Another week DOWN...

So, I wanted to start this post off with a picture showing some progress.  Those of you that are my FaceBook friends will have already seen this picture, but I'm too happy not to share it on my blog.  This past Friday was "Show Your Colors Day" to show support for your favorite football team.  So I donned my favorite WVU shirt and comfy denim capris to show my love for my team.  When I put on my capris, I noticed that they weren't as snug as they used to be - actually they weren't snug at all.  I was so excited that I woke my hubby up on his day off just to show him!  Here is how big these capris actually were (sorry for the crappy mirror pic):

Oh yes, I was so very excited.  So the next day, I decide to try a pair of capris that hadn't fit in over TWO YEARS!  And they fit perfectly fine, even with a little wiggle room.  (Sorry, no pictures of these pants)  So I knew I might be trying my luck, but yesterday I decided to try on a pair of capris that I bought a couple of years ago.  This was a pair of capris that I purchased with the attitude of "I'll be able to wear these next summer", but next summer never came.  I knew that they weren't going to fit - they hadn't fit since I purchased them, and I knew that it would be another summer before I could really get in to them.  BUT OH NO, I proved myself wrong.  They fit perfectly fine - not tight, not loose - just right!  These pants were TWO SIZES SMALLER than I normally wear.  I'm getting closer to the non-plus size clothing selections by the day!  Although, I know it will take a while before I actually reach that goal.

Last night, I decided that I was going to measure my waist and compare it to my Transform Your Body Challenge waist measurement.  So I gather up my tape measure and wrap it around.  WAIT, what is that?!?  A three inch deficit in just one week?!?  I just couldn't believe this, so I ask for expert advice - a consult with the hubby.  YES, it's confirmed - 3 inches LOST!  Oh what a small victory so far!

Exciting, I know!  So now I'm going to share two recipes that I created out of one meat purchase.  We are meat-a-vores, so this recipe uses beef.  However, you could recreate the same recipe with chicken or pork.

I started out by making a pot roast in the crock pot.  I cut off all the outside fat pieces and seasoned it up using Salt-Free Mrs. Dash, fresh minced garlic, and fresh cracked black pepper.  I cut up onions, celery, and carrots to place below and on the sides of the roast.  I sprinkled the vegetables with fresh minced garlic and fresh cracked black pepper.  I added half a cup of water to the bottom just to ensure moistness of the meat.  The pot roast will cook low and slow for 10 hours - with a check halfway through.  At the halfway point, the roast had created a lot of juices around the meat and veggies.  I cut up 2 red potatoes and placed it around the meat.  The potatoes will soak up some of those juices, so add a half/whole cup of water to ensure the meal stays moist for the remainder of the cooking process.  I think I should have taken a picture of the hubby's plate, since he eats the veggies from the roast.  At the end of the cooking process, this is what my plate looked like:

So, the old me would have had that plate loaded up.  But the new me knows about portion control, and I was actually quite full after this meal.  So there was some pot roast leftover, so I saved it for a tasty leftover recipe - Beef enchiladas!  Basically this meal contains several leftover ingredients.

In a pan, I added some olive oil to start sauteeing black beans and leftover brown rice.  I chopped up the leftover pot roast and added it to the bean and rice mixture.  Once the contents were warmed through, I added 1 packed of reduced sodium taco seasoning and the recommended water.  One the seasoning and water were cooked in to the mixture, I took it off the heat to cool down.  (This was a meal I prepped before we went to the gym, and heated up once we got home).  So the meat mixture looks like this:

So after the meat mixture cools, I spoon it in to whole wheat tortilla shells.  I made 6 beef enchiladas, because we are usually very hungry after a workout - but I knew we would have leftovers for lunch the next day.  There was enough of the meat mixture left for probably 2 or 3 more enchiladas, so you could always save the leftovers for another quick lunch.  So this is what the meal looked like before I put it in the fridge - fully prepped!  (The enchiladas with toothpicks have some leftover onions - from the roast - for the hubby)

Once we returned from the gym, starved as always, I put the sauce and cheese on top of the enchiladas and put them in the oven - 400 degrees for 20 minutes just to heat through.  Just enough time to shower and prepare for bed!  So this is the finished product:

This meal was very filling - one enchilada is a very satisfying serving.  I couldn't eat any more after that.  The leftovers were great for lunch the next day too!

Until next time, I leave you with a quote from an unknown author: "If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution."  Man, I wish I would have found this years ago!  It really gives you a new take on the term "comfort food".

Zumba is FANTASTIC...

...Cravings, on the other hand, suck BAD!  Especially pizza cravings...

Today was, of course, Zumba day!  I was so excited to go!  I'm finally getting the hang of most of the routines, and the instructors are so motivating.  They have so much energy - I wish I had that much energy!  I haven't seen my stomach/ab area in years, but I can so feel the pain in that area clearly.  Maybe one day I'll be able to see that area again, but that is a long time coming.  I feel like Zumba works everything from the hair on my head to my tiny, little pinky toe.  I'm always a sweaty, gross mess at the end, which means I was working hard for that 60 minutes.  I would do Zumba 5 days a week, if I could.  I may need to look in to buying the videos for at-home use.

Again, cravings suck!  I've been wanting pizza...and breadsticks...and wings, but I would just settle for pizza.  So I get the bright idea to make healthy, whole wheat pizza with low-fat toppings.  Let's just say that this food experiment needs a lot of tweaking for the next time, but I'll take you on my dinner journey last night.

First, you start with the dough.  We bought pre-packaged pizza dough mix from our local grocery store.  It was called Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain pizza dough, and it even came with the yeast packet.  So this dough didn't form like your usual pizza dough, and this is what it looked like after rising:

So, we figured this was enough dough to make two small pizzas since the hubs and I do NOT like the same pizza toppings.  The dough was very, very sticky and also very hard to form into a pizza shape.  The hubs eventually gave up and had a square blob of pizza dough.  I, on the other hand, at least tried to shape mine like a pizza.  We had a healthy range of toppings including: Homemade Sauce, Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese (which I'll elaborate on and do not recommend), Canadian bacon, fresh mushrooms, minced garlic, and banana peppers.

To make the sauce, use: 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, 1 small can of tomato paste, half of a large onion-minced, 4 garlic cloves-minced, 1 or 2 tbsp of Italian Seasoning Mix (or basil, oregano, parsley), salt and pepper to taste. 

I usually make a big double batch of this sauce, and store the extras in the freezer.  I also sautee the onions and the garlic together prior to adding in the sauce for more flavor.  If you feel it needs more seasoning, add an extra dash or two - it all depends on how you like your sauce to taste.  Remember:  You can always add more if it needs it, but you can't take away if you add too much!

After forming the pizza and putting on my toppings (excluding banana peppers), I was ready for the oven.  Notice the weird pizza shape - it was the best I could do!

After 15 minutes of baking at 450 degrees, the top of the pizza was nowhere near being done.  So under the broiler it went.  I like to see the cheese bubble and brown, because I like really melty cheese on my pizza.  After the final few minutes on broil, this is what the finished product looked like:

So, as I was getting ready to dig in, I notice that the cheese has formed some type of helmet over the pizza.  Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese must have a really high melting point, because this cheese was not melty at all.  It was, however, hard and crusty layered over the pizza goodness below.  The crust has a different texture than normal pizza.  It's more dense and not as light and fluffy, and it takes a few more chews to break it down.  I will make this pizza again, but only with regular mozzarella cheese.  I may also try adding a sprinkle or two of all purpose flour, and see if that helps cut the sticky-ness of the whole grain dough.  I may also try some whole wheat pizza crust recipes I've found online.  That's what recipe experimentation is about, right?!?

I will say that this meal DID NOT satisfy my pizza craving.  It took a lot of will power to keep on track last night, but I DID IT!  One successful recipe attempt this week, and one not so successful - I'm sure there will be many more in the future.

Until next time, I leave you with a quote from Winston Churchill:  "Never, never, never, never give up."

Learning to STICK WITH IT

So, we think the hubs pulled a muscle in his back while we were working out on Sunday.  While he's been stretching and resting his back, I've been pushing myself at the gym - BY MYSELF.  What would the "old me" have done?  Well she would have rested right along with him, and probably suggested getting take out so she could rest even more.  I've noticed that I'm more excited to get to the gym and get my workout in.  However, I'm not feeling the energized after effects of a workout, but I'm sure in time that will come.  The cravings are still present, but I just try to push past them.  I know that in the end, I'm going to be so proud of myself and I just need to stick with it for the long haul.

I thought I would share a recipe with you, since I don't have much to blog about today.  Yesterday, I made a skinless whole chicken in the crock pot, and it turned out really good.  One side note I would make:  If you are going to take the skin off the chicken, put it breast side down in the crock pot.  While the chicken was extremely flavorful, the breast meat was a bit dry.  My Thanksgiving turkey usually consisted of slathering on a stick of butter under the skin (for juicy-ness and crispy-ness, of course!) and tons of salt and pepper for flavor.  So I had to take a different approach with this chicken...

First, I cut up 4 stalks of celery and I cut one large onion into rings.  I bought baby carrots from the store (to feed our bunny friends in the yard), but you can buy whole carrots and cut them up as well.  On the bottom of the crock pot, I put half of the celery, onions, and baby carrots.  Then I sprinkled some minced garlic (also store bought, but feel free to mince your own) on top of the vegetables.

Next, I skinned most of the whole chicken.  I didn't skin the wings, because we don't usually eat those anyway.  Skinning a chicken is a slippery, tedious process, so be prepared with a good knife.  Then, I placed the chicken in the crock pot.  PLEASE NOTE:  For a juicier breast meat, I would suggest putting the chicken breast side down.  I might also suggest tying the chicken in several areas for easier removal later.

Then, I stuffed the cavity of the chicken with celery, carrots, onions, minced garlic, and some Smart Balance butter substitute.  I put the remaining vegetables around the chicken, and I even placed some onion rings around the legs for more flavor.  I added some additional Smart Balance butter on the top of the chicken and near the leg and wing.  I then sprinkled the top with pepper and Mrs. Dash chicken seasoning (NO SALT!).  I added about half a cup of water in the bottom, but the chicken produces plenty of liquid so this probably wasn't necessary.  And this is what it looked like:

So, I set the crock pot to LOW and was set to let it cook for between 8 to 10 hours.  I really enjoy crock pot meals, because it's a worry-free dinner when you get home.

After 4 hours of cooking, this is what it looks like:

You can see that the butter has already melted in to the meat, and the vegetables are starting to cook down.  You can also see that the chicken has created a ton of juices, and at this point the crock pot is half full.  If you look closely, you can see that the chicken is already pulling away from the breast bone.

At this point, I added 2 large red skin potatoes cut into chunks.  I made sure that they were surrounding the chicken, and keeping the drumsticks from sticking to the side of the crock pot.  Another reason why tying the chicken may be good for next time.  The crock pot remains on LOW and will cook until I get home from my work-out.

Returning home, I can smell the chicken in the garage and it smells fantastic!  After 10 hours of cooking, this is what it looks like:

Another side note I would make:  Even though there was a lot of juices in the crock pot, the potatoes must have soaked it all up.  If adding potatoes, I would add a cup of water to ensure there are plenty of juices for further cooking.  Looks are very deceiving at this point.  The chicken looks like it would be easy to remove and remain in it's beautiful state, so I can transfer it for easier slicing.  BEWARE:  This chicken is fall-of-the bone tender - yum!  I went to remove the chicken, and my tongs removed only the breast meat while everything else remained in place.  So I went to work removing and pulling the chicken from the crock pot.

This was the end result:

Enough food for a great family dinner - or in our case LEFTOVERS!!  I also heated up a can of NO-SALT added French Style green beans, and this was a great worry-free dinner.  With the few minor revisions listed above, I will make this meal again.  There are also tons of other Mrs. Dash flavorings at the grocery store, so I may experiment with those as well.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

Until next time, I leave you with a quote from an unknown author: "Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can."