Tag Archives: weight loss

Meatless Monday – Udon Miso Noodle Soup

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Happy Meatless Monday! Can’t believe October is almost ending and before we know 2017 is going to end and I am playing catch up with game plan recipes that we made this year to date.

On my New Year’s Day – Sunday Game Plan post there were a list of good luck foods to consume during the New Year.  One of these lucky foods is buckwheat noodles especially soba noodles.  Unfortunately, I ended up getting udon noodles, which also contains buckwheat.  In Japan, people consume long buckwheat noodles to signify good fortune.    Confession, I did not end my making the Udon Miso Noodle Soup until well after New Years due to leftovers and lack of room in my refrigerator.

Udon Noodles – introduced in the 9th century by the Buddhist priest Kudai is made up of buckwheat, which is considered a type of complex carbohydrates, which is documented to help with weight loss and prevent diabetes & heart disease.  They are also:

  • low in calories
  • easily digested – udon dissolves faster than regular pasta & three times faster than beef
  • due to its easy digestion and dissolving properties, it helps retain heat in the extremities during winter because blood is not rushing to the stomach.
  • contains four kinds of vitamin B:
    • Thiamine (Vitamin B1): plays a huge role in metabolism preventing headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness, nerve damage, brain disorders, especially Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), and memory disorders e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease, stress, inflammation and vision problems e.g. glaucoma.
    • Riboflavin (Vitamin B2): prevents cancers, migraines and hair/skin damage
    • Niacin (Vitamin B3): plays a role in improving cholesterol levels, lowering heart disease risks, joint pain, treating diabetes, preventing acne, headaches, migraines, Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, memory loss, depression, motion sickness, insomnia, muscle weakness, digestive problems, alcohol dependence and erectile dysfunction.
    • Folate (Vitamin B9): plays a critical role in healthy pregnancy by preventing neural tube defects, which causes spina bifida, anencephaly, malformations of the limbs and heart complications, prevents cancers, anemia, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and depression.

So finally, here’s my recipe for Udon Miso Noodle Soup:

Obviously, I did not provide a calorie count for each of the ingredients because I cooked this dish in bulk (Serves 4 people).

2.5 cups of water

Left over mushrooms and kale (part of the spinach & greens family) (Mushrooms were 0.69 per package at Aldi, and kale was 0.99/lb on sale at local supermarket)

3 tablespoons of Yamajirushi Awase Miso ($4 lasts about a year)

1 package of Sunrise Extra Firm Tofu, cubed ($1.50 at Good Fortune Asian Supermarket)

1 red onion, sliced ($1.49 a bag at Good Fortune Asian Supermarket)

1 package of udon noodle (approximately  $3 or less if on sale for a pack at any Asian Supermarket)

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Sunday Game Plan

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It has been awhile since I posted a game plan for meals of the week. For the past two weeks I have been exploring cheap places to eat and new restaurants. Now it is time to get back to business and proceed with my weight loss plan in order to reach my weight goal by the end of the year which is easier said than done at this point. 

 Today’s game plan include recipes for vegetarians, pescatarians, paleo eaters, and gluten free consumers on a budget. This week’s recipes are inspired by Physique57 Solution, The Food Babe Way and The Pound a Day Diet. 

In addition to the food consumption I will be doing at least 30 minutes of cardio with strength circuit training. 

Let the weight loss journey resume. Stay tuned. 

 

Week One Semi Paleo/Clean Eating Diet and The Final 15-20 Update

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Hello everybody, as Labor Day approaches which unofficially means that summer has ended.  So in my last diet game plan post,  I took ideas from the a diet published by the authors of Physique 57 Solution   The good news is that I followed the classic workout outlined in the book, it definitely took longer than 57 minutes because I kept taking breaks.  However, I struggled with the diet as unfortunately I have cheated numerous times with ice cream, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, flour and alcohol.  I improved my water intake and slept according to schedule for the most part.  Consequently I did not lose the weight.

I am not giving up and still hope to lose the last 15-20 before the year’s end.  I began doing research again on devising another diet plan and for the next two weeks I am going into the plan that is semi paleo and semi clean.

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It is obvious that I have stocked up on spinach, onions, eggs along with my own pantry of oils and spices.  My goal is to track the number of calorie consumption and calories burned throughout the day.   I do plan on having lots of left overs so hopefully by the end of next week I can feel skinnier.   Stay tuned.

(Sunday) Game Plan – The final 15-20 – Week 1

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Hello everybody, it has been a over two weeks since my last post and after doing additional research on healthy meals, weight loss and trying to get off the weight loss plateau, I am devising a diet game plan inspired and partly adapted by the authors of Physique 57 Solution   After reviewing my food supply, I have been attempting to follow  the diet plan as outlined in the book, which appears to be cost-effective, but requires a lot of discipline especially playing catch up with my social life.  To be brief, this two week diet and exercise plan outlined in this book calls for no carbs, no soy, no dairy, no alcohol in combination with pilates, barre and yoga.  The hardest part of all this is getting enough sleep and drinking enough water.

So, in order to ideally lose 5 lbs., I would have to burn 14,000 calories, since 2000 calories equals to 1 lb.  Here’s my ambitious potentially unhealthy and unsafe plan, I want to lose 5lbs. in seven days; easier said than done.

Based on the blogs and fitness articles, the minimum calorie consumption is 1200 calories daily; that is 8,400 calories per week.  According to articles and testimonials about Physique 57, for about a hour of exercise one can lose up to 500 calories.  So five hours of Physique 57 exercises would total up to 2500 calories, that is about 1.25 lbs weight loss from this exercise alone.    Well as they say it is 85% what is consumed and 15% what is burned off.

A few days ago I started on my grocery shopping and had to come up with a game plan that models the diet plan outlined in Physique 57.  To start here is this week’s game plan:

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The star ingredients of each of these dishes were on sale this week at the various supermarkets in my neighborhood.   I am looking forward to start this diet and exercise plan, hopefully I can lose five pounds in the next seven days.  I will provide updates in the next week of my progress.  Stay tuned!

 

First Sunday Game Plan – Body Cleanse

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It has been a very busy few weeks since my last post and I am making the effort to plan ahead.  I have decided to do a 5 day cleanse through Bodypotential.  My ultimate goal is to be 20 pounds lighter.  Below is my Sunday Game Plan for this week.   The ingredients used to make my dishes were for the most part on sale during the last two weeks:

Watercress $0.79/lb (H Mart)

Snowpeas  $0.99/lb (H Mart)

Crabmeat  $2.00 (Stop and Shop)

Bok Choy  $0.58/lb (H Mart)

Perdue Ground Turkey $2.99 (Stop and Shop)

Quinoa $4.99 (Stop and Shop)

Baby Carrots $1.49/2lbs (Stop and Shop)

Wild Caught Cod $5.99/lb (Stop and Shop)

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I am very excited to post new material this week from this game plan.  There will a post for Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday, which will consists of dishes from restaurants I have eaten in the past.  Stay tuned.

Week 1 Game Plan -More Diet Changes

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After two weeks of following the 15 day Diet Plan from Idealfit created by Trainer Lindsey, I have lost body fat so I have lost 1.25 inches in my hips/glutes & 2 inches off my thighs.  Unfortunately, I have not lost the weight, exercises were intense.   As a result, for the next four (4) weeks I will be temporarily changing my usual Sunday game plan to Week 1-4 Game Plan.  This game plan will consist of modified recipes that are appropriate for the week; some will be derived from previous Sunday game plans posted and a combination of recipes from Idealfit and Bob Harper’s (The Biggest Loser) book “The Skinny Rule: The Simple Nonnegotiable Principles for Getting to THIN”.   In addition, in NYC, I hope to be able to take advantage of the free classes offered by the Union Square Partnership: Union Square Sweat Fest 2016, which ends on 2/25.

To keep this post as short as possible without being boring, I will be posting my meal plan diary daily with meals along with recipes that is acceptable for the week and the day’s theme e.g. Meatless Monday.

Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

First Sunday Game Plan

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It’s been a long weekend but very excited to post Tablespoons and Teaspoons’ first Sunday Game Plan for the week.   After reviewing various circulars, a budget of $30 was set aside to do some grocery shopping for this week’s meal plan.  This meal plan works well with anyone who wants to lose weight and take up “clean” eating.  Below is the handwritten version of the game plan which lists recipes that will be prepared and made.20160110_231941-1

Utilizing the ingredients purchased on a $30 budget, at least 12 healthy cost effective recipes can be created for the week with the high probability of leftovers.  In terms of current pantry items the biggest investments were the olive oil, rice, cooking spray and soy sauce, everything else in the pantry was purchased under $3 per item.  Current pantry items are separate from the $30 budget grocery shopping.

Can’t wait to put these ingredients into great use and make quick, budget friendly and healthy dishes.  Stay tuned!!