Shapely Weight from 1958

I'm Moving . . .

2010-07-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

Not exactly moving, but I'm no longer going to post about my weight loss experiences on this blog. This blog was started specifically using the "Shapely Weight" diet book. Since I'm not using that book now, it seemed appropriate to let this blog be only about the book.

So, I'm going to leave this blog up with posts that are related to the book, but I'm going to begin posting about recent experiences on my regular blog:

www.havenofhome.blogspot.com

Please come over and "follow" there where the new content will be!

You're going to laugh...

2010-07-26T05:43:00.001-07:00

God is good. No, that's not the part that you'll laugh at.

I have known for years that I need to lose this weight. I know that I can't function as I should carrying this much weight on my body. I have purpose on this Earth and, as a believer, I need to hear and obey the Father so that His will for my life will be accomplished, and I need to do that in the body He gave me. I have a responsibility to be a good steward over it.

He certainly has heard my cry in the past regarding being overweight and provided all that I need to take care of this. I know HOW to do it. I just haven't gone ahead and, in obedience, overcome this addiction to food.

Here's the funny part: He set me up! Yep. He put me in a position where I have to go ahead and do what I have known I need to do for some time. He's also gracious, as I'll show you.

Our pastor has called a "Daniel-Fast" for our church. My family has committed to eating according to Daniel 1:12 and 10:1-2, which, in a nutshell, means no dairy, no meat, no yeast, no preservatives, and no sweeteners. We had a choice of 10 or 21 days. We chose to do this for 21 days.

We began July 19. I've lost four pounds since then.

Here's the part about His being gracious: The pastor asked if he could move our Anniversary celebration (see HERE for explanation--start at the bottom) to August 15 so that we could "feast" at our party.

So, not only did I get a major push to go ahead and do what I need to do physically, my anniversary "deadline" has been moved LOL!

The purpose of this fast is focusing on God, of course. I'm already hearing wonderful and challenging things from Him and enjoying that aspect of the fast.

I decided that I will post about the food side of this because it has certainly been an experience . . . (ha!)

Aaaarrrrgh!

2010-06-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

OK, I feel better now. A little bit, anyway.

Thanks to all sorts of things going on for weeks now, I've pretty much only maintained my weight. Normally, that would be acceptable, but with my 25th anniversary situation coming up (more like "looming") in less than two months, I'm really wanting to give up any efforts at weight-loss at all. It just seems like it's too late.

My thoughts run something like this:

"Two months! That's not long enough to have visible weight-loss unless I starve myself!"
"Is there a way to avoid all pictures?"
(Guilt, guilt) "Surely SOME weight-loss would be better than none, right?"
"OMG, what will I wear???"
"Why can I NOT get this under control?" (More guilt.)

I've been exercising like crazy this week, but I've not reduced the calories. It really, really, really has to be both for me.

So, I'm voting for "some is better than none," and I'm going to reduce those doggone calories and keep up with my exercise.

Maybe that will net me enough weight-loss to merit a new outfit . . . .and a neck-to-knees girdle!

Whew!

2010-05-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh. Cinco de Mayo. I've studied the background for the celebration. The history is interesting, certainly. BUT, it's all about the food, baby!

I enjoyed every morsel, too, from the day we prepared the food, to the 5th itself and then the leftovers today. But guess what????? I didn't gain any weight!!! I paced myself carefully, not indulging to the degree I would normally. It paid off.

There's still a bit in the frig, but I'm back on the diet on Saturday (tomorrow).

This year we added another amazing recipe. It's from a lady in our church who was born and raised in Texas. That's close to Mexico! The sauce itself would make a fabulous chip dip. My sister and FarmMom (who was visiting) even let me lick the bowl. I was polite and used a utensil.

Cinco de Mayo Enchiladas

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Boil breasts in water with a packet of fajita mix marinade. Cool and shred.

Sauce:
32 ounces sour cream
1 pound grated cheddar (reserve some for top)
2 oz. cans green chilis
1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapenos
1/2 cup picante sauce
garlic, salt, and Mrs. Dash, to taste
Flour tortillas (large or small)

Stir all sauce ingredients together. Reserve 1 pint. Mix the rest of the sauce with the shredded chicken. Fill flour tortillas with chicken mixture and place in a 9 x 13 casserole. Pour reserved sauce over the top and bake 25 minutes at 350. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top and bake five minutes more.

The rest of the menu was the same as our 2009 celebration which you can view HERE.

Ole!

5/3 Weigh-in

2010-05-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

What a week! I spent the whole week preparing for a giant two-day yard sale. I monitored what I ate each day and had both my sister and my husband hold me back from getting a McD's Sweet Tea on the yard sale days. That was the hardest!

Since I was careful, I didn't GAIN anything! I consider that an achievement considering the whacked out schedule I kept all week.

This week, however, might be even more of a challenge. Some dear friends of ours are coming for a visit that just happened to coincide with one of my favorite holidays: Cinco de Mayo.

I'm really going to try hard, but I suspect those four little pounds I lost and have kept off might be making a come-back this week. I really will try.

The funny thing is that this time last year we had a yard sale and then celebrated Cinco de Mayo. For some reason they go together for me.

Here's the post from last year if you'd like to see some recipes!

Cinco de Mayo 2009

Drum roll, please!

2010-04-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

In my last post I mentioned that I have a HUGE motivation to get this weight off. We are apparently going to be "thrown" an anniversary party for our 25th. There will be pictures. (Shrieking loudly deep inside my soul.)

I heard that news last Sunday. On Tuesday I got REALLY serious. REALLY. I walked every day, including this Sunday. I FAITHFULLY followed my diet. I downed 8-9 glasses of water each day. I went to the bathroom a lot.

Well, it worked! Imagine that.

I lost 4.4 pounds this week! I suspect that a lot of that is excess water retention. Fine with me. Since it was hanging around, it had to go. I don't expect the next week to have as dramatic of a loss, but 1-2 (preferably two!) pounds a week will put me in the 160s by August 3rd.

I just finished my 20 minute walk. I'm sipping my second glass of water while I'm typing this and I'm about to have my low-calorie breakfast. A sense of the possibility of success is flooding through me.

I will do this.

4/19 Weigh-in and a BIG Motivation on the horizon

2010-04-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

I am so loving this digital scale. Those tenths of a pound are fun to see. According to this wonderful scale, I am 6/10s of a pound DOWN. Woo hoo!

I'm going to pick up on the exercise this week and see if I can actually move BEYOND tenths to ACTUAL pounds. That would be nice.

In fact, I'd better get those pounds coming off just a little faster than that. One of those "life motivators" is staring me in the face.

August 3rd will be our 25th wedding anniversary. We are not outgoing people. We like to keep things low-key and pretty private. Much to my surprise (and chagrin), our pastor started talking to us from the pulpit during announcement time about this special event. THEN he announced that the church was going to give us a party. My smile froze.

You know what went through my mind? PICTURES. They will insist on taking PICTURES at this party. I just can't be the weight I am for those pictures!

I have exactly FIFTEEN weeks. If I can lose a pound a week, I'll be down to 173. If I step up the exercise, I might be able to make that 1 1/2 pounds a week. That would bring it down to 165.

CAN I DO IT???

I had my son make a sign that says, "August 3." I put it on the refrigerator.

CAN I DO THIS???

(Why, oh why didn't we get married in December?)

Weigh-in and a Poll

2010-04-13T05:48:00.000-07:00

After over a week of being off the wagon thanks to tax preparation, Easter, and Son's birthday party, I stepped on the scale. I'm up 8/10ths of a pound. Not bad considering all the high-calorie foods I consumed.

I'm back on track this week and have already exercised this morning. My water-intake was practically non-existent, so I'm being more conscientious about that, too.

I still have a four pound loss, so I've decided to reward myself when I get to five pounds (with no spare "tenths!). A banana split! Just kidding. No, I'm actually going to go for a pedicure. Spring is truly trying to come to our area of the country, though this morning's temp of 43 is not in agreement!

My favorite color is candy-apple red. I always use it. It is just so . . . red! I've considered other colors, but I keep going back to this one. I decided it was high-time I did a poll. It has absolutely nothing to do with calories, lettuce, or weight-loss. It has to do with nail polish color!

What ONE color would you consider as your essential pedicure color? If you like to use everything, then ask yourself the "dessert island" question and narrow it down to one.

Come and vote!

Weigh-in

2010-04-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am stretched to the max this week: Easter, Taxes (which are extremely involved due to our business, etc.), homeschooling, and now we've got actual thunder and I have to get off of the computer!

I wanted to check in, though, and say that I like my new scale. I like it because it says nice things like . . .

I lost another pound!!!!!!

I refrained from kissing it, though the effort might have burned a couple of calories.

Oops--there goes more lightning. I believe I'll shut down now!

I got a new scale!

2010-04-01T19:46:00.001-07:00

My old scale had broken a couple of weeks ago. I told my husband I was going to go to the vet's office to weigh. He was not amused. I knew the ladies who worked there would totally understand, but he just got a pained expression and told me that we would be fitting a scale into the budget.

Today I finally got one. It's digital and it gave me an official number. A number that I'm afraid to share as it's pretty embarrassing.

Here's my concern: If I share it, will you give a little scream of horror and turn your face away from your computer screen? Will you give a quiet "tsk, tsk" in a disapproving way? Will you "un-follow" me?

You see, I was never fat until AFTER my son was born. In high school, I weighed about 108. At 5'4" I looked healthy. At my wedding at 21, I weighed 121. At 25, I weighed 125. I never thought about my weight at all. It wasn't an all-consuming, daily condemning issue like it is now. (BTW, after 25yo the numbers didn't follow my age so nicely!)

I was 147 pounds the day after I gave birth. I weighed 150 when I GOT pregnant. I had gestational diabetes and spent the last three months of my pregnancy strictly monitoring my diet (and I mean STRICT) so that I wouldn't have to use insulin. Apparently all the baby weight was just that--the baby and all the accompanying stuff! It all came off plus three pounds, but I didn't take advantage of that nice situation.

After he was born, I went through a several-month bout of postpartum depression. My hormones were all over the place and the only thing that made me feel "normal" was chocolate. And chips. And ice cream. Once I began to feel more myself and more confident about mothering, I just kept on eating the junk. Mostly 'cause it tasted good, but also because I'd gotten into the pattern of eating for emotional reasons.

That's when I really packed on the pounds. My son will be 8yo in just a few days. I've spent nearly 1/5 of my life at a very uncomfortable weight. My husband keeps telling me to stop saying bad things to my reflection in the mirror. So, I try not to look in the mirror!

Dare I reveal the number? Yay or nay? Will it be like a catharsis for me, or just plain ol' everyday humiliation? Will posting that number help me to FACE the reality of it and get ON with this effort to change permanently? I THINK it might. Or will I regret it?

Aside from the committment to a starting number, the digital scale I can even give TENTHS of pounds! That alone might make it worth posting. (Ha!)

What do you think? Are YOU ready to see those digits? LOL!

A Plateau of willpower already?

2010-03-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

Excuses. I hate excuses. They are so flimsy, yet I cling to them. Bah!

I had three weeks (21 days to change a habit, right?) of fantastic follow-through on monitoring my calories. Then, Week Four was a week of power rearranging of three rooms of the house which gave me lots of good exercise, but lots of calories. It went downhill from there.

Then we come to this week (Week Five). Newest excuse? Husband has been working the night shift and is home all day, but needing to sleep for part of the day. For some reason I'm allowing this to be a problem in the eating department. I've been cooking good meals all along, but I keep randomly grazing those extra calories and visiting the McD's drive-thru for Sweet Tea. I could try to blame it on the schedule, but that's really not the reason.

Mainly, I've lost sight of my long-term goal and letting instant gratification (Easter candy and Sweet Tea!) get in the way.

I've maintained my 3 pounds lost, but I'm up an inch.

And Aunt Flo has come for a visit. Chocolate cravings magnified!

The only thing that can get this turned around is willpower. I have no problem telling my son "no" if something isn't good for him. Should I call my mother and have her tell me "no?" I doubt it would help--I probably wouldn't listen to her, either!

On a positive note, we started some herb plants this morning. And, though it was 20 degrees on Saturday morning, it looks like we'll be in the 70s for a couple of days by the end of the week.

Spring is coming! A return of outdoor activity.

The willpower needs to return, too.

Week 4 Stats

2010-03-23T18:58:00.001-07:00

I was so busy yesterday that I forgot to post my stats! First the numbers:

Considering I fell off the wagon last week, there was apparently no damage done. The three pounds are still gone and the inches haven't changed either. I attribute that to the fact that I worked myself to the bone hauling furniture all over Kingdom come!

(Speaking of "Kingdom come," I've been saying that phrase since I was little as it's a "southern" kind of thing. It wasn't until I typed it that I wondered about its origin. I suspected it was referring to the Bible, but now I have the definitive answer: It's referring to the Lord's Prayer where Jesus says, "Thy will be done; Thy Kingdom come. . ." How's that for a little trivia?)

Back on topic. I'm maintaining my exercise level so far this week. I haven't been keeping track of my calories (again due to busyness), but will jump in tomorrow with some numbers.

Now, I'd like to address an area that could be a problem when trying to lose weight. Sure, I'm over 40. That alone makes it more of a challenge. Hormones? Check. Too much of a sweet tooth? Unfortunately, yes. But there's another area:

Sleep.

Here is just ONE of a whole lot of articles that talk about the connection between enough sleep and weight loss: WebMD--Sleep More, Weigh Less. I have also read (many places) that the sleep you get BEFORE midnight is more beneficial. Studies have suggested that 1 hour before 12am is equal to 4 hours after 12pm. The Importance of Sleep is a link that talks about that.

I can vouch that I was READY for bed every night last week. There was no 30 minutes to an hour to finally drop off to sleep, either. I was out cold within a few minutes after hitting the pillow--and I was seeking that pillow around 8pm! Interestingly, it was actually easier for me to get up at my usual time between 6 and 6:30, even though I was so bodily tired the night before.

It's 9:49 now and I'm heading to bed shortly. I'm liking feeling more rested. I'm hoping that more sleep before midnight will translate into some help with all this calorie counting and exercising!

So, good night, y'all!

Do-overs count, don't they?

2010-03-18T06:39:00.001-07:00

Evidently Week Four is going to have to be a do-over!

It wasn't the lowered calorie cap (1400 calories) that was the problem. I have spent the week moving my Son's room from upstairs to the first floor. That has involved hours (each day and into the night) of sorting, hauling stuff, decluttering, carrying (heavy) furniture, cleaning, etc. as well as rearranging our basement to make all this work.

In all of that there was bad and there was good. First, the bad. I had NO time to plan, shop for or monitor the meals, which resulted in the higher calories.

But, then we have the good:

I still never went over 1800 calories, even without monitoring. I just added things up at the end of the day. A month ago I was consuming close to 3000 calories a day, so I'm not too upset though there will probably not be a change on the scale on Monday.
I would HOPE that all that hauling up and down stairs (sometimes two flights) would have burned some calories!
Now that it's done, I'm ready to get back on track.

So, I declare Week Four to begin (again) on Monday, 3/22.

(Just so you KNOW that I really, really exercised, I took my Son from a 228 sf room down to an 80 sf room. It doesn't look (too) crowded, either! I'll probably post about it HERE soon, just to share the miracle LOL!)

3/15 Weigh-in

2010-03-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

I can tell that there is less *something* around my waistline. It just feels "less." It's a good thing that I feel that because my scale and my measuring tape are registering big ol' ZEROS as far as pound and inch loss.

I believe I'll see some downward movement in those two numbers next time because I am over being sick, I'm reducing my calories to 1400 AND (most importantly) I'm planning on five days of exercise this week.

At the bottom of my sidebar is my exercise plan. I gave my reasoning for my intended plan HERE.

I'll do that for a couple of weeks and then tweak again!

Pounds lost: 0

Inches lost: 0

Evaluation: It's been three weeks

2010-03-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow will complete three weeks since I began (again) to diet. I decided to do an evaluation of my progress and my methods and tweak things a bit:

Slow is working for me:

First of all, I highly recommend SLOWLY reducing the calories. I have to say that starting at 2000 calories a day and finishing at 1600 calories a day over three weeks has been painless. Yes, you read that correctly. Counting calories has been fairly easy, and being aware of the amount of calories in the foods has sort of empowered me. I know that I can have some of the things I want (zero deprivation) as long as I work it into the total for the day.

Deprivation breeds rebellion:

In the past, when I've followed a particular diet as it was laid out, I found myself being a bit of a martyr. "Poor, poor me. I can't have this and I can't have that. Blah. Blah." My best effort at a diet that required major levels of my opinion of deprivation (not getting what I want!) was when I followed the Fat Flush Diet for 2 1/2 months. I lost 23 pounds. I loved the result, but I was flat out grouchy and pathetic. Finally, I caved and began to rebelliously binge on anything I wanted. Guess what happened?

Exercise alone won't provide weight loss. Neither will diet alone:

About two years ago I exercised six days a week, three using weights, and three doing aerobic exercise. I did that faithfully for 16 weeks. I didn't lose and ounce or an inch. Not even one. The reason? I didn't change my eating habits at all. This time I have reduced my calories faithfully. I have exercised twice. I've lost three pounds and two inches, but I know that I would see better results if I would------exercise AND diet.

You get less calories in nutrient dense food:

I already knew that. I think everyone knows that. It certainly was highlighted this week when I had a day of 1395 total calories thanks to two large Mexican salads as part of my food intake, and had a day of 1798 that got that high thanks to 280 of the calories coming from a Snickers bar. On the day I had all that salad, I also had 9 chocolate Kisses. My chocolate needs were satisfied, and my tummy was full--but of good things.

Water is my friend:

I've discovered that the more I drink water, the more of a taste I'm developing for it. I'm aware that "studies have shown" that adding lime or lemon juice to the water actually makes it work better in our bodies. I'm not there yet. I like the clean taste of fresh, filtered water. Perhaps as the weather changes I'll give the citrus a try.

Starting Monday, my new calorie total cap will be 1400. I intend to exercise to see if I can increase the effectiveness of reducing those calories. I'm feeling pretty excited about it!

Monday's Stats

2010-03-08T05:50:00.000-08:00

I'm still coughing and coughing, but it seems to be getting better. No excuses this week about exercising. In fact, as soon as I post this, I'm off for my walk.

My scale is acting up. I stepped on it and it said no pounds lost; then I stepped on it again and it said I've lost 5 pounds. Rather than choosing which I believe (you KNOW which one I would choose!), I think I'm going to have to do my weigh-ins somewhere else.

A new scale is not in the budget right now, but there is an animal hospital around the corner. They have a big ol' digital scale that is out front in the waiting room. Yes, it has come to this!

So, rather than guessing, I'll try to get up there today and get an accurate reading.

Measuring shows another inch overall, but that's still not very much. I believe adding in the exercise (finally) will help that number begin to change.

This week's calorie cap goal is 1600 calories. I'm a little nervous about that as it means it will be more difficult than the last two weeks have been. They were a piece of cake! (Oops, sorry.)

I hope I don't weigh as much as a Great Dane.

whimper . . . I'm sick!

2010-03-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to ignore it, but the sad truth is that I'm sick. I've been coughing since Saturday night and it has gotten worse.

I've tried my best to keep up with good food choices and keeping my calories at a good point. I've even kept my water intake up.

Exercise? It's always the first to go!

It's only 7:30, but I really should just go to bed. It hasn't helped that we've been reading about the Black Plague in our homeschooling today!

Or maybe it has. We have SO much more available to us to deal with things than they did then. I can't imagine losing whole families and whole towns like those people had to experience.

I'm grateful for Vick's and whoever now makes them LOL!

You're Fat Because . . .

2010-03-01T06:43:00.000-08:00

My 1955 Good Housekeeping Cookbook is chock-full of all types of information. Not surprisingly, it also had a section entitled, "Your Weight."

The introductory paragraph says:

During childhood and youth, it's desirable to weigh somewhat more than the average for your height and age.

By middle age, it is better to maintain the ideal weight for a twenty-five-year-old of your height and sex. After twenty-five, you tend to slow down your activities, yet your appetitie may remain as hearty and you may eat more than you should. Unless you are among those few who stay thin no matter what, you gain.

As you grow older, you should not exceed this ideal weight.

Sure. Not a problem.

Except that I have a problem. The problem I have is spelled out in this ad from 1955. It just lays it out straight:

I found this ad at a new site called, "American Women Didn't Get Fat!" You must go and check it out--it's great! Click on the ad above for the post about that ad.

I found HER through Tessa's weight-loss blog HERE. Tessa's already lost over 6 pounds! Congratulations, Tessa!

Oh yes. Today is MY weigh-in day, isn't it?

Well, the scales are telling me I've lost 2 pounds and the measuring tape totals at 1 inch! So far, so good.

Sunday

2010-02-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

Today was my last day of week one. Tomorrow is W-Day (Weigh-in Day). I'm hoping there is SOME progress as I have definitely consumed fewer calories than normal. Beginning Monday, my calorie-cap-goal will be 1800. I will also MAKE IT A POINT to exercise.

Tonight I decided to have popcorn with the guys (son and husband). It was so NOT worth the extra 100 calories with just salt on it! Live and learn.

Calorie Count: 1947

Water: 4 glasses

Exercise: It's Sunday. It's supposed to be a day of rest. Ignore the fact that I made last week a WEEK of rest from exercising!

Saturday

2010-02-28T05:43:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we were home all day and I cooked like a maniac. My 1955 Good Housekeeping Cookbook hasn't seen this much action in decades, I'm sure!

I had the following things to accomplish:

Saturday night's dessert (Hot-Milk Spongecake)
The filling for the dessert (Clear Lime Filling)
Sweet tea for a neighbor (She just had a baby and we're taking the tea with pizza and salad for a meal on Sunday)
French toast for Sunday's breakfast (instead of stopping at the convenience store on the way to church)
Saturday night's supper and Sunday's lunch (Potato Chowder)

I discovered two things that I need in my kitchen. One is a zester. (It was very hard to zest the lime on my grater and my knuckle became a casualty.) I also need a stand mixer. For the spongecake I had to use my hand mixer and blend it for five minutes on high. My forearm became a casualty in that activity.

I'd like to comment on the spongecake. I have never made a spongecake, but I have made an angel food cake. They are not the same. Spongecake is, well, sponge-like! It was very moist and it was fun to make. The Clear Lime Filling had lots of flavor, but was pretty gelatinous. I had hoped that it would soak into the spongecake, but it sort of just mounded up and sat there. They were both good, though.

The Potato Chowder was low in calories, but too liquid-y. We like soups that hold the spoon vertically when it is inserted.

I had TWO servings of the spongecake, so my calories were more than they would have been, but still under the 2000 calorie cap I set for last week. It was too limey and good to resist!

Calorie count: 1852

Water: 6 glasses

Exercise: Still a resounding no. I need to do something about this.

Heartburn?

2010-02-26T09:29:00.000-08:00

I finally got a chance to sit down and post my menus. They're on the sidebar.

I used both my Guidebook and the Gem of a Cookbook to pull the meals together. I'll post the recipes as I go along.

When my son was around 2 years old (he's almost 8 now), I developed continuous heartburn. It started out at a mild level, but has progressed to the point where it wakes me in the middle of every night, kicks in if I bend over to work, etc., etc.

This is my umpteenth diet attempt since gaining this last fifty pounds. Every time I eat properly, get this, the heartburn disappears.

It seems, for me anyway, that adding in healthy amounts of vegetables and discontinuing drinking sweet tea from McD's does the trick for me. Every time I've gone back to eating horribly and providing for the McD's manager's kids to get braces, I'm back to the heartburn.

I've made this connection before, you know. I've known exactly what I need to do. This time, however, my sleep has been affected more than ever before and its more severe than before as well.

I started this diet again on Monday. Despite being over a bit on my planned calories, I've been eating HEALTHY meals and NOT visiting the drive-thru. As a result, the night before last I woke up only once. (I had to go to the bathroom--too much water close to bedtime). Last night I didn't wake up AT ALL.

The alarm went off this morning and I was REFRESHED!

So, if you suffer from heartburn, perhaps you need to up your veggie intake and reduce (or eliminate) the sugared/carbonated drinks altogether.

Then, you just might be able to sleep like . . . me!

Day 4 and beyond

2010-02-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

It's really interesting to analyze my typical pattern in dieting. I always start on a Monday, so my days always lay out about the same.

Today was Day Four for me. Day Four in my life means an evening commitment that involves rushing around and getting ready to leave right when we should be eating supper. That means an early supper, quickly eaten. Then, we return home quite late (usually between 10 and 11) and we're famished.

Day Four is also my usual errand running day. I managed to wrangle the calories down to a dull roar, but just barely. No exercise because of being gone nearly all day.

For this week I'm working on getting my calories under 2000. That seems like a lot unless you consider that I usually eat between 3000 and 3500 a day. Mostly junk. Next week I'm going to lower my calorie cap to 1800, then 1600, then 1400. I won't go lower than that for two reasons. One, I think I'll be able to drop weight at a steady rate at that calorie amount and, Two, I may start eating the furniture if I try to go lower. Couch stuffing is not tasty. Trust me.

Calorie count: 2070

Water: 6 glasses

Exercise: nada

Wednesday: Day 3 Emotional Upheaval

2010-02-25T06:34:00.000-08:00

My usual diet pattern is manifesting:

Day 1, usually successful
Day 2, unusual circumstance regarding food choices
Day 3, some big emotional thing that makes me want to eat junk

On Wednesday came the emotional fallout from a situation. I COULD have allowed myself to fully wallow in the junk food arena. I wanted to. I resisted pretty well. The calories were higher than they should have been for the day, but not as high as normal! Also, the calories were primarily GOOD quality food. And water, lots of water. Overall, I think I worked through it fairly well.

Calorie count: 2200

Water: 7 glasses

Exercise: YES! I managed to get this in.

After this initial week of reporting in detail, I will go to a sidebar accounting only and will try to write more interesting posts. I'm going shopping today and will be able to use the mid-century menus I've planned.

I did have a mid-century breakfast menu yesterday: Poached egg, toast, pat of butter, 4 oz. juice. I used a slice of bread from my homemade loaf (see HERE). When I calculated the calories, they came to 160--for ONE piece of bread! I told you the bread was tasty! It was healthy and worth it, but I think I'll slice it thinner next time .

Off to do the marketing. (Sounds nicer than grocery shopping somehow, doesn't it?)

Tuesday's Challenge

2010-02-23T16:32:00.000-08:00

Day One of a diet is generally one of the easiest days. I'm usually fired up, determined to succeed THIS TIME.

Day Two very often offers up an opportunity for instant derailment. My Day Two followed through with tradition.

This morning my husband said, "My customer had something come up today so I will be switching them to Saturday. That means we have today free! What do you want to do?"

Uh oh.

We ended up taking the day to travel to a museum an hour south of here and enjoying all the exhibits. It was great! Food, however, was a challenge.

Here's how I met that challenge:

Breakfast (270): PBJ (we were rushing around to get out the door) with 2 slices of bread, 1 tbsp. peanut butter, and 1 tsp. jam.

Snack (~75): We stopped at one of those touristy places where you get to sample all of their offerings. I sampled around 75 calories worth. I COULD have sampled around 200 calories worth! Score one for willpower.

Lunch (355): Half of a 6" sub from Subway (Jared ate at Subway . . .). It would have been less, but I can't stand a sandwich without mayo. I had the turkey/ham with the Italian bread, tomatoes, and onions. (I checked Subway's online nutrition info to get the calorie amounts.)

Snack (200): My husband made me. Really, it was all his fault. He listened when I asked him to stop at the convenience store. Therefore, I had HALF of a King-sized Snickers bar. I wanted the whole thing. Point for willpower taken away.

Supper (547): We got home late and I slapped together a quickie supper. 2 cups pasta, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, 1 tbsp. butter, 1/2 cup steamed carrots. And. That. Was. It.!

It's 7:40 and I really, really want something salty. I've considered popcorn, but without the butter it's not too appealing.

I think I'll just go get another glass of water. Oh yeah, water. I've had only 3 glasses today (so far). Yes, I think I'll go get a glass of water. Maybe I'll get a veggie, too. I see that I've had only 2 servings today.

Calories today: 1597

(Another derailment opportunity is making itself known. When my "monthly" situation is on its way, I get a major headache. I also get major chocolate cravings. That would explain the Snickers incident earlier. I've read that magnesium helps with those issues. I have magnesium!)

ETA: I ended up having an apple. It didn't quite do the trick. I added a few crackers. There. 150 calories more and I could carry on.

Monday's Stats

2010-02-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

Day One is over. I thought I'd post my calorie consumption. It wasn't vintage today as I'm not quite prepared. I'll try to put that together in the morning for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, my total calories for today: 1608

Total water for today: 5 glasses

Exercise: Oops! I forgot about that. If I don't do it first thing in the AM, I never get around to it.

Evaluation: Considering I've been putting away around 3000 calories a day, I've already cut my consumption in half!

Here's how the food went:

Breakfast (175): 1 slice bread, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1 tsp. jam

Lunch (305): BIG salad with 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil and 1 tablespoon lime juice. I also sprinkle cayenne in there. 1/2 can of cream soda because it was in the frig from last night and it called my name. All cans of soda have been banished.

Snack (475): Had some trouble mid-afternoon. I started out with 3 vanilla wafers. Still hungry. Saw the last bit of queso in the frig (when I retrieved the cream soda). It spoke to me and the tortilla chips chimed in. I limited myself to 3 tablespoons of the queso and 9 chips.

Still hungry. Added small apple.

4 more vanilla wafers joined me on my walk down to the cellar to add a log to the fire.

(Tomorrow will be better, though. The cokes are banished and I finished the queso. I'll send the vanilla wafers with hubby, but keep the apples.)

Supper (511): I was surprised at how high the calorie count was. I had 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup stir-fry veggies, and 4 oz. of grilled steak. I mixed it all together, and splashed a little soy sauce on it. Planning the menus will help avoid this high of a count, I think.

Dessert (142): I made Tapioca pudding as a nod to the mid-century.

Obviously if I reduce the snacks and drink only water, I will be well on my way to a weight-loss inducing calorie count!

Boarding the wagon...again.

2010-02-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

My last post was five months ago. I have not lost any weight. I have not gained any weight.

I've decided to try it again.

When I followed this diet, it was fun. It worked. It's when I fell OFF the wagon that things didn't work. Imagine that.

So, I've appealed to Ida Jean and Mildred and asked their forgiveness. They said they would take me back again.

Later today I will post the week's menus and my numbers. I will need encouragement, ladies. Perhaps even some straight talk with no punches held. THERE IS NO REASON I CAN'T DO THIS!

So, it's time. Again.

Sigh.

2009-09-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

This is getting ridiculous. There is NO reason that I should be "falling off the wagon" so consistently. Heck, if I were as consistent about eating properly as I am about eating badly...

I have relatives coming in for the weekend. They'll be here Thursday through Monday. I've planned to be out being the tour guide for 3 of those days. That, of course, doesn't mean I should indulge as I've been known to do, even though we'll be "agri-touring" our way through the state.

I've posted my menus through next Thursday on the side bar. I'm excited about the vintage meals. So is my son. He's especially excited about the Banana Split Salad. I read the ingredients to him and you would have thought I really WAS talking about a banana split. He's seven. What does he know?

I've actually GAINED back the pounds I've lost (hangs head in shame). So, we're at first base yet again.

I've been faithful with my lawn-mowing exercise routine, though. I don't look any different, but the lawn looks great!

Success!

2009-08-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

I've been mowing my little heart out for about 30 minutes each day, four-five days a week. I've also been getting back to the 1955 cookbook...and...

I've lost 3 pounds! I haven't measured yet, but I will post that when I do.

Last night's supper was not anywhere as good as I hoped it would be. I am not a fan of sauerkraut, but my husband is. (That man will eat anything.) I thought this recipe would provide a relief from the tartness of plain sauerkraut. Instead, it provided about 8 different flavors all at once, independently vying for primo taste sensation. It was different! The creamed new potatoes were nice and the dessert certainly was easy. Overall it was nice. I probably won't do the sauerkraut again, though!

Menu:

Tomato Sauerkraut with wieners
Creamed New Potatoes
Radishes
Celery
Rye bread
Hurry-Up Apple "Pie"

About 45 minutes before dinner: Start heating oven. Prepare apple "pie"; put in oven to bake.
Dice cooked or canned potatoes (I used frozen hash browns); spread in baking dish. make thin white sauce (1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp. flour, 1 cup milk, s & p); add some grated cheese; pour over potatoes; heat in oven. Cook kraut with wieners on top of stove. Prepare radishes (ours were fresh out of the garden) and celery. If desired, butter several slices of rye bread; put back together; wrap in foil; heat in oven last few minutes.

Recipes:

Tomato Sauerkraut (4 servings)

1/2 cup sliced onions
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
4 cups drained canned sauerkraut
1 bay leaf (omitted)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. honey

Cook onions in butter until tender. Add flour; cook until lightly browned. Add rest of ingredients except honey. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf; stir in honey.

Hurry-Up Apple "Pie" (4 servings)

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup packaged pie-crust mix (I used Bisquick)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 No. 303 can applesauce (2 cups)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Light cream or ice cream (omitted)

Start heating oven to 375. Grease 8" pie plate. Combine sugar, piecrust mix, cinnamon, and nutmeg until crumbly. In pie plate, place applesauce; sprinkle with lemon juice; spread with crumbly mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until tender.
Serve warm, with cream.

Emotional Eating and the Weight of Others

2009-08-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

The last three days I have undergone a type of surgery. I have parted ways with a "friend." This friend has been an emotional burden for some time. In many ways she was a bit of a bully. I finally decided I had had enough and cut the strings.

I discovered that calling her an emotional "burden" is an interesting choice of words. Something is a burden because it is weighty. It is heavy. It loads one down. All words that also apply to extra weight literally carried on our bodies.

I'm not saying that she is the CAUSE of my weight gain. (That would be my willingness to open my mouth and shovel in high-calorie foods!) BUT, I would definitely reach for food as comfort when I felt particularly stressed by circumstances in my life...and after an altercation with this woman.

I didn't realize the heaviness I felt because of her until I finally called it quits yesterday morning. Since then I have felt light and airy and FREE! I suspect that my weight loss efforts just might have better results now. Sometimes it's important to let go of the emotional dead weight in one's life so that the body fat can go as well.

I finished my menus and will be going grocery shopping shortly. All menus are from my 1955 Good Housekeeping Cookbook. I will post them on the sidebar again as that is a visual help for me. Perhaps it might inspire a luncheon or dinner for you as well!

(On a side not, my husband called just now. On his way to work he stopped at a yard sale and found a yellow Princess phone that will be added to my 60s basement area that I'm attempting to create. Fun!)

Tuesday Menu

2009-08-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning I was back on track with my exercise (mowing), water and a breakfast of oatmeal pancakes, 1 slice of bacon, and pineapple juice. (250 calories)

Lunch fell apart when I chose to grab a quick McDonalds meal and two M&M cookies my sister insisted I have. (Really, she twisted my arm and everything!) (1450 calories)

Supper returned to the proper balance of nutrition from 1955 with:

Broiled Onion-Cheese open faced sandwiches
Spinach (Steamed with salt and pepper)
Gingerbread cookies (Store bought refrigerated dough)

I chose to skip the cookies as I'm still in shock over the amount of calories in the M&M cookies. For supper my total calorie intake was 165.

Today I will NOT be consuming 1450 calories in one meal. I should have known that, and probably did know that it was a lot of calories, but seeing the number has produced a good result.

Wednesday will be better, oh yes indeedy!

Broiled Onion-Cheese Sandwiches (1 Serving = 2 slices)

3 medium onions, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon fat (I used bacon fat)
8 slices bread
4 ounces processed cheese (I used Jalapeno Cheddar)

Saute the sliced onion in the tablespoon of fat on medium low for about 20 minutes. Divide the onions to top 8 slices of bread. Slice 1 ounce of cheese for every 2 slices of bread and place on top of onions. Arrange on oven rack and toast for a few minutes at 350, just until cheese begins to melt and toast is crispy.

(My husband LOVED this meal. The onions were very sweet and the kick from the jalapenos was extra nice. The spinach was plain with salt and pepper. I did NOT like it. I choked it down, though. I prefer spinach as a helper in a dish, not the main attraction.)

Monday's Menu

2009-08-10T06:33:00.001-07:00

I'm back on track this week. I've just come in from my exercise--mowing the lawn for 30 minutes. I'm going to quickly post today's menu below and then hop into the shower. Water has been consumed. Onward!

I will be cooking (after today) from my 1955 cookbook. Below I've put together three meals that are 50s inspired, but I want to try out some new recipes.

I've been posting about different sections from the "Gem of a Cookbook" on my homemaking blog. Click on the book cover in the sidebar or HERE to see what I've covered so far.

MONDAY:

Breakfast:

Scrambled egg sandwich
Pineapple juice

Lunch:

Grilled cheese sandwich
Citrus fruit salad with coconut

Dinner:

Pan fried ham steak
Baked sweet potatoes
Green beans
Chocolate pudding

Back to the past

2009-08-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a four-day trip to visit friends. The friends fed us very well, but the car snacks and the road trip meals were FAR from healthy and light.

So, back to the past I go. Back to the 50s where Jello reigns supreme and pounds are waiting to melt away.

I have begun to use recipes from my Gem of a Cookbook. I've decided to post the menus as I go since they are so much fun and it helps me to have them neat and tidy and in front of my nose. I will take tomorrow to get organized and then will begin to post.

I think I will continue my decision to return to 2009 for Sundays, though. It is just easier for my schedule.

But look out, the rest of the week! You're going FARTHER back in time to 1955...

My new exercise routine

2009-07-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

Our riding mower has given up the ghost. My husband broke the news to me last week and informed me that he could get a used mower for about $150.

At first I thought we should go for it. The $150 price tag wasn't very appealing as we're trying to get rid of our debt. Then, I remembered that I need to exercise. I remembered that I hate to do "purposeless" exercise (aside from the purpose of losing the weight, that is). I also realized that we have only about 3 months left of the grass growing season. So, I asked him to hold off on purchasing the riding mower and (gulp) volunteered to do the mowing with our gas push mower myself.

Our lot is 3/4 of an acre. That doesn't seem very large until you've personally walked every inch of it while pushing a heavy machine. I divided the yard into sections and mow for about 30 minutes each day.

So far I am loving this new routine. I don't dress like the lady in the ad, though. Perhaps I should. If mowing the lawn helps with the weight loss, then I just might!

Parfait Update

2009-07-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in THIS post that my husband actually requested a Jello dessert. I perused my cookbooks and the Internet. I mentioned several possibilities to him. Finally, he just looked me in the eye and said, "Mix half the Jello with whipped topping and layer it with the unmixed part."

Oh.

Well, that was easy.

So, I accommodated his request. He was appropriately ecstatic when he arrived and found his parfait waiting for him.

Since gelatin desserts have become a happy thing in our household, I am now on the hunt for this book:

My mother had it when I was growing up. Now I want my own copy! The recipe that always caught my attention, though, was this one for Basic Bavarian:

I don't have that mold, though. Do you think it will taste just as good? I have a new purpose in life: To make this dessert.

I hope it's low calorie...

Adding in vegetables

2009-07-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan of vegetables. I can easily go days without them and pretty much not miss them. Because of that, it is always a challenge to get enough into my daily diet.

The Good Housekeeping Cookbook from 1955 (see sidebar) has been a major source of inspiration. The latest is a little "tip" about serving a "First Course" of vegetable juice and/or veggie platter in the living room while meal preparations are being completed in the kitchen.

A light bulb went off for me.

A glass of veggie or tomato juice sitting on the counter for me to sip, or a plate of cut up veggies off to the side would be so easy to nibble on while I finish up that last parts of dinner. Genius.

Here's the link: Hostessing, Part 1

It's official!

2009-07-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my choosing to use recipes from the 1950s, I have officially created Jello fanatics!

My husband requested a Jello Parfait. My son was already sold on all things jello (he's 7), but this is the first time my husband has voluntarily asked for a dessert from the gelatin food group.

I have to decide which one to fix, though. Tomorrow I am going to do serious research on this and determine his preference. I'll post the latest on this essential news when I have the results.

Try to busy yourselves productively while you wait for the decision.

Water

2009-07-21T06:03:00.001-07:00

I believe in drinking water. I believe in it, but I don't always do it.

I have found that I am most successful when I start the day with a glass. It jump starts my mind to want more of that taste. I also make sure I get one before bed. The other six glasses throughout the day are easier if I keep my vintage water glass visible. I sometimes use a straw, but I think it taints my water's taste.

You see, I am a purist when it comes to water. I grew up 2 miles from downtown Tampa (FL), but our property had a well. That water was THE BEST TASTING water I have EVER had. Ask my sister. It was sweet, clean, and yummy. I have never tasted any water that could hold a candle to it.

So, I guess I'm not a purist. I'm actually a water snob.

I don't want lemon or other citrus in my water. I don't want carbonation in my water. I want the water of my youth. Which reminds me of the phrase "Fountain of Youth." You know, I DID grow up in Florida. Ponce de Leon WAS looking for the fountain of youth.

I wonder...could it have been? Could the water in our well possibly have been the...

Nah.

If it were, I'd look a heck of a lot younger than I do!

Weigh-in

2009-07-20T05:45:00.001-07:00

I got a complement at church yesterday. From across the room a lady gave me the thumbs up on what appeared to be less of me. (I told her I was dieting.)

Evidently it was an optical illusion.

No pounds lost, no inches lost. None gained, either.

A new week today. I've been up since 5:30 and have done three loads of laundry, breakfast, and a little blogging. Perhaps its time to get the exercise in, too!

Good Housekeeping Cookbook, 1955

2009-07-18T20:07:00.001-07:00

I posted this on my homemaking blog, but I wanted to add it to the sidebar here, as well.

One of the vintage cookbooks I found recently is a GEM of a cookbook. It has amazing "extras" that I have never seen in other cookbooks. The extras that I thought were good enough to share will be collected together and will be accessible by clicking on the book image.

As I use recipes, I'll post them here. My next post will be about one recipe that I thought turned out great!

Weigh-in

2009-07-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

YES! Another pound is gone, the measurements are the same.

This may be just my body, but I can count sizes in 5 pound increments. For example, if I lose 30 pounds, that's equal to 4 sizes on my body. By "size" I mean 19, 18, 17, 16...though there are no size 17s. I have no idea why that is. I will not complain, certainly, but I'm ready to be on the low end of the teens!

Conveniet, isn't it?

Is that true for others?

Tomorrow I will post two recipes gleaned from my recent finds. I'll be trying them tonight, so hopefully I'll find some "keepers."

Vintage Cookbook Bonanza!

2009-07-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share my recent finds. A couple of weeks ago I came across these two. The Prince Golden Macaroni Recipes" is from 1951. The recipes actually look really good. I mean, what can go wrong with pasta. But wait, page 19 has a recipe for Liver Macaroni Platter. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It just won't be served at MY house!

The one on the write is around the same date judging by the pictures. I son and I perused it and he is all ready to make some recipes from it. They all will work with my vintage diet since it's all about portion control and calories.

Besides, who can resist a salad that looks like this?

The directions certainly look easy enough!

Today I came across these. Top left is from 1955 (and smells like moth balls). It is pretty thorough and looks like I should glean lots of new menus from it. The top middle is from 1959 and is equally full of information. Top right is from 1966. I got it because it's summer and I wanted more salad recipes!

The bottom right is a parody full of insults. I did NOT like the snotty attitude copped by the author. What does he know, anyway? I really enjoyed the pictures and even found one from a book my mother had/has. If she still has it I'm going to see if I can talk her out of it. It's a Jello recipe book, and, well, I need more jello recipes. My recommendation is to ignore this rude book that doesn't understand the fun and simplicity of 1950s and 1960s cooking. Phooey on him!

The one on the bottom left is a new book. It is a VERY fun read as it's all about the Easy Bake Oven. I will be doing a separate post about that, but was curious if any of YOU had one when you were little. I had the original turquoise one. I left it outside in the rain.

If you DID have one, what version was it? The original turquoise? The early 60s yellow? The mod with flowers version? How about the Avocado Green? I read that they continued to make them except they became microwave oven look-a-likes. Did anyone have that upgrade?

Dig deep into your little girl cooking experience and share!

Exercise

2009-07-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before that I lost weight with moderate exercise. I did--23 pounds. It really is a combination of fewer calories and consistent movement.

Today was supposed to be a "walk 20 minutes" day. For my "walk" I mowed the front lawn and back play area with a gas push mower. My face is hot, my heart is beating. I believe I exercised! I normally don't mow the lawn, but my sister and niece might be coming this afternoon for a pool playdate and I wanted them not to have to use a machete to get to the pool. (It's been raining a lot here.)

That got me thinking. Vintage ladies generally didn't go to the gym. Housework provided enough exercise for them as long as they didn't overeat. I decided to make a list of other ways I could incorporate exercise as a part of my regular activities rather than a separate "exercise time."

Here's what I came up with:

Walk to my grocery store (1/2 mile away--uphill)
Continue to mow the lawn with the push mower
Instead of collecting everything at the bottom of the stairs to take up all at once, take each item straight up the stairs as I come across it.
Vacuum more often than once a week (?)
Do a hands-and-knees scrub of the kitchen floor more than once a month (?) (I use a mop the rest of the time.)

What do you think? Can you add some ideas to my everyday chores that would be done anyway but would provide more of a "workout" as I do them?

The main reason I haven't walked to the grocery store (besides that dratted hill) is that I don't have a way to get the groceries back home. Suggestions?

Woo Hoo! (Post Detox Weigh-in)

2009-07-09T04:27:00.001-07:00

Two Pounds! Yesireebob. (I also LOVE the Cocktail. Mmm, mmm, good!)

That's encouraging, no doubt. So encouraging that I'm all dressed and ready to get my exercise out of the way first thing this morning.

I'm back on the Vintage Diet now. I've gone through all of the recipes in the book that I'm willing to try. Now it's a mix and match menu each week, drawing from my "archives."

I've got another book that I picked up that is a children's cookbook from the 50s. There are some fun recipes in there. If I apply the same principles that are laid out in my Guidebook, I should be able to incorporate them.

Those principles being:

Have lots of vegetables
Provide protein at each meal
Enjoy a small snack in the afternoon
Consider presentation and beauty when serving the meals
Include moderate exercise each day
PORTION control!
Don't forget to have a little dessert after dinner

Did I mention two more pounds are gone?

Day 1 Progress

2009-07-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to check in and share my experience.

Exercise? Check.
Cocktails? Check.
Protein and veggie meals? Check.
Hard-boiled egg snack? Check.
Water--OH MY GOD.

I am very well acquainted with my powder room. I see all the places that need cleaning. You get to that point of familiarity when you spend amazing amounts of time in a place.

But, I'm doing it. It is 1:00 and I am working on my SEVENTH glass of water.

Tomorrow will be more difficult as my husband planned an outing with some friends to their lake cabin. I think I'm going to start on the water really early and then cut myself off about an hour before we leave. Once we're back home I'll do my best to make it up.

The food should be no problem. I'll just limit myself to--protein and veggies!

ETA: I did it! I got all the water, all the Cocktails, and the meals down. I am stuffed.

Get this: My new neighbor came to visit today. She was brandishing a plate of homemade blueberry muffins made just for us. I was gracious and appreciative. We had a lovely visit. My son ate one. I had a nibble of his. Just a nibble!

Those babies are going to work with hubby tomorrow!

Detox Day 1--Weigh-in

2009-07-06T06:34:00.001-07:00

I got up this morning determined to see this thing through. My hand is still itchy but the swelling is completely gone. Only the indentation is left from where my wedding rings were.

I made up a day's worth of the Cocktail and I'm currently boiling the eggs. My husband grilled up 3 day's worth of chicken (for me) and I'm marinating the various seafood items for him. This is actually an excellent time to do this Jump-Start because it's summer--fresh vegetables and grilling!

I stepped on the scale to get my baseline and another pound is gone! I had only one small serving of everything on the 4th as well as reduced portions on my vacation. I also walked a LOT. I'm encouraged.

I measured as well, and I am up 1/2" on the bust and down 1/2" on the bicep. That evens out to the overall measurement being the same. That's OK, too.

I'm sipping my morning "Cocktail now. I really like the flavors. It's sort of like salsa in a cup. I like salsa.

I just don't like seafood!

Intermission

2009-07-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take a 3 day break from my Vintage menus to do a very non-vintage thing: a Detox.

I've done this before (twice) and it's helped to kick-start my metabolism. I got the recipe out of a Woman's Day article (September 2005). The "Cocktail" is really good and chock-full of good-for-you stuff. The menu is simple--protein and lots of veggies.

On Thursday I will continue the momentum with my vintage, low-calorie menus. This time I will continue with them and faithfully FOLLOW them.

No more sneaky snacks, no more drive-through drinks, and no more chocolate cheating!

Having to have the rings I've worn for 24 years CUT off of my finger because I wasn't able to get them off before the insect-induced swelling began has been a catalyst for me. Looking at my finger, absent-mindedly fiddling with the rings that aren't there any more will be a constant reminder of my determination to get ON with this weight-loss thing already.

Enough is enough!

If anyone is interested, here's the menu and the "Cocktail" from the magazine. I tried to find it online to link it, but I couldn't. Below is the original plan. On the side bar is how I've tweaked it because of my "picky eating" issue. (I don't like seafood.) Below I've given the original menu and recipe. My changes are in italics. The first "tweak" is that I will substitute grilled chicken for ALL of the protein at lunch and dinner.

(NOTE: Each day, be sure to drink a half ounce of water for every pound you weigh. (Example: if you weigh 160 lbs, drink 80 oz. of water or ten 8-oz. cups.)

Day 1:
Breakfast--Cocktail (12 oz.)
Mid morning snack--2 hard boiled eggs
Noon--4 oz. grilled chicken breast, 2 cups mixed greens dressed with 1 tbsp. olive oil and fresh lemon
Mid afternoon snack--Cocktail (12 oz.)
Dinner--4 oz. broiled fish, 2 cups steamed broccoli
Before bedtime snack--Cocktail (12 oz.)

Day 2:
Breakfast--Cocktail (12 oz.)
Mid morning snack--2 hard boiled eggs
Noon--4 oz. baby shrimp, 1/2 cucumber, 1 tomato, and 1 scallion, all diced with 1 tbsp. olive oil and fresh lemon
Mid afternoon snack--Cocktail (12 oz.)
Dinner--4 oz. salmon with fresh lemon and sliced onions, 2 cups steamed green beans
Before bedtime snack--Cocktail (12 oz.)

Day 3

Breakfast--Cocktail (12 oz.)
Mid morning snack--2 hard boiled eggs
Noon--4 oz. grilled chicken, diced, 1 scallion, chopped, 1 clover garlic, chopped, 2 tbsp. yogurt, cumin and fresh lemon juice. Serve over 2 cups lettuce.
Mid afternoon snack--Cocktail (12 oz.)
Dinner--4 oz. grilled tuna steak, 2 cups steamed asparagus spears
Before bedtime snack--Cocktail (12 oz.)

The Cocktail (makes 1-12 oz. serving):

3 Tbs. fresh squeezed lime juice
1 medium vine-ripe tomato (6 oz. canned crushed tomatoes)
½ cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed (I used parsley)
2 Tbs. fresh chives (I used vidalia onions)
½ cup filtered water
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ clove of garlic
Dash of cayenne
Pinch of potassium-based salt substitute (I left this out)
3-4 ice cubes (I increased the water to 1 cup and did not use the ice cubes)

Blend all ingredients for approximately 1 minute on high speed in blender.

Yield: 12 ounces

(The article was written by AnnLouise Gittleman, author of many books about detox, dieting, and hormone issues and a regular contributor to the Woman's Day magazine.)

A sad milestone

2009-07-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally happened. Something I have been sort of apprehensively waiting on for years.

I had to have my wedding rings cut off tonight.

I haven't been able to get them off my finger for probably 10 years. They still moved around, so I didn't do anything about it, but, always in the back of my mind, I wondered if that ring cutting scenario would eventually play out.

The reason it had to be done tonight was not because I've gained MORE weight. I am still at 0 gained or lost. What happened was another stupid mosquito. It bit me on my ring finger and I promptly began to swell. (I'm very allergic.)

I took Benedryl. I iced it. I elevated it. I tried using lotion, oil, and Windex (yes, that was recommended, too), dental floss, tape, and plastic wrap...but to no avail.

Perhaps, just perhaps, it's time to really get serious about this weight loss. I may have finally gotten to the final straw. Yes, I think I finally have.

I have used all of the recipes I'm going to use that are listed in my guide book, so I won't post my menus for the week anymore. I will just post about my progress as I continue to cook in a vintage calorie-counting way.

In the next several days I plan to organize the recipes so that they can be found quickly if anyone is interested.

My whole hand is swollen (makes it interesting to type!), so I'm off for another dose of medicine and bedtime. Our neighbors have their own fireworks show on the 4th, so I'll just watch from my bedroom window and let the medicine do its stuff.

Sadly.

Revelation

2009-07-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

We're back from our trip. Aside from a majorly swollen eye (mosquito situation), we had a great time.

I did miss the internet, though.

Speaking of the internet, I had a moment of revelation. BECAUSE we had no TV, no internet, etc., I discovered that I ate less. I could tell when I was finished. No distraction.

We eat breakfast together as a family daily because my son is an early riser. Since he's an early riser, he's asleep by the time my husband gets home from work in the evenings. Our evening pattern has been the same for nearly 24 years of marriage: we eat supper in front of the TV. We both like to do that. It's a familiar part of our routine.

It also keeps me from hearing my internal bell telling me that I'm full!

I'm going to take the next four days to regroup from the trip, get things in order and attend to the weekend's celebrations. After that, I will have new menus up for Monday.

I think I'm going to attempt to change our usual way of doing things by having ONE evening meal at the dinner table instead of in front of the TV. Baby steps, you know.

I'm going to weigh myself in the morning, just out of curiosity. I ate less on the trip and we hiked all over Kingdom Come. PERHAPS I will have good news from my scale.

Weigh-in

2009-06-28T04:36:00.001-07:00

Since I won't be at home on Monday, I decided to weigh this morning.

I lost a pound! Woo Hoo! That means I'm back to....where I started. But at least that pound is gone. The inches remained the same.

While camping this week, I am going to keep a strict eye on my calorie consumption. and try not to allow myself to feel that this is a "free-for-all." I'll also be hiking all over the place in a chasm in New York called Ausable Chasm. I would HOPE that that would burn something!

I'll to to "check in" when I get near a WiFi place. Otherwise, I'll be on track next week.

Thursday

2009-06-27T19:31:00.001-07:00

I'm frantically getting ready for our camping trip and just found out that I will NOT have WiFi in the campground.

I'll try my best to get through this horrible tragedy.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd better get the recipes up in case anyone might need them:

The Egg Salad in Tomato Cups used the Cooked Salad Dressing and was really good. It felt fresh and summery.

The Baked Zucchini could have used more cheese. There actually wasn't supposed to be ANY, but I couldn't resist. We've had the Ambrosia before. It's a quick, easy fresh dessert.

Egg Salad in Tomato Cups (3 servings = 388 calories)

3 med. hard cooked eggs
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 med. chopped pimento (didn't use)
1 minced onion (scallion)
Salt to taste
Dash pepper
2 tbsp. Cooked Salad Dressing
3 med. tomatoes
1/2 head lettuce

Chop hard-cooked eggs; combine with celery, pimentos and onion. Moisten with the Cooked Salad Dressing; season to taste. Chill. At serving time place each tomato on bed of lettuce, stem end down; cut in quarters, not quite through. Fill centers with egg salad.

Baked Stuffed Zucchini (4 servings = 168 calories)

4 small zucchini squash
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp. soft bread crumbs
1 tsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Scrub zucchini well; cut off ends; do not pare. Parboil whole squash in boiling water until tender, but firm, about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400. Cut shallow slice off top of squash; place in mixing bowl. Scoop out inside of squash and add pulp to that in the mixing bowl. Mix pulp with chopped onion and seasonings. Replace in squash shells; sprinkle with bread crumbs (I also sprinkled a little cheddar cheese); add butter. Bake for 30 minutes.

Wednesday

2009-06-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

I've got two vintage recipes to share today. The Fluffy Omelet was very nice. The Beef Chop Suey was, well, just OK.

Does anyone remember the large cans (they're still available) of the La Choy "dinners" with the separate cans attached together? There was the main can with most of the stuff and then the top can was the water chestnuts? That's what last night's dinner tasted like.

I guess it was Ida Jean's and Mildred's nod to ethnic cuisine.

For us it will NOT be a keeper. That's okay. I'll include the recipe because, for others, it might be tonight's dinner!

Fluffy Omelet (2 servings = 307 calories)

3 med. eggs, separated
3 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp, scant--salt
Few grains pepper (that always makes me laugh)
2 tsp. butter
Parsley garnish

Preheat oven to 325. Beat egg whites until stiff; set aside. With same beater, beat egg yolks well; add water and seasonings. Fold yolk mixture into stiffly beaten whites. Melt the butter in a skillet with heat-proof handle; pour in egg mixture. Cook over low heat about 3 minutes. When puffy and browned on the bottom, finish cooking in oven, about 10 minutes longer. Crease through the center, fold one half over the other; slip onto hot platter. Garnish with parsley sprigs.

Beef Chop Suey (6 servings = 1220 calories)

1 tbsp. bacon fat
1 lb. beef chuck, cut in small pieces (I used cooked ground beef)
1 cup water
2 cups canned bean sprouts
1 cup diced celery
5 1/4 oz. can drained water chestnuts
1 large onion, sliced
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. cold water

(Since I used cooked ground beef, I was able to skip the following section.)

Melt the bacon fat in a large skillet. Brown the beef cubes slowly on all sides. Add the water slowly; bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

(Here's where I picked up.)

Add bean sprouts, celery, water chestnuts, sliced onion, soy sauce, and seasonings. cover and cook about 20 minutes. Thicken with the cornstarch, which has been mixed with the cold water. Test for seasoning. Serve on hot platter. Cooked rice or noodles are appropriate to serve with the dish; calorie count additional.

Tuesday

2009-06-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday, actually. Just ignore that.

Tuesday's menus were Baked Chicken Livers (I used the normal part of the chicken!), Zucchini with Onions and Parsley, brown rice, and Coffee Delight.

It was all really good. I set the little table we have on our porch and we dined al fresco.

My husband liked the Coffee Delight. He was so excited that I didn't because that meant more for him. Sad story, though. I packed the remaining two cups in his lunchbox for Wed. They were in their little molds and I used little tiny shower cap-like hats to cover them. BIG mistake. His lunch box got tipped over in the car and the Coffee Delight was no longer delightful. He wants me to make it again.

The Zucchini with Onions and Parsley is actually listed as CARROTS with Onions and Parsley in the book. Somehow I managed to miss putting them on my grocery list, so I improvised. They were summery and delicious!

The chicken turned out very nice. It was basic baked chicken, but the little sifting of flour gave an extra texture level. For the "seasoning" I used cayenne, salt, and granulated garlic.

Baked Chicken Livers (3 servings = 403 calories)

9 oz. chicken livers
1 tsp. flour
1 tsp. butter
Sprinkle of seasoning

Wash chicken livers, season. Sift over light sprinkling of flour; dot with butter. Place in a shallow pan. Preheat oven at 400 for 10 minutes (I preheated until the light went off). Bake chicken livers for 25 minutes.

Carrots with Onion and Parsley (4 servings = 145 calories)

3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
6 young carrots, quartered
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp. parsley, chopped

Add salt and sugar to the boiling water in a large skillet. Add the carrots, quartered, and the chopped onion. Cover; cook until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the parsley and cook 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Coffee Delight (4 servings = 294 calories)

1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 1/2 tsp.)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp instant coffee (I used Maxwell House)
1/8 tsp. salt
1 med. egg, separated
7/8 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. ice-cold water (I skipped this)
2 tbsp. non-fat dry milk (I skipped this)

Mix gelatin, 1 tbsp. sugar, instant coffee and salt together thoroughly in the top of a double boiler. (Click HERE to read about my makeshift double boiler.) Beat together the egg yolk and the 7/8 cup water. Add to gelatin mixture and cook over boiling water, stirring often until gelatin is thoroughly dissolved, about 8 minutes. remove from heat; add the vanilla. chill to unbeaten egg-white consistency. (I accidentally chilled too long. It was fine. It just made it "choppy" looking.) beat the egg white until stiff; beat in the 2 tbsp. sugar. Fold in gelatin mixture. Beat the 2 tbsp. ice-cold water and the 2 tbsp. non-fat dry-milk solids together with a rotary beater until stiff and mixture stands in peaks. Fold into gelatin mixture. Turn into 4 sherbet glasses. Chill until firm.

Monday

2009-06-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

I posted about my weigh-in a little bit ago. I think that my frustration translated into my usual lack of logic which is that "since I'm not succeeding with the weight loss, I should eat whatever the heck I want."

That would be called rebellion. Stupid-head, fat-inducing rebellion.

Yesterday's LUNCH, however, was delightful. Here's a picture on my newly acquired SQUARE plate. It was a whole dollar at the Dollar Tree. It just makes things look tastier, I think.

Tuesday's lunch involved the leftover chili with lots of sour cream and corn chips. I'm not proud of my lapses. I hope to get back on track with tonight's offering of Baked Chicken Nuggets (no liver will ever voluntarily cross my lips), and other healthy things. I've got the Coffee Delight chilling. Recipes will be posted in tomorrow's post so that I can give the lowdown on the TASTE.

The Fruit and Cheese Platter recipe in the book was pretty straightforward: Take a platter, add cut up fruit. Oh, and cheese.

Weigh-in

2009-06-23T09:17:00.001-07:00

I'm doing well in many other areas of my life. My house is coming into order. We're moving to new levels with homeschooling. I'm even working on upgrading my outward appearance.

But this weight-loss situation is becoming VERY frustrating. I have trouble telling myself "no." It's showing, of course, in the scale and the measuring tape.

This week I GAINED a pound. Granted, Aunt Flo is visiting and all, but I can't blame it all on her. The measuring tape is the same (except for the bloaty belly), but even that is no excuse.

I wish I could give up, I really do. (whine, whine) "It's too hard!!" (whine some more) BUT, it HAS to be done. I am unhealthy. My clothes don't fit. I'm ashamed of how I look.

I'm "keeping it real" in a way by posting about this, but it really just boils down to the fact that I'm whining instead of winning. I have seen success when I've been diligent and faithful. There's really no GOOD reason that I haven't lost weight.

I will reach the finish line. I will win this race. I will quit sabotaging myself.

And I'll stop whining.

"I Shot the Sheriff"

2009-06-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

Well, he deserved to be shot! I decided to go with the 1950s "famous" (infamous?) chili recipe called Texas Jail Chili. It looked like it had potential. The blurb about it said:

Texas prison chili got its good reputation

from Sheriff Smoot Schmid's truly fine

recipe for the Dallas County Jail.

Right off the bat there was no way I was going to use suet. I increased the ground beef to 2 1/2 pounds to compensate. It all went downhill from there. My husband came to my rescue and added diced tomatoes, tomato paste, more seasonings, sour cream, and corn chips. He also added light red kidney beans. Since he was bailing me out, I certainly wasn't going to object to the beans.

So, if you want to see one of the MANY recipes for chili that was around in the 1950s, be my guest. Then, go and make your favorite recipe and we'll never speak of this again.

Texas Jail Chili (Circa 1950)

1/2 pound beef suet -- ground
2 pounds coarse ground beef
3 garlic cloves -- minced
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried sweet chile pods
3 cups water

Fry suet in a heavy kettle. Add meat, finely diced garlic and seasonings; cover. Cook slowly for four hours, stirring occasionally. Add the water and continue cooking until the chili has thickened slightly, about one hour. Serve plain or mixed with equal portion of cooked pink or red beans.

(I should have opened a can of Hormel...)

No, no, no!!!

2009-06-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

I went grocery shopping yesterday right before a night meeting. I asked the bagger to put all the cold things together in a paper bag and the rest in plastic bags because I was planning to put the paper bag in the frig at the meeting. She did...or so I thought.

I retrieved the paper bag and we made our way home. I put the bag into my frig and left the rest on the floor in the kitchen to be put away today. (It was late.) This afternoon (after being out all morning) I began to put the drygoods items away. And then it happened.

I discovered that UNDER the two loaves of bread was my ground beef! It (thankfully!) was contained and not bleeding all over my floor, but I was upset. That was for tonight's supper (Savory Meatloaf) and tomorrow's 1950s recipe chili!! I was horrified. (The manager of the store said I could get a replacement by bringing in my receipt. Excellent store.)

Tonight is now leftovers. Since I was scrambling to get supper for my son, bath, bedtime, etc., I couldn't run out to the store. I'll ask my husband to stop and bring home the bacon, I mean beef.

I really want to try out the chili! I COULD just open a can of Hormel's as advertised in this 1956 ad, but I want to use an authentic recipe.

I have two recipes to choose from. One is called "Texas Jail Chili" from the 1950s and includes suet (which is not going to happen). The other is called "Joe Cooper's Chili" from his 1952 book, With or Without Beans: An Informal Biography of Chili.

Apparently a huge debate began in the 50s (according to this book, anyway) about whether or not beans were ORIGINALLY intended to be included in chili. His premise is that they were added during the depression and war years to "stretch" the meal.

In our house, my husband believes in beans and I don't. I cook the beans on the side and he ladles the chili over them. Sometimes I'm nice and cook them together. I like the bean FLAVOR, but really don't like the texture. I also like a mixture of ground beef and cubed beef. Oh, and diced potatoes. My husband says I'm making "Chili Soup," not real chili.

If you've read my blogs for very long you know that I like polls. So, do you serve your chili WITH or WITHOUT beans? It doesn't matter why--we have a right to our taste choices!

Tomorrow night I'll post the recipe I end up making. I decided to use a crockpot as I'll be out all day tomorrow. I know the crockpot isn't from 1958, but just pretend you don't know...

About the Menu Plan for Week of June 15

2009-06-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

I got a late start on the week and Monday's and Tuesday's recipes reflect that. "Life" got in the way and I fell back on old patterns.

I haven't been consistent enough with this diet for new patterns to fully take hold. The biggest, most important step of consistency that I need to establish is preparing most of the evening's meal right after breakfast. When I've done that, I've stayed on track.

I have been VERY consistent with the vintage breakfasts. That tends to be our "family meal" as my son gets up very early (necessitating an early bedtime) and my husband usually works past a normal supper time. Just about every morning will find us at a nicely laid table with a lovely vintage-style breakfast.

I've also been very consistent about not eating a snack between breakfast and lunch and sticking to the "Pickup" I've planned for between lunch and supper. It's the lunch and dinner menus that I'm having trouble making work, mostly because I've not taken the step of morning preparation.

I will concentrate on that task for the rest of the week.

I will not trust my shorts to be truthful about weight loss.

Weigh-In

2009-06-17T15:55:00.001-07:00

My shorts lied to me. I guess they'd just "stretched out" enough to deceive me.

No poundage gained, no poundage lost.

Inches un-budged.

Report finished.

Saturday

2009-06-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give an update on the Crabmeat Ramekins. I ended up not fixing the stuffed zucchini. I just sauteed them.

I don't eat seafood (I had leftovers), but my husband does. When he walked into the house and smelled the ramekins cooking, he commented that it brought back memories of the house he lived in in North Carolina. That would have been in the 60s, so I was cooking and producing an authentic "era" smell!

I asked for his evaluation. He said the flavor was good (and apparently familiar) and that he would want it again. Works for me--it was a SUPER easy recipe. I don't normally buy "cream-of" soups, but I did this time. I could make my own white sauce and add mushrooms which probably just enhance the flavor.

Crabmeat Ramekins (4 servings)

1 cup canned crabmeat, flaked (store carried only 6 oz. cans)
1 10 1/2 oz. can cream-of-celery soup (Hubby detests celery. I used 'shroom)
2/3 canned mushrooms, drained
1 slice soft bread, cubed
1/3 cup skim milk
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup grated American cheese (I used cheddar)

Add skimmilk to condensed cream-of-celery soup; heat slowly. Add drained mushrooms, crabmeat, lemon juice, and the cubed bread. Turn into 4 lightly greased ramekins. Top each with 1 tablespoon of the grated cheese. Bake at 350 until heated through.

Friday

2009-06-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

I ended up doing Saturday's planned menu (no new recipes) on Friday as my husband (who would have been the one to EAT the crabmeat!) had to work until very late. That dinner menu will migrate to next week.

Saturday we had leftovers...PLENTY of leftovers.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's weigh-in. The zipper on the shorts I wore yesterday didn't cause me to black-out like it normally does. Something seems to have shrunk a little. That's encouraging.

I need to get to bed, but will post the new week's menus tomorrow.

(I was very excited to score some little custard cups, four SQUARE luncheon plates (white), and a copper(?) jello mold at yard sales on Saturday. They will be put to good use!)

Mix and Match Menus for week starting June 8

2009-06-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

Click on the Day name for evaluations and recipes. I am beginning to repeat recipes, so please using the "Search and Be Slim" button on the sidebar to look up the recipes if not listed.

Monday
Breakfast: 4 oz. OJ, 1 soft-cooked egg, 1 slice toast, 1 tsp. jam
Luncheon: 1 bouillon cup of tomato soup, 3 1/2 oz. grilled cube steak on 1 slice toast
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: 1 lean pork chop, 1/2 med. baked potato, 1/2 pat butter, 2/3 C Green Beans with Mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, green salad with Zippy Salad Dressing, Spanish Cream

Tuesday
Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, poached egg on 1 slice toast, 4 oz. whole milk
Luncheon: 3 oz. beef patty on 1/2 toasted roll, 4 slices pickles, wedge of lettuce w/quartered tomato with Old Fashioned Dressing
Pickup: 4 oz. OJ
Dinner: Chicken Paprika, 1/2 cup parsley potatoes, 1/2 pat butter, veggie medley, chocolate pudding

Wednesday
Breakfast: 3/4 cup oatmeal, 1 tsp. sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk, 4 oz. OJ
Luncheon: 1 bouillon cup of vegetable soup, 1 oz. Swiss cheese on 1 slice bread w/mustard, tart apple
Pickup: thin slice bread, lightly buttered
Dinner: McDonalds... (sad, but true)

Thursday
Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, 1 shirred egg, 1 slice toast, 1 tsp. jam
Luncheon: Chicken Salad with Grapes, 2 slices bread, 1/2 Broiled Grapefruit
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: BBQ frankfurters, sauerkraut, 1/2 baked potato, 1/2 pat butter, Raspberry Bavarian

Friday
Breakfast: 3/4 cup wheat flakes, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 banana
Luncheon: Leftovers
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Crabmeat Ramekins, Oven French Fries, sauteed zucchini, stewed tomatoes, Ambrosia

Saturday
Breakfast: 4 oz. OJ, scrambled egg, 1 slice toast, 1 tsp. jam
Luncheon: Leftovers
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Leftovers

Thursday

2009-06-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

No new recipes, but definitely one FAVORITE one...Chicken Salad with grapes.

I could eat that for lunch every day for a week (and have!). I love me some chicken salad!

I planned "leftovers" for lunch on Friday because cooking like this does provide extra food in some cases. I had to fit it in somewhere!

I feel like I'm back on track, even with the unexpected schedule issues, and should see a good result when I step on the scale on Monday.

I could step up my exercise routine, but right now the moderate level is working at helping me to establish and encourage me.

I have a really cute pattern that I saw on My 50s Year. It went on sale at the fabric store and I snapped it up. I want to make and WEAR this dress, but I can't right now. I've kept it in a visible place to help inspire me to my ultimate goal....CUTE CLOTHES! (Oh, and health, and long life and all that...)

Wednesday

2009-06-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

I completely forgot I had a meeting tonight. I also had a last minute one this afternoon at 1:00. In between I had to run errands on my WAY to the night meeting. McDonalds was easy and cheap.

Oops.

My planned menu was:

Savory Meat Loaf, Panned Summer Squash, Melon and Pear Salad, Baked Custard

Somehow I will work that in because I was really looking forward to trying these recipes!

Tomorrow (Thursday) will be another errand/meeting half an hour away type of day. The menu I have planned for the evening accommodated the schedule. I just forgot about the Wednesday rearrangement when I planned this week's choices on Sunday night.

Planning is SO key to this. I don't think women in the 50s ran around as much as we do. For one, they had only one car. The meetings were not very far away and the fast food places were not available. They DID have TV dinners, but I remember them in the early 70s and they were NOT good.

I need a contingency plan for this middle of the week situation that comes up twice a month.

Did I mention that planning is KEY?

Tuesday

2009-06-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

I have not made parsley potatoes in AGES. I forgot how good these are! It's very simple (my recipe):

Parsley Potatoes

Peel and cut potatoes into evenly sized chunks. Cook until tender (about 20 minutes). While potatoes are in collander draining, put desired amount of butter into bottom of pot. Add potatoes and cover with lid so butter can melt.

GENTLY toss the potatoes in the butter and sprinkle with parsley.

And that's it!

The Chicken Paprika was also tasty, though dry. That's probably because I used boneless, skinless breasts instead of chicken pieces. I ended up slicing it up and adding it to the vegetable medly in stir-fry fashion. (Sorry, I fast forwarded to 2009 for that one.)

Chicken Paprika

Preheat oven at 375 for fully 20 minutes. (I didn't do this step as I have a convection oven. I suspect all our new-fangled ovens could probably skip this step.) Wash and dry cut-up chicken. Place pieces in baking pan, skin side up. Sprinkle chicken with juice of half lemon, salt, pepper, and paprika. (I also added Season Salt and used the Paprika LIBERALLY.) Bake, uncovered, 30 to 45 minutes. For the last 5 minutes increase heat to 450. That last 5 minutes gave a crispier top, even without the skin.

I managed to get 4 glasses of water down...and then realized at bedtime that I'd never gotten in the rest. I decided I wanted to SLEEP through the night, so I forwent the last glasses.

It's a new day

2009-06-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

I stepped on the scale and it was not worse than I expected. I'm back at the beginning. Alrighty, then.

I had already made my list last night, so this morning I went shopping. I hunted and gathered all the items needed for the vintage meals this week. They've all been dispersed to their holding places and are at the ready. A stocked pantry is definitely a key to success!

I made the cubed steak for lunch (yummy). I added salt, pepper, a sprinkle of flour and a splash of milk. (If I had my "druthers" I would consider gravy a beverage.) The slice of toast under the sliced steak with 2 tbsp. of the "gravy" and the tomato soup was quick and tasty. I'm actually full.

I just realized I've had NO water and it's 2:30. I'd better get my vintage water glass and get to it!

Tonight's menu will be nice as well. The only new recipe is the Spanish Cream. (I did not use a variation.) The other recipes can be found using the "Search and be Slim" button on my sidebar.

(ETA: The Spanish Cream was, well, OK. It was eggier than the Baked Custard. It will pass into oblivion for us. Fun to make, though!)

Spanish Cream (6 servings)

1 envelope gelatin
2 cups cold skim milk (I'm using whole milk)
3 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 medium eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla

Soften gelatin in the cold skim milk in top of double boiler. Place over boiling water. Add sugar and salt; stir until gelatin and sugar are dissolved. Separate eggs. Beat yolks slightly; slowly beat in a small amount of the hot mixture; return to double cooker; cook over simmering water until eggs have thickened mixture; stir constantly. Remove from heat; add vanilla; chill until mixture begins to set. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold the gelatin mixture into the beaten whites. Spoon into 6 individual molds; chill until firm. Unmold on serving dishes. Or the dessert may be spooned into sherbet glasses either before or after chilling.

Variations: Almond extract may be used with or instead of the vanilla. A bit of grated orange rind may be used with the vanilla. A small amount of nutmeg may be used as part of the flavoring.

Penance and Restitution

2009-06-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

I have fallen off of the wagon...right into a vat of sweet tea surrounded by chocolate.

It's time to regroup. Beginning this Monday, I will step back on the scale. After the echos of the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth subside, I will record my numbers and begin again to pursue the vintage silhouette.

I thought there was another plan, but it was actually just one day of meals showing how to change things if the HUSBAND is "post-coronary." (Odd that it was so gender specific.) It discusses reducing the fat grams as well as the calories. Since that is the case, I will use the "Slimming Menus" with a few substitutions from the recipe choices in the back of the book and get them posted shortly. I will shop Monday morning for the vintage-style provisions.

After all tomorrow (or rather, Monday) is another day!

(Am I forgiven?)

Memorial Day and Tuesday

2009-05-26T13:29:00.001-07:00

I trust everyone had a wonderful holiday?

We had an AWESOME time with friends we haven't seen in 10 years. My son enjoyed their four children so much that he was making plans to go home with them. After they left it even felt kind of lonely in the house! (I checked and my son was still here.)

For supper we had leftovers. Very. Tasty. Leftovers. Topped off with ice cream for dessert. It wasn't no "bouillon bowl" size serving, either.

I've decided to ignore the Weigh-in for this week. I am positive that it would be pointless.

For lunch on Tuesday I incorporated the Memorial Day leftovers into portion-controlled servings. For tonight I'll try a new chicken recipe from my 1958 Guidebook, but the remaining dishes will be more leftovers. (I'll list the recipe and my comments tomorrow.)

The veggie medley I listed will be a mix of vidalia onions, zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, and grape tomatoes. Roasted. A slice of butter and a little S&P on each serving. Oh-my-oh-my. Divine.

I will return to my exercise schedule on Wednesday.

We have a 3-day camping trip coming up this next weekend. I didn't have the heart to list "S'mores" and things like that. We'll be having them, but I just won't list them. Will the calories NOT count if I don't list them?

I thought not.

Next week

2009-05-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer as to WHY I'm not going to be eating anything slimming for the next several days:

This week has been all over the place due to having some friends (family of six) coming to stay with us for Memorial Day weekend.

I have been getting things moved around to accommodate sleeping arrangements, frantically trying to get the porch and yard ready for outdoor use (up until two days ago we were still having highs of 40s and 50s), and last minute projects to make the house presentable. Oh, and homeschooling, and business paperwork, and...well, you know how it goes.

We're also going camping NEXT weekend.

I didn't post recipes last week and that completely threw me off. I fell back into my old ways of tossing some pasta into a pot, ignoring vegetables, and frequenting fast food places. Scheduling is SUCH A KEY to weight loss and financial savings.

My husband even commented that he missed the 1958 menus.

On my sidebar will be my attempt at staying on track next week. I just finished composing the plan and I already feel more in control and hopeful. I don't expect weight loss at next Monday's weigh-in, but I think I should be able to maintain.

It's all in the mind

2009-05-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

My husband is 45 years old. He is 6'1" and in top condition. His stamina is such that he outlasts men half his age doing physical labor. He has never had a problem with overeating.

It's disgusting.

We've been together since we were 16. Back then I weight 108 pounds. When we got married I weighed 121 pounds. At 25 I was 125 pounds. After my son was born I was 147 pounds. THEN I gained 40 pounds in two years. My husband has gained only 20 pounds in all those years, probably muscle. WHO has been in charge of the food in our family, I ask you? Me. That means we're in the same house with the same food. So, what's been the difference all these years?

I just recently realized that my husband thinks differently about food than I do. I have become aware of some of the things he says...

Such as:

1. (Standing in front of the open frig and mumbling to himself) "Hmm. I'm probably just thirsty."

2. (9:00 at night) "I'd like a snack but it's too close to bedtime."

3. (After 3 days of cereal for breakfast) "I'd better have some protein. I haven't had much for the last couple of days."

4. (At a restaurant) "This is really good. I think I'm starting to feel full so I'll ask for a to-go box."

My responses in the above situations?

1. (Standing in front of the open frig, chewing on something I found in there) "Well, that wasn't what I wanted. Maybe I can find something else that will taste good."

2. (9:00 at night) "I wonder if we have any chocolate in the house."

3. (After 3 days of cereal for breakfast) "I just realized that I haven't had anything but pasta and dessert for three days."

4. (At a restaurant) "That tastes so good. Just one more bite. Oh. No, thank you. I don't need a box."

Do you see the difference in the thought process each of us goes through? I've also noticed something else. My taste buds are stunted.

My husband will eat junk like any red-blooded American. He likes it all. But his taste buds also like bitter things (the man will absolutely down a plate of turnip greens with hot pepper vinegar), and detest fatty things (he peels the breading off of the fried shrimp). Heck, he rejoiced when he saw the Tomato Aspic a few weeks ago!

Seeing this about him mostly just annoys me. It basically means that I have a LOT of retraining to do with my thinking. That means work.

It's all about discipline. I tell my 7yo "no" when something isn't good for him. Apparently I'm the one who has to tell me "no."

Week Seven: Weigh-in

2009-05-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last week was another bust. I keep adding in extra calories, sometimes without even realizing it. When I'm super busy, I absent-mindedly graze. I also have given in to sweet teas from McDs. Many, many calories there.

Despite the extra calories, my numbers are still stable. That's good and all (better than going UP!), but I know I should have been down at least 7 pounds by now. I think the exercise has maintained my previous loss, but it is so necessary to monitor the calories. By that, I don't mean note the calories as I shovel them into my mouth!

So, for this week's weigh-in:

Pounds lost: 0

Inches lost: 0

Week Six: Mix and Match and Party

2009-05-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

Only three days were Slimming Meals. My Monday weigh-in confirmed that the other four were NOT slimming!

Monday

Breakfast: 1 wheat biscuit, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 grapefruit
Luncheon: Leftover Ham and Bean soup, sliced tomatoes
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Leftover Ham and Bean soup, sliced tomatoes (I know, I know)

Tuesday

Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, Shirred Egg, 1 slice toast with jam
Luncheon: Cinco de Mayo Fiesta!! (See post for details.)
Pickup: nothing
Dinner: Cinco de Leftovers

Wednesday

Breakfast: 1 wheat biscuit, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 sliced banana
Luncheon: Leftover Ham and Bean soup I promise this is the last of it
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: BIG taco salad, last slice of Tres Leches cake

HERE is the link for my comments about Monday-Wednesday.

Thursday

Breakfast: 3/4 cup hot cereal, 1 tsp. sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk, OJ
Luncheon: Clam Chowder, toast, 1/2 pat butter
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Frankfurter Kabobs, baked potato, 1/2 pat butter, green beans, Pineapple-Lime Parfait

Friday

Breakfast: Scrambled egg, toast, 1/2 pat butter, 4 oz. OJ
Luncheon: grilled cheese sandwich, Tomato Bouillon, orange
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Oven Croquettes, Baked Broccoli with Celery and Onion, Stewed Tomatoes, Spanish Cream

Saturday

Breakfast: 1/2 ripe banana, 3/4 cup wheat flakes, 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk
Luncheon: 1 hamburger patty, green salad, 4 slices pickles, 1/2 toasted roll
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Fruit and Cheese platter, Coffee Delight

Sunday

Breakfast: Scrambled Egg, 1/2 English muffin, 1/2 pat butter, OJ
Luncheon: Mother's Day (We're going to a BBQ place. Many, oh so many, calories.)
Pickup: 4 oz. milk
Dinner: Chicken Salad with Grapes, 2 slices bread, sliced apples with cinnamon

And HERE is the link for my comments about the rest of the week.

Week Six: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Menus

2009-05-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday all of the menus were re-runs. My husband said the Clam Chowder was really flavorful. My only change to the recipe (Here) is using vegetable juice instead of tomato juice and being liberal with the cayenne.

Friday was good. The Oven Croquettes were so runny I ended up pouring them into the pan and then cutting them into eight portions. Very THIN portions. The flavor was good. The Broccoli with celery and onions was also "good." Nothing to write home (or in a blog!) about. I think I'll do them again as the onions and bouillon cube do dress up the taste of the broccoli. I'll try them on the stovetop next time. We had ice cream at the local cremee shop, so I opted out of the Spanish Cream. You WILL see it show up again, though, because I want to try it.

Oven Croquettes (8 servings)

2 cups ground beef
1 tsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
1/2 cup beef bouillon (from cube) (I used chicken)
1/2 cup skim milk (I used whole)
2 tbsp. raw onion, chopped
2 tbsp. green pepper, chopped
1 egg
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. chili sauce (I used cayenne)

Melt butter; add flour and seasonings; blend well. Add bouillon and skim milk; stir and cook until slightly thickened. Add ground meat, chopped vegetables, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and chili sauce. Blend well and heat through. Preheat oven to 375. Use a small mold to form mixture into 8 croquettes. Place them on a lightly greased oven platter or glass pie pan. Bake for about 25 minutes.

Broccoli with Celery and Onion (3 servings)

10 oz. pkg. thawed frozen broccoli
1 med. stalk diced celery
1 small onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup chicken bouillon (from cube)

Thaw frozen broccoli. Preheat oven to 350. Cut broccoli into small pieces; arrange in a 1 quart glass casserole with the diced celery and sliced onion. Pour the hot bouillon over vegetables. Cover; bake until vegetables are tender--not more than 30 minutes. Add salt if necessary.

Saturday was also all reruns. Again we indulged by getting a cremee.

Sunday being Mother's Day was a bust in the food department. That's what Monday's are for--starting over!

Week Six: Weigh In

2009-05-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Party foods = weight gain.

I know, big surprise.

Between Cinco de Mayo (and its subsequent leftovers) and Mother's Day, well, the numbers are up.

Weight gain: 1 pound

Inches gained or lost: 0

I checked the calendar and there will be no more partying until Memorial Day. That gives me two weeks of consistency.

A note about Low-Calorie Foods on the Market

2009-05-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

As you know, we are surrounded on all sides with all manner of diet foods. When the companies finally realized all the money they were missing out on, they made up for it in astounding ways.

Well, back in 1958 "low-calorie" and "diet" foods were just beginning. The choices were limited. They promised happy things about being able to enjoy foods without the guilt of added pounds.

Ida Jean and Mildred gave a nod to diet foods. They embraced artificial sweeteners. They encouraged the use of D-Zerta. But, they still had something to say about how to use these new diet aids properly:

The calorie content of these diet foods is clearly indicated on the labels. Some of these foods are only slightly lower in calories than the regular varieties; others contain a minimum of calories, and some no calories. It is important to know that the label non-nutritive means no food value. (Emphasis theirs.) Such products should be used only as accessories to a balanced diet.

The dieter goes right along with the process of living, and the nutrition essentials for repair work and for the vital upkeep of the body are required daily in normal amounts. specialty foods of this sort do not replace the protective foods (I love that. "Protective foods.") or change the basic pattern of eating--but they do allow weight watchers to add the trimmings.

~ Page 179

I completely agree. REAL food was made to work with our bodies. Chemical substitutes can and often do cause problems. They're not real.

Ida Jean and Mildred were wise ladies.

Week Six: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Menus

2009-05-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Monday and Tuesday of this week have been odd. I was very excited to see two more pounds gone and was ready to continue my slimming ways. At the same time, I hadn't had a chance to plan my menus and we were coming off of a Yard Sale weekend. I had also planned to celebrate Cinco de Mayo as a finish to our homeschooling unit study about Mexico. (Notice how I did that. Pretty smart, eh?)

Anyway, Monday was essentially leftovers. Since we had it during the weekend, twice on Monday and one more time for good measure on Tuesday, you will probably notice a LONG stretch of time before it shows up on the menu again!

Tuesday was CINCO de MAYO, baby! I could eat Mexican Food for days on end and not get tired of it. So, for the enjoyment of your tastebuds, here's the menu:

Enchiladas
Tacos
Pico de Gallo
Chunky Guacamole (we kept the pieces chunked instead of pureeing. Oh, my, YUM!)
Elote Catijo (This was new to me. It is addicting. Proceed with caution. My version is below.)
Virgin Margaritas (Sadly, I broke my blender in all the ice-crushing excitement.)
Tres Leches cake (MOIST, so very moist. My new favorite birthday cake.)

I figured most of the dishes were familiar, so I linked only the two. If you'd like recipes for the other dishes, just let me know.

Elote Catijo

1 bag frozen corn (NOT on the cob)
6 tbsp. mayonnaise
3 tbsp. butter, melted
5 tsp. lime juice
6 tbsp. Parmesan cheese (Closest equivalent for cotijo cheese.)
1 tsp. chili powder

(This recipe is served at street vendors in Mexican neighborhoods. Sometimes they roast corn on the cob, sometimes they used de-cobbed corn and serve in styrofoam cups. I chose the off-the-cob form as we were serving it to our kids. I'm all for less mess. If you'd like to use the cob, roast it and brush on the sauce and sprinkle on the spicy cheese.)

Heat corn through. Mix the mayo, butter, and lime juice. Set aside. Mix the grated Parmesan (ground up) and the chili powder. TRIPLE (or more) the amount if you like spicy. This was very mild. Set aside. Layer the corn, the sauce, and the spicy cheese in a dish.

(The first taste is quite nice. The second is rather tasty. The third starts producing noises of bliss in the back of your throat. After that you are apt to begin speaking Spanish.)

Ole!

Week Five: Mix and Match Menus

2009-05-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

(Since the week these menus were planned for was my getting-ready-for-a-monster-two-day-yard-sale week, I didn't do individual posts. Instead I typed my comments below each day in italicized print.)

Monday

Breakfast: 1 wheat biscuit, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1 kiwi, sliced
Luncheon: Chef's Salad, 1 slice bread, 1/2 pat butter
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: 1 hamburger patty, green salad with vinegar and oil dressing, green beans with 1/2 pat butter, sherbet

(Great basic menu. Very easy, very tasty. Good for a BUSY day!)

Tuesday

Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, Shirred Egg, 1 slice toast with jam
Luncheon: hamburger patty, sliced tomatoes, carrots and mushrooms
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: broiled chicken, parsley potatoes, 1/2 pat butter, asparagus, Baked Delicious Pears

(Another easy day. I especially liked how ALL of dinner was prepared together in the oven! The Baked Pear Delicious lived up to its name. I've never had pears like this before and they were warm and yummy. The recipe is below.)

Baked Pear Delicious (4 servings)

4 medium fresh pears
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 lemon

Wash pears; remove blossom ends, but leave stems on. Place in deep casserole with sugar, water, lemon juice and strip of rind. Cover and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake until done (about 1 hour). Remove from oven and take up in individual serving dishes.

Wednesday

Breakfast: French Omelet, English muffin, 1/2 pat butter, tomato juice
Luncheon: sliced roast beef, rice pilaff, spinach
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Frankfurter Kabobs, baked potato, parsley carrots, celery sticks, butterscotch pudding

(We are a "kabobbing" family these days. My son is a big fan and wants everything "kabobbed." The rice pilaff was MUCH better this time. I used brown rice and cooked it the right amount of time. Delicious! The butterscotch pudding, however, was NOT my favorite. I can see it layered with chocolate pudding, but it didn't do anything for me by itself.)

Thursday

Breakfast: 3/4 cup hot cereal, 1 tsp. sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk, OJ
Luncheon: Clam Chowder, Chef's Salad, toast, 1/2 pat butter
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Steak Kabobs, baked potato, 1/2 pat butter, green salad, Pineapple-Lime Parfait

(I told you we were a "kabobbing" family. Another easy day. Husband said the Clam Chowder was pretty good. The Pineapple-Lime Parfait was very refreshing. Recipes below.)

Clam Chowder (6 servings)

1/2 slice bacon
1 med. diced onion
1 qt. boiling water
1 cup diced celery
2 tbsp. diced green pepper
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced potatoes
2 cups tomato juice
1 can minced clams
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Dash cayenne

Cut bacon into small pieces with scissors; cook with the onion about 5 minutes. Add boiling water, salt, celery, green pepper, and carrots. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes. Add potatoes, tomato juice and the rest of the seasonings. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add clams with liquid; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Test for seasoning.

Pineapple-Lime Parfait (6 servings)

1 pkg. lime-flavored gelatin
1 cup hot water
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 tbsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. non-fat dry milk
3 tbsp. ice-cold water

Dissolve the gelatin in 1 cup hot water. Drain crushed pineapple, reserving juice. Refrigerate crushed pineapple. Add the lemon juice to the pineapple juice; add enough cold water to make 1 cup of liquid. Add to gelatin. Chill until gelatin begins to thicken. Fold the drained pineapple into about two thirds of the gelatin. Divide it into 6 parfait glasses. Beat the reserved gelatin until light. Beat the ice-cold water and the 3 tbsp. of non-fat dry-milk solids until thick; fold into the whipped gelatin. Pile on top of the parfait glasses. Chill. This is a party-pretty dessert.

Friday

Breakfast: 1/2 ripe banana, 1 Wheat Biscuit, 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk
Luncheon: grilled cheese and ham sandwich, sliced tomato on lettuce
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: 15 bean soup with ham, sliced tomato on lettuce, roll with 1/2 pat butter, Ambrosia

Saturday

Breakfast: 1/2 ripe banana, 3/4 cup wheat flakes, 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk
Luncheon: 15 beans soup with ham, roll with 1/2 pat butter, sliced tomatoes on lettuce
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Fruit and Cheese platter, Coffee Delight

(Friday and Saturday I had a mega yard sale. I managed to pull off my menus because I took advantage of the crockpot! I even made the Ambrosia and the Fruit and Cheese platter ahead of time. I didn't do the Coffee Delight. I will schedule that one again because I'm eager to try it.)

Sunday

Breakfast: Scrambled Egg, 1/2 English muffin, 1/2 pat butter, OJ
Luncheon: Chicken Salad with Grapes, 2 slices bread, sliced apples with cinnamon
Pickup: 4 oz. milk
Dinner: Oven Croquettes, Baked Broccoli with Celery and Onion, Stewed Tomatoes, Spanish Cream

(I ran out of steam by the time I got to Sunday. We ate out after church and then had more of the Ham and Bean soup for supper. I was so sore I could barely move!)

Week 5: Weigh In

2009-05-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

Last week was majorly hectic with preparing and having a two-day yard sale. It was wonderfully successful, but I'm ready to get back to "normal."

I weighed this morning: 2 more pounds are gone!

I measured, also: 1 inch has melted away.

I'm going to update my menu choices for this new week later on today.

Week 4: Weigh In

2009-04-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

I am SOLD on this reducing calories and moderate exercise way of doing things.

Despite the fact that I had FOUR days of barely being home, I still watched my calories and did moderate exercise.

The results?

TWO MORE POUNDS are gone!

There was no inch loss this week.

My "pinched nerve" is improving, so I will dial the exercise up a bit.

For week five I'm going to mix and match the menus and add some of the other recipes they listed in the back that weren't included in the "Slimming," "Budget Fare," and "Gourmet" menus.

I'll get those listed later today.

Weeks Three and Four: Gourmet menus

2009-04-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

I had trouble with maintaining the diet before during and after a holiday period (Easter and a birthday). I extended the menus to cover two weeks.

Click on the day names for the recipes and my evaluations. I did not do Saturday or Sunday.

Monday

Breakfast: 4 oz. chilled OJ, Scrambled Eggs, 1 slice Melba toast
Luncheon: 1/2 cup Crabmeat Salad, tomatoes and watercress, 1-2" slice hot French bread, 1/2 pat butter, 3/4 cup melon balls with mint
Pickup: Hot Cocoa
Dinner: Broiled Chicken, 1/2 cup Carrots and Mushrooms, 1 large stalk broccoli, green salad with 1/2 tbsp. Dieter's French Dressing, 1 1/2" wedge Dieter's Cheesecake

Tuesday

Breakfast: 4 oz. tomato juice, with lemon, Poached Egg Supreme,
Luncheon: 1 bouillon cup chicken soup, Fruit Platter with Cheese, 4 Melba rounds, toasted
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: Skewered Lamb and Pineapple, 1/2 med. baked potato, 1/2 pat butter, 1/2 cup peas and carrots, 1/2 cucumber--sliced, Coffee Delight, Demitasse

Wednesday

Breakfast: 1/2 cantaloupe, 2 slices Canadian-style bacon, 1 slice toast, 1/2 pat butter
Luncheon: Omelet with Fines Herbes, asparagus, Grapefruit and Green Pepper Salad, 1/2 toasted English muffin, 1/2 pat butter
Pickup: 4 oz. whole milk
Dinner: 1/4 lb. roast beef, Oven French Fries, 1/2 cup green beans, endive salad with 1/2 tbsp. Dieter's French Dressing, Raspberry Bavarian

Thursday

Breakfast: 1/2 ripe banana, 1 biscuit of Shredded Wheat (crisped in oven), 1 tsp. sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk
Luncheon: 3 oz. roast beef on 1 slice rye bread as an open-face broiled sandwich, hearts of lettuce with 1 1/2 tbsp. Russian Dressing, 4 oz. whole milk
Pickup: 6 oz. chilled OJ
Dinner: 1 Spiced Veal Chop, 2 young whole carrots, 1/2 med. baked potato, 1/2 pat butter, 4 oz. frozen mixed fruits

Friday

Breakfast: 4 oz. chilled tangerine juice, 1 Fried Egg, 1 slice toast, 1/2 pat butter
Luncheon: 1 bouillon cup "cream" of mushroom soup, Tuna Fish Salad with Grapes, 2 wafers of toasted Ry-Krisp, hot tea
Pickup: 1 tart apple
Dinner: 1/4 lb. fillet of broiled flounder with lemon, Rice Pilaff, spinach, Stuffed Tomato Salad, Fruit-Nectar Fruit Cup

Saturday

Breakfast: 1/2 med. grapefruit, 2/3 cup hot Wheatena, 1 tsp. sugar, 1/2 cup whole milk
Luncheon: grilled cheese sandwich with 1 slice rye bread, 1 oz. process American cheese, 1 slice Canadian-style bacon, sliced tomatoes and chicory, hot tea with lemon
Pickup: 4 oz. OJ
Dinner: 1 skewer Steak Kabobs, 1/2 med. baked potato, 1/2 pat butter, tossed green salad with 1 1/2 tbsp. Gourmet Dressing, Pineapple-Lime Parfait

Sunday

Breakfast: 4 oz. orange-grapefruit juice, Shirred Egg, 1/2 toasted crumpet, 1/2 pat butter
Luncheon: Skewer of Chicken livers and Tomato, 6 spears asparagus with 1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, Baked Pear Delicious, hot tea with lemon
Pickup: 1 cup Hot Cocoa
Dinner: 1 bouillon cup Consomme with Sherry, 3 oz. baked ham with 2 halves grilled apricots, 1 slice rye bread, 1/2 pat butter, 1/4 head lettuce wedge with 1 1/2 tbsp. Thousand Island Dressing, Tangerine Snow

Guess what???

2009-04-25T18:35:00.001-07:00

I love that word--"slimming." It sounds so smooth and feminine.

I decided to type it in and added "retro image" to it. Guess what I found out? PEPSI IS SLIMMING!!

Yes, yes it is! These ads are from the 1950s, no less, so it MUST be true. I wonder why Ida Jean and Mildred didn't mention it? It seems remiss of them.

Be refreshed. Be slim.

I'm falling apart

2009-04-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Things are NOT cooperating for me this week!

Unexpected outings and a pinched nerve in my neck have derailed my diet efforts. If I have any inch or weight loss on Monday, it will be a miracle.

I exercised on Monday and Tuesday. I prepared meals. Then Wednesday began a snowball effect. I finally talked to a physical therapist about my nerve situation. Very frustrating, but I won't let it set me back too much.

I'll be out ALL day on Saturday and Sunday.

I think I've figured out why it's difficult to stay on a diet. LIFE keeps happening!

Gourmet Meals--Tuesday Menu

2009-04-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: Nice to have something besides OJ. I've made the Poached Egg Supreme before.

Luncheon: The Cheese and Fruit Platter was what you would expect. Is was VERY nice to have something quick and filling. The chicken soup was some that I just took out of the freezer from a few weeks ago. This would be a great "to go" lunch for errand running or work. I have a couple of thermoses that work great at keeping the hot foods hot.

Dinner: More skewers. I don't have "real" skewers. I've been using chopsticks that I've collected from Chinese fast food. They work great! I used beef which was nice with the pineapple. I didn't make the dessert as we're finishing up the two gallons of ice cream from the party last week. Here's the recipe:

Coffee Delight (4 servings)

1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. instant coffee
1/8 tsp. salt
1 med. egg, separated
7/8 cup water
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. ice-cold water
2 tbsp. non-fat dry milk

Mix gelatin, 1 tbsp. sugar, instant coffee and salt together thoroughly in the top of a double boiler. Beat together the egg yolk and the 7/8 cup water. Add to gelatin mixture and cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until gelatin is thoroughly dissolved, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat; add the vanilla. Chill to unbeaten egg-white consistency. Beat the egg white until stiff; beat in the the 2 tbsp. sugar. Fold in gelatin mixture. Beat the 2 tbsp. ice-cold water and the 2 tbsp. non-fat dry-milk solids together with a rotary beater until stiff and mixture stands in peaks. Fold into gelatin mixture. Turn into 4 sherbet glasses. Chill until firm.

Gourmet Meals--Monday Menu

2009-04-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: Well, THAT was a new way to make scrambled eggs! Instead of frying them in a pan, I used my makeshift double boiler (glass boil in pot--making sure that boiling water doesn't touch bowl) and they came out very soft and nice. It did, however, take a lot longer. The directions said I didn't have to stir very often and they were right. The nice thing was the serving size: TWO eggs!

Scrambled Eggs (2 servings)

4 medium eggs
1 tbsp., non-fat dry-milk powder
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
Speck pepper
Pinch herbs (optional)

Have water boiling in the bottom part of a double boiler; let the top part of the boiler become heated over the water while you prepare the eggs. Break eggs into a small bowl; beat with rotary beater. (I just used a fork.) Add non-fat dry-milk powder to the water; blend thoroughly. (I used whole milk.) Add to eggs. Season to taste. A dash of herb--oregano or marjoram--may be added. Some like a bit of curry. Pour the mixture into the heated double-boiler top; cover and let eggs cook over the boiling water until the desired consistency. Stir occasionally (but not continuously) with a wooden spoon. Remove the eggs from heat before they are quite done, as they will continue to cook in the heated cooker. Serve as soon as possible after removal from heat.

Luncheon: I didn't do the crabmeat salad for me. I just had leftovers. I fixed it for my husband, but he wanted it with mayo, etc. Here's the recipe for those who are seafood lovers:

Crabmeat Salad (3 servings)

6 1/2 oz. canned crabmeat
1/2 cup minced celery
2 tbsp. chopped green pepper
4 small radishes, sliced
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Salt, to taste
Dash pepper
1/4 cup Cooked Salad Dressing
lettuce

Drain and flake crabmeat. Combine with the prepared vegetables; add lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill. Just before serving, mix in the Cooked Salad Dressing. Serve on the lettuce.

Variations: Diced cucumber may be used in place of the green pepper. Add 1 hard-cooked egg, diced, for an additional 80 calories. The salad mixture may be used to stuff tomatoes which have been quartered not quite through.

Pickup: I still haven't made the book's Hot Cocoa recipe, yet. I just had 4oz. of whole milk.

Dinner: Broiled Chicken. Good. Carrots and Mushrooms. Good. All the veggies. Good. Dieter's Cheesecake? Might have been good if I had remembered to BUY cottage cheese. Somehow it didn't make it on the list. I'll get it next time around.

Carrots and Mushrooms (4 servings)

2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ginger
3 oz. canned sliced mushrooms

Slice carrots into saucepan; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and ginger. Add canned mushrooms, including the liquid (but not any added fat). Cover tightly; bring to boil. Cook gently until carrots are just tender, from 5 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Dieter's Cheesecake (16 servings)

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 medium eggs, separated
1 cup skim milk
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 cups small curd cottage cheese (Must be whole fat as the calories were listed as 645.)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup ice-cold water
1/2 cup non-fat dry-milk
1/3 cup (4 crackers) graham cracker crumbs
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Mix gelatin, sugar, and salt together thoroughly in the top of a double boiler. Beat together the egg yolks and 1 cup skim milk. Add to gelatin mixture and cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until gelatin is thoroughly dissolved, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat; add the grated lemon rind; cool. Sieve the cottage cheese; stir into gelatin mixture; add lemon juice and vanilla. Chill, stirring occasionally until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Fold in the egg whites, stiffly beaten.

Beat the 1/2 cup cold water and the dry-milk solids together with a rotary beater until stiff and mixture stands in peaks. Fold into gelatin mixture. Turn into an 8-inch pan and sprinkle top with a mixture of the graham-cracker crumbs, cinnamon and nutmeg. Chill until firm.

Weigh-in Day

2009-04-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Considering all the calorie consumption, I'm not disappointed.

I gained back a pound (there was a LOT of birthday cake and sweet tea to be had).

I LOST, however, a 1/2 inch on my thigh.

I expect next Monday's numbers to show the results of diligent exercise and proper eating.

Return of the Re-runs

2009-04-19T15:52:00.001-07:00

Does anyone remember "Summer Re-runs?"

Back when I was young (which is getting harder to remember each day that passes...), when we finally got a color TV (after having none, then a black and white set), we had 3-1/2 channels.

Channel 11 in Tampa was the 1/2 channel. The shows came in but with "snow." That channel had The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Dallas. Since we visually missed most of the show, we were happy that, come summer, we had a chance to watch them again in an attempt to piece together what we missed.

That's my retro version of saying that I'm going to "Rerun" the Gourmet meals. They were hit and miss with all the Easter/birthday festivities.

I want to try what I missed.

So, I will start the Gourmet menus again on Monday. Hey, you don't even have to wait until summer.

Let the chilled OJ flow!

Gourmet Meals--Friday Menu

2009-04-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

I lied. One more day of the roast for me. We're supposed to have flounder for dinner. No flounder in our store, so I opted for shrimp. Shh. Don't tell Ida Jean and Mildred.

Breakfast: Again with the "chilled." They assumed I could find tangerine juice. I could not. I had OJ again. But I made sure it was chilled. The fried eggs were MUCH nicer than I normally do. I've discovered that I keep thinking high heat = fast cooking. It just equals burned food. Must be the years of microwave use that I've had.

(Speaking of microwave ovens, I no longer have one. In fact, I have done without for over five years. I never missed it. Sure, I had to sometimes stand in front of the stove and think through HOW I was going to cook or reheat something, but that didn't take too long. I have a toaster oven that is great for reheating. Everything tastes better compared to the microwave. I've read that people complained about the taste of food when the transition was made from wood stoves to gas stoves and then again from gas stoves to electric. I've also read that microwaves are not necessarily evil nor necessarily that good for us. It seems that the molecular structure of the food just may be altered because of the microwaves. That didn't sound like a good thing, so I chucked the microwave and haven't looked back.)

Fried Egg--Slimming Style

1 med. egg
1/2 tsp. butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Use a small, heavy iron skillet; heat the butter; be sure that bottom of skillet is coated with the fat. Add egg and cook over low heat until of the desired degree of doneness, from 3 to 4 minutes. Cover the skillet so that egg will cook on top without additional fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper or with seasoned salt.

Luncheon: Mushroom soup? Meh. There was no recipe in the book, so I looked up one. I apparently looked up the wrong one. I won't bother to post it.

I used chicken instead of tuna in the Tuna Fish Salad and it was GOOD. I love the grapes in it. That Cooked Salad Dressing is some awesome stuff. I couldn't find Ry-Krisp so I just used the Melba toast.

Pickup: This did not satisfy like the 4 oz. of whole milk or the toast with butter. I really believe a little fat makes the cravings calm down.

Dinner: Ah. The rice pilaff. (The book had two "F's.") What a disappointment. Not the flavor--the flavor was really good. Trying to cook this in the oven just didn't cut it. The recipe said 25 minutes. The liquid was no where near absorbed. I tried it for another 10 minutes and then took it out to set. Though almost done, there was a slight "crunch" to it. Next time I will use the recipe but cook it on the stove. The cloves? Honestly? I couldn't tell there were any cloves in it. Next time I will finely chop the onions into the rice. I might just nix the cloves.

(ETA: Oops. I just realized WHY the rice was crunchy. Brown rice takes LONGER to cook than white rice. Well, duh.)

I did NOT want to have the Tomato Aspic again. Yuck. I opted for another recipe in the book called "Stuffed Tomato Salad." I had run out of the cooked salad dressing, so I (gasp) used 2 tbsp. of mayo. The salad was very tasty.

For the Fruit-Nectar Fruit Cup, I substituted peach juice for the nectar. The peach juice was not the syrup, which probably would have been closer to the nectar. It was still good, though. No Malaga grapes in my supermarket. I looked them up HERE. I decided to go with green grapes.

Rice Pilaff

1 cup rice (I used brown rice)
1 tbsp. oil
1-10 1/2 oz. can of beef consomme
2/3 cup water
1 sm. onion (for seasoning)
3 cloves
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375. In skillet, brown rice in the oil. Dilute consomme with the water; heat to boiling point. Stick cloves in peeled onion. Combine browned rice, hot consomme, onion, and salt in casserole. Cover tightly. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Remove onion. Serve hot. May be pressed into a mold.

Stuffed Tomato Salad (1 serving)

1 small tomato
Stuffing:
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
2 small radishes, sliced
1 tbsp. Cooked Salad Dressing
Lettuce
Parsley garnish

Mix the vegetables for the stuffing with the Cooked Salad Dressing. Peel tomato and quarter, cutting not quite through. Arrange on lettuce leaves; push the quarters apart and fill with the stuffing. Garnish with parsley sprigs.

Fruit Nectar Fruit Cup (6 servings)

1 cup Malaga grapes (pic at right)
2 bananas, sliced
24 medium canned pineapple chunks
1 cup apricot nectar, canned

Set out 6 serving cups. Seed and halve the grapes; put a portion in each cup. Slice one third banana into each cup. Add 4 medium pineapple chunks to each cup. Pour the apricot nectar over the fruit. Refrigerate fruit cups until serving time.

The Results of the Poll

2009-04-17T14:34:00.001-07:00

I posted a poll to see if I were the only person who was not enthusiastic about certain foods that used to be common just 50 years ago. Usually I AM the only person who is severely picky. I discovered that, at least for these foods, I wasn't the only one.

My poll statement was, "Popular 1958 Foods That Will Never Cross My Lips."

The choices are on the left with the percentage of people who declared a resounding "no" in the parentheses:

Liver (66%)
Stewed Prunes (50%)
Molded Fruit Salad (33%)
Tomato Aspic (83%)
Melba Toast (0%)
Chicken Livers (83%)

My how times have changed! My MIL who was born in 1938 regularly made these items for her family when my husband was growing up.

Thanks for voting!

Gourmet Meals--Thursday Menu

2009-04-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

I decided to stretch that roast, baby! It sliced up beautifully. What's left over I will freeze. I'll do that right away as now I'm tired of the roast.

Breakfast: I, for the first time in my life, tried one of those giant wheat biscuits. Must say, it was good! One of my favorite cereals is Frosted Mini Wheats. Of course, each one of those mini-bites has a thick layer of sprayed sugar on it. I tried the giant biscuit without the sugar and it was fine. The tsp. of sugar I added actually was too much. Imagine that?

Luncheon: The open-faced sandwich was pretty good. A little dry. For my husband I added the horseradish sauce and a second slice of bread. The Russian Dressing (scroll down) was good.

Pickup: I noticed that for the Slimming Menus and the Budget Fare Menus I served orange juice. But for the Gourmet Menus there was a change: Chilled Orange Juice. I felt pampered.

Dinner: I used the sauce in the recipe for the veal chops to top the sliced roast beef. Quite good, actually!

Spiced Veal Chops (Serving: 1 chop)

6-1/4" thick chops (approx. 3 lb. raw wt.)
1 clove garlic, cut
1 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. seasoned salt
Pinch crushed herbs (sage, thyme, basil
1 tbps. oil
1/2 cup hot water
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 lemon, sliced

Rub surface of chops with cut garlic clove. Mix flour, seasoned salt, and just a pinch of desired herbs, crushed. Sprinkle chops on both sides with the mixture. Heat oil in skillet; brown chops slowly on both sides; watch carefully that they do not burn. Add hot water and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer chops, covered, until tender--about 1 hours. (Since my meat was already cooked, I just simmered until heated through. I did brown the meat a little as suggested for more flavor.) Serve chops with lemon slices.

Did I mention I'm glad to be back on track?

Gourmet Meals--Wednesday Menu

2009-04-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

It felt good to get back on track. I opened my "guidebook" and it felt like an old friend.

Breakfast: QUICK and easy. Tasty, too. This seemed to stay with me longer than the cold cereal days.

Luncheon: The omelet was just OK. It was basically a flat scrambled egg. Normally my omelets are loaded with cheese and onions. My son was excited about getting to have the Grapefruit and Green Pepper Salad again. Apparently it has become a favorite.

Dinner: In the guidebook it just said "roast beef." I decided to use my slow cooker recipe (I'll post it below). I've also roasted it in my dutch oven pot in the oven. It comes out TENDER and sliceable (is that a word?). The Raspberry Bavarian was nice. I didn't want to buy powdered milk (it is NOT healthy for you), so I just blended in some whole milk. It gave it a bright pink color and gave the jello a "creaminess." The Oven French Fries made a comeback appearance.

Roxanne's Roast Beef

1 4-lb. beef roast

salt, pepper

granulated garlic

cayenne

sliced onions

Put roast (mine was frozen) into crockpot. Sprinkle all seasonings over surface of roast. Place slices of onion on top. Cook on low for nine hours.

Dieter's French Dressing

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup tarragon or wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

celery salt

salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

Combine ingredients in glass jar or bottle. Shake until blended. Store in refrigerator. Shake well before using.

Raspberry Bavarian

1 pkg. raspberry gelatin

1 cup hot water

3/4 cup cold water

3 tbsp. lemon juice

3/4 cup raspberries, frozen, thawed, drained (reserve juice)

3 tbsp. non-fat dry milk

3 tbsp. ice-cold water

Thaw a package of frozen raspberries. Dissolve gelatin in the hot water; add 3/4 cup cold water and the lemon juice. Refrigerate until mixture begins to thicken. Drain the raspberries, reserving the juice. beat the non-fat dry-milk solids with the 3 tablespoons ice-cold water until consistency of whipped cream. Beat gelatin until frothy. Fold whipped milk into gelatin; add the drained raspberries carefully. Spoon into 6 sherbet glasses. Chill. If desired, 1 tablespoon of the raspberry juice (15 calories) may be spooned over the top of each serving.

I miss being on my diet.

2009-04-14T18:26:00.001-07:00

Did you see that? Did you see the title of my post? I am astounded by what I just wrote. The truth is that I really DO miss my diet!

With Easter and birthday foods coming and going and staying up until 2:30 last night to finish up the taxes, I have not done my diet for five days. I am ready to jump back into it.

I've risen to the challenge of cooking three meals a day. I've enjoyed trying "vintage" menus. I've also appreciated that each meal is planned to be balanced and low calorie. That means I don't have to do any figuring. I also love that there is dessert practically every night.

I realized something. I never "make" dessert. I "buy" dessert. I buy ice cream, cookies, candy, chocolate, etc. It is usually eaten in the evening in front of the TV before bed. Now we've had it at the table following our meal. It's treated as a special thing. My time and effort is involved and it has more meaning, if you will, than just ripping open the bag of Keeblers.

This week is the "Gourmet" menus. I've missed out on Monday and Tuesday, though, so I'm going to jump in on Wednesday.

After I finish this week I'm planning on doing a fourth week in which I pick and choose the 7 menus I liked the best. I'll see what I do after that.

This is from the introduction to the "Gourmet" section. I have to agree:

"When slimming meals are delicious there is no temptation to fall off the diet. These gourmet meals, cooked according to calorie-counted recipes, make eating for weight control a positive pleasure."

Week Two: Weigh In

2009-04-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

I was trepidatious as I stepped on the scale this morning. After two days of eating party foods(thanks to Easter and my son's birthday being the same day), I didn't expect good news.

I stopped myself at one helping at dinner. I didn't eat supper. BUT, the foods that I ate and the accompanying glass after glass of sweet tea canceled out the benefits of portion control.

I am still at only two pounds lost, but none gained. The other day I weighed and two more pounds seemed to have been gone.

My measurements, however, had a total overall LOSS of 1 1/2 inches.

I will get back on track tomorrow. Today we are finishing up the leftovers and I'm not missing out on those!

This week we I will be using the "Gourmet" menus. They are certainly interesting.

I'm getting help in my endeavors

2009-04-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

It's Easter weekend. Tomorrow we will be hiding plastic eggs (possibly in the snow!) for my son and his cousin. We bought a plastic container of jelly beans for the eggs. That's the background.

I'm in the midst of spring cleaning the kitchen. (See my "Spring Cleaning Challenge.") I decided I wanted some red jelly beans. Mmm. They were good. A few minutes later I wanted some pink ones. Equally as good. About 10 minutes later I thought I'd take another little break. What's that? The jelly bean container. Maybe this time I'll try some of the.....OW! As I slid my finger under the lid to open it, I got a cut!

I decided to stop eating the jelly beans.

This reminds of something that happened a few months ago. My husband brought home a bag of Hershey's Cordial Cherry Kisses. Oh, those things are little bites of heaven. He left them on the counter. I decided to grab a few and one fell under the dishwasher.

The dishwasher was added when we moved in NINE years ago. My husband never put a kick plate in front of the bottom, so things are always rolling under there. I reached my hand under the dishwasher to retrieve the kiss when, SNAP! Something tried to bite me!

It was an old mousetrap still set from when we had a "situation" a couple of years ago. Thankfully it got only the top of my finger rather than something worse.

I put the Kiss back in the bag.

Even the snacks are trying to help me stay on task!

My relationship with convenience stores.

2009-04-11T05:29:00.001-07:00

It's Saturday morning. I couldn't resist. I stepped on the scale to see how things were going . It seems that I'm down ANOTHER two pounds!

That's exciting, but I am aware that Easter is tomorrow. I won't be following the diet. Instead I'll be eating things like scalloped potatoes with cream sauce, sweet tea, salad with fattening dressing, birthday cake and ice cream! Then, I have to weigh and measure on Monday morning.

I will try to counteract those effects by not getting the large portions I usually plop on my plate. I'm also going to do an extra day of exercising today. We shall see.

This week I had a bit of an epiphany about my relationship with convenience stores. I might be the only one who has this experience, so I'll treat it as a confession!

We live half an hour from the places we go to most. Right around the corner from my house is a McD's and many convenience stores. The convenience stores have desserts, coffee (flavored!), fountain drinks, chips--all my favorite (non) food groups.

When I get into the car to run errands, my cupholder is empty, begging for a nice cool or warm drink, depending on the season. It's like a buddy traveling with me.

The convenience store is not only convenient. It's comforting. It's offerings are like companions for the road trip. The convenience store and fast food places stock me up for my travel "experience."

My husband and I used to travel from college (in MA) home to Florida during breaks. That's a LONG trip. The convenience stores even then offered quick stops for cheap refreshments. Good memories are attached to the (non) food items.

Comfort. Companionship. Experience. Refreshment. Memories. Oh, and convenience.

These past two weeks of following this 1958 diet has "deprived" me of my friends. I pass many of those friends as I run my errands and go to my appointments. The first week I looked at them longingly. The beginning of this week I began to be aware of their flaws. Today I see them for who they really are. They're not friends at all.

They are saboteurs!

I need new friends. I will now ponder how I will go about replacing these false friends with new, faithful friends.

Budget Fare--Thursday Menu

2009-04-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: This morning's fare was the wheat cereal with banana. It's certainly quick and easy. It tastes good. I don't add the listed sugar because the cereal already has sugar (6 grams). BUT, I find that I'm hungry by mid-morning. I caved and had two pieces of toast with butter and two chocolate eggs. See what happens when I'm hungry? I had protein and fat with the whole milk, but I think the eggs provide more satisfaction when we have them for breakfast.

I also opted out of the hamburger roll at dinner to makeup for the calories I consumed in my mid-morning hunger situation.

Luncheon: Very simple and very good. I had to buy peaches this week as the store I used had no canned apricots. After being hungry in the morning I was a little concerned about the afternoon. The "Pickup" was just right at the right time.

Dinner: We have church services on Thursday nights. I was busy cleaning, homeschooling, etc. when I realized I hadn't made dinner yet. Because I made up the burger patties last week and froze them, dinner came together VERY fast. I forgot to make the Baked Custard this morning (my son was very sad), so I swapped the custard dessert day with the angel food cake dessert day.

I adjusted the recipe for the Savory Slaw by omitting the vinegar. There's enough vinegar in the Cooked Salad Dressing to provide the tangy taste.

The Stewed Tomatoes were a big surprise. As I was preparing them (very easy to do), I was thinking, "What's the point of taking a tasty tomato and doing this to it?" I also realized I was hacking the poor tomato more than peeling it, so I adjusted my pressure on the second tomato and it came out beautifully. The surprise? THEY WERE REALLY GOOD! What a nice, rich, flavor. I will definitely be adding this to my permanent recipe file.

Stewed Tomatoes (3 servings)

2 medium/large tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon butter
(1/2 tablespoon finely minced onion--OPTIONAL)
(1/2 tablespoon finely minced green bell pepper--OPTIONAL)

(I did not use the onion and green pepper. Since we were on our way to church we wanted to be kind to the people we would be speaking to!)

Peel tomatoes and cut into chunks, placing them in a medium saucepan; cover tightly. Cook tomatoes over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the salt, pepper, sugar, and butter, along with minced onion and green pepper, if using. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until juices are slightly reduced.

Budget Fare--Wednesday Menu

2009-04-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

I ran errands today. I decided to prepare my luncheon ahead of time and take it with me as well as my "Pickup." (I opted not to do the hot cocoa and just brought milk.) It worked wonderfully well since the items were cold. I'm very proud of myself after yesterday's "McFlurry Debacle."

Breakfast: Stewed Prunes. The name alone put me off. I made them by covering in water and heating to a simmer until the "plumped." They didn't plump into a sphere like I was expecting, but they did plump up a little out of their grooves. Husband and Son thought they were divine. They're like that. Makes it easier for me to try new things with them. But, surprise, I didn't like them. Too stringy and the flavor was nothing like a plum. Son happily ate the rest of mine. I'm really getting the hang of the poached egg, though. I look like I know what I'm doing when I cook them now!

Luncheon: As I've mentioned before, I don't do seafood. I had chicken salad instead of Tuna. Since I was traveling, I didn't broil the grapefruit. I just sectioned it and brought it with us. The hot tea was OK. I'm used to loading it with sugar, so I just "took one for the team" and this project.

Tuna Fish Salad (2 servings)

1/2 cup drained tuna fish in water (I used chicken)
1 med. hard-cooked egg
1/4 cup diced celery
10 grapes
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons Cooked Salad Dressing (scroll down)

Drain and flake tuna fish. Cook and chop egg. Dice celery and halve the grapes. Combine ingredients; add salt to taste and blend in the Cooked Salad Dressing. Serve mounded in the lettuce cups. (Suggested variation: cherries!)

Dinner: The macaroni and cheese wasn't bad at all. It was fairly good. I'm used to the amazing macaroni and cheese recipe that I always use, however. But this was good. I used real cheese instead of the processed. The rest of the meal was very colorful and light.

Macaroni and Cheese (6 servings)

1 cup dry elbow macaroni
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 tsp. plus of salt
Few grains of pepper
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup cubed process American cheese
Paprika to sprinkle on top

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. In a saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, salt to taste, and a few grains of pepper; blend. Add skim milk gradually and cook until mixture is smooth and heated through. Stir in the cubed cheese. Mix sauce with the drained macaroni. Place in a lightly greased casserole; sprinkle with paprika. Bake in a 350 degree oven until thoroughly heated through and lightly browned on top, about 45 minutes.

(I used whole milk. I just reduced it to one cup and added 1/2 cup of water to lower the calories.)

Budget Fare--Tuesday Menu

2009-04-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

I started out the day full of motivation. I got lots of work done. I exercised. I had my breakfast and my luncheon. Then something horrendous happened. A friend came by bearing a gift she knew that I liked. A McD's McFlurry. M&M, no less. I couldn't say no. Well, I could have, but I didn't. I ate the whole thing.

To compensate, I decided to skip supper to try to undo my indulgence. I ended up being hungry and had a baked potato and a piece of cheese. I looked up the McFlurry on line.

620 calories. Oh my. That's over half my day's total calorie count.

Oh my.

As a true Southern Belle, I will claim the declaration that: "Tomorrow is another day!" I will get back on the vintage wagon (taking care to wear nice gloves and a hat). I will guard myself against another disaster like that!

Breakfast: I have never had oatmeal like this before. For the first time in my life I LIKED oatmeal!! It just worked for me. I'm excited about that.

Luncheon: Excellent. I could do this again.

Dinner: Was SUPPOSED to be tomato soup with liver. The liver wasn't going to happen. I was planning on some leftover chicken that I still had. The store I went to for this week's groceries didn't have canned apricots, so I substituted canned peaches. The Cole slaw was the Savory Slaw recipe from THIS day. The Deviled Green Beans had promise. I may try to slip them in somewhere and try them since I already bought the horseradish. Here is the recipe for continuity's sake.

Deviled Green Beans

1 lb. green beans
1 med. onion, sliced
1 tsp. oil
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon prepared horse-radish
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare beans for cooking; cut French style. Cook in a small amount of boiling salted water until almost done; drain. In skillet, cook onion in oil or butter until golden, stirring to avoid scorching. Add beans to onion. Add remaining ingredients; heat through. Serve at once.

Budget Fare--Monday Menu

2009-04-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

I must say that the Budget Fare menu doesn't mess around. There are no little extras here, nosireebob!

Breakfast: The usual items but with tomato juice instead of OJ. I think OJ works better.

Luncheon: Sandwich? Good. Celery sticks, carrot sticks, and apple? Good. A bouillon cube in a cup of hot water? Yuck. I poured it down the drain. I'm not sure what the point was since it was made with one of the bouillon cubes! Negative nutrition in that one.

Dinner: I was frightened. It called for frankfurters again. I decided that I would go with the Hebrew Nat'l. beef franks after someone recommended it. I looked it up and liked what I saw. And they were GOOD!

The sauerkraut was OK. I got the store brand and should have gone to the health food store to get the really good stuff. The store brand was more tart. I decided against caraway seeds since we don't like them and a tiny jar cost $5.

The Grapefruit and Green Pepper Salad was a HIT with my son. It was actually pretty good. It made a nice presentation and then I chopped it all up so it could be eaten together. I would prefer the ratio to be more salad than grapefruit, though.

Grapefruit and Green Pepper Salad

1/2 cup grapefruit sections
2 strips, 1/2" green pepper
Shredded lettuce

Arrange the grapefruit on shredded lettuce. Garnish with the green pepper strips.

The Day of Reckoning has arrived.

2009-04-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

I have been about 90% consistent this first week. I've kept to the meal plan with just a couple of slip-ups. I've been averageing about 7 glasses of water a day. I did NOT exercise, however. I pinched something in my back last Saturday and it finally felt tolerable around Friday.

(Drum roll)

She steps on the scale. She tries to focus from 5 feet up. (Why do they make those lines so small?)

We have............2 pounds lost!!!!!!

I dash downstairs to get the measuring tape. I'm wearing the same clothes that I was wearing when I measured last week. After measuring and adding and subtracting (my waist measurement went UP 1/2 inch??), I have a total inches lost amount. ONE inch.

Hey, I'll take it!

So, that's 2 pounds and 1 inch off my body. Hooray!

Now that my back is better, I will be doing the exercise I had planned to do. I'm continuing with the new menus, the "Budget Fare."

We'll see how things are in another week.

This week--Budget Fare menus

2009-04-05T17:20:00.001-07:00

From the guidebook:

"For the overweight, one of the unhappy facts of life is that low-cost foods are usually high in calories. It takes careful planning to cut costs and calories and at the same time ensure good nutrition.

Protein is the expensive item of the meal. Choose the lean and less expensive cuts of meat and cook these economy cuts slowly...

Watch for the weekly specials on meat, canned goods, and staple grocery items. Plan the meals around foods which provide grade-A nutrition at low cost."

This week I will be cooking from the "Budget Fare" section. They promise at the end of the introduction that, "On these budget menus you can lose one to two pounds a week, feel energetic, and not go hungry."

We shall see!

Sunday Menu

2009-04-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

I pulled it off! Sunday is a very difficult day for proper eating. We have to leave the house at 8:00 as my husband is in the worship team at church and they practice at 9:00. By the time church has ended and we've talked to everyone, it's around 1:30. We eat out every Sunday.

But, not this Sunday!

Breakfast: I prepped it last night. The Poached Egg Supreme was not as fancy as it's title. On a plate I laid out the split English muffin, a slice of Canadian bacon, and a cooked egg. This morning, I put the plate into the toaster oven and it toasted the bread and Canadian bacon and heated the cooked egg. That with the OJ was a quick and filling breakfast.

Luncheon: Notice that "dinner" replaced "luncheon" and "supper" replaced "dinner" on the plan. I'm sure that was because of the tradition of eating a big meal for lunch after church inviting relatives and others over to share. Since we were away from home, I just switched them back. I made the sandwiches and added grapes and put it all in a cooler. We ate while we ran errands on our way home.

Dinner: By the time we got home (3:30), I was tired and NOT wanting to cook. I wanted to order a pizza. I wanted to eat leftovers (we have a few). I changed into comfortable clothes and opened my guidebook. And it was easy! I didn't have bone-in pieces, so I used boneless, skinless breasts. The angel food cake was bought, the corn and asparagus just needed to be heated. The chicken was good! The water kept it moist and "sifting" the flour over the top made a nice little brown area. I'm sure it would have crisped up the skin had there been any!

I decided to replace the hot cocoa and angel food cake calories with a hot fudge sundae from McD's. I was feeling a little deprived having to eat a cold sandwich when I wanted to go out to eat at a restaurant.

Tomorrow will be my weigh-in and measure. We shall see if anything has budged!

Poached Egg Supreme: (Serving: 1 sandwich)

1 poached egg
1 slice Canadian bacon
1/2 English muffin (Oops! I didn't see that. I ate the whole thing.)

Grill slice of Canadian bacon; drain on absorbent paper. Poach egg and toast 1/2 English muffin. Place the bacon on the toasted muffin half. Top with the poached egg. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Golden-Brown Chicken

2 1/2 lb. disjointed chicken
2 tsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Ac'cent (I used paprika)
2 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven at 400 for fully 20 minutes. (I didn't think this was necessary as my oven indicates when it reaches 400. I wonder if there is ANOTHER reason that I should have waited 20 minutes?) Wash and dry chicken. Place pieces in a shallow pan, skin side up. Brush each piece lightly with the oil. Combine seasonings, Ac'cent and flour; sift evenly over chicken. Pour 1/2 cup hot water into pan (more later, if needed). Bake, uncovered, until brown (that was about 30 minutes for mine). Reduce heat to 300 and continue baking, uncovered, until chicken is tender. Total cooking time about 1 hour. After the first 30 minutes, baste chicken; baste once or twice again during cooking.

Shapely Weight from 1958

I'm Moving . . .

You're going to laugh...

Aaaarrrrgh!

Whew!

5/3 Weigh-in

Drum roll, please!

4/19 Weigh-in and a BIG Motivation on the horizon

Weigh-in and a Poll

Weigh-in

I got a new scale!

A Plateau of willpower already?

Week 4 Stats

Do-overs count, don't they?

3/15 Weigh-in

Evaluation: It's been three weeks

Monday's Stats

*whimper* . . . I'm sick!

You're Fat Because . . .

Sunday

Saturday

Heartburn?

Day 4 and beyond

Wednesday: Day 3 Emotional Upheaval

Tuesday's Challenge

Monday's Stats

Boarding the wagon...again.

Sigh.

Success!

Emotional Eating and the Weight of Others

Tuesday Menu

Monday's Menu

Back to the past

My new exercise routine

Parfait Update

Adding in vegetables

It's official!

Water

Weigh-in

Good Housekeeping Cookbook, 1955

Weigh-in

Vintage Cookbook Bonanza!

Exercise

Woo Hoo! (Post Detox Weigh-in)

Day 1 Progress

Detox Day 1--Weigh-in

Intermission

A sad milestone

Revelation

Weigh-in

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Weigh-in

"I Shot the Sheriff"

No, no, no!!!

About the Menu Plan for Week of June 15

Weigh-In

Saturday

Friday

Mix and Match Menus for week starting June 8

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

It's a new day

Penance and Restitution

Memorial Day and Tuesday

Next week

It's all in the mind

Week Seven: Weigh-in

Week Six: Mix and Match and Party

Week Six: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Menus

Week Six: Weigh In

A note about Low-Calorie Foods on the Market

Week Six: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Menus

Week Five: Mix and Match Menus

Week 5: Weigh In

Week 4: Weigh In

Weeks Three and Four: Gourmet menus

whimper . . . I'm sick!