Food inspiration, or what's for supper?

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Replies

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    Garfield ugh!

    You're triggering my hamsters that so far were happy with just coffee🤯

    BTW: just checking... how big of a deficit today as a percentage of your daily spend????? Large but not TOO large Ms!😘
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,789 Member
    edited September 2021
    But I did find the mint outrageously delicious! Just surprised my tongue a bit (maybe it was waiting for the rum that usually comes with mint?) so I'm happy for the hug :) but I'm still wanting to try it next time with no mint. I probably put more than 1/3 a bunch of parsley - so that added some freshness and I was really itching to add some lemon but thought I should try the recipe as is first. Time after next I'll add lemon. And time after that maybe some dill!!

    I'm happy with the amount of oil I settled on though - I made 5 servings and they are 288 calories each so not too bad. With cauliflower rice and veggies sausages and a good dollop of 0% Greek, or a smaller dollop of sour cream will still come in around 450 or so?


    The soup sounds wonderful, Bella.

    I have soup happening in the kitchen today too...sounded similar, but in addition to the San Marzano tomatoes, and cannellini beans, I kept adding things from the farmers market - everything is so delicious and fresh right now!

    Alas, there will be no bread - but some parmesan will more than make up for that! Also have some pumpkin, spinach daal simmering away too. My house smells just amazing today! Glad I walked a fair bit already to burn up some of the calories I plan on eating.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »

    BTW: just checking... how big of a deficit today as a percentage of your daily spend????? Large but not TOO large Ms!😘

    who? me? lol
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    Call-z-ies you .. worry me ... and you better watch for and avoid rebound when you're weaned from the whatever! 🤯🥺

    The free falling Garfield is our British Bella who sounds more Italian than British!!!!

    And I'm 100% blaming her (well.... without the one 😘) for making my hamsters take me to McDonald's and resulting in a weird kitten 700 Calorie breakfast!!!! Let's see if it lasts long enough
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Call-z-ies you .. worry me ... and you better watch for and avoid rebound when you're weaned from the whatever! 🤯🥺

    someones been looking at my diary LOL (its okay ;) )

    1100 right now is my minimum to try and meet. sometimes i meet it, sometimes i dont. my meds, remember? normally my maintenance is just under 1500. but the meds seem to have increased my heart rate a bit (normal resting for me is high 50s, currently mid 60s?) so that number may have gone up a bit, not sure how that could affect it, if at all. but i imagine if so, it would only be temporary, like the suppressed appetite. normally i have my calories set 1200-1300ish. im not allowed anywhere near the gym per doctors orders (and yes, i absolutely listen to him!) lol. if it makes you feel better i do (again under orders) check in with my doc every week and my bloodwork is done every month and my labs are all good - including electrolytes and nutrients :) (and kidney and liver, which is what hes also checking for with my meds). Then of course, we had the CT last week, so ive been scanned and poked and prodded from all sorts of angles and tests and im not looking forward to receiving my 20% portion of that bill LMAO

    and here, a handy dandy report (probably huge, sorry). same as i give my doc. only he also gets an excel spreadsheet with other info also LMAO
    i swear its like being in school and turning in homework with him.

    and the days in july (when the med increased), where i didnt log at all... i can tell you how much (little) i ate. guarantee it was days where i couldnt barely choke down 600 calories (150 of that in coffee creamer) and just didnt even see the point of logging it. So... appetite is slowly going up. progress is progress.

    When I first got put on it back in february? i think. it took a few months for my appetite to return to a mostly normal level and, like now, it was a very gradual return. i truly EXPECTED there to be an uptick in weight but of the 30 i think i lost, i only gained back 5, which was really surprising to me. We had to increase the dosage (its a migraine prevention med) and pretty much expected all of this to happen.


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  • Bella_Figura
    Bella_Figura Posts: 4,330 Member
    @PAV8888 How can my delicious and nutritious soup - which didn't at all deserve an 'ugh' - possibly be held responsible for propelling you through the doors of doom? I hope you enjoyed your 700 calorie breakfast, though if anything merits an 'ugh' it's a McD's breakfast. I'd have settled just for the coffee...

    Today I cycled (moderate effort) for 64 minutes, until I dissolved into a pool of sweat. Zwift/Strava/Wahoo told me I'd burned 390 calories. MFP told me I'd burned 604 calories (yeah right). I ate back 200. That's not too bad, right?
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    edited September 2021
    Call-z-ies I'm a simple boy. The issue from my pov/concern is not whether the caloric restriction (CR) will succeed or weight will be lost. These are preconditions (buying entries) to get to maintenance. The question is what happens there during a) the first few months to year b) first two years c) years 2-5 d) after

    I've lost (or rather regained) a few times in the a to b section. Was it lack of willpower, lack of knowledge, lack of focus? All the thousands of us who vow never again? For me anyway part of it is probably hormones operating below the conscious level.

    So strategy this time was:
    Put in multiple barriers to regain

    Focus on slow extended loss and marginal improvements instead of maintenance

    Taper and go slow especially once no longer obese or high overweight (below 27/28 BMI)

    All that, plus the ideations that are common when applying a large deficit are why I often advocate the 25% of TDEE thing while obese, 20% when below

    And in spite of knowing all that and slow etc etc etc and big win is the first 100lbs (or 125 in my case, or 190 or what have you in your case), when I went from 156 to 150 relatively easily several years into maintenance during first lock down, it only took a couple of mental annoyances to throw me off track during the first few maintenance months and do a classic yo yo right back to 157!🥺 And I can tell you that the hormonal hunger, in retrospect absolutely was there and only subsided with regain plus ***time*** --a year later not a trace, but two-three months post restriction? Not the same at all.

    Since regain is not optimal, gaining/extending the time is the game for me, and it certainly did work better (perhaps more motivation and fear and less mental annoyances) after the large 2+/3 years of losing vs the 4-6 months for the latter small loss. Plus one was from obese to normal weight. The other within normal weight etc etc

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    edited September 2021
    Today I cycled (moderate effort) for 64 minutes, until I dissolved into a pool of sweat. Zwift/Strava/Wahoo told me I'd burned 390 calories. MFP told me I'd burned 604 calories (yeah right). I ate back 200. That's not too bad, right?

    MFP EAT BACK *should* be calculated at whatever it show (based on MET values) MINUS base mfp calories, because MFP has already given you that level of calories for that time frame.

    Base MFP calories = mifflin * multiplier
    mifflin = https://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator
    multiplier is set by MFP as: sedentary 1.25, lightly active 1.4, active 1.6, very active 1.8

    Strava I would probably pay more attention than MFP as it takes into account terrain and time and is based less on a self assessment of effort level (one hopes) and more on the metrics of what it detected... not to mention that it is cool that you specify the weight of your bike!!! :lol: I'm assuming Zwift is as or more accurate too...?

    If you get yourself a power meter you will be as accurate as possible in terms of bike Cals!!!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Call-z-ies I'm a simple boy. The issue from my pov/concern is not whether the caloric restriction (CR) will succeed or weight will be lost. These are preconditions (buying entries) to get to maintenance. The question is what happens there during a) the first few months to year b) first two years c) years 2-5 d) after

    I've lost (or rather regained) a few times in the a to b section. Was it lack of willpower, lack of knowledge, lack of focus? All the thousands of us who vow never again? For me anyway part of it is probably hormones operating below the conscious level.

    So strategy this time was:
    Put in multiple barriers to regain

    Focus on slow extended loss and marginal improvements instead of maintenance

    Taper and go slow especially once no longer obese or high overweight (below 27/28 BMI)

    All that, plus the ideations that are common when applying a large deficit are why I often advocate the 25% of TDEE thing while obese, 20% when below

    And in spite of knowing all that and slow etc etc etc and big win is the first 100lbs (or 125 in my case, or 190 or what have you in your case), when I went from 156 to 150 relatively easily several years into maintenance during first lock down, it only took a couple of mental annoyances to throw me off track during the first few maintenance months and do a classic yo yo right back to 157!🥺 And I can tell you that the hormonal hunger, in retrospect absolutely was there and only subsided with regain plus ***time*** --a year later not a trace, but two-three months post restriction? Not the same at all.

    Since regain is not optimal, gaining/extending the time is the game for me

    im 182 right now. my goal to get to for this year was 180. think its safe to say that wont be a problem. my 'final' goal is 140, which i think is still in the overweight category for my very short height 5'2 (barely). im truly in no rush to get there, hence the 2 year maintenance break i just came off from at the beginning of this year. when i get there ill see how i feel, as far as if i want to break and maintain for awhile again (not 2 years though lol) or decrease my deficit and go half pound at a time as i know I'll still have a bit more to get into a 'healthy weight zone'. "they" say i should be in the 125ish? range? i dont ever see that happening though. i dont think i WANT to be there. but its so far off that i also just dont think about it, really. short term i work in 10 pound increments. long term i can think to 140 (at this point). beyond that, i just cant 'see', if that makes sense. ive probably rambled way more than necessary LOL
  • Bella_Figura
    Bella_Figura Posts: 4,330 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »

    You got the ugh, not the soup.

    Oh, that’s ok then! 🤣

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    You got the ugh, not the soup.
    Oh, that’s ok then! 🤣

    You can always mail me some soup since sharing is caring!!! :smiley:
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    Dinner was good, and now it is cleaned up and I am sipping some ginger tea and reading, cause I don't want to do anything when my stomach is full.

    youre doing better than me. other than putting away the food, i dont usually get the rest cleaned up til morning LOL
  • Dinner was good, and now it is cleaned up and I am sipping some ginger tea and reading, cause I don't want to do anything when my stomach is full.

    youre doing better than me. other than putting away the food, i dont usually get the rest cleaned up til morning LOL

    This is a New Thing. I have a weightbearing budget thanks to a car wreck that made me get one foot surgically rebuilt in my twenties, and it used to be that I could cook dinner, put away some of the really fragile food items (you know, get the lid on the sour cream and shove it back in the fridge) before sitting down, and then after I sat for an hour and a half or so I could probably go in and deal with the cleanup. But all this last week I've been good enough to just go in and clean up after dinner. Complete with an extra trip upstairs to get Son's plate. (He'll bring it down, but after I've run the dishwasher, so I'd rather get it and do it all at once.)

    I used to get it done that evening on a good day; often it waited until morning. Nowadays the only thing waiting for morning is the occasional crockpot liner with a ring of baked on stuff that was left in the sink to soak. And I have to say it's nice to wake up to a clean kitchen.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    edited September 2021
    What? The kitchen has a floor?!?!?!?! :lol: I thought dogs were invented to keep dishes and kitchens clean, no?
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    I was attacked by delicious meat/rice stuffed eggplants. served beautifully with zucchini slices and potato slices cooked at the same time (tomato, way more oil than I would approve had I been in charge and/or nearby where it was cooking!)

    Should have taken a picture.

    Evening topped off with oikos 0% plain... doctored with... liquid sucralose drops, pumpkin pie spice... and... and... and.... sugar :smile: (20g sugar, 650g oikos (sky got 100g plain), 2g pumpkin spice... yummies for the tummies!!)
  • Bella_Figura
    Bella_Figura Posts: 4,330 Member
    edited September 2021
    Pumpkin pie spice is an actual product? I've never tasted pumpkin pie (or indeed pumpkin anything) - is pumpkin pie spicy?

    Is Pumpkin Pie Spice like the mixed spice that you put in bread pudding?

    Talking of bread pudding, I've just made one and popped it in the oven - this will take IRON WILLPOWER to stick to just one small portion. It's my favourite pudding of all time, and it also reminds me so much of my mom and dad, because mom made delicious bread pudding and it was dad's favourite too. We all used to fight over the chewy edges, but the squidgy centre bit is lovely too, whether eaten hot and cold.

    Why did I make it so early in the day? Now I want bread pudding for breakfast!
  • Bella_Figura
    Bella_Figura Posts: 4,330 Member
    edited September 2021
    For you folks across the pond who probably don't know what a bread pudding is....it's a pudding made from stale bread. Sooooooo good! My mom used to put suet in hers (and I've heard some people say they make it with butter or eggs) but my version has no fat at all and is super-scrummy.

    Here's how you make it!

    Tear up a large quantity of stale bread - include as much crust as you can find! Traditionally this would be crusty white bread, but I've been known to include wholemeal, ciabatta etc. But white is best. Just avoid seeded or sourdough breads, as they'll change the flavour. Put your bread in a bowl and drench it with water. I mean, properly drench it. Then put it in a colander to drain, and squeeze out the excess water. You need to remove as much water as possible otherwise your bread pudding will be wet and soggy, which is NOT what you're aiming to achieve.

    Put your squeezed-out bread into a large mixing bowl and add a large quantity of mixed spice. By large quantity, I mean at least two sachets, so that the whole contents of the bowl turn gooey and brown. It's therapeutic to do this squidging by hand, as it's reminiscent of making mud pies as a child. Then stir in some sultanas, some soft brown sugar and a little caster sugar and stir thoroughly. Dollop into a buttered dish, sprinkle another 20g of brown sugar on the top and bake at about 190 degrees C until it looks done - i.e. when it's springy to the touch and nice and chewy-looking around the edges (between 60-90 minutes). Remove from the oven, scatter over a tsp of granulated sugar so that it looks pretty and tuck in.

    I've only made a small one, so here were my ingredients:
    • 330g white bread
    • 150g sultanas
    • 50g caster sugar
    • 50g soft brown sugar (+ 20g for the sprinkle on top)

    OMG, the whole house smells amazing! Can't wait for it to come out of the oven! When it does, you eat a portion piping hot (with some edgy bits!) and then leave the rest to go cold, cut it into squares, and try to resist eating them all in one sitting. When hot it's squidgy and moist...when cold it should have a firm texture (not mushy or soggy) so you can eat it in slabs....

    Heaven. I'll add a photo when it's out of the oven...

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  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    For you folks across the pond who probably don't know what a bread pudding is....it's a pudding made from stale bread. Sooooooo good! My mom used to put suet in hers (and I've heard some people say they make it with butter or eggs) but my version has no fat at all and is super-scrummy.

    I know what bread pudding is ;)

    and yorkshire pudding. proper yorkshire pudding.

    not pudding at all, for those who dont know. lol

    and crackers (poppers) at christmas. they have just fairly recently gained *some* popularity here, but I still wouldnt say they are common. at least not in the south. but I can occasionally find them in stores now and not have to order them.

    my grandfathers family originally came from England. Some of our christmas traditions were from his family. the yorkshire pudding. the crackers. we had popovers too but im not sure if those are english (i mean, its yorkshire pudding in a different pan, basically so maybe? lol)

    at the most, its just 5 of us, and often just the 3 of us. So I dont really make a huge spread. It just wont get eaten.
  • Bella_Figura
    Bella_Figura Posts: 4,330 Member
    @callsitlikeiseeit can't beat a proper yorkshire pud! Not heard of popovers, so maybe that's a regional thing. And I can't imagine Christmas without crackers - even if you go out on Christmas Day for lunch at a posh restauant they put a cracker beside each person's plate so that we can all sit there in flimsy paper crowns.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    And I can't imagine Christmas without crackers - even if you go out on Christmas Day for lunch at a posh restauant they put a cracker beside each person's plate so that we can all sit there in flimsy paper crowns.

    i love those crowns.

    my husband is not a fan. He had never heard of christmas crackers.

    Which i find ironic really I mean, hes from canada. it is still TECHNICALLY part of of the British Commonwealth. I mean, an independent Country, its own Constitution and laws and PM and all that but .... yeah.

  • Today is hot Italian beef sandwiches on ciabatta rolls for lunch, and dinner is flautas con pollo with beans and rice and salad, and hot mango-scotch bonnet dipping sauce for the flautas.
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    Pumpkin pie spice is an actual product? I've never tasted pumpkin pie (or indeed pumpkin anything) - is pumpkin pie spicy?

    Is Pumpkin Pie Spice like the mixed spice that you put in bread pudding?

    Talking of bread pudding, I've just made one and popped it in the oven - this will take IRON WILLPOWER to stick to just one small portion. It's my favourite pudding of all time, and it also reminds me so much of my mom and dad, because mom made delicious bread pudding and it was dad's favourite too. We all used to fight over the chewy edges, but the squidgy centre bit is lovely too, whether eaten hot and cold.

    Why did I make it so early in the day? Now I want bread pudding for breakfast!

    It is! Just a pre-blended ground spice mix. Usually cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Tasty and useful!

    (Bread pudding is amazing, at least the American versions I've had and made - nice bourbon pecan caramel bread pudding in particular!)
  • eliezalot wrote: »
    Pumpkin pie spice is an actual product? I've never tasted pumpkin pie (or indeed pumpkin anything) - is pumpkin pie spicy?

    Is Pumpkin Pie Spice like the mixed spice that you put in bread pudding?

    Talking of bread pudding, I've just made one and popped it in the oven - this will take IRON WILLPOWER to stick to just one small portion. It's my favourite pudding of all time, and it also reminds me so much of my mom and dad, because mom made delicious bread pudding and it was dad's favourite too. We all used to fight over the chewy edges, but the squidgy centre bit is lovely too, whether eaten hot and cold.

    Why did I make it so early in the day? Now I want bread pudding for breakfast!

    It is! Just a pre-blended ground spice mix. Usually cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Tasty and useful!

    (Bread pudding is amazing, at least the American versions I've had and made - nice bourbon pecan caramel bread pudding in particular!)

    The bread pudding I learned to make starts with making a 1:1 custard and then soaking your bread in that. Stir in or layer in various ingredients as you assemble it, then bake. And eat with more vanilla custard sauce, or ice cream.
  • Bella_Figura
    Bella_Figura Posts: 4,330 Member
    eliezalot wrote: »
    Yesterday husband and I went for a bike ride on a new trail. We didn't feel up for the whole ride (26 miles), but did about 17 which was just right. The weather was perfect. I feel like I haven't left my house since June due to the heat, so this early fall weather has been incredible! Also good to make up for the crap I ate yesterday lol. Delicious, delicious crap.

    I had some not-cholesterol-approved apple pie for breakfast (with a graham cracker crust and crumble topping). For our picnic lunch, I packed us PB&Js and apples. I also grabbed a hershy's cookies n' cream bar and cran-grape juice from the gas station. (Sometimes the heart just wants what it wants). For dinner, we ordered Indian. I had a nice chaat and an eggplant curry with rice. Definitely over on calories and saturated fat, but no big deal. Back on again today!

    So far breakfast was leftover garlic naan. Lunch will be the cantaloupe I just picked from the garden and maybe a tuna sandwich? Dinner is TBD. Truly no idea yet.

    That sounds like a perfect day to me! Your food choices made my mouth water!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    g-a-r-f-i-e-l-d ! ! ! ! ! !

    bread pudding is... ILLEGAL!

    That tiny appetizer portion you baked? It wouldn't have made it from the oven to the table due to "losses during testing"