Sunday meal prep: curry

What’s this gonna turn into?

I’ve never made my own curry before, but I found a recipe via reddit and I will be sharing it here with my adaptations. This makes 8 servings at 300 calories each.

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 15 oz firm tofu
• 30 oz canned diced tomatoes
• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 3 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tbsp turmeric
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 2 dry cups basmati brown rice

If you want this to be vegan, you can nix the yogurt and have it non-creamy, or replace the yogurt with coconut milk.

1. Prepare the tofu however you like it (I cut mine into cubes and baked it for 20 minutes at 350°. If you’ve never had tofu before, please educate yourself on the pressing process too.)
2. Saute the onion in the coconut oil with a sprinkle of salt until soft
3. Mix in the tumeric, garlic, curry powder, and tomatoes – simmer for at least an hour
4. Cook the rice per packaging directions
5. Add the spinach, bell pepper, peas, and tofu to the curry about ten minutes before removing from heat
6. Add yogurt immediately before removing from heat
7. Serve/portion out over rice

Note: It’s not recommended to make rice and keep it refrigerated for several days, as dangerous bacteria can breed in cooked rice. I only made four servings of rice and froze two of them in the same container as the curry, while refrigerating the other two servings.

Yum!

Snacks and sides for this week:

• 1/2 cup mango slices – 60 cal
• Honeycrisp apples – 90 cal
• 1/4 cup of cashews/almonds – 170 cal
• Veggie chips – 130 cal

Last but certainly not least, this week’s smoothie recipe: the tropical green.

• 1/2 cup canned pineapple
• 2 tbsp shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup nonfat yogurt
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach
• 2 tsp chia seeds

Blend. 300 calories. Want it vegan? No yogurt, more banana and almond milk.

First weigh-in

Today, I weigh 150 lbs even.

That’s a loss. Heyyy.

Sundays with Thora

I work Monday through Friday. Naturally, Sunday is my best day to prepare for the coming week.

The most important part of my Sunday is meal prep. Just an hour or two while I listen to a podcast, and I prepare five servings of lunch for the week. If I’m feeling crazy, I might prepare dinner too.

Here’s what the inside of my fridge looks like right now.

Five servings each of:

• Five baby carrots (20 cal), a bit of broccoli (~10 cal), and two tablespoons of hummus (60 cal) for my mid-morning snack
• Four small apples (~80 cal) and the odd orange out (~60 cal), for lunch at work
• A half cup of lowfat cottage cheese, to be eaten with lunch or as an afternoon snack

You can also see my drink of choice: sparkling water with lemon and lime flavoring. No artificial sweeteners, sodium, or calories. It’s a cool thing to have when regular water gets boring.

Here’s the main course for lunch that I hadn’t gotten around to portioning out yet (because it was still boiling) – chickpea quinoa pilaf!

This is a one-pot vegan recipe that is unbelievably flavorful,and packed with fiber and protein. I used this recipe from Vocal Vegan, who in turn got the recipe from Veganomicon.

I did make two modifications to the recipe. Firstly, I sauteed the onions in vegetable broth instead of olive oil. Many people don’t realize you don’t need to sauté anything in oil – water or broth works just fine. Sometimes you’re sacrificing a bit of taste, but I was about to fill this pot with broth anyway, so I figured it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Secondly, I threw a bunch of spinach in, because I had fresh spinach and spinach goes with almost everything and it’s a shame to let spinach go to waste. According to my LoseIt app (which allows you to log your own custom recipes!) this comes to 250 calories per serving. Plus the apple and cottage cheese, you’ve got a 410 calorie lunch. Bone apple tea.

I also portioned some frozen blueberries, whey protein, and spinach in a container. Throw it in a blender some frozen banana slices and unsweetened almond milk, and I’ve got a no-added-sugar delicious breakfast smoothie. Blenders are honestly an amazing investment. There are so many smoothie recipes out there that anyone can make in just five minutes or less. You don’t even have to have ripe bananas on hand at all times. I bought two bunches, waiting until they were just slightly overripe, and chopped them up to freeze. Smoothies: a quick nutritious breakfast that my lazy ass can drink on the way to work.

Starting weight, starting body

Weight: 152.2 lbs

And here’s what I look like:

I’m planning to weigh in every week and take pictures at least once a month. Maybe next time, I’ll have a bed in the background and not a floor mattress and a bunch of slats.

A long intro to a long journey

Who am I?

Thora, a 20-something woman with a full-time office job. Single with no kids. Unpleasantly plump.

That’s not my real name, though. I chose the name Thora because it exudes strength. I chose the username fitthora becuase, well, I want to be fit.

Why am I keeping this blog?

First and foremost, I need to lose weight.

But I’d hate to have no record of my progress. I see people’s progress pics and I find them very inspiring. I also want to post about my diet and exercise routine to inspire others. Here’s the thing – I don’t subscribe to any expensive weight loss programs, I’ve never eaten activated almonds, I don’t make magic juice out of carrots and goji berries, I’m not a Crossfitter, and I don’t live off kale. I want to provide you with a down-to-earth, flexible, normal human being approach to fitness. I want to show that a person who works and has other responsibilities and hobbies doesn’t have to spend a ton of time or money on a healthy lifestyle.

Because this isn’t really about the number on a scale. It’s about overall fitness. Let’s face it – life is better when you’re fit!

 

What’s my history?

I’ve been fat my whole life. I was 200 lbs when I graduated high school.

I tried a lot of things. Nothing worked, at least not long term. I didn’t stick to Weight Watchers. I couldn’t afford any fad diets. And I hated exercise and saw it as a punishment.

So what finally worked? I discovered a website called LoseIt in 2011 and began tracking my calories. That’s the non-secret to weight loss: burning more calories than you consume. I started learning how many calories were in my favorite foods and which ones weren’t worth eating. I also started walking to and from school – a mile and a half each way. It wasn’t as hard to move anymore. Like magic, the weight started coming off.

I’ve yo-yoed, that’s for sure. I was 141 lbs at my lowest, just before a trip to hike through the Himalayas.

What’s my goal?

I’m starting this blog at 152.2 lbs, and I want to track my progress. I want to finally get to my goal. But what is my goal?

At 130 lbs, I’d be at a healthy BMI. Let’s call 125 lbs my tentative goal. If I’m not happy when I get there, more can come off. (It may not always be about that number either. I’m going to be lifting as well, so increased muscle mass may factor in as well.)