Foodtastic Friday

A few weeks back I bought a steam in bag package of Brussels sprouts at Trader Joe's. Yes you read that correctly. Brussels sprouts. I must have lost my mind for a moment. Or ten. But the husband said he likes them and I only don't like them because they're gross. Oh and I've never tried them before. Why? Well, because they're gross.

Anyhow, they sat in the fridge for a while and I finally thought, 'I better cook those before I have to throw them out.' Totally forgetting that I was going to cook them only to throw them out. You know, because they're gross.

So I scoured the Internet for three minutes--exactly. I timed it. And came up with a non-oven roasted, non-boiled method. It was waaay to hot for the oven and I was pretty sure boiling them would only turn them into mushy grossness. I very loosely followed this recipe. I forgot the cheese and I'm certain I used WAY more olive oil.

The result

They were so dang good!!!! Totally not gross. Totally delicious. And full of healthy goodness. I ate them with my bare fingers. And I may or may not have eaten them straight out of the hot pan. With my bare fingers.

I have now officially changed my stance on Brussels sprouts. They are no longer gross. Unless, maybe they're boiled. Mushy veggies = gross.

Try them!

Truthful Thursday

All day today I've thought it was Friday.

Its not.

Don't you hate that?

Turns out that not only is it not Friday its also weigh in day. Double whammy; its measurements day. *sigh*

My helpful husband woke me up before he left for work so he could help me take my measurements. That's right, he woke me up before leaving for work. Meaning he's up and dressed and I'm still snoozing away in our wonderful bed. Heck, half the time he's up and ready to go AND has set our boy up with breakfast and Disney while I slumber away. Yes, I live a charmed life. No I'm not looking forward to re-entering the 'real' world. Love you Husband!

Anywho, since he did my measurements the first time I'd like for him to keep doing them. I'm hoping that will create some consistency.
          June 30                 Aug 4
Arms     13.8                   13.5
Chest     40                     37.5
Waist     36.5                  34
Hips       43                    42.5
Thighs    41.5                 41.5

I ALWAYS lose in my boobs first. Anyone else?!?! Its so weird. And while I don't need them to be as ginormous as they are I'd love to lose in my hips and thighs! I guess thats coming. I noticed the last time I did WW that I lost top down also. Minus my arms. Im going to have to lipo the heck out of them some day! I'm hoping that walking quasi-nightly with Patrice will help the bottom half lose a little faster.

I missed my official weigh in today. Partly because I thought it was Friday--darn you Thursday--and partly because I thought WW was open all morning for weigh ins but they're not. They are open all morning tomorrow. The REAL Friday. Ugh! I took a pic this morning but if I lost lbs at all its ounces and my 'pretty fly for a white guy' scale isn't digital.

I have not been terribly pleased with my weight loss thus far. (Yes I just used 'thus') I've paid for two months of WW and I expected better results. But I haven't been putting in the work. The program can't force me to track or measure my food. The program can't force me to not eat the bread basket at the yummy bakery in Eastern Market. So I'm mad at myself for spending the money and not using the tools. This morning I started measuring and tracking. I need to get this down before I start class in a few weeks or its never going to become habit.

For me the hardest part is still working on my vegetarian journey AND figuring out weight loss. I need to enter all of my new recipes into the WW recipe builder to figure out their PointsPlus values. The sooner I get my frequented recipes in there the easier it will be to track. I guess now is as good a time as any.

Also, that bitch Hershey has sashayed her way into my life again. Things aren't tense they're just getting ready to change so I'm all sorts of nuts. Enter comfort food. I'm throwing her out. Right now. Well, as soon as I'm done updating this here blog. The funny thing is once I banished Ms Hershey the first time I didn't really miss her. I won't say I didn't eat chocolate if we were out and about but I didn't crave it like I thought I would. At least not after the first few ugly days of withdrawls passed. For the protection of the meek innocent, there are no pictures of those days.

Truthful Thursday

Its been 2 weeks since Ive weighed in, officially or otherwise. We left for vacation on Sunday, July 17 and came home the following Sunday. So technically we've been home, and off vacation, since Monday morning. But really we're still on vacation because I haven't been grocery shopping so we have what I fondly call 'vacay fridge.' We're living in a house full of snack foods and meals that need cooked, nothing quick and easy. Needless to say I wasn't expecting much on this weigh in. I haven't been tracking my points, walking or eating all that well. Lots of restaurants when you're living a mountain resort life!

Anyhow I saw this when I weighed myself at home:

Do my eyes deceive me?

 Heres what I got when I checked in at WW today:

1.8lbs lost!

Not a huge loss but not a gain and, really, no effort involved. Looking forward to next weeks weigh in after some serious food tracking and some evening power walks with Patrice.

Guess where?

We've been here

And here

We were hanging out here

And catching a game here

Matthew was just being a boy here

I was really sad to say goodbye to here

But we got to take our picture here!

 We had an awesome time at our family reunion in Keystone, Colorado. We got to catch up with people we don't see often enough and even meet some family members we didn't know existed! Matthew loved miniature golf, the paddle boats, the sandbox and running around with all of his cousins. Robbie and I had a great time zip lining and rafting. We had dinner in Leadville, North Americas highest incorporated city at 10,430 feet. We ate at a saloon that was established in 1883 and hasn't had much done to it since. The bar was original and we're pretty sure the booth we sat in was also. Its the first place, since deciding to go veggie, that I've had a hard time finding anything to eat on the menu. There wasn't even a side salad! I guess being a vegetarian wasn't all that common in 1883! We also hit up a ball game. The Rockies played the BRAVES, Robbie favorite team, so we made the trek into Denver. I'll admit that I haven't been to many baseball fields but this was a first for me.

A veggie friendly food stand!

They were also advertising a Gluten Free stand. How great is that?!?

I personally LOVED the afternoon at the spa with my not-so-baby sister. We had a great time and already can't wait for our next family vacation!

Catching up

We have been B U S Y this past week and I missed my Truthful Thursday post. In all honesty I was super busy that day but I also had time to sit down and bare my soul weight but I wasn't very pleased with the results so I tossed it on the back burner and never got to it.

Here it is : I had a .6 lb weight loss. That's it. That's not even 1 full pound. And it pisses me off. I did much better with my food during the week and I started walking 3 miles a day with Patrice. Which I opted not to track in my Weight Watchers site because I don't want the temptation of converting the 'activity points' into food. As my friend, and fellow WW member, Tara pointed out .5 pounds a week turns into 26lbs a year.  And any loss is better than a gain. She has me there.

I'm hoping that my body is adjusting to the new food take and the new exercise. I'm hoping that this week I held on to a few more calories due to the walking freaking out my body. I'm hoping that I can continue to lose weight, even in half pound increments, until I get to a place where I feel good about me again. I'm hoping that the next time I weigh in I'll see a significant loss. Heres to hope!

Tuesdays Thoughts

Recently someone asked me if I made my decision to go veggie because of the 'animal factor.' I believe that a lot of vegetarians choose this lifestyle because they have a great love for all animals. For me thats not it. I'm not an animal lover--its more that I tolerate them. I like them. I don't mind other peoples pets but we have none and I have no desire for any. That being said, I do believe we were put on this Earth, in part, to be good stewards of our resources and to take care of and look after all that grows and blooms. Having animals bred, born and slaughtered in filthy and inhumane conditions doesn't fit into the good stewards box.

Tonight, per a couple of requests, I made Tater Tot Casserole for dinner. This is not veggie friendly. Since my husband, and on rare occasions my son, still eats meat I've been sporadically cooking with the meat that was left in the house prior to my go veggie decision. I figure these animals have already had a miserable life and death, why make their sacrifice worse by throwing it all away.

Tonight was different. My sister is in town (yea!!!!) and our friend Patrice was maybe coming for dinner. We only had one container of ground death turkey left and that wasn't enough for this group. Robbie has put away an entire pan by himself and my sister is a big fan of this dish as well. It was the first time since February that I stepped foot into the "death meat department". As I asked the butcher for one pound of ground beef I was internally conflicted. I know that I wont be eating this meal but I cant help but acknowledge that by making this purchase I was condoning and supporting an industry I have come to detest. I was sick to my stomach as we checked out.


It was also the first time that I've cooked meat and felt an immense amount of guilt. I made this same meal for my husband a few weeks back, with meat that was in the house, and I didn't feel good about it but I didn't feel terrible about it either. I was semi-neutral. I can't help but wonder if the guilt I had today is from the purchase of 'new' death meat. Or is it that I'm further along in my resolve to not eat meat causing the entire process to feel wrong?

Foodie Friday

I started making dinner this morning, I had some free time, and then realized that Robbie and I are celebrating our anniversary tonight with dinner at a posh restaurant and a room at the Doubletree in the Old Market. So dinner became lunch. When I ate meat one of our favorite meals was stuffed peppers, so I decided to veggie it up!

Veggie Stuffed Peppers
adapted from my friend Warren

Ingredients:
8oz tempeh
1/2c. diced onion
1 garlic clove minced--I use WAY more. But we're garlicy people
1-2T olive oil
2 1/2c diced zucchini
1 tsp chili pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 can tomato soup
1/4lb grated sharp cheese-- I used what was in the fridge and came up with about 1c shredded
1c. quinoa cooked according to package
4 medium peppers

Heat crumbled tempeh in a pan with olive oil, onions and garlic. Add zucchini and let it cook for a couple of minutes so the zucchini gets a chance to start cooking. --I like some firmness to my zucchini, if you like them softer toss them in with the tempeh or cook the mixture a little longer to give them a head start.

Add seasonings and soup.

Simmer for a few more minutes--the original recipe says 10min but I found since there is no meat the soup reduced down pretty quickly.

Add cheese and cooked quinoa. (I ended up using closer to 2C--Stir to combine and cook for a few minutes longer.

Cut and clean out peppers.

Boil in salted water for 4 minutes.

Drain and cool.

Place peppers in a baking dish, fill with stuffing and bake at 350 for 30min.
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I pretty much never do that last part. I do clean out the peppers but I boil them long enough to soften them, fill them and eat them. The baking part warms the stuffing mixture and softens the peppers a little more--but the longer boiling works just as well. Im pretty sure baking would also soften the zucchini more but like I said I like mine with some bite to them!

This is my second attempt at using at tempeh and while I like the dish I feel that the tempeh always hits my taste buds a little oddly. Could be the fermentation? Or maybe I need to try a different brand? Anyone else use tempeh?