Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Days 339, 340 and 341: Saturday Night, Nice Sunday, Reading, Crabcakes Recipe

First, I want to thank you all for your support! Friday was a toughie for me but you’re right- it did get better and sometimes we do just have rough days at work. I’m just so glad I have good friends and family, fun things to look forward to and a big life outside of work – not having all of your happiness in one place is nice! Thanks again bloggy friends!!

Also – I want to thank you all for your comments regarding my 11th month assessment!! I’m going to post tomorrow and answer some of your questions (I answered in the comments – but I’ll elaborate a little on goals, what I track/why I track it, how it helps me, etc.). Yay!

So, to back up quite a bit, I made For the Love of Cooking’s crabcakes before heading out on Saturday!! 300 calories for 2 large crab cakes – FABULOUS! I had to change it a bit for 2 people (and I had less crab then she did!) – but we made it work and LOVED IT! Here’s our variation:

Please note: Mine don't look NEARLY as good as hers. Sad! Her's are all flakey and fabulous. However, mine may not look as good but we LOVED them. hehe

1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp dried mustard
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tspBay seasoning
Juice of 1/4 a lemon
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
10 oz crab meat
½ cup plain panko crumbs
1 tbsp olive oil

Tzaziki sauce (her recipe below for 1 cup!)

Combine all ingredients except crab and panko crumbs. Carefully add crab to mixture then gently fold in panko crumbs. Form into desired size crab cake by hand (we made 4!). Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the crab cakes in skillet and cook on each side until golden brown. Serve with tzaziki sauce on the side. Enjoy.

Our got a little burnt (but still tasted AMAZING!), so I recommend cooking for 1 to 2 minutes on each side and flipping often to avoid them getting too brown. Tzatziki Sauce: 1/3 cucumber (peeled, seeded and diced), ½ tsp salt, 3 oz. non-fat fage Greek yogurt, ¼ lemon (juice and est), ½ garlic clove. Peel cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and, using a spoon, remove all seeds from both halves. Dice into small pieces and place in strainer, Sprinkle salt over cucumber and let it sit in strainer for 30 minutes. Pat cucumber dry with a papertowel. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended. Refrigerate overnight.

I ate 2 crab cakes and about 2 tbsp of the sauce – she was right, the crab is so good the sauce is not really needed! For my serving, it came out to: 301 calories, 24 carbs, 12 fat grams and 23 protein grams.

I did okay on my 2-part goal from Saturday night (not drink too much… be asleep by 3 a.m.). I did drink a good bit, but I drank lots of waters to. And I was home by 3:30…ish and asleep by 4 a.m. not bad! I had a GREAT night with awesome friends starting at Stout with a few drinks, then down to East Andrews for even more drinks, then over to West Paces for our final drink + a cab ride. I ended up at 2,241 calories, 187 carbs, 39 fat grams and 106 protein grams. Not bad for a night of drinking and debauchery, right?! I even had a sammy when I got home (cause THAT’S what I needed hehe). Here’s what I ate.

Sunday I woke up early again (9 a.m. blast – 5 hours of sleep again). I got up, got my swimmy on, made a couple of sandwiches and a thermos of water the size of my head and walked across the street to the pool. Ah. I picked up Time Traveler’s Wife (had only made it through a chapter) and got to reading!

The Essentials...

A little hungover but it's all good, right?


After a couple of hours and a few adorable neighborhood kids I took it back to the house to pop lunch in the oven and see if Austin was up – he was! We hung out, ate a Beef Enchilada Casserole (this recipe – but with lean ground beef – 96/4 – instead of turkey), and I read more…. And napped… and then it was time to go get the car, go to Trader Joe’s and meet Austin’s family for dinner (driving through from Alabama taking his middle brother back to UGA for his sophomore year). We had SO much fun at dinner catching up with his parents, aunt/uncle/brother and cousin. Before we knew it was 9 p.m. and we were heading home – geez – a 3-hour dinner! I read more and passed out at 10 p.m. with 350 pages under my belt – WOO! I ended up at 1,827 calories, 161 carbs, 92 fat grams and 86 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. Damn restaurants – the lightest thing on the menu was shrimp scampi. Seriously – it was CRAZY – I wanted to get like shrimp on a salad but didn’t want to be weird in front of his family – you know what I mean? They like to eat, and call people out…. not in a ugly way – but do you know what I mean? Anywho – it’s all good – just really upset my stomach – SO rich.

Monday was a Monday. Kids were back in school. For the first day. My 25-minute morning commute took me an hour. Shhiiiiiittt. So I started the day late. But, I got lots done, had a yummy breakfast and got in 3.5 miles during lunch. I had a busy afternoon with work and meetings, and then it was time to hit the gym again for a great 92-calorie-burning mile (4.1 mph and 4 incline) and then chest, triceps and shoulders. Here’s the workout!

I ended up burning 287 calories during lunch (52 minutes), and 303 calories after work (56 minutes) – so I burned 590 calories in 1 hour and 48 minutes - woo! I headed home and quickly put together one of my now-favorite pastas: Pasta with Sundried Tomato Pesto. I’ve only had it once before – but it was AMAZING then and again tonight – yay! Then it was time for TV catch up: Entourage (meh; not that good) and True Blood (wow… awesome as always… just crazy good). Then it was shower time and Time Traveler’s Wife – love it. I ended up at 1,813 calories, 230 carbs, 54 fat grams and 107 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

I’ll post Tuesday’s and do some “goal talk” tonight or tomorrow morning!! Hope you’re all having wonderful Tuesdays!!! I’m catching up on blogs tonight (Austin has a work thing).

12 comments:

Paige@ Running Around Normal said...

Those crab cakes look awesome!! Glad you had a fun night out and a relaxing day to follow:)

Julie said...

Hey! I know what you mean about the whole family thing...eating a lot...not really understanding our revamped habits. It is tough! I am trying to make the best decisions when out to eat without looking like "food snob" or getting called out...it's a rough balance, and def a work in progress! What is the Traveler's wife about?

Anne said...

Hi! I found your blog through SparkPeople. I must say I am addicted! The recipes you post look so yummy and your weight loss is inspiring. Keep the posts coming. Thanks!

Therese said...

OMG I totally know what you mean eating out with the boy's family! Anthony's family members are total food pushers. "Eat some more, we're splurgin!" Ugh! It's hard even when I do have good intentions.

I HAVE to try those crab cakes! I love crab...I have canned tuna right now maybe I will try the recipe with it!

Unknown said...

Like the others, I feel your pain about not wanting to be a food snob. I kind of just accepted and try to be as nice as possible about it and hope they will understand. O and those crab cakes... I am soooo going to be making those!

Anonymous said...

I need to try those crab cakes. Jason and I were just talking about crab cakes last night.

Funny that you found traffic heavier yesterday. My commute was, for some reason, shorter.

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

The crabcakes sound fabulous. I can't say it enough, but your meals always amaze me!

I can totally relate to "not wanting to be weird" in front of other people. It has taken me a loooong time to eat what I want in front of others (most of the time.)

Mica said...

Mmm, thanks for the crabcake recipe! They look/sound fantastic. Crab cakes are definitely one of my weaknesses. Does that make me sound lame and bougie?

Liz said...

Way to go on the calorie burn!

I have Time Traveler's Wife reserved at the library - just waiting for it to come it. I really want to read it before the movie comes out.

Hot pockets turned out great! I think the crescent rolls will be good for my kids cooking class, but next time I'm going to try the pizza dough. It was hard to get the crescent rolls to close.

Anonymous said...

Mallard's outta town for work tonight as well. It's kind of nice to have the house to ourselves! We painted our toenails and played in the princess tent

fittingbackin said...

Paige: Thanks - we loved 'em!

Julie: Yes... not understanding at all. I hate to 'make waves' and/or draw attention to myself so sometimes i find myself overcompensating - YES, I want another brownie - just to like "prove" myself or something. Grrr. It is a rough balance. Oh it's amazing - it's about a time traveling man and his struggles as he tries to stay alive and be with the woman he loves (she met him when she was 6... he doesn't meet her until 28 - crazy!)

Anne: Hey!! Awesome and welcome! I love Spark People!! Thanks girl - will do!

Therese: hehe YES - i'm like that with his family and at work. Sad. "FOOD PUSHERS" - yes - love that term, girl! Please try them - so yummy and easy!

SLJ: I hope I get there one day - now i'm being too big of a people pleaser and feeling bad about myself afterwards - not cool. :( OH yay!! Hope you love 'em!

Inmytummy: yay! Try 'em! You lucky lady - i'm still having bad traffic this week!

Andrea: You're too sweet!! I love your meals too and need to start making some of them (I keep a list - imagine that!). I hope I get there... I really do!!

Mica: Not at all!! Totally try them - nom nom nom. I'm attempting the recipe again this weekend!

Liz: Thanks, girl! Oh just sit down for a long day and pore through it - so good - wish I could have read it all ine one sitting. Oh I can see that - Yes, try dough - hopefully it will be easier!

Wholebodylove: awww how cute is that?! It was nice having the house to myself last night too - girly shows, books and me and the Reuben - good times!!

SLJ said...

Like the others, I feel your pain about not wanting to be a food snob. I kind of just accepted and try to be as nice as possible about it and hope they will understand. O and those crab cakes... I am soooo going to be making those!