Diet is a four letter word

So as part of my resolution to lose weight, I am really taking this seriously. I'm trying to learn new ways of eating that are both healthy, inexpensive, easy to make, and most of all tatstes good. I have a friend in the office that recently revamped her eating habits for healthier ones and she's lost a lot of weight and looks really really great! I picked her brain a little bit on what she eats and decided to try some for myself.

She said she loves black beans and tomatoes as snacks and then tries to add some protein and veggie to all of her meals. I used to not like beans at all (texture thing) but now i've been able to eat them and tolerate the texture a lot more so I was looking forward to trying these black beans. She brought in a sample and it tasted really good!! That night, after my workout, I went to the grocery store on my way home to grab some black beans, tomatoes, and any other vegetables I knew I liked to see what all I could make. She also told me how she makes omelettes in the mornings with lots of veggies inside so I wanted to try that too.

I got home, and my husband Brock was very confused as to why I all of a sudden had a craving for black beans, or even any kind of bean at all! I told him what happened that day and he got a little excited to see what we could come up with. We had some Mahi Mahi in the freezer from Costco, and so we decided to cook that, and put it on a bed of sauteed spinach, black beans, and tomatoes. It took a little longer that I thought, but it came out REALLY yummy! Who would have thought that I, little miss pasta and bread, would like a true vegetarian meal with no bread, sauces, or BUTTER! haha. We topped it off with a glass of milk (not part of the diet I was given, but it fit just right and brought out even more flavors!) and it was a truly satisfying meal.

Brock also showed me how to make an omelette and we put it in the fridge for me to eat the next morning. That will also be something i'll probably start making more. I just need to figure out how to make it exactly how I like it. The one we made was a little oily, so I think I just need to either not put so much "stuff" inside of it or maybe only use 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites to balance it out.  Either way, I was soooo full that I had leftovers to bring to work the next day for lunch!

That night for dinner we had some stew that we love to make that had chicken broth, diced tomatoes, artichokes, chicken, mushrooms, and some pepper which we usually serve over cous-cous. Since i'm trying to cut back on breads, I didn't eat the cous-cous and just had the stew.  It didn't tase as good (obviously!) but, I knew it's what I wanted to do.  It was really hard though to watch Brock savour the flavor when I knew how it was SUPPOSED to taste...ugh! I'll appreciate it though this summer for sure! :) 

So my next step is to take a page out of the book from my friend Muffy, who is all about slow-cooker recipies.  I'm going to look for some veggie stews or concoctions that I can make the night before and have ready for me the next morning.  With all the driving, gym-ing, and errand running I do, it'd be nice to just walk in the house and eat. *sigh* anywhoo....until next time my friends :)