I spoke too soon

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Rory

I should probably wait to try a product before I deem it “The Best Invention Ever.” The bra strap extender proved to be useless on the day of my holiday party.

Part of it was my own fault – even though I said you should wear a bra that has the silicone on it, so that it won’t slip, I accidentally brought my non-silicon having strapless bra with me to change into. Whoops. As a result, it was a lot harder to keep the bra in place.

Once I managed to secure myself in my dress I realized that there was a LOT of pressure on my shoulders. It makes sense, considering the shoulder straps were basically the only thing holding me up, but still, it hurt. A lot. Another problem I had was that the shoulder straps of my bra were clearly visible (the dress was sleeveless).

After about an hour I’d had enough. I put my regular bra back on and kept my blazer on for the entire holiday party (except in the picture below). When it was time to head to the afterparty I took my bra off and went bra-less and blazer-less for the rest of the night (!).

holidayparty

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Diet friendly “egg rolls” – HCG, South Beach Diet, etc.

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Rory

Without question, this is one of the best things I’ve learned how to make since I started dieting. In fact, this meal is so good that I make it all the time, diet or not. Between the ginger powder and the Bragg’s liquid aminos (which is basically a soy sauce substitute), it is soooo freaking flavorful!

Does it taste like an actual egg roll? No, of course not. But it does vaguely remind me of Chinese food, and that’s enough for me. I don’t know about you, but when I’m dieting sometimes all it takes is the hint of a certain flavor to satisfy a craving or make me feel like I’m indulging. Sometimes.

Almost an egg roll (chicken and cabbage)

Ingredients (1 serving):

  • 4 oz chicken
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 2 or 3 big cabbage leaves
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • Bragg’s liquid aminos (It’s really salty, so always start with a little and build from there.)

Note: This recipe was in the pdf that came with my HCG drops. I don’t follow it to the letter anymore, because it turns out that I really love ginger! When I make it I don’t even measure the spices. One or two shakes of the garlic and onion powder, a bunch of shakes of the ginger powder, and I’m good to go.

Instructions:

1. Marinate the chicken in the Bragg’s liquid aminos for 20 minutes or so (this step is optional. I’ve done it the last few times I made this meal, and it came out a little better than normal.)

marinate chicken

2. Peel off a few big leaves of a cabbage, then chop some more into little pieces. (This is the most annoying and time-consuming step.)

cabbage

3. Steam all of the cabbage for 15-20 minutes.

steam cabbage

4. Throw the chicken on the stove. (I like to use a very low flame, since it keeps the chicken from drying out. But obviously that makes the whole thing take much longer.)

grill chicken

5. Add the chopped cabbage to the pan, along with the spices and some more of the Bragg’s.

add cabbage to chicken

6. Let it cook for a little while longer, maybe 10 minutes. Try not to overcook the chicken! (Easier said than done, I know.)

stir fry

7. Lay out the big cabbage leaves on a plate.

cabbage on plate

8. Add some chicken and cabbage. At this point I usually add some more of the Bragg’s.

cabbage on plate add chicken

9. Roll the leaves up. (Note the liquid aminos in the background. I keep it handy because it tends to drip out while I’m eating, so I’m constantly adding more.)

roll it up

All done!

yumm

Mmm. These pictures got me hungry. Guess what I’ll be making for dinner tonight?!

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The best invention ever – the Bra Strap Extender

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Rory

Today is the big day – my company’s holiday party! Here is the dress that I’m wearing (with black tights, knee-high boots, and a blazer for the early part of the evening):

holiday party dress smaller

I got this dress at Zara back in September. It was on sale, so I bought it without trying it on. As a result, I didn’t realize that I would have bra issues until I tried it on at home. It fit like a glove, but of course my bra was clearly visible. When I tried it on without a bra, well, let’s just say that going braless is NOT an option for a busty woman like me.

So I put the dress in my closet and forgot about it until last month, when I started thinking about what I could wear to the party. I remembered the Zara dress and decided that I would figure out a way to wear it. After all, I know I’ve seen big-chested women wearing backless dresses before. There must be something I could do.

To the internet! After doing some extensive research (watching a YouTube video called Best Bras for Every Top! 12 Ways to wear a bra!), I came across the answer I was looking for at 6 minutes in: I needed to buy a bra strap extender!

I went straight to amazon, and after reading all of the reviews on every single bra strap extender they sell, I ended up buying THIS ONE, because it’s extra long:

bra strap extender

It took a bit of futzing around before I got it to work properly. Some advice: it works best with a bra that has that rubbery no-slip material (update: it’s called SILICON!) along the inside, like many strapless bras do. I tried on my dress, did a few spins in front of the mirror and was SO EXCITED by what I saw: me, in an open-backed dress, with perky boobs!!

It’s a damn shame that I’ve had boobs for over 20 years but had never heard about this contraption until now. Oh well, better late than never!

(Update – click here to read what actually happened when I wore the bra strap extender.)

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Pork stock

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Rory

Two weekends ago I went to this Puerto Rican restaurant in NYC called Sofrito. It definitely wasn’t diet friendly, but I had a Groupon that would have expired if I didn’t use it, so I went. I didn’t attempt to stick to my diet while I was there, because seriously, where’s the fun in that?

For dinner I ordered the pernil con arroz y gandules – roast pork with rice and sweet plantains. I was stunned when the waiter served me my meal:

sofrito

I am not exaggerating when I say that this piece of meat was the size of a football. It was insane! Definitely not the portion size that one expects when going to an upscale NYC restaurant. It was even crazier in comparison to the plates that were served to my friends.

But I wasn’t complaining. On the contrary, I was looking forward to all the leftovers. After I finished eating (I ate about a quarter of the meat that was on my plate), I started cutting the meat off the bone in preparation for asking the waiter to wrap my plate up for me. After all, it was a big ass bone, and I didn’t want to lug it around in my bag all night.

Then my friend had what I considered to be the Best. Idea. Ever. Seriously, I was embarrassed that I didn’t think of it myself. She said “Why don’t you bring home the bone and make pork stock with it?” Doh!!!

So that’s exactly what I did. After grazing on the meat for the next few days, I finally threw the bone and a few remaining chunks of fatty meat into a pot with some onions and spices to make some stock.

leftovers1

It was an EPIC FAIL. I forgot to turn the flame off on the stove before going to sleep! When I woke up the next morning there was a faint burning smell in my apartment, and it eventually led me to the kitchen, where I discovered the charred remains of my pork stock. I was so upset with myself.

ruined 1

 

On the bright side, at least I didn’t set my apartment on fire.

So here is my *untested* recipe for pork stock. I make no guarantees that it’s any good. If you make it, please let me know how it turns out!

Pork Stock

Ingredients:

  • Leftover pork bones
  • One or two onions
  • Celery (or celery flakes)
  • One tsp. garlic powder
  • One bay leaf

Directions:

1. Put the bones in a pot and cover with water.

bone in pot

2. Add onions and spices and bring to a boil. After 20 minutes turn the flame down and let it simmer for several hours. (But NOT overnight!)

add onions

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Things that make me happy

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Rory

The difference between Rory today and Rory a year ago is quite amazing. Today I get excited over things that I never would have thought possible back then. Yesterday I went to the Christmas Tree Store. It was my first time there. The stuff there is really cute and affordable – as my aunt put it, it’s like Bed Bath and Beyond had a baby with The Dollar Store. So what did I get?

things that make me happy 12-10-12

The only thing I bought that I really needed was the cookie sheet. I could have done without the rest. But why would I? The total price for all the stuff in that picture was only $17!! Unreal! Sigh, I love getting a good deal. I can’t wait to use that heart shaped mold to make chocolate.

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What a great way to start the weekend!

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Rory

I got on the scale this morning and was stunned by what I saw: 138.5! Down 3 full pounds in just one day!

I’ve been sticking to the diet all week and exercising a ton, but since Monday the scale had been stuck on 141.5, probably because of my “time of the month” (can’t I just say “I’ve got my period”?). I knew the scale would move eventually, but I did NOT think that it would move by 3 pounds, and that I would be back in the 130s today. This is a great way to start the weekend! Although, it kind of makes me want to celebrate with a drink – probably not the best idea, but oh well. 🙂

This will definitely keep me on track through next Thursday. That’s the day of my company’s holiday party, which was one of the primary reasons I wanted to start the diet before Thanksgiving – I’ll be seeing an ex at that party, and I wanted to look at least as good as the last time I saw him. And now I know I will.

weightloss

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Sugar-free mint chocolate flavored meringue cookies

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Rory

batch 2 on plate

Warning: do NOT attempt this cookie if you’ve never made a meringue before!

I first attempted to make a mint chocolate chip meringue like six months ago. The result?

mint meringues fail

Not quite the puffed up meringue that we’ve all grown to love. So why were they so deflated? Mint extract. The bane of my meringue-making existence (that and cocoa powder). I didn’t know the reason behind it at the time, but within seconds of adding the mint extract to my egg whites, the bowl went from containing beautifully whipped egg whites to a bubbly soup-type mixture.

Despite their pathetic appearance, those cookies tasted good! But I never bothered to try making them again, until last week that is. It was the day after I made the coconut flavored ones, and I was inspired to try working with the mint extract again.

The mixture started deflating as soon as I added the extract (it’s almost like you’re adding acid), but it wasn’t anywhere close to as bad as it was the first time, for three reasons:

  1. I didn’t use as much extract;
  2. I drizzled the extract down the side of the mixing bowl; and
  3. I didn’t waste any time putting them in the oven. (Last time after adding the extract I still had to mix in the chocolate chips.)

I was really pleased with the way they came out. I sprinkled some cocoa powder on top after I took them out of the oven, and when I finally tasted one at work the next day I was in heaven – more than adequate to satisfy a mint-chocolate craving.

batch 1 on tray cooked

The cookie definitely wasn’t perfect. Aside from the air bubbles, the mint wasn’t evenly distributed. You might get a bite that tasted like toothpaste, and then another bite that had no mint at all. So I tried again, this time getting the egg whites super stiff before adding the extract and making bigger cookies so I wouldn’t waste any time. I also added some food coloring to the mix.

They came out sooo good! Still a little deflated compared to the normal ones, but delicious nonetheless. And the food coloring was an awesome touch.

mint chocolate meringues in oven add cocoa

After I made that batch I started doing research (a.k.a. Google) to learn WHY the mint extract was making the meringue cookie deflate. I did a lot of reading before I finally found out why: Peppermint extract contains OIL! Doh! When you’re making meringue cookies, mixing them with oils (and fats) is a huge no-no – they’ll deflate every time. I had never thought to see what the mint extract was made of, but this blogger happened to write about it when describing her own experience making mint meringues. So now I know. And now you do too.

Sugar-free Mint Chocolate Meringues

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup liquid egg whites (or the equivalent, which is three egg whites)
  • 2 Tbs. Truvia
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
  • Green food coloring – 6 or 7 drops

mint meringues batch 1 ingredients

Instructions:

1. Place the liquid egg whites into a metal bowl and let them warm up to at least room temperature. (I place the bowl on the oven while the oven is pre-heating so the egg whites get even warmer.) This step is crucial.

2. Preheat the oven to 215 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

4. Beat the eggwhites for a few minutes, until they start to stiffen.

5. Slowly add in the Cream of Tartar while continuing to beat the egg whites.

mint chocolate meringues add tartar

6. Slowly add in the Truvia while continuing to beat the egg whites.

mint chocolate meringues add truvia

7. Add the food coloring and mix it well (in my first batch, the cookies had white streaks in them).

mint chocolate meringues add color

mint chocolate meringues colored

The total beat time is 5-10 minutes, depending on the speed setting you use. You’ll know you’re done when you’re able to turn the bowl upside down and nothing falls out.

mint chocolate meringues bowl upside down

8. Drizzle the mint extract down the side of the bowl and quickly mix it in. (Obviously I couldn’t take a picture  of this, or it would have wasted precious time. This pic is from the coconut meringues.)

9. Use a spoon to dollop the egg whites on to the parchment paper. (Even though this pic only shows 25 cookies, I generally like to make 36. I’ve made this recipe a few times since, and 36 works fine, as long as you do it quickly.)

mint chocolate meringues on sheet

10. Put the tray in the oven for 25 minutes, then rotate the tray and leave it in for another 22 minutes. (Every minute makes a difference. I like the texture the best at 22 minutes, but you might like them crunchier at 23 or 24 minutes. Feel free to experiment!)

mint chocolate meringues halfway

You can sprinkle cocoa powder on top of the cookies at any point after the halfway point. If you do it too soon, it will cause the cookies to deflate a bit, because like I said above, cocoa has fat and fat is a no-no. But if you do it too late, the cocoa powder won’t stick to the cookies. In this batch I did it at the halfway point, and it resulted in cookies that were a little shriveled up. But they were still yummy.

mint chocolate meringues done

12. When the time is up, turn the oven off but leave the cookies in there for a while, then transfer them to an airtight container. (This is especially important during the summer months when it’s humid. In the winter I usually take the tray out after only 20 minutes and just let them sit on top of the stove, but when it’s warm and humid out I’ll leave them in the oven for like an hour or two.)

All finished:

batch2 done

batch2 done3

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Diet update – by the numbers

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Rory

When I weighed myself this morning I was really surprised to see that I am now the exact same weight as I was on the morning of Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving weekend I have had a difficult time sticking to my diet. Especially this past weekend.

On Friday night I went to this Puerto Rican restaurant, Sofrito, because I had to use a Groupon that was about to expire. I ended up drinking two coconut mojitos, and for dinner I had the pernil, which is like pork shoulder or something. And of course there was rice, and fried plantains, and maduros.

On Saturday I stuck to my diet no problem, but I went out on Saturday night, and when I came home drunk at 5 in the morning I ate some of the pork shoulder leftovers. Not the best move, but it didn’t end up affecting my diet because I ended up puking it up when I woke up a few hours later.

On Sunday I didn’t eat anything until like 5 pm. I also somehow made it to my salsa class, so I got some exercise in. When I got home from class I was starving and I was craving carbs, so I stopped at my mom’s house and grabbed a slice of pizza. And some sushi. And a cookie.

When I first started this diet like 3 weeks ago I weighed 146. Then I had to do that gorge weekend, so by the time I started the diet proper I was up to 150. Two and a half weeks later, on Thanksgiving morning, I was down to 141.5, which is almost a nine-pound loss. After my four-day long Thanksgiving weekend cheating episode, I was back up to 145!

Although I was having trouble sticking to my diet last week, I didn’t go off the rails, and as always I continued to hit the gym and go to salsa class. By Friday I was down to 142. I thoroughly expected to have gained a pound or two over this weekend, so I was sooo happy this morning to see I was actually down. It gave me the motivation I needed to get back on the straight and narrow diet path.

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Easy and Diet-friendly “Crab Bisque” (Seafood tomato soup) – HCG, South Beach Diet, etc.

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Rory

Until recently, I had made this recipe exactly once before: back in February, when I was doing the HCG diet for the first time. I remembered it as being one of the most delicious soups I had ever made – which is why I was extremely disappointed when I made it again two weeks ago. In addition to it being the Blandest. Soup. Ever., the imitation crab meat tasted unnaturally sweet and was rubbery. Not good.

A few nights later I went out with friends, and when I came home at 4 in the morning I was drunk and hungry. Bland or not, I couldn’t wait to eat the remaining soup. I put the fire on under the pot and then started getting ready for bed – changed, took my makeup off, etc. This process took a lot longer than it should have, so instead of heating the soup up for five minutes I ended up leaving it on the stove for over 20 minutes. Whoops!

Turned out to be one of the best mistakes I’ve ever made. I think the extra cooking time “opened up” the crab and allowed it to absorb all the flavor from the broth, because what had first tasted gross now tasted delicious. The texture of the crab was also much improved – it was moist and soft, and no longer rubbery.

Of course, there was always the possibility that the only reason the soup tasted so good was because I was drunk and anything would have tasted good. So I made the soup again two nights ago, this time with the turkey stock from the other day. I added way more spices than last time, and this time I let it simmer for like a half hour. OMG it was soooo good! I definitely recommend it.

Diet-friendly Crab Bisque (Seafood Tomato Soup)

Ingredients (one serving):

  • 4 oz. crab meat (or shrimp, lobster, whatever)
  • 1 tomato
  • 2 cups of broth (I guess vegetable broth makes the most sense, but I tried it with chicken broth and turkey stock and it was fine.)
  • 1 tsp. of milk (optional)
  • 1 Tbsp. dehydrated minced onion
  • parsley (I do about 5 shakes of each spice)
  • oregano
  • basil
  • salt

Instructions:

1.  Chop up the tomato.

2. Puree the tomato and the broth.

3. Add it to the pot along with the crab and spices and let it cook for maybe a half hour on a not-too-high flame.

That’s it, all done!

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Sugar-free coconut flavored meringue cookies

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Rory

Yes, coconut FLAVORED, because if I added coconut flakes then they wouldn’t be quite as HCG or South Beach diet friendly.

The star ingredient in this recipe is coconut extract, which I bought back in the summer with the intention of making pineapple coconut ice cream and which I FINALLY used last week. It had been a while since I’d added any extract to my meringue cookies. I forgot what a difference a little flavoring makes!

(Note: the only difference between this recipe and my one for regular meringue cookies is Step #7. It’s not lazy of me that I copied most of that post and pasted it here, is it? I just didn’t see the purpose of rewriting it when I already wrote it so well the first time.:-))

Sugar-free Coconut Flavored Meringue Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup liquid egg whites (or the equivalent, which is three egg whites)
  • 2 Tbs. Truvia
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract

Instructions:

1. Place the liquid egg whites into a metal bowl and let them warm up to at least room temperature. (I place the bowl on the oven while the oven is pre-heating so the egg whites get even warmer.)

2. Preheat the oven to 215 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

4. Beat the eggwhites for about 5 minutes, until they start to stiffen.

5. Slowly add in the Cream of Tartar while continuing to beat the egg whites.

6. Slowly add in the Truvia while continuing to beat the egg whites.

7. Add the coconut extract and continue to beat. I try to drizzle it down the side of the bowl, as opposed to just pouring it in the center, because egg whites are VERY sensitive!

(The total beat time is about 10 minutes. You’ll know you’re done when you’re able to turn the bowl upside down and nothing falls out.)

8. Use a spoon to dollop the egg whites on to the parchment paper (I like to make 36 bite-sized cookies).

9. Put the tray in the oven for 25 minutes.

10. Rotate the tray and leave it in for another 22 minutes. (Every minute makes a difference. I like the texture the best at 22 minutes, but you might like them crunchier at 23 or 24 minutes. Feel free to experiment!)

11. When the time is up, turn the oven off but leave the cookies in there for a while, then transfer them to an airtight container. (This is especially important during the summer months when it’s humid. When it’s warm outside I’ll leave them in the oven for like an hour. But in the winter I usually take the tray out after only 20 minutes and just let them sit on top of the stove.)

All finished:

…………………………………………………………………………..

NOTES

On the ingredients:

The recipe comes out perfectly fine when you use liquid egg whites, but on the few occasions when I’ve been able to use real egg whites, well, it has definitely been a treat! The texture is a bit different.

As far as the sweetener is concerned:  So far I’ve tried Sweet Leaf, Truvia, Stevia in the Raw, and various brands of liquid Stevia. I find that Truvia is the best, especially for baking, because there is less of a nasty, bitter aftertaste. I’ve read that there is debate over whether Truvia is truly “natural,” because of some of its ingredients. Honestly, I don’t care. It tastes the best, so that is what I use.

On the preparation:

You’ll know that the egg whites have been perfectly beaten when you’re able to turn the bowl upside down without the meringue falling out. I swear, every time I turn the bowl upside down and it doesn’t move I feel a huge sense of accomplishment.

On cooking:

I rotate the tray halfway through because in my oven they don’t cook evenly if I don’t do that. But I’ve read some recipes that say you shouldn’t open the oven when you’re cooking them. So…yeah, I don’t know.

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