Thursday, January 7, 2010

Better eating, better attitude!


Day 1 of healthy eating started today.

Not only does it feel great, but it tasted great! (more on this later...JT spoils me with AWESOME food!)

I'd like to discuss a few important issues. First of all, I am slightly irritated by our gym selections in the area because none do complete body testing work-ups. I went to premier fitness today and they did a scale body fat test and the calipers and the readings were so different I don't know where to begin!

The scale, which is supposed to measure body fat and water etc, said I was 37 percent body fat and weighed 177 lbs. I believe the 177 is accurate (because my scale says that too :( ...) but the calipers, which are supposed to be more accurate, said I was 27 percent body fat. Now, the trainer who did the testing said I was more than likely somewhere in the middle so who knows. I decided to check out how much calipers cost online and found a digital set with good reviews for 14 dollars. Those should be here in a few days and I'll re-evaluate those numbers then. Either way however, I have a lot of work ahead of me! I am still trying to find a gym to give me a full work-up similar to the one I got while I was in the Navy at a base gym - it was amazing and I am sad I can't get it now!

Secondly, I have a serious issue with the amount of information provided to school-aged children about nutrition. I am going to do some more research about this topic and write about it more in-depth in a future blog, but i wanted to bring it up to hear anyone's opinion about it! :)

Ok - so food today

Breakfast - Snickers marathon bar (love those!) and coffee
lunch- salad with romaine lettuce, a chicken breast, feta cheese, cranberries, almond shavings and balsamic vinegar and lite ranch (mixed together) for dressing
snack- orange and half an ounce of almonds, babybell cheese
dinner- (and this was amazing....) Pork Chops stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach! SOOO GOOD! Broccoli and potatoes
snack- snickers marathon bar and an apple

Overall, I am really happy with that, although i will try to eat more for breakfast tomorrow and I will also try to do better on drinking water - I only had about 40 oz. today :(

here is the recipe for the dinner -

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
  • 1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese
  • 1/3 cup fat-free cream cheese
  • 4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 lemon, zested
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions

Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set aside.

Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.

Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce over the pork before serving.

tomorrow I am going to start my work-out routine too! I am so excited! Thanks for the support guys! I will post my short-term and long-term goals tomorrow! <3>


3 comments:

  1. looks great! I thought I posted a comment on here the other day but i guess it didn't go through. I will have to try that recipe using chicken instead of pork sometime! ; )

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  2. We bought a scale at the Walmart I think that gives your body fat and also the percentage of water you have in your body, as well as your weight of course, and Chris swears by it. It was less than $40.

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  3. Melanie do you know what the name/brand of that scale is? We're in the market.

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