So, reading through my latest Fitness Magazine (pause here while I beam with pride that I now SUBSCRIBE to Fitness Magazine!), I stumbled across an "Eat Up, Slim Down" 7-day menu plan. Now, although I've lost (and gained!) A LOT of weight over my adult years, I don't normally follow anyone else's eating plan. I'm a bit of a foodie and enjoy the process of tweaking recipes to fit my nutritional specs. Deferring to someone else's ideas of A) what I'll like and B) what I'll enjoy making is just something that's never appealed to me. I can always find several reasons why a particular pre-planned menu wouldn't work: too many ingredients I wouldn't use again...not enough calories to sustain me through the day...too many calories...too much effort...and on and on.
Then, in Fitness Magazine the other night, I saw "Eat Up, Slim Down!" Choose from the meals and snacks on these pages for a total of 1,500 calories a day. Combine the diet with our workout on p. 108 and you'll shed 10 lbs in one month!" In a moment of optimistic trust, I thought, "Hey! That just might be the change I need to move the number on the scale."
I'm very happy with my exercise routine, so the workout on p. 108 really didn't interest me. I am the proud owner of arms that are starting to rival our First Lady's (I LOVE "Obama Arms!"), and running has become a passion. So, I decided that for one week, I would follow this food plan while continuing with my normal running/circuit training routine, and see what happens.
Yes, there were things on the menu that I wouldn't normally eat, but I decided to trust...maybe my tastes have changed since I decided as a child that I HATE raw spinach - almost as much as I LOVE cooked spinach! Even if I still have to choke it down, it's one salad. At age 43, I've survived worse. But, there are strawberries on that particular salad, and I really don't like the mix of sweet and savory flavors. Okay, I'll be honest. I'm kind of dreading the Spinach Salad with Chicken, Walnuts and Strawberries. But, it's one meal. I've got a kid. I've survived worst.
Here we go!
I spent a good hour yesterday plugging all of the meals into Weight Watcher's magic calculator. I was basically curious to see how this menu, complete with real bread, actual eggs and yogurt that was only low fat (not fat free) would shake out in the Weight Watchers world of Points Plus values (ppv). Except for one day which was only over by 2 ppv, each day was under my daily Points Plus target by anywhere from 1 to 5 ppv. That means there will also be room for at least one snack per day from the menu plan. There are 6 snack choices ranging from 1 to 4 Points Plus values. I also plan to supplement the menu with up to 5 servings of fresh fruit per day (allowable and "free" on the Weight Watchers plan), depending on my hunger level. If an item on the plan includes fruit, I will count that against my daily 5.
The Points Plus values of the meals are significantly higher than I would normally eat. In theory, that will decrease the need for snacks and fruit-grazing. I am very eager to see if that actually happens.
Today is Day 1 of the menu and I managed to enlist my DH to participate as well. He's lost 73 lbs in the last year or so and is also willing to try new things to continue seeing lower numbers on the scale.
Breakfast
Banana Nut Protein Pancakes (5ppv): In a food processor, combine 1 banana, 1/4 c rolled oats, 2 T low fat cottage cheese (I used f/f because it's what I had), 2 egg whites and 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract. Process until smooth. Stir in 2 tsp. chopped walnuts. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with nonstick spray. Pour batter into skillet to make two 4" pancakes; cook 3 minutes on each side. Drizzle with 2 tsp. maple syrup.
Well, a funny thing happened. I tripled the recipe for DH, Squiddy and me and ended up with twelve 4" pancakes, so we each got four pancakes. And yes, I double-checked my math when tripling each ingredient.
While these were certainly not IHOP-worthy pancakes, they were okay. Their texture was very different from regular pancakes, but that might be the use of oats, cottage cheese and egg whites! Uh, yeah. They were more dense than regular pancakes, but the egg whites gave them an unusual lightness in the center. And I must say, it felt incredibly indulgent to use real maple syrup rather than 1/8 c "lite" syrup, which is what I would normally use. And because of the flavor intensity, 2 tsp. was plenty.
Best of all, because these pancakes have lots of protein and fiber, we weren't hungry until lunch. I ran an easy 3.2 miles after breakfast and didn't even need my usual post-run apple.
Would I make them again? Um, probably not as my regular go-to pancake, but if I were jonesing for banana pancakes and needed a protein boost, yeah.
Thai Shrimp Po'Boy (10ppv): Coat 2 oz. cooked shrimp, tails removed and sliced lengthwise, with 2 tsp. prepared Thai chili-garlic sauce. Slice a whole grain hero (hoagie!) roll lengthwise and fill with shrimp, 3 T chopped avocado, 1/4 sliced cucumber and 1/4 c shredded carrots. Top with 2 T chopped cilantro and 1 T fresh lime juice.
I discovered at the last minute that I was out of Thai chili-garlic sauce, so I improvised by mixing together appropriate (tiny) amounts of cocktail sauce, oyster sauce and some vidalia onion hot sauce. I also sort of mashed the avocado to spread on the hoagie roll. But the best part was the...hoagie roll! I got a whole wheat baguette from Harris Teeter and cut it in half to make one Po'Boy each for DH and me. Squiddy went another way for this meal.
The Po'Boy was good, but the real, chewy, dense roll it was on was the star of the sandwich. Do I sound like someone who has missed real bread? That's because I have. Left to my own devices, I would not normally use 10 ppv for just a regular, every day lunch. But I will say, the Po'Boy and 1 c grapes I ate with it left me surprisingly satisfied.
Snapper with Black Bean and Mango Couscous (11 ppv): Heat a 10" skillet over medium heat. Coat with 2 tsp. olive oil. Saute one 4 oz. snapper fillet 8 minutes. Steam 1 1/2 c sugar snap peas 5 minutes. Season fish and snap peas with S&P. In a pot, bring 1/2 c water to a boil and add 1/2 c whole wheat couscous. Turn off heat and cover. Let sit 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and stir in 1/4 c canned black beans, rinsed and drained; 1/4 mango, cubed; and 2 T cilantro. Serve with snapper and snap peas.
Harris Teeter didn't have any snapper when I went yesterday, so I got mahi mahi instead. Personally, I would have preferred salmon, by far my favorite fish. But this is all about (or, a lot about) stepping out of my food comfort zone and shaking things up. I had made Trader Joe's mahi mahi burgers on the grill last week, and all three of us liked them, so I decided to go with that fish choice instead.
Our general verdict on this dinner was that it was too bland. Squiddy reluctantly ate the fish and some of the couscous and snap peas. DH and I dipped into a few of our couple-dozen varieties of hot sauces that line the fridge door three-bottles-deep. In truth, the meal was okay. It really was better than what one would think of as "diet food," but it certainly was not something I would have made for, say, a dinner party.
DH and I agree, though, that the three meals we had today left us surprisingly satisfied. There's a lot of fiber and protein, and the food is very filling. Once again, 11 ppv for a regular, every day dinner is a couple ppv's more than I would normally allow. But normally, I would also be eating more snacks throughout the day. DH and I had both had some fruit this afternoon instead of a snack from the meal plan. I offered today's snack as a dessert and DH decided he'd rather wait a few hours.
So, under the basic task that food is supposed to accomplish, satiate one's hunger, this plan is definitely doing its job.
Snacks:
Mid-afternoon - apple (0ppv), orange (0ppv)
Weight Watchers mini ice cream sandwich (2ppv)
Okay, I have to confess: I just could not bring myself to buy the almond butter. It's 3 ppv/Tbs. But the real truth is that I honestly do not trust myself to have it in the house when all I needed was 2 tsp for this snack.
Instead, I went with Better 'n' Peanut Butter, chocolate version, which I highly recommend, especially if you have a "thing" for peanut butter (and chocolate)! (BnPB is 2 ppv for 2 Tbs, 1 ppv for 1 Tbs and 0 ppv for 1 tsp.) Yes, I know - I was going to trust the menu...but my trust for the menu is NOT greater than my mistrust for myself, alone in a pantry with an entire jar of almond butter. It would not be pretty...
DH, Squiddy and I all agree: this snack was really good but would be better with an apple than a pear. With that substitution, THIS is a keeper. And honestly, it was a "better spent" 2 ppvs than the mini ice cream sandwich I had this afternoon. It was more filling, honestly more tasty and generally more satisfying. That is not something I would have ever noticed or believed, had I not been doing this experiment and so focused on the details of the food and its functionality.
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