Sauerbraten and I said No!

Thanks for all the comments and emails yesterday about my overeating.  First, nice to know I am not alone, and second, I know I can do this.  I know I can do the work, eat healthy and get myself in better shape.  I just need to make it happen instead of waiting for it to happen.

So I put on my big girl pants yesterday and decided to go back to tracking my calories.  I use www.fatsecret.com, and when I logged in yesterday, the last time I tracked my calories??  December 30, 2012!  Gah!

I started out my day with a breakfast combo so to speak.  I tried the key lime Chobani flip.  It had graham crackers and white chocolate chips to flip into the yogurt.

The verdict?  Love.   Not too “limey” and the combo of the white chocolate chips and graham crackers was perfect.  Since it was only 170 calories, I had an egg with 1 slice of ham, baby spinach and 1/2 ounce of cheese with strawberries on the side.

Breakfast all together comes in at 371 calories, 13 fat, 35 carbs, 2.6 fiber and 26 protein.

I decided I wanted to run a 5k at lunch.  It’s been a while since I ran and it was a little slow going.  But I ended up running it in 37:37 – not too bad!

And I wore my new Chobani shirt!  Love it!

One thing I’ve brought back that I have been severely lacking at, is my Bubba Keg.  This holds 52 ounces of water, but the best part is that it doesn’t sweat at all.  I drank one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

I didn’t know if my boss was going to be in or not, but I know she loves reuben sandwiches almost as much as me.  My sammie:  2 slices of thin rye, 2 ounces of lean corned beef, 1/3 cup of sauerkraut, 1 ounce reduced fat swiss lorraine cheese, and 1 tablespoon fat free thousand island dressing.  I had carrots and apples on the side.

Having my panini press at the office is one of the best ideas I’ve had!  So fricken good.

So a couple weekends ago I tried to make sauerbraten, but I WAY overcooked the meat.  We liked the flavor of it though, so I had to redeem myself.  The first time I had Sauerbraten was when I went to a work lunch at Bergoff’s in Chicago.  I was an extremely picky eater back then, but someone asked me to try the Sauerbraten and it was so good – slightly sour, yet a touch of sweetness, with tender meat.  I was hooked.

Sauerbraten

• serves 4 – 424 calories, 10 fat, 45 carbs, 33 protein, 2.2 fiber and 406 sodium

Ingredients:

• 1 pound round steak, trimmed of visible fat
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 package of brown gravy mix
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 4 cups cooked egg noodles

Cut beef into strips and salt and pepper the meat.  Heat a skillet to high heat, add oil and sear the meat on all sides – this will only take a few minutes.  Remove from heat and cover with foil.

Cook egg noodles according to package directions.  Drain.

In a pot, add brown gravy mix and water and cook until it boils and thickens, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the vinegar, brown sugar, Italian seasoning, butter and Worcestershire sauce.

To plate: put noodles on the bottom, top with beef and add the gravy.  I added sautéed zucchini to my plate.

Brown gravy mix is such a great thing to have in your pantry.  It’s only 25 calories per 1/4 cup and is ready in minutes.

Round steak is really lean – I kept just a touch of the fat.

This is the worst food styling ever.  After I took this picture, I cut the meat into bit size pieces and it looked much better, but I was hungry so this one has to stick.

This was a winner.  Tony even loved it – winning!  And this was a lot of food for 424 calories!

Stats for Wednesday:

• 1217 calories
• 43 fat
• 118 carbs
• 16.5 fiber
• 85 protein
• 39% of calories from carbs, 32% from fat and 29% from protein
• 5k at lunch
• no extra licks or tastes!!!

I said “No” to myself every time I wanted to reach for something extra to eat!

Here’s to Day 2 being on track.  Make it a great day!