~~Daily Menu~~ Thursday November 26, 2009

Happy Turkey Day!

Today I am very happy with my choices I made!  Although I'm not sure about the calorie count on all of my dishes, I did take the time to measure out my portions. I have to say that I was completely satisfied and full!  Normally I would go back for seconds but I was satisfied and didn't need to! :)

Here are some photos of my Thanksgiving Dinner:

This is a pic of the Turkey before it went into the oven.

I used a Rachel Ray Recipe for my Turkey.

First, I made a paste in the food processor of:

 Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley

Fresh Sage

Lemon Zest

1 1/2 small Shallots

2-3 cloves fresh Garlic

4 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper

I then took the paste and rubbed it between the skin and meat of the Turkey breast, and then all over the outside with the leftover paste.

I then took 4 tbs of butter melted with 2 dried Bay leaves in it for flavor.

I took the melted butter and basted the outside of the Turkey and sprinkled with Salt and Pepper.

 

Another before shot.

I added some Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the bottom of roasting pan along with some Chicken Broth.

I also added some dried Bay leaves, Fresh Sage, Thyme and Rosemary.

I stuffed the Turkey Breast with 1 Lemon cut in half and some Thyme and Rosemary sprigs.

Here are the Finished Turkey Pictures:

 

 

Here are some pictures of the Turkey Fixins:

 

 Homemade Gravy

(Made with turkey drippings and a little bit of flour, cornstarch and chicken broth added)

Homemade Cornbread Dressing

 

  Homemade Collard Greens,
(Cooked with a Smoked Turkey Wing)

 

 Homemade Mashed Sweet Potatoes

(About 3 medium sized Sweet Potatoes, boiled and then mashed with Light Orange Juice, 2 Tbs Light Butter in the tub, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Salt and a tiny bit of Splenda)

Dinner Table

 

This is my dinner plate:

4 oz Turkey Breast

1/2 cup Jellied Cranberry Sauce

1/2 cup Homemade Cornbread Dressing

1/2 cup Collard Greens cooked with a Smoked Turkey Wing

1/4 cup Mashed Sweet Potatoes (I don't really care for sweet potatoes, I made this for my husband!)

About 1/4 cup Homemade Gravy

This was absolutely delicious!!  The gravy and turkey came out perfectly. The turkey was very moist and flavorful.  I will be making my turkey like this for a long time to come.

For beverage we had homemade Tetley Iced Tea with Sweet N Low and Equal.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! November 26, 2009

It's Turkey Day!!

Today is the day to be thankful, so today I am very thankful for having a wonderful family who loves and cares about me.  I have an amazing husband who treats me like a Queen!!  I also have a wonderful Mom and Dad who love me and always make me laugh, I love them very much.  They are the best parents anyone could ever wish for.  My grandparents are wonderful as well.  They are always there to listen and give there advice.  And last but not least, I have the most amazing fur babies ever!!  They are the cutest and most loving kitty cats in the whole world!!

So, today it's just my husband and me this year.   And of course our wonderful fur babies.  I tried to keep it simple and somewhat healthy this year.  I made a small turkey breast with an herb and olive oil paste.  For side dishes, I made mashed sweet potatoes, cornbread dressing and collard greens with onions and a smoked turkey wing for flavor.  We will also have some cranberry sauce...of course!  That's a must for my hubby!!  I also cut way back on the amount of butter and oil I would normally have used.  I am more than pleased so far with the results.  I will post some pics later of the final spread!

Happy Turkey Day!
 

~~Daily Menu~~ Wednesday November 25, 2009

Great first day back on track!!

The only thing with today is I know I didn't eat as much as I should have.  I wasn't feeling too well.  Lately my stomach hasn't been feeling right and I wanted to take it easy today.  I also need to work on my water intake.  But all in all I am already feeling much better being back on track.  Now I  need to get back to going to the gym and getting some exercise.

Here goes the menu of today:

Breakfast

Yoplait Light Strawberry Shortcake Yogurt (Yummy!)

Lunch 

 Turkey Sandwich

(This is sooo yummy!!)

Orowheat Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins

Sara Lee Lower Sodium Deli Turkey

1 Slice 2% Kraft Sharp Cheddar Cheese Slice

1 Tbs Kraft Fat Free Zesty Italian Dressing

I had planned on having some honey mustard pretzel twists with this but I really wasn't that hungry.

 

 

Dinner 

Baked Turkey Tenderloin Mignon-Wrapped in Applewood Smoked Bacon

This was very delicious!  It was only 170 calories and 4g fat!

Again I wasn't that hungry.  I did a little prep work for Turkey Day tomorrow

and knew that I should at least eat something.  So I had one of these. Very good and filling for me!

So I must say that I am very impressed with my day!  No exercise, but I will work on that in the coming days!

~~Weigh-In Wednesday~~November 25, 2009

Today is Weigh-In Wednesday!

My weight for today was 289.8 lbs!

I started my journey on January 1, 2009 weighing at 308.0 lbs.
My first goal is to hit 230.0 lbs by my 30th Birthday in April!
My dream goal is 150.0 lbs.(I always liked that number for some reason!)
My ultimate goal would probably be around 125 lbs.
Total weight loss this year so far is 18.2 lbs.

Not at all where I thought I would be at this point in time! I have been struggling the past few months with my eating and my exercise!! I've been trying to get back on track. So, I decided the other day that enough is enough! I need to get back on my journey to a healthier "ME"!! So lets do this!!

My Goal and Intention

This is my personal journey.  My journey to become the healthiest "ME" I can be!!  And while change is not always easy, I know that with a little willpower and a whole lot of determination, I CAN DO THIS!

Life is about the choices we make and I choose to be healthy!