I'm not a food stylist

So the plan has been to share some of my diet/point-friendly recipes in this blog. The problem is that I'm not writing a cookbook, and I am not cooking just for the heck of making a recipe. So what I intend to share will be primarily what I plan to eat. Unfortunately, I seem to forget that little piece of information every time I create something worthy of posting, and I eat it before I get a chance to take a picture!

For whatever reason, the little sandwich I assembled today happened to find its way into my camera before it found its way into my mouth. Do you know how hard it is to photograph food? I must have snapped two dozen pictures of it before I could take the wait no longer and had to devour it.

I love watching Food Network, and recently they had a food stylist challenge. It was pretty neat to see some of the tricks they used to make food look perfect for photographs in magazines and cookbooks. They would put stuff underneath the food to prop it up and make noodles and such lay perfectly. They even use strange and non-edible ingredients (like WD 40) in cooking the foods to make them "behave" in a way that photographed better.

Well, I am no food stylist, and you can rest assured that the pictures that I post in this blog are exactly as they are to be eaten. And in fact, such as with the sandwich from today, the picture is taken only moments before I eat it.

Without further ado, today's lunch:

Ham and Apple Sandwich, 4 points

1 Oroweat Sandwich Thin, multi-grain (1)
1 slice Sargento light provolone cheese (1)
3 very thin slices of granny smith apple (0)
4-6 slices of packaged light deli honey ham (some are 4 slices per serving, some 6--based on thickness) (1)
2 leaves lettuce (0)
1 tb honey mustard spread (recipe follows) (1)

Spread half the honey mustard spread on each half of the sandwich thin. Starting with the bottom piece, assemble in the following order: lettuce, cheese, ham, and apple slices. Top with top half of bread.

For the spread, mix together: 1/2 ts honey, 1 ts dijon mustard, and 2 ts light mayo.

I ate the sandwich with 1 oz of Baked Lays for 2 points and a Claussen Kosher Dill spear for free. It was delicious and satisfying, but I think it might be great grilled and served warm with the cheese melted. Next time, I will ditch the lettuce and flip the sandwich thins to expose the cut sides on the outside. I'll spray them with Pam and pop on my George Foreman to make a panini-style sandwich.

Gawd! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

I can't believe I'm still going this strong

Mondays = weigh-in

OK, last year, I started Weight Watchers on the first of the year. After 5 months, I had barely lost 20 pounds, and this was with working out five (5) days per week, 2 of which was with a personal trainer. When my friend--who had been accompanying me to meetings--quit, I fell off the wagon too. I started believing that I just can't lose the weight anymore.

I finally got some thyroid medicine from my doctor a few months ago, and I was hoping that it would make a difference in my weight loss this time around...

Woo hoo!

I lost another two pounds this week!! I earned my 3rd 5lb star. This puts me at 15.2 lbs lost in 7 weeks (more than 2lbs per week average!) This is really exciting for me because I have been believing that I'm "broken" and just can't do it anymore--especially with last year's poor results.

I don't know if it is the thyroid medicine, or the fact that I'm not really using my weekly points. (Weight Watchers gives you an additional optional 35 points to use each week, which averages to another 5 points per day. I rarely use them, except for a straggler here and there.) I have decided that I have to "earn" most extra points by exercising.

However, I'm still afraid to go back to the gym and work with the personal trainer. It was when I started the exercising last time that my weight loss stopped. (And I don't want to hear any of the bogustry about putting on muscle weight. Ask any body builder how hard it is to gain a pound of muscle, and he'll laugh in your face if you tell him you think you've gained muscle from your light exercising. Google it if you don't believe me.) No, for some reason my weight loss stalled really badly when I started the exercising.

My doctor was even perplexed. He had me do a whole bunch of tests, and we could not figure out why I wasn't losing more weight with all that I was doing.

You wouldn't know it to look at me, but on paper I am ridiculously healthy. Go figure. I have the best blood panel results. Here's a sample from my last blood draw:
Total chol: 154
HDL chol: 73
LDL chol: 65
Triglycerides: 80
Glucose: 85

All this in someone who is clinically obese?! Whatever. Even my thyroid was still in the normal range--just at the low end of normal, so I'm on a very small dose.

I digress...

Anyway, I am happy that this time around I'm doing much better. This will keep me pumped to help me stick to the plan.

I'm going to leave you with two great things that have occurred since I started on July 13. First, I'm wearing a smaller bra (the band size; let's leave the cup alone, please.) And second, I just noticed that walking up the stairs seemed a smidgy easier.

I'll take it.

Back from camping

The family and I just got back from camping in Sequoia. This is something we've been doing now every year for several years, and my husband and I were trying to figure out which was the first year we started this. We're thinking it was 2002.

Anyway, we stayed in Lodgepole, and this is where we have stayed every year except for the first year. The last two years we went weren't as pleasant, and we seriously considered not even going this year. In fact, it was more than that. I had told my husband we would not be going anymore. He's the type that would be happy to stay home all day every day and not venture out of doors for anything except food of his choice.

So earlier this summer when I told him I'd made reservations for camping again...let's just say he had some...er...objections.

But this was a nice camping trip. The campsite we had this time was very nice; it was shady most of the day, which is good because it gets into the high 70's low 80's during the day.

The thing about camping is, you spend a lot of time just relaxing. I don't even allow the kids to bring their hand-held video game consoles because I want them to find entertainment out there. One consequence of having nothing to do is that you really look forward to meal times. And since I'm dieting right now, I had to be very careful not to pig out. Well, I'm really into the program these days. My motivation and optimism are at an all-time high, and I really wanted to make this work. I am happy to say that I succeeded!!!

I made sure to bring snacks that would allow me to stay on program. And as far as the meals go, I only brought foods that would work on the program. I figured if I didn't bring anything that would bring me down, I couldn't succumb to it. Though, I did have a few dangerous items. I had brought the stuff to make s'mores, and instead of chocolate, I brought some Nutella, which is a chocolate hazelnut spread. This stuf is by no means low-cal, so it had the potential to be a problem. But it wasn't. I did have 2 s'mores made with it, and it was delicious, but I fit it in and did very well.

The other thing that really worked out for me was the hiking. Now, you may recall, I have back and foot issues. For some reason, my feet (and back for that matter) really were not hurting much at all on this trip, so I took advantage of that. In the mornings, I did three laps in the campground loop (this earned me one activity point for the 3 laps each time), and we also walked to the store that is at the campground where I got myself a delicious 100 calorie Haagen Dasz Raspberry Sorbet and Vanilla Yogurt frozen novelty. It was worth two points, and so was the round-trip walk to the store, so I "paid" for that one. When we went to the amphitheater show one evening, the four of us walked there, which was about a 25 minute round-trip hike. Finally, we hiked one of the trails on the last day, and we even got to see some black bears!

All in all, I am proud of myself for staying on program so well, and I did not feel deprived at all. In fact, my husband and kids and I all remarked that this was one of the better trips we've made out to the ol' campground.

Weigh-in day

Mondays are my weekly weigh-in day, so today I ventured down to the meeting hall for my Weight Watchers meeting and weigh-in. I was a little nervous after having a lot of carbs from the pizza yesterday, as well as the unknown amount of sugar in that sweetened tea. So I was certain I was retaining excess water.

I have a tendency to retain lots of water; my feet and ankles swell terribly--so much so that I have decided I could benefit from an additional urethra strategically positioned at the base of my right ankle. My fingers also get a little swollen as well. I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring in several weeks. This is, however, as much to do with my recent high weight as it does with the water retention.

Anyway, I was shocked to find out that I had lost a whopping 2.8 pounds this week! This brings my running total to 13.2 pounds lost since July 13th!

What a relief! Even more than that: bravo for me! Last year, the weight seemed to come off so slowly. I really need this constant feedback from the scale to keep me motivated, so I am pumped for this coming week.

Sabotage!

Today, my husband, kids, and I all went to Victoria Gardens and had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. They now have all the calories listed next to each item on the menu. It is kind of a new twist on the old "choose by price" method. Now we can scan the calorie numbers and see what we like, then look over and decide if it sounds good! Of course, calories alone can't determine the points, since the points system takes into consideration the fat and the fiber as well, but it can give you a close idea.

So I started with a house salad, and I ordered it with their fat free balsamic vinaigrette. Then the four of us ordered 3 different pizzas to mix and match (my kids can really put away a lot of food). Anyway, I decided on the Tomato and Basil pizza at 158 calories per 1/6 of the pizza, and I ate 3 slices.

I usually drink tea or diet soda; sometimes, I just get water. Today, I wanted iced tea. Well at CPK, you can't just order tea, you have to decide which tea you want. He went down the list, and I heard "mango" in there and "peach". I asked if any of them were sweetened. First he said the peach was sweetened. Then he said the peach was unsweetened and the mango was sweetened. So I went with the peach. When the tea arrived, without hesitation, I stirred-in two packets of equal. It was a little on the sweet side, but I did not think much of it at the time. My husband had ordered the same tea, and when his glass was nearly empty, the waiter brough him an additional glass. So I poured a little into mine to dilute the sweetness. It didn't seem to help, but then, I'd only added a few ounces. I still thought nothing of it.

Before we left, I asked for another glass, as mine was empty, and my mouth was burning from the red pepper I'd sprinkled on my pizza. I took a sip without adding equal. And then I realized: it was SWEETENED already! That is why it was too sweet when I added the equal.

That really irked me to no end! I specifically asked for an unsweetened tea. And I did not misunderstand, because my husband heard the same as me.

So now, I have to try and figure out how many calories/points were in that glass of tea! What a waste! I NEVER order sugar drinks because I'd so much rather eat my calories than drink them!

That is what I call sabotage.

Temptations

Tomorrow I'm hosting bunko, and I went to a local Mexican restaurant today to pick up some salsa to serve with the dinner I will be providing. They have the best salsa--so much better than anything you can buy in the store. Anyway, it was close to lunch time, and people were ordering chimichangas and tacos and enchiladas...I wanted to have one of each so badly that I thought I would die.

On the Weight Watchers program, you really can have just about anything you want, provided you have the points to work it in. But those plates of Mexican food--all hot and cheesy and saucy and greasy...well, I'd have to just about use all my daily points as well as my additional weekly points (which I try not to use) to fit it in. Yes, I could have a carne asada taco on an un-fried tortilla, and don't get me wrong, those are delicious too, but when I want a plate of molten cheese and grease, that dry-ish taco is simply not going to fill the void.

I did prevail, however. I did not give in to the temptation. No. I went home and ate a left-over skinless piece of chicken and some rice for a satisfying 7 points.

Incidentally, no points are earned for not giving in to temptation.

My new favorite food

...is sushi.

I've never been a seafood eater. I think that is due to two things: one, I grew up with H. Salt commercials always talking about "fishy" fish; the other is the simple fact that my mom never really cooked it much.

I've always liked stuff that was crunchy fried--like fried shrimp and really crunchy fried fish with lots of tartar sauce. But I still don't eat that very often, and especially since I'm trying to lose weight, I really can't eat those things.

So yesterday for lunch, I met a couple of girlfriends at a local teppan restaurant called Wabi Sabi. They have the best California rolls. OK; I admit that I haven't yet advanced past the California rolls. When I was on the Carnival Cruise to Mexico, they served halibut sushi, which I did not like, and I had some shrimp sushi, which was pretty good.

But those California rolls are really yummy. And the good news? They're only 3 points for 4 slices!!!

For those of you who aren't familiar with sushi: it isn't raw fish like you may be thinking. Sushi is simply the rice--rolled into a log, usually with a dried seaweed called "Nori." Sashimi is the raw fish, and it can be served with sushi; but sushi in itself is not the raw fish.

So these California rolls have crab, cucumber, and avocado rolled in this sticky rice with some nori. Then on the outside, it is rolled in toasted sesame seeds. They serve the whole roll sliced with a dollop of wasabi (a type of green "horseradish") and pickled ginger. I like to put the whole blob of wasabi into some low sodium soy sauce and dip the sushi rolls in that.

What I especially like about Wabi Sabi's California rolls is that the nori is rolled on the inside, so there is a smaller piece of it. Sometimes it is hard to eat if it has the nori on the outside, as it can be a little tough.

Anyway, don't be afraid to try new things. How exotic is a little crab, rice, avocado, and cucumber? Remember, you can fit it in because 4 slices is only 3 points!