So welcome to the Early Edition of the blog. Yup I'm at work, but just wanted to write a few quick lines on the end of Week 5 and what looks like some good food coming up for the remainder of the week.
So first we will hit up the Week 5 update; In what I think was a very close call...I was able to hit the 5 pound mark again for weight loss for the week! So all in all, for 5 weeks I'm down 25 lbs!! Pretty flippin sweet if I may say so. I have a feeling that the next month is going to be a little tougher then the first 5 weeks were, but I'm up for the challenge...i've gone this far and I'm not stopping! My new short term goal is going to be to hit my wedding weight by the end of July; which I'm 15 pounds away so I think I can definitely do it! Originally this was my goal to get to before October, but with everything going so well so far...I'm changing things up a little bit. My final goal now (which is for October 31st) is still there and still looks very far away, but I now I can get there. Erin has been doing fantastic too, and we are both loving this new lifestyle. Now I've said this before and unfortunately I haven't stuck to my guns on it yet...but now I'm definitely going to start my working out plan. When we moved, I actually sold all of my workout equipment...basically because we didn't have room for it. So instead we've purchased some of the resistance bands to get a good workout at home now. We still have Erin's elliptical and we can always go for a walk, bike ride or god forbid...run. LOL
Since we're going on a quick note today...some upcoming recipes for the week; we have Barbequed Salmon, Tropical Glazed Chicken, Mexican Lasagna and Sirloin Chop Steak burgers...and more. Looks to be a good week of food and I even have some more recipes coming in with the purchase of a few more recipe books.
Things are getting better and the future is bright...I may even have to wear shades LOL! Have a fantastic day all! Happy Hump Day :-)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
The good, the bad and the...
Five week check-up is tomorrow...weigh in time is soon upon me. Whatever happens, this has been a fantastic 5 weeks. If I go down another 5 lbs I think it would be amazing, but like I said the other day even just 1 pound is a victory in this battle. Five weeks of great recipes, five weeks of seeing definite changes in myself. More energy, I don't feel stuffy and sick anymore (who knows if that was the eating and weight - but i'll take it), overall I'm just enjoying life right now. Tonight is gonna be a short one I think...but who knows what happens when my mind starts a going.
Erin is finally home...but had a meeting tonight - figures! So dinner was on my own after shopping. We've been spending about the same on groceries that we were before but we aren't throwing away or losing anywhere near as much food as we were. Veggies, veggies, veggies! Tonight's dinner was by myself and it was a quick 10 minute meal. Sauteed Shrimp in a garlic butter sauce (only a little butter LOL) on top of brown rice with a side of mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots and cauliflower). Quick, easy and veeeeeery tasty! Green Giant has these great steamer bags of vegetables, one of which I tried tonight. They have about 4 different varieties and come in some sort of light sauce. This bag was perfect because it was in a garlic butter sauce. For two people you could probably get a serving each out of the bag. The entire bag is only about 120 calories when prepared.
Tomorrow night we are heading up to Shannon, Mike & Norah's house to visit with them and of course all the Cook's who are in town. Should be a fun time seeing all the little kids. I can't wait to see how big they are now. Erin and I saw them last November, so it should be a fun visit. We're going up for dinner...taco night, so Erin and I will probably bring some lettuce to do taco salads. Try to keep up with our stuff no matter what...I know one taco shell won't kill me, but it's nice to see that I have the willpower to keep everything going.
Well time for bed...maybe dishes first, maybe a movie in bed, maybe make some chicken salad...LOL who knows. I like to keep my options open, ya know!
Erin is finally home...but had a meeting tonight - figures! So dinner was on my own after shopping. We've been spending about the same on groceries that we were before but we aren't throwing away or losing anywhere near as much food as we were. Veggies, veggies, veggies! Tonight's dinner was by myself and it was a quick 10 minute meal. Sauteed Shrimp in a garlic butter sauce (only a little butter LOL) on top of brown rice with a side of mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots and cauliflower). Quick, easy and veeeeeery tasty! Green Giant has these great steamer bags of vegetables, one of which I tried tonight. They have about 4 different varieties and come in some sort of light sauce. This bag was perfect because it was in a garlic butter sauce. For two people you could probably get a serving each out of the bag. The entire bag is only about 120 calories when prepared.
Tomorrow night we are heading up to Shannon, Mike & Norah's house to visit with them and of course all the Cook's who are in town. Should be a fun time seeing all the little kids. I can't wait to see how big they are now. Erin and I saw them last November, so it should be a fun visit. We're going up for dinner...taco night, so Erin and I will probably bring some lettuce to do taco salads. Try to keep up with our stuff no matter what...I know one taco shell won't kill me, but it's nice to see that I have the willpower to keep everything going.
Well time for bed...maybe dishes first, maybe a movie in bed, maybe make some chicken salad...LOL who knows. I like to keep my options open, ya know!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
When the sun starts to shine...it rains again!
Ya know, just when you think things are going really well...life just dumps on ya. So like I was saying in yesterday's blog...things are going really well...then today happens! It was as if God wanted everything to go wrong today...well mission accomplished.
So first I call a guy in to take a look at why the big AC isn't working in our dining room. He doesn't show up when he's supposed too and ruins the entire afternoon. Was originally showing up between 12-2...then called said there was an emergency and that he could reschedule to 4-5. OK so when he finally gets here (5:15 BTW)...he takes a look at the AC and the compressor is shot. Fantastic news! OK well since he came so late and I had gotten my hands into a number of other things around the house, I wasn't able to make it up to Nick's house to hang out with the Dragons tonight. I did a lot of laundry today which was good and then strike two comes just after I eat dinner tonight. The god damn dryer's heating element now doesn't work anymore. AWESOME!
Now there is a little back story to this whole dryer crap. At some point during the winter our dryer outtake line became clogged. Basically no air was able to move outside because....with the very cold weather and the outtake line being in the attic (with no heat) any water residue that was built up in the line froze. This caused the entire line to sag in the middle, not allowing anything out. One day I just quickly opened up the attic "door" outside on our balcony and tried to take a look at what was going on. That was when I realized everything that I explained before. Now in the winter we had asked our landlord NUMEROUS times that something needed to be looked at because our clothes were not being dried by our dryer. He never came, never came...forgot (this is also how our lease issue has been too), then after i told him what the issue was...he said that it was "OUR" responsibility to fix it. I was like WTF dude...NO! First off i have to climb a 6 foot ladder on our balcony, to even get into the attic, then I would have to carefully walk on the 1900 looking wood up there to even got to the area where the line comes in to fix it. So now we come to today...all of the not fixing the outtake line and replacing what needed to be replaced has now caused the dryer's heating element to conk out. FANTASTIC!!!!
I really don't understand. Now I get to call my landlord AGAIN tomorrow to explain what his lack of attentiveness has caused. That should be a fun conversation. Well that really it for tonight, not in the mood to really write anymore. Erin is finally home tomorrow so that will be good! Peace
So first I call a guy in to take a look at why the big AC isn't working in our dining room. He doesn't show up when he's supposed too and ruins the entire afternoon. Was originally showing up between 12-2...then called said there was an emergency and that he could reschedule to 4-5. OK so when he finally gets here (5:15 BTW)...he takes a look at the AC and the compressor is shot. Fantastic news! OK well since he came so late and I had gotten my hands into a number of other things around the house, I wasn't able to make it up to Nick's house to hang out with the Dragons tonight. I did a lot of laundry today which was good and then strike two comes just after I eat dinner tonight. The god damn dryer's heating element now doesn't work anymore. AWESOME!
Now there is a little back story to this whole dryer crap. At some point during the winter our dryer outtake line became clogged. Basically no air was able to move outside because....with the very cold weather and the outtake line being in the attic (with no heat) any water residue that was built up in the line froze. This caused the entire line to sag in the middle, not allowing anything out. One day I just quickly opened up the attic "door" outside on our balcony and tried to take a look at what was going on. That was when I realized everything that I explained before. Now in the winter we had asked our landlord NUMEROUS times that something needed to be looked at because our clothes were not being dried by our dryer. He never came, never came...forgot (this is also how our lease issue has been too), then after i told him what the issue was...he said that it was "OUR" responsibility to fix it. I was like WTF dude...NO! First off i have to climb a 6 foot ladder on our balcony, to even get into the attic, then I would have to carefully walk on the 1900 looking wood up there to even got to the area where the line comes in to fix it. So now we come to today...all of the not fixing the outtake line and replacing what needed to be replaced has now caused the dryer's heating element to conk out. FANTASTIC!!!!
I really don't understand. Now I get to call my landlord AGAIN tomorrow to explain what his lack of attentiveness has caused. That should be a fun conversation. Well that really it for tonight, not in the mood to really write anymore. Erin is finally home tomorrow so that will be good! Peace
Another week bites the dust
Well another one down, and the start of the last weekend in June. I definitely say it's been a good month. Work has been going well, the diet is going well, I've lost at least 18 pounds just this month and all in all things are good. Now I know some of you (Beth) were unhappy that I didn't write last night and I apologize. Sometimes I just don't want to BS for 10 minutes if I don't have anything to say. Yes, yes...when do I not have anything to say, but sometimes there is just nothing important to be said.
So I finally have some news on the baby front...Erin had a good report at the doctor today, we'll find out more specifics tomorrow...but even better news could be coming over the next 4 months. Hopefully!
Another good thing happening soon is that Dragons hockey is back shortly too. I've definitely missed playing lately. After 5 games in less than 2 weeks, I kind of got a little spoiled. Luckily a few of us are getting together tomorrow for a little shindig at Nick's house, so I'll be able to get my Dragons fix in. Speaking of hockey...the first round of the NHL Entry Draft was tonight. And suffice it to say, I'm very happy with who the Devils picked with the #4 pick. A big defenseman, with good vision and what looks like the ability to be physical. The kid is 6'3", 200 lbs...and for his size is a very good skater as well. Do I think he could play next year with the Devils...Yes...do I think the Devils will give him a spot, probably not. If he gets a full year under his belt in Albany, I think he'll be playing by the 2012-2013 season. Also at one point during this scouting season he was ranked as the #1 player in the draft. Some people didn't think he'd slip to the #4 pick and ironically it's very similar to what happened when the Devils drafted Scott Niedermayer in 1991.
Finally we have the name of the relocated Winnipeg team and it is...the Jets! Very happy that they kept the name from the previous team. Now all that needs to be seen is what the jersey looks likes. Again, I hope they keep the old colors and logo as well. Too many teams change there stuff, here and there or come out with 3rd jerseys or alternate jerseys...it's really quite annoying. Though I'm always excited when the Devils wear the Red & Green right around St. Patty's day!
So tonight was the first time all week I've really cooked a new meal...and on tonight s menu was Oven Fried Chicken with Almonds. The almonds gave the breading and chicken a very nice nutty flavor. The breading was just whole wheat bread crumbs, garlic, Parmesan cheese, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Now if I was making chicken cutlets like normally, I would dip the chicken in an egg bath and then dredge them in the breading...instead this recipe had me coat the chicken with a little bit of olive oil, then dredge. I guess that is where the "fried" part comes from. Even though its really just baked. I finished the meal off with a saute of fresh veggies (red & green pepper, portobella mushrooms and shallots) and just laid the chicken over them. Very good stuff! For desert I made my favorite pudding...butterscotch! SOOOO GOOD...and only 70 calories! Fantastic.
Tomorrow is another day with Erin gone...so I'll be on my own again. Breakfast will be a lovely omelet again (I've missed those) then who knows for lunch/dinner since we will be at Nick's house. BTW side note...love the Great Khali in Get Smart LOL too funny he is. Light out time all...
So I finally have some news on the baby front...Erin had a good report at the doctor today, we'll find out more specifics tomorrow...but even better news could be coming over the next 4 months. Hopefully!
Another good thing happening soon is that Dragons hockey is back shortly too. I've definitely missed playing lately. After 5 games in less than 2 weeks, I kind of got a little spoiled. Luckily a few of us are getting together tomorrow for a little shindig at Nick's house, so I'll be able to get my Dragons fix in. Speaking of hockey...the first round of the NHL Entry Draft was tonight. And suffice it to say, I'm very happy with who the Devils picked with the #4 pick. A big defenseman, with good vision and what looks like the ability to be physical. The kid is 6'3", 200 lbs...and for his size is a very good skater as well. Do I think he could play next year with the Devils...Yes...do I think the Devils will give him a spot, probably not. If he gets a full year under his belt in Albany, I think he'll be playing by the 2012-2013 season. Also at one point during this scouting season he was ranked as the #1 player in the draft. Some people didn't think he'd slip to the #4 pick and ironically it's very similar to what happened when the Devils drafted Scott Niedermayer in 1991.
Finally we have the name of the relocated Winnipeg team and it is...the Jets! Very happy that they kept the name from the previous team. Now all that needs to be seen is what the jersey looks likes. Again, I hope they keep the old colors and logo as well. Too many teams change there stuff, here and there or come out with 3rd jerseys or alternate jerseys...it's really quite annoying. Though I'm always excited when the Devils wear the Red & Green right around St. Patty's day!
So tonight was the first time all week I've really cooked a new meal...and on tonight s menu was Oven Fried Chicken with Almonds. The almonds gave the breading and chicken a very nice nutty flavor. The breading was just whole wheat bread crumbs, garlic, Parmesan cheese, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Now if I was making chicken cutlets like normally, I would dip the chicken in an egg bath and then dredge them in the breading...instead this recipe had me coat the chicken with a little bit of olive oil, then dredge. I guess that is where the "fried" part comes from. Even though its really just baked. I finished the meal off with a saute of fresh veggies (red & green pepper, portobella mushrooms and shallots) and just laid the chicken over them. Very good stuff! For desert I made my favorite pudding...butterscotch! SOOOO GOOD...and only 70 calories! Fantastic.
Tomorrow is another day with Erin gone...so I'll be on my own again. Breakfast will be a lovely omelet again (I've missed those) then who knows for lunch/dinner since we will be at Nick's house. BTW side note...love the Great Khali in Get Smart LOL too funny he is. Light out time all...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
OK it's time to get a little "Chuck" on everyone tonight
You know what I hate...people who never fricken signal! It's right there...they didn't put it in the trunk to make it difficult to use, or in the glove compartment, or under your seat, or even a button on the damn radio display! It's RIGHT THERE...it's within a FINGERS REACH! What the hell people. You can drink your damn Starbucks, talk on the phone, play with your radio and do your effing make-up, but apparently moving your finger about 3 inches is WAAAAAAY too much work for you. You exert more energy texting "LOL" to your best friend then it takes for you to click up or down! GRRRRRRRR
You know what also annoys me...people who think they have talent. I love watching America's Got Talent on NBC (shameless plug...they paid me nothing to say that HA)...anywho...but these people...what in the world are they thinking. Eating a pumpkin pie in 90 seconds on a stage...in front people...and the reason it's a talent is because...............YOU DON'T LIKE PUMPKIN! What drugs are you taking??? Another thing...kids who shouldn't be singing...even at a karaoke bar...come on parents think before you send your kid to a national talent show! I said it once and I'll say it again...if you love to do something - GREAT - but parents at some point in time need to be honest with there kids and be like..."honey, I think you should look into sewing, or coloring between the lines...cause this "singing" your doing, just don't work! I love to play hockey...but you don't see me going to try out for the NHL.
Adults who can't dance! This guy last night looked like he was having electro-shock therapy. The human vagina, pushing silk pillows out of its costume. If you haven't seen it...check it out here. ORRRRR how bout the Tron guy...REALLY wow you can make a costume...AWESOME! I know what some people will say...well they're getting exactly what they want, people talking about them after the fact. This is what happens when parents don't tell there kids they have no talent...you get these 3 geniuses. If you're gonna suck and have no talent at least be funny about it and have a sense of humor and don't get pissed when you get 3 X's! OK--edit after I wrote this paragraph...we know have a guy dressed in glitter and boy shirts, with 4in heals doing pole dancing! HONESTLY, I don't even care if he's good...and they put him through jeez.
OK now onto hockey...NHL awards were tonight...pretty good show, these guys still are not really "made" for this kind of stuff. Speeches in front of people sometimes just don't work. Glad that Tim Thomas won the Vezina over Roberto BOOO-ongo...AND I'M BACK..sorry about that. Best parts of the awards...Doug Weight, even though he's on Carolina Jeff Skinner, Cory Perry (who can't speak in front of crowds), Stamkos as the NHL 12 cover and the 2 stupid Housewives of somewhere who pronounced Martin St. Louis like the name of the city in Missouri! Your gonna be on TV at least learn how to say the guys name...oh wait there are three possible winners, it may be tough for you to remember that many words at once!
Enough of the rant (I know some of you expected this way before the 5th week LOL). Dinner tonight was some very excellent reheated Stuffed Fillet of Sole with mashed sweet potato. Tomorrow night will be the Beef Burgundy. It will be so much better when Erin comes back home and we can start making some new dishes. I miss her! :-(
You know what also annoys me...people who think they have talent. I love watching America's Got Talent on NBC (shameless plug...they paid me nothing to say that HA)...anywho...but these people...what in the world are they thinking. Eating a pumpkin pie in 90 seconds on a stage...in front people...and the reason it's a talent is because...............YOU DON'T LIKE PUMPKIN! What drugs are you taking??? Another thing...kids who shouldn't be singing...even at a karaoke bar...come on parents think before you send your kid to a national talent show! I said it once and I'll say it again...if you love to do something - GREAT - but parents at some point in time need to be honest with there kids and be like..."honey, I think you should look into sewing, or coloring between the lines...cause this "singing" your doing, just don't work! I love to play hockey...but you don't see me going to try out for the NHL.
Adults who can't dance! This guy last night looked like he was having electro-shock therapy. The human vagina, pushing silk pillows out of its costume. If you haven't seen it...check it out here. ORRRRR how bout the Tron guy...REALLY wow you can make a costume...AWESOME! I know what some people will say...well they're getting exactly what they want, people talking about them after the fact. This is what happens when parents don't tell there kids they have no talent...you get these 3 geniuses. If you're gonna suck and have no talent at least be funny about it and have a sense of humor and don't get pissed when you get 3 X's! OK--edit after I wrote this paragraph...we know have a guy dressed in glitter and boy shirts, with 4in heals doing pole dancing! HONESTLY, I don't even care if he's good...and they put him through jeez.
OK now onto hockey...NHL awards were tonight...pretty good show, these guys still are not really "made" for this kind of stuff. Speeches in front of people sometimes just don't work. Glad that Tim Thomas won the Vezina over Roberto BOOO-ongo...AND I'M BACK..sorry about that. Best parts of the awards...Doug Weight, even though he's on Carolina Jeff Skinner, Cory Perry (who can't speak in front of crowds), Stamkos as the NHL 12 cover and the 2 stupid Housewives of somewhere who pronounced Martin St. Louis like the name of the city in Missouri! Your gonna be on TV at least learn how to say the guys name...oh wait there are three possible winners, it may be tough for you to remember that many words at once!
Enough of the rant (I know some of you expected this way before the 5th week LOL). Dinner tonight was some very excellent reheated Stuffed Fillet of Sole with mashed sweet potato. Tomorrow night will be the Beef Burgundy. It will be so much better when Erin comes back home and we can start making some new dishes. I miss her! :-(
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Yo! It's about that time...
...To bring forth the rhythm and the rhyme! OH YES...I went Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch on ya'll! LOL
Anyway...I'm feeling good today (hence Good Vibrations)! This morning woke up at the crack of dawn so I could get to work a bit early and finish up some things that I needed to get done, before the actual day started. I jumped on the scale...and waited in anticipation and BAM...down another 5 lbs for the week and a total of 20 pounds in 4 weeks! Yea I did a little fist pump for myself! Feels really good to know that I can do this; and what's even better is that I'm doing it with my love, my star, my cutie...Erin! We are both doing really well and I'm very proud of us. I've had a bunch of compliments the last few days on how people can definitely see a change in my body and it feels great. Now the big question is if I can keep this up next week...
I really think I can...It's going to be hard to keep up a 5 pound a week average but even 1 pound is a victory! The one best thing about these past 4 weeks is the fact that we have had the same thing for dinner only ONCE! (not counting leftovers) Everything has been different and we probably have a good 15 dishes to put on a menu for dinner and rotate around. And there are also at least another 15-20 more recipes that I want to try...that's only the books we have...there is still the website and other books. It's a good thing i love to cook...and I feel like I've learned some stuff about food - substitutes for certain things and ways to make the dishes I love fit in with what we are trying to do health wise. My knife skills have even gotten a little better too; so much damn chopping and mincing and julienning LOL thats definitely not a word, oh well.
The rest of the week Erin is out, so this gives me some time to eat the leftovers of stuff we have in the freezer. Tomorrow night will be, probably the Stuffed Fillet of Sole I made...then Thursday the Beef Burgundy leftovers...then a new dish for Friday! It also gives me time to cleanup the pantry and kind of organize the kitchen a little better too. I feel discombobulated in the kitchen sometimes looking for things. Maybe I'll even get ride of some of the numerous cooking spoons we have (that's for Erin)...or maybe not LOL. A man can never have too many spoons I always say!
On a totally different note...the root canal is finally finished, got my permanent crown in today...and some good news from the Devils...they've gone to arbitration with Zach Parise, so he'll be a Devil next year and the team has a full season to figure out a deal. We definitely missed him last season, but even with him healthy last year...I don't think it would have changed too much. Only 4 more months till hockey comes back - I can't wait!
So since we started out with one Good Vibrations...I'll leave you with another one, from the Beach Boys! "I'm pickin' up good vibrations - good good good good vibrations - she's given' me excitations" Night all!
Anyway...I'm feeling good today (hence Good Vibrations)! This morning woke up at the crack of dawn so I could get to work a bit early and finish up some things that I needed to get done, before the actual day started. I jumped on the scale...and waited in anticipation and BAM...down another 5 lbs for the week and a total of 20 pounds in 4 weeks! Yea I did a little fist pump for myself! Feels really good to know that I can do this; and what's even better is that I'm doing it with my love, my star, my cutie...Erin! We are both doing really well and I'm very proud of us. I've had a bunch of compliments the last few days on how people can definitely see a change in my body and it feels great. Now the big question is if I can keep this up next week...
I really think I can...It's going to be hard to keep up a 5 pound a week average but even 1 pound is a victory! The one best thing about these past 4 weeks is the fact that we have had the same thing for dinner only ONCE! (not counting leftovers) Everything has been different and we probably have a good 15 dishes to put on a menu for dinner and rotate around. And there are also at least another 15-20 more recipes that I want to try...that's only the books we have...there is still the website and other books. It's a good thing i love to cook...and I feel like I've learned some stuff about food - substitutes for certain things and ways to make the dishes I love fit in with what we are trying to do health wise. My knife skills have even gotten a little better too; so much damn chopping and mincing and julienning LOL thats definitely not a word, oh well.
The rest of the week Erin is out, so this gives me some time to eat the leftovers of stuff we have in the freezer. Tomorrow night will be, probably the Stuffed Fillet of Sole I made...then Thursday the Beef Burgundy leftovers...then a new dish for Friday! It also gives me time to cleanup the pantry and kind of organize the kitchen a little better too. I feel discombobulated in the kitchen sometimes looking for things. Maybe I'll even get ride of some of the numerous cooking spoons we have (that's for Erin)...or maybe not LOL. A man can never have too many spoons I always say!
On a totally different note...the root canal is finally finished, got my permanent crown in today...and some good news from the Devils...they've gone to arbitration with Zach Parise, so he'll be a Devil next year and the team has a full season to figure out a deal. We definitely missed him last season, but even with him healthy last year...I don't think it would have changed too much. Only 4 more months till hockey comes back - I can't wait!
So since we started out with one Good Vibrations...I'll leave you with another one, from the Beach Boys! "I'm pickin' up good vibrations - good good good good vibrations - she's given' me excitations" Night all!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Back at it Again...
Welcome to the Monday Night blog post! Trying to make up for no post yesterday with it being Father's Day and I was down on Long Island. It's funny every time I go back to Oceanside something else changes and they put more stop signs up around town. It's crazy! But it was good seeing my parents especially my dad and of course Peanut the crazy little dachshund they have. Usually we would do appetizers before we head out to dinner but none of that this time with watching what we're eating. Before Erin and I headed over to there place we of course made a few pit stops. Stopped by my friend Joe's place in Long Beach (which is literally a block from the beach), and then stopped by my alternate parents house the Kraemers. Always good visiting everyone.
For dinner we headed over to Sanibel, an Italian restaurant in Lynbrook. We've been there a number of times and it is always good. So with trying to keep with the whole eating well thing, I believe I did a pretty good job. Started off with a salad, no bread, and had a few pieces of the calamari that my parents ordered. For dinner I ended up getting the marinated skirt steak with grilled shrimp and a small dish of sliced vegetables (carrots, zucchini and something else LOL). The steak was great...the marinade is always good there and on the side they offer a few types of sauces for dipping. I ordered the wild mushroom demi, while Erin ordered the shallot and blue cheese one. I had enough of the salad and steak leftover that I had lunch for today at work.
Well tomorrow is weigh in day...things look pretty good that I may be down 20 lbs when I weigh in. I'm not counting on anything before that, but I could be down another 5 lbs this week. It's absolutely amazing (I feel) that in one month, I'm down 20 lbs. I never would have thought just eating a little different would change my weight so much. I keep saying that it's really not happening, and I can only imagine what will happen in the future and when I really start exercising.
Also for the rest of the week Erin is out at Miss Connecticut stuff, so I'll be home alone. Basically I'll be cleaning up the leftovers that we have in the freezer for dinner. Stuffed fillet of sole and Beef Burgundy will be on the menu and I'll have to make probably just 1 or 2 dinners myself. Tonight's dinner was an interesting hodge podge of food. Leftover meatloaf (a very small piece), some shrimp that I sauteed in garlic and herbs and then a portobella mushroom topped with chopped tomato's and a blend of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Odd, yet very good!
Well it's off to do some dishes...till weigh in day tomorrow!
For dinner we headed over to Sanibel, an Italian restaurant in Lynbrook. We've been there a number of times and it is always good. So with trying to keep with the whole eating well thing, I believe I did a pretty good job. Started off with a salad, no bread, and had a few pieces of the calamari that my parents ordered. For dinner I ended up getting the marinated skirt steak with grilled shrimp and a small dish of sliced vegetables (carrots, zucchini and something else LOL). The steak was great...the marinade is always good there and on the side they offer a few types of sauces for dipping. I ordered the wild mushroom demi, while Erin ordered the shallot and blue cheese one. I had enough of the salad and steak leftover that I had lunch for today at work.
Well tomorrow is weigh in day...things look pretty good that I may be down 20 lbs when I weigh in. I'm not counting on anything before that, but I could be down another 5 lbs this week. It's absolutely amazing (I feel) that in one month, I'm down 20 lbs. I never would have thought just eating a little different would change my weight so much. I keep saying that it's really not happening, and I can only imagine what will happen in the future and when I really start exercising.
Also for the rest of the week Erin is out at Miss Connecticut stuff, so I'll be home alone. Basically I'll be cleaning up the leftovers that we have in the freezer for dinner. Stuffed fillet of sole and Beef Burgundy will be on the menu and I'll have to make probably just 1 or 2 dinners myself. Tonight's dinner was an interesting hodge podge of food. Leftover meatloaf (a very small piece), some shrimp that I sauteed in garlic and herbs and then a portobella mushroom topped with chopped tomato's and a blend of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Odd, yet very good!
Well it's off to do some dishes...till weigh in day tomorrow!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
A little beef goes a loooooong way
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday nights alright WOOOOOO! Man, I love the weekend! OK so the title of tonight post doesn't have anything to do with the first line, but whatever...IT'S SATURDAY! So a little business to take care of before we get started tonight...first off since tomorrow is Father's Day, I'd like to send a Happy Father's Day to all my friends out there who are father's and especially to my dad of course! I wouldn't be the man I am today without a great person to look up to like my dad; even though he doesn't read my blog...THANKS POP!
So as a tribute to my pop, I'll give his most favorite line to sum up tonight's dinner - "Veeeeery Tasty"! Man was it good. Beef Burgundy was on the menu tonight over whole wheat pasta. Now this meal is definitely not a during the week thing (unless you're having the leftovers), because it took almost 3 hours to prepare and cook. However it is definitely worth it! Sauteed beef to just get it nice and brown on the outside, then set aside. In the same pot add in onions, mushrooms and garlic till the onion just gets a bit of color. Now comes the delicious part...add in the burgundy wine, beef broth, tomato paste and beef back to the pot. Now for those of you who don't know (cause I didn't) Burgundy is an area in France (LOL) so if you're looking for the wine look in the french section. I got the wrong wine, of course and used a Port instead. If you can't find a burgundy wine, you can use any dry red wine as a substitute.
Once you've got the liquids, veggies and beef to a boil, set it to low and simmer for two hours. This burns off the alcohol and really infuses the flavors into the veggies and the beef. We decided to eat it over pasta, but you could do it with rice, mashed potato's would be great too. Like I said it took a while, but it was sooooo good. Like with everything we've cooked during our eating style change (diet), we had plenty to use for leftovers. I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to do a simple, yet elegant and refined dinner. This is a dish you could find a many french restaurants.
Tomorrow night is a dinner out night with Erin and my parents to celebrate Father's Day and Mother's Day since we haven't seen my parents for a few months. This will be the first time that I'll be eating out and not cooking food myself. We are going to a fish place, so as long as I keep the bread away, and watch carefully what sides I choose to eat, I should be fine. I think I'll be fine...like I said I believe I have retrained my body to think a different way when I eat. Also yesterday I had my first comment to get a recipe (Thanks Sarah), keep em' coming people, I wouldn't steer you the wrong way. I may be eating healthier, but I ain't gonna bullshit about good food. Night all!
So as a tribute to my pop, I'll give his most favorite line to sum up tonight's dinner - "Veeeeery Tasty"! Man was it good. Beef Burgundy was on the menu tonight over whole wheat pasta. Now this meal is definitely not a during the week thing (unless you're having the leftovers), because it took almost 3 hours to prepare and cook. However it is definitely worth it! Sauteed beef to just get it nice and brown on the outside, then set aside. In the same pot add in onions, mushrooms and garlic till the onion just gets a bit of color. Now comes the delicious part...add in the burgundy wine, beef broth, tomato paste and beef back to the pot. Now for those of you who don't know (cause I didn't) Burgundy is an area in France (LOL) so if you're looking for the wine look in the french section. I got the wrong wine, of course and used a Port instead. If you can't find a burgundy wine, you can use any dry red wine as a substitute.
Once you've got the liquids, veggies and beef to a boil, set it to low and simmer for two hours. This burns off the alcohol and really infuses the flavors into the veggies and the beef. We decided to eat it over pasta, but you could do it with rice, mashed potato's would be great too. Like I said it took a while, but it was sooooo good. Like with everything we've cooked during our eating style change (diet), we had plenty to use for leftovers. I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to do a simple, yet elegant and refined dinner. This is a dish you could find a many french restaurants.
Tomorrow night is a dinner out night with Erin and my parents to celebrate Father's Day and Mother's Day since we haven't seen my parents for a few months. This will be the first time that I'll be eating out and not cooking food myself. We are going to a fish place, so as long as I keep the bread away, and watch carefully what sides I choose to eat, I should be fine. I think I'll be fine...like I said I believe I have retrained my body to think a different way when I eat. Also yesterday I had my first comment to get a recipe (Thanks Sarah), keep em' coming people, I wouldn't steer you the wrong way. I may be eating healthier, but I ain't gonna bullshit about good food. Night all!
Mother nature is a pain in my butt
Week 1 of craziness at work is up. I don't think we forgot anything, we'll see on Monday. Thanks to my great team for there hard work this week; I wouldn't be as good a manager as I am without the support of my great team. At least next week, I only have to do design stuff!
Today's car rides during both rush hours sucked! Huge thunder & lightning downpours, dropping buckets upon buckets of rain in a very short amount of time. I almost couldn't get out of Bridgeport because every time I went to turn down a road, it was flooded. The same thing almost happened on the way home too in Westport. Luckily I didn't float away. Erin is up at the Miss CT Gala tonight, so I've had the place to myself. I wish I could see what she looked like tonight all dressed up, because she always looks so pretty. Didn't really do much, cooked a nice dinner, cleaned the kitchen, watched some Whale Wars...a very boring night. I also did the spring cleaning on my computer desk FINALLY! Only a few months late...but I did get it in before the "official" start of summer.
Before we get to dinner...I kind of have to retract something I said the other night about the Vancouver fans at the conclusion of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. While they were great inside the arena, cheering on Boston and certain players...outside the arena it was bedlam. I find it to be an absolute disgrace that fans would behave like that. I don't care if you win or lose...that's just terrible! Hey we won...lets burn a car - hey we lost...lets riot...stupid. Disgraceful Vancouver and such a sour note to end what was a great series.
Finally for my dinner tonight, I had a wonderful plate of Grilled Raspberry Chicken with brown rice and a grilled portobella mushroom cap. Took about an hour to marinate the chicken, but boy did the marinade give the chicken an awesome flavor. Raspberry wine vinegar, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and pepper, that's it! Really easy to make get some nice grill marks on the chicken for a bit of a crust and perfect. I added a little bit of the raspberry wine vinegar to the water that I boiled the rice in to give it a little more flavor than the rice normally has. One little piece of chicken, less than a cup of rice, a side salad and I was done. I've found that I definitely don't eat as much as I did before and I get full quicker too. I don't know if it's just a mind thing, or if I'm actually understanding in my stomach and my head what "full" actually means.
Well its late and I'm tired...tomorrow night is our first attempt with whole wheat pasta. Should be interesting...I'm making a beef burgundy dish...that reminds me; I need to get the burgundy wine LOL
Today's car rides during both rush hours sucked! Huge thunder & lightning downpours, dropping buckets upon buckets of rain in a very short amount of time. I almost couldn't get out of Bridgeport because every time I went to turn down a road, it was flooded. The same thing almost happened on the way home too in Westport. Luckily I didn't float away. Erin is up at the Miss CT Gala tonight, so I've had the place to myself. I wish I could see what she looked like tonight all dressed up, because she always looks so pretty. Didn't really do much, cooked a nice dinner, cleaned the kitchen, watched some Whale Wars...a very boring night. I also did the spring cleaning on my computer desk FINALLY! Only a few months late...but I did get it in before the "official" start of summer.
Before we get to dinner...I kind of have to retract something I said the other night about the Vancouver fans at the conclusion of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. While they were great inside the arena, cheering on Boston and certain players...outside the arena it was bedlam. I find it to be an absolute disgrace that fans would behave like that. I don't care if you win or lose...that's just terrible! Hey we won...lets burn a car - hey we lost...lets riot...stupid. Disgraceful Vancouver and such a sour note to end what was a great series.
Finally for my dinner tonight, I had a wonderful plate of Grilled Raspberry Chicken with brown rice and a grilled portobella mushroom cap. Took about an hour to marinate the chicken, but boy did the marinade give the chicken an awesome flavor. Raspberry wine vinegar, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and pepper, that's it! Really easy to make get some nice grill marks on the chicken for a bit of a crust and perfect. I added a little bit of the raspberry wine vinegar to the water that I boiled the rice in to give it a little more flavor than the rice normally has. One little piece of chicken, less than a cup of rice, a side salad and I was done. I've found that I definitely don't eat as much as I did before and I get full quicker too. I don't know if it's just a mind thing, or if I'm actually understanding in my stomach and my head what "full" actually means.
Well its late and I'm tired...tomorrow night is our first attempt with whole wheat pasta. Should be interesting...I'm making a beef burgundy dish...that reminds me; I need to get the burgundy wine LOL
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
It's all about the cup!
Congratulations to the Boston Bruins on winning the Stanley Cup! Great series, was hoping that it would go seven games and definitely glad it did. I had originally picked Vancouver to win/was rooting for Boston, but glad to see the cup stay in the US. Kudos to the Canuck fans for sticking around and cheering on the Bruins and for whole heartily booing Bettman!! Funniest thing that happened during the celebration was Tim Thomas, A) not hearing them call his name and B) not knowing what to do with the Conn Smythe trophy after he won it.
So onto other things...I'm tired of sports people looking like me! Todd Coffey, John Erskine and now Tim Thomas. What the hell guys, get your own look!
Come on people really!
Anyway...thats about it for tonight, it's kinda late and i'm tired. More tomorrow.
So onto other things...I'm tired of sports people looking like me! Todd Coffey, John Erskine and now Tim Thomas. What the hell guys, get your own look!
Come on people really!
Anyway...thats about it for tonight, it's kinda late and i'm tired. More tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
I'm a slacker...yes I am!
Damn it, I missed a few days from the blog. Well really only 1, possibly 2. Last night was our final of 3 hockey games in a row for the Dragons. We lost 3-1, but played one of the best teams in the league. We actually had a full team and played really well. These first 5 games of the season I have felt really good; I feel like I have legs while I'm out there. As long as I'm not rushing up on offense all the time...definitely not my game. Well now we have about 2 1/2 weeks off from hockey. What genius schedule this season?? Well in the meantime, I'll be doing my little home workouts and trying to get to a rink to play some pick up on a weekend. We'll see what happens.
Well it's Tuesday and that means weight in time...After 3 weeks of this I'm down 15 pounds!! Pretty fricken sweet if I do say so myself. Like I said the other day in Phase 2 we can start adding in carbs slowly and we have, but I just have to keep them in check and I think I'll be fine. Erin is doing really well too, she is down about 10...all in all the Bennedum household is getting healthier. So Monday night didn't really have time for dinner before the game so I had to have leftovers after the game. I had Erin reheat the Chicken & Eggplant casserole from the freezer and boy let me tell you...it was better the 2nd time around. I love having leftovers that taste as good if not better than the first time you make them. Tonight was also restocking of the fridge night...yes, you know it...grocery shopping. Man i'm telling you no matter what we do, we can NEVER, I mean NEVER stay under $100. Given every meal we have has some sort of fresh vegetables, so that may have a little to do with it.
Well tonight for dinner we had kind of a splurge, but not really. Erin was really wanting a cheeseburger, so we got 90/10 ground beef, some cheese and a package of the Fiber One hamburger rolls for dinner tonight. She cooked, while I put the groceries away this time. The hamburgers were perfect. I had Erin cook me 2, just in case I was still hungry after one. We had a side dish of sweet potato fries (hey if I can't have regular potato's, you for sure know I'm gonna milk the fact that I can have sweet potato's!) with them. Now normally before this, I'd probably make 4-5 burgers and Erin would have 1 maybe 2, and I would usually have the rest. Tonight, I was honest to god full after just one. I topped mine off with a little bit of low sugar ketchup (again not bad at all), lettuce and some onions. Mmmm mmmm good! It definitely hit the spot.
This week is a little hectic with Erin and some meetings so I'm on my own for dinner 2 nights. Tomorrow night is leftovers of something for me and then Friday I'm making some sort of raspberry chicken dish. The start of week 4 is upon us and 1 month is almost up. I've been losing an average of 5 lbs a week, I'd be shocked it that happened again, but we'll see. Just gotta keep plugging along!
Well it's Tuesday and that means weight in time...After 3 weeks of this I'm down 15 pounds!! Pretty fricken sweet if I do say so myself. Like I said the other day in Phase 2 we can start adding in carbs slowly and we have, but I just have to keep them in check and I think I'll be fine. Erin is doing really well too, she is down about 10...all in all the Bennedum household is getting healthier. So Monday night didn't really have time for dinner before the game so I had to have leftovers after the game. I had Erin reheat the Chicken & Eggplant casserole from the freezer and boy let me tell you...it was better the 2nd time around. I love having leftovers that taste as good if not better than the first time you make them. Tonight was also restocking of the fridge night...yes, you know it...grocery shopping. Man i'm telling you no matter what we do, we can NEVER, I mean NEVER stay under $100. Given every meal we have has some sort of fresh vegetables, so that may have a little to do with it.
Well tonight for dinner we had kind of a splurge, but not really. Erin was really wanting a cheeseburger, so we got 90/10 ground beef, some cheese and a package of the Fiber One hamburger rolls for dinner tonight. She cooked, while I put the groceries away this time. The hamburgers were perfect. I had Erin cook me 2, just in case I was still hungry after one. We had a side dish of sweet potato fries (hey if I can't have regular potato's, you for sure know I'm gonna milk the fact that I can have sweet potato's!) with them. Now normally before this, I'd probably make 4-5 burgers and Erin would have 1 maybe 2, and I would usually have the rest. Tonight, I was honest to god full after just one. I topped mine off with a little bit of low sugar ketchup (again not bad at all), lettuce and some onions. Mmmm mmmm good! It definitely hit the spot.
This week is a little hectic with Erin and some meetings so I'm on my own for dinner 2 nights. Tomorrow night is leftovers of something for me and then Friday I'm making some sort of raspberry chicken dish. The start of week 4 is upon us and 1 month is almost up. I've been losing an average of 5 lbs a week, I'd be shocked it that happened again, but we'll see. Just gotta keep plugging along!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Weekends go too quick
Damn I feel like the time just fly's by over the weekend its crazy. Two hockey games this weekend 1 win, 1 lose. Too bad the win was a forfeit, but a win is a win. Some of the team decided to stay around and have a scrimmage/shootout. I had two nice ones on Mikey...one ripper of a wrist shot right over his glove side top shelf and one nice little deke that I put backhand over his pads. Great stuff even though Mike beat us 4 games in a row at the shootout LOL. Today's game we had no offense (but what else is new). All our "power" forwards were out for various things. We ended up losing 7-3, but we couldn't get any bounces. What can you do...next game is tomorrow night to finish up our 3 games in 3 days swing.
Not much else went on over the weekend, it pretty much poured on Saturday for a bulk of the day. The biggest news of the weekend was the amazing food that we had. Saturday night I cooked the Turkey Meatloaf and tonight I made a Stuffed Sole with roasted asparagus. The meatloaf came out really good! I was very hesitant about this before I started cooking because I LOVE LOVE LOVE regular meatloaf. Bacon and ketchup on top with ground beef, yummy. This version of meatloaf had turkey, oatmeal, shredded zucchini and a very flavorful tomato sauce. On the side we had half of a sweet potato with a little butter, cinnamon and splenda...just like they do it at Outback but "South Beach'ized! Very good stuff.
Now as for tonight, I decided to step it up and make a more restaurant style meal. This dish was just spectacular! The stuffing was made up of shrimp, scallops, shallots, scallions and some spices then spooned into the middle of a piece of sole. In the pain we added a little bit of white wine and cooked for only about 15 minutes. On top of the fish I added a saffron sauce that had a lot of flavor. Two great meals for the weekend and we have leftovers for lunch or possibly another dinner.
Craziness starts at work tomorrow and Tuesday is the official weigh in day for the start of week four. I really can't believe how much weight we've lost so far and that its almost been a month. Things are looking up! Night everyone.
Not much else went on over the weekend, it pretty much poured on Saturday for a bulk of the day. The biggest news of the weekend was the amazing food that we had. Saturday night I cooked the Turkey Meatloaf and tonight I made a Stuffed Sole with roasted asparagus. The meatloaf came out really good! I was very hesitant about this before I started cooking because I LOVE LOVE LOVE regular meatloaf. Bacon and ketchup on top with ground beef, yummy. This version of meatloaf had turkey, oatmeal, shredded zucchini and a very flavorful tomato sauce. On the side we had half of a sweet potato with a little butter, cinnamon and splenda...just like they do it at Outback but "South Beach'ized! Very good stuff.
Now as for tonight, I decided to step it up and make a more restaurant style meal. This dish was just spectacular! The stuffing was made up of shrimp, scallops, shallots, scallions and some spices then spooned into the middle of a piece of sole. In the pain we added a little bit of white wine and cooked for only about 15 minutes. On top of the fish I added a saffron sauce that had a lot of flavor. Two great meals for the weekend and we have leftovers for lunch or possibly another dinner.
Craziness starts at work tomorrow and Tuesday is the official weigh in day for the start of week four. I really can't believe how much weight we've lost so far and that its almost been a month. Things are looking up! Night everyone.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Everybodys workin for the weekend
But NOT me! Good to see the weekend again! The next two weeks at work are pretty much going to suck ass; our CSR, delivery person (owenr) and designer are all out next week and our designer is out the week after also. It's like quadruple the work, but what else is new! If it wasn't for a few select people at work, i'd go crazy. Well that's enough about work.
Last night was a boring night, I wish I was able to go out for my friend Meg Po's last night before she joins the armed forces. So instead I watched a little hockey. Game 5 was a good one; I do believe Vancouver got lucky though. They were hitting all game, just all out attack on the Bruins. A lucky goal, with a perfect bounce off the boards and the puck just trickled under Thomas' arm. The Bruins really didn't get a lot of traffic in front of the Vancouver net either, so they really didn't help themselves out. Can't wait for Game 6, I hope it goes 7 games now just to see an amazing game.
I know I might have scared a few of you the other day saying my wife left me...but she's back LOL. It was good to have her back home last night for dinner. Speaking of food...Garlic Soy pork chops with some grilled vegetables was on the menu last night; and boy was it tasty! The only veggies we had left were zucchini and onions, so I grilled them up with a little cooking spray and then put them in the toaster oven to just keep them warm while the chops cooked. The pork chops were marinated in a soy sauce, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper and a little bit of hoisin sauce. The chops had a very nice flavor to them when all was said and done. The dinner was a bit of a change from what was originally planned (meatloaf), but we will have that tonight for dinner before my hockey game.
This also starts the run of 3 hockey games in 3 days! OYE. This morning I also did a real quick 12 minute pillates routine that I found on SparkPeople.com. This site is really nice, you can track your food, exercise, weight etc...and you have a full community of people to rely on as well. It's sort of like another website I used a few years ago called caloriecount.com. I think this new one is a little more robust though. But anyway, this little 12 minute, 11 move thing kicked my butt! Also didn't have that my abs hurt from the other day also.
Only a few more days left in the first week of Phase 2 and I think we both have done pretty well. Erin ate out twice and did very well eating. Salads with some protein...perfect! So even though Tuesday is usually the day I weigh myself and stuff, I decided to do it on Friday morning. Drum roll please..........down 14 lbs! I really can't believe it. I know that "technically" that's more weight than I should be losing per week for it to be healthy, but I do have a lot of weight to lose. At the 3 week mark this Tuesday I could be down like 14-16 pounds...who knows. Now is the really tough part, carbs coming back in...but as long as we stay disciplined and keep our "cheats" to small things ( I had 6 animal crackers at work LOL - man I love those things) we should be good. Erin still thinks I'm the food police, but I feel like I have to be to really keep myself motivated and into the whole diet thing. I get a little OCD over it, but thats like with half the stuff in my life sometimes (Rock Band anyone HA).
Can't wait to make the meatloaf tonight to see how it tastes, it should be interesting! Till we meet again blog readers.
Last night was a boring night, I wish I was able to go out for my friend Meg Po's last night before she joins the armed forces. So instead I watched a little hockey. Game 5 was a good one; I do believe Vancouver got lucky though. They were hitting all game, just all out attack on the Bruins. A lucky goal, with a perfect bounce off the boards and the puck just trickled under Thomas' arm. The Bruins really didn't get a lot of traffic in front of the Vancouver net either, so they really didn't help themselves out. Can't wait for Game 6, I hope it goes 7 games now just to see an amazing game.
I know I might have scared a few of you the other day saying my wife left me...but she's back LOL. It was good to have her back home last night for dinner. Speaking of food...Garlic Soy pork chops with some grilled vegetables was on the menu last night; and boy was it tasty! The only veggies we had left were zucchini and onions, so I grilled them up with a little cooking spray and then put them in the toaster oven to just keep them warm while the chops cooked. The pork chops were marinated in a soy sauce, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper and a little bit of hoisin sauce. The chops had a very nice flavor to them when all was said and done. The dinner was a bit of a change from what was originally planned (meatloaf), but we will have that tonight for dinner before my hockey game.
This also starts the run of 3 hockey games in 3 days! OYE. This morning I also did a real quick 12 minute pillates routine that I found on SparkPeople.com. This site is really nice, you can track your food, exercise, weight etc...and you have a full community of people to rely on as well. It's sort of like another website I used a few years ago called caloriecount.com. I think this new one is a little more robust though. But anyway, this little 12 minute, 11 move thing kicked my butt! Also didn't have that my abs hurt from the other day also.
Only a few more days left in the first week of Phase 2 and I think we both have done pretty well. Erin ate out twice and did very well eating. Salads with some protein...perfect! So even though Tuesday is usually the day I weigh myself and stuff, I decided to do it on Friday morning. Drum roll please..........down 14 lbs! I really can't believe it. I know that "technically" that's more weight than I should be losing per week for it to be healthy, but I do have a lot of weight to lose. At the 3 week mark this Tuesday I could be down like 14-16 pounds...who knows. Now is the really tough part, carbs coming back in...but as long as we stay disciplined and keep our "cheats" to small things ( I had 6 animal crackers at work LOL - man I love those things) we should be good. Erin still thinks I'm the food police, but I feel like I have to be to really keep myself motivated and into the whole diet thing. I get a little OCD over it, but thats like with half the stuff in my life sometimes (Rock Band anyone HA).
Can't wait to make the meatloaf tonight to see how it tastes, it should be interesting! Till we meet again blog readers.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
My wife has left me...
...alone the last two nights! LOL She's busy off doing her stuff but at least tonight was cooler than yesterday. The stupid AC I put in the other night has something wrong with it. It either needs freon (however you spell it), or possible something more drastic. Going to have someone take a quick look at it to see what might be the issue.
So we pretty much had a monsoon today. Driving home was pretty interesting; between the bolts of lightning that looked at certain points, less than a mile away...to the buckets upon, buckets of rain that came down it was pretty insane. Luckily by the time I made it home, it had lessened. The huge benefit to the crazy storm...it is now nice and cool in the apartment. Being on the 3rd floor SUCKS! And our downstairs neighbor is a little crazy too...but you can't beat the rent.
With being left alone the last two nights, I've had to cook for myself; and in the repertoire of dinners for this week Wednesday night was Big & Easy Shrimp again. BUT this time with brown rice! It's been nice being able to have more carbs than whats normally in vegetables. Although I really didn't miss it, today for lunch I even had my lettuce wraps again. The shrimp was of course good again and the leftovers tonight I think were even better. Tomorrow night we'll get Erin back on track with regular dinners. I believe tomorrow is meatloaf. This one will be interesting; it's made with turkey instead of beef, and uses oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs. Hopefully it will come out OK.
I've been eating my usually 5-6 times a day. Three regular meals, 2 snacks and possibly dessert. My calorie intake has been somewhere between 1000 and 1300. Erin said I should probably be eating a little more, so I have to check out what my intake should be with how much weight I want to lose and how much exercise/activity I do...blah blah blah. Even though I've only been eating less than 1500 calories, I really haven't been all that hungry. Today was the first day that I had a massive craving and it was just for anything fast foody. I left work a lil late and had to drop Erin off at a friends house since we only have one car. So after I dropped her off I took route 1 home for part of the way and MAN did I want to stop at BK or Micky D's, or Arby's...boy I could go for some curly fries!
Back to the task at hand...with a little math and some internet help I'm going to come up with a more precise calorie number and see how it fits in with my weight loss goals. Time to sign off for tonight, have to pick Erin up at the train station soon. Night all!
So we pretty much had a monsoon today. Driving home was pretty interesting; between the bolts of lightning that looked at certain points, less than a mile away...to the buckets upon, buckets of rain that came down it was pretty insane. Luckily by the time I made it home, it had lessened. The huge benefit to the crazy storm...it is now nice and cool in the apartment. Being on the 3rd floor SUCKS! And our downstairs neighbor is a little crazy too...but you can't beat the rent.
With being left alone the last two nights, I've had to cook for myself; and in the repertoire of dinners for this week Wednesday night was Big & Easy Shrimp again. BUT this time with brown rice! It's been nice being able to have more carbs than whats normally in vegetables. Although I really didn't miss it, today for lunch I even had my lettuce wraps again. The shrimp was of course good again and the leftovers tonight I think were even better. Tomorrow night we'll get Erin back on track with regular dinners. I believe tomorrow is meatloaf. This one will be interesting; it's made with turkey instead of beef, and uses oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs. Hopefully it will come out OK.
I've been eating my usually 5-6 times a day. Three regular meals, 2 snacks and possibly dessert. My calorie intake has been somewhere between 1000 and 1300. Erin said I should probably be eating a little more, so I have to check out what my intake should be with how much weight I want to lose and how much exercise/activity I do...blah blah blah. Even though I've only been eating less than 1500 calories, I really haven't been all that hungry. Today was the first day that I had a massive craving and it was just for anything fast foody. I left work a lil late and had to drop Erin off at a friends house since we only have one car. So after I dropped her off I took route 1 home for part of the way and MAN did I want to stop at BK or Micky D's, or Arby's...boy I could go for some curly fries!
Back to the task at hand...with a little math and some internet help I'm going to come up with a more precise calorie number and see how it fits in with my weight loss goals. Time to sign off for tonight, have to pick Erin up at the train station soon. Night all!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Hot times, summer in the city...
Boy, it is a tad on the warm side tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer than today. As long as I get the big AC unit in tonight we should be fine. So the last few days we've had some funny/interesting stories, some mentions of good food and for tonight...I have not much LOL. I've been busy trying to wrap my head around a few things tonight; Number 1 being the murder of this damn FLY in my apartment! I'm telling you this little bitch of a fly has nailed me in the head about 5 times in the last hour. Fricken thing is pissing me off.
OK back to the post. So trying to figure out the last little bit of planning for my best friend Mike's bachelor party in AC this July. Other than gambling, the beach and the "clubs", there is not much going on, like big entertainment wise. Everything will get figured out. Other things on my mind; Phase 2 starts tomorrow and we can add some carbs in. We've picked out a few recipes with carbs in them for the remainder of the week so we'll see what happens.
Tonight's dinner was very simple, and very good. Rosemary Salmon with Spinach stuffed mushrooms. The salmon was grilled (and got awesome grill marks on it) with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary brushed on top. Very nice little 4oz pieces perfect! The mushrooms not my typical recipe. If any of you reading have been to my Holiday Party, you know of my spectacular Seafood stuffed mushrooms! These were very different. (BTW think I just got the fly!!) Anyway...spinach sauted with garlic, a little salt, chopped mushroom stems and then a small amount of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. The mushrooms were just cooked in a large pan to get them soft, and then added the topping into it. Very nice dinner! One 4oz piece of fish, with 4 of the stuffed mushrooms was about 500 calories.
I'm also watching Chopped on the food network right now, and I love this show. Unfortunately it always reminds me what I could have done if I went to culinary school. I love food, I love to cook and I would love to know if I could have been a halfway decent chef. We may never know. I'm also thinking of doing like a chopped competition with other friends who like to cook around here. Pick the ingredients for the 3 dishes and then have a pot luck type of dinner on a weekend and have everyone vote/comment on the food. It would be interesting. If anyone reading is interested and is in CT, let me know! Send me a message on Facebook or just comment here. Well time to get that AC unit in....night!
OK back to the post. So trying to figure out the last little bit of planning for my best friend Mike's bachelor party in AC this July. Other than gambling, the beach and the "clubs", there is not much going on, like big entertainment wise. Everything will get figured out. Other things on my mind; Phase 2 starts tomorrow and we can add some carbs in. We've picked out a few recipes with carbs in them for the remainder of the week so we'll see what happens.
Tonight's dinner was very simple, and very good. Rosemary Salmon with Spinach stuffed mushrooms. The salmon was grilled (and got awesome grill marks on it) with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary brushed on top. Very nice little 4oz pieces perfect! The mushrooms not my typical recipe. If any of you reading have been to my Holiday Party, you know of my spectacular Seafood stuffed mushrooms! These were very different. (BTW think I just got the fly!!) Anyway...spinach sauted with garlic, a little salt, chopped mushroom stems and then a small amount of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. The mushrooms were just cooked in a large pan to get them soft, and then added the topping into it. Very nice dinner! One 4oz piece of fish, with 4 of the stuffed mushrooms was about 500 calories.
I'm also watching Chopped on the food network right now, and I love this show. Unfortunately it always reminds me what I could have done if I went to culinary school. I love food, I love to cook and I would love to know if I could have been a halfway decent chef. We may never know. I'm also thinking of doing like a chopped competition with other friends who like to cook around here. Pick the ingredients for the 3 dishes and then have a pot luck type of dinner on a weekend and have everyone vote/comment on the food. It would be interesting. If anyone reading is interested and is in CT, let me know! Send me a message on Facebook or just comment here. Well time to get that AC unit in....night!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Feeling a bit sleepy
I'm feeling a bit run down and sleepy tonight. So I'm going to make this a quick one. First off in yesterday's post I totally neglected to mention that I got to see my beautiful niece Norah yesterday when Shannon (Erin's sister) visited for the afternoon. This kid is pretty darn cute, and a very well behaved baby. She also likes getting raspberries blown on her little cheeks too! Now I'm not saying who did it, but it might have been me.
Tonight's dinner was Coconut Chicken with Glazed Bell Peppers & Snow Peas. The side dish of peppers and peas was glazed with a mixture of balsamic vinegar, garlic and sugar substitute (splenda). As my dad would say, it was 'very tasty'! The chicken was done in a Thai style; coconut milk, cumin, ginger, parsley, garlic, chopped onions, chopped macadamia nuts and a little bit of red pepper for some heat. This dish came out very nicely. The chicken and sauce had a lot of flavor and wasn't too sweet since the recipe called for a lite version of the coconut milk. The only thing I couldn't find at the grocery store was tamarind paste, but apparently I was able to use a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Erin enjoy this one and we've added it to our menu of dinners. The recipe has a lot of ingredients but the whole dish comes together fairly quickly took about 40 minutes from start to finish.
One final thought for the night; so in CT here during the summer they always run these commercials talking about sharing the road, watch our for motorcycles...etc etc etc. Well I don't know if you've ever driven on the Merritt Parkway, or even I-95 during traffic but these geniuses think its a good idea to drive in-between traffic. Like riding the line between lanes. How are we, the drivers of 4 wheel vehicles supposed to share the road with individuals who can't even follow the laws of the road and not drive dangerously in-between cars. Well today i'm on Route 8...in of course traffic, when back probably about 250 feet or so I see this person on a motorcycle doing just that...driving in-between traffic WTF. All of a sudden a car starts to changes lanes from right to left and BAM this schmuck driving illegally slams into the back of the car. The person definitely messed up the front of his bike, who knows what happened to the car, but seriously people WTF. Shit happens, there's traffic, you don't see me driving on the grass, through trees just because I have an SUV. Sometime poetic justice is served...RIDE IN A LANE NEXT TIME DUMBASS!
Adios people!
Tonight's dinner was Coconut Chicken with Glazed Bell Peppers & Snow Peas. The side dish of peppers and peas was glazed with a mixture of balsamic vinegar, garlic and sugar substitute (splenda). As my dad would say, it was 'very tasty'! The chicken was done in a Thai style; coconut milk, cumin, ginger, parsley, garlic, chopped onions, chopped macadamia nuts and a little bit of red pepper for some heat. This dish came out very nicely. The chicken and sauce had a lot of flavor and wasn't too sweet since the recipe called for a lite version of the coconut milk. The only thing I couldn't find at the grocery store was tamarind paste, but apparently I was able to use a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Erin enjoy this one and we've added it to our menu of dinners. The recipe has a lot of ingredients but the whole dish comes together fairly quickly took about 40 minutes from start to finish.
One final thought for the night; so in CT here during the summer they always run these commercials talking about sharing the road, watch our for motorcycles...etc etc etc. Well I don't know if you've ever driven on the Merritt Parkway, or even I-95 during traffic but these geniuses think its a good idea to drive in-between traffic. Like riding the line between lanes. How are we, the drivers of 4 wheel vehicles supposed to share the road with individuals who can't even follow the laws of the road and not drive dangerously in-between cars. Well today i'm on Route 8...in of course traffic, when back probably about 250 feet or so I see this person on a motorcycle doing just that...driving in-between traffic WTF. All of a sudden a car starts to changes lanes from right to left and BAM this schmuck driving illegally slams into the back of the car. The person definitely messed up the front of his bike, who knows what happened to the car, but seriously people WTF. Shit happens, there's traffic, you don't see me driving on the grass, through trees just because I have an SUV. Sometime poetic justice is served...RIDE IN A LANE NEXT TIME DUMBASS!
Adios people!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Almost there
Got up early this morning since we had a hockey game at 11am up in Plainville and had to leave by 9:30. So before we left, had to have breakfast, get ready and relax a little bit. I decided to run some errands this morning before the game, need to make a quick run to the bank, and hit up Stop n Shop for some Gatorade for the game. On my way up the hill to the bank I see that the drive thru area is boarded up...so I pull through to the front and the damn building is for sale! No more bank sorry, good think I know now, because this is where I was gonna take a walk yesterday. Anywho, made it to the bank and dropped off the money, then over to stop and shop to pick up 3 things. Here is where it gets funny; standing in line at the 12 items or less self serve register and the guy in front of me is already in the paying process. I'm like, nice...this shouldn't take long at all. I was browsing all the magazines, flipping my Gatorade in the air and catching it and realize that this guy is taking a while. I look at what he's doing (which was the same thing when I walked up), dropping in coins; I quickly glance at his total left to pay and its like $10 bucks and change and this guy is putting in penny's, nickels, dimes and quarters.....$9.22 left, $8.74 left, $8.08 left, $7.60 left and he looks at the 4 dimes in his hand. At this point i'm like "jesus guy, i'll pay your fricken bill if you get out of the way!". He reaches in his pocket to, what I think is pull out more change, but instead he puts the .40 cents away. THENNNNN proceeds to pull out his wallet and pay the remainder of the money with...A TWENTY!!! WTF DUDE! Just pay the whole thing with the $20 damnit! Anyway, that was my rant for the day.
Hockey game was pretty good. We unfortunately lost in overtime 3-2 after once again losing a lead in the 3rd period. I felt like I played much better today; made a bunch more defensive stops, had a few nice shots on goal too. Next weekend ought to be fun with the 3 games in a row. We're playing some tough teams, so it should be interesting.
Now onto food; we're almost done with phase 1 of South Beach. Wednesday starts phase 2 where we can add in some fruit, whole grains and a few other things. Erin should be happy now that we have more of a selection of food to make. Tonight dinner was OK; Chicken and Eggplant Casserole. I think I enjoyed it more than Erin. A little more seasoning actually on the chicken and I think it would have been much better. This is also the first time in my life that I've cooked eggplant correctly. Every other time no matter what I would do, it wouldn't be soft enough. This dish had onion, green peppers, chopped tomato's in the filling, while the eggplant was quickly broiled to get a little layer of golden brown then topped with some garlic and Parmesan cheese. After that, you basically put a layer of the eggplant down, then spoon in the filling and top it off with the remaining eggplant. Add a little mozzarella cheese and bake for 30 minutes. The eggplant and other veggies had an awesome flavor.
Tomorrow night is soy ginger salmon or coconut chicken, don't remember which one though. Time for bed, tomorrow morning we drop Erin's car off to get fixed from the accident that happened a few weeks ago and hopefully we'll get it back quickly.
Good fight, goodnight!
Hockey game was pretty good. We unfortunately lost in overtime 3-2 after once again losing a lead in the 3rd period. I felt like I played much better today; made a bunch more defensive stops, had a few nice shots on goal too. Next weekend ought to be fun with the 3 games in a row. We're playing some tough teams, so it should be interesting.
Now onto food; we're almost done with phase 1 of South Beach. Wednesday starts phase 2 where we can add in some fruit, whole grains and a few other things. Erin should be happy now that we have more of a selection of food to make. Tonight dinner was OK; Chicken and Eggplant Casserole. I think I enjoyed it more than Erin. A little more seasoning actually on the chicken and I think it would have been much better. This is also the first time in my life that I've cooked eggplant correctly. Every other time no matter what I would do, it wouldn't be soft enough. This dish had onion, green peppers, chopped tomato's in the filling, while the eggplant was quickly broiled to get a little layer of golden brown then topped with some garlic and Parmesan cheese. After that, you basically put a layer of the eggplant down, then spoon in the filling and top it off with the remaining eggplant. Add a little mozzarella cheese and bake for 30 minutes. The eggplant and other veggies had an awesome flavor.
Tomorrow night is soy ginger salmon or coconut chicken, don't remember which one though. Time for bed, tomorrow morning we drop Erin's car off to get fixed from the accident that happened a few weeks ago and hopefully we'll get it back quickly.
Good fight, goodnight!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
A lil quickie
Like I said earlier jumping on for a lil bit. Today's afternoon activities got derailed since my phone decided to stop working. The damn android market crapped out on me and wouldn't let me download anything. On the phone with Sprint tech support for like 2 hours trying to figure it out. Finally had to basically reboot the phone. Lost all my ringtones, some wallpapers, all my apps that i downloaded. Pain in the ass! I even lost some phone numbers (don't really know how that happened, since the guy said I wouldn't) that I had put in over the last like 5 months. SUCKS!
A few quick bits...Tim Thomas = JOKER...nice move diving out like that, looking like a dead fish. Good game anyway...and Burrows is a doucheknuckle!
Dinner was good; Balsamic Chicken and Roasted Broccoli with grated Parmesan on top. Recipe called to marinate overnight (or at least more than an hour) so probably would have been better if I read the recipe to let Erin know before she went to cook everything. Oh well. I thought it was good anyway. Jello for dessert, with a little fat/almost sugar free whip cream equals a good end to the night.
Hockey game tomorrow at 11am...almost midnight...i'm done! In before a new day! Lata
A few quick bits...Tim Thomas = JOKER...nice move diving out like that, looking like a dead fish. Good game anyway...and Burrows is a doucheknuckle!
Dinner was good; Balsamic Chicken and Roasted Broccoli with grated Parmesan on top. Recipe called to marinate overnight (or at least more than an hour) so probably would have been better if I read the recipe to let Erin know before she went to cook everything. Oh well. I thought it was good anyway. Jello for dessert, with a little fat/almost sugar free whip cream equals a good end to the night.
Hockey game tomorrow at 11am...almost midnight...i'm done! In before a new day! Lata
This must be just like livin' in paradise...
Man, what a beautiful day outside today!! If only the entire summer could be like this it would be fantastic. So yesterday Erin and I both had some doctors appointments and both went well. My root canal is now 2/3 of the way done and the last part is to just pop the permanent crown on. Then after that its just a cleaning and fix a few fillings. I really hate dentists but this guy is actually really good. Oh and on the baby front, no new news. Erin's appointment went well, and we just have to kind of wait now for the right time...I think LOL
Work was crazy this week. It's tough trying to do about 3 jobs at once and still not being able to get done everything I would like too. Hopefully this is a sign that things are turning around out there for us, but we'll see what happens for the rest of this month into July.
The second week of South Beach is almost up and it will be nice to incorporate some more food into the diet. The other thing is after this week I'm going to stop calling this thing we're doing a diet. It's a new lifestyle because we'll be keeping this around a long time. I actually feel a lot better than before; no crazy cravings, or late night snacks. Getting up in the morning has been much easier and I feel full after eating, instead of still hungry or stuffed to the edges. I still believe I'm going to turn into an egg or sprout roots and become a vegetable but, its worth it. Looking back on things I wish I would have done this with Erin and supported her the first time she tried this. If I had maybe I wouldn't have put on all the weight that I lost before the wedding. It's funny I was just kind of along for the ride on this, but I've, in a way become the "Food Police".
Anyway, last nights dinner was another keeper plain and simple grilled steak with a tomato relish salsa. The salsa was a nice sweet accompaniment to the meat. We had a salad on the side and that was it. Erin had a little left over steak so I used it this morning for breakfast and did a scrambled eggs, steak and salsa dish. Very good stuff! Lunch in a little bit, maybe Erin and I will go for a walk on this beautiful day and then a hockey game tomorrow morning. I'll report in later tonight to give an update on dinner.
Work was crazy this week. It's tough trying to do about 3 jobs at once and still not being able to get done everything I would like too. Hopefully this is a sign that things are turning around out there for us, but we'll see what happens for the rest of this month into July.
The second week of South Beach is almost up and it will be nice to incorporate some more food into the diet. The other thing is after this week I'm going to stop calling this thing we're doing a diet. It's a new lifestyle because we'll be keeping this around a long time. I actually feel a lot better than before; no crazy cravings, or late night snacks. Getting up in the morning has been much easier and I feel full after eating, instead of still hungry or stuffed to the edges. I still believe I'm going to turn into an egg or sprout roots and become a vegetable but, its worth it. Looking back on things I wish I would have done this with Erin and supported her the first time she tried this. If I had maybe I wouldn't have put on all the weight that I lost before the wedding. It's funny I was just kind of along for the ride on this, but I've, in a way become the "Food Police".
Anyway, last nights dinner was another keeper plain and simple grilled steak with a tomato relish salsa. The salsa was a nice sweet accompaniment to the meat. We had a salad on the side and that was it. Erin had a little left over steak so I used it this morning for breakfast and did a scrambled eggs, steak and salsa dish. Very good stuff! Lunch in a little bit, maybe Erin and I will go for a walk on this beautiful day and then a hockey game tomorrow morning. I'll report in later tonight to give an update on dinner.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Just a little kick
Sorry no blog last night people; had a hockey game at 9PM and didn't get back till late and basically just wanted to crash after my shower. Speaking of hockey two things come to mind...apparently I missed a very exciting Game 1 of the Stanley Cup. Watching the highlights today on NHL.com at work, I can't wait for Game 2 on Saturday (I think). Secondly...we lost our first game of the season. The Looney Tunes defeated the Dragons 9-5. We were missing a few players, but still played OK. We need a little more offensive punch and can't keep relying on Mikey all the time. It's also bullshit that a kid whose skill level is way above our division recorded 9 points...YUP, he either had a goal or an assist on every scoring play! It's whatever, but I mean come on...that kids not there and we either win, or keep it closer than 4. Next game is Sunday, should do better.
Now onto the eats portion of tonight. This weeks dinner menu started off with an omelet for me last night before my game. Quick and easy and mainly because we didn't have anymore food left and were waiting till Wednesday to go grocery shopping. Also Erin was out at a meeting and wasn't doing the shopping till she came home later that night. BTW eggs always a good choice. Speaking of eggs Erin's Sausage, Cheese egg cup things came out fantastic! It looks like a muffin. Even one of my coworkers said to me she thought it was bread at first LOL. Tonight's dinner was delicious. Broiled Salmon in a Creamy Lemon sauce!! This dish came out much better than the last salmon dish we tried. The fish was just broiled, no seasoning or anything on it; it didn't need it because the sauce had so much flavor. I mean holy cow! After tasting it while I was cooking, I described it to Erin as funny. You could literally taste each ingredient. The sauce was, lemon juice, capers, garlic, lemon pepper seasoning and sour cream. It was sour, tart, salty, sweet but also very light. Paired very well with the salmon. Roasted asparagus on the sided with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Definitely a keeper and recommended.
Weight is still coming off...which is good and 5 games of hockey in like 12 days will also help.
Final thought, if anyone ever wants a recipe of what I cooked with all measurements and directions, please just comment on the post and I will get back to you ASAP with the full recipe.
Peace
Now onto the eats portion of tonight. This weeks dinner menu started off with an omelet for me last night before my game. Quick and easy and mainly because we didn't have anymore food left and were waiting till Wednesday to go grocery shopping. Also Erin was out at a meeting and wasn't doing the shopping till she came home later that night. BTW eggs always a good choice. Speaking of eggs Erin's Sausage, Cheese egg cup things came out fantastic! It looks like a muffin. Even one of my coworkers said to me she thought it was bread at first LOL. Tonight's dinner was delicious. Broiled Salmon in a Creamy Lemon sauce!! This dish came out much better than the last salmon dish we tried. The fish was just broiled, no seasoning or anything on it; it didn't need it because the sauce had so much flavor. I mean holy cow! After tasting it while I was cooking, I described it to Erin as funny. You could literally taste each ingredient. The sauce was, lemon juice, capers, garlic, lemon pepper seasoning and sour cream. It was sour, tart, salty, sweet but also very light. Paired very well with the salmon. Roasted asparagus on the sided with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Definitely a keeper and recommended.
Weight is still coming off...which is good and 5 games of hockey in like 12 days will also help.
Final thought, if anyone ever wants a recipe of what I cooked with all measurements and directions, please just comment on the post and I will get back to you ASAP with the full recipe.
Peace
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