"Bei mir bist du schoen

 Today is day two in my new healthy life style plan, and I will admit that I feel great.  :)

After I came back from winter break, I knew I was out of shape.  I had gained about 5 lbs or so, but weight has never really bothered me.  I usually lose 5lbs each night that I sleep.  Over Christmas, I had bragged that I could diet just by sleeping.  However, when I returned from the holidays, I found that my easy foolproof method no longer worked.

I honestly didn't mind being 5lbs heavier.  What I did mind was that my jeans would no longer fit properly.  They fit, but they were uncomfortable, and I did not want to have to buy a new wardrobe because I gained a few pounds.  The answer became clear--I must change my lifestyle.

My business offered several weight management packs.  The packs are based on your genetic make up--some people process carbs, fats, proteins, etc. differently than others.  The idea is that because people aren't alike, the way they manage weight is different.  With the correct plan, you see a higher rate of success.  

The three categories are: Fat-trimmer, Carb-reducer, and Better-balancer.  Now the correct way to go about this is to take a genetic test to find out what you are.  I, however, was over eager and wanted to change my lifestyle before I lost my resolve, so I ordered the better-balancer pack just to try it out.  (It may or may not be my type, but there is a guarantee that you will see some loss no matter which one you switch to.)

The pack comes with meal bars, snack bars, meal replacement shakes, vitamin supplements, invisifiber, a journal to track your progress for the month, and a work out dvd.  The work out dvd was what intrigued me most.  It's called 4-3-2-1.  The sessions are ten minute segments that don't require any fancy gym equipment.  This was incredibly attractive to me because I never seem to make it to gyms and hate exercising outside in the winter.  Here was the solution of literally waking up ten minutes earlier, pressing the play button, and having a work out in its most convenient form.  The work out works on the theory of working your body at a moderate level, intensifying, and working moderately again.  They say this is more efficient to burning fat and building muscle than a killer 2-hour session at the gym.  You don't feel like dying through the session but wonderfully invigorated.

You see, the other reason why I wanted to order this was because I was utterly breathless from running after a train one day.  I thought to my self, 'this is pathetic' and decided at that moment that I needed to do something about it.  The run was really not far, and half a year ago I could have breezed up those stairs without a second thought.  Really, I was pathetic.  The holidays had turned me into an out of shape lump.

But after two days I feel wonderful.  I know it's equally a mental thing as well as a physical thing, but the plan really does make me feel great.  As is human nature, I'm not following the plan to the letter because I'm utterly forgetful when it comes to remembering to take supplements 30 minutes before a meal, but whatever I'm doing feels like it makes a difference.  Invisifiber is awesome.  It makes me actually not chronically hungry (which, let's face it, probably isn't good for me xD)--it helps you process your food correctly.  The meal replacement shakes are great and don't taste like Ensure, which I'm not particularly fond of because of its thick, chalky texture.  The vanilla flavor I have is light and tastes nice, a bit like soy milk.  :)

All in all, I'm very pleased with the plan so far.  I shall post updates and a final report at the end of the 4 week period.  It feels good to do something healthy.  :) 

Even if my ex-sorority is eating my friend inside-out and I didn't get the CTBUH internship, I still have the joy of mustard lemon black pepper caper creme chicken with mac and cheese.  In some ways I suppose it is a good thing I have such a long commute; it stops me from squandering all my time on cooking and eating.

Just last night, on a whim I decided to try to recreate Buca di Beppo's amazing lemon creme chicken.  I had lemon, capers, milk, and chicken.  ...but then I spied the mustard, and the whole dish changed.  I remembered a green peppercorn creme porkchop dish a Hawaii Aunty made me all the time.  I decided to incorporate the two dishes together.  

I minced two cloves of garlic and threw them into a pan with a generous amount of butter.  I let the butter sit and melt whilst I prepared the chicken.  I had two boneless chicken thighs which I defattened and cut into strips.  I seasoned them generously in black pepper and a little bit of salt (because capers are salty).  Then I doused them in mustard with a bit of lemon and mixed them thoroughly.  I sprinkled them with oregano and rosemary and a bit more black pepper because pepper and mustard go together uncommonly well.  

I upped the pan's heat till the butter was bubbling and started laying the chicken strips in.  I really only browned them.  I had to cook in batches because of a small pan.  When all the chicken was nicely seared, I poured in milk to deglaze.  I threw all the chicken pieces in, some capers, and an itty bitty bit more lemon juice.  Be careful how much lemon you put in because unless you do it right, the lemon and milk will interact to make a curd, which is not what you're going for.  I threw in a few whole black peppercorns and let the whole thing simmer till the sauce became thick.

Towards the end of the simmering period, I became inspired by my dried shiitake mushrooms, so I threw a handful in with a tiny bit more milk to keep them submerged.  I kept simmering till the mushrooms were soft and the flavor became integrated in the sauce.   

The verdict of this experiment?  Delicious!  I'd say it's a success, something that I'd definitely repeat again.  My only problem was that I made this to eat for lunch during the week and ended up eating a third of it right after I made it--"tasting" it.  I suppose I shall have to make it again.