On food...

A couple of pounds down this week. I'll take it. The weather here this past week has been beautifully mild so I've been outside walking more often and longer than usual. I was able to borrow a pair of 8 lb weights from a colleague at work, so my arms have been achy getting used to the new weights.

I am faced with an odd injury, a nagging owie. My Achilles tendon and lower calf muscles in my left leg have been aching on and off and I've been have a stabbing pain every so often sometimes in the middle of the night. It doesn't last long, so if I'm exercising, I just wait a minute or two and it fades away. The doctor said it's probably just a strain and to keep it elevated when possible and to take it easy, just walking, no jumping. It doesn't really feel like a strain to me, but if it's still hurting in a couple of weeks, I'll ask for a referral to a specialist.

Food-wise I've been good. Typical day...

Pre-workout: Banana or an orange.
Mornings: Steel-cut oatmeal with cardamon, ginger and almond milk. Sometimes with berries. Lara Bar or dates and a yoghurt.

Lunch: Usually left-overs from the night before. Or big salad with a lean protein.

Snack: 1 tbsp Sunflower seed butter on apple slices or on celery. Or carrots and hummus.

Supper: Lean protein and lots of veggies. (In winter roasted veggies.) Couscous.
Optional evening snack: Air-popped popcorn or a piece of toast and 1 tbsp nut butter.

I change this up from time to time... some smoothies, soups, baked beans, or chili, eggs, avocado or  look out, nuts in the  salad, that's fancy! I don't enjoy baking or labouring for hours preparing a meal, I just don't have the time  or patience for it. Although I can follow a recipe, bake all sorts of pies, cakes and other stuff, I prefer cooking simple meals that are flavourful, quick and easy. In winter, my crock-pot is my best friend :-)

On Saturday night, I made a healthier version of East Indian Chicken Tikka Masala loosely based on this recipe :

Tikka Masala Recipe For 6 People

    * 4 breast organic chicken in cubes

    * 2 large red onion thinly sliced

    * 2 tablespoons crushed garlic

    * 2 tablespoons crushed ginger

    * 1 can 28 oz. crushed tomatoes

    * 1 cup of yogurt

    * 1 cup heavy cream (optional) I used a bit more yoghurt and a bit of water

    * 2 tablespoons cumin

    * 2 tablespoons garam masala

    * 2 tablespoons turmeric

    * 1 tablespoons chili powder

    * Salt Just a wee bit

Heat 2 tablespoons 1 tablespoon of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add in the onions and start caramelizing them until brown. Add the crushed ginger stir for 5 minutes,saute the garlic for 1 minute. Add cumin, garam masala, turmeric, chili powder, and mix well, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and yogurt. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add cubes of chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season it with salt and transfer to a serving platter, garnished with cilantro. Serve with Bamati Rice or Naan. Instead of rice, I just stir-fried some chopped mushrooms, broccoli, green and red peppers. Delish!

I've been thinking that it has been a very long time since I ordered in some fast food or have grabbed take-out. Frankly, I do not miss it at all. Most times I'd wind up with a tummy ache from overeating. And bloated and dehydrated the next morning.  My old faves last year were pizza on Fridays and rotisserie chicken and fries (St-Hubert or Swiss Chalet) on Tuesdays. I've never been much of a McDs or a diner kinda girl. My man and I used to go out to nice restaurants once or twice a week, but due to our shrinking finances and our expanding waistlines, we now head to the grocery store instead.

My go-to quickie: Grilled chicken or fish on greens.
His: Prosciutto and smoked gouda cheese on in a panini with a big salad.

This week, I also did check out juicers but didn't find any on sale. I'll keep looking because it'd be nice to drink some green veggie juices. That's ok, I still have my blender... it's reliable and though it's not perfect, I can make smoothies.

Goals for this week: Water! I've found myself a bit dehydrated  this past week, especially at work. I read a good tip this week on someone's blog (sorry I've forgotten... maybe Alan) to drink at least 1/2 your weight in ounces of water per day, so for me that means just over 11 cups.  And in metric, because I'm a Canuk, 2.8 litres. I've been drinking maybe half that. Will do better and I'm sure I'll feel better.