Mediterranean Style Burgers with Portobello buns!

Sooooo.... I'm thinking you won't want to miss the Biggest Loser gathering THIS tuesday (at Sandi's house in Westminster-) as we'll be trying out Curtis Stone's sweet recipe from last week's episode... How to make a bad burger-and-fries hankering nice and healthy?, we wondered over goodbyes at Tawsha's place... baked sweet potato fries, of course, of course, but... the burger?? Oh yeah!! Curtis whipped them up before our very eyes (full of tears most of the night, maybe why we forgot about the burgers...)- so click the title to find the recipe on TBL's official site, and RSVP with what you'll bring to make this delicious meal happen... see you Tuesday!!

Salad Night!

Hi there, Losers! Here are just a couple of nice salad recipes I thought you all might enjoy. I ran across them in researching salads for our upcoming Loser meeting at Tawsha's house on the 27th. I like the grapefruit, as the Ruby reds will be in season in short order. The pasta salad is a nice, lighter version that is still packed with crunchy, colorful veggies and includes a great dressing recipe that could be used elsewhere. You could easily sub in chopped roast chicken and other crunchy vegetables like snap peas, carrots, jicama to switch it up!


Spinach and Pink Grapefruit Salad

(Tuesday I'll give you a recipe for fruit vinaigrette dressing that will be perfect on this salad!)

Ingredients:

• 6 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1 small pink grapefruit, peeled, pith removed, segmented, and sliced
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 2 tbsp walnut pieces, chopped

Per Serving (without dressing): Calories 98, Calories from Fat 25, Total Fat 2.8g (Sat 0.2g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 40mg, Carbohydrate 15g, Fiber 3.5g, Protein 3g

Preparation:

Rinse, drain and dry baby spinach leaves; arrange on 4 salad plates. Arrange grapefruit pieces on top, followed by onion slivers and mushroom slices. Scatter raspberries and walnut pieces on top.

Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of your favorite low fat or fat free citrus or raspberry vinaigrette. Or make your own dressing using 1 part good-quality olive oil to three parts orange, lemon or grapefruit juice. Place in a small screw-top jar and shake vigorously.

Serves 4 as an appetizer- add garbanzo beans or chicken to make this a meal.

Tuna and Shell Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces medium shell whole wheat pasta
• 7-ounce pouch chunk light tuna
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 6-ounce can or jar artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and chopped
• 1/2 dry pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to instructions on package. Drain and cool. Combine tuna, celery, onion, pepper, artichoke hearts and tomatoes in a large bowl with cooled pasta. Whisk dressing ingredients together and drizzle over tuna and pasta. Toss well, and chill until ready to serve.

Serves 4-6.

Per Serving: Calories 320, Calories from fat 25, Total Fat 2.8g (sat 0.4g), cholesterol 15mg, Sodium 248mg, Carbohydrate 51.9g, Fiber 5.3g, Protein 21.8g

Denver 1/2 Marathon Conquered

I made it through my first 1/2 Marathon yesterday. Looking back the smart thing would have definitely been to do a 1/2 before I tackled the full last summer. Eh, I don't always do things in order anyway.

It was perfect running weather Sunday morning and the course was awesome. No highway running Tawsha...probably the best part! Though my iPod was dead as soon as I crossed the finish line and I was nearly trampled, tripped and elbowed during the start (I mean really, no wave start? Come on Denver.) I finished in 2 hours and 13 minutes...all 13.24 miles! I was hoping to finish in 2:10 but am so proud of myself for the time I did get. Even better, I'm still mobile! My knees don't hate me and even though I have some tired and sore muscles, I think I'll be ready to run again later next week. Woohoo.

Can't wait for the next TNT season to begin!

My Own Harshest Critic

It could be the taper before the race on Saturday or it might be because I have been slacking on doing the Shred and really exercise at all these past week or so, but I find that I'm being harder on myself than ever. I look in the mirror and the first thing I do is see all those little problem areas that I want to fix. I see the dreaded muffin top I can get in my favorite pair of jeans when they come out of the washing machine or that my arms seem a little more flabby than they did last week when I had Jillian yelling at me. Though these things might be a reality, I'm sure they are not as big as I see them. I nit pick and it's not good for me or my poor husband that occasionally hears me complain about it.

So I try to tell myself to look at the positives like how strong my body is. After all, it did carry me through 26.2 (27 really) miles across the finish line in Seattle and through 11 miles 2 weeks ago. Hopefully it won't let me down this weekend at the Denver 1/2 Marathon.

I'll probably never have a six pack or look like a Victoria Secret Model (Don't I wish) and that's OK. I'm still trying to figure out how to turn off that little self conscious person in my head. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to. Until then I've decided to look for the positive every morning when I step out of the shower and look at the metal Josh had framed for me to remind myself to appreciate my strong body just the way it is.

Day 3: liver/gallbladder flush

Oh today is a happy day! :)

I woke up disappointed that I didn't find in stones overnight (spare you the details).

Waking up, I had 4 cups of warm water followed by yogurt and a hard boiled egg. Yay! for food!!

But all together today I had a few big stones and lots of little ones. From what I've read, gallstones are basically fatty blobs that your body can't digest. You get them from eating fatty foods and probably from other bad habits.

Also, while I had about 3 liters of water Saturday and another 3 liters of water Sunday, I woke up 7 pounds lighter today. Once I get back to eating, I'm sure some of the weight will come back, but ya.... that's the result for a 3-day flush.

So if you want to know more nitty-gritty, let's talk.

If not, that's ok. I'll be over here eating.... yummmm :)

Day 2: liver/gall bladder flush experience

Day 2 instructions start with repeat day 1. Awesome.

After getting up around 5, (see day 1), I went back to bed and woke up late – around 9.

I started the malic acid + warm water right away, but couldn’t bring myself to start in on the grapefruit drink until about noon. That’s probably bad, but I figured drinking it and throwing up everything would be worse.

So my mom suggested trying to drink it more diluted. So far that has helped.

By the way, I LOVE food. I am used to eating every 3-4 hours max… and the instructions on the body flush said diabetics can have soup broth or yogurt to maintain blood sugar. I’m no diabetic (by my sister is – and I’ve seen what a difference a little yogurt can make with her)… so I ate some yogurt this morning. It’s easy to digest, so I was happy to have it on hand.

And today yogurt is my hero because I don’t feel light headed or dizzy. ;)

Fast-forward: at exactly 4:55 p.m. my stomach started rumbling. Yes, I truly feel hungry.I'm making a list of things I want to eat at the first opportunity: hard boiled eggs, those yummy peanut butter treats sitting on the counter, oatmeal, more of those yummy peanut butter treats* - and while I tried to avoid watching TV that showed food, I thought about eating a hot dog with ketchup, Halloween candy, cinnamon rolls, mashed potatoes... basically everything I saw (even foods I don't prefer).

* By the way, the yummy peanut butter treats were made with corn flakes and corn syrup - which I have an allergy to - but I still want them.... soooo bad! Melted peanut butter + chocolate = Heather will eat it (unless it sends me to the hospital).

I decided to get this show on a roll and drink the Epsom salt water at 7 and go to bed at 8. Right before bed I’ll need to drink the olive oil concoction.

The instructions said to have 2-4 teaspoons of the Epsom salt in warm water. I made 2 cups with 4 teaspoons and ended up drinking just over ½ of it before dumping the rest down the sink. I will appreciate sea salt, kosher salt and even marginal table salt from now on.Epsom salt should only be used for relaxing baths. Period.

I’m excited to have some calories – but checking FitDay.com ½ a cup of olive oil is right around 100 grams of fat and over 900 calories!

I think it’s interesting having 100 grams of fat flush out what is essential nasty fat pellets that don’t want to leave my gall bladder area. Consuming fatty foods is probably was got me into this in the first place.

I anticipate getting up in the middle of the night and spending quality time in the “study” (i.e. our water closet). Online experiences (with similar flushes) say they were in & out of bed-to-bathroom several times during the night.

Ok, I’ll report back tomorrow, a magical day when I get to eat again! :)

Day 1 review: liver/gallbladder flush

Yesterday I woke up and instead of going for my favorite post-wedding breakfast, I boiled a grapefruit and reached for our blender.
I cut up the grapefruit (skin & all) and popped it into the blender to create a concentrate.
The directions said to strain it, but there was nothing to strain? I bought an organic grapefruit, thinking it would be pretty juicy/good - but I guess it was rather dry.
So I mixed the proper amount of grapefruit goo with water and chugged. The directions said to "sip throughout the day" but - I'm sorry I can't "SIP" 2 liters of ANYTHING throughout the day.
On top of drinking that, I took 2 malic acid capsules every two hours with an additional 2 cups of warm water. This was the alternative to apple juice. I didn't think I would want the sweet apple juice throughout the day. Now I'm thinking that would help me have a LITTLE energy.
Needless to say, I was feeling a bit waterlogged.
By the end of the day, I was frustrated with not being able to eat anything Chris ate throughout the day and I was feeling low on energy.
I literally spent the day on the couch, going back and forth from the kitchen to heat and reheat my beverages.
If I were to do it again, I would find the sweetest grapefruit possible and use that instead.

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART DETAILS:
That morning I had some out of ordinary "results" in the bathroom. No stones at this point.
I slept pretty well until 3 or 5 in the morning (Saturday night-Sunday morning). I was too out of it to pay attention to the real time - though I knew it wasn't time to wake up yet.

I was sweating and very nauseous and made my way to the bathroom.
I *almost* lost my cookies but got away with more out-of-ordinary "results" in the bathroom.
I laid on the cool tile floor because I was burning up - very UNUSUAL for me, because I'm always cold. In fact, my toes are cold right now.

no cake... gourmet cupcakes instead

As you may know, last night I shot my last wedding of the 2009 wedding season. All season long, I've been offered (mostly) delicious wedding cake. It has been wedding cake with the exception of a wedding with pie, a wedding with cheese cake (which I didn't eat) and last night's wedding with gourmet cupcakes.
They sat on a beautiful tower decorated to showcake- er, I mean showcase the four flavors.
Even though I knew all of them had dairy in the them (allergies), I chose the oreo cookie cream cupcake. My stomach was tightening and hurting within 5 minutes.
Awesome, Heather - can't you have some self-control when you are getting paid to capture the best day of someone's life?
Apparently not.
I did exercise some restraint by putting down the last 1/8 of the cupcake because it was sooo rich. Guess what, though? The frosting was the best part - the cupcake wasn't ooie-gooie and dense. Still ate most of it.
Well, now that wedding season is over, I have until February to steer clear cake.
Unless you know someone getting married between now and then? People book last minute all the time... ;) Can I recommend a great baker to them?

Diligence

Hi guys... I just wanted to post a low-spot... humor me!!

I have been trying really hard to be more conscious of my eating, and spending a little time each night writing down what I can remember I ate (should probably do this as I go throughout the day-). I'm feeling frustrated and somewhat deprived altho my definition of deprived may vary somewhat from that of, oh, 90 percent of the world's population. I'm trying to figure out if my raging hunger at the end of the day is an ingrained, familiar comfort sort of thing, or if it's metabolic, or a combination of the two mixed up with the fact that I don't eat enough earlier in the day. I don't have too much trouble front-loading the day with a hearty breakfast... but then when I want a snack in the mid-morning I feel like I shouldn't so I don't... and then lunch gets put off til I'm ravenous but I manage to pull off a perfectly healthy 400 calorie meal (when I want like 800)... and then it all goes to he-double-hockey-stick from about 5:30 on as I eat non-stop until I hate myself around 9. (recent comic line: "Who eats until they feel full?? I eat til I HATE MYSELF.")

AFter a few days of food journaling I can see the pattern of not eating enough in the earlier day. I'm going to work on it and see if I feel less ravenous at night. Part of why I try to skimp early on is I'm afraid I'll STILL be starving at supper, and then I'll really blow it when my motivation flies out the window with the kids in bed. but if I actually get in a better lunch, and healthy snacks, maybe I'll have more control when the lights dim...

I have been running a lot this week, and throwing in crunches and pushups (thanks to Jess) anytime I find myself on the floor for any reason. Still can't figure out how much extra calories that allows me, and totally frustrated with calorie counting in general because I just don't know how many calories are in 1/8 of an apple, 6 baby carrots or a half a cup of broccoli. I hate boxes so my cereal, crackers, etc are all in tupperware and I don't have the nutritional info anymore. It pisses me off to be looking it up, it makes me feel stupid! Why can't I remember?? Why is meat so hard to figure out without a food scale? Seriously, I have to buy a food scale?? I have some value jusgements to overcome (food scales are for anal people with serious FOOD ISSUES). Not liking that.

On the upside, I think I have lost some pounds, maybe even inches, and I think now (which I really doubted when we started this) I actually might be able to see my stomach muscles by summer- it does seem closer than a couple months ago. I'm just feeling way too focused on the food, it doesn't seem natural (I guess that means "doesn't seemEASY"), and I feel somewhat cranky and volatile about it all. So there.

I hit the forums on SparkPeople last night and there was some good feedback there on ways to feel fuller longer that I'm also going to give a try (mainly adding flaxmeal wherever you can to increase Omega-3's and fiber, and just keeping up with the Omega3-6-9 supplements and fresh fiber dense foods, for the same reasons). An interesting website & community.

OK, I'm off to bed. Thanks for listening <3

Pho Soup Recipe

If you want the Pho recipe I'm making for Tuesday, here it is! :)

http://www.hlconcepts.biz/recipes/PHOsoup.pdf

We get ingredients for it at the Asian market off 120th & Sheridan.

Enjoy!

The Six O'Clock Scramble

...so very tired of planning (or never actually planning!) your meals for the week? Hitting the grocery store, like, 6 times a week and spending double what you wanted? If you've got a computer, this website is a lifesaver, timesaver, and great alternative to sifting through magazines for something new...
Approx. $5 a month gets a subscription, and you recieve a weekly email that includes 5 easy, customizable (for allergies, vegetarian, kosher, whatever) recipes you can prepare in 30 mins or less with regular ingredients and recommended sides. The greatest part- the clear and categorized grocery list (which includes sides and updates itself if you switch out recipes or change sides!!). If a friend signs up with your recommendation, you'll have a free month added to your subscription. I print out the recipes, shop and then if I'm not around for supper, Bob can pull the folder and cook up whatever it is, because he knows the ingredients are all in the fridge/pantry. I can't tell you how easily it slides into your routine... check it out! (If you do decide to sign up, let me refer you so I can score those free months, tho!! :)

Penne with Spinach and Feta

Here's the recipe Deanna passed along that I allowed everyone to cook at my house. Wasn't that nice of me? Ha. Thanks D, Jess and Heather for making din din.

Prep: 10 minutes; Cook: 18 minutes.

Yield

Makes 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• 12  ounces  uncooked whole-wheat penne (or other small shaped pasta)
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2  cups  pear or cherry tomatoes (about 1/2 pound) or 1/2 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 3/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach or arugula leaves
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
• 1/2  cup  crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
2. Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and broth; bring to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes or until the tomatoes soften and some liquid evaporates. Use a wooden spoon to lightly crush tomatoes. Slowly stir in spinach or arugula; cook, stirring, 2 minutes or until leaves wilt.
3. Drain pasta. In serving bowl, toss pasta with warm tomato-spinach sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cheese.

Note: Deanna added more olive oil and some tomato/basil/garlic seasoning to give it more taste. Combine this meal with an amazing fruit salad dressed with lime, agave syrup and cinnamon (oh, and coconut) and a huge ice water. Yum! 

Nutritional Information

Calories: 282

Fat: 6g (sat 2g,mono 2g,poly 1g)

Cholesterol: 11mg

Protein: 12g

Carbohydrate: 50g

Fiber: 7g

Iron: 3mg

Sodium: 247mg

Calcium: 115mg

  

Spark People

One of my coworkers introduced me to this site a few weeks ago. I don't know about you, but I pretty much have no idea how much I really eat in a day. Yeah I can write it down but do I ever add up the calories, fat or protein? No. Do I even know what's in the food if it isn't prepackaged with a label, no way. SparkPeople will track foods for you, they have thousands of things listed. It will also track your exercise. They can even put together a meal and exercise plan for you! It's pretty amazing. Take a look when you have a chance.

Time for a Little Detox?

...hmmm... I read this checklist to help you determine if you could use a cleanse... and can't deny that it might be a good idea. But who wants days of starvation, odd dietary additions and did I mention starvation??? That's why I liked the gentle recommendations of this Dr, including the idea that eve a one day cleanse can be helpful... Click the title and check out his quick recommendations... and maybe after a day of really cutting back, 1500 calories will seem like a feast... hey, it could happen...!

Runner's World Gots Recipes!

Turns out Runner's World has a great archive of recipes designed specifically to get the athlete through the times you just can't think of what to make next... just click on the title of this entry to search for your next meal!

ROCK ON YOU CRAZY LOSERS!!!

OK, first let me say I am SO PSYCHED that people are posting to the blog!!! This is actually what we need! THIS is what support looks like. THIS is how success begins. THIS is how we get past our whiny, puny egos and get down to the business at hand. And I seriously need to get down to business!! These first few weeks have been tough, eh?? Game still on, sisters (and bro).

Let us not forget that this really isn't a competition. Let us not forget that we each have different but equally grueling goals way the hell out there in front of us. Let us not forget that we are so used to screwing up, and berating ourselves, and feeling secretly hopeless, that rewriting the scripts in our heads is just the frontline of the battle, and we are all fighting that battle. Let us not forget that ultimately this is about incredible, fun, and dependable friendships and that inescapable drive to strive. It isn't about the last 5 pounds, the first 25 pounds, 13.1 miles or a kissable six-pack. This is about life, what it means to us, what we're willing to attain and unwilling to accept. This, my friends, is what they call heavy shit, and we are facing it chin up and bull aside.

So look closely at what you're doing!! Give yourself slack where it's needed and kick your own heinie where you can! Count every tiny success, cast your failures in the most positive spin and open your eyes every day to the possibilities before you in each moment. Tweak your weaknesses, find what strength you have deep inside each one, and COUNT THAT! Today I ate a Godiva milk chocolate caramel when they had samples at the mall... ONLY ONE!!! She even offered a second! Success, and no one is telling me otherwise. Next time it might feel better to refuse the one, and when I do, THAT will be my success. Today I actually ATE LUNCH!!! SUCCESS!! It's part of what I need to do and I'm claiming it. That sense of accomplishment will give me more power to perform more daunting tasks toward my goal, and I'm going to need it. Find your success. Follow that, chart that, relate that, and you'll find more of it I swear...

Tawsha, thank you so much for sharing your dark moments. It is hard with all the things we have going on, all the risks we take, and the unbelievably high standards we share, to admit that we fall apart in the middle sometimes. It sometimes seems as though the wheel stops turning... right on top of us... and you need to yell out for someone to shove the damn thing, because from the outside it's just, "Dude, check out Tawsha carrying that freaking wheel, she's AMAZING..." (meanwhile, you're getting totally squashed). So I appreciate the shout out, and I'm shoving, girlfriend!!!

ROCK AND ROLL!!! AAAAAAAARGH!!!!

"Pay as little attention to discouragement as possible. Plough ahead as a steamer does, rough or smooth - rain or shine. To carry your cargo and make your port is the point. " Maltbie Davenport Babcock

"For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again." [Proverbs 24:16] Bible

"He who asks of life nothing but the improvement of his own nature… is less liable than anyone else to miss and waste life." Henri Frederic Amiel

"To enter heaven, a man must take it with him."Anonymous