Greek Spinach Pie and Dinner Party Fun

/hihi How are you? I'm sore from my workouts this week!! But on my way to Michelle Obama arms as I've been doing my weights AND cardio!

Ty was on shift at the fire station all weekend, so we decided to have friends over on Monday night for dinner!  I knew I would be at work all day then in photography class until 7.30pm on Monday night and our guests were coming over at 8:00pm, so I planned ahead and spent most of Sunday grocery shopping and cooking. I made an Indian subji (with accompanying Texmati mushroom rice ready to be boiled by Ty on Monday night),

Texmati rice mixed with mushrooms and carrots, so good!



Subji



  pumpkin pie for dessert,













and an authentic greek spinach pie (Spanakopita).

The Greek pie was the highlight of the evening, and was devoured! I made a 9 by 12 pie dish full of it for four people and thought I would have leftovers for sure..but no! The boys pigged out on several pieces each :) It was a beautiful fall evening and the temperature was just perfect so I set up a table outside

Here is the recipe:

Authentic Spinach Pie (egg free)

1 package of phyllo pastry with two rolls in it- set this out to defrost at least two hours beforehand
2 boxes of frozen spinach

Step 1- thaw the spinach, boil it a bit in hot water so it is completely defrosted, then put it in a colander and press it/drain the water out of it. Let it sit for about three hours in a colander or sieve over a pot (so the water has somewhere to drip) and squeeze more water out of. At the end you should have a cool, pretty dry ball of spinach. Its necessary to do this or your pie will be soggy!

1 package of feta cheese (about a cup) You can put more in, if you want to go wild put in two or three :D
1 cup of ricotta cheese (I flavored it a bit with onion powder and salt and pepper)

Mix these into the spinach when its dry. The original recipe I found (which I cant find the link for again btw, sorry!!) didn't have ANY cheese in it, so you could make this vegan if you want to!

1 leek
A bunch of chives/green onions
Half a red onion
Half a sweet onion

The mix of various onions is part of the authenticity of this dish. I only used half the leek (not the green part). Cook them until soft in 3-4tbsp of olive oil. As you soften the onions, add in:

1 cup of chopped parsley
6tbsp of fresh dill

Mix the spinach/cheese mix into the onions at the end of their cooking. Sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg, and fresh cracked pepper and sea salt to taste.  Let this mix cool a little. This is your pie stuffing.

Get a 9 by 12 baking dish and brush the bottom of it with olive oil. You will need a pastry brush/baster for this part. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter

Open one of the phyllo dough packages. Take a sheet of the pastry and lay in the baking dish on top of the olive oil. Brush this with butter with your pastry brush (or baster). Keep the rest of your open pastry covered with a cloth so it doesn't dry out as you work. Layer in the next piece of pastry, brush it with butter. Continue until you have put down at least 11 sheets of pastry. I used more, it depends on how much of a pastry lover you are!

Don't put any butter on the last piece. Then spread your spinach mix evenly across the pastry and cover with another pastry sheet when done. Brush that with butter. Continue until you have at least 11 sheets of layered buttery pastry. Brush your final sheet with olive oil.

Bang it in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, until golden. This is not meant to be served piping hot, more like room temperature, so do it a little ahead of time.

This pie also FREEZES well!! I put it in the freezer at the point just before baking- and Ty took it out and popped it in on Monday evening and gave it about 15 minutes extra baking time and it came out beautifully! :D

I also had some yummy soy 'chicken' salads and post workout smoothies :)


Gardein chicken salad and rice



blueberry/almond milk smoothie- use the frozen ones off season to get your antioxidants!

Vacation is over, a new set of goals....

My holiday in Puerto Vallarta was AMAZING!!! =D

I will post some photos in another blog post once I sort through them all!

We ate TONS of DELICIOUS fresh, local food

 some of it prepared right in front of us like the guacamole!

I only gained a pound though, as we walked everywhere- it was cheaper than taking a taxi and the cobblestone town of Puerto Vallarta has so many interesting shops, galleries, nooks and crannies it was never boring to walk, it was an adventure.

Sadly, I gained ANOTHER pound this week though, as my voracious Mexican appetite is still here, but I'm back at work so not walking nearly as much!

 Today is operation Shrink Stomach and Appetite day, I'm only doing fruit and yogurt smoothies all day, I feel like I need it after the excess of the week!

It was also me and my man's FOUR YEAR Anniversary! Wow, all the adventures we have had in India, England, USA, Mexico, Canary Islands....its been a blast! However- we did a lot of cooking and picknicking for our day so that didnt help my waistline either lol...but it was very worth it! We went to the local natural springs for the day and he made a lovely penne pasta bake and I made vegetarian chicken tenders, so delish!

I also need to refocus and come up with new goals! I've just been reading an article on how important 7.5-9 hours of sleep is for the average adult

http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm

You may be sleep deprived if you...

• Need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time.
• Rely on the snooze button.
• Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning.
• Feel sluggish in the afternoon.
• Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms.

• Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving.
• Need to nap to get through the day.
• Fall asleep while watching TV or relaxing in the evening.
• Feel the need to sleep in on weekends.
• Fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed.

While it may seem like losing sleep isn’t such a big deal, sleep deprivation has a wide range of negative effects that go way beyond daytime drowsiness.

The effects of sleep deprivation and chronic lack of sleep

• Fatigue, lethargy, and lack of motivation
• Moodiness and irritability
• Reduced creativity and problem-solving skills
• Inability to cope with stress
• Reduced immunity; frequent colds and infections

• Concentration and memory problems
• Weight gain
• Impaired motor skills and increased risk of accidents
• Difficulty making decisions
• Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems

I really want to get the correct amount so I have energy to work out and dont feel sluggish!

I also realize that I wasn't SNACKING in Mexico, so even though I had HUGE breakfasts/lunches, most of my calories were in the early part of the day, with fresh wholesome food and I had no sugary snacks in the evening like I do in the USA!


So goals are -
 limit snacking
eat 1200 calories a day
work out at least 5 times within the week
drink more water
and reach 132 Pounds by April (thats down from the 135 I'm at right now- I'd actually reached that goal already before vacation but now its on the to do list again!)

And to remind myself, here are the original goals I set when I started this blog:

I want strength. I want to be able to rock climb. I want to be able to carry heavy objects and have the stamina to go on hiking trips with my University outdoor team.

I want to be able to run for ten minutes without needing to stop and take a breath.

I want to have the right body weight for my body frame.

I want my body to be proportionate. I want thighs that are as big as thighs should be……not bigger!

I want my body to be under my control, rather than controlling me

My Goals: Short Term:

135 pounds by Spring Break - thats a 7 pound loss from where I am now

132 pounds by April (Summer here in Florida!)

And long term? 130 pounds, and FIT! And looking like this when I sit on the beach (minus the fake tan and air brushing lol) :

Day 25

FRIDAY !!!

New gym opening tomorrow, and a chance to actually cook/work out/eat right without being rushed along by the work week!! There is nothing nicer than having a slow breakfast outside in the sunshine....having another cup of coffee and savoring every morsel rather than my usual run out the door with something in hand or scoffed down ASAP!

Here is a photo of a breakfast I made during the summer when we could eat out in the garden - whole wheat raspberry waffles, natural syrup+condensed milk + fresh raspberrys on top= AMAZING

Breakfast:

Another greek yogurt/blueberry smoothie minus the banana as I was out! Just blended yogurt/blueberries/vanilla essence and a whole wheat sandwhich thin with a lil organic jam + coffee =
400 calories

Lunch:
Went out for lunch with my man, had a 'burrito salad', but didnt eat the burrito, just the filling and that filled me right up without that overly full feeling (honestly, I was tempted to eat the burrioto but it smelt kinda fishy I think they cooked it on a hot plate used for fish tacos, so NOT eating it became that much easier!! Eww...dead fish!!)

Dinner:
Not sure yet, will update this later :)

Day 24

/hihi
Well, no weight loss these past two days....not sure if its because of the food I'm eating, the fact that I havent had time to work out or walk much on the job because of rain, or because I had diet soda these past two days?


I found this article on http://www.thirdage.com/today/nutrition/does-diet-soda-make-you-fat
Not sure what to think...but I am going to try avoid them today and drink coffee and tea instead if I start to get tired mid-afternoon!


----- The Article:

Last weekend, a girlfriend that I’ve known since college was visiting. As we left the airport, we had to stop at the grocery for a case of diet soda. My friend drinks five or so cans a day. On our way to lunch now happy with her diet soda in hand my friend asked me “Do you think that drinking diet soda makes you fat?”

“Depends on whom you ask,” I said. Last year, researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio reported that adults who drink diet soda (we’re talking only one can or bottle a day) did not lose weight. They were actually more likely to become overweight than those adults who did not drink soda at all OR those that drink regular soda. In fact, the more diet soda consumed, the more likely someone would become overweight. To be specific, there was a 41% increase in the risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soda consumed daily.

In this study, researcher Sharon Fowler followed over 600 normal weight adults ages 25-64 over a seven to eight year period of time. She has a number of theories as to why weight gain may be a result of drinking a zero-calorie beverage:

1. Artificial sweeteners may affect your body’s ability to judge how many calories you consume because you are getting something sweet without any calories. When no calories are consumed, the body may continue to crave what it expected and could lead to overeating or bingeing.
2. Some people give up regular sodas to justify their favorite dessert and still take in too many calories. A regular soda contains about 9-12 teaspoons of sugar (yes, you read that correctly) and about 150 calories while your dessert may be double that in calories easily.
3. For others who were gaining weight already, switching to diet soda wasn’t enough to stop the gain. You’ve heard this one before…you’re being good and order a diet soda along with your fast food burger and French fries but the calories are still quite high.

Since her first piece of research, Fowler has tracked another 2000 people with similar results. Do the faux sweet products induce people to want more sweets? Fowler suggests that perhaps it’s not the soft drinks themselves that cause weight gain but that there is some link between diet soda drinking and overweight/obesity.

I’ll be watching the research for more news on this debated topic. In the mean time, do any of you feel that drinking diet sodas makes you crave more sweets? What about using sugar substitutes? Just curious.

Dr. Susan

I found this too:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/04/earlyshow/contributors/emilysenay/main2330142.shtml
and this:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2779084/does_diet_soda_make_you_gain_weight.html?cat=5
"According to ABC's Good Morning America, a Purdue University study found that rats which were fed the artificial sweetener, saccharin, were actually more likely to gain weight than rats which were fed sugar. The reason artificial sweeteners are thought to lead to weight gain is because they may slow down your metabolism. Thus, by drinking diet soda, you may be making it harder for yourself to lose weight than if you were to drink sugary drinks like regular soda or fruit juices."


Slowing down metabolism makes sense to me.....I have a vitamin that is supposed to boost it (which Ive forgotten to take these past few days too lol!)


Anyway, back to business:


Breakfast:


1 pack of Nature's path Flax oatmeal= 210 calories+ some craisins=+ 10 more calories, + milk in unsweetened coffee = 100 calories of 2% milk


Lunch:

A local vegetarian organization does lunches here on campus for only $4 a plate with unlimited refills, so I decided to do that for a change (the thought of my Amy's meal in the freezer was just unappealing!) I had  Mixed Veggies and Tofu in a Sour Cream Sauce, Indonesian Coconut Rice, Blueberry Cheesecake and Karma Free Tea. I'd estimate the plate to be about 500-600 calories, they dont give very big servings at all.

Dinner:


I got a ton of blueberries the other day, so I blended a cup of them + a frozen banana + 1 cup of yogurt into a delicious purple smoothie for dinner!

Recipe:
Ingredients
1 cup of plain, low fat yogurt (or vanilla if you wish, but it contains a lot of sugar)
1 to 1 ½ cups frozen berries, any kind you wish
1 banana
1 teaspoon vanilla essences
A dash of grape or banana vodka


Then- BLEND :) Drink immediatley (if it sits too long it can get funky)


Snack:


Two chips, and a small piece of veggie protein after my work out!

Workout:


YAY! I did it!!! Day 7 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred, and I did it on Level Two, which was so much more challenging than level one, felt GREAT! I'm going to switch to Level 2 from now on :) I had a really busy evening, but I still squeezed the workout in right before bed!

 Calories for the day- about 1120-1220 I think. Gosh its hard to tell sometimes, somebody needs to invent a food 'scanner' that could analyse any meal on the go!