Grilled Lemongrass Beef

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds sirloin tip, cut in ⅛" thick slices
  
  


• ½ cup peeled fresh lemongrass, chopped
  
  


• ⅓ cup shallots, chopped
  
  


• 2 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce (otherwise known as "Nam pla")
  
  


• 2 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
  
  


• 1½ tbsp sugar
  
  


• 2 tsp vegetable oil
  
  


• 6 garlic cloves, smashed
  
  


• Low-fat cooking spray
  
  

Preparation:

• Combine lemongrass, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, vegetable oil, salt, garlic and serrano chiles in a food processor. Process until smooth (about 1 minute).
  
  


• Add beef and lemongrass mixture and stir to coat evenly in a small bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.
  
  


• Prepare grill.
  
  


• Remove beef from bowl and discard extra marinade. Spray coat the grill with low-fat cooking spray then grill the beef on each side until desired doneness (about 1 minute).
  
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(⅛ of recipe (136 g)): 253 Calories, 36 g Protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g Dietary Fiber, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 104 mg cholesterol, 417 mg sodium

I made a deal with the devil

Well, the deal isn't actually with the devil, but with Marianne Williamson.

First, the bike ride
I just finished my first bike ride of the spring. I rode once last February when we had a sort of nice day, but today the weather was perfect. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE bike riding? It's my favorite way to get in my cardio, and according to my heart rate monitor I burned 550 calories just bike riding (it's only eight miles but very hilly).

I stopped at the gym on my return and completed a full hour of upper body weights doing a new routine. I found a DVD I purchased about three years ago but never watched until this morning. I watched it and wrote down the exercise to do at the gym. I work out better there than I do at home. The routine uses dumbbells only, nine exercises, three sets of 15 reps, three exercises each for deltoids, triceps and biceps. It took me the entire hour plus to finish the routine and my arms ache now. Then I rode my bike home. I was/am exhausted!

Biking is at at least a hundred times more fun than any of the boring gym cardio equipment. The fresh air and sunshine does wonders for the soul. Yes, I said SUNSHINE! In Seattle! With a balmy 64 degrees. It's a little piece of heaven on earth when the sun shines here.

The deal
Now about my deal with the devil. When I purchased Marianne Williamson's "A Course In Weight Loss" I made a promise to myself that I would read the entire book and give it a chance. I buy a lot of weight loss books and as you can tell from reading my blog, none of them have really helped me. Probably because I never really give them a chance.

Honestly, I don't like this book very much (it's a bit too Zen-Buddhist/new age for me) . I'm still on lesson one. It's called Tear Down the Wall.

This is what Marianne says on page 20:

Your first lesson focuses on the following visualization:  the image of excess weight as a brick wall you are carrying around. This wall has been built by your subconscious mind; its purpose is to separate you from other people and from life itself. Your fear has built the wall, and love will tear it down.

Looking closely, you see that every brick has something written on it:

A few of the words (she actually lists 26 words, but you get the idea):


Shame
Anger
Fear
Forgiveness
Judgement

You select the words that you can relate to, that you have in your past. She says: by allowing yourself to look and to feel, you will ultimately understand. This is a meaningful opportunity to see your light, by being courageous enough to look at your darkness.

She has a paragraph for each word, and you're suppose to fill in the blank for the words that apply to you.  For example:

Shame:  I am ashamed of ________________________________________.
Perhaps you acted foolishly, and cringe to think that other people still remember...
Do not go unconscious. Write it all out.

I sort of like the "Do not go unconscious" part since I do that a lot when it comes to bad feelings or sad emotions. I'd prefer not to think about them. Perhaps this is my problem.

This is a very painful exercise and not one I'm enjoying. However, I'm determined to follow through on this course, regardless of the bad memories it's dredging up from my past.

Funny but true, I'm not an Oprah fan in the least and the book is dedicated to Oprah. Cracked me up. 

My Weight
I missed Weight Watchers this morning. I just couldn't seem to get going in time to make my 11:15am meeting (I was still in my PJs!). I weighed at home and was a little upset by what I saw. 187.4. Not good. I'm trying hard to not beat myself up about this, but to just get back on track.

My plan for this week is to track everything I eat with eTools, follow portion control (two cups of frozen cherries is not a portion nor is eight ounces of chicken breast). I also want to follow the healthy eating guidelines as closely as possible.

I'm feeling pretty positive at the moment, but I'm also afraid as soon as I delve back into that book I'm going to be sad again. Do you really think you have to look at the darkness to see the light? That just doesn't make a lot of sense.

Grilled Jalapeno Lime Chicken

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless and skinless chicken breast halves
  
  


• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
  


• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
  
  


• 1 tsp grated lime peel
  
  


• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  
  


• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
  


• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
  


• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• Non-fat cooking spray
  
  

Preparation:

• Prepare grill.
  
  


• Combine oil, lime peel, lime juice, jalapeño pepper, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag.
  
  


• Place chicken in bag. Squeeze out excess air then seal tightly. Turn bag to coat chicken on all sides then chill in refrigerator for at least ½ hour to marinate.
  
  


• Remove chicken and discard bag with marinade.


• Place chicken on grill for about 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked through and internal temperature in thickest part of chicken is at least 165 degrees F then serve immediately.
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (127 g)): 160 Calories, 26 g Protein, 1 g carbohydrates, 0 g Dietary Fiber, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 66 mg cholesterol, 220 mg sodium

My Latest Distraction

Lately, my workouts haven't been what I would like them to be.  When I go for 30 minutes, I get an awesome sweat going and I feel accomplished. I typically try for that time, but sometimes, I just don't make it. This usually happens when I get on the machine late and I'm tired.

A week or so ago, my kids were telling me about a new game they found on the computer.  It's called Plants verses Zombies. The name sounded ridiculous to me, but they were having so much fun and kept telling me I needed to look at it.  So I thought I would try it.  As it would so happen, I enjoyed the game.

When I hopped onto the elliptical earlier this week, I just didn't feel like reading or tweeting or doing what I usually do while exercising. I admit, I get bored sometimes... many times.  Sooo, what better time than to upload the game to my phone and play a few rounds. After what seemed like 10 minutes, the machine beeped that I was done with my 30 minute workout. I was shocked, but I wasn't done with the round, so I kept going.  15 minutes later, after all the zombies were dead, I hopped off feeling accomplished. I was dripping sweat and had finished a 45 minute workout that only felt like 10. :)

Find something you enjoy when you exercise, find a few things actually and switch it up.  Keep yourself entertained and you'll get a great workout every time!

You can play a few rounds of Plants vs Zombies online for free. Try not to get hooked...unless you can keep it for workout time. ;)  iPhone app: Plants vs Zombies.

rar

small roar.

Like what a lion would do if someone said to a sad lion in a cage "GROWL SUCKER!"

rar.

Like... um, yeah.

Feeling a tad shit. No real reason, just the usual. Weightloss about 100g a month so pretty rubbish.

"The right way though" I hear you say.

Yeah, it's the right way. Hopefully by April 2036 I will be at goal. Who knows. Seems a little far off if ya know what I mean.

Do you know what I mean?

I just keep rolling that "4 years maaaaannnn" over in my head and feeling like a failure. No, not a failure, like I was failed. I feel cheated again and miserable.

*Massive sigh*.

On a positive note, having a fill tomorrow. Cant freaking afford it at all, but what the heck.

Just so you know how much I can eat, at breakfast time, with a band... check this out:

Do I feel guilty? Hell yeah!!! I should not be able to eat this shit. The only plus is that it was 100% homemade, organic everything and the bread was my own too. Yeah, I know - doesn't matter a fig does it.

Hence the fill... I am thinking 0.25ml...

I need a boost. And quick.

Grilled Halibut with Jicama Salsa

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients for jicama salsa:

• 2 cups peeled and chopped jicama
  
  


• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
  
  


• 1 tbsp lime juice
  
  


• 1½ tsp chili powder
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
  
  


• 1 orange, peeled and chopped
  
  

Basic ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
  


• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  
  


• ½ tsp dried thyme
  
  


• ½ tsp dried basil
  
  


• ⅛ tsp dried rosemary
  
  


• 6 (6 oz.) halibut filets
  
  

Preparation:

• In a large-sized bowl Mix all jicama salsa ingredients, cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
  
  


• In a large shallow glass baking dish, place fish filets. Whisk together oil, lime juice, and herbs. Pour marinade over fish, cover, and refrigerate 2-4 hours.
  
  


• Preheat grill.
  
  


• Oil grilling rack, and adjust height to between 4” – 6” from heat. Remove fish from marinade, and place on grill.


• Cook until fish flakes with a fork (about 10 minutes per inch of thickness).
  
  


• Turn once to brown both sides. Serve fish with jicama salsa.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (302 g)): 264 Calories, 36 g Protein, 9 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 54 mg cholesterol, 192 mg sodium

Grilled Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1¼ pounds flank steak
  
  


• ½ tsp (divided) hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco sauce)
  
  


• ⅓cup light teriyaki sauce
  
  


• 4 green onions, sliced in 1” pieces
  
  


• 2 tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter
  
  


• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into small-sized pieces
  
  


• 3 tbsp water
  
  

Preparation:

• Prepare grill.
  
  


• Trim excess fat from steak and thinly slice diagonally across the grain.
  
  


• Prepare marinade: Combine teriyaki sauce and ¼ tsp hot pepper sauce in a medium bowl. Add the steak slices and stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  
  


• Thread steak slices in accordion style on skewers then alternate with green onions and bell pepper. Reserve marinade.
  
  


• Grill skewers until steak is slightly pink in the middle.
  
  


• Combine peanut butter, water, ¼ tsp hot pepper sauce and 2 tbsp of the reserved marinade in a small-sized saucepan. Heat to medium-high heat and cook until heated through.
  
  


• Remove steak and vegetables from skewers and serve with peanut sauce.
  
  

Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (217 g)): 297 Calories, 33 g Protein, 8 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 15 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 71 mg cholesterol, 975 mg sodium