I didn’t know.

I haven’t gotten all the numbers back on my last doctors appointment, but the nurse called me yesterday to tell me that my cholesterol is high.  Really high.  I didn’t even think to ask the number, but I should be getting all the results in the mail in a couple days.  I’ve been on cholesterol medicine since September, and never really thought much of it.  Now I am taking twice as much medication.

Truth be told, I didn’t even know what foods were high in cholesterol, it’s something that wasn’t even on my radar.  I use Fat Secret to track all my food.  So I did a little digging last night.  Um, turns out my favorite foods are high in cholesterol:

EGGS

CHEESE

MEAT

So I looked back at a particular day, this is what I ate:

Breakfast: two tostadas with two scrambled eggs, spinach, turkey sausage and cheese: 440 mg of cholesterol

Lunch: Buffalo chicken tender stuffed potato with cheese: 85 mg of cholesterol

Dinner: Burger with cheese and potato chips: 103 mg of cholesterol

628 mg of cholesterol for that day!

I low cholesterol diet is considered to be under 200.  Gah.  Just one more number for me to look at.  But, I guess its better to know than not know, right?

And then what did I have for breakfast?  An egg/cheese sammie!  Must buy egg beaters and stick to egg whites.  But I really, really like cheese.

I ended up doing the stair master at lunch for 35 minutes.  I did the speed intervals and its pretty hard – it has 20 levels and I did my slow interval at level 8 and my fast interval at level 12.

I did 2.37 miles in 35 minutes for 114 floors.  Then I stretched for 5 minutes and then did 5 minutes of abs on the bosu.  A nice 45 minute workout.

OMG, the Asian Noodle salad I made yesterday?  Fantastic.  Such a great way to use up leftover beef roast.  I adapted the recipe from The Cozy Apron.  I just doubled the recipe for me and my boss.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked soba noodles (cooled), drizzled with a touch of olive oil to prevent sticking
6 ounces of leftover beef, cut thin
2 cups broccoli slaw
2 teaspoons crushed peanuts
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped
• Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce (recipe below)

Preparation:

-Add all of the ingredients through the chopped cilantro leaves into a medium-size bowl, and toss together gently until well combined; to pack up and store, add these ingredients into a container, either a plastic Tupperware with lid, or glass container with lid that you can take with you, and store the Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce in a separate small container, and keep refrigerated until ready to enjoy.

-To assemble at lunch time or when you’re ready to eat, just pour the Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce as over the noodles/beef, gently toss together to coat, and enjoy.

Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce ingredients:

3 tablespoons agave nectar or honey (I used agave)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
2 tablespoon peanut butter (I used all-natural, creamy peanut butter)
2 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press
3 to 4 drops of Sriracha sauce (this is spicy, so use to your liking)

Preparation:

-In a small dish, combine all of the ingredients with a fork or small whisk until very well blended and smooth; keep in a small, snap-top container in fridge until ready to use. (*If the sauce gets a bit too thick from being in the fridge, just warm the container that it’s in under some hot water for a moment or two to soften the sauce and make easier to pour.)

These are the noodles I used – they are individually wrapped in 2 ounce portions.  I got these at a Japanese grocery store, but any type pasta would do.

I used my mini chopped to blend the sauce mixture.  Then just combined everything when it was lunch time.

This was so light and refreshing!  I think I could have added a bit of lime juice, but this was super flavorful.  This whole bowl comes in at 547 calories, 14 fat, 79 carbs, 5.2 fiber and 31 protein.

Over the weekend I bought a teriyaki marinated flank steak.  All I did was let it come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before grilling.  I was thinking of a side dish when I saw that I had asparagus and risotto rice, so I decided to make a spring risotto.

I originally thought that this was going to be 2 servings, but it turned out to be 3.  Or it could even turn out to be 4 small servings.

Asparagus, Carrot and Apple Risotto

• 3 servings: 332 calories, 7 fat, 51 carbs, 3.1 fiber and 7.3 protein

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped asparagus
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup risotto rice (thanks Carol!)
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter with the olive oil.  Add the carrot and rice and cook for about 2 minutes.   Add 1/2 cup of liquid at a time, stirring and once the broth is absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of liquid, ending with the final 1/2 cup of wine.  During the last 1/2 cup of wine addition, add the asparagus and apples.  Once the last of the broth is absorbed, remove from heat and add the Parmesan cheese and stir until melted.  Salt and pepper to taste.

I really need to work on my food styling, but this was delicious.  The meat was so flavorful and the rice so creamy.

So today is WI Wednesday!

Back in the 160s, thank you very much.  I think I am down 1.6 from last week – I’ll double check that, but I am happy to be in the 160s again.  Now let’s just keep that number going down, shall we?!

Stats for Tuesday:

• 1499 calories, 48 fat, 186 carbs, 26 fiber, 94 protein
• 50% calories from carbs, 29% from fat, 21% from protein
• 355 mg of cholesterol
• 45 minute workout on Stairmaster

It’s that time again kids to get my shit together for the day.  I threw my gym clothes in the wash last night and never put them in the dryer so I need to get my act together.  I only have 30 minutes before I need to leave work today – not too much time for activities this morning.   Make it a great day!