Maintaining Weight Loss: 2009

Friday, May 8, 2009

A Simple Fish Chowder

Delicious supper tonight. A simple fish chowder. Made with 1 lb of tile fish simmered for 5 minutes in a vegetable broth, 1 lb of potatoes cooked in the same broth minus the fish, a few chips of slab bacon to saute the onion, skim milk, a dab of homemade yogurt and fresh parsley from the garden. The chowder will be divided into 6 portions, three of which will be frozen.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Recipe for red cabbage

I haven't been cooking much recently and there has been a head of red cabbage in the refrigerator for several weeks waiting for me. Tonight I finally prepared my favorite red cabbage recipe. It comes from an old cookbook by Pierre Franey entitled: Low-Calorie Gourmet. My cookbook falls open to this recipe because I have made it so often.

It is as follows:

1 red cabbage cut as thinly as possible with a mandoline
1 large apple peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of butter
1 large onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup water

Melt butter in butter in a wide pan and saute onion for 1 minute. Then add the sliced apple and the cabbage and saute for 5 minutes stirring. Add the salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Add the water and vinegar and cook covered for 30 minutes with occasional stirring.
I find that the quality of the wine vinegar can make a difference in the final taste, as does the quality of the apple . The recipe makes 6 to 8 servings, depending on the amount of red cabbage used.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Salt Cod Bouillabaisse

A bit of a nutritional surprise this evening. Last night I prepared one of my favorite soups. It is a bouillabaisse that is made with dried salt cod. I prepared it with 1 pound of salt cod that had been soaked in water for two days, one pound of boiling potatoes, onions, leek, garlic and tomatoes and two tablespoons of olive oil. It was flavored with a large pinch of saffron. I divided the the soup into 6 portions and assumed that each was equivalent to 2 proteins, 1 carb and one fat and 1 vegetable. The soup shown in the photo was supper tonight. It also contains a few garlic croutons made with homemade bread. Along with a nice tossed salad this made a delicious, filling, wholesome, and low calorie (so I thought) supper. To my surprise, when I calculated the nutritional analysis of the soup (shown below), the caloric content was considerably higher than I expected. This is due to the fact that dried salt cod has 3 times as many calories as fresh cod! So,I am going to divide the remainder of the soup into 7 rather than 5 portions and will no longer consider this dish a low calorie fish dinner. However, I still think it is delicious and healthy since it is so low in saturated fat.
To see the details of the nutritional analysis click on the image to view an enlarged version.

Monday, April 20, 2009

A Calorie Free Treat-- The Miracle Ball

In maintaining weight we are told that is important to find activities that are as or more pleasurable than eating. One such activity that I discovered recently, thanks to my yoga instructor, is the Miracle Ball. These balls, and the "exercises" that are found in the accompanying booklet were developed by Elaine Petrone. They are fantastic! They relieve stress and tension in the most amazing way. And in some positions allow for strengthening exercises in a completely painless way. I particularly enjoy placing a ball under my neck while lying on the floor. Also, two balls under my hips are extremely relaxing. But just about any of the suggested positions are wonderful, and I cannot recommend these balls enough.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Peanut Butter Breakfast

This breakfast has 1 carb, 1 fat, 1 protein, and 1 fruit. It consists of 1 oz of homemade bread, 4 tsp of peanut butter, 1/2 sliced banana and 1 crumbled walnut to enhance the photo. I combined it with 1 tablespoon of psillium dissolved in a glass of water for fiber, 1 glass of 1% milk, and, of course, a great cup of coffee--vesuvio blend from Batdorf and Bronson.

Monday, April 13, 2009

A favorite soup

This is a red pepper and potato soup from the New York Times that I like very much. One cup is equal to 1 carb and 1 fat. The photo in the Times looks extremely appetizing, but I like mine too. The Times recipe calls for fresh basil which would certainly be nicer than the fresh chives that I used, but that is all I have. The lower photo shows the way the soup looks before it is pureed.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Is this cookie worth it?

There was an interesting recipe for whole grain chocolate cookies in the NY Times a few days ago. They look very tempting so I decided to do a nutritional analysis on nutritiondata.com. The results are shown here. Basically, one cookie is equal to 1 carb and 1 fat, and because all of the fat comes from butter, most of it is saturated. Not sure whether it is worth it. Perhaps for an occasional splurge? Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Delicious low calorie sauce for pasta

This recipe is called Eggplant and Tomato Ragout and comes from Martha Rose Shulman's cookbook entitled: Provencal Light. One half cup of the sauce is equal to 2 vegetables and 1 fat. When mixed with 1.5 oz of whole wheat pasta, it makes a delicious, and filling lunch. The recipe is as follows.

2 lbs of eggplant
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 pounds of fresh or canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons of fresh basil (I omitted this)
salt and pepper to taste
I added a few drops of Tabasco.

Cut the eggplants in half, and score down to the skin. Bake on a 475 oven for 20 minutes skin side up. Cool, peel, and cut into a small dice. Saute the onions in the olive oil ( next time I will use less oil and add tablespoon of water) until they are soft. Add the garlic, and after 1 minute add the tomatoes, eggplant, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat with frequent stirring for about an hour, until the mixture forms a thick puree. I waited until the mixture had cooled, and pureed it with a stick blender. Probably best to let the mixture sit overnight to develop the full flavor. The recipe yields eight 1/2 cup portions. I divided the mixture into half cup portions and stored them in the freezer.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Charting weight

This chart shows my weight fluctuation for the first week of this blog. It is my first effort to create a chart in Excel. Much to improve, both in terms of maintaining my weight, and in learning to create and publish charts in Excel. The baseline is my current goal weight. The graph shows that my weight fluctuated by two pounds during the week, ranging from 2 to 4 pounds above my goal weight.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Nutritional Data for Whole Grain Waffles

I calculated the nutritional value for the 1/4 waffle discussed in the previous post using the tools available on nutritiondata.com. As you can see, this 1/4 waffle is a healthy food that is equal to 1/2 carb and 1/2 fat in the Connolly Schoonen diet. On the right side of the figure I show what happens when, in addition, one adds 1 tablespoon of psillium dissolved in a glass of water and adds 1 teaspoon of sugar for coffee to the meal. This now equals a full carb, 1/2 of a fat, and lots of fiber. It provides a healthy basis for the addition of fruit and peanut butter or cottage cheese. Alternatively, 1/2 waffle would be equal to 1 carb and 1 fat, and could also serve as the basis for additional peanut butter or cottage cheese, but in lesser amounts. Be sure to click on the image to see a full size and readable version of the figure.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Wonderful Waffles and Healthy Too

I discovered these whole grain waffles on Allrecipes.com a few months ago and they have become my favorite breakfast. They contain whole wheat flour, flax seed meal and wheat germ. Lots of fiber and so delicious! The recipe was submitted by What a Dish, and she is truly to be congratulated. In my hands the full recipe results in 5 3/4 Belgian waffles. Each 1/4 piece contains about 100 calories. I will check and post the fiber content later. I divide the waffles into 1/4 size pieces and freeze them, resulting in 23 breakfasts. They come out wonderfully crisp from the toaster.
In the picture shown here I have topped one piece with freshly stewed apples and a few toasted nuts. More often I use 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese and some fresh fruit. And the best is 4 teaspoons of peanut butter and 1/2 of a sliced banana.
I am also posting photos of some of the stages in cooking. The first image is the start on the waffle iron. The second is part of a finished waffle, and the final image shows the detail in a finished waffle If you click on the photo you will see an enlarged image. Lots of fiber!

Breakfast this morning consisted of the pictured waffle and stewed apples. A glass of skim milk and Vesuvio blend coffee from Batdorf and Bronson. My weight is still up 3 lbs from my maintenance break goal weight. The cinnamon stick in the photo was used in cooking the stewed apples. Thought it would make a nice decoration for the photo.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Eating Out

Lunch out two days in a row. The first lunch was at the ChaChaMa Grill in East Patchogue. The second lunch was a La Palapa in the East Village. Both are small restaurants with delicious food. Cafe de olla at LaPalapa is definitely "to die for".
When I was losing weight, I would make a conscious effort to eat one half or less of each item served. I did not do that for these two meals. I did practice "mindful eating" and was aware, at the end of each meal, that I was too full. Of course I skipped desert. And, most important, I weighed myself this morning despite my fear that I had probably gained some weight! Not too terrible. Only 0.2 pounds! Basically, I am still three pounds over my current maintenance break goal weight. Will try to get it lower this week.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Chocolate Jam and Yogurt

One of my favorite afternoon snacks is lowfat yogurt with a teasponful of homemade jam and a few crumbled walnuts halves. Although strawberry jam is probably best, I've used up the jam that I made last June. However, a few days ago I found a new treat: chocolate, orange and banana jam. It is quite heavenly. The chocolate I used comes from Jacques Torres shop in Manhattan, and the recipe is from Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber. For this jam, sliced bananas are soaked in fresh orange juice. In addition, a few thinly sliced oranges are poached in sugar and water until they become transparent. The two mixtures are combined, the juice of 1 lemon is added, and the entire mixture is then brought to a simmer. Grated 68% chocolate is added and the mixture is allowed to sit in the refrigerator overnight. On the following day the entire mixture is boiled for 10 minutes and then transfered to preserving jars. The smell at each step in the preparation was marvelous, and the final taste is spectacular.

I much prefer a teaspoonful of a homemade jam like this plus 1/2 cup of low fat yogurt to any ice cream, and it has fewer calories. The photos show two steps in the preparation of the jam and a dish of the yogurt with jam and walnuts.

Two photos today from a healthy lunch. First a turkey sandwich on homemade bread with a tossed salad on the side. In addition to turkey and lettuce it contains Amora Dijon mustard. Amora mustard is extremely tasty. Desert is yogurt topped with sliced fresh strawberries and 3 crumbled walnut halves.
Three pounds up from my maintenance goal weight today. This is within the acceptable range for maintaining weight loss , but I don't like it.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Breakfast photos

To my surprise, when I weighed myself this morning, I saw that I had dropped two pounds. I have not been weighing myself every day as the experts recommend, so I do not know whether this is normal fluctuation, or, perhaps, a promising start. In any case, today I am only two pounds over my current maintenance weight goal. Something of a relief.

My goal in starting this blog is to develop a healthy eating plan, that involves lots of home cooking, and that focuses on high fiber, low fat foods that are tasty. I prefer to eat lesser amounts foods that taste good. I do not like most of the low calorie recipes that one finds on the major diet sites. I bake my own bread each week, and slice it into portions of varying thickness. I weight these, so that I know the calorie content of each slice. When I make a sandwich for lunch, I often use two thin slices that weigh 1/2 oz each. Since 1 oz of my home made bread has 73 calories, this is the equivalent of one starch on the Josephine Connolly diet. Unfortunately, this bread recipe does not yield the high fiber whole wheat bread that is recommended in the diet, but it contains no sugar, so I prefer it. Also, I often use 1/3 whole wheat or whole grain rye flour in in the recipe. These variations both make delicious bread. In addition I take a large heaping teaspoon of psillium powder in a glass of water before each meal. Psillium improves fiber intake, is useful in lowering cholesterol, and is also extremely filling.

Today I am showing photos of this morning's breakfast. French toast made with 1.25 oz of homemade bread. It is topped with 1/2 cup of home made of stewed apples . I usually add 3 crumbled walnut halves, but forgot to do so this morning. The stewed apples were made with Gala apples that I purchased at Richter's Fruit farm on Pulaski road here on Long Island. These apples are extremely beautiful. Coffee this morning was Guatemala Antigua Finca el Valle. You can see a video of Scott Merle, the brewmaster at Batdorf and Bronson visiting this coffee plantation here. My coffee is ground by hand every morning and prepared in a press pot. Since it has been stored in the freezer for several months is is not as good as when it it first arrived, but is still quite delicious. All in all, a very satisfying breakfast.