3 Bean Salad

I hate beans. I hate salad.

Throw the two of those things together in a bowl and I want to hurl.

So when I politely accepted the 3 bean salad sample at my friendly neighborhood farmer's market I resisted the urge to gag and ate my bean salad.

That was when I had a taste of some of the most refreshing food I've eaten in a very long time.

It was a very hot day and that salad cooled me internally quite quick and wonderfully.

So naturally I snapped a pic and got the recipe from the sales lady.

Black Beans
Red Beans
Garbanzo Beans
Red Bell Pepper Diced
Cucumber Diced
Cilantro Finely Chopped

Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Salt

1 can each of all the beans. Mix with enough of the oil and juice to coat and salt to taste.

Pretty simple. Pretty easy. Quite delicious!

P.S. Yeah, it's been crazy long since I've posted. I know. Life. It happens. And I work in spurts, so, I'll probably update regular for a while. Then drop off the face of the planet for a while. Meh. It happens.

Day 10 Total: 1315 Calories

Late submission. Don't worry, I'm keeping track of my food intake. I'll try to be more faithful with staying up to date.

Breakfast:
1 Snickers Ice Cream Snack Bar
1/2 Sara Lee Cinnamon Raisin Bagel
2 Tbsp Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese

315 Calories

Lunch:
2/3 Cup Knudsen Cottage Cheese
1/4 Cup Dole Crushed Pineapple (in heavy syrup)
2 cans Pepsi Throwback

Take 1/4 cup of the crushed pineapple and mix it in with 1/2 cup cottage cheese (I did 2/3 cottage cheese this time, but it was a bit much)

515 Calories

Dinner:
1 & 1/2 Chicken Breast
1 cup Salad
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
14 oz Squirt

485 Calories

Day 9 Total: 1615 Calories

Late submission. Don't worry, I'm keeping track of my food intake.

Breakfast:
2 cups Sprite
2 cups Coffee
1/4 cup Whole Milk
2 heaping tsp Sugar
1 Sara Lee Plain Bagel
4 tbsp Philidelphia Cream Cheese
2 oz Nova Smoked Salmon

838 Calories

Lunch:
1 Papaya Spear
1 Snickers Ice Cream Snack Bar
1/2 cup Raspberry Sorbet
1/4 Banana
2/3 Vanilla Ice Cream

447 Calories

Dinner:
1 Cup Ginger Ale
1 Chicken Breast
1 cup Salad
3 tbsp Raspberry Hazelnut Dressing

330 Calories

Day 8 Total: 1533 Calories

Well, four weeks ago I got sick. I started at 160 lbs. With a 5'2" frame that's a might overweight. On a diet of chicken noodle soup and Ginger Ale I lost ten pounds. So I was 150 lbs when I started this whole "watching what I eat" ordeal. It has been a week and now I weigh 148 lbs. I'm going to keep a tally now at the bottom of every week's post.

Today was a little more than 1200 calories, but that was because I drank a lot of milk instead of water (which is pretty healthy, especially as I really need the calcium) and I had a soda (oops).

Breakfast:

12 oz Squirt
1/2 Sara Lee Cinnamon Raisin Bagel
2 Tbsp Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese

375 Calories

Morning Snack:

1 Cup Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Gardens Green Tea
3 Lemon Poppyseed Mini Scones

240 Calories

Another Snack:

1/4 Tsp Sweet Relish
1/8 Can Salmon
1/2 Tsp Best Foods Mayonnaise

33 Calories

Lunch:

1 Foster Farms Chicken Breast
12 oz 2% Milk

245 Calories

Dinner:

1 cup Salad
2 tbsp Raspberry Walnut Dressing
12 oz 2% Milk
12 oz 2% Milk

540 Calories

Weight After 1 Week:

148 lbs

Day 5 Total: 1078 Calories

Wow! Cutting out soda drastically lowered my calorie count. In fact this is much lower than is good for a person. When a person doesn't eat enough food, it teaches their body that times are lean. After this, when a person eats more the body stores it as fat, for when times get lean again. This is why the "I don't eat anything" diets fail. A person will initially get thin, but then when they start eating regular they will actually put on more weight than they lost in the body's efforts to not starve to death. The key here is that I should have had something for breakfast, and maybe a mid-morning snack as well.

Breakfast:
Yes, I was terrible and didn't eat any real food for breakfast. Slap me on the wrist. I wasn't hungry, plus I find that a cup of coffee really does fill me up for a good long time. Also, I had the coffee at a neighbor's place and they make it with Half & Half instead of whole milk so there were a few calories added on there.

1 cup Coffee
3 cubes Sugar
1 tbsp Half & Half
1 Snickers Mini Ice Cream Bar

139 Calories

Lunch:
I ran out of 2% milk and so to prevent my whole milk (which I normally used for coffee) from spoiling I drank a cup.

2 Eggs scrambled
5 Leaves Spinach
3 tbsp Chopped Onion
1 oz Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Whole Milk

For cooking instructions see Day 1 Lunch. Then put the cheese on top of the scrambled eggs. If you make an omelet, put the cheese on top and then fold it over so that the cheese melts inside.

424 Calories

Afternoon Snack:
I bought some fruit at the store the other day. I didn't want it to go bad, so I hauled out the chopping knife and started cutting. Obviously I didn't just cut 1/8th of an apple and so on. Keep reading after the ingredients list for the recipe =D
1/4 tsp Orange Blossom Honey
1/6 Banana
1/6 Peach
1/8 Pink Lady Apple
1 tbsp Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt
1/2 tsp Golden Raisins
1 tbsp Whole Milk
Dash of Lemon Juice

First, make sure you have room in your fridge for six small bowls/teacups. Then, cut up your apple (I only had 3/4 of an apple which is why the different figure from the peach and banana) and your peach and banana. Split up into six small bowls or teacups. Add yogurt, raisins, honey, and lemon juice (this is to keep the fruit fresh). Stir all together. Save one serving to eat, store the rest in the fridge. When you're ready to eat, if you want to thin out the yogurt a bit, add the milk and stir.

80 Calories

Dinner:

2 cups Spring Mix Salad
3 tbsp Light Raspberry Hazelnut Vinaigrette
1/4 Sara Lee Plain Bagel
1 tbsp Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 oz Smoked Salmon

305 Calories

Before Bed:
I had the suggestion to drink a glass of milk (get in some calcium) to up my daily calorie intake. So I did.

1 cup 2%Milk

130 Calories

Water Intake:

2 cups Tap Water

Day 3 Total: 1490 Calories

These sugar cravings are what's killing my calorie count... and my waistline. Starting Monday, no sweets of any kind (except the one can of cola on Saturdays). I'll beat this sugar addiction, just watch me ;D

Breakfast:
I was not hungry at all this morning when I woke up so I grabbed an apple and half a bagel and ran out of the house to get started on the day's errands.

1/2 Sara Lee Plain Bagel

130 Calories

Morning Snack:

1 Pink Lady Apple

95 Calories

Lunch:
Yep. Here is where the sugar craving hit. I actually ate too much. One bar would have been enough and would have fit in easily with a day's calorie count. But I didn't have my water bottle on me and I wanted something to generate saliva as it was super hot and I was super thirsty.

1/2 tsp Sweet Relish
1/4 can Salmon
1 tsp Best Foods Mayonnaise
2 3 Musketeers Mint Bars

Mix and eat. Just don't mix the candy into the salmon *yuck!*

425 Calories

Afternoon Snack:
This afternoon it was a drink break instead of a snack break. Note to self: have bottled water handy for when the thirst bug hits.

1 can Pepsi Throwback
2 cups Minute Maid Orange Juice

370 Calories

Dinner:

1 Egg scrambled
2 Leaves Spinach
1 tbsp 2% Milk
1 cup Spring Mix Salad
2 tbsp Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

Mix egg, milk, and shredded spinach leaves. Cook on stove. Eat with salad. I recommend Garlic Pepper and Onion Powder for seasoning on the omelet.

180 Calories

Water Intake:

1 cup Tap Water

Day 1 Total: 1257 Calories

Ah day 1. And it begins. A really helpful website is Calorie King. You can type in whatever food you've eaten and it will ask you the serving size and then it will calculate the amount of calories. This is how almost all of the calories here have been calculated, unless I looked directly at the packaging of the food I was eating. Also I have labeled all of my posts by what meals they contain as well as the specific foods they contain. So if you're searching for an egg recipe you can find all of my posts that contains the label "Egg" etc.

Breakfast:
Breakfast was really simple. Something I could very easily get tired of very soon.

3/4 cup Honey Nut Cheerios
1 cup Milk

Just pour ingredients into a bowl and eat up.
240 Calories

Morning Snack:
Now I had a snack that was a definite splurge, but it sure did taste good.

1 cup Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Gardens Green Tea
3 Ralph's Lemon and Poppy Seed mini-Scones

Boil your water and steep your tea. Put the scones on a nice dish and enjoy, taking a bite of scone and a sip of tea.

240 Calories

Lunch:
Well, I did okay for lunch, food-wise. But I spoiled it with a can of cola. But it wasn't just any cola. It was Pepsi Throwback. They only have it around for football season, and I adore things without high fructose corn syrup. I'm trying to cut back on soda, so I think I'm going to let it be my Saturday splurge. Call me out if you see me drinking soda on a day other than Saturday... starting next week =D

2 Eggs scrambled
1 tbsp 2% Milk
4 leaves of Spinach shredded
2 tbsp chopped Onion
1 can Pepsi Throwback

Crack eggs into a cup add milk and mix until well blended. Then stir in the shredded spinach. Cook the onions on high heat on the stove until translucent.Turn the heat down to low and pour in the egg and spinach mix. You can either scramble the eggs or make an omelet as I did.

322 Calories

Afternoon Snack:
I started getting super hungry. So, instead of waiting and getting even more hungry and flirting with the overeating at dinner option, I made a small snack. I actually over did it on the cream cheese so I'll be more careful next time.

1/4 Sara Lee Plain Bagel
2 tbsp Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese
2 oz Nova Smoked Salmon

Cut your bagel, top with cream cheese (I recommend 1 tbsp instead of 2), and then top with a slice of Nova Smoked Salmon (a.k.a. Lox).

205 Calories

Dinner:
Very simple dinner. I'm trying to work on a more vegetarian/raw fruit and veggie diet for a while to detoxify my body. Oh, but I cheated again. After my 20 minute walk I splurged on another can of Pepsi Throwback.

2 cups Spring Mix Salad
2 tbsp Wishbone Raspberry Hazelnut Vinaigrette
1 can Pepsi Throwback

Mix salad and dressing on a plate and voila! dinner.

 250 Calories

Water Intake:
We all need water. I sip mine throughout the day, so I'll total it up at the end so you can see how much I consumed.

2 cups Tap Water

Yes, I drink water straight from the tap. Obviously there is a small screw on filter on the tap, but I'm not squirmish about drinking straight up tap water. With one proviso, only in the States or the UK.

People Kibble's Origins

I, like many women of this day and age, have been plagued by a few extra pounds. I'm a bit of a health buff in that I know all the stuff, but I never quite get the rubber to meet the road.

I enjoy reading success stories of people who have battled against excess weight. It's even more reassuring to watch those people on TV where you can see before and after photos and listen to the person being interviewed.

But it's always the same when asked about their diet. According to these interviews these people appear to have eaten the same breakfast, the same lunch, and the same dinner every day of the year in order to have lost their weight. That's too much like dog kibble to me. Seriously, who can stand to eat oatmeal for breakfast three hundred and sixty five days a year? I can't.

I figure that's why I don't "stick to a diet". Nobody gives any options. It's always "eat the exact same thing for a super long time and you'll lose weight". Of course! After a while you'll start to not want to eat if all you have to eat is people kibble.

But who can stand the boredom? I can't. That's why this blog. I'm not the healthiest of eaters. But if I can share my meals with you, then I can get the motivation to make them healthier and give you options that don't end in "What are we going to eat tonight Brain?" "The same thing we eat every night, Pinky: Salad". And hopefully we can both get healthier, shed some extra pounds, and live a life decidedly free of "People Kibble".