I have lost another half a pound! This is some sort of magic weight loss cookie dough!! On the days without cookie dough in the freezer I ate 1815, 1865, and 1843 calories respectively. The days with cookie dough are all in the 1600-1700s! I don't know if it is the butter that makes these more filling, or the fact that they just kind of make you sick (you know in the good way) so you don't need to eat anything else for awhile or what. Either way I'm keeping these babies stocked up.
Here's the recipe again:
The Essential Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie (or dough as the case may be)
Baking temp: 375 Baking time: 10 min
3/4 c unsalted butter
2/3 c dark brown sugar
2/3 c granulated sugar (white)
2 T light corn syrup
1 T vinegar (cider or white)
2 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 & 1/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
3 c semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
In a medium mixing bowl cream together the butter and the sugars, corn syrup, and vinegar, then beat in the eggs. Beat in the vanilla, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in (by hand) the flour and the chocolate chips.
Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for ten minutes, until they're set; the centers may still look a bit underdone. Remove them from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.*
about 4 dozen cookies, 120 calories each
Recipe taken from "The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion"
* I let them rest on the sheets for 5 min before transferring them to the racks, they are pretty fragile while still hot!
Also I measured (most of the dough!) onto ungreased baking sheet, no need to leave room between scoops, and froze them solid (about 30 min) and then just popped them off the sheet into a freezer bag. Normal people could then bake them up fresh whenever they want one or two, I of course just eat them right out of the bag!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
51!
As of today I have lost 51 lbs! I am only 1 pound over my pre-pregnancy weight. Sure the 1st 20 came off on their own but I have worked hard for the remaining 31. I am totally proud of myself and completely motivated to keep this going until I reach my ideal weight and body fat %.
And I did order that crazy scale ... that thing can even track your bone density! It'll be like Christmas morning every morning! "What gift do you have for me today Mr. Scale.... more bone? less fat? more water?"
And I did order that crazy scale ... that thing can even track your bone density! It'll be like Christmas morning every morning! "What gift do you have for me today Mr. Scale.... more bone? less fat? more water?"
Recipe of the Day
Chicken Fajitas
1 pound chicken breast, cut in strips
3 onions sliced in wedges
3 bell peppers sliced into 1/2" wide strips
1.5 T oil
Fajita seasoning*:
2 t chili powder
1.5 t cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t powdered garlic
1/2 t salt
1/4 t powdered onion
1/4 t ground black pepper
(you'll have some spice mix leftover I just put these amounts for easier measuring)
*I triple these amounts and keep it in an old spice jar with a shake top ready to go. It is great seasoning for black beans too!
Season chicken with fajita seasoning (about 2 teaspoons * approx since I shake it on!)
Heat oil in skillet (cast iron is best). Over Medium-high flame add chicken and sear on all sides. Remove chicken to a plate to rest. Add onions and peppers with additional seasoning (about 2 more teaspoons) and saute until onions are soft and peppers are tender. Return chicken to pan and heat through.
Serve with tortillas and fixings.
4 big portions of chicken w. peppers & onions 230 each
1 pound chicken breast, cut in strips
3 onions sliced in wedges
3 bell peppers sliced into 1/2" wide strips
1.5 T oil
Fajita seasoning*:
2 t chili powder
1.5 t cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t powdered garlic
1/2 t salt
1/4 t powdered onion
1/4 t ground black pepper
(you'll have some spice mix leftover I just put these amounts for easier measuring)
*I triple these amounts and keep it in an old spice jar with a shake top ready to go. It is great seasoning for black beans too!
Season chicken with fajita seasoning (about 2 teaspoons * approx since I shake it on!)
Heat oil in skillet (cast iron is best). Over Medium-high flame add chicken and sear on all sides. Remove chicken to a plate to rest. Add onions and peppers with additional seasoning (about 2 more teaspoons) and saute until onions are soft and peppers are tender. Return chicken to pan and heat through.
Serve with tortillas and fixings.
4 big portions of chicken w. peppers & onions 230 each
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Sorry
Sorry for my lack of recipes and updates.
Charlotte has had Thrush and it has been miserable around here.
On the upside I have been losing even more weight! I am now down to 127.5 which is only 1.5 above my pre-pregs weight! I'm feeling great. I don't know if I really was plateauing or what but I'm over the hump and it is so gratifying to have tangible evidence that you are doing the right thing. I think picking up my exercise has made a huge difference and I have been at it long enough with the same level of consistency that I really do crave it. It is amazing how things change! They say it takes 21 days to form a habit and that does seem to be true. I actually look forward to the end of my day and my workout. No longer bemoan that it is my only time to myself... it is literally what I want to do with my time. I really hope nothing derails my routine because god knows it took me long enough to get to this place. Also I think bumping up my workout time from 45-60 mins to over an hour must have really upped my metabolism. Here's to hoping it is just as easy to lose the next 9.5 lbs as it was to lose the last 3.5 lbs!
Oh and I'm looking into getting this scale to replace my old one. This thing is totally bad ass!
Charlotte has had Thrush and it has been miserable around here.
On the upside I have been losing even more weight! I am now down to 127.5 which is only 1.5 above my pre-pregs weight! I'm feeling great. I don't know if I really was plateauing or what but I'm over the hump and it is so gratifying to have tangible evidence that you are doing the right thing. I think picking up my exercise has made a huge difference and I have been at it long enough with the same level of consistency that I really do crave it. It is amazing how things change! They say it takes 21 days to form a habit and that does seem to be true. I actually look forward to the end of my day and my workout. No longer bemoan that it is my only time to myself... it is literally what I want to do with my time. I really hope nothing derails my routine because god knows it took me long enough to get to this place. Also I think bumping up my workout time from 45-60 mins to over an hour must have really upped my metabolism. Here's to hoping it is just as easy to lose the next 9.5 lbs as it was to lose the last 3.5 lbs!
Oh and I'm looking into getting this scale to replace my old one. This thing is totally bad ass!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Recipe of the Day
Orzo with Fresh Tomato Sauce
5 ounces orzo pasta (or any shape you like)
2 medium tomatoes diced (should yield 2 cups)
3 cloves of garlic minced
1.5 T olive oil
10 basil leaves
s&p
Cook orzo in salted water, like the sea.. your water should be salty, not just a shake or two of salt that does nothing!
Meanwhile dice tomatoes and put in bottom of serving bowl. Roll basil leaves into cigar shape and slice into thin ribbons, then cut these in half lengthwise. Add basil to tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in small saute pan and add garlic, keep on medium heat, stirring garlic for 30 seconds. Garlic should not brown. Remove from heat. Pour garlic and oil over tomatoes. Drain pasta and mix into tomato mixture. This can be served at any temperature, although I think it is best warmish to room temp.
4 servings, 185 calories each
5 ounces orzo pasta (or any shape you like)
2 medium tomatoes diced (should yield 2 cups)
3 cloves of garlic minced
1.5 T olive oil
10 basil leaves
s&p
Cook orzo in salted water, like the sea.. your water should be salty, not just a shake or two of salt that does nothing!
Meanwhile dice tomatoes and put in bottom of serving bowl. Roll basil leaves into cigar shape and slice into thin ribbons, then cut these in half lengthwise. Add basil to tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in small saute pan and add garlic, keep on medium heat, stirring garlic for 30 seconds. Garlic should not brown. Remove from heat. Pour garlic and oil over tomatoes. Drain pasta and mix into tomato mixture. This can be served at any temperature, although I think it is best warmish to room temp.
4 servings, 185 calories each
Satan's Lair Update
Alright, there has been a fair amount of hubbub regarding the whole validity of the body fat calculator at Satan's Liar . To this I have to say... obviously the only "fair" way to calibrate this is with the whole water submersion thing... but as Tony (partner to Angie) can attest this is the way the military assesses body fat. Further more, and believe me I wish it weren't true, I cross referenced this with a different calculation listed in The Zone book and with our body fat scale. They all said the same thing. Obviously not an exact science and from the people I have interviewed I would say it is unfairly rigged against "apples" taking only torso measurements and not factoring in the limbs. Which can have drastically different amounts of fat on them depending on "type". I mean my cousin who is about as fit, I mean it, as you can be came out as 24%. She's not an apple or pear more a string bean.
The fact may be we have more fat on us than we would like to believe. Having said all that I did just finally get my first postpartum cycle back and I feel pretty good that I managed to lose 2 lbs this past week despite all the potential bloating (this explains my ravenous need for cookie dough!). So in light of that, I do plan to redo my measurements and my scale next week. I do remember from when I first got the scale and was reasonably fit and had had myself calibrated that the body fat% was accurate, but only at one point in your cycle (the manual even points that out... so ladies don't bother buying the scale!)
Anyhoo, here's my thoughts: female gymnasts have 14% body fat (compared to male gymnasts who have 4%) they have the lowest of all athletes (humans in general ... except anorexics, who are still 10%!) So a gymnast of my weight would still have 18 lbs of fat on their body. I haven't seen a lot of pudge on a gymnast so lets just consider this the fine coat that is evenly distributed over your body for warmth and life function. To think that I have 22 lbs more fat than that seems COMPLETELY reasonable.
So Follow Me...
The fact is I still have 11 pounds to go to my goal and so that is a guaranteed 11 lb fat loss, since 6 months in I am way beyond water weight people!, not to mention that I will be building some muscle from my workouts (I'm not joking around with my exercise) and that I will really need to lose a little more than 11 lbs of fat to actually register an 11 lb weight loss. So lets say I gain 3 lbs of muscle over the next 3 months (I think that is completely reasonable) and lose 14 lbs of fat then at 118 I would be at 26 lbs of fat. Sounds like a lot but guess what that is 22% body fat and the female ideal. So once you factor all that into it, and the fact that my boobs are huge ;), I buy into the whole 31% fat reading.
Either way once I decide which fat reading is easiest and most accurate (read lowest) I am going to stick with that to track my progress. It doesn't matter if it is spot on, just like the calories burned on a treadmill, these are all estimates but still they provide a consistent measure from which to go on.
The fact may be we have more fat on us than we would like to believe. Having said all that I did just finally get my first postpartum cycle back and I feel pretty good that I managed to lose 2 lbs this past week despite all the potential bloating (this explains my ravenous need for cookie dough!). So in light of that, I do plan to redo my measurements and my scale next week. I do remember from when I first got the scale and was reasonably fit and had had myself calibrated that the body fat% was accurate, but only at one point in your cycle (the manual even points that out... so ladies don't bother buying the scale!)
Anyhoo, here's my thoughts: female gymnasts have 14% body fat (compared to male gymnasts who have 4%) they have the lowest of all athletes (humans in general ... except anorexics, who are still 10%!) So a gymnast of my weight would still have 18 lbs of fat on their body. I haven't seen a lot of pudge on a gymnast so lets just consider this the fine coat that is evenly distributed over your body for warmth and life function. To think that I have 22 lbs more fat than that seems COMPLETELY reasonable.
So Follow Me...
The fact is I still have 11 pounds to go to my goal and so that is a guaranteed 11 lb fat loss, since 6 months in I am way beyond water weight people!, not to mention that I will be building some muscle from my workouts (I'm not joking around with my exercise) and that I will really need to lose a little more than 11 lbs of fat to actually register an 11 lb weight loss. So lets say I gain 3 lbs of muscle over the next 3 months (I think that is completely reasonable) and lose 14 lbs of fat then at 118 I would be at 26 lbs of fat. Sounds like a lot but guess what that is 22% body fat and the female ideal. So once you factor all that into it, and the fact that my boobs are huge ;), I buy into the whole 31% fat reading.
Either way once I decide which fat reading is easiest and most accurate (read lowest) I am going to stick with that to track my progress. It doesn't matter if it is spot on, just like the calories burned on a treadmill, these are all estimates but still they provide a consistent measure from which to go on.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Recipe of the Day
This is my first attempt at both using a slow cooker and making pulled pork. Pulled pork sandwiches are one of my all time faves so I was a little nervous that this might not live up to my expectations.... I was wrong, this is deliciousness straight from the crockpot to your mouth!
Pulled Pork
2.25 lbs Country Style Pork Ribs
2 onions sliced
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 T butter
cinnamon
creole seasoning
s&p
3 c water
For Sauce:
1/2 c bbq sauce (I like KC Masterpiece)
1/4 c honey
1 c reserved cooking liquid
Trim "ribs" of all visible fat. Apply dry rub of cinnamon, creole seasoning, salt and pepper. Heat 1 T butter in a skillet and sear the ribs on all sides. Place ribs in the crockpot. Add sliced onions and garlic to the pan and saute until softened. Add the water to the pan and stir up all the brown bits left from the pork. Pour this mixture over the pork ribs. Cook on low for 7 hours. Remove pork from pot and shred pork with two forks. Pull out some of the onions and add to the pork. Pour out cooking liquid reserving 1 c to add back to the pot. Add reserved liquid (or fresh water if you happen to forget!) the pulled pork, the BBQ sauce and honey to the pot and heat on low until for 30 mins.
Our pot made 7 servings of pork at 240 calories per serving
Pulled Pork
2.25 lbs Country Style Pork Ribs
2 onions sliced
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 T butter
cinnamon
creole seasoning
s&p
3 c water
For Sauce:
1/2 c bbq sauce (I like KC Masterpiece)
1/4 c honey
1 c reserved cooking liquid
Trim "ribs" of all visible fat. Apply dry rub of cinnamon, creole seasoning, salt and pepper. Heat 1 T butter in a skillet and sear the ribs on all sides. Place ribs in the crockpot. Add sliced onions and garlic to the pan and saute until softened. Add the water to the pan and stir up all the brown bits left from the pork. Pour this mixture over the pork ribs. Cook on low for 7 hours. Remove pork from pot and shred pork with two forks. Pull out some of the onions and add to the pork. Pour out cooking liquid reserving 1 c to add back to the pot. Add reserved liquid (or fresh water if you happen to forget!) the pulled pork, the BBQ sauce and honey to the pot and heat on low until for 30 mins.
Our pot made 7 servings of pork at 240 calories per serving
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