One more pound...

...and I'll be under a 40 bmi.

yay!

Now I just have to get there...Labor Day weekend has not been overly kind to my diet. But I can't really overdo it all that much considering!

Today's a hungry day!

Tried to call again to make an appt for a fill, but i swear, they are always closed! It's tricky too because i have to go find a phone in private since i'm in a cube and most people at work don't know.

Feeling pretty hungry today. I think the exercise is catching up with me.

I track my food everyday (mostly) but today I think i'll do it publicly, so here goes.

Breakfast
half a coffee with sweetener & cream
raw cashews
220 calories

Lunch
remaining raw cashews
protein shake
vegetable soup
iced tea
425 calories

Snack
Cookies(!!)
280 calories

SOOOO sleepy

Snack 2
Coffee and piece of dark chocolate
125 calories

Dinner
Refried beans with cheese and pico de gallo
350 calories

Total (so far)
1400 calories

Exercise (according to gmap pedometer)
LONG WALK!
[burned - 450 calories]

Commute-burning / dog-walking calories
[-370 calories]

Total minus exercise...
580 calories!

Amy's Tamales

In general, I love Amy's Organic products. Tonight, I had the vegetarian tamale and black beans for dinner.

If I was really cutting calories, I could make do with just half of the frozen dinner, but I have tons of calories left for the day, so I ate the whole thing at only 280 calories! Yum!

Teensy Tiny Silverware

So one of the tips I've come across a handful of times is to use tiny silverware when eating. I tried it today with the teensy tiny silverware shown here and was surprised how effective it was. It made me feel like I was eating more than I was.

I went smaller than even a typical teaspoon which is recommended. I've included a photo of our regular silverware too so you can see the comparison in size.

I just happened to find them here in NYC at Fish's Eddy.

Post Op Recovery has been a series of TV Marathons

I rented a handful of movies, but instead post op recovery has been a series of TV marathons. First Monk, then In Plain Sight (which i hadn't watched before, but like), NCIS, and now Law & Order Criminal Intent. Looks like we've basically just stayed put on the USA network.

The TV is fine and I'm not overly tempted by the food commercials as I don't have much of an appetite, but I must admit I'm bored. (I've been at home for five days!) And being bored does make me want to munch, out of lack of anything to do rather than anything else. What I'd really love are some nuts or popcorn or chips.

Mom left this morning, I slept half the day, and I'm back to the computer and TV.

Physically, I feel fine even without any of the hydrocodone they prescribed me. I've surprised myself that I do get tired when we went on walks with the dogs this weekend. So my stamina isn't back yet, but I'm not in pain at all. The gas pretty much was gone after the first day (That was worst in the hospital). I had some soreness into day two and since then the only bother has been a little bit of heartburn. I have a twinge here and there at the incision site if I overdo it but otherwise I'm all good. Just waiting for my full on energy to come back.

Tomorrow I have my daily commute which involves a walk and stairs on both ends on the subway, so we'll see how that goes. Definitely taking the local train rather than the express so that I can be sure and get a seat, plus, less stairs.

Food is everywhere!

Oy! I consider myself highly suggestible, so it doesn't help that food ads and food references are EVERYWHERE!

Walking the dogs today, there was a Domino's pizza guy in the street shouting about their $4.99 pizza deal (times must be tough if they've taken to the streets for advertising!) But hey, it would've totally worked for me if I weren't on this diet.

And then later pizza came up in conversation.

And now I'm watching an ad on TV for a flaky toaster strudel. Mmm... Then Sonic, which I love, but there aren't any here that I know of.

We just didn't even bother watching one of the shows we like, Cake Boss. For obvious reasons!

Now I can see why NYU doesn't recommend that we watch TV post surgery.

Boredom is my enemy

The weekends are the hardest. Totally want to munch even if I'm not hungry.

Usually, I'm pretty good about keeping a food journal. I'm particularly good about remembering what I've eaten, down to every little calorie, but since there's no variety in my diet, I can't keep it straight.

Did I have two shakes today or four?

I'm guessing three or four...but i also had a salad for lunch and steamed veg and soup for dinner.

I'm thinking I should set out the number of shakes I should eat each day so there's no question. Kind've like using a daily pill keeper so you know if you've taken your pills.

Wow, I'm not even 35 and my memory fails me!

13 lbs Gone in 11 Days!

So I had a nice boost this morning when I saw that I'm down 13 pounds in 11 days!

I'm really getting a hang of this pre-op diet. I definitely would've given up on it had it not been for the surgery however. The best thing is that I have a pretty even energy level throughout the day if I eat on schedule.

I had gone mostly without solid food (ie: vegetables) this week given all the meetings, but today I was lucky enough to get a salad for both lunch and dinner. Below is today's food journal...

Breakfast
Shake & Coffee
250 calories

Lunch
Shake
Soup
Salad & carrots
Diet Dr. Pepper
345 calories

Dinner
Shake
Salad
Diet Dr. Pepper
300 calories

895 Calories

By the way

Can I just say, that I am pretty much despising celery at the moment. Plain, stringy, hateful celery.

The crunch is fine, the flavor barely there but good enough. However, that damn stringy texture.

Have I mentioned this diet is making me cranky? More to come on that.

Empty Fridge

I had a weird thought last night when I went to get a shake from the fridge. I actually can't wait to have an empty fridge. With nothing in it except shakes and maybe some veg and water. For the liquid fast part of the diet (since they do let us have 2 cups of veg a day).

Somehow that just seems to be symbolic of purging all the crap and starting new.

Will definitely have to plan on a good clean out of both the fridge and the cabinet. It feels rather liberating. (I say that now!)

Lipton Cup-a-Soup

I'm trying to avoid the vending machine here at work this afternoon, so i dug through my drawer and found a box of Lipton's Cup-a-Soup spring vegetable.

I must admit, it looked pretty puny, especially at only 45 calories, but it did the trick. I am no longer starving. Definitely more of a snack than a meal, but good to know I have an option other than a candy bar to tide me over between the time I leave work and when I get home. That's always the hardest for me for whatever reason.

Not sure if this is the same size/ packaging (for the calories), but Amazon does seem to sell these. I think I'll need to get some more.

Back in action

So I've been a bit distracted since my trip to Texas for Mother's Day. I always use trips as an excuse to blow my diet. Which I did this time as well. And although I told myself I'd be back on my diet as of Monday, instead, I let myself get completely distracted in wedding planning! Alex and I finally set a date for the wedding. (More on that here).

However, I'm definitely going to have to get it together and lose some weight before the wedding! So I have some new motivation.

I'd like to figure out adding a new gym membership to my wedding saving budget, but New York gyms can be pricey.

So I'll start by joining Weight Watchers again...

Here we go...

Uh Oh! Sabotage!

So I've completely fallen off the wagon. Luckily, I have this blog to confess my sins, pick myself back up and keep on going.

I'd been slipping a bit, but then yesterday I just went all-out-off-the-diet. We ordered a pizza and had chips and dessert. Ug. And had my usual old Starbucks breakfast this morning and pizza again for lunch.

No good. I'm just cranky, and that's what I do when I'm cranky.

So I need to just accept my temporary defeat and start over. But I have a trip planned this weekend, so we'll see how this all goes! I will however report back!

Wow Dish: Baked Paprika Sweet Potato Fries

As a side to the veggie pulled chicken sandwich I had for dinner, I also baked some paprika sweet potato fries.

Another Wow! As you've probably noticed, I've labeled all my hit recipes a wow, that way you'll know what's best if you come searching for recipes. Just browse or search "Wow!" Plus, that way I can access them all easily when I'm putting together my list of meals for the week.

This blog is actually quite cookbook-like for me in that I can keep all my recipes together in one place. On occasion, I have also been known to have my laptop open on the kitchen counter next to me while I cook! I just can't touch it with sticky fingers!

As for these sweet potato fries, I actually tried two options tonight. I cut up one sweet potato (which went a surprisingly long way, PLENTY of fries for two people. Could've been stretched further even). With it, I tried two different options, both from The Kitchn - I think at this point my favorite go-to site for recipes since all of their stuff is so darn good!

Option A was the spicy option with chili pepper. Option B was with paprika. Both are tossed in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Be careful with the amount of oil you use however, as they seem to absorb it pretty easily.

The chili pepper was just okay, but the paprika just really amped up the natural taste of the sweet potato. Wow that was good!

I've tried sweet potato fries in the past and not liked them, but those weren't with paprika! Do note, however, that the centers do stay pretty soft, even once the outer edges get crispy. I actually cooked mine a bit longer than the recipe required.

Visit the Kitchn for the full recipe/instructions. I'm not a huge fan of rosemary so I didn't try that option, but I'd be curious to know what you think if you do.

Vegetarian Pulled Chicken Sandwich

Just had this It's All Good brand veggie barbecue pulled chicken on a grilled bun for dinner. Only two Weight Watchers points per serving. Two servings per box.

For all you vegetarians/vegans out there, I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for some variety. Or even if you aren't a vegetarian, but you want a low point meal, this is a good choice.

No Sugar Banana Bread

I'm not sure what's gotten into me, but I've been baking and cooking up a storm!!

So today I made a revised, diet-version of my mom's banana bread. I substituted the sugar with a sugar-free substitute called Ideal. I also replaced the 2 eggs with 1 egg and 2 egg whites.


In this case, I used chopped hazlenuts as that was surprisingly what was least expensive at the store.

It came out pretty well. Not as phenomenal as mom's original, but still pretty good. To help prevent over-indulging, I sliced and prepackaged each to grab and go for breakfast in the mornings.

Sugar-Free Banana Bread Recipe below:

3/4 c. artificial baking sweetner
1 egg + 2 egg whites
2 c. bisquick or other baking mix
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 mashed bananas
chopped nuts

Cream sugar and eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add nuts and bananas. Mix. Pour into greased pan and bake @ 375 degrees for 35 min.

Enjoy!

La Colombe Torrefaction

It's nice to know that despite the diet, I don't have to give up a really great cup of coffee. My friend Mary treated me to a cup at the posh little coffee shop across the street from our office this afternoon, La Colombe Torrefaction.

I love that place, and their coffee, although strong, is very good.

And how awesome is that little embellishment they do with the milk!

Plus, we had a Gabriel Byrne sighting while there too. Another perk!

Thanks Mary!

What *are* ramps exactly?

So ramps seem to be a big thing in the local culinary scene here in New York, but until yesterday, I'd never even heard of them.

Turns out they are what I imagine to be a cross between green onions and leeks. Mostly like small leeks from what I understand. See above.

Given that I'm so into trying new things these days, I'm going to have to head on over to the farmer's market in Union Square to find some.

Both the New York Times and The Kitchn posted about them this week. Check out their ideas about how to use them below, and let me know how you would prepare them? I need some additional inspiration on this one...

Suggested Recipes:

Ricotta gnocci with ramp pesto
Morel mushrooms and ramp pizza
Ramp risotto
Sauteed ramps

Plantain Inspiration: Sweet plantain omelette

I love cooking new and interesting things. I just finished reading Mark Bittman's post on plantains, and I've been inspired. I've had plantains before but have never cooked with them, so I'm looking forward to mixing it up a bit.

I live in a hispanic neighborhood, so plantains are easy to find. In fact, I picked up a couple on the way home tonight.

Bittman writes about frying them up. However, I've also seen a couple of other interesting options such as a sweet plantain omelette. Details on the omlette below. I've adapted the recipe. The amount of eggs and other ingredients is optional/to taste.

Also note, the plaintains should ripen and turn yellow/black before using them. It can take up to two weeks for them to ripen.

For the omelette, beat egg whites and mix in a dash of salt and nutmeg. In a separate pan, use a cooking spray and cook the plantains on both sides, until medium golden brown.

Add cheese, plantains and garlic to egg mixture and whisk. Coat large sauce pan with oil, butter or non-stick spray, cooking egg mixture on medium heat on one side for about 5-6 minutes. Gently flip over and cook for another 5-6 minutes or until egg is thoroughly cooked through.

If you are unable to flip the omelette over, place omelette on oven-safe pan/skillet. Finish cooking in oven on 350°F for about 10 minutes or until you know egg is thoroughly cooked, or golden.

See the complete original recipe here on Bren's Flamboyant Eats.

Mark Bittman's NYTimes post also has a number of interesting suggestions in the comments section.

Wow Meal: Peruvian Aji Verde Sauce

While it's not a meal, it will definitely make your meal! Alex made the most phenomenal aji verde sauce tonight to go with our dinner. Alex is half Peruvian, and I first had this sauce at a Peruvian restaurant in Brooklyn.

I found a Weight Watchers version of it yesterday, so we had to try it out.

The recipe shows it with roasted chicken, but we were looking for something simple tonight so we ate it with veggie quesadillas. It completely makes a dish!

Light and fresh and only 1.5 points per serving, it's a blend of jalapenos, cilantro, olive oil, garlic, half & half and a few other seasonings. I was a bit nervous about all the jalapenos, but Alex adjusted the combination a bit so it only had a little kick. Also, a little goes a long way!

See the complete lower calorie recipe here on Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipe Blog.

For the more traditional version, see the Wandering Chopsticks recipe. Photo via Wandering Chopsticks.