Vegetable Stock

Sure, you can buy it at the store, but do you really know what's in it? Besides, those of us in apartments who can't compost need something to do with our vegetable parings. This vegetable stock is easy, although it does take some prep and time to cook.

Vegetable Stock

Preparation:
Save your vegetable parings! Ends of onions, ends of celery stalks (or those little ones in the middle that you can't figure out what to do with), carrot ends and peelings, parsley and cilantro that is a bit past its prime, bell pepper tops, etc. Keep this in a container in the freezer and keep adding to it. I use a large plastic freezer bag, and make stock when it is 1/2 - 3/4 full.

Equipment:

• 2 stock pots (6 qt. or larger), or a stock pot and something that will hold the liquid from the stock pot
• A colander
• A fine-mesh sieve
• Something with which to stir
• Paper towels or a coffee filter (optional)
• Cheese cloth or a spice bag (optional)

Ingredients:

• Saved vegetable parings
• 2 carrots, cut into thirds (no need to peel)
• 2 stalks of celery, cut in half (no need to cut off the ends)
• 1 yellow onion, quartered (just remove the loose skin)
• 2 sprigs fresh or 1 tsp. dried parsley (unless you already have a bunch in your parings)
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. black pepper (fine grind, like you would put on the table at dinner)

Instructions:

• Put the frozen vegetable parings in a stock pot. Add carrots, celery, and yellow onion.
• Fill the pot with cold water, leaving enough room for boiling and stirring. I fill my 6-qt. stock pot to the 5 qt. line.
• Add parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. You may add these directly to the pot, or tie them up in cheese cloth or place in a spice bag (I get mine at Bed Bath & Beyond). Add black pepper. If you are using stainless steel cookware, such as AllClad, do not add the salt until the liquid comes up to the boil.

• Cover the pot (not necessary, but it reduces the time it takes for the liquid to come up to the boil). Place over high heat until the liquid just comes to the boil. Add salt if you haven't already, and give the pot a stir to combine everything.
• Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 3 hours (covered if you like).
• Remove from heat, uncover and let cool a bit.
• Place a colander on the second stock pot or container, and strain the contents of the cooking pot into it. The vegetables may be discarded at this point.
• Rinse out the original pot, and pour the liquid from the second pot through a fine-mesh sieve into the original pot. You may also use a paper towel, coffee filter, or cheese cloth, especially if you didn't use cheese cloth or a spice bag for the seasonings.
• Taste the stock and adjust the seasoning to your liking. If you think it is too weak, boil it down rapidly to concentrate it. Keep tasting it as it will concentrate quickly.
• Let the liquid cool completely.
• To store, separate into containers (I use the 3-cup Ziploc plastic containers, but you may use anything that can go in the freezer), seal, and place in the freezer. I'm not sure how long it will last, but I've had some in the freezer for months and it has been fine.

Notes:

• Vegetables: There are some veggies you may want to avoid putting in your stock: seeds from hot peppers, beets (they will turn the stock red and maintain a strong beet flavor), too many radishes.
• Seasonings: You may use anything you like, not just the ones listed above. I sometimes put a little ginger root in just to give the stock a bit of a kick.

Your stock is now ready to use in your favorite recipes. I will often use the stock combined with water if the recipe calls for more than three cups. Next time: Chicken stock!

Vegetarian (Red) Beans and Rice - Slow Cooker Style

In my continued search for something easy and flavorful, I scoured through some recipes for red beans and rice, all of which used white rice and pork and/or sausage. My real reason for searching for this particular recipe was to use up the chick peas I had cooked. Finding nothing that really tripped my trigger, I conglomerated several recipes and added a few touches of my own. So, here it is:

Slow Cooker Vegetarian (Red) Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long grain brown rice
• 2 cups dried beans (or substitute cooked beans, or a combination*)
• 1 red or yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, with its liquid (or substitute fresh)
• 1-2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning (or Creole Essence)
• 1 tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups boiling water or vegetable broth**

Instructions:

• Place everything in a slow cooker and stir to combine.*
• Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir before serving.

* If you are using cooked beans, add these about 2 hours before serving, unless you want them mushy (some people do). They just need to be heated through.

** You may need to adjust the amount of liquid if you are using pre-cooked beans and/or rice.

Notes:

• Rice: Even after 8 hours, brown rice is still...chewy. If you don't like it this way, there are a few things you can do:
• Cook a little longer. However, the veggies may end up very mushy.
• Make the dish the day before and reheat it in the slow cooker. This will give the rice more time to absorb the liquid.
• Use pre-cooked rice and add it 2 hours before serving, as with cooked beans. You will also want to reduce the amount of liquid so it doesn't become soupy.
• Beans: Notice that I didn't say red beans in the ingredients. You may use whatever suits your fancy. I used 1/2 cup dried red beans (all I had left) and 4 1/2 cups cooked chick peas. I did not need to adjust the amount of liquid.
• Vegetables: The chop on the vegetables doesn't really matter. If you just want them for their flavor, chop finely or mince. If you want them to be a substantial part of the dish, use a rough chop. I like mine chunky.
• Seasonings: The seasonings listed here are for Louisiana-style red beans and rice. However, the dish is essentially just rice, beans and vegetables, so you may change things up as you wish. Use curry, turmeric, and chilies to make and Indian dish, or Asian seasonings for an Asian dish. You could also change up the vegetables.
• Liquid: If you are using pre-cooked beans and/or rice, adjust the amount of liquid accordingly. If you are not concerned about the vegetarian aspect of the dish, you can substitute chicken broth or beef broth. I'll post my recipes for both vegetable stock and chicken stock in a day or two.

Enjoy!

Hens on the Backslide

News is not so good this week. I've gained back everything I lost plus 0.2 lb. That's what I get for only walking once last week...and snacking too much. I keep getting the hungries. On another note, here's a recipe guide for grilling Cornish hen:

Grilled Cornish Hens

Ingredients:

Cornish hens (1/4 - 1/2 hen per person)
EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)
Flavorings of your choice (Cajun seasoning, Greek seasoning, Red Ape cinnamon, salt and pepper, etc.)
Side of choice (brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, etc.)

• Thaw hens overnight in the refrigerator, or for several hours in cold water. Honestly, I cheat and thaw at room temperature, I just keep an eye on them.
• Using kitchen shears, cut up both sides of the backbone and remove it (save it to make chicken stock).
• Cut up the center of the breast so you end up with two halves.
• Dry off the hens with paper towels. (Side note: if you don't have an empty plastic storage bag you are throwing away, store everything that touches the poultry in a plastic storage bag in the freezer until you take out the garbage. This will eliminate the smell from your kitchen.)
• Brush or rub EVOO onto both sides of both halves of the hen. A tablespoon for each half will be plenty.
• Generously sprinkle seasonings of choice onto both sides of both halves of the hens.

• Place hens on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.
• Remove hens from the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking. Remove plastic wrap and let hens come up to room temperature. (Side note: Unless otherwise noted, cooking times in recipes is for room temperature foods. Placing cold food in whatever you are cooking in [oven, oil, etc] lowers the temperature very rapidly, and it takes time to come back up to cooking temp.)
• Heat up your grill. I have an electric grill, and set it on 4. Med-high should work for gas grills, and coals for charcoal grills should be as you would have them for any kind of poultry cooking.
• Place hens on grill outside up (ribs should be facing down). Cover the grill and let cook for 13 minutes.
• Turn over hens and cook for 12 minutes more.
• Turn one last time and cook for 5 more minutes, or until they are done to your satisfaction.

• Remove hens from grill and let sit for about 10 minutes to redistribute the juices.
• At this point, the ribs are easy to remove if you choose to do so. If you would like to serve quarters, cut the halves in half, basically separating the white meat and dark meat. Serve hens over brown rice, quinoa, or pasta, or serve the grains on the side.

You may want to grill some veggies at the same time, or serve with a green salad. I'm making a hen today, so I'll add more pictures as the cooking progresses.

New Recipes

I tried two new-to-me recipes last night. The first is zucchini chickpea burgers. For the actual burgers, I followed the recipe pretty much as written. However, I would recommend NOT adding any water until you test the consistency, then add only a little if needed. I added half a cup of water and the mixture ended up the consistency of canned dog food. I had to add more quinoa and even some bread crumbs to get it to the point that the patties would stick together. Even then, they were still a bit mushy after cooking. I used an electric skillet at 300º F. Next time I will probably bump it up to 350º to get them a little crisper. If yours turn out a bit mushy, you may want to serve them in a pita as opposed to on a bun.

To serve them, I improvised. I used chili mayo (olive oil mayonnaise and Sriracha) instead of wasabi mayo, the salad greens I already had on hand instead of arugula, and regular hummus instead of edamame hummus. Tonight I think I will try an open-faced version on flat bread, and leave off the hummus (it's rather redundant). They were, in any case, absolutely delicious. Here is what they look like cooking, cooked, and served:

The second recipe was tamari almonds. I substituted agave nectar for the sugar. 25 minutes was too long in my oven. Next time, I will cut it down to 20. You may want to try different flavorings, as well, by either adding them to the tamari or using ponsu instead, to give the almonds a bit of a citrus flavor. I'm keeping mine in a Ball jar for storage, and transfer them into a smaller container which sits on top of my microwave so I can easily grab them:

Another Week of Progress

Despite having cheated an awful lot in the last week, I still managed to lose 0.6 lb, bringing the total to 2.4 lbs. The hardest part is convincing Matt that "cheating now and again" does not mean several times a week.

Nothing new on the recipe front, although I have an idea for vegetarian "shepherd's" pie. After I try it out, I'll post the recipe (assuming it's edible). I have managed some semblance of portion control. I attended a graduate review lunch today and took only a small piece of veggie lasagna and no cookies, although I did have a bread stick. I didn't want to take too much salad so others could have some, but it was definitely the largest portion on my plate. The other night, I made popcorn and had enough left over that it almost wouldn't fit in a large storage bag. Four weeks ago I would have eaten the whole bowl.

Since I don't have any food porn pictures to show you, I'll leave you with some pretty colors from my thesis work.

Shift of Focus

Since you've had two week's worth of pretty much every meal, you get the idea. I won't be posting every meal from here on out. I'll limit myself to the highlights, lowlights, cheats, progress, set backs, and new and interesting recipes.

In that vein, the only thing interesting that happened on my walks for the last few days was that I saw my first snake since moving to Oregon. It was a wee garter snake, but, as far as I'm concerned, it could have been a 10 foot cobra. I have extreme ophidiophobia. The number of cats long my route seems to be increasing as well.

I made Slow Cooker Irish Oatmeal the other day. I highly recommend this recipe! The only change I made was substituting agave for the brown sugar, and decreasing the water by 1/4 cup.

Oh! In the second week of the diet I lost 1.8 lbs. Not stellar, but the ebook says 1-2 lbs per week, so I'm right on track. On the flip side, I seriously cheated last night and ordered a pizza. However, I ordered a medium, thin crust with light sauce and the only meat was grilled chicken, nothing processed like pepperoni, bacon, or sausage. At least I showed some restraint.

Off to throw together something for lunch!

Day 14

No walking today yet again. Stayed up too late last night. I'll get back at it tomorrow, although I may have to change my route at the end of the week. There's some big soccer to-do going on in the park starting Friday, and I'm not sure how early things will get started.

Breakfast: French-style omelet with cheese and mushrooms (these require butter. I've tried olive oil and it doesn't work.), half a banana, hazelnuts, V8 juice, coffee.

Lunch:

Romaine and fresh herb salad with Parmesan cheese, hemp hearts, left over grilled chicken, and vinegar and oil dressing, pumpkin seeds, a plum, and seltzer water with lemon.

Dinner:

Spicy grilled tofu, peas with Asian seasoning, quinoa with leeks and shitake mushrooms (although I used green onions and white mushrooms as that is what I had), and a glass of wine.

Now, I need coffee.

Days 11 -13

Sorry for the delay. This time, it wasn't laziness, but a combination of having tummy troubles and the suicide of my cousin. We weren't close, but it was a blow to the family. I couldn't make it back to Indiana for the funeral, but I wanted to be sure my mom was OK, since I'm sure she made most of the arrangements.

I didn't walk on Thursday due to, as I said, tummy troubles. After getting up and spending half an hour in the bathroom, I decided it would probably not be a good idea to try to leave the house. I didn't even go into the lab that day. I didn't walk on Saturday either...pretty much due to laziness. It's hard for me to get up at 7:00 and walk when: a) I don't have to be anywhere and b) Matt spends the night. But enough about that. On to food.

Day 11: Nothing much more than chicken broth, soda crackers, rice, and tea. Not really picture worthy.

Day 12 Breakfast:

Spiced quinoa with dried cherries, hazelnuts, dates, V8 juice, and coffee.

Day 12 Lunch: Hummus, flat bread, a nectarine, and seltzer water with lime. I ate while I was doing other things, so no picture.

Day 12 Dinner: The last of the peanut ginger tofu, brown rice, toor dal tadka, and a glass of red wine.

Day 13 Breakfast: Same as yesterday, but with almonds and a pear.

Day 13 Lunch: The last of the falafel (with some yogurt for dipping), couscous, and seltzer water with lime. This was a standing lunch again.

Day 13 Dinner:

Grilled chicken thigh seasoned with salt, pepper, and Herbs de Provence, brown rice curry, grilled vegetables with 8 spice seasoning, and a glass of red wine.

I made some homemade chicken stock this weekend, so I have plenty of it and vegetable stock for the time being. I have made a slight change to the diet as well. I'm increasing the lean proteins and decreasing the whole grains just a bit, to cut back on some of the carbs. I have lots of chicken thighs, cod fillets, and turkey burgers in the freezer. I also need to figure out what to do with the rest of the ground lamb for a "treat" sometime soon...I wonder if I could make shepherd's pie with mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes...

Day 10

Nothing special about the walk today. Other than I did it, I suppose.

Breakfast: See Day 8 Breakfast.

Lunch: Forgot the picture again. Peanut ginger tofu, couscous, dates, and seltzer water with lime.

Dinner:

Turkey burger on a whole wheat bun, pickles, celery with hummus, fries (potatoes are not strictly off the diet, and these were baked. It's all about proportion.) with some spicy sour cream for dipping. The wine isn't in the picture.

Still recipe searching.

Day 9

I nearly got caught in a storm on my walk today. It was sunny when I left, but by the time I got back to the front of the park, it was thundering. Just as I got in front of my building there were flashes of lightening and the first few drop of rain started. Talk about timing!

I've realized I need to find some new grains. I'm getting tired of (and running out of) the ones I have. Any suggestions?

Breakfast: See Breakfast Day 7.

Lunch: Yep, forgot a picture. Let's see...falafel, a salad, couscous, a plum, and a glass of seltzer water with lime.

Dinner:

Peanut ginger tofu (recipe is copyrighted), half an avocado, almonds (the whole grain thing), a nectarine, and a glass of wine.

The peanut ginger tofu was really good, although there is a hint of something bitter. May have been the spinach. I need to search for some more good recipes within the next few days.

Days 7 and 8

Yeah, I've been slacking at blogging. Sorry. On the bright side, I've made some good stuff. So good that I've been forgetting pictures some of the time, but I've included recipes. I'm sure you'll forgive me.

Day 7 Breakfast:

Raw buckwheat porridge (made according to the recipe, minus the chia seeds, sweetened with agave nectar, added half a banana), half a banana (gee, wonder where that came from), hazelnuts, V-8 juice, and coffee.

Day 7 Lunch:

Cod fillet, couscous, dates, palak paneer, and club soda with lime (I'm switching to seltzer water due to the sodium content in club soda).

Dinner Day 7:

Yeah, here's the picture I forgot.  Finally made falafel (which I've been spelling wrong but was fantastic. Followed the recipe but used garbanzo and fava flour. I had to use twice the amount called for to get the balls to stick together. No giggling from the peanut gallery), tahini yogurt sauce for dippping, brown rice curry, salad, and a glass of read wine. No fruit as I was already too full. There are no proportions given for the tahini yogurt sauce, so my advice is to start with the yogurt and add tahini to taste. About 60/40 for me.

Breakfast Day 8:  Same as Breakfast Day 7, substitute almonds for the hazelnuts.

Lunch Day 8:

Hummus with spiced lamb (left over from the potluck), flat bread (white, unfortunately), celery, carrots, a nectarine, and club soda with lime.

Dinner Day 8:

There's the falafel! Tahini yogurt dipping sauce, couscous, a salad with avocado, a pear, and a glass of red wine.

For total disclosure, I'm having two glasses of red wine a day, one with dinner and one after. I think I will make peanut ginger tofu for Day 9 dinner.

Day 6

As expected, completely blew the diet today, but mostly due to alcohol consumption. I was actually very good food-wise at the potluck. The hummus with spiced lamb was a big hit. The property was gorgeous. Wooded area with well marked trails, one of which lead down to the Marys River. Lots of great guys to chat with. We finished off with a bonfire down by the river. An enjoyable time all around.

I did not walk today due to a raging headache when I got up, but I did some hiking on the trails and I'm sure I got at least 2 miles in. Not much to report on as far as food.

Breakfast: A banana (not my favorite, but I'm starting to get leg cramps so I figured I need the potassium), almonds, V-8 juice, coffee.

Lunch:

Turkey burger on a whole wheat bun, half a green pepper, a pear, and cardamom tea.

Dinner: Well, lets just say it involved a couple different kinds of potatoes and leave it at that. I was careful with my portions.

Tomorrow will be trials of raw buckwheat porridge and falafal.

Day 5

I had the most bizarre thing happen to me today (yesterday). As I was starting out on my walk, a gentleman coming the other direction wished me a good morning, stopped, and handed me a four-leaf clover saying, "Here's a little extra luck for you today." Only in Oregon.

I broke down and bought a scale today. As I am not working out, and I know about where I'd like to be weight-wise, I figured it would be OK. I'm not going to be a slave to it, but I'd like to check my progress now and again. I also go the rest of what I needed for falafal...and realized I forgot to soak the chick peas. I guess that will be a Sunday thing. I forgot to soak the buckwheat groats for porridge as well. I also bought some cod for something different, which ended up being dinner tonight.

Breakfast: Same as yesterday, with hazelnuts instead of almonds.

Lunch:

The rest of the Cornish hen, half a green pepper, half a small cucumber, a carrot, a plum, couscous, and cardamom tea.

Dinner:

Cod, brown rice curry, a nectarine, a salad (just greens this time) and a glass of red wine.

For the potluck, I'm making hummus with spiced lamb. I'm sure my diet will go down the tubes tomorrow, but I'll get right back on it Sunday. Have a great weekend, readers!

Day 4

No regular kitty on my walk today (actually, yesterday), but I saw a beautiful black one. She came up to sniff my hand but ran back to hide. Perhaps I still smelled like onions. I had to run to the co-op today to get some brown rice for dinner. I managed to get out of there for under $30, which is amazing (I obviously got more than brown rice).

Breakfast:

Spiced quinoa with raisins, almonds, an apricot (which became a plum. Note to self: do not buy fruit at the 3rd St. Safeway), V-8 juice, and coffee.

Lunch:

A salad, similar to the one I made for dinner the other day, but I used a nectarine instead of a pear, and cardamom tea.

Dinner:

Palak paneer (I over did it a bit on the paneer), brown rice curry, toor tal tadka, a pear, and a glass of red wine. 

Tonight's adventure is going to be falafal. And I may reveal what I'm making for the potluck tomorrow.

Day 3

I walked my usual 2 miles this morning. No kitty today. If I'm not careful, I'm going to finish listening to the entire Dune saga before summer is over. OK, it's up to 19 books, so maybe not. Went in search of the Indian market today, and finally found it after a botched attempt. The only thing I got there was paneer. Since Market of Choice was across the street, I went there for spinach, parsley, cilantro, tofu, heavy cream, ginger root, and garlic. I now have almost everything I need for 3 new-to-me dishes. I still need cooking oil, and I may invest in an electric skillet, or maybe just a candy thermometer so I can check oil temperature. We'll see.

I made spiced quinoa for breakfast for the next couple of days. I can't share the recipe due to copyright restrictions, but I can tell you it's full of cinnamony-nutmegy-gingery goodness! Today's post is short on pictures for two reasons: Breakfast was pretty much a repeat and I didn't eat lunch. I got so busy at the lab and running errands that it was 5:00 before I got home, so I just decided to make dinner and snack on some corn tortilla chips this evening.

Breakfast: See Day 1 and substitute dried blueberries for the raisins. Boring, I know.

Lunch: As mentioned, it didn't exist today.

Dinner:

Greek turkey burger with lettuce, cheese, onion, pickle, mild pepper rings, and Dijon mustard on a whole wheat bun, half a green pepper, a carrot, a red plum, and a glass of red wine (look, Ma, no fork!).

Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand at palak paneer. I'm still deciding on what to do for a grain. Maybe I'll break down and get some brown rice (I have a metric ton of white rice I'm not sure what to do with at this point). More cooking adventures to come, including something special for a potluck on Saturday.

Day 2

Walked 2 miles again this morning and ran into "my kitty." This is a beautiful tri-color cat who lives in the neighborhood. Very friendly. He always comes out to greet me when he's around. I, of course, had to stop to give pets.

I went to the store today to get some more fruit, and a few things for a potluck on Saturday. I stopped at Bazaar as well to get some more spices, Halal ground lamb, pumpkin seeds, and dates. They were out of paneer so I'll wait until this weekend to make palak paneer. I found a recipe for raw buckwheat porridge, which I'll link after I make it and try it. I also found one for spiced breakfast quinoa. I'll do both of those at some point this week. I'm still gathering the ingredients for chick pear falafal as well. That may be a weekend thing. Breakfast and lunch today are going to look (sound) familiar. I remembered to take a picture of dinner tonight, but forgot about lunch. I didn't eat until after 3:00 and I was HUNGRY!

Breakfast:

Quinoa with dried cherries, almonds, an apricot, V-8 juice, and coffee.

Lunch consisted of toor dal tadka, buckwheat noodles, half a green pepper, a carrot, a rather stubborn nectarine, and cardamom tea.

Dinner:

One-quarter of a peach-whiskey glazed Cornish hen (left over from the weekend), a pear, roasted garlic couscous, and a salad (fresh herb blend, celery, cucumber, Parmesan cheese, Greek seasoning, and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing). With the obligatory glass of red wine.

I'm feeling snacky tonight, so we'll see if I can resist.

Day 1

I ended up watching a movie last night (Dreamgirls) and forgot to post. Yeah, yeah, I know, great way to start day one.

Anyway, I got up at 7:00 a.m. and walked 2 miles first thing. It actually did make be a bit hungry. By the time I was done puttering around and showered, I was ready for breakfast.

Quinoa with raisins, hazelnuts, an apricot, and V-8 juice. Not pictured is a cup of coffee. I'm still using salted caramel creamer because, as I said, I'm not throwing out everything.

I did cheat a bit and had a glass of ginger ale when I got home from the lab. I wanted to finish it off before it went flat, so that is now out of my fridge. Lunch:

Toor dal tadka, half an avocado, two pickles (probably not the best choice due to the sodium content, but they ARE vegetables), a red plum, buckwheat noodles (not Mediterranean, but both buckwheat and pasta are on the grains list) tossed with a little EVOO and garlic powder, and glass of cardamom tea.

For dinner, I decided to combine everything into a salad. This was more because I couldn't decide on a vegetable than because I was trying to be creative. On the plus side, it was so good I forgot to take a picture of it. It consisted of: chopped romaine, chopped fresh herb salad blend, a bit of Greek seasoning, half a pear, a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese, a handful of sliced black olives, a cup of curry couscous, and half a cup of chick peas which I simmered in homemade vegetable stock. I also made a vinegar and EVOO dressing. Oh, and a glass of red wine, of course.

I had a second glass of wine after dinner, and broke down and had a whiskey and soda while watching the movie. I also had a handful of almonds late in the evening to try to combat a headache. That seemed to work.

I received my "custom meal plan" and I am very disappointed. To follow it to the letter, I would need to buy a juicer, a toaster, lots of tropical fruit (um, I live in Oregon), and eat things I'm not fond of, like bananas and baked sweet potatoes. Additionally, the calorie totals for the day are over 2,000! I understand that if you drop your calorie intake too far your metabolism decreases and weight loss slows, but over 2,000 calories sounds way too high to me. Dinner also included dessert, which I don't eat. So, I think I'll just stick to the Mediterranean (plus the other things I come up with from the list) diet for at least a week. If I don't notice any weight loss, I may try the custom meal plan with a few modifications to avoid unnecessary expenses.

And so it begins...

Day 0 - Test Meal

Although I don't officially start the diet until tomorrow, I decided to make a test meal tonight.

Half an avocado, a carrot, a stalk of celery, a small cucumber, a pear, 1/2 cup of curry couscous (Near East brand), and 1/4 cup toor dal tadka, and a glass of red wine. I messed up the portions just a bit, but in a good way. The recipe for toor dal tadka gave me 6 more 1/2 cup servings, so that's 6 dinners or 12 lunches. The couscous was left over from last night. I based the portions on the 2000 calorie maintenance plan as I have not received the lower calorie meal plans yet.

I going to make quinoa tonight since I have no sort of grain (other than white rice, a no-no) for breakfast tomorrow. I guess I could eat the couscous, but curry at 8:00 a.m. just doesn't sound good. I think some raisins with the quinoa will be fine.

Starting Down the Path

I've made the decision that I really need to lose some weight, and start eating better. After doing a bit of research, I've settled on the Mediterranean Diet. I'll have to start slowly as I refuse to throw out everything currently in my pantry. Since I like Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food anyway, I can use a lot of what I have. I also need to start walking again. I'm going to start with 2 miles a day, preferably in the morning. Maybe that will encourage my body to be hungry so I can eat a big breakfast like I'm supposed to.

I went to the co-op and Bazaar today to stock up on chick peas, toor dal, quinoa, buckwheat, almonds, hazel nuts, and various fruits and veggies. I've also been searching for recipes. I can do without meat as long as the meals have flavor. The hard part is going to be cutting back on my wine consumption (at least it's part of the diet!) to two glasses a day.

I'll post progress, meals (with pictures), etc. here. I haven't decided if I'm going to bother with scale or not. I don't like them and they don't really tell you anything. How my waistbands fit is more of an accurate gauge for me. So, I'm set to try to lose about 25 lbs (see, already it's about the scale). I'm going to try my first meal tonight. Positive thoughts would be appreciated.