Lentil Stew Recipe

My lentil stew has become a favorite in my house on cold days, and makes enough leftovers for several lunches. I originally got this recipe from http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/ , and made some adjustments as I found it to be a bit bland.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 red pepper
1/2 medium sized onion

1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp chili pepper flakes (I like this dish a bit spicy - decrease if you prefer a milder dish)
1 tsp pepper

1 cup water
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup brown rice (I use 10 min rice)
1 cup split red lentils

2 cups chopped celery
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. In a large pot over medium heat, sate peppers and onion in olive oil for 3 minutes.
2. Add seasonings and cook for an additional 1 minute.
3. Add water, chicken broth, rice and lentils. Increase heat to high until broth begins to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook at low for 10 minutes.
4. Add celery. Increase heat to high until broth again begins to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook at low for an additional 10 minutes.
5. Add lemon juice. Stir.
6. Enjoy :)

Food Journal - Day #2

Yesterday's meals:

oatmeal w. flaxseed, wheat germ, cinammon, raisins
1 sc. vanilla prot. powder in water
black coffee

apple
1.5 tbsp natural peanut butter

lentil stew
cucumbers

protein bar (eaten while grocery shopping. Waited too late to eat my PM snack and was starving!)

chicken grilled with olive oil + Jamaican jerk spice
steamed brocolli + cauliflower

No treats! :) Feeling so strong today!

Lead by example

Here we go. Day #1 of my my brutally honest food journal. I'm putting it out there for all to see (treats/sneaks/slipups and all). In fact, I'm going to take this one step further and publish my stats as well. Although I have a sneaking suspicion I may live to regret this. Yes, even a 'fit' chick will break into a sweat at the thought of disclosing their real weight to the world.

5'5
Current weight: 127 lbs
Goal weight: 124 lbs

Side note: Feeling really good about these numbers right now, as I looked back in my food/weight logs last night and realized I weighed in at 144 lbs in August 2008. That's a loss of 17 lbs! Only 3 left to go :)

Yesterday:
30m. cardio (level 4 on elyptical)

oatmeal (w. flaxseed, wheat germ, cinammon, raisins, and walnuts)
protein shake (1 banana, 1 sc. vanilla protein powder, water)
black coffee

1/2c. mandarin oranges
1 sc. protein powder, water
mint green tea

lentil stew (homemade) * watch for recipe soon
spinach leaves w. raspberries, raspberrry vinigrette
v. small pc. candycane cheesecake

1 apple
natural (Adam's) peanut butter

1 handful nuts+ bolts

grilled chicken breast w. olive oil + cajun spice
spinach .w. raspberries, raspberry vinigrette

1 apple

Lies & 'Sneaking' Treats vs. the Food Journal

How often do you eat junk food? How many drinks/week do you consume? How much sodium are you adding to your food? Are you eating as many servings of (green) veggies/day as you need? Are you drinking as much water as your body needs? How often do you break a sweat?

This is not a skill testing quiz. Most of us know what our bodies need, to allow us to be our best possible selves. But if you feel like you're really trying, and just not making the progress you would like, it's possible you're not being honest with yourself.

How many times have you eaten just a handful of something you shouldn't, while standing in your pantry? Have you ever hidden the wrapper from say, a chocoate bar, at the bottom of the garbage can?

The problem with 'sneaking' treats is that the only person you're hurting is yourself. You can't lie to your body. It is an incredible accountant - tallying exactly the number of calories/fat/sodium you're putting into it, vs the number you're burning throughout the day. That's why one of my favorite tools for fat loss is my food journal. It's nothing fancy - just a spiral notebook where I write down everything I eat/drink in a day. Sounds scary right? Honesty can be an intimidating thing. The idea is to get a good idea of what you're doing wrong, so that you can see where improvements can be made. It's not about beating yourself up over your mistakes. It's about being honest with yourself. I challenge you to try it for 1 week. No need to document measurements, calories, etc. Just write down everything you eat. That includes the handfuls of M&Ms from the treat bowl on your coworkers desk. You may be surprised at the number of things you 'didn't realize' you were eating.

Balance

Damn it - weighed in today and I'm up by 1 lb. Yes, I know that weight naturally fluctuates from week to week but there's this nagging voice telling me there's nothing 'natural' about this 1 lb.

Last Saturday was our office Christmas party @ Stage West. With the best intentions, I started off so well - with a workout that morning, and of course eating a snack before leaving the house. Only 1 glass of wine - good :) 1st trip to the buffet: lean meats (turkey, cold shrimp, sashimi), raw veggies, sweet pototoe - awesome :) Then came dessert: black forrest cake (weakness), cheesecake (huge weakness!) and a small plate of cheese - bad, bad bad!!! :(

All week there have been temptations. Patients have been bringing in homemade cookies, boxes of cholates, etc. for Christmas. Oh, and the new chocolate shop that just opened down the street from my office. Thankfully, at $7 for a very tiny chocolate bar, I can't justify buying there except for special occassions. Even the odd small nibble of such indulgences add up, of course.

Here's where the balance comes in. I've been up every day @ 445am to allow time to increase my daily cardio session to 35 mintues (from 20). Also, I've only allowed myself to pack the healthiest, leanest items in my lunch. So maybe I won't lose any more weight over Christmas. But I won't lose my sanity either, trying to not allow myself ANY indulgences that naturally go hand in hand with this time of year.