Healthy Junk Dinner

Every now and then I get a real craving to eat junk for dinner. Something tells me I am not alone.

Yesterday I decided to plan a junk-like dinner that wasn't totally junk. The theory being that if I have a "planned" one I wont be craving an unplanned one later.

My favourite junk food is a Burger and Fries.

First up was the French Fries.

In order to be "healthier" I thought I would make Sweet Potato Fries. When I have attempted these at home before, however, it has been a disaster. I don't think they taste quite as good when baked, and the pre-packaged ones have more ingredients on the label than just "sweet potatoes" which I don't like so I cut my own.

Cutting my own presents issues though. The fries are never the same size which means some will burn (especially where the Fries thin at the ends) and some aren't cooked enough.

It occurred to me that fries don't necessarily have to "look" like fries. It is much easier to get consistency of width if you cut them more in the shape of potato chips so I sliced my potatoes into even width circles. It works much better.

I decided I was going to fry them in oil. I didn't want to deep fry them (just some oil on the bottom of a fry pan) and did not want to use Olive Oil as the heat temperature would be so high it would turn the Olive Oil into something similar to a trans fat. So I used Coconut Oil. It is very stable and can withstand high temperatures.

I know that the debate about Coconut Oil is huge. It has a very high level of saturated fats and many equate that with it being unhealthy or disastrous for weight loss. I personally do not believe the evidence supports that theory. I believe it is propaganda from Canadian/American manufacturers who do not want us to buy a product they can't produce in vast quantity. I think it is an extremely healthy oil that is a "medium string" fat which means the digestive process it goes through does not result in weight gain.

Having said that my WW friends can't give me a hard time, whether they believe me or not, because I counted every point of Coconut Oil I used so it is totally on plan.

The Sweet Potato Chips were perfect.

I even made my own ketchup to go with them. Who knew making ketchup was so easy?!

To go with the Chips, I had home made Halibut Fish Cakes. They were also fried in Coconut Oil (yes...I counted these points too) and it was a great substitute for the burger.

Third item on the plate was a salad.

It was the perfect "junk food dinner".

I splurged and stayed relatively healthy.

Be healthy!

Alan

Motivation Prevaled

Real happy today.

I  weighed-in for the first time "post-christmas", and I am down. I am barely down (only .2 pounds) but it is down for the first weigh in after the holidays. It shows I am on the right track!

I also managed to stay strong with what I consider to be extreme willpower yesterday by forcing myself to eat normally pre weigh-in, and by keeping myself from indulging post weight-in.

The real success was with dinner though. My cousin Barb, who also attends WW, asked me if I wanted to go for dinner after the meeting. I felt strong, and hadn't had dinner yet (although it was waiting for me at home) so I said yes, but was...well...a bit afraid.

I was afraid because dinners at restaurants are usually my big downfall.

After we ate I was so relieved. We went to a Japanese Restaurant, I ordered Miso Soup, Sashimi, and Salad. I asked them to put the dressing on the side ( I hardly touched it) and also instructed them to skip the rice.

I had an enjoyable meal, didn't miss a thing, and left feeling like I had my health in tact.

Things like this make me so happy.

I know...it's sad....I need a life LOL.

Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the leftovers in my refrigerator that were supposed to be my dinner. They may actually get divided up and become a couple of breakfasts. The food is all what WW would call "Power Foods" and there is no rule that says you can't have dinner for breakfast. My nutritionist friend Anthony has Turkey for breakfast all the time...so why not?!

Some really good friends returned to WW yesterday after a December absence too. It was real nice to give them a big hug (two actually). It is such a great group of people.

I'm ready for a new healthy day. How about you?

Be healthy!

Alan

P.S. Doesn't Jennifer Hudson look amazing?!!!!

Danger Time - Appetite Is Coming Back

It always happens after I get sick...I reach a certain point in my "return to health" and I suddenly want to eat everything in sight.

I felt a bit that way yesterday, although it was controllable and I did control it.

I have to weigh-in at WW tonight so that should keep me in control today. My hope is that after the two days the cravings will subside and tomorrow I will be fine. I just have to survive the drive from WW back home without stopping to eat. A piece of fruit in the car is probably a good idea.

I don't think I will falter either way though. I am pretty determined to succeed right now. I REALLY want to know if it is possible for Holistic Nutrition and WW to truly work as one, and it will ONLY be possible to find that out if I stick to my plan until at least one week today.

Of course I want to stick to it longer (like...for life) and I intend to, but if I don't survive a week I won't even know if the theory can become reality. So...I will survive (isn't that a song?).

Tonight I still anticipate that my weight will be up a bit. As I mentioned before it is my first weigh-in post Christmas...but by next week...it better be down :-).

The "old Alan" really wants to starve myself today to get the best possible result on the scale tonight, but it only sends me into the starve/eat cycle that perpetually keeps me messed up, so I will eat like it is any other day.

Yesterday I finally finished the Amaranth Porridge, had a fruit and veggie lunch, and then Tempeh, Quinoa, and Salad for dinner. A very healthy day.

It will be an omelet for me this morning (can't wait), the fruit and veggie lunch again, and then dinner will be leftovers (Chicken, Salad and Brown Rice).

Leftovers need to be eaten and Wednesdays are hard nights to cook because of WW, so it is a great night to get rid of the extra things in the Fridge.

I fear this blog has become incredibly boring today (it is making even me fall asleep) so I will say tah tah for now, and...of course...be healthy!

Alan

We Are On A Roll!

I know I know...it is day four of my new plan...whoopee...hardly an indication that it is sustainable.

I really hope it is though. It feels "right".

I feel like I have finally found the perfect balance between Holistic Nutrition and Weight Watchers. They both seem to be able to totally work in sync...but we all know I have thought I found "it" before.

Of course, I still have to see if it actually results in weight loss, but I am in-line with the WW program so theoretically it should.

I did pass up on a dinner out tonight. Our neighbours invited us to go for Indian food with them. Jamie went but I passed for two reasons:

1) I am still recovering from being sick and although I love Indian food, it just did not sound appealing right now.
2) I just started this new regime of healthy eating (new again anyway) and although I know I have to factor in the realities of real life eventually, it seems a little too soon.

If this plan works I will be able to say in April, which will be when I complete a full year of blogging, that I have really made significant changes. If it doesn't I fear I may still be exactly where I was when I started.

So here is to hoping!

Be healthy!

Alan

DAY THREE - FEELING MUCH BETTER

I stuck to the new plan for the third day in a row. Whoopee!

The Roasted Chicken was delicious yesterday.

It is a really interesting experience for me as I am throwing so much of my "diet" mentality out the window.

I am cooking with butter again (organic goat butter) eating the skin on my chicken, but not eating ANYTHING processed. It has been a little easier to do that while sick. I haven't had much desire for processed food (or wine for that matter).

I believe that I am doing this primarily within Weight Watchers "Simply filling" technique but time will tell when I step on the scale.

I am making some assumptions when doing the "Simply Filling" plan though.

For instance: Chicken Breast with the skin removed is a "Power Food" which means I can eat it until satisfied and not count the points. Chicken Breast WITH skin is not a Power Food, and therefore you have to count the points of the WHOLE thing. Both the chicken and the skin. I didn't count the points of the chicken itself. I considered that a Power Food and then googled the nutritional information on Chicken Skin. I counted the points for the skin I ate only.

Why have I decided to eat the skin? There is a very well respected Nutritionist by the name of Sally Fallon who has written a holistic cookbook along with Mary G. Enig, PhD who is an expert of international renown in the field of lipid (fat) chemistry. This is the cookbook I am making most of my meals from.

In her book she states: "Don't forget to eat the skin and the dark meat as well as the white. The skin provides valuable fat-sluble vitamins and antimicrobial fatty acids, while the dark meat contains more minerals than the fat."

So...I have decided to eat the skin and dark meat for now. It is important to note this decision is from a nutritional perspective only and not from a weight loss perspective. It is not a free ride. I have to count the points for it (which means sacrificing something else) and if weight loss isn't happening it will be the first thing to go.

My hope is, that by allowing myself these healthIER indulgences (caps on purpose) then it might prevent the cravings for fat I get down the road that land me in a Chinese  Restaurant ordering Sweet and Sour Spareribs.

I won't be able to tell what the impact from my new technique is when I weigh-in Wednesday as it will be the first time I have weighed in since "pre-christmas" and I only started my new plan three days ago. I will be able to tell one week Wednesday. I expect to be "up" this Wednesday.

To be honest I should get a hint as to how the plan is working this Saturday as I weighed myself at home before I started the new technique last Saturday morning. I will weigh myself at home again this Saturday and see what the unofficial results are saying.

My only real concern is that part of the "balancing" that allows me to do this is a commitment to ten hours a week at the gym, but I haven't gone to the gym the last two days because I was sick. I will go back today. I am not sure if I can still get ten hours in for this week, as it would mean two hours every day the rest of the week and I really don't want to push myself today, but we will see how much I can logically do.

The plan will only work for a lifetime if I can adjust it to deal with realities such as periods of illness.

Just had some more Amaranth Porridge (I made to much so I will be eating it for about four mornings) will have a fruit and veggie lunch, and then Jamie and I will split an Organic Steak with Salad and Brown Rice for dinner.

It feels so good to be feeling better. Not 100% by any means...but definitely better :-)

Be healthy!

Alan

Day Two - After A Rough Night

Day two of the New Year is here...that means it's time. If you had New Years Day festivities I can understand why you may not have started eating better yesterday...but there is no excuse for today. It's time!

I implemented my new plan perfectly yesterday. It was an incredibly healthy day. The Chilean Sea Bass turned out perfect. Jamie kept saying "I loved that fish" all evening long.

He should...it was ridiculously expensive. The piece I bought cost $55.

Still, we made half last night and split that half between us so it works out to $13.75 a person for our fish last night. For a New Years treat is wasn't that much. There was a time when I wouldn't think twice about spending the same amount of money for lunch at McDonald's.

To be honest though...I'm not at all "healthy" right now.

A week or so ago I blogged about my concern that I might catch the "bug" Jamie had, given that the stress of dealing with our vacation had pretty much drained me and brought my resistance down. I also wasn't eating particularly well over the holidays.

Well...fear became reality.

I am sooooooo sick. I can't remember having a night as bad as I had last night. Freezing then boiling, pounding headache, aching muscles. It is not fun.

I can say I am so glad I am not on a cruise ship like I am supposed to be right now. There is a reason for everything.

I tried to deal with it the natural way and pumped tons of Vitamin C and Oregano Oil into me, but at about 5am this morning I caved. I couldn't stand the headache anymore and took two Ibuprofen. I HATE taking drugs. Sometimes though...you have to do what you have to do. It was either Ibuprofen or call my nutritionist friend Anthony at 5:00AM saying HELP! I was too kind to do that (and besides...I know he shuts off his phone at night).

Being sick doesn't mean I can't keep eating healthy though. I had Amaranth Porridge with Flax Seeds and Stevia for breakfast, will have a Fruit and Veggie concoction made in my VitaMix for lunch and tonight is Roasted Chicken, a couple of small potatoes and salad.

I will "health" myself into being healthy.

Really hoping I can avoid taking anymore medicinal drugs.

Be heathy!

Alan

The First Day - Happy New Year!

It is here! This is the first day of the year.

This is the day to decide that 2011 is going to be your healthiest year ever and then go for it!

I have already begun. I started the day with whole bran porridge sweetened with stevia (it was really quite good), am going to have a lunch that consist of primarily fruits and vegetables. For dinner it is Chilean Sea Bass, Organic Brown Rice, and a mixed greens salad. I am off to a good start!

Tomorrow will be the fist "test' as we are eating out with friends, but I purposely encouraged a lunch rather than a dinner. Restaurants are my weakness and I need to learn not to cave-in and order unhealthy when I get there.

I think that it will be easier for me to do if I start with a "lunch" out and work up to a "dinner" out once I am more stable. I checked out the menu ahead of time and they have a grilled chicken with garden salad. I think that would be the perfect choice.

Really looking forward to having the healthiest year of my life.

I hope you are too.

Be healthy!

Alan