PFP Week 1 Update

Hi everybody! I'm so glad many of you decided to join me in this challenge. I'm horrible at motivating myself, so hopefully this will finally do the trick!

• At the top of the page, just below my header is now a Pound for Pound Challenge tab. You can click that to see the PFP information, all of the participant bios, and I will add the update links to it weekly.

• Each Monday I am going to be posting an update, so if participants could please e-mail me any updates they want to share by Sunday, that would be much appreciated. You do not have to update every week, but I will try to check in with everybody as often as I can.
  

• The update post will include a menu plan for the upcoming week. One of the things I noticed is that I make bad choices when I haven't planned ahead and shopped accordingly.

• I will also include a tip to share for that week to keep us all moving in a positive direction. It could range from a product I like, an exercise, a healthy recipe, a motivating book or movie, etc.
  

• If you have anything you would also like to share with the group you are encouraged to do so! I have added all of the participants to a private Facebook group where you can chat amongst yourselves, share recipes, ask for support, brag about progress, etc.
  

I know this is a bit confusing in the beginning, so please let me know if you have any questions or need clarification!

My progress for the week:
Unfortunately, I kind of held off until this post for an "official" start to the challenge. Hopefully this will kick my ass into high gear since it's up and I'm being held accountable now. There were two days this past week Johnny and I had to go to the mall by our house (gag), which equaled a lot of walking around. I also tried to consciously make wiser meal choices, but could have been better. I just shopped and bought really great items, so that will make the coming week easier. I'm weighing myself daily and that has been fluctuating in a four pound window. For now I think it's safe to say I haven't lost anything yet.

My menu plan for the week:
Ground chicken tacos with fat free cheese and sour cream
Cabbage nests
Butternut squash soup (made with skim milk in place of cream)
Sweet and sour chicken casserole (in my head it's good!)
1 crust chicken pot pie (idea from Biz)

Tip for the week:
Dailymile is a terrific free resource for tracking your exercise progress. I have mine linked to my Facebook account, so it auto-posts to my wall. It allows you to select a workout, use Google maps to outline your routes, keep track of time spent working out, asks how you felt, lets you add notes about the workout, and calculates the calories you burned.

After you add your workouts, it compiles all of the information in an easy-to read progress report you can view by day, week, month, or at year's end. I used it during the summer when I was in North Carolina and loved it! It's a great tool to really see the time and effort you put into exercising, even if the scale doesn't always reflect it.

Friday Firsts - Dried Beans

Happy Friday everybody! Since Johnny started his new job I'm really starting to love weekends. We see a lot less of each other during the week with him leaving for work earlier, getting home later, and needing to go to bed earlier for the dreaded alarm clock. I know it sounds weird because we live in the same house, but I miss him!

Enough with the sappy stuff, though. My first for this week was cooking dried Northern white beans in my slow cooker. I don't use dried beans very often, but I should because of how cheap they are. This was the first time I threw non-soaked beans in anything and I wasn't even sure they'd cook properly. But I took a leap of faith and it worked! Four hours on high and they were tender and velvety soft.

At the top of the blog you'll notice I've added another tab for the Pound for Pound challenge. Please let me know if you would like to pledge to lose some weight this year. For every pound you pledge, a pound of food will be donated to a food bank through Feeding America. Together we can feed the less fortunate and motivate each other in our journey towards getting fit and healthy!

To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!

If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:

<a href="http://www.dinneratchristinas.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://glc.dinneratchristinas.com/i/fridayfirsts.png" alt="Friday Firsts / DinnerAtChristinas.com" style="width: 220px; height: 220px; border: none"/></a>

Sausage and Beans

I still haven't gone grocery shopping yet. I know. It's been a really long time. My list is made and my coupons are sorted, it's just hard to get the final nudge to tackle errands when it's freezing and snowy out.

So these beans came from the pantry and the sausage came from the freezer. Always nice to make up meals with things you have on hand.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how it'd turn out because I haven't worked with dried beans a lot, and never in the slow cooker (unless you count split peas).


3 small onions, roughly chopped
2 cups dried Northern white beans
1 package Johnsonville beer brats (sooo good)
4 cups stock (*see note below)

Begin by chopping the onions and placing them in the bottom of your slow cooker. Place the beans in a colander and pick out any odd looking ones. Rinse really well, using your hands to move them around so they all get a good rinse. Add to the slow cooker. Lay the sausages on top of the beans and add the stock. Cook on high for 4 hours.

Easy peasy. It smelled delicious and was really good. One note - it was a tad on the salty side for my tastes. In the future I would probably do half stock, half water.

Squash

(Click to enlarge.)

Pound for Pound Challenge

In the four years I've lived with Johnny I have gained about twenty pounds. While I know I'm older and will never return to my starting weight, I would still like to lose a small amount of weight and be more healthy and fit overall.

As many of you know, Johnny proposed on Christmas. On top of being exciting and great, this has lit a fire under me to get in shape in the long run so it's not a frantic crunch right before the wedding.
I have started a Pound for Pound team. This is a challenge sponsored by The Biggest Loser that benefits Feeding America. For every pound pledged 11¢ (the cost of a about a pound of food) will be donated to an approved food bank.

I invite you to join me in a healthier 2011 by joining the Dinner at Christina's PFP Challenge team with me!

What you need to do if you would like to join:
(Please note - no personal information or beginning/ending weights will be shared.)

• Go to www.pfpchallenge.com and create an account. Search "Dinner at Christina's" under "Team Name" and click Join! (or e-mail to christina at dinneratchristinas dot com and I will send you an invite)
  
• check in at least once a month via e-mail letting me know how you are doing (more check-ins are encouraged so we can support each other)
  

I will keep the Pound for Pound team members and team progress updated on its own tab on my blog for exposure and support throughout 2011.

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(The below rules are unrelated to the challenge above.)
If you were interested, one of the things I did to jump start getting fit was join Dr. Oz's Just 10 Challenge. The premise behind this challenge is not a diet, but a few key changes in your life that will eventually help you lose 10 pounds.

The "rules" are:

• no soda
• no eating 3 hours before bed
• move at least 10 minutes every day
• portion control at meals
  
• weigh yourself everyday
• take your vitamins
• cook healthy recipes
  

The eating "guidelines" are:

• 4 servings of protein and fat each day
• 3 servings of complex carbs each day
• 3 servings of fruit each day
• unlimited vegetables each day
• dessert every other day
• red meat no more than once each week
• eating out no more than once each week

Friday Firsts - Falafel

Hi everybody, Happy Friday!

First, I'd like to again say thank you to those of you who donated to help my brother's cat. If you hadn't seen already, I added a (happy) update to the bottom of the post.

My first for this week was attempting to cook falafel from scratch! I've made it from a mix before and eaten it out a few times, but never made it from scratch. I was not very pleased with the final outcome, but Johnny loved it. So, I'll tweak and play around with it some more before I post it for you guys! You win some, you lose some - but at least you tried, right?!


To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:

<a href="http://www.dinneratchristinas.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://glc.dinneratchristinas.com/i/fridayfirsts.png" alt="Friday Firsts / DinnerAtChristinas.com" style="width: 220px; height: 220px; border: none"/></a>

Urgent Kitty Help!!! (Updated)

Hi everybody, sorry for the lapse in food posts lately. I have been sick, but am now feeling better and will be heading to the grocery store tomorrow.

In the meantime, I really need your help. My brother Michael's cat is really sick and needs an expensive surgery. Even if you can only give $1 or $2, any little bit helps. He really loves this cat and has traveled with it back and forth from California to North Carolina several times with kitty in tow.

To give with any credit cards or PayPal click here.

Thank you so much, we really appreciate it!

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Update:

Thank you SO much to everybody that donated. I saw a few of your names on the contributor list and it warmed my heart. You guys are great!

The kitty survived the first few procedures and was able to come home from the vet today. He has a check up next week to see if future surgery is needed. He will also be on a special prescribed food the rest of his life.

My brother and his friends thank you again - they know they would have lost him without all of your generosity to help afford the procedures!

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Another update:

The kitty had his 2nd vet check-up and everything seems to be holding strong. He is still on prescribed medicine and will remain on the prescribed food. He seems to be healing and making a great recovery!

Thanks to those who asked donated and asked about him!