On Blogging

I've been looking for other weight loss bloggers to link to and it made me sad to say that I am having a hard time finding any active ones. I found several Nutrisystem blogs, but most of them have been abandoned- many of them after making a post or two saying they were slipping and were regaining the weight they'd lost. It's a little depressing to see so many people strive and fail.

I don't want Stomach Rumblings to become another dead blog to represent my failure! I would love to keep this blog going to inspire other people that this CAN be done if you want it enough. I plan to keep experimenting and posting new recipes even when I finish losing weight and go into maintenance. I believe that, as in all things in life, if you want something enough then you find a way to make it happen. You can keep making excuses, but that's all they are- just excuses. Do you make excuses to avoid doing things you really want to do? I doubt it.

So, chin up- if it's important to you to lose weight, you can do it! Nutrisystem makes it so easy. If you just want to eat the meals right out of the box, you can; you don't have to cook with them the way I do.

Believe me- if I can do this, you can. I had the worst eating habits- lots of refined carbs and fat, lots of sugar and empty calories, and very little nutritious food at all. The only difference between me and the people who fail at weight loss is that I've made this one of my top priorities. I am finding ways to stick to my program, not ways to justify "cheating". And that's why I believe I will be successful at losing the weight. Stick with me- let's see if I can do it! Hopefully at this time next year my ticker will be complete!


I also have some new recipes to share- enjoy!

Nacho Crisps (Dessert):


When I first tried the Nacho Crisps, I thought they were just okay but they have really grown on me! I topped them with diced green onions and tomatoes and melted cheese on top (you can do a little for a free food or a full dairy serving, whatever works in your day) and added sour cream and salsa. Delicious and satisfying!


Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix (Breakfast):


Here I was trying to create a version of my mother's favourite breakfast from her childhood- cheese blintzes. I think the recipe needs some work (I'm going to add a little water to the batter next time to make two thinner crepes since the pancake was a little thick and didn't fold well, and I am going to work on the filling as well) but it was pretty darn good!

Chocolate Chip Strawberry Blintzes

1 pkg NS Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp Splenda
1 serving strawberries, sliced thinly
4 tbsp ricotta cheese
1 tbsp Philadelphia Ultra Low Fat Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Spray a large pan with PAM and heat. Mix together pancake mix, milk, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and 2 tbsp Splenda. Pour into large pan and swish it around so that it fills the entire bottom of the pan; cook like a regular pancake. In a separate pan, pour a little water and 2 tbsp of Splenda, add strawberries and simmer until they are a chunky sauce- set aside. In a small dish, blend together ricotta, cream cheese, lemon juice, remaining Splenda and vanilla. Spoon cheese mixture inside the crepe and fold. If your crepe folds well, fry it in a pan sprayed with PAM until crispy then top with strawberries and bake for ten minutes. If it needs toothpicks like mine, just put it straight into the oven. Top with a little Torani caramel syrup and whipped cream if desired.

For a recipe that didn't come out quite the way I intended, it was still yummy! You could use plain or blueberry pancake mix as well, I just wanted the chocolate/strawberry taste but you could drizzle with Walden Farms chocolate syrup instead.

Sometimes I still wonder how we're on a weight loss plan and still get to eat such delicious things. It doesn't seem quite fair, does it? :)

Still here!

I haven't written in a few days but things have been pretty busy on the home front. My son is getting so interactive and playful! He's four months old and full of wonder. I have to share, yesterday he rolled over for the first time! I'm one proud mama.

I'm starting to run out of new breakfasts and desserts to review, since I pretty much only ordered a few things that I thought I'd like. Here's what I've had the past few days:

Chicken Pasta Parmesan (Dinner)


This was pretty good! Noodles, chicken, and cheese in a zesty tomato sauce. I love having my pasta dishes with Caesar salad and a slice of garlic bread. Despite the small serving of main course, it's pretty hard to feel deprived when you have all that to eat!

Nacho Crisps (Dessert)


I'm not really a salty snacks person but they got to choose the items I'd get for my free week, and this was one of the things they put in my box. They are actually pretty good. They are thicker than regular tortilla chips but they have a satisfying crunch and made a great snack.

Black Bean Tortilla Soup (Lunch)


My only question about this was, where on earth are the tortillas? If they just called it black bean soup, there'd be no question it was what it said. To put it simply, if you like bean soup, you'll like this. Beans are generally low fat and high fibre so they probably didn't change a regular bean soup that much. I must admit I was wishing for a dollop of sour cream, some tortilla chips, and cheese to eat with it though. I might sneak a little fat free sour cream on top next time but I guess I'll have to skip the rest.

Chicken with Dumplings (Dinner)


This tasted like good old fashioned comfort food. It's hard to be unhappy with a dish full of chicken chunks and little dumplings in a thick gravy. I was using my slice of bread to mop out every drop!

Homestyle Chicken Noodles with Gravy (dinner)


This disappointed me, not because of the taste, but again because of the description. I was expecting something similar to the chicken and dumplings but with noodles instead. What I actually got was basically chicken noodle soup. If it had been marked chicken noodle soup, I would have known what to expect (and probably wouldn't have ordered 3 of them). I really like sauces and gravies, so thin stock just didn't do it for me. I'm going to save them for when I'm not feeling great and would normally be wanting chicken noodle soup and I think I'll enjoy them a lot more then.

Honestly, after nearly two weeks, I don't have too much to complain about. I can see myself eventually getting bored with the limited menu (especially since Canadians get even less choice than Americans!) but Dan suggested I just set up a 2 week rotation where I don't eat things more often than once every two weeks. That really isn't so bad and I think I can manage that. I'll have to have some of my favourites more often though! In general, the food is pretty good, although some of the dishes could use a little more flavour. On the plus side, spices like black pepper and chilies are all permitted so I can jazz them up myself.

My elliptical machine and I are becoming buddies again, so hopefully I'll have another good number on the scale this week. My plan is to exercise at least 3 days a week and so far I've been doing that.

No real urges to cheat yet... not even for pizza!