Thursday, December 27, 2012

Oven Turkey Meatballs

Last night, I had a craving for the warm embrace of pasta.  It was cold and bitter outside.  The leftover Christmas snackie treats had disappeared to the office to be consumed by the masses.  I wanted something that would satisfy, but also keep me in my daily caloric range.  Thus, Oven Turkey Meatballs were born.  Taking several recipes and pulling out the redeeming qualities, here is my creation which was fast, satisfying and gave me a tasty meal at roughly 500 calories.  I served them with my spruced up pasta sauce and rotini pasta. Personally, I am a big fan of rotini.  It holds lots of sauce in its little nooks and crannies.  If I was just making this for me, I would have used whole-wheat pasta, but since my husband thinks whole-wheat pasta is an abomination, I used DaVinci Organic Rotini Pasta.   I kept the 2% Italian Cheese Blend on the dinner table so we could sprinkle some over the top of the pasta.  My husband wants most meals to sear his taste-buds from spice heat, so he also added a decent coating of red pepper flakes to the whole beautiful mixture.   My pasta bowl had approximately 1 cup of cooked pasta and sauce with 4 beautiful meatballs covered with 1-2 tbsp of cheese.

Oven Turkey Meatballs

Prep time - 10 mins
Cook time - 30 mins
Serves 6
Makes 24 meatballs, 4 meatballs per serving











INGREDIENTS:
1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey (needs to be 93/7, the turkey should have at least 7% fat otherwise it falls apart)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (you could also add different seasonings to taste, next time I may throw in a little onion powder too)
3 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp Kraft 2% Milk Italian Three Cheese Shredded Cheese (you could also just use Parmesan)
Olive oil or cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.     Cover a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with aluminum foil (just for easy clean-up, you don't have to do this if you want to wash the pan).  Lightly spray with cooking spray or use fingertips to spread a thin layer of olive oil.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground turkey, egg, bread crumb, Italian seasoning, garlic and cheese using your hands. Form the meat into walnut sized meatballs. Place about 1/2 - 1 inch apart on the pan. You should have 24 meatballs total.  Oh and your hands will smell like garlic, even after you wash them.  For me, this is never a problem :)
3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then remove to turn them over, and continue baking for about 10-15 more minutes, or until somewhat brown on the outside. Add cooked meatballs to pasta sauce to coat.  Serve with whole wheat pasta.

Since I was pressed for time and didn't feel much like making sauce all the way from scratch, I cheated a bit and made a semi-homemade sauce with rotini.  I started the sauce once the meatballs went into the oven, but you could start it before if you wanted to let it simmer longer.  Here is my recipe:

Amanda's Semi-Homemade Quick Pasta Sauce with Rotini
INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 cans Eden Organic Pizza Pasta Sauce (15 oz)
1 can crushed tomatoes (15 oz or so)
A few shakes of Italian seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste

2/3 or 12 oz of dry rotini pasta
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Start heating water in a pasta pot on high using package directions for guidance as to how much water you may need...  not that I ever do that.  I just wing it.
2.  In a large skillet or saucepan (I used one large enough to hold the pasta and meatballs at the end so I could serve the whole lovely mess from there), add a small amount of olive oil, chopped onions and minced garlic over medium heat.  Saute until soft, approximately 5 mins or until it looks right.
2.  Add canned pasta sauce and crushed tomatoes and stir frequently until it starts to bubble.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3.  Simmer on low while pasta is prepared.
4.  The water in the pasta pot should be at a nice rolling boil so you can prepare the pasta according to package directions, adding a tsp or so of olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking.  I timed everything so the pasta and meatballs would finish around the same time.  Once the pasta was drained, I added it to the pasta sauce and threw in the meatballs as well.  PS, your kitchen will smell heavenly from the meatballs and garlic and onions and sauce.  You're welcome.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

21 Day Challenge Results!

After 21 days of hard workouts and diligent clean eating, I stood nervously while the calipers pinched here, there and everywhere.  Without further adieu, here's the breakdown:

Total pounds lost: 7
Body Fat % lost: 1.7%
Inches lost: 4

Right now I am sitting at 24.9% body fat which is near the "Ideal" section of the body fat percentage range.  Using those math skills I never expected to need in my adult life and a little calculation assistance from this website (http://www.healthchecksystems.com/bodyfat.htm), I figured out that I started out at 44% body fat when I was 246 pounds.  That percentage doesn't even show up on this chart...



While I am more than a little proud of the progress I have made, I know I still have some serious toning to do to get closer to "Lean".  I was shown the "before" and "after" pictures from the challenge and I could actually see some differences in 3 weeks.  I could also see trouble spots that I will have to work on before I can transition to more of a maintenance mode.  I'm realistic enough to know that there will probably be areas of my body that will cling to cellulite like Gollum with a death grip on the ring.  Ah well, I can't escape this battle without a few scars to prove I fought my way back.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Awesome or Strange Revelations

In no particular order, here are some things I have discovered along the way as the pounds began and continue to come off:


  • At some point you have to buy smaller workout clothes.  This one probably seems obvious to everyone, but when I bought several pairs of black stretchy yoga pants that I frequently wear during workouts, I never expected them to appear baggy.  I guess I thought they would be like the "Traveling Pants" from that movie and just magically adjust their size as I did.  Its not logical, I know.
  • Sorry boys, this one is a bit personal so I'll attempt to describe with as much decorum as possible.  Its harder to shave under your arms because instead of being flat or even a tad convex, the area under your arms is now very concave due to lack of fat and increase of muscle.  When you have been doing something the same way for many years with the same result and suddenly you have to adjust your methods (i.e. work harder) for the same result, its a little disconcerting.
  • Bones!  No, not Dr. McCoy or Dr. Brennan (depending on your brand of geek).  Of course I know I've always had them, but their dimensions were much harder to make out with a cushy layer over them.  Suddenly, I have little juts of bone here and there.  I'm fascinated.   
  • The discovery of previously unseen muscles.  I picked something up the other day and happened to see the strangest little muscle appear on my forearm.  I can tell you it didn't used to be there.  Or at least it didn't used to be shaped like that.
  • The discovery of previously unfelt muscles.  It seems that every time I learn a new way to do a squat (who knew there could be so many ways), a new bundle of muscle tissue makes its presence known the next day.  And the day after that.
  • Something always seems to be falling off / down.  For example, my wedding ring has had several close calls as my fingers appear to be shrinking.  Some of my boots won't stay up on my calves, so they fall down and look slouchy but not in a good way.
  • I hear myself making statements like "Oh I'd love to try [insert insanely challenging new fitness craze] sometime!"...with my outside voice and I actually mean it.  So weird.
  • When I get hugged, I can feel that people's arms go around me farther than they did previously, particularly my husband.  When you've been hugged by someone for over 10 years, your body knows the feeling of the other person against you.  So when their arms can reach farther, you know that what they are hugging is smaller than it used to be.  I must say, this one might be my favorite :)

Thursday, December 20, 2012

A Different December

This is by far the strangest December I have ever had.  I haven't eaten a single Christmas themed cookie.  I walked away from the most divine smelling potluck in the history of potlucks.  I've spent the last two Fridays awake at 5:00am driving to the gym.  I've lost 6 pounds (according to my scale).  I totally missed the fact that I passed the 60 pound mark because I have been too busy focusing on small goals.  Dear friends, I do believe I have been body snatched.

This 21 day challenge will come to a close on Saturday and I am itching to see the results.  When I started, my body fat percentage was just above the "normal" range into the "overweight" category.  I'm excited to see if I've made any progress toward lowering that number.  I'm excited to start 2013 at a weight I haven't seen since... well ever in my adult life.  I'm excited to plan a tropical vacation, have actual pictures of me taken without chagrin, wear swimwear in mixed company and buy summer clothes (typically my most frustrating fashion season).  Yep, totally body snatched.

But short-term, I am so excited for Christmas!  Taking a day or two to enjoy the indulgences (while not over-indulging and making myself feel wretched) which I don't have to feel bad about anymore because I know I'm working hard and being diligent the other 350 days of the year (took out a few for holidays / birthdays / girls nights). 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Being nice to that girl

I've been looking at photographs of myself over the past 10 years in an attempt to understand what triggered my weight gain.  Its a myriad of things really....being perhaps awfully young to be married and out on our own, struggling financially to sustain mortgages and car payments, dealing with scary health issues of close loved ones, overall insecurity about who I was and what I wanted...

When I see the pounds gradually (and sometimes not so gradually) pile on in the pictures, it feels like looking at someone else.  A girl with self-esteem issues who buried her frustrations and sorrows in Skittles and General Tso's Chicken.  I used to use words like "cow" and "fatty" and "whale" to describe myself, but now I see the damage that self-loathing can do.  Hating myself only made my problems seem more intense and before I knew it, I was in a full emotional landslide into whatever sugary confection was readily available.

These days, I try to be more gentle with that girl.  She dealt with some hard things and in the end, she brought me here.  She's not any of those ugly words.  She's a girl who didn't know what to do about her own health issues, but she tried to keep everything else from falling apart.

I know full well that I still don't have everything figured out.  I will likely always mentally seek a sugary confection when I get sucker-punched by a bad day, but it doesn't mean that my actions have to follow their old patterns.  I'll do my best to make better choices because I'm not just doing this for now.  I'm doing this to ensure the remaining years of my life are as good as they can possibly be.  Its not easy, but I was never promised that it was going to be.  

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Holiday Battles

I think everyone hits a wall at some point during the holiday season.  A day where you feel the tight squeeze on the wallet from buying presents, when you remember that the real estate taxes are due in December which is just horribly cruel, when you have no spare moment to yourself because you are scheduling / baking / primping for another holiday party, when you have been trying to be so good eating healthy and working out but your body is dog-tired and your brain longs to dive head first into the box of Jingles you have been ignoring since it appeared on the shelf...(no, I didn't buy the Jingles, I wouldn't do that to myself).

I don't have a magical remedy for getting through these battles.  These are the days where I force myself to work out in hopes that the extra endorphins will boot me out of my funk.  I swing through Starbucks and indulge in the $4 grande nonfat latte because (a) its not the box of Jingle-flavored calories, (b) Starbucks smells like heaven, and (c) I could use the extra calcium and caffeine.  I persevere because it will get better when I give it some time.  Somehow the money will be juggled, the cookies will be baked and I will enjoy every minute of watching my loved ones open their gifts because I tried to pick something with their heart and soul in mind.  I will remember the true meaning of Christmas when Nat King Cole sings "Away in a Manger" and will likely shed a few tears for being self-centered and forgetful that Christmas is not about me.


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Informal Before & After Shots

Unfortunately, I never really did an official "before" picture and the "after" picture is in progress, but I thought I would put together a bit of a photographic timeline of my rise and fall (thank you Facebook)....

June 2002
I actually gained about 5 pounds from the proposal to the wedding date.

June 2007
Beach wedding for my best friend and my weight was starting to rise more than I liked.

April 2010
My husband and I at a rehearsal dinner.  
I was dreading getting into the dress the next day.

August 2010
Cruise to the Bahamas...Terrified to be seen in a bathing suit.

October 2010
My all time high of 246 lbs.
This photo was taken right around the time I started going to Slim4Life.

December 2010
Starting to see some progress from Slim4Life.
I actually felt pretty good about my weight loss during this time 
(and yes, that is my fabulous sister next to me! :)

 June 2011
Several months of Weight Watchers and Power90 paid off.

 October 2012
P90x done! 
(and just in time for Maggie's wedding...whew!)

Can't wait to see what comes next!

Fitness Challenge Week 1

I attempted to write about this last weekend, but the blogger app on my phone ate my post so this will be my attempt to recreate what I'm sure was a witty and award winning post about my week 1 experience...ahem :)

****

When I initially signed up for the 21 day fitness challenge, I'll admit, I was fairly confident that my P90x experience would help me sail through those 30 minutes looking like a champ.  Sweaty yes, but able to master all the moves with ease.  Not so much.  In fact, not even close.  After the first session on Tuesday night with my glutes on fire, abs screaming obscenities and shoulders promising to not let me sleep well for a week, I felt pretty sheepish about my initial cocky attitude.  The reason there are famous biblical quotes such as "pride goeth before a fall" and "oh how the mighty have fallen" is that they are so painfully true.  I didn't rock that workout at all.  I was lucky that I finished without a full collapse.

Thursday night I arrived at the gym only to be reminded that I would be back in this same spot in about 10 hours for the next round of pain.  I should have just brought a cot.  I barely made it through both workouts and finished out the week feeling sore, tired and thankful for a few days before round 2 started.

Week 1 taught me a few valuable lessons:
1.  Prior workout regimens do not immediately transfer their value and experience to the next.  While I'm sure I made it farther than I would have before starting P90x, 30 minutes of intense circuit training with a trainer who isn't going to let you slack is not the same as a 60-70 minute video in your living room where no one is watching.

2.  Burpees are wretched.  I had never done one and now I know why.

3.  Sometimes you seek out a new challenge and it hits you like an ice cold glass of water in the face.  You are awakened, but damn, that was a heck of a way to do it.

4.  I'm trying to decide if TRX suspended push-ups, mountain climbers or burpees are the worst ever.  Its a close tie.

Round 2 starts tonight.  I promise to be more humble and less internally whiny.  Ok, maybe just more humble.  Baby steps.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Lions and tigers and zombies, oh my!


Last night, I had an intensively realistic "Walking Dead" dream.  My husband and I are big fans of the AMC show, but we haven't watched it in a few weeks (trying to queue up a few episodes).  I remember I was thinking about the show last night and inevitably, was transported into an dreamworld nightmarish episode.  Fortunately, I was smack in the middle of Shane and Darryl which is where you want to be should said zombie apocalypse ever occur.  After a few hours, most of the details have faded, but in my dream, I distinctly remember that I was without any essential gear to defend myself.  My only weapon was a puny Phillips screwdriver...which if you watch the show you'll know it has saved more than one person, but it would not be my go-to piece of gear if I should I ever find myself in that situation.  Coincidentally, I did successfully take out a flesh-crazed zombie with my silly little screwdriver, but that isn't the point of this story.

Beyond the basics of food, water and antibiotics, I decided to make my own list of essential zombie fighting gear.  I'm certainly missing things that other would find to be important, but this is my blog so I get to make my own lists!  (Gee Whiz! Apparently that tangle with the zombie made me a wee bit crabby today)   If you are new to my blog or don't know me very well, I definitely have a strong geek streak so bear with this episode.  I'm sure we will return to your regularly unscheduled fitness/health motivation in a day or two.

In no particular order, here is Amanda's go-to zombie fighting kit:
Excalibur Axiom SMF Crossbow
At about 5.8 lbs, this is lighter than the average crossbow so it can be carried without too much back strain.  I bought one of these for my hubby for his birthday (potentially, this was a mildly selfish purchase since I wanted access to shoot it too... shhh don't tell him) and it is certified awesome!  This crossbow is capable of producing arrow speeds in excess of 305 feet per second!  It comes complete with a scope, cocking aid (because its a recurve, not a compound), 4 arrow quiver plus 4 Firebolt arrows complete with field points.  Using the cocking aid, I can pull this sucker back in about 5 seconds.  Definitely not what you want in hand to hand combat, but you can pick a few off as they head your direction.

Handgun with a silencer
Really its your choice of caliber here, but the silencer is the important part.  As we all know, zombies are attracted to sounds so quiet is key when you are picking off the loners.

Japanese Katana Sword
Outside of just looking extremely cool, a very sharp katana can cleanly remove a zombie head on the go.  You still have to do your due diligence and make sure the brain is taken out, but it gets the head out of biting proximity.

Ka-Bar Fighting Knife
At 11-3/4 inches total length, this is best for hand to hand combat should you get into a tight space. You can definitely take out the zombie without fear of breaking the blade.  Heck if the US Marines use these for fighting fully alive attackers, they should certainly work for the undead.

Sperian Protection S8500 Bionic Face Shield
Just my personal preference, but it seems that the cast of the "Walking Dead" are always covered in some unmentionable substance during and after a fight.  While I don't want something that's going to get in the way, this just seems like a good idea.  I do see some problems with the concept, but really, who wants zombie goo up your nose, right?

Kevlar Pants, Sleeves, Vest, etc
If it stops most bullets and knives, presumably it stops zombie teeth.  This seems like a no-brainer.(ha, I didn't intend that pun, but it made me laugh when I went back and read this)

This seems like a good starting point and potentially all that I could carry for long distances over rough terrain in a good pair of hiking boots.  Lastly, because I found this to be particularly amusing, here is Emmy Kinney's tips for maintaining a beauty regimen while running from the undead... Enjoy!





Sunday, December 2, 2012

Weakness

"When mental energy is allowed to follow the line of least resistance and to fall into easy channels, it is called weakness" - James Allen

I went back and forth on the title for this post.  It was a tight race between "weakness" and "interruptions".  I experienced both this weekend and honestly, didn't handle either the way I should have.  On Thursday night we took off for a long weekend of camping and flashing, twinkling Christmas cheese in the form of Silver Dollar City.  We wanted to get on the road early on Thursday, but work ran long and daylight disappeared.  We packed the motor home in haste and headed out, promptly forgetting the new car tag I had just picked up at the DMV.  This was irritating, but I figured any police officer could run the VIN number and see that it was registered.  After about an hour on the road, my husband mentioned some problems he was noticing with the motor home as we were driving so we decided to leave it running while I ran into a fast food restaurant for our dinner.  My frustration over frantic packing, potential vehicle problems and forgetting the license plate tag resulted in a order of french fries and a large bag of Starburst.  An hour and half later, we were broken down on the side of the road just outside of Springfield, MO.  It was getting late and tensions were running high.  My nervous energy about our situation resulted into a pile of Starburst wrappers and headache from the sugar rush.  After an hour or two of tinkering and troubleshooting, we were finally able to limp to Springfield and check into a hotel well after midnight.

The next day required decisions and action plans for what to do about our transmission problems, temporary storage for the motor home and its contents, new accommodations in Branson so that we could actually attempt to enjoy the weekend with my parents, etc.  No need to go into the details of the rest of the weekend, but I can say that it seemed to be one hurdle after another.  Insane traffic, stores missing the single item you need, broken bed frames, etc.  One interruption after another.  My finely honed patience was dwindling and all those old destructive eating habits settled back into place.  Candy, large portions, soda... my weakness knew no bounds.  Even as I sit here typing, my stomach reminds me of the dark chocolate covered cranberries I consumed earlier with reckless abandon.  I feel that old familiar stomach ache and intense, painful regret for giving into my weakness...again.  So this is me, fessing up.  My name is Amanda and I will always battle emotional eating.

My point in divulging all of this is two-fold.  1.  To serve as a reminder to myself how empty emotional eating truly is.  Candy and junk food never cures the pain.  The fear of the scale and the amount of sit-ups necessary to undo the damage isn't worth the best flavor of Starburst (which is Cherry, by the way).  2.  To help me move past the interruptions and weakness toward a healthy balance once again.  Consistency and routine will restore my faith in the process.  I'll pull those Wonder Woman boots back on and let my Bracelets of Victory deflect stress, frustration and stray bullets.  ;)

"The greatest weakness of all is the great fear of appearing weak."
Jacques Benigne Bossuel