About 2 months ago, I found this blog, TJ's Test Kitchen, and it quickly became one of my favorites. TJ has lost 70 pounds using Weight Watchers, and her blog is a lot about how she loves to cook and tweak favorite recipes to make them lighter and WW friendly. I've printed off a bunch of her recipes, and tonight decided to make this:TJ's Fake Fried Rice, and in keeping with my wanting to add more pics to my text to break up my lo-o-o-ng yakking away, decided to chronicle the making of the dish. First I made a pot of brown rice:
Next, grated some fresh ginger, 2 cloves of garlic (I added an extra from TJ's recipe) and some scallions:
Then, sauteed garlic in some olive oil, added rice and vegetables, and let it cook a bit:
After it cooked for a bit - I added the Egg Beaters, scrambled them up, mixed them in with all the rice, added the vinegar and soy sauce, and it was ready:
To go with the rice, I cooked up a fast version of sausage and peppers, using Trader Joe's chicken sausage that has 100 calories per link, 11 grams of protein, and is yummy:
Finally, I cooked up a pot of fresh green beans, and this was the final plated dinner:
My husband commented yet again that he is quite happy that I'm cooking all these awesome meals. I think he was really thankful to not have another plate full of roasted root vegetables! Thanks TJ, for this and all your great recipe redos!
My food was great today, even before the yummy dinner. And exercise was also good. I went back to the gym today and did a full 30 minutes on the bike, this time at level 2, so with a little resistance (very little, but more than the none I've been doing!). It felt really good. I added my PT stretches and strengtheners after the bike, so it felt like a pretty complete workout. So good to be getting back on track.
I still haven't come up with any "new" food plan, other than trying to avoid sugar for as long as possible. I got some great comments about peoples' thoughts on South Beach, just using moderation in all things, etc. The moderation sounds so nice, but for a card carrying food addict, I'm not sure it's going to work for me. At least not yet. I'm trying to never say never anymore, because I'd love to be able to enjoy 2 Hershey Bliss bites or one sane serving of pie, cake, whatever. I like the AA saying, "When in doubt, leave it out", and not just about booze. For now I'm in serious doubt that I can eat just one of anything, so best to avoid like the plague.
Oh - and I have the Aquatic schedule for my gym, so I'm going to look it over and decide what class to just show up for. I don't have to sign up - you just go. It's so easy to just glibly write about the whole bathing suit/swimming endeavor, but it still makes me quake to think about it! Maybe I can find a long sleeve knee length body suit to swim in! It's gonna happen that I put on the Land's End suit I posted about the other day - and before the end of February. There - I committed to that. Within 5 weeks! Good grief - if I manage to do it, I'll know blogging has magical powers!
You can definitely do the aquatics classes. I know it's hard, but try not to worry about the whole swim suit thing!! (I know I should take my own advice!)
ReplyDeleteI love TJ's blog too. She has the best recipes! Yours looks amazing. I never knew there was such a thing as chicken sausage. We don't have Trader Joe's here and I doubt my Kroger carries it!
Hey, you gotta do, what you gotta do for you. Each individual has things that work, and doesn't work. It's not one plan fits all. :)
ReplyDeleteTrust me on this, the people won't be looking at your body! And most of the women in aquatics don't have supermodel bodies!
ReplyDeleteHEY! thanks for the shout out! :) I LUV my FAKE fried rice! lol :) You made a tasty meal! Im going to use those sausages this week too- have a few in the freezer from last week. :) There is NO way I could survive without eating yummy meals- and I love that I can eat REAL food on WW! :)
ReplyDeleteYou reminded me to get my butt over with my permission slip to my Dr. office so I can go swimming again. But I need a new bathing suit!!! EEWWW I hate shopping for them!! lol
TJ's site is awesome. I love it and am going to try some of her recipes soon.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the bathing suit challenge. You can do it :)
I like your sense of humor. A swimsuit. Huh. I might quake for you, given how empathetic I feel. Lands' End is the best though. I'm crazy tall, and I love their fit. They try really hard and I don't have to shop specialty.
ReplyDeleteI might try that rice. I have my family off white grains, except rice. I had them on brown rice, that crazy FRENCH woman I used to live next to got them ALL-including me-hooked on basmati. Maybe that will convert us back.
Yummy dinner! And believe it or not, even though I've done the "exposed" post, I totally get where you're coming from with the bathing suit thing. Swimming will be so enjoyable once you get in the water though. Just think of the end result :)
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie. Meal looks great!
ReplyDeleteAbout the swim suit thing - I always thought some kind of diving or even surfing would be great because you can wear a full wet suit! Anything like that going on near you?!
Bearfriend xx
Just DO IT! :D You are doing terrific--can't wait to hear about your first pool encounter! You can do it!
ReplyDeleteBethany
I can't wait for you to get into the pool! It's like waiting for a package to arrive. I posted a whole blog today about why aquatic exercise is good for you. I hope it helps tempt you.
ReplyDeleteI love TJ's blog too, I am always getting good ideas from her.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing so well with your eating and exercising. Your doing great leslie. Back otk.
onward and downward.
Ooh, that fried rice looks great!
ReplyDeleteDo the swimming class. It'll make you feel good. :)
I took swimming lessons last winter and my biggest hurdle was the damn swimsuit. But I sucked it up (and in!) and guess what? When I got there, nobody even paid any attention to me. Ha!
ReplyDeletethat is how we make 'fried rice' too. Big hit around here also.
ReplyDeleteRemember this about swimming suits:
when you get IN the pool, no one can really see you. It is not like you are putting it on and hitting the runway lights at fashion week in NY!
will the swimming suit thing become bigger/harder in your mind by not just doing it next week?
will just doing it (like next week or tomorrow) strengthen your knee and help with your cardio and therefore your results before you next big thing - ? (was it a family event?)
I was reading this same swimming suit thing on another blog - and that blogger is TO GOAL. So if you are waiting for a few pounds to drop to make it 'easier' in view of what she wrote - it might be a constant issue.
Here she is:
http://maintainmyweight.blogspot.com/2010/01/temptations.html
and FYI, wet suits are not usually made to deal with chlorine in pools. . .but there are good female swim trunks/shorts out there. my girls wear them so they do not have to worry about bikini line shaving.
Vickie, that meal looks soooo good! I will have to try that one next week :)
ReplyDeleteThat food looks awesome!!
ReplyDeleteAfter I left that comment - my mind went to Oprah. because in 2008 she was all 'going to do it in 2009' and now she is all 'never got around to it in 2009'. . .
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my blog!
ReplyDeleteMMMM! That all looked so good!
I've been wanting to take up swimming at the gym, but putting on a bathing suit terrifies me!
The rice looks lovely - thanks for the photos too! It helps to see it all 'come together' as I'm shockingly bad at cooking!
ReplyDeleteIs the aquatic a water aerobics class? I LOVE those... And while you may joke about wearing a knee-length costume to the pool, that's exactly what I DO wear! They're called aquatards and look like this: http://tinyurl.com/yguo85d
Even when I was slim, I couldn't bear the thought of showing my thighs in public... :o(
Thanks for asking after Craig, btw... His appointment with the consultant is on Thursday morning. I'll be going in with him and posting about it later in the day... Please keep him in your thoughts!
I love TJ's site too. I'm a terrible cook (and hungry right now) so your rice looked amazing!
ReplyDeleteOh dear Lord. I've been craving Chinese for 2 weeks now and you just posted a pic of fried rice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol Looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI must get to Trader Joe's. I made sweet italian chicken sausages tonight, but they're 130 cals each...I want the ones for 100 cals!!
Leslie, here is the link to where I got my swim shorts. They have swim shirts too, and I noticed when I walked by the pool yesterday that a lot of the ladies had these swim shirts on. http://www.coolibar.com/women-s-swimwear.html
ReplyDelete