Cheating, again.

This morning, I decided to make some ricotta pancakes, which would be low carb, but I added banana and a few sprinkles of dark chocolate chips.  I had a bunch of bananas that were going south fast, so I just said 'to hell with it', and went all out.

The thing about ricotta pancakes is that they are messy.  Not the clean, circular Bisquick variety.  But they taste just as delicious, if not better.

I combined the dry ingredients first:  about a half cup of flour, 2 tsp of baking powder, 2 packets of stevia or splenda, and a sprinkle of salt.  Then in another bowl, the wet ingredients:  2 eggs and a 3/4 cup of skim milk, and about 12 ounces of skim ricotta.  Then, after combining the wet and dry, I sliced two bananas into the mixture, and sprinkled about a tablespoon or two of dark chocolate chips on top.

I brushed some canola oil on the top of my griddle and got it good and hot.  I had enough batter for about 8 good-sized pancakes. 

As soon as little bubbles appear on the pancakes, it's time to flip them.  But these pancakes don't always flip easily.  Some of them break up.  So they're a little ugly.  Still taste good, though!!  I don't even use syrup.  Never do.  I top mine with fresh fruit.

I feel guilty about having eaten them, now, but it'll pass.  LOL.  I will definitely fit a workout in today, to make up for it.

I also wanted to share with you, the bane of my existence.  It's coffee creamer.  It tastes so good, but it has 6 grams of sugar per serving.  I have one serving a day, and I know that if I could cut it out, I could lose weight faster.  But damn, it's like there's crack in it.  I can't give it up.

Bastard!!


Ok.  Well, I'll try to check in later.  Lunch will probably be a smaller version of my plate from last night's dinner.  And dinner?  Don't know yet......something vegetarian, no doubt.

I'm BAAAA-AAAACK.

Back from vacation and probably FATTER THAN EVER!

Actually, I was fairly good.  But eating out, meal after meal, is just so difficult.  There are so few options at most places to eat healthy.  Breakfast is easy---I just order egg white omelettes with veggies and a side of grits.  Lunch is the hard one.  Everything comes with bread, in a sandwich form.  I'm not doing bread right now.  So it's a toughie.  And I'm not a salad eater.  At home, I can do all sorts of things, like veggie chilli, baked sweet potatoes, soup and so on.  Dinner is easier, because you can always do a protein and a vegetable.

I forgot to photograph my meals.   So I'll catch you up on tonight's dinner, and we'll just go from there.  Tonight's menu consisted of steamed broccoli rabe, mashed cauliflower, and BBQ pulled pork from the slow cooker.  

So I steamed the broccoli rabe, then hit it with a little oil and garlic, salt and pepper.  I then steamed the cauliflower, mashed it up, and added a tablespoon or so of Light Peppercorn Ranch dressing.  I would have added horseradish, but we were out.  A little blue cheese dressing would have been okay, too.

I bought a pork shoulder roast, added an entire bottle of General Tso's sauce, and left it in the slow cooker for about 6 or 7 hours.  I used this brand, because it was all natural, no high fructose corn syrup.

I pulled the pork apart with two forks, and let it soak in the sauce for the last hour of cooking.

 Everything turned out fantastic.  Husband enjoyed it!  And so did I.

The race to eat the perishables!

We have a four-day vacation coming up, so it's imperative that we rid the fridge of all veggies, fruits, milks, and cheeses.

So this morning, I made poached eggs, because I'm trying to cut down on the amount of oil I use in a day.  For a side, (because I ALWAYS need a side), I made radish fries.  If you haven't tried these yet, you don't know what you're missing.  They're so much better than white potato home fries.  Radish fries are crisper, and just taste fresher.  Delicioso, as Dora would say. 

Then I poached two eggs (which basically consists of dropping two eggs into a rapidly boiling pot of water, then letting them cook for 4 minutes). 

For lunch today, I decided to have lettuce wraps.  I'm trying to keep my meat consumption down to one meal a day, so I used Gardenburger's Portabello Burgers inside some crisp iceberg lettuce. 

I topped it off with a little Kung Pao sauce that I picked up from the asian food section of the grocery store.  It was a messy, four-napkin lunch, and not great, but this is a mindset I have to break, to get into better shape.  Every meal does not have to be a five-star special event.  As long as it's healthy and tastes good. 

I'm trying to detox my body with healthier meals, but I do believe that you must detox your MIND first, or else all your old bad habits will return.....

Happy Monday!

This was Saturday's breakfast.  Although I didn't get to post it until now.  It was a hectic weekend!

Anyway, just got back from produce shopping (I have to go twice a week, or so, at about $50 a pop).  So we've got lots of nice, fresh veggies.  On Saturday, I made an asparagus cream cheese omelette for me and hubs, with sauteed spaghetti squash / mushroom / asparagus, instead of home fries.

I fold up the omelette and the cheese gets melty.  It's really delicious!    The 'home fries' weren't so good, because the spaghetti squash is a little too wet, and it was leftover from the night before.  I sprinkled it with Herb de Provence, which was a mistake.  I realized I don't like that spice so much, because it contains lavender.  I just don't like the flavor of lavender.   Too perfumey.

All weekend, I made some poor eating choices.  Mostly because I wasn't home and was eating on the run.  Saturday we went to a carnival and ate pulled pork sandwiches and cheese fries.  Then we went to a graduation party which was catered by Famous Dave's BBQ.   Here, I was able to eat a little better, because I had pulled pork, again, but no roll.  Corn on the cob, BBQ beans.  Not too too fattening.

Sunday, we went to dinner at a pub and had grilled chicken over salad.  But today, I'm back on the horse.  In fact, all week, I plan to under-indulge.  Is that a word?  It is now.

This morning, I had Special K granola with strawberries and blueberries...........we have a vacation coming up this week, so I'm definitely going to stick to the plan......

Need to find more veggie recipes.....

Good so far!

Knowing that I need to photograph my meals is really helping me, because I find myself thinking twice about what I'm eating.

Bonus.

For breakfast, I was all about the Kashi cereal and diced peaches with FF milk.

Lunch was at a restaurant with my mom and kids.  Western egg white omelette with a side of grits.  No home fries, no potatoes.  That hurts, I gotta tell ya.  This, I didn't photograph.

But, for dinner I made an eggplant with beans and melted cheese.  I heated diced onion and garlic in a little bit of oil, added diced tomatoes and a couple teaspoons of tomato paste, and 1/4 cup of white wine.  Then I added some pinto beans and let it simmer for 15 minutes.  Sliced an eggplant in half, scooped out the seeds, and put the filling inside.  Topped with shredded cheese; baked at 350 for 45 minutes.  It was killer.  Except a little hard to eat, what with all the purple skin.  Some people eat it, I don't like to.  The eggplant wouldn't come away from the skin very easily.  But this would not deter me from making it again....my husband and I each had a half.

I almost don't miss meat that much.  But bread.  I still miss bread.

Roasted roots and a mockery

So this morning I was a bad girl.  For lunch, I grilled zucchini and slathered it with a little tomato paste concoction that I made for something else a couple days ago.  Tomato paste, a little stevia, salt, pepper, and some spices, I forget.  It was good.  (forgot to take a picture of post-paste zukes....)

Tonight's dinner, notsomuch.

I tried a new recipe called "Mock Cornbread".  It was made with cannellini beans, baking powder, 4 eggs.  Sure wish I saved my eggs for something worthwhile.  It was flat and a little mushy.  Just.  Weird.  Won't be making it again.

I also roasted a bunch of root vegetables, like rutabaga, turnips, onions, chickpeas, carrots, some olive oil and white wine.  Seasonings.  Turned out okay.  But I am really craving meat and bread.  Can't wait till I'm allowed a little.....

Not one of my better eating days.......there's always tomorrow!  Have a good night, friends.

Breakfast FAIL.

This is where I let it all hang out.  No sense lying about my meals.  Only hurting myself.

So today, I had McDonalds.  I made a nice pot of brown rice cereal, that tasted like warm rice pudding, but when my friend walked in with Mickey D's breakfast in hand, I caved.  Will Power = 1.  Me = 0.

Doh.

 
I will spend the rest of the day making up for this error in judgment.  But I won't punish myself for it.  I have accepted it, and am moving on!

Later, I'll check in with lunch and dinner!