What a difference a decade can make.
Picture on the left:
My confirmation ceremony at church. I was 15-16.
Picture on the right:
Last night, after a good run. Yes, I’m sucking in.
– Tori
healthy
Freedom
I don’t exactly know how I did it, but I did.
For those of you that actively follow this blog, you may have noticed the long radio silence the past few weeks. I’ve gone almost 17 days without a post on here. While I do regret the lack of writing activity, the silence was the result of a very good thing: I haven’t been stressing my weight.
For nearly three weeks, my weight (and my body as a whole) has been at the very back of my mind. Perhaps it’s due to my busy work schedule, life stressors, or the heavy graduate class I’m balancing, but the scale, my pant size, and the reflection in the mirror have not been important to me recently.
I’m not used to this freedom. I’m not used to walking beside the scale and not feeling inclined to strip and weigh myself. To weigh myself not once, but twice – because the first time might be wrong. Maybe a third time, just to average the three numbers together and get the most accurate weight. In the last three weeks, I think I have weighed myself four times. Each time, it was out of habit and not need and, in two of the four cases, I didn’t actually look at the number on the screen. I just hopped back off.
In the last three weeks, I’ve enjoyed pizza. Candy. Pasta. Foods I’ve normally considered “forbidden territory” have been peppered into my day-to-day. And guess what? They haven’t destroyed me. I’m still strong and healthy. I’m still a good person. Even if my jeans are a little tighter in the waist, my heart is happy and I’ve allowed myself to live.
This is a freedom I could get used to.
While I’m not saying I plan to drop my regimen and let loose entirely, I think allowing myself a little wiggle room has helped me.
I got on the scale this morning and actually looked at the numbers this time: 133.2.
Three weeks of just letting myself live – exercising when I could, eating well for the most part, and enjoying my indulgences without guilt – and my weight was right about where I started.
Maybe there is something to this 80/20 balance thing after all.
Bon appetit, my friends!
~ Tori
Paleo Italiano Chicken Burgers!
Today’s lunch!
As I mentioned yesterday, I did quite a bit of prep-cooking for the week to help me get back on track. One of the meals I made ahead of time were these Paleo Italiano Chicken Burgers! Super simple and perfect for reheating during the week.
Super Simple Ingredients:
- 1 lb organic ground chicken
- 1/4 cup diced, sun dried tomatoes
- 5 button mushrooms, chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped, fresh basil (dried basil works, as well, but the flavor isn’t as intense)
- 1/3 cup of Daiya mozzarella cheese alternative
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 raw egg
- 2-4 tbsp tapioca flour
Easy-Peasy Prep:
- Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and kneed together. The egg and flour will help the chicken, which is always more moist than beef, stick together and form patties. I start with 2 tbsp of flour and increase, as necessary, if my patties aren’t holding together.
- This makes four generous patties, which you can keep thick (juicier!) or flatten out for quick cooking.
My husband threw these on the grill (medium heat) for about five minutes each side. They came out PERFECT!
I’m having one of these patties (roughly 275 calories) along with leftover boiled Brussels Sprouts for lunch today at work!
Bon appetit, my friends!
~ Tori
Related articles
- TexMex Paleo Burger Recipe (memoirsofayoyodieter.com)
- Paleo Chicken Picatta (theperkyprimal.wordpress.com)
- Paleo Mexican Chicken Soup (infertilitythouartaheartlessbitch.wordpress.com)
- Paleo Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Icing (memoirsofayoyodieter.com)
- Italiano Chicken Breasts – Slow Cooker (themonthlylineup.wordpress.com)
- Paleo Chicken Tenders made by my 7yo! (infertilitythouartaheartlessbitch.wordpress.com)
- Pecan Bars! Healthy! Gluten Free!! Paleo Bars!! (kellygetthin.wordpress.com)
- A Beginner’s Guide to Paleo (paleopolly.com)
- Life-Changing Foods; the Paleo Diet; the 50 Best Foods; Please Explain (wnyc.org)
Paleo Coconut Fried Tilapia
My husband and I both like fish, but we find tilapia to be a rather dull-flavor and spend most of our dinners choking it down or smothering it in unhealthy sauce.
Last night, I decided to experiment and attempt to recreate coconut breading and “fake fry” some tilapia filets. The dish came out so good, we inhaled it before I could take a photo! Now I have to pass on the recipe to you.
Preset oven to 300 degrees.
Breading Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup finely ground tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp yellow curry powder
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp flax seeds
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
(I totally made that up on the fly. I had the ingredients laying around and hoped for the best. It worked.)
“Wet Wash” Ingredients:
- 1 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk (just 45 calories!)
- 1 tbsp raw agave syrup
- 2 tbsp yellow curry powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
I rinsed and patted dry six tilapia filets, which was roughly 1.5 pounds. I then laid them in the milk bath for about 10 minutes, letting them soak up the flavors and sweetness from the wet wash.
Taking one piece at a time, I tossed them in a small dish with the flour mixture until they were LIGHTLY COATED, then shook off the excess. On a very lightly greased (I use PAM olive oil spray) cookie sheet, I spread the filets out so there was about 1/2 an inch between them.
Bake at 300 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and flip the tilapia over. (Mine were about 80% cooked; still a little soft in the center.)
Raise the temperature to 500 (BROIL) and replace the tray of fish into the oven. Allow to cook about 5-6 minutes.
They should get nice and browned, crunchy and delicious. They had a natural sweetness to them from the coconut and agave syrup, so neither my husband nor I needed a sauce. They stayed moist because of the fast cook time, but I will admit that deep-frying them would have likely made them even better!
I served them alongside Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes and steamed broccoli. A very healthy, Paleo-friendly meal to start the work week!
Bon appetit, my friends!
Tori
Related Articles:
Quick Paleo Dinner: Coconut Crusted Tilapia & Garlic Broccoli
Breakfast of Champions!
Even though this looks like a giant bowl of ice cream, it’s actually a protein-packed bowl of breakfast deliciousness!
The simple ingredients:
- 2 cups Chobani nonfat Greek yogurt – (200 cals, 36g protein, 14g carbs!)
- 1/2 tsp of chia seeds
- 1/2 cup papaya
- 1/2 cup pineapple
- 1/2 cup watermelon
- 1/2 cup blackberries
Toss together in a bowl (I’m Sunday-morning lazy and tossed it into a disposable one) and dig in!
The sweetness of the fruit counters the tartness of plain yogurt, so save the temptation to stir any sugar or honey into the yogurt – it’s good on its own!
Bon appetit, my friends!
~Tori
Up, Down, and In-Between
This week has been all over the map.
I feel like I’m on a roller coaster of weight, flipping upside down and defying gravity one moment only to have the G-force throw me back into the seat with a humbling thud in the next.
I’ve watched the scale go from 139.2 down to 133.2, then back up to 138 today, all in less than a week. I can only attribute it to water fluctuations, as I’ve been eating relatively normal (a little more than normal, but nothing substantial) and I’ve still hit the gym four times in the last five days.
I’m trying to not let it get to me and instead focus on the fact that I no longer fit into 75% of my wardrobe (good thing) and that I have to grab both a size 4 and a size 6 when I go into a dressing room, as I’m now somewhere in between the two sizes versus sitting solidly in the larger.
I would seriously ring this bell to have someone scratch my back. Sometimes those tags are REALLY itchy.
Image Source: http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/KXY6lr0ez5WwPmPq8Me2Kw/l.jpg
I have some pretty MAJOR news coming up regarding my weight loss journey that I’m not quite ready to share, only because I fear jinxing it. I hope to announce it on here some time next week; I’m just waiting on confirmation of a few dates before I make it publicly known.
To give some hints:
- No, I’m not pregnant.
- No, I’m not having cosmetic surgery of any kind.
- This relates to my WRITING just as much as it does to my weight loss.
I promise, I won’t keep the suspense going too long. I’m basically bursting at the seams, eager to tell everyone, but I know how quickly things get thrown off course and I certainly would hate to have to come back here to recant my words. As soon as I can safely announce the news, I’ll be back on here to tell the world!
Until then, my friends – BON APPETIT!
~ Tori
My New Obsession: Rudi’s Original Gluten-Free Bread
Despite staying under 1,300 calories per day and working out 5-6 days per week, my weight has creeped up a tiny bit this week. I’m back up to 135.8 as of this morning.
I’m not freaking out, though, as there are a lot of factors contributing to it:
- I’ve doubled up on strength workouts. And we all know that muscle weighs more than fat. Cheeky bastard, that muscle tissue.
- Don’t want to get into TMI-territory, but I’m at the special time in a lady’s cycle that causes her to eat chocolate, cry unnecessarily, and gain a lot of water weight. And punch people. Yeaaaaah, punch people.
- I’ve discovered the most delicious “cheat food” in the world: Rudi’s Original Gluten Free Bread!
Can I pull a Lady Gaga and make a dress out of this? I want to just roll around in a massive pile of this bread and eat my way out of it.
Seriously, this sh*t is crack to me.
Last week, as I perused the aisles of Publix, bored and hungry, I happened to spot a beloved BOGO sale in the frozen section for the bread. Normally, I try to stick with my Paleo-approved coconut bread from Julian’s Bakery, but at $6.99 per loaf and $15 shipping (not to mention a six loaf minimum order!), I haven’t been able to restock lately. Not that I don’t like $12 turkey sandwiches packed into my lunch-pal and all, but for $4.99 for TWO LOAVES of this Rudi’s Original Gluten-Free (plus dairy and soy free!) bread, I decided to try it out (and excuse the fact that it included the forbidden rice flour) this one time.
Best decision ever.
Skeptical as I was, I decided to have my first slice of this bread on Monday night as I ate my leftover pasta (miracle noodle) dish from the weekend. I toasted a single slice (90 calories, 17g carbs) in the toaster over and used it to lap up the remaining tomato sauce.
HOLY CRAP.
This bread has a fluffy, wonderful Wonder-bread (sinful!) texture and the flavor of the ever-fattening picnic staple: POTATO bread. It melts on your tongue with a very buttery flavor – which explains the 90 calories per slice – and I could barely stop myself from wolfing the slice down in three bites.
Rudi’s, you’ve outdone yourself here. This is the BEST gluten-free product I’ve had so far. It perfectly replaces the texture and flavor of even the richest glutinous bread and I feel no depravity using this for a sandwich over any other freshly-baked option out there.
Needless to say, I sent my husband out to buy SIX MORE LOAVES (come on, they’re BOGO – I’m not being obsessive) to stock up my freezer and I’ve been eating 1-2 slices daily this whole week. Considering I’m normally VERY low on my sugars, this could be a contributing factor to my two pound weight gain so far this week.
You know what?
The bread is damn worth it.
Even though the BOGO sale at Publix is over, I did find a $1.00 off coupon for it (you’re welcome!) in case any of my readers now feel compelled to test it out. I promise, you won’t be sorry. DELICIOUS!
Bon appetit, my friends!
~ Tori
Food Porn, Take Two
Homemade mango salsa:
Fresh mangoes (literally, they are right off my friend’s tree), organic tomatoes, organic avocado, red onion, organic lime juice, and fresh cilantro.
Served over organic, grass-fed beef meatballs (beef, tapioca flour, egg, onion powder, garlic, salt, and pepper) and steamed broccoli.
Delicious!
Bon appetit,
-Tori
The Memoirs of a Yo-Yo Dieter 
