First weigh in of 2007...a new starting point

I'm finally starting to feel better. I've wondered this week whether at least some of my yuckiness came from changing my diet. Specifically, giving up soda. I went to the movies yesterday and had a Diet Pepsi. That's the first soda I've had in...a week at least. Normal for me would be maybe a liter a day. Also, I've been eating more whole foods and much less processed foods...so maybe the toxins were making their way out via my sinuses? Who knows.

Today is the first Tuesday of the New Year, so I weighed myself for the first time in about a month. 311.5. Yes, that makes me feel sick. No, it's not discouraging me. I'm still down more than ten pounds from last May, and every year for the past say ten years I've been up year-over-year. So...I can handle this.

Has anyone else read SuperFoods RX by Steven G. Pratt, MD? It's fascinating stuff. He doesn't advocate a big cut in calories or fat. In fact, he doesn't even discuss it. He just tells you why these fourteen SuperFoods are the heros of the nutritional world, and is so convincing that you want to get yourself to the grocery store immediately.

I went last night, as a matter of fact. The last week or so I've been sort of, kind of trying to do the SuperFoods thing, but I hadn't been to the store so it was hard to follow it exactly. I spent $200 at Albertsons. That obviously can't go on. Some stuff was stocking-up type food that I won't need every week. I'm going to have to stretch the food that I bought over ten days, maybe two weeks. Although I think I'll have to buy some produce before then.

I have a New Year's Resolution to use Calorie King to track what I'm eating this year. It isn't that I'm trying to diet, more that I'm trying to be very aware of what is going into my body. When I planned today's meals around SuperFoods, it came to just at 2000 calories, which is what Calorie King reccomends for me to lose down to my goal of 150 and maintain there. I know that 2000 may seem a lot to chronic dieters who are used to plans that put you on 1200 or 1400 or even less calories. But 2000 is a good deal less than I've eaten to get to where I am. And it's enough to keep me from binging.

Besides the SuperFoods (beans, blueberries, broccoli, oats (really, all whole grains), oranges, pumpkin, wild salmon, soy, spinach, tea, tomatoes, turkey, walnuts, yogurt), I'm also cutting out partially-hydrogenated oils and transfats.

I feel lighter and healthier today. Maybe the toxins have left the building? I don't know. But I do know that I feel a little more energetic, and a little less sluggish.

Last night I made turkey burgers on whole wheat buns and baked potato wedges and cherries (a blueberry 'sidekick' or substitute.) We had romaine lettuce (a spinach sidekick) and tomatoes on the burgers.

Here's my recipe for turkey burgers. They turn out PERFECT everytime. I get the Honeysuckle White ground turkey breast.

Perfect Turkey Burgers

one to one and a half pounds ground turkey
one onion
garlic powder, dried parsley, Montreal Chicken Seasoning, salt, pepper
Italian bread crumbs
Olive Oil

Put the turkey in a big bowl. Grate the onion over the meat. Sprinkle seasonings to taste over the meat to taste.

Put the breadcrumbs on a plate. Make the turkey into patties. Remember that turkey does NOT shrink the way that ground beef does. So if you're going to eat these on a bun, make them the right size and thickness. I like to make sort of smallish, thick burgers to eat without a bun, but with loads of cranberry sauce. Coat each burger in bread crumbs.

Heat the oil, maybe 1 or 2 tablespoons (turkey does not have a lot of natural fat that is going to come out into your pan, so use enough olive oil), and place the burgers in the pan. Cook, turning halfway through, until a meat thermometer shows the inside temperature is 180 degrees.

Nick and Kevin like these as regular burgers. They're really good that way. I like them best without the bun, topped with cranberry sauce (another blueberry sidekick!) Grating the onion in is the secret. It keeps the burgers super juicy despite their low low fat content. Don't skip this part! They don't end up with a strong onion flavor.