Chinese Bhel

1. Raw Veggies – finely chopped cabbage+ grated carrots+chopped baby corn+chopped green pepper+chopped green onions+chopped onions
2. Sauce- szechuan sauce OR ketchup + sriracha +vinegar+soya sauce +
   chilli garlic sauce + Buffalo wild wings Asian Zing sauce (optional)
3. La Choy Crispy noodles

Mix all the above and enjoy!!!

2WC-Day 3

Breakfast
1 Thomas-Light Whole Grain English Muffin
1 cup fat-free skim milk
1 tsp peanut butter
3 small figs

Lunch
2 oz chicken breast (oven grilled with taco seasoning)
Salad (2 cups lettuce + 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes + 1 tbsp mexican cheese)
1/8 cup roasted corn and black bean salsa
1 tbsp Fat free ranch dressing

Snack
1 Weight watchers nonfat yogurt
1 banana
snuck in some mini chaklis and an inch of banana-nut bread I baked for DH

Dinner
2 chapatis
1/2 cup ringna vatana
1/2 cup shrimp vindaloo
1 tbsp fat-free yogurt

Total Points = 20

Exercise
1 hr light exercise( Combination of walking and elliptical)

In Retrospect
Good day. I was feeling low(its that time of the month) and so was in no mood to take the one hr core-n-more class. but I tried to get an hr of walking on the tread mill and elliptical while reading the People magazine and watching “what not to wear”

2WC-Day 2

Breakfast
1 Thomas-Light Whole Grain English Muffin
1 cup fat-free skim milk
1 tsp Country Crock Margarine with calcium
3 tbsp egg white scramble (with canola spray)
1 small peach

Lunch
2 oz chicken breast (oven grilled with taco seasoning)
Salad (2 cups lettuce + 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes + 1 tbsp mexican cheese)
1/8 cup roasted corn and black bean salsa
1 tbsp Fat free ranch dressing

Snack
1 slice no-egg chocolate cake
1 banana

Dinner
2 chapatis
1/2 cup chole
1 tbsp fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup Jello with pudding

Total Points = 21

Exercise
1-hour Zumba

In Retrospect
Overall a great day except for the temptation of the decadent chocolate cake that a colleague got. But hey I scraped away all that peanut butter icing and only ate the cake. Overall I added an extra point for some other munchies I put in my mouth, like 3 small diet-chaklis that mom sent.

2WC-Day 1

Breakfast
1 Thomas-Light Whole Grain English Muffin
1 cup fat-free skim milk
1 tsp Country Crock Margarine with calcium
3 small fresh figs

Lunch
1/4 thin crust white pizza( Martins / California Pizza Kitchen)
Salad (2 cups lettuce + 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes + 1 tbsp parmesan cheese)
1 tbsp Fat free ranch dressing

Snack
1 cup cheeries
1 banana

Dinner
2 chapatis
1/2 cup Toor Dal (with tadka)
1/2 cup Ringna-Vatana Bhaji
1 tbsp fat-free yogurt
1 tbsp Mango Sweet Pickle(Goad Lonche)

Total Points = 20

Exercise
1-hour kickboxing

In Retrospect
The slice of pizza for lunch was a bad idea. That slice cost me 5 points.I could have made so much better use of those 5 points, how about 3 points worth “a cup of jello and pudding” instead .Anyways,this weekend I did not put too much effort in planning for Mondays lunch,and that’s the price I paid.Todays kick boxing kicked-a$$. Hopefully tomorrow I wont hurt as much.

A new beginning…

My last post was about two months back. Thats a shame. In that time my weight did go down to a 143 lbs only to be back up to 145lb to date. Blame the summer, the seafood eaten at the beach or those boxful of goodies mom sent from back home as a treat.

This morning I got up thinking whats done is done and I need to re-focus. Interestingly a few hrs later I read about Indiras workout vratham. Inspired I decided to join a bunch of other bloggers in this 2-week challenge. The challenge asks to follow the no-grain-diet.However the host ( or chief-inspiration) Kay was kind enough to allow me to pick my own plan.So I will be following the Weight Watchers guidelines.Everyday I will post a report of my day’s food and workout details.Day 1 of the challenge was July 18. I know I am 2 days late already. But its never too late for a new beginning….

My 2WC (2 week challenge) buddies will be

• Kay of  Live.Love.workout
• Bee of Jugalbandi
• Indira of Mahanandi
  

P.S. I added a new ticker to my blog.

Who me, yes I am here.

I know its been about 2 months now since I posted something. Let start with what a fantastic 3 week vacation I had with my family. It was great to see everyone. But one thing hard was -the food. All that great home cooked meals. All that moms cooking. How can one stay away from it.Equipped with a plan -”eat all but watch potions” I landed home. Right at airport my family was happily shocked to see the “petite” me. Complements galore. I think I gained a pound just puffing up with pride.What girl does not like complements?I had decided to try to exercise/run if possible while on vacation. The heat was killing,but I managed to run at a park only twice in those 3 weeks.Eating was all I did. And there was no weighing scale to be found.Midway I decided to not bother much and just enjoy moms cooking guilt free. I thought reality will hit me hard one way or another when I get back.Soak up the moment.

Arriving back home at my first post vacation weigh-in I was expecting a shocker. Well it wasn’t so bad. I had hardly gained +0.6 lbs(Week 16) since a month back. Less than a pound is great for 3 weeks all-you-can-eat vacation.Back to the routine life and the daily lunches a week later I had lost -0.4 lbs of that gain. I started my gym right away too. This past weekend weigh-in I had a no loss no gain.That’s a little surprising,considering I have been running 3 days a week( as per the couch to 5K plan).But I think the main factor is that I have not been counting my points regularly. A bite here and a chocolate there adds up.So starting this Monday we are back to counting points. I say we because I eat while DH counts them up end of the day.Accountability works for me.

Today’s recipe is an “almost” zero-points soup.I say almost because if you skip the canola oil for sauteeing ,it will be zero points value. The original recipe is from the book Quick Fix Meals by Robin Miller.I don’t buy too many recipe books, but this one was gifted to me by my dear friend Kav, autographed by the author.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onions
3 garlic cloves(chopped)
1 cup chopped asparagus( 1 inch pieces)
1 cup chopped carrots(1 in pieces)
1 red pepper chopped (large pieces)
1 cup zucchini (large discs)
oregano
thyme
vegetable stock or bouillon

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spread the asparagus,carrots,zucchini and red peppers. Spray some cooking spray. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and pop the pan into the oven to broil or roast.
3. Meanwhile in a deep pot take a tsp of olive oil and  saute the garlic pieces.
4. Next add onions to the pot and saute.
5. Add thyme and oregano and saute till you get the aroma of fresh herbs.
6. Pour the can of diced tomatoes and about 4 cups of water. Drop in the vegetable bouillons at this point.
7. Let the mixture boil. This forms the base of the soup. IF you want you can blend this mixture lightly, not smooth but chunky.
8. Remove the vegetables from the oven and add them to the soup-base and boil for another few mins.
9. Serve with a crusty bread or some brown rice or barley.

Servings: 6 ( 1 .5 cups)
Points :  1 per serving ( cutting out the oil will make it zero points)

It’s a GOAL!!

Week#14 (2 weeks back) when I weighed in I was status-quo,no loss no gain. This to me was a surprise since I had already modified the plan as discussed in my last post. But then again I hadnt given myself enough time I think. I really,really wanted to reach my 10% goal before the BIG vacation.Not that it matters much,but its a huge boost of self-esteem and your ego. Plus,I was only  1.2 lbs away,thats not huge.

That weekend I was craving seafood, so we had scrumptous dinner at Joes Crab Shack,one of our favorite. What a way to start a week,I thought.Come Monday I was back on my gym plan change and a new salad and soup lunch.Middle of the week I couldn’t make it to the gym for some reason or other.  In addition to that I enjoyed slices of a nice banana nut bread and sweet sheera on couple of nights. There was no way this week was going to work.

Oh well, I never miss my weigh-ins. I havent in the past 16 weeks. And I was not going to miss out this weeks one just because I slacked. So I weigh in and holy-canoli- I am down 3 lbs!!! That 10% and more. I was ecstatic to have made my 10% goal. I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs and dance around town.At WW they treat you with a neat key chain as your prize. And your name is up on the wall-of-fame.:))

For those reading (and my future reference).Here is the summary

Weeks: 16
Total Loss: 17.8 lbs

DH was surprised too.Because in his books, I had been “bad” this week. But hey you never know,when or how your body works. How it gets out of that plateau. One thing I have realized is, if you think you are workig hard on weight loss but the dont see the numbers , SHAKE IT UP!! Make whatever changes you can to shake it up, be it lifestyle,activity,food,mood,stress.

For me this is not the end though. I think I am only half way there. When I get back from my vacation, hopefully not with a major weight gain, I am plan to set up new goals for myself. This vacation will be a huge test for me. No regular gym. No pre planned lunch and dinner. It worries me, but I know I will be fine, I have tremendous support from my family.I couldnt have done this without the sacrifice and support of my dearest husband.

Okie so this week’s recipe is a typical American meal we had one weekend nights. Oven-Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes,Grilled Asparagus and Biscuits. Simply southern. Here’s the twist, the chicken is  oven fried  instead of deep friend aka HEALTHY!! I modified the recipe I found in a weight watchers booklet. (The mashed potatoes and biscuits were store bought)

Southern-Style Oven Fried Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt(thinned down with water)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp cayenne pepper or red chilli powder or sriracha sauce)
1tsp garlic powder
1 cup breadcrumbs (store bought)(I used italian style)
1 cup any crispy cereal (ground coarse)

1. Trim the fat from the chicken breasts and pound the breasts thin.
2. Next marinate  the chicken  in buttermilk, dijon mustard, chilli powder,salt and pepper .Let it sit int he refrigerator for an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 365ºF. Lightly coat an 8 X 8 X 2-inch baking dish with olive oil cooking spray; set aside.
4. Combine ground cereal flakes, breadcrumbs, red chilli powder and salt in a shallow dish.
5. One at a time, dip the chicken pieces in the crumbs mixture, packing crumbs onto chicken.
6. Arrange the chicken onto the baking sheet and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray.
7. Bake until chicken is tender and no longer pink, about 30 to 45 minute.
8. Enjoy with a side of mashed potatoes,grilled veggies and warm biscuits!

Servings: 4 (half of chicken breast=4 oz pieces)
Points :  5 per serving (approx.)

Note:

• I  defrost the chicken in ziploc bags so they are easier to pound and thin down. Then I marinate them in the same bag.
• You could use egg subsitute or eggs if you prefer as a binding agent. Just dip the chicken in the egg subsititue first and then dredge in the crumbs.
• I used Fiber One Honey Clusters and they lended a sweet flavor.It wasnt bad,DH liked it too.But I would prefer to just use regular bran or corn flakes next time.