Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp!!

Its experimental Saturday!!  It has been a long time since I have cooked a new recipe, and in all honesty, tonights recipe was not a new recipe.  I actually tried it out about a month back when my dad was visiting.  My husband brought home a pound of shrimp last night and requested the dish. How could i refuse?!?!  So, I figured it was time I shared another delicious recipe!!

This is a super duper easy recipe. It can be cooked in less than 10 minutes (including prep), and it is so so tasty!!!  Not to mention it is a calorie smart dinner!!

my comments as usual are in red

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp oil
• 4 scallions, whites and greens separated, chopped
• 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste I used a little more than this - we like things spicy 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced- i used 3 cloves, i use the slap chop, so things tend to get stuck. i find it better to use a little more
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 oz light coconut milk
• 2 tsp fish sauce- i guesstimated. the fish sauce comes out way too slow. lol
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt to taste

Directions:

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add scallion whites and red curry paste and sauté one minute. Add shrimp and garlic, season with salt and cook about 2-3 minutes. Add coconut milk, fish sauce and mix well. Simmer about 2-3 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through. Remove from heat, mix in scallion greens and cilantro. Serve over rice and enjoy! 

I got the recipe courtesy of http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/thai-coconut-curry-shrimp.html

Happy Cooking!!

JoJo!!

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup

I was browsing on Pinterest today (no surprise there) and one of my friends posted the recipe for Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup and it just looked delicious.  I had to try it, and I had to try it now!  I stopped in at the grocery story to pick up what I needed. It cost less than $5 to buy the sweet potatoes, onion and cauliflower.  Pretty cost effective meal, because it makes heap loads of soup.

Since I started my new healthy eating habits today, I put the ingredients into myfitnesspal to see what they calorie count would be for such a delicious looking soup. I was pleasantly surprised!  You can have about 2 cups of the soup for less than 150 calories, and it is a hearty filling soup!! PERFECT!!  My only hope was that once I made it it would taste as good as it looks.  For 150 calories, it seems a little too good to be true, but in this case, it wasn't.  

I added a few variations to the soup, but it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!  And luckily for me, I have heap loads of if left over!!

Ingredients

• 1 large head cauliflower (the one I used was at least 7″ in diameter
• olive oil for drizzling
• Few dashes garam masala (optional)  I used Clubhouse Indian Masala Seasoning, and I was quite generous with it
• 3 medium to large sized peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic  I used 3 cloves of garlic
• 7 cups filtered water  I used regular old tap water ;-)

Directions:

First, preheat your oven to 400 °F and cut up your cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle cauliflower lightly with garam masala. Place cauliflower onto ungreased cookie sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven and let roast until golden brown on the tops and tender, but not mushy, about 20-30 minutes. There’s no need to flip ‘em. Just remove from oven and let cool while you cook the rest of the soup.  My cauliflower was perfectly cooked after 20 minutes

In large stockpot, bring sweet potato, onion, garlic and water to a boil. Salt (abt 3/4 tsp) and stir. Reduce heat and allow to remain at a constant simmer until sweet potatoes are tender. Add in cooked cauliflower and divide soup into 2 parts.

Let soup cool and then blend one part soup in blender until very smooth. Combine with second part soup and stir. Salt to taste and warm up over stovetop if needed.  I added some more of the Indian Masala Seasoning, Salt and Pepper.  I found I needed a little extra salt to balance the sweetness from the sweet potatoes.

Original Recipe Courtesy of:

http://www.manifestvegan.com/2011/10/sweet-potato-cauliflower-soup/ 

Happy Souping!!

JoJo!!

I'm Not Losing Weight, I'm Getting Rid of It ... My Master Plan!

I have been struggling with those last 10lbs of baby weight, also known as the vanity weight.  I have done really well so far, I just cant shed those last pounds.  When I lose a few of them, I always seem to find them again.  Well NO MORE!!!

Today is day one of my new diet plan, and sticking to it every single day!!  The beauty of this meal plan is you can eat whatever you want, it's just all about moderation.  If I want to eat cake, I can eat cake, I just need to either work out, or cut back in other areas.  The best solution to my love for cake, cookies and chips, is to work out.

Here is my plan

My personal goal is to be within the 1200-1500 calorie range everyday.   If you eat the right foods, this is very very manageable.  Since I am trying to lose weight I will try to stay closer to 1200 calories per day.  By having a range up to 1500 calories, if I go over, I wont necessarily lose weight, but I also wont find any either!  Obviously if I burn 500 calories running, I can eat/drink an additional 500 calories that day.

You need to set a calorie range that is appropriate for your current weight, lifestyle, body type and weight loss goal.  Eating too few calories will send your body into starvation mode and you will begin storing fat rather than getting rid of it!!!!

1200-1500 Calories broken up into 3 meals and 2 snacks, how does that look for each meal?

Breakfast - 300-350 calories

2 snacks - 100-150 calories each

Lunch-  - 350-400 calories

Dinner - 350-500 calories

I am a visual person. I like organization and I like charts.  I created the following chart so I can see how many calories I can consume, and select foods from each column to meet my caloric goal for that meal.  Breakfast and dinner are set up nicely.  You can select one thing from each column for every meal.  I didn't organize lunch that well, but you get the point.

Breakfast	100 Calories	80 Calories	70 Calories	50/60 Calories
300-350 Calories	Toast (2 slices)* Banana (medium) Grapefruit	Egg (1 whole) Peanut butter (1tblsp) Pineapple (1 cup)	Orange (medium) Honeydew (1 cup)	Cantaloupe (1 cup) Skim Milk (1/2/ cup) Strawberries (1 cup)
Snack	100 Calories
100-150 Calories	Broccoli + Hummus 100 Calorie Snack packs	Turkey Peperoni (2 sticks)	1 cup of fruit	Apple Orange banana
Lunch	250 Calories	200 Calories	150 Calories
350-400 Calories	Sandwich** Sweet Pepper and Tomato Soup (campbells)	Butternut Squash Soup  (Baxters)	Sweet Potato   Cauliflower Soup (homemade)
Snack	100 Calories
100-150 Calories	Broccoli + Hummus 100 Calorie Snack Packs	Turkey Pepperoni (2 sticks)	1 cup of Fruit	Apple Orange Banana
Dinner	120 Calories	120 Calories	40 Calories	60 Calories
350-500 Calories	Chicken  (4oz) Ground Turkey (1/2 cup) Salmon (4oz) Haddock  (1.5 pieces) Shrimp (4.5 oz)	Pasta (1/2 cup) Rice (1/2 cup) Quinoa (1/2 cup) Sweet Potato (medium)	Broccoli –raw (1 cup) Baby Carrots  (3 oz) Cauliflower (1.5 cups) Tomato (1 medium) Bell Peppers (1 cup) Brussel Sprouts (1 cup) Cucumber (2.5 cups)	Hummus (2 tblsp) Black beans (1/4 cup) Pinto Beans (1/4 cup) Pasta Sauce (1/4-1/2cup)
TOTAL CALORIES 1200- 1,550 * I use Dempters calorie wise bread or weight watchers bread. 2 slices = 100 calories **  my sandwich is typically low calorie bread, turkey/ham, hummus, mustard, cucumber, banana peppers, spinach/lettuce and tomato How do I keep track of the calories I consume and burn?  myfitnesspal.  I have the app on my iPhone, but you can also access it online.  http://www.myfitnesspal.com/  It is a handy little app.  You can sign up with your friends and it gives you updates on if they worked out, if they logged all their meals.  Just a little extra push and motivation!!  If you need a buddy, leave me your email address and I will send you a friend request via myfitness pal! Good luck to anyone who decides to join me on this adventure!! JoJo!!

Feeling A Little Defeated

Today was the day of the big race, and my injuries got the best of me. :(  I was unable to finish the race.  Well let me rephrase that, I did FINISH the race, but I was not able to run the entire race.

I should have known it was not my day.  I went to line up for the bathroom before the run, I picked the slowest line.  I was 2 people away from the bathroom and there was 1 minute until the race was to start.  I got to my starting group (without going to the bathroom) and the race was already moving!  I had missed the start!!  Luckily you time doesn't start until you cross the start line.

The beginning of the race is hectic.  There are soooooooooo many people, and not that much space.  I didn't even cross the start line until almost 4 minutes after the race started!  I was stuck with a pile of slow people (nothing against slow people, at least they are out there doing it!), it just makes a difficult juggling process. There are the people with strollers, walkers, and joggers.  Its a lot of bobbing and weaving.

Anyways, I just took at deep breath and tried to weave my way safely through the crowds of people.  The first mile went pretty quickly, and not too long after that you hit the 2km mark and a nice down hill.  I saw a few people I knew on the sidelines supporting their loved ones, so that was nice.  Just after 4km my calf muscle tightened up on my. I felt myself jump a little.  I was able to shake it out and run through it, but I felt my calf muscle getting tighter and tighter.  I knew there was a hill coming up, so I was not looking forward to it.  I started up the hill and pushed it hard, but I could feel my body mechanics off. I could feel myself favoring my left leg.  I bumped into one of my fellow clinic runners, and he was suffering too.  I kept on running. There was a small downhill where I knew I could left gravity run for me, and try to loosen up my leg before the long slow incline.  Didn't work.  I slowed my pace a little on the uphill, but my leg was just getting tighter and tighter.  I passed 5 km and kept on trucking.  I got to the top of the hill and decided it was in my best interest to try and stretch my leg out a little. I stretched it out and tried to set off running again.  It was a no go.  My leg just could not take the pressure/impact of running.  So off I started on my walk to the finish, fighting back the tears of failure/disappointment.  I had worked so hard for this moment!!

I cannot believe how many other runners stopped briefly to see if I was ok or if I needed anything, people I knew, people from my running group, and people I have never met or seen before in my life!!  Two people gave me their cell phones throughout the race so I could attempt to call my husband and let him know I would be a lot longer than 50 minutes.  I was touched by all the caring athletes out there.  Not so much by the race volunteers, staff etc.  Not one single person affiliated with the run even thought to ask me if I was ok.

It was the longest 4 1/2km walk of my life.  I was being passed by EVERYONE, but I was going to limp my way to the finish line.  While I was trying to avoid pressure on my calf my hip started to ache.  I was a mess.  At 9km things perked up.  I saw my husband and baby walking towards me.  Once again I had to hold those tears in.  I got a big hug from Avery and the 3 of us walked the remainder of the race.  I have never been so cold in my life.  I went from running a brisk sweaty pace for 24 minutes to walking slower than the slow for and hour and 30 minutes.  It was not the sunny day the weather man had promised us!!

It was a heartbreaking day.  I have trained so hard, and battled my hip injury, only to be defeated by my calf.  I can take some positives away from today though. #1  I started.  #2 I finished regardless.  #3 I joined a great running group, got my self in great shape and enjoyed it.  #4 I finished my 5km split in 23.46 and was feeling good. 

Tomorrow is a new day, though I may not be running this week, it is time to start getting my head ready for the next run!!

Happy Running!!

JoJo!!