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We were low on groceries at the beginning of the week and I didn’t want fast food, so I walked to the grocery store on my lunch break and searched for inspiration. I made enough for dinner and leftovers, and when I brought it in for lunch the next day I received so much interest I took a picture and twittered it.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
50g of wine salami (originally I wanted proscuitto, but they didn’t have any so I went with another salty meat)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Pesto (I get mine ready made from a jar)
1 cup grape tomatoes
2 fat cloves of garlic
1/4 cup shredded italian cheese of your choice (optional)
Chopped romaine, or your choice of greens

Score the grape tomatoes with a vertical slit and place on shallow baking pan big enough to also fit chicken. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil.

Thinly slice garlic cloves. Remove the chicken tenders from each breast and set aside. Butterfly each breast and lay flat on cutting board. For each chicken breast, smear a tablespoon of pesto, add a couple of slices of garlic, a sprinkling of pine nuts, and slices of wine salami. Roll up and place on pan, opening side down. Add another tablespoon of pesto and smear on outside of chicken. Coat the chicken tenders with pesto and add on the same pan.
Place in 475ºF oven and roast until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 165ºF. Add shredded cheese and broil until cheese is melty and brown. Remove chicken and slice. Place atop washed greens. Pick out tomatoes and tip juices onto everything. Garnish with more pine nuts, and a splash of balsamic vinegar, and serve.

When I brought this in for lunch, I put the sliced chicken and tomatoes in a small container, and brought the romaine in a separate one. I warmed up the chicken in the microwave until warm, threw the leaves into a pretty bowl, and topped with the chicken and tomatoes. As I was eating it I was reflecting, “I love this diet of mine”.

It’s true, I’ve been eating healthier and getting more exercise since January 2 and I’m already down 4 lbs and have 7 more to go. I used to keep a Moleskine notebook as my daily log, referencing Calorie Count from time to time, but have finally taken the leap in becoming a member on their website. It’s less portable than my notebook, but already I’m appreciating the added features I get. I can keep track of my weight fluctuations day-by-day, and after filling in my food log, I’ll get an evaluation for the entire day.

Nutrition Report

It brings me back to my school days when I’d look forward to report card days. Additionally, as the food log tracks calories as well as quantities, I can tell if I’m eating too little or too much. I didn’t suspect that I was eating too little (after all, I find that I’m quite disciplined when dieting), but the numbers don’t lie. Keeping track of numbers this way also reminds me of my love of RPGs. When adding a food item, it’s like creating a character with a certain amount of character creation points available to me. When looking at my intake so far, it’s like seeing how many more experience points I need to gain a level.

Today's Intake

I’m supposed to eat between 1500-1900 calories otherwise I gain weight or go into starvation mode. Good thing I’m not tempted by cupcakes to fill in the gap for today.

This evening I tweeted what I was having for dinner,

“Dinner from scratch: wh wheat oregano/rosemry pizza crust, garlic tomato sauce, spinach, mushrooms, kalamata olives, goat cheese, pepperoni”

and @blendlab asked if there were any leftovers.  It was too hard to transmit pizza over Twitteriffic, but I offered to share the crust recipe.

Here is the original recipe from the beautiful Giada DeLaurentiis, followed by my modification of the ingredients:

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 envelope active dry yeast (equivalent of 2 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, plus 1/4 set aside for kneading if necessary
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil

The original recipe called for a total of two cups of flour, but I find that using whole wheat flour results in more flour gluten, requiring less. I keep the extra 1/4 cup of flour nearby if the dough is too sticky when kneading though. I add the oregano and rosemary at the same time as the salt when following the same procedure as the original recipe. It’s tempting to add garlic or at least dehydrated garlic to the crust for flavor, but as it is an antifungal it will harm the yeast and the dough won’t rise as well. Lastly, I don’t use a food processor for making dough. I just use a large broad spoon, and get my hands into the dough as soon as the flour is stirred in.

Here is the procedure, copied and pasted:

Pour 3/4 cup warm water into small bowl; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. KNEAD dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. PUNCH down dough. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. ROLL out dough according to recipe instructions. (Start in center of dough, working outward toward edges but not rolling over them.)

Makes two pizzas. Bake at 475F for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

I was flipping through a Chatelaine magazine at my parents-in-law’s place and came across one of those quick-and-easy 30-minute meal recipes.  It was a turkey meatball soup that sounded easy enough, but it was missing some key ingredients like onions, garlic, and fresh herbs (aka flavor).  I did a search on Food Network.com and found an italian meatball soup by Emeril Lagasse, but it was missing another one of my key criteria for good eating: vegetables.  I took his recipe and added my own improvisations to include vegetative matter, fibre, and a leaner protein and this is the result.  Normally I take pictures of food I like to eat, but this stuff was consumed too quickly for the camera.

Italian Meatball Vegetable Soup

Meatballs:
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for garnishing soup if desired
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pinches crushed red pepper

Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands, with their juice (or I just used diced tomatoes)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 carrots, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
14 oz canned beans (navy beans or mixed (kidney, garbanzo, etc.)), rinsed and drained
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup whole wheat small pasta
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

In a medium mixing bowl combine the ingredients for the meatballs and mix
until thoroughly combined.

Divide the meat mixture into tablespoons and roll into smooth balls in your hands. Set rolled meatballs aside on a plate or other flat surface.

In a 4 1/2 quart soup pot or large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat until hot. Add half of the rolled meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer the browned meatballs to a plate and set aside. Brown the remaining meatballs in the same manner and set aside.

Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, oregano and parsley and stir to combine. Return the meatballs to the soup pot and bring the soup to a boil. Add the carrots and zucchini. Reduce the heat so that the soup just simmers and cook for 30 minutes.  Add the pasta and beans to the hot soup, stir well, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the chopped basil and serve.

I usually don’t wear a watch.  I always have my cell phone with me (even if I don’t answer it, heh) and if not I’m always near a computer.  After reading free Oxygen magazines I’ve determined that I should probably find out what my real heart rate is when I do cardio, since the machine downstairs is broken.  It says that I’m at 70-90, but that’s more or less what a person’s resting heart rate is.  Anyways, we went to Sport Chek at Beacon Hill and I picked up a Mio Shape watch.

Mio Shape

The box had a price sticker stating $149.99, but the computer at the till said $39.99, so I’m pretty sure I lucked out with this purchase.  Not only does it have a heart rate monitor, but I can also track my calorie intake and expenditure, compare it to my target caloric intake, AND it tells time.

I’m looking forward to trying this out during my morning cardio routine tomorrow.  In the meantime I’m reading the extensive health and fitness suggestion manual that came with the watch, and trying to determine if a resting heart rate of 56 is healthy or if I’m really a zombie.

— Edit August 24 —

Whohoo!  The chart at the bottom of this heart rate page suggests that I am not a zombie and even lists me as “athlete”!  While I still want to chalk up this reading as being tired right now and not having my coffee today, I’ll take what “truth” I can get from the internet.