My Swap-Out Dinner

I'm trying to make small adjustments in my cooking to reduce the amount of fat and sodium I use, and my experimenting is resulting in some pretty tasty meals.

Swap-out #1 -
I'm no longer cooking in olive oil, but instead am just using a small amount of olive oil-flavored cooking spray in my awesome non-stick skillet. This reduces the amount of fat, makes the final meal less oily (of course), and is cheaper!

Swap-out #2 -
I'm experimenting with different little flavor-toppers for things like veggies, rather than using margarine as a base.

Tonight, my dinner was:

Tilapia, crusted with black pepper and cumin.
Whole green beans, blanched and lightly dashed with garlic-infused rice vinegar.

This was so tasty! Light, fresh, with a little tangy zip -very low in fat and sodium, but totally filling!

A Light Dinner, aka Ode to Cumin

Inspired by one of Scotte's recent culinary adventures, I made a great light dinner tonight:

Mahi Mahi with Avocado & Corn Salad

The fish:
It started as a frozen filet from Whole Foods. After thawing, I sauteed it in olive oil in my favorite non-stick pan. I sprinkled it with cumin and black pepper. Mmmm, light, flaky, tasty.


The salad:
I took a 1/2 bag of frozen corn kernels and roasted them in the oven for about 15 min at 400 degrees. Before popping them in, I drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled - you guessed it! - cumin and black pepper liberally across the top. Then I diced and scooped a whole avocado, and mixed it with the cooled corn.

And, here's the shocker -- I made my own vinaigrette! I've never done that before! It took 2 tries to get something tasty -- but I ended up mixing together 1 tsp of dijon mustard, about 1/2 tsp of lime juice, cumin, black pepper (natch!), and olive oil. It didn't mix together as well as I would've liked, and it was kinda tart, but overall it did the trick.

Feelin' Fishy

I had fun with another cooking experiment tonight: Tilapia!

I started with two small fillets, then sprinkled black pepper and a bit of ground ginger on top. Then I drizzled them with olive oil, topped them with about 1/4 tsp of minced garlic each, wrapped it all in tin foil and baked it in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Once it was done cooking, I lightly drizzled a wee bit of lime juice on top.

It turned out to be pretty tasty! I didn't really detect much of the ginger, so that may not have been needed. But the fish combined with the garlic had a nice nutty flavor. The tilapia is a little more substantial than the usual whitefish, so it held up well to the garlic's power. It was still light and moist (ick, hate that word), so cooking it any longer would've probably dried it out or made it tough.

This was a good dinner - thanks Dancer and Scotte for your suggestions. I'll definitely be making this again! Which is a good thing, cuz I did buy 2 pounds of it in my last grocery order....

A Good Dinner from the Freezer

I keep reading articles that say you should eat fish 3+ times a week. That's a lot! But I am trying to increase my overall fish intake, and those bags of fresh-frozen fish fillets from Whole Foods are a great solution. Tonight I made a very satisfying, light, low-guilt dinner straight out of the freezer. First I thawed out a cod fillet, then drizzled it with olive oil and black pepper and baked it for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Once it was done (with the pan filled with sizzling fish drippings and oil, ick), I spritzed it with some lemon juice and voila! A tasty, light fish dinner. I paired it with a package of Green Giant frozen broccoli in the low-fat cheese sauce. Yummy and filling, and I got in some fish, some veggies, AND some dairy. Hooray!

FYI - just a note in general. I'm no longer posting point values for things on the site, since it's now somewhat of an ethical question. I'll spare you the full details, but WW asks its members to refrain from sharing point values since it's a proprietary formula. Etc. But I'll still share all kinds of advice on calories, fat, sodium, and healthy choices in general.

I ate eel!

I had a great big sushi feast last night! Thank goodness for such a healthy option for restaurant eating, cuz I do love to socialize with friends over meals. So I can do sushi just about anytime.

And, as a coinkydink, HungryGirl's email today was all about sushi... here she gives the scoop:

Sashimi is VERY low in fat and calories (FYI - sashimi is just sushi without the rice). And it's good for you, too. The average 1/2-oz. piece of fish (the standard sushi/sashimi size) has about 15 - 25 calories and a gram or so of fat. Some types of fish, like salmon, are fattier than others -- but fatty fish is healthy. The good news is, you can go out for sushi and eat a LOT of sashimi and not take in too many calories. While you're out, enjoy some miso soup (about 50 calories) and sunomono salad (just some sliced cucumbers and rice vinegar). Both are low in calories and very filling.

Plus, HungryGirl has a a whole sushi guide on her website. Check it out!

Not Bad in New York

I did pretty well on my New York trip, diet-wise. I would guess that I walked about 2-3 miles each day, and my food choices were pretty decent. I really only had one splurge-y meal, dinner on Wednesday night. The rest of my food choices were pretty much dictated by availability and budget. As I said on my other blog, I stuck to a strict cash-only budget, including on all food options. So that means I couldn't really indulge too much in terms of portion size or richness of food. Not a bad plan!

Wednesday
Breakfast - I ruled out my usual McGriddles combo breakfast at Union Station (so good but a heart attack in a paper sack) and went for a cinnamon bagel with cream cheese and a bottle of water instead. It's not the best diet food ever, but it was bulky enough that it kept me full and I didn't buy any train snacks the whole way up.

Lunch - I was really hungry by the time I finally got lunch at about 1 pm. I ate at the little cafe in the International Center of Photography, which had all kinds of gourmet options. I went for the roast beef and horseradish sandwich on a dark brown bread (pumpernickel?) baguette with a glass of ginger iced tea. I wanted chips, but was watching the budget so I didn't get any. Phew.

Dinner - This was at a little Italian place on Restaurant Row. All of these places had 3-4 course prix fixe dinners for the before-theatre crowd, and I couldn't resist sampling such a good bargain. For $24, I got a 3-course dinner with hot tea. You could choose any of the items off their menu, and I went with fairly decent choices diet-wise - not the best, but not the worst either. I had a basil, tomato and mozzarella salad; a filet of sole sauteed in lemon, butter and white wine with veggies and rice sides; and a delicious piece of tiramisu. Somewhat indulgent, but I'd done a lot of walking that afternoon and felt it was worth it!

Snacks - I did get a little Cheerios cereal bar to eat mid-afternoon, before I walked down to the river for the harbor cruise. That was a sugary/carby fix, but it was actually only 3 points. Better than expected.

Thursday
Breakfast - There wasn't any restaurant or room service option in my hotel for breakfast, and I didn't want to spend too much money on this meal. So I grabbed a Power Bar and another one of those Cheerios bars plus a bottle of water to eat while I was walking around Central Park. By pacing myself, those actually did get me through until about 1 o'clock for lunch.

Lunch - I ate at Penn Station while waiting for my train. I was actually okay with this, cuz I'd been looking forward to this meal ever since I got off the train the day before. Walking around Penn Station, I had been reminded that one of the best sandwiches I've ever had in my whole life came from Zaro's Deli, which I'd gotten when coming back from NYC on a business trip in March. So, woohoo! I was so excited to get that sandwich again! It's a curried chicken salad with cranberries and this great honey-mustard spread on pumpernickel. Mmmmm. I had a Coke Zero and a bag of salt & vinegar chips, and I was so happy. :-)

Snacks - I was really hungry by about 5:30 on the train, and I knew I wouldn't be home for a good, normal, diet dinner until after 7. So I did break down and use some of the very last of my cash on the cheapest snack option in the cafe car. Unfortunately, the cheapest item was a gigantic chocolate chip cookie. Which I ate, but didn't love cuz it was so sugary sweet. I downed a whole bottle of water pretty quickly to try and get rid of that sugar. Ick.

And then by Thursday night I was home for dinner and life is now back to normal.... we'll see if I have any change on the scale this week. I hope so!

The Week That Was

Like I said, I haven't been doing so well on my own challenge. I'm really not sure what will happen when I step on the scale Monday morning. But I'm still thinking about all the choices I make, even if some of the choices are bad ones.

The Good:

• I had my grilled mahi mahi specialty again for dinner tonight. Delicious! This time I did it with a side of steamed broccoli tossed with Newman's Own light Italian salad dressing. Tasty.
• One day earlier this week, we went out for lunch to the place where I usually order a steak. I really wanted one, but I ordered a chicken salad instead.
• I bought another 12-pack of Sprite Zero to have in my fridge, which was one of my key tricks earlier this year when I was doing so well. It gives me the carbonation I sometimes need, but without any caffeine. All the Coke Zero and diet cherry cola I've been drinking is still pretty bad, so I'm glad to be switching back to this instead.

The Bad:

• Friday. A bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast, 4 slices of pizza for lunch, 1 1/2 sugar cookies in the afternoon. A decent dinner that was accompanied by lots of sangria.
• Tuesday night's wine-soaked dinner, which I wrote about on my other blog. I have learned that it's a very bad pattern for me - when I drink a lot of wine, I order a lot of really rich, expensive, indulgent food.
• No exercise this week other than just the usual daily comings and goings. Bah.
• It's still hard for me to work in fruits and veggies on a regular basis. I need to keep more stuff in the house, and when I'm buying my lunch out I need to be sure to get a side salad or a fruit cup or something.
• Ice cream is my summer vice. This week it's been Breyer's fudge ripple. It's not premium ice cream, so there's a little less fat, but I still have to have it. Nothing cools me down with as much satisfaction. Sure, Jello pudding cups are a great substitute, but they're not ice cold and refreshing in the same way.

Tomorrow I have a foodie-best brunch that I'm really looking forward to, but then it's off to the grocery store to buy some good items to have at home this week. Stay tuned.

That's a Mahi Mahi Mighty Tasty Dinner!

You know how I've been saying for months that I want to learn how to cook fish? Tonight I finally tried it! I bought some frozen mahi mahi fillets from Whole Foods a while back, and today I was motivated to have a light, healthy dinner so I pulled the old grill pan out of the closet and went for it.

Here's my cute little fillet thawing out. It's in foil cuz I first thought I'd be cooking it in the oven, but later decided to use the grill pan instead. I chose wisely.

After thawing one of the fillets (which took a lot longer than expected), I drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled a little salt and pepper on each side. I had turned the grill pan on high to get it warmed up (aha! a lesson I learned from Ray Ray), so by the time I put the fillet on it was already sizzling.

Sizzle, sizzle.

While the fillet was grilling, I steamed up about 1/2 a bag of frozen green beans for my side dish. It was easy to tell how the fish was progressing, because you really can see it cooking through by watching the side turn from pink to white. After about 8 minutes of grilling, the fish was done.

I sprinkled about 1/2 capful of lime juice over the top of the fish to add a little tropical flavor. Then, to keep the flavor consistent, I added a little lime juice as well as margarine to the green beans. (Yes, I hate to admit it, but that consistent flavor trick is another thing learned from Ray Ray.)

This meal was delicious! Mahi Mahi has a hearty flavor - richer than a whitefish, more along the lines of tuna than salmon, although it's a bit lighter than tuna. The olive oil and lime juice were actually a great combo, cuz they enhanced the flavor rather than overpowering it. And the green beans with a hint of lime juice tasted great, too!

Points-wise, this is a ridiculously low point meal. The fillet is only 3 points, but I'd add another point for the EVOO. (Sorry, can't help it. I think I've been possessed by Ray Ray.) And with just a little margarine on the beans, I'd call that 2 more points. So all of this for just 6 points!

Blogger's being pesky - so if you want to see picture of the finished meal, click here.

Whole Foods Extravaganza

What's the difference in your refrigerator between buying groceries at Safeway and buying groceries at Whole Foods?

• From Safeway, your fridge is filled with lots of packaged items, low-fat or diet stuff, sale items or generic brands, and so-so looking produce.
• From Whole Foods, your fridge is filled with lots of little rubber-banded containers of fresh deliciousness, like curried tempeh salad and seafood gumbo and the best-looking fruit you've seen in ages. And you couldn't find the words "low-fat" on anything, but suddenly you're okay with that.

What's the difference in the price? At Safeway, your single basket of stuff costs about $40. At Whole Foods, it's $75. Yikes.

But I just ate the most freakin' delicious tuna I've ever had in my life. I don't even care how many points it has. The yellowfin tuna salad with the little shell pasta. Unbelievable. Trusty cat Cleo was so excited to be able to clean that container!

Day 2 of My Challenge

I'm still doing well on my challenge.... today's accomplishments:

• I tracked all of my points.
• I stayed within my daily points allowance! Wheeee!!!!
• I did 20 minutes of cardio at the gym. (Hey, I'm still a beginner. 20 minutes is a big deal.)
• I had veggies as a snack again - thank you, baby carrots.
• I had seafood for dinner -- shrimp, yummy. Not as good as a white fish or salmon, but still pretty low in points.
• I had a lot less starch than usual.... a Lean Cuisine pizza and some reduced fat wheat thins as a snack.
• I drank a lot of water! So that means lots of trips to the little girls' room...

Good stuff!

A Sushi Feast, Plus Some Wine Flexies

I had a pretty good day today, and that included a veritable FEAST for dinner. Thank goodness for sushi, the low-point indulgence! With a huge plate of happy hour priced maki sushi (or is it nigiri? I get them confused) and some cucumber rolls and tuna rolls, plus some chicken soup and 2 glasses of wine, I still only ended up using 7.5 flex points for the whole day. And this is one where I'd slotted to use some extras. Hooray!

I have plans out for the next 2 nights - a catered event and a happy hour - and my plan is to bring some Lean Cuisines to work for the pre-eat dinner trick. And I'm in the mood for some soup and salad lunches. Wish me luck!

Cooking Fish?

I plan on buying groceries tonight, and I would like to buy some fish. I *love* seafood and I know I need to incorporate it into my diet more, but I have very little clue on how to cook it at home.

Any suggestions on the best way to buy and then *easily* cook fish at home? I love seared tuna, which I could try on my grill pan. I also really like white fish, like sea bass, tilapia, orange roughy, etc. Salmon's not my favorite. Thoughts on simple, one-pan ways I could make a healthy fish dinner?