Just a little bit more to go ...

[dilynnlew]

I'm up .6 today - I think it's because I was lifting weights pretty hard yesterday. Fluid retention and all that.

Last night I made stuffed zucchini:

1/2 lb lean ground beef (but you could use ground turkey if you wanted)
1 med onion
1/2 tbsp olive oil
can of crushed tomatoes
red pepper flakes
garlic
mozzarella cheese.

Take 3 or 4 (depending on how big they are) zucchini and split them in half lengthwise. Use a melon baller or a grapefruit spoon (or just a regular spoon if that's all you have) to scoop them out and make a hollow. Prebake them in a 300 deg oven for about 15 mins.

While they're baking saute the meat, onion, garlic, etc. until done and then add the crushed tomatoes and pepper flakes and cook down until about 1/2 the liquid is gone. You can add anything else you want to the filling - I sometimes add chopped spinach or diced bell pepper - whatever veggies are in the bin. And you can leave out the pepper flakes if you want. I like the extra oomph.

Spoon the filling into the zucchini, top with a little mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese, and return to the oven to bake for another 15 mins or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

You can eliminate the cheese if you need to watch the fat content - although skim moz is pretty decent on fat content.

Sounds yummy...think I should try this!! Thanks, Kara!

 

[KaraCooks]

Last night was a potato, spinach, and onion fritatta for dinner. So good.

Yesterday was C25k - 5 min intervals. (Technically: week 5 / run 1)

Seeing steady progress ... down to 174.1 today.

 

[MGR1]

Hello Kara. I keep bumping into your posts all over the parts of the forums I poke into so I thought I'd poke in and check things out.

Seems like you have a steady head about yourself and aren't derailing yourself when you stumble. It's motivating to see I am not the only one struggling with odd weight bounces. After my mom telling me over lunch that she weighs daily and then seeing you post the same I tried it for a week, and water flux of some sort appears to be bogging me down too. Too much sodium from hectic off days and "healthy" fast food choices.

Also, you seem pretty well-read or at least eager to and willing to learn and I think that is crucial to the sorts of goals we have.

A few quick points:

1.) update your blog
2.) would you please suggest something good to do with a lb. of ground veal and - preferably - a grill?
C.) you, Omega, and Steve seem like a 3-person crew of info-posting, straight-shooting correctors of noobishness, trolls, the misinformed, and their otherwise surly, sullen, or unwashed brethren. Thanks! I nominate you all for the title and position of paladin.
4.) finally...

Just randomly - I really want another tattoo, but I don't know what I want or where.

A "tramp stamp". But make it an anti-tramp stamp by avoiding the normal dolphins and whatever. Maybe a chocolate cake or a mandella made of vegetables.

Seriously though, what do you have behind your ear?

And in closing-

The other thing that I always do when I need motivation, is to buy new running shoes...

Good call man, the last pair of sneaks got me back to walking then jogging a little. The heart rate monitor that followed (to replace my old and now dead one) stepped up my game a good bit. Heck, even a new pair of shorts works for me.

 

[bgsuaaron]

Mmm. Yeah, bell peppers are good too. Pretty much any veggie I can hollow out and stuff works for me. It's a nice self-contained meal.

Thanks for reminding me on this. I used to eat them as a kid and theyre very do-able... hmmmm

COngrats on your success so far, I like reading your journal so keep up the good work!

 

[KaraCooks]

MGR - you made me laugh out loud fr real. Thanks. To your specific points:

1.) update your blog

You're so right. I've been a complete slacker and I need to get my butt in gear. I've been kinda swamped with client work (it's that time of year) and so my personal work has been pushed to the back burner. But it's time to get moving again. New post this week, I promise.

2.) would you please suggest something good to do with a lb. of ground veal and - preferably - a grill?

First thing that popped into mind is veal sliders. Mix your veal with an egg and some really finely diced onion and maybe a little bit of breadcrumb, form into slightly flattened balls, and grill. Baste with just a tiny bit of olive oil to keep them moist while they're grilling. I'd tend to go greek style with these - make them small and then stuff 3 or 4 of them into 1/2 a pita with some yogurt/cucumber sauce. Or, after you grill them, serve them with some kind of spicy fruit glaze over roasted new potatoes. Hmm. That has possibilities too!

C.) you, Omega, and Steve seem like a 3-person crew of info-posting, straight-shooting correctors of noobishness, trolls, the misinformed, and their otherwise surly, sullen, or unwashed brethren. Thanks! I nominate you all for the title and position of paladin.

I accept! Thanks.

A "tramp stamp". But make it an anti-tramp stamp by avoiding the normal dolphins and whatever. Maybe a chocolate cake or a mandella made of vegetables.
Seriously though, what do you have behind your ear?

I've been thinking about that. I think I will get something on my back .. but not a true tramp stamp, something slightly more off center, riding along my back hip bone. I think for the next one, it'll be something on my left foot - something floral, I think. Right now I have a blue and purple dragonfly behind my right ear.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Other fronts - I think I ate 2 dozen shrimp tonight. Lordy they were good. Grilled and basted with a little butter and lots of lime juice and pepper sauce. I sliced and grilled some yellow squash, 2 green tomatoes, and a half a sweet potato as well. So very yummy.

My farmer's market didn't happen this morning, since there was a parade downtown, so I wound up driving about 30 miles north to a veggie stand I know in the next town up. Got a great watermelon that wound up rolling off the counter and splatting on the floor. Luckily I was able to salvage a good bit of it, but it still meant mopping the floor today, which wasn't really in the game plan!

Tomorrow is my "free" day - which means I get to indulge in something for either lunch or dinner. I haven't decided what yet. I'm thinking I might get fajitas at Chili's for lunch. They're one of my favorites and so full of calories that I have to avoid them most of the time.

 

[stephaniemarie]

I love the local farmers market it is possibly my favorite place on a Saturday morning and i give you serious credit for driving 30miles becuase your farmers market wasn't open i can honestly say that i would probably just wait until tuesday night for my local one atleast its open saturday and tuesday

have fun with your free day i love chilis chicken fajita yum

 

[MGR1]

First thing that popped into mind is veal sliders. Mix your veal with an egg and some ..... spicy fruit glaze over roasted new potatoes. Hmm. That has possibilities too!

See, I knew I could count on you for something beyond herbed veal burgers. But a spicy fruit glaze? I gotta step up my kitchen game.

Right now I have a blue and purple dragonfly behind my right ear.

Why? To both location and design? Not that it matters, but I like ink and people's reasons behind it.

I'm thinking I might get fajitas at Chili's for lunch. They're one of my favorites and so full of calories that I have to avoid them most of the time.

I tend to hit Applebee's as there is one between work and home, but fajita's are the boss. I nearly had some tonight actually, but didn't really want to spend quite that much for a single meal right now.

The shrimp also sound lovely. How often do you try to eat seafood anyways?

 

[KaraCooks]

Ah my favorite spicy fruit glaze:

Get a jar of apricot preserves - try to find the all natural fruit kind. I think All Fruit makes one. Put 6-8 oz in a small pan over low heat and add either 2T canola oil or 2T butter. (Butter is less healthy, but gives better flavor.) Mince a clove of garlic (or use a press) and add that. Add a healthy splash of Tabasco sauce and some crushed red pepper flakes (to taste - I like lots of spice). Simmer it, stirring now and then until everything is melted together - but be careful not to let it boil or it'll just become one solid block. Then use this to baste/glaze meat. I've done this with a bunch of different kinds of fruit and even with a jar of homemade marmalade - but I like the apricot the best.

Ink: There was a long rambling thought process behind the tat. I knew for a long time that I wanted one, but I wasn't in any hurry - I wanted something with meaning rather than just flash ink. I didn't want any kind of "traditional" girly tat - butterflies, hearts, anything like that. I knew that for my first one, I wanted it in a discreet location where I could reveal it or hide it as I chose (now that my hair is very short, it's almost always visible). And I knew I would get it after I lost my first 50 lbs but before my weight loss was complete - so it couldn't be in a location on my body that would be changing as I lost more weight (which pretty much left out any part of my body between my neck and my knees! ). From there it was just a matter of looking at as much body art as I could and figuring out what appealed. I have probably 300 images that I've downloaded from various sites that I've seen and gone "that's cool" ... and I sort of just let everything simmer for a while.

When I finally decided to get the tat, I'd made a lot of changes in my life and was still going through some others - some really difficult stuff. At that time the idea of a dragonfly was really appealing to me because of it's connection with Nouveau art and Art Deco designs - which I've always loved. I had found a design that was a more abstract representation of a dragonfly that I kept coming back to, so I started to do more research on them and found out that many Native American tribes consider the dragonfly a symbol of renewal after great hardship. Since I'm part Cherokee and a registered member of the Cherokee Nation, that was pretty much the final "DING!" that made me pick this one.

So there you have it - the meaning behind my ink.

It's also why I've taken so long to get my next one. I have several ideas for what I want eventually, but there are various meanings from my life that I want to work into the pieces and so I'm taking my time to make sure that it's exactly what I want.

 

[KaraCooks]

Oh yeah ... seafood. I love seafood and would eat it every day if I could afford it.

I usually have fish at least once a week - usually Mahi because I can buy it frozen at Costco or Sams. Sometimes I have salmon (which I love) but I won't buy farmed, color added salmon, so that makes it more expensive, so it's more of a treat.

About 2 months ago I found a brand of frozen shrimp at Costco that runs about $14 a bag for tail-on, deveined shrimp. So I get those and usually grill 10-15 at a time for dinner. Last night, however, my housemate and I just grilled the whole bag - meaning to set some aside for later in the week. Yeah, you can see how well that went.

 

[fitforaking]

Noticed in another thread you mentioned grilling hotdogs.

Have you tried the Hebrew National all beef 97% fat free hotdogs? They're the best low-fat hotdog I've found. They're really flavorful and not made from the "bad" parts of the cow They've got like 45 calories and 1 gram of fat per dog...definitely worth a try!

E.

 

[KaraCooks]

Yup .. Hebrew National are my hotdog of choice! I buy them at Costco actually. I don't eat them very often any more but gosh I was craving hotdogs this week!

 

[fitforaking]

On monday mornings I stop at walmart on the way to work to buy my lunch groceries for the week...always get a pack of those. I can eat a couple of those on some lite bread with a bowl of soup...mmmmm.

E.

 

[KaraCooks]

Ok, I'm getting my act together.

New blog post today on spicy chili sauces. I just signed for some new advertising. I'm meeting a friend at lunch to work out ...

I'm working on this inertia thing ... I really am.

 

[fatguy23]

speaking of spicy chili sauces, last night I took my 3rd or 4th "whack" at green chile pork, I just can't seem to get it right, letting the sauce meld overnight and in process of cooking the pork shoulder in the slow cooker, do you have any fool proof ways of doing this? It seems like I can't get a balance between the sour tomatillas and the chilies, I roast my own poblanos with some jalapenos, but alas, the tomatillas still seemed to be winning that fight last night, I added some honey to cut the sour, but we'll see how that turns our this evening :/

 

[KaraCooks]

Tomatillos are tough for me. Each batch I make is so different and I'm sure it's because they're at various levels of ripeness. I actually will sometimes mix tomatillos and green tomatoes just to cut the "tart" value. Also try roasting your tomatillos on the grill along with your chile's to help bring out some sweetness.

 

[fatguy23]

I thought about that, but blanched them instead, makes them a little easier to work with...maybe next time i'll be ready for roasting

 

[Owl1]

Hey Kara! Your spicy fruit glaze sounds fabulous, I'm roasting a turkey this week for healthy protein, I may use an adaptation of that for a glaze.

 

[KaraCooks]

Oooh ... I need to do that soon. I haven't done a turkey since sometime in April.

It's a really great all purpose glaze - it works well for fish, too, and chicken ... and pretty much anything.

 

[nightrunner1]

Hey Kara! I've been steadily reading your journal and i must say, i am amazed with your dedication and commitment to weight loss! It's very inspirational to me!

It sounded like you were stuck for a bit around 176, but congrats on getting down to 174!!!

I think part of the reason i ended up gaining all my weight back was that when i got stuck at one weight for too long i got discouraged. then when i started gaining weight i just stopped caring and eventually, that lead to where i was a week ago

Next ill be checking your food blog. Ive read so many great things about it in your journal that i cant wait to read it. It'll have to wait until im really full or right before a workout though because when i see good food i tend to go hunting for something to eat

Your journal is quite an enjoyable read...ill pop in now and again

 

[Guess Who]

Noticed in another thread you mentioned grilling hotdogs.

Have you tried the Hebrew National all beef 97% fat free hotdogs? They're the best low-fat hotdog I've found. They're really flavorful and not made from the "bad" parts of the cow They've got like 45 calories and 1 gram of fat per dog...definitely worth a try!

E.

I freaking LOVE hot dogs! I don't eat them anymore but Hebrew National is the best of the worst. I love them with saurkraut.

Oh and just for info purposes, they are not 97% fat free. They actually have 20% fat per serving.