The Case For Cookie Dough

I've been thinking about why it is that the cookie dough has been such a weight loss revelation for me. Just the other day a friend was asking me about it and wondering if it is just the fat, or the sickening aspect, or what. Here is the deal, and tonight is a perfect example, I'm out of cookie dough balls but I need my dessert. Well what to have?... what to have?... I decide to have 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream, but because I don't really like ice cream I need to put something on it... I find some butterscotch chips and some chocolate chips and stir those in... mmm that'll be good... except it's not! Apparently when they make chocolate chip ice cream they use a different kind of chip that doesn't freeze into a hard tasteless nugget. But I eat it anyway. Well that was 240 completely unsatisfying calories and I want something else. This never happens with the cookie dough. Maybe for you cookie dough isn't the answer, but the point is having a treat on hand that is satisfying. And when I mean satisfying I mean you only need one or two and you are good. Two things fall in this category for me the cookie dough balls and dark chocolate caramels. Both are extremely rich and I really don't need to go overboard. The cookie dough is 105 calories each (now that I've switched to whole wheat flour)... not bad for something so rich... and the caramels are only 80 calories a piece. Upon occasion one is not enough of either of these but I have never had more than two. Find your "cookie dough". It needs to be something pre-portioned...you can't expect yourself to just eat one handful of something! It needs to be something extremely satisfying to your particular craving sensibilities. And you need to be fully knowledgeable of its calorie count... and it should be under 150 calories. If you don't know what this would be for you try the cookie dough... it is so fucking delicious... just be sure you measure them accurately so you don't sabotage yourself!

Are we seeing a difference... or is it just me?

These pics are 9 days apart. I feel like I look different, in real life that is, and feel much thinner. Once I uploaded these I wasn't sure they looked as different as I wanted them to... but hey it has only been nine days! Look at my tummy (okay don't look too close) I think it looks a lot tighter...okay a little tighter! If you are having a hard time detecting a difference look at the waistline of my pants... see what I mean?... they fit a little better. I also measured again today and my waist is down about 1/2 inch but my hips (and accompanying postpartum belly lump) are actually down about 2" to a very reasonable 36" so I am quite pleased with that!
I am loving my scale by the way... especially as my weight has plateaued... but have to choose either to weigh-in when my weight is lowest, first thing in the morning (today 121.2, body fat 27.2%) or at night when my body fat is lowest (today 122.4, body fat 25.2%). So far I am sticking with the morning weight and body fat since I am trying to be consistent and that is what I post in my stats... but I was stoked to get the lower body fat when I checked it just now. Either way I am down 2-4% body fat and I have gained 3 pounds of muscle in the last month which has decreased my metabolic age from 27 to 20 years old! So overall I'm feeling really good. And people if you haven't started eating the cookie dough I don't know what is the matter with you ;)

This Week The Plan

Sorry this is a little late.. but that's what happens when you are actually acting upon your plan and not just making it up.

First a little review of last week.
I did indeed make the meatballs and froze 4 extra batches. When making the tilapia I made an extra batch in fish stick form and froze those as well. We do not have an extra freezer so it is pretty full right now. And by pretty full I mean every time you open it an avalanche of food comes falling out on your head... or your sleeping baby's head... which ever would be most inconvenient at the time. But don't worry I did finally make my cookie dough, whole wheat no less since I was out of regular flour, and I managed to wedge those babies in the freezer as well. FYI the cookies might be even better, sub half the flour for whole wheat flour and be sure to use dark brown sugar. On the plus side my plateau broke and I've had a little weight loss to show for it. Thanks to my scale I've managed to stay motivated despite the slower weight loss since I can track my fat loss as well.... and I'm down 1.5% in 3 weeks! I'm interested to see how the reintroduction of the cookie dough will effect things this week... is it actually magical? Stay tuned to find out.
On the pack rat front I failed to make any major cleaning or organizational progress last week but am already on my 3rd load of laundry today so things are looking up.

On to this week and my menu...

Monday: Chicken in Stubb's & pasta salad

Tuesday: Flank Steak, pan roasted potatoes & corn on the cob

Wednesday: pan seared salmon, Asian veggie stir fry & long noodles

Thursday: Steak & horseradish sandwiches on homemade french bread & salad

Friday: Shrimp Skewers, spring rolls & snap peas

Saturday: 6th anniversary dinner out

Sunday: Tomato & meatball soup

This Week... the plan

So I was up last night lying in bed, filled with anxiety, thinking of this week's menu. My anxiety and sleeplessness might also have been due to the cup of coffee I had, to satisfy a chocolate craving (it works!), right before bed. But either way menu planning, although completely effective and I sing its praises, is still not natural to me.

Here it is...

Monday: spaghetti & meatballs (also make 3 extra batches for freezer... that's what happens when you over think things!)
Tuesday: cornflake crusted tilapia, green beans & oven fries
Wednesday: chicken (in Stubb's...mmmm) & barley salad
Thursday: meatball subs, salad
Fri: take-out
Sat: wedding
Sunday: shrimp & pasta salad

Also I'm making the cookie dough again. I haven't lost any weight since I ran out, and I gave it a full week to really see. At this point I am calling this a plateau and you all know what worked last time... The Magic Cookie Dough... so I am bringing it back.

Magic Cookie Dough

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!