Tuesday, February 20, 2007

(Trying not to be) Fat Tuesday


Why is it that I can never make it through the first weekend on a diet? I was doing okay until Sunday, when we went with my mother to Olive Garden for lunch. Now, Olive Garden is not necessarily the best place for people who aren’t dieting, but it can spell doom for those of us who are…or are supposed to be watching what we eat. (Oh, I was watching it all right, from the fork to my mouth.)

I probably shouldn’t be calling it “dieting,” either. It’s supposed to be a “life style change,” which is supposed to reflect blah, blah, blah, blah…it’s a diet, and we all know it. Diet really shouldn’t be such a dirty word, either, because when you use it as a noun, it does describe what you and rabbits eat or watch, according to dictionary.com:)

1. Food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet. (As is chocolate, ergo chocolate milk is good for you.)

2. A particular selection of food, esp. as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar. (Or, high in chocolate.)

3. Such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I'm on a diet. (Only 1 piece of chocolate for me…are you sensing a trend here?)

4. The foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit. (And chocolate. Lots of chocolate.)

5. Food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce. (Would feeding a chocolate bunny to a rabbit constitute a form of cannibalism? I’ll just eat the bunny for them.)

6. Anything that is habitually provided or partaken of: Television has given us a steady diet of game shows and soap operas. (And, what to eat while watching soap operas? Why chocolate bon-bons, of course!)

What it really boils down to is choices. And, (you knew this was coming) I didn’t make any good ones at the OG, with the exception of only eating 1 bread stick and unsweetened tea. But, I’ve decided that I’m not going to castigate myself for this, and that I’m just going to pretend that Sunday did not exist. (A 6-day week might be a nice change, especially if we still get 2 days off! I’ll write my congressperson about that.) I’m going to skip that page in my food diary and pick up like it never happened. (Of course, I’ll be obsessively weighing myself to see what impact my transgression had, and trying to figure out if I can actually weigh naked at work during the weekly meeting…maybe I should wait until I’m past my 90-day probationary period before I try that.)

So, for lunch yesterday, I had the leftover chicken and caramelized onions with some rice. Last night, I made a tasty little dish that we’ve eaten many times, even when I wasn’t doing WW. It’s got pasta, and it’s only 5.5 WW points per serving!

Shrimp with Orzo (makes 4 servings)

1 can (28-ounce) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian/flat leaf parsley, divided
1 Tablespoon capers, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Dash crushed red pepper (optional)
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups hot, cooked orzo (about 1 cup uncooked rice-shaped pasta)
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (~2 ounces) crumbled Feta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450º F.

2. Drain tomatoes through a sieve into a bowl, reserving tomatoes and 1/2 cup tomato liquid.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add wine; cook 1 minute.

4. Add tomatoes, reserved tomato liquid, 1-1/2 tablespoons parsley, capers, and next 4 ingredients (capers through red pepper) to pan; cook 5 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in pasta.

5. Spoon shrimp mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with Feta cheese and 1-1/2 tablespoons parsley. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1-1/2 cups).

5.5 WW points per serving.

It’s pretty tasty and you get a lot of it, and you get to use a pasta shape that is fairly unfamiliar to most people. Orzo is rice-shaped pasta that is pretty versatile. I’ve used it several times in the place of rice in rice pilaf.

Breakfast has been the easiest part of my days on WW, bar none. I can actually eat the same thing for breakfast every day and not really get tired of it. I discovered Kashi Go Lean Crunch, and cccrrruuunch is definitely what it does. I’ve never had a cereal that refused to get soggy in milk. I feel like I’m burning extra calories just by chewing. The stuff has 8 grams of fiber, which I think is about what a hunk of wood has, so you know I’m doing my body good with that.

Anyway, Happy Fat Tuesday and all that good stuff. Tomorrow starts Lent, and I was thinking I might give up WW for Lent…wouldn’t that be a switch?

1 comment:

LinC said...

Thanks for the shrimp and orzo recipe! I don't think I've ever made orzo so I'll have to give it a try. I have been gradually trimming myself back to WW. Now that Lent has started, it's time to journal again. I've actually been good this week (except for work-snacks at our Mardi Gras party), but that's mostly because I've had a horrible cold and the cold medicine has killed apetite.

But it looks like Spring has finally arrived to Huntspatch, which means I'll be able to get back to walking. Walking is easier to do and burns more calories over time than any other exercise I know.

Your approach to OG is the right one. Cross off that day in your journal. Get back on track. Don't look back! Drink extra water to wash the salt out of your system. We can do this!