Surrounding myself

I've been thinking about it and the best way I have found that I think is going to keep me on track to lose weight is to surround myself with weight loss and healthyness. I'm talking about using healthy cookbooks for cooking, reading nutrition books or success stories on my down time, watching The Biggest Loser, reading fitness magazines, etc etc. By doing this I will not only educate myself but I will also be constantly reminded of my task. Yep, thats my plan and I'm sticking too it. I'm still reading Jillian Michaels book but I'm short on time. I really want to join the gym again. I really liked the gym that I was in last year and I really took it for granted. It was literally a 5 minute or less drive from my apt and it was never crowded and I loved it. If I could have one wish it would be to have my membership back, even if it means driving 10 minutes a day or so to get to it. I wouldn't mind. Alas, I need money for that, so I guess I better work hard. But guess what my readers, I am now on my way out the door to go for a walk/run :)

XOXX

Recipe of the Week #3!

Hey there everyone! Sorry I'm late on the recipe of the week but, trust me, it will be worth it! For everyone who is looking for a great new taste that is packed with a ton of flavor, this Curried Beef dish for you. I have made it both with meat and vegetarian and both times I was not disappointed. As always I will first post the recipe and then the things that I have changed. Enjoy! Feedback is appreciated!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound beef top round steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips
• 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 2 cups sliced onions
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup tomato juice
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• Hot cooked noodles or rice

Directions

• In a large resealable bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper; add beef. Seal bag and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown beef in 2 tablespoons oil; drain.
• Add the onions and remaining oil; saute until onions are golden brown. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Sprinkle with curry. Dissolve bouillon in boiling water; pour over beef and onions.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender.
• Add tomato juice and paste; cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve with noodles or rice. Yield: 4 servings.

The first time I made it I made it exactly as the recipe said to. And it was great. The 2nd time I made it I decided to try vegetarian, so I added cauliflower florets. So to make the cauliflower curry you follow the directions as specified but skip the entire step having anything to do with the meat. Put the florets into the saucepan BEFORE putting in the tomato paste/juice and put the lid on for about 6 minutes on until the cauliflower is tender. The first time I used egg noodles and the 2nd time I used brown rice. I prefer the egg noodles, use yolkless noodles for a healthier alternative, you can't taste the difference! 

Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving

I, Pucciola, would like to know what my readers are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Many bad things happen in the span of a year. I've seen bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, I've seen things fall apart and people get hurt. But in the end, there is always something to be thankful for. This is the time of year that I like to take a minute to stop and think about what is most important in my life.

I am thankful for:

- My family
- My friends
- My boyfriend
- My pets
- My health (what's left of it :P)
- My job
- Being able to go to a university and get an education
- To have a place to live
- Waking up every day
- many many other things

I am thankful every day that I am given, though I may go days of even weeks without thinking about how thankful I am or how fortunate I am to have certain things in my life.

What are you thankful for?

XOXO

Caffeine withdrawals

SO sorry it has been so long since I have last blogged. I'm behind on the Recipe of the Week as well! Since Thanksgiving is coming and that is the last major divider between normal school and finals, all my professors decided that everything was going to be due on the same day. Today, for instance, I had a paper and an exam. So most of my time has gone towards finishing those.

But I wanted to update and share with everyone my fight with Caffeine Withdrawals! DUN DUN DUN! Since I decided to eat healthier (that's not going well at the moment, btw, and that will be a different blog), I decided to give up soda. Visit my blog about water and brita filters and such to catch up. Anyway, I gave up pop and I did GREAT for an entire week. I didn't have any soda what-so-ever and in fact I didn't drink ANYTHING except water and a bit of milk in the morning. I noticed I was feeling kinda awful every day but I didn't put 2 and 2 together until last Thursday. I felt nauseous, light headed, sleepy, had the worst headache ever, and just felt all around crummy. I didn't feel like I was getting sick or the flu, so I just dealt with it. I was sitting in my class one day and it just sorta dawned on me. A friend of mine was addicted to coffee for awhile and she tried to quit drinking it cold turkey and she went through the same things that I was. So I talked to her about it and she confirmed that she thought I was going through the caffeine withdrawals and that I should get some tea or something other than pop to give myself a little boost. Needless to say I went right home and bought a soda! oh my willpower is so small! And I have been drinking almost a soda a day since... I think part of me is afraid to feel sick again without it and the other part of me just plain craves it. I need to do something about it though. I want to get some of that Oolong tea that aides in weightloss. I'll let you guys know how my progress is but let me tell you, this getting healthy thing is NOT easy. Especially with a full day of school, work, cooking, cleaning, pets, boyfriend, homework, etc etc.

Stay Tuned for my progress :) And have a very Happy Thanksgiving

Minestrone Soup Recipe

Here is the recipe for Minestrone Soup. As usual I will add the original recipe that I got online and then after I will post how I changed it a tad.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 can (19 ounces) ready-to-serve minestrone soup
• 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until heated through. Yield: 8 servings. 
  
  Editor's Note: The cost per serving does not include optional ingredients such as garnishes. When there is a choice of two ingredients, the cost is figured with the first one listed.
• Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 cup) equals 221 calories, 6 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 29 mg cholesterol, 901 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 15 g protein

Now when I made this recipe, I added an extra can of Mixed Vegetables: Corn, Carrots and Green Beans. I also cooked this on my stove top, bringing it to a boil until heated through and the flavors really mesh together, instead of the slow cooker. I don't have time to use a slow cooker because I am gone from the house a good amount daily. At the end of cooking, I added a half of a can of Beef Broth because there didn't seem to be enough "soup" to it and also I added a pinch of beef bullion. In the end it was great and my only regret is that I didn't have a nice, crunchy baguette to go alone with it! 

Let me know if anyone tries this!

XOXO

Day 3...

... has been the best so far. A mixup with my boyfriend and I caused me to oversleep this morning and I missed my exercise time :'( But I ate extremely well today. Probably didn't eat enough food though. For breakfast I had a hardboiled egg with mustard, whole grain toast with about a tablespoon of peanut butter and a half a glass of skim milk. I have never been a big breakfast person and when I do eat breakfast, it's rare if I eat anything related to breakfast at all. I'll eat leftover dinner for breakfast, sandwiches, soup, anything but breakfast. But now I find that I really enjoy eating my breakfast and I think it's because I know how important breakfast is for you and I know that I am eating some really great foods for my body. For lunch I ate a salad with kidney beans, garbonzo beans, and 2 pieces of tore up turkey lunch meat. So far I enjoy the salads as well but I know that soon I will get seriously sick of them so I need to look into something better for lunch. For dinner I made homemade minestrone soup with loads of vegetables. My boyfriend loved it too, maybe I'll post the recipe. And later in the evening when I felt the urge to munch, I ate 3 dill pickles. 1 1/4 pickles only have 5 calories. They have 280mg sodium though and I'm not sure if that's ok or not.

So in a nutshell: ate well but didn't exercise. And I'm pretty sure you need to have both for good results...  I have no class on Friday so looks like I have NO EXCUSE not to exercise :)

Stay Tuned

Brita Filter

I recently got a Brita Filter from Bed Bath and Beyond for I believe $31. It's PINK (of course!) and I love it! Having the filter around with fresh cold water has actually prompted me to drink more water. And it tastes great. I have this thing, where I can seriously taste the difference between certain bottled water brands and the only 2 I would drink were Dasani and Aquafina. Ice Mountain or other brands tasted metallic to me but the Brita filter has no such taste to its water.

Since I am no longer using plastic water bottles which I seemed to be going through like crazy (thus polluting the planet because plastic does not decompose) I also bought a new reusable water bottle to take with me to class. I bought it at Foods For Living which is similar to a Trader Joes, and I believe it is by the brand Green Bottle. It is stainless steel and completely BPA free. You can put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold but can't freeze it. If you are still using plastic water bottles, NEVER freeze it. BPA is a chemical in water bottles that makes the plastic more pliable. By freezing or heating the water bottle, some of the BPA molecules are released into the water and you drink it. Same with plastic wrap and plastic food storage containers. Take food out of the plastic before you put it in the microwave. Glass storage containers seem to be the way to go, though they are a bit heavy and cost around $9 a container.

I will be doing a blog on PBA very soon so stay tuned
XOXO