personalchefjoe.com Blog

Ok Big update.

Well it has been quite a while since I have updated my blog.

I have kept a hand written copy of most of what I have eaten over the last few of weeks, but don’t have everything.

But here goes.

Wed 28th of June

Breakfast:
Cottage Cheese and celery.
Lunch:
Romaine lettuce with cottage cheese, Whole Grain Bread
Crackers & Nectarine.
Snack:
1 oz Colby jack cheese
Cashews
Dinner:
Well I didn’t write it down … Oh well.

Thursday 29th of June
Breakfast:
Vegetarian Rice noodles (Rolls)
Lunch:
Green salad, Nectarine
Snack:
Crackers and cream cheese.
Dinner:
Salad with shredded beef.  Home made coconut Ice cream.

Friday 30th of July

Breakfast:
Bagel with cream cheese & nectarine.
Snack:
Cashews
Lunch:
Salad with romaine, cucumber & pepper jack.
Snack:
Crackers & (light) cream cheese.
Dinner:
Home made Vietnamese style spring rolls.

July 1st through the 4th We went camping, so I didn’t keep track of what I ate.
Although I didn’t keep track, I did a fairly good job of eating well and didn’t participate in any potato chips, or junk food.  We did do a lot of grilling, hamburgers & hot dogs, Polska kielbasa, carne asada, and a few fresh dug clams.  We also had scrambled eggs, Clam Ceviche, and even Lazy Joe’s Soup with Vegies.  Basically I took a pot of boiling water, threw in some bok choy, onion, and broccoli until crunchy/tender and then added to Cup o Noodles packages.  Easy quick semi-healthy (though way too much salt), and only one pot to clean.

Wednesday 5th of July
Breakfast:
Coffee
Snack:
Cashews
Lunch:
Cesar Salad, two tamales, and more coffee
Snack:
Ok I gave in and had one of those mini butterfinger crisp mini bars.
Then about 10 minutes later my friend brought around some Soan Papdi it is kinda like compressed cotton candy with cardamon and ground up nuts and seeds mixed in.  It was really quite tasty.  How could I resist, it came all the way from India…
Dinner:
Stir fried noodles with vegies.

Thursday July 6th
Running late, no breakfast.
Snack:
Cashews
Lunch:
Romaine salad, and tamale.
Snack:
Since I was still hungry, some plain popped corn.
Dinner:
My friend was visiting from Texas so we went to an all you can eat sushi buffet.  Well I guess I decided I might as well start my long weekend right and enjoyed a little bit of this and that and that and that and so on.  I finished it all off with green tea ice cream.  Yum  
Friday July 7th -9th
Well after moving a way a number of years ago, to go live in Taiwan, my friend Dan has finally decided to tie the knot.  Well lets just say it was a great excuse for a bunch of friends from college got to get together and go have a good time.  So we had his bachelor party in Vegas.  All I can say is Vegas baby Vegas…  We all had a good time, and I didn’t write down any of my vices.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  I do have to mention that we all went to eat a Brazilian BBQ restaurant (www.pampasusa.com/) that was fantastic.  I really enjoyed the wine that we had Terazzas de los Andes malbec 2003.  (www.terrazasdelosandes.com.ar/) 

Monday July 10th,
Breakfast:
Coffee
Lunch:
Left over stir-fried noodles.
Snack:
Cashews
Dinner:
Salad with Chipotle dressing, and cauliflower.

Tuesday July 11th
Coffee
Lunch:
Greek Combo with rice and Salad (I only ate half)
Dinner:
Salad with another Chipotle and cilantro dressing (My in-laws liked it so much they asked me to make it again.)

Wednesday July 12th
Breakfast:
Coffee
Lunch:
Salad and Roast Beef Sandwich.
Fruit.  Ok I gave in and had a small piece of cake. 
Dinner: I didn’t write it down … and a week later I don’t remember what it was.
Thursday July 13th and 14th I had pizza and salad for lunch, and This is prety much where I stopped writing anything down.  Ok so I got a bit side tracked and haven’t kept notes from the 13th through the 23rd.  I also lost track of my exercise routine.    Now it is time to get back to it.

So Now it is Monday the 24th, and I am finally getting it back together.  I don’t have a lot to blog about, I ran a bunch of errands today related to updating my FM3 Mexican visa.  Yes I live in Tijuana Mexico.  I have been since summer of 2000.  It was the first time in a long time I haven’t eaten a salad at all during the day. 
Brunch: (left overs from Sunday)
Shrimp and pasta with a chipotle, dried tomatoes, and goat cheese cream sauce.
Afternoon snack:
Blended Ice coffee from Coffee bean.
Dinner:
Cheese and green chile Tamales
 

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 12

Update for June 25th, 2006
I got up late today, and decided to cook Chinese style noodles.  And also make some stir-fried broccoli and bok choy.  We ate around 3:30 in the afternoon so it was basically all I ate besides a few tostada chips with home made salsa.  We also walked to the store today, and I did my sit-up and squats as well.

Brunch:   
Tostadas (fried corn tortillas) with home made salsa.

Dinner:
Spicy chow main with shrimp and vegies
Broccoli & bok choy with shrimp
 
Snack:
Tostadas (fried corn tortillas) with home made salsa.

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 11

Update for June 24th, 2006

I did my walk, well sort of, my wife and I visited Fry’s, Target, K-mart, Walmart and several other stores.  Then after that we went to the local Asian supermarket and got about $80 worth of good stuff to make.  We also shared a take out between both of us.  I did all of my exercises except for the jumping jacks.  This is the first day I missed my salad.

Breakfast:
A bowl of “caldo de  res”

Lunch:   
Fruit and nut trail mix.

Dinner:
Chow main
Broccoli beef
Mushrooms and Vegies

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 10

Update for June 23th, 2006

I did my walk, and all of my exercises except for the jumping jacks.

Breakfast:
Coffee
Banana nut muffin. 

Snack:
Celery with “lite” cream cheese

Lunch:   
Coffee
Two tamales
Pear and nectarine
 
Afternoon snack:
Tomato, cucumber & lettuce salad with ranch dressing.
Cherries

Dinner:
A bowl of “caldo de  res” a Mexican style beef soup with big chunks of vegies like potatoes, carrots, squash etc.

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 9

Update for June 22th, 2006

Today was a bad day, I didn’t walk, or finish all of my exercises.  My Achilles tendon is bothering me, and it hurts to do the jumping jacks so I took the day off.  My wife made chicken tamales which are not exactly the best things to eat as they have quite a bit of vegetable shortening.  I did have my salad though.

Breakfast:
Coffee
Two home made chicken tamales

Lunch:   
Coffee
Two more tamales
 
Afternoon snack:
Tomato & lettuce salad with ranch dressing.
Cherries

Dinner:
Salad lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cottage cheese with chives, pepper jack, salt and pepper.

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 8

Update for June 21, 2006

So it went fairly good today, I had a fruit salad, and a spinach salad today.  However I probably had more cashews than I should have.  I have also been drinking lots of water.  I did my walk today and exercises in the evening.  I am up to 18 of each, and I am in such bad shape, that the pushups are starting to kick my butt.  I had hopped they would get easier with time.  The 4 count jumping jacks are good and get my heart beating and make my lungs really work.  So far I have enjoyed working a little bit each day on the challenge.  I even enjoyed coming up with different salads, and dressings each day.  I wanted to thank Chris for his kind words in his pod cast, and meant to mention it yesterdays update.  He brought up an interesting topic on not grazing at the table.  I find that I have that tendency at work to sit and eat anything that is available.  So I have started bringing carrots, and celery to snack on. 

I have never been much of a writer, as a kid, every paper I wrote came back covered in red marks.  Yes I am probably the worlds worst speller.  Luckily we all have our talents and mine just don’t include spelling.  So if for some reason something slips through the spell checker, I apologize.  I am so happy that most kids of today don’t have to worry about spelling quite the same way we did 30 years ago.  However one of the biggest effects of this for me was that I never developed a good writing vocabulary, I only used words that were easy to spell.  So the fact that I am actually writing a blog at all is incredible in its own way.  But the reason behind it makes it (getting fit) worth while.  It takes me quite a while just to write these few sentences each night.  If anyone actually reads this, I would love to hear some feedback.  Hopefully with a little feedback I can improve my writing style and end up with something interesting. 

Tip of the Day:

Are you one of those people who don’t like plain celery, try it with peanut butter, or light cream cheese spread.  What I do is I put the cream cheese mostly on one end.  Then I eat my way towards the end with the cream cheese.  That way I don’t need a lot of cream cheese, but get the lingering taste and texture of the cream cheese in the last bite.

Breakfast: 
Coffee
Cottage cheese with a chunky grilled tomato sauce.

Lunch:    
Coffee
Whole grain bread with light cream cheese.
Carrots and celery
Pear
 
Afternoon snack:
Fruit salad
Cashews and celery
Apple cinnamon tea.

Dinner:
My ever popular citrus spinach salad with sliced almonds, and a citrus honey mustard  vinaigrette.

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 7

Update for June 20th, 2006

I had a late breakfast today I brought in some beef stir fried with onion, celery, garlic, and squash a little bit of salt, pepper, and that is it.  I usually eat late so it is almost lunch time for most people when I eat breakfast.  Since I am not really a big breakfast fan this kind of breakfast works for me.  I did get my walk in today, and did my exercises but in the evening.  I can’t believe it has been a week already.

Breakfast:  
Coffee
Stir fried beef with vegetables and white rice.

Lunch:  
Whole grain bread with an avocado, and cottage cheese.
Carrots
Coffee
 
Afternoon snack:
Tea
Cashews and celery

Dinner:
Green salad with “light” ranch dressing, some green olives, radish and more cottage cheese
          

Tip of the day.

A stir fry is a great way to fix up just about what ever vegetables you have in the fridge.  You don’t need fancy sauces and flavorings to make a simple stir fry that taste great.  A little bit of fresh garlic and/or ginger with a few vegetables (carrot, broccoli, squash, bean sprouts etc.), salt and pepper to taste and a little technique and that is all you need.  You can prepare it ahead of time for the next day, or make a little extra when you make dinner.  I made enough for two servings.

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 6

Update for June 19th 2006

Well I was having issues with my internet access yesterday, but it is back up now.  I posted yesterday’s blog today.  I did fairly well, my shoulder is still a bit tender, I am not sure what I did, but it seems to be getting better.  I did my exercises in the evening, but I didn’t get a chance to walk today.  I did have salad twice today, and here is my blog.  Not much to else to write about today.
Breakfast:
One whole wheat roll.

Lunch:   
Pasta with vegetables, and shrimp.  That pasta recipe really does make quite a bit of pasta.
Romaine lettuce with Lemon honey mustard dressing. 

Afternoon snack:
Mixed greens with ranch dressing.

Dinner:
White rice with onions and mushrooms.

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 5

Update for June 18th 2006

I hope everyone had a nice fathers day.  I had a nice one, I got a new wallet, from one of my sons, and a big hug from the youngest.  And lots of hugs from my grandson.  My wife gave me a chocolate heart for fathers day.  It was a nice thought, and since I know she didn’t have much money to spend I do appreciate that she got me something at all.  I got to sleep in late today which was nice.  I surfed the internet for a while in the morning while my wife was at church.  But since it was a warm morning I decided to go watch some TV in the living room.  I went to see if there was anything in the fridge, and I found a bit of jicama salad left over from Saturday.   I watched TV for about an hour, but decided I was still hungry, so decided to make another salad.  Since I dropped the avocado and it was all mushy, I decided to make an avocado dressing.  I chopped up some chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, garlic, and added some leftover grilled tomatoes, from the night before.  (My wife grilled the tomatoes for making salsa on Saturday.)  To the avocado/chipotle mix, I added a bit of milk to thin it out.  In the afternoon my wife dragged me shopping at several stores, since we live in Tijuana, we crossed into San Diego to go shopping.  After shopping, we went to eat Pho at a restaurant in Chula Vista.  I did splurge a bit and had an iced espresso with sweetened condensed milk.  We got home a bit late, but sat around with the kids and watched a movie.  I did my exercises in the evening while it was cooler.  So as to not eat the whole chocolate heart myself, I broke up into pieces to share with everyone.  And my wife put me to work burning off a few more calories.   

Breakfast:
Jicama and lettuce salad with a lemon honey mustard vinaigrette  dressing.

Lunch:   
Lettuce, cucumber, carrot salad with an avocado, grilled tomato, and chipotle dressing.

Dinner:
Pho with lean beef, bean sprouts, onion, basil, and jalapeno chiles.
Iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk.

Evening snack:
Pretzels
Piece of chocolate heart (about an ounce)
Green Tea

Fat Chef gets Fit Day 4

Update or July 17th

I slept late this morning, but my wife dragged me out of bed because we had to go run a couple of errands and pay some bills in the morning.  It was also a bit warm, so I decided to wait until it was cooler in the evening to do my exercises.  When we got back, I cooked up a few shrimp that we had in the fridge with a table spoon of unsalted butter 3 cloves of garlic, and fresh cracked pepper.  I then mixed in the left over pasta and vegetables from the night before.  This made a great healthy brunch meal.  I had an early afternoon snack or dessert of a banana, and a glass of iced coffee with low fat milk.  My wife decided to make Chicken for dinner, so we are going to throw some chicken thighs on the grill.  I did my “morning” exercises this evening after it cooled down.        
 
Brunch:   
Pasta with my fresh made sauce and vegetables and shrimp.

Early Afternoon snack:
Banana and iced coffe with low fat milk.

Late Afternoon snack:
Quesadilla with pepper jack cheese, and a whole wheat tortilla.

Dinner:
Jicama, lettuce and basil salad with a lemon honey mustard vinaigrette  dressing.
Grilled squash
1 skinless chicken thigh.
 
Cooking tip of the day.

Big flare ups are often the cause of burnt chicken, and add a bunch of carcinogens.  Since we are trying to eat more healthy ere are some common tips for preventing or reducing flare ups when grilling chicken.

1) To start off, chicken breasts (with bones and rib), legs and thighs take quite a while to grill usually at least 45 minutes to an hour possibly longer depending on how hot you have your grill.  I recommend using a lower temperature if using gas, or move more of the coals too one side and less on the other to control the heat better.

2) Try using an aluminum drip pan with a bit of water in the middle, and the coals around the drip pan.  This will allow the juices and fat that to drip into the pan with out flaring up.  It also helps keep the temperature a bit lower allowing chicken to cook slowly or “Barbecue”.

3) I like to peel the skin off of my chicken, which not only healthier, for having less fat, but the fat is not dripping onto the coals causing flare ups.

4) Keep a spray bottle with clean water to spray/mist the coals when they flares up.  (Don’t reuse an old cleaning bottle, buy a new one just for this.)