Today was weigh in day. And I'm glad to see some weight gone.
SW: 182
LW:182
CW:180
GW:135
It kills me to not weigh myself during the week, but I've noticed it has kept me on the diet better. I know if I were checking my weight everyday and I kept seeing it go up and down, I would give up faster. This way, I can't be disappointed by the time weigh-in day rolls around, unless I didn't work out or track food at all that week.
Speaking of food, I tried a new SparkPeople recipe today and it was awesome. I gave it 5 stars. The recipe is called "Paula's Ranch Style Pork Chops & Potatoes in a Skillet". Long name, I know but it exactly what it says it is. The Ranch was a little strong, and my pan wasn't big enough to cook the potatoes all the way through, but other than that we all loved it.
I will definitely be making this recipe again but next time in a crock pot. That way it can cook more thoroughly.
Well, I'm off to do my mile and strength training. You all have a wonderful night!
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Ingredients
1 tbsp Canola Oil
4 boneless Pork Loin Chops
400 grams Red Potatoes (about 7- 8 small)
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, 98% fat free
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 pkt (1 oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
1 tbsp Paprika
Directions
1. Heat oil in large skillet.
2. Brown pork chops in oil.
3. While chops are browning, wash potatoes (leave skin on) and cut into bite-size chunks.
4. Remove chops from skillet.
5. Add soup, milk & dressing mix to skillet, mix well.
6. Add potatoes, stir to coat, then add pork chops.
7. Sprinkle with paprika.
8. Reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until chops are cooked and potatoes are tender.
Number of Servings: 4
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 390.2
Total Fat: 17.4 g
Cholesterol: 64.7 mg
Sodium: 1,047.9 mg
Total Carbs: 30.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.1 g
Protein: 26.4 g
View full nutritional breakdown of Paula's Ranch Style Pork Chops & Potatoes in a Skillet calories by ingredient: recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calor
ies.asp?recipe=163839
I finally made a SparkPeople recipe and it was awesome. It's a user-submitted recipe, by ELAINEHN, called Baked Pasta Casserole.
I wouldn't say my family are picky eaters, rather that I am a picky eater. So when I saw onions and diced tomatoes I was really iffy. But, being that the recipes calls for 3 of my favorite ingredients (ground bf, spaghetti sauce and noodles), I thought I would try it. (The only thing I did different was the pasta. I couldn't find any Penne pasta so I got Whole Wheat *Rotini instead.)
It was really simple to make. With prep and cooking I would say it took less than 30 minutes. The spaghetti sauce drowned out the taste of the tomatoes which was really good, and I couldn't even taste the onion since it was cooked with the meat. The recipe says it makes 10 servings and I was skeptical about that. Usually (pre-diet) I would probably eat atleast 1/4 of a casserole (I know, I'm a pig), and if I divided my pan into 10, that is a *really* small portion compared to before. But now, after eating, I could honestly say I'm stuffed. I still have 8 more servings to go which will probably take the rest of the week to finish. Especially since Mac is at work.
Well thought I would just share my first experience with the recipes. I'm planning on trying 2 new recipes a week so I'll be posting our next recipe soon!
Hope everyone has a wonderful night!
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BAKED PASTA CASSEROLE
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Ingredients
1 box - Whole Wheat Penne Rigate
1 jar *Spaghetti Sauce, (approx. 3 cups)
14 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
1 lb extra lean Ground Beef browned and well drained
1 diced onion
1/2 cup low fat Shredded Cheese
Optional (not included in nutritional calculations):
Additional veggies - zuchinni, eggplant, carrot, fresh tomato
Low fat or fat free cottage cheese
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Nutritional Info
Fat: 6.6g
Carbohydrates: 37.6g
Calories:267.0
Protein: 17.4g
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1. Begin to heat water to a boil for pasta. Add pasta and cook according to package directions while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Brown and crumble ground beef with diced onion. Drain well and rinse if desired.
3. Add jar of spaghetti sauce (lite/lowfat/healthy versions will lower calories, but this recipe calculates based on regular Bertolli Tomatoe & Basil sauce) and a can of diced tomatoes to the ground beef and simmer while the pasta cooks or however long you wish to simmer.
4. When pasta is cooked, drain well. Combine pasta and sauce in casserole dish or dishes. Toss to mix well.
5. If desired, add spoonfuls of low-fat or fat free cottage cheese and fold in to mix slightly.
6. Top with low fat shredded cheese. Bake in hot oven (400f or whatever temperature you are using to bake other menu items is fine) till cheese melts and begins to brown slightly.
* You may wish to sautee small diced veggies such as zuchinni or eggplant with the meat. You can add a shredded carrot if desired. Using ground turkey, chicken or a veggie meat substitute may lower the fat/calories. If preparing casseroles to freeze, you may wish to add extra tomatoes or sauce because while this freezes and reheats WONDERFULLY it does seem a bit dry if you don't add extra.
Number of Servings: 10
