Sonoma/Mediterranean weekly thread - Aug 1-7

gardenermom · 08-02-2011, 10:51 AM

I havent been updating recently as we were on vacation for the last ~3 weeks. I managed to lose 2lb while away, depsite eating lots of lovely food! Hope to lose more in August so I will try to post my daily diet here, it helps to write it down. This was yesterday:

B: 2 slices multi-grain bread w sunbutter
L: slice of veggie pizza
S: spinach and cucumber salad
D: brown rice cooked with onion, jalapenos, red pepper, lots of fresh tomatoes, chick peas and a few almonds. served over some spinach leaves. delicious! 2 glasses white wine.

Exercise: 30-day shred level 2

Sarah, I love halloumi and am very envious that you live where its so readily available! I buy it occasionally here and love it grilled with lemon juice squeezed over.

LADY WINDSONG · 08-02-2011, 01:54 PM

What is sunbutter and halloumi?

gardenermom · 08-02-2011, 02:18 PM

Sunbutter is a brand name - its a butter made from sunflower seeds. We use it instead of peanut butter because my kids' school doesn't allow any peanut products.

Halloumi is a cheese from Cyprus (i think Sarah, or "CardboardCutoutCat", lives there). It is made from goat/sheeps milk and melts at higher temperatures so you can grill or fry it and it holds its shape and just browns on the outside. I can only find it at my local WholeFoods Market for a rather high price!

ping · 08-03-2011, 10:05 AM

Good for you, gardenermom, for the 2 pounds on vacation!!!
today:
cereal and skim milk
wrap
smoothie
large salad
walking 45 minuets every day
dropped two pounds-do not like the way my neck looks scrawney and my butt is still big!!!! Age!!!!!
Charlie Cooper is a doll!

ping · 08-03-2011, 10:11 AM

p.s. Thank you pilgrim for the recipe offer!!! I like one pot meals
I have trouble following this thread sometimes--is it me or are all of the posts mixed up?

gardenermom · 08-03-2011, 11:39 AM

Thanks Ping, good for you dropping 2 lb too! You are very close to your goal, it must be hard to lose those last few pounds.

This was yesterday for me:
B: 2 slices multigrain bread w sunbutter (i usually try to eat granola w milk but I havent had time to go shopping since we got back from vacation)
L: leftover spinach linguine w roasted tomatoes and peppers (a disappointingly small amount of leftovers, still hungry, drank lots of water)
S: spinach and cucumber salad
D: gratin made from 2 small potatoes sliced thinly, about double the amount of fresh tomatoes sliced, layered with chopped onion and herbs, and baked with a tiny bit of blue brie on top. with spinach/tomato salad, 2 glasses red wine.

Exercise: Pilates for Weight Loss DVD, 30 mins.

gardenermom · 08-04-2011, 09:07 AM

Yesterday:
B: 2 multigrain bread w sunbutter
L: salad bar from work cafeteria: leaves, cucumber, peppers, olives, chick peas, lentil salad, corn.
D: homemade spaetzle (german egg noodly things) w mushroom bourguignon. cucumbers and fresh tomatoes. 2 glasses red wine.

Exercise: 30-day shred level 3

I dont think I eat enough protein most days, i often eat carbs and veggies, so lunch was good with both chick peas and lentils. need to try to add more legumes at home.

how is everyone else doing?

pilgrim · 08-06-2011, 01:43 PM

Gardenermom, well done for losing on vacation! I just got back from mine, and I gained back 2lb. I guess that's not too bad - hopefully it will come off again quickly now I'm home. I mostly managed to stick to Sonoma foods, but I did eat a few forkfuls of potato and a white flour chapati, and a cheesecake for dessert as a treat on the last evening. I think the main problem is probably that I didn't stick to the portion sizes as well as I should have done, though - I found it difficult to "eyeball" portion sizes when I wasn't sure how big the plates in the different restaurants were. I made sure to get in at least an hour of walking every day, which probably helped me avoid a larger gain.

The most interesting thing to me was how I felt after the few times I ate non-Sonoma foods, though. The potato and the white chapati really spiked my blood sugar, and I ended up feeling far hungrier than normal and also getting indigestion. After the cheesecake, I actually had trouble sleeping. I will definitely try to avoid those experiences in future!

Ping, I will try to look out some of my one-pot recipes for you. The thread looks fine to me - what are you seeing that looks wrong?

LADY WINDSONG · 08-07-2011, 02:02 AM

Welcome home pilgrim. 2 pounds isn't too earth shattering and I know that you will lose that and more in no time.

pilgrim · 08-08-2011, 02:17 AM

Thanks, Lady Windsong!

Here's what I ate yesterday:

B: Wholewheat pancakes, vegetarian sausages, banana.
L: Wholegrain giant couscous salad with corn and avocado, raspberries.
D: Wholewheat noodles with broccoli cooked in coconut milk (I won't be making this again, though, I didn't realise until it was too late that the recipe had too much oil in it.)

Exercise: 30 mins walking, 1 hr Wii Fit.