And In The Beginning, There Was Food… And Holiday Weight Gain + RECIPE: Stir Fry with Avocado over Cous Cous

(Intended to be posted on the 2nd)

Parental Guidance Warning: This blog entry contains two pieces of foul language on account of eating terribly over the holidays. I think you’ll understand.

I stepped on the scale this morning, and I was really disappointed with myself. I gained 5 pounds in a week and a half.

::Shakes fist angrily in the air:: I let the holidays fuck up all my hard work for a month and a half.

Never has it been more clear to me why I need to maintain eating healthy food and exercising.

Alright, so I gained 5 pounds. I can’t go back in time and not eat the mac and cheese, the buttered carrots, the homemade meatballs from my dad, and I can’t go back and move my ass around. I shouldn’t have eaten those foods, and I should have gone for more walks, but I didn’t, and since I’m very bad at time travel, I will have to move on.

Here is my starting weight for 2013: 166.4 lbs

This means I have 190 days to lose 30 pounds.

This means, to put it another way, I have 27 weeks. When I realized that I have 27 weeks, I felt a lot better.

I’m not excited that I gained weight, but I am excited that I will have the time to lose the weight in a healthy way. A little over a pound a week is fantastic. As long as I’m dedicated to eating well and exercising I know I can do it.

In a little over 6 months I will get to a very healthy weight and exercise regularly.

Also, I was given some fanstastic news from my partner! He will also be going vegan for January! He’s staying with me in CT right now, and I’m very luck to have a source of great support in my home for now.

The first meal we made together was stir-fry with cous-cous and avocado. Talk about fusion!

Stir-Fry with Avocado over Cous-Cous

1 package cherry tomatoes
1 6-8oz package of mixed mushrooms – the package we bought had oyster, shitake, and portabella. A group of just one of them or any mix of any would be great.
1 yellow squash
1 green pepper
1 avocado
1/2 sweet yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons fresh ginger – I think of this as a 1×1 chunk. Then once you peel it and dice it, it turns out to be about 2 teaspoons
1 cup cous-cous
Generous servings of Braggs Liquid Aminos and water

Prep:

1. Dice onion, ginger, garlic, green pepper, avocado, and yellow squash. I bought pre-sliced mushrooms, but if you didn’t, slice them now.

Cooking:

1. Water & Braggs Liquid Aminos sautee the onions on medium-high heat. For me, this meant about two generous tablespoons of water and two of Braggs Liquid Aminos. Then I added two teaspoons of water one more time. I used aluminum foil for the lid. This way it didn’t accumulate moisture and add more water to the pan. It didn’t have to be tight on the lid, in fact that’s the point. Just create a gentle base over it. Slightly crinkled sides over the edges to keep it on.

2. Once the onions start to take on the color of the Braggs, add garlic and ginger. I added two tablespoons more water, but no additional Braggs. I sauteed them for about two minutes.

3. Next we added the squash and peppers, a few teaspoons more water and Braggs. At that point, we also boiled the water for the cous-cous. One cup of water for one cup of cous-cous. Put the lid on the water so it boils faster. I like my peppers and squash a little soft, so I may have been generous with my time. Once the inside of the squash begin to turn more translucent, that’s when I added the next set of vegetables. If you want them firmer, taste a piece at 5 minutes, and then every 3 minutes after.**

**Hint: Don’t touch the food too much in between. I let it sit in the pan for at least three minutes, then stir. I like char on my vegetables, and letting them set helps that occur more often.

4. Next, we added the mushrooms and tomatoes, and this time just a few squirts of Braggs. By the time the veggies were ready the water was boiling for the cous-cous. Pour the cous-cous into the water, stir so it is covered evenly, and turn off the heat. Remove the pot from heat and switch it to a stovetop that does not have any heat. Let sit for 5 minutes without removing the cover. The mushrooms and tomatoes should be ready about the same time the cous-cous is done. The tomatoes should have started to pucker.

5. Add the cous-cous to the mixed vegetables and toss. We added a few extra squirds of the Braggs Liquid Aminos to keep it wet. Then place some sliced avocado with it, and you’re ready to eat!