Mushroom Power = 1 up

I have been a huge mushroom fan for as long as I can remember. I was the kid who would always ask for more  mushrooms on my pizza comparative to having pepperoni (this didn’t always make friends people!!!). Within the last few years or so I discovered portabella mushrooms caps. I buy them in bulk at Sam’s club now and I make delicious mini pizzas out of them using the portabella cap as the base of my pizza. I used a variety of sauces such as pizza sauce, bbq sauce, no sauce. I normally just top the caps with laughing cow cheese and of course crushed red pepper flakes for spice!

Recently I stuffed my portabella cap with this

Tomatoes, avocado, onions, and red peppers

Due to my love for this

I ate this lovely mushroom salad while in Germany

This salad was by far in my top 10!

Mushrooms are a very low-calorie veggie. 3 oz of a portabella mushroom will only set you pack 22 calories! I have read many articles about how people were more if not just as satisfied when replacing mushrooms in a meal for meat.  Also another tidbit, mushrooms are loaded with potassium. 

If you are wondering  how to incorporate mushrooms into your diet be sure to check out The Mushroom Channel for some great recipes.

Power of the Broccoli

What is broccoli?? It is a veggie from the cabbage family that looks like little trees that founded in Europe. Broccoli is great because it can be added into casseroles and also be eaten cooked or raw. I use to buy a broccoli stalk and break into pieces so I could eat them raw. I recently bought a huge 4 pound frozen bag of broccoli from Sam’s club. One cup of broccoli yields roughly 30 calories!!

The question that people ask what can I do with broccoli? One of my favorite ways is just to steam the broccoli. I do this by placing broccoli in a bowl, added my spices, and place some saran wrap on it and microwave.  I sometimes even add some laughing cow cheese wedge into the bowl so there is a nice creamy mixture.

They are many recipes out there to incorporate broccoli into your eats.  Here are few of my favorites::

Broccoli and Cheese casserole

1 pound of chicken

1 frozen bag of broccoli

1 can of 98% fat-free mushroom soup

Mix together and bake in oven 350 degrees for about 30-45 mins. You can also change it up by adding rice into the mix.

 Another one of my favorite ways to make broccoli cheese soup is take frozen broccoli to a can of Campbell’s  nacho cheese soup or cream of mushroom soup. Mix, heat up, portion out and enjoy.

Broccoli can be added into any casserole for a veggie. I tend to make simple yummy casseroles. This consists of meat (chicken, pork, soy meat, salmon, tuna, etc), beans (black beans, red, great northern, etc) and then some sort of veggie (broccoli, potatoes, corn, peas, etc).

Broccoli has many health benefits such as Vitamin C, folic acid (ladies eat this!!), fiber (makes you poop, woo hoo!), and helps in preventing diseases.

Beautiful Blog Award

Kat from Low-Fat Kat nominated me for a beautiful blog award!!! Thanks, Kat it feels great that I know I have than two readers. ha ha I am supposed to share 7 things about me and pass this on to 7 other bloggers!

1. I have traveled to the following countries: Canada, Iraq, Kuwait, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Greece and hmmmm…think that might be it.

2. I was in the United States Army for 4.5 years and was stationed down in Texas. This is where I met my husband.

3. This brings me to say I have been married for 10 years come this March. Yup, I got married when I was 18 years old and on top of this I only knew my husband for less than 4 months before we got married

4. I have an obession with anything hot and spiciness. I did a hot wing challenge in my hometown a few years back twice. The first time I ate 10 huge wings with their hottest spicy sauce. Then a year later my husband and I went there again and my hubby wanted to try the challenge. (he only managed 4 wings before calling it quits!!) Well I had to beat my record of 10 and ended up eating 15 wings!! I was in serious pain about an hour after this challenge with major acid reflux and had to actually sleep in a chair that night.

5. I have been known to eat my weight at Cici’s pizza buffet. I mean I can seriously out eat my hubby at that place. This is another reason I don’t go there very often!! ha ha

6. My jobs have ranged from cashier, food service, waiting tables, stocking, nurse assistant, x-ray tech, driving truck in the army.

7. My husband and I drove truck over the road all around the country with Schneider National for roughly 6 months back in 2004. I was able to see most of the country this way. The main reason we did this was because had a house we owned in Texas. We couldn’t sell it due to the war going on and all the troops were deploying from that base. Well no one is wanting to buy a house when they are being deployed overseas. Anyway, we sold that house in 2006.

I am nominating the following 7 women

1. Rachel from Body By Pizza

2. Christina from Weight Watcher Chica

3. Josie from Yum Yucky

4. Joanna from Fitness & Spice

5. Rachael from Sheddingit

6.  Mish from Eating Journey

7.  Bobbi from N Her Shoes

Be sure to check these seven women out. 

Interesting observations

As many of you know, I have been trying to eat less processed foods. I have been pretty successful and am utterly amazed on how much fuller I feel. I love eating foods in general and because veggies have very low calories I can eat tons and tons. For dinner tonight I had 2 cups of broccoli, 3oz of chicken, and a rice/pea concoction that was premade, proportioned and frozen a few weeks ago. This meal set me back only 263 calories and I was full from it. I also made a yummy yogurt parfait for dessert which of course wasn’t filled with all unprocessed foods but it sure hits the spot.

Anyway, this blog has been a side project for me and since I just started school this week I have been stressed out. I am hoping I can use this blog with exercise as an outlet to get out of school mode in a fun and productive way. Which reminds me, I start my personal training session at Laboxing tomorrow with one of the kickboxing instructors. It was funny because when we were setting up the day and time I made a comment to him. I told him, I am not a typical girl. I want a kickass workout and want to be pushed to my limits. He laughed and claimed he would and could make that happen. We will see…..

New Year, New beginning

This year was a new chapter in my life where I wanted to eat less processed foods. Do you know hard this is?? I didn’t really realize this until I started to do it. I think I have gotten better and probably ate about 65%-75% of the time non processed foods. I have noticed that I have to be even more creative with my foods. I recently made this

This folks is a hollowed out orange pepper with canned salmon, peas, and white northern beans. I know the stuff inside is canned foods (aka processed). Like I said, it is hard to eat less processed foods. However, my “bowl” was a fresh pepper.

I also made this for a snack

This was very filling. I used baby carrots, cut up red peppers and had 2 tablespoons of hummus. I used Harris Teeter hummus but I just got a recipe on how to make my own hummus. The recipe I found is thanks to my new book I purchased called Eat This, Cook That. This book has really helped me discover new ways to create my favorite foods from restaurant. Lately where I live I  have only wanted to eat at three places because I know I will have great quality food and good service. Those places are BD’s Mongolian BBQ , 5 guys burgers and fries, and Vie De France. Speaking of Vie de France this was my “splurge” lunch today minus an extra cookie and French Roast Coffee

Vie De France make foods to a regular cafe in France. I ordered the VDF garden sandwich which was loaded with veggies and two different cheeses. Ohhh wow!! This was amazing sandwich because it tasted so fresh and delicious. Everything there I have ever had tastes fresh and homemade.

Anyone else trying to eat less processed foods? Any advice?

The Biggest Loser is Bad for Our Nation’s Health

I was a huge The Biggest Loser fan when it debuted in 2004. I instantly hooked as I watched how fat people like me could lose huge amount of weight in a short timeframe. I was even hooked into the second season of the show. I was like “these people are just like me!” These people sort of helped me in my weight loss adventure. I would constantly check out what Jillian and Bob were saying on The Biggest Loser website and try new recipes. Hell I think I even purchased one of the cookbooks. (I took it back after I realized I already make similar recipes). Then the third season hit and I wasn’t as interested as much so I just occasional watched and then I complete lost interest.

Since I don’t watch the show, I will still catch remarks about the show in Yahoo headlines, Twitter remarks, and internet articles on the contestants of the show. I would be amazed to hear about one man who in one week lost a load of weight. I am not sure on the exact amount anymore but I want to say it was in the 50 pound ballpark? I was in total disbelief because the only real healthy way is to lose weight about 1-2 pounds a week to keep it off. Now I remember when I joined Weight Watchers and my first week I lost seven pounds and my husband lost ten pounds. This was huge success or was it???

I have complied some data on why The Biggest Loser is bad for our nation’s health

1. I read an article called The Biggest Loser ‘Where are they now?’ and saw how many of the contestants gained back weight after finishing The Biggest Loser. It appears the majority of the contestants didn’t go back to their original weight but many have gained a lot back.

2. I have read conflicting articles on how much the contestants eat in calories per day. I read that the women eat around 1,200 calories and the biggest men would eat around 2,400 calories. I put some generic information from about.com for a fourty year old man, weighs 400 pounds, wants to weigh 250, and is 72 inches tall. His calorie intact should be 3,660 calories to lose one pounds per week without exercise.

3. Speaking of exercise on The Biggest Loser. These contestants exercise anywhere from 4-6hrs a day according to this MSNBC article. Well no wonder they lose so much weight with a lower calorie intake and a tremendous amount of exercise.

I can’t  bash The Biggest loser without mentioning the positives about the show. I know Americans watch it to get motivated to lose weight. We need to lose it the right way with a proper diet and exercise regimen. I know it is hard not to get that quick fix. However, no one just gains large amounts of weight overnight. (Hell sometimes I think I do!!) Losing weight is a lifestyle change and the only way it works is if you truly want it for yourself. Money can motivate people to do just about anything. We have seen so much crap on tv from Tila Tequila to any girl who set foot on the Flavor of Love set to prove this case and point.

Maybe I am missing the point of the show. I really want people to lose weight but I think it should be done in a healthy way.

What are your thoughts? Am I being too hard on this show? Do people really watch this show and get disappointed after one week of a measly 2-3 pound weight loss?

Blog Article about me

I was sent an email a few weeks ago from Secrets of a Former Fat Girl. She asked me if I would be interested in being featured in her blog for the “Former fat girl of the Week”. I was floored and immediately told her yes. She sent me a list of questions to answered that would be featured in on her blog page in January. I immediately got to work on my answers and submitted to her photos of my progress. So be sure to check out my article on her page for the article on my story. Please just click on the hyperlink or go to www.secretsofaformerfatgirl.com

2009 Review of the Year

Fat Bridesmaid posted a review questions for 2009 and I decided what better time for me to reflect on the past year that has gone by way too fast!

1. Was 2009 good for you? There were so many ups and downs. I am however greatly to have lived in Germany for three months and explored many parts of Europe while I was there. When we got back from overseas we had a chance to move to the DC metro area which I really enjoy. I have also been unemployed since Feb which caused me to really consider going back to school which I start in a few weeks.
2. What was your favorite moment of the year? Finding out we were going to live in Germany for 3 months.
3. What was your worst moment of the year? Hmmm one particular incident that sticks in my head was the headache of dealing with the IRS on a tax issue from 2007 while being out of the country.
4. Where were you when 2009 began? At Jillian’s in Norfolk, VA
5. Who were you with? My husband and all the other patrons that were there
6. Where were you when 2009 ended? At the American Tap Room with friends and my husband
7. Did you keep your new years resolution of 2009? I didn’t make one.
8. Do you have a new years resolution for 2010?I am planning to try to eat less processed foods.
9. Did you fall in love in 2009? I am already in love with my husband. I did fall in love with European foods, culture and biers from different countries.
10. Did you make any new friends in 2009? I would say I have. Thanks Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, etc
11. What was your favorite month of 2009? March?
12. Why this month? We were living in Germany and traveling on the weekends  a bit. Plus my husband and I were married for 9 years.
13. Did you travel outside of the US in 2009? Hell yeah I did!! I went to Berlin, Munich, Prague, Brussels, Athens, Warsaw, Barcelona, Heidelberg, Zürich, Brussels, Stuttgart, and probably a few other cities I am forgetting
14. How many different places did you travel to in 2009? Statewise I was in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, West Virginia….hmmm think that may be it? Countries were listed in question 13
15. Did you miss anybody in the past year? I don’t think so actually
16. What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2009? Hmmm probably the latest Harry Potter and Gran Tarino
17. What was your favorite song from 2009? Hmmm any new Eminem song
18. How many concerts or plays did you see in 2009? None I don’t think
19. Did you have a favorite concert in 2009? N/A
20. What was your favorite book in 2009? I love the Eat this Not That books
21. Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year? No don’t think so
22. What was the biggest lie you told in 2009? Don’t know
23. Did you treat somebody badly in 2009? Yes and I asked them for forgiveness
24. Did somebody treat you badly in 2009? Yes
25. What was your proudest moment of 2009? Running my first half marathon in 1:52:25. I also learned from my Garmin Forerunner that I ran over 1,000 miles in 6 months.
26. What was your most embarrassing moment of 2009? haha Probably being a drunkin’ idiot
27. If you could go back to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be? Hmmm maybe ate better while in Europe and started running over there instead of waiting till I was back stateside
28. Where did you work in 2009? I was at Patient First Urgent care center before quitting in Feb and I haven’t worked since then
29. Favorite TV shows(s) of 2009? I got into Dexter
30. Favorite Band(s) of 2009? N/A
31. Favorite Food in 2009? Sushi, german food, any food from Athens, a big giant pretzel sandwich from Zürich to name a few
32. Favorite Drink in 2009? HB beir
33. Favorite Place in 2009? Athens and Germany
34. Favorite person(s) to be with in 2009? My husband
35. Favorite person(s) to talk to in 2009? My husband
36. Favorite trip in 2009? My whole 3 month Germany traveling trip
37. Favorite stores in 2009? Target
38. Hardest thing you had to go through in 2009? Being unemployed
39. Most exciting moment(s) in 2009? Visiting new countries and deciding to go back to school
40. Funniest moment(s) in 2009? I remember some funny times at Springfest in Stuttgart

Okay your turn!  Leave a link to your post of the questions in the comments!  Happy New Year!

Running into the New Year

Today I looked up my Garmin Forerunner 305 history since I owned it. I learned that I have somehow managed to do well over 1,000 miles since June!! This is an average of 37 miles a week!! I was floored when I saw these results of my runs. I, who use to hate running with a passion, managed all this by myself?!? I have also inspired some of my friends and family to take a bite out of the running bug too.

Next year (wow! Cant believe that is tomorrow) I am planning to sign up for at least another half marathon. Maybe a full marathon?!?! All I can say about this, is the fact I will need some new shoes!

What are your running plans for next year?

Christmas dinner

Christmas is a wonderful time of year. This is the time of year where people will try new recipes and or more gourmet foods. On Christmas Eve, my husband and I were running errands around town after kickboxing class. I asked him what he thought about making lobster tails for Christmas to make it a little bit more special since we would be in the area. He agreed immediately and we headed to Harris Teeter for two lobster tails. All day Christmas I was researching different methods on how to cook these lobster tails. I ended up learning how to cut the tails and butterfly the lobster meat over the hard shell. I also made a side salad and streamed veggies. It is also funny because I got a new spice rack for Christmas and I think I got a little spice happy!

Of course I learned that Germany Riesling wine is a great match with seafood. I then opened our bottle of Germany wine we bought back in August 2008. Yum!