Saturday, June 30, 2012

Day 6 Week 3

This is my favourite long weekend of the year - Canada Day!!!!


So don't expect menus and calorie counting this weekend as I can't even think about it on a holiday weekend.  Tonight's dinner was BBQ turkey, a mixed vegetable salad, potato salad and bread and butter.  I did have a beer at my sister, Connie's pool in the afternoon and water with dinner.  It was so good!  My sister, Cheryl made a lovely fruit salad.  I was too full for dessert but it will be breakfast tomorrow!

Julie

Friday, June 29, 2012

Day 5 Week 3

Multiple Margaritas
I'm not even going to try to tell you what I had to eat and drink today.  It was a wonderful girls' day out to Bobcaygeon today.  I'll tell you all about it later on my other blog.  When we were driving home (with a cherry pie in the backseat), I was wondering how I would explain going off the rails so badly today.  From the backseat, Lin suggested I tell you that I thought it was better to consume than be consumed.  It was very funny and sent us into more gales of laughter.  You'll understand tomorrow when I blog about our first stop at Lucia's studio...

Julie

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Day 4 Week 3 - Jalapeno Cheddar Chicken

Today was a sad and stressful day on the employment front.  I met the girls for lunch and everyone was shell-shocked.  It's hard to care what you are eating in those circumstances.  I did have a hamburger and half a serving of fries.  Breakfast was Cheerios and for dinner I had jalapeno cheddar chicken and green beans.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.


Start by mixing your filling.  For 2 chicken breasts, I creamed 2 Tbsp of cream cheese and 2 Tbsp of grated cheddar cheese, 1 slice of crisp crumbled bacon and 1 tsp of finely diced jalapeno pepper.



Flatten 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts with a meat mallet.  Spread the mixture on the breast and then roll up and use skewers to seal filling inside.  Lightly roll in Italian bread crumbs and bake for 30 to 35 minutes on a rack in the oven.


This is the first time I have tried this recipe and it was tasty.  I did make a few changes to it but I would do more next time.  It needs some more vegetable in the filling.  I would decrease the amount of cheese, omit the bacon and I would add fresh spinach or diced cherry tomatoes and maybe some fresh herbs.  Stay tuned for any new variations.

On the positive front, I weighed myself this morning and I have lost 20 lbs since Jan 1.  I am hoping to just maintain that this weekend.

Tomorrow I am going to Bobcaygeon with friends to do some shopping.  I will try to remember my camera for my other blog but it will mean another lunch out.  Also this weekend is CANADA DAY and in my family, that means celebrating with food.


Tomorrow I am planning Cheerios for breakfast, ??? for lunch and for dinner, cheese souffle and salad.


Julie

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Disaster Day

Life is conspiring against me today.  Breakfast and lunch went according to plan but dinner has been thrown into chaos and I had ice cream instead of dinner.  Dinner tomorrow will be jalapeno chicken.  Breakfast - Cheerios and Lunch - ?  I am going out with the girls.  We (they) are learning the fate of our employment tomorrow...

J

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Day 2 Week 3

Back on track today...

Breakfast was Cheerios..

Lunch was scrambled eggs with fresh dill, chives and parsley from the garden and a little sprinkle of old cheddar cheese...


and Dinner was salmon with lemon and brown rice stir fried with mushrooms, carrots, peas, onions, garlic and a touch of honey, sesame oil and soy sauce.


Feeling good and planning tomorrow's meals...

Breakfast - Toast and Jam
Lunch - Salmon Salad Sandwich (leftover from tonight)
Dinner - Jalapeno Chicken with roasted potato and green beans.

Goodnight and sleep tight,

Julie

Monday, June 25, 2012

Lost Day

Today was a bit of a lost day - a hungry day, a bingey day...pb & j sandwich for breakfast, lunch at Anne's was lots of tasty snacky things but not low cal and dinner was a homemade hamburger with fresh strawberries for dessert.


I will do better tomorrow...Breakfast will be cereal, Lunch is a herb omelette and Dinner is salmon, rice and veg.  Wish me luck...

Julie

Update


CHILL.
Lets be realistic here.  You don't drop two jean sizes in one day. You won't lose fifty pounds in one month.  You're going to binge every now and then.  You will go a day or two without working out.  Your weight is going to fluctuate here and there.  You're going to try new techniques, and they're not going to work.  You're human.  You're going to fail.  But nothing great is ever accomplished without a few obstacles.
GIRL, YOU GOT THIS.
from Pinterest

Well, I lost another pound last week.  I guess I'm a turtle and slow and steady will win my race.

Julie

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Day 7 Week 2


Have you ever seen a poaching pod?  This is how I poach eggs so they come out uniform and perfect every time.  You boil about an inch of water in the bottom of a pot, use a drop of oil to grease the pod, break an egg into it, gently lower into the water, turn down to simmer, put a lid on it and wait 4 minutes.  In the meantime, make your toast and voila!


For lunch, I made a salad with the first radishes from the garden and some salmon salad...


Mom made dinner tonight...roast chicken breast (and yes, I removed the skin) and potatoes and carrots roasted in the pan with them.  It was a nice break from cooking.


Breakfast will be toast with jam and peanut butter, Lunch will be snacks at Anne's and Dinner will be a BBQ hamburger and veggies tomorrow.

Take Care,

Julie

This Week's Plan



I went back through the previous two weeks to pick up menu items that weren't used so I won't waste the meat that was purchased and stored in the freezer.  So I will only need to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, eggs and salad fixin's for this week.

Today I had a poached egg on toast for breakfast, a salad for lunch and I am roasting a couple of chicken breasts surrounded by potatoes, carrots and onions.

Breakfasts remain the same.
Lunches - on Monday, I am going to my friend, Anne's house and on Thursday, I am attending a retirement potluck party so I will have to let you know what I eat.
Salad Plate
Hamburger
Wonton Soup
Herb Omelette
Fruit and Cheese plate

Dinners
1.  Jalapeno Chicken with roasted potatoes and veg
2.  Roast Chicken breast surrounded by vegetables
3.  Warm Steak Salad
4.  Grilled Salmon with rice and stir-fried veg
5.  Hamburger with raw veggie sticks
6.  Chipotle Chicken with Rice
7.  Cheese Souffle with salad

Hopefully I can stay on track,  Wish me luck...
Julie


Saturday, June 23, 2012

Day 6 Week 2 - Cody Inn


This is what I had for lunch - looks good, doesn't it?  I had a small bowl of Cheerios for breakfast as I wasn't very hungry.  Then Mom, and my sisters, Cheryl and Connie and I went to the Cody Inn for the birthday lunch.  I had rice and stir-fried vegetables with beef and spicy ginger beef.  It was delicious and I ate it all.

Unfortunately my system just doesn't like all this fried food anymore.  I have been feeling quite ill and couldn't possibly eat any dinner.

I also have not been able to sit down and plan a menu for next week feeling like this.  For those of you who are trying to follow my menu, I'm planning on a poached egg on dry toast for breakfast, a salad for lunch and for dinner, I am going to roast a couple of chicken breasts in the oven with some vegetables around them.

Tomorrow I'll have a menu and shopping list for you.  Take care,

Julie

Friday, June 22, 2012

Day 5 Week 2 - Back on Track

Hi all - I am back to taking pictures of what I eat as it helps with the accountability.  Breakfast (banana muffin, cheddar cheese and grapes) and lunch (ham and cheese sandwich) were fine but I should have worked more fruit and vegetables into the day.  It's Friday night and we like to have a really easy dinner on Friday's so we had a BBQ sausage on a bun (with lots of sauerkraut and onion - yum).  The sausage was made by the butcher shop so is lower in fat and flavoured with fresh herbs.


Tomorrow is my sister, Cheryl's birthday (I won't tell you which one ;) and we are going to the Cody Inn for lunch.  It specializes in Chinese food (North American Chinese food) which will make sensible food choices difficult.  All part of the learning curve though...

Julie

Fell Off the Wagon...

OK - time to fess up.  Yesterday was not a good day.  It started out well - Cheerios for breakfast.  Then it just became rush, rush, rush...  I had an emotional doctor's appointment at lunchtime and didn't eat before I went.  Then I succumbed to the food court at the mall.  No, I don't want to talk about it.  Suffice to say that I ate junk food, felt guilty and then felt sick (will wonders never cease - I guess my stomach prefers fruit and vegetables).

I came home and didn't feel hungry and couldn't deal with cooking (we were still in a heat wave).  I ended up having an egg salad sandwich for dinner.  At least, I didn't gain weight from this momentary slip.  Got back on my horse today ;)

Julie

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Day 3 Week 2 continued

Well dinner was a bit of a disaster but not a total one.  I was on my own and in the middle of a heatwave.  I didn't want to cook or expend any energy putting dinner together.   What I really wanted to do was go to KFC and buy a bucket, ha! It took about a half an hour to talk myself out of that one.  I needed a carb infusion so I decided pasta would work.  I cooked some whole wheat rotini with cheddar cheese.  I didn't eat it all because I don't actually like whole wheat pasta but Finnie was happy to have some.  So it was just one step backward...

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I'll miss lunch with the girls.  Breakfast is Cheerios, Lunch is a Herb Omelette and Dinner is Jalapeno Chicken, Roast Potato and Salad.

Julie

Week 2 Day 3 or "We're having a heatwave..."

So so hot today.  I was out first thing...


I just couldn't make menu decisions today...when it gets this hot, I can't make ANY decisions.
Breakfast was 2 pieces of toast - peanut butter and jam.
Lunch was fruit and cheese...and a couple new British magazines to relax with.


And dinner...really I have no clue.  I'll have to see what I feel like...

Julie

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Day Two Week Two

See my new vintage glasses from Vinnie's

We are experiencing a heat wave here in southern Ontario and it was just too hot to eat much or take pictures.  Cheerios for breakfast and a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch.  I did stop while I was out running errands this morning and bought some of the first local strawberries so I feasted on them this afternoon.

Dinner was Ginger Orange Beef and you can find the recipe on my blog.  I used one steak for two of us and increased the amount of veg.  So I needed a little more sauce and I accomplished that by adding about 1/4 cup of water.  It was really good.

No problem eating healthy food today.  Maybe my stomach is shrinking?  I haven't bought any new pants or shorts since I lost weight.  Some of  my clothes are feeling loose so I bought a pair of capris at Walmart today.  I bought a size smaller than I'm wearing and hoped it would fit.  Well I tried them on when I got home and they are too big.  What?!?  Now I don't know if they are playing with the sizes to make customers feel better but I'm going with it.  I'll exchange these for a size smaller and smile.

Julie

Day 2 Week 2 menu

Hi - I just realized that I didn't give you today's menu.  Cheerios - ham and cheese sandwich - orange ginger beef and fruit, fruit, fruit...

Monday, June 18, 2012

Day One Week Two or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Hi all - it was my turn to host Monday afternoon of Rummy-Cube.  The menu was pretty simple - pork rice paper rolls, veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, Pop chips and grapes.  We drank red wine sangria and I also had some diet ginger ale.

I served Boursin cheese with Mary's crackers.  Oh, I said I'd show you the box...


I was good and only had one cracker with cheese today...

I did however have a couple  of small glasses of sangria.  People seem the like my recipe although it isn't traditional.  I've never really found a recipe I like so I made up my own..

1 bottle of red or white wine
1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar
tray of ice cubes
assorted fruit slices

Stir the sugar into the wine, add a tray of ice and spoon some fruit into the wine.  Today I used blueberries, blackberries, slices of white nectarine and half a sliced lime.  I find grapes, any berries and citrus slices are nice too.


We also had veggies and fresh herb dip.  For the dip, I mixed 2 large spoons of light sour cream and 1 1/2 large spoons of light mayo together and added 4 or 5 Tbsp of finely chopped herbs from the garden.  I used a lot of dill (my favourite), parsley, chives and thyme but it varies depending on what's fresh.


We started today with the Pork Rice Paper Rolls.  You can make vegetarian ones or use any meat you like.  I usually make them with cooked shrimp...

Take a pound of pork and brown it. Add salt and pepper and a few flakes of hot chili pepper.  Once it is mostly browned, add about half a cup of diced onion and about a "finger" of diced ginger.  Continue cooking until the onion softens and then add about a cup of shredded cabbage.


Once it is cooked, add 1 Tbsp fish sauce, 1 Tbsp of soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of sherry and 1/4 tsp of sesame oil and stir and simmer until the liquid is absorbed by the meat.  After you take it off the heat, squeeze half a lime into the meat mixture.  When you are assembling the rolls, you can warm up the meat mixture so it is just warm again.  Therefore, you can prepare to this stage and refrigerate.

Next you need to decide which vegetables you would like to julienne for the rolls.  I sliced red peppers, carrots, cucumber and green onion.  In the past, I have used Savoy cabbage, bean sprouts, celery but use any veg you like.

To assemble the rolls...

Put rice paper in a bowl of warm water until it softens...


Then lay it on a clean tea towel, spoon meat onto bottom third of paper and top with vegetables of your choice.  Lift the bottom over the filling, tuck the sides on top and roll up as tightly as you can without tearing the roll.



Cut the roll in half and serve with the dipping sauce of your choice.  I used basic plum sauce today but there are lots of possibilities.



Enjoy,

Julie

Oh BTW I was too full for dinner so I just had another spring roll and a little fruit for dinner. ;)

Weigh In

Well, I lost one pound last week.  It seemed a little anti-climatic after all the planning and work I put into it.  Somehow it seemed such a small result for so much effort but I do really feel better physically.

Then I went to the freezer and took out a pound of butter (yes it is frozen!) and when you look at it in that context, it really is something so I'm happy.  Cheerios for breakfast and now I'm going to pick up some groceries before the girls come.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Day Seven Week One

Today was not a food-centric day.  I wasn't very hungry and didn't really care about cooking or eating today...


Breakfast was Cheerios and a little while later I had a banana.  It was after 2 pm when I realized I hadn't had any lunch so I had some cheese and crackers.  These crackers are excellent - Mary's from Costco.  I'll take a picture of the box tomorrow.  They are really tasty and actually good for you.  Dinner was a piece of pork schnitzel fried in a little olive oil and served with tomato sauce over spaghetti, topped with fresh mozzarella cheese.  I'm happy to report that I ate slowly and just until I was full so almost 2/3 of this bowl was left over.

Tomorrow starts week two so weigh in will happen before breakfast.  I have to say whether I've lost anything or not, I'm feeling healthier, stronger and more energetic this past week.  For all those reasons,    it is worth any deprivation I have felt twhile I am learning new habits.

For breakfast, I am having Cheerios.  The girls are coming tomorrow afternoon for Rummi-Cube and lunch.  I am serving veggies with  herb dip, Boursin cheese with Mary's crackers, pork and vegetable rice-paper spring rolls and fruit for dessert.  We will follow up with sausage on a bun for dinner.

Julie

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Weekend Woes

I woke up late today with an awful sinus headache.  It was too late for breakfast and then eat lunch so plans change but that is life.


I started with a peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwich.  I then moved on to...


Around that 3 pm drop in blood sugar, I had an All-Bran bar and that worked.  Tonight I have decided to have the salmon and a salad.

I have worked on a menu for this coming week...

Breakfast - the same as last week

Lunch
1. Wonton Soup
2.  Ham and Cheese Sandwich
3.  Salad Plate
4.  Fruit and Cheese Plate
5.  Herb Omelette
6.  Hamburger
7.  Vegetables and dip, Pork rice paper rolls, Boursin cheese and crackers, fruit

(#6 is for lunch out on Thursday, #7 is for lunch on Monday when the girls are over)

Dinner
1.  Chicken Jalapeno with roasted potatoes and green veg
2.  sausage on a bun with sauerkraut
3.  Spicy Orange Ginger Beef with rice *
4.  Vegetable soup
5.  Chipotle Chicken and rice
6.  Beef Stir-Fry with noodles *
7.  Chicken Piccata with assorted vegetables

Shopping List

2 chicken breast
2 chicken thighs
2 steaks
1 sausage
ground pork
deli ham
(ground beef and buns etc for hamburger if not a lunch out)
potato
onion
carrot
green beans
Savoy cabbage
broccoli
mushrooms
cherry tomatoes
lettuce
(any veg you like)
oranges
(any fruit you like)
low fat cheese you like
Boursin cheese
crackers
eggs
rice paper wrappers
ginger
can of ground tomato
green olives
beef broth
frozen peas
Chinese noodles

So far I`m feeling good.  I`m being flexible and adjusting as needed without going off the rails.   Check my blog for the starred recipes.  I`m planning on featuring the herb omelette, pork rice paper rolls, chicken jalapeno, vegetable soup and chicken piccata this week.  My favourite grocery has Pop chips on sale this week so I thought I`d try them for those carb cravings.

Wish me luck!  I`ve taken sinus meds and am going to get my head done for half an hour.

Julie

Friday, June 15, 2012

Day Five Week One - Diet Interruptus

Hi all - wanted to let you know that dinner plans have changed again today.  My sister, Connie called this morning and invited us for dinner.  We gratefully said yes.  I have been working on carpet and upholstery cleaning this week.  Definitely not something I want to do for a living.  It is hard physical work and I'm exhausted but it's done.

I had breakfast in the CLEAN sunroom and drank my coffee while gazing out the window at my garden. (Ignore that the grass/weeds need cut - I did).


I followed the plan for breakfast and lunch.



So check back and I'll take pictures at dinner and post tonight.  Looks like salmon tomorrow...

Hi - me again.  I forgot to take my camera but my sweet niece, Allyson took a picture of my plate with her I-phone...


Here's dinner - BBQ Buffalo chicken wings, coleslaw, pasta salad, green salad and baked beans. I didn't eat the bread and butter or the homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie.  Everyone was raving about the pie, made with fresh local fruit but luckily I hate rhubarb.  I did have a sip of Eric's beer and a few low-fat crackers.

Tomorrow's menu is poached egg on toast, butternut squash soup and jalapeno popper chicken with salad.  We'll see how this goes...

Julie

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Day 4 and counting

Today was a struggle.  My body is starting to crave things, starchy, crunchy, savoury things.  Hello carbs.  So, there was a small slip this afternoon.  We went to Mark's Work Warehouse for the sale at 5 pm (and yes I was feeling deprived and starving) and didn't they put out a spread of donuts and cookies and cinnamon buns.  How strong do they think I am!!!  I think there were a few old dears there just for the coffee and snacks.  Anyhoo, succumbed to a chocolate chip cookie.  It was sooo good.


If you look at my pictures, you can see why the cookie got me.  I had Cheerios and a nectarine for breakfast and when I went out to lunch with the girls, I had sliced-white-meat-chicken-on-toasted-rye-with-no-butter-and-a-smidge-of-mayo-with-a-diet-Pepsi.  Oh did I feel deprived by that.  I am a social eater so I need to be more generous with Thursday lunch.  If I'm not, the cookie monster will get me again.

So as a result, the dinner menu changed, fish just wouldn't cut it tonight.  We drove to Lakefield to the butcher shop and got a couple of melt-in-your-mouth sirloin strips that I BBQ'd.  Instead of stuffed mushrooms, I cut the calories by pan frying some onion in a little olive oil.  The potatoes were BBQ'd in a little olive oil and sliced tomato replaced green beans.  The green beans looked sad at the grocery store this week.  There's no local ones yet.  Maybe I'll get to the market this Saturday and see if we have any local veg and fruit.

I also had another nectarine for dessert...

Tomorrow's menu is peanut butter toast and banana for breakfast, a hot dog for lunch and we'll try for the salmon again tomorrow.  Maybe it will be a fish day ;).

Julie

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Busy Day...


Just a short note today.  It's been a very busy day of cleaning carpet and I am exhausted but still stuck to the menu (big pat on the back here).  Toast with homemade jam (crushed my bread in the car, oh well) and a large salad with a boiled egg, cheese and lots of vegetables and dinner was chicken souvlaki, grilled peppers and onions and Greek salad.  I also had a bowl of  cherries this afternoon.

Tomorrow I'm starting with Cheerios and having lunch with my friends so maybe a chicken sandwich and salmon for dinner.   Ta ta for now,

Julie

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Raspberry Jam




I made up a batch of raspberry jam today.  I had a small package of raspberries that I had frozen a little while ago and was able to get a couple of packages of frozen berries really cheap with a generous coupon.  I'm not much of a jam eater but my mother really likes it.  The rest of the family does too and my nephew, Ian dropped by today to help me with some heavy lifting so I repaid him with jam.


It's so simple to make homemade jam that it'll take longer to blog about it.  The most critical thing is sterilizing your bottles and you can refer to my post on chili sauce for detailed directions.

I put my berries in a large pot (3 3/4 cups of raspberries) and crush them with a potato masher.  Add 6 1/2 cups of sugar and 1/4 cup of lemon juice.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute, stirring so it doesn't stick.  Take off the heat, add the Certo  and continue stirring for 5 minutes.  You have to  stir or your fruit will float to the top of your bottles and you'll have jelly in the bottom.

Then fill your sterilized bottles to 1/4 inch below the rim, gently place tops on and screw rings on tightly.  Set aside to cool.  If you have a part bottle, refrigerate and use it first.


Normally when I have warm jam, I enjoy a nice tea biscuit.  I'm trying to eat a little healthier so I had a muffin, no butter and a little jam.  It was really good.  Give it a try, you'll be surprised how easy it is and Certo gives you great directions.



Bye for now,

Julie

Day Two Week One or Life's a Bowl of Cherries

Things are going well.  I had steel cut oatmeal with maple syrup for breakfast, tomato and cheese sandwich for lunch (as you can see I substituted from yesterday's plan but the tomato was ripe today), and General Tso chicken with brown rice for dinner.  My snacks were a bowl of cherries ;) and a banana muffin with raspberry jam.  That was a bit of a splurge but I made homemade raspberry jam today (will blog that later) and you have to do the taste test!


Tomorrow's breakfast is toast with jam (of course), lunch is a salad and dinner is chicken souvlaki.

Cheers,

Julie

Monday, June 11, 2012

Day One Week One

Well, I survived day one.  My lovely friend, Cindy made fruit and veggie trays for lunch and while I resisted the dip, I was unable to resist the yummy peach-raspberry-vodka slushie.  Mmmmmm.

I was pleasantly surprised when I weighed myself this morning to find I had lost another 5 lbs in the last 6 weeks.  So I am starting 15 lbs lighter than January 1.  In addition to the meals shown below, I have had 3 oz of cheddar cheese and will probably have a Granny Smith apple tonight.  It was too hot today to have the oven on so there was no cornbread for dinner.  Luckily the chili was already made and in the freezer.


Tomorrow I am planning Oatmeal for Breakfast, a Hot Dog for Lunch and General Tso Chicken for Dinner.
Cheers,

Julie

Sunday, June 10, 2012

The Sunday Before

Just a quick note to let you know that Breakfast tomorrow is Cheerios, Lunch is veggies and fruit and Dinner is Chili and Cornbread.

Often on Mondays, I meet some friends for a few games of RummyCube.  It is like Rummoli but played with tiles that have numbers and colours on them.  You make runs or sets like in poker.  It is lots of fun and we usually have snacks, chips, dips, cheese, crackers, etc.

My extremely supportive and lovely friends have changed the menu for me - veggies and dip and a fruit plate.  I was so touched by their support.  Cindy is hosting and Sandy suggested we meet at the zoo first for a walk.  Healthy lunch and a little exercise.  What more could I ask for?  I will try to remember my camera for you.

As to the healthy eating plan, I'm planning on posting a picture from each meal in the evening.  If it's a new recipe, I will do a full post.  I will also tell you what meals I've planned to eat the next day.  Fingers crossed...

Julie

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Healthy Eating Week One

Hi all - it is Saturday night and the start of my healthy eating plan.  Today I have made up a menu of  seven breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners which I have listed below.  I am making up a shopping list and heading to the grocery store tomorrow.  Instead of setting up menus Monday (don't all diets start on Monday!?) to Sunday, I decided it would be more flexible to decide on seven menus for each meal of the day.

I'm going to weigh myself on Monday mornings (and no, I'm not sharing) but I will give you lbs lost.

I'm allowing myself snacks of fruit, vegetables, yogurt, cheese, nuts or pickles (olives or dill - not sugary ones).  I will be drinking water, coffee, or tea this week and allowing myself one alcoholic drink. out

I'm attaching a shopping list as well as a list of what I consider staples.  You can print this post if you want a ready made list.  The shopping list when it indicates quantity is based on one serving so increase accordingly for your family.  I would advise you to make the chili, spaghetti sauce, butternut squash soup and cornbread on Sunday and freeze in serving sizes.  These are the only meals that you have to make a larger quantity than one serving but they all freeze well and it's always nice to have an easy meal in the freezer.  Everything else you will be able to prepare quickly to make life easier.

Seven Breakfasts

1.  Wholegrain Cheerios with 1% milk and a serving of fruit
2.  Wholegrain Cheerios with 1% milk and a serving of fruit
3.  Steel-cut Oatmeal with 1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup or Brown Sugar and a serving of fruit
4.  Steel-cut Oatmeal with 1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup or Brown Sugar and a serving of fruit
5.  Toast and Jam (no butter)
6.  Toast with Peanut Butter and a sliced Banana
7.  Poached Egg on dry toast

Seven Lunches

1.  Salad of Lettuce and mixed vegetables with 1 oz cheese and 1 boiled egg with calorie reduced dressing
2.  BBQ all-beef hot dog on a bun with relish, mustard, onions
3.  Butternut Squash soup *
4.  Sliced chicken sandwich with no butter, a little reduced mayo, some veggie (lettuce, tomato or cucumber)
5.  Veggie tray with homemade herb dip
6.  Toasted Tomato sandwich with cheese, a little mayo, no butter
7.  Pork Wonton soup with green onions and cabbage

Seven Dinners

1.  Grilled Salmon with lemon, New Orleans red rice * and stir-fried vegetables
2.  General Tso Chicken with brown rice *
3.  BBQ Steak with stuffed mushrooms *, garlic roasted potato and green beans
4.  Chicken Souvlaki * with brown rice, Greek salad * and grilled peppers and onions
5.  Chili with Cheddar Corn Bread * - use low fat sour cream and 1 Tbsp of grated cheese
6.  Pork Schnitzel, with homemade spaghetti sauce *, wholewheat pasta and mozzarella cheese
7.  Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken, with Salad *

Recipes already listed on the blog are marked with an asterisk.
Most other menu items do not require recipes except for Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken which I will blog the night I prepare it.

The homemade herb dip will be made with a little sour cream and mayo and chopped fresh herbs from the garden (I'm going to use dill, parsley, thyme and tarragon with a sprinkle of cumin).  The pork  wontons are going to be ready-made ones from the Chinese market but I will make homemade ones for you some day.

For stuffed mushrooms, use olive oil instead of butter, replace the cream with milk and omit wine (use a little water if required) in the stuffed mushroom recipe and omit the Parmesan cheese from the stuffing but put a little on top.  Use Pork souvlaki recipe and prepare a chicken breast per person instead.  I buy the pork schnitzel already prepared from my butcher shop but you could pound out a piece of pork tenderloin out and dredge in some egg and bread crumbs.  The salad for #7 will be the same one from the grilled salmon recipe on my blog.  You can use any fruit or nuts in the salad and for the salad dressing, if you don't have mango vinegar, you can substitute 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar and 1 Tbsp of honey.

I hope you'll join me.  I need all the help I can get.  If you have any questions, please add a comment and I will respond.  Good Luck,
Julie



Friday, June 8, 2012

Healthy Eating


You may have noticed that I haven't been blogging about food and recipes very much lately.  While it is true that I have been busy with house and garden, the real reason is that I need to lose weight.  I have very high cholesterol and cannot tolerate the side effects of statin drugs.  I started out well in January and did lose 10 lbs by March.  Since then, not an ounce.  I have always equated "diet" or healthy food with boring food.  My perspectives need to change.  I hate "dieting".  I hate feeling deprived or controlled by the rules of a diet so I am going to try a new experiment - healthy eating with interesting and very tasty recipes.  Now I'm not making you any promises but maybe by going public here, I'll be able to stick to it.

Here's the plan.  I'm going to use my blog as a food diary (I'm going to try to promise a week at a time - like an alcoholic's day at a time...).  On Saturdays, I'm going to plan my menu for the week and post it.   I'm going to try to post a grocery list (minus staples - hopefully my staples are the same as yours?!).  I will post recipes as required and I will update weight loss once a week.  The emphasis will be on healthy eating rather than weight loss but hopefully they go hand in hand.  If you are going to follow this, you may want to start a day or week later as the recipes will be posted after the meal is made and eaten...wish me luck.

Julie