Friday, May 28 -- Week 21, Day 6

Today was a little cooler, thank goodness! The heating and air guy came today to try to figure out what's wrong with our air. He left here having fixed the heat, but not the air. ?:-\

We were able to stay home all day today too, which is always nice. Today was the last day of book school. We'll have a game day tomorrow, and an "educational field trip" next week to Nevada, but other than that, we are done!

BREAKFAST:

• 1 egg, fried in non-stick cooking spray
• 1 slice homemade wheat toast with spray butter
• 1 Breyers light vanilla bean yogurt

The egg and toast are old news. I have gone back to eating just the yolk though. I know, I know. The unhealthy part. I tried the white. Meh...

The yogurt.... I vaguely remember eating a yogurt about 2 years ago. It was a Yoplait white chocolate raspberry one. It was ok, but by the end of it, I was kind of gagging. So I wasn't really looking forward to this, but I figured as many strange new foods as I've endured over the last 4 1/2 weeks, that perhaps the yogurt will be more tolerably. But by golly, I actually liked it! I wonder if it was the difference in texture between Yoplait and Breyers.

LUNCH:

• tomato soup
• 3 oz. ham + 1 tsp. mayo in a wheat tortilla
• sugar-free chocolate pudding

I was eating this while the AC guy was here, so I was a little distracted. I have come to enjoy eating my meals more slowly, because they are smaller. The only way to make a smaller meal last is to eat little bites and put the rest on my plate in between bites. The soup was good. It was just normal canned Campbell's, but I sprinkled it with some pepper and Italian seasoning to make it have some flavor. Nothing else to say about the rest.

DINNER:

• about 3/4 cup SmartTaste Ronzoni spaghetti
• about 1/2 cup meat sauce made with ground turkey and fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 cup green beans
• salad
• 1 pear half with Splenda
• half an onion pita toasted in a skillet with garlic butter and some mozzarella

This was all very good. The bread was kind of an accident. I was thinking I was allowed a bread with dinner, but after I ate it, I realized I wasn't supposed to. But oh well. Calorie count came out just fine. I just sprayed a skillet, spread the pita with minced garlic + butter spread + salt + Italian seasoning. Then sprinkled it with mozzarella and covered it until the cheese melted. It would have been better broiled, I suspect, but we STILL have no oven, and now we're coming up on a long holiday weekend. Sigh...

I will still have a small glass of skim milk later this evening, but then I'm done. That's fine with me, because dinner was a pretty big plateful of food. After the milk, I'll end my day at about 1125 calories.

I really need to go for a run. Maybe I'll try to do that before it gets too dark. Now that my stomach is full. :-\

Thursday, May 27 -- Week 21, Day 5

Oh, today didn't go well at all. I forgot to take pictures, and I forgot to stop eating at the end of the day. We spent the day out for homeschool Track & Field Day. I had packed a nice, diet-friendly lunch, but we were in such a hurry in the morning that I just dumped a bunch of cereal into a Ziploc. :-\

BREAKFAST:

• too many Oatmeal Squares

Seriously, I think it was about 3 or 4 times what I was supposed to have.

LUNCH:

• 2 T. peanut butter + 2 tsp. jelly on 1 slice homemade wheat bread
• carrot sticks
• peach

This was a good meal. It was enough, but I didn't want it to be. A half a sandwich just doesn't feed a grown-up well. Maybe if I drink MORE water with my meals, I'll feel fuller. No doubt.

DINNER:

• middle-eastern burgers
• 1/2 a baked yam
• 1/2 cup steamed carrots
• salad

These burgers were absolutely amazing! It was supposed to be 8 oz ground beef + 4 oz ground lamb, but I didn't find ground lamb, so I used all beef. It was 90% lean though. So mix together a pound of burger, some minced garlic, some salt, parsley, and oregano. Lamb if you've got it. I also tossed in a handful of feta cheese because I had it. Trust me - the feta MADE the burger! Shape them into a patty that will fit nicely into a half a pita pocket, because that's where you're gonna put it when it's done. Don't make it round. It won't fit.

While they are grilling (yes, grilling - that only added to their fabulousness), sauté red pepper strips, a sliced onion, and a diced tomato in a bit of olive oil until the peppers are blackened a bit. I did the peppers first for about 8 or 10 minutes, then tossed in the other stuff for about another 5 minutes.

To eat them, put one in a half a pita shell, pile as many veggies as you can on top, then squirt it with mustard. Mmm. I wasn't sure about the veggies, BUT... they were fabulous. Really. The entire burger was good. And oh ... the treat of finding a bite with a big ol' chunk of feta. Mmm-mmm.

Confession time: I ate two of them. And a hot dog. (The hamburger was better, obviously) And I skipped the salad. And then I had a milkshake.

It wasn't a good diet day. Tomorrow is a new day. Ground turkey spaghetti for dinner. I just couldn't bring myself to make calamari spaghetti. Blech.

Wednesday, May 26 -- Week 21, Day 4

It was soooo hot today. I almost didn't even want to eat anything, but my stomach always wins. I ended today at about 1260 calories, and I had a quick 2 mile bike ride. Wish I could've gone further, but I messed around until twilight, so I had to make it quick.

BREAKFAST:

• 1/2 wheat bagel
• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
• splenda & cinnamon
• 1 cup apple carrot juice
• 1/4 cup skim milk

I was very surprised by this. I never would have thought to put ricotta on a bagel. Actually, it called for cottage cheese. I've never been a fan of the texture of cottage cheese, so I thought I'd give ricotta a try. And you know, with the Splenda, it was just a nicely sweet breakfast. It was definitely too much ricotta, as you can tell in the photo, so I'd cut that amount in half next time. But it was a nice, refreshing, new idea!

LUNCH:

• deli meat salad with 2 oz. deli ham, cucumber, green pepper, tomato, lettuce, and Sheetz fat-free Italian dressing
• carrot sticks
• 1 peach
  

I've come to really enjoy salads. I'm gradually adding new ingredients to them. Eventually I hope to be built up to real-live salads! This wooden bowl is actually huge. It's easily 7 or 8 inches across, not a normal sized cereal bowl.

I don't recall having ever eaten a fresh peach before. I absolutely did NOT like the feel of the fuzzy skin in my mouth, but that was easily solved. This peach was super-ripe, so it peeled off very easily. I liked it!

Apparently, someone else had my camera during lunch, because here is what I found when I uploaded my pics today. Remember that old drug-prevention commercial from the late 80's where the dad asks the son where he learned about this stuff, and the boy finally shrieks, "I learned it from watching YOU, alright?!?!" That's what this feels like. My kids think it's perfectly normal to take a picture of their lunch before they eat it...

DINNER:

• 1 grilled chicken thigh
• 1/2 cup sautéed zucchini and tomato
• salad with ranch
• 1/2 cup fruit salad

I have always preferred chicken breasts to thighs, but since starting this diet, I try to cut costs where I can, so I've been buying leg quarters. I didn't realize what I was missing out on when a thigh is properly cooked. This was absolutely delicious! I marinated it all day in an herb-garlic-wine marinade. Yum!

The zucchini dish was just thick-sliced zucchini that I cut into chunks and a tomato. I cooked them in some olive oil, garlic, and pepper. I did have to add a little water to get enough steam to cook the zucchini until they were crisp-tender. Very good, actually!

The fruit salad was made by Jacob. He made a huge bowl of it by himself for lunch today. It was very good! I did give him my maraschino cherry, because that seemed like an odd addition, but overall, he is a fruit master!

Snacks today consisted of an apple and 2 whole graham crackers. I was supposed to have another peach this evening, but Jacob proudly made a pitcher of Kool-Aid and presented me with a cup of it. Rather than say, "Sorry, can't drink it - it's not in my diet," I just smiled and thanked him and drank it. A cup of Kool-Aid has 90 calories in it. It was borderline sickeningly sweet, so I suspect he used more sugar than it calls for. But he was so proud to make me a drink, I couldn't bear to turn it down. So I skipped the peach.

Tomorrow, we'll be away all day, so I'll be packing lunches again. Fortunately, the plan tomorrow originally called for sandwiches, so that works nicely. I'll be taking a half a PBJ on homemade wheat (baking in the machine as I write this), a peach, and some carrot sticks. And lots of water. We'll be outside all day. Hopefully it won't be as hot as it was today. I think it hit 90° today. Ugh.

Tuesday, May 25 -- Week 21, Day 3

This was another busy day. We were gone from 11:30 until 3:45 getting replacement glasses. I had planned ahead and packed lunches for everyone. The last thing we need is another excuse to spend money and eat bad food at the Food Court! I'm so glad we did. The kids even enjoyed it, because it was like a picnic.

BREAKFAST:

• 1 1/2 oz. Oatmeal Squares
• 1/2 cup apple-carrot juice

1/2 cup skim milk

Nothing remarkable here. We've seen this meal quite a few times.

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LUNCH:

• Greek salad
• 3 pieces melba toast
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 Auntie Anne's pretzel sticks

I didn't get a picture, because I didn't bother taking the camera to the mall with me. I've posted several pictures of Greek salads before though. The pretzel sticks were a delicious treat.

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DINNER:

• 3 oz. roast beef
• 4 oz. baked potato with spray butter
• 1/2 cup wax beans
• lettuce with 1 T. asiago peppercorn dressing
• 1/4 cup homemade gravy

A beef meal is always a treat! This was no exception. And a baked potato!! Mmm. Would've been great with bacon, butter, and cheese, but I was content with spray butter, and I dipped it in my gravy. Very good!

I ended the day with a slice of cantaloupe (also a new food I've come to love!) and a glass of milk. Total for the day: around 1250.

I think I've found a good middle-ground here. I'm still having plenty of variety, LOTS of fruits and veggies, trying new foods. I'll continue to use the current menu in the WW book for inspiration and see how it goes.

Italian Green Beans

ITALIAN GREEN BEANS

The WW cookbook called for "Italian Green Beans," but didn't include a recipe. I totally made is up as I went, and I was very happy with the results!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh green beans, snapped in half
• 1 T. butter
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• chicken broth (maybe 1/2 cup?)
• 1 medium tomato, cut into chunks
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• salt & pepper, if desired

Heat butter and olive oil in medium skillet until butter is melted. Stir in garlic and Italian seasoning. Add green beans and stir to coat. Add chicken broth and stir. Cover pan and simmer about 10 minutes until beans are crisp tender. Add tomato and salt & pepper, if desired. Stir; cover pan and simmer about 5 more minutes until tomatoes are tender.

This would probably be pretty good topped with some freshly grated Parmesan too!

Chicken Sorrentino

CHICKEN SORRENTINO

Ingredients:

• boneless, skinless chicken thighs


• eggplant slices


• pizza sauce


• mozzarella cheese

I read this recipe in a book, but then did it on my own. I didn't measure anything, so the recipe is not at all exact.

The recipe called for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I used regular thighs. Skin them, debone them. Salt and pepper them. Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat it up. Cook the chicken until lightly browned on both sides. Meanwhile, in a separate skillet sprayed with cooking spray, lightly cook eggplant slices (lightly salted, if desired) until soft and lightly browned on both sides.

Put the eggplant on top of the chicken. Pour some pizza sauce over it and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Put the lid on and let simmer until the cheese melts.

Monday, May 24 -- Week 21, Day 2

Today went well. I had an unexpected bump at lunchtime, but it worked out in the end, and I came in at a good 1137 calories. My stomach isn't growling, and I feel satisfied with what I ate today.

BREAKFAST:

• 1/2 cup strawberries with Splenda
• 2 pieces dries fruit
• 1/2 whole wheat bagel
• 1 tsp. margarine
• 1 oz. colby cheese

This was a deli bagel. It was worth the splurge. I LOVE deli bagels. I stopped myself at a half a bagel, which was tough to do, but I figured I'd only regret it if I let myself eat the other half.

The dried fruit was silly. 2 pieces. What's the point?

But the strawberries were delicious! I can't believe I've been missing out on the deliciousness of fresh strawberries all these years!

Cheese is cheese.

LUNCH:

• We left the house in a hurry today, and I forgot to grab lunch before we left, so I swiped 2 pieces of personal pan pizza from the kids. They noticed.

DINNER:

• Chicken Sorrentino (click for recipe)
• 1/2 cup no yolk egg noodles
• 1/2 cup steamed carrots
• 1/2 cup Italian Green Beans (click for recipe)

The chicken sorrentino was completely new for me. Eggplant is utterly unextraordinary. I didn't even know it was there. I guess its only purpose was the added nutritional benefit. I still have quite a lot of it left, so I'll have to find something to do with it in the next day or so. Apparently eggplant doesn't last very long.

The green beans were also delicious!! I totally made them up, and I highly recommend them.

Snack today was a popsicle made from sugar-free orange jello mix, 1 cup boiling water, a banana, and a cup of plain yogurt. It was ok. A pretty strange texture though. Just like I would imagine gelatin-ed yogurt to feel like.

I ended the day with a 4 oz glass of red sangria. Mmm. Only 88 calories, and now I am relaxed. :-)