FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASONING

Hump day is Wednesday.  That is when everything that was in overdrive starts to simmer down and by Thursday people are in the bars and by Friday they have let down their guard.  If you don't believe me, watch for it.  That works the same way with dieting for me.  It seems like I am making dinner or going out to dinner on Thursday and Friday and am not eating alone.  I end up gaining what I had lost from Monday to Wednesday. 

I checked in at Weight Watchers and was really surprised and enlightened about the subject of spicing up your cooking.  When I barbecue chicken or beef, I am using Montreal Steak spice or Montreal Chicken spice.  It works out that both have a high sodium count.  On top of that, there is nothing like a little ketchup, mustard and relish with the burgers.  That may well be my downfall. 

Current dietary guidelines call for a daily max of 2,300 mg of sodium but ideally no more thant 1,500 mg.  I thought I shopped smart and don't buy many processed foods that are in a package.  However, I do buy the local deli's homemade soups and one I love in the summer is Daiter's gazpacho but even to me it tastes salty.  And when I cook, I am using spices but I never bothered to check the sodium content of those spices.

So to start with I went to the grocery store.  I purged the older spices and bought ones with Applewood smoke, chipotle pepper and mesquite, all of which were like 50 - 60 mg of sodium per teaspoon.
Then I considered the ketchup and bought low sodium salsa instead.  I haven't used mayo in ages but checked out the Hellman's low-fat option and found it was way lower in sodium than many bottled dressings. It was never the problem that I didn't buy fresh, whole foods but I was killing them with my spicy kindess of the wrong sort.

These are some of my favourite spices that I am going to use more: basil, cinnamon, ginger, horseradish, Italian seasoning, Jalapeno peppers, mint, nutmeg, wasabi, yogurt and za'tar.  I will retrain my taste buds.  Research suggestes that if you cut back on salt over serveral weeks, your taste buts start perceiving lower levels as salty enough. 

Now I didn't get a medal for my prowess in cooking, eating knowing everything about diets.
However, I did receive it last week in a ceremony at the Lawn Tennis Club hosted by Senator Art Eggleton for my service to Canada.

QUEEN'S 60TH ANNIVERSARY MEDAL

The medal I am now working on is a personal achievement of a healthy lifesstyle, weight loss and just ot look better.

Starting from scratch with homemade soups and salad dressings should be a snap with my new Vitamix that my kids bought me for Mother's Day.  Today is the day I will start using it.  Up till now I haven't had a moment to even unpack it.  I was stuck in a salt-pepper-garlic rut.  I am breaking out of it, deliciously!  After all for everything there is a seasoning!

Eating out on Mother's Day

Do restaurants take advantage on people on Mother's Day?  Definitely, I say.  My son, Noah booked the new restaurant at The Trump for 14 people on Mother's Day.  Just over a week prior he was advised it would cost $1,400 for 8 adults and 6 kids.  They had now changed their format to buffet and if you didn't give your credit card prior,  your reservation would not be held.  Well, Noah decided that he would book somewhere else and didn't notify them because they weren't going to acknowledge his reservation without his credit card anyway.  At 10:23 a.m. he had a rude message saying he was 23 minutes late... it goes on but where do restaurants get off on being rude?  Is there such an overwhelming demand that they can offer poor service and still get customers.  It appears so.

The alternate restaurant chosen was Terroni.  The food was very good but the snobbery was intolerable.  With 6 kids under 7 years old, we asked for butter with the bread.  The waitress went back to the kitchen and came back empty-handed saying that they didn't offer butter with bread...and they don't have any.  Can you imagine, an Italian restaurant that didn't have butter in their kitchen?  Can you imagine ANY restaurant without butter in their kitchen?

 

Secondly, Paul and I were the first to arrive.  I was really looking forward to a skim milk latte but they only have 3.5% milk or whole milk.  Now, it is true that some European restaurants don't have skim milk but most will at least have 2%.

 

We already knew, that this restaurant did not serve its pizza cut.  You had to cut it yourself.  We joked we should have brought our pizza cutter. 

 

Okay, let's go forward.  There are not possible changes to the menu.  My daughter-in-law, Melinn asked for a Caprese salad with grilled chicken breast on the side.  Unfortunately, Terroni doesn't have chicken.  There was a Cornish hen on the menu but made their way and it certainly wasn't even offered to her.  When her Caprese salad arrived, it had zero dressing.  When she asked for Balsamic she was told they didn't make it that way.... NO BALSAMIC... NO OIL... NO DRESSING.  And they said they didn't have Balsamic in the kitchen.  Another waiter passed and we asked him and got the same answer.  So my son sarcastically asked for Balsamic and the waiter rudely replied "you know the answer".  Now my other daughter-in-law, Erica had a mushroom salad and it had Balsamic so it was decided to ask for Balsamic for her salad.  Well, that seemed okay.  They could do that.  The poor waitress came back with the Balsamic and in tears.  The kitchen people must have given her shit.  For the rest of the meal she had someone replace her.  By the end of the meal, before we left, she returned to say good-bye, with her eyes red and swollen. 

 

I don't care how good the food is or how great the chef is, it is intolerable to be so arrogant as to say you eat the food my way or the highway.  Consequently, we won't be going back there.

 

I laugh to myself as I read Weight Watchers weekly flyer.  The topic this last week was dining-out do's and don'ts.  It says "Have it your way.  Don't be shy about asking questions and making requests".  In this case we asked for butter because of the children but you should be able to ask for no butter, grilled instead of fried, sauce on the side, double veggie, etc.  It goes on to quote one of the leaders who says "I've been amazed and pleased that waiters do what I ask without hesitation".   Well, I guess she isn't eating out at the restaurants I have and she certainly didn't go out on Mother's Day.

 

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Well, I have been off of Weight Watchers for a couple of weeks and not tracking.  I have been up and down a couple of pounds but now it is time to get serious again.  In my case, I don't eat the same every meal, I entertain a lot and am entertained a lot.  The last couple of weeks of being off the wagon are primarily because of Passover and then I visited my newest granddaughter, Bardot Sadie Godfrey in New York for 4 days.  Of course, having a beautiful new grandchild is the most exciting happening each and every time.  I was totally elated.

The saddest moment was going into Saks Fifth Avenue and finding out they had closed their Plus Size department.  I actually felt deeply emotional about it.  Before I stormed out of the store in a blue funk, I decided to visit the regular/normal size department.  My mood brightened when I found a beautiful green and black cocktail dress I could wear to the POGO gala on Saturday night.  I have to admit that the shock of it all made me return to being on track.  I am betwixt and between, on the cusp of being at the top end of the regular sizes and the bottom end of the plus sizes.  I would certainly have more options if I could get down a size or two.

So, I arrived back on Saturday afternoon and went to the POGO gala in the evening. Saturday night at a gala isn't exactly the time to start being religious about weight loss.  So, I enjoyed the evening and Paul and I had made a special point of arriving home early to attend this gala primarily because our daughter-in-law, Melinn co-chaired it.  She made us so proud.  What a wonderful fundraiser and she spoke so well. 

Sunday, then became the best day to go back on track and that is what I did.  I still have a life though.
I went to lunch with our son Noah and our daughter-in-law Erica and their 3 kids.  We went to La Societe and I was very good.  That was a good start.  I came back and headed to the grocery store to get fresh fruit in particular, my go to item when I get hungry.  I also purchased some things for tomorrow's Herbie Day meeting I am hosting at our house.  At the same time I am having Longo's make a tray of baked salmon that I will pick up before the meeting.

Now just because I have to watch my intake, that doesn't mean I can't serve food for everyone to have some choices.  On the contrary, it is making something I can eat and being consciously judicious about not slipping into the buffet lunch for my guests.  So here is the menu

Baked Mozzarella Sticks with Seafood Sauce

Gina's Crab Salad   recipe to follow

Baked Salmon with a Mustard dressing on the side

Green Salad

A variety of cubed cheeses

Garlic Bread or Matzo

Homemade Fruit Salad

Macaroons

Brownies

Tea or Coffee

Of that, I will eat either the baked salmon (a couple of ounces) or the Crab Salad, some veggies and fruit.  That is sufficient for me.  Now I have to share Gina's Crab Salad because it is the best one I have made.

GINA'S CRAB SALAD

2 packages of imitation crab meat (pollock) cut in 1/2 inch cubes

3 stalks of celery thinly sliced

3 green onions thinly sliced

1 carrot shredded

half a small bottle of Renee's half fat Poppyseed Dressing

Paul is my taste tester and it passed muster with flying colours.  I tasted it myself and I agree.  Again, tracking my food, blogging, and thinking ahead really helps me keep on track.



MOTIVATION VS. DETERMINATION

I am beginning to notice the faults in Weight Watchers new programming.  They seem to be clutching at straws.  I don't think the points plus works for a lot more people than they figured so now they are seeking alternatives like "simply filling" or adjusting your tracker like not starting your Tracker day when you wake up... or adjusting your target.  What a bunch of hogwash.  It really just amounts to FOOD IN... FOOD OUT...  PLUS EXERCISE.  So once you know when you have eaten too much or the wrong foods then you have to adjust.  It really isn't rocket science. 

I finally received my keychain yesterday for reaching one of my goals: losing 10% of my body weight.
However, once you know how to eat smart, there isn't much Weight Watchers can do for you other than weigh in and perhaps motivate you or give you a new idea during the meeting. 

So what is the difference between Motivation and Determination?

MOTIVATION: 
When we start something new most of us are motivated.  After a while, your motivation is gone and you just don't feel like doing the right thing. 

DETERMINATION:
When motivation fails you, determination can save you .  Some days, you just don't want to make good choices but you do it anyway...  sort of like doing the dishes or unpacking the groceries.  When you see the results of weight loss or a clean kitchen... you do it anyway...  Every once in a while your motivation may return.

I don't want you to leave this blog half empty so I am including an recipe.

GREEK VINAIGRETTE SALAD DRESSING
(note:  now that I found you can buy fresh herbs in squeezable tubes in the produce section, I don't use and waste the mounds of fresh ones I used to)

1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 med. raw shallot minced
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. EVOO
1 tbsp. Fresh chopped dill (in a tube if you have it)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. Fresh chopped parsley (in a tube if you have it)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Wisk it all together.  Use 4 tsp. per serving..    Serves 8...  1 point

And just so you are not bored to tears but what some new uses for aluminum foil, try this:

1.  Sharpen scissors by cutting through a few folded layers of foil
2.  Scrub glass baking dishes and grill grates clean with a crumpled-up ball of foil

I hope some of today's advice works.

SNACKING

I am wondering what the world would be like without snacking.  It is promoted everywhere even at Weight Watchers.  Half the supermarket is geared to snacks even if you shop the perimeter.  Think of the bakery department or the deli department.  Even the fruit and vegetable department have pre-packaged snacks with caramel sauce for the cut up apples or even cups filled with dried fruit and trail mix are readily available.  And why you may ask?  Because we demand it.  We are in a society that says not to go hungry and we shouldn't go longer than 3 or 4 hours without food. 

Prevention Magazine came out with half a dozen bad eating habits to break and guess what?  I confess to most of them.  So here are the 6 bad snacking habits.

1.  You're good all day but pig out at night

2.  You stuff your face before dinner

3.  You can't stop eating in the car.

4.  You work at home

5.  You graze at the office

6.  Your kids' snack habits are contagious

I bet you can relate to a few of these.   I wonder what would happen to us weight-wise if we stopped snacking.  My guess is we could save at least 600 calories.  Even if you are watching it, they tell you to keep snacking to 150-200 calories at a time and that is if we are being good.  Do that between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, late night snack and there it is ... 600 calories.  But you can stop by Second Cup and have a muffin and there is 300-600 calories alone.  Or you can have a granola bar and that could be over 300 calories.  The same for large cookies.  Even healthy snacks add up.

I used to have a rule not to eat after dinner.  I know I do it now quite regularly.  I often snack before dinner because I am hungry and can't wait.  There is no question I have crappy snacks ...(supposed to be low in calories) in my glove compartment of the car.  And depending on the day, I could probably fit into the no-nos of the rest of the bad snacking.  I have heard my friends say that snacking is their problem too. 

So what if we made a conscious decision to cut snacks down to 2 fruits a day between meals and coffee.. or water and nothing else?  I am going to try it. 

WORTH SWITCHING SUPERMARKETS

Where have I been since 2005 when Loblaws started introducing Blue Menu items?  Maybe because they have improved the look and made it easier to spot the nutrition attributes of the products.  I have tried a few before but never consciously went back to buy the healthier lifestyle products that Loblaws now carried.  Now they have developed over 400 great tasting products offering more of what nutritionists urge us to eat and less of what they tell us to limit. 

Each product focuses on one or more attributes like omega-3, fibre, fat, and sodium as well as calories, probiotics and more. I always thought I rarely used packaged products but obviously I do even when shopping the perimeter of the store.  So now that I am aware I will try some more of the PC Blue Menu alternatives rather than reaching for the usual choices.  Now the products are easy to understand by including plus (+) and minus (-) symbols on the package so you can see what the products contains more of, or less of, right away.

The Blue Menu panel includes a dietitian, doctor, a chef and two moms and they give you some healthy tips in the free Insiders Report that you get at Loblaws.  Today I tried Blue Menu thin multigrain bagels. I was looking for something like this after I had bought a similar product in Florida.  The little arrows on the front say (+) high fibre and (-) low sodium  and they taste pretty good.  They are 160 calories a bagel which is pretty low for a bagel.

I also bought PC Blue Menu Artichoke and Asiago Dip.  The Blue Menu one is 50% less fat than the regular PC Artichoke and Asiago dip.  I think it will be a good veggies dip and they suggest you use in in deli sandwiches instead of mayo or on tossed into pasta salad instead of dressing.  They also made the Blue Menu version of Baba Ghanouj, Spinach and Traditional Tzatziki dips. 

Every once in a while we all feel like a sandwich instead of a salad so the idea is how do we build a better sandwich?  Today in the deli department they had the Blue Menu Oven Roasted Chicken Breast with Flax Oil on sale.  They tout this product as having 40% less sodium than PC Oven Roasted Chicken Breast.  They also say it has more Omega -3.  So my sandwich today was on a Multigrain Bagel thin.  I put in paper thin slices of chicken breast.  I moistened it with honey mustard and piled it with fresh baby arugula.  It was delicious.  Unless they told me, I wouldn't have felt I was getting less sodium. 

I haven't bought ice cream for a while now but I thought I would take a crack at frozen Blue Menu Greek Yogurt Smoothie Bars.  The little arrows say (+) probiotic and (-) low fat.  They are 100 calories.   I haven't as yet tasted it but each bar has 1 million active probiotic cultures to help promote a healthy gut flora.  I will let you know how good it is.

Well, that's a start.  It is nice to see healthier choices within reach in a grocery store.  It cuts the guilt of eating out.... or at least gives it more balance.