Food Log 1/17 - 1/22, and Biggest Loser Challenge at Work

Thursday was the first weigh in for our biggest loser challenge at work, and it went very well! I lose 4 pounds, and came in 3rd place out of 16! Now, that 4 pound weight loss was partly due to the fact that in my initial weigh in, i wore my heavy pants, left my sweater on, and had just finished my oatmeal and morning coffee, but those are just details :) I am proud of myself and hope to keep doing well in the competition! I think I am going to see if some of my NJ friends want to do our own biggest loser challenge!
Below are all of my meals for this past week:

MONDAY 1-17-11

B - 1 C light n fit raspberry yogurt, 1/4 c granola, slice walnut bread

S - slice walnut bread

L - salad - 1 1/2 chicken sausage, peppers, onions, tomato, balsamic dressing

S - 30 mini pretzels

D - salad w/ground turkey, black beans, peppers, onions, salsa, 1 tsp ranch, 2 tsp balsamic dressing, slice whole wheat (WW) bread , slice provolone cheese

TUESDAY 1-18-11

B - 1 banana, french vanilla coffee

L - salad w/ground turkey, black beans, peppers, onions, salsa, 1 tsp ranch, 2 tsp balsamic dressing

S - 8 crackers, 2 slices ham, 3 slices brie cheese

D - grilled shrimp w/orange & avocado salad (recipe to come), 10 parsnip fries

WEDNESDAY 1-19-11

B - 1 banana

S - chocolate vitamuffin top

L - ham sandwich on ww bread (w/lettuce and dijon mustard), 1 pear

S - 1/2 yuengling, 1 chicken finger w/1 tsp honey mustard

D - grilled shrimp w/orange & avocado salad (6 shrimp)

THURSDAY 1-20-11

B - 1/2 C oatmeal, 1/2 banana

S - 1/2 banana

L - can of progresso italian wedding soup w/2 wedges laughing cow cheese and 1 slice WW bread

S - 1 pretzel rod

D - salad w/ground turkey, kidney beans, peppers, onions, salsa, 1 tsp ranch, 2 tsp balsamic dressing

FRIDAY 1-21-11

B - egg omlette (1 egg + 1 egg white) w/cilantro, tomato, sprinkle of feta cheese, slice WW toast w/1 tbsp apple butter, cup of coffee w/2 splendas and splash of fat free half & half

L - 5 grilled shrimp, peppers & onions over romaine with homemade guac, kidney beans, 2 tsp balsamic vinaigrette

S - 15 mini pretzels

D - shrimp stir fry (recipe to come) and 2/3 c jasmine rice

SATURDAY 1-22-11

B - 2 egg omlette w/cilantro, peppers, onions, tomato, sprinkle of feta cheese, slice WW toast w/1 tbsp apple butter, cup of coffee w/2 splendas and splash of fat free half & half

S - 15 mini pretzels

Have a great weekend!

Two new recipes

With my 2011 goals in full effect, i wanted to share the two recipes i cooked last week! The first meal I made was spaghetti squash, which I didn't make from a recipe, but it was a "new" thing I haven't made in forever! I baked the spaghetti squash, and made a sauce with a can of diced tomatoes and ground turkey for protein. I made sauteed mushrooms and onions on the side, which I ended up mixing right in when I had this as leftovers! I ate half the squash, and froze the other half for a quick meal later. (The picture stinks!)

For my next meal, I made  crockpot dish from the book Walter got me for Christmas. It is called Chicken Provencal, and in the mix is boneless skinless chicken thighs, red and yellow peppers, red onion, crushed tomatoes, orange peel, and spices. I know you are probably thinking dark meat chicken?! She is supposed to be in a diet! But i compared the nutrition lables, and the dark meat had about 40 more calories, and about 5 more grams of fat. When i took the chicken out of the package, i cut all of the excess fat off that i could, which ended up being a lot! To me, the extra fat and calories are worth it because chicken breast is usually too dry for me, and i don't enjoy eating it. The chicken in this meal ended up staying moist the whole week I ate it! Here it is all in the crock pot before cooking...

Here it is finished! With a salad on the side...

And here it is over a salad for lunch! I did this twice and loved it! I ended up having this for 3 dinners and 2 lunches. I loved it and would make it a million times! It took 3-4 hours on high, or i think 7-9 hours on low. If anyone is interested, i can post the recipe.

Some other notable meals I made this week were yogurt with granola and pears:

and a breakfast sandwich on a ciabatta roll with egg, provolone, tomato, basil, and balsamic vinegar.

I am about to make my first recipe for this week, which is grilled shrimp with avacado and orange salad. Wish me luck!

2011 Goals

I know we are almost done with the second week of the year, but I wanted to outline my goals for 2011 so I can hold myself accountable and keep track of them!

1.       Make at least 2 NEW recipes per week for a total of 50 per year (since I started a week late). This should include 1 crockpot meal per week.

2.       Run 1 mile without stopping

3.       Run a 5K

4.       Lose 50 pounds

5.       Complete the 200 situp challenge

6.       Track my calories

7.       Get organized!!! (finances, email, calendar, apartment)

8.       Go the gym 12 times per month (3x a week)

I will keep my progress on these goals updated throughout the year, so stay tuned!

Diet Day ONE!

So, I think day one of the diet went rather well. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast: Diet sprite and a weight control oatmeal packet.
Snack: Kashi Go Lean Bar
Lunch: Can of Chickarina soup, some crackers and hummus
Dinner: Salad and Sushi :)

Thats right, of course the day I start dieting is the day of Walter and my anniversary, so we went out to dinner. (4 years - can you BELIEVE it?!?!?!?)

The sushi was great, but I am stuffed! There are some things that I know I am going to have trouble with in my diet, so I am going to set a few goals for myself this week:

1. Drink 3 bottles (64 oz) of water a day. I have had a lot of trouble drinking water lately, and i need to drink enough to stay hydrated.
2. Give up soda! That diet Sprite today will be my last soda for awhile...
3. Go to the gym at least 3 times this week. Starting tomorrow :)

During my lunch break today, i went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of foods to make for lunch and dinner. I got ground turkey, lettuce, peppers, cilantro, lunchmeat, cheese, whole wheat wraps, hummus, and grilled chicken. I have some meals in mind, stay tuned to see what I end up making!