Day 8 - Progress Report Wednesday!

Today is...SARCASTIC WEDNESDAY!

oh wait... I mean... PROGRESS WEDNESDAY!!

Since this journey started on June 1st which happened to be a Wednesday, I will be sharing a weekly progress report and at the end of the month a total progress report for the month!
So this week I lost....drumroll please:

7 POUNDS!  

Woohoo!!

This is probably going to be the most I lose in a week since I just started and you know, weight loss slows down and ultimately you hit a 'set point' that's REALLY tough to pass and stay past, but I'm going to enjoy this because I ate so many darn plants for it!!  My goal is to lose 2 pounds a week not 7 anyways so that's still the goal.  Thank you to those of you that are reading this little blog of mine.  It really encourages me to keep this going.  I love you so very much for your support, you know who you are!!!

BREAKFAST - 315 Calories

Today I awoke with the WORST cramps I have ever had in my life.  I don't know if the diet had any kind of affect on the intensity of my cramps but almighty spaghetti monster were they bad.  I woke up way late for work and had to call them to let them know that I was currently curled up into a ball and wouldn't make it in til the afternoon.  So since I was hungry AND in pain, I decided to eat some Raisin Bran Crunch with Vanilla Almond Milk (Unsweetened).  Then around noon I was nice and drugged up so I made a quick lunch to take with me.

LUNCH - 201 Calories

For lunch I made another protein style sandwich exactly like the one I made a few days ago.  It was perfect for today, though I did eat the rest of the pretzels in order to get rid of them & cure my hunger.

DINNER - 274 Calories

For dinner I made Pan Seared Tilapia with Steamed Baby Bella Mushrooms, Asparagus,  Brocollette and Avocado.  It was really tasty.  I seasoned it with Fresh Cracked Black Pepper and the Onions & Chive flavored Salt that I picked up from the Farmer's Market.  

When you are done eating this meal, it takes about 15 minutes to feel full.  However, during this 'time' I am hungrier than normal so I moved on to dessert...

YEP.  I DID THAT.  But in my defense, I had enough calories left over in my budget for it (although I DID go over my sugar goal for the day).  I think my body is burning calories much faster right now anyways.  One of the worst tortures ever right now are all the birthday club freebie emails I am getting!! Free offers for things like Ice Cream, Shakes, Appetizers, Entrees and so on.  I WANT TO USE THEM ALL BUT I CAN'T!! I CAN'T!! *sobs*

Speaking of birthdays, today is my brother's birthday!!!!! So I will end this with wishing my brother David Vera a VERY happy birthday today.  I am sure his lovely wife made it very special and I am looking forward to sharing my birthday on Sunday with him!!  His awesome wife is throwing a Mario Kart themed shin dig and I know it is going to be so much fun!! I can't wait! :)  Especially for the cheat meals I will inevitably have due to my lack of will power.  Anyway, let's say one more Happy Birthday to my awesome little brother!

June 1st, 2016 - The ONE YEAR challenge.

Well, I haven't updated this blog in quite some time... 

Not that anyone noticed.  

But, I have really good news which is what brought me back here!  I have decided to pay myself $100 a month in order to get a ticket on the Disney Cruise to Alaska with my family and friends next year!  So I have one year to lose some weight so that I can gain it all back in 7 days next year! lol...

So I figured I would share the journey so that I am held accountable.  If I stop updating, that means I am probably stuffing my face with horrifyingly delicious food.  But, YOU MUST NOT LET ME!  I love to cook and I love to share the end results.  So that is what I am going to do.  

I have an app that I use called MyFitnessPal and I log the foods I eat every day.  If you want to add me and join this challenge for the heck of it you are more than welcomed to.  My username is 'caressev'.  My goal is to lose 2 lbs a week (although I may lower that to 1.5 lbs a week because I love food too much.)  So I started today and this is how it went.

BREAKFAST - 370 Calories

Ok, don't get too impressed.  

This is the low calorie Turkey Sausage & Egg Whites Breakfast Bowl from McDonald's.  It was only 250 calories and honestly, it tasted pretty great.  I had this along with a Grande Iced Coffee, sweetened with extra soy milk.  This brought my breakfast to the grand total of 370 calories.  Yay!

LUNCH - 374 Calories

 This delicious salad is from VONS people.  I added half an avocado, but let me tell you that this salad is only 260 calories and is SO YUMMY!  The avocado added another 114 calories but it was well worth it.  I had a snack (Rold Gold Pretzel Thins) between dinner, and that was another 120 calories.

DINNER - 445 Calories

So for dinner, I was worried.  I only had a few calories left in my budget and I was HUNGRY.  So I steamed 5 spears of asparagus and 6 baby bella mushrooms and sprinkled a little salt and pepper over them and then I pan seared Salmon with Curry spice, salt and cumin.  I kept adding 1/4 cup of water to keep the salmon from sticking/burning.  It came out really great!

So total today I have had 1309 of my 1400 calorie budget.  I am a little hungry, but I noticed that I get hungry when I am watching tv (mildly bored) and I've learned that chewing on mint gum and drinking water helps me not want to eat anything else.  So... today went pretty well.  I guess tomorrow morning you will find out if I have to edit this entry because I lost my willpower.  It is a constant struggle.  Food usually wins.  

Anyways, thank you for reading, if you did!  I hope to keep this updated this time.  But who knows... if I can LOOK A BUTTERFLY!! RUUNNNN!!!

1 is the Loneliest Number. So let us add the number 400.

I just love that song.

So, I have relocated to San Diego and am adjusting to living alone again.  It's always been a challenge for me to cook for 1 person so I decided to face that challenge and start a line of recipes for 1.  

In addition to this, my dear friend Brenda is an excellent inspiration as she loves food and is very pro health.  She has her own blog called eatwhatiwant.com where you can find a wealth of information to also inspire you.  Yes, it was Brenda that inspired me to make each of these recipes also be less than 400 calories each!  So please join me on this delicious health challenge!

To start, I decided to do a yummy Tilapia Veggie Salad for dinner.

Tilapia Veggie Salad | (385 Calories) 

Ingredients for 1 person: 

3/4 cup Brown Baby Bell Crimini Mushrooms (Diced)

3/4 cup Red Bell Pepper (Diced)

1/2 cup Sweet Onion (Diced)

1/4 of a Hass Avocado (sliced)

4oz Fresh Tilapia Fillet

1 Teaspoon All Purpose Greek Seasoning

1 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Italian Four Cheese Blend (shredded)

1 Cup Romaine (Chopped)

After you prep all your veggies, preheat a 10" Skillet over medium high heat.  While your skillet heats up, season your tilapia with the greek seasoning.  You want to evenly distribute 1 teaspoon of seasoning over the tilapia.  When the skillet is hot, toss in your onions with 1 tbsp water.  Stir them so that the water is absorbed by them.  It happens fairly quickly, so keep moving the onions around to avoid burning them.  Now place your tilapia in (seasoned side down).  Keep moving those onions!  Now drop in the bell pepper and mushrooms.  Stir them in but keep them on the side of the tilapia. 

Now you want to season the top side of the fish with your remaining seasoning.  The bottom side should be browned so flip the fish!  Does it look like below?

If not, turn it back over and let it brown (be careful not to burn it!)  If it does look like above, good job!  After about a minute of searing, you want to stir those veggies around again and lower the heat to just above medium.  Cover the skillet.  Wait 5 minutes.

While you are waiting, shred the lettuce into your bowl, add 1 tbsp of rice vinegar.

If you don't trust your timing, listen to this video 6 times.

All done!  Now place your tilapia on top of your salad, cover it with the veggies, avocado slices and sprinkle on your cheese!  

Good job on staying healthy you sexy beast. ;D

The Salad You Were Too Lazy To Make So You Lied and Now Everyone Thinks You're a Chef. THAT SALAD.

Dole's Endless Summer Salad Kit

The reason you will not find a picture of this salad on a plate is because it visually looks like a sad weak salad you would get from a high school cafeteria.  BUT LET ME TELL YOU, this salad is SO freaking good.  The packaged kit contains DOLE's own Summer Vinaigrette, Authentic Swiss and Gruyere Cheeses, Roasted Sunflower Kernels, Artisan-Style Croutons, Pepper and Herb Seasoning, Romaine Lettuce, Carrots and Red Cabbage. I am convinced that this tiny little seasoning packet inside is what makes it something totally delicious and amazing.  EVERY time I serve it, people ask about it.  Therefore, I am passing on this super awesome gem to you.  You can get it at almost any supermarket.  CLICK HERE to get more info on this bad boy salad.