OK, I 'm a little off kilter with my timing of these posts. We're almost to the end of Week 3, so let me just try to summarize how things have been going thus far:
1. Craig has lost about 10 lbs, he's had no more headaches and no gastro issues whatsoever. We're still sneezing a lot due to the Cedar and molds in the air. On my list of things to do is buy a medical grade air purifier for this house. There are way too many allergens floating around here.
2. I've lost just over 4 lbs so far. I'm sleeping really soundly. I'm not ravenously hungry or craving much, though I do admit to salivating a little when I see commercials on TV for hamburgers. I could really use a burger right about now.
3. We've decided to keep going at least for another week. We like seeing results on the scale and want to see how much farther we can take it in another week. I start a new job on the 15th that will end my days of working from home, so the cooking during lunchtime thing will become much more difficult to do after that. We'll see if I'm cut out for shopping on Saturday and cooking meals ahead on Sunday.
Speaking of scales, though, we finally decided to go out last night and get a new scale, preferably one that's more accurate than the one we've had for several years. I came to hate that thing, as it routinely put me at five lbs heavier than the scale at the gym. And since it's not always so convenient to drive to the gym just to weigh myself, we thought getting a new scale was the easiest solution.
We ended up with this one - Beurer Blue Eye Body Fat Scale
And it's awesome! Not only does it give you your weight, it also tells you what your body fat percentage is, your body water composition, your muscle ratio, your bone density, and your standing and elevated metabolic rates. I don't know how it does that, and I don't know how accurate it is, but I don't care. The weight part is accurate and that's mostly what I care about.
So let's see...what did I cook this week?
Thai Vegetable Wraps w/Almond Sauce
Only problem was I didn't buy a Napa cabbage. Have you seen the SIZE of Napa cabbages? I took one look at it and could picture most of it going bad and getting thrown out. So I didn't buy it. If I could find a smaller specimen or maybe even find it pre-shredded, then I'd go for it. Because I really think it was needed - I had all the other ingredients, but I think the cabbage was necessary as a filler. Without it, the wraps just weren't all that substantial. The almond sauce was really delicious though - I loved it a lot.
One other observation about this dish: I don't think it stands alone as an entree. I think it would be good served with some grilled chicken or a piece of fish. But it's not really enough for a meal on its own. Definitely tasty, though!
Chicken Stock w/Veggies and Buckwheat Noodles
This was my own creation. Craig was lamenting the soup rotation; he was not a fan of the Butternut Squash Bisque or the Split Pea, so that left the Lentil Soup and my Black Bean soup. He wanted something different and suggested chicken soup with noodles. I didn't actually put pieces of chicken in the soup, but I used 8 cups of organic chicken broth along with lots of carrots and celery. I threw in some dried thyme, marjoram, and rosemary as well as the MSG/Gluten free bouillon cubes from a previous post. It was really delicious and it made Craig happy.
Berry Smoothie w/Coconut Milk and Cinnamon
We made this smoothie as a night time snack (the chicken soup, as delish as it was, wasn't so stick-to-your-ribs as the other soups I've made). I was not a huge fan of this smoothie. For one thing, the seeds from the raspberries were all blended into it and it was like drinking sips of pulverized two-by-fours. That was my main problem with it.
But there was something missing from the recipe; something that we couldn't put our finger on. Craig liked it better than I did. I won't be making it again, though. Not sure he will, either. Not when we can make the Blueberry Carob smoothie, which is way more satisfying and tastier.
Roast Chicken w/Balsamic Vinegar, Garlic & Rosemary Wild Rice Pilaf
This is one of our favorites! This was my second time making this dish. In fact, this was the very first dish I ever made on this program, only I didn't think to take a photo of it at the time.
The first time I made it, I went by the recipe and used the amounts of scallion and cilantro that it called for and Craig hated it. So this time, I only used one scallion and cut out the cilantro altogether and he ate every bite. I would add a little bit of cilantro to my own dish next time, because I think it could use it.
The amount of balsamic vinegar they tell you to use for the reduction is A LOT of vinegar. You'll have a lot of that reduction left over, so just keep it in your fridge; it'll keep for at least a couple of weeks. I used my leftovers to make this lunch and just threw the container in the microwave to melt it down a little bit. Worked just fine.
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