Week 14: Healthy Food Choices

Another pound down, but the work is never done. This week I didn't focus on working out as much because I was just purely exhausted. With this being my off week for graduate school, it was a good time for me to get caught up on my sleep as well as my grading...which means that my workouts kind of suffered because of my choices.

I also focused on making better food choices this week. In fact, I made one of my favorite recipes tonight and thought it would be a great one to share with everyone. It is very simple, yet easy to build on if you are in need of eating more points. Since I still get 45 points per day, I ate this as a 13 point dinner, but this can easily be stripped down to a simple 6 points for anyone who needs to eat less.  I was introduced to Shakshuka a year ago from a good friend of mine. I would go over to her house for game day and this is what she would serve us for breakfast. I fell in love with the dish and asked her for the recipe. It is a rather simple Middle Eastern recipe. There are many variations on the recipe, but this is what I use and like the most.

Shakshuka (this is 6 points per serving)
1 medium onion sliced
4-5 tomatoes sliced
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of olive oil
4 eggs
salt
pepper

1. Heat oil in skillet and layer onions, still in the sliced rings, on the bottom of the pan. Let saute for several minutes until translucent. DO NOT STIR.
2. Add garlic to top of onions and continue to cook until the onions are a good color.
3. Add the sliced tomatoes to the top of the onions in several layers, DO NOT STIR. Put the lid on and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
4. When time is up remove lid and stir tomatoes and onions together making it like a sauce.
5. Crack the eggs one by one and place them evenly over the mixture. Place the lid on top and cook for about 7 minutes. When time is up check to make sure there is no liquid parts to the egg. If needed replace the lid and cook for another minute or two. Divide in half and serve with optional items.

As pictured it includes pita bread (4 points), hummus (2 points), and fat free feta cheese (1 point). This is very yummy and healthy. Other variations include adding green peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, and hot sauce. Another option could include adding two more eggs and making this dish for three people instead of two. That would lower the point value to 5 points.

Mini Goal: lost 3 out of 8 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 18.2 pounds