Hmm, first post of the year... oops.
What have we been up to? Well we all know about the bad weather that was unusual for us and crippling for the city, two weeks ago. We have another bout of the same stuff this week. Work has also been unusually busy, something that I must get used to as my career hopefully advances.
There was a Tuberculosis conference in Birmingham last month - it was nice to see the familiar faces and work theories that I had met and discussed in graduate school not so long ago. Then we had our own small workshop last week where a small group talked math, programming, data, drugs, all day for three days - intense to say the least, but I got to meet new people who were extremely helpful and nice.
In the kitchen, for new year's day, I finally was able to make a Mauritian dish that tasted very close to my mom's - briyani (or biryani, depending if you're Indian, I'm not so Briyani it is). It has meat that is marinated in yogurt and spices at the bottom, layered with white rice, slightly browned potatoes, peas, and fried onions - a hearty dish to say the least!
I also made a bunch of freeze ready meals, which are mostly gone by now. Wonton wrappers were on sale at Publix, so I got them and then realized that I needed to make something with them. So I made pork wontons (frozen raw) and crab rangoons or crab angels (frozen raw). Wonton soup has been a life safer for when I have tummy issues.
I had some left over wonton wrappers which I used to make these wonton lasagna cupcakes. Tom really liked these and I'm glad because he doesn't like traditional lasagna and this is a good compromise for us (since it's my second most favorite food, and I'm a snob when it comes to lasagna).
Turkey meatballs, baked and frozen - can be quickly added to pasta or soups.
I also had apples from a long time ago, maybe thanksgiving? So I made apple chips. These were addictively good.
Then at some point in January, I embarked on a torturous experience, the Dukan diet.
Helpful free website: http://mydukandiet.com/
True weight calculator: http://www.dukandiet.com/calculate-your-true-weight
(The geek in me took the data from their calculator, plotted in Excel and plot my actual weight measurements to see if I'm on track with my weight loss).
It's a high protein, no carb diet. Good things about this diet, I've lost 7 pounds (10 total but I put on 3 back because of winter apocalypse and workshop, where I had carbs) and I drink at least 60 ounces of water everyday (oh and cheesecake is allowed). Overall, this diet isn't all that bad. The first three days were the hardest because you can eat as much meat/seafood as you want but cannot have veggies or fruits. By day 4, I was glad to get some veggies, I had missed them so much but strangely enough, I wasn't craving my carbs. You have to be creative: zucchini lasagna, eggplant lasagna/moussaka (Tom didn't care for these), burgers with large mushrooms as buns, salads, mashed cauliflower etc...You must also be okay with eating a chunk of meat without anything else, no condiments, no potatoes, etc... I do cheat occasionally - when I get home after a very long day, I will have a teaspoon of peanut butter or craisins (I miss those too a lot). Or when I made my famous buffalo chicken dip and put that in a crescent roll wreath for Shane's Superbowl party (this was gone within minutes, and I only had one bite). Or when Tom made artichoke dip in a breadbowl (I did make zucchini chips to use instead of bread and bagel chips).
There is a good website with plenty of recipes (the oatmeal bran pancakes have been a welcome addition). As far as exercise, you need 30 minutes of brisk walking a day (which I don't always get).
While this diet is on the pricey side, I like what I see on the scale.I was also a bit distraught when I couldn't fit in some of my pants (now I fit in them) but I have about 20 more pounds to go, which had I followed the original plan, I would have attained that goal at some point in April. The goal is to lose 1-2 pounds a week, which is healthy, so maybe I'd be late making that benchmark in April, but as long as I get there.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, the Dukan diet may not be the right thing for you. Every now and then I do worry about my kidneys and when my index finger starts to hurt (is it gout or carpal tunnel?), what can I say, I am a bit of a hypochondriac.
Thanks for stopping by!
What have we been up to? Well we all know about the bad weather that was unusual for us and crippling for the city, two weeks ago. We have another bout of the same stuff this week. Work has also been unusually busy, something that I must get used to as my career hopefully advances.
There was a Tuberculosis conference in Birmingham last month - it was nice to see the familiar faces and work theories that I had met and discussed in graduate school not so long ago. Then we had our own small workshop last week where a small group talked math, programming, data, drugs, all day for three days - intense to say the least, but I got to meet new people who were extremely helpful and nice.
In the kitchen, for new year's day, I finally was able to make a Mauritian dish that tasted very close to my mom's - briyani (or biryani, depending if you're Indian, I'm not so Briyani it is). It has meat that is marinated in yogurt and spices at the bottom, layered with white rice, slightly browned potatoes, peas, and fried onions - a hearty dish to say the least!
I also made a bunch of freeze ready meals, which are mostly gone by now. Wonton wrappers were on sale at Publix, so I got them and then realized that I needed to make something with them. So I made pork wontons (frozen raw) and crab rangoons or crab angels (frozen raw). Wonton soup has been a life safer for when I have tummy issues.
Turkey meatballs, baked and frozen - can be quickly added to pasta or soups.
I also put our dehydrator from the wedding to good use. I had parsley left over from making briyani, and now I have dried parsley that will last for a long time. I hate when I buy herbs at the store and they go bad, such a waste.
I also had apples from a long time ago, maybe thanksgiving? So I made apple chips. These were addictively good.
Helpful free website: http://mydukandiet.com/
True weight calculator: http://www.dukandiet.com/calculate-your-true-weight
(The geek in me took the data from their calculator, plotted in Excel and plot my actual weight measurements to see if I'm on track with my weight loss).
It's a high protein, no carb diet. Good things about this diet, I've lost 7 pounds (10 total but I put on 3 back because of winter apocalypse and workshop, where I had carbs) and I drink at least 60 ounces of water everyday (oh and cheesecake is allowed). Overall, this diet isn't all that bad. The first three days were the hardest because you can eat as much meat/seafood as you want but cannot have veggies or fruits. By day 4, I was glad to get some veggies, I had missed them so much but strangely enough, I wasn't craving my carbs. You have to be creative: zucchini lasagna, eggplant lasagna/moussaka (Tom didn't care for these), burgers with large mushrooms as buns, salads, mashed cauliflower etc...You must also be okay with eating a chunk of meat without anything else, no condiments, no potatoes, etc... I do cheat occasionally - when I get home after a very long day, I will have a teaspoon of peanut butter or craisins (I miss those too a lot). Or when I made my famous buffalo chicken dip and put that in a crescent roll wreath for Shane's Superbowl party (this was gone within minutes, and I only had one bite). Or when Tom made artichoke dip in a breadbowl (I did make zucchini chips to use instead of bread and bagel chips).
There is a good website with plenty of recipes (the oatmeal bran pancakes have been a welcome addition). As far as exercise, you need 30 minutes of brisk walking a day (which I don't always get).
 |
| Eggplant moussaka or lasagna |
 |
| Bunless burger |
While this diet is on the pricey side, I like what I see on the scale.I was also a bit distraught when I couldn't fit in some of my pants (now I fit in them) but I have about 20 more pounds to go, which had I followed the original plan, I would have attained that goal at some point in April. The goal is to lose 1-2 pounds a week, which is healthy, so maybe I'd be late making that benchmark in April, but as long as I get there.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, the Dukan diet may not be the right thing for you. Every now and then I do worry about my kidneys and when my index finger starts to hurt (is it gout or carpal tunnel?), what can I say, I am a bit of a hypochondriac.
Thanks for stopping by!
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