Louisiana Culinary Tour - Day 3

The gracious hosts at Camellia Cove Bed & Breakfast in Washington, La. were not offended when I ate only my cantaloupe wedge, but passed on the Eggs Benedict. (Please don't tell her that one of the very few things I just can't seem to swallow is runny egg yolks!)

By lunch time, we were in Lafayette, La. at the Vermillionville historic education center in a cooking class, learning how to prepare a delicious, authentic Cajun/Creole meal of crawfish Etouffee in pastry shells; biscuits with fig preserves or Steen's Syrup; Creole shrimp and okra gumbo; chicken, sausage and tasso jambalaya, corn macque choux (pronounced mock-shew'; and bread pudding with sauce.

Already prepared with a meal replacement bar in my purse, I was ecstatic to learn that one dish would be made without a roux (pronounced roo), the flour and oil base of many Cajun dishes. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1/4 c. olive oil
2-pound bag of frozen okra
1/3 c. vinegar
1-1/2 c. Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. bell pepper, diced
2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp, seasoned with Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
1-1/2 quarts water

1. Heat oil in pot 60-90 seconds.
2. Add okra and saute to brown stage, or until it reduces to about half. When okra begins to get slimy, add vinegar to eliminate slime.
3. Add Rotel and other vegetables; cook for five minutes.
4. Add water and shrimp. Simmer on medium heat until shrimp are cooked.
5. Serve over rice. (Cajuns always use white rice. I use brown.)

This recipe will easily serve 8-10. I calculated a very filling, complete-meal portion using four ounces of shrimp and 1/2-cup of rice at 369 calories. Yummo!

Here's the lovely salad the chef at Charley G's prepared for me as an alternative to the sauteed-in-butter fixed-course entree.






And here's the dessert I enjoyed photographing, but not eating. The coffee was great, though!


Back to the hotel, I jumped on the treadmill for 35 minutes and knocked out six exercises on the weight machines. Now, it's time to say good morning and THANK YOU to all you wonderful, precious supporters who help to keep me strong and focused on my goals!

P.S. Pattie, I haven't had a lot of time to think about a six-word memoir, but here's one for now: "This is not the final act."

Road Hard

I knew a quick turnaround visit to Jackson, Miss., would present some challenges to my eating and exercise routines, especially because I was riding with someone else.

First stop on the road: 2 p.m. lunch at McDonald's. Thank goodness for their salad menus, from which I ordered the Southwest Salad without the cheese or tortilla strips.

When we finally arrived to meet the family for dinner at 5:30, our casual meal had already been prepared - lasagne with extra cheese, green beans, French bread and a salad. (Hooray for salad and low-fat dressing!)

Because my family members are part of my support group, they understood when I passed on everything but the green beans and salad. My sweet sister-in-law pointed the way to the fridge, where she had stocked a good selection of fresh fruit and veggies. It actually worked out fine.

After my niece's play performance last night, we all gathered one more time for - you guessed it - pound cake and ice cream at 9 p.m.

Yep, it was a little uncomfortable being the "odd man out," but
1) that's part of accepting the responsibility for being overweight in the first place, and 2) knowing that small sacrifices along the way will be SOOOOO worth the results in the end.

Back at the hotel at 10 p.m., I teetered between going to work out or just taking a shower and hitting the sack...especially since the time would "spring forward" during the night.

Not wanting to record a day of no activity on my exercise log or to report a poor choice on this blog post was enough to motivate me to change clothes and head to the fitness center for a 30-minute treadmill session.

Hot and sweaty when I returned to the room, I slept soundly, proud of the day's effort and thankful for supportive friends and family.

Thanks, Team!!

Gut Level Honesty

A short six weeks ago, I sat silent with laryngitis and the flu, watching Oprah's show for the very first time. It might as well have been church for me. At the end of Bob Greene's message, I responded to his invitation to accept the 2008 BestLife Challenge.

I was, as Dr. Phil says, at the crossroads, ready to get off the fence, ready to begin translating my insights, understandings and awareness into purposeful, meaningful, constructive action.

I made up my mind that 52 years old is not too late to begin. I was ready to wipe the slate clean, start over (again!),
and reclaim my health and my life...
no matter how much it hurt to change.

Then I read Oprah's preface to Bob Greene's book (see sidebar): "What I know for sure is that living an unconscious life is like being the walking dead. All my fat years - my unconscious years - are a blur to me now. It's only because I have photographs and diaries that I remember them at all. And sometimes, even then I don't remember being present, because I wasn't really there."

THAT'S ME, I sobbed. Every "fat year" I created was a real bummer in one way or another. Here I was again, making another
"searching and fearless moral inventory" of myself.

Dr. Phil says it this way: "Effective weight management demands that you require more of yourself in terms of personal integrity, honesty and maturity. Get real enough with yourself to say, 'I'm mature and honest enough not to play mind games with myself.'"

So...in learning to be accountable (again!), I am pleased to report that by following Dr. Phil's principles and The BestLife program of healthy eating and regular exercise, I have lost 17 pounds and 14-1/2 inches since January 15.

***And my DH has lost 22 pounds!!

(Dr. Phil's quotes from 2 Book Set: The Ulitmate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom/The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide.)