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April 17, 2009
Mommy's Birthday Lunch
My mommy turns 64 tomorrow! So I am taking my first Saturday off since the first weekend in February and taking her to Longwood Gardens. Pick the healthiest lunch you can find from the menu
I am trapped on a day long arbitration conference call.
Posted by april at 1:59 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 12, 2009
Relatively Low Calorie Incredibly Creamy Super Easy Stupid Clam Chowder
New England Clam Chowder (the creamy kind) is one of my favorite things, but if you order it out you can be sure it's loaded with cream and butter. I love Progresso's lite version, but I thought I'd try my hand at my own so easy it's silly version.
1 can clams
1 can Campbell's 98% fat free Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Campbell's 98% fat free Cream of Celery Soup
1.5 cups water
Heat, mix, add a ton of black pepper.
It's really, really yummy. 475 calories for a whole big vat of it.
Posted by april at 10:07 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 10, 2009
Or You Can Stuff Napa Cabbage...
Getting tired of stuffed eggplant entries? Well last night I finally decided to stuff something different: napa cabbage leaves!
Napa cabbage leaves are great for stuffing because they work sorta like flatbread. You just have to avoid the mistake I made and don't put any ingredients with liquids in them until the moment before you're ready to serve -- otherwise the leaves kinda fall apart. Ooooops!
Here's a good one:
4 large napa leaves
300 g broccoli, chopped
300 g zucchini, chopped
2 tbsps low sodium soy sauce
lemon juice
garlic powder and ginger powder to taste
2 tsps olive or flax oil
Marinate the veggies in the spice, soy and lemon mix for a few hours. Steam it for one minute, then top the leaves with the mixture. Pop it in the microwave again for one minute, and top with the oil. Serve immediately.
You could also add your protein source, whatever it is, to this recipe. I think it would go great with shrimp... what do you think?
Posted by april at 11:29 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 8, 2009
One of my favorite toys...
Is the weight loss calculator here:
It's not exact, but I find it really entertaining to play with.
In combination with the BMR and Harris Benedit Equation calculators I already posted, if you are a calorie-counter of the even moderately careful sort, you can figure out what you'll weigh on your birthday!
Posted by april at 12:00 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Mother of the Blog has started her own blog...
It's about her quest to weigh 125 by the age of 65. She's a Weight Watcher... lost 70 pounds (that's three and a half Kieffers!) several years ago, very healthy way over two years. Now she's going for 125.
Posted by april at 7:11 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
I love comments like this!
This was just posted on an older entry so I figured I'd repost it:
Dear April,
I am new at this and you seem to know all the nutrients you need daily. I am taking baby steps now. I first saw you on a video searching C R life style.
I am 180lbs and have calculated to eat only 1457 calories a day. I am loving it and am so excited. I eat squash, raw spinach, sweet potatoes, because sweet potatoes are low glycemic. I love all the veggies and I eat lots of tuna and salmon. I hardly ever eat red meat. I do get protein also from eggs.
I have chosen to eat 5 to 6 mini meals a day. I am afraid of caving in at night if I can't eat. I have always been a late night snacker. This does work for me. I am also concerned with my blood sugar if I only eat 2 or 3 meals a day. I find it hard to eat all the healthy foods I need in a day. I am finding it hard and consuming to prepare all my mini meals. So, I have decided to just prepare ahead of time and store for later. It is almost like a hobby all the planning I do to get my nutrients.
Does it get easier? I know I am in this for life. I can't turn back now. I feel so much better and knowing I am being good to my body feels great.
Thanks for listening,
Deborah
Hi Deborah! Welcome!
Ah, I remember those days... the initial excitement, the hobby-list aspect of finding new sources of nutrients, tons of fun.
I agree that it's easiest to prepare meals in advance. MR batch cooks his stews and freezes them, so he has a quick lunch ready every day. When I was new to CR, I made very, very simple foods for myself, including kale salads with cottage cheese and yogurt, eggwhite scrambles, and brewers yeast soups with tons of frozen veggies.
What nutrients are you having trouble getting? Typical problems are Vitamin E (try almonds) calcium (yogurt, milk, cottage cheese), zinc (fine to get through supplementation or have some fresh oysters), Vitamin D (no really good food sources -- just supplement.)
Also, how did you arrive at your calorie number? Be sure to track your weight as well as your nutrition, so you make sure you're not losing weight too fast. Don't lose more than 2 pounds a week.
CR does get a lot easier, in terms of logistics. You will probably get into your routines, find "magic" foods that take care of your nutritional deficiencies, and find ways to automate your food preparation.
Also, are you getting enough fat? Getting enough protein and fat is key to controlling hunger. I swear by the high protein and moderate fat breakfast, saving my carbs for later in the day.
I also find that a quick high-fat snack like a handful of almonds keeps hunger at bay.
More soon... just got back from our annual convention and am of course swamped with work!
Thanks to all for your comments... more answers as soon as I can!
Posted by april at 5:19 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 2, 2009
Little Miracles
Another long day... very long. This week has been crazy, with barely a break to eat and hardly any sleep. And no working out since Sunday, which is really really bad. I am realizing just how much I need to work out, just to stay sane.
Bad food follows no working out... I was craving protein and ate the meat out of several of the small sandwich fragments we served at our conference room time in the hospital today. Primo's, the great Philly hoagie maker.
But then tonight I went to my night meeting at a church in the neighborhood of another hospital we're organizing, and as we were waiting for the nurses I heard organ music. I followed it, and the pastor let me into the sanctuary where two kids from the Curtis Institute of Music were practicing for Easter service. 19 year old organists! For those who don't know the back story, I went to high school at a performing arts school named Interlochen, and I dated a young organist when we were both 19. Awwwwwww! Anyhow, these kids from Curtis ended up giving an impromptu concert of truly amazing organ music. Bach, of course. It was just awesome. I'm going to go to church there on Easter Sunday to make sure I can hear these guys play again.
I was reflecting on how it's so easy, in the crazy hustle of everyday life, to lose sight of the beauty that surrounds us, if we just tune into it. As Davy Arizona and I were sitting outside the hospital this afternoon (he was smoking a cigarette, I obviously was not) he mentioned that a kid got shot 19 times and survived, and was at the hospital recovering. A miracle, to be sure. And the organ music... a little miracle. They're all around.
We filed for an election at the youngest of the triplets on Thursday, and that's a big miracle. Another 230 nurses ready to stand up for themselves and their patients.
Onward and upward! And off to yoga class...
Posted by april at 7:02 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack