Revisiting Old Blogs

So I went back into my Blogger account to revisit some old blogs.  It's kinda interesting because all this time they've been tracking stats.  I have lists of search terms used, sites the blog was found on, countries, browsers, operating systems, etc.

I find it astonishing how something you haven't touched in months (if not years) can still find an audience.  Especially when you get right down too it there's nothing of any real importance on my blogs.  I mean there are some nice bits here and there, but nothing ground shaking.

Maybe I'll have to start posting a bit more.  I'm sure if I search hard enough I can find something to say. :)

Eating Well on a Budget - My New Year's Resolution

I've decided to make a New Year's resolution this year.  I want to get spending under control.  In the past I've worked on a loose budget, but after living in the new house for a couple of months I realize that I need to tighten the purse strings a little.  The biggest place for me to start is to curb my dining out.  It's gotten so that I maybe cook once a week which is just insane.

The problem is that saving money and eating healthier don't always go hand in hand.  Healthier foods are generally more expensive, and when you get into organic and specialty foods it's even more expensive.

The thing is I know that when I put my mind to something I can accomplish it.  I mean just look at my weight loss.  Friday will be one week since I joined Weight Watchers and I'm about 125 lbs. lighter since then.

So now I'm making this my challenge.  Bring my budget under control while at the same time continuing to eat healthy, continuing my weight loss and maintaining it once I reach my goal.  I know I can do it.

To borrow a page from the Weight Watcher's handbook I'm going to start tracking my spending.  Especially in the food area.  I think I need to prove to myself how much I can save by cooking at home.

I just went shopping and have saved the receipt so that I can price out the different components of tonight's dinner and future meals I will prepare.  Since I'm not starting with a completely bare pantry from time to time I'll use something that I already had on hand.  These items are sunk costs (I've already spent money on them), so I'm not going to worry about including them in the cost of the meal.

Tonight's dinner was something I've never made before Shepard's Pie.  The ingredients are simple enough.

The shopping list:
Kroger Beef Broth (14oz can) - $0.89
Yellow Onions (3lbs = 8 onions) - $2.99
85/15 Ground Beef (3 lbs) - $6.99 - Preferred 93/7 ground turkey at $2.99 / lb, but they were out.
Carrots (2 lbs) - $1.77
Idaho Potatoes (5 lbs) - $2.69
Silk Original Almondmilk (1/2 Gal) - $2.99
With Tax:  19.66

Recipe:
Shepard's Pie

6 Servings ($0.93 per serving)

6 Weight Watchers POINTS Plus

1 Can Beef Broth - $0.89
1 Onion (chopped) - $0.37
1 lb Ground Beef - $2.33
1 lb Carrots (sliced) - $0.89
1 lb Potatoes - $0.54
1/2 cup Almondmilk - $0.19
1/2 Tbsp Butter Buds (sunk)
2 tsp Salt (sunk)
2 tsp Black Pepper (sunk)
5 sprays cooking spray (sunk)
4 cups water
Total cost (with tax):  $5.83

Preheat over to 385 F

In a pot place potatoes and water and bring to a boil.  Once tender drain water.  Add milk and Butter Buds and mash well.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and add onions.  Cook over low heat until onions are tender and browned.  Add beef and cook until beef is browned (make sure to break up large chunks).  Drain excess fat from pan.

Transfer beef/onion mixture into a baking pan.  Pour broth over it.  Layer sliced carrots and finally top with mashed potato mixture.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over dish.  Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until potatoes are browned.

Chocolate Berry Desert Salad

So my cousin Mary asked for another recipe. I'm not big on cooking, but I did come up with a quick and simple little desert while strolling through the grocery store. It's not some profound find that no one's ever thought of before, but for someone who doesn't really cook it's an important baby step. :)

1 lb Stawberries
2 packages (12 oz total) of Blackberries (or raspberries, or blueberries, you get the idea)
1 container of fat free/sugar free whipped topping
1 tbls Unsweetened Cocao Powder

Slice the stawberries into eighths. Put all the berries into a bowl with the cocao powder and whipped topping. Mix well (you can also add some sweetener like Splenda to add some extra sweetness). Chill overnight.

It makes about 15 1/2 cup servings and is a perfect little snack or after lunch desert. The berries are "filling foods" so what seems like a small amount actually makes you feel like it's more after you eat it.

Each serving is 1 point, so you can have a lot and be guilt fee about it. For those who aren't familiar with the Weight Watcher's point system here's a little perspective. 1 Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie is 1 point. A half cup of this is a lot more than one little Thin Mint.

Thank God for Weight Watchers

I was talking with an old high school friend a few days ago.  While I was on the phone with him I realized something.  I think being in Weight Watchers has actually helped me through the initial parts of this process.

What do I mean by that?  Well I started to think about it and realized that because I was in the program already I'd learned to recognize the difference between when I physically need to eat and when I emotionally need to eat.  I know without a doubt I'm an emotional eater.

Dealing with this kind of loss without Weight Watchers would have sent me into an emotional eating binge I'm sure.  And the guilt of that would have in turn fed into the emotions.  Plus being in the program gave me something else to focus on.  When I felt I needed to eat I'd focus on what I could eat that would not rack up the points.  I'd tell myself that I had to stick to the program as best I could.  I had to get back to the good habits I established before the loss.  That helped more than I initially realized.

It impacted another aspect of my life as well.  I know that I'm also an emotional spender.  The process of researching and buying something gives me a small amount of joy that lasts until I get the new product home.  It's very likely I would have gone out and spend more money that I needed to (but not necessarily more money than I could afford to because whenever I buy something I always put some thought into if it can be afforded and how long it will take to pay off).  Dealing with the emotional buying is just like dealing with the emotional eating.

So it's become quite apparent to me that had I not started Weight Watchers at the beginning of the year I would be in a much worse position now.  I'm confident the inspiration to start the program when I did was a gentle nudge intended to provide me with the skills I needed to help deal with the emotions the loss has produced.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Homemade Turkey Meatballs

Ok.  So now for a change of pace.  A few days ago I posted my manifesto outlining my newfound dedication to changing my diet and lifestyle.  To further that change I thought I'd pay attention to what and how I cooked dinner tonight and then through the help of nutritional information on the packaging and www.NutritionData.com analyze the recipe for both Weight Watchers points values and nutritional values.

So without further delay here is my recipe for Whole Wheat Pasta with Homemade Turkey Meatballs

Whole Wheat Pasta with Turkey Meatballs (Serves 6)

Ingredients:
1 10oz jar Pasta Sauce (for this recipe I used chunky extra tomato with garlic and onion)
1 12oz box Whole Wheat Penne Rigate Pasta (you can use spaghetti or any other kind of pasta too)
1 lbs 93% Lean/7% Fat Ground Turkey
1/3 of a Large Onion, chopped
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Parsley
1 tsp Rosemary

In a bowl combine the onion, turkey and spices.  Once combined separate and roll about 42 equally sized meatballs.  Spray a large non-stick pan with a little zero calorie cooking spray and place the rolled meatballs into it.  Cover and cook over low to medium heat until the meatballs have browned (make sure to roll them occasionally so they brown evenly).  While the meatballs are cooking prepare the pasta according to the instructions.

Once the pasta is cooked I like to heat up my sauce and then mix my pasta in with the sauce so it is all coated.  Dish out the pasta and about 6-7 meatballs per serving.  I'd also serve a side salad of greens with low-fat or fat-free dressing (not included in nutritional information).

You can choose to make larger meatballs.  With 6 servings 42 meatballs means there will be 7 a serving.  If you want larger meatballs you just have to multiply the number per serving by 6 to get how many you'll have to make.  Keep in mind though that smaller meatballs cook fairly quickly.

An even healthier alternative would be to make the pasta and/or pasta sauce yourself, but I really don't have the time or patience for that.

In Weight Watchers speak this is about 8 points per serving.  If you add a salad of greens and a low or fat free dressing that's going to be about 2 more points.  Add an apple or Sugar-Free Jell-O Chocolate Mousse (both about 1 point) for desert and you end up with a satisfying meal that's 11 points total.

Here's the nutritional data provided by www.NutritionData.com.
Serving Size 1/6 of recipe (267g), Recipe yields 6 servings, 406 Calories (90 from fat), 10g Total Fat (2g Saturated Fat), 60mg Cholesterol, 643mg Sodium, 57g Total Carbohydrate (8g Dietary Fiber, 10g Sugars), 24g Protein