Weigh-in Wednesday: Week 11

Let's get the stats out of the way.  This week I lost 3.4lbs.  Not all of the weight I gained last week, but I also felt super bloated this morning.  Note  to self: do not eat pizza and skip working out on Tuesday nights unless you want to bum yourself out on Weigh-in Wednesday. I think I'll have a more accurate number next week, as long as I stay on track.

So right now, the total loss is 15lbs. 

I need some motivation.  This month has been pretty slow. Work and life have been pretty stressful so focusing on being healthy is quite a challenge.  I felt pretty good about THE UNFATTTENING this week, but I could have done better. I've mentioned before that blogging is great motivation, but I'm not even sure sometimes if people are reading. So if you all have any motivation tips, leave a comment! Or just talk to me, whatevs. 

I hope this isn't true here at Worthy Mouthful.  If it is, why are you here?? I don't eat sad food anyway.  And this is not a diet, remember? It's THE UNFATTENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tend to have one big pig out meal a week.  Definitely not sad.  Unfortunately things add up quick. So, I have to be careful for the rest of the week. Alternatively, I could spread out my gluttony a little each day, but that only seems to work out when I don't have dinner dates to fabulous food places.

Last week it was a trip to Eden, a.k.a. land of all the delicious Vietnamese food in Falls Church, Va.  I don't know what most of the things are, so I have to try them.  The other half are fried or covered in rice and ridiculously delicious, haha.

Tonight I went to the new Spike Mendelsohn steakhouse, Bernaise.  I had a French 75 cocktail, bread and butter and mustard  (is that a French thing?), vichyssoise, foie gras pate with cherries on toast, an 8 oz flat iron steak au poivre, fries, and an ice cream profiterole.  It was decadent and delicious and worth every Calorie, especially since I spent it with good company. Sorry, no pics right now.  Restaurant lighting is terrible for food pics.  Ironic, I guess.  Or just a bummer.  Dammit, Alanis, I don't even know anymore.  Either way, I'm going to have to watch myself carefully the rest of the week.  

Eating out doesn't have to be a total Calorie bomb though.  Especially if I order the fish.  With all the sweltering heat we've been having, I've been in the mood for seafood. Here are a couple good ones:

Perfectly medium rare grilled salmon "salade nicoise" from Cafe Deluxe. 

Yeah, it's a salad.  But the salmon was goooood.  And this salad has olives, eggs, and potatoes.  You can possibly win a friend with this salad. 

Mahi mahi tacos from Dogfish Head Ale House.  

I'd prefer corn tortillas and that's way more sour cream than I needed. But there actually wasn't toooooo much rice on this plate, so it was nice not to have enough food to feed a family of four to take home.

However, the best way to stay on track is to cook at home.  The one thing of note I made last week (other than the french toast) was this:

Yogurt and cilantro grilled chicken, saffron onion rice, and an herb yogurt sauce

Here's the sort of recipe.  I say sort of because I was totally just winging this.  It was pretty tasty.

Yogurt and cilantro grilled chicken

2 chicken breasts, 1 inch cubes

small handful of cilantro, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs garam masala

salt

pepper

Mix all this stuff together.  Marinate overnight.  Don't do it longer because it'll have a really weird texture. Trust me. I think the acid in the yogurt will start to 'cook' the chicken and strange things happen.

Skewer onto bamboo skewers and scrape off excess marinade. Grill them on each side until the internal temp is 175degF.  If it keeps raining every evening, then just broil them.  Sad, but it will suffice.

Saffron rice

half of an onion, diced

a pinch of saffron

1/2 cup basmati rice

salt

Sweat the onion in about half a Tbs of olive oil and a little salt.  When translucent, add the rice.  Toast the rice until opaque and a little bit golden.  To a cup of warm water, add the saffron and mix well.  Add the saffron water to the rice. Add another cup of warm water or stock. Add a fat pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to simmering. Stir the rice once then cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.  

Herb Yogurt sauce

small handful of parsley, minced

small handful of cilantro, minced

(a little mint would be nice too but I didn't have any)

2 green onions, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

juice from half a lime

1 cup yogurt

salt

pepper

Mix it all together. Add water to thin it out to your desired consistency.

Plate all of these things onto a plate in a very photogenic way.  Then when you're done taking pics, mix the rice, chicken, and yogurt all together and shovel it into your face.  Enjoy!