Day 9 - Recipes + New Diet

Today I went and bought a new grill and a steamer. My girlfriend found me a recipe for tomato sauce - it goes a little something like this :

Ingredients

• 10 ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup Burgundy wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop 8 tomatoes and puree in blender or food processor. Chop remaining two tomatoes and set aside.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften, 5 minutes. Pour in pureed tomatoes. Stir in chopped tomato, basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in tomato paste and simmer an additional 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and celery and serve.                 

I haven't tried it yet, but I put my own spin on it - taking out the butter and excessive oil. I also threw some chillis in there for good measure. This should make my wholemeal pasta and steamed vegetable combination a bit more palatable.

In other news, I went out to a farewell dinner to an Indian restaurant. I tucked into the soda waters and had a pappadum. People asked me why I wasn't eating and it was a good conversation starter to tell them that I am on an exercise program.

The waiter was kind enough to bring me a plate of steamed vegetables. I didn't weigh it - but it had a portion of potatoes in it. When I got home, I cooked myself a piece of lean beef on my new grill.

I'm starting to learn how to read food labels - as well as marvel at how I used to just shove anything into my face without thinking about it. Since I started the new diet, I've been weighing and cooking my food.

I have a lot of energy - but my body is a little bit sore. I'm hoping this "super nutrition" will be enough to stop my body from burning out from the exercise.

Looking forward to day 10 - I must say, I am REALLY enjoying the program - it is a real eye opener.