The Joys and Sorrows of Dieting

As some of you may have noticed, or maybe no one, I'm not sure anyone even reads my blog, but I have had a Wedding Day Slim Down countdown on my blog going for a month before my sister's wedding. This slim down was not out of vanity but out of pure necessity. When my bride's maid dress arrived it was way too tight. I could barely get it zipped up and it was definitely not going to be comfortable to wear all night at a wedding. As we all know, there is no way to make a dress bigger so the only solution was to make my body smaller.

I embarked on a weight loss mission to get into that dress and feel comfortable in it was well. My plan was as follows.

1) work out or run every day

2) no carbs for lunch or dinner

3) only grilled or steamed vegetables and meat

4) limited alcohol (I tried to cut it out completely but that was just way too hard)

5) keep a calendar with my workout for the day already on it so I am prepared for what is in store for me that day based on my work schedule

I was astonished at how quickly my body changed by just cutting out the carbs. As difficult as it was in the beginning to resist the bread, pasta and rice, it became much easier as the time went by. I was filling my tummy with extra steamed broccoli or more salad and not with processed, bleached and nutrient void carbohydrates. I was never hungry and had a lot more energy and a lot less bloat. Along with the change in diet I was also working out daily doing both strength training and cardio. The weight just melted off. I was down 9 pounds from my heaviest point in only 3 weeks.

I tried the dress on at the beginning of last week and it zipped up easily, the problem now was that it was a little too big! Craziness! With a strapless bra in place, it fit perfectly. I was very proud of myself and so was Craig. He was quite impressed with my new figure as well.

So as great as I felt and as pleased with the results as I was, I was definitely enjoying my huge plate of cheese tortellini at the wedding. A diet as strict as what I was doing is impossible to keep up with forever, nor should it be. Diets are just that, diets. They are not meant to be long term. Developing a healthy lifestyle and making better decisions about what goes into my body is much more realistic. I still plan on keeping up with not eating carbs for dinner at least 5 nights a week, I just could never imagine a life without risotto or mashed potatoes, and working out 3-4 days a week as well. I have also discovered that I am capable of a morning workout, which for me is a 3 mile run on the treadmill at the gym here in my complex, and it is much easier to get it out of the way before my day begins rather that waiting to see how I feel at the end of a long work day.

Overall, here are the lessons learned from this experience:

1) our bodies are a direct result of what we put in it

2) having a goal to work towards is much more motivating

3) diets are a temporary fix and impossible to stick to 100% of the time, but keeping a few healthy habits from being on one is a good idea

4) exercise is important, but the combination of diet and exercise is the only way to get fast results

New Recipes for the Cold Days Ahead

Last weekend Craig and I went camping up near Mammoth. In anticipation of the frigid nights, I wanted to make us something warm and hearty to eat around the campfire. We had just made a trip to Costco and came home with a pre-cooked roasted chicken so I wanted to use this in the recipe so it wouldn't go to waste. Here is what I ended up making:

Chicken and white bean chili

• 5 fresh Anaheim chilies
• 1 fresh poblano chili

3 cans white beans (i used 2 white beans, one pinto)

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 4 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 small container half and half
• 1 whole roasted chicken shredded
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper (black pepper is fine too)

Garnish

• 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 6 ounces)
• 1 cup sour cream
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Purchased tomatillo or green chili salsa

Cook the chopped onions in the butter for a few minutes then add the flour. Stir and cook for another minute.

Roast the peppers under the broiler or on the grill until they are black on the outside. Place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them sit for a few minutes then remove and peel skins off. Chop.

Add chicken broth and half and half and stir well to incorporate the flour onion mix. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and just let it cook, stirring occasionally.

Garnish with cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and tomatillo salsa. This is seriously delicious!

Enjoying my chili by the fire. We toasted bread sticks by the fireside and were excellent to dip!

Yesterday I got home from a wild weekend in Palm Spings and plopped myself down on the couch to relax. I looked through my list of recorded shows and checked out what Tyler Florence had made on the most recent episode of Tyler's Ultimate. He was making Cioppino, which happens to be one of my FAVORITE things in the world. The cioppino at Brophy Bros in Santa Barbara is a meal I literally dream about and crave on a daily basis. The recipe Tyler was making was a little too technical for me (ie using whole dungess crabs and blending chorizo sausage in a food processor for the base of the broth) but the idea of cioppino was already making my mouth water. I quickly logged on to Epicurious.com, my favorite site for recipes, and found a quick and highly rated recipe. Here it is:

QUICK AND EASY CIOPPINO

1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb cut lengthwise into 6 wedges

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 medium onion, quartered

3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes (recipe calls for 1/8 tsp but I like it spicy)

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in juice (use San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them, they really make the difference)

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup full-bodied red wine such as Zinfandel or Syrah

1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice

1/2 pound skinless fillets of thick white-fleshed fish such as halibut, hake, or pollack, cut into 2-inch chunks

1/2 pound cultivated mussels

1/2 pound shrimp

1/2 cup small scallops

Pulse fennel, onion, and garlic in a food processor until coarsely chopped.

Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then stir in chopped vegetables, bay leaves, thyme, red-pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.

Add tomatoes with their juice, water, wine, and clam juice and boil, covered, 20 minutes. Stir in seafood and cook, uncovered, until fish is just cooked through and mussels open wide, 4 to 6 minutes (discard any that remain unopened after 6 minutes). Discard bay leaves

Being Healthy

I'm sure like many of you, over the holidays I kind of over did it in the food department: candy, snacks, junk food, booze, second helpings, third helpings, late night helpings, you get the idea. To compound the fact that I was eating like Nadia Suleman pregnant with 8 children, I had been avoiding working out as well.

But with the new year came the new resolution to get my life back on track. I wouldn't call it a resolution so much as a redirection, or a re-acquaintance with my old life. Starting over the last few weeks I've made an effort to exercise at least 3 times a week, shooting for 4, and filling my diet with healthier, more nutritious foods. I've printed out a calendar and hung it on my fridge along with the class workout schedule for all the 24 hour fitness gyms in a few mile radius. I fill in each day what I've accomplished, or what I hope to accomplish that day. If I do nothing that day, I fill it in with a big fat "0". I don't like "0"s.

When it comes to eating healthier it is much easier when you can control what you are consuming, so for me that meant a lot more eating at home. Being in a new relationship, we tend to eat out a lot, drink a lot of wine, and do a lot of snuggling on the couch; not very conducive to a healthy lifestyle, so to be fully on board I had to get Craig on board as well. Lucky for me, he was all for it.

The last few weeks we've been cooking a lot together and have been really satisfied with some of our creations. Here are some of my favorites that I hope you guys will try as well.

• Salmon with Orange, Hoisin, and Vegetables

This recipe is really easy, has no oil or extra fat besides what is in the fish, and is the easiest cleanup ever! The recipe I used calls for bok choy which I love, but you can easily substitute any other vegetables like spinach, bell peppers, or asparagus. Here is the link to the recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salmon-with-Hoisin-Orange-and-Bok-Choy-356309

• Pork-chops stuffed with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and spinach

I got this recipe from Giada and I totally questioned the healthiness of this dish, but the cheese is pretty minimal in the stuffing, and we can't totally deny ourselves when being healthy. It's about being balanced.

The pan sauce for these is really delicious too and super easy to make. Once you learn how to do this you can make this sauce with anything you cook in a pan, chicken, fish, pork, even vegetables. Here is the link for this recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pork-chops-stuffed-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-and-spinach-recipe/index.html

• Beef Braised in Red Wine and Veggies

Ok, so this one is not super healthy either but when you think about how much food you are making and there is only 2 tbsp of olive oil in it, it really isn't that bad. And believe me, this is delicious!

For this recipe I used a bag of baby carrots which I put in towards the end. It makes the dish more nutritious and serves as a great side dish. You don't have to use the polenta as a side, but wow is it amazing together. Here is the link for this recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-Braised-in-Red-Wine-236986

• Kerry's 3 Bean Turkey Chili

This is my own recipe for chili that I make ALL THE TIME! I love it. With the lean protein from the turkey, the fiber from the beans, vitamin C in the bell peppers, lycopene from the tomatoes, its just delicious and nutritious.

• 1 package lean ground turkey
• 1 large red bell pepper chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (seeds and veins removed if you don't like it too spicy)
• chili powder (1-2 tbsp depending on spice)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp taco or fajita seasoning
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large can diced tomatoes (with green chilies if you can find it, or add small can of diced green chilies)
• About 2-3 cups liquid, enough to cover the chili (I use chicken stock, beef stock, beer, water, etc... whatever you got on hand is fine)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: In a large cast iron pot, brown turkey in 1tbsp olive oil. Add onions, garlic, peppers, and jalapeno. Saute until tender. Add seasonings, cook for one or two minutes. Add can of tomatoes and stir. Add liquid to pot and stir all together. Cook covered for one hour on med-low heat. Cook uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, make sure it doesn't burn. Serve with shredded cheese on top. ENJOY!

• Other Healthy ideas:
• Grilled teriyaki chicken with shish-kebab veggie skewers: bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and pineapple
• Roasted salmon with asparagus and caper lemon sauce: layer asparagus on roasting pan with olive oil, salt, pepper. lay salmon on top with same seasoning. make sauce with lemon, caper, shallots, olive oil. Top salmon with sauce and serve
• Chicken or shrimp stir-fry with asian vegetables, serve over brown rice. Sauce: soy, siracha, grated ginger, garlic, sesame oil, honey.

So here is to a healthy new year with a lot more exercising and a lot more eating at home. I love using the epicurious.com website as well as foodnetwork.com. I just type in the ingredients I have or what I am in the mood for and the sites will deliver a bunch of great, healthy ideas. Cook on my friends, cook on!

And more...

More from the last few months

Lana's bachelorette party, Thanksgiving football, House Warming Party,

UCLA game, Halloween

Update, Finally

Well, since my last post I have had a lot of exciting things happen in my life. So let's travel back in time and I'll give you a recap of what's up in K-Dogg's life.

October

October was a jam-packed month of excitement. First of all, I finally closed on my Condo. It was a bitter sweet moment because after 6 months of waiting for the short sale to go through, I ended up getting the keys to my new place less than 12 hours before

I was leaving for a weeklong vacation to Hawaii, which leads to the second exciting thing to happen this month.

As most of you know my trip to Hawaii was for winning my company's Gold Cup award. It included 5 days at the Grand Hyatt Kauai for me and a guest

(Jamie O'Day, lucky girl). The trip included all we could eat and drink and a plethora of amazing activities. I went on my first helicopter ride over the Napali coast, had an amazing hour long massage, went sailing on a catamaran and snorkled on the Napali coast, drove ar

ound the island looking for waterfalls, swinging into a pond off a rope swing, jumping off a waterfall...the list goes on and on. We were spoiled beyond belief.

Upon my return I had the daunting task of moving into my new place. After living in the same place for 3 years, there was a lot to sift through and toss out. Not to mention I had a whole house of furniture to buy. It was a lot of work and a very stressful time but in the end it was totally worth all the blood, sweat and tears.

The third amazing thing that happened in October resulted from my choice to play in a kickball league. Who'd have guessed, but yes, I found love at kickball. His name is Craig and he is great. This is how we met....

It was the week before my half marathon (oh yeah! I almost forgot about that! I ran a half marathon too! 2 hours 8 minutes, yea me! ) and I was having a pretty bad day. I was very stressed out and just not in a good mood. At my kickball game that night I was not drinking since I had my race in less than a week, and it just so happened that we were playing the nastiest, rudest, most obnoxious team in the league. It came down to the last play and the ref made a questionable call the ended the game and resulted in our loss. To put it bluntly, I lost it! I was in the ref's face yelling at him, hitting him with the ball, really giving it to him. Totally not my style. Well, the ref was Craig. The next week I made it a point to find this poor ref and apologize to him for my appalling behavior. I explained to him that I had had a bad day and wrongfully took it out on him and that I was very sorry. The whole time I was talking he was just standing there smiling, and when I was finished he said it was ok, he forgave me and asked if I was going to the bar after.

We hit it off from there on and have really enjoyed getting to know each other the last few months.