A Week in the Life of Lori

This summer, against everything exercise-related that I believe in, I started running. I realized that running was the only exercise that would give me high returns in a 20-30 minute workout. But the problem was that even though I could run a 5K, I didn't see the other returns I was hoping for.

With all of that running over seven weeks, I gained three pounds. (Seriously?!) I had to change something else if I wanted to see results, so in the last week of July, I joined Weight Watchers. 

And according to my meeting yesterday, that was 26.4 pounds ago.

I've had lots of comments that people are noticing, and yeah, that does feel pretty good. But I also have lots of comments along the lines of "I wish I could do that" or "That's something I really should do." And I'm telling you straight-up, even if its not Weight Watchers, even if its another program or one of your own making, there's no reason you can't.*

And to show you that you can eat good food, you can eat wholesome (read: not fake-y diet food), and still be successful, I'm going to "track" what I eat here on this blog for one week. For those of you who are familiar with the program, you know that writing down every single thing you eat or drink every single day is a key part of the program. And hopefully, you'll see that it isn't something you should do, but its something you totally can do.

* This is, of course, excluding people who aren't supposed to work on weight loss right now for other health reasons.

Thursday
Breakfast - Egg Sandwich

• Whole-wheat sandwich thin with one Laughing Cow light wedge and one egg white scrambled with reduced-fat feta cheese (thanks, Steve!)
• Coffee, black

Lunch

• Subway Black Forest Ham 6" sandwich on 9-Grain Wheat with spinach, cucumbers, red onion, tomato, and mustard
• 3 cups 94% fat free popcorn
• Apple

Dinner

• Quick Cassoulet (see below)

Dessert/Snack

• Ben & Jerry's Half-Baked FroYo, 1/2 cup

Quick Cassoulet

Adapted from The Dinner Doctor

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

1 package turkey kielbasa, sliced in 1/2 inch slices and then in half

2 cans great northern white beans, undrained

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup water

Directions

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and throw in the kielbasa and onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally  until sausage is slightly browned and onions are soft.

Lower heat to medium-low, and add both cans of beans, the can of tomatoes, and garlic powder. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure its not sticking. 

In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together the water and cornstarch until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Slowly pour this into the cassoulet, stirring constantly. Allow to cook 5-10 minutes more until slightly thickened.

Serves 6 (1 cup servings)

Making Up for Christmas/New Year's/Super Bowl Eating

In an effort to make up for all of the baked goods, candy, and really rich foods we ate during the holidays (yes, I do realize that was one month ago, but who's not regretting a bit of that overindulgence?), I'm trying to make a few meals this week that are on the lighter side. While the meatballs I made might not qualify, this dinner definitely does. I don't know how kid-friendly it is, since Steve and I ate it after Henry went to bed, but for us anyway, it was great. I think it would go really well with a glass of white wine and crusty french bread, but as Steve pointed out, my glass of white wine would have to be really really light. As in clear. Like water. :)

Also, thanks to mom and dad for the cookbook for Christmas that this recipe came from!


Tuscan White Bean and Tuna Salad
From The Dinner Doctor

Ingredients
Salt
1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat pasta (I use penne)
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon (2 Tablespoons) or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped tomato (seeded)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1- 6 ounce can tuna, drained and broken up

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat and add a few pinches of salt for flavor. Stir in the pasta and reduce heat to medium-high to cook it, uncovered, about 8-10 minutes.

While pasta cooks, place the olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper in a large serving bowl and whisk to combine. (At this point, taste this vinaigrette mixture to see if its lemony enough - add more juice if needed. Just remember, you can always add more once the salad is mixed, but unfortunately its much harder to remove the juice once poured in.) Set vinaigrette aside.

Drain the pasta well, mix with vinaigrette, and stir until coated. Add beans, tomato, basil and tuna. Stir until all ingredients are coated with dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 2-4 as a main course

Welcome, Summer!

Summer is completely here - bugs, humidity, and fireworks. And GRILLING!

Steve and I decided that July would be a good month to concentrate on eating food that's better for us. (This decision following our fantastic trip to St. Louis in which we each ate something called a Concrete. Its not called a Concrete for nothin'...) The last day of our trip was July 1. Do you know how hard it is to eat healthily in a roadside diner?!?

Sometimes this "eating healthy" thing means avoiding sweets, pop, fried foods, and junk food, but I still will use butter, oil, and other "whole ingredients." Personally, I'd rather eat food that is as natural as possible, rather than something that has a few less calories but a whole lot of fake ingredients. Personal choice, yours may be different!

So back home, we kicked it into full gear. Fresh fruits and veggies are overflowing on our countertop. The best part about having so many of these on hand is that you never have to think about what to have with supper. Corn, asparagus, green beans, watermelon, tangerines, blueberries, tomatoes, potatoes... they all work. These are short recipes, but really, during the summertime, isn't that what we're looking for anyway?

Note: Whenever you're marinating meat, it works so well to do so in a Ziploc bag and put that bag in a bowl, giving it a squeeze now and then. It keeps the marinade all over the meat, rather than the meat just sitting in the marinade in a dish.

Note II: We didn't serve the bruschetta on toast... we had it on grilled portobello mushrooms. Wow, that was good!


Roasted Country Ribs
Adapted from Epicurious.com
Ingredients
1.5-2 pounds country pork ribs (4-6, figure about 2 or 3 ribs per person)
2 Tablespoons coarse grain mustard (you can use dijon, but I like the tang of coarse grain)
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning (substitute your favorite seasoning mix here. Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt would work too)
1 Tablespoon water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, oil, seasoning, and water.  Put ribs into a large Ziploc bag and pour the dressing on top and seal. Squeeze to cover ribs, and let sit for at least 15 minutes, but not more than 1 hour.

Put the ribs in a shallow glass baking dish and pour out all of the marinade on the top. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, until meat is between 160 and 170 degrees. Remove from oven, loosely cover with foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes longer (they're still cooking, but rather than getting over-cooked, this allows them to raise their temp and become more tender too).




Green Bean Bundles
From Paula Deen & Friends: Living it Up, Southern Style
Ingredients
Green beans, washed and trimmed (about 1 cup per person)
Butter (1 Tablespoon per person)
Salt & Pepper

Directions
Preheat grill for medium-high heat.

For each person, tear off a square of tin foil (12"x12" should do it).  Put the green beans in the middle, and top with the butter (cut into small cubes), and salt and pepper to taste. Make each square of foil into a tightly-sealed bundle.

Place each bundle on the grill (direct heat) for 15 minutes.




Bruschetta
Adapted from "The Maroon Spoon" (Holland Christian Cookbook)
Ingredients
For Bruschetta:
6 chopped Roma (plum) tomatoes
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1-14 ounce can artichoke hearts, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. vinegar (balsamic or white wine)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. olive oil
For Toasts:
1 large french baguette, thinly sliced on diagonal
3 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions
For bruschetta, mix all ingredients together and let sit for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. (Doesn't keep well for more than 48 hours if you use fresh basil. If you choose to use dried basil, you'll need less and it might keep a bit longer.)

For toasts, brush slices with olive oil and toast under broiler until golden brown, flipping once.

To serve, top toast with a spoonful of tomato mixture. Top with shredded parmesan if desired.

Men in the Kitchen

Today, Steve and I teamed up for dinner, and the recipe came out of a Men's Health magazine. We actually ate this maybe two years ago, but if you're like me, your recipe file/box/cupboard is a smash-up of different clippings/notes/cards.  While I was cleaning it out last week, I ran across this recipe and it looked pretty good, and pretty healthy too! Plus (and this is no coincidence), the kind of steak I needed was on sale:).

The only beef (haha!) I had with the dish is that in the picture, the onions look quite a bit more red than mine turned out. I wonder if they used red wine vinegar instead of balsamic? Or a mix? The balsamic was nice, though I know the flavor isn't for everyone. Next time, what would I do differently? I would change up the vinegars a bit, and maybe combine some Yukon Gold potatoes with the beans for a little lighter texture! Time will tell.

Grilled Italian Steak with Smashed Beans
From "Men's Health," January/February 2008

Ingredients
12 oz. Skirt, Flank, or Flatiron Steak (we used Flatiron)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-15oz can cannellini beans
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Directions
Salt and pepper both sides of the steak(s). Let rest for a few minutes before grilling.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil for 10 minutes, until it's soft and slightly brown. Add the vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes.

Heat another skillet/pan with the rest of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, beans and about 1/2 of the liquid from the can of beans (discard the rest). Cook for 5 minutes. Use a potato masher, fork or back of a spoon to roughly mash the beans. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a grill/grill pan/cast iron skillet over high heat. Grill steaks for 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare (again, for a flatiron steak; may be longer for a thicker cut).  Slice and serve with beans, top with onions.

Serves 2