Tuna melts

I like trying to be creative with the limited ingredients to create dishes that I like. One could look at this as frustrating, a challenge, an opportunity to be creative, or fun, depending on your perspective. I have decided to share some recipes I came up with in case it’s not as fun for you as it is for me. There are also recipes in the back of the book.

The Tuna Melt:

I like to make this at work for lunch. It’s a twist on an old classic.

For the bread or bun, I use the galette that you can have once a day. Instead of adding the sweetener to make it like a pancake, I add some seasonings instead. The other day I used chilli lime spice from Epicure. It gave the galette a hot taste. I make the galette the night before and then put it in a baggie in the fridge so I can just grab and go in the morning. For the tuna, I chop some onion (which you can have on protein days) about 2 tbs. of non-fat greek yoghurt per can of tuna, and sprinkled some dill and lemon spice in it. I spread the tuna mixture on the galette, and top it with a fat free cheese slice, preferably swiss. And voila, a tuna melt that is delicious. 

No Alcohol

Yes, I may have forgotten to mention, or you may have figured out, alcohol is not allowed on this diet in any stage, or not that I have found yet…so how do I not be tempted to have a glass of red wine with that pasta dish, or a beer with that steak ?  Well, for the risk of sounding like an article out of Shape or Women’s health magazine, I tried to limit my access or opportunity. I offered to be the designated driver for others at social functions. I also made sure I had another drink that I liked to drink, like diet pop, herbal tea, or coffee, (that was approved on the diet), and that way people didn’t keep asking me if I would like to have something to drink, as I already had something to drink.

To resist temptation at the lovely pot lucks at work, I offered to cover duties for other workers so they could go and enjoy themselves completely, and not have to worry about running back to get the phone.

I also kept reminding myself of my goal, and asked myself if I really wanted to get there or not. I wasn’t going to just eat protein for fun, there is a goal in mind.

Not hungry on a diet ?

Believe it or not, I am very rarely hungry, and that is only if I don't have access to my food. you can eat unlimited amounts of the approved foods and you don't have to count calories! It’s hard to think you can fill up just on lean protein foods, but it’s true, after a few days, I wasn’t hungry like I was before after eating a less amount of food!

And my taste buds changed…I wasn’t craving sugars or even my potato chips anymore. I went through the whole Christmas and New Year’s holiday without cheating- and I didn’t want to! I enjoy smelling some of the food, and that seemed to be enough. I don’t know if this is because of the proteins…or because I am just really motivated this time, so desperate to get back to my healthy weight.

It is easy to be social and be on the cruise phase. I would just plan my protein and veggie days for a social day. You can usually find some form of veggie at any event, and if not, I would plan to bring some. On Christmas day I had turkey dinner with everyone else, I just didn’t have any potatoes, gravy or dressing. I also got my veggies before Dad did them so they didn’t get any butter on them. For my dessert I had fat free lemon meringue pie flavored yoghurt. My taste buds exploded with that flavor- I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have before!

The Dukan diet for me?

I consider myself a condiments girl, and really only ate meat so I could taste the condiments…yum…there are so many different flavours, and I love to eat vegetables…so I was surprised to discover that I could do the Dukan Diet.

The Dukan Diet, as any diet, may not be for everyone, but so far it is working for me. I have lost 19 lbs in one month, and still going strong with no urges even to cheat. There are 4 stages to the diet, and you do each stage for a different length of time depending on the amount of weight you want to lose.

The Attack phase- this is the first phase which you are limited to eating lean protein and 1.5 tbs of oat bran. You can do this anywhere from 1 – 10 days, but the book recommends that if you do it for the longer time, to consult with a Dr. You must also drink 1.5 quarts of water each day, and walk for 20 minutes.

The Cruise phase- the phase I am in now, allows you to do the attack phase one day, and then lean protein plus veggies except white potatoes, plus the oat bran, which can be made into a delicious “galette” or pancake and used instead of bread. And, no to forget, to drink 1.5 quarts of water and now walk 30 minutes a day.

You can also use artificial sweetener, which I was little concerned about with some research relating it to alzheimers, but have decided to use the healthiest version, Stevia. Diet sodas, herbal teas, are allowed, and you must drink 1.5 quarts of water each day.

How does diet work? Why is it different from other diets?

 The book explains that the digestion of proteins is the most time consuming  and therefore burns more energy (p.18). “protein is composed of an aggregate of ery long chains of molecules whose basic links, amino acids, are connected to each other by a strongbond that requires a lot more work to be broken down (than carbs).” (p.28).  If you don’t drink enough water, “The waste from your burning of fats will accumulate and extinguish the metabolic rate.” (p.52).

I highly recommend buying the book to read all the recommendations and cautions so you can do it safely and effectively.  The book is entitled, The Dukan Diet by: Dr. Pierre Dukan.

Battle of the Bulge...

So, one thing I have been carrying around in my suitcase is the struggle of trying to lose weight, and what that means and doesn’t mean. For most of my younger life I was very active and never had to worry or even think of my weight, even in University.  I didn’t even regularly weigh myself as I had that balance of calories in/calories out. Then, as the “real” working world started, so did my battle of the bulge. I had less time and less energy to work out, and as I moved to different cities and introduced to different cultural foods, became a “foodie”. Shift work permitted for eating any type of food at any time of the day, and too often the choice was fast food because it was quick and warm and tasty.  Then, add an injury or two making exercise more challenging, combined with a decreasing metabolic rate with each decade, and presto, 60 lbs overweight.

If you actually sit down and do the math, let’s say that you gain .5 lbs in a week...(that’s not much right? could be water retention from the Chinese food last night)…that’s 2 lbs in a month…that’s 24 lbs in a year!!!

Embarrassed to admit, I have tried the cabbage soup diet- which did work, but gained it back as it was not a lifestyle change…the South Beach Diet- which worked as well, but I couldn’t stick to it and again wasn’t a life style change…Simply for Life Diet- which worked as well, but I became tired of only being able to eat certain foods and lost motivation, and found it was extremely expensive for the support and information I received. And last, but not least, weight watchers- which works, but I found it time consuming to have to look up everything I ate and then write it down. The new pocket calculator helped, but still it took time. At the end of this diet, I do plan to live a weight watchers style of eating as it is all real foods from all food groups and exercise with portion control.

Then a friend told me about the Dukan Diet…and a new journey began…

Why a suitcase?

I took a course last year in which we had to so some reflection, and I thought I would name my blog after some of my thoughts from part of an assignment. We all carry baggage, or I prefer to call it luggage, or better yet, a suitcase, around with us. Some of us carry large suitcases and some small (different levels of power in relationships), some with wheels to make life a bit easier (privileges), some brand names (rich), for some it may be a Sobey’s bag (poverty). Some suitcases are overstuffed and held together with duct tape (band-aid solutions from government or programs). Some of us never open the suitcase for fear of what we may find (no self reflection or may be in denial) or fear we may not be able to close it again (afraid to find out we don’t like ourselves and difficulty changing). Some of us open it, re-organize, add a few things (new skills) or take a few things out (changing from negative thought patterns to positive). Some of us don’t open it until it bursts open on it’s own and we are forced to deal with it (mental illness or crisis). Some are given “issued” luggage, like a rucksack in the military, from an organization or system, (systemic racism), and some of us are carrying an invisible back pack and don’t even know it (privilege). Sometimes we change the type of suitcase we carry, (can be oppressed and then an oppressor), but regardless, we all carry one with us. So, during my life’s journey I will try to be aware of the suitcase I am carrying, and not judgemental of the suitcases others may be carrying.