healthy eating

day eight: the chopped edition

Posted on by thedingismything

Before we started doing Whole 30, The Husband and I loved watching the Food Network. Now, of course, it’s a little like torture. I just can’t bring myself to watch our beloved Bobby Flay make one more waffle with bruléed bananas on top, no matter how darn cute he is. (I’m not alone on this one. The Husband has a pretty big man crush on him, too.)

But our absolute favorite show is “Chopped” – where the contestants get a basket of four wacky ingredients and have to make a gourmet dish out of them in a certain amount of time.

From time to time, when my dinner routine has become … well, routine, I will play my own game of Chopped with whatever I’ve got on hand in my fridge and pantry. I’ll take a protein and veggies and some cooking staples and try to make some sort of complete meal out of them.

Last night I took my Chopped game to the Whole 30 cookbook. I had chicken thighs in my fridge, a shit ton of sweet potatoes, and lots of greens. In the poultry section I found a recipe called Melissa’s Chicken Hash, which looked pretty darn good. It called for boneless chicken thighs (Check!), one sweet potato (Check!), spinach (Check!), a granny smith apple (Amazingly, check!), red pepper flakes (Check!) and walnuts (Nope! But I did have cashews. Close enough…).

Perfect, right?

Ha.

My brain was kinda on another planet, so things were off to a rocky start from the get-go. I forgot to cut the chicken into smaller pieces before throwing them in the pan. And in the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t realize we were out of walnuts until I’d already prepped every other ingredient and the chicken was in the pan. I had to grab our container of mixed nuts and frantically fish out all the cashews.

After only a few steps, it began to sink in that my dish wasn’t going to look anything like the picture in the book. Melissa, please.

Here’s the comparison. It’s pretty obvious which is which.

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One thing that made a big difference is that I don’t have a veggie spiralizer, which – although it doesn’t explicitly spell out in the text – I’m pretty sure that’s how the picture looked as good as it did. I used a box grater to grate the sweet potato, so it came out pretty mushy after being cooked.

The Chopped judges score the contestants on taste, use of basket ingredients, and appearance. I failed miserably on appearance. But The Husband gave me a thumbs up on the taste. I think he said something like, “If you didn’t know what it was supposed to look like, it would be really good.”

Yep.

Note: This is a re-post from the Tumblr version of this blog. It originally ran on April 5, 2016.

‘biggest loser’ weight gain? duh.

Posted on by thedingismything

Everyone I know is buzzing about the New York Times article that came out over the weekend discussing the “Biggest Loser” contestants and how they gain weight back after the competition is over. To be honest, it was about as shocking to me as Melisandre bringing Jon Snow back to life.

Ooops. Spoiler alert?

The contestants’ weight gain isn’t news, and shouldn’t be wowing everyone as much as it is. After season one of the show, I read a magazine article talking about the second-place runner up and what he went through to try to win the show. In the days leading up to the finale, he had done all the tricks that body builders and fighters do to cut weight. Dehydrate. Starve. Sweat. Guess what? The man gained back 35 pounds in the first week after the weigh-in. You know why?

Because he returned to a normal lifestyle, but his metabolism did not.

The real news of this article, and what ought to be the biggest takeaway, is the discovery that the drastic (and in my opinion, violent) weight loss that the contestants undergo during the six or seven months on the show plummets their resting metabolic rate and levels of leptin, the hormone that controls hunger. When the show was over, their RMR (the level of energy and calories your body would burn if you did nothing but rest all day err day) was burning hundreds of calories less than people their size ought to. And they were hungry all the freaking time.

Do you have any idea how much that sucks? That would be like, if you and your friends ordered a pizza to share, and everyone gets one slice and feels fine because they didn’t overeat, but then you’re over there unbuttoning your pants and digging in your purse for some Pepto.

That would be like, if you went to the gym with your bestie to hit the treadmills and she sets hers at incline level 2 and walks about 3 miles per hour, while you’ve got yours cranked all the way up to 15 and you’re running a solid 6 mph and sweating like a pig, and then after an hour she’s blasted 350 calories and you only burned 85.

That would be like, if you and your friends went out for drinks and everyone else orders another round except for you because you got wasted halfway through your light beer and now you’re passed out on the table and everyone’s drawing the word “lightweight” on your forehead and taking selfies with you while you drool.

That one might be a stretch, but you get the picture.

Simply put, it just plain sucks.

The show’s doctor, in the article, says he wasn’t surprised to see the RMRs drop, but acknowledged that he didn’t expect to see them drop as much as they did. What he says next is a real kick in the pants: “Maintaining weight loss is difficult … which is why he tells contestants that they should exercise at least nine hours a week and monitor their diets to keep the weight off.”

NINE HOURS A WEEK?

Who the f*ck has the kind of lifestyle that gives them the freedom to work out NINE HOURS each and every week?? I mean it. Really. I want to meet this person so I can find out where I went wrong in my life.

That is more than an hour each day of exercise. That’s more than 90 minutes a day if you’re even thinking about taking a rest day.

You might be thinking that doesn’t sound so bad. Let’s really take a minute to break that down. We’re not talking about 90 minutes a day running on a treadmill. We’re not talking about 90 minutes a day of Bikram yoga. We’re not talking about that Zumba class you take three nights a week. We’re talking 90 continuous minutes of high intensity cardio and strength training.

I go to a morning bootcamp about four to five times a week. The class time is from 5:30 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. We show up; there are stragglers; we do a short warm-up; then we receive instruction for each of the exercises in that day’s circuit. By the time we begin class, it’s 5:45 a.m. On our best days, we clock a solid 30 minutes of exercise.

Working out at a high level of intensity for a solid 90 minutes? Woof.

The average Joe or Jane isn’t going to have a lifestyle that provides them an opportunity to do this. We all work. Some of us have a commute. Some have kids. Some have two jobs. Pets. People to care for other than themselves. Houses to maintain. We need time to cook. Meal prep, dammit. So much meal prep.

What’s that? Time to relax? Have fun? HAHAHAHA shut up, stupid.

Unless you have a career that enables you to afford to pay for a chef, a nanny, a gardener, a housekeeper, a personal assistant, and likely, a personal trainer, exercising nine hours a week is a pretty unrealistic goal to maintain for a long period of time, let alone, forever.

It’s no wonder to me that the contestants on “Biggest Loser” struggle so much after the show is over. Their bodies freaked out trying to adapt to the demand of seven hours a day of exercise. That’s right – while on the show, they exercise SEVEN hours a day. F*ck that. Then, once their bodies get used to that abuse, it all stops! Their bodies are exhausted and trying to figure out what the hell is happening. Even worse is the mental state that’s got to go along with that.

This morning I heard one of the contestants interviewed on TV, and he was talking about the shame he felt gaining weight back. You know how ashamed you feel around your friends when you’ve gained weight? Try to think about how much shame you’d feel when the entire country is looking, he said.

Holy sh*t. Can we all group hug and tell this guy everything is going to be OK?

Look. I get it. More than anyone might know. For a while there, a good five years or so ago, I got into pretty good shape. I didn’t have a whole lot going on in my life, so it was my priority. I had the time and the focus. I felt great. I wanted other people to feel just as great. So, I became a personal trainer. I got certified. I had clients. I made some good money on the side. I got more clients. But, I still had my day job. I started having less time to work out on my own. Less time for meal prep. Less time to have a life.

I gained the weight back. A lot of it. I wasn’t in good shape anymore. I had a hard time telling clients what to do when, obviously, I wasn’t doing it either. So, I quit.

The level of shame I felt – and still feel – is huge. I once was the trainer and now I’m the trainee. I once was close to having rock solid abs and now I’m fighting the spare tire.

So yeah, I get it. I feel for these guys. But I’m not shocked or surprised. Now that it’s out in the open, those who still think the “Biggest Loser” is a standard for weight loss to which they should hold themselves will hopefully see the light. There is something to be said for setting smaller, attainable goals for a successful weight loss journey. That’s real reality.

whole30: day three.

Posted on by thedingismything

Today was hard.

Not because I was hungry, or felt like I couldn’t eat anything. Today was hard because it was the first really stressful day I’ve had while on Whole 30. It made me realize just how much I actually stress eat.

Typically on a day like today, after a looong day at work when I was juggling a dozen projects at once, I would reach for a big ol’ bag of chips or ask The Husband if we could go hit up a happy hour somewhere. At the very least we’d open a bottle of wine or go pick up some Menchie’s.

Mmmmmmmmmenchie’s. I miss you so very much.

We hosted a breakfast meeting at our office today, and I had to help set up the food. Coffee, juice, fruit and a tray of bagels and pastries and muffins. Oh my.

Setting it out was no problem; I had just gotten to work and I wasn’t emotionaly drained yet. But by lunch, it was a different story.

The meeting was over and the room had cleared out. I poked my head in the empty room and saw there were still some pastries left on the tray. Ordinarily I would bring the tray downstairs and set it in the office kitchen for everyone to help themselves. Not today. I couldn’t go near it. I knew the temptation was too much. If I came within smelling distance of that sugary buttery carbohydrate goodness, I would have taken a bite.

Instead, I ran from the room and distracted myself until it was time to heat up my lunch. (Thank you, leftover meatballs.) Then I instructed someone else to adios the baked goods so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. Crisis averted.

The one thing that really prevented me from diving face-first into a cinnamon roll-induced shame was the realization that I wasn’t even hungry. But I so desperately wanted to stuff my face. How often do I eat when I’m not hungry??? Apparently, more than I realize.

I’m happy to say the day wasn’t a total wash. By the time I got through traffic and made it home, The Husband had made an amazing dinner for us.

Ladies, let me tell you something. There are few things hotter than a man who knows his way around a kitchen. No wonder I’m emotionally attached to food.

But look at this! Who wouldn’t fall for a guy who makes something look as good as this.

That’s a little Whole 30 chicken cacciatore, which was as delicious as it was easy to make. The Husband said on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being getting take-out, this recipe is a 3.5. Not too shabby!

P.S. The cute wittle face peeking up in that photo is my cat Boots. He’s a rascal.

Note: This is a re-post from the Tumblr version of this blog. It originally ran on March 31, 2016.

whole30: day two.

Posted on by thedingismything

I’m happy to report that my second day of Whole 30 was about a million times better than the first. I wasn’t hungry at all. Literally, not for a minute all day. I was able to prepare in advance a good size breakfast for this morning. It made all the difference in the world.

Also, I know it’s only been two days since I ate a handful of frosted sugar cookies at Easter dinner (oh – did I forget to mention the cookies?) but I already feel a difference. I feel skinnier! I have like, no bloating going on. My rings slide on and off with ease. It’s a little amazing how I didn’t even realize how bloated I felt a few days ago until I compare it with how great I felt today.

A little rundown of today’s meals:

Brekkie was a Whole 30 compliant chicken sausage, sweet potato hash, and a fried egg. Quick note: I made a PERFECTLY fried egg for the first time in my life today. Mark it on your calendars. The trick? A really good nonstick pan and a tiny little rubber spatula. Highlight of my day.

Mid-morning snack was a large banana and some mixed nuts, without peanuts. Insert your favorite “that’s what she said” joke here.

Lunch today was super easy because I was able to enjoy leftovers from last night. The Husband made some delish baked chicken breasts that was perfect to slice and throw on top of a green salad mix. Because I’m not a maniac, I made my own salad dressing out of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I also microwaved a sweet potato, and that helped keep my inner hunger demon away all afternoon.

That being said, I still let myself snack on some fresh strawberries and pineapple before leaving the office.

Finally, for dinner, I was excited to have a chance to try out one of the recipes from the Whole 30 book. I made their chicken meatballs, although I actually used turkey because we already had some on hand. Can I just tell you how good they came out? I mean, really, really good. And it was the simplest recipe to follow. A pound of ground turkey, an egg, chopped onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and I used just under a quarter-cup of almond flour to thicken the meatballs a bit. Brown them in a pan a bit before transferring to a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven. Cook ‘em for about 8 minutes and then let them set for a bit before devouring them.

Here’s the part where you get to learn from my mistakes. When browning the meatballs in the pan, use a really good quality nonstick pan. I thought I could outsmart the recipe by using an oven-safe pan to brown them and then just stick the whole thing in the oven. Even with a generous amount of olive oil in the pan first, they stuck. Big time. M-E-S-S-Y. For my second batch, I just followed the instructions and used my best nonstick pan first, and they browned up real nice, with zero sticking.

Because of my mishap with the first batch, they looked a little funny and misshapen. But boy howdy did they taste go-oo-oood.

For a side dish, I sauteed together some red potatoes, mushrooms and green beans, and used savory seasonings so they complimented the meatballs really well.

And because yesterday taught me how important it is to prep for the next day’s meals, my game plan for tomorrow is already laid out. I’ve got leftover potatoes and another chicken sausage for breakfast, I’ll use up my leftover meatballs and veggies for lunch, and The Husband is making a Whole 30 chicken cacciatore recipe from the book. Much excite. Very cacciatore.

Note: This is a re-post from the Tumblr version of this blog. It originally ran on March 30, 2016.

whole30: day one.

Posted on by thedingismything

Ordinarily I would do my Monday Morning Quarterbacking today, but since it is DAY ONE of my Whole 30 experiment, I’m changing it up a bit. Instead of looking at what went right or wrong this weekend (because honestly, who does everything right on holiday weekends??), I’m going to focus on my first day of Whole 30 and how I appear to have failed miserably at prepping for it.

Admittedly, this half-Jew with no children took part in some serious Easter celebrating yesterday. While I only had two small pieces of candy all day (That’s actually a total lie – You’ll see later…) I did eat Easter brunch and Easter dinner and I didn’t hold back on the ham or the bacon or the lasagna.

That’s right. I said it. LASAGNA, bitches. And it was delicious.

Moving on.

Here we are at Day 1. I’ve read a lot about how I can expect the next week to play out. According to the book, today I should feel ready to conquer the world. By this weekend, I should hate anyone and everything in sight. Apologies to The Husband in advance.

I expected the first week to have a lot of trial and error. But less than a day into it, I’m noticing a lot of errors. I’m chalking it up to one more benefit for people to read my blog: so they will learn from my mistakes.

Back to all the Eastering on Sunday. Because most of the day was spent with family, my meal prep game wasn’t at its strongest. My goal was to get enough done that I could make it through Day 1 with minimal challenges. I started with breakfast.

Breakfasts are always the hardest meal for me, since I’m up at O’Dark Thirty to work out before having to be at work by 8 am. To prepare for this morning, I spent some time last night chopping veggies that I can keep in a container in the fridge and take out only what I need to mix in with some scrambled eggs. Five-minute breakfast. There you go. Easy-peasey, right?

Wrong.

Yes, I did enough prep to make a simple, fast breakfast. But, I used only two eggs and ended up hungry by the time I got to work. I brought a banana as an emergency afternoon snack, but ended up having to eat it mid-morning. By 11 am, I was counting the minutes until noon so I could eat my lunch. Lesson learned: Tomorrow, I’m going to try three eggs and/or adding some sweet potato to fill me up early in the day so I’m not ravenous and eat all my food before noon.

For lunch, I usually take leftovers from whatever dinner we had the night before. Because that wasn’t really an option for today, I knew I had to come up with something easy. I used the protein salad recipe from the Whole 30 cookbook to make a little tuna salad to bring to work. That meant taking time Sunday night to make the infamous Whole 30 Basic Mayo recipe. Everyone I know who has done Whole 30 has sworn by it, and now I know what they’re talking about.  I don’t think I’ll ever go back to store-bought mayo again.

A few tips for anyone wanting to give it a whirl: I mistakenly started to blend the ingredients in a mini food processor that’s really more like a chopper. WRONG. You have to drizzle olive oil into it slowly, while it’s blending, so make sure you’re using a food processor or KitchenAid mixer that you can leave open on top and pour the oil in. I had to transfer my mayo base to a mixing bowl midway through. Also, the book says you can use an immersion blender while you’re adding the oil. Don’t. Seriously, just don’t. I learned the hard way that it’s near impossible to hold the immersion blender with one hand and do a good job of mixing everything while slowly pouring olive oil with the other. Even with The Husband as my handy sous chef, it was hard to do. Use a standing mixer – you’ll have a much easier time.

Making the mayo was the hardest part of meal prep last night. Once that was done, I was able to mix the tuna salad and package up veggies for our lunches in plenty of time to sit down and watch Madame Secretary while enjoying my last York Peppermint Patties I’ll eat for the next 30 days.  (Told you I ate more than just two pieces of Easter candy.)

Maybe my favorite part of Day 1 – and so far, the only thing I seem to have done right – is when my boss brought in leftovers and set a bag full of goodies on my desk. Desserts and pizza. No joke. I brought it downstairs to the kitchen, ignored how magical that pizza smelled, and ran back to my desk and started eating my tuna salad. Suck it, pizza.

If anyone else is starting up Whole 30 or looking for some meal inspiration, I’ll be posting recipes and tips and stories about what I’m sure will be many more kitchen mishaps so you can learn from my mistakes. Like my immersion blender blunder. My shoulder is still sore.

Note: This is a re-post from the Tumblr version of this blog. It originally ran on March 28, 2016.