Lost 100

WHAT WE HAD FOR DINNER 2NITE: SPAGHETTI SQUASH MARINARA

From 'Better Homes & Gardens:  New Cook Book, 11th Edition':

Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash (21/2-3 lbs)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil
• 1 16-ounce can tomatoes, cut up
• 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• 1/8 tsp fennel seed, crushed (optional)
• Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Halve squash lengthwise; scoop out seeds.  Place squash, cut sides down, in a large baking dish.  Using a fork, prick the skin all over.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or till tender.

2.  Meanwhile, for sauce, cook onion and garlic in hot oil till onion is tender.  Stir in the undrained tomatoes, Italian seasoning, fennel seed, and 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper.  Bring to boiling.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes or to desired consistency, stirring often.

3.  To serve, remove the squash pulp from shell (with fork, carefully rake the stringy squash pulp from the shell, separating it into strands that look like spaghetti).  Spoon sauce over squash.  If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts per Serving:  80 calories, 3 g. total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 236 mg sodium, 13 g. carbs, 3 grams fiber, 1 gram protein.

Even the 1 year old and the 2 year old ate it!  It's all veggies--yeah!  I tend to buy larger spaghetti squash, add more tomatoes, more onion, more garlic, etc.  Usually you can keep the oil the same though which is nice. 

Another tip:  buy 'no salt added' tomatoes to keep the sodium low.

HOW MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD HAS CHANGED SINCE HAVING KIDS

Here's an article I just wrote for a local magazine...enjoy!

Food can be so central to our lives. Think about it. Whether we’re at a wedding or a wake we are fed. Food can be celebratory, life sustaining, can drown our sorrows, nourish our joy, mark the beginning of a relationship or the end, and even provide a livelihood for some. As a society we have formed an emotional bond with food that at times borders on unhealthy. Some people see food clearly for what it is, a source of nourishment, like a car having its tank filled with gasoline. At times I know I have been envious of people who seem to harbor no emotional connection with the act of eating. But let’s be real, if we really treated food that way, there would be no ‘would you like to have dinner with me’ first dates, or family dinners, or Thanksgivings, or baby showers, etc.

 
When I reflect on my own relationship with food I can see a long history of emotional eating and eating to celebrate or mourn major event in my life (like my wedding, high school graduation, team basketball win/loss, getting my drivers license, buying a new pair of shoes, taking a shower, loading the dishwasher…).

I probably always ate WAY too much. But I was lucky; I was 3-sport high school athlete and a college basketball player. Consuming 5 slices of pizza and 1 liter of soda was perfectly normal and my weight stayed pretty consistent.  At 5'10" I was a size 10/12, muscular, strong and happy. 

All that changed when I stopped playing sports and got married. Cooking exactly 4 dishes (all ‘favorite’ dishes from home and all filled with 1000’s of calories and dozen of grams of fat), and going out to eat 3 nights a week didn’t help. When I stopped burning the extra 1000 calories a day my waistline grew and grew fast. I added between 10 and 15 lbs a year, slowly replacing the 12 with 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and finally plateauing at a 24/26.

   

I lied to myself. I would look in the mirror naked and say, ‘oh I have a very proportional figure’ (somewhat true, but it was still morbidly obese). I would justify that society was just obsessed with super skinny girls and that truly evolved people did not care what I weighed. Worse I even convinced myself I wasn’t eating that much. But I was, it was the pint of ice cream here, the big popcorn with butter at the movies there. I could justify going out to dinner or lunch as a time or over-indulge because it was ‘a special occasion’. But it wasn’t. Never have I ordered a healthy option at dinner and felt I had less fun than if I had had the 20 oz. steak or lobster with 5 Tbsp of butter. Yet fried food, dessert, appetizers, wine, mixed drinks, ribs, the breadbasket, eating the entire plate of food at the restaurant was my norm.

I did manage to lose weight by working out a lot. And I felt great, but was still quite overweight. Then I had Sarah and everything changed. Sarah was born 6 weeks premature. Our placenta had ruptured, we both almost died. My doctor told me my body was toxic. I felt such shame for putting this innocent little baby into a position where she was starting out behind in life. I desperately wanted to make things right. The best thing I could do for my preemie was to breastfeed her (liquid gold the NICU nurses would say). As I tried to pump as much milk for her as I could each day I contemplated what would provide the healthiest milk for my little baby. When I wanted to reach for French fries I would think to myself, ‘do I want my baby eating this crap?’ Slowly I began to incorporate more healthy ways of eating into my diet.
My preemie baby Sarah came home and got healthier and the next step in my transformation began when it was time to give solid foods. I began thinking, ’how can I justify eating this in front of Sarah?’ knowing I would be her most important model in life of how to eat appropriately.

While I had a decent knowledge of nutrition I felt like I needed more tools in my arsenal. I bought myself Anabel Karmel’s book, ‘First Meals’; the book showed me how to make my own fresh baby food. & it also reminded me of the importance of giving our children and ourselves ‘real food’/ whole foods. For instance, how many times had I reached for fake lower-cal spreads instead of real butter.
I joined a CSA (community supported agriculture program) and began picking up vegetables every week (many of which, I had never heard of before, yet alone prepared!), the farm was organic, which wasn’t something I sought out, it just happen to be the only CSA available in our neighborhood in Jackson Heights, Queens. After witnessing the healthy families and interacting with them each week through volunteering and socializing I realized that organic food was something I should take more seriously.
I began to read about and learn about the benefits of eating organic food; while we are not a fully organic family, I would never have taken the time in the past to find mostly organic produce, and the ‘dirty dozen’ takes on a whole new meaning now! Slowly and surely I felt like I was feeding my family and myself in a more healthy way, eating more whole foods, eating more fresh vegetables, eating less preservatives, less junk food, etc. What was funny was that when we did have cake, or ice cream I enjoyed it so much more.
We had another baby, and again, I was nursing and was reminded that everything I put in my body transferred to the baby. Does little Zoe need potato chips and Pepsi and a hot dog while I watch this baseball game? Does Zoe need extra cheese on the pizza? Has Zoe eaten enough vegetables today?
Then another epiphany moment hit me. Why could I do these things for my baby, but not for me? Certainly no one else was going to put me first. I am worth taking care of, I am worth being healthy for. Moreover, I kept having this overwhelming feeling of responsibility to these 2 little girls. Never in my life had I felt like it was ‘do or die’. I had watched family members and acquaintances get sick and die from preventable diseases….I could not let this happen to me. Sure, my hubby could always get a new wife; but as a daughter myself, I knew and know that no one could ever replace me for my daughters. I had a higher calling now, it was not about being skinny again, it was about being healthy again…..
Do I have it all together—hell no! I make all kinds of mistakes. I probably over think things (like when we go out of town and my mother-in-law comes to stay with the girls and I prepare a full menu, complete with breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, appropriate eating times and a list of ‘off limits’ foods), and conversely sometimes I under think things (like when it’s 3PM and we’re at the zoo and the kids are crying and I have no idea why—duh! They’re hungry! Did mommy bring any food, no. Is the food at the zoo healthy, NO!). I overeat and I eat the wrong things still. But overall, I feel like I have a healthier approach to food and there is no race, no finish line. I will live to eat another day, and I am fully capable of making decisions that are right for me (and my family) and I feel good about that!

DON'T BE *OUT TO LUNCH* WHEN YOU'RE ON YOUR LUNCH BREAK!

Once upon a time the little brown bag was invented (no, not Bloomingdales' little brown bag--I'm talking lunch bags). 1950's housewives dutifully packed a healthy lunch with a sandwich, apple, etc. Then the lunch box was invented and children of the 70's filled the school cafeteria trying to out-cool one another with their Star Wars lunch boxes. Most moms packed a healthy lunch, but there was always that one kid you tried to trade with--"please I'll give you everything my mom packed for me if I can just have ONE, just ONE of your ho-hoes!" So begins the love affair with lunch. No matter what, what the other guy has is more appealing than what you have.

Sure, at 9AM after you've finished your coffee with skim milk and your sensible bowl of Kashi with berries you know for certain you will walk into the company cafeteria and buy a salad. Naked. NO! You aren't going to be naked and eating the salad, the salad will be without dressing, thus "naked." You walk into the company cafeteria and 9AM was apparently a fantasy world, because you smell it, you see it, and the 5'11" size 4 beauty in the stunning wrap around dress has her plate piled full of it. Certainly if she can eat it, you can too, right?!

Eating a healthy lunch is infinitely more difficult when you have to eat out everyday (little background--for nearly anyone in a big city like NYC this is reality-- I think I know 4 people who ever pack a lunch in NYC; sure when I was living Cincinnati or Savannah or Knoxville or pretty much anywhere else I packed--never have I done it in the big city...it's just not done). You see you have a few issues to deal with:

a. Boredom--how many salads can one eat? Okay, okay, sure there are people who love salads--most of those people are like my hubby, whose salad has more calories than a Big Mac.
b. The Office Waif--she is so sneaky, sly, mean, and we love to hate her--the girl without the eating disorder who just eats and eats and eats and never gains weight--she guzzles Stella's after work, she drinks the Venti (no, not tall, and not grande either--we're talking super-sized freak) Frappacino with extra whipped cream, she eats a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll for breakfast everyday--we see her do it and stay a "less than zero" and think we can too. Newsflash--she is an alien...she was secretly sent here by the makers of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig as a way to drum up business. Seriously--spill a drink on her at the bar one day, she'll short circuit--I swear....come on, I double-dog dare you!
c. The company cafeteria--it's just a location. Really, it is. But walking into that location between the hours of 11:30 and 2:30 can strike fear in the heart of any dieter healthy eater! There are smells that subconsciously beckon you, and the sights (ie. presentation of the food) that are so stimulating.
d. The "anti-tourist/I belong here and I'll prove it" mindset--if you have ever lived in NYC you completely understand this; if you haven't you think this sounds ridiculous (and that is pretty much because it does). Sure there are Subway fast food joints, and Applebee's and both have healthy options, but see "A" and then try to find a co-worker who's willing to attend one of the places (see "D").

Solutions:

1. See if the company cafeteria has a weekly menu that is available the week before, if possible, find out if they provide nutritional information. Then you can plan out what you're going to eat before you get there. Plus you'll know it's "Indian Day" and you can plan to avoid the cafeteria because you're a sucker for Chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati Rice, extra Naan and a side of Samosas (um, not that I know anybody like this...).
2. Have a standard set of 5-7 meals that you know are healthy and you can get when you're will power is shot.
3. Find a lunch partner who is a healthy eater. This is where I would recommend that you avoid anyone you have heard of nicknamed things like 'the cleaner' 'hoss' 'meat' 'meatball' etc.
4. Find a lunch partner who is not "Susie I'm-so-perfect-and-trying-to-help-you-diet"--this is the one that likes to comment on every food choice you make and points out how perfectly perfect she is. Avoid her--head straight to meathead's table, you're much better off! Seriously, with a friend like this, who needs enemies? Eating should be an enjoyable, social occasion. After all, if you wanted criticism you would just have lunch with your mother, right?!
5. Buy your lunch before you get to work, most Bodega's are open for breakfast and have many of the lunch foods already prepared. That way you are buying the food when you are not actively hungry (this is sound advice for grocery shopping as well).
6. Make lunch your "big meal" of the day and eat a smaller dinner (just don't plan to do this and then eat the big dinner anyway, duh!).

Meal Ideas (beyond the standard salad):
1. Japanese: sushi, edamame
2. Mexican: 1/2 burrito, 2 oz. chicken, black beans, 1/4 c. brown rice, spinach, sprinkle of low-fat cheese, loaded with salsa (hold the sour cream, guacamole and pretty much everything else).
3. Tilapia with 1/2 c. brown rice and 1 c. steamed veggies.
4. Panini: Opt for fresh made where you can choose your ingredients, avoid cheese--try a small amount of chicken with some marinara sauce.
5. Egg-white omelet: Again, avoid cheese, but load up on onions, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, etc. If you are a sucker for "breakfast for lunch" and are a fan of the 'breakfast meat'--remember Canadian bacon--best choice, Ham, 2nd best, followed by low-fat sausage, bacon, standard sausage.
6. Pizza: Limit to one slice and opt for something with a whole-wheat crust, with lots of veggies (eggplant, onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, etc.).
7. Italian: Eggplant (make sure it's not breaded and fried) parmesan (ask for lite/no cheese).
8. Falafel: Yummy and reasonably healthy and great for a budget conscious too.
9. Salmon: Loaded with omega-3's this is a great choice once a week for lunch (opt for pacific or wild caught salmon, avoid farmed).
10. Burger: Turkey burger, Buffalo burger, Veggie burger, Ostrich burger (avoid mayo, eat only 1/2 the bun, eat with a fork and knife, top with favorite veggies).
11. Soup: Gazpacho soup, White bean soup, Minestrone soup, Chili with lots of veggies
12. Middle-eastern: hummus with carrots (try to limit the flat bread--you can quickly eat up a ton of carb calories).
13. Greek: Lamb kabobs with lots of veggies.
14. Yogurt, apple, granola, & celery sticks (with a touch of peanut/soy/almond butter).
15. Sandwich: opt for lots of fresh veggies, limit cheese to one slice, limit lunch meats to small portions--obviously turkey is a better choice than ham which is a better choice than braunswagger which is better than bologna (did I need to tell you that, though?!).

***Be aware of the food you *drink*--don't blow all your calories on Jamba juices, frappacinos, and "vitamin" water

Please, share your thoughts and ideas too!

SWEET! KEEP YOUR DIET ON TRACK & TRY THESE HEALTHY TOPPINGS FOR YOUR YAM OR SWEET POTATO OR HOT POTATO!

Are you a butter-holic? Addicted to salt? The more sour cream you eat the rosier the world seems? Well, maybe you need to get out more--I can recommend some good movies and running trails and even a couple of zoos. But in terms of healthy potato toppings I've got your ticket right here!

Hot potato, hot potato, hot potato hot: skip the salt, butter, sour cream, cheese, etc. and try SALSA (even better: fresh, homemade salsa)! Not only are you cutting out the fat, but you're adding veggies to boot. If you can't do the salsa thing, some people like ketchup (yes, it's salty, but it's probably better than 3 tsp of butter AND salt).

Sweet Potato/ Yams: If you are lucky enough to have a well cooked specimen (and by that I mean moist) this is my favorite thing: top that sucker with these tasty, full-o-flavor spices...nutmeg, ground cloves, ginger, & cinnamon--you'll never want butter again!

These still aren't making you sing Joy to the World? Try a butter substitute like Bummel & Brown or the I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray. Salt a problem for you: Kosher salt/sea salt has less sodium than traditional table salt AND you can also buy reduced sodium or 1/2 the sodium salt.

Happy Root Vegetable Eating to you!

ZUCCHINI--3 GREAT WAYS: HEALTHY, HEALTHIER, HEALTHIEST!

So experimenting with my favorite Zucchini dish tonight I figured out an even healthier alternative & thought I'd share.

So, here's the original recipe:

Slice Zucchini length-wise place in single layer on broiling pan
Saute in Saucepan: Olive Oil, Garlic, Kosher Salt, Rosemary, Fresh Ground Pepper
Pour mixture over Zucchini and broil, turning once.

Very yummy--especially if you are a Zucchini lover like me.

So I tinkered with it, and made a Healthy versions--I used the grill--which cooks off more of the Olive Oil. GRILLING WITH OLIVE OIL ALERT: I keep a clean grill, really, I do. But for some reason whenever I use EVOO on the grill I end up looking like I just ran a marathon while watching the end of the movie Beaches (in other words, red faced, bawling my eyes out, and just looking like a Mack truck hit me)! So, if you think this could happen to you, might I recommend you do not use EVOO on a gas grill (it may have to do with olive oil burning at a lower temp than other oils?).

Healthier Version (from an old Weight Watchers bud):
Replace the Olive Oil with a few Tbsp of Bummel & Brown spread (this is a yogurt-based spread that really is the tastiest butter substitute I've found & 1 Tbsp is less calories than 1 tsp of butter & the fat is not even comparable).

Healthiest Version (my experiment from tonight):
Use a microwave cooker and steam the Zucchini, while spraying with just a hint of EVOO and still putting everything else in (you may want to replace the garlic with a sprinkle of garlic powder). Put on the 'fresh veggie' setting and cook away.

*Of course one can always steam any vegetable in your steamer, but the point is, this is essentially taking the same recipe, the same flavors, and cooking it in a healthier way.

ENJOY!

TRY THIS HEALTHY LUNCH OPTION!

Here's what I had for lunch today...and what's great is that you can 'make it your own' and really add what you want to it.

Egg-white Veggie Omelet:

1 egg
3 egg whites
1/4 Vidalia Onion
1/4 Green Pepper
1/4 Red Pepper
1/4 cup Green Onions
(you can add Zucchini, Eggplant, many other veggies)
1 tsp butter
low sodium salt
Italian Seasoning
fresh ground pepper

Melt the butter and add the veggies and seasoning, cook until tender. Mix egg and egg whites together and add.

I find that you don't need cheese and that with 1 complete egg you aren't really missing the 3 yolks at all. If you are on Weight Watchers I believe the points would be 4 (2 for the 1 egg, 1 for the 3 egg whites, and 1 for the tsp of butter).

Enjoy!

SOLUTIONS FOR HAVING THE MUNCHIES IN THE EVENING

An acquaintance of mine recently posed a question about what ideas people had for when they get the munchies in the evening...how many of us feel like we "graze" from the the time dinner is over until bedtime? If you're lucky enough to be like my friend Amy, you make a pact with yourself that you will not eat anything after 7PM--of course then you probably are like Amy and don't have a weight problem, eh? At any rate, I gave some thought as to how I try to handle the munching dilemma (that is, when I'm not hanging out with my 2 best friends Riesling and Merlot...). Here's a little list:

1. gum (sugar free)
2. 100 calorie bags of popcorn, kettle corn, crackers
3. buy celery & regular carrots (not the baby carrots b/c they have added sugar) & clean and cut them the day you buy--put in a container so you have them readily on hand when you want them
4. apples
5. drink LOTS of water (in addition to any other beverage)--sometimes beverages other than water can make us thirsty or hungry
6. take up an activity that keeps your hands busy (knitting, crocheting, underwater basketweaving--you get the idea!)
7. plan that you will eat a snack & plan what it will be--then you know you will be eating it and won't feel such a sense of guilt (and you can adjust your eating during the day accordingly)
8. edamame
9. 60 calorie yogurt or yogurt drink
10. bowl of cereal (preferably a healthier one like Kashi, Special K, etc.)

Obviously, this is by no means a complete list--what have you done to combat the evening munchies????

TRY THIS AMAZING DISH--HEALTHY & FABULOUS!

Ever cook one of those meals that makes you feel like you could be a professional chef. You hold your head a bit higher, you feel like you move more fluidly, you just have an air of confidence about you? Yes, this was me. Two nights ago I made a dinner from scratch that had me feeling like I should have my own TV show (HaHa).

Ingredients:
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, washed and cut into bite size pieces
1 bunch Broccoli Rabe
1 box Angel Hair Pasta
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lemon
Italian Seasoning
Kosher Salt/ Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Fresh Garlic
Chopped Onion (Vidalia)

Sautee garlic and onion in EVOO, add chicken, sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt & pepper--cover. When chicken it cooked through add Broccoli, add a LITTLE more EVOO and squeeze 1/2 a lemon over the mixture. Stir continuously. When Broccoli is wilted pour entire mixture over cooked Angel Hair Pasta. Squeeze other 1/2 lemon over dish and serve. Enjoy!

FUN SUMMERY PIE RECIPE--LITE & GOOD FOR YOU TO BOOT!

Looking for a lite, fun, yummy dessert for picnics this summer? Live in fear of going to a picnic and facing the mountain of cookies and brownies and __________(name your poison here!)?

Have no fear my fearless healthy-living soldiers! Yet another Weight Watchers recipe guru has come to your rescue!

I bring you: Key Lime Pie

IT AIN'T YOUR MOTHER'S MEATLOAF (OH WAIT, IT ACTUALLY IS!)

I love, love, love this meatloaf.  It's not what one expects with the word meatloaf (not a odd-shaped ball of mystery meat mixed with ketchup and Grandma's 9-year-old box of lipton soup mix, not the ecentric singer, not the strange fat kid from summer camp, and not your neighbors dog)--this is a fancy Turkey Meatloaf that is dinner party tested (okay, so admittedly it was my Mom's dinner party, but she's a pretty sassy lady and it went over fabulously!).  It's healthy, exotic, packed with flavor and easy as pie (why do people say this, have they ever made a pie--pie is not easy, nor quick--we should say it's as easy as microwave popcorn, but that's just not catchy I suppose).

Diana's Fancy Turkey Meatloaf

1 Egg

1 Eggwhite

1 cup soft whole wheat bread crumbs (1 1/3 slices bread)

1/2 c. chopped green onion

2 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained

2 Tbsp soooy sauce (TIP: use the reduced sodium soy sauce)

1 Tbsp milk or water (I like to use milk)

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey (TIP: be sure to use the 93% fat free, not the 99% for better consistency)

Mix all but Turkey.  Add Turkey.  Bake in a 350 degree over for 45 minutes.  Remove, spoon on a mix of 2Tbsp apricot preserves & 1/4 tsp ground ginger.  Bake an additional 10-15 minutes more.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Serve and enjoy! 

TIP:  I like to buy the 3 lb container of turkey, double the recipe and make 2 meatloafs, 1 for now, 1 to freeze for later!  The kids like it too :-)