Nectarine for breakfast and last night's soup (2/3 of a serving) for lunch.
Looked in the fridge for some protein (as we're currently running low on fresh veggies) for dinner and saw shrimp so I decided to make Steamed Buns.
I got the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/steamed-bun-dough-recipe/index.html
Despite two nights in a row that I used Emeril's recipes, I don't normally care for his much. He's a bit fond of funky flavors and salt. As for the recipe, I didn't alter much. Used 2 cups wheat flour and 1/2 cup all purpose, and for the shrimp mix I only used about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. Trust me, it's plenty. Oh, and I used splenda in the shrimp mixture instead of sugar. These are Cora's favorites.
Made some potsticker sauce to go with it: about 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Mix together. It's quite spicy.
I woke up very late today, so no breakfast (shame on me).
Had an Oven Roasted Chicken Breast sub on Whole Grain bread from Subway. Loaded with tomatoes. Added some honey mustard to it. Only 360 calories total. Go Subway!
This Chicken Enchilada Soup is fairly improvised. I based it off of such soups I've had before at places like Chiles.
Start by making Enchilada sauce. Trust me, a homemade sauce is better. I made mine by altering an Emeril Recipe. Here's the link to that: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/easy-enchilada-sauce-recipe/index.html
I replaced the flour with Masa Harina, lower the chicken broth and replaced the tomato paste with a can of tomato sauce. And I began the dish with a half cup of onion and about four garlic cloves, simmered in two tablespoons of olive oil. I then mixed the masa in with the translucent onions to form a mild roux. From there I followed Emeril's directions. Once finished, I transfered the sauce to a blender and blended it to make it smooth.
With the pan cleared I began the soup:
Chicken Enchilada Soup
1 ½ cup Sweet Corn
1 ½ cup Black Beans
1 cup dry brown rice
5 cups chicken stock
3 cups enchilada sauce
1 pound chicken, chopped into bit sized pieces
Pour the chicken broth into a pan and turn up the heat to boil. Add the rice and once the broth begins to boil, lower the heat to simmer and cover, cooking for about 20-30 minutes. Once the rice is near done, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes. If I had had some jalapenos at the house, I would have diced one or two and added it to the soup. Serve with chips if so desired. Serving size is about 2 cups. We serve up 5 servings at dinner and will often have the leftovers for myself and Cora at lunch, since the kids get lunch from school.
Had a slice of bread and some coffee for breakfast, and a Honeycrisp apple for lunch (fantastic apples).
Decided to have a BLT with some Corn on the Cob for dinner; may as well use up my "seldom" servings of pork!
A BLT is pretty standard, but I do a few things to suit it to my liking. First, as per the diet (and preference) the bread is multigrain and toasted. I have 6 slices of bacon in it; I chose center cut bacon because the slices are a bit smaller but a lot less fatty and the brand I got had a third less sodium. All six slices only ran me 120 calories, and I baked it in the over (at 375 for about 30 min) on a rack in a cookie sheet to help it crisp right and to try to minimize the fat content. As you can see, I use stacks of lettuce and tomato. The lettuce should be romaine (for the crunch) and the tomatoes should be at least 5 slices high. Makes it feel like more of a meal. Finally, though, I add about two tablespoons of olive oil mayonnaise that I've beaten some rosemary and thyme into. I didn't make the mayo from scratch, but I did add the herbs. Do about two teaspoons of rosemary, finely chopped, and four sprigs of thyme, leaves only, into about 2 cups of mayo. Honestly, you could do a smaller mayo ratio because the strength of the herbs in it is heaven for this sandwich.
The corn was boiled because it was cold out so I didn't wish to grill. Only added salt and pepper to it; it's sweet corn, you don't need anything else!
Went to see The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged tonight and finished my calorie intake with a pumpkin tart, which should be about 250 calories, give or take.
In 2005 Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Super Size Me got me thinking about the way I eat. For 30 days, Spurlock ate only McDonald’s food—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He had a few rules: all meals, everything he eats, must come from McDonalds; he must try every menu item they currently offered; he must maintain a walking routine consistent with the average American, about 5000 steps a day; and, eponymous to the film, he must SuperSize his meals whenever offered by a McDonald’s employee, but only when offered. In that 30-day period, Spurlock gained 24 pounds and suffered a range of obesity related health disorders. As Dr. Daryl Isaacs pointed out, Spurlock’s experiment was masochistic: he was Nick Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, purposefully, willfully killing himself bite by bite.
The criticisms for his film are valid. Obviously, when you eat 5000 calories a day, you’re going to gain weight. If your diet is high in saturated fats, your cholesterol will rise. As well, frankly, your liver just isn’t prepared to handle that much cleanup. The problem isn’t necessarily about McDonald’s poisoning its customers. This is about our intake. Spurlock’s point was that people go to McDonald’s presuming that the meal provided is of an appropriate size. It is, after all, labeled a “meal.” But is it McDonald’s fault? Could they better educate their clientele? Maybe. However, there is a point at which we have to take personal responsibility. So why, then, do so many of us presume that we’re being provided with appropriately sized meals at a fast food restaurant?
Maybe I can answer that question. I was 230 pounds a month ago. I’ve been that weight for roughly three years, with minor fluctuations. My Body Mass Index was 35. When I stepped onto my Wii Fit, it reminded me, every time, that I am obese. Obese! I would have to lose 34 pounds to stop being obese, only to then be classified as overweight for 32 more pounds. I felt ashamed of my weight… I’ve felt that way ever since my community college graduation, when I saw pictures of my bloated face squeezing out from under that graduation cap. Oh, but I just love food so much! For me, there’s rarely such a thing as too much of a good thing when it comes to food. At night, while cleaning up after dinner, my children’s plates still full of food, I imagined myself a fat little piggy slurping up scraps, eating the leftovers I couldn’t stand watching go to waste. All I think about is food! What delicious thing could I make for dinner? And desert! So much time consumed imagining what treats I could concoct. So rather than alter myself, I altered my environment to suit my new self. I bought bigger shirts and experimented with a girdle to hold in my bouncing gut. Eventually I bought jeans that I could lift up over my stomach to hide my girth. What had I become? I always swore I’d never get fat. I’d go as far as to say I’ve even been prejudice against fat people. I hated being fat, and yet, as a fellow foodie pointed out, “clearly, however, not enough to do anything about it.”
So how did it get like this? Why had I become a slave to food? How had I lost so much self control? Why did I, too, essentially presume that a McDonald’s meal was as appropriate a meal as any other? In finding the answer, I came back, over and over again, to education. I certainly had no idea how many calories I ate. Hell, I didn’t even know exactly what a calorie is. How is it measured? What does it mean? How many should I have? This food intake matter nagged at me, biting at the back of my mind. So, here and there I’d read an article. I’d catch a little blip about healthy eating tips and weight management ideas. More and more I started to feel that I am woefully under informed. I began to evaluate what I ate. I started to feel that I needed to move away from boxed foods. In fact, I needed to know what foods were going into my meals. I needed to have more control over what I ate. I need to start to control myself!
Having tried to diet here and there over the last three years, I finally decided to try again, this time well armed with nutrition information, metabolic transfer rates, body composition and adaptation, and ultimately I found resources on how to count calories. So this time I decided to lay it all out on the table, this time I’d blog my diet and make it public; there’s nothing I hate more than failing in public. So here we are. This blog is an attempt to right years of personal neglect. However, I also wanted to point a spotlight on the very real obesity issue, highlighting that I am among that 30% of America that is obese. In Utah over 21% of us are obese with another 56% of us overweight! Many of you reading this blog are, like me, obese. Join me! If you’re not, there’s a very good chance you’re overweight. Join me! Moreover, if you’re neither of those, then I need your encouragement! Let’s address how difficult dieting can be and show that personal will can overrule unhealthy living.
There, then, is the impetus behind my experiment. It is just as much about showing the power of will as it is losing weight. If I can break the vice-like grip my food addiction has had over me, and yes I have most of these symptoms, then you can do it too. Nevertheless, as with Morgan Spurlock’s 30 days of bad eating, I too have rules:
1.All food purchased must be as close to base ingredient as possible; no prepackaged, boxed, or frozen goods may be purchased whenever possible.
2.I must follow Harvard’s modified food pyramid guide to regulate which foods I ingest in what percentile quantities (modified per caloric restriction).
3.I mustn’t modify my exercise behaviors. I am limited to whatever activity I would regularly have during the course of an average day.
4.I am restricted to 1000 calories a day. Period.
To ensure my own physical safety, I will supplement my food consumption with a daily multivitamin, focusing on achieving proper calcium and protein intake according to a 2200 calorie diet. As well, over the past month I’ve been prepping my mind and body for this rather extreme diet to better my chances at success: I’ve slowly moved my food intake down, beginning at 2300 calories until I got to around 12-1300 calories. In the process I’ve lost 10 pounds. I’ve also altered my diet during this time to fit within the modified food pyramid's recommendations so I wouldn’t suffer too many simultaneous withdrawals.
Most of these changes have made the days seem brighter. Fresh fruits and vegetables have utterly transformed the way we cook, and monitoring our sugar intake has made baked goods more subtle with hints of new flavors and pleasurable textures. In addition, I still find that I think about food all day because tracking calories requires a lot of time and food ingenuity, so I’ve turned a crutch into a weapon. Therefore, I’ve become accustomed to counting calories. There’s a calorie counter at the bottom of the page (I use Diet Analysis + to help me count mine) and I’ll update daily with recipes, instructions, and brief thoughts, with weekend posts about health and food related concerns. Watch me try to better myself and let me know about your progress as well! Join me in my experiment!
26 year old college student who enjoys reading, writing, food, and information. He lives in Cedar City, Utah, with his wife, three children, and their dog.
