Lee's Weight Loss

It's been 4 weeks since Lee was told that he had to get his waist down to under 40inches (he was at 44.5) and he had to drop 30 pounds (he was at 245). Well, here we are, a month later, and YAY! Lee's made his goal of losing 10 pounds in April! :D He probably could've lost more, if he went balls out, but we didn't want to completely shock his system. Our biggest changes have been no more fast food during the week, just once during the weekend. Also, a big change!, no more drinking beer during the week. Dude, that was getting outta hand anyways! We needed a reason to cut back on the beer. At 110calories per beer, and Lee can easily put away 12 beers in a night, that's 1320 calories, just in BEER! (As opposed to wine, which in 1 bottle, there's only 550 calories.) I also stepped up and started becoming a bit of a food nazi. LOL Seriously, I was tossing out chips and white bread and frozen breakfast sandwiches and cheese in a can, all that crap that Lee would snack on. To replace it, I started buying fish and ground turkey, 90cal granola bars, 100cal bags of popcorn, nuts, beef jerky, cheese (but the good cheese! Edam and Emmental and Fontina) and crackers, loads of broccoli and red potatoes, plus bags of salad. Now, I cook a fresh healthy lunch every day which I always keep below 500 calories. I actually try to keep it in the 300cal range, if I can. Dinner, I rarely make it more than 600. But once in a while, I do splurge a bit and the calories may go up to 800-900. I logged Lee's meals for an entire month, just so I could wrap my head around how many calories go into what. Now it's second nature to do the math in my head and let him know how many calories his meals are. He got to around 1500 calories per day, but that was w/o the beer! But he did cut back his drinking to just on Fri and Sat nights. No more mid-week drinking beers!

He's been really good about working out, too. If he can't make it to the gym, then we do a workout DVD here at home, or he hops on the elliptical for 30mins.

For the next month, we're cutting out fast food completely, cutting out beer completely. He's also going to step up his workout regimen to running 5x a week and doing weights 3x a week.

I have complete faith that he'll drop the unwanted pounds and get back on track with the USAF's fitness regulations. :)

Mock Mashed Potatoes

1 large potato, peeled and quartered

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

2 tbs I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light

2 tbs Fat Free Philadelphia Cream Cheese

S&P

Bring large pot of water to a boil, add potatoes and cauliflower florets.

Boil until fork tender, about 20mins.

Drain, return to pot.

Mash well (or use a hand mixer) with remaining ingredients.

Makes 5 servings

Calories per serving - 80

Piadina

1 La Tortilla Factory Tomato & Basil wrap

1/2 tomato, sliced thin

2 slices thin deli turkey

2 slices thin deli ham

2 slices turkey bacon

1tbs reduced fat cream cheese

Shredded cheddar cheese

Heat large skillet over medium heat. Spray with Pam.

Assemble tortilla by spreading cream cheese first, topping with ham and turkey, then bacon and tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Place into hot skillet, cook until cheese is melted. Adjust heat so it doesn't burn and check frequently.

Serve hot.

Total calories - 320

Marker20 Sucks

http://findlocal.dailypress.com/downtown-hampton/restaurants/cuisine/second-mouse-inc-hampton-restaurant

We were out at the International Children's Festival this past Saturday (April 17, 2010) and happened upon Marker 20. Having never been there, we decided to give it a try. Our party consisted of 3 adults and 3 children (ages 4, 27months and 28months). Service wasn't great, food was barely edible. My fish (Fish and Chips) was leaking with oil, and my chips were burnt. The Dirty Rice Balls tasted like rice mixed with ketchup. The hushpuppies tasted like they were fried with onion rings. The Chicken Caesar Wrap was 80% lettuce and dressing. Everything we got that was fried, which includes the hush puppies, fish and chips, and chicken strips, all looked like they had been fried together and were all unappetizingly the same shade of dark amber brown. Service was slow, especially considering the patio was only half-full. We asked for our bill to be split, 2 adults and 1 child on one, and 1 adult and 2 children on the other. My bill came to $42.87. I only tipped $4.00 b/c as I've plainly stated, we had substandard service and food. So I filled in for a $4.00 tip, and signed for a total of $46.87. Imagine my surprise when I checked my bank account Monday morning and saw a charge of $51.44. The restaurant decided to auto-tip themselves 20%. Upon checking their website ( www.marker20.com ), I do see that "An 18% gratuity will be added to parties of 6 or more." BUT since when are children, who barely touched their inedible food and pretty much spent all their time coloring, considered part of the "party"? And by splitting the check, our "party" was only 3 anyway, including our 27month old toddler. And my biggest beef, which is over the smallest amount of money, is this mythical 18%. If you do the math, and I did, $42.87 + 18% = $50.59. Marker20 charged us 20%. While that may not seem like a lot of money (it's only 18¢), if they are doing this every time, then they are skimming a lot of money for people who may not be double checking their bank accounts. This is fraud. Do NOT go to Marker20.

Skillet Chicken

2 full chicken breasts, boneless skinless

4 cups water

2tbs salt

2tbs sugar

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced to 1-2 inches thick

3 carrots, diced into 1 inch chunks

1/2 cup chicken broth

4tbs extra virgin olive oil

2tbs I Can't Believe It's Not Butter

1tsp minced garlic

Paprika

S&P

Rosemary

Garlic Powder

Pour water into a large bowl, add 2tbs salt and 2tbs sugar. Mix well until dissolved. Add chicken and let brine for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Place diced potatoes and carrots into a bowl, drizzle with EVOO, season with S&P and rosemary. Microwave for 3 minutes.

Remove chicken from brine, and rinse well.

Heat EVOO and butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add minced garlic.

Season one side of chicken with pepper (no extra salt), rosemary, garlic powder and paprika. Place seasoned side down into hot skillet. Let brown for 5 minutes. Season other side. Flip and let other side brown for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots and arrange around the chicken breasts. Pour chicken broth over vegetables. (Not the chicken. Don't want the seasoning to fall off!)

Cover and let simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes.

Serve with juices.

One chicken breast with veggies = 595 calories.

Turkey Meatloaf

1 pound ground turkey

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 handful dry stuffing (Stove Top is what I use)

1 egg

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Ground pepper

Basil

2tsp minced garlic

1 tsp basil

1 carrot, grated

1 tsp onion powder

3 dashes Tabasco

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

Italian seasoning

Dash salt

1 can condensed tomato soup (Campbells)

Heat oven to 350.

Mix all ingredients, except soup. Form into a loaf. Place in 9x9 square baking dish.

Pour soup over loaf. Season with a dash of salt, basil, Italian seasoning, parsley and ground pepper.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Let sit 10mins before serving.

Makes 4 servings. Total calories per serving, 450.

Chicken Cordon Bleu and Lemon Garlic Broccoli

Thin sliced chicken breasts

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup Panko

1 egg

2 tbs Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup diced ham

s&p

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tbs butter

1/2 can cream of broccoli soup

1/4 cup light sour cream

Paprika

Garlic powder

10 oz frozen broccoli

Lemon juice

Heat oven to 350.

Spray casserole dish with Pam.

Beat egg in one shallow dish.

Mix bread crumbs, panko and parmesan in another shallow dish.

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.

Season one side with s&p and garlic powder.

Dip unseasoned side of chicken into egg wash, then into bread crumb mix.

Place chicken, bread crumb side down, on the counter. Top with a small amount of ham and cheese. Roll up tightly and place into casserole dish.

Repeat with all chicken breasts.

Bake at 350 for 30mins.

While chicken is baking, mix soup and sour cream well. Season with pepper. Set aside.

Place frozen broccoli into a large sauce pan, cover with water. Bring to a boil, boil 3mins. Drain. Melt butter, add minced garlic, pour over broccoli. Add lemon juice and s&p. Cover and let sit until chicken is done.

After chicken is finished, place on a plate and add a scoop of soup mix to the top. Serve with broccoli.

Total calories per serving - 700

Lee's New Diet

My husband is in the USAF and he had his yearly fit test last week. And he failed it. Boo. :( His weight has jumped from 230 up to 245 pounds and his waist from 39 to 43 inches. Yikes! He now has 3 months to lose the weight, or risk a discharge from the military.

We've already cut down on the beer (and if you know us, that's HUGE! LOL) and I've stopped buying red meat all together. It's all fish and ground turkey and white meat chicken for us now. Lunches are salads with a light vinaigrette dressing and dinners have been baked chicken breasts or fish with broccoli. I'm working on keeping his caloric intake to around 1500 calories. He has a granola bar for breakfast (100 cals), lunch is kept to around 300-400 cals, and dinner is kept around 800. He then gets an evening snack of popcorn or a piece of fruit. He's promised me that he won't be sneaking fast food, too. I used to find at least 2 McDonald's bags in the car every week! He's also promised not to have any more sodas at work, and no more chips, either. He's went to the gym twice last week and that's more than he's been in the past 2 years we've been stationed here! He's serious about passing his retest in 3 months and I'm determined to help.

Tilapia Take 2

Tried making tilapia again tonight and it was a success! :)

Tilapia fillets

Lemon juice

Old Bay seasoning

1/4 cup Smart Balance Spread

1 tsp minced garlic

S&P

Preheat oven to 400.

Place tilapia on a rack, with a baking sheet underneath.

Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Melt butter, add garlic, and brush on both sides of fillets.

Season both sides with Old Bay, salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 for 20minutes.