“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.”

Ugggg, it is so hard to exercise in the heat. I can't believe it is already July, where is 2009 going? I’m thinking I might go for a run tonight because I was slightly misbehaved today. I had pizza, which I try not to do unless it’s homemade. And today I made carrot cupcakes for my grandmother and of course had to lick a few spoons during the cooking. I didn’t actually have a cupcake though, but overall today I just feel weighed down. It’s amazing when you start to eat healthy how gross you feel when you splurge, even just a little bit.

Yesterday evening was fabulous. The dinner I made was deeeelish. I am going to post the recipe below. Everyone that at it LOVED it, which always makes me feel good. I love cooking for people, in my next life I might be a caterer. Like I said, the original recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs, A Year in the Kitchen, but I modified it slightly. Mainly just the crust, I’m not really big on making dough.

There really isn’t too much else to report on the home front. I feel boring today. So sorry for anyone that wanted something juicy this blog post. The recipe will be worth the lack of snark and news.

Chicken Curry Mango Pizza (I would post a picture, it was so pretty, but I can’t find my computer cord *sad face*)

1 c. plain low fat yogurt
1 tbsp. curry powder
1/2 lb. chicken tenders, diced (or if you are meatless, you can use tofu, I like the pre-marinated kind)
1 large piece of Naan (Indian bread, if you don’t know about it, google it, and RECANIZE, its delicious)
1/2 c. mango chutney
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 mango, diced
1 4oz container of crumbled goat cheese

Whisk together yogurt and curry powder
Fold in chicken tenders or tofu, refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Put Naan (I used 3 pieces) on to cookie sheet.
Top with chutney, onions and bell peppers.
Bake for about 3 minutes. Just keep an eye on the Naan so it doesn’t get too brown. I even used whole wheat to make it extra healthy!

While pizza cooks, preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.
Add chicken, brown and cook through, about 6-8 minutes.

Take pizza out of the oven, turn broiler on.
Top pizza with mango, chicken and goat cheese.
Place under the broiler until cheese is melted. It may not look melted, because its crumbled, but it will get melty.

This recipe for anyone who likes Indian but doesn't live in a place where good takeout is readily available. Also anyone who has an adventurous palate and isn't afraid of trying new things. Don't be scared off by the curry, its really subtle and all these flavors work so well together.

So enjoy. I'm going to make a couple other pizzas pretty soon so stay tuned for more recipes (and pictures when I find the computer cord).

"The first wealth is health."

So, in my two week hiatus I have realized something. Losing weight is not the hardest thing to do in the world. Its blogging about losing weight that is hard. But I’m back, with a vengeance, and with good news to report.

So I have lost 7 pounds since the start of my blog, and about 14 since May 10. Yay me! ::press applause machine button:: My clothes that I’m not mortified to admit the size of are fitting again and I FEEL better. So I haven’t ignored the blog because I haven’t been doing well, I’ve ignored it because I’m too busy being AWESOME at losing weight, true story.

The best part about this whole thing is that I’ve been in lots of situations where I could have misbehaved, diet wise. First of all, I love her dearly, but my sister from another mister Maresha eats like a dude. And that is fine for her, she’s all of about a size 4 and that’s just about as big as she’ll ever get. It’s hard when you are around people that eat a lot to not indulge. But I went to her house for a birthday/graduation and I managed to behave myself. I had my veggie burgers, WHICH WERE DELICIOUS, no matter how much people made fun of me for eating them. I didn’t have cake (ok I had a bite of a cupcake, but a bite never killed anyone).

Then, last weekend I went to a wedding which by itself is fine, but it was an open bar wedding ::gasp, all the empty calories:: I am not even going to lie, I drank. But the REST of the time I ate responsibly and didn’t over indulge so I don’t feel bad. Plus I had an awesome workout, I danced my heart out.. which in my world cancelled out all the alcohol calories *proud face*

Also, I’ve been keeping up with all my walking and running and everything else. I’m actually starting to enjoy it. I have had trouble keeping up with the Couch to 5k program, mainly because I hate to go to a gym and I can’t really time my running while I have a jogging stroller to push. So I run until I feel like passing out (maybe that isn’t good, but it works). And then I walk until I feel like I can run again. I had my brother’s IPOD the other day and I will say, run dancing is better than just running. I think I’m going to market it as the next “thing”. Why just run, when you can listen to music and run dance? In case you’re curious run dancing involves singing, fist pumping at appropriate song climaxes, and moving my shoulders while holding Carmen’s stroller. It’s pretty awesome, and in my head, I burn more calories.

So I’m pretty pumped about dinner tonight. BLOG SHOUTOUT I’ve been following this awesome blog, A Year in the Kitchen. She has the best recipes and she too is on a weight loss journey so most are VERY health conscious. Since moving away from the DC metro area, I’ve found that take out selections have dwindled. Not that I’m looking for take out, but I love sushi and Indian and they aren’t readily available in New Jersey. Well I found a recipe for an Indian pizza on her website so I took what I liked and modified it some to please me and that’s what I’m doing tonight for dinner. All the boys are away so my mom, Carmen and I are doing a girl's dinner/movie night. I’m very pumped and I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. I’m really going to try to carve out some time each night to bust out a blog. The encouragement I’m getting from everyone is, admittedly, a HUGE HELP and totally unexpected, especially some of the sources of said encouragement. I really appreciate all the kind words and support, it means TONS.

“Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.”

So, I took the weekend off from blogging. I was too busy with dance recitals and enjoying myself to think about weight loss blogging. This does not mean, however, that I took the weekend off from weight loss. I indulged once, on Mr. Softee ice cream. But there is nothing cuter than a three year old, panicked and running after the ice cream man. I had to share a cone with her.

So anyone that knows me knows that I’m not much of a planner. I worry about now, well now, and I’ll worry about later when later is now. But in order to be successful with all of this, I, Caroline Rivera, have settled on a plan. ::cut to the masses throwing their hands over their mouths in pure dismay::

My plan with eating is to make healthy choices every day, drink lots of water, and no eating out. I don’t want to count calories or deprive myself of anything because then I’ll be miserable. A miserable dieter is a non-dieter. So, healthy choices, water water water.

My working out, however, can’t be so haphazard. So, after researching (and doing lots of blog stalking) I’ve decided on two things. One, I’m going to run a 5k, then a 10 miler, than a half marathon and for my 30th birthday I’m treating myself to a marathon. I haven’t decided on which one, but I have three years to figure it out (gulp, I’ll be 30 in 3 years!!) So I’ve decided to start the Couch to 5k program. I linked it for you. It’s pretty easy, today was day one. As luck would have it, Princepesa wanted to go to the park, so I had an opportunity to start my program. And, because I just may be the luckiest girl alive, it seems that every time I was doing a running interval, I was headed up hill. It was HOT today too, so all in all, workout successful. I didn’t factor in that once I got done running about 3 miles I would have to make it home. So after the initial 3 mile run, I hung out at the park (and by hung out I mean tried to not to scare the kids at the park by passing out), and then walked BRISKLY home. Workout done, 6 miles travelled, legs… sore.

So I don’t really remember what I had for breakfast or lunch today because I was so focused on my dinner menu. I think I had cheerios with bananas for lunch. Oh yea, after my run I had some sliced red bell peppers, hummus, and watermelon. Dinner, I promise you was much more exciting.

BLOG SHOUTOUT.. My very dear friend Carrie (click on her name for a link to her blog) provided some much needed comfort food for me in a time of need. Usually comfort food is full of fat, loaded with carbs, covered in gravy, or all of the above. Not her broccoli cauliflour mash.. It is delicious, and at the fear of inciting groans, nutritious. So I made that for dinner tonight, along with corn pudding. There was roasted chicken and some other stuff on the table too. See recipes below. (As a side note, the corn pudding is in no way healthy, just because it contains corn. But if you only eat a little bit, really is it that big of a deal?)

Corn Pudding

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
8oz. sour cream
1 pkg. corn muffin mix (8 1/2 oz.)
1/2 c. milk
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can creamed corn.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream. Gradually add corn bread muffin mix alternately with milk. Fold in corn. Pour into greased 3 qt. baking dish. Bake uncovered at 325 or until set and lightly browned. See just like I said, totally unhealthy 

Broccoli Cauliflour Mash

2 heads of broccoli
1 head of cauliflour
¼ a bar of low or nonfat cream cheese
2 cloves or garlic, pressed (either in a garlic press or chopped VERY FINE)

Steam broccoli and cauliflour until VERY tender. Strain. While veggies are steaming, cut the ¼ block of cream cheese in to little cubes. Put in bowl, along with 2 cloves of garlic. Dump strained veggies over cream cheese and garlic and then go to town with a potato masher. If you don’t have a potato masher, I’m sure a mixer would work just as well. If the cauliflour is too liquidy, you can add more broccoli.

Mmmm mmm good!

"Rich, fatty foods are like destiny: they too, shape our ends."

So, here we are, Day One. I haven’t decided whether it’s better to write at the beginning of the day to document all my plans or to write at the end of the day to document what I did. I guess I’ll figure it out as I go along.

Today was a good day, I’ll start with that. Watching your weight while simultaneously Mommying a three year old might be the most difficult form of multitasking. The thing about toddlers is that they require constant sustenance so there are always little snacks lying around. The running around part (aka Mommy Cardio) is the easy part. Between walking around the house all day picking up toys, or generally running around trying to keep her out of oncoming traffic, I manage to get it in. This is where having a very active three year old comes in handy. She loves walking, so we do a lot of that. And, as they often do, Princess Ants in her Pants always throws a cardio curve ball my way. Today, mid walk, she got tired. So I hoisted her up on my shoulders and walked. She was like a 40 pound little rucksack.

I also want to keep a list of what eat and when I concoct something delicious to tempt the taste buds I will provide a recipe. Eventually when I figure this whole blog thing out, I’ll link to a page of just recipes. So here’s my day one, mapped out below.

Breakfast

1 ½ pancakes and a bottle of water
This was actually not my plan, but after taking my Prima Ballerina to dance class, she insisted on pancakes. And for those of you who know me, you know that my pancakes are literally irresistible. So I didn’t put butter, just a little syrup and I only ate 1 and a half. According to Weight Watchers, that is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-5 points. I’m not actually doing Weight Watchers, but it helps me at least keep track of my limits. For someone my weight, the daily points goal is around 26.

Lunch

Spicy Black Bean Burger with hummus, red bell peppers, and mushrooms on a whole wheat sandwich roll.
One nectarine
Lunch was a much more successful venture. I’ve found the easiest way to fill up is to load everything I eat with LOTS of veggies. I don’t cook them because the heat kills the nutrients (at least, that’s what I’ve read). Most veggies are only about a point and the black bean burger is only 2. All in all, I had about 5 points at lunch and was FULL FULL FULL.

Dinner

One slice of homemade pizza with a side salad.
I think the smartest thing to do when losing weight is to just stop eating out. The portions are huge, the calories are astronomical, and lets face it.. who really has the money to drop $50 on something you can make for $20 at home? At the end of the day, eating at home allows you to control the amount of fats and oils in your food, not to mention the portion control.

Tonight, I’ll turn on a movie and do my crunches and push ups. I don’t count, but I do a lot, until my body just can’t take it any more. I find that when I’m watching hot people on TV, it motivates me to work out harder. For example, “What is Justin doing with Jessica Biel? She’s not even that good looking. I’d totally be hotter than her if I lost weight. That’s what I’ll do, lose my weight, move to wherever JT is, wow him with my sweet dance moves, and we'll live happily ever after” ::cut to me crunching like a mad man:: Hey, it may seem ridiculous, but whatever works.

So that was my day. I’m just a healthy eatin’, Mommy cardio doing, Justin Timberlake stealin’ woman on a mission. I think each week I’ll update with how much weight I lost in the last week. I’m not ready to tell everyone “my number” yet. Some things, in my opinion, are just better left unsaid.

“The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.”

It all started one day while I was on myspace. I saw a large advertisement that said, "Are you 26 and fat?" My reply was a resounding "Pfff, NO! I'm 27." Then, I tried my hand at Wii Fit. My Wii is like an over honest, well intentioned, Italian grandmother. It promptly told me that I need to lose weight, a lot of weight. I could literally hear it say, "You're too pretty to be that big." It was only after staring at my short, fat little Mii thinking, "She'd be cute if she was skinny" that I realized I should do something.

Right now my body and my fat are casual acquaintances. Fat has only been around for the last 4 years so there hasn’t been time to establish a real bond. Truth be told, my body doesn’t like my fat all that much, but its being all passive aggressive about it. My fat is like the friend that comes over, and always brings good snacks. You don’t really like them, but the snacks are just so delicious.

I’m starting this blog to chronicle my weight loss journey. “Oh no, not another weight loss blog,” bemoans the collective world wide web. Trust me, I’m not pumped about being heavy enough to document my weight loss journey. I wish my weight loss could be less of an expedition and more of a quick jaunt around the block, but alas, I woke up one morning and my size was almost the same as the age of a senior in high school. My ass was literally big enough to receive a diploma. Well, enough is enough.

It won’t be easy, I will undoubtedly shed some blood and tears. Ok, not blood that’s a little dramatic, but hopefully pounds. Feel free to offer words of advice and encouragement. But if you don’t have anything nice to say, feel free to say nothing at all. And as they say, “Let the games begin!”