A new recipe

I thought I would share this veggie recipe with you. I was very happy how it turned out, just using what I had on hand, keeping mindful of *healthy* and non-meat.

veggie soup

3 lg russet potatoes-cubed
a handful of baby carrots, cut up
1 med. sweet onion, diced
saute the above in 1/8 cup olive/canola oil mixed, until slightly brown
add 1 lg garlic clove that has been flattened and cut fine
1 lg can of whole tomatoes, tear apart with hands, add juice as well
I was in a hurry so I let this boil for a bit, maybe 20 min. then
add 1 can of black beans
a couple dashes of franks hot sauce.
fresh ground pepper.
cook until tender.

This soup has the consistency of a chili, probably because It got reduced down through the high boiling....you don't have to do this, but I tell you...it was great like this, and I kind of thought Chili when I was eating it. I had some carb freedom flour tortillas and cabots 75% fat free cheese on hand so I made quesidillias, sorry about the spelling on this...Let me know if you try this.

Wow....is the *vacation* over???

Apparently, someone opened the door, and I have been running wild for over a month!!! Time to rein it back in.
I weighed in today at 163. Time to start back to *being accountable*, with my food journal. I have been on the treadmill, every other day. I have worked up to 5 min warm ups and 20 min. running at 3.6-3.9 mph, followed by a 5 min. cool down. I find that about 7 min. into running my feeling of dread goes away and a zen like quality takes over, and I feel I could run for a long time in that zone. I usually have something on the TV to watch, I find that a hockey game is perfect to watch on the treadmill...((GO REDWINGS)).
I have to come up with a plan to save for another treadmill....When I bought the one I have it was a floor model, and it is a little wobbly, I have tried to tighten the blots, but it still moves when I run on it. When I hold the side rails and pull in, it feels more stable, and running is better. The belt is also pulling to the left. I don't know how to solve these two problems, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. The belt is also separating, and I don't know if this is due to the belt rubbing on the left side. It works for now, and I am sure it can be fixed, by someone. I may have to do some calling around. You have to think tho, to haul it somewhere and pay someone to repair it, how much more would it be for a new one....and then there is the problem of finding a new home for this one.....I guess I need to do some research. My philosophy is to work with what I have, and to save money....and be creative with what I have to work with, it the meantime, maybe I need to set out a jar, and pay myself so much for each mile I do, as a motivation to keep to my plan and to save for a new machine....Right now I am doing 30 min, and not quite 2 miles. It may take awhile.......

Weigh In Day

Well, no weight loss recorded this week. The good thing about journaling all the food I eat, I can go back and look at it and see why this was. I think I need to add more veggies in my diet. I know I am eating a lot of carbs, but they are complex. I am keeping the saturated fat below 10, which my doctor recommends. My exercise so far has been limited to work, the walk I do while working and the 15 min. break I get, is usually spent walking downtown, which usually ends up being 20 min, on our route. I average 8000 steps a day, and I need to get that up to 10,000 as my next goal. I need to add variety to my diet. I have stayed away from beef and pork, altho one day I did have a couple slices of ham lunchmeat. High in sodium, which I need to stay away from. I also surrendered to a favorite, especially around the holidays...as I was grocery shopping I came across the baking isle, and a jar of mincemeat caught my eye, and being expensive I thought twice about it. The memory's it evoked was worth the price, because it took me back to the *farm*, and my grandmas country cooking, and a fresh mincemeat pie sitting on the holiday table....It was delicious. I haven't calculated yet the calories, ect for one piece. I am sure the crust will be the biggest culprit. It isn't really that big of a challenge for me to watch what I eat during the holidays, I just don't have the desire for all that *sweet stuff*...I think the increase in fiber keeps my appetite in check. This week I will try to;
1. Add more fruit and veggies
2. Increase my steps to 10,000
3. Add more variety to my meals

New foods...

Tofu, Gimmie Lean, ground beef substitute, hummus...I have another recipe for Seitan, I tried it once before, and it was ok...this recipe I have now is for pepperoni. I want to try that for pizza. Veggie pizza is my favorite anyway, but...something to try. I don't know how vegan cheese would be on a pizza, but if I want to try to cut out the fat, it is worth a try. Ok, this is what I made:
Tofu; I made chicken strips, and scrambled *eggs*, when I broke it up and fried it up with mushrooms and onions, I couldn't tell the difference between it and egg whites, well, actually I could, it had more body and more flavor. I will make that again.
Hummus; homemade hummus is the best, I will definitely make this again. I also cut up pita bread(top and bottom)into triangles and brushed them lightly with olive oil and crisped them up in a 375* oven for 8 mins. The chicken strip and hummus recipes can be found on http://www.vegweb.com/ .
Gimmie Lean, comes in a 1 lb log, like hamburger, looks similar. I added some liquid smoke and durkees new black pepper and fried it on the Foreman. It was very good, add tomato, and onions...and there ya go.....So far so good. I don't feel like I have *missed* anything in my diet yet...I don't feel *hungry* between meals, due to the increase in fiber. I do have two snacks, usually around 10:00 and 3:00, apple, kashi soy protein drink, or fiber one poptart. All in all, seems to be going well.

Weigh In Day

I weighed in this morning. I am down three pounds. You can click on the link to the right, if you want to see what I have been eating...I have cut out beef and pork, and increased the fiber, whole grains and fruit. I will be trying some new recipes this coming week, tofu bacon and tofu chicken fingers, www.Vegweb.com is where I found these recipes. The people who have tried these recipes rave about them.

Added Sparkpeople link

I have added a link to my Sparkpeople blog,( found in right had column) where you can go in and view what I have been eating, located in the right hand column.

A new adventure...

For years I fought getting on medication for high cholesterol, saying I could do it myself with diet...I lied, I never did, I may have made a feeble attempt. Finally a few years ago I was put on 10mg. and encouraged to follow a diet and exercise plan..I guess my mentality at the time was, well, I am on meds, they will take care of me...Then early this year I was raised to 20mg. and then this past week to 40mg. I didn't have a pencil to jot down my numbers but I will get them today. The overall Cholesterol wasn't that high, 220 I believe, and I say this because it has been 330, when I wasn't on meds, nor was I put on them at that time. My LDL if I can recall was 124, and I think that is why the raise to 40mg. I immediately went to the library and got several books on lowering it, scared that I was going down the *family history path*. I finally decided to be responsible for myself. This blog is about my journey. I will post the steps I am taking, natural treatments I try, books I read, information I cull. Feel free to comment, correct, encourage. This is an experiment, I am not a professional in this field, so it is all trial and error. I am my own case study. I might add that for added encouragement, I have decided NOT to go to 40mg, and add the natural cures in place, hoping to get dropped down to 10mg or less.