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Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Oh Yes - About the Weight Loss
Still have the last 15 pounds to go just to be as fat as I was before.
Sigh.
Sigh.
Relish! Review (Again)
I will first acknowledge that reviewing Relish! is not what this blog purports to be about. I will, however, defend what I'm doing by saying - hey, at least I'm writing about food which is relevant to losing (or the failure to lose) weight.
Last night was mini broccoli quiches with red pepper hash browns. First - we winged it for the recipes again (couldn't get online in the kitchen). Second - I will never buy frozen hash browns again.
The quiches were yummy - think baked omelet in big muffin tins. We used egg, milk, cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon and some fresh oregano. Baked at 375 for about 20/25 minutes. Yum. I had one, the Man had two. I had one for breakfast.
Frozen hash browns cooked in a skillet were lack luster. When I finally had a chance to look at the recipe on Relish! it called for putting sauteed red bell pepper on the top of the hash browns before serving. I don't think it would have made an appreciable difference.
So far - and I guess I'm repeating myself - both the Man and me are happy with the inspiration we are getting from the service. Still hoping to get wowed by the full package.
P.S. I'm having the ribs for lunch with rice and broccoli. Zero waste from that meal. Bonus!
Last night was mini broccoli quiches with red pepper hash browns. First - we winged it for the recipes again (couldn't get online in the kitchen). Second - I will never buy frozen hash browns again.
The quiches were yummy - think baked omelet in big muffin tins. We used egg, milk, cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon and some fresh oregano. Baked at 375 for about 20/25 minutes. Yum. I had one, the Man had two. I had one for breakfast.
Frozen hash browns cooked in a skillet were lack luster. When I finally had a chance to look at the recipe on Relish! it called for putting sauteed red bell pepper on the top of the hash browns before serving. I don't think it would have made an appreciable difference.
So far - and I guess I'm repeating myself - both the Man and me are happy with the inspiration we are getting from the service. Still hoping to get wowed by the full package.
P.S. I'm having the ribs for lunch with rice and broccoli. Zero waste from that meal. Bonus!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Yum
The Korean style ribs were a hit. Dead easy and yummy. In our house, they need a little more heat so maybe more peppers or some red pepper flakes next time.
I love having an acceptable meal from the crockpot. Generally, I am not a huge fan and the Man even less so.
Of course, these were not exactly from Relish! but the rib menu suggestion on the site inspired us to try something different than we usually eat. I did kind of make the broccoli recipe from Relish! but I was too timid with my use of vinegar so it turned out pretty bland.
Tonight mini-broccoli quiches. They are crustless. It is nice that they will use (in our version anyway) the same cheddar cheese, bacon, and broccoli as was used in meals earlier in the week. The side is some kind of hash brown casserole I think? or maybe it is just hash browns? Either way, I'll let you know how it comes out!
I love having an acceptable meal from the crockpot. Generally, I am not a huge fan and the Man even less so.
Of course, these were not exactly from Relish! but the rib menu suggestion on the site inspired us to try something different than we usually eat. I did kind of make the broccoli recipe from Relish! but I was too timid with my use of vinegar so it turned out pretty bland.
Tonight mini-broccoli quiches. They are crustless. It is nice that they will use (in our version anyway) the same cheddar cheese, bacon, and broccoli as was used in meals earlier in the week. The side is some kind of hash brown casserole I think? or maybe it is just hash browns? Either way, I'll let you know how it comes out!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Relish! Reviewed - Week One Night One
So even though I have kind of given up on losing weight for the moment, I thought I would take a minute to review Relish!
It has only been one night but so far it has been both a smashing success and a dismal failure.
We chose five meals from the fifteen presented. Two are beef, two are vegetarian, and one is seafood. It seemed that the chicken recipe(s) (honestly I can't remember if there was more than one) was too oriented to kids (some kind of chicken fingers with dipping sauce). We liked the sound of all the beef choices but that was too much beef for one week. Too many vegetarian options. I don't eat pork so those were out (although we substituted a beef recipe I wanted to try for one of the pork selections).
Pros -
- I loved having a discrete list for the store - no wandering around the store wondering what I could buy that wouldn't spoil if we didn't get to cook. It was quick to get through the store.
- I pulled the laptop right up to the kitchen to make dinner. Seems a print out would be warranted only if the recipe is worth going back to again.
- We have plans (as well as proteins and produce) for meals all week.
Cons -
- It did seem like I spent a ton of money at the store (even when I subtract the paper products and mustards - yes mustardS - we have some condiment issues at our house).
- The soup we made was awful.
Last night's dinner was Baked Potato Soup with Baguette and Dill Butter. I prepped everything as directed in the recipe. Cooked everything as directed in the recipe. Hubby doctored the heck out of the blandness that was the soup. Still a big YAWN. We decided that this was a case where we should have taken the concept of the menu item and figured out how to make it on our own so it would be more to our liking. The most inspired part of the meal was Hubby's decision to use the dill butter on the potato skins that otherwise would have gotten thrown away - definitely the best part of dinner!
I think the thing we will take most from Relish!, in addition to the organizational aspect, is the inspiration to try different things so dinner doesn't get too boring. We can see having some fun in the kitchen trying to make the best _______________ (fill in the blank - whatever the menu item on Relish! is) with or without the help of the recipe. We both enjoy cooking so hopefully this will inspire us to get out of our rut.
Tonight I am trying Korean-style Short Ribs (a substitution for the Relish! recipe which was some kind of Asian-style pork ribs in the crock) with Sesame Broccoli (part of the original Relish! menu for the day).
Obviously, using Relish! is a work in progress for us. Hopefully it will be a positive experience overall . . .
It has only been one night but so far it has been both a smashing success and a dismal failure.
We chose five meals from the fifteen presented. Two are beef, two are vegetarian, and one is seafood. It seemed that the chicken recipe(s) (honestly I can't remember if there was more than one) was too oriented to kids (some kind of chicken fingers with dipping sauce). We liked the sound of all the beef choices but that was too much beef for one week. Too many vegetarian options. I don't eat pork so those were out (although we substituted a beef recipe I wanted to try for one of the pork selections).
Pros -
- I loved having a discrete list for the store - no wandering around the store wondering what I could buy that wouldn't spoil if we didn't get to cook. It was quick to get through the store.
- I pulled the laptop right up to the kitchen to make dinner. Seems a print out would be warranted only if the recipe is worth going back to again.
- We have plans (as well as proteins and produce) for meals all week.
Cons -
- It did seem like I spent a ton of money at the store (even when I subtract the paper products and mustards - yes mustardS - we have some condiment issues at our house).
- The soup we made was awful.
Last night's dinner was Baked Potato Soup with Baguette and Dill Butter. I prepped everything as directed in the recipe. Cooked everything as directed in the recipe. Hubby doctored the heck out of the blandness that was the soup. Still a big YAWN. We decided that this was a case where we should have taken the concept of the menu item and figured out how to make it on our own so it would be more to our liking. The most inspired part of the meal was Hubby's decision to use the dill butter on the potato skins that otherwise would have gotten thrown away - definitely the best part of dinner!
I think the thing we will take most from Relish!, in addition to the organizational aspect, is the inspiration to try different things so dinner doesn't get too boring. We can see having some fun in the kitchen trying to make the best _______________ (fill in the blank - whatever the menu item on Relish! is) with or without the help of the recipe. We both enjoy cooking so hopefully this will inspire us to get out of our rut.
Tonight I am trying Korean-style Short Ribs (a substitution for the Relish! recipe which was some kind of Asian-style pork ribs in the crock) with Sesame Broccoli (part of the original Relish! menu for the day).
Obviously, using Relish! is a work in progress for us. Hopefully it will be a positive experience overall . . .
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Ssssssssslacker!
Oh, boy! Do I suck at this blog thing or what? I am guessing that my lack of enthusiasm for blogging is directly correlated to my lack of enthusiam for being on program!
Weight-wise, I am pretty much where I was when I started this whole thing. Fourteen point six pounds to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I haven't been to a meeting in about three weeks. I haven't journaled in probably four. And my heart hasn't been in it for probably six. Which is pretty sad since this whole shindig has only been on for about seven or eight weeks.
Anyway, I did go running last night after work. Week 1, Day 1 of the Couch-to-5K (C25K). I really thought about it and I *can* run at least once a week after work then do Friday mornings (since my commute is about five minutes on Friday instead of an hour) and Sundays. I only need 90-minutes total for the whole week. I CAN FIND THAT TIME! I just need to get over my old way of always running really early in the morning. That isn't possible right now so I have to adapt. See Erika adapt. Adapt, Erika, adapt.
So I think I'm going to try to focus on exercise for a bit and then go back to the food thing when I can wrap my head around that. Obviously I can't get into the groove on Weight Watchers right now but I can do SOMETHING.
Also, I signed up for a menu planner service called Relish! I haven't used it yet, but conceptually I really like it. The program provides you with fifteen dinner options each week; pick five and a grocery list is generated based on the menu and the number of servings you designate. I just registered for three months to try it out. If it is something we are able to integrate into our lives I'll sign up for the year.
Weight-wise, I am pretty much where I was when I started this whole thing. Fourteen point six pounds to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I haven't been to a meeting in about three weeks. I haven't journaled in probably four. And my heart hasn't been in it for probably six. Which is pretty sad since this whole shindig has only been on for about seven or eight weeks.
Anyway, I did go running last night after work. Week 1, Day 1 of the Couch-to-5K (C25K). I really thought about it and I *can* run at least once a week after work then do Friday mornings (since my commute is about five minutes on Friday instead of an hour) and Sundays. I only need 90-minutes total for the whole week. I CAN FIND THAT TIME! I just need to get over my old way of always running really early in the morning. That isn't possible right now so I have to adapt. See Erika adapt. Adapt, Erika, adapt.
So I think I'm going to try to focus on exercise for a bit and then go back to the food thing when I can wrap my head around that. Obviously I can't get into the groove on Weight Watchers right now but I can do SOMETHING.
Also, I signed up for a menu planner service called Relish! I haven't used it yet, but conceptually I really like it. The program provides you with fifteen dinner options each week; pick five and a grocery list is generated based on the menu and the number of servings you designate. I just registered for three months to try it out. If it is something we are able to integrate into our lives I'll sign up for the year.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Notes from the 9th
Here are some comments I started writing on Tuesday last week that I never got around to finishing. I deleted the menu part but the rest is still valid -
So, as I've already posted, I weighed on Tuesday. Results are not that inspiring for a first week - but I'll take it.
As for choices I've been making this week things I need to change or continue doing -
Change:
- ditch the mini bagel breakfast - it is just two wasted points. I will try to stick with the banana in the car and then really make an effort to make my oatmeal first thing while my computer is booting up when I get to the office
- eat less CHEESE! God how I love cheese!
Continue:
- stick to my guns - I am on a weight loss journey (insert snickers and guffaws here) and eating brie and crackers does not fit into this leg of the trip
- plan plan plan - I feel more confident in my ability to succeed when I know what it going to happen . . . or rather it is easier to stay in control when the situation changes because I need to only amend my original plan . . . I am trying to say, if I have a plan in place and something comes up that requires me to deviate from the plan it is easier to readjust the plan then to just be winging it and having too much freedom or leeway or not know when I need to be reigning it in (I doubt that makes any sense to anyone but me . . . )
I was really hungry this morning even after the mini bagel & banana . . . and the peach . . . so I ate some oatmeal which is always really filling and sticks with me. I was bummed that I was eating so much before weigh in but I was afraid of getting too hungry - that is when I get into trouble and eat everything in sight. I doubt that a cup of oatmeal (it was probably even less since half of it boiled over in the microwave. How does that happen? I made the same exact proportions cooked for the same amount of time last week and had no overflow and today half the bowl spilled? And oatmeal is VERY fun to clean out of the microwave!).
Lunch was leftovers - delicious chicken courtesy of my husband who cooks almost every night! Am I lucky or what? The big challenge with my husband and cooking is getting him to modify his style and tastes to healthier choices. If he chooses unhealthy then I am on my own. Unless there is cheese involved apparently.
Dinner was to be either leftovers or turkey sausage (see, I planned!).
Things I still need to work on, in addition to the above, even more are exercise (I only earned 2 Activity Points all week) and filling the void from the time I get home form work until the time we actually eat (usually around 9PM because I am doing stuff with the baby). We tried doing the family dinner and ate at the same time as the boy. With leftovers on the menu, it was pretty easy to do. I guess time will tell how it will work out when dinner needs to be prepared.
So, as I've already posted, I weighed on Tuesday. Results are not that inspiring for a first week - but I'll take it.
As for choices I've been making this week things I need to change or continue doing -
Change:
- ditch the mini bagel breakfast - it is just two wasted points. I will try to stick with the banana in the car and then really make an effort to make my oatmeal first thing while my computer is booting up when I get to the office
- eat less CHEESE! God how I love cheese!
Continue:
- stick to my guns - I am on a weight loss journey (insert snickers and guffaws here) and eating brie and crackers does not fit into this leg of the trip
- plan plan plan - I feel more confident in my ability to succeed when I know what it going to happen . . . or rather it is easier to stay in control when the situation changes because I need to only amend my original plan . . . I am trying to say, if I have a plan in place and something comes up that requires me to deviate from the plan it is easier to readjust the plan then to just be winging it and having too much freedom or leeway or not know when I need to be reigning it in (I doubt that makes any sense to anyone but me . . . )
I was really hungry this morning even after the mini bagel & banana . . . and the peach . . . so I ate some oatmeal which is always really filling and sticks with me. I was bummed that I was eating so much before weigh in but I was afraid of getting too hungry - that is when I get into trouble and eat everything in sight. I doubt that a cup of oatmeal (it was probably even less since half of it boiled over in the microwave. How does that happen? I made the same exact proportions cooked for the same amount of time last week and had no overflow and today half the bowl spilled? And oatmeal is VERY fun to clean out of the microwave!).
Lunch was leftovers - delicious chicken courtesy of my husband who cooks almost every night! Am I lucky or what? The big challenge with my husband and cooking is getting him to modify his style and tastes to healthier choices. If he chooses unhealthy then I am on my own. Unless there is cheese involved apparently.
Dinner was to be either leftovers or turkey sausage (see, I planned!).
Things I still need to work on, in addition to the above, even more are exercise (I only earned 2 Activity Points all week) and filling the void from the time I get home form work until the time we actually eat (usually around 9PM because I am doing stuff with the baby). We tried doing the family dinner and ate at the same time as the boy. With leftovers on the menu, it was pretty easy to do. I guess time will tell how it will work out when dinner needs to be prepared.
Oh, Dear.
I guess I am a little delinquent in my posting here.
I haven't tracked in a few days. I guess last Monday's menu was my last menu post. I did track Tuesday - Thursday but I didn't get a chance to type everything up for here (maybe I'll be able to get to it later). Friday, Saturday and Sunday are kind of a blur - I went to a wedding in North Jersey on Saturday night that involved alot of travelling and time away from making good choices. I don't think I did TOO badly but I guess tomorrow's weigh-in will be the arbiter of that!
Back on track today, I think. Right now my issue is that sometimes I can easily pop onto the electronic tracker on the WW web site and sometimes I can't. So when I can't, I try to write things down. Then I have part of a day on line and part on a paper somewhere and if it is on paper, I don't necessarily know the points or what points I have left . . . (insert more excuses here).
I'm going to try to figure out points for what I'm eating the day before where possible so if I do have to jot things down on paper I'll know the points in advance. Also, I'll try to set a designated time or two during the day when I will make some entries on the tracker to confirm my points intake and remainder.
For now, my points reset today so I am putting the weekend (which, like I said, I don't think was *that* bad) behind me and moving ahead to getting healthier and fitter.
Also, I dropped into a new "decade" so I have one less point a day than I did the first week!
I haven't tracked in a few days. I guess last Monday's menu was my last menu post. I did track Tuesday - Thursday but I didn't get a chance to type everything up for here (maybe I'll be able to get to it later). Friday, Saturday and Sunday are kind of a blur - I went to a wedding in North Jersey on Saturday night that involved alot of travelling and time away from making good choices. I don't think I did TOO badly but I guess tomorrow's weigh-in will be the arbiter of that!
Back on track today, I think. Right now my issue is that sometimes I can easily pop onto the electronic tracker on the WW web site and sometimes I can't. So when I can't, I try to write things down. Then I have part of a day on line and part on a paper somewhere and if it is on paper, I don't necessarily know the points or what points I have left . . . (insert more excuses here).
I'm going to try to figure out points for what I'm eating the day before where possible so if I do have to jot things down on paper I'll know the points in advance. Also, I'll try to set a designated time or two during the day when I will make some entries on the tracker to confirm my points intake and remainder.
For now, my points reset today so I am putting the weekend (which, like I said, I don't think was *that* bad) behind me and moving ahead to getting healthier and fitter.
Also, I dropped into a new "decade" so I have one less point a day than I did the first week!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Weigh in weighin' on my mind . . .
Down 3 pounds! Good - yes. Great - no.
I always have great expectations for the first week and I am pretty much always disappointed.
But hey - 3 pounds is 3 pounds.
I always have great expectations for the first week and I am pretty much always disappointed.
But hey - 3 pounds is 3 pounds.
Monday, Monday
La la LA LA LA LA LA la la la la la
Anywho . . .
After a not so stellar weekend performance I log on to WW to track my breakfast (which I'll get to in a minute) only to find that my points have reset. At first I was not so happy but now I think it is great. I don't have to carry around the shame and guilt of the weekend into the next week. New week, clean slate. I like it.
I decided today that instead of choking down a mini bagel in the car between the garage and the first light (only a mile from the house, mind you) I was only going to have a banana on the way to work which leaves me with the supremely complex task of making oatmeal once I get to the office. And usually I would say that making oatmeal is easy but it also requires getting down the stairs to the microwave before I am ready to eat my left arm so while the process of making oatmeal is not so complex the logistics are not always easy to execute. So I ate my lunch for breakfast. And that worked out well because I ended up going out to eat with the "new" guy (um, okay - what new guy? how embarrassing when a new associate gets paraded into the office and you didn't even know there was going to be a new associate?). I made a good choice at lunch and it is better that I had already eaten my lunch for breakfast because a day old sandwich is always so sad and soggy.
Dinner was planned but the snack my husband brought home was not. Good cheese. Like probably illegal triple creme brie and really good bleu cheese with crackers and grapes. I did not jam the whole wedge of brie into my maw like I wanted to and I definitely ate less than I wanted to but I ate more than I wanted to too.
Menu 9/8/08: 37.5/30
Breakfast: 9
1 banana
roast beef sandwich on 1 slice Pepperidge Farm German Dark Wheat
Lunch: 9.5
Small cobb salad with balsamic vinegar
Dinner: 8
grilled chicken thigh with skin & bone
salad with olive oil
2 Lorna Doone cookies
Snack: 11 (WHOA!!!)
CF Diet Coke
1 peach
1 apple
carrots, celery & cucumber
1 oz brie
1 oz bleu cheese
crackers
1/2 cup grapes
Water: 8+/8
F&V: 8/8
Milk: 3/3
Oil: 2/2
Vitamin: 0/1 (I really need to start taking vitamins again! no reason not to!)
Activity: 0
27.5 WPA Remain
Anywho . . .
After a not so stellar weekend performance I log on to WW to track my breakfast (which I'll get to in a minute) only to find that my points have reset. At first I was not so happy but now I think it is great. I don't have to carry around the shame and guilt of the weekend into the next week. New week, clean slate. I like it.
I decided today that instead of choking down a mini bagel in the car between the garage and the first light (only a mile from the house, mind you) I was only going to have a banana on the way to work which leaves me with the supremely complex task of making oatmeal once I get to the office. And usually I would say that making oatmeal is easy but it also requires getting down the stairs to the microwave before I am ready to eat my left arm so while the process of making oatmeal is not so complex the logistics are not always easy to execute. So I ate my lunch for breakfast. And that worked out well because I ended up going out to eat with the "new" guy (um, okay - what new guy? how embarrassing when a new associate gets paraded into the office and you didn't even know there was going to be a new associate?). I made a good choice at lunch and it is better that I had already eaten my lunch for breakfast because a day old sandwich is always so sad and soggy.
Dinner was planned but the snack my husband brought home was not. Good cheese. Like probably illegal triple creme brie and really good bleu cheese with crackers and grapes. I did not jam the whole wedge of brie into my maw like I wanted to and I definitely ate less than I wanted to but I ate more than I wanted to too.
Menu 9/8/08: 37.5/30
Breakfast: 9
1 banana
roast beef sandwich on 1 slice Pepperidge Farm German Dark Wheat
Lunch: 9.5
Small cobb salad with balsamic vinegar
Dinner: 8
grilled chicken thigh with skin & bone
salad with olive oil
2 Lorna Doone cookies
Snack: 11 (WHOA!!!)
CF Diet Coke
1 peach
1 apple
carrots, celery & cucumber
1 oz brie
1 oz bleu cheese
crackers
1/2 cup grapes
Water: 8+/8
F&V: 8/8
Milk: 3/3
Oil: 2/2
Vitamin: 0/1 (I really need to start taking vitamins again! no reason not to!)
Activity: 0
27.5 WPA Remain
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