glorious breakfast

Hello blog readers.

Here in Chapel Hill, we had a beautiful sunny 60 degree day today...which I appreciated as Mike & I spent much of this morning raking leaves (yes, we still have leaves on the ground).

Anyway, I also had a chance to make some fantastic pancakes, and the recipe for them is below. When I was in MN, my mom and I went to a restaurant called Hell's Kitchen and ordered some lemon ricotta hotcakes. They were so good, I decided to search through recipes on the web, make my own modifications, and try my hand at my own version. Many of the recipes I found had a stick (or more) of melted butter, so I avoided those. I started with one from Nigella Lawson, and modified as follows.

Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes- serves 2, 6 points each
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp butter
3/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp powdered sugar
fresh berries

Heat an oven to 200 degrees. Combine ricotta, milk, and egg yolk, and stir till mostly smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and salt, mix till smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg white & granulated sugar till foamy (can do by hand). Fold egg whites into the ricotta mixture, then add lemon zest. Heat a griddle to medium-high, and coat with butter. Spoon batter onto the griddle (in a size of your own choosing), and flip once bubbles appear all over pancake. Once finished on both sides, add to a pie plate & put in warm oven to keep warm. Once all pancakes are done, divide among 2 plates, and top with powdered sugar (pushed through a strainer), and fresh berries. You can also use maple syrup too, but you need to count those points separately.

Enjoy!

back to reality, sort of

Hi everyone. I'm back. It has been a busy few days, but I can officially say that I'm now Dr. Madden! I passed my defense, and can finally relax a little.

On to food/weight updates. I lost 0.6 lbs this week...not too shabby for a week where I was mostly away. I just hope this pattern continues. Mike & I had a wonderful dinner on Wednesday night at the Weathervane at Southern Season. I was very proud of myself, eating just half of my appetizer (butternut squash risotto!) and half my entree (a sinfully delicious duck confit and truffle cream sauce linguini). Mike took the pasta for lunch (thank goodness), and I will be eating my leftover risotto today for lunch. I'm going to count 8 points for it, because for a full dinner serving of my own risotto, I count 8. I think I'm being conservative enough by doubling.

Onto some recipes. Being at Southern Season gave me some thoughts. You can buy the proscuitto ends there (left over from slicing) for fairly cheap. My Aunt Jennie used to make a pasta sauce with prosciutto, called filete sauce, and I decided that these ends would be used perfectly in her recipe. The one I have is huge (24 servings!) and contains loads of olive oil, so I'm skinny-ing it up, halving the size and posting here.

Filete Sauce- serves 12 but freezes well --2 points plus per serving

5 tbsp olive oil

3 stalks celery chopped very finely

4 ounces prosciutto (again, chopped finely)

2 large cans whole peeled plum tomatoes

1 small can petite diced tomatoes

3 medium onions chopped finely

2 oz red wine

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute celery for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Add onions and saute another 8-10 mins. Add prosciutto and "melt" it into the vegetables (you want to see the edges curl up and the fatty part go translucent), about 3 minutes. Add wine, tomatoes (crush with your clean hands before adding) and stir to combine. Add parsley and plenty of pepper (black or crushed red or a combination). Bring to a simmer, cover and cook about an hour. After half an hour or so, taste it, and if it seems like it needs salt add a little. Prosciutto is very salty, so you may not have to add any. Serve over pasta.

Hint #1- I like to portion this out right away. Its about 2 ladles full per serving, so after serving that night's dinner, I portion it out into 5 freezable containers (4 ladles full each). It makes for a very easy weeknight dinner after defrosting.

Hint #2- I serve this over pasta (1-1.5 cups per person), and though there is some protein, there's not a whole lot. I suggest serving a spinach salad alongside this meal with some chopped hard boiled egg to get an extra dose of protein.

hiatus

Sorry for the lack of food related posts. I defend my PhD tomorrow. I will have a good recipe or two later this week.

so maybe every day was a bit ambitious?

OK, I'm back in NC. Luckily my flight was easy and uneventful.

So how'd I do on this trip to MN?

Well, I went to the gym 3 times (did 50 mins on the elliptical and situps & pushups each time), so I kept that promise.

I'm out of weekly allowance points for the week, but luckily my week starts on Thursday. Also, I'll be exercising every day between now and then, so should be OK if I want to have a treat here or there.

I ate and enjoyed lots of delicious food over the weekend, and avoided eating garbage, so I think I can count that as a win too. In the end, I sort of hoped I'd have some left over, but so be it.

I'll be back with some recipes soon.

made it to Minneapolis

Hi everyone!
So, I made it to Minneapolis, and as I'm winding down for the night, I figured I'd check in. I made some not so wise food choices today, but still managed to stay within my points range (I finished all my weekly allowance points & activity points too...but my new week starts tomorrow).

Last night, Mike wanted some dessert. I had some points left, so I made brownies. Normally, I bake everything from scratch, but when it comes to brownies, Ghiradelli brownies are pretty good. Anyway, I replaced the oil with unsweetened apple sauce, and worked out the points to be 5 pts a piece for a total of 12 brownies. We each had a brownie warm out of the oven yesterday, and I decided to wait till they cooled overnight to portion out the rest of them. Bad move, Lauren, very bad move.

So, I woke up this morning at 6:30, and as I was waiting for the coffee to perk, I decided to cut up the tray of brownies. 9 of the remaining 10 made it into a ziplock bag. One made it into my belly. Without much thought of enjoyment. I freaked out for a minute, thinking about how I just ruined my whole day eating a brownie for breakfast (or breakfast appetizer...) Anyway, I pulled myself together, ate a banana, and went on with my day. Luckily, I was busy, so I didn't notice I was hungry until about 12:15, at which point I swung by Whole Foods on my way to the airport. I got another banana and an apple and a fage greek yogurt with strawberries (and it was more delicious than the 4 points I spent on it).

On the plane, I ate one of my cheddar cheese sticks, 2 clementines, and a 100 calorie pack of almonds (which I planned)...and then a package of cookies. Luckily, I was able to calculate the points, and they only set me back 3, but still...

Then, for dinner, I ended up at Au Bon Pain, where I got a black bean burger...to later find out I spent 15 points on something lukewarm and mediocre. But at least it wasn't 25, right? When navigating my way through the skyways back to my hotel, I came across a godiva store...and got a few pieces of chocolate. Again, luckily, after calculating the points, they only sent me back 4, but still, that wasn't the healthiest option.

So--in the end, I had my 5+ fruits & veggies, stayed within my daily points range (though spent all my remaining "extras"), and ate too many sweets. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

Night night!

good day...but busy

Hello again blog readers. I wonder how many of you there are?

Today was a really good day for me. I heard back from two of my top choices for jobs next year and secured phone interviews with both.

So, I have a busy few weeks ahead. Tomorrow, I leave for MN for a conference, then I defend my PhD next Wednesday (with the 2 phone interviews in between). The next two weeks I have a face to face interview each week, with more travel. This is a really exciting time, but all the more reason to be really cautious about my weight loss.

Though I love to work out, I'm not a big "machines at the gym" girl. To make sure I stick to my plan, I'm working on a fun playlist to use on the elliptical machine, and bringing a resistance band to do some strength training in my room (I especially hate the weight machines).

I once had a weight watchers leader who described the 2 reasons for eating out to dinner--because you need to and because you want to. When you need to eat out (because there's no food in the house, or you're running late, or have no energy to cook) its important to make sure you stay on track with your diet, and don't order anything that you wouldn't normally eat (do you usually saute your veggies in lots of butter? or eat them steamed?). When you want to eat out (because you're having some kind of celebration, even if that celebration is called "Friday"), you've probably accounted for the meal in advance, and its OK to splurge a bit. I think this advice applies to travel as well. My trip to MN is for a conference, so it does not constitute a vacation, and I need to do my best to stay on track. Will I likely spend all my activity and weekly allowance points while away? Yes? But I'll also do my best to make healthful decisions. I've done some planning up front.

I found some great 100 calorie packs of almonds (3 points plus each) to stash away in my bag along with 2% cheddar packages (2 points plus each) and a bunch of clementines. I'm hoping that if I have this food on hand and keep myself full, I'll decrease my chances of mindless eating while away, helping me steer clear of the trays of cookies that seem to live at all conferences. And worse comes to worst? I can make a meal of what I've got to hold me over if there are no healthy choices in around. I think I can I think I can I think I can....

On a different note, I'm going to share my recipe for what I made for dinner tonight. I actually made it on Sunday and am having leftovers today. This is one of those combination meals. Chicken and broccoli; mac and cheese; broccoli and cheese--its mac and cheese with broccoli & chicken and its sort of a casserole. I grew up on Long Island, and never knew much about casseroles till I met people from the midwest, but I like the idea. The recipe below is great because it can be halved easily, or can be put in multiple containers & frozen so you can cook it whenever.

Mac & Cheese & Broccoli & Chicken

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked pasta (I like regular elbows)

8 oz cooked chicken chopped small

1 large (or 1.5 regular) head of broccoli, steamed, cooled, chopped into small pieces

5 oz shredded light cheddar (I like trader joe's reduced fat celtic cheddar)

4 tbsp parmasean (use the good stuff. nothing from a can. ever.)

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 c skim milk

1 shake nutmeg

salt & pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375. Cook & drain pasta, and put it in a large mixing bowl. Add chicken & broccoli & mix. In a pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Cook till flour is lightly brown (very important!), then whisk in the milk and add nutmeg. Once mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and add 4 oz cheddar and 2 tbsp parmasean. Stir till melted. Add to the pasta mixture. Spread into an 8x8 pan (or 2 8x4 loaf pans if you want to freeze half) sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer or until browned.

This recipe serves 4 & comes to 11 points plus each. It certainly constitutes a complete meal with protein, starch, and vegetables, but I like to add a side salad as well to keep me full.

just another manic monday

So here I am keeping up with the daily postings. Hopefully I'll keep going with this pattern.

Every semester, I have a new schedule. I'm a doctoral student by day, and a Jazzercise instructor by night (or sometimes morning). I am fortunate enough to have flexible bosses in both places, who are willing to let me shuffle around my availability.

Anyway, I taught jazzercise this morning at 9:15, and when I teach in the morning, I sometimes struggle about if I should eat first and what. Let me set the record straight--its a terrible idea to exercise on a completely empty stomach (though I do when I teach at 6:15 AM because I'm lucky to get my teeth brushed in time to teach that class...). Without fuel for the fire, its easy to feel starving after class (rather than hungry) and binge on unhealthy food.

Last Monday, I taught a 9:15 AM class, then headed to campus afterward. In order to fuel my workout and stave off hunger, I decided to split my breakfast. Before jazzercise, (~8:00 AM) I had a banana and half an ounce of almonds (yes, I weigh them out every time). After jazzercise, on my way to campus, (~10:45 AM) I had an apple and half an ounce of light sharp cheddar. I had a couple clementines at about noon, and wasn't hungry for lunch till 2!

So today, I decided to do things a little differently, since its a holiday, and I was going home after class. I had my banana and half ounce of almonds before jazzercise. I'm starting to feel hungry now, so I think I'll have a breakfast burrito and some pineapple, and then maybe a mini-meal for lunch later on. I'll let you know how it goes and how hungry I feel.

I've been on a thai kick lately, and wild caught NC shrimp were on sale at Whole Foods this week, so for dinner tonight (after consulting lots of different recipes), I'm going to give this one a try, with a few modifications. I think I'm going to replace the "oil" with sesame oil for deeper flavor. I'm also going to add a tablespoon of brown sugar at the end. Between 4 portions, that adds up to .25 points each, so its negligible. But, I like my thai food on the "americanized" side, so with a little extra sweetness, I think I'll have met my match. On the side, I'm going to make brown jasmine rice (which you can get in the bulk bins at Whole Foods), and steamed broccoli. All together, this adds up to a meal that's only 6 Points Plus!

This is a long posting but I have one more tip to share. I've always found making brown rice takes forever. So, now, in the morning, I put the rice & water (2 parts water 1 part rice) in the pan I'll cook it in. When it soaks all day, it only takes about 20 minutes to cook.

Finally--did you see I figured out how to do links? Not so bad for a beginner, huh? Now if anyone can tell me how to make my little heading go all the way across the top, that would be great :)

the pasta post

So, I'm getting this one out of the way early on. Let me start by stating a few things:

1. I agree that whole wheat pasta is a more nutritious choice than regular pasta.
2. Almost all pasta servings at restaurants are more than double what they should be.
3. Whole wheat pasta is distinctly different in flavor and texture than regular pasta.
4. I am not a nutritionist, so what follows is my opinion and interpretation of nutritional data, and should not be seen as advice.

The other day, I was watching the new show on MTV called I used to be fat. This show sends drill sergeant-like trainers to work with teens with 50-100 lbs to lose in the 3 months between high school graduation and starting college. On most episodes, the kids are given very strict diets to follow. Recently, there was an episode about Dominick, an Italian-American teen who hopes to be a chef. I thought this could be interesting. Well, the trainer gets to his house and goes through the cabinets with Dominick and his mom. She berates all the junk, but really hones in on the regular pasta. Yes, I know whole wheat pasta is a healthier choice (see statement 1 above), but really? When there are cabinets filled with cookies and candy the thing you jump on is the pasta? The trainer claimed there was, "no nutritional value," and "no fiber," in regular pasta and that his family needed to switch to whole wheat pasta pronto!

So, lets compare some whole wheat and regular pasta stats right now. For a 56 g/2 oz uncooked serving (about 1 cup cooked):

Calories- WW: 210, R: 200
Fat- WW: 1.5 g., R: 1 g.
Total carbs- WW: 41 g., R: 42 g.
Fiber- WW. 5 g., R: 2 g.
Protein: WW: 8 g., R: 7 g.
Weight Watchers Points Plus: WW: 5, R: 5.

Low and behold, for a normal portion, the points are identical. Both regular and whole wheat pasta contain more protein than an egg, along with all those carbs. Yes, the whole wheat has a little more protein, one less carb, and more fiber, but this is not like a comparison between an apple and a piece of bacon. Read it here, regular pasta is not evil! Call me crazy, but I think the biggest issue with pasta is the extra large serving sizes, not the choice between whole wheat and regular. One box of pasta has 8 servings. You heard me, 8.

Despite my light hair and green eyes, I grew up with and learned to cook from an Italian-American mom, so a lot of what I cook is Italian. For many recipes, I just prefer regular pasta. Now if I were to make something more rustic and hearty, sure, I'd go with the whole wheat, but not every time. And I don't feel bad about that.

OK, so my reason for this posting is that in the future, there will likely be lots of pasta recipes , some of which will contain regular pasta. Feel free to substitute if you like.

recipes I've tried (and loved) recently

I'm always trying out new recipes, so I wanted to share a few that I've tried lately that have been fantastic:

Mocha Pudding Cakes- 6 Points Plus and worth every one of them

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/recipes/mocha-pudding-cakes

Chicken Paprikash- 8 Points Plus per serving

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/chicken/smoky-chicken-paprikash/

Poulet au Vinegre- 6 Points Plus per serving

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/12/skinless-chicken-thighs-with-shallots.html

first things first

For a little while now, I've been thinking about starting a food blog. I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to exercise. I've been known to say that I cook (or bake) to work things out in my head. And I do, because it works.

Although I exercise quite a bit (I teach jazzercise 4-5x/week, and take Vinyasa yoga once a week), I need to lose a few pounds. Weight Watchers has always worked for me. I've lost 20 lbs on the program three times (yes, I've gained it back each time). This time around, I'm determined to make changes that last. I absolutely love the new Points Plus program because I've always been a big fruit eater. I've read lots of dieting blogs where the authors talk about the perils of sugar in fruit. Really? Who ever got fat from eating too many oranges?

Instead of posting my weight, I'll post my recipes, food & restaurant finds, struggles, and successes. And maybe some other random musings along the way.

Warning--I cook with actual food. That means real butter, real oil, real sugar. Please don't try to sell me on splenda or smart balance or any other highly processed products. I'd much rather account for the points, and use moderation than eat pretend non-foods. However, I do use reduced fat dairy products, skim milk, and non-stick cooking spray (I get the kind without the alcohol in it).I try to cook with whole foods, eat locally and naturally when possible, and find good prices. I sometimes fail at one or more of these things, but we can't be perfect every time.

So here goes my first recipe. Lately, I've been on a "breakfast burrito" kick for lunch. It keeps me filled up for hours. I usually eat this with 2 clementines on the side.

Breakfast Burrito- 6 points plus

1 egg

0.5 oz shredded low fat sharp cheddar (I like the Celtic light cheddar at Trader Joe's)

1 whole wheat tortilla (I've been using the Harris Teeter brand whole grain tortillas)

2 tbsp salsa

2 tbsp light sour cream

-heat tortilla in a frying pan till it's slightly crisp (but still flexible)

-beat egg with salt & pepper to taste

-remove tortilla from pan

-spray pan with nonstick cooking spray and scramble egg

-once it starts to cook, add cheese

-put egg mixture, salsa, & sour cream on tortilla, roll, and eat