Bad Bloggy.

I’ve been a bit of a slacker for the past couple of days because work has been insanely busy and the last thing I’ve felt like doing when I get home each night is turning on the computer.  I spend all day staring at one, so my eyes are totally burned out by the end of the day.  Especially during a no-lunch-break kind of week, like this one has been.

We’re still going strong on the South Beach Diet plan.  I guess today would be our 6th day and I’ve had no sugar cravings whatsoever, which I find amazing.  The first few days I felt a bit achey and tired but after a couple good nights of sleep, I’m feeling awesome.  I’m actually finding this very easy, which I’m surprised about.  If this is supposed to be the most restrictive phase of the diet, this will be no problem at all.  I may even stay on the strict phase a week or two longer.  You’re encouraged to move on to Phase 2 after two weeks but you can choose to stay on it a bit longer if you want.  They give the two week limit because of the nutrients we are missing out on from fruits and whole grains, but we are eating a ridiculous amount of veggies, lean protein and low-fat dairy (though not much), so I don’t feel as though there are a lot of nutrients we’re missing.  I’m being careful to take a multivitamin every day to supplement. 

We donated blood yesterday…always a good time.  There is always a somewhat desperate need for blood on the Rock because they have so many restrictions on who can donate and so, being prime candidates, my man and I try to donate every three months or so.  However, I haven’t been able to donate since December of 2009 because some bloodwork came back showing very low iron levels.  This time around, my hemoglobin measured in at the top end of
“normal”, which was a lovely surprise.  But my blood pressure, which has been historically low to the point that my doctor always makes the “are you even alive?” joke when she checks it, was high for the first time.  I know you can’t use one BP test because blood pressure fluctuates so much during the day, but it bothered me.  It wasn’t high, but it was on the borderline between normal and high.  So, that’s something I’ll be keeping an eye on.

Back to the SBD – here is what we’ve/I’ve been eating for the past week or so:

Breakfast:  2 eggs or 3 egg whites, scrambled with onions and spinach, topped with hot sauce OR, for my egg-hating guy, sauteed ground turkey with vegetables.  Kind of an omelet without the egg.  Whatever works.

Lunch:  Leftover protein from the previous night’s dinner with either a huge salad or leftover vegetables.  Easy.

Dinner:  Big salads, chicken, fish, and lots of steamed broccoli and cauliflower because it seems as though I *might* have gone a bit wild at the market last weekend. 

Not a lot of planning involved, which is nice, but the meals are satisfying and easy to put together.  I do have the SBD cookbook which hasn’t been featured much this week…it will have it’s time to shine in the week to come.  I’ve already flagged some winners.

While the lack of sugar cravings was the intention of this change in our eating style, I can’t help but be happy about the 3 pounds gone this week as well.  I’m sure it’s mostly water, but when your pants feel a bit better, you feel a bit better.

OK, off to get ready for work.  Have a great Friday!

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Is it Friday yet?

Seriously. 

So, we’re on day 2 of eating on the South Beach plan and so far, so good!  I’m following it mostly because I’ve had some crazy sugar cravings lately and have found myself eating things that don’t usually find themselves on my plate (or in my purse).  Baked goods, particularly, haven’t been a part of the regular rotation for years but suddenly I have one lousy muffin and BANG, I want more.  What?  Cookies are a different story…I LOVE cookies (and so avoid them as much as possible), but for a little while there, I was eating a huge oatmeal-white chocolate-cranberry cookie every. single. day.  Again…what? 

So, the thing about sugar is that the more you have, the more you want.  Know what that means?  That means that the less you have, the less you’ll want it eventually, once those addictive beasties have left your system.  Some people have more difficulty with cutting out sugar and generally, if it’s hard for you, that’s a good sign that cutting it out is the right choice!  Your body doesn’t receive any benefits from sugar consumption.  And no, “it tastes so good” is not a benefit.

The South Beach plan cuts out all sugars (including fruit, for the first few weeks), flour products and starchy vegetables (there are other things, but these are the biggies for me).  Once the initial phase is over, the “rules” become more lenient.  All in all, it’s one of the most sensible plans out there (in my opinion), as it really pushes the consumption of vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats.  And NO cookies.  No big, chewy, delicious, oat-y, chocolately cookies.

Sigh.  OK, I’m over it.

As I said before, so far, so good.  Today would be Day 3 and avoiding my favorite little coffee place (where those cookies are, enticing me from the confines of a big glass cookie jar) was no problem yesterday.  I crunched away on my celery sticks and roasted chickpeas (more on that in another post) and felt surprisingly good for a sugar-free day.  I had some minor aches and pains last night, which are a good sign that my body is going through a bit of a detox.  Success!

Today’s meals:

• Breakfast: two organic eggs scrambled with 1/2 cup chopped onions, with a splash of tomatillo salsa
• Snack:  organic cherry tomatoes!  YUM.  With some roasted chickpeas and a light Babybel.
• Lunch: leftover chicken cooked with onion, garlic, artichoke hearts, kale and veggie broth.
• Snack:  same as the morning snack, minus the cheese.
• Dinner:  steamed broccoli and…something yet to be determined.  Kind of not into chicken twice in one day, but I’m not going to lie to you…it might come to that.

I am totally procrastinating my morning routine, so I better get to it.  Those eggs aren’t going to cook themselves.

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Mexican Eggs.

Many, many years ago, or back in 2002, I had a half-Mexican roommate.  We had recently moved far from home together to go to university and had a great 2-bedroom apartment in the coolest area of town.  I loved it.  I still look back on the two years we spent as roomies as some of the most fun that I’ve ever had.  But the real bonus for me was that her Mexican daddy had taught her a thing or two about cooking.  I’d come home from a particularly horrendous day to find a hot quesadilla waiting for me, or Mexican hot chocolate, or…if I was really lucky, the coveted Mexican Egg.

I’ve never been a huge egg eater.  To this day, Mexican-style is pretty much the only way I really enjoy them.  Maybe eating them just brings back all the great memories of living with my best friend, or maybe it’s because they’re really that good.  I think both are pretty true.  They are delish.

You start by cooking chopped onion in a frying pan in a splash of olive oil and a dash of salt.  When they’re transparent, crack in the eggs and scramble them into the onion.  When the eggs are cooked, pour in about 1/2 cup of tomatillo (green) salsa – though, any salsa would work.  The optional ingredient at this point is cheese, which can be stirred in or sprinkled on top.  Ladle onto a plate and voila, Mexican Eggs.

How Mexican they really are is questionable.  We called them Mexican Eggs because she is half-Mexican, we used a brand of salsa made in Mexico, and she *thinks* she ate them in Mexico once, served by her Mexican aunt.  Good enough for me.

Mexican Eggs, drizzled in sriracha hot sauce. My ultimate weekend lunch.

Yum.

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Blue Monday.

Did you know that the third Monday in January is apparently “Blue Monday”, the most depressing day of the year?  I didn’t, but that would explain why I woke up yesterday morning feeling less than stellar.  The reason it’s named that way is because this is where New Year’s resolutions start to fail, holiday visa bill has arrived, and there’s not a long weekend in sight until April.  Who can put on a happy face in the face of that?  Anyways, I made the most of my Blue Monday, being (somewhat) productive at work, meeting some girlfriends for (an unpictured) sushi at lunch, and putting together a gigantic pot of soup after work that will last us through the rest of the week for quick dinners after work.

I love having soup on-hand.  Coming home and not having to think about making dinner is so nice sometimes.

Yesterday I ate:

Delicious soy latte - my first of 2010!

1L of water...I drank 2 of these.

An apple stolen from the lunch room. I couldn't resist and I'm *pretty* sure it was up for grabs...

A few bites of a cookie from my co-worker. Peanut butter and chocolate are my nemeses. Epic fail on the "avoid white sugar/flour" goals...

As I mentioned above, lunch was unpictured.  The sushi restaurant we went to was very dark, so photographs would have been a) tricky and b) VERY obvious if I’d used my flash.  Oh well.  I had spicy tuna salad, salmon sashimi and miso soup.  Deeelicious.

And dinner?  African Yam & Peanut Soup from my beloved Rebar cookbook.  If you don’t have this cookbook, I would recommend that you drop whatever you are doing (after you finish reading my blog) and go buy it.  Now.  It is fabulous.  Vegetarian, creative, amazing.  I wasn’t going to post the recipe but I just googled it and found it on RecipeZaar, so I guess it’s “out there”.  It takes a bit of time (lots of chopping/mincing) but the results are so worth it.  I made a slightly larger batch than average because Carlos is a double-serving type of soup eater.  Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce. 

I normally make this on the weekend so making it on a weekday night felt a bit rushed and I was staaaarving by the time I finished it up, so a photo was the last thing on my mind.  But, guess what I’m eating for dinner tonight?  Photo to come.

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