Oatmeal...the Saga Continues

Every day this week I have had oatmeal for breakfast, and every day it seems to be a new experience. That's a good thing, because I am not getting bored with it. Earlier this week, I compared my weight control maple and brown sugar (on the left) with the plain stuff (on the right). And I was very surprised...

 

The weight control only has 20 more calories, 0.5 more grams of fat, 3 more carbs, and 2 more grams of protein (!). But quickly i noticed where the plain oatmeal has the edge. It has 0 sodium and sugars compared to the 290 sodium and 1 sugars of the "good" oatmeal. Now does the 2 splendas I add to the plain oatmeal make it a more even match? :)


On Wednesday I made oatmeal and t came out like cereal. It was very mushy and watery. Kind of gross. I added craisins (a BIG fan), and bananas (not so much) to the oatmeal. 

And today... well it came out hard as a rock.

OK, it wasn' a ROCK, I still enjoyed it, but as you can see i was able to hold it sideways AND upside down without it budging! I added craisins and walnuts and it was very good! I think tomorrow I am going to strive for a happy medium between the two. :)

So for breakfast I had the oatmeal above and a coffee. 

Snack - whole wheat pretzels

Lunch - Salad with grilled chicken, roasted peppers, olives, prosciutto, mozzarella, and balsamic vinaigrette. So good!

Snack - coffee and soy crisps

I think dinner will be a salad with quinoa and other goodies, but since it's FREEZING out, who knows.

In other news, Molly is going to get to see her best friend tomorrow morning and ALL weekend! Barkley is coming to town!

Weigh In #1

One week in and one pound lost! I didn't do as well as I would have liked the first week, but i suspect it had partly to do with all of the sodium I ate this week. One thing I am glad about is that I really started to gain control of my eating - bringing my lunch and cooking my meals.


Week One: 1 pound lost
49 pounds to go!


Today I did something i thought I would NEVER do... that's right I went to the gym!!!

Just in case you were confused, I didn't go to the gym after work today. This photo was taken at 5:45AM, and the little white lines you see on the right of the photo is SNOW. I packed a gym bag, went to the gym, and got ready for work there. I built in extra time this morning because I haven't developed my routine, but it went okay.

I did 30 minutes on the elliptical, and burned about 280 calories! (This pic was taken during the cool down). Needless to say, I am glad I went, and am planning on going back tomorrow!

For breakfast, I ate oatmeal with 2 splendas. I threw a handful of trail mix I found on top, which ended up being interesting (not in a good way). There were chocolate chips in the trail mix that i was unaware of. Oops. I also had a coffee.

For lunch, I had a ham sandwich and pretzels. 

Snack was BBQ soy crisps

Dinner was made by Walter's dad - A mini Salisbury Steak (sort of like a mini meatloaf the size of my palm), grilled veggies and mashed potatoes. 

Dessert was a cup of hot chocolate.

Now, back to the ham sandwich. I am a mustard fan. Mustard is, in fact, my favorite condiment. When Walter and I moved I discovered we had 5 (!) DIFFERENT types of mustard in the fridge. 

• Yellow (my least favorite)
• Spicy
• Whole seed Dijon (I use in my salad dressings)
• Honey 
• Honey Dijon (MY FAVORITE!!!!!)

I really don't think I truly knew how awesome mustard was until I tried the Honey Dijon mustard from Wegman's (thats a grocery store in NJ, I compare it to Publix. No other grocery store up here even comes close to Publix's awesomeness)

It has a little kick to it, and its just awesome. It actually makes me look forward to eating a boring sandwich for lunch. Sadly, I used the last of it on today's sandwich, so I will have to go back to Wegmans ASAP to buy more!!!

Alright, I should go and get my gym bag ready for tomorrow! Night!

The weekend!

This weekend FLEW by... but I guess they always do! So my eats for Saturday...

Breakfast: Quinoa with black beans, corn, and cilantro. I tried to make oatmeal, but it didn't work out. Oh, and a coffee.

Lunch: Quesadilla with goat cheese, roasted red pepper, mixed greens, and chicken. SO GOOD! Also 2 small artichokes, and creamy balsamic dressing to dip.

Molly had some chicken broth. Can you tell that she liked it???

Dinner: I was feeling better, so Walter and I went out to dinner. Since I've been on a sodium kick, i suggested we try a new place I've heard about called Magic Grill. Its a Chinese/stir fry place. I like to call it the "Stir Crazy" of NJ!! We started off with soup, each had a dumpling, and then went up to the "buffet" to make our own stir fry. First we got to pick our meat, which was thinly sliced and frozen in three separate tubs: one each for chicken, steak, and pork. I chose steak. Then we added lo mein noodles (the only choice), and loaded up on veggies! I basically took some of everything except pineapple and tofu. We then got to choose our sauce. We had 4 choices: Mild: sour or sweet; Hot: sour or sweet. I blended mild and hot sour, and Walter went for the sweet blend. We then had to add a ladle of wine, and one of sesame oil, and then someone stir fried it for us.


I wish i took a photo of the dish, because it looked a lot better then it tasted. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but it kind of tasted like regular lo mein. The meat was awful, so i skipped that. Walter went back for seconds, and i couldn't even finish my one bowl I was so full. In conclusion: Watch out Stir Crazy, I'm coming for you next visit!


Today Walter and I made a healthy omelet for breakfast with peppers, onions, cilantro, and shredded cheese. I had that with a slice of rye toast with margarine and jam, and a coffee.
Snack: multi grain chips and hummus (this HAS to stop)
Late Lunch: The rest of the artichokes with balsamic dressing to dip.


I also made turkey chili today, and it came out spicy! I used some chili seasoning we bought in Austin, and it has a kick. I will probably have some for dinner, but i already packed some for lunch tomorrow.


I hope I haven't sabotaged myself with the dinner, and all the chips and hummus I've had this weekend. Even if I didn't loose much weight this week, I know I have started to change my eating habits for the better. Before this week, I went out to lunch EVERY DAY, and didn't eat healthy. This week, I am going to think of some new goals to add to my weight loss journey!

Sleep!

So yesterday I worked from home sick. I found out that Molly has an upper respitory infection, and she needs antibiotics. So the two of us sick girls relaxed on the couch all day. For breakfast, I had a balance bar. For lunch, I made an awesome whole wheat quesadilla filled with mixed greens, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and a drizzle of olive oil. I had that with a side of balsalmic dressing and a stuffed artichoke. For a snack I had a glass of orange juice and some chips and hummus. 


And then I slept.


I slept from 7pm last night until 9am this morning! I have never skipped a meal, so all this sleep shocked me! I do feel a little better because of it though. Ok, off to make some breakfast!

Oatmeal... Part 2

So Walter has been trying to get me to try his plain oatmeal that he eats every morning for breakfast. After much procrastinating and "forgetting" to bring it to work, I finally gave in and tried it this morning. I made it in the work microwave (it didn't explode, which was a good thing!), dumped 2 splendas in, and tried a bite...

and it was good! (I think the 2 splendas helped!) I can totally see myself eating this every morning and actually enjoying it. I tried to add some cinnamon to a bite, and I was not a fan. The good news is, its healthier and cheaper then most other oatmeals out there. I was thinking of toppings i could add (fresh berries were all I could come up with so far). Any ideas? 

Snack: 1/2 a Kashi Go Lean Bar

Lunch: Some of the Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn, and Cilantro that I made last night, and some hummus with multigrain chips and red peppers.

Snack #2: Coffee and the other half of the Kashi Bar

Dinner: A can of Italian wedding soup with a slice of provolone cheese melted in, and 2 of the mini artichokes I made (one with stuffing, one without). They were SO GOOD! 

Walter was nice enough to make this for me because I still don't feel good. He brought my dinner AND Molly's dinner right up to us 2 sick girls!

I also drank my 64 oz of water (crystal light iced tea, if we need to get technical), and had no soda! Now only if I could get to the gym....


Awwww look! Molly is helping me write this blog as we speak!

She is too cutie. Annnnnnnd now she's sleeping... it must've been all that typing she did!

I think I am going to follow Molly's lead and get some rest. Night all!

A Cook?

SO... I am a cook! Or at least I am trying to be one... After work today I got busy cooking 2 meals i wanted to use for upcoming lunches and dinners. 


But first... LUNCH! For lunch, i went out with a co-worker (their treat!), and I had sushi. I had a spicy tuna roll, a tuna avocado roll, a small salad, and wonton/egg drop soup. (It was between this and pizza, and i thought this was a better option). For a snack, I had a coffee. 


Now onto dinner...
First I made mini stuffed artichokes in the pressure cooker. 

Pressure cookers are a-ma-zing! It cut my cooking time from over 2 hours to 18 minutes, and they tasted awesome!

Next up was Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn and Cilantro:

I combined 2 recipes from Epicurious and AllRecipies and came up with the below:

Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn, and Cilantro
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups chopped white onions

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup quinoa, rinsed, drained
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
11/2 cups water
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained

1 15-ounce can corn, rinsed, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
Crumbled Cotija cheese or feta cheese (optional)

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and red pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in next 4 ingredients. Add water; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until quinoa is almost tender, about 14 minutes. Add beans, corn, and 1/4 cup cilantro; cook uncovered until heated through and liquid is fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cilantro and cheese, if desired.

Both recipes had great reviews, and this was easy to make and tasted great! I would probably add more chili powder next time, or even some hot sauce for a kick. 

And below is what I ate for dinner:

I know these 2 meals don't "go" together, but I wanted to try both while they were still hot and fresh. They were both awesome! Now I have to figure out what to cook next...

Oatmeal...

This was the weather on my drive into work this morning...

Nice day out right?? (At least it's warm...in the high 50's!)

I got to work this morning and I was starving. I pulled out my trusty box of oatmeal packets, and decided to try a new kind of oatmeal a co-worker gave me. It should be noted that I am not the biggest fan of oatmeal, and it took me many tries and fails until I found the ONLY oatmeal I actually like: Weight Control Maple and Brown Sugar. I don’t always like to make it at work, because it makes the whole place smell like syrup and everyone that walks by has to exclaim… “Ohhhhhhhhh! That smells so good! Who made pancakes?! Or Waffles?!” or “Next time bring enough for all of us!”Too much attention pointed my way if you ask me. So I tried this new kind: Kashi GoLean Honey and Cinnamon. After exploding the first one in the work microwave, and half of the second one, I finally sat down to try it:

And after one bite I knew it wasn’t for me (not a fan of honey… at all). So I gave my last packet away to a co-worker, dumped a packet of splenda in, and ate it. Boooo. Here’s hoping to a better lunch!