Green Chile Chicken Soup for my Soul!

I had a day off from both work and school today, so I fixed this chicken chile recipe for lunch. Honey and I both really liked it!

Chicken and White Bean Chile from Karen Harris

I used green chile powder that I bought at a local farmer's market and only added 1 teaspoon of cumin instead of the 2 in the recipe. I chopped up an avocado for garnish but we added lots of the avocado.
It took about 2 1/2 hours to finish with cooking the chicken and a couple interruptions, but we have a lot left for those late nights when I get home from school hungry.

I was in a hurry, so I didn't quite get down to mince size when I chopped the onion and red bell pepper, but I like the color of the red pepper chunks in the soup.

It had a definite chile taste, but it didn't overwhelm the flavor of the chicken.

Indian Veggie Sauce for Spaghetti Squash

It's been a busy day for studying today. So, when I got hungry at lunch time, I wanted something relatively quick and easy to prepare.

Fortunately, my honey had baked a spaghetti squash so I chopped up some vegetables and added some garam masala spice that I had already mixed up and cooked them up with diced tomatoes to make this sauce.

Indian Veggie Sauce on Spaghetti Squash

Sorry about the picture quality. My camera hadn't recovered from shooting a picture of the sauce in the pot.

Here is the recipe I used for the garam masala:

 

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix the spices together and store in a sealed container.

Ingredients:

 

1 spaghetti squash                         

1 green bell pepper

½ red onion

3 oz sliced mushrooms

2 Tbsp olive oil

 1 Tbsp minced garlic

28 oz  can petite diced tomatoes

8 oz can tomato sauce

Grated Parmesan cheese

2-3 tsp garam masala 

 Technique:

 

     1.       Slice the bell pepper into lengthwise strips, then cut each strip into 3-4 sections.

     2.       Chop the onion.

     3.       Heat the olive oil in a 2 ½ quart pot.

     4.       Add the garlic powder and spices and stir into the oil

     5.       Add the chopped red onion and cook until slightly limp, about 5-10 minutes.

     6.       Add the mushrooms and green pepper and cook for 3 more minutes.

     7.       Stir in the diced tomatoes and heat to boiling. Boil for about 5 minutes.

     8.       Stir in the tomato sauce, reduce heat to medium low, about 3-4 on the dial. Cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes.

     9.       Scrape the spaghetti squash out of the skin and spoon onto a plate.

     10. Ladle the veggie sauce over the squash, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Notes:

          1)      I recommend mild seasoning for this so you can enjoy the taste of the vegetables.

          2)      This makes more sauce than you need for one spaghetti squash. I suggest trying the extra sauce with cheese ravioli or over whole grain pasta like spaghetti or linguine.

          3)     A 1 cup serving of spaghetti squash has only 1/4 the carbohydrates of a 2 oz serving of whole grain spaghetti. It is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.

30Quest Breakthrough!

As I wrote before, I am on a quest to lose 30 pounds this year. So, I was very excited when I stepped onto the scale for my Friday morning weigh-in and it came up 199.6. I'm under 200 pounds for the first time in 3 or 4 years. :) That is down 2 pounds from my base weight of 202 and over 10 pounds less than I weighed a year ago.

Now, only 28 pounds to go!

But, going to school combined with working about 15 hours a week has thrown a kink in my exercise plans. I was burning over 1500 calories a week with aerobic workouts at the gym, but I don't have the time for that and studying.

Fortunately, I have to walk about half a mile from the parking lot to my evening classes which burns about 40 calories a trip. And, there's no eating or drinking when I'm on the computers. And being on my feet while I'm at work isn't enough to get my heart pumping, but it also burns calories, especially when I'm scrubbing dishes in the kitchen.

Broiled Salmon with Horseradish Sauce and Panko

But the key thing to weight loss is still diet. And one of the key ingredients in my diet this summer is salmon. My honey had a heart attack in November and had heart bypass surgery in December. When honey recovered and started rehab therapy at a local gym we also got some diet advice.

One of the recommendations was to eat fish twice a week, preferably heart healthy fish like salmon that have a significant amount of omega 3 fatty acids. As this article from the Mayo clinic notes:

Omega-3 in fish: How eating fish helps your heart

Omega-3 fatty acids may decrease triglycerides, lower blood pressure, reduce blood clotting, boost immunity and improve arthritis symptoms, and in children may improve learning ability. Eating one to two servings a week of fish, particularly fish that's rich in omega-3 fatty acids, appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, particularly sudden cardiac death.

 So, we have been trying several salmon recipes this summer. And one of the easiest is pictured above. The recipe I found online called for baking it first and then broiling at the end, but I prefer to broil it the whole time.

Spray the broiler pan with cooking spray. We bought a large fillet at our local grocery store, but you can do this just as well with a small 4 ounce filet. Preheat the broiler on low and put the rack one level down from the top. Lay the salmon skin side up on the broiler pan and broil it with the door slightly open for about 5 minutes. This cooks the skin and makes separating the filet from the skin at serving time easier. Then, pull the rack out and flip the filet over.

Drizzle a mayonnaise based horseradish sauce over the top of the filet and use a knife to spread it around. This lets the horseradish bind the panko to the salmon. Then, sprinkle panko (Japanese dried bread crumbs) over the top and broil it for about 10 minutes till the salmon is done and the panko toasted a medium brown. If you have an especially thick filet, you can switch the oven to bake at 350 and finish cooking it for 5-10 minutes.

Adding a light salad or cole slaw with a wild rice side dish and a piece of your favorite fruit gives you a complete meal.

I generally cook more than we want for one meal. You can make a pita sandwich from the leftovers with sliced onion, bell pepper and shredded cabbage. Or, make a hearty salmon bake with a can of diced tomatoes and a cup of shredded cheese. My son really likes that.

So, eat healthy and enjoy the summer!

30Quest, My Personal Quest to Lose 30 Pounds

I am overweight.  It fluctuates up and down, but in the last couple years I have blimped up over 200 pounds and would really like to get down to my target range of about 175. (or lower is even better)

Last year I started a regular walking program and have lost about 10 pounds in that time. But, overweight is a big risk factor for type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a lot of other conditions. So, I have been planning a more determined effort to lose 30 pounds this year.

This will be based mainly on standard diet (based somewhat on the American Diabetes Association recommendations which I used successfully 20 years ago), regular exercise, and smarter food selections, especially drinking more water and less soda.

So, when an offer popped up in my inbox from a newsletter I subscribe to that stated


30 lbs. Overweight? Try Sensa(R) Free!  

I was intrigued. In fact it pressed one of my Hot Buttons. I had to check it out.

So, what is Sensa?

According to their website, 

SENSA^® contains a patented blend of scented sprinkles - also known as Tastants - that are designed to help you feel full faster without changing the taste of your food. All ingredients in SENSA^® are 100% FDA GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) and can be found in foods you commonly keep in your kitchen or pantry.

Specifically, it includes maltodextrin, tricalcium phosphate and silica. They also brag about no drugs, no pills, no stimulants, no diuretics. That's OK, but does it work  and how much does it cost?

So, I looked for an independent evaluation and got a hit from WebMD, which is a generally accurate and useful source of medical information.

WebMD about Sensa

and got this information.

What's the Evidence for Sensa?

The company's weight loss evidence is based on a few company-sponsored "clinical" studies (not to be confused with a clinical trial, which is the gold standard for research) done by Hirsch. These studies have not been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

 

The lack of published scientific evidence on Sensa, along with a lack of diet and fitness guidelines to accompany the product, raise a red flag for some nutrition experts. 

"This is not a magic bullet. There is no magic sprinkle. This isn’t even a diet," says diet and fitness expert, Pamela Peeke, MD. "It oversimplifies the complex physiology and psychology associated with appetite."

She adds that there is nothing unique about the list of ingredients in the tastants.

and Sensa doesn't promise results that can't be achieved with a traditional diet.

Educating yourself about healthy eating and making simple, sustainable changes to your lifestyle are the keys to lasting weight loss. If you step up your activity to burn 250 additional calories per day while cutting 250 calories per day from your diet, you can shed 50 pounds in a year, Peeke says.

And then there's the cost.

A one-month Sensa starter kit costing $59, and a 6-month kit at an introductory rate of $235, are available on the Sensa web site.  (The Consumer Affairs web site cautions dieters that the free trial is associated with an automatic enrollment plan, and incurs an additional charge of $89.99 if you don't send all of the product back within 30 days.)

 I was able to lose weight without signing up for another monthly expense and I plan to do so again.

A loss of 30 pounds in the next six months would only require losing a little over a pound a week. I've done that before and know I can do it again.

That doesn't make it easy, but I will keep posting updates and suggestions.

Suggestion 1 (which I have been doing this week)

Cut up some non-starchy vegetables (like broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers) into bite-sized strips or chunks and keep them in a plastic container in the refrigerator along with a container of low calorie ranch dressing to dip them in.

 It will give you a quick and convenient alternative to grabbing some salt and starch from a potato chip bag when you get a little hungry for a snack.