Dukan – Day 160 – Awesome Vacation and I still have a week!

Posted on January 28, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Friday was a PV day 🙂

Daily weight loss: 1.3 lb/0.6 kg
Total weight loss: Will update when back in China on MY scale and with my progress sheet.

So to update everyone from the past week…
Wednesday…
The walk that I went on was at Devil’s Millhopper sinkhole in Gainesville. I went with my friend Mary and it was great! It is 220 stairs down to the bottom. So we walked to the bottom and then back again and hiked the rim twice. Nice morning for walking. Then off for lunch in Ocala with an old friend. Then out to Bronson to say Happy Birthday to my niece Tasha and meet her 3 year old, Abigail. Too stinkin’ cute! Then back to cook dinner for my mom.

Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs and a slice of turkey
Lunch: 6 oz sirloin and asparagus
Dinner: Turkey sausage with onions
Snack: FF yogurt with Splenda and flax seed meal

Thursday…
An early morning start at 555 am back to south Florida for a dental cleaning appt at 10. Got there with 5 minutes to share 🙂 A nice visit with my daughter, Jenni at Panero’s, then a long 2.5 hour hike with my friend Jamie in Johnathan Dickenson State Park. Saw an alligator, literally 2 feet away, in a retention pond very cool, but scary 😀 then met the crazy friends at Kona’s for Jammin’ Jensen.

Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs
Lunch: Turkey slices and 2 small pieces of nearly fat free (1.5g) of sharp cheddar.
Dinner: Seared tuna on a stick and grilled pompano with mixed steamed veggies.
Snack: FF Greek yogurt with Splenda and flax seed meal

Friday: up early, long walk through Stuart, across the bridges, down by the river walk, all before the sun comes up! Then I drove up to Melborne to visit my son. An evening visit with my friend, Tammy then to bed early.

Breakfast: 2 hard fried eggs and bacon
Lunch: turkey slices and a couple of small pieces of nearly fat free cheese
Dinner: chicken sausage (spicy and not, out of the cases), stir fried in a small amount of olive oil, with cumin, cinnamon, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and chilis. Then had 4 bites of bacon wrapped cobia nuggets at Tammy’s… Could not resist!
Snack: FF Greek yogurt with Splenda and flax seed meal.

So, I’m apparently eating fine, since I’m losing. Still holding off on a total weight loss until I get home to my scale and progress sheet. I’m having a great vacation and nothing can beat that!

Ciao!

Quote of day: If you do not tell the truth about yourself
you cannot tell it about other people.

~ Virginia Woolf ~

Devil’s Millhopper

Me and Tasha

Abby

Dukan – Day 157

Posted on January 25, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Tuesday was a PV day.

No weigh in. My mom has a manual scale and if it’s correct I’ve gained about 2 pounds, regretting not packing my scale and hauling it to Florida.

Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs and then off to pick my mom up from rehab to bring her home.
Lunch for both of us: Chicken sausage with sautéed onions and a handful of mushrooms.
Snack: practically fat free Turkey slices and what I’ve vowed to NOT eat today, 3 slices of low fat provolone cheese.
Dinner: Stir fried sirloin with onions, mushrooms and asparagus
Snack: FF Greek yogurt with Splenda and flax seed meal.
Total water: 2.5 liters (1500mL with Crystal Lite added… No carbs, fat and barely any calories, my life has been changed, lol)

Its nice just hanging out, but I didn’t get enough exercise in today. I’ve done the research on the flax seed versus the oat bran and they are pretty equal. I can’t find the oat bran meal here and the stuff I bought made me feel like I could just go out and eat grass… Yuck! I think if I have true weight gain, it’s from the cheese. I’m trying to stay away from the Atkins mentality… I’ll be in search of a better scale on Friday, when I’m back in Stuart.

Now I’m off for a morning hike… Will tell ya all about it tomorrow 🙂

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do.
Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.
~ Ella Fitzgerald
My take… I’m loving my new look, I’m inspired by my fellow bloggers, the only thing that could go wrong is if I did give up… Not gonna do that!

Dukan – Day 155 & 156 – MDA Walk-A-Thon

Posted on January 24, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Sunday was a PV day and Monday was a PP day.

Daily weight loss: 0.5 lb

It’s been difficult tracking my weight loss as I didn’t bring MY scale, bought a cheap one that doesn’t seem accurate and now I’m on a non-digital scale… I will see the totals when I get back to China and post them, but I’m following the diet and feel like I’m doing fine.

Sunday was an early morning because I was going with Ken and Shannon to the MDA walk-a-thon in West Palm Beach. Had to climb over all the girlies sleeping on mattresses on the floor and try to sneak out quietly at 0600. Breakfast was a large coffee from Dunkin Donuts, 600mL water with lemon and a couple of bites of very low fat cheddar cheese.

The walk was great. We walked with Team Lea, an on air host with WZZR and the walk took us through the Palm Beach Zoo… Formerly called The Zoo at Dreher Park, this place was my play ground growing up, as we lived just down the road until we moved to Stuart when I was 8. And the best part… I ran into one of my families who I was blessed to assist with a water birth and breast feeding help… The Brown’s… Here is a pic of their family getting ready to walk…

Then we stopped at Ken and Shannon’s where I got to play in Ken’s amazing game room… My favorite video game EVER… GALAGA!!!! Here’s an awful pic of me playing, but I fell right back into the championship stance from all those years ago 🙂

Then back to Denise’s to watch 2 very disappointing games 😦 Nuff said.

Dinner: Chicken sausage and peppers and onions for me and Denise… Yum!
Snack: FF Greek yogurt with ground golden flax seed… Much yummier than oat bran.

Monday, another early morning (530 or so) strapped on my new Brooks running shoes and headed out for a lovely 5 mile walk over the bridges and through downtown Stuart. I love it out there in the early dark hours! Watching the colors of the horizon change, it really is a great way to start the day!

Breakfast with Denise and Jenni was bacon and eggs then off for a rental car and a trip north. First stop to see my son Nick in Melborne…

And his dog, Buttkis…

Cooked him lunch of pork chops and grilled onions, then the trip to Gainesville to see my mom who had back surgery on the 13th and is coming home Tuesday from rehab… YAY!

Coffee with Mary at Starbucks and then to my mom’s house for a reunion with my cat, Miss Kitty. She hasn’t left my side since I walked in the door!

Dinner: not real hungry so ate a couple of pieces of beef jerky. More than met my water requirements, but no bran or flax today.

Having a lovely holiday home!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Cut not the wings of your dreams,
for they are the heartbeat and the freedom of your soul. ~ Flavia

Dukan – Day 149 & 150 – Fly Away!

Posted on January 18, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Monday was a PV day… Tuesday was a 37 hour day and lots of airplane food.

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total weight loss: 65.1 lb/29.61

So I’ve reached 65 lbs off! So awesome and nearly 30 kgs! Monday was my final day at work before my holiday home. Things are really festive because this is the week leading up to Chinese New Year and all the big bosses are out of town 🙂

Breakfast: Two tea eggs, 500mL water
Snack: cup of coffe with Splenda and skin milk
Lunch: a beautiful piece of fish with diced peppers, onions, garlic and ginger… Yum! And 550mL water.
Dinner: yogurt with bran and Splenda… I just didn’t feel like making anything
Snack: tea with milk and Splenda

Finished my packing and headed to bed early… Setting the alarm for 0800 in hopes of a sleep in because my driver wasn’t coming to get me until 1045.

Tuesday… Up at 0555, LOL! So much for sleeping in! Slapped my shoes on and went out for a brisk walk in my jammies with my wool coat on. Took a shower and dressed and still how a long wait!
Breakfast: Sirloin chunks stir fried with onions and a bit of seasoning. 500mL water, cup of coffee.
Did the Internet and texted the driver to come get me early 🙂
I check in and then go through immigration and the buzzers go off. This, of course, gives me a heart attack! They pull me to the side and everyone is talking in Chinese… I’m doing my best to breathe and remain calm. They then drag me back to the ticket counter, where it is discovered some mistake has been made, I lose the plot, start shaking and asking them WHAT mistake, no one could speak good enough English to tell me anything but “we fix, we fix”!!! Next thin I know I’m in a Business Class seat (small 737) and all was right with the world. Except they couldn’t check me in for my flight from Osaka to Seattle or Seattle to JFK…
Lunch: 2 tea eggs (mine) and a piece of fish from the food served on plane and a tiny bit of salad. 350mL water and Pepsi Max.
1 hour layover And I have to find the gate to get checked in. Security doesn’t want to let me go through to onward bound area because I don’t have a boarding pass… Argh! And to boot, they want to pat me down, which I’m always happy to do… I prefer to be safe 🙂 Anyway, lady from Delta comes to security and says, “oh, Ms. Blankenship! We’ve been waiting for you” and they let me through… Just like that. And now I’m sitting business once again because of my troubles, LOL. At least I’m not breaking my resolution of traveling cheaper 😀
Dinner: Filet Mignon and asparagus, with a lovely salad of rocket greens and teeny pieces of feta cheese, which I ate… Now I’m off to lala land, while cruising at 32000 feet above the Pacific Ocean en route to my homeland 🙂
Lala land, not so much. Slept a grand total of 2 hours and landed in Seattle at 1045 am TUESDAY morning… I left China at 140 pm TUESDAY afternoon! This is going to be a long, long day…
I’m now flying over the midwest of the U.S., 5 hour Delta flight, no meal service, WTF? I could see if it was 2-3 hr flight, but seriously? I’m eating the free peanuts 🙂 And trying to stay awake so that when I get to New York City, I can hunker down into the hotel bed and pass out!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: I know how to do anything, I’m a Mom ~ Rosanne Barr

Dukan – Day 147 – Packin’ and a WHOOSH!

Posted on January 15, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Saturday was suppose to be a PP day, but the leftover shrooms called to me!

Daily weight loss: 2.0 lbs/0.9 kg!!!
Total weight loss: 64.3 lb/29.21 kg

Wow! That’s all I can say about that! I have no explanation for that whoosh and I’ll be even happier if I stay the same and don’t gain for tomorrow morning’s weigh in. I got off and on the scale 5 times to make sure it was right. Took a battery out, put it back in, put my glasses on and then got back on… Same same.

I slept in until 804!!! Put on my yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt, slapped on my shoes and went straight out into the 42 degree air and did C25K. It was pissing down the rain, so I was cautious. But it felt good and there is no one around because they all leave the city and go to their villages for Chinese New Year. I picked up 2 pretty leaves on my path this morning… One is from the heart tree and the other one looks like a mini pot leaf, not sure what the tree is, but its tiny, too! Then back upstairs for hot coffee and warmed up left overs and a catch up on the computer.

Accomplished a ton of stuff during the day, finished packing, finished my first book of the year, “The Tenth Insight” by James Redfield. Got all my laundry done, ordered and downloaded books to my iPad for reading (going to try out Val McDermid and a detective series that she writes) and had enough time for painting. I’ve had a lot on my mind and painting was a nice distraction. I actually painted two today!

Lunch was yogurt with a tea egg. And late in the afternoon, so at dinner time I wasn’t really hungry and had a bit of dodgy tummy and a lingering headache. Made myself eat a quick stir fry of onions, mushrooms and cut up tea eggs with no seasoning and then crawled on the couch feeling even yuckier 😦 Cheered up by a couple of nice long chats with my girlies. To bed with some Tylenol on board, satisfied with all I got done… Still not sure why I whooshed 🙂

Ciao!

Quote of the day: If you can’t make it better, you can laugh at it ~ The divine Erma Bombeck
I adored Erma Bombeck!

Dukan – Day 146 Tofu Stir Fry

Posted on January 14, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Friday was a PV day.

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.2 kg
Total weight loss: 62.3 lb/28.31 kg

Started my day off with a lecture to the staff at work about the importance of putting ID bands on babies… Seems I take it a bit more serious than some people 🙂 I’m thinking a few people were not happy with being called out in front of their peers! I accomplished pissing off the first group of people of the day, i was on a roll!
I had a tea egg at my desk and then headed off with the marketing department and Kitty to a community center about an hour from the hospital. We set up in a multipurpose room and they were playing the movie The Apple of Your Eye. A 2011 teen love story… In Chinese, of course, but early in the movie the kids are reciting Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech in their English class. I thought that was very cool and especially poignant given that his birthday is January 15th. Watched the whole movie, Kitty stunned by my ability to translate what was going on… It was teen angst, not hard to figure it out and it didn’t have the ending I wanted it to have!
Then off for a quick lunch at a local Chinese restaurant.. I had fatty pork and a couple of bites of cabbage, brushing off the rice that you simply aren’t allowed to refuse. I also had a tea egg and 500mL water.
Here’s where I pissed off/freaked out the next set of people 😀 I specifically said several weeks ago that I wasn’t going to do anymore marketing events if the men kept smoking in the van. Smoking is a NATIONAL SPORT here. You aren’t a REAL man unless you smoke. I’ll also interject here that I smoked, like a fiend, for 25 years and I’ve been nicotine free for 6.5 years and I’m one of THOSE ex-smokers 😀 Anyhow, the driver comes to pick us up in the COMPANY van and he’s smoking a cigarette WITH THE WINDOWS UP!! I proceed to scare the crap out of him by open palm banging on the window while simultaneously yelling “PUT THAT *^%#*+% CIGARETTE OUT”!!!!! Kitty of course is yelling at the same pitch and with similar inflection in Chinese… Bless her, she really is the best Personal Assistant/Translator in the world. He freaked out and burned himself trying to get the cigarette out the CLOSED van window, which then made me erupt into an evil laugh like, “Muhahahah, that’s what ya get for smoking in the van”. Needless to say, we rode back with the windows down and it was 42 degrees, did I mention they hate cold air? I think they were trying to make up with me, because they played American rock music most of the way back to the hospital 🙂
Back to the hospital and Vivien and I took a picture together…

Which got me thinking… I wonder if I could do a before and after from when I was in China in May… Couldn’t find a pic of Vivi and I, so had her send me one from her phone and here’s the side by side comparison…

I swear to God I will never, ever, NEVER be that fat girl on the left again… Did I say NEVER!?!? The best compliment I got was from a friend in Abu Dhabi, Caroline, who said she showed the picture to her husband and he said it didn’t look like the same person in the 2 pics! They’ve both been doing the Dukan and are looking great as well…

Took the long way home again and cooked up Curried Tofu and veggies for dinner.

Block of FIRM tofu, cut into bite sized chunks
1 Tbs
3 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 onion chopped
6 whole garlic cloves
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 pinch cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
6 ginormous mushrooms 🙂
A handful of garlic stems (I would have loved this to have been asparagus!)

I marinated the tofu in the olive oil, garlic cloves, curry powder, cumin and cinnamon for an hour. Shaking the container gently every 15 mins. or so.

I then put a tsp of olive oil in the wok (you could substitute with cooking spray) and turned the heat on medium and sautéd the onions for 2 minutes and then added the garlic cloves for 2 more minutes.
I then turned the heat up to medium-high and threw in the tofu, stir fry 2 minutes.
Then add the mushrooms, continuing to stir for 2 more minutes, then toss in the garlic stems, turn the heat down to low, cover with lid and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

I eat my food on a side dish plate (measures 7″ across) what doesn’t fit goes in the fridge for breakfast or lunch the next day… I had lots of leftovers!

It was a yummy meal!

All in all a good day… I’m not usually such a tyrant, but I sure got my grouchiness spread all over today! I was also worried about my Mom. She was having back surgery as I slept Friday night and I was thinking about it all day (she’s fine, thank God) and I think the stress from that might have contributed a little bit to my crankiness… Can’t wait to get home! 2 more days of work and then I fly! WOO HOO!!!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: if we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we are not really living, growth demands a temporary surrender of security ~ Gail Sheely
From me: Change requires growing up… Physically, emotionally and spiritually, it’s time to grow up.

Dukan – Day 145

Posted on January 13, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Thursday was a PP day.

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total weight loss: 61.8 lbs/28.11 kg

Rockin’ and rollin’! Nice walk in to work this morning. It’s warmed up into the 40’s although it’s a damp 40’s and still feels cold as ice to me! I’ve got my iPhone/iPad set up with a playlist that works well for my walk to work… Upbeat, brisk, etc. I find that I walk to the beat of the music and brisk is better! I have a Cuban jazz CD loaded up and it makes for some fun music in the mornin’!

Breakfast, at home (gasp!) before I left for work. Fat free yogurt with Splenda and bran. It was a nice change of pace, but I missed my after dinner yogurt treat!

Work this morning consisted of bathing babies…

And the afternoon, policy writing and flow charts to go with the policy…

Can I say how much I love MS Visio?!?!? The 2010 version is awesome and so easy to work with!

Then the fun walk home. I took the long route which is 1.4 miles instead of 1 mile. I love that route, it goes past the university and has less traffic. And I avoid the guy selling HOT SWEET POTATOES roasting on some cart thingy that smells so good! He’s there every day, rain or shine, hot or cold, selling those roasting sweet potatoes… I’ll shock him to death when I buy one once I’m on consolidation!

Dinner was pork loin chunks stir fried with onions, chopped garlic, garlic cloves, garlic stems, cumin, a pinch of cinnamon and 2 tsps of olive oil. Olive oil is the one thing I did not give up for this diet. To me it brings out the best in the food. I’ve always used it sparingly and still do. Using it has obviously not harmed my weight loss 🙂

It was a yummy dinner 🙂 nice cup of Yellow Label milk tea after dinner and then to bed early. I’ve been an exhausted this week for some reason. I’m sure it has to do with a couple of late nights and those early mornings! I hope everyone is having a great week! 4 more sleeps until I’m home for vacation… Woo HOO!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose – Indira Ghandi

Dukan – Day 144 – Lomo Saltado

Posted on January 12, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Wednesday was a PV day.

Daily weight loss: 0.0 lb & kg
Total weight loss: 61.4 lbs/27.91 kg

So a STS day (stay the same). I got all my water, bran and walking in and I’m in ketosis, so all’s well!

Nice walk to work. It was 43F and I think that I’m getting used to the cold. However, my hands get colder now than they used to, so I’m wearing gloves (even though it interrupts my ability to use my iPhone!). I’m not sure why this is, but I suspect it’s the fact that I have less insulation 😀

Breakfast at my desk was 2 tea eggs and 550mL of water & then a cup of coffee. Busy morning at work and then for lunch I went to the yoga room here at work and did a 40 minute workout. No audience because they all sleep during our 90 minute (I’m not kidding) midday break. Then back to my office for the tuna I had mixed in the morning. Tuna with finely chopped onion, teeny bits of garlic, 2 Tbs FF yogurt and Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper (shout out to Barbara Harper who gave me the 2 jars of Trader Joe’s spices when I was last home… Hint hint, they’re both almost gone, LOL). lunch was yummy.
Afternoon snack: a tea egg
Then a nice walk after work. I follow many blogs and one that I love with the prettiest food pictures is HapaCouple they posted a recipe for Lomo Saltado yesterday and I decided to walk to Walmart after work to pick up cumin, pepper and cilantro. And boy am I happy I did! My pic isn’t so great… But click the link to see their picture… Regardless, it was yummy!

Then some nice long chats on Skype, emailing and facebooking! Several people have asked me this past week what my next goal was going to be, and I hadn’t given it any thought. After a few email exchanges from Charlotte it was decided that my next goal would be to be down 70 pounds by February 11th, that’s one month from today AND 20 of those days will be spent AT HOME socializing with family and friends… It’s quite a challenge, but I’m up for it! Thank you, Charlotte 😀

Quote of the day: Courage is a muscle. We strengthen it with use – Ruth Gordon
My message: be courageous AND use your muscles 🙂

One last pic… Me, caught blogging just now by Kitty… I really am working, I swear!

Dukan – Day 143 – Pajama Day

Posted on January 11, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Tuesday was suppose to be a PV day, but ended up being a PP day.

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total weight loss: 61.4 lb/27.91 kg

What a fun day off. I switched to a day off because I was suppose to make a run to Shanghai for a friend, but that got cancelled and I slept in!! To 708 a.m.! Slapped on my running shoes, pulled on my wool coat OVER my jammies and went out and did C25K. I knew if I didn’t get my butt out the door first thing, it wasn’t going to happen! When I was done I grabbed my daily allotment of water from the little shop and had a pajama day 😀

Even though I schlepped around in my PJ’s the entire day, it was pretty busy. I checked emails and responded, read all the blogs I follow and commented, did 2 loads of laundry, finished all the packing I could do for my trip next week, cooked more tea eggs and wrote my blog. I chatted with a few people on Skype and had a TWO HOUR IM chat with my wonderful daughter, Jenni. I have no idea when she became smarter than me! Her sage advise was amazing and her love felt across the world, thanks my child… You’re pretty awesome 🙂

I also watched The Hangover. The first one. Oh my… I laughed so hard my sides hurt! I love stupid comedy, and looking at Bradley Cooper ain’t so bad either 😉 The pictures at the end were the best, I’m glad I watched this at home where I could laugh with abandon and not have to worry about stuffy people in the theatre!

Breakfast: Left over pork chunks and onions from last night… Even yummier in the morning reheated! 500mL water and a coffee.
Snack: Cup of milk tea (yellow label tea with skim milk and Splenda)
Lunch: I took a can of tuna, finely chopped a small piece of onion, chopped up a tea egg, grated on a tsp of curry and 1.5 Tbs of fat free yogurt and mixed together. Delicious! Thanks wwangel for the reminder that tuna is a yummy Dukan friendly meal! 500mL water, Coke Zero
Snack: Cup of milk tea (Earl Grey with skim and Splenda)
Dinner: Beef chunks sautéed in olive oil with onions, edamame and curry seasoning. I’ve been asked to describe how I cook my dinners, so here goes. Prep & Cooking time tonight 8 minutes! I put 2 Tbs olive oil in my wok and allow it to heat slowly while I chop 1/2 large onion. I like my onions chunky and toss them in the wok. Add some curry powder and sauté for 2 minutes. While that is cooking, I wash my meat (I live in China) and then cut it into bite-sized chunks. Toss that in, toss on some more curry powder, stir well and let simmer for 4 minutes. I then turn the gas up on high for one minute to brown the meat and put in the bowl. Yum! The curry, meat juices and olive oil make a lovely gravy.

I have no veggies in the flat, besides onions… So my PV day ended up being a PP day. I will walk through the fresh market on my way home from work to pick up some veggies.

And lastly… Over 200 people read my blog on Tuesday. The only other time that happened was in August when I was selling my furniture. It was very exciting to track the stats through the day! I also reached 60 followers, meaning that 60 people receive an email whenever I post a blog. I am humbled beyond words. I keep this blog about my diet to track my journey and my main motivation 5 months ago was to hold myself accountable, it is so much more than that now. Thank you 😀

Ciao!

Quote of the day: You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.
– Beverly Sills

Pic of the day: My Curried Beef and Onions…

Dukan – Day 142 – It’s Funday Monday… and a WHOOSH!

Posted on January 10, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Monday was a PP Day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.9 lb/0.4 kg
Total Weight Loss: 61.0 lb/27.71 kg

I have no idea where the whoosh came from, but woo hoo! 😀 I am 6 pounds less than the goal I set for Jan. 13th! I am very happy with that! I was just reading the blog I linked to earlier in this sentence and had lost 34 pounds at that point, it was Day 64… I couldn’t even fathom having lost 61 pounds. In fact, I’m saying it out loud and having a hard time believing it! This diet really works!

Nice walk to work in the morning… we had a warm up and it was 46 when I left for work! I wore my boots, though I’m not going to be able to wear them much anymore. They are, alas, too big 😦 I am very distraught over this… how do your feet lose weight!?!? These are expensive boots, dammit! I had on my stirrup leggings (no comments!!! they are in fashion here!) and TWO pairs of thick wool hiking socks to prevent the sliding that happens when I wear the boots now and I nearly twisted my ankle. So, I will wear them for looks, but no trekking the mile to and from work in them 😦 Breakfast was 2 tea eggs. I made some of my own and here is how I made them:

Ingredients: 8-10 eggs, 1 tsp. Salt, 3 cups of water, 1 TBS soy sauce, 1 TBS BLACK soy sauce, 1/4 tsp Salt, 2 TBS black tea leaves (you can get this in bulk), 2 pods Star Anise, 1 cinnamon stick.

In a large saucepan I placed the eggs and 1 tsp of Salt. I then covered it with cool tap water and brought to a boil, then turned down and let simmer for 20 minutes. I then put them in a colander and let them drain and cool for 10 minutes. When they are cool I roll them VERY GENTLY across the counter to form little cracks… DO NOT PEEL 🙂

In a large saucepan mix all the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the eggs. Bring that to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. You then turn off the heat and add the eggs. Let them steep over night, at least 8 hours. You can reuse the liquid. I put mine in the fridge in a tight sealed bowl and bring back to a boil and let the eggs steep again. I have reused this liquid 3 times, then tossed. Also, you can store the eggs up to 4 days in a tight container as long as you don’t peel them. Mine NEVER last that long, lol, I eat 5 a day.

Tea Eggs Cooking

Tea Eggs finished

The recipe is easy! The eggs are yummy! If you can’t find Black Soy Sauce, you can use 2 TBS of regular soy sauce. The Black Soy Sauce is a bit thicker… nice for sauteing beef and pork in… yum 🙂

Lunch I wandered over to the hospital canteen. They serve some yummy food in there but it’s all laden in gravies and MSG… I had 2 tea eggs and a couple of bites of tofu that was in a spicy chili sauce.

For dinner I sauteed pork chunks seasoned with Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper seasoning with onions and the last of my garlic stems 😦 I discovered through an expat here that you can actually order groceries on line that are delivered from Shanghai to your door. The delivery charge is 20CNY, which is like $2.60! LOL I was able to get some lovely meat and fat free yogurt!!! I also got some organic milk… My life has changed dramatically with this new found information! Anyway, they were out of garlic stems, but had everything else, so tomorrow I will have to hoof it down to the fresh market for garlic stems. I had so much food, that I only ate 1/2 and boxed up the rest for Tuesday. Being on this diet, your appetite is way less than before. I eat a small bowl of food. Anything more than what is equivalent to the size of my fist, makes my tummy hurt!

Fat free yogurt with Splenda and bran for dessert and a nice finish to the day. I have a few people on my mind today, my friend having shoulder surgery today and my mom having back surgery on Friday… here’s a prayer that the surgeons heal you and you’re both up and active in rapid time 🙂

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Your journey has molded you for your great good, And it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think that you’ve lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now… is right on time! – Asha Tyson