Ok, actually, I'm behind. However, it's for a reason!
If you recall my last blog (or if you're a first time viewer, go back and catch up real quick. I'll wait. . . )
Ready slow poke?
If you recall my last blog, I said I would be reviewing a few diet books. So I did that. I started with:
"Cook Yourself Thin"
This is primarily a cook book, so I wanted to wait until I tried a recipe or two before posting.
So this "cook book" starts by asking what your food lifestyle currently is, and then it makes you take a quiz.
Too bad I didn't study
I scored "You're a comfort food craver"
Umm, totally ok with being guilty of that.
Then it tells you the "Main Offender" things that sneakily fill you up with empty calories:
Ninja calories
While most of the "Main Offenders" are things you might not know (like yogurt, and granola bars), at the top of the list is alcohol.
Say it with me now.
Any dieter worth their salt knows that booze has a ton of calories. That's why they don't put the Nutrition Info on the bottle.
Serving size: As many as it takes to get SMASHED!
Now I know some college kids who "party hard" as they call it, and don't count booze calories because they just throw them up again. Buuuuuuuut, I don't play like that.
I prefer to party softly
And before they get into any cooking, it provides a basic list of foods and tools that you should use to stock your kitchen.
Fork isn't on here AT ALL!
Once you get through all that, you can get on to the whole point of the book.
In summary, the book is call "Cook Yourself Thin" to go along the idea that if you want to be thin, you have to make it a lifestyle, therefore you should get used to cooking healthier foods.
Well joke's on them! I don't cook anything, so EVERYTHING I COOK IS A HEALTHIER FOOD!
Win
Ok, so needless to say, I had to go out of my element a bit.
Don't get me wrong. I've made things before. Ramen. Noodles. Eggs. Ramen. Chicken. Ramen. You know, a variety.
Or at least a variety of salt colors
But this cook book meant business. I had to simmer things, find out what florets were, and cook things using a setting lower than "High"
Despite the stakes at hand:
573 more days
I couldn't get this image out of my head:
It is a little intimidating
BUT I am super brave, and a little fool hardy (that's a fancy way of saying "I am prone to doing dumb things for the sake of being brave"), so I took the plunge, and went grocery shopping for ingredients.
These are real-life pictures of my fridge after shopping
As I said, I've never REALLY cooked, so I had to stock all my spices and stuff, and because I am poor, I went to Aldi, and they didn't have them all. But whatever.
I didn't get any of these...
BUT! I did make some really delicious food! I was proud. And, every recipe comes with a calorie count, so you have some sort of idea of how much you're eating.
So you remember way back when I started this blog and I said: ". . . I will include recipes from time to time. . ." (Copy and pasted from first post)? Well here you are.
Here's what I made. I'll include what is actually in it, but because I don't want to be sued by the people who made the book, I won't include the whole cooking process. If you want to get the whole recipe, contact me via facebook, twitter, or leave a comment!
I started with something easy: Raspberry, Orange, and Banana Smoothie: 205 calories
It's pretty self explanatory what's in it, so I won't go into it. One thing: the Orange part is just orange juice. After making one, I didn't have enough raspberries, so I just started putting whatever I felt like in it.
Now for the vanilla extract! BWAHAHAHA!
This one is a Chubby Cake's adaption:
Strawberry-Banana, Raspberry, Orange Smoothie: 300 calories
Please ignore my dirty kitchen
Since it's my own concoction, I WILL tell you how it's made.
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 cup fresh, sliced strawberries
1 whole banana
1 cup OJ (from concentrate)
Blend for 30 seconds, or until smooth
Then, because I had a bunch of Blueberries, I made:
The Strawberry-Banana, Blueberry, Orange Smoothie: 305 calories
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1 whole banana
1 cup OJ
Blend for blah blah blah.
For REAL food I made something called: South Western Turkey Burgers: 342 calories
Complete with looming shadow
Ingredients:
1 1/3 lbs Lean ground turkey
4 oz can diced green chiles, drained
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 spritzes canola oil in a mister
3 oz 50%-reduced-fat pepper-jack cheese (yum!) cut into 8 thin slices
4 whole wheat kaiser rolls
Romaine lettuce leaves
Tomato, sliced
Red onion, sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
Except I didn't have the lettuce, tomato, or red onion... maybe I need a few more healthy things...
Last but not least, I made:
Penne alla "Not-Ka": 371 calories
I have nothing snarky to say about this one: it was just good
Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil, plus extra for serving
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3/4 tsp salt
14 oz can diced tomatoes, pureed in a food processor
Pinch red pepper flakes
8 oz penne
1/4 cup whipping cream
6 tbls evaporated nonfat milk
1/3 cup grated parm cheese
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
Whew! I think that makes up for missing Tuesday, don't you? Next I want to read:
Drop 5 lbs: the small changes, BIG results diet
Idk if I'll have it read for next Tuesday, but I will write about something else then.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment, and keep your eyes open on Facebook, because I plan to have a Living Chubby page up in the very near future!
