Updates

I don't have anything massively pressing or exciting to post, so I figured I could just throw some smaller stuff in here and mix it all up for a multi-facetted update post.  Call it the Staples Skillet Post.  Which leads to my first topic.

STAPLES SKILLETS
I have discovered a useful idea for our leftovers.  Probably like most families, we have trouble with pesky leftovers.  They sit in the fridge until, finally, they get evicted.  Since I started this food plan, I use up our meat leftovers pretty regularly.  But I will sometimes have veggies or rice or other stuff hanging around.  Well, all those years of frequently places like 1 Fresh Stir Fry and Genghis Grill Mongolian BBQ and Stone Turtle (shout out for my Tampa peeps) have paid off.  Now, when we have random onions, corn, tomatoes, rice, meat floating around - I just mix them in a skillet.  I start with onions, throw in corn (which is AWESOME cooked twice), add some tomatoes, throw in some brown rice, and then add some leftover meat.  I'll pour in some bbq sauce or ranch dressing to make it a bit wetter.  And it is good - tastes like it came from one of those places I mentioned.  Which is pretty sad, too.  We pay nine bucks for a bowl of leftovers.

PEANUT BUTTER YOGURT (REVISITED)
I have introduced several groups to my peanut butter yogurt and they have all been won over.  Seriously, if you want to have an awesome and cheap dessert at your next soiree, make up some peanut butter yogurt dip and sliced fruit.  I brought it to the pre-party for Heather's gala last week and it got scarfed up.  Well, being the constant food tinkerer I am, I decided to try something.  Stonyfield Farms has a yogurt called Chocolate Underground.  It is fat free and really good.  (I don't eat it as a matter of principle - too close to dessert to me.)  Anyway, I whipped up a container of the chocolate yogurt and then added IT to my slightly melted peanut butter.  Mix it all up.  But, in this case, refrigerate it for a couple hours.  For some reason, this one is better colder.  If you thought the PBY dip was good, wait until you try the CPBY one.  Or, as you can also call it, Resee's Peanut Butter Cup Dip.  No lying.

GREEK YOGURT (REVISITED)
I have professed my love for Oikos Greek Yogurt in several posts.  But I have strictly used it for dips, sauces, tuna/chicken salads, and sour cream substitution.  (That's ALL?!?)  I have not eaten it plain.  I have stuck with regular yogurt - fat free plain, fat free vanilla, fat free blueberry (Stonyfield, of course).  Personally, I think eating Greek Yogurt is kind of nasty on its own.  I tried a couple other brands to see they were any better.  Nope.  Well, I happened to try Chobani brand greek yogurt a couple months ago and thought it was okay.  But I hadn't gotten brave enough to actually get a container of it yet.  The other day Winn Dixie ran them on sale - the smaller ones were 10 for $10.  So I tried a peach one.  I was very surprised.  Oikos is far superior as an ingredient.  But Chobani is better for eating by itself.  They also sell it in multipacks at Sam's, Costco, BJ's.  And it is fat free, 140 calories, 20 carbs, and (ready?) 14 PROTEIN! That's the same as two and a half eggs.  Needless to say, I have switched my breakfast to Chobani.

MY BUTT
I still have no butt.  This has been verified by many people.  Just wanted to establish that this is a constant in the whole process.

CHILI (REVISITED)
I have firmly decided that it is imperative to add peppers to the process.  I prefer poblano peppers - they are just amazing flavor.  But green bells work also.  Shoot, the last one I made I actually used a can of green chiles and they were good.  Just work them into the recipe right after the onions and before the meat.  I really am embarrassed I didn't get include them in the first place.

SALMON (OR SO YOU BELIEVE)
I made salmon the other day - first time ever.  It was great.  But then I made an even better discovery.  There is something called Steelhead Trout - it is a kind of rainbow trout.  I found it at Sam's and wondered what it was, so I got it.  Well, it turns out that it is like Salmon Lite.  It is red like salmon.  You cook it exactly the same.  And it tastes almost exactly the same.  Actually, Heather and I actually thought it was a little better.  And it is a LOT cheaper - like several dollars a pound cheaper.  Try it.

SALAD DRESSING IDEA
Now, I know that you may think that eating salad dressing is just stupid.  Well, it can be.  Or you can find a good option and still have it.  We have tons of salad dressing in our fridge that has like 30 calories per serving.  We have one strawberry vinaigrette from Vermont that is very good.  And we found Boathouse Farms brand stuff.  At Publix, they have it in the produce section.  None of their dressings have added sugar, so all their vinaigrettes are really low in calories.  And their creamy dressings (ranch, caesar, thousand island) are yogurt based.  So they are like 30 calories - lower than most brands' lite option.  I don't feel bad about that.  Anyway, up in South Carolina over Easter, we ate at a place called Harry and Jean's.  It is one of the places we go to frequently when visiting Heather's brothers in Rock Hill.  They have a dressing called "The Twist."  Basically, it is ranch dressing with balsamic vinaigrette drizzled over it.  I had it this last time up there and it was really good - one of the better dressings I have had.  So I bought Boathouse ranch and balsamic vinaigrette and tried it myself the other night.  Amazing.  Trust me on this.  It is excellent stuff - and if you use the Boathouse stuff, it only adds like 50 calories.

WEIGHT LOSS
Well, I was able to negate the three pound gain from last week.  I was down to 297 on Friday - below where I was when that fiasco happened.  So that's good.  I got some money to buy clothes for my birthday and got some shirts.  They were all 2XLT and fit great.  Also, I bought a pair of 40x30 jeans.  I swear, when I wear them they look like skinny jeans - to me at least.  I have stopped getting baggy fit jeans when I buy jeans.  That was just another way to hide my size over the years.  And I am really shocked at how I look in a normal "relaxed fit" pair of pants.  Today I had on my 2XLT rugby shirt and black jeans for church - I could tell I was causing people all over the congregation to lust.  I will have to be more careful in the future.

EXERCISE (REVISITED)
I have been fairly consistent with the Wii Fit - as long as Gabe goes to bed at a normal time.  I average about five days a week on it.  I've gotten to a solid half hour on there, and not just doing balancing games.  I start with those to get warmed up.  But then I move on to Advanced Rhythm Boxing (8 minutes), Advanced Step (Six Minutes), and Advanced Hula Hoop (Six Minutes).  They kick my butt.  I also started doing 30 of the sorriest looking sit ups and push ups you've ever seen.  But it is a start.  So, I am slowly bringing the exercise into the equation.

Well, that is the extent of my update.  Hopefully I will have something profound to share this week.