baking on the other rack in the oven at the same time.
With the rice you have a side that goes with any meal: Mexican, Chinese, Greek - it is very versatile. It's also delicious in a soup.

Here is a list of meals that can be quickly put together using the above foods:

 ~ chicken and broccoli stir fry over rice ~

~ rice and chicken skillet with salsa ~

~ pita sloppy joes with ground meat ~

~ spaghetti with meat sauce ~

~ Mexican meat and rice ~

~ chicken soft tacos ~

~ ground meat soft tacos ~

~ chili ~

~ chicken vegetable soup with rice or noodles ~

~ chicken cacciatore with pasta ~

~ pita pizza with chicken and veggies ~

~ chicken pita w/ tzatzki and veggies ~

~ Mexican pita pizza ~

~ garden salad with chicken ~

I hope this gives you a few ideas for meal planning and food prep. This system is working really well for us. It's family friendly and best of all, there is constantly good food ready and available.