A New Week

Although my weigh-ins are on Mondays, and the beginning of a week is really Sunday, MY week actually really begins on Friday, because that's when I get paid, so each Friday is when I go for my weekly grocery and produce haul. For Produce we tend to go to a local place called Produce Junction because the prices there are less than half what you'd find in a regular grocery store, even on the discount table. And the food is great, we never have any real quality issues, plus they sell in bulk, which is great when about 70% of your diet is fresh fruits and veggies. The rest of our shopping is split almost entirely between the Giant near my job, and the ShopRite near where we live. We decided to stick with Skippy Natural for our PB, despite it having Palm Oil in it. It's one of the concessions I'm making being that none of us are rich and the eating plan is barely sustainable on my part-time minimum wage salary as it is. But anyway, I digress.

Every week I'm making a point of getting at least one new fruit or vegetable that we haven't tried. Last week was the green Sierra Figs, and the week before was Turnips. This week I got fresh Beets. I've had them out of a can a million times, they're one of my favorite salad toppings along with chickpeas, but I've never eaten them fresh. I'm sorry I didn't try it sooner! Hands down one of the best veggies I have ever tasted in my life. It's finds like this that assure me I can never get bored with this way of eating. There are so many different things to try, and so many different ways to flavor and prepare everything! I also found fresh off the vine Sugar Baby Melons, I can't wait to try the one we picked out. Next week I'm hoping to try a Canary Melon, as well as revisit an old favorite, Spaghetti Squash.

The grocery store find for the week was dried Lentils. I've had them in prepared foods and out at restaurants, but I've never prepared them myself. I'm planning to use them in a soup on Tuesday involving Lentils, Beans, Potatoes, Turnips, Carrots, Cabbage, and Ground Turkey. The other find was Herbal Tea with Honeybush, Orange, and Mandarin. I'm trying to try new teas every week as well to liven up my drink selections.

What I'm avoiding, even in the least processed and most natural forms, is things like pasta and bread. While I'm not going gluten free like my companion is, I still avoid these foods for a very simple reason. They just aren't they nutritious. I'd much rather have a potato of some sort, or other starchy vegetable, or a fruit, as opposed to what amounts to mostly empty-calorie filler-food. I was pretty hungry for most of a week eating the way I am, and found myself needing to nibble at something every 2 hours, 3 at most. But now that I'm more used to it I'm fine with going longer stretches. I don't need the bread to make my tuna or chicken salad filling, just the salad and some fruits and veggies are fine. So, I avoid it. It's a personal choice and not entirely necessary, but I know that personally it is helping me cut down calories drastically. Keep in mind though I am not cutting them out entirely. I've had pancakes for breakfast twice now, and tomorrow I plan to have Hot Cereal for breakfast with some berries and cottage cheese. But I don't eat my eggs on wraps anymore, I don't eat sandwiches, I don't have toast with breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner with a nice chunk of Italian Bread on the side, and a cupcake for dessert. I don't even eat some form of bread or pasta everyday. Just a couple times of week. The key is really moderation. I'm just trying to keep at least 70% of my diet fresh fruits and veggies, and at least another 20% protein, roughly. And not always on a daily basis, but at least overall.

Coming Up: My Ground Turkey Veggie Soup and my Turkey-Veggie-Quinoa Balls, as well as coping with Monday's impending Bus Trip to Atlantic City!

Healthy Dessert Figs (Recipe)

This is by far my favorite way to eat Figs. It's somewhat similar to my Peaches and Cream Recipe, being it involves fruit and dairy and is simple and quick. Seriously, you HAVE to try this!

• 1 Fig (Sierra's are my favorite, they are the larger bright green ones, but Black Missions are good too. I haven't tried any other varieties yet)
• 2 Tbsp of Farmer's Cheese (Friendship is the only brand I've ever seen this in. It has a consistency like Ricotta Cheese with a nice mild flavor and is low in calories and fat. Just don't get it Salt-Free!)
• Honey or Maple Sugar

Cut your fig in half. Put about 1Tbsp of Farmer's Cheese on each half, and either drizzle with honey or sprinkle with some Maple Sugar. Enjoy! This is seriously one of my all-time favorite desserts. It is AWESOME!

Navratan Korma (Recipe)

Here is a delicious Indian dish that you absolutely have to try. The name means 'Nine Gems' and it refers to the nine vegetables that are typically used in this dish, but feel free to mix and match and add as many as you want. Here is the recipe we used that came out spectacular:

5 Carrots, coined
1/2 Turnip, diced
1/2 Onion, Diced
1 Can Mixed Veggies
1 Can Cut Green Beans
1/2 Head Cauliflower, small chunks
1 Can Chickpeas
1/4 Medium Sized Eggplant, peeled and diced
Couple Cloves Fresh Garlic, Diced
1 Can Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 1/2 Cups Milk
3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1 Beef Bouillon Cubes
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Curry Powder
Garam Masala Powder
1 tsp Sugar (Brown or Maple is best)
Couple Pats of Butter
 Splash of Light Cream

(Possibly if it needs to thicken)
Corn Starch
Milk


You want to pre-cook, at least partially, the Carrots, Turnip, Onion, Cauliflower, Eggplant, and Garlic. I did this by steaming it in the microwave for about 12 minutes, but you could also boil or saute it, or even roast it.

Next you want to mix your Can of Coconut milk, 1 1/2 Cups Milk, Beef and Chicken Bouillon Cubes, butter pats (I used about 4), spices, sugar and splash of cream in a  pot big enough to hold all the veggies you'll be using. If you sauteed the fresh veggies you could start with a pot big enough and just add the other ingredients to it. I like heavy spices so I never include spice amounts in recipes. Just start light and keep going until you get the flavor strength you want. Once the milk and spice mixture heats up a bit add the Can of Mixed Veggies, Can of Green Beans and Can of Chickpeas followed by your precooked fresh veggies if you didn't saute them. Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring just enough to keep from sticking. We found ours needed to thicken, so we added about three teaspoons of Corn Starch mixed with just over an ounce of milk. Add this after mixture is boiling, stir in well and see how it goes. To make the thickener, mix the Corn Starch into a little milk, about 1/3 to 1/2 an ounce of milk, until it fully dissolves, than pour into your Korma and stir.

And now you should be ready to enjoy delicious Navratan Korma!

Reporting Success!

Hey everyone, sorry this update was so long in coming, please do forgive me :) I return reporting success. My weigh-in on Monday had me down just over 7lbs, to exactly 216 now! A pound per day isn't bad considering I've had essentially no increase in my exercise whatsoever so far. Still going strong with cravings in check, although I did break down and eat a Apple Turnover at a family dinner on Monday. That being my only breakdown in over two weeks isn't TOO terrible though, and this whole way of eating is definitely a work in progress. I'd love to eventually go totally organic and chemical free, but I think I'll need to at the very least quadruple my income before that happens.

In other news, the Maple arrived on Monday! We chose to go with Mount Mansfield Maple, and we placed our order just after midnight on Friday. I couldn't believe it when my package arrived late Monday afternoon. We started with a 11.3ox jar of Maple Sugar, a 6 oz jar of Maple Cream, and a half lb of the small Maple Candies. This stuff is totally to die for! As far as quality it is all excellent, and it's been so useful! I'm finding that a half teaspoon of the Maple Sugar has been more than enough for anything I've used it for as an individual serving, which comes in at only 1.5 carbs. Usually, just a pinch does it for me, honestly. It's amazing how much and how quickly my taste buds seem to have rewired themselves. I'm not craving sweet foods at all. Even the fruit seems too sweet for me now and I can only take a couple bites before I'm satisfied.

Another thing I find amazing is how little caffeine gives me a giant boost after being on this diet for two weeks. I was accustomed to drinking an energy drink before every shift at work before, and if I didn't I felt totally sluggish. My legs, ankles and feet hurt after just a couple hours on them, so I usually took ibuprofen before most shifts at work, especially if I had to work a full 8 hours. I noticed an improvement in my pains within a week, and today I had just a cup of Harney and Sons Holiday Tea before work, no other caffeine, and I couldn't believe the boost it gave me! I felt better than I ever did drinking any of the energy drinks.

So, to sum up the journey so far, I am having significantly less pain and feel significantly better overall, I seem to be losing an average of a pound a day as of now, my cravings are so far non-existant. So far so good!

Of Turnip Bakes and Shopping Lists

So, exercise didn't go as planned thanks to Mother Nature causing some local flooding and insane Thunderstorms. Hopefully next week will go better for that. I"ve also decided that when we can't get out of the house to exercise we can walk laps around the house for set periods of time, starting with 20 minute intervals. Also, I have Kinect, so there is that too. Better luck and dedication in the future, hopefully.

Eating is still going strong. My veggie supplies are starting to dwindle, but thankfully tomorrow is Friday and time for a Produce Junction and Grocery Store run. I am craving Red Peppers like crazy, and I ran out of the last of my Green, Yellow, and Orange ones last night. Cauliflower and Carrots in the mean time. My favorite breakfast right now is eggs scrambled with spinach, tomatoes, and diced onions, with just a little cheese sprinkled over the top. I've lost my taste for our wraps, because unfortunately we didn't read the label to see how processed they were when we got them in our early excitement of dieting, but that's alright it makes them healthier anyway if I cut out the excessive carbohydrates. I have nothing against gluten and flour (unless it is bleached and processed) but I do prefer to get my carbs from potatoes, corn, beans, and other veggies. I also find I'm able to tell if food is processed just from tsting it, or at least some foods. The wraps as mentioned, also our cottage cheese that I didn't think to look at, but has artificial flavoring and other chemicals in. So, yay for that improvement I guess :)

We made the Turnip Bake last night. It was, okay. I think I'll stick to recommendations that suggest  mixing turnips with other vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots in the future. By themselves they do have a rather off-putting bitter taste, especially when I don't want to add a lot of sugar to them to counteract that. But, it wasn't terrible. I can't say I dislike turnips, but they certainly aren't my favorite vegetable. Next time I'll be putting them in a mash with potato, celery, carrot, onion, and cauliflower. Maybe that recipe will be good enough to post up here :)

This coming week I plan to make Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf Cups, which is basically miniature Turkey Meatloafs with chunks of veggies inside them, maybe some Vegetable Chili, and I am really excited for the Curried Vegetables Simmered in Coconut Milk I have planned :)

Here is what my Grocery List for tomorrow looks like:

Produce Junction:
Kale
Carrots
Tomatoes
Butternut Squash
Cauliflower
Red Peppers
Onions
Coconut
Avocado
Strawberries
Blueberries
Cilantro
Basil
Garlic

Grocery Store:
Bananas
Mixed Nuts
Canned Green Beans (I still can't stomach these fresh or frozen)
Canned Beets
Canned Beans
Canned Sliced Olives
Ground Turkey/Chicken
H2O

And of course I will be ordering my Maple supplies as soon as my check is posted to my account tonight :)

Healthy Peaches and Cream (Recipe)

This is a great easy and quick little dessert recipe that is about as healthy as possible. I actually just tried it tonight and it was wonderful.

Fresh Peaches, cut in half and pit removed
1/4 Cup Greek Yogurt (blend with sour cream if you want, I did, and use Non Fat yogurt if weight is a concern)
1/4 tsp Maple Syrup (100% REAL Maple Syrup, or Honey, as is your preference)
Cinnamon (Cloves, nutmeg, ginger, etc. are all great additions too)

Just mix the Yogurt, syrup, and spices together, than fill the hollowed center of the peach with the mixture and enjoy! Simple, quick, delicious, and healthy :)

Healthier Veggie Dip (Recipe)

I LOVE raw veggies dipped in Ranch, dressing or dip. However, after taking a look at what is in your average bottle of Ranch, it went straight into the garbage, and I whipped up my own little thing instead. Now this is totally customizable to your own tastes and what seasonings you prefer, but here are the main seasonings I used. Is it Ranch? No. Does it taste good and serve its purpose? Absolutely. Is it healthier? By far. As an added benefit, using Greek Yogurt instead of Light or Fat Free Sour Cream gives you more protein, so it actually helps keep you fuller longer :)And if you can cut out the Sour Cream altogether, go for it, especially if you are concerned about weight loss. I personally like the extra creaminess and tang it gives. Also, I tend to over-season compared to the tastes of others, so while I am listing what seasonings I used I'm not saying how much. Everyone's tastes are different anyway :)

3/4 Cup Fat-Free Greek Yogurt
1/4 Cup Sour Cream

Dill
Basil
Parsley
Thyme
Rosemary
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Minced Dried Onions
Yellow Curry Powder
Paprika
Pepper
Salt
Lemon Pepper
4-6 Drops Malt Vinegar (This adds some tang and thins the dip a bit to make it go farther)

I've been loving this stuff on Baby Carrots, Yellow, Green and Orange Bell Peppers, and Cauliflower so far :)