Test Kitchen #22 ~ The TMI Edition

A couple of years ago I went on a doctor supervised diet and lost close to sixty pounds. As you can probably imagine I felt great. I kept the weight off for over a year and then…last year.

Last year was a difficult year. The Change started courting me, a little early I admit, but that’s the way it works with the women in my family. Hot flashes, mood swings and just plain old irrationality. I felt as if every day were a battle to keep my thoughts in a good place and my emotions under control. I did this mostly by exercising but after hurting my knee that ended up not being an option. Things just sort of spiraled out of control and I took great comfort in all my favorite foods and the bad eating habits just crept back into my life style.

Finally, at the end of last year in a storm of tears and utter helplessness I confessed to my husband what a horrible time I had been having. I think it was the first time I’d actually felt like I suffered from depression…everything in my life was perfectly fine but I felt like I was constantly reminding myself that everything was okay. But I didn’t feel okay.

Bless my husband’s sweet heart, he reminded me how much better I felt when I was eating healthy, at a lower weight, and exercising. We came up with a plan and I am making my way down the yellow brick road to a happier healthier me. I did some research and found out that we women tend to store estrogen in our fat so even being a little overweight while I’m having pre-menopausal symptoms seems like a bad idea. Although I haven’t gone to the (female) doctor I feel pretty safe in assuming that these changes are a good place to start if I want my mood swings and emotions to be kept in check.

So there you have my too much information part of the title. Now on to the test kitchen part! I am avoiding as many carbs as I can so I went back to one of my favorite meals that I ate when I was on the weight loss program before. Simple but tasty and healthy with low calories.

What you’ll need:

3 oz cooked lean beef in strips

6 or 9 medium sized asparagus spears

1 cup of mushrooms

What you’ll do:

Put all the ingredients in a skillet with 1/3 cup of water. 

Season to taste (I use Italian seasoning.) 

Cover with a lid and cook over medium heat until veggies reach the desired done-ness. I like my veggies crisp so it usually takes less than ten minutes.

When it comes to the beef I am sure you can use leftovers from a tenderloin or something. I confess that I cheat and buy the seasoned John Soule’s fajitas…only 120 calories per serving. The nine asparagus only have 30 calories and the mushrooms only have 15 calories in one whole cup. It’s a great meal for under two hundred calories.

If I am making enough for my husband to eat it with me I just make some jasmine rice to go with his. I also swap out the asparagus for green beans sometimes.

What about any of you? Anyone else looking to loose weight and have healthy recipes to share? What about the hormone issue? I’d love to hear from some women who have walked a little further down that path than I have.

Linking up with Sweet Sharing Monday, Marvelous Monday’s, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, and Try A New Recipe Tuesday.

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