Out of control Business Lunch

Down 1.5 lbs today! First bit of good news in awhile! Looks like counting points again is working.

Today was a bit out of control for me, because we were having an Official Office Lunch in the boardroom. Turns out it was a New Year's Party. (Fiscal New Year's. hahaha. Happy 2013!) Also, one of my coworker's 20 year anniversary with the company. So it looks like today is going to be my splurge day.

Breakfast:
1/2 lentil loaf sandwich on 1 piece Ezekial bread
1 cup soymilk

Snack:
Plain oatmeal

Office Sponsored Lunch: (not vegan)
Champagne (you heard me!)
Salad
Grilled Veggies (mostly zucchini)
Cheese Tortellini w/ marinara
1 piece bread
1 piece homemade chocolate cake.

Snack:
Celery w/ hummus

Dinner:
Salad
Creamy Mushroom Fettuccini (linguine)

This is such a quick dish to make!

-8  oz whole wheat fettuccini (I couldn't find WW Fettuccini, so I got linguine)
-1 tsp olive oil
-5 cloves minced garlic
-1/2 lb cremini mushrooms (I used portobello)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
-1/2 cup dry white wine
-2 cups creamy portobello soup (Vegan brand - Imagine)
-2 Tbsp corn starch
-2 tsp basalmic vinegar
-1/2 cup sliced green onions

-First put on the water to boil the pasta.

-Preheat the large skillet over medium heat w/ oil. Saute garlic in the olive oil for a minute, careful not to burn it. Add mushrooms to the pan, along with thyme, salt and maybe a little pepper. Sautee for 5 min.

-Add white wine and turn up the heat, bringing it to a boil. Let the liquid reduce. Takes about 5 min.

-Pour soup into bowl and whisk corn starch into it, til dissolved.  Lower heat to medium and let it thicken for about 5 min.

-Turn heat off and add balsamic vinegar.

-Add cooked pasta to sauce and mix around. Add green onions on top if you want.

Another reason I used linguine is because the thicker the pasta is, the more I want to eat it. I think I can't handle myself around fettuccini. Linguine is also questionable. Maybe I should try angel hair.

Everything falls apart. Comfort food needed.

Since my car is now being repaired, I took Nick's car to work this morning. Stuck in horrible traffic this morning. Then I get a building-wide email saying: There is a black 2008 Honda Civic with temp license plates whose lights are on. Guess whose car that is? Ughhhhhhhhhh.

So I went to turn the lights off and the battery is dead. I go back upstairs, trying to keep it together.

Fortunately, the first person who asked how I was doing.. err.. got the brunt of a long rant about cars. But she also had jumper cables in her car! She gave me her keys and said I could drive her car to mine and jump it.

-Bad news: There was no available space next to, or across from my car and the jumper cables did not reach.

-Good news: I tried to start the car again, and this time it worked!

I drove around the parking garage for awhile, and this time parked facing out.. in case I needed to actually jump it this time.

Thankfully, when I told Nick he was also like, 'what the hell! I thought the lights turned off on their own!'. Lesson learned!

What I ate today:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal w/ blueberries and walnuts
Soy milk

Snack:
Ezekial bread w/ hummus

Lunch:
Linguine with lentils and roasted butternut squash

Snack:
Celery w/ pb/tofutti cream cheese/hummus
Coffee

Dinner:
Lentil Loaf
Cauliflower mashed potatoes

Snack:
1/2 cup Coconut milk mint chocolate chip ice cream (Yes, I measured!)
Cadbury PB egg (Emergency chocolate to control freakout)

The lentil loaf: Made in my new loaf pan!

Ugh, today doesn't count.

Wow, today was a mess.

It started early this morning. I left around 6:30, and about a third of the way to work, my engine dial cranks up to RED - HOT. Dammit. So I'm able to pull over. Give the car a bit of a rest. Then I pull off the nearest exit (fortunately, the dial temporarily sank back down midway), and turned around to go back home. Nick's phone was on silent and he wasn't picking up. I had to stop the car a bunch of times so it wouldn't overheat.

Finally, I got out with my bottles of water (I keep them in the car in case this happens), and a sweater. Used the sweater to open the radiator cap, and dumped everything I had directly in there. It was enough to get me back home!

I was able to take Nick's car to work, but by that time rush hour was in full swing.

Usually this wouldn't be a problem, because Nick works the night shift. HOWEVER, of course THIS week, he's pulling double shifts. Twilight and Night. So he had to go to work at 4pm.

Thankfully I have an awesome job and a great boss and they're letting me work half days in the morning and then remote from home in the afternoon.

Things could be worse, but what a pain. Hopefully this mess will be over with by Wednesday.

The Weekend, and Portobello Pepper Steak Stew

So it's been a pretty great weekend! Better than I originally thought. On Saturday, I went to the gym, and then met my friend Shannon at the Farmer's Market. Her brother is starting up a coffee company. Noble Coyote Coffee. I bought some Decaf, and I'm drinking it now! I know, I know.. decaf. But I'm starting to be worried about nightly coffee drinking messing with my sleep.

Then today, I met my friend Jessica out for brunch at Bread Winner's Cafe. They were having a Hunger Games Menu with Katniss Everdeen Quiche (which Jess ordered), and Nightlock Waffles and District 12 Stack of Pancakes. Haha. Myself, I had the Veggie Scramble.

So here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:
Tofu Scramble w/ Baguette

Brunch:
Veggie Scramble over roasted potatoes
Coffee

Snack:
Ezekial Bread w/ Hummus

Dinner
Portobello Pepper Steak Stew
Baguette
1/2 cup Red Wine

Snack:
2 Peanut butter choc. chip cookies

I mowed the lawn today, so I felt like I deserved them. Our lawn SUCKS. The back half is basically at a 45 degree angle. Not cool, lawn.

Also, I got these Portobellos from the Farmer's Market! :)

Portobello Pepper Steak Stew

-2 tsps olive oil
-2 cups Seitan
-1 red onion
-1 red bell pepper sliced,
-1 green bell pepper sliced
-Big Pinch of Salt
-2 Portobello caps, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed (I chop it with my knife)
-1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper flakes
-1/2 cup dry red wine
-2 cups veggie broth
-3 Tbps all purpose flour

-Preheat skillet with 1 tsp olive oil over med-high heat. Saute seitan for about 5 minutes, until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

-Saute onions and peppers and a pinch of salt in the remaining oil until the peppers are blackened. About 10 minutes.

-Add mushrooms, garlic, and spices. Saute for 3 more minutes.

-Add the red wine and bring to a boil over higher heat, for about 3 more minutes.

-Mix flour and veggie broth in a bowl and whisk.

-Lower the heat of the saute pan and add the 'slurry'. Mix well and let thicken for a minute.

-Add seitan back to the pan and let the stew thicken furthur. About 5 minutes more.

This is a thick, hearty stew that's good for eating on rolls. Even after mowing the lawn on an 80 degree plus day. haha

Dr's Visit and the Smoothie so nice I posted it twice..

Had a surprise Dr's visit today. I was planning on going Saturday, but the only appointment they had open (until April 2nd) was today at 3:30. Arrgh. But there was some interesting and good news I found out!

So I had been following Weight Watcher's Simply Filling plan. Basically, with this plan, some foods cost points, and others can be eaten 'to satisfaction'.

I mentioned to the Doctor that I've been having a hard time losing weight lately. She said that was no surprise, because Depo-Provera stimulates your appetite. So all this time, I've been feeling like.. I'm eating the right things, and I'm eating 'to satisfaction', but I'm gaining weight now. What the hell! It's because of the Depo! I'm glad to be able to blame my night overeating on something. Now it's time to do something about it!

Well, namely, making sure I watch my portions and eat within my points, even if I am still a little hungry.

Today I ate:

Breakfast:
Pumpkin Gingerbread Smoothie (recipe to follow)

Snack:
1 Piece toasted Ezekial bread w/ 1 Tbsp Hummus

Lunch:
Mexican rice and bean salsa bake
Green grapes

Snack:
Sliced carrots w/ hummus
Protein shake

Dinner:
Salad w/ basalmic vinegar/olive oil, walnuts
Smoky Chipotle Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

And I got to work out during lunch. Weights workout today.

Here's my amazing smoothie:

I put Molasses swirls on top. :)

Pumpkin Gingerbread Smoothie

-1 cup almond or soy milk
-1/4 cup rolled oats
-1 Tbsp chia seeds
-1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
-1 Tbsp molasses
-1 small frozen banana
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp ginger
-pinch nutmeg
-ice, if wanted.

-Soak the oats, milk and chia seeds for at least an hour or overnight. (I soak mine overnight. Obviously, less to do in the morning)

-Place the rest of the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Day 2 Meal log - Butternut Squash, lentils over linguine

Day 2 of strict point counting is actually going well! I know that on paper it looks like I'm eating a lot. I'm trying to eat about 5 mini meals, so my portions are not very big. I hear several small meals every 3 hours or so revs your metabolism. And when I plan them out like this, it's easy for me to forgo bites of something because I know what I'll be eating in less than 3 hours.

So today I've eaten:

Breakfast:
Tofu scramble w/ salsa
1 slice Ezekial sprouted wheat toast
1 cup plain soy milk

Snack:
Smoothie - 1/2 mango, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk

Lunch:
Leftovers - Polenta w/ Seared Mushroom tomato sauce
1 cup green grapes

Snack:
Oatmeal w/ 1/2 banana
Coffee

Dinner:
Roasted butternut squash, lentils, diced tomatoes over whole wheat linguine
Salad w/ 2 Tbsps Walnuts and basalmic vinegar

Here it is:

Recipe:

½ cup brown lentils

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ cup minced yellow onion

4 garlic cloves

2 tsp dried sage

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup veggie stock

12 oz linguine

This is prework: you need to cook the lentils and roast the squash first.

1- Bring the lentils to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 min.

2- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a pan that will hold all the squash. Cut it into ½ “ cubes. So be careful. And then roast for 30 min.

3- In a large skillet, add the chopped onion and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Saute about 5 min. Add garlic and cook for about 30 sec. Add sage, tomatoes, cooked lentils and veggie stock. Season w/ salt and pepper. Simmer about 5 min. You can use an immersion blender or a reg. blender if you want to make this sauce creamier.

Stir in the roasted squash and keep warm over low heat.

Cook the pasta according to the directions and toss the lentil squash mixture and pasta to combine.

 

 

Actually, I have to brag about something! I just got some blood work back recently. My numbers are not too bad for a near Vegan. :)

 

Glucose: 85  (norm - 65 - 100)

Potassium: 4.9 (norm 3.5 - 5.3)

Calcium: 9.6 (norm 8.5 - 10.5)

Protein: 7.6 (norm 6.0 - 8.4)

Cholesterol: 166 (norm - less than 200)

Polenta with Pan-Seared Mushrooms and Tomatoes

Hi, I'm back!

Well, I've gained a bit of weight. So frustrating. I have been following Weight Watchers pretty well, but I'm at a standstill. When WW introduced their new program, they made fruits and vegetables 0 points. Trying to get people to eat more of them, I suppose. The 'problem', I guess, is that I mostly eat fruits and veg! So I'm going to go back to counting fruits and veg into my daily points and see if that makes a difference.

Also, I got new shoes! I'm actually not sure if I like them. Ha! They are a little more snug on my feet than I'm used to. I'm not sure if this is something that's different in a good way, or if I need to exchange them.. But they are pretty! :)

Maybe I'll also try to log here, what I've eaten. Who knows, that kind of accountability might help! So this was my normal 'not counting points' meals. But now I am going to start with the points.

Breakfast:
Overnight Pumpkin Oats
Cup of plain soy milk
coffee

Snack:
Mango Strawberry smoothie (made with soy milk)

Lunch:
Cup of Mexican brown rice and bean Salsa Bake

Snack
Oatmeal w/ 1/2 banana
Protein Shake

Dinner:
Polenta with Pan Seared Mushrooms and Tomatoes

And here's a picture of my dinner!

Recipe:

Polenta part:
-3 1/2 cup water
-1 cup medium ground cornmeal
salt

-1/4 cup soy milk (or almond)

-In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the cornmeal and salt to taste, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until thick. About 20 min. During the last 5 min, stir in soy milk.

Tomato Mushrooms part
-1Tbsp Olive oil
-8 oz sliced white mushrooms
-2 garlic cloves, minced.
-1 tsp dried basil
-1/4 cup white wine
-1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

-Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over med high heat. Add mushrooms and sear on both sides. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the garlic, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the wine, cook down for a couple minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Spoon polenta into the bowl, add sauce/mushrooms on top and sprinkle a little chopped basil on top, if you're trying to be a fancy pants. :)