Destination Anywhere

Friends were coming to dinner last night, including one who doesn't eat gluten. I looked around for a likely rice salad, and got some nice suggestions from folks at SlowTrav. In the end I combined a few recipes, and the result was really delicious. I love brown rice, especially the darker varieties for the nutty flavor and firm texture. I was also making a whole grilled salmon and vegetables, and wanted something to stand up to the salmon. Vegetables, a touch of curry, fresh herbs, sweetness and crunch. Something new for me, and a definite keeper. Let's see if I can write down what I did.

Doctor Matt sat me down last week, and read me the riot act. He told me I have six months to lose 30 pounds, lower my cholesterol and blood pressure-- or he's putting me on medication. I'm borderline in all sorts of things, and not getting any younger.

So, after first meeting with his nutritionist and stopping at the New Balance outlet for some good sneakers, I have a plan. Exercise every other day for now and work up to every day, eat loads of vegetables, chicken and fish, small amounts of whole grains, a little olive oil, oatmeal, and lowfat, low sodium dairy. Avoid frozen or packaged foods with sodium, egg yolks, red meat, most fullfat cheeses except as a garnish. The nutritionist says the plan she gave me is similar to South Beach stage two. She's going to tweak things as the months go on, and hopefully end up with a plan that lets me maintain the weight and benefits, and allows for "mainstream" eating every now and then.

After ten days, I must say I'm feeling good. And I've lost six pounds and an inch from my waist.

Eating out when you're being careful about fat and sodium is a real challenge. Even restaurants with vegetable-based cuisines (Chinese, Indian, Greek, Middle Eastern, etc.) tend to use a lot of oil in the kitchen. And I don't want to even talk about how much I miss soy sauce.

So, Shabu Shabu. It means "swish swish" in Japanese, and its a dish that has lately caught on in Boston. Four shabu shabu restaurants have opened here within the past six months. They're fun, affordable, and as long as you're easy on the soy sauce and heavily-marbled meats, healthy. The emphasis is on high quality ingredients--perfect vegetables, absolutely fresh seafood and wafer-thin meats. We've been eating our way through them.

You are seated at a table or counter with a heating element. You order a kind of broth, the protein and starch you want, and are given a large plate of vegetables and an array of tiny dishes containing condiments. You'll likely be given a dish of ponzu, a soy and orange juice blend, little dishes of garlic, scallions, chopped chili, and a sweet bean sauce. Combine them as you wish to create your dipping sauce, and I also like to put some of the garlic into the broth. Be careful with the chopped chili, it can sneak up on you. Also, if you haven't been given it--ask for goma, a fantastic sesame sauce.

* Down a pants size, and they're loose. Fitting into clothes I haven't worn in more than a year.
* Alternating between walking two miles a day on the treadmill; doing an aerobics or dance tape every other day. Being careful about my knee and stretching.
* Figuring out how to eat sensibly and still enjoy it.

* Checked in with nutritionist. Lost 12 pounds.

Yay!

I have very odd, hard-to-fit feet. Really high arches, wide in the toe, narrow in the heel. I need an orthopedic arch support to lessen the fatigue and pain from the abnormally high arch. Since I spend hours a day running after four-year-olds, I wear either frumpy orthopedic shoes, or ballerina flats or garishly-painted Keds that can fit the supports. Walking sandals in summer, insulated snow boots in Winter, sexy heels where I risk falling and breaking my neck about three times a year. I've never found a pair of sneakers that were comfortable.

Until I met my new best friend Lisa at the New Balance Outlet on Sunday.

With gratitude to Diana, for beginning Gratitude Fridays. http://creativestructures.blogspot.com/

Yeah, the day slipped past me again. Here's something simple.

I am grateful for the loss of my double chin.

Another Gratitude Friday, with gratitude to Diana. http://creativestructures.blogspot.com/

A few items I have been very grateful for during the past six months I've been getting healthier:

Exercise resistance bands. These are nifty little things. A set of handles connected by stretchy rubber tubing. They come in three different levels of resistance, to be used in various ways. As you stretch them your muscles are working, and as you release while still holding, the muscles are still working against the lessening resistance. They've done amazing things for my upper arms. They are light and portable, so you can throw them into a suitcase. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to use them, but there are plenty of DVDs, websites and books with clear instructions.

Trader Joe's 0% plain Greek Yogurt. Tastes great, non-chalky, and much cheaper than the Fage. I eat it every morning with fruit, a bit of Stevia, and cereal. I mix it with salsa for a dip. I marinate chicken breasts in it with spices and lime juice. And while we're talking about TJ's, I've also been grateful for their low sodium organic chicken broth, salsas, Kosher chicken, ground white meat turkey, Joe's O's cereal, and 21-Salute salt-free herb mix.

Stevia. This is a natural plant-based sweetener with very few calories. I've found that using more than just a bit gives a slightly bitter aftertaste; but its great to use in sweetening hot drinks and yogurt without chemicals.

Costco. Yes, its a big box store. (But at least from what I've read, does well by its employees and sources locally from small producers as much as possible). What I think it excels in is produce. My weekly shopping list from them includes tiny green beans, spinach, lettuce, raspberries and strawberries in season, mini cucumbers, mushrooms, hydroponic tomatoes; and seasonal treats like chantrelle mushrooms, Tuscan melons, figs, persimmons. They also carry organic chicken, big tubs of Sabra hummus, their Kirkland brand of egg substitute is much cheaper than Eggbeaters, do a very decent store-made lime and chipotle marinated shrimp, and a huge roasted chicken for $5.00. It's interesting to compare our grocery cart to the others in line.

Kalyn's Kitchen. http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/ This website, while focused on recipes for the South Beach Diet, has a lot of fantastic recipes, and links to many others. I've gotten so many great ideas and delicious meals from her site. Very strong on vegetable recipes.

Kirkland egg substitute. The Costco brand of eggbeaters. One cup is equal to 3-4 eggs, has 120 calories, and 24 grams of protein. Makes for a huge frittata with sauteed spinach and tomato, and is often my lunch.

FitDay. http://www.fitday.com.I use this website to track my diet and exercise, it has a pretty good calorie counter, and you can graph your weight loss.

The treadmill and DVD player, and my NetFlix account. I've caught up on years of movies as I've sweated.

Russo's Market, Watertown. This is a wonderful produce store, carrying all manner of the usuals plus lots of Asian, Latin, Middle Eastern, and Italian items. Where I go from everything from cauliflower and swiss chard to long lavendar Chinese eggplants, jicama, and Armenian lavash bread.

Spray cooking oil. I use this instead of pouring on the oil for sauteeing, for roasting vegetables, for making sure food doesn't stick to the grill.

Fiber Gourmet pasta. http://www.fibergourmet.com/default.aspx This is great stuff. A pasta that's loaded with extra fiber, which brings the calories count down. It certainly isn't as marvelous as an imported pasta, but it's really very decent. One cup is only 130 calories, with loads of fiber. It isn't carried in many stores, so I order directly from the website.

Humn. I'm sure there are more, but I'll do another post with them at some point. Hope this is useful to someone!