Vietnamese Pho Beef Noodle Soup

Serves 4

Prep time: 40 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

ingredients:

• 2 tsp canola oil
  
  


• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
  
  


• 1 2” piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  
  


• 1 tsp five-spice powder
  
  


• 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
  
  


• 1½ tbsp Asian fish sauce ("nuoc mam" or "nam pla")
  
  


• 1½ tsp sugar
  
  


• Freshly ground black pepper
  
  


• 6 oz. dried rice noodles or rice vermicelli (Soaking the rice noodles before cooking may seem like an extra step, but it helps release some of their starch so they don't clump and the broth stays clear.)
  
  


• 8 oz. flank steak, well trimmed and thinly sliced
  
  


• Fresh mint sprigs, fresh cilantro sprigs, fresh mung bean sprouts, chopped scallions, thinly sliced serrano chili, and 2-3 lime wedges, for garnish
  
  


• 1 small onion, peeled and sliced in paper-thin rounds
  
  


• The seasonings and noodles can be found in the Asia section of large supermarkets.
  
  

Preparing

• In a heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and ginger; sauté until onions are lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Add five-spice powder; stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover; simmer for about 15 minutes. Strain broth into a clean saucepan (discard onion and ginger). Stir fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper to taste into the broth; keep warm over low heat.
  
  


• While the broth is simmering, soak rice noodles in hot water (do not boil) in a wide bowl until softened (about 20 minutes). Rinse the noodles well in cold water, then drain. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
  
  


• Arrange the mint and other garnishes on a serving platter. Bring broth back to a boil.
  
  


• Transfer softened noodles to the pot of boiling water; cook for about 30 seconds, drain, and divide among 4 deep soup bowls. Arrange some of the raw steak slices over the noodles, and scatter some of the onion rounds over the steak. Ladle boiling broth into each bowl (the beef slices should cook or brown in the boiling broth.). Serve the soup immediately with the garnishes so everyone can customize their own bowl.
  
  

Nutrition score per serving (2 cups): 350 calories, 7 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 51 g carbs, 20 g protein, 2 g Dietary fiber, 51 mg calcium, 2 mg iron, 1,308 mg sodium

I didn't know I was so fat but pictures don't lie

Before Pictures (from the Big Climb March 20, 2011)

Rear view (ugh!)

It's weird how I often don't see my body as it really looks. When I weighed 152 two summers ago, and 166 last summer, I thought I was a fat pig. That's the picture on the lower right, me in the black size 10 skirt and pink top. 152 pounds and I thought I was fat.

Now that I'm fat again I don't see it when I look in the mirror. Even though the size ten's hanging in my closet don't even begin to fit, I still think of myself as the same person that weighed 152. It's like my head hasn't caught to the fact that I'm fat again. It's the opposite of what an anorexia thinks.

The pictures really hit me hard. Really? I'm really THAT fat?! Yes, Diana, you are really that fat. How fat am I? Read below.

My second weekly Weight Watchers meeting
Today was my first Weight Watchers At Work meeting. There were 28 employees at the meeting, each with their $130.20 check in hand for a 17-week series of meetings and e-Tools.

My company is picking up the additional 30% that Weight Watchers would normally charge. I work for an awesome company! Of course, it's in their best interest that we all get to a healthy weight to keep our insurance costs down, as well as take fewer sick days. Smart move on their part, and I get to benefit from it.

I'm very excited about this meeting. I'm not new to Weight Watchers. I've been going to meetings for three years non-stop. It annoys me that I haven't reached goal yet, but I also know that without the meetings I'd definitely be back up to my high weight of 240 pounds, plus a few extra for good measure. Going to two meetings a week is sort of like AA, where the alcoholic goes every day if possible. Like an alcoholic, I have a serious problem.

I weighed in at home this morning and was appalled I saw184 pounds. I decided to eat breakfast, have my cup of coffee and drink water all morning like normal. I'm not going to starve myself or go without water because I have a noon weighin.

The official weighin (are you sitting down because this is rather shocking):

187.4 

Now I could make all sorts of excuses, I was wearing "heavy" clothes or I'd had food and water during the morning, or there was something wrong with the scales the leader brought to the meeting. That can't be my real weight! Seriously folks, it's my real weight. As real as it gets. 

My plan isn't to dwell on how horrible this is or how mad I am at myself for letting this happen. My plan is to get down to business and lose the weight!

I have my regular Weight Watcher meeting on Saturday, which I pay for online so I'll have two official weighins a week. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but I'm kind of crazy. My eating has become totally out of control with no accountability.

Now that I know how fat I am, I need to fix it.

Lemongrass Pork Chops (Vietnamese cuisine)

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredient for the pork chops

• 3 tbsp lemongrass, minced
  
  


• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  
  


• ¼ cup shallots, minced
  
  


• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
  
  


• 2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
  
  


• 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
  
  


• 1 tbsp canola oil
  
  


• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  
  


• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  
  


• 4 (5 oz.), thin-cut ( ⅓” to ½”) bone-in center-cut pork chops
  
  


• Low fat cooking spray
  
  

Ingredient for the carrots

• ¼ cup white vinegar
  
  


• 3 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2” matchsticks (about 2 cups)
  
  

Preparing

• Combine lemongrass, garlic, shallots, dark brown sugar, Asian fish sauce, soy sauce, canola oil, sesame oil, and black pepper in a food processor or blender; process until combined.
  
  


• Place pork chops in a large zip-top bag, add marinade, and gently massage into both sides of chops. Seal bag and refrigerate for about 3 hours.
  
  


• Meanwhile, prepare the carrots. In shallow bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, and salt together, stir until sugar dissolves. Add carrots, tossing well to coat. Cover and set aside, tossing once or twice until pork is ready (about 1 hour).
  
  


• When ready to cook pork, discard marinade and brush excess off meat. Heat a grill pan over medium-high. Spray pan lightly with low fat cooking spray and grill pork until just cooked through (about 2-3 minutes per side). Transfer to a platter, tent with foil, and let rest for about 5 minutes. Serve with the carrots.
  
  

Nutrition score per serving (1 chop, ½ cup carrots): 255 calories, 7 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 24 g carbs, 23 g protein, 2 g Dietary fiber, 45 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 1,177 mg sodium

Safflower Oil Study

A few people have sent me a new study claiming to demonstrate that half a tablespoon of safflower oil a day improves insulin sensitivity, increases HDL and decreases inflammation in diabetics (1). Let me explain why this study does not show what it claims.

It all comes down to a little thing called a control group, which is the basis for comparison that you use to determine if your intervention had an effect. This study didn't have one for the safflower group. What it had was two intervention groups, one given 6.4g conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; 50% c9t11 and 50% t10c12-CLA) per day, and one given 8g safflower oil. I have to guess that this study was originally designed to test the effects of the CLA, with the safflower oil group as the control group, and that the interpretation of the data changed after the results came in. Otherwise, I don't understand why they would conduct a study like this without a control group.

Anyway, they found that the safflower oil group did better than the CLA group over 16 weeks, showing a higher insulin sensitivity, higher HDL, lower HbA1c (a marker of average blood glucose levels) and lower CRP (a marker of inflammation). But they also found that the safflower group improved slightly compared to baseline, therefore they decided to attribute the difference to a beneficial effect of safflower oil. The problem is that without a control (placebo) group for comparison, there's no way to know if the improvement would have occurred regardless of treatment, due to the season changing, more regular check-ups at the doctor's office due to participating in a study, or countless other unforeseen factors. A control group is essential for the accurate interpretation of results, which is why drug studies always have placebo groups.

What we can say is that the safflower oil group fared better than the CLA group, because there was a difference between the two. However, what I think really happened is that the CLA supplement was harmful and the small dose of safflower oil had no effect. Why? Because the t10c12 isomer of CLA, which was half their pill, has already been shown by previous well-controlled studies to reduce insulin sensitivity, decrease HDL and increase inflammatory markers at a similar dose and for a similar duration (2, 3). The safflower oil group only looked good by comparison. We can add this study to the "research bloopers" file.

It's worth noting that naturally occurring CLA mixtures, similar to those found in pastured dairy and ruminant fat, have not been shown to cause metabolic problems such as those caused by isolated t10c12 CLA.

hmm

Things are plugging on as normal around here.Nothing much to report on the band front, or the weightloss front except that I am probably eating too many calories... I think I should be eating about 1600 per day to lose a couple of pounds a week.... so going by that I figure that I must be exceeding this somewhat! LOL

I haven't really lost any significant weight, and you can see by my updated photos that there isn't much of a difference to the old carcass either. I can kind of see some movement of blubber on my back, but lets be honest... you have to really try hard to see the difference!

Oh well, I am not worried about it and I am happy in my very very slow progression or 'turtling' as Tina might say. I am certainly not going up so PHEW!

I currently have other annoyances. Check these out. I am flummoxed to say the least. I have lupus right... however, I have never had a rash with it, and my bloods are all fine showing no inflammation and my ANA test is also fine. So what the heck are these bad boys?

and a close up:

another, just like it's brother but smaller:

One that is a trinity of scratchyness:

and one that's on the return - by tomorrow it will be a horror on the bra line:

I have obviously consulted many many a photo on google of discoid lupus rash and this is pretty much the same. It has been scraped *wince* two times and analyzed for bugs or microbial pests, does not respond to steroid creams of varying strengths, fungicidal creams of many varieties, antihistamines or a fucking good scratching.

Its a pest and a thorough annoyance. Two of them are in really 'wrong' areas. as a teacher it is not the done thing to st scratching yourself in lessons, but even more so on your bikini line or bra line! The big nasty back one is fair game though as is the one on the other side.

all of these weird arsed things are on my trunk so I just don't know what they are but I have had them for about a year now in varying degrees of size and they are multiplying at about 1 new one every 3 months or so.

So there you go. any ideas on a postcard to

"Run Rabbit Run, The Warren, Bunnyville, England"

Thank you.

Shrimp & Avocado Rolls With Dipping Sauce

Serves 4

Prep time: 45 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredient for the rolls

• 2 oz. thin rice noodles (also called rice vermicelli)
  
  


• 4 lettuce leaves, center rib removed, halved
  
  


• 16 fresh mint leaves
  
  


• 16 fresh cilantro leaves
  
  


• 1 ripe avocado, flesh cut into 8 wedges
  
  


• 12 cooked shrimp, halved lengthwise (For a vegan version replace the shrimp with shredded carrots.)
  
  


• 8 8” round rice paper wrappers
  
  

Ingredient for the dipping sauce

(called nuoc cham, can be made ahead and refrigerated; it will keep for a month.)

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  
  


• 2 tbsp sugar
  
  


• ½ tsp red pepper, crushed
  
  


• ⅓ cup hot water
  
  


• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
  
  


• 2 tbsp Asian fish sauce (The sodium counts for these recipes do take a big bite out of your daily recommended maximum of 2,300 mg. The culprits: soy sauce and Asian fish sauce. They're essential to the flavor of these dishes, but even low sodium versions have at least 550 mg per tsp. So on days you make one of these recipes, cut back on other sources of sodium.)
  
  

Preparing

• In a medium-size bowl, place noodles and cover with hot tap water; let soak until softened (about 15 minutes). Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop in noodles; cook for about 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain well again and set aside.
  
  


• Arrange lettuce, mint, cilantro, avocado, and shrimp assembly line-style on a large platter. Gently squeeze noodles in paper towels to further dry them, and add to other ingredients.
  
  


• Fill a wide, shallow bowl with warm water and set it next to a cutting board. Gently slide one rice wrapper into the water; let sit for about 20 seconds to soften. Transfer wrapper to the cutting board (it will still be a bit firm); pat dry.
  
  


• Place 1 lettuce leaf half just below center of wrapper. Place a few tbsp of noodles and 1 avocado slice over lettuce; top with 2 mint and 2 cilantro leaves, then follow wrapping directions.
  
  
  • Arrange lettuce, noodles, avocado, and herbs just below the center of a rice wrapper.
    
    
  
  
  • Tightly fold the bottom of the wrapper up just to enclose ingredients. Place 3 shrimp halves in a row, pink side down, above the fold.
    
    
  
  
  • Fold in the sides and roll up to the top of the wrapper to form a cigar shape; press lightly on seam to seal.
    
    
  
  
  • Set the spring roll on a platter, seam side down, so shrimp shows through the top.
    
    
  
  


• Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 7 more rolls. Cover with a damp kitchen towel until ready to serve, or refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours.
  
  


• To make the dipping sauce: Use the back of a fork to mash garlic, sugar, and red pepper to form a grainy paste. Scrape paste into a small, heatproof serving bowl. Add hot water; let cool slightly. Stir in lime juice and fish sauce. Cut the rolls on a diagonal and serve with sauce on the side.
  
  

Nutrition score per serving (2 rolls, 2 tbsp. sauce): 236 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 41 g carbs, 6 g protein, 4 g Dietary fiber, 33 mg calcium, 2 mg iron, 780 mg sodium

Back to square one

Now that the glow of the Big Climb has worn off, and I can't use the stress of the event as an excuse to eat, it's time to get back to basics.

Tomorrow is my first Weight Watchers at work meeting, which means I'll have my first official weigh-in in weeks. Even though I've been faithfully going to my Saturday meetings I haven't been weighing in. I weigh at home, but it's just not the same. I need the accountability of the Weight Watcher weigh-ins.

I also haven't been to the gym for five days! A new record for me of being absent from something I was doing almost every day without even thinking about it.

I didn't mention this but last Tuesday I hurt my bad knee going down the 37 flights at the Sheraton (I used the elevator the second time). Going up the stairs doesn't hurt my knees at all. In fact, I've read that stair climbing is one of the lowest impact exercises possible, even lower impact than walking. Going down stairs is really hard on the body, especially the knees and hips. For stair climbing they always recommend using the elevator for going down. Except when I hurt my knee going down the stairs, it really starting hurting going up the stairs too. Not good.

After my workout last Wednesday where my knee was hurting pretty bad, I took off Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and Sunday (Big Climb day) from the gym. I only had an hour long walk on Thursday, but it was down and up a very steep hill, one mile each way, walking super fast with a coworker. It killed my knee. Luckily it was healed by the Big Climb on Sunday. Yesterday I was just lazy and skipped the gym.

It's 5:04 a.m. right now, and I'll be out the door in about 15 minutes heading to the gym. Back to my regular workouts.

Tracking my food and following the plan
I also haven't been tracking my food the last few days, and I even went out to lunch yesterday. Thai food, Cashew Chicken with white rice! I ate the entire thing. There must have been a lot of sodium in it because I was dying of thirst all afternoon and could barely get my ring off last night.

I haven't done anything like that in years. I'm always really careful when I eat out, ordering the lowest calorie item and only eating half. It was like the old me was back, and I don't really like the old me. The one that ate whatever and whenever she felt like it.

I'm nipping that in the bud. Back to healthy food, and tracking every bite.

Killing the nighttime eating monster
Anyone that's read my blog for a while knows I have a terrible time with eating late at night. Last night I decided that has to stop. It's been out of control lately. I decided that once I go to bed, that's it, I am done for the day. The restaurant is closed! No more getting up in the middle of the night and eating. I didn't use to do this, and I'm not even sure how it got started, but for the last year or so it's been my demon.

Even if it's healthy food, it has to stop. Last night was night number one of my new "rule". I thought about getting up a few times when I woke up at midnight and again at 1 a.m., but I didn't. I stayed in bed and eventually fell back to sleep. A little self-discipline is good for the soul (and the waistline!). It wasn't really that hard last night, but of course, I'd eaten much more than normal during the day. I know it'll be a lot harder now that I'll be back on plan.

Back to square one, what's always worked in the past will work again in the future.

Now for the gym!