So it has been almost a week since I have written anything so before I jump into my work today, I thought I would sit down and post. This past week has been a tough diet week. To start out with on Friday we had birthday party for Michelle. Birthday parties mean lots o sweets and I have to admit that my sweet tooth got the best of me and I did induldge a little bit (DARN!). On Saturday I took the kids to a place in Sumner for lunch called Dixie's Diner. It is a little hole in the wall place I have heard a lot about. They specialize in yummy breakfasts which happens to be one of my favorite meals and happens to have a lot of low carb choices. I ordered the MaMa platter which included eggs, bacon, sausage which are good but also inlcluded biscuits and gravy and hash browns which are bad. My intention was to stay away from those and give them to Jacob. I did take a few bites of the though because they looked so delicious and felt terribly guilty about it the rest of the day. Since then I have been doing very well. My standard meal has become chicken breast browned up with a little cream sauce and mushrooms over them along with a vegetable. It is delicious and usually feeds my appetitie quite well. So far I have lost about 9 lbs which I do not think is too bad but considering last week included a vacation and a birthday party, I do not feel to bad about that number. Next week I will in Oklahoma and Oregon traveling for work so hopefully I am able to find a few low carb options while I am on the road. For dinner tonight I found a new recipe that I am going to try. It is for chicken enchiladas which are my favorite but instead of tortillas, you make a sort of egg/crepe type wrap. It sounds good. Here is the recipe. I will post the review and pictures later.
1 pound chicken breast
1 teaspoon oil
1 can enchilada sauce or 1 fresh green chilies
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese -- or pepper jack
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon butter
1 small amount of fajita seasoning
Cook chicken breast in oil with fajita seasoning. In mixing bowl blend eggs and cream on high speed till well blended and all yellow. Heat small skillet or crepe pan and add a small amount of butter (you will need to rebutter the pan several times). Pour in just enough egg mixture to coat the pan. Allow to cook through, you may turn them but it is not necesary. Mix together cream, sour cream, green chilies, and half of the cheese. Pour some of the sauce in with the chicken. Place a crepe in a baking dish and spoon a small amount of sauce over it. Place chicken meat inside and roll. When all are complete cover with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-15 min.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Catching Up!
The weekends get crazy busy and I have neglected this blog over the past few days. Let's see...where to start?
Later that evening the Walsh and VanderHoeven families wanted to go somewhere to eat again. They are all doing the low-fat diet variety and we had a difficult time figuring out a place that would work for all of us. We settled upon McDonald's again and I once again had 2 more double cheeseburgers. I realize that is a lot of meat in one day and usually that is not my preference but it worked. It kept me full and I resisted any temptation to partake of any else.
So Friday is usually the night Mike and I go out to dinner. The kids usually have some other activity going on. I usually pick him up from work and we go somewhere. Our restaurant of choice was The Old Country Buffet (aka The Slophouse). We thought this would be a good choice because Mike loves it and it would also work for me because I could have a delicious salad and lots of protein choices to chose from. That worked! The one bad thing was dessert. Mike loves their chocolate cake, in fact he loves ALL chocolate cake. Usually I am not tempted by that but after a week of no sugar it looked especially yummy. Rather than give in to temptation I opted for the low sugar pudding. I don't think it was a low sugar as they were touting and after eating a small bowl full, I was feeling pretty guilty. I probably should not have partaken but I did..oh well.
Saturday is another hard day. It is my fun day out and about with the kids. We usually have lunch at some fast food restaurant and this Saturday was no exception. Jacob and I met Cat and Chris for lunch. I stuck to a diet of 2 double cheeseburgers with no bun. I was pleasantly surprised when they served it to me bowl with a slice of lettuce to wrap it in and a knife an fork. They even made each a triple....yummy.
Later that evening the Walsh and VanderHoeven families wanted to go somewhere to eat again. They are all doing the low-fat diet variety and we had a difficult time figuring out a place that would work for all of us. We settled upon McDonald's again and I once again had 2 more double cheeseburgers. I realize that is a lot of meat in one day and usually that is not my preference but it worked. It kept me full and I resisted any temptation to partake of any else.Sunday was just a typical Sunday. I made meatballs for dinner and made myself some cauliflower to go along with it. Mike and the kids had corn and potatoes instead.
Monday was a hard day. Our family went to San Francisco for a day trip. It was long day out and about and I have to admit I ended up eating a pulled-pork sandwich for lunch and I did partake of the french fries that came along with it...DARN! The good news is I also probably walked several miles so hopefully everything will off-set.
Today I am back at work and planning on getting back on track!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Food Journal - Day 3 and 4
I have been busy the past couple of days so I have neglected this blog. Busy is good...it keeps my mind off or food! So how have I done....GREAT! I think so anyway. Here is what I ate.
Wednesday:
Breakfast: 4 slices bacon and scrambled eggs with green onions - Total carbs: 2 grams
Lunch: None
Dinner: This was a tough one. I had had a busy day and did not cook. The rest of the family got leftovers (macaroni and cheese and spagetti...yum!). I could not have any of that so I just browned up some boneless skinless chicken breast tenders and served them along side a salad. - Total carbs: 14 grams
Total for the day: 16 grams (yeah!)
Thursday:
Breakfast: I had to drive to Bellevue which took me right past the McDonald's drive-thru. Rather than denying myself I stopped in and bought their 2 sausage mcmuffin with egg specials - minus the muffins. They even served it to me with a knife and fork. It did the trick and I felt full. Total carbs: 8 grams
Lunch: I was working and was not hungry until everyone else started bringing their lunches to their desk. The smell of leftovers in the microwave soon filled the air and I knew I had to get out of their. I stopped by Winco in Kent on my way home to pick up some things for dinner. On the way home I snacked on some black forest ham in the car Total carbs: 2 grams
Dinner: My family had taco salad and I just had the same thing minus the chips and put the salad part on the side. It was ok but really not very low in carbs (the seasoning mix has some and I thickened it with a bit of corn starch). I stuck to a pretty small portion and was plenty hungry by the time bed time rolled around. I figured I better go to sleep before I let my cravings get to me. Total carbs: 16 grams
Wednesday:
Breakfast: 4 slices bacon and scrambled eggs with green onions - Total carbs: 2 grams
Lunch: None
Dinner: This was a tough one. I had had a busy day and did not cook. The rest of the family got leftovers (macaroni and cheese and spagetti...yum!). I could not have any of that so I just browned up some boneless skinless chicken breast tenders and served them along side a salad. - Total carbs: 14 grams
Total for the day: 16 grams (yeah!)
Thursday:
Breakfast: I had to drive to Bellevue which took me right past the McDonald's drive-thru. Rather than denying myself I stopped in and bought their 2 sausage mcmuffin with egg specials - minus the muffins. They even served it to me with a knife and fork. It did the trick and I felt full. Total carbs: 8 grams
Lunch: I was working and was not hungry until everyone else started bringing their lunches to their desk. The smell of leftovers in the microwave soon filled the air and I knew I had to get out of their. I stopped by Winco in Kent on my way home to pick up some things for dinner. On the way home I snacked on some black forest ham in the car Total carbs: 2 grams
Dinner: My family had taco salad and I just had the same thing minus the chips and put the salad part on the side. It was ok but really not very low in carbs (the seasoning mix has some and I thickened it with a bit of corn starch). I stuck to a pretty small portion and was plenty hungry by the time bed time rolled around. I figured I better go to sleep before I let my cravings get to me. Total carbs: 16 grams
Total carbs for the day: 26 grams
Today is Friday and as the weekend approaches I hope I can stick to it. The weekends to me are so much harder. I stepped on the scale this morning and I am down about 5 lbs already. I think that is pretty good. 5 lbs in 5 days. I hope I can keep up that pace.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Food Journal - Day 2
Ahhh...day 2. Always a little harder than day 1 but still..not so bad. I think I did pretty good today as well. One thing I love about a low carb diet is that there is a large variety of food you can eat to keep interesting and there is a lot of information and ideas on the internet to motivate you. Here is what I ate today.
Breakfast - 0 carbs
Nothing
Lunch - 9 carbs
A nice salad with chopped eggs, ham, a few peas and ranch dressing. I was going to have a couple of bratwurst to go along with it but they were really salty so Bella got to eat those instead. She was very happy!
Dinner - 14 carbs
Dinner was yummy. I found a low carb recipe for Cordon Bleu which happens to be one of my favorite things to eat. I started with boneless skinless chicken breasts and then opened the center of them and put a piece of swiss cheese and a slice of ham in each. I then secured it with toothpicks. I added salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little poultry seasoning and browned them in a pan with a little bit of butter. After they were all brown I covered the pan and put it in the oven to finish cooking the chicken. It was yummy and only about 6 carbs total. I had some brussel sprouts to go along with it and I still had some of my mushroom gravy sauce left over from yesterday to round out the meal. It was filling and super good for me.
I did not make it to the gym today because I had some projects for work I needed to complete as well as a late meeting with my manager so I just did not get there. I am working in Bellevue tomorrow and plan on stopping there on my way home from work.
Another good day!
Breakfast - 0 carbs
Nothing
Lunch - 9 carbs
A nice salad with chopped eggs, ham, a few peas and ranch dressing. I was going to have a couple of bratwurst to go along with it but they were really salty so Bella got to eat those instead. She was very happy!
Dinner - 14 carbsDinner was yummy. I found a low carb recipe for Cordon Bleu which happens to be one of my favorite things to eat. I started with boneless skinless chicken breasts and then opened the center of them and put a piece of swiss cheese and a slice of ham in each. I then secured it with toothpicks. I added salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little poultry seasoning and browned them in a pan with a little bit of butter. After they were all brown I covered the pan and put it in the oven to finish cooking the chicken. It was yummy and only about 6 carbs total. I had some brussel sprouts to go along with it and I still had some of my mushroom gravy sauce left over from yesterday to round out the meal. It was filling and super good for me.
I did not make it to the gym today because I had some projects for work I needed to complete as well as a late meeting with my manager so I just did not get there. I am working in Bellevue tomorrow and plan on stopping there on my way home from work.
Another good day!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Food Journal - Day 1
I think the first day of a diet is both the easiest and the toughest at the same time. You are definetely motivated to do the right thing but at the same time, you get hungry very easily as your body adjust to a smaller amount of food.
I did pretty well today. My goal is stay under 25 grams of carbohydrates per day. Here is what I had to eat today:
Breakfast: Nothing
Lunch (about 11am): Egg Cheese and Sausage Fratata. Total Carbs: 3 grams
I browned 2 links of brown and serve sausage, then cut it up in small pieces and put it back in the pan. Then I mixed up 3 eggs and pored them over the saugage. After the bottom cooked, I put a about 1/2 cup of cheese over the top and put the whole thing in the oven to melt the cheese and brown the top. It was yummy and I was definetely full afterwards.
Dinner: Sirloin steak with mushroom sauce and salad. Total carbs: 16 grams
I had a very lean piece of sirloin steak and fryed in a non-stick pan with less than a tablespoon of butter for the entire family. After I fried the steaks I let them rest while I browned up some sliced mushrooms. After the mushrooms were cooked I poured 1 cup of half and half over them and added 1 beef boullion cube along with salt and peper. I let the whole thing reduce and thicken. I had my steak with a healthy helping of the mushrooms over the top. It was very yummy and very low in carbs as mushrooms have only 9 grams of carbohydrates in a whole cup of them. I also had a yummy green salad with a few frozen peas on it (I love peas on salad) and of course a bit of ranch dressing. The whole meal only had 16 grams of carbs and I was very full when I was done. The rest of the family got some mashed potatoes (I love potato pearls) to go along with it which made the meal whole for them. Truthfully, I did not miss the potatoes a bit. That probably won't last as potatoes are my weakness but I am going to really try to stay 100% away from them.
Total carbs today...19. In addition to that, Jacob and I did make it to the gym and I spent about 45 minutes on the treadmill and walked a total of about 2.2 miles. Today was a good day. I can so do this!
I did pretty well today. My goal is stay under 25 grams of carbohydrates per day. Here is what I had to eat today:
Breakfast: Nothing
Lunch (about 11am): Egg Cheese and Sausage Fratata. Total Carbs: 3 grams
I browned 2 links of brown and serve sausage, then cut it up in small pieces and put it back in the pan. Then I mixed up 3 eggs and pored them over the saugage. After the bottom cooked, I put a about 1/2 cup of cheese over the top and put the whole thing in the oven to melt the cheese and brown the top. It was yummy and I was definetely full afterwards.
Dinner: Sirloin steak with mushroom sauce and salad. Total carbs: 16 grams
I had a very lean piece of sirloin steak and fryed in a non-stick pan with less than a tablespoon of butter for the entire family. After I fried the steaks I let them rest while I browned up some sliced mushrooms. After the mushrooms were cooked I poured 1 cup of half and half over them and added 1 beef boullion cube along with salt and peper. I let the whole thing reduce and thicken. I had my steak with a healthy helping of the mushrooms over the top. It was very yummy and very low in carbs as mushrooms have only 9 grams of carbohydrates in a whole cup of them. I also had a yummy green salad with a few frozen peas on it (I love peas on salad) and of course a bit of ranch dressing. The whole meal only had 16 grams of carbs and I was very full when I was done. The rest of the family got some mashed potatoes (I love potato pearls) to go along with it which made the meal whole for them. Truthfully, I did not miss the potatoes a bit. That probably won't last as potatoes are my weakness but I am going to really try to stay 100% away from them.
Total carbs today...19. In addition to that, Jacob and I did make it to the gym and I spent about 45 minutes on the treadmill and walked a total of about 2.2 miles. Today was a good day. I can so do this!
The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life
My name is Pam Sirrine and I LOVE FOOD! Thinking back over my life some of my best memories involve food in one way or the other. My parents were both from Holland and as you can imagine having a northern European palette, our meals were usually heavy and involved meat of some sort (usually beef), potatoes, a vegetable and lots of butter or gravy to top it all off. Not only were our meals heavy but our we were also very emotional eaters. We usually used food to mend hurt feelings, recover from a bad day or just use as a reason to get together and visit with each other. It was really always about routine and food was and is a central focalpoint with every family gathering.
I was blessed with being tall (5'8") and in my youth was really able to eat everything and anything I wanted. I had a quick metabolism and despite eating tons, it never really showed. I remember one summer vacation, my brother and I went to the grocery store and each bought a box of chocolate pudding and whipping cream. We each made our own mixing bowl of it and each ate the whole thing. In 6th grade, our family had a chocolate pie eating contest. My dad could not eat a whole pie himself but I did it! I never gained weight from any of that.
The day I was married I probably weighed about 130 lbs. Over the years I had 5 children. With children 1, 2, and 3, I would gain weight during my pregnancy but it was pretty easy for me to take it off afterwards. I carried around a few extra pounds with each pregnancy but overall I was in pretty good shape. Child 4 was a different story. My husband like to refer to it as the "big boom". I probably gained about 40 lbs with that pregnancy and for some reason afterwards, my body just wasn't the same. I was very active raising our little family and I really did not have time to focus on myself. A couple of years later came baby 5 and in addition to still carrying around a lot of extra weight, I added even more to it. My husband was gone a lot with his job in the military and again, I focused on taking care of my family rather than myself.
In 1995 my husband left the military and we moved to Washington state to be near family. It was at that time that I went to work full-time and I have been working full-time every since. The world of working opens a whole bunch of new opportunities to eat. The worst being the world of fast-food. It is so easy to hit the drive-thru on the way in to the office in the morning or to spend your lunch hour in the McDonald's parking lot eating a value-meal and enjoying a new book. It all starts very innocently and before you know it, it almost becomes an addiction. This has been my life for the past 13 years. Little by little I have put on a few pounds here and there. I have tried to take them off and sometimes I did really good, but before you know it, the weight I had lost would be back and then some....
Well today that is all going to change. The straw that broke the camels back was looking at myself in home videos. I do not even recognize me....and I don't want to play that game anymore. I am changing my life as of today and I am vowing here and now not to fall into those old habits again.
So your probably asking yourself "why is she blogging about it?". I am blogging about it because it makes me accountable. I can not tell you the number of Monday morning I have said "ok..today is the day". Usually by dinner time those days I would be really hungry. I figured nobody knew I was trying to diet so I would not have to answer to them about it why my dinner plate was so full or why I was having that bowl of ice cream. And besides, there was always next week. Well I am running out of next weeks. I am 44 years old and probably about 70 lbs over weight. I don't want to be that way anymore. I want to be able to be a active and healthy for my husband, my children and my grandchildren. Starting today I am making a life style change. No quick diets for me. I am going to be accountable for everything that goes into my mouth. My plan is to go low carb but also not go crazy with the proteins. This will involve removing everything white from my diet. Goodbye potatoes and bread....I will miss you! I am hoping to have a protein and a vegetable or salad for most meals. I am going to go to the gym at least 3 days a week to start and hopefully move up to 5 days a week as time allows.
I hope you will all support me and encourage me in this endeavor. As time goes by I know I will need it and I am counting on those that I love the most to help me. I plan to update this blog on my progress as well as how I am doing it. Check back often for updates.
I was blessed with being tall (5'8") and in my youth was really able to eat everything and anything I wanted. I had a quick metabolism and despite eating tons, it never really showed. I remember one summer vacation, my brother and I went to the grocery store and each bought a box of chocolate pudding and whipping cream. We each made our own mixing bowl of it and each ate the whole thing. In 6th grade, our family had a chocolate pie eating contest. My dad could not eat a whole pie himself but I did it! I never gained weight from any of that.
The day I was married I probably weighed about 130 lbs. Over the years I had 5 children. With children 1, 2, and 3, I would gain weight during my pregnancy but it was pretty easy for me to take it off afterwards. I carried around a few extra pounds with each pregnancy but overall I was in pretty good shape. Child 4 was a different story. My husband like to refer to it as the "big boom". I probably gained about 40 lbs with that pregnancy and for some reason afterwards, my body just wasn't the same. I was very active raising our little family and I really did not have time to focus on myself. A couple of years later came baby 5 and in addition to still carrying around a lot of extra weight, I added even more to it. My husband was gone a lot with his job in the military and again, I focused on taking care of my family rather than myself.
In 1995 my husband left the military and we moved to Washington state to be near family. It was at that time that I went to work full-time and I have been working full-time every since. The world of working opens a whole bunch of new opportunities to eat. The worst being the world of fast-food. It is so easy to hit the drive-thru on the way in to the office in the morning or to spend your lunch hour in the McDonald's parking lot eating a value-meal and enjoying a new book. It all starts very innocently and before you know it, it almost becomes an addiction. This has been my life for the past 13 years. Little by little I have put on a few pounds here and there. I have tried to take them off and sometimes I did really good, but before you know it, the weight I had lost would be back and then some....
Well today that is all going to change. The straw that broke the camels back was looking at myself in home videos. I do not even recognize me....and I don't want to play that game anymore. I am changing my life as of today and I am vowing here and now not to fall into those old habits again.
So your probably asking yourself "why is she blogging about it?". I am blogging about it because it makes me accountable. I can not tell you the number of Monday morning I have said "ok..today is the day". Usually by dinner time those days I would be really hungry. I figured nobody knew I was trying to diet so I would not have to answer to them about it why my dinner plate was so full or why I was having that bowl of ice cream. And besides, there was always next week. Well I am running out of next weeks. I am 44 years old and probably about 70 lbs over weight. I don't want to be that way anymore. I want to be able to be a active and healthy for my husband, my children and my grandchildren. Starting today I am making a life style change. No quick diets for me. I am going to be accountable for everything that goes into my mouth. My plan is to go low carb but also not go crazy with the proteins. This will involve removing everything white from my diet. Goodbye potatoes and bread....I will miss you! I am hoping to have a protein and a vegetable or salad for most meals. I am going to go to the gym at least 3 days a week to start and hopefully move up to 5 days a week as time allows.
I hope you will all support me and encourage me in this endeavor. As time goes by I know I will need it and I am counting on those that I love the most to help me. I plan to update this blog on my progress as well as how I am doing it. Check back often for updates.
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