Shrimp Fajitas

These were so wonderful for a few reasons. Yes they were low calorie and nutritious. They were also really delicious. But the real reason they made me happy -cc I made the tortillas from scratch. 100% whole wheat - way better than anything you can get at the store. Fun, easy, pretty quick. I don't know if I'll ever buy tortillas again. I probably will because I'm lazy like that but I won't if I don't have to.

Weekly Update

(end of week 5/beginning week 6)

On the Scale
Lost this week: 3lbs

Total Loss: 17.2 lbs

At the Gym
3 days at the Gym

Bike @ home on non-gym days

Bike ride with the boys

Family Walk (while the boys biked - great workout trying to keep up with them)

Weight Loss Yoga 1x (but I got a new yoga mat and I'm super motivated to use it this coming week)

I'm thrilled because I was able to go much faster this week - almost up to 3.5 on the treadmill. I know that's not all that fast but considering I started at 2.8 or something like that I am impressed. It actually feels easy. I've been switching my cardio machine throughout my workout because I'm worried about the repetitive stress / impact of the treadmill. And I simply can't do 30+ minutes on the elliptical or bike without going insane. So I do 15 - 20 minutes on the treadmill, switch quickly to the elliptical for 10 and then finish off on the recumbent bike. I was able to get through my workout on Saturday morning without my little ankle support thingy and it worked out great. No pain to speak of. I hope that continues. My heel still hurts - but that's hurt for ten years (the reason for my treadmill fear). It doesn't interfere with my workouts so I can live with it. Ice helps and that makes me happy.

In the Kitchen

I made meatballs this week. From The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. They were awesome. I am really happy to have a meatball recipe that I like. I've always envied people who made their own meatballs. Now I do and they're healthy!

We also went to Whole Foods this week for the first time. There isn't one near us so we took a little field trip. I was under impressed. It turns out that my local grocery stores have a good selection of organics. The meat and prepared food WAS impressive though. After spending nearly $20 on a boneless Turkey Breast I think I will be impressed from a distance in the future. We don't have alot of wiggle room in our budget and I will quickly send us to the land of Ramen Noodles if I spend that kind of cash on meat... so we'll do it when we can but for now I'm just going to have to not think about all the icky stuff in our meat - add that to the reason we pray before meals :)

We had a great dinner at the beach last night. I made Chicken Salad with grapes and apples and Canola Mayo on Ezekiel Bread - so good!

We indulged a little with the brown rice sushi - because of the sugar in the rice vinegar - and then there were the PopChips (see below) but this week my kitchen yielded lots of wonderful healthy meals and snacks. I'm happy with the choices we've made. In may ways this is getting easier. My fridge and cabinets are stocked with whole, healthy foods

The Closet
My favorite pants feel all loose and ready to fall down if I'm not careful. I am not feeling like running upstairs to try on stuff right now so that's all for now.

** I think I'm officially "in between" sizes. The pants I'm wearing now will fall down if I don't watch it, the next size down is not comfortable -but does fit. **

Challenges and Goals
I want to step up my workouts this week. More yoga, maybe a second cardio workout each day??? I don't know.

Our little trip to whole foods yielded an unexpected temptation. We bought the boys a bag of PopChips to try. They're made from white potatoes and not fried or baked. We tried them and in the end shared the bag between the four of us - saving a little bit for Grammy (aka my mom) to try since she is a chip fiend. The bag had 3 servings at only 120 calories and 4 grams of fat per serving. Not that bad in the big picture but that was the first time a white potato has crossed my lips since we started this healthy new life. Add in all the stinkin salt on those chips.... plus the sodium in the soy sauce we used on the awesome brown rice sushi.... yeah, that little trip was sort of that temptation I was bragging about not having. Anyway, not horrible choices, but not quite in line with the attitude I know I need to have to persevere in this thing - not at this stage anyway. On the bright side - PopChips are yummy and I'm glad there is an option for my kids and for the future other than baked chips which are not yummy (IMO).

Meet my friends

I have a few new friends I want you to meet. These guys have played a big part in the success of my weight loss efforts these past few weeks.

These guys are oil sprayers. Basically you fill one of these babies with your own healthy oils and use it like you would a commercial cooking spray. The nice thing is that you can spray it right on your food. I love the results and I love that I'm not spraying chemical propellants around my kitchen. I had one of these years ago, I don't know what happened to it. I bought two - one for olive oil and one for canola as you can see from my beautiful little chalkboard labels (I added those). BTW, chalk doesn't work well when you touch it frequently while cooking. Oh well, they look cute even when the chalk is all rubbed off.

This guy doesn't have a name yet, but like my vacuum Moe, he is such an integral part of the family that he deserves one.

Just a simple non-stick skillet, but he has been the key to my becoming the queen of egg white omelets and other wonderfully healthy gourmet creations I've been cranking out of my kitchen lately.

These are a few tools that have really helped me stay out of a food rut. Cooking can be art. Healthy cooking is a skill. Having the right tools can really help.

Weekly Update

(end of week 4/start of week 5)

On the Scale
Lost this week: 2.6 lbs.
Total: 14.2 lbs.

I'm working on my 10% goal. I feel good about my progress. I still have quite a ways to go before I reach my end goal but that's no surprise.

At the Gym
My cardio workout was at 30 -40 minutes long all week. My speed on the treadmill is up as well. When we started this 20 minutes at 3.0 mph was hard. To deal with my sore ankle I've been switching from Treadmill to Elliptical to Recumbent Bike during my workout. That, in addition to the ankle support, has helped a lot. It also helps with my time because I don't get bored. I also noticed that it takes more work to get my heart rate up. That is fun to see because I know it means my body is responding to the conditioning of regular workouts.

In the Kitchen
My favorite meal this week was.... you guessed it, the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. But we had some other successes as well. I made the Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf from TBL Family Cookbook - that's why I even had the wing sauce and blue cheese in the fridge. We all liked it - but that's the day my son got the stomach "flu" - so we won't be repeating that one any time soon. I also made a great red sauce with summer squash, zucchini, and eggplant - that was a keeper.

The Closet
A few of my pants are in need of a belt. On Sunday I wore a blouse that was pretty snug on Easter - it now fit with room to spare.

Challenges and Goals
This week holds a challenge. My mother - aka Grammy - is away for a few days so we have no childcare for the first part of the day. That means working out at home. For me that's Weight Loss Yoga and the bike.

We haven't done much in the way of extra activity because it's been so hot. I guess swimming in the pool counts - but sitting around in the air conditioning does not, and we've done a fair amount of that as well. This week I'd like to take the boys hiking and Geocaching at least. Maybe even a bike ride if it cools down some.... we'll see.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

I just had one of the best dinners I've ever had. I made it myself and it was really healthy. Go me!

I started with an 8 oz. Chicken Breast - grilled with just a little salt and more than a little pepper. My husband actually did this part so I can't take all the credit.

I (he) toasted a whole wheat bun on the grill . I tossed the grilled chicken breast in a few tablespoons of Franks Wing Sauce.

I took a nice thick slice of tomato an sprinkled it with a little bit of Treasure Cove Reduced Fat Blue Cheese and put it under the broiler until the cheese just barely started to brown.

This with a generous piece of leafy lettuce all went on top of the chicken in the sandwich. Honestly - this was as good as any buffalo chicken sandwich I've ever had. The Blue Cheese melted and mixed with the tomato and created the illusion of blue cheese dressing - which in the past would have made up the majority of this meal for me.

Wicked spicy - serve it to your friends delicious. 450 Calories - 10 g. fat. So awesome I can't stand it.

I'm also sharing this beauty over at Good Cheap Eats. Come check it out!

What exactly is needful?

"Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me
neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. " (Proverbs 30:8-9)

This verse is not really about food. It's about the condition of our hearts. The fatal condition that causes me to slack off on my devotion when things are good and even when they are horrible. It's about idolatry - wanting what I don't need and valuing what is not best. There's more in there, but that's how it relates to this blog.

This blog is about me and my needs (it's my blog right?). What I need most is to be content and satisfied with what the Lord gives me - to look to Him for my daily bread and for my joy, satisfaction, peace, freedom, etc. All of those things are the "needs" and He is the solution to all of them.

Here's the link: If I am looking to God for my daily bread (only the food that is needful for me) I will feel conviction over gluttony and other besetting sins that are really rooted in idolatry.

Practically speaking this is my weight loss blog. I have finally applied my desire to "honor God with my body" to my health.

Even more practically - I need to lose weight. I need to have self-control, self-discipline and to value a healthy future with my kids more than I value the freedom to eat whatever I want whenever I want.

So that's the really chaotic and not completely logical story behind the name of this blog. Get it?

... feed me with the food that is needful

Today I came across this verse - Proverbs 30:7-9 - scribbled in my journal. I was searching for a name for this blog that described it's purpose and had a character that would make it relevent beyond it's immediate scope and into the future.

What is needful? Did I do a good job choosing a name? You don't know yet because you have no idea what this blog is about.

I promise, If you come back, I will tell you with lots of pictures and witty and relevant words.