WEEKLY PLAN - Almost there!

I'm off to a good start this week by being down another pound since Friday. This leaves me with only 2 pounds left this week to reach my goal of 6 pounds in 21 days... the 21 days Bob is gone. We have our standard bet of $100 on who loses the most in the time period and we are each doing the process our own way. He has switched back to counting calories - a plan that worked best for him in the past.

So I'm staying the course with the Fast Metabolism.
Monday - a little of whatever from all the program today
Tue/ Wed - good carb/ healthy fat days
Thur/ Fri - Protein/ Vegi days
Sat/ Sun/ Mon - little of everything from the program day.  I like those best because that also opens up seafood. yum!

I do need to make a trip to Springfield one day this week for some studio pieces shopping. Fri & Sat are all you can eat crab legs at the chinese buffet. Just might have to enjoy that. Though I might have to switch up a day. Not crazy about going on Saturday so would have to be a Friday thing.  We'll see.

Plan your week and make it awesome! And rememeber...
Enjoy the Journey!
~Kelly

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PLANNING FOR THE WEEKEND 188

This has been a good first week for Bob being gone. I've stayed pretty close to program and tried new recipes... which you'll see over the coming weeks. They are already scheduled ;-)

One guilt-free treat this week was a piece of sour cream raisin pie. Probably my favorite pie and the gal who does all the baking for the local restaurant (we call her grandma) always calls me when she has one made up. The good thing is I can go into the cafe and have ONE piece without having a whole pie here to tempt me. Unless my sister comes for a visit, I'm the only one that will eat Sour Cream Raisin so I don't make them.

I am down 3 pounds from Bob and I's weigh in just over a week ago. We're half way through his hitch so if I can lose 3 more pounds I will have made my personal goal. Now that the rain has stopped for a few days I'm hoping to get out early in the mornings or late in the evenings and walk.

Enjoy the journey!
Kelly
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RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Spelt Tortillas & Quesadillas

I have been learning a lot about grains since starting the Fast Metabolism Diet. One of which is the different types of flours we have to choose from. Most of us were raised on processed white flour such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury. Don't get me wrong, I have used those products a lot in my career as a competition baker as well as personal use. However, I am finding a whole different flavor profile... one that actually HAS a flavor.

Spelt flour is lighter than the traditional whole wheat which carries a nutty profile and a bit of sweetness. The grain is easily digestible and high in protein. As the tortillas were toasting in the skillet I had a waft of what could have been steel cut oats.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and of course, can not find my Pin now. But here's a link to the website with the recipe. We eat a lot of Tex-Mex food so finding a healthier version of a tortilla was a huge boost to my new eating options.

There are 4 ingredients plus about 1/2 c. of water:

The recipe called for 2 Cups of Spelt flour (in the bag) but I only made 1/2 a recipe and got 8 decent sized tortillas. If you want the big ones for like burritos, then you would get four from a 1/2 batch.

Mix everything together in a bowl adding just enough of the water to form a soft dough. You also don't want to overmix. Just till you geet something like this:

As a breadmaker, I knew to toss this onto a Spelt flour covered surface and coat it the dough good before portioning out and rolling.

As I said, I got 8 from a 1/2 batch. I rolled each ball really thin then lightly toasted in a very hot (400*) electric skillet. This only takes a minute or so per side.

Be careful not to overcook. You want them to stay soft and pliable. as soon as you start seeing little bumps on the first side, flip the tortialla over and toast for about 30 seconds. Then transfer to a dish and cover with a dishtowl ( have flour sack towels that I use - lint free)

Use these as you would a flour tortilla. To warm mine, I lay them on a paper towel and in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds. Because microwaves vary, you'll want to do this as a trial and error. Start shorter times and go from there. 

After making these, I doubt I'll buy store tortillas again. Even if I do choose to use white flour, making these are so easy, why buy them!

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Taco Boats

One of the things off-limits on FMD is tortilla shells (unless you make your own with spelt flour but that's another post)

I've also never been a fan of Romaine lettuce.. mostly because when I get it in a salad I have big junks of the 'heart' and usually more of them than the actual leaf. But I'm learning to adapt. Who knew you did not have to have the big chunks.

Anyway, so having a taste for tacos and seeing this on Pinterest, I decided to give them a try. I may never go back to a tortilla shell again! Though as you can see I did add a bit of fine shredded cheese.

FEELING BETTER - Fast Metabolism

While I have come to passionately dislike the word 'diet', Haylie Pomroy turns the spelling into an acronym - Did I Eat Today.  Because as we all know, feeding our metabolism will allow our body to stay fueled.. and burning calories. 

I've also learned something else I've heard over and over... Dairy and Processed foods are not good for us! And you know what.... by eliminating as many of those foods from my eating plan as possible, I feel SO MUCH BETTER!

The overall plan is broken down into 3 Phases per week.. repeated for 21 days. 

Phase 1 (2 days) - Vegies, Starches, Fruits, lean Proteins - No Fats

Phase 2 (2 days) -Vegies, Meats. - NO Fats, Grains, or Vegi Proteins

Phase 3 (3 days) - Lean Protein, Vegi Protein, Healthy Fats, Fruits, as well as most of Phase 1 & 2.

Basics:

Meal/ Snack/ Meal/ Snack/ Meal and Drink a min. of 64 oz of water 

With the exception of a couple of days while in Dallas, I've not had any milk other than Rice Milk in over a month. I'm reminding myself to eat fruits and vegies. The things I would normally eat a lot of, I now count as a treat. 

I've also been more conscious of gluten.

While I'm not losing a bunch of weight, I do feel so much better. Did I say that? LOL

And best of all, I'm back to not needing a nap every day by 3 p.m. - which really disappoints one of my cats. She got quite use to mom napping every day.  

I had discovered this some time back during the Liquid Detox my daughter recommended. I attribute the energy to more healthy foods - particularly fruit. I'm eating more fruit.

The only thing I really miss is cheese so that has become one of my treats. 

I'm still trying to organize pictures so will have more in the coming weeks. I'm also planning an entire week of family meals (there will be as many as 6 of us for 4 days) and want to stick to 'our' foods as much as possible.  I say 'our' because hubby did very well on this the first 21 days. He slid while I was in Texas and is now back to eating his way. We are on another weight loss challenge so we'll see how he does this trip out.

I have noticed that his schedule makes staying on program difficult. He said yesterday the company is bringing in a nutritionist and they were asked to suggest topics of discussion during her visit. I suggested tips for 'eating every 3 hours' and the 'not eating before bed' thing when their schedule makes following those 2 'golden rules' almost impossible. I am curious to what she has to share and will keep you posted. 

Enjoy the Journey!

Kelly

Long overdue update

Who knew having my husband around 24/7 was going to create such a challenge? I love having him home and will be happy when he retires. I just have an issue with working a full schedule when he's home. NOT his issue - but mine. he is the most important part of my life and my most supportive person. So I don't want to work my 10-12 hour days when he's home. He is also dealing with boredom due to restrictions with the use of his hands - the right in particular since that is the one he had carpal tunnel surgery on first. Surgery which has made NO difference so you can imagine his frustration level at this point.

I've been on the treadmill almost every day. I'm starting with a half mile and building myself up gradually. I've also purchased the copper knee socks and they seem to be helping a little. I say 'almost every day' because on the days I've been working in the garden, I am getting a workout. I am building a straw bale garden so that means toting bales of straw and lots of steps. I am also trying to remember to clip on the pedometer every day. Some days are easier than others.

I also cleared my profile from the Wii Fit and started from scratch. The results are not pretty but they will get better as I am on the Wii 3 days a week minimum.

I leave for Texas in five weeks. In that time I need to be able to fit comfortably in my jeans and in a couple of the cocktail outfits I'll need for the Romantic Times Convention in Dallas.

To top everything else off, more of my teeth are loose. I can't get them taken care of right now as I don't want to be doing interviews in May without teeth and I can't get the teeth pulled and dentures in that quick. So I'm careful with what I eat for now. New teeth are on my agenda beginning in June.

All in all I am still Enjoying the journey!

PLANNING FOR THE WEEKEND

I finally have the blog board set up and beginning regular postings again. This has just been a crazy year already.

First on my list is to let you know that doing without my fluffy coffee during the week made absolutely no difference. Not an ounce.  So I am back to one cup each morning during the week and two per day on the weekend.

While on a pre-Valentine trip to Springfield a couple of weeks ago, Bob and I found a bread bowl pan at Marshall's. The pan makes 4 bread bowls.

The only thing I've tried so far is Chicken Pot Pie in a biscuit bowl. However, it took 4 biscuits to make the bowl... that's 400 Calories!!!  So yeah, won't be doing that again LOL  I made the pot pie filling from scratch using:

2 cups of frozen mixed vegies
6 low carb yellow potatoes (there is 100 calories in 4 potatoes)
4 Baby bella mushrooms
milk/ flour thickening

I did not eat all of my bread bowl but the filling was good. I ate a bowl of just filling for lunch the next day.

We want to try other things with this bowl pan. Bob has his eye on a brownie bowl with vanilla ice cream. But, I'm thinking these are a treat - only thing.

So... plans for the weekend.
Bob is home so I am cooking for 2 every day. I'm thinking he needs a pot roast on Sunday. Saturday will be chicken something or other and Friday will be fish. We are not Catholic and don't observe Lent but that's just how the 'menu' fell this week.

I'm hoping by next week to have a regular meal plan. The freelance writing as well as novel writing is kicking in to high gear so if I can have a menu plan, things will flow much smoother.

I've also been having some knee issues so no exercising yet. However, I did lose 2 pounds total on Bob and I's last challenge - winning the Rebate Certificate to Menards, which will buy the new stereo system for the studio. yay!!!!

Tell me about your journey. Let's take this hike together.

Blessings on your journey!
Kelly

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