Dieting: Taco Replacements, Canadian Bacon Teases, and My Hobbit Boyfriend...

January is over!

2011 is 1/12 over!

The first month of my diet is over!

I’ve lost six pounds and while I was shooting for ten, I’m happy. As my extremely thin, extremely athletic boss told me, “You didn’t gain the weight in a day and you won’t lose it day.” Thanks size 2 marathon running boss…

People have been telling me at work that I look thinner, but I’m not sure I believe them. I’m not saying I work with a bunch of liars, but they all know how hard I’ve been working and how I’ve said no to every Tiffs Treats cookie and yummy cupcake that has made it through our doors, so I think they are more just being nice and encouraging. I would say that my clothes have been fitting better, but I really need to take my work pants to the dry cleaner so they may feel a little big because they’ve stretched out and need to be washed, and on the weekend… well it’s winter so I live in my jeggings (because I’m just that awesome) and workout pants. It’s hard to tell if your pants are fitting better when they consist of so much stretch.

What’s great is I’ve been eating healthy for long enough where I’m not craving sugar all day everyday like I was at the beginning of this diet. Here’s what I have been eating…

Breakfast. I have never been a breakfast person unless that meal consisted of potatoes, eggs, and cheese all rolled up into a tortilla. I know you guys have read time and time again about my love for breakfast tacos, but besides those ingredients rolled up with in flat Heaven bread with salsa on the side, I don’t do breakfast. South Beach says you should eat a big breakfast made up of veggies and protein. I’m not a big meat at breakfast kinda gal, minus bacon and SB doesn’t let you eat normal bacon it has to be Canadian bacon and damn Canadians totally kill my bacon hard on by making it just ham.

For a while I tried eating eggs. I’m not a big egg lover. Really for one reason only and that is I don’t like the egg yolk. (Yes, family, I know I’m weird.) I do like scrambled eggs and omelets, but I cannot make an omelet to save my life. I’ve tried so many times to make omelets for breakfast befor work and each time I end up picking out the savable veggies and throwing the whole egg part away. I just can’t do it. Then, I decided to make eggs easier for me and just have a bowl of boiled eggs in the fridge and grab two on my way out the door in the morning. I still don’t eat the yolk, but the white part is good for you too and I can easily separate it from the icky yellow. This worked for all of a day. For one day I got two boiled eggs for breakfast with my veggies. The next morning I opened the fridge, reached into my blue bowl of eggs, and found… nothing. Yeah, Boyfriend had eaten ten hard boiled eggs in one afternoon/evening.

That brings up a whole other issue of being on a diet. What to feed Boyfriend? I have been cooking like crazy while I’ve been dieting which is awesome for me, but not so great for him. Don’t get me wrong, he loves that I’m cooking. He’s even been wonderful with helping clean the kitchen. But, the poor kid is starving! I mean, he’s got not fat on him whatsoever, has a metabolism like a horse, and burns 1000s of calories everyday. The poor guy needs some F-ing potatoes!!! But, I can’t eat potatoes, or bread, or giant steaks in butter sauce, or pans full of enchiladas! So, we’ve gotten into the habit of picking up “second dinner” for him at our local grocery store which has a large selection of already made yummy food. He’s become a Hobbit. We eat the dinner I’ve prepared while a big hunk of lasagna warms in the oven. He then goes and enjoys round two while I curl up in a ball afraid to get too close to the carbs.

A few things have really helped me get through this month…

1. Laughing Cow Cheese.
I’m convinced Jesus himself is helping me lose this weight by supplying me with these little wedges of goodness. My favorite is the Light Queso Fresco and Chipotle flavor, but really I’m not picky and will eat which ever I have in my fridge or my grocery store carries. (Although I found the mother load at the HEB on Far West the other day… yeah all SEVEN flavors!!!) I put them on any vegetable I have at the house for breakfast or an afternoon snack. It’s best on celery and green peppers.

2. Kalyn’s Kitchen. I know I’ve already written about how awesome this blog is, but really I don’t know if I would have made it this far without her and her recipes. I’d say 95% of the meals I’ve made all month have come from her, and I’ve liked everything she has taught me to make. (I will note here that I always add and tiny bit more seasoning than she writes in her recipes, but I’m from Texas so I want everything bold and spicy.) Oh, and the girl is obsessed with cilantro! How could a website written by a fellow cilantro addict be bad? Here is the new recipe I can’t wait to try for breakfast this weekend, Mexican Baked Eggs with Black Beans, Tomatoes, Green Chiles, and Cilantro. I’m still looking for that perfect taco substitute and this one looks pretty yummy.

3. Frozen Chocolate Covered Bananas. OMG!!! Why haven’t I been eating these my whole life. They are super delicious and super easy to make. Lesson learned from the first time I made these, use mini bananas. I like the mini bananas because I’m not a huge banana person and the mini is the perfect size for me. They taste slightly sweeter than normal bananas and are by no means carb free, but I got through the first two carb free weeks of South Beach and the first thing I wanted was fruit and chocolate, so this recipe was perfect.

All you do is peal your mini bananas and roll them in melted dark chocolate (better for you than milk chocolate) then roll them in nuts. I used almonds I bought in bulk and then crushed but you can use whatever nut you want as long as they aren't seasoned or salted. I was told to push a Popsicle stick through one end as a holding devise, but I couldn’t find any so I used chopsticks. Put them on a cookie sheet that’s been covered in parchment paper and freeze for at least three hours before eating. So yummy!!
(You can see here, I used some mini bananas and some regular bananas cut in halves. The minis were much better.)