Posting about my weight loss experience

Weighing and Measuring Food.

"I truly need to do this weighing and measuring. If I can lie to myself when the FACTS are right in front of me...Think of how easy it would be to lie to myself about portions if I didn't do this!"

Weighing on my digital scale is always for the cooked food I am about to eat...UNLESS it is pasta/rice/etc..because the calorie content on the packages are always for dry uncooked!!! Then it is a bit harder to figure. For example I made Quinoa today, it is 160 cals for 1/4 cup DRY, so I cooked 1 full cup and divided it into 4. It might seem like a lot of work...but it is the only way I can honestly know what the Eff I'm doing!

As for weighing directly on the scale...I just place a piece of plastic wrap on the scale either with the food in it or put it on top of the plastic (cooked). The scale is for meats and cheeses mostly.

This might sound completely pathetic but I once weighed my coffee: 1st the empty cup then with the coffee. I was curious to see how much water weighs too!

This is the moment of truth! See if you can be totally honest with yourself and if a food is 4.1 ounces will you mention the .1 ounce...also if you used oil in cooking, measure that OIL. So many times I actually wanted to basically LIE to myself that it made me realize how much I truly need to do this weighing and measuring. If I can lie to myself when the FACTS are right in front of me...Think of how easy it would be to lie to myself about portions if I didn't do this!

I know I've found a way to lose that isn't dieting and is perfect for being nourished and content.

Don't forget to use (free) sparkpeople.com, it's a billion times better than writing it out on paper and trying to figure out the MATH.

Latest Favorite Veggy Soup Dec. 09

Latest Favorite Veggy Soup Dec. 09

Chop all the veggies in large pieces, rough chop is ok. Add to the pot in order they appear and prepare each veggy after adding the previous one. Example, peel the carrots and chop after adding the celery and so on. ALSO VERY IMPORTANT to keep a glass of water close by so that nothing browns, adding a little water will prevent it. This is Sauteing at medium temperature.

USE A GIANT STOCK POT
1/4 cup olive oil in the pot
3 Large Leeks chopped
lots of garlic minced, min 8 cloves
1 small onion or shallot chopped
4 sticks celery chopped
4 large carrots roughly chopped
2 small parsnips or one large chopped
- should smell pretty good about now :)
1 large Napa Cabbage or one medium regular cabbage roughly chopped
add about 2 cups of water
4 zucchinis peeled and chopped chunky
1/2 Cauliflower OPTIONAL
OK now add 4 small tomatoes chopped
1/2 red or green pepper chopped

Mix thoroughly and then cover with water.
Add 6 vegan bouillon cubes, I love McCormicks Beef & chicken flavored veggie cubes.
Let come to a boil and reduce to a low simmer.
ADD, lots of pepper some fresh parsley and any favorite herbs. In this, my latest favorite, I've been adding DILL.

Taste...I sometimes add a pinch of sugar substitute this time of year cause the veggies aren't as sweet as in the summer. You might want to add salt! I usually add another bouillon cube if it needs salt.

OK now let it all cook till tender not mush, about 30/45 minutes.
THEN*** Use your hand held blender and just partially give it a whirl, you want to just blend it enough to make it thick but leave at least half the veggies intact so that the different flavors and textures will come out with each spoon.

When I eat this soup I sometimes add HOT Chili Pepper Flakes, or a bit of Curry or whatever I feel like adding. This is the soup I have at dinner time, maybe even 4 cups of it. It's a funny thing about my Veggy soups, no one (including me) is ever in the mood for it..but once we start eating it we devour it and want MORE.
Try it just once! You might want to add more tomatoes or add other things to it, but don't dismiss it because of the time and fussing to make it. This soup will help you lose weight and be so healthy!

Remember* You are taking the time FOR YOU, you deserve to do somethings like making a healthy vegetable soup FOR YOURSELF! Besides the chopping is a form of exercise LOL.


I've estimated about 75 calories for 2 cups

LEMONY LEMON CHIFFONY MOUSSE

OK, this isn't exactly the healthiest dessert but the LOWEST calorie content, No Dairy, Super fast and NO SUGAR. I improvised from 3 different recipes and tested it for my Christmas Parties...well my hubby thinks I need to make it every night now.

OK here it is, my version of:

*Lemony Lemon Chiffony Mousse*

(Double it as much as you want)

-1 pkg, LEMON Jello No Sugar Added
- Low fat no sugar Cool Whip or equivalent
- Lemon Juice ( Best lemon juice from concentrate)
- Some favorite no sugar sweetener
-Water

Start the jello according to the package
1 cup boiling water to dissolve the jello
Then add 2 or 3 tblspns of Lemon Juice to 1-1/4 cup cold water -
Add it and mix it well into the jello
I add more lemon juice because I love it really lemony/tangy. Taste the mixture add the sugar to your taste.
Make sure the mixture is just a wee bit stronger than you'd like!
Now put it in the fridge till it sort of jells and is no longer watery.

After it has jelled a bit, beat with a whisk just to get some bubbles and smoothness in it then add 1 cup of Cool Whip and beat again. Leave it in the bowl or put in individual bowls
Put it in the fridge...wait at least 5 hours..the longer the better for it to set.
Decorate with whatever makes you happy! Extra Cool Whip, a Cherry, mint leaf, Strawberry or Dark Chocolate Sprinkles on top.

For sure you could put the Mousse in a cooked pie shell or cooked tart shells...but that increases the calories and God knows we do not need MORE calories

I estimate this dessert at about 45 calories a cup.

LOW CALORIE EAT AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE CREAMED MUSHROOM SOUP

Interesting thing about Cream of Mushroom soup is if you add any other flavors or ingredients it loses this basic old fashioned taste. Of course if you like you can change it up anyway you want, but this is the lowest calorie way to eat this soup that seems so rich and isn't.

Ingredients:
6 cups sliced/chopped white mushrooms 60C
3 cups finely chopped strong onions 200C
3 tbsp canola or veg oil ONLY 300C
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper-(IMP* the pepper gives it the real mush soup flavor)
8 cups of water
2 tsp sweetener

More salt.

1 cup Milk 100C or Water with 4tbsp of rice flour or corn starch. 100C

Hand held Blender

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Take an extra big pot, put in the oil
add the 3 cups of chopped onions add the 1 tsp of salt.
Saute on low temp till soft and transparent. DO NOT BROWN, add little bit of water to prevent sticking or browning so that you don't have to add more oil.
Add the mushrooms and pepper, toss thoroughly and let continue to saute, watching that it does not brown.
When the mushrooms have softened and are not raw, about 5 minutes
Add the 8 cups of water, 2 tsp of sweetener and bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and let simmer nicely for about 30 minutes.

Place the pot in the sink to blend so that it doesn't splash everywhere. My hubby likes teeny bits of mushrooms in the soup so I don't blend it right down to a puree.

Now thoroughly mix the flour or cornstarch with the COLD milk or water and slowly pour it into the pot with your hand held on. Put back on the stove and let simmer while stirring for about another 10 minutes.

OK, this is where being able to cook helps. You might want more salt, more sweetener or to make it thicker. Go slow...add just a little at a time.
When I made this soup just now I realized that I taste it so often to get the desired flavor. I did add more salt, pepper, thickener and sweetener to mine.

Another thing...if you want to add calories, put some butter or cream in it. It defeats the purpose of having hardly any calories, but...your guests will think you are a master chef!

I can't estimate the calorie content per serving, but the whole pot is only 760C with milk and 660C without... so divide it up as you will

Special Foods For DETOX DIET!

FOODS TO INCLUDE	FOODS TO EXCLUDE
Fruits: unsweetened fresh, frozen, or water-packed, canned fruits; fruit juices (except those specifically prohibited)	All citrus fruits: oranges, grape-fruit, lemon, and lime; grapes, fruit drinks, ades, dried fruit
Starch: non-gluten grain: brown rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth, teff, tapioca, buckwheat	Wheat, corn, oats, barley, spelt, kamut, rye, and all gluten-containing products
Bread/Cereal: any made from rice, buckwheat, millet, soy, tapioca, arrowroot, amaranth, quinoa	All wheat, oat, spelt, kamut, rye, barley, or gluten containing products
Meat: all fresh fish such as halibut, salmon, cod, sole, trout; wild game, chicken, turkey, lamb	Beef, pork, cold cuts, frankfurters, sausage, canned meats, eggs, shellfish
Legumes: all dried beans, peas, lentils
Nuts and seeds: almonds, cashews, walnuts, sesame (tahini), sunflower, pumpkin, and nut butters made from these seeds	Peanuts, pistachios, peanut butter
Dairy products: milk substitutes such as rice milk, soy milk, nut milk	Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, cream, yogurt, butter, ice cream, frozen yogurt, non-dairy creamers
Vegetables: raw, steamed, sautéed, juiced, or baked vegetables (except those specifically prohibited)	Canned or creamed in casseroles, all nightshade family vegetables, including tomatoes, all potatoes (except yams and sweet potatoes), eggplant, red, green, and yellow bell peppers
Fats: olive oil, flax seed oil, cold/expeller-pressed canola, safflower, sunflower, sesame, walnut, pumpkin, almond oil, dressings made from these oils	Margarine, butter, shortening, processed oils, salad dressing, spreads
Beverages: 8 cups of filtered or distilled water per day, herbal tea	Soda pop, alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea, all caffeinated beverages
Spices: cinnamon, cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, oregano, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, turmeric	Cayenne pepper, paprika
Sweeteners: brown rice syrup, fruit sweetener, molasses	No white or brown refined sugar, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn sy

SHOPPING LIST

Proteins Chicken Turkey Lamb Fish: Cod Halibut Mackerel Salmon Tuna Trout Wild game Dried beans Dried peas Lentils Soy: Tofu Tempeh Soy milk Soy yogurt (casein-free) Grains Rice Rice bread Rice pancakes Rice cakes Rice pasta Rice milk Cream of rice Puffed rice Tapioca Amaranth Millet Teff Quinoa

Vegetables Alfalfa sprouts Artichoke Avocado Asparagus Beets Bok choy Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Cucumber Daikon radish Endive Escarole Green or yellow beans Greens – mustard, turnip, chard Jicama Kale Kohlrabi Leeks Lettuce Mung beans Okra Onions Parsnips Radishes Rutabaga Sea vegetables (seaweed, kelp) Snow peas Spinach Squash – summer and winter Sweet potatoes

Vegetables Taro Turnips Water chestnuts Yams Zucchini squash Sweeteners Brown rice syrup Fruit sweetener Molasses Fruits Apple Applesauce Apricot Avocado Banana Blueberries Cherries Kiwi Mango Melon Nectarine Papaya Pear Peach Pineapple Plum Prune Raspberries Strawberries Nuts, Seeds, and Oils Almond Oil Almonds Canola Oil Cashew

Nuts, Seeds, and Oils Flax oil Hazelnuts Olive oil Pecans Pumpkin oil Pumpkin seeds Safflower oil Sesame seed oil Sunflower oil Sunflower seeds Walnut oil Walnuts Nut butters as allowed on list Spices Anise Bay leaf Basil Cardamon Celery seed Cinnamon Cumin Dill Dry mustard Fennel Garlic Ginger Marjoram Oregano Parsley Rosemary Saffron Savory Tarragon Thyme Turmeric

Don't Die of Hunger Have Cucumber Salad

First know that cucumbers are very nutritious and the best natural diuretic known, secreting and promoting the flow of urine.

Nutritive Values : Per 1 cup

• Vitamin A 180 I.U.
• Niacin Trace
• Vitamin C 9 mg.
• Calcium 32 mg.
• Iron 1.8 mg.
• Phosphorus 27 mg.
• Potassium 80 mg.
• Carbohydrates 17 gm.

OK For your Recipe.
-3 English Cukes peeled 9-10 inches = 120 cals. slice nice +thin
-2 level tbsp Mayo 200C (you can use low fat if you want +reduce Cals.)
-3 tbsps finely chopped fresh or dried Dill (or handfuls more if you love dill)
-3 green onion finely chopped
-2 small garlic cloves grated
-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (really any vinegar will do, but apple has great health benefits)
-Salt pepper and sweetener ( I like it sweet) to taste. Add a little at a time it will marinate +become stronger

OK toss all of it together. The salt will make the cucumbers more watery in a short time. Add more sweetener, salt and pepper to taste about 10 minutes later. It should be very saucey, so keep tossing the cukes in the sauce.

TOTAL CALORIES 335
Eat as much as you want, but really it makes 3 (three) portions of 112 calories each.