This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

Healthy freezer meals for busy dieters and their families

I recently attended a meal making cooking class with a group of friends. Basically, it was a Once a Month-Freezer Cooking session combined with a Prepare Your Own Meals store. Our hostess (this was in a private home with a very large kitchen) shopped for the food, chopped the veggies, browned the ground meat, and prepared the prep stations.

Our group made eight meals. There was one dish per station with two to four people working on putting together the meals. Using printed instructions, we measured out the ingredients, and put them into labeled freezer bags or aluminum casserole dishes. When then loaded our pre-made meals into coolers and placed them in the freezer when we got home.

For $95, I walked away with eight dishes. This may seem like a lot of money, but I only spent a couple of hours making them, and I didn't have to drive all over town to buy the ingredients. I didn't have to do the prep work or clean up. And I have healthy meals in the freezer for those nights when I'm too busy to cook or out of town. The time savings alone made it a bargain.

So now I'm trying to figure out how to do a similar party with friends and not do all the work as the hostess. I'm thinking that each person could shop and prepare the ingredients for one dish for X amount of people. Then we could get together, assemble the meals, and help each other with the clean up and cost.

An Update, Rethinking the Diet Plan and Some Crab

There's nothing like a little minor surgery and a new job to shake things up at home and throw off your weight loss efforts and blogging schedule.

Surgery

I had the surgery on my right knee on November 29 and spent the following weekend recovering from a pain killer and anesthesia hangover. Morphine isn't as much fun as people think. In fact, it made me puke in the hall of the recovery room, and on the way home in the car.

I was so out of it that I couldn't read anything more challenging that People magazine...not that I had a copy around the house. I should have stocked up on videos, but just watched bad TV instead. After a couple of days, the pain killers were making me hyper, itchy and up all night. Thank goodness for Benadryl.

Post-Op and PT

At my post-op appointment, I found out that I have arthritis which makes the cartilage under my knee look like - this was the phrase used by my surgeon - "shredded crab meat." I also had a meniscus tear, so the doctor removed it, and a small ACL tear he left alone.

A week later I started physical therapy two times per week. I have a great guy, Mike, who makes me bend and stretch my knee on my own at home. And then he bends and pushes it even more when I'm there. No wonder PT stands for pain and torture.

I've improved very quickly. I can even ride the stationary bike. After overdoing it the other day (one hour on the bike, one hour in line to see Santa, and walking all over the mall) Mike told me to do no more than 30 minutes on the bike a day plus my exercises. He says that for rehabilitative purposes, overdoing it is a bad idea.

So much for trying to get back on my exercise plan to lose weight.

Where Does the Time Go?

Right after my surgery I started a job as a community manager at a major women's social networking site. So between those 16 hours online and the four I have at PT (including driving time), there's now 20 hours I don't have to plan my food, exercise, read diet blogs for inspiration, eat healthfully, etc. Needless to say, it's been hard to keep up with the Extreme Fat Smash Diet.

Add in all the holiday hoopla (school concerts, shopping and more shopping, writing holiday newsletters, etc.) and it's been impossible to blog, too. So my apologies.

Still, even when I'm done with the PT and the holiday stuff (and all those parties and goodies that have been adding on the weight...sigh) I will be working four mornings a week, then immediately rushing off to take my daughter to school three of those days. It's almost impossible to keep on the Extreme Fat Smash Diet Plan, take breaks, and eat every few hours. I know it's a great idea and a good strategy for weight loss and healthy eating, it's just hard to fit into my life right now.

Reynolds Parchment Paper is not just for holiday cookies

Even though you're trying to lose weight - and all your friends know it - you've probably been invited to a cookie swap party. You know, a party where each participant brings cookies to swap with friends along with a copy of the cookie recipe.

I was invited to two cookie exchanges this month, and I couldn't attend either of them because of a my new job (I'm now a community manager at CafeMom.com), and because I was already going out three times that week to parties and a holiday concert. Like I had time to bake let alone go out two more times!

I really dodged a bullet there and was thankful not to blow my weight loss plan. But just in case you're invited to a cookie exchange - and promise only to indulge a little and to give the rest of the cookies to friends, family and coworkers - you may want to check out ReynoldsSimpleSecrets.com.

(You should also check out my 5 Ways to Avoid Temptation During Bake Sale Season post for some tips to get out of baking yourself or eating everything you make.)

Get a Free Cookie Swap Starter Kit from Reynolds

Reynolds Parchment Paper and cookie exchange hostess, Robin Olson have teamed up to give helpful tips and tricks for a successful cookie exchange this holiday season.

Here's the cool part. You can get a cookie swap starter kit complete with Reynolds parchment paper, recipe cards, invitations, a cookie tin, and tips and tricks for hosting your own cookie swap by signing up here. The nice folks at MS&L Digital sent me one and its worth getting.

Extreme Fat Smash Diet uses for parchment paper

But since you don't want to get side tracked on your weight loss journey, give the recipes and invites to a friend, put your arts and crafts supplies in the tin, and keep the parchment paper to make a delicious, low calorie - Pesto Snapper en Papillote (in paper). This would be a perfect meal on either Weight Watchers (only 4 POINTS per serving) or the Extreme Fat Smash Diet.

(Check out Reynold's other en Papillote recipes.)

Fat Smash Frittata

I finally got a chance to try the Fat Smash Frittata that I've been promising to blog about for a couple of weeks. It showed up as a breakfast dish last Sunday when I searched for egg dishes, even though I'd only seen it as a dinner option before.

I had hoped to pick it last week, not realizing that it wasn't a Extreme Fat Smash Diet Cycle 1 recipe. (For information on Extreme Fat Smash diet cycles, click here.) This got me into a panic. What was I going to do with all that organic spinach I bought?

Luckily, the spinach was still good, as was the frittata. Next time I'll make it with a spicier cheese, or maybe add a little hot sauce to the egg mixture. I'd also like to try it with another veggie, like roasted peppers or brocolli.

Fat Smash Frittata
Preparation time: 20 mins
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• 2 Tbsp. 1% Milk
• 2 pieces Yves Veggie Cuisine The Good Slice Soy Jalapeno Jack Cheese Substitute (I didn't have this, so I used two slices of reduced fat Swiss instead. Next time, I'll try to find a low fat cheese that has more flavor. The Swiss added a wondeful gooey texture, but no taste.)
• 1 cup boiled spinach (I used fresh baby organic spinach and steamed it in the microwave using a GLAD SimplyCooking microwave steaming bag.)
• 2 Tbsp chopped yellow onion (I used a red onion just for color's sake.)
• 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Beat egg whites together with milk and seasonings of choice. (I used a dash of salt and pepper.) Set aside.
3. In an ovenproof saute pan, saute onion in olive oil until translucent.
4. Add spinach and toss until hot.
5. Spread onion and spinach mixture evenly over bottom of pan.
6. Tear pieces of cheese and lay on top of spinach.
7. Pour egg mixture over top, and cook on stovetop, uncovered, over medium-low heat until egg mixture is about 1/2 set.
8. Transfer to oven and bake about 10-15 minutes, until puffy and eggs are cooked through.

Nutritional Information:

Calories 227
Fat 9.6g
Carbs 11g
Fiber 4.6g
Protein 25.5g

Weight Watcher Points = 5

• Click here for a full list of my Extreme Fat Smash Diet recipes.

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Extreme Fat Smash Hummus

When I received the McCormick Cooking with Flavor: Spice Up Your Everday Favorites cookbook courtesy of Janine Gordon Associates, I thought it was a lovely beginner cookbook full of great pictures and easy recipes. It would be perfect for a newlywed or a college student - anyone starting to cook for themselves or others for the first time. It would make a great present along with a basketful of cooking utensils and spices.

I thought that Cooking with Flavor wouldn't be much help for me on the Extreme Fat Smash Diet. Then I saw the recipe for Classic Hummus on page 26. Hummus often pops up in my daily diet menu, either as a sandwich filling (it's awesome on rye bread) or as a dip with slices of pepper. I hadn't had it in awhile because I couldn't find it at Costco the last time I went.

When I saw this recipe, I could have kicked myself - why buy hummus when you can make it at home? I always have canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in the pantry because I use them to make Weight Watchers taco soup for the kids. They're a great source of protein, too.

Extreme Fat Smash Hummus
Makes 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Drain chickpeas reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid.
2. Place chickpeas, minced garlic, lemon juice, ground cumin, crushed red pepper and salt into a food processor. Cover.
3. Process until smooth, scraping down sides if necessary. Add reserved chickpea liquid and process until smooth.
4. Drizzle hummus with olive oil. The less oil, the less calories. But you will need to add some to get the right taste and texture. If you're on Weight Watchers, this is a great way to get your daily "heart healthy" oils in.
5. Store hummus in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Nutritional information according to Calorie King for 1/2 cup of commerically made hummus:

Calories 104
Fat 6 g
Carbs 8.9 g
Fiber 3.8 g
Protein 4.9 g

Weight Watcher POINTS = 2

Click here to see the Extreme Fat Smash Sandwich recipe.

Cool stuff for dieters and brown baggers

Down two pounds on the first week of the Celebrity Fit Club plan! Dr. Ian K. Smith's  Extreme Fat Smash Diet requires strict adherence to the plan. This means preplanning and bringing your food with you.

I've had a bit of a transporation problem since a few meals and snacks don't fit into a little insulated lunch bag. So I've been carrying my sodas, plastic containers, fruit, and big baggie of carrots and celery into a Pampered Chef insulated tote. It's really a tote for casserole dishes and I use it at potlucks and bringing brownies to meetings and get togthers. I love it, but it's too big to lug around a soda, lunch and a few snacks.

So I decided I needed something else - a Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless-Steel lined Lunch Jar. It features a round jar with four food bowls for hot or cold lunch storage. It's insulated and the bowls are microwavable. Plus it comes with a convenient carrying bag in which you can slip a napkin and utensils. On Amazon, it was $43.67, which makes me eligible for a free one-year subscription to Domino magazine.

I also got Fit & Fresh Power Shaker since I've been making lots of smoothies, too. There's nothing like having the proper tools on hand to make dieting and eating on the go easier.

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Extreme Fat Smash Chicken - Two Ways

Day three and I'm doing pretty well on the Celebrity Fit Club plan. I'm doing Dr. Ian K. Smith's Extreme Fat Smash Diet.

I'm not feeling deprived at all because I'm eating every three hours or so and the first week's diet is a good mix of veggies, fruits, and low fat protein. I'm enjoying the recipes, even the chicken ones which I thought would be boring. But it's surprising how good a grilled or baked chicken breast is with just a few simple seasonings.

Either recipe would be great when you want to make something easy and healthy just for youself - and you have a bunch of frozen chicken breasts on hand. Serve with steamed veggies - asparagus was especially good with the grilled chicken breast since the lemon juice and garlic worked well with it, too.

Grilled Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 garlic clove
• a couple of pinches of salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice.

Instructions:

1. Clean and trim chicken. Finely chop garlic. Salt and pepper each chicken breast.
2. Grill chicken breast for 12 to 15 minutes or until done.
3. Combine lemon juice and garlic. Pour over cooked chicken.

Nutritional Information:

Calories 130
Fat 1.5g
Sodium 372mg
Carbohydrates 1.4g
Fiber 0.1g
Protein 26.3g

Weight Watchers POINTS = 3

An extreme diet and Yogurt Vegetable Salad

I'm starting the Extreme Fat Smash Diet by nutritionist Ian K. Smith of Celebrity Fit Club, and will be blogging about the experience at my new CFC diet blog, Watch This Mama Lose It!

Like the title says, it's pretty extreme, so no yummy recipes to share until I get to maintenance (the book has 45 of them and the website has more). But I'm still on the lookout for great, low fat, low calorie, healthy dishes from Weight Watchers and other sources. Here's one for USA Weekend:

Yogurt Vegetable Salad
This cool Mediterranean salad features yogurt, which helps suppress blood sugar spikes and provides immune boosters. The vegetables supply a variety of disease-fighting antioxidants.

• 2 cups non-fat plain yogurt
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, finely chopped
• 3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint leaves, plus extra leaves for garnish
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup chickpeas, drained
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir yogurt, cucumber, mint and salt.
2. Add chickpeas and tomatoes.
3. Garnish with mint leaves.
4. Refrigerate until serving. Serves 4.

Per serving: 141 calories, 11g protein, 22g carbohydrates, 1g fat (0.2g saturated), 3mg cholesterol, 3g fiber, 273mg sodium

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Weight Watcher's Warm Beer and Cheese Fondue

My family and I are heading to my sister's in Switzerland soon, which explains why I haven't been writing much on my blogs. The amount of preparation, planning, packing and purchasing has been overwhelming.

So off to Switzerland we go in search of chocolate and cheese. (With a brief stop London for some bangers and mash or maybe beans on toast.) And who says you can't do fondue if you're doing Weight Watchers? This recipe has only 2 Points per serving!

Warm Beer and Cheese Fondue
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

• 1 can or bottle light beer, 12 fl oz each
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 pound low-fat cheddar or colby cheese, shredded
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. In a medium saucepan over moderate heat, warm beer until it boils; stir in mustard and pepper.
2. In a bowl, toss cheese with flour.
3. Slowly add cheese to beer mixture, stirring.
4. Continue stirring until mixture is smooth and thick, about 6 minutes total. Yields about 1/4 cup per serving.

(Tip: Serve this dip with cubes or rolled slices of lean ham and smoked turkey as well as carrots, celery sticks, baked tortilla chips, apple slices, or cubes of crusty bread.)

© 2007 Weight Watchers International, Inc. © 2007 WeightWatchers.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Chana Masala and A Passage to India

My book club meeting was a lot of fun last month. Since we were reading A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (which has some remarkable parallels to what's going on in Iraq right now) we decided to have Indian food as our meal. I made a Weight Watcher's Sweet and Sour Chicken curry and a red dahl soup. Others brought tea and some chapati, naan, and roti bread from a Denver Indian restaurant. And Mary made Chana Masala, which was wonderful. As she writes:

The only obscure ingredient is Amchoor. They have it at the Savory Spice Shop on Platte St. in Denver. They call it mango powder there.

You could probably find it at any good Asian market as well.

Chana Masala
Prep and cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 T vegetable oil
• ¼ t whole cumin
• 1 med onion, chopped
• ¼ t cinnamon
• ¼ t nutmeg
• ¼ t ground cloves
• 1 t ground coriander
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ inch square piece of ginger, grated
• 1 T tomato paste
• 20 oz. can chickpeas
• ½ t salt
• 1/8-1/4 t cayenne (to taste)
• ½-¾ t ground amchoor or 1 T lemon juice
• Garnish: quartered tomatoes and slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Heat oil in 10-in heavy skillet over medium-high heat When hot, add cumin seeds. As soon as they begin to darken (a few seconds) add onion. Stir fry 7-8 minutes until onion begins to turn golden brown.
2. Turn heat to low and add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and coriander. Then add garlic and ginger and fry. Stirring 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste.
3. Drain chickpeas, reserving 2 T liquid. Add chickpeas and liquid to skillet. Add salt, cayenne, and amchoor (or lemon juice). Mix well, cover.
4. Let the chickpeas cook with the spices for about 10 minutes. Stir gently every now and then.

Can be prepared up to one day in advance and reheated over a low flame.

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