Hi peeps!
I haven't had time to post any new entries here because I have been busy busy busy cooking, researching/reading, and EXERCISING...yes me! The Couch Potato Personified is EXERCISING! EVERY CHANCE I GET! I'll post some details soon! This Eat Clean Diet programme is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm telling ya (again) I eat ALL the live long day, I have more energy than I know what to do with (hence all the physicaly activity)! I CLIMB THE STAIRS TO MY APARTMENT - ON THE 15th FLOOR!) I feel like a kagillion dollars and weight is falling off my body! FALLING OFF! I am surprised everytime I step on the scale and more has gone away....I thought the scale was BROKEN so I used another one...and the number was the same! It's GONE! BYE BYE!
WOOOOOHOOO! I will post pics soon! (Not of me, but of the yumminess that I have been creating in my kitchen!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Meal on the go idea!
Thanks Susie for this recipe! I will be trying it out this week!
Chickpea Antipasto
1 can (19 oz.) Unico or Cedar chickpeas, drained and rinsed (OR cook your own chickpeas! 2 2/3 cups!)
15 kalamata olives, pitted
3 roasted red peppers, cut in strips
6 artichoke hearts (jarred), broken up
3 oz Feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup Olive oil
¼ cup Lemon juice
1 tbsp Maille Dijon mustard (do not substitute another brand or kind of mustard or it will not taste right)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
Sea Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Add chickpeas, olives, roasted red peppers and artichokes to bowl.
Gently add feta.
Blend together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Dijon to emulsify.
Add oregano, basil, sea salt and pepper to taste.
Mix together and let sit for flavors to meld.
Refrigerate for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.
Let come to room temp prior to serving.
Will keep in refrigerator for up to one week, but it tastes so good you will probably finish it well before that!
Chickpea Antipasto
1 can (19 oz.) Unico or Cedar chickpeas, drained and rinsed (OR cook your own chickpeas! 2 2/3 cups!)
15 kalamata olives, pitted
3 roasted red peppers, cut in strips
6 artichoke hearts (jarred), broken up
3 oz Feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup Olive oil
¼ cup Lemon juice
1 tbsp Maille Dijon mustard (do not substitute another brand or kind of mustard or it will not taste right)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
Sea Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Add chickpeas, olives, roasted red peppers and artichokes to bowl.
Gently add feta.
Blend together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Dijon to emulsify.
Add oregano, basil, sea salt and pepper to taste.
Mix together and let sit for flavors to meld.
Refrigerate for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.
Let come to room temp prior to serving.
Will keep in refrigerator for up to one week, but it tastes so good you will probably finish it well before that!
Eating Well!
So to expand on my post from yesterday...what I typically eat in a day amounts tosooooo much food I can barely finish it all! I often miss the last 'meal' because I am not hungry!
Meal 1 = oatmeal with fresh berries, 2 egg whites (either scrambled or hardboiled) water and tea
Meal 2 = Apple with plain old nut butter (either peanut or almond) water green tea
Meal 3 = chicken breast, brown rice or coucous or quinoa (quinoa also counts as a protein!) and a salad or chopped up tomato or mixed veg (you get the idea) water green tea
Meal 4 = celery with tzaziki or if I want something sweet yogurt with berries water
Meal 5 = chicken or fish or pork with a whole grain (see above meal 3)and veg water with lemon
Meal 6 = fruit or celery with cottage cheese or yogurt water
I also have managed to enter the world of smoothies and have fallen in love! If I am having a smootie for breakfast (meal 1 or 2) I throw in a scoop of natural protein powder and call it a day! Love it!
And since I don't stay at home all the live long day, I have to bring my food with me, so it takes a bit of planning. I am already a brown bagger for lunches at work, so it wasn't a huge leap to start doing it on weekends too...it's just a little awkward pulling out food every 2-3 hours when no one else is eating!
Here are some pics of meals lately...
Sunday Brunch - Frittata (with red peppers, onion, mushroom, and spinach) and spicy picante super caliente salsa, roasted potatoes, and diced cukes (because that salsa is seriously SPICY!) with ginger syrup in sparkling water.
Super caliente salsa with toasted whole grain wrap cut into 'chips'
Iced tea!
Herbed chicken and potatoes before
Herbed chicken and potatoes after (MMMM!)
Meal 1 = oatmeal with fresh berries, 2 egg whites (either scrambled or hardboiled) water and tea
Meal 2 = Apple with plain old nut butter (either peanut or almond) water green tea
Meal 3 = chicken breast, brown rice or coucous or quinoa (quinoa also counts as a protein!) and a salad or chopped up tomato or mixed veg (you get the idea) water green tea
Meal 4 = celery with tzaziki or if I want something sweet yogurt with berries water
Meal 5 = chicken or fish or pork with a whole grain (see above meal 3)and veg water with lemon
Meal 6 = fruit or celery with cottage cheese or yogurt water
I also have managed to enter the world of smoothies and have fallen in love! If I am having a smootie for breakfast (meal 1 or 2) I throw in a scoop of natural protein powder and call it a day! Love it!
And since I don't stay at home all the live long day, I have to bring my food with me, so it takes a bit of planning. I am already a brown bagger for lunches at work, so it wasn't a huge leap to start doing it on weekends too...it's just a little awkward pulling out food every 2-3 hours when no one else is eating!
Here are some pics of meals lately...
Sunday Brunch - Frittata (with red peppers, onion, mushroom, and spinach) and spicy picante super caliente salsa, roasted potatoes, and diced cukes (because that salsa is seriously SPICY!) with ginger syrup in sparkling water.
Super caliente salsa with toasted whole grain wrap cut into 'chips'
Iced tea!
Herbed chicken and potatoes before
Herbed chicken and potatoes after (MMMM!)
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Culinarium
Today I went to a cute little shop. I bought one of those voucher things online and finally got my butt over there to check them out and I am glad I did!
Culinarium was a great little shop featuring all locally sourced food. Most of it was jarred yumminess (think jams, jellies, soups, sauces, juices, marinades etc) but they had some locally sourced produce, cheeses, charcuterie products and they are also a source for meat-share programs in the GTA. (I, myself am looking into the chicken-share program FYI). I did get some yummy tomatoes (the romas were sooo ripe they were soooo soft (I had to put them in my purse instead of the bag because I was afraid they would get smooshed) and I couldn't wait to get home to make salsa with them!) and onions and shallots and granola...and this stuff called ginger syrup (made with ginger and Canadian maple syrup that I am going to DIE for when I mix it with sparkling water to make my own form of ginger beer!!! OMG CAN'T WAIT!I tasted a bit when I got home and I JUST CANNOT WAIT!) It was a great little shop with friendly and helpful staff and I will DEFINITELY be going back again to see what's up over there! I even had a little taste test which I am surprised to find that I have a palate refined enough to differentiate between locally sourced organic Ontario asparagus (from Barrie-Hill farms no less!) and organic asparagus sourced from 'somewhere-but-they-don't-know-where'...I seriously could taste the difference (it wasn't as pretty as the asparagus from 'somewhere' but my oh my did it ever taste FRESH!MMMMM!) I was pretty proud of myself! :)
Right now I am taking a break from "stocking the store" - I made FRESH SALSA (with those sexy little Romas, some beefsteaks and onion (also from Culinarium) and some incredibly HOT PEPPERS that I stupidly decided to taste a bit of and my mouth is STILL on fire! (the wine does not help, but it makes me not care!)) I have fresh herbed chicken baking in the oven, along with a beet, a sweet potato, some regular potatoes, and my FAVORITE roasted cauliflower recipe (can't find the link to my previous post at the mo', but will post it soon!) Mmmmmmmmmmm yummy!
Looking forward to posting more often int he coming days! I bought some BISON today, so look for commentary on that, as well as fish-capades galore!
And probably some posts about feeling like a nut job always packing food in my purse!
AH! I feel so revitalized! ONWARD HO!!!!!!
Culinarium was a great little shop featuring all locally sourced food. Most of it was jarred yumminess (think jams, jellies, soups, sauces, juices, marinades etc) but they had some locally sourced produce, cheeses, charcuterie products and they are also a source for meat-share programs in the GTA. (I, myself am looking into the chicken-share program FYI). I did get some yummy tomatoes (the romas were sooo ripe they were soooo soft (I had to put them in my purse instead of the bag because I was afraid they would get smooshed) and I couldn't wait to get home to make salsa with them!) and onions and shallots and granola...and this stuff called ginger syrup (made with ginger and Canadian maple syrup that I am going to DIE for when I mix it with sparkling water to make my own form of ginger beer!!! OMG CAN'T WAIT!I tasted a bit when I got home and I JUST CANNOT WAIT!) It was a great little shop with friendly and helpful staff and I will DEFINITELY be going back again to see what's up over there! I even had a little taste test which I am surprised to find that I have a palate refined enough to differentiate between locally sourced organic Ontario asparagus (from Barrie-Hill farms no less!) and organic asparagus sourced from 'somewhere-but-they-don't-know-where'...I seriously could taste the difference (it wasn't as pretty as the asparagus from 'somewhere' but my oh my did it ever taste FRESH!MMMMM!) I was pretty proud of myself! :)
Right now I am taking a break from "stocking the store" - I made FRESH SALSA (with those sexy little Romas, some beefsteaks and onion (also from Culinarium) and some incredibly HOT PEPPERS that I stupidly decided to taste a bit of and my mouth is STILL on fire! (the wine does not help, but it makes me not care!)) I have fresh herbed chicken baking in the oven, along with a beet, a sweet potato, some regular potatoes, and my FAVORITE roasted cauliflower recipe (can't find the link to my previous post at the mo', but will post it soon!) Mmmmmmmmmmm yummy!
Looking forward to posting more often int he coming days! I bought some BISON today, so look for commentary on that, as well as fish-capades galore!
And probably some posts about feeling like a nut job always packing food in my purse!
AH! I feel so revitalized! ONWARD HO!!!!!!
WOWZA!
Kamut & Quinoa Pasta with tomato, spinach, basil, chicken and YUMMINESS!
Ok, the last couple of weeks have been filled with discovery! I am soooooo excited!
I have gotten back on track with eating whole foods only, but I still wasn't 'there' yet - meaning I was missing a key point...well I found it!
I was eating the right kind of foods, but haven't been eating them the right way. I'm telling you, that is the key! First I will tell you what I have experienced in that last 2 weeks, then I will tell you the how and what.
I have had the biggest energy surge in the last 2 weeks...you do not even understand - I am constantly in need of burning off energy! I walk everywhere! And when one of the ladies at work asked me if I wanted to 'do the stairs' (we work on the 21st floor) my brain was saying "are you mad?" while my mouth said "SURE!". And ok, I am nowhere near doing 21 flights of stairs in one go, but I am getting there! I am slowly but surely getting there! All I have to say about that is I now 'bound' up the stairs at the subway which is pretty freaking awesome for someone who huffed and puffed her way before! (Lord I am just remembering Tokyo and Seoul with all their public transit stairs!)...
I feel great! I also have mysteriously lost this sweet tooth that has plagued me all my life! Craziness I tell you!
Now for the how....I was in a slump and let's be honest! Although my main goal wasn't to lose weight, I surely do need to lose some (more than normal)...I have actually gained weight since switching to whole foods, and that is not a good thing - so I decided I needed some help. As you know I read Clean Eating Magazine like it's gospel...well, they are always advertising this "Eat Clean Diet" book by Tosca Reno... and because it has the word "Diet" in it, I thought it was just a fad thing and never paid much attention to it - I have tried everything in life to 'get thin' and nothing ever helps (for the duration) so I gave that up years ago and never looked back, instead focusing on liking myself the way I am...well, I was at my favorite bookstore and decided to take a peek at this book to see what it was all about. It has the worst title ever because it isn't a 'fad diet' and it should be called "Clean Eating for LIFE" or something way better that "diet".
Egg whites with tomato, spinach ,and tzaziki on a sprouted whole grain english muffin with tea.
I read it from cover to cover - and although it isn't the greatest book in so far as the recipes are kinda crazy (specifically the portions are all messed up! but the recipe ideas are great) and the meal plan and shopping list need some review and editing, the message is AWESOME!
This was my problem: I was not getting enough protein - like, we're pretty lucky if I even got 1 serving of protein a day - the book says you need 5-6. FIVE TO SIX! The author also promotes eating 6 meals a day - yes folks SIX meals a DAY! HOLY CRAP!
I'm a grazer, so I can appreciate having to feed every few hours...obviously, I was eating the wrong stuff because although I was feeling better, I was not feeling GREAT (like I am now).
So, basically, every 2-3 hours I have a meal (obviously not a restaurant portioned meal but something pretty close!) And there is a ton of food to be eaten! Protein and a complex carb at every single sitting! Craziness! BUT IT WORKS!
Marinated lambchops with golden couscous and green beans
And obviously, the protein has to be lean protein - like chicken breast, turkey breast, tuna, white fish, beans, tofu (but not for me), etc etc etc. And the carbs have to be plant based natural carbs like fruits and veg and whole grains...but everything MAKES SENSE! It makes so much sense in fact that for the past 2 weeks I have been eating like a pig and --- here's the best part --- 10 pounds fell off my body! TEN POUNDS! I know that a healthy amount to lose in a week is 2 pounds, so to be specific I lost 8 pounds the first week and 2 pound this past week...and I am not hungry - ever- and I get to eat yummy foods all day long - and I get to have protein at every meal (I love my chicken!)
Turkey scallopini with veggie and golden couscous
GAWD! I sound like an infomercial! I don't mean to! I just wanted to say that you need to think about HOW you're eating as much as WHAT you are eating!
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