Journal

2016 - Week 22 Cooking Results

Crispy Falafel Pita with Yogurt Sauce

After many jokes about waffles, I made falafel.  This was pretty tasty and due to the use of a food processor, worked pretty quick.

Whole Grain Mustard Chicken Salad

This was...ok.  I suppose it would've been better if I had cooked the snap peas a bit less, or cooled them a bit more.  But even so, it was ok.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Curry

I adjusted this a bit.  I didn't fry the shallots, and used chicken thighs over the legs.  I liked it quite a bit.  It could've used more spice though.  Perhaps the unlabeled dried small red peppers I got from the market weren't as spicy as I thought they might be.

Scrambled Eggs & Apple & Feta sausages

Sausages were pretty good, eggs (farm fresh) were pretty good too.  Quick and simple, sometimes what is needed.  This was, by no means, a balanced meal though.

Health

I went a little nuts on Sunday / Monday, and on Monday I got my first "yellow" reading in a long time.  So the realization that I can't take a break...ever, was hard to digest.  The take away from this is that I was even hungrier the next day for garbage food, then I was previously.

I've been hovering around the the next big mark number mark.  And even though the loss since the max is significant, to me it would be meaningful to be under the big 300 again.  I have trimmed off 62.2 pounds (as of Friday).  I can tell form the way my own body looks that I've gotten rid of a lot of the portions of fat around my body (I can flex my legs and see blood vessels, which is kind of gross), but there still remains a lot of abdominal fat.

On the positive side, the bullshit program that my work gave me a choice to do (in person vs the one I picked, online) is generally over.  No instead of having to listen to the combination of about 20% science and 80% bullshit for 30-70 minutes a week, it's now these refreshers that are between 5-15 minutes (with no quiz).

I have been listening to The Foodist, which is interesting, and seems to have less bullshit in it, but still a dash here and there.

So far here's what I've learned for myself, these are not to be taken as scientifically based, since my sample size is 1:

  1. You will be hungry as you adapt down to the proper caloric intake level (for loss or maintenance), and probably even afterwards.
  2. There is a difference between being hungry and needing to eat.  I have an advantage here in being able to test my blood sugar and being able to tell where I am at.  I now have a path to say no, this isn't a lower then normal (note: not low) blood sugar, this is just a craving.
  3. When you eat garbage food, you will be hungrier for a while afterwards (last time was about two days).
  4. The majority of weight loss comes from the change in what you eat, you probably aren't going to burn enough calories to counteract extra food.
  5. Remove / Reduce sugar sources from as many things as you can.  This can be very difficult.  My list:
    1. Yogurt (removed)
    2. Coffee (removed) - only sweetener in coffee now is residual from dairy additions
    3. Cereal (reduced) - Change in type and amount (now is a topping to my unsweetened yogurt)
    4. Bread (reduced) - changed non-Joseph bread to smaller loaf and reduction in sugar addition
    5. Soda (already gone)
    6. Fruit and/or Vegetable Smoothies (removed) - can create a sugar spike
    7. Alcohol (reduced) - I just tossed a "beer" cause it was to sweet, after tasting it
    8. Peanut butter (in progress) - trying the first instance of peanut butter + salt, it was hard to find something without sugar but also had salt (even a tiny amount)
  6. You need to:
    1. Either pay attention to what you are eating (no distracted eating)
    2. OR limit the amount of eating by rules (ex: breakfast, I still read, however my breakfast consists of 170 grams of yogurt, 29 grams of Granola (very low added sweetener).  I have the option of:  Coffee (hot or cold brewed) with milk and/or a slice of toast with butter).
  7. Eat slowly
  8. Balance your caloric intake based on your doctor or dietitian's recommendations.   Currently I strive for 50% Carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein

 

2016 - Week 21 Cooking Results

Fava greens & Pancetta, over pasta (small amount of pasta)

So the fava greens started off with a mild grassy flavor but quite watery, but after cooking they absorbed a number of flavors and tended to add a mild bitter background flavor.  Pretty good, but that could've been the 3oz of pancetta.

Spicy Italian Cheeseburgers

A little funk on the cheese, a little spice with the peppers (Mama Lil's via The Cheese Shop).  It was a pretty nice fit over all.  I was happy with the way that this turned out.  Trying not to bug Joseph with my bread requests right now, I bought some kaiser buns from a new source...they were ok.  But even with that this was a pretty good meal.

Ham Steak with Chive Blossom Parsnip Pureee

I bought some lovely stored parsnips from Grinnell Heritage Farms, then thought hey, I could use some chive blossom chevre (Reichert's Dairy) in here.  It came together really well.  Then you combine that with some delicious ham steak (Crooked Gap / Story City Locker) and a good helping of arugula (Cleverley Farms).  Fantastic dinner.

Grilled Ham and Cheese with Tapenade

I had it with what, I suppose is somewhat like a lazy man's tapenade (didn't put in the effort that I should've) and Shannon did not.  Beyond that some delicious cheese and some La Quercia Prosciutto...om nom nom.

Spinach and Feta Breakfast Scramble

Simple, pretty quick and good.

2016 - Week 20 Cooking Results

Weight Loss continues:  17.08% / 13.32% (peak / 2016).  As a note from this past week, I'm still having trouble controlling my intake restricting from time to time.  We went out, and I really should have stopped eating the Mexican dish about half way through.  but I didn't, and was quite uncomfortable after the fact.  We'll calling this a learning lesson about what the new normal is.

BA's Best buttermilk Pancakes (gonna have to decide if I want less pancakes, or almost no syrup...whee)

Not the same...but still pretty good.  Nice to at least have them, even though I can't stuff my face with them.

Butterfly Pork Chops with rhubarb ketchup

I was excited to see a recipe for rhubarb ketchup, and this was good, however this was not near as good as the stuff that Brett made.  This was to sweet.  It was, however, a good start.  Less sugar, more port and red wine vinegar.  Even so, pair well with the pork chops.

Parm Baked eggs and Swiss Chard

Not a lot of up front work, and quite a bit of idle time.  It was pretty good, not fantastic...maybe needs something more.

Chicken and Chive Blossom Toasts

This turned out very well.  I purchased some Fox Hollow Farm More then Mustard after tasting it at this past Monday's Charcuterie class at the Cheese Shop.  This just sort of ticked in with what I should go together.  This turned into a delicious thing.

Chive Blossom Omelet

Turned into scrambled eggs.  Didn't want to face the possible defeat of omelettes (and was tired).  Still quite good.

2016 - Week 19 Cooking Results

Banh Mi Pork Burgers

These were better then I thought they would be.  Simple quick and delicious.

BA's Best buttermilk Pancakes (gonna have to decide if I want less pancakes, or almost no syrup...whee)

Delayed until today!

Rabbit Hot Dogs

These were ok.  Better then your average shitty hot dog, but not near as good as a well planned really good hot dog.

Spring Garlic and Scrambled Eggs

Quick, didn't work quite like my brain thought.

Seared chicken over lettuce

These turned into an open face sandwich for me.  topped with a bit of mustard and kimchi.  Good things.

2016 - Week 18 Cooking Results

Baked Pasta with Merguez and Harissa Spiked sauce

Small amount of pasta, check.  Other things, check.  Good stuffs.  I used the Merguez smoked sausage on this one.  Good stuffs.

Lentil and Chicken Cassoulet

The lentils kind of fell apart, so it didn't look the best, however, it still tasted very good.  It took a while to make, but most of that was idle time.  I used Merguez sausage (spicy).  I didn't use the black lentils it wanted me to (I had lentils and used those).

Mortadella Grilled Cheese

So good...but almost anytime you combine 3 excellent ingredients you are going to come up with something really excellent.

Skillet Beef Enchiladas

Looking at this recipe, I had my doubts.  I didn't quite understand it would get that sort of flavor you get out of enchiladas, but it did, and was quite good.  Probably not the best thing for you, but really good.

Quinoa Pilaf with Chipotle Queso Fresco, and Peanuts (6 servings)

The Quinoa smelled a bit nutty as it cooked, the chipotle powder...had to be swapped out with Jalapeño powder, but still added a nice flavor.  I topped with a bit of 50/50 feta (sheep/goat) and had to skip the green onions (they looked gross).  Nice simple meal.  Not something i could eat every day, but certainly could be the theoretical base for a lot of things.