Holiday Season and this whole My Fitness thing really SUCK!!!

 Yeah, the title sort of says everything!

It's lovely Fall Weather here and there are pumpkins and bright orange all around you see. There is Apple Cider smells on the streets and Delicious treats at every table you see. There are pot lunches and deliciousness all over.

And its only October, the best is yet to come, we have Thanksgiving & XMAS just around the corner.

AND I complain.

Simple Reason: I want to stick to my next target: Follow MyFitness Pal through my big vacation in December.

And this means all this deliciousness around me makes me cranky. I see the warm hot cider and I calculate calories mentally. I see this candy which I can steal from the kids and mentally I check the fat content. In pot lunches, I see all this food and mentally dream of the butter that was put in these delicious smells.

URGH!

This Sucks. Of course I eat, but in moderation (That's the whole point behind the My Fitness Pal).

Instead of the full chocolate, I manage surviving on 1/2 of the size. It satisfies the tongue but not the greed.

And Yes, of course I could eat it and not write it down, but hey I am doing this for myself so if I cheat, it really does not help.

I know its good for me to do this and I have made some progress. But I can complain and am complaining and will complain. I better fit into my target dress by December!!!

And yes, Happy Haloween

Foodie turning into Select Foodie

With the whole: 'My Fitness Pal' eating habits are now changing a bit(Finally!). I must commend myself for achieving my last week'sgoal: 'To meet the prescribed calorie intake at least twice a week'

I am happy to report, that I met it 5 days and was even under for one day (only 45 calories under: But hey, every bit of it counts, or I hope it counts)

I continue to have my one cheat day, its generally on the weekend!! I tell myself, it makes me sustain the ' My Fitness Pal'

My friend who nudged me on for this app still nudges me on says: 'It's about making better choices'.

Since I 'document' every morsel of food in my tummy, I better be smart about it. Case in point: At a Birthday party, I skipped on the chips and salsa and chose another vegetable sandwich. No Empty Calories is what I told myself!

The Mini Milano Dark Chocolate cookies are helping me keep me chocolate craving in check. Yay! I am trying to practice moderation. I say 'trying' since it’s really hard to stop at one Mini Milano.  The menu and the content of the dinner plate are changing ever so slightly! Hence the term 'Select Foodie'. It should be Foodie in moderation but then it sound boring!

This slight change has made a slight change in weight going in the right direction! Slight but hey, every victory counts!

I have a new person joining in my attempt to use this app and improve eating habits. Sumit, he joined the bandwagon and it's been fun to have someone to complain with and to. Someone who gets it.

Honestly, however: having him join in, is good and bad. He has a tendency of really truly following through (Yeah Yeah, I know that is so awesome).

So the Bad: 

1. On Day 3, he stopped by picked up Tofu & edamame and made his own dinner so that the protein content is high! Me on the other hand was eating Kale Paratha with vegetables due to my 'carb overload' issues.

2. He has lost the same number of pounds as me now (I took three weeks to get here and him only 1 week) URGH!!!

3. He manages to go for a run/ a tennis game here and there and me, well I am still lazy about that! URGH!!

And the Good:

1. It’s amazing to have him make Tofu for me before dinner so I can 'snack right'

2. He will happily take my bowl of 'snack' away and pass me edamame!

3. Our dinner conversations are now more like: 'I better eat more tofu and get my protein up instead of pass me another bowl of namkeen'

4. Plus I think it’s really cool to discuss 'Protein-ifying everything' with someone else other than google.

So yeah, the good outweighs the bad!

When I started this, I wanted to follow this through until my vacation in October. With the vacation almost here, I am so happy thinking I did it. I am hoping I can continue at least 'logging the food' for the duration of the trip!

Next Step: Follow through till my big vacation in December.

Remember: It is one step at a time!!

Story of brown bagged lunches

Home cooked homes will always be healthier, less expensive and more convenient. I know that. I have known that all along my career. But I dislike packing food from home and bringing it to work. Trust me, laziness is not a reason. I am used to packing lunches for the family.
For myself, I like to eat out mainly because someone else has cooked and delivered it. I just go, pick it up and enjoy! The other reason is, I like to step away from my desk and get a break or process work stress or just not think of work for a bit.

But in my attempt to use 'myFitness Pal' to its full extent, packing home cooked meals is more calorie efficient for sure. And the stepping away from my desk has become a post lunch brisk walk around the block to refresh and de-stress.

So I am trying to pack my lunch from home, at least 2-3 times a week now as against none before.

My brown bagged lunch recently was: Tofu-Vegetable noodles (From the night before) and Soup. I made more than enough to ensure lunch is packed for both the adults of the house.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
Wide rice noodles: 1 pack

Vegetables:
1. Onion: 1/4th cup slices
2. Carrots: 2 cups: Julienne
3. Green Beans: 1 cup: Finely chopped
4. Cabbage: 1 cup: Finely slices
5. Kale: 1 cup: Finely chopped
6. Tomato: 1 cup quartered
7. Bean Sprouts: 2 cups
8. Tofu: Firm, sliced: 2 cups
9: Pepper: 1/4 cup: Thinly sliced

Spices:
1. Salt per taste
2. Red Chili Powder: per taste
3. Soy Sauce: 2 tsp
4. Vinegar: 1 tsp
5. Soy Sesame Sauce: 3 tsp (I used Iron Chef pre made sauce)

Garnish
1. Wedge of lemon
2: Shallots: 1/4 cup sliced
3. Crushed Peanuts: 1/4 cup

Process
1. Boil the noodles al dente as per package instructions and let it cool
2. In a wok, heat 2-3 tsp of olive oil.
3. When hot, add the onions, once translucent, add all vegetables except Kale & Bean Sprouts
4. Cover the wok on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, once the vegetables are tender; add all the spices, kale and tofu
5. Cover the wok on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, add bean sprouts and adjust seasoning.
6. Add the cooked noodles and toss. The wok makes it easier to mix the noodles with the vegetables.
7. When ready to eat, complete the garnishing and enjoy.

I added SriRacha sauce to increase the spice level and skipped on crushed peanuts.

Here is a picture of my 'Lunch' at work

The good thing about this recipe is, its very basic. I basically took all vegetables at home and chopped/ sliced them. Secondly, from start to finish it is about 30-45 minutes and is a hit with the kids and adults alike. I have the soy sesame sauce at home so its easy for me, honestly any of the pre-made sauces work, you can also make a tomato gravy for this. I just cut corners. On a lazy Sunday, we enjoyed watching our Hindi Movie: 'Chak De' with the kids and pigged out on the noodles.

The bean sprouts added at the end make it a bit crunchy which I like!

Cook & Enjoy