The Fresh Baked Smell of Phase 2

Well Phase 1 is officially done and Phase 2 is officially begun. Not that I haven't cheated over the past few days. Didn't help much that I made a bunch of not so south beach friendly christmas presents.

We're now allowed to have more carbs in the way of low glycemic fruits, whole grains, carrots, and sweet potatoes. In addition to our now usual haul of fresh veggies, low fat cheeses, beans, nuts, and tofu products we've also purchased apples, oranges, brown rice, carrots, whole grain oat flour, whole grain teff flour (a fantastic tasting and nutritious alternative grain to wheat) and oats. We also bought plain brown ricecakes and some cracker sticks made with whole grains and seeds.

We woke up a little late today so we made the Oat Pancake for breakfast that's in the southbeach book. It's large, in charge, and full of protein. Pretty filling too. They suggest using low fat cottage cheese or low fat tofu. I think next time I'll try the tofu to see how its different. Topped with some sugar free syrup and I cant believe its not butter spray and its tasty and filling.

Since that was a little late for breakfast instead of lunch we had two snacks. We stopped by America's Cup for some no sugar added boysenberry and blueberry frozen yogurt topped with a couple Tbsp of fresh strawberries. Then we had some of the previously mentioned cracker sticks with a couple of carrot and celery sticks and a couple tablespoons of olive and garlic hummus.

Dinner will likely be spaghetti squash topped with tofu cacciatorre and low fat italian cheeses with a salad. Ugh I'm full just thinking about it.

Oh and most exciting of all... Bob's Red Mill makes a whole grain gluten free bread mix. Gluten free breads tend to be the worst about not using whole grains, adding sugar, and are super super expensive. It's a little cheaper to by the bread mix and hey...I have a bread machine to boot so why not? Also we won't be eating that much bread and because of the lack of preservatives gluten free bread (b/c its also often all natural) tends to go bad very quickly. Stuff in the store can be hit or miss with how long it will last you. If I'm making it fresh and then refridgerating it my bread should last a bit longer. Can't wait. Mmmm I love the smell of bread yeast.

Failing But Still Thriving

So I did it. I stress ate. After a late night last night (erm...more like this morning), very little sleep, and a stressful afternoon I managed to convince The Boyfriend it was a good idea to go out for Mexican. We went to Acapulco's down the street and first split nachos (no meat of course), and no refried beans (they didn't have any other kind).

The Boyfriend ordered an Arnold Palmer and 2 ala carte items; a chile relleno and a cheese enchilada. I ordered the gargantuanly proportioned appetizer of taquitos (in my defense the chicken was tequila lime marinated and included in the filling was jack cheese and mushrooms). I did ask for a to-go box right away. 6 large taquitos graced my plate, the sum of their size equalling the size of my head. I placed the first 3 in the box and shut it. I then ate one. Half way through the second, I opened the to-go box and stuffed the third inside. I also knew I shouldn't finish the taquito I was currently working on...but I did.

I did however manage to leave the to-go box at the table rather than bringing it home for my taquito-loving roommate. Probably better this way because there would be a chance she wouldn't take them for lunch tomorrow leaving a chance I would nibble on them....or inhale them whole.

I can say it didn't make me feel very good either emotionally or physically. Forgetting to weigh in before dinner we went afterward and I wanted to shut my eyes. Good thing I didn't or I would have missed the 158 LBS staring at me. That's a 5 LB loss! Yay. The Boyfriend isn't losing as fast as I am but we're going to increase our excercise this week and that will help. He's still losing though so it's the right direction. This evening we went swimming for about 20 min in the heated pool at our apartment complex.

Yesterday I went to the Farmer's Market in Irvine and we did find some yummy things there. It was difficult steering away from all of the tasty fruit samples but we managed mostly. I still think the CFA basket will be cheaper for us once we can have fruit. Also, there website has some random recipes and I tried the eggs baked in tomato cups. Fairly easy but the recipe says to place the tops back on the tomatoes while they bake. My eggs weren't cooked at all. After microwaving them they were fine. I think next time I'll try topless ;)

Happiness And Such

So I wasn't going to weigh myself again until this next Sunday right before dinner (as I did last Sunday), but the temptation could not be resisted. Even though I weighed myself after dinner, and I had some cheese today that was not low-fat, as well as some french fries the night before last...I was not disappointed.

I've lost 3 lbs and The Boyfriend 1 (he cheated a little more than I did by way of ginger bread dough and broccoli cheese soup). But all in all we've been pretty full. I need to get better at remembering when to have snacks. I have been a little headachey and sometimes dizzy when I don't. But that may not be the diet (I don't think it really is because the diet is essentially "EAT HEALTHY DAMN IT!") It may more or less be other health issues and luckily health insurance through my new job should kick in soon, Like within another week or so and once I'm signed up it's off to find a new Doc.

I know I know you're not supposed to start a diet without medical advice to do so first. But, honestly considering this diet was developed by a cardiologist and is essentially just sensible I'm not too worried.

Tonight we had an excellent array of food (except for my bland soup which I won't even count because I didn't eat it). I made sesame ginger garlic marinated tofu, sauteed spinach in olive oil with LOTS of garlic, and the South Beach book stewed tomatoes. Excellent! And then Lime Ricotta Creme for dessert.

Oh and earlier for lunch The Boyfriend and I had egg salad wraps(I added a special touch with green onions) on red leaf lettuce with salad. More excellent things.

Today's tasty treats:

Breakfast: V8 juice, scrambled egg beaters, and 1 vegetarian sausage patty (El Burrito brand)
Morning Snack: Peanuts
Lunch: Salad with mixed greens, red bell pepper, chopped tea eggs, and Asian dressing.
Afternoon Snack: Celery filled with vegan cream cheese substitute (Tofutti).
Dinner: Baked Portabello with feta, pine nuts, and basil. Roasted veggies, and salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Dessert: Chocolate Ricotta Creme

So as far as meat substitutes go mine are limited since many contain wheat in some form or other. El Burrito makes a Chorizo which we often used in sauces (it's pretty spicy) but they also make a more traditional sausage. The texture is a little on the soft side but you don't lose anything with the flavor. A sausage is more about the spices anyway than anything.

It was my first time using tofutti. I'm not certain why that was suggested in South Beach phase 1 rather than a low fat or fat free cream cheese. The texture was fine however it was a little on the sweet side but still too mild in flavor. Really should be mixed with something I think.

I'd heard mixed reviews about the Ricotta Creme that is reccommended as dessert in its various flavors for phase one. Most people seem to dislike the texture. I love love LOVE ricotta so it works for me. Sometimes the amount of whatever flavor it is needs to be adjusted but that's easy enough.

Diet Thoughts

Last night the boyfriend and I cringed and stepped on the scale.  I can say I'm glad I'm under 170 but not thrilled that I was as much as 163 pounds.  In theory I'd like to lose 20 pounds...or at the very least fit in my size 10 jeans again (though I've been a size 8 before and that would be optimal).  For now sticking to my diet and getting in some exercise are my only goals.  I'm thinking of also taking my measurements to see how those change.

In cooking I've noticed in addition to the change of grocery prices (yes, they went up) I've also noticed our food waste is much more organic in nature.  Because we're eating more whole and less processed foods there's a lot less packaging we're throwing out.  That's something to feel a little good about.  If we were in a house with a backyard we could start a great compost with all of our veggie trimming and such.

I wouldn't mind finding a cheaper way (and more organic if possible) of finding veggies.  The vegetables in the health food shops are so expensive and now the 'normal' grocery store isn't much better.  What's a girl to do?

I know that sometimes there are produce stands at swap meets.  There is of course a swap meet right across the street.  But, I've been too lazy to check it out.  There is also the Farmer's Market in Irvine.  Also yet to be checked out due to laziness.  

Then there is the option of the CSA basket.  Baskets of fresh veggies every or every other week that come from local, organic, environmentally responsible farms and aren't that much more expensive, and might even be cheaper.  A little further research is required for me to buy into this.  Also we can pick and choose our veggies at the grocery store.  Since we're going off of a specific menu plan the store might be easier at first.  Once I'm more comfortable with the diet I can be more flexible with what veggies we use.

Tofu Cacciatore

One of the first recipes we've tried from "The South Beach Diet Cookbook"(Agatston 2004) was something I would not have thought to make.  I'm glad someone thought of it because it was excellent.  The Tofu Cacciatore was tender, flavorful, and filling.  I can't say how easy it was to cook as I was under the weather so I let the boyfriend have at it.  I'll say to make certain to check the dish during the baking process about 40 minutes in.  The recipe calls for an hour but ours looked as though it was drying out if left in too much longer.

The recipe also calls for light tofu.  I can't find this usually (or ever) in 'normal' grocery stores, but a good health food store such as Mother's or Whole Foods will be more likely to carry the low-fat variety.  We also substituted fresh basil for the dried since we had it on hand.  I'm also very heavy-handed on the fresh basil.  We also left out the rosemary sprig since we weren't to concerned about the presentation when it was just the two of us.

1 LB firm light tofu

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 green bell pepper, sliced

2 T white wine

1 large garlic clove

1 Tsp dried basil

1 Tsp dried Oregano

Pinch of allspice

1 can (28 oz) stewed tomatoes, drained

2 Tsp tomato paste

Sprig rosemary, for garnish

Cover a 17" X 11" baking sheet with paper towels.  Place the tofu in a single layer on the towels.  Cover the tofu with paper towels.  Cover the tofu with paper towels and pat down on the tofu until dry.  Remove and discard all of the paper towels and place the tofu back on the baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a large skillet coated with olive oil cooking spray over medium heat.  Add the onion and bell peppers and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.  Add the wine, garlic, basil, oregano, and allspice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

Heat another large skillet coated with olive oil cooking spray over medium heat.  Add the tofu and saute for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides.  Place the browned tofu slices in a 13" X 9" baking dish and cover with the tomato sauce.

Bake for 1 hour, or until cooked through.  Garnish with the rosemary.

Chinese Tea Eggs and Asian Salad Dressing

Chinese tea eggs are a lightly-spiced, marble-colored hard boiled egg treat.  While easy to make, the aroma while cooking is strong and you should be forewarned your house will be pungently spiced for a couple of hours.

When searching for a recipe I found many, but none seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.  I finally decided to mesh several of these recipes to make my own.  I thought it would come in handy now that we're on South Beach since we have to eat so much protein.  The tea eggs will be a good way to mix up our diet.

They can be eaten by themselves or I like them diced and added to a salad with mixed greens and bell peppers with my Asian Salad Dressing (recipe follows).

Ingredients:

6-12 Large Eggs

Water, enough to just cover the eggs in the pot

1/4 C Soy Sauce (I use wheat free)

1/4 C Rice Wine Vinegar.

3 T Loose Leaf Black Tea

3 T Chinese 5 Spice (This can be expensive. I find it's cheapest if you can go to a store like Henry's that offers spices in bulk and just purchase the amount you need. Also you can use less if you think the aroma will be too strong since this is what will cause the aroma while simmering, however keep in mind that even with this much spice the eggs will be lightly flavored)

Place the eggs in a large pot in a single layer.  Add enough water to cover eggs.  Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to simmer and cover the pot.  Allow to simmer for 10 min.  Many recipes say to remove the eggs from the liquid and allow to cool so they may be easily handled.  I'm not that patient.  I remove the eggs one at a time with a slotted spoon (Do Not toss out the liquid...we still need this).  I then wrap the egg in a paper towel and crack it on two sides on a flat counter to (careful not to crush the eggs).

Place the eggs gently back into the liquid.  Bring the pot to a boil once again and then reduce to simmer.  Simmer the eggs covered for at least 40 min.  Many recipes will say up to several hours but for me the eggs become too tough if cooked this long and 40 min seems to provide the eggs with sufficient flavor.  Remove the eggs from the liquid when finished, place in a bowl in the fridge to chill.  When cool to the touch remove skins and rinse excess shell and spices off of eggs.

Asian Salad Dressing

Servings 1 

1T Peanut Oil

1T Rice Wine Vinegar

1T Soy Sauce

1T Thinly Sliced Green Onion

1/2 Tsp Fine Chopped or Grated Fresh Ginger

Combine all ingredients and shake or whisk.

Desperation For Greasy Potatoes VS Desperation To Stay Healthy

So I'm doing what I said I wouldn't and starting a diet. I needed some motivation. Some guidance...and some way of keeping me away from that 170lb mark.

South Beach here I come. No not the hurricane ridden posh beach community...rather the structured diet I think I need.

Won't go too much into the details of how it works, but I am doing it mostly vegetarian so that it's easier to cook for both the boyfriend and myself. We have to follow the first phase for 2 weeks which is much more strict on carbs but here's what we had today.

Breakfast: Asparagus, low fat cheese, and mushroom omlette. 6 oz of V8 juice.

Morning Snack: Celery filled with a wedge of Laughing Cow low fat french onion cheese.

Lunch: Veggie patty, salad with cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

Afternoon Snack: Almonds, lite babybel cheese

Dinner: Tofu Cacciatore, steamed asparagus, salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onions with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Dessert: Vanilla Ricotta Creme.

All in all I haven't really been hungry all day so that's good. That doesn't mean that I won't get some carb cravings. I did go into the grocery store today to buy cupcake foil cups (for making mini breakfast quiche) and had to desperately tear my eyes away from the potato chips.