confession

So yesterday someone offered me a most delicious piece of cake to try to see if I would be interested in using this baker to make our wedding cake, so of course I had to try it. It was the most delicious piece of cake I have ever had...and then I had to make sure so I tried another. Oh dear. It was probably the first real sugar I have eaten in about 2 months...it was so good...but not good on the scales. I gained .4 lbs...not sure how much of it is related to the cake...(an attempt to not feel guilty of course). Time to get back on track again!!

Fish cakes

This recipe is posted today on the Dukan Diet website:
 Salmon and Tuna fish cakes:

1 egg
1/2 tin of tuna in brine
1 fillet of salmon
Chopped chives
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Two table spoons of oat bran

 Cut the salmon into chunks. Mix with the whole egg, tuna and seasoning. Make into round, flat
cakes. Roll them in the oat bran and then fry in a non-stick  frying pan for 2 - 3 minutes on each side on a
low heat.

I'm going to try this tonight. I did a similar thing with chicken strips and then baked them in the oven, but I decided I would prefer to save my oatbran for my galette or in my yoghurt instead of using it as a coating. We'll see how these turn out. :)

Seafood Chowder

This is one of my all protein staples.
Seafood Chowder:

Ingredients:

1 litre skim milk
1 package of seafood chowder mix
1 can of baby clams
2 fresh cloves of garlic
1 piece of fresh ginger
chopped onion
green onion
fresh ground pepper
1 packet artificial sweetener

I first slowly heat the skim milk in a pot on the stove. I usually don't turn it passed 2 on the dial so as not to burn the milk. Then I add my freshly grated ginger (the piece would depend on how much you want to taste ginger). I usually use one maybe 2 cm by 3 cm, 2 minced cloves of garlic, the packet of sweetener, the clams with the juice from the can, and then the rest of the frozen seafood and frshly ground pepper. I let it cook, stirring every now and again to make sure the milk doesn't burn, until the seafood is cooked through and the flavours blend nicely.  It does taste even better the next day.

When I tasted it without the sweetener, I could really tell it was skim milk, and thought it was missing something. I added the sweetener because I thought the butter gave it a sweet taste, and found it made a really big difference in the taste.

I hope you like it!

Have I noticed an increase in my grocery bill?

A few people have asked me if my grocery bill has increased since stating this diet. I would have to say that I haven't noticed a difference, but I consider myself a frugal shopper, (but always room for improvement or suggestions), and now there are 2 of us in the household that are doing the diet, so we will see if that makes a difference.

Shopping tips:

1) Stalk up on sales: I do this a lot. When turkeys were on sale for $1.27/lb for Christmas, I bought 3 and put them in the freezer to have at a later time. When ground beef went on sale, I did the same thing, but I freeze them in portion sizes that I think I might use. For example, I froze all the beef in 1 lb bags as one recipe for beef jerky is one lb. This means though that you have to have a deep freeze and cash upfront to get the sales.

2)look for cheaper versions of the thing. When I make seafood chowder, I buy the chowder mix, and add a can of clams or other seafood that I may have gotten on sale. I find this is cheaper. I don't usually add lobster.

3) reduced produce: Every store has a shelf or section to sell the over ripe produce. I check this section to see if there is anything I want to use that night for supper and will buy it there. Or, I may buy the produce on sale and prepare it to freeze or juice it. The other night I bought to bags of overipe tommatoes and came home and grilled them for tomatoe sauce.

4)Salmon: I buy the whole fish frozen, from the Pacific Ocean. It's not as pink, but it still tastes good. I bake it in the oven with lemon slices and dill, or cut it in steaks and cook it on the George Foreman Grill.

I think one difference is that I'm not buying hardly any fruit anymore (some for one family member), and less vegetables, buy try as I  may, some still seemed to go to waste. So if you consider that you won't be buying as many fruits and veggies, and buy the protein on sale, it won't necessarily cost you anymore. And, I'm not buying chips, cookies, or treats anymore, and those can add up as well. You also don't need to buy the prime rib steak all the time either. :)

Does anyone else have any tips to cut costs when buying groceries ?

oh oh Chinese take-out

yesterday I was in the city shopping with a friend and then it was time to eat lunch, so what do I do? We went to the food court at the mall so we could each chose what we wanted to eat. I chose chinese vegetables, pepperocrn chicken (no coating on the chicken) and beef and brocoli. It was the best I thought I could do.

This morning I weighed myself and gained .6 lbs. I'm not discouraged though as I think/hope it was mainly because of the salt, and it will come off in the next couple days.

Does anyone else out there have any ideas on what would be good options for when eating out? Especially in the fast food areas ?

Putting on the blitz

This week was a different week. I was cold all the time and it took a lot more to get warm than usual. I was also disappointment because I wasn't loosing the weight each day like I was before. I would lose .5 lbs, gain .5 lbs, lose, gain. I went to read in the book which explained that after loosing 20 lbs one could expect to have a slow down in their weight loss, the plan was still working, but you wouldn't still see it on the scales maybe for a few days. It explained there could be various reasons for this; their body could be stabilizing from the change, water retention from pre or post menopause or changes in hormone levels, pre/post period.  It also explained that this is the time in the diet where people often quit because they get discouraged, and go back to bad eating habits. It explains how you can start the next phase if you think you can't carry on in this phase, and then maintain the weight you have lost, or you can put ont he blitz.

Dr. Dukan recamended:
1) double your walking time in which, I must confess wasn't doing regularly. December is a very busy month and I didn't always have the time...yes that is a total excuse and should not be accepted. It really is all about making priorities.

2) get sleep before midnight- what? I couldn't believe it. My mother has been telling me for years, and her father told her that the sleep you get before midnight counts the most for some reason.

3) try a directic tea- to help release some hidden water.

I didn't give up, trusted Dr. Dukan, and started walking, drank a directic tea- (Skinny Tea from David's Teas), falling asleep before midnight just didn't happen this week. But today I lost 1.2 lbs....yes!!

Fat free salad dressing

 I came across this recipe somewhere else but can’t remember where, and there is also a variation to this in the Dukan Diet book.

Salad dressing:

There are only 2 ingredients, mustard and balsamic vinegar. If you want it more runny, use more vinegar, if you want it more like a dip, use more mustard. I usually start with a few tablespoons full of each, and go from there.

For variations, you can use different mustards, add spices, or use different vineagrs like red or white wine vinegar. Today I topped my salmon steak with it and it was delicious.

I enjoy this as a salad dressing, or a dip for some meats.

I hope you like it too.