Day 3 of 57

I started the day with lemon water and then a salad. 1 tablespoon of salad dressing added to what the picture shows. I had way too much fat today...in the 2 1/2 franks ( for lunch), in the coconut milk, in the fried fish filets ( for supper), in the grilled ribs at Christine's. ..in the half of a dark chocolate bar John got me. I must have had 120 grams of fat today instead of what I should have had: 36 g. Good thing I will be fasting tomorrow.

Day 2 of 57

Still focused on eating well!

It sure helps to know I am reporting on my blog.

After going to see Jurassic World, we were hungry. After walking around the food court at the mall we left. We were uninspired as to what to get. On the way home,  John said "How about Waba Grill?"

I looked up their menu on my phone. I had all the ingredients for their teriyaki chicken bowls at home!

So we went home and while the brown rice was cooking, I cut up the carrots and broccoli to steam, thawed out a bag of frozen diced cooked chicken breast and whipped up the teriyaki sauce.  We had a great meal.

I did not have as much rice as John did. Here is my bowl. The 4 pills: 2 are the Cholestoff, and 2 are my CoQ10 Omega 3 pills. Oh...and I had some raspberries and yogurt for dessert...1/2 cup.

For breakfast I had raspberries, macadamia nuts, 5 prunes and lots of lemon water before that. Lunch was s salmon sandwich with a sliced tomato and some lettuce and Ranch dressing.

For a snack before the movie I made us chocolate shakes out of frozen bananas, cocoa and coconut milk.
I feel like I am on a roll here.  I am committed! I have resisted temptation the last 2 days! I laugh at temptation!  Even as I write I am a bit hungry but I do not care. Ha...I laugh at my so called hunger!

My big challenge will be to exercise. Exercise is great for lowering cholesterol, so I have heard.
Now, If I lived where there were great bike paths, I would have no problem riding my bike for hours every day...doing errand or just enjoying nature. But alas..where I live, there is no good place to ride a bike. I do have my stationery bike but it is so boring...even if I watch TV while using it.
I have not exercised the last 2 days, other than regular household tasks.

RECIPE FOR THE TERIYAKI SAUCE

In a saucepan, heat up...

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon Ginger
1/4  teaspoon garlic powder
5 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1-2 Tablespoons honey (I used 1)

Separately mix 2 Tablespoon cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water and stir to make a slurry...pour into saucepan with the other hot ingredients and cook (stirring with whisk) until thick, adding more water if it is too thick.

Day 1 of 57

Starting today I am going to eat a diet geared toward lowering my cholesterol.

Here are my numbers now...
Cholesterol. 336 (Way too high!)
Triglycerides 113   (OK)
HDL 67 (OK)
LDL 246 (Way to high!)

I get another blood test August 29.

I hope to lower my LDL a lot and my total cholesterol # by at least 80 points.

I purchased Cholestoff Plus ($24.00) at Costco to help. I do not want to take the Crestor that was prescribed for me.

Here is tonight's meal...chicken curry sandwiches..full of celery and apples and white chicken. The bread is Kirkland whole wheat bread at 5 grams of fiber a slice. A side of yogurt and raspberries. Also today I had a chocolate banana shake (1  1/4 cups coconut milk, 3/4 cups frozen banana slices and 2 Tablespoons Hershey's cocoa blended in our Ninja blender) and some raspberries in a bowl.

I also had a lot of lemon water.

Chocolate Oatmeal Treats

Although these are called Chocolate Oatmeal Treats
..they also have peanut butter in them...and NO SUGAR...just honey for sweetener. This first picture is how I made them in the shape of eggs and rolled them in coconut ...for Easter.

Larissa gave me the recipe...and she got it from newnostalgia...but it is revised a bit...
These are NO BAKE...I got 36  1 " squares from the recipe....using an 8" by 8" pan.

I made them for Easter in place of my traditional Cocolate Oatmeal Eggs (which have real butter and real sugar in them). This is way more healthy and now I am going to make these all the time!  No more am I tempted to get any sort of candy bar at the store...when I can have these at home!

The recipe:

Chocolate Oatmeal Treats

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I use all natural and you could use crunchy)
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup coconut oil ( I have to make mine liquid by setting the jar in very hot water)

1   1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups quick oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
extra coconut

Melt the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil together in a pot on the stove over low heat, stirring until all mixed together and melted. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and blended in.
Add the vanilla, oatmeal and coconut. Stir well and pour into 8 x 8 pan that has wax paper lining that should extend over the sides of the pan so you can just lift the mass out after it is hardened in the fridge for an hour. I sprinkled more coconut on the top (pressing down with a spoon) before I put it in the fridge. Cut into squares. Store in fridge.
This is healthy because oatmeal and coconut are so very good for you as well as the dark chocolate. The peanut butter has healthy oils and protein.

WH Foods Site

http://www.whfoods.com/recipestoc.php   Go here often for great recipe ideas!

Quick Brownies

Found a nice quick simple recipe for brownies....

Quick Brownies
Recently found this somewhere; it was called Walnut Chunk Cookies but walnuts are too expensive for me right now and I have a grandchild allergic to tree nuts)...have made it twice in the past week! First time I used the last of my walnuts which I love. 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare pan by lining  an 8 " x 8" or 9"x  9" pan with parchment or greased aluminum foil...with edges almost overlapping side of pan.

Whisk together...
1/2 cup oil
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Add ...
1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa
pinch salt

Stir in...
1 c. chocolate chips ( I am frugal so use only 1/2 cup)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional if there is a nut allergy in family)
Bake 18 minutes (more or less)..keep an eye on it...

Tip: when you take them out
 of the oven, cover them with something (foil, a cookie sheet) to keep moisture in.

Crock Pot Beef

This is from a letter I sent to Molly this year because she was having a hard time  cooking a roast so it was nice and tender...

Joan's Melt in Your Mouth Beef in Crock Pot

I got 2 hunks of meat: One a rump roast (2 lbs) and one a thick chuck steak-(2 lbs.) (had more fat in it)

I used 2 crockpots so I could compare...my crockpots.

First I made a rub:

 (For both pieces of meat this was perfect. .)

In a bowl... combine with a spoon until all mixed up:

1 tablespoon paprika ( I use somked paprika)

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teasp salt (iodized) 

1 teasp. fresh ground black pepper (I used a bit more since  Ilove black pepper)

Now...before you rub this in to both sides of the meat, take a fork and jab the meat all over, all sides...jab jab jab. make all these deep  narrow holes all over...it is great way to take out aggression...

Then rub the rub mixture all over, using your hands...all sides. Then let sit for at least 20 minutes. I did 30 min.

Then: In your skillet, put some oil and heat it up and put some halved onions in the, cut side down and cook until the onions have turned brown on the underside.  

Take onions out.  Ad a bit more oil and throw in some carrot slices or baby carrots...and stir fry until they get some brown searing marks on them, too... USE LOTS OF CARROTS...Take out.

Add a bit more oil and heat it up and sear your meat on all sides until you get a nice dark brown thin crust on each side. 

Take out and put in crock pot.

Add water to pan and stir and simmer until you get all the yummy brown 

savory bits of meat and stuff off the bottom of the pan and into your whirling liquid...

Now...Put your meat in the crockpot and add that water so that it come half way up the meat hunk. Then add the carrots and onions (I added some halved garlic cloves, too...just a few) If you do not have enough water, you can add some canned beef broth. (I ended up using a half can beef broth cuz I was doing 2 crockpots, one small, one big.)

OK...Here is what I did: Cook on high one hour. Then on low 3 or 4 hours. Then on high 1/2 hour..then check the meat...it should be melt in your ...then on low...Maybe check it after that last high stint. You can do it 8 hours low or 5 hours high...I am just telling you what I did...i did not want to risk overcooked beef which I have made before.

Recipe said put a rosemary sprig on top and some thyme in it at the start...I did not.

Recipe ( I can't find the original now but scribbled a few notes) said

Put juice from half a squeezed lemon (I used juice from whole lemon and split it up between the 2 roasts) in the liquid you pour from the crockpot

Make gravy from the liquid you pour out of the crockpot. 

We have been enjoying this for 3 days...had the missionaries and one other person...then the next day, sandwiches and burritoes and the next day, more tender beef over the leftover potatoes. I had some for breakfast and supper. with Gravy . Yum! Still some left.