Sunday Perspective

Okay.  I've been AWOL for two days. There is a lot going on in my life and tonight is not the time to spill it all.  I need to gather my thoughts and I will speak about it, perhaps tomorrow.  I just wanted to check in and let everyone know I am still here and I am okay.  In the mean time, here is a picture of my pups to look at. Ain't they cute?

I'll definitely be back tomorrow.

M

Thursday Recap: 10.10.13

Greetings!  Thanks for swinging by.  I wish I had exciting stuff to tell you today, but it was fairly uneventful.  My eating was on point and I actually got in some unplanned exercise in the last two days. Last night I walked from Penn Station in NYC to Radio City Music Hall and back. That's 2.6 miles, round trip.  Today, I walked the mall after my haircut.  I look fabu, by the way.  That was 1.5 miles worth of walking.  The back is still troubling me, but I didn't let it get in my way.  I ordered an inversion table to hang from today.  Once I receive it, I will write a review.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal and coffee
Lunch ~ Leftover whole wheat couscous jambalaya
Dinner ~ Grilled calamari w/a ginger sauce and a salmon mango roll
Exercise ~ 1.5 miles walked

What I ate yesterday and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Lunch ~ A big bowl of chicken soup
Dinner ~ Grilled tuna and cabbage slaw
Exercise ~ 2.6 miles walked

Souper Food: Kabocha Soup Recipe

Last winter I went on and on about how much I was digging a newfound favorite, kabocha squash.  Some call it a "super food", as it is rich in beta carotene and other essential nutrients.  I just like it because it tastes good.  I'm pretty basic when it comes to things like this. Nutritious, yet unflavorful?  No thanks. Healthy AND tasty, to boot?  Get me a spoon.

Kabocha, also called Japanese pumpkin or buttercup squash in the market, to me is like a fruitier version of a butternut squash.  I get hints of cantaloupe both in the nose and on the palate, but I am a wine guy who overthinks these things.

The goal was to recreate a butternut squash soup served at Panera, but I had this kabocha staring at me on the counter.  They are interchangeable in this scenario, so kabocha it was.  I'd require a liquid, so vegetable broth was a good choice.  I would need richness. Now, most recipes would call for heavy cream, yet I opted for a mix of coconut milk and my old standby, fat free half and half.  The rest was easy.  I hope you will open your mind and try something new.  It will be fairly simple and well worth the effort.  Topping yours with either toasted pecans, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds will add another layer of texture and flavor to the party.

HELPFUL TIP: Kabocha can be a chore to dismantle.  I found that if I pierced it with a knife and microwaved the whole squash for 4 minutes, it came apart MUCH easier.  A grapefruit spoon was used to scoop out the seeds and the flesh was easy to separate from the skin with a knife.

Enjoy!
M

Creamy Kabocha Soup
serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs Earth Balance Spread or butter, if you prefer
• 1 small sweet onion, such as a Vidalia, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp fresh
• 8 cups or 2 small diced kabocha squashes
• 6 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock
• 6 oz. coconut milk
• 6 oz. fat free half and half
• 1 tsp of your favorite hot sauce.  I like Frank's Red Hot.
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Method

1. Using a large enough pot for about 1 gallon of liquid, melt the butter spread and add in the rosemary and onions, cooking the onions until tender.  About 5 minutes.
2. Add in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.  It may appear the there is curdling on top.  Don't worry.  It's fine.  
3. You may need to do this in batches.  Blend the ingredients until smooth.  ONLY FILL YOUR BLENDER 2/3 AT A TIME, BE SURE TO REMOVE THE CENTER CAP FROM YOUR BLENDER LID AND COVER WITH A TOWEL.  HOT LIQUIDS EXPAND AND CAN EXPLODE WHEN BLENDED.  SEE THIS VIDEO ~ Blender Blunder
4. You can reduce this more if you would like the soup thicker. Adjust seasoning and serve by topping with your choice of toasted nuts or pumpkins seeds.

Tuesday Recap: 10.08.13

Not much to tell today, other than there is one muscle in my upper back still giving me issues. I am going to have to work around it and exercise nonetheless.  I was feeling a bit stressed Tuesday and as a result, had myself a cocktail. SoCo rocks with a lime wedge.  This has been your full disclosure moment of the day, brought to you by emptycalories.com


Soup recipe for Wednesday, coming up next.  Someone please try it and let me know what you think.
M

Here is what I ate Tuesday and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, coffee
Lunch ~ Chicken Caesar salad
Snack ~ Fiber One Lemon Bar
Dinner ~ Leftover whole wheat couscous jambalaya
Exercise ~ none

Weigh-in: Week 89

It's been six days since the last trip to the scale and while it hasn't gone optimally, I am happy with my progress.  I say it hasn't gone optimally due to my back issues and lack of exercise.  I ate VERY well, but I actually miss going to the gym.  Makes me wonder who I am and what happened to the guy who hated exercise.  Then I remember my total distaste for The Dreadmill and I am immediately grounded back into my proper identity.

In the last six days I have managed to lose 2 lbs. even and 0.3% of my body fat.  Not too bad for a short and sedentary week.  I am not only including the picture of this week's scale, but last week's, which I forgot to post as promised.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, coffee
Lunch ~ An Amy's Vegetable Pizza.  Not bad, but not all that satisfying and there won't likely make a repeat purchase.
Dinner ~ A twist on my homemade jambalaya, I made it with whole wheat couscous.  An experiment that wasn't entirely successful.  It happens.  It's how we innovate and make progress.
Exercise ~ I had hoped to walk today and I wound up using heat and ice on it again today.

Sunday Recap: 10.06.13

It was a decent day on many fronts.  I woke early for a Sunday and made a good breakfast to start the day.  If you know me well, you know I love to play poker, so I trekked out to The Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA to play in a poker tournament.  Long story short on that is I made money.  That's always a good thing, making money doing what you love to do.

My back is feeling much better today.  Not 100%, but getting there.  I should be able to do some walking tomorrow.  Speaking of tomorrow, it's a weigh-in day.  I do believe I will see some progress.  How much? We'll see.

Cya then,
Mike

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal is a healthy, hot and hearty breakfast.  Coffee
Lunch ~ A salad at the casino with a smattering of a light dressing, some chicken, corn, edamame, peppers and spring mix.
Dinner ~ A repeat of last night's dinner.  Roasted Turkey and Wheat Berry salad, with kabocha soup
Exercise ~ None

Saturday Salad

This fine looking setting was my dinner this evening.  I wrote in a blog earlier this week that I really enjoyed Panera's Wheat Berry and Roasted Turkey Salad and, as it turns out, so did The Wife. She paired hers with their Butternut Squash Soup. Tonight I did my best to recreate that salad and do a riff on the soup.

The soup recipe will be published sometime soon, but for tonight, I'll throw a very easy oil-free dressing your way that really wowed my taste buds.  It was my way of recreating what Panera Bread had on their salad, a maple balsamic vinaigrette.  I am sure theirs was in no way similar in terms of ingredients, but the results of mine were delicious right out the gate.  I hope you try it and enjoy.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs REAL maple syrup
• 2 Tbs tahini
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

Method

Either blend all ingredients until smooth or whisk until homogeneous.  I use my Magic Bullet.

Cya Sunday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk and coffee
Lunch ~ I ate off of the buffet at Wegman's Supermarket.  I enjoyed some eggplant, tilapia and roasted chicken
Dinner ~ The above salad contained spring mix, aforementioned dressing, pistachios, wheat berries, a wee bit of Gorgonzola and roasted turkey breast.
Exercise ~ No formal exercise today, but I did discover I felt much better moving around than resting my back.  I was on my feet a great deal today.  I may walk tomorrow.  We will see how I feel.