Weight Watchers (Part 1)

[Betts]

This is my first week of CORE and my mother in law is visiting for a couple of weeks and I like to show off ( she appreciates what hubby takes for granted) and I still want to try the program.

There has been a lot of fruit and some very good meals -

Tonight was a warm lentil salad with a good olive oil vinaigrette topped with a modest portion of grilled salmon, asparagus spears and diced tomato. I skipped the hors d'oeuvres but indulged in a small glass of wine.

We had Thai red curried turkey and vegetables on brown rice last night that had a half cup of coconut milk split between 5 portions. I counted it for 1 point. Fruit for dessert and a lot of water.

Another night it was a wild rice pilaf with carrots and calery , a small portion of pork tenderloin with homemade fresh plum chutney( Splenda instead of brown sugar) and lots of green beans and a 1/2 cup SF FF chocolate pudding.

I made a big pot of French Canadian Split pea soup and that has made a substantial lunch and is all core.

Breakfast is the hardest adjustment. I'm not much for cereal and I miss my special low cal bagels. Today I had a scrambled Eggbeaters on a slice of high fiber toast and a erzatz latte later in the morning.

[Cusina]

erzatz latte... that just sounds cool.

If someone does make up the vitello tonnato, please take a picture and post it. I've never run across that dish before and am having a hard time picturing how it comes together from the recipe.

WI today. Down 1 pound, which is perfectly respectable. It was a transition week for me between the plans so I even cheated a bit. I definitely feel very healthy this week. And my coat is so glossy. Heh, just kidding.

Speaking of cooking core for guests... yikes. We have suprise overnight guests tonight. I'm thrilled, this is a family we don't get to see that often, but it's pretty short notice. I'm thinking a pork tenderloin and the homemade applesauce and grilled sweet potato rounds I didn't get around to making with the salmon eariler this week. Green salad or sauteed asparagus (depending on how the asparagus looks at the market). I also read about a tart cherry/zinfandel ice cream sauce I'd like to try. Door County, just north of us, just passed their cherry harvest and I have some frozen that would be perfect for the dish. Our guests have a one year old who eats mostly homemade baby food, so I'm thinking much of that menu could easily please his palate too.

Therese I liked your comparison of the two plans. Interesting to see the differences, but it seems like you end up in basically the same place when it is all said and done.

[therese]

If someone does make up the vitello tonnato, please take a picture and post it. I've never run across that dish before and am having a hard time picturing how it comes together from the recipe.

It's a remarkably unexciting dish visually. Slices of veal (or pork) roast that you've either braised (traditional prep) or roasted slowly and then let cool. The roast is sliced (I make mine a bit less than a cm thick) and arranged on a platter (that needs to a have a lip or rim of some sort) in whatever groovy overlapping pattern you'd like, and then you dump a whole lot of the tuna/anchovy/mayonnaise sauce all over the meat, entirely covering it, so that what you see really looks more like a topographical map of Afghanistan than a really appetizing meal. So it's pale gray slices of meat buried in a pale tan sauce.

No wonder the garnish is considered an important aspect of the dish. I always make sure that everything else I serve is pretty vibrant.

Anyway, great as a buffet dish (put it on several smaller trays if you've made a lot and want to be able to switch out trays as they get bit tired-looking---you can combine the tag ends and re-dress and garnish) or to pass at a dinner party.

I have been thinking about more autumnal dishes as well. Pork or veal roasted in milk (the milk eventually cooks down and caramelizes) is great, and roast chicken with lemons and either garlic or tarragon is another favorite.

Edited to add congrats to Cusina on weigh-in results!

Edited September 1, 2004 by therese (log)

[Tess]

I'm always looking for new tricks for salad dressing. I usually just use oil and vinegar, but sometimes I want something creamy, and most bottled brands don't do it for me. I've been making tzatziki with Total Greek yogurt a lot-- or just adding things to the yogurt.

My latest idea, which worked out very well I thought, was to mimic those jars of feta you get packed in oil with herbs. I took fat-free feta and put it in a jar with olive oil with peppercorns, crushed red pepper, garlic and some herbs. I used 2T olive oil for 4 oz. of the feta. It doesn't immerse it, just gets it all damp. I let it sit all night in the fridge and would not let it sit much longer as it doesn't look like a mixture that would keep well. Came out at 4 points a serving. (I'm not doing Core.) I added a little bit of lemon juice and put it on a salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and kernels of leftover grilled corn. I thought it was pretty good, and I don't like fat-free cheese.

[Jujubee]

Betts, I hear you on the breakfast problem. I'm finding it hard to find something portable that has something starchy too. I was going to do oatmeal this week, but it has been too hot and humid, and plus I would prefer not to eat with utensils in the car. That rule has been pretty much thrown out the window this week though (my first week on core). Stuff I've had so far (not all in one breakfast, but mixed-and-matched): scrambled egg + egg beater, canadian bacon, soy sauce eggs (like hard boiled tea eggs but without the tea in the braising liquid), leftover bulgur and mushroom pilaf, ricotta w/ splenda & almond extract, figs, bananas, plums, nectaries, & grapes. Keepers are definitely the assorted fruit and hard-boiled eggs, but again, few ideas in the way of grains.

Also, I know there's not a limit on eggs, but I'm worried that eating too many may be bad for my health. Anyone know?

[therese]

Also, I know there's not a limit on eggs, but I'm worried that eating too many may be bad for my health. Anyone know?

Eggs got a very bad rap back when we first found out about cholesterol. Unless you already know or are concerned that your cholesterol is high (family history of heart disease, for instance) I wouldn't worry about it. Anybody who's on WW, either Flex or Core, has pretty much got to be on a relatively low fat diet, with fats preferentially coming from sources like olive oil rather than red meat, so you're already doing better than most people.

The guy that wrote South Beach (he's a cardiologist) specifically talks about eggs being a natural source of Vitamin E, considered important as an antioxidant. I don't know how big a deal that really is, but eggs are fine on that diet (which was started for use in patients with or at risk for atherosclerotic heart disease).

If you're old enough you should probably have your cholesterol levels checked. Hypercholesterolemia is increasingly being treated with drugs (as opposed to really rigid diets of the past).

Losing weight is a cardiac risk factor that you're already addressing, so that's already very good news.

[therese]

Breakfast is the hardest adjustment. I'm not much for cereal and I miss my special low cal bagels.

Kashi Breakfast Pilaf. Make up a batch (they come pre-packaged, I think because otherwise the various grains/seeds would settle out) and that should be plenty for the week---just keep it in the fridge. This product puts the "whole" in whole grains.

Equal parts Kashi and low fat plain yogurt, with flavorings and/or fruit mixed in as you'd like. Nice complex carbs, protein, and dairy, and portable as well. So although I can't endorse eating while driving, this at least requires only a spoon, and is not runny.

An aside: yesterday I walked into the kitchen to give my husband a kiss before leaving for work. I found him about to open one of the white paper packages of uncooked Kashi. I exclaimed, "Oh, great, are you going to make some?" At which point he looked a bit puzzled, and then finally realized that this product was not a dry cereal like the other Kashi products. "Good thing you mentioned it," he commented, the thought of eating it uncooked with milk going through his mind. "That would really have been sort of unpleasant."

[Jujubee]

So I tried quinoa for the first time last night (since it's core) and we really liked it. It's sort of got a caviar texture, with the little grains popping in your mouth a bit. We did a quinoa pilaf with apples and pecans. Anyone else have suggestions or experience with it?

[Cusina]

I haven't tried quinoa Jujube, though I do have a bag in my cupboard. I'll let you know how it goes when I do. I like the sound of what you described.

First core dinner for guests was a huge hit. Lime/garlic marinated pork tenderloin, grilled sweet potatoes, home made applesauce, asparagus with butter (one of my guests helped me make this and more butter than usual sneaked into the pan, oh well) and ice cream for dinner. Steel cut oatmeal with blueberries and evaporated milk for breakfast. Our guests are in the middle of a Midwestern road trip and they positively raved about the food. I think travelers end up eating a whole lot of fat and filler and not so much good stuff.

I meant to review the chipotle corn chowder I made the other night too. It was an interesting recipe as you cooked the potatoes first, partially mashed them, and then added the mash to the soup which was chicken broth, roasted red peppers, chipotles, sauteed onions and corn. Tasty, though I ended up adding the better part of a can of evaporated milk at the end to give it some more creamyness. Next time I'll puree half of the corn in the blender as I think that might add to the texture.

We did low carb for quite a while about 4 years ago. The GI side effects were not good. I much prefer the WW way of eating for that very reason. And the weight loss results are quite similar for me. I don't think I'd ever go back to a really low carb lifestyle. While we did lose a lot of weight (100 lbs. for my husband, 40 for me) the side effects just were not worth it.

[Jensen]

I haven't tried quinoa for the humans in the house but I did cook some up for Dayton when he was a pup. He had some sort of puppy virus and was very, very ill. Generally when that happens, the patient goes on a homecooked diet for several days until they're feeling well enough to eat dog food again. This particular time, I decided I would try cooking him some quinoa instead of the standard white rice.

I'll try to put this delicately...the quinoa came out looking the same way it looked on its way in. It was completely undigested.

I've never had the urge to try it since (for either the dogs or me!).

I like Therese's suggestion of using it for a tabouleh-like salad thingie. That might be good (as long as Dayton doesn't eat any).

Wayde's been buying some veggie burgers from Trader Joe's recently...Dr. Praeger's Tex-Mex Veggie Burgers. They're really quite tasty! I had one for my lunch today: two of these patties between two mini-pita breads, a slice of Monterey Jack, lettuce, tomato, onion, and yogurt cheese instead of mayo. I like 'em!

Oh, weigh-in was today and, yes, I stepped on the scale. I'm not plateauing; I lost half a pound.

[chardgirl]

I've been doing the core this last week: unlimited avocados, meat, and fruit: works for ME! And yes, I weighed in this am: I was down a pound. phew. I liek the idea of paying attention to true hunger and staying in the comfort zone, never getting TOO famished or too stuffed, thanksgiving day style.

I also eat veggie burgers for lunch, sometimes on a high fiber tortilla with tzatziki or plain yogurt, and chopped tomatoes and onions.

-cg

[Cusina]

Way to go chardgirl... we really are a bunch of losers. In the good way of course. Which of the veggie burgers do you like? Or do you make your own? I've noticed that the Morningstar Farms' varieties have changed since Conagra bought them. I'm a little scared to try a pepperoni pizza or a philly cheesesteak flavored veggie burger. Yikes. I'd love to hear good suggestions for the home made variety.

I just spent a few minutes on the "food talk" portion of the WW community boards. Oh my. It's so whiny. Most of the posts are things like "Why isn't my favorite brand x cereal/yogurt/frozen dinner core?? Waaaahhhhh" This board is so much more helpful. I get great ideas from you all.

I like core too, after my first week. Good food, healthy lifestyle. I'm hooked.

The core plan seems to be much easier to adopt for those who cook than for those who rely on convenience foods. I wonder if it will have staying power with the general population?

[chardgirl]

The core plan seems to be much easier to adopt for those who cook than for those who rely on convenience foods.

Exactly! I find it's about cooking, folks in this country, at least mainstream society, whatever that is, they don't cook anymore. For those of us that do, core works out great. I admit I've not been over to the boards at the WW site, it's too depressing. Things like "but the smart ones WW frozen dinners aren't core!!" us slow foodies say, 'and...??? your point??' But I try not to be too snotty at my meeting each week.

Today I made a simple chicken soup I adapted out of Oprah's low fat cookbook that I picked up at a yard sale, it was popular several years ago. Her fancy personal chef made the recipe entirely more complicated than it needed to be.

Here's what I did, and I think it's basically core:

in oil spray (I actually used a Tablespoon of real olive oil instead!) I cooked down three large chopped leeks, 3 carrots, and 2 stalks of celery. (the vegetables I had on hand.) I cooked them on low for about 15-20 minutes while I cleaned the kitchen, then added 1 C wine and let all that cook down some. Meanwhile I took some chicken (left over roast chicken in this case) and cut it up into smallish soup pieces and mixed it with about 1/4 cup or so of bottled barbeque sauce. Then I added 4-6 cups chicken broth, the 'marinated' cooked chicken with it's sauce, and some smoked paprika (instead of Rosie's requested liquid smoke that I didn't have) and one can rinsed cannelini beans. S & P, and chopped cilantro, and it was quite tasty.

-cg

[chardgirl]

Re: making homemade veggie burgers. I've dreamed of this, along with dreaming of making goat cheese, my own soap, and having an incredibly beautiful and productive garden imaginable, basically living like La Martha seems to in her magazine. Maybe when my kids go to college......

In the meantime I cook up on a non stick ridged grill pan trader joe's veggie burgers, or boca burgers.

-cg

[therese]

Made another type of whole grain this week, kamut. Supposedly an Egyptian variant of wheat. It takes a while to cook, and this time I did it in the slow cooker for about six hours on low overnight (following a recipe I found on line), 1 cup of kamut to 3 cups of water. The result was mushier than I like, so my next batch will be on the stove top.

Kamut has a slightly buttery flavor, very pleasant in both savory and sweet dishes (I've been combining this somewhat-too-mushy batch with yogurt and fruit for breakfast). No points data at WW, so I'm counting it as bulgur.

[Dana]

Momlovestocook - Tonight, I trying the paprika chicken and onions from the cooking thread - a couple of pages back, though. Put onions in the crock pot, rub a WHOLE LOT of paprika in the chicken, put in crock pot and let rip for 4-5 hours. I'm planning to serve the onion 'gravy' over couscous for a core meal.

Last night, my neighbor and WW buddy grilled salmon and a pork tenderloin and a pineapple. For sides, I made a bean salad and a corn-cut-off-the-cob dish, and we made some brown rice. It was all core and all delish. I think I'm going to like this plan. It's really just eating!!!!

[Cusina]

Sandra, does chicken chili count as chicken stew in your mind? That is a favorite of ours. Leftover roast chicken, shredded, with great northern beans, sauted onions and red peppers, cilantro, chicken stock, s&p for the base... add hot stuff to taste. Congrats on the weight loss too.

I love bean and corn salad Dana, thanks for reminding me of that. Your meal sounds great.

Betts, I spend a lot of my flex on wine too. A glass or two a day is healthy darn it. :)

This week I'm going to give myself a few more APs I think. I'm starting to feel kind of bubble headed and forgetful, which I think means I'm not taking in enough. I'm also losing at a rate that is a little faster than I'd like (not the worst problem to have, better that than gaining). It would be good if I could get this plan working so that I'm losing about 1/2 a pound a week rather than an average of 1 1/2. I'm almost half way to my goal though, which is cool. 12 more pounds to go. It seems like if I lose it too fast and then I won't be able to sustain the loss.

Did the barefoot contessa lemon juice/olive oil/fresh thyme marinade on the chicken tonight. Her recipe has a TON of oil in it. I cut it by 2/3 and it was still very good.

[Betts]

I was delighted that the WI went so well -- down 2.6#. This week is not going so well - too many eating out situations and Mother in law is still here. I think this week is just watch those portions and make the best of it.

I am paying much more attention to how hungry I am and then adjust my intake. Where last week on core I was scarcely hungry, this week with the lmodest portions of all foods - I am much hungrier most of the time.

For chicken stew - I recently made Julia Child's Poached Chicken from Vol 2 , an in memoriam meal and was struck by how low cal this dish can be and delicious to boot.

[LEdlund]

You guys are such an inspiration to me. For the first time in months and months I journaled all week long (and stayed within my points - I think I mentioned before, I can't be trusted to do core!) I also earned activity points which I have never done before (and I have been a WW member since Feb 2002!). I am feeling soooo motivated!

We grilled all weekend (fish and pork tenderloin) and made fruit chutneys to go with it. The chutneys were so good: nectarines, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, lemon zest, cayenne and some toasted pine nuts. I counted each serving as 2 points (one for the fruit and one for the pine nuts). That left me enough points for wine with dinner. It was great. I'm actually looking forward to WI this week!

I have some friends coming to stay this upcoming weekend and have most of the meals planned out but am hoping you all can help. My plan for one of the breakfasts is to make a modified eggs benedict using artichoke bottoms instead of muffins. Does anyone have a suggestion for modifying the hollandaise sauce (or an alternate sauce)?

[reesek]

You guys are such an inspiration to me. For the first time in months and months I journaled all week long (and stayed within my points - I think I mentioned before, I can't be trusted to do core!) I also earned activity points which I have never done before (and I have been a WW member since Feb 2002!). I am feeling soooo motivated!

We grilled all weekend (fish and pork tenderloin) and made fruit chutneys to go with it. The chutneys were so good: nectarines, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, lemon zest, cayenne and some toasted pine nuts. I counted each serving as 2 points (one for the fruit and one for the pine nuts). That left me enough points for wine with dinner. It was great. I'm actually looking forward to WI this week!

I have some friends coming to stay this upcoming weekend and have most of the meals planned out but am hoping you all can help. My plan for one of the breakfasts is to make a modified eggs benedict using artichoke bottoms instead of muffins. Does anyone have a suggestion for modifying the hollandaise sauce (or an alternate sauce)?

←

LEdlund - what about a mustard sauce diluted with FF half and half? i have a gorgeous smoky onion mustard that i bought at the Metropolitan market in WS (note - LEdlund and I are seattleites)...it's so good on egg sandwiches - maybe warmed and then diluted with FF half and half? is that legal? if not - maybe a little skim and FF sour cream?

[Dana]

I just made a recipe our leader had posted last week for our 2nd core week. Brown rice, tomatoes, chilies, sauteed onion and garlic and Mexican seasonings with diced, cooked chicken. Just delish. I served it with avocado slices and a bean salad (Leftover). Quick, easy and really satisfies that Mexican food craving. I will be making it again!!!

The count for points was only 4 - it made 6 generous servings.

[chardgirl]

Dana, that sounds very good, I'm going to attempt it today or tomorrow:

Is it served hot or cold? Did you 'saute' the onions in spray oil or the teaspoon or two we're 'allowed' on core?

I have everything else so no need to go to the store!

thanks

cg

[Dana]

Saute the onions and garlic (I also added a jalapeno) in 1t. evoo. With the whole recipe making 6 servings, I didn't even count it for core. Hope you enjoy it!!!

Serve it hot.

Edited September 8, 2004 by Dana (log)

[Tess]

On the eggs benedict-- the artichoke bottom idea sounds great.

A lite mayonnaise base would sound ideal, but lite mayo has a strange tinny taste, IMO. I find I can disguise it only in a very few things and I don't think I would risk feeding it to guests.

However, I very much like a product from The Ojai Cook called Lemonaise Lite. It's avalailable at Whole Foods in these parts. It's not all that lite: 40 calories and 1 point (4g fat) per tablespoon. You might try topping each egg with a spoonful or two of that, lots of freshly ground pepper and a slice of tomato. (Pepper and tomato are my first line of defense in disguising lite sauce products but I honestly do not think this one needs too much disguising. I was using it before I thought of dieting. I grabbed some not seeing that it was lite, and liked it.)

[LEdlund]

However, I very much like a product from The Ojai Cook called Lemonaise Lite. It's avalailable at Whole Foods in these parts. It's not all that lite: 40 calories and 1 point (4g fat) per tablespoon. You might try topping each egg with a spoonful or two of that, lots of freshly ground pepper and a slice of tomato. (Pepper and tomato are my first line of defense in disguising lite sauce products but I honestly do not think this one needs too much disguising. I was using it before I thought of dieting. I grabbed some not seeing that it was lite, and liked it.

Thanks! That's exactly what I was thinking about. And I love the addition of tomato (thanks therese for that idea too!)

I'm making a roasted tomatillo sauce for grilled flank steak for one of the dinners. Haven't nailed the second dinner yet.

Weigh in is today. I'm sure it will be a good one since it is, what I am considering, my "first week back" (even though I have weighed in each week for the last two and a half years!). The real test will be next week. I'm excited though.