The last few years I’ve tried just about every Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers frozen meals the local supermarket had to offer. Some of them were pretty tasty, and others, not so much. There are times when I’ll try one and it’s really bad. I’m talking about veggies that don’t taste like their fresh counterparts, meat that I can’t quite put in any of the major categories, and bread that comes out tasting more like styrofoam.

So I ate the 300–400 calorie meal. Yes, there was food. Yes, there were calories taken in, but they were really bad tasting calories. I just blew a perfectly good meal trying to expand my options. Do you ever get this overwhelming urge to declare a “do over”?

Two things seem to keep me from pulling the trigger on that “do over” meal that puts my total calories at double, if not more:

1. Eating small meals 5–6x a day, the next one is only 3 hrs away.
2. I can punt with fruit, nuts, or if I’m really feeling ripped off, a spoon of peanut butter.

The most effective trick I’ve learned is just getting the taste out of your mouth by brushing your teeth. It works twofold in that you have alien food taste away from your taste buds and you have minty breath to boot.

A quick progress update for a friend of ours who recently started the great weight loss journey. He posted this on his blog this morning:

Okay thats the workout update. Weighed in at 210.1 today. Thats down over 10 pounds in 2 weeks, so i’m quite happy. My current goal with my trainer is 192 by mid july. The diet is definitely helping out…I’m on a pretty regular 6 small meals a day and I keep it right at my 33 weight watchers points. I don’t feel hungry all the time and I’m eating stuff that I like so that doesn’t make me grumpy like most peoples diets do. Also doing 64-96oz of water a day. [] I feel better then I have in a long time…..so I guess as long as this doesn’t kill me or I give up I should be doing great in month or so. Here’s to no early cardiac arrest!

We’re sure he’s not alone, so shoot us a message about your updates!

The company I work for is VERY family friendly and we try to make everyone feel at home here. For the 3 plus years I’ve worked here each month they throw a small birthday party celebrating everyone’s birthday for that month. Since I started GeekFit with Steve I’ve walked out of the room after being social with my co-workers and before they begin cutting and handing out the cake. It’s to the point now that if they have the cake precut they just skip me when they start handing it out.

I bet most people that have vendors attempting to get you to buy their product will try to buy you lunch. I hear this tactic is VERY popular in the health industry (ironically)! Donuts, cookies and cakes are quite popular in these instances.

What things happen in your workplace that you have to resist the urge to indulge? What tactics do you use to resist?

Email, leave a comment in the post us or give us a call 360-450-5026

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Most of enjoy this time of year, but those of us trying to lose those extra pounds have some mixed feelings.

For me it’s not the actual meal. I’m not a big fan of turkey and while I like stuffing and the other usual sides they’re not my personal kryptonite. My weakness is the hourderves. Everyone brings their favorite sinful treat. You have the cookies, the candies, the brownies, the chex mix (thanks Ivy), the dips of various flavors and the crackers that go along with them (damn you Ritz!).

These foods are a problem for two reasons. First, there’s no concept of quantity: everything you eat is picked up in bite-size portions so unless you’re keeping a tally sheet on a napkin alongside your drink, you have no idea how much you’ve consumed. Second, these are the tatiest foods ever. That’s the point, right? Everyone is going to bring the best thing they can come up with so the party-goers will praise their kitchen prowess.

Personally, the biggest win has been making sure I put my tasty selections on a plate. That way I can see how much I’m eating and I can toss the plate when I’m done. Usually if I start out on the tasty stuff people brought I’m good to go when the main course is served.

The articles below have some great ideas and we’ll talk about them on the next episode:

• Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
• Lose Weight while Cheating Away those Holiday Pounds!

I’ve been using the Backpack service from 37 Signals, Inc. for the last few years as a journal to track my food & exercise each day. I’ve even given it a geeky title of I/O (shorthand for for Input/Output). Their interface is easy to use and they offer a free account for the basic service, so there isn’t any commitment to start playing around with it although you can’t go wrong for $5/month for their upgraded version.

And now, on to the second part of the subject: goals. They say the best way to stick to something is to make a public declaration of your goal so you won’t be able to squirm out of it. Here we go: I’m going to lose 40+ pounds by January 1st, 2008. That means clean intake, consistent output, and putting out a new podcast on a regular basis.

This is a public link to my backpack page that gets updated throughout the day as I eat and exercise: http://xinu.backpackit.com/pub/1218865. If you create a food log of your own, post it here in a comment and we’ll mention your name on each new show, encouraging you to keep kicking butt & and taking names. Let’s do it!

Jason’s public backpack page is: http://abstrakone.backpackit.com/pub/1229049

Ok, I know what you are all thinking….leeks….ewww! Well, I’m here to tell you I felt the same way until my father-in-law made some of this delicious soup. This recipe comes mostly from his kitchen but since he’s no longer with us, my mother-in-law is the judge and she says he’d like it.

Here’s to you Roger!

• 1/2 tsp of unsalted butter (for cooking the leeks)
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 4 medium sized potatoes (peeled and chopped. Smaller cooks faster but you’ll be mashing or pureeing them anyways)
• 6 leeks (cleaned and sliced thin-I like leeks so I use more. Most recipes call for 2-3. You decide)
• 1 cup heavy cream (most recipes call for 1/2 cup, I use a whole cup and reduce the water accordingly)
• 3 cups water (chicken stock is better, but it’s very salty unless you make it from scratch to control the sodium. I always use homemade chicken stock. Be careful, this can get salty)
• Pepper to taste

Celery is optional in this recipe but I’m including it to make this healthy. Saute the celery with butter in a saucepan for about two minutes, then add the leeks. Keep those greens moving until the leeks are limp so it doesn’t burn.

Toss the leeks, celery and potatoes into a stockpot and add water till everything covered. It’s about 3 cups, but I cook like I’m feeding an army, so feel free to pare down the amounts as needed. For some reason, soup multiplies when it’s cooked and you’ll end up with more than you’d think.

Bring to a boil then simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and soft. Add the cream. Now, here’s the fun part. When cooked, you need to puree everything down as best you can. I started by using a potato masher and just worked the soup until it was as pulverized as I could get it. My wife mentioned that we had a hand mixer and I’ve been using that ever since. If you’ve got one, great. If not, the soup will still win awards. Just get it as creamy as you can. You can use a food processor, but you really don’t have to and it’s an extra step of cleaning that I think is over kill.

30 minutes from start to finish and you are a hero! Add salt and pepper to taste, but again, be careful. Leeks have a bit of a salty taste themselves, and if you use chicken stock it could get too salty. Stay away from the chicken buillion cubes. Those are just nasty.

Here’s my guess on the nutritional info, based on other recipes.

Under 200 calories per serving, about 38 from fat.

This is SO much better than the Whopper combo you were gonna have! Enjoy.

So I do salsa, but it’s too hot. I do shrimp and you don’t like seafood. Grilled artichokes were nice but too much work and too messy. How’s a cook supposed to please you without butter and cream?! I just might have the answer……

Chicken!  Not just any chicken, but chicken with a hint of lemon. There’s lots of room to play with this, so I’ll lay out the basics and toss in some opportunities for creativity.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Juice and zest of one large lemon
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or diced small
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Now the how to…

First, pound the chicken flat between two sheets of wax paper. No wax paper? Pound em flat anyways. Nothing to pound them with? Don’t pound them. It works any way you do it but thinner is traditional in this recipe. (insiders tip: I usually use bone in, skinned chicken to make this, you just have to brown it first, it’s just not as healthy)

Quickly brown the chicken then toss in the lemon juice, zest, garlic, dijon adn pepper, give it a quick stire and cover to cook on low until done. Thicker pieces take longer so time things accordingly.

Here’s another way to get to the same place. Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken for at least two hours before cooking. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of honey if you like. Grill, bake or go crazy in the skillet because it’s all about choice with this recipe.

One more option and a traditional one with this recipe is to add mushrooms. If you are a fan of the fungi, toss some sliced mushrooms in with the chicken and cook it all down together. The lemon, the garlic and the ’shrooms work really well together and I recommend this option if you like all the ingredients (don’t use honey with this one and pass on the dijon too).

Rice is a natural with chicken, but asparagus is great too and remember, it’s part of the A pyramid, so it’s good for you.

Let me know what YOU like and we’ll work it into something tasty next time.

BTW, this recipe clocks in at about 250 calories, about 18 from fat and 90mg cholestrol. Not too shabby.

Shirimp is great if you are trying to cut down on fat and cholestrol. It’s also reasonably priced and easy to prepare and cook. What a great way to slim down and enjoy some tasty food at the same time If you are avoiding carbs or aren’t into tortillas, try these as lettuce wraps. I cut some of the salt out of this on general principals, so taste and season to your liking.

Check out online sources such as foodtv.com for ideas. There’s literally thousands of recipes out there for you to try.
Shrimp:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound medium shrimp (21-25 count), peeled and deveined
8 corn tortillas
cilantro for garnish
several lime wedges

Avocado Salsa:
1 small onion
1 jalapeno
1 garlic clove
4 medium tomatillos, (about 8 ounces) husked, rinsed, and coarsely chopped
1/2 Hass avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

In a food processor, finely chop the onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Add the tomatillos, avocado, and salt and pulse until chopped but still chunky. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cilantro. You can hand chop all the ingredients if you don’t have a food processor, so don’t worry. I hand chopped everything for years before I got lazy.
Heat grill to medium-high. Mix the olive oil, chili powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Grill the shrimp until translucent, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side.

Grill tortillas, until slightly charred and pliable, about 20 seconds per side. A damp towel wrapped around the tortillas and put in the microwave for 20 seconds works pretty good too. Spoon sauce on the tortilla, then top with about 2 or 3 shrimp and a dash of cilantro. You can squeeze the lime into the tacos for some extra kick.

Let me know what you think!

Wraps are a quick and easy variation of a sandwich. They pack well, are highly adaptable to whatever you have on hand (I even make peanut butter wraps) and they can be a nutrcious substitute for those artery choking hamburgers. Check out this recipe that I found over a the Food Network. Note that I took out the jicama, just because I don’t care for jicama. You might, so if that’s the case, add some jicama and knock ourself out.

Artichokes are part of the perfect food triangle. What is the food triangle you may ask? Well, it’s Artichokes, Avocados and Asparagus; three foods that not only taste great but are good for you too. They are full of vitamins, minerals and oils that will keep you healthy, so go on, eat em up yum!

Now, about the artichokes, most people I know eat artichokes with either butter or mayonnaise. Either way, that’s not too healthy. Here, we pair them with garlic and some Italian dressing and toss them into the fire. Oil and Fire. Could it get any better?

• 4 small to medium artichokes (actually, you can make as much as you want, they store well and continue to marinate)
• 1 cup of low fat Italian dressing. (I use olive oil and red vinegar with a dash of salt and pepper, so feel free to be creative)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic diced (go on, toss in another 2-3 cloves, we’re all friends here and I’m not going to kiss you anyways)

Here’s the most important part. Peel the outside leaves off the artichokes, right down to the bright green leaves. Cut the pointed leaf tips with scissors or a knife and trim the stem. Boil these bad boys for about 15 minutes. If you are familiar with artichokes, we want to cook them about  of the way through. If artichokes are new to you, don’t worry, you can over cook them and they will be fine. Artichokes take a little bit of practice, so go longer rather than shorter and adjust as you learn.

Let the artichokes cool. When you can handle them, cut them in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the “hair” just above the hearts. You’ll create a nice little hollow that will hold in all the garlic and marinade. Place them in a Tupperware or other suitable marinating device. Toss in the Italian dressing and garlic and seal. Let marinate for a few hours to a few days. When you are ready to eat, place them on a BBQ for about 5 minutes to char the outside and warm the inside. Don’t let them burn! This is good stuff kids. Trust me.