Envelope Goals, Pizza & "Magic Bread"

Based on an idea I got from my sometimes lovely husband my Envelope Goals have been created.  The idea is to write down what goals you want to achieve, place them in the envelope and then write the date, you would like to achieve this goal by, on the front of the envelope.  The envelope can not be opened until the date you have written on the front.

So far I have 8 envelopes (I say so far because I have no doubt that I will add some more along the way).  Most of them are a weight that I would like to weigh by the end of a particular month, but there are a couple of others thrown in there as well, like the date I would like to be wearing my dream outfit by.  They are pretty unexciting goals, but the envelopes make the whole journey a little more exciting.  I didn't keep a note of what I put in each one, but I think I may have been a little over-confident with my weight-loss goals so I know that I have to work my a%# off to achieve them in the given time frame.

I am not the sort of person to get so distressed about not meeting a certain deadline that I just give up so I am not too worried about not achieving what I said I would in the time I have given myself.  I love the idea of "racing against the clock" so to speak and I love that I am actually excited about it.  It's time to start the clock and let the envelope race begin.

*Pizza for dinner*

Last night as I was preparing dinner for the family (well, hubster and child #1, the others had already eaten), the hubby turned his nose up at my homemade pizza idea so he decided to get himself and child #1 a pizza from across the street.  As tempted as I was at his offer to join them I stuck it out and made a single, lonely, homemade pizza for myself.  I am so glad I did.  I really enjoyed it and I didn't have that yuk feeling of heavy pizza dough sitting in my tummy when I went to bed.  I called my pizza - Trio of Cheese!

I started with a wholemeal pita bread

Added some tomato paste

Topped my pizza with :

20 grams of shredded mozzarella

20 grams of freshly grated parmesan
30 grams of crumbled low-fat feta

Then popped it into the oven until it looked like this

My pizza was delicious even though it doesn't really look like it was.  The only bad thing about this pizza is that I had no idea how many PP's I was eating.  I know the pita is worth 6 points, but as for the cheese, I have no idea.  This is my greatest downfall - working out the points of something after I have eaten it and if I don't like what the points are, I don't track it because it never really happened!!

This pizza was so yummy that I have to have it again, but not without knowing the points value first.  I guess I have some points to work out :)

*Magic Bread*

As I am in the middle of creating a food revolution for myself by actually planning menus and making shopping lists, I have been looking for new foods to include.  Last night while reading some old material I had lying around I came across something called Magic Bread.  It sounds a little strange, but I am totally willing to at least try it.

How to make Magic Bread

You will need :

• 150g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 eggs

Mix all ingredients together and microwave on high, uncovered for 2 - 3 minutes or until firm to touch.  The recipe then says to toast the magic bread, top with 50g slice of goat's cheese and melt under the grill.  Serve with 1/2 a bag of mixed salad leaves and 4 baby tomatoes.

I can't remember where I found this recipe, but it is the Day 4 lunch for a bikini diet.  I don't think I will ever wear a bikini again for the rest of my life, but for a "fad" diet the recipes are pretty good.  It's not based on starving yourself and living off of celery sticks and lettuce.  The recipes seemed to based around overall nutrition using proteins, fats, veges, fruits etc.  Just for fun I will throw in another recipe.

No-grain Pancakes with Raspberries

You will need :

• 50g low-fat cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

Mix all ingredients together into a batter then cook in a non-stick fry pan - that's it.  Sounds interesting!

OK, just one more for the salmon lovers about.

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon

You will need :

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 100g smoked salmon
• A sprig of Dill

Beat egg and whites, cook in non-stick pan.  Turn off heat and top with salmon, torn into pieces.  Garnish with dill - easy peasy!

I think I may have to post some more of these recipes when I have tried them.  I am going shopping tonight when fart face hubby gets home from work to get all the ingredients I need so I am sure I will be having some fun in the kitchen for the rest of the week.  I'll be sure to photo document the fun along the way :)