Weekly Weigh In

Current Weight: 198.4 lbs

Weekly Gain: .8 lbs     Total Loss: -23.6 lbs

Look at me being all fancy!

I expected to gain more, quite honestly.  I usually gain after a large loss, plus I spent the entire day Sunday drinking wine and eating french toast, bacon, bread, cheese and ice cream to celebrate my awesome friend's Bachelorette-ness.  I didn't make it to the gym as much as I should have, either.  So, I'll take the .8 lbs, and aim for a loss next week.

Note to Self: Don't Eat This Before Working Out...

I was my own worst enemy yesterday.


I had a class during the day, then went home for a few hours before heading to the gym then to teach a voice lesson afterwards.  An hour or so before I was going to leave, I realized I was super hungry, and wanted a light meal to hold me through until dinner after everything.  So, I made myself this delicious, small meal.


Fast forward about an hour.  I'm at the gym, getting on the elliptical.  All of a sudden, the red onion strikes!!!  I'm oozing onion odor, and I can't do anything about it!  I tried to just breathe out of my nose the entire time to try and contain what must have smelled like horrid BO to those around me.  The nose thing worked for about 5 minutes, but I was working up a sweat and mouth breathing was necessary.  Acid reflux also kicked in, making the whole thing just horrible!!!  I made it through my workout, and then chewed about 5 pieces of gum on my way to my students house.  I apologized to her in advance for any onion essence that might make it's way out of my mouth (but she was so polite and said she didn't smell anything!).


The moral of this story:  Don't eat red onions at any point in the day before going to the gym.

Bagels and Lox

When I was younger, many Sunday morning would begin with a dozen bagels, cream cheese and lox.  I would eat 2 bagels, loaded with cream cheese.  Delicious!!!!  This would be about 27 Points+, about an entire days worth of an adults food intake.


Obviously, that was one of the habits that landed me where I am today, but I'm learning I can still enjoy my bagel with cream cheese and lox in a more responsible way.  It's not really a recipe, just a controlled ingredient list.  This breakfast will put you back 5 Points+.

I couldn't wait to take a bite!!!

1 Pepperidge Farm Mini Bagel
1 wedge Laughing Cow Light Cream Cheese
1 ounce lox
2 slices tomato, salted
2 slices red onion


Toast bagel if desired.  Top with cream cheese, onion, salted tomato and lox.  Eat.  I also ate the remaining tomato slices and had a few strawberries on the side.


This filled me up, I expected to still be hungry.  Small but satisfying!

Weekly Weigh In

Current Weight: 197.6 lbs

Weekly Loss: -3.2lbs    Total Loss: -24.4 lbs
I enjoyed being back on track this week!
Remember that salad from Monday?
I've eaten a variation of it EVERY DAY, sometimes twice!  
It's really yummy, and it's so easy to just swap out a few ingredients.  
Mango and avocado slices add good texture and taste.  
Swap out the scallops for some shrimp or chicken.

I love going to the store about every other day to stock up on fresh produce.

I also make it a point to stop at any farm stand I pass to see what looks good that I can pick up.  I discovered the greatest strawberries I've ever tasted on my way home from the gym!  I WILL KEEP THINGS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!!

Beets...2 Dishes in One!

So, a while back I took on beets, and ended up loving them!

I knew I was limited in my beet knowledge, because all I ever did was boil them and put them on salads.

The other day, while at a local farm stand, I saw bunches of golden beets, and knew they had to be mine!  I bought one bunch, greens and all, and headed home.  I always knew you could eat beet greens, but this was something I never experimented with.

Behold...Roasted Beets AND Sauteed Beet Greens.  You can get 2 side dishes out of one vegetable, and it won't cost much!  I paid $1.50 for one bunch of golden beets.  That gave me one large serving of roasted beets and about 3 servings of the greens.  If you can't find golden beets, red beets would taste good as well.

Roasted Beets- 2 Points+ for whole recipe
1 bunch beets, greens removed (set aside)
2 tsp Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash beets well and chop into large chunks.  Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place in a baking dish and bake until soft (depends on the size of your beets).  Every 10 minutes or so, toss beets around so all sides get nice and caramelized.

Sauteed Beet Greens- Makes 3 servings, 1 Point+ each
1 bunch beet greens
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
Salt and Pepper

Wash greens thoroughly (they are full of sand, much like spinach) and dry well.  Chop into inch long pieces.

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add onions.  Once they turn translucent, add garlic and continue to sauté.  Just as the garlic starts to brown, add the greens and continue to cook, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Greens should be tender in about 5 minutes, you want them wilted but not mushy.

Seared Scallops over Greens with an Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette

Long name, lots of ingredients, but easy to make and DELICIOUS!!!  

Much like Elaine from Seinfeld, I love BIG salads.  If I'm eating veggies, 

I want lots of them!  I also had this delicious vinegar from Trader Joe's 

lying around, and it made a perfect dressing.

The whole recipe makes one BIG salad and is 6 Points+.  

This salad is a meal, not a starter! If you want to serve this at the beginning 

of the meal, consider the recipe to serve at least 2. 

Don't let scallops scare you, despite what you hear from Gordon Ramsey, I find them easy to cook.  If you don't enjoy scallops, shrimp would taste great as well.

Ingredients

1/2 lb scallops (I use dry sea scallops, but they are pricey.  There are 6 in a 1/2 lb)

2 cups spring mix (baby spinach would be delicious as well)

1 beefsteak tomato, sliced

1/2 red onion, sliced

1/2 cup sugar snap peas, vein removed

1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts

2 scallions, thinly sliced

3 tbsp orange muscat champagne vinegar (I use one from Trader Joe's, you can substitute another flavored vinegar if you can't find this one)

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp ginger paste

salt

black pepper

cayenne pepper

Spray a pan with non-stick spray and set over medium-high heat.  Pat the scallops dry and season with salt, black pepper and a touch of cayenne pepper.  Once the pan is nice and hot, add the scallops.  Make sure to use a pan large enough so the scallops are not crowded or else they will just steam, not sear.  After about 2 minutes, turn scallops over and cook for another two minutes.  Scallops should NOT be cooked until they are firm, that means they are overcooked and will taste like rubber.  You want them to have a lot of give when you touch them.  As soon as they are done and have nice color on each side, remove onto a plate and put on the side.

Combine spring mix, tomato, onion, snap peas and alfalfa sprouts in a large bowl, toss to mix.

In a smaller bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, scallions and ginger paste.  Whisk, add salt and black pepper to taste.  

Pour dressing over vegetables and toss to coat.  Place on a plate and serve the scallops over top.

Enjoy!