Week 3...Not as Easy Now :(

Well, week one seems like a breeze compared to weeks 2 & 3...*sigh* 

I've not done the best the last few days, but I won't let that derail me. A slip-up here and there won't drag me down, I just need to get back on the horse and muddle through...right? Dieting with someone else really helps, that kind of support really makes a difference. 

I'll be adding that Turkey Quinoa Meatball recipe any day now lol, I've been so busy making soaps and coasters for my shops, that the cooking has gone by the wayside a little bit. Plus I'm PMSing bad! That definitely does not help!

But, onward & upward, right?

--Monika

Week One...Done!

So, it's been a week on the diet. For me, the first week isn't the hardest, the second week is. My first week went pretty well, I stuck to the plan, for the most part. I had a couple slip-ups where I ate a snack after 8pm, but whatever! It's like a reflex for me, when I'm watching tv, I just automatically want to munch on stuff, whether I'm hungry or not. It's definitely a habit I need to BREAK!

Well, I've lost 2.4 pounds in week one, so that's good, right? I just have to keep telling myself that it's slow going lol.

So, here's to a good week 2!!!

--Monika

Day One...Success!

So, day one is pretty much over. I'm going to bed in a few hours & I'm done with everything I planned to do & eat today. I'm considering it a success. I cleaned for about an hour & a half and used the recumbent bike for 20 minutes...not perfect but, hey, it's the first day!

I consumed 895 calories and burned 346. I drank 10 glasses of water. And the last time I ate was at 6:30 pm, so win all the way around!

So, day one is over and I feel happy that I followed through with everything I wanted to...oh, and I showered AND lotioned! Here's to a good day two!

--Monika

Quinoa & White Bean Veggie Burger

 I loaded this beauty up with leafy greens, slice of heirloom tomato, sliced red onion, whole grain mustard, mashed avocado and a nice drizzle of sriracha. Lot's of flavors going on and I loved it. As the saying goes, "Eat like you mean it!" :)

 

Ingredients (makes four patties)

• 1/2 cup quinoa (I used tri-color)
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 teaspoons thyme, divided (oregano would be good too)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, optional
• 1 can (15 oz.) white beans (I used cannellini), drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup corn, fresh or frozen (about 1/2 fresh corn off the cob)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced (about 1/2 bell pepper)
• 1/2 cup shallot, finely diced (about 1 medium) or red onion
• juice of one lemon
• 1/3 cup oat flour, or flour of choice 
• 1 Ener-G egg replacer or 1 flaxegg (1 Tbs flaxseed meal + 3 Tbs water), optional*
• mineral salt & cracked pepper, to taste
• coconut or olive oil, to grease

To Serve:

• tomato, sliced
• leafy greens
• avocado, sliced or mashed
• red onion, sliced
• whole grain or dijon mustard (hummus or vegan mayo is great too)
• sriracha or Sriracha Cashew Cream (use the sriracha cream in place of mustard)
• burger buns of choice

Start by making your flaxegg or ener-g egg replacer and set aside. If baking in the oven, turn oven to 375 degrees F. (It's helpful to read instructions first before making the patties)

In a medium pot, bring water, quinoa, garlic powder and 1 teaspoon thyme to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Once done, remove cover and let set for 10 minutes.

While quinoa is cooking, prepare your corn, shallot and red pepper. Be sure to dice your onion and red pepper fairly fine, they should be about the same size as the corn kernels.

Next, mash your beans. I mashed about 3/4 of the beans leaving a quarter of the batch whole or somewhat whole.

Once quinoa is ready, add the quinoa to the beans along with the shallots, red pepper, corn, remaining 2 teaspoons thyme, smoked paprika and optional chipotle powder and lemon juice. Mix well. Add in the flour and egg replacer, mix well again. Season to taste with salt, pepper and more of the other spices. We all vary on how strong we like our spices...you can't take out but you can always put in.

Now to divide and make your patties. I like to pat my mixture into the bowl a little and divide it with a knife into 4 sections, making a plus sign if you will. Take each section and pack it tightly into a ball in the palm of your hands. It should be about the size of your hand. Flatten with your palms and place on hard surface. Cup the edges with your palms and tighten them in a bit and flatten the top to the desired size. Mine were about 1/2 inch thick by 3 1/2 - 4 inches.

Cook one of two ways:

In the oven at 375 degrees on a greased or parchment lines cookie sheet for 30 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes. I also added a sprinkle of himalayan salt to the top before baking.

OR

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Cook patties about 4 - 5 minutes on each side.

I cooked both ways and had no preference. They both held up well and cooked great. (pic shows skillet cooked)

Serve on bun or bed of leafy greens with choice of toppings!

Notes: The patties can be made ahead of time and stored covered in the refrigerator for a couple days prior to cooking.

*I have a sneaky feeling that this can be made without the use of any egg replacer if you don't have it available. I have it here for good measure until I try without. If you decide not to use an egg replacer, when adding the flour, just try adding two - three tablespoons of water instead if needed...the amount may depend on the flour you're using.

For mashed avocado, cut open avocado, remove seed and using a fork, mash the flesh right in the skin...it's like a bowl. 

Yum!!!

Recipe by julie@thesimpleveganista

Quinoa Veggie Burger

This quinoa veggie burger recipe is a meat-lover’s burger: toasted pecans, mushrooms, Cheddar cheese, fresh herbs and red quinoa pack this vegetarian burger full of delicious flavor. Red quinoa, which you can generally find in stores where white quinoa is sold, gives the quinoa veggie burgers the perfect color. If you can only find white quinoa, that’s fine too. These quinoa veggie burger patties hold together well for freezing, making for a quick and easy meal. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before cooking. Serve with your favorite burger garnishes.

Makes: 8 burgers
Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup red quinoa
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 cups finely chopped cremini or white button mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup whole pecans, toasted and finely chopped (see Tip)
• 1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 8 small whole-wheat burger buns, toasted if desired 

Directions:

1. Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, marjoram and oregano; cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
4. Beat egg in a medium bowl. Add the quinoa, mushroom mixture, cheese, pecans, oats and soy sauce; stir to combine. Scoop scant 1/2-cup portions of the mixture onto the baking sheet and shape into 8 patties, about 3 inches wide, leaving about 1 inch of space between each patty. (The mixture will be crumbly; patting it into burgers on the baking sheet makes it easier to work with. The burgers hold together very well once baked.)
5. Bake the burgers until crispy, 28 to 30 minutes. Serve on buns with your favorite garnishes.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Individually wrap and freeze cooked burgers for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a skillet with a little oil.

• For the best flavor, toast nuts before adding to recipes. Spread whole nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F, stirring once, until fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes. For chopped nuts, place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving (with bun): 280 calories; 12 g fat ( 2 g sat , 4 g mono ); 29 mg cholesterol; 35 g carbohydrates; 4 g added sugars; 11 g protein; 6 g fiber; 320 mg sodium; 353 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Magnesium (19% daily value), Calcium (16% dv), Zinc (15% dv).
Carbohydrate Servings: 2
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1/2 vegetable, 1/2 medium fat meat, 1 1/2 fat

Recipe by  EatingWell

The Green Smoothie

I'll update with the nutrition info soon...

The Green Drink
Makes 2 servings, 16 ounces each

Ingredients:
Handful of mint leaves (about 2 oz.)
Handful of baby spinach (about 2 oz.)
6 oz. Pineapple Juice or fresh pineapple with water
1 banana (frozen)
1 cup ice
1/4 cucumber, skin-on
1 stalk celery



Directions:
Cut up the banana, celery and cucumber into blender-friendly pieces and put into blender. Add the spinach, mint leaves, pineapple juice or fresh pineapple with water, mint leaves and ice. Blend all ingredients until smooth and serve.

Day One...duh, duh, duh!

So, day one. Scary & exciting. My weight loss goal is to lose 35 pounds, hopefully by my next birthday. I know it will be slow going, very slow, and I have to remember that & keep it in mind when I'm feeling discouraged, which I will.

I've set exercise goals at 4 times a week, which I think is realistic. If I start out being ridiculous with it, I'll never stick to it. I may even drop it to 3 times a week to start out with.

I've set my calorie intake at 1200, I think that's good and that's worked for me in the past. I also put down that I want to lose 2 pounds a week, that may be asking too much, because I know from last time that doing it the right way, the pounds come off SLOWLY!

I'm gonna try to only snack on fresh veggies the first week, starting tomorrow lol because we need groceries. 

And I think one of my most important rules is to cut out processed food as much as possible. Even frozen "diet" meals aren't as good as something fresh, with real ingredients. 

Oh and I just saw a green cleanse drink on the Today Show that I need to look at...I'll post it if it looks good. 

Another goal I want to try to stick to is to clean something, in the house obviously, once a day, no matter how small, but just something. Even when I get busy with making stuff, because I do! But it's no excuse really, I can throw in a load of laundry before I start working, that's not difficult.

So, here's to trying to eat better and, slowly, be a better me :)

--Monika

Monika's Song for Today

Possibly, and arguably, the best band that ever was...certainly my favorite band. This is the band I waited my whole life for. You'll see a lot of them in my posts :) ENJOY!!