Day 34

Okay, short and sweet, I shut this all down and then went oh wait, i need to journal. 

I did very little today.  I did a lot of cooking, and I did some housework but nothing I would really count as exercise or major movement.  Though sunday is my rest day anyway.

Food:
Breakfast: 1 slice of homemade apple strudel and 1 glass milk and 1 glass 100% cranberry juice.
Lunch: 1 cup raisin bran crunch and 1 cup 1% milk
Snack: brownie and 1 cup milk
Dinner: 2 cups tortilla chips and 1/2 cup of 7 layer dip (home made) and about 1/4 cup of cheesy queso dip.  (7 layer dip: refried beans, shredded cheddar, homemade guacamole (avocado, lime, salt, jalapeno, little onion and cilantro), light sour cream, shredded lettuce, homemade salsa (tomato, tomatillo, jalapeno, lime, onion, cilantro, salt) more cheese and sliced black olives.  Queso - 1/2 block of 2% velveeta and 1 can rotel) I had another slice of apple strudel
Dessert: 1 small container of chocolate ice cream from godiva - it's a mini container, not a pint.

Apple strudel:
1 sheet puff pastry - roll out to 1/8 inch on a floured surface
preheat oven to 375
pare, core and slice 2 apples (I used gala) mix with juice of 1 lemon, 1 cup raisins (I used less as I'm not a big hot raisin fan), 1/4 cup sugar and 2 T cold butter diced.  I also added some pecans and cinnamon. 
Put the apple mixture into the puff pastry and form a roll with it.  Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and make 3 slits.  Bake for 40 minutes on a parchment lined pan.
This was really good, but I think I'd like it with just apples. 

photos tomorrow

Day 20

I have decided that Sunday's will be a rest day.   And I took it to heart today.  Since I usually do some work on Saturday mornings, Sunday is my only full day to really get things done.  So today I did school work - my lab report and finished reading the current chapter for my Food and Culture class.  I did a bit of housework too, but not everything I needed to - I forgot about laundry, will have to work on that this week. 

So I had thought about doing  a late night snack, but the stress of the Saints vs. Vikings got me to the point where I forgot about food.  I don't even watch the games, I just check the score from time to time.  They have got to stop giving me mini heart attacks and just finish a game at the start.

Anyway, food for the day (including a recipe)

Breakfast: Perkins banana nut muffin toasted in the oven and spread with earth balance spread.  I ate 1/2 the muffin and then the top of the other half. Had with 1 cup 1% milk.
Lunch: 1 cup of Amy's vegetarian black bean soup with 1 T of light sour cream and a tortilla cut up and toasted.  I only ate about 1/2 of my soup and 4 of the chips - they were a bit too hard - let them go too long in the oven. Had this with 1 bottle Barq's rootbeer
Snack: 1 bottle Naked Pomegranate Blueberry juice and 2 rice cakes with 1 wedge of laughing cow light french onion cheese.
Dinner: 1 cup brown rice with healthified version of cashew chicken (see recipe below) - this was really good and tasty, made enough for 4 which for me is dinner and 3 lunches and is relatively cheap and fast to prepare.
Dessert: 1/3 of a chocolate eclair


Healthified cashew chicken (this is from a calendar I got from Eat Right America)
2 tsp canola oil (I used olive oil)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp finely chopped ginger root
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups frozen sugar snap peas
3 T soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 T corn starch
1 tsp sugar
2 medium green onions sliced

In a nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and ginger root; cook and stir 4-5 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.
Add broccoli, 1/2 cup of the broth and the pepper flakes.  Cover; cook over medium heat 2 minutes, stirring once.  Add peas; cook 2-4 minutes longer, stirring once, until veggies are crisp-tender.
In small bowl, mix remaining chicken broth, soy sauce, vinegar, corn starch and sugar; stir into chicken mixture.  Add onions; cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened and bubbly.

Serve over brown rice and sprinkle with toasted cashews.

Day 6

One week just about done.  I'm really excited I've stuck with it so far, blogged every day and all that jazz.  School starts tomorrow and I'm not really looking forward to work - have to do a training that I'm a tad uncomfortable with.   Also it'll mess up my walks etc since its a huge block of my time in the afternoon.  Anyways, gonna stay positive and hope it all works out.  Sunday is my do nothing day - well not really do nothing, more of a go nowhere - I try not to leave my house.   I got most everything done.  Sink is clear, laundry complete and I played with some recipes.

Last night I closed out the evening with a drink - a coquito or Puerto Rican eggnog basically.  It consists of (and hold onto your hats) a can of coconut milk, a can of condensed milk, a can of evaporated milk, half a container of egg substitute and vanilla.  All this gets mixed together and then you throw it in a blender with some ice and rum and yum!!

Today's food:

Breakfast - 1 cup 1% milk with 2 T Hershey syrup and 1 lemon pie light Yoplait yogurt.  (not with each other, about an hour apart)
Lunch - steak quesadilla (see day 5 - except this time I mixed the sour cream with a little spicy ranch salad dressing and some hot sauce) followed by a chocolate caramel
Snack - 1 cup Great Grains Raisins, Dates and Pecans with 1 cup 1% milk
Dinner - Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut sauce with a side of whole wheat pasta tossed with carrots, snow peas, broccoli and a little of the Spicy Peanut sauce and a Barq's in the bottle.  Recipe
(I didn't finish dinner, ate about half of my pasta and 2 and 1/2 pieces of chicken.  The piece of chicken in the picture with no sauce was for the cats)
Dessert - haven't yet decided.  I have 3 bananas on the ripe side - I'm thinking a smoothie of some kind but haven't yet figured it all out. 

Exercise - I'm going to go play on the Wii - not sure which game, but it will be done. 

Day 2

Today it was hard to wake up.  I fought my alarm clock but alas, the battle was lost.  I was feeling very congested when I did wake and it took a few hours for it to clear up.  Work wasn't bad today - getting back into the flow of things now.  I still have some slight panic from what may be coming next week, but I'm quelling it right now and hoping they can find an actual trainer to train it.  I'm honored that they feel I can do it, but I do not feel I've been given sufficient prep time to do the job to the extent I feel it needs to be done.  Left work half hour early as it started snowing and I just figured it was time to go.

Food for the day:
Breakfast and Morning snack were same as yesterday
Lunch was a Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer again, but this time rotini with zesty marinara.  I had 3 nut clusters (the same as yesterday) about 15 minutes after. 
Afternoon snack - 2 rice cakes again but this time only 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese
At some point I had a piece of a candy cane.
Dinner was a homemade pasta dish - recipe below
Dessert - a salted caramel

Exercise:
Walking was a bigger success at work today - I managed 6 building walks (maybe 7 - I had lost count but I think it was 6).  I also had brought in my 5 lb weight to work today.  I got in 20 reps of shoulder presses (per arm), 30 bicep curls per arm and 20 tricep exercises.  And about an hour after dinner I turned on the Wii and opened up one of my new games - Just Dance.  I have to say, its a lot more fun then I thought it would be (I thought it would be fun, but its really fun).  There's a warm up and then you pick your music and your length and you dance along with the screen.  It gets your pulse going and gets you sweating.  It has a good mix of music and well, its enjoyable.   

 Recipie for my pasta dish: 
In a warm pan add about 1 T olive oil and one anchovey filet.  (Okay, I know, anchovy - ewwww - when you cook it this way, it dissolves into the oil (literally - you can't see it b/c it breaks up so much) and all you get is this slight earthy - not fishy - flavor in the background) Cook untl the filet is all but dissolved in the oil and then add garlic.  Cook the garlic but be careful not to burn.  Add a handful of grape or cherry tomatos to the mix (I halved mine) and then toss.  When tomatos are warm you can add some veggie stock (about 1 T for a small amount) and maybe some white wine (again, about 1 T).  Now, my stove is funny so I had to move this off and on the heat to keep all the liquid from evaporating.  Now take a handful of green olives and cut in half and toss in.  (Again, i know this sounds funny but their saltiness is nice and you they compliment the tomatos).   Keep this warm and when the pasta is done (I used Bertoli whole wheat pasta bowties) toss is with the sauce.   Top with a little parm or romano and serve.  Now you could do any combination here - capers instead of tomatos, add artichoke hearts, take out the olives, take out the anchovy (I swear you won't know its there - unless you're allergic ;-))