128...

... and that's progress! Maybe not much progress, but at least some! I've been here for 2 days, which is good and stable. =D

I realized that I've been seriously lacking in the fresh fruits and veggies department for the last couple months. Things haven't been in season so I haven't been buying them. Instead I've been munching on other things which are wholly unhealthy for me, both physically and emotionally. So the other day at Costco I stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies. Celery, lettuce, carrots, apples, strawberries (even if they were about twice as expensive as I like to pay in the summer), bananas... Now I'm pretty much in fresh fruit and veggie heaven. And I have been eating them, too! Turns out I am much happier that way. Go figure!

Zucchini Bread...

Tonight I decided to make some zucchini bread since I had a few zucchini laying about that were going to go bad if I didn't do something with them! I found a recipe online, then tweaked it so it would be lower calorie and lower fat... And it turned out pretty good! So here is my low calorie, low fat version for zucchini bread...

Ingredients

5 egg whites 1 C. sugar 1 C. Splenda 1 C. unsweetened applesauce 1 tsp. vanilla 3 C. grated zucchini 1 C. whole wheat flour 1 C. all purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions

Combine eggs, sugar, Splenda, applesauce, and vanilla in bowl. Add zucchini and mix well. Sift together dry ingredients and add a little at a time, mixing together as you go.
Pour into two loaf pans and bake at 325 for an hour or until a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
Makes 24 slices, 12 slices from each loaf. Freezes well.

Click the link to see the nutrition information, but it's basically 85 calories a slice (not bad for sweet bread!), no fat, and 1.5 g. fiber. Rounds out to 1 WW point, and it makes a yummy breakfast! I made two loaves and froze one, and Leif has all but finished off a loaf already! I had two slices, but it's good to see him enjoying it so much!

Recipe: Sweet Potato Fries

Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Here's a recipe I want to try. It was recommended by my friend Jenn. I've tried something like it before, but want to try it again since I didn't use a recipe and therefore couldn't remember how long to cook it for! Costco carries the sweet potatoes already peeled and french-fry sliced, so I'll pick up a bag of those when we go to Costco next time. It will have to be soon, because we are already out of bread, spinach, carrots and I just used the last box of chicken broth for tonight's soup. (Asparagus potato soup. We'll have to see if it's good or not!)

So here's the recipe for Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries from Country Living:

INGREDIENTS

1/2 teaspoon(s)	ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon(s)	salt
1/4 teaspoon(s)	ground red pepper
1 tablespoon(s)	vegetable oil
2 sweet potatoes

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the sweet potatoes: In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel potatoes, cut each in half lengthwise, and cut each half into 6 wedges. In a large bowl, combine the cut potatoes, oil, and spice mixture. Toss until potatoes are evenly coated.
2. Bake the fries: On a baking sheet, arrange potatoes in a single layer and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake until edges are crisp and potatoes are cooked through -- about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

I am planning on using cajun seasoning instead of the mix they suggest here, and I'll use the already prepared sweet potatoes, so this should be an easy dish. And if it's good using the sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes, this is a great way to get vitamin A in my diet!

Take THAT, lousy day!

Ha! The day has improved since this morning. The vitamins did indeed help, and about an hour later I was ready to face the day. I made the bed and got ready to go for a walk. I put Ellie in the double jogging stroller at noon and we headed over to pick up Corinne (to give Taylor a little break and get Corinne out and about!) and go for a walk. Originally I planned to just walk around the pond and head home. But instead we went out and walked around the entire subdivision! I just mapped it out on Streets and Trips, and it says we walked 3.5 miles. My legs agree! We were out walking for over an hour.

My day has also improved because I found out that beans are a vegetable! I probably won't count them as one too often, and I'll try to get my fruits and veggies from other sources, but on a day like today I'm glad to hear that they count toward my veggie count! Plus, it's just after lunch and I've already had 24 grams of fiber today! We're having chili for dinner, too, so that will add another 9 grams. Yay! So I should be able to make my goal, no problem!

Also, the good news about Jennifer helped with my day. The Lord is good, and her laughter this morning and the delayed spinal tap are both reasons to praise Him today!

That was a close one!

Whew! I didn't think I was going to make my 2 liters of water today! It was 9 pm and I had only had 1 so far. But then I remembered I needed to take my antibiotic, so I filled up a 1 liter Nalgene bottle and... less than an hour later it's gone! And my bladder is full! But that means I got all my water in again today, so yippee! That's 3 days in a row. They say that if you do something for 28 days in a row it becomes a habit, so only 25 left to go, LOL! I think I'll stick with one day at a time for now, though.

I ended the day with 1245 calories and 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. I even had over 25 grams of fiber, which is exciting! My ideal is to get 25-35 g of fiber a day, and I often fall short of that. So when I am within that range it's exciting! Oh the simple things that make me happy....

No exercise today, but tomorrow is my next day scheduled for it, so I will get some then. And tomorrow I will actually be at home, not at Taylor's, so it will be easier to exercise while Ellie is napping.

Broccoli-Wokly

Chicken and Stir Fry for Two

Chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
1 T. pineapple juice
1 T. sesame seeds
1/2 stalk lemon grass
Garlic (fresh or powder)
Ginger

Stir Fry:
250 grams Kirkland Signature Stir Fry Vegetables
1 C pineapple tidbits
1 C frozen peas
1 C broccoli
1 T. sesame oil

For the chicken, mix all ingredients except chicken in a pan. Heat on medium/high heat until warmed through. Add cubed chicken and cook until chicken is done. Reduce heat and simmer while the stir fry cooks. Add sesame oil to a wok over medium/high heat. When hot, add vegetables and pineapple. Stir fry until all frozen vegetables are cooked. Add chicken and remaining sauce to vegetables and stir to mix. Serve immediately alone or over brown rice.

Nutrition information

Stir Fry:
245 calories
8 g. fat (7 from oil)
38 carbs
9 g. fiber
8 g. protein

Chicken:
216 calories
10 g. fat (7 from oil)
1 carb
.5 g. fiber
28 g protein

The ABCs of Vegetables.

I would be happy as a clam if I never had to eat vegetables. I just think they're yucky. But aside from my desire to be healthier, I am also married to a man who loves them. When I ask what he wants for dinner, Leif will often reply, "How about a big bowl of spinach and broccoli?" or "I don't know... vegetables sound good." And I'm usually thinking that pasta sounds good. So in attempt to become healthier and make vegetables for my husband I have been trying to find vegetables that I like and ways that I like them prepared. So far, here's what I think about the vegetables I've tried:

Asparagus - We had this once at Sam and Catherine's house and I really liked it! But it was cooked in butter and wrapped in bacon, so I'm pretty sure the redeeming qualities of the vegetable were overridden. Haven't found another way that I like it yet.
*Bean Sprouts - I really like these when they're mixed with eggs and made into pancakes. My mom used to make them and they were really good. They go well with Asian food. I've only ever made them with canned sprouts, though.
*Bell Peppers - I don't like them crunchy and raw, but stir fried or in fajitas or in chili I like them a lot.
*Broccoli - Steamed broccoli is good, especially if it has a little cheese melted over top. It's also good in baked things, like a creamy chicken dish or a quiche.
*Cabbage - Gross. I really don't like cabbage at all, though I did have some ramen salad once that was okay with it, and I made a thai chicken dish (a menu mailer recipe) that was served over a bed of cabbage and that was good, so maybe there is hope for cabbage in my life yet.
*Carrots - I love cooked carrots with a roast. And carrots are good to munch on if they are served with ranch dip. I'm a personal fan of the Hidden Valley ranch packet stirred into sour cream. Carrots in soup are good, too.
*Cauliflower - Really nasty. Not only does it taste bad, but it gives my husband digestive woes, so it's banned from our house forever.
Celery - Celery is a good snack item with a little peanut butter. Emphasis on the word LITTLE.
Corn - I LOVE corn on the cob in the summer, slathered with butter and salt. But it turns out that corn is more starch than anything and when you add the butter and salt, well, this isn't the best vegetable choice. Good for once or twice a year and that's about it. Canned corn I like in chili.
Cucumbers - I like eating cucumbers. They're a good munchy food. Not a lot of calories, but one cucumber cut into spears will keep my mouth busy for a good while until the munchy urge is gone.
Eggplant - I've only had eggplant one way that I like it, and that is breaded and fried in eggplant parmesan. Pretty sure it loses all vegetable value at that point.
*Garlic - I've never really thought of garlic as a vegetable, but I suppose it is. It's a good flavor to add to a lot of things, especially italian food. I should use more fresh garlic and less of the powdered.
Green Beans - I eat canned green beans. I know they're full of salt, but I like them. I especially like them mixed with some roasted almonds. I don't really like fresh bean.
*Green Onions - About the only way I really like green onions is in soup. There they add a wonderful flavor.
*Green Peas - I like peas. We buy the frozen peas and all I add to them is salt.
Kidney Beans - A chili staple.
*Lettuce (Romaine) - I like romaine lettuce in a salad with apples, feta, and oil and vinegar dressing. That's a good salad.
Lettuce (Iceberg) - It tastes fine (if it does indeed taste, that is... I don't get much flavor off of it.) but has very little nutritional value. We don't buy it, and substitute Romaine for Iceberg any chance we get.
Mushrooms - I detest mushrooms. Enough said.
*Onions - I like cooked onions, if they are cooked to the point that they are no longer crunchy. I have texture issues with crunchy onions. I like the flavor, though.
Potatoes - I love potatoes! I love them in pretty much any form... baked, fries, scalloped, roasted... Turns out they don't have much nutritional value as a vegetable, but they're still a good option for lunch (or eating at Wendy's).
*Pumpkin - I love pumpkin bread, but I'm not so fond of it by itself. I've heard pumpkin soup is really good, so maybe I'll try that some time.
*Soy beans - Edamame soybeans are really good in stir fry. They store in the freezer, so you don't have to worry about them going bad, either.
*Spinach - We buy the tub of organic baby spinach leaves from Costco. It's perfect for salad. My favorite salads with Spinach are Mandarin Almond Salad and Spinach Craisin Salad. Now that it's getting to be summer we can start enjoying Strawberry Spinach Salad again, too.
*Sweet Potato - My favorite way to eat sweet potatoes is my mom's Thanksgiving yambake. It's basically butter, brown sugar, pecans, and yams. MMMMMmmm. Sound healthy? Yeah, it's not. But Costco does sell some french-fry cut sweet potatoes that are really good if you spray them with olive oil and sprinkle them with cajun seasoning, then bake until crispy. Those ARE healthy, but good like french fries!
*Tomato - I like tomato a lot of ways. I'm a big fan of fresh tomatoes and grape tomatoes, but Leif doesn't like them, so a lot of times our tomatoes come in the form of spaghetti sauce or in dishes like chili.
Water Chestnuts - Not really any nutritional value, but they're pretty good in stir fry.
Zucchini - I really like breaded fried zucchini dipped in ranch. I'm not saying it's good for me, I just like it. I also really like zucchini bread.

So there you have it. My thoughts on vegetables, from A to Z. The ones with asterisks next to them have the highest nutritional value according to this website. Those are the ones I should make a point to eat the most of.