The Hunger!!

as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I have noticed an increase in hunger over the last few days and I am pretty sure it is due to the weight-lifting.   I wasn’t this hungry all the time before I was doing the ChaLEAN Extreme.  I suppose part of it is due to how healthy I have been eating, but I literally feel hungry around 2-3 hours after I eat.  before changing to this healthier lifestyle, I was pigging out so much all the time I was often eating my meals when I wasn’t even hungry.  I am going to bed now and I ate a good portion of  whole-wheat spaghetti with tomato sauce a couple of hours ago but I am already hungry again.  I am tempted to go eat something but I will just instead wake up a bit early and eat before my workout tomorrow inshallah.

I have been wanting to make vegetarian dumplings with whole-wheat wonton skins but they do not have whole-wheat wontons here in Dubai (or at least I can’t find any)—I have made them home-made before, but it is a PAIN trying to roll the dough out really thin and then cutting out all of the wonton circles.  So I have been on the search for a pasta roller and I just couldn’t find one.  I was contemplating buying one from the US but they are not light so the shipping would be expensive. 

Well, I was out with my friend Saimah on Thursday and we were at this one store and we were looking for plastic pitchers for her and on one shelf…she spotted a pasta roller!!  I was really happy because it is made in Italy (as opposed  to China) and so I purchased it right away.  it cost about $41.50.  the brand is named Marcato. I had never heard of that brand before and was really hoping I would be able to find one made by Atlas.

Well, lo and behold I looked up the Mercato 150 model of the one I got and it turns out it is the Atlas 150…they are the same company!! woo!!  the same one I got here in Dubai is selling on Amazon.com  for $77.99 so I got a really good deal Alhamdulillah! 

So sometime this week I will be making the dumplings and I will post the recipe link and pics.

uh oh….

well… I didn’t feel it until just now…its about oh... 14 hours after the last workout of cardio/thighs and yoga stretching-- but I just stood up from the couch to go outside and I think I may have over-stretched my hamstrings during the yoga workout…. this is not good!!! its a bit painful and inshallah it doesnt’ get any more painful tomorrow morning… I mean its my off-day but if I did over-do it I may be in pain for longer than just one day!! inshallah not!!

ChaLEAN Extreme kicks my butt!

as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

well, during my long absence from the blog, I finally got the ChaLEAN Extreme set…  just this morning I completed the first week of the 3 month program.  WOW!! it really kicked my butt! I was getting angry at the screen as I was doing some of the exercises LOL –but I got through all of the workouts with some having to make the moves easier for me but I did them Alhamdulillah!  For the 3 heavy weight-lifting days I did some cardio on the treadmill for around 20-25 minutes. I will slowly up it to over a half an hour for next week inshallah.

today’s workout in particular was soooo challenging on my thighs!!  it was a looooooooooooooot of thigh work and my thighs were burning for hours after the workout LOL.    the second part of the workout is yoga moves to stretch the body but yoga is a workout in itself but it felt good to stretch the muscles out!!

I looked at the calender schedule of workouts for the next 3 months and decided to start the first workout of the week on Fridays because the 2nd day is a rest day.  there is another rest day on the 7th day so by starting Friday, I have Saturdays and Thursdays as my rest days.  for now, because I am just starting out, I will completely let my body rest for those days, but eventually inshallah I will at least do some treadmill walking on those days for extra cardio. 

I have been eating good Alhamdulillah!  I’m still eating Amy’s frozen vegetarian meals when I am lazy and if I go out to eat lunch with a friend, for instance, I always choose a 6” whole wheat turkey sandwich from Subways.  tomorrow though, a friend and I are going to a restaurant named “Wagamama” so we will see what they have to offer that I can have.  it is a Japanese restaurant specializing in noodle dishes so I am hoping they have soba noodles (which are made with buckwheat) inshallah!

I haven’t really been taking pictures because I have been extra lazy but I did get some pictures from yesterday.

for lunch, I first had a bowl of brown rice with some broiled smokes salmon, and then a green tea packet called “Chazuke” which is a green tea broth powder you sprinkle on rice, and then add hot water.  so its like a green tea soup with rice.  too bad I didnt’ take a picture but it was delicious!!

  then I later had Philadelphia sushi rolls which I made with brown rice and the filling for the roll is smoked salmon, light cream cheese (they didn’t have fat free at the store-next time inshallah!), and cucumbers. I bought a small packet of a portion of smoked Kind Salmon fillet and the day before I made the same Philly roll by leaving the smoked salmon raw, but because I opened the package and it was the next day, I broiled the rest of the fillet.  it was just as delicious with cooked smoked salmon, Alhamdulillah!

 

ha ha ha this is so embarrassing to show the picture of my roll because my father is a sushi chef in the US…   and yet I cannot roll sushi very well LOL

 

for dinner my husband wanted to get food from a place called Sumo Sushi and we really wanted to try a roll that had shrimp tempura and then topped with sweet chili sauce and then teriyaki sauce.  so because this roll is not exactly a dieter’s friend, I did extra good with my meal and ordered a sashimi platter without rice.  I was going to eat it with leftover brown rice from lunch, but it was gone so I went rice-less. 

I had two pieces of the shrimp tempura roll and my husbad at 4 so I didn’t do too bad.  oh yeah.. I did eat a few bites of my husband’s teriyaki chicken dinner too…   just to get a taste.

YUMMMMM!!  but next time if I decide to bring home sashimi I will make brown rice inshallah!  its just best to eat with a bowl of rice.

not the best I’ve done these days….

as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

i was a bit bad today… but not overly so inshallah.

I woke up late, so skipped breakfast and for lunch had two whole wheat sandwiches with the Athenos roasted eggplant hummus and smoked turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado slices.

then my husband, his niece, and I went to Dubai Mall where we ended up stopping at Second Cup and I got a small Chillatte, which is like the Frappuccino at Starbucks. It was delicious, I must admit…but I know there is sugar in it. then my husband got a strawberry muffin and his niece got a chocolate croissant of which I had a few bites of each… but I wasn’t going to let this make me feel so bad I ruin the rest of the day. I usually would just think, “well, I already ruined it so might as well start tomorrow!” and I would gorge on more fattening stuff the rest of the day.

in Dubai Mall I went to The Organic Foods and Cafe and bought some more vegetarian frozen meals and organic food products. most of it were different kinds of pasta and Japanese noodles. I got some brown rice spaghetti, organic pasta sauces, lotus root soba noodles, buckwheat soba noodles, and Qinoa soba noodles. so I guess I will be eating lots of noodles LOL.

my niece got an Amy’s kids’ mac n’ cheese meal and I got a soy mac n cheese meal so I can try out what soy cheese foods tastes like. not that I am intent on becoming vegan, but I thought while I am dieting, perhaps I can try non-dairy cheese to avoid some of the fat.

hers:

mine:

she made her’s first and I tasted it while waiting for mine to finish microwaving. wow, her’s was really delicious Mashallah.

mine…. well…. lets just say, I was able to eat it all, but will not be switching to non-dairy cheese products anytime soon, LOL

I still have to get in a few more calories for the day so I think I will just eat some fruit for my last meal inshallah.

still eating good, Alhamdulillah

 

well, so I’ve been keeping myself busy these days, going out a lot and walking but its more doing activities rather than working out.  I’m still waiting for the ChaLEAN Extreme to arrive.

I’ve been eating really well Alhamdulillah and I just want to kick myself for not doing this earlier…because the healthy foods are actually really really delicious, Mashallah!

yesterday the family got Pizza Hut and my husband and BIL were all “come eat, its a new kind of pizza!”  and I saw the pizza, it looked delicious, but said “no thanks” and went to heat up my whole wheat pasta veggie lasagna.  it wasn’t homemade, just a frozen meal by Amy’s but it is deeeeelicious Mashallah.

I saw this one idea on Oprah and I made them for my final meal tonight:

these are crisp bread open-faced sandwiches.

just take some wholegrain rye crisp bread.. like:

this isn’t the only brand that makes it…  there is also another good one named “Wasa” crisp breads.

anyhoo, by themselves they don’t have much flavor… but then you can top them with whatever you wish… 3 of mine are with a liiiiiiigggghht spread of low-fat mayo and then some yellow mustard…and then 2 of them are with a liggghht spread of Athenos roasted eggplant hummos (their other flavors are yummy too!):

then I topped with slices of smoked turkey breast sandwich meat, tomatoes and some avocado slices, then added a bit of fresh cracked black pepper.

the ones with the mayo/mustard spread--- yummy!

the ones with the eggplant hummus spread—YUMMY!!!!

that thin spread of hummus had an explosion of flavor Mashallah.  it was a delicious and light-filling meal Alhamdulillah.

mmm mmm pizza!!!

so, I bought a little sister version of a Kitchen Aid mixer:

the store I got it from, Home Centre, had it for 25% off. so with the discount I got it for Dhs449 ($122.00)!!
the one I really want is from KitchenAid and it sells here for Dhs2,500 ($680.00)…so as long the one I got gets the job done I say I will have gotten a great deal. and I can see how much I use this stand mixer to justify buying whether or not to buy KitchenAid in the future inshallah.
my first test with the machine was to make myself a whole-wheat pizza dough. The mixer did a really good job Alhamdulillah :D
I wanted a thin crust (because of my healthier eating) and so here is how I made it:

Whole-wheat Pizza dough (can make it thin or regular crust):

1 C very warm water

1  tsp yeast 

1 Tbs honey

2+1/2 C whole-wheat flour (white flour if you don't want whole wheat--or you could do about 1/2 to 1 cup of it whole wheat flour for a more chewy texture)
***some extra flour in case you need it

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

add honey to warm water, stir to dissolve then sprinkle on yeast. leave for 10 minutes, till foamy.

add this to a large mixing bowl or your stand mixer and reserve 1/2 cup of flour on the side and then add the rest of the ingredients. kneed by hand,  or with the mixer,adding the rest of the flour in a few batches as you go, for 6-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.  Sometimes the dough may not need the full amount of flour called for, but other times it needs more.  The dough should not be very sticky in the end.

oil hands with E.V. olive oil and wipe around the dough ball. cover in bowl with plastic and leave to rest for 45 minutes. You can punch down dough and let rise again for an hour to an hour and 20 minutes (recommended but not necessary)

pre-heat oven to 230C/420F

divide dough in half,

roll out dough to desire shape, then place on flour or cornmeal dusted pizza pan/cookie sheet.

add desired toppings and bake 12-15 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned. watch the pizza because as the dough starts to brown, it can quickly get over-cooked and with whole-wheat dough its a bit harder to tell.

you can make a second pizza with the other half of the dough right away, or you can freeze it. just thaw it out before using.  I like to place the pizza on one of the lower racks so the bottom browns up a bit and the dough doesn't get over-cooked.  But every oven is different and the middle rack might be the best place for your pizza.

I made this pizza sauce minus the butter, celery, and fennel seeds:
Ultimate Pizza Sauce
for my pizza, I spread pizza sauce, then topped with sauteed onions, bell peppers, and zucchini, olives, and sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top. I used about 1/3 the amount of cheese I normally would use.
and here is the result:


it was really good Mashallah… though I prefer a doughy, soft and chewy crust---but this crunchy thin one satisfies my pizza craving.
I cut it into 9 pieces…and ate 6—probably a bit much… but I got busy and didn’t eat one of the small meals I was supposed to have earlier so I don’t feell guilty. the other 3 pieces are in the fridge for tomorrow :D
afterwards I remembered I have turkey bacon in the freezer and I could have chopped some really small and sprinkled lightly over the pizza just for added flavor. I can also do the same with turkey pepperoni… just chop it small and sprinkle lightly over pizza…just to get some of the flavor with the least amount of fat.
next time I will try it inshallah with the other piece of dough I froze.
ohhhh sis MOAD… you know what would go perfect with this pizza??? some chicken wings as an appetizer!! good thing I am full now and just thinking about wings or else I would have been CRAVING them!!

keeping on track… but waiting is tough!!!

as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

well, I have been doing GREAT with the eating part of my new health kick here, Mashallah Alhamdulillah. the treadmill walking??? not so good.

I have been waking up late… staying up late and waking up late. I need to change this schedule because I just don’t have motivation to exercise unless I wake up early. I finally woke up early today Alhamdulillah and am going to stick to this schedule inshallah.

I am still waiting for the ChalEAN Extreme package to arrive!!! grrrrr… the tracking provided for it is still only showing “Billing information received” –which means UPS hasn’t even picked up my package for delivery yet!! but then again it is eaaaarrrly Monday morning in the US so hopefully there is an update in the tracking information soon!

the kinds of meals I have been eating these past few days…

for breakfast its usually cereal, like weetabix:

I usually have two weetabix biscuits with a dash of honey on them and skim milk. I have to eat one biscuit at a time because they disintegrate in the milk really quickly. I hate oatmeal and if I don't eat the weetabix quickly it turns into an oatmeal like consistency. I have a memory of my paternal grandmother making me oatmeal just because I hated it and force-feeding it to me. she made my sisters eggs that day just because they hated eggs and forced them to eat the eggs. honestly, she was crazy and abusive. that memory has traumatized me from ever wanting to even try to see if I can like oatmeal now. anyhow, I dash some honey on a biscuit, put it in a bowl, and pour some milk in and then eat as fast as I can, while its still crunchy. I do the same with the second bicsuit as well. its really good and it does make me feel full for a while.

oh, before I forget, I am also eating fruits--bananas, grapes, plums etc...

or some wholegrain toast with a light spread of camembert, or brie cheese, with sugar-free apricot jam (sweetened with apple juice concentrate:

this jam is excellent Mashallah!

for lunches, dinners, or for one of the several meals I am trying to eat a day:

a shredded chicken sandwich with low-fat mayo and mustard(my cat trying to check out what I made):

chicken breast,turkey breast or sandwich meat wraps with low fat mayo and mustard:

I am also still eating those veggies stuffed peppers I made last week that I froze, and Amy’s frozen meals like:

yummmy!!!

I also made this yesterday and today:

the recipe is Sesami Tofu Bowl with Peanut Dressing

it is sooo delicous Mashallah! I changed the recipe a bit to make it more healthier for me—I only added a couple dashes of sesame oil to the marinade for the tofu instead of 2 Tbs. for the peanut sauce I only used 2 Tbs of peanut butter instead of the 5Tbs called for in the recipe and it was sooooo yummy Mashallah. actually I cannot imagine wanting to add anymore peanut butter than I did. it was perfect with 2Tbs.

I ate this with brown rice, blanched broccoli, and a salad of purple cabbage, carrots, and tomatos (no dressing, just a dash of the peanut sauce on everything) -- i use the sauce sparingly and there is enough sauce for about 4 servings instead of the 2 the recipe says it serves.

anyhow, it is delicious, healthy, and very filling Mashallah.