Soup's On!

Since I'm on this huge recipe kick, and since I watched the Soup Nazi Seinfeld episode not too long ago, and since I'm also seriously excited about our upcoming trip to Disney World (even though it's not until December), and since it's Friday, I thought I'd give y'all a series of some of my favorite soup recipes from Walt Disney World.

Lightened up a bit, because, dear LORD, they like to use some heavy stuff.  I'll note what they use out beside my ingredient substitutions.  And, yes, my family enjoys these every bit as much as the Disney versions.  Also, I have absolutely no idea what the calorie count is on these, but I can guarantee you it's less than the originals...

Butternut Squash Soup (from Boma, the restaurant in Animal Kingdom Lodge)
Ingredients:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (3 oz unsalted butter)
11 ounces Butternut Squash, cut into chunks (you can find this already cubed at your local grocery)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup water
2 cups skim milk (1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup whole milk)
1/2 tsp Splenda (1oz sugar, adjust if needed)
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp coriander
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 ounces fat-free/skim shredded cheddar cheese (3 oz American Cheese)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.  In a small baking dish, mix the squash and the extra virgin olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper, then roast for 45 minutes.
2. In a blender (or a food processor, if your processor is leak-proof), blend up the squash with the 1 cup water.  Pour into a large soup pot, and add the milk, Splenda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and coriander.
3. Make a slurry with the cornstarch by taking a tablespoon of COLD water in a measuring cup, adding the cornstarch, and mixing it well.  Add to the soup to thicken (which it will do when it heats up).
4. Add the cheese to the soup, and continue mixing until smooth.
5. Adjust seasoning to your tastes.

Ginger Pumpkin Soup (from Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort)

Ingredients:

1 tsp minced shallot

1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

4 cans plain pumpkin (2- to 3-pound pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and diced into 3/4-inch pieces as well as 1 1/4 cups unsweetened pumpkin puree)

(1/2 cup brandy - I skip this entirely)

4 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 tbsp white wine (I skip this)

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp fat free cream cheese (mascarpone cheese)

Directions:

1. Sweat shallots in oil until translucent in the bottom of a large soup pot.  Add the pumpkin and the broth, and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Finely mince ginger and set it aside.
3. Thirty minutes before serving, add the ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to reach the desired flavor.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a dollop of cheese on top.

Note:  If you add the ginger too early OR you add powdered ginger, it can make this soup pretty spicy if you're not careful.  With the powdered ginger, the soup gets a more peppery flavor the longer it cooks.  So BE CAREFUL.

Big Bowl Chicken Soup (from Pop Century Resort--this makes 12-14 servings, so please adjust for smaller batches!  This is an Asian take on chicken soup)

Ingredients:

2 lbs cooked, deboned, shredded chicken

3 lbs cooked yolk-free egg noodles (udon noodles)

1lb bok choy (Bias Cut)

8 oz canned sliced mushrooms, rinsed and drained (slicked mushrooms--I have no idea what those are, so I'm leaving it as is.  I'm hoping they're SLICED mushrooms...)

6 oz bamboo shoots

10 oz chicken broth, hot

1 oz minced fresh ginger

1 oz minced fresh garlic

1 cup water (10 oz)

1 oz extra virgin olive oil (canola oil)

(2 oz rice wine)

1 oz soy sauce

1/2 oz sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste (3 tbsp house seasoning)

Directions:

1. Heat wok to 175 degrees and add oil.
2. Saute garlic and ginger.
3. Add chicken, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots.
4. Add veggies, soy sauce, wine (if you're using it), chicken broth, and water.
5. When water is at a boil, add noodles and bok choy.
6. When the noodles are tender, turn off wok.
7. Finish by adding some sliced green onions, if you'd like.
8. Enjoy!

Tomato Bisque (from Sunshine Seasons in The Land in EPCOT)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (butter)

1 large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 cans diced tomatoes (I use fire-roasted, but the recipe doesn't call for anything specific)

1 tbsp Splenda (sugar)

1 tsp dried basil OR 1 tbsp fresh basil

1/4 cup chicken broth

8 cups water

corn starch (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup skim milk (heavy cream)

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, drizzle oil and saute onions.
2. Add the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, and basil and onions into a blender, and blend until smooth.  Pour everything back into the soup pot.  (This is not exactly how they tell you to do it, as they expect you to have a hand-held blender that you can use in your soup pot.  I don't have one, so....)
3. Add chicken broth and water.
4. If it's too thin, make a slurry of the corn starch with a little water, then add to the soup to thicken it up.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Add the milk, then serve when it's at the perfect temperature for you.

Strawberry Soup (from 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian)

Ingredients:

2 lbs, 8 ounces frozen strawberries in their own juice, thawed

16 oz skim milk (heavy cream)

2 oz sour cream (I use fat-free)

3 oz strawberry yogurt (plain yogurt)

8 oz fresh strawberries

Directions:

1. Mix first four ingredients in a blender until smooth.
2. Chill; shake well before serving.
3. Add the fresh strawberries as a garnish.

Note:  If I'm just making this into a quick snack for me, the Editor, or the Cubs, I cut way back on this and make it in our Bullet.  If I'm making this for everyone, I'll do it all in the blender, though.

Well, that's it for today, folks!  I hope you enjoy making these soups as much as I do.  They are wonderful, as everything from Disney is.

I WANT CHOCOLATE!

Probably the hardest thing about this lifestyle change I've made is the cutting out of chocolate.  I can deal with no sugar, no cookies, some diet cake (I'll tell you about that in a minute), no ice cream, all that kind of stuff.

But when it comes to chocolate, it's a different story.

I'm not talking Russel Stover chocolate--which, I know, a LOT of people love.  I'm talking Hershey's.  M&Ms.  Ghirardelli.  Lindt.  Dove.  Doesn't matter if it's milk or white or dark or semisweet.  

I.

LOVE.

CHOCOLATE.

And I can't have any.

And it's just about to kill me.

I know, I know, you're probably saying "but you CAN have some--you just have to make sure you don't eat but just a little bit."

And therein lies the rub.  I can't stop once I start.  I can't eat just one or two M&Ms.  I have to eat the whole bag.  Not the little snack bag.  The large size bag.

And now I hear that there's good news on the chocolate front--that a little dark chocolate every day improves your life, science has proved.  To those scientist, I just say "WELL DUH!"  I've known this for a very, very long time.  They just want us to cut way way way back on it and only eat like a half an ounce.

Which is like trying to eat one M&M or one chocolate chip.

It's not possible.

So, I broke down and found a pretty good recipe that helps me out.  Kinda.  And it's something that stores easily, too!

3-2-1 Cake

Ingredients:

1 box Angel Food cake (I use Duncan Hines)

1 box any flavor regular cake mix (again, I use Duncan Hines)

2 tbsp water

fruit slices/fat-free or sugar-free or both Whipped Cream/whatever floats your boat for toppings

Directions:

1. In a one-gallon-sized food storage container (Rubbermaid, Tupperware, Ziplock bag, whatever), mix the two cake mixes thoroughly.
2. In a microwave-safe coffee mug, drop in three tablespoons of the cake mix, two tablespoons of water, mix it up well, and microwave it for one minute.  Let it rest for a couple minutes to cool off a bit, because you don't want to burn the snot out of your mouth.
3. Top with your favorite topping(s).

Store the remaining cake mix in a cool, dry place for up to three months.  You can get about 48 small mug cakes out of this recipe, since the mix itself is about six cups.

The basic cake prior to you adding toppings has 80 calories, 1.3g of fat (0.2 g saturated, 0.5 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 1.2 g protein, 15.8g carbs, 0.2g fiber, and 114 mg sodium.

And you can eat it out of the mug with your spoon.  

My favorite is mixing devil's food with the angel food.

For obvious reasons.

Weighing Down

Well, it's now been six weeks.  Give or take, I mean.  I think it's been more like six and a half, but that's OK.

I'm actually pretty excited today!  My official weigh-in has me down 34.4 lbs!  w00t!

However, I'm aching today.  Seriously.  Aching all over.  I ache in places I didn't realize I had muscles.

I've mentioned before that I do water aerobics.  Well, last week, I did it four different times, as well as Jillian Michael's Six Week Six Pack DVD, the dancing thing AND I did some--but not much--walking.  More on why I didn't do much in my column I'm thinking about for tomorrow or Thursday.

I seriously over-did it last week, I think.  On the scale, it was pretty awesome.  I mean, I dropped a little over five pounds last week.  Who wouldn't enjoy that?  Well, my body certainly didn't.  

But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop.

I'm hoping that I'll get used to the stricter, more active regimen that I'm trying to force myself into.  It's been pretty helpful that I've gone to the lengths that I have to work out.  And with our amazing water aerobics instructor, she's really giving it to us and forcing us to work our butts off.

And it's obviously working.

I've even been told by a LOT of people that they can tell a big difference in me.  My face has slimmed down considerably, and my body has dropped two sizes in pants AND shirts.  Heck--and this is TMI I know--I've even dropped a size in my underwear.  Going to have to go buy some new ones soon.

Speaking of buying new clothes, I finally broke down and bought some new pants.  I only had one pair of 42x30s, and one cannot live on only one pair of pants.  My 44x30s and 46x30s now look like clown pants.  The 42x30s are slightly tight, but they're getting looser.  I'd love to be on 42x30s by April.  I'm hoping to be in either 38x30s or 36x30s by December.

I've dropped enough weight up top to go from a 5XL to a 3XL.  This is important to me, because of our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World.  It's difficult at best to find clothes that are larger than a 2XL available in the shops at WDW, so my goal by the time I get there is to be in an XL shirt.  That way, I know I'll be able to just walk into any clothing store in the World and buy whatever shirt or shorts or pants or jacket or whatever I want, and be absolutely sure I'll fit into it.

But I digress.

I was talking about water aerobics and how our instructor is really killing us.

Take last night for example.  Last night was "Latin" night, so we had to listen to Latin music.  Which isn't a problem for me, except we have to keep up with the beat of the music.

And Latin music is FAST.  

And not only that, she worked in a new exercise that--holy crap--is HARD.  Basically, it's just jumping.  But it's a little more than that.  For twenty (20) seconds, we had to LEAP up and out of the water as fast and as high as we could, immediately leaping up and out as soon as we came back down.  Then, we would get a ten (10) second rest to "catch our breath" (HA!), and then it would start all over again.  

Eight.

Times.

I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.

This exercise is SO much harder than the Patty Cake (well, that's what *I* call it) one she came up with last week.  In that one, you have to pair up with someone about your height.  Then, you both leap up and out of the water, and, at the pinnacle, clap your hands together with theirs.  Twice.  And you had to have clapped twice before you came back down.

And we did it for a minute and a half.

Twice.

With barely ten seconds breather in between.

I know it sounds like I'm complaining.  And, from a certain point of view, I know I am.  BUT!!!!  It's actually working well.  Really well.  I can't expect this fat to melt off my body without me doing something easy.  

In other news, along with exercise, it's also important to eat right.  My family has really been enjoying different types of hummus lately.  Especially since it's so low in calories.  Yes, it is a little high in fat, but that's OK.  It's good fat.  Yesterday, I gave you the recipe for Sun Dried Tomato hummus.  Talk about YUMMY.  Today, I'm going to give you a different recipe.  It's called Black Bean Hummus.  And it's even better than the one from yesterday, if you can believe it.  I found this one on SparkPeople.  I changed it up just a tiny bit to make it where my family enjoys it more.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 small sweet onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground red pepper

1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp cilantro (optional--you don't have to use it if you don't like it)

1/4 c (MAX!!!) vegetable broth.

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, pour in the EVOO, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic.  Saute until caramelized, about three minutes.
2. While those are caramelizing, rinse and drain your black beans, and place them into a food processor.  
3. Drop in the onion, bell pepper, and garlic.
4. Add in the spices and tear off the 2 tbsp cilantro from your fresh bunch.
5. Clip on the lid (or whatever you have to do with yours), and pulse until it's all combined.
6. IF it's too thick for you, add in some of the vegetable broth, about a tablespoon at a time.  I haven't had to do this, because my family really likes it thick.  Anyway, add any salt and pepper you need to it to make it suit your family's tastes.

I typically serve this with some new multi-grain flatbread that I found that has 100 calories per slice.  I cut it up into wedges, then spray it with my EVOO mister, and broil it for a couple minutes to get it toasted.  Anyway, it's called Flatout.  It's a tiny bit more expensive than regular flat bread, but for only 100 calories a slice and I can use three slices to feed my family of six, well...  That's not too bad.  I use this for all my hummus recipes.

Oh!  The hummus makes eight 1/2 cup servings.  Each serving has roughly 123 calories, 1.6 g of fat, and 7.3 g of protien, so it's LOADED with protein and will go a long way.  

Oh, Lighten Up!

It's been a while since I posted some recipes, so, hey, why not give you some more?  These recipes are some of my family's favorites, so I'm hoping you'll enjoy them too.  Plus, they're all about the lightening up some of my family's favorite dishes.

My family LOVES these recipes, so I hope you will too.

Fried Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large Russet potatoes, cleaned and diced (skins on)

3 large Red potatoes, cleaned and diced (skins on)

1 sweet yellow onion, diced

Baby Carrots

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (two turns of the pan)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In an oven-proof skillet over high heat, mix the potatoes, carrots, and onions.  Drizzle with the olive oil, and add salt and pepper.
3. Mix the potatoes, carrots, and onions until all are coated, and start sizzling in the heat of the pan.  Turn as they get caramelized, until they are seared as much as you like.
4. Turn off the stove, and place the uncovered skillet in the oven.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on your preference.
5. When they come out, they'll have the crunch of a fried potato with the softness of a baked.

Danish Burgers (as opposed to a greasy hamburger)

Ingredients:

6 whole wheat buns

4 white button mushrooms (stems removed), diced (can use baby bellas)

2 lbs ground chicken (or turkey)

2 shallots, minced

2 tbsp brown mustard (can use Dijon if you'd like)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (two turns of the pan)

1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning

1/4 lb Havarti with dill cheese, finely diced

salt and pepper to taste

leaf lettuce (or whatever kind of lettuce you want to use)

sliced tomatoes

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, gently mix ground chicken (or turkey), mushrooms, cheese, shallots, mustard, Old Bay, and salt and pepper until thoroughly mixed.  Divide evenly and form into six patties.
2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, pour the EVOO (about two turns of the pan).  Heat until the oil shimmers, then drop in the patties.  Cook about six minutes, then flip the patties and cook another six.
3. While the burgers are cooking, slice the tomatoes and clean the leaf lettuce, and toast the buns (if desired).
4. When the patties are done, assemble the burgers.  (I use a little more brown mustard on ours, and the Cubs eat this up!).

Turkey Mock Gyros

Ingredients:

Patties

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 sweet onion, finely diced

3/4 tsp dried rosemary

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (two turns of the pan)

salt and pepper to taste

Sandwich

Pita bread

Sliced cucumbers

Sliced Tomatoes

Fat Free Ranch or Cucumber Ranch Dressing

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF.
2. Mix all patty ingredients in a mixing bowl BY HAND.  You'll need to work it so that the turkey really breaks down.  (I typically use a wooden spoon to do this, because the whipping motion I use helps with making the turkey softer).
3. Pour the olive oil in a STAINLESS STEEL PAN (a nonstick pan won't handle the heat of the oven), and turn the stove on HIGH.
4. Form six small patties (shaped kind of like meatloaf) out of the turkey mixture, and, when the olive oil begins to shimmer in the pan, place the turkey patties into it.  Fry for about four minutes, then flip.  After two minutes, remove from heat, and place in the oven to finish cooking for 15-20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, then thinly slice.
6. Serve in pita bread, topped with Ranch, sliced cucumbers, and sliced tomatoes.

1-Point Cupcakes  (These are, from what I gather, 1 point if you're on Weight Watchers.  They're roughly 90 calories each.)

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix, any flavor

1 can diet pop, any flavor

powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Line two cupcake tins with papers.  (This always makes 21 cupcakes for me)
3. Mix the cake mix and the can of pop for thirty seconds on medium, then two minutes on high.
4. Fill each cupcake paper 3/4 of the way full.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when they come out.

Yes, that's all there is to it.  And they are GOOD!  My family's favorite is a milk chocolate cake mix with a can of Cherry Coke Zero.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my family does!  Have a wonderful day!

It's the Little Things

I know, I know.  It's Valentine's Day.  I should be posting something lovey-dovey and all that rot.  But I'm not really interested in doing that today.  I'm more interested in telling you more about some things that I've encountered that are, actually, helping me with my weight loss.

So, yeah, I'm back on that again.

At this point, I am down 27lbs as of January 9.  Yes, I'm still doing things like water aerobics, running, watching what I eat, etc. etc. etc.  But I'm also here to tell you that I'm doing a lot of little things that I highly encourage people everywhere to do if they're interested in getting fit.

'Cause, you know, I'm the expert and all that.

HA!

While I have absolutely no idea if these things actually work, I'm psyching myself into believing that they do.  And most involve moving your butts a little more each day.  So, here's a list of things that I'm suggesting we all do.  They may work, they may not, I don't know.  But it's worth trying anyway, IMO.

• Don't park up close to the store.  When you pull into Wal-mart or Target or Kroger's or whatever store you're going to--or even your office building!--don't immediately park in the closest spot you can find.  Unless it's raining or snowing or otherwise seriously inclement, I'm suggesting that you park further out.  No, you don't need to park 200 yards away (although, that wouldn't be too terrible...), but don't necessarily try for the closest parking spot you can find.  Then, power walk your way to the door.  Yes, your children will probably complain (mine do), but hey, it gets in a little more exercise for your day.  Who knows?  Maybe it can actually help burn off that Coke you drank on your way to the store?
• Drink water.  I've talked about this before.  I honestly don't have the slightest clue what drinking water is supposed to do for you.  I just know it's supposed to help.  And with things out there like MiO (and off brands), powdered water additives, etc., it's not too terrible a price to pay for being well-hydrated.  My co-worker says that, when you go pee, you're "peeing your fat away."  I don't think that's necessarily true, but, hey...  Who knows?  Plus, when you're drinking water, you're not adding any crap to your body.  I read recently that pop (including diet pop) can seriously affect your body's functions.  Some of them even add something called "bone fat" (I have no clue what that is), which is hard to detect and is really bad for your body.  I've also seen reports where the acid in pop can cause your bones to become brittle.  And then there are those horrible side-effects of aspertame...  So, try to stick with water.  It couldn't hurt...
• Take the Long Route.  If you're drinking your allotted water for the day, you'll have to go pee.  I promise you, you will.  So, when you need to go, take the longest route you can to the bathroom.  Or, if there's multiple bathrooms available to you, go to the one the furthest away from you.  This is akin to the "Don't park up close to the store" idea.  If you're like me and you sit for most of your day, getting up and walking could potentially help you.  And the more you walk, the better you'll feel.  Especially when you finally make it to the bathroom.
• Carry one bag at a time.  When you get home from your shopping trip, carry one bag into the house at a time.  This will cause you to have to make several trips back and forth to your car, so you can walk off even more calories.  Granted, I would certainly suggest you carry in anything that needs to be frozen and/or cold first before you deal with anything else, but hey...  It will still get your butt moving.
• Park at a fast food restaurant.  I have been so guilty about abusing the drive-thru window at my favorite fast food places.  And, yes, I get seriously ticked off when there's a line a mile long.  But you know what?  I've found that if there's a line outside in the drive-thru, there's usually not one inside.  True, I now buy salads when I'm getting the Cub Reporters their McNuggets with Apple Dippers, but I still feel better about going inside the place. Plus, I usually get in and out much faster than having to sit through the drive-thru.  And then there's that added benefit of being able to correct the order mistakes that invariably happen because English is not the order-taker's primary language.  But let's not go there, shall we?
• Skip the phone call.  If you're at the office and need to talk to someone who is in the building, skip the phone call.  Get up and go talk to them face-to-face.  It gets your butt moving, and it also gets you to socialize a little bit.  This is usually a good thing.  Plus, if they're like me and they don't answer their phone even when they're sitting there, it makes it difficult for them to duck the conversation you are wanting to have.  

So, there you have it.  Several ways that I'm trying to get a little bit more healthy every day.  Again, no, I'm not saying that these suggestions will change your body in dramatic ways, but they couldn't hurt you.

Could they?

Donut Dipsticks

One of the blogs that I follow (you can see the ones I try to read every day over there on the right-hand side of your screen under the comics) is People I Want to Punch in the Throat.  I have since her classic Over Achieving Elf-On-The-Shelf Mommies post.  And, yes, I've read through a great many of her previous ones.  She's extremely talented.  I will give you a language warning for her, though.  But she's still incredibly funny.

Anyway, I say all that to say this:  I'd like to punch whoever it is that keeps bringing donuts into this office in the throat.

I love donuts.

I cannot have donuts.

I want to eat donuts every time I see them sitting there in all their glazed/frosted/jellied/powdered glory.

I cannot have donuts.

I want to dive into those donuts feet first and leave in a doughnut-induced sugar coma.

Did I mention that I cannot have donuts?

They are nowhere on my diet.

And someone keeps bringing them in.  Every.  Day.  Boxes of them.  Daylight Donuts.  Krispy Kremes.  Dunkin Donuts.  Dear.  Lord.  I'm sitting here salivating even as I think of these things.

Do you have ANY CLUE how many calories are in a doughnut?

Krispy Kremes are anywhere from 100 calories (for the boring "sugar") to 400 (for the oh-so-good Iced Chocolate Cream) calories.  PER DONUT.  And my favorite?  The regular, yeast glazed donut?  190!  DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY OF THESE THINGS I CAN CRAM IN MY MOUTH?!?!?

Dunkin Donuts are even worse.  The smallest calorie count I can find is 240 for a cocoa glazed.  It's 550 for that chocolate coconut cake donut.  Oh my dear lord.  And it's so good it can make your toes curl.

When someone brings them in, it's like this sweet-smelling smog that curls its evil tendrils through the air, around the office, and into my cubicle, right into my awaiting nostrils.  Do you remember those cartoons where something oh-so-good smelling gently lifts the main character out of their chairs with a "come hither" finger curl, and they float to wherever it is the evil odor came from?

Yeah.  That's me and donuts.

So, I'd like to please ask anyone who takes donuts into their workplace:  before you do so, can you ask around and make sure that there's no one in the office who is on a diet/lifestyle rehab excursion?

Because this is truly evil.

Fitness Tracking

I know that there are a LOT of apps and systems out there to help someone lose weight.  I mean, we are inundated every day by a spokesperson discussing/singing the virtues of this weight-loss system and how theirs is superior to everyone else's.

Yeah, I'm not into that so much.  Sure, the systems out there work.  They also cost an arm and a leg.  If I had a celebrity's money, I'd probably go with one of those myself.

But I don't.

And, honestly, I am really struggling with calling what I'm on a "diet" anymore.  I've come to the conclusion that I'm not on a diet, per se.  I'm on a treadmill to get fit.

Sure, I do have aspirations of weighing what I did when I was in college (175lbs), but that's not going to be the case this time.  Why?  Because back then, I was skin and bones before I started really gaining weight to wean me off of my unhealthy lifestyle choices.

Which, now that I say it like that, is extraordinarily funny.  I went from being an unhealthy 175lbs to an unhealthy what I am now.

Yea me.

No, my goal is to become fit, no matter what my weight is.  I know that I'll never get to the point that my body will look like David Beckham's body that they splashed across my television screen Sunday night in all his be-tattooed and underwear glory, thereby making every man in the room seriously uncomfortable as all the wives were trying to contain their drool.

I don't have time to do what he does.  I have a wife and a family--just like he does--but I don't have the ability to play soccer all day long, or lift weights six to eight hours a day, or anything along those lines.

And, truth be told, I don't really want that many tattoos, either.  I mean, HOLY INK, BATMAN!

But I *do* want to be fit.  

So, I went out and talked to several people about what they use to help them get fit, looked at the various options they presented, and picked the one that is right for ME.  Note:  this is NOT the one that The Editor selected for her.  Just letting you know this up front.

I chose a free app/website called SparkPeople.  

It's an app that does different things depending on which phone you're running it on, as well as a website.

And you don't have to use both the app and the website.  You can use one or the other if you choose.  I chose to do both, because it makes my life easier.

You see, I work in a building that has so much concrete and metal in it that it interferes with cell phone signals.  So, the app doesn't really do a lot of good for me while I'm here.  So, I use the website at work, and the app at home.  And they sync when the opportunity arises and I have a cell phone signal.

When you create your ID, it will ask you basic information:  your height, your weight, your age, your sex, etc.  All the things that are normally done for this kind of tracking system.  It then goes through this convoluted algorithm and spits out the calories you should eat every day to maintain your weight as is.  It's not going to tell you what you SHOULD eat to lose weight, as that's between you and your doctor.  

And while it's tracking your calories, it also tracks your fat intake, carbs, etc. and tells you how many you have left for the day.  Based on what you need to maintain where you are right now.  PLUS, it calculates how many calories you burn just by sitting there, sedentary, all day (like how many calories your heart burns by beating, how many you burn by breathing, etc.).  This gives you a terrific baseline for balancing your exercise regimen as well as how much you eat.

With so many people using it, I find that I can usually just click on "Food Tracker" and type in the name of a food I've just eaten.  It will spit out several possibilities (ie, if you've just eaten a McDonald's 5-piece chicken nugget meal and type in "chicken nuggets," it will give you options like "McDonald's" and "Wendy's" and the list goes on) that I get to choose the most appropriate one, tell it how many servings I've just eaten, and it calculates everything for me so I can see my results right there in black and white.  Easy!

If I can't find what I've just eaten, there's an option there for me to input all the dietary information.  For example, if Special K were to release a brand-new flavor of their drink mix and it's not in the list, I can quickly and easily input the information in another screen.  Then it's added to my list of Favorites, and I can, next time, quickly choose it from my list and add it to my food intake.  This is also handy for if I make a recipe out of a cookbook (assuming the recipe gives me all the dietary information), I can input that and it's at my fingertips the next time I make that recipe.

Which brings me to your list of favorites.  The phone app and the website can talk to each other.  Whatever special item you've put in goes into your list of favorites, and you can get to it on both the website and your phone.  On the website, as well, you can choose what OTHER people have input and add it to your list of favorites!  That way, you're not having to search for a new item all the time.

If you have the app on an android phone, there's a scanner option that you can scan the barcode off a food item in the grocery and immediately store it and all its dietary info in your favorites.  I wish they had this option for iPhones.  Maybe in the next update.  I dunno.  But I can dream.

This app will also help with your fitness, too.  You simply type in the search function the type of fitness you've just completed, tell it how long you were doing said exercise, and it calculates how many calories you've just burned off.  In some cases (like running/walking/jogging) you need to tell it how FAR you were travelling, and it will calculate your mph as well as the burned calories.  

You can even track how much water you're drinking each day.

If you give it your goals (daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly if you prefer), it can give you a report to tell you how you're doing.

And speaking of reports, there are a LOT of reports available to you.  From your calories differential (how many calories you've burned, how many you've ingested, etc.), you can quickly and easily figure out how many ounces/pounds you've burned off that day.  In my experience, it's almost exactly dead-on.

The website has so much more to give as well.  There are more reports you can run, there are recipes that people have submitted, there are terrific articles about wellness/fitness...  The list goes on and on.  

I highly recommend SparkPeople.

It's helped me change my life.

Calories Are NOT My Friends!

I mentioned the other day that I'm on a 1,500 calorie diet.  Most of the time, I would agree that 1,500 calories is not enough.

But it is for me.

Many times, I have been completely satisfied with the things I have eaten throughout the day.  In fact, there are times when I have to run out after dinner and go to someplace like Subway to pick up a 6" Turkey Breast on Wheat (with Pepper Jack, toasted, all the veggies except jalapenos and banana peppers as those are pickled and nasty) just to hit my 1,500 calories a day.  On those days?  Those are the best sandwiches IN THE WORLD.

So I have been perusing Pinterest lately (yes, I enjoy Pinterest.  You'd be surprised how many fellow Nerdists are on there!) and found something interesting.  A list of Negative Calorie or Zero Calorie Foods.

A Negative Calorie food is something that it takes MORE calories for your body to burn it off than what your body gets from it.  I thought it was a rather interesting list, so I thought maybe you'd like to have it as well:

• Apple
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Cranberries (bring on Thanksgiving!  w00t!) 
• Cantaloupe
• Carrots
• Celery
• Chicory (?  why would coffee be on here?)
• Cauliflower
• Cucumber
• Dandelion (really?  WHO EATS WEEDS?!?)
• Endive (pronounced "Ahn-Deeve" if you're snooty)
• Garden Cress
• Garlic (YESSS!!!  Keep those vampires away!)
• Grapefruit
• Green beans (so grass should be on there too)
• Honeydew
• Hot Chili Peppers (assuming you can get it down you--but I guarantee if you eat too many you'll pay for it in the morning!)
• Lemons
• Limes
• Lettuce (is ANYONE surprised by this?)
• Mango
• Onions
• Oranges
• Papaya (can you hear me?  Sorry.  Bad joke!)
• Peaches
• Pineapples
• Radish
• Raspberries
• Spinach (gross)
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes/Tomatoes (let's call the whole thing off!)
• Tangerines
• Turnips
• Watermelon
• Zucchini

Yes, I did alphabetize them.  I'm so OCD I prefer to be labelled CDO.

Aside from the few comments I made in the list, I'm feeling pretty good about things now.  I would caution you to eat your fruits BEFORE 2:00pm.  From what I've been reading, sugar--even fruit sugar--goes straight to your waistline if you eat it after 2:00pm.

And please, don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying these foods have zero calories in them.  For example, do you know how many calories are in an apple?  DEAR.  LORD!  In a CUP of apples, there are 73.8 calories.  True, your fat drops to practically negative (.2g), and your potassium goes way up (143.8mg), but where you need to watch it is in your carbs.  Apples have a buttload of carbs.

(Aside:  A buttload is a lot.  It falls somewhere between a Gross and a Ton).

Anyway, a cup of apples contains 19.1g of carbs.  So if you eat one, be careful about the bread you're putting in your mouth after you've eaten those apples.

Speaking of apples, I have a quick apple slaw recipe if you'd like to try it.  I recommend eating it in single cup increments until you've blown your whole weekend for carbs.  And you'll want to.  It's that good.  Even The Editor and the Cub Reporters love this!

Apple Slaw

Ingredients:

6 apples, julienned*

2 cups of grapes, cut in half

2 cups of shredded carrots**

4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp light mayo (can also use light Miracle Whip if you like)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1)  Julienne the apples.  This will take the most time.

2)  Cut the grapes in half.  This will be fairly quick, I hope.

3)  Mix the apples, grapes, and carrots together in a big bowl.

4)  Mix the apple cider vinegar and the light mayo, then pour over the apple/carrot/grapes mixture.

5)  Mix THOROUGHLY.

6)  Add a little sea or kosher salt, and a little pepper.

7)  Chill in a covered bowl before serving.  The vinegar should help prevent the apples from turning brown, but you should still cover it up pretty good.

*First note:  Julienned simply means you've cut that sucker into matchstick-sized pieces.  This could take some time, but...  It's all worth it, right?  Also, for this recipe, I use three different kinds of apples (two of each kind). 

**Second note:  You can buy carrots already shredded.  I use the kind that have been julienned over the kind that are simply thinly sliced.