Hey all,
I didn’t put a blog post up last week, but I did put up a video. I just wanted to remind everyone of the YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePortlyPaladin. Time is a bit weird right now, and honestly I can find more time to record a video rather than post a blog most of the time. Don’t worry, I won’t forget about the blog, I intend to update it as often as I can. I love you guys and I want to keep giving you content as much as I can!
Ok, so I haven’t updated things in a while. After I said I would be better about it. Yeah, I suck. Seriously though, I’ve been very busy. The new business <a href=”http://www.facebook.com/ChainedHammer”>Chained Hammer Productions</a> has started to take off some so I’ve been working a lot on dicebags, new ideas for dicebags, and trying out some marketing ideas for the company. Not to mention that I’m still unemployed so that means two hours or so of job searching each day, and my house husbandly duties of cleaning, laundry, and whatever else might pop up. I’ve also taken on the task of coordinating Pathfinder Society at my friendly local gaming store so I’m usually working on preparing a game for that plus organizing enough gamemasters to cover all of the people we’ve had coming in to the store to play. Suffice it to say I’ve been busy, and unfortunately my blogs and videos were one of the first things to get cut out of my schedule.
That hasn’t been the only issue however, I’ve also not been all that diligent in my diet for the last few months. Be it stress, or being busy, or just flat out laziness I can’t really tell you… because I don’t know. I do know that I had measurements taken recently and I had gained back 2-3 inches. That made me stop and realize just what I was doing to myself and take the time to think about what I wanted out of this. I could take the easy road and just slowly go back to where I was and worse, or I could start over and lose those extra inches and more. Obviously, I decided to start over and go back to losing. I haven’t felt this good in a long time and I don’t want to go back to the way I used to feel. I think I am going to put myself onto more of a stringent schedule, and try desperately to put out a blog post a week. I might not get a chance to do a video every week, but I’m going to try very hard to at least write a post for all of you lovely people that follow me.
So, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, go check out my newest video on my <a href=””>YouTube Channel</a>. I talk about some of the struggles of being a big person, some of the best ways to get past them, and have a frank discussion about how difficult it is to undo all the damage we do to ourselves on a daily basis. Check it out and let me know what you think!
I am sorry I haven’t updated here but I’ve been having some issues in the last few months and things haven’t been going well and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone that’s been following me so I instead just… didn’t post. I apologize for that and I promise that within the next day or two I will record a new video and make a new post. Don’t give up on me!
Hey all, I’ve had a few people ask me about subscribing to my blog, and not sure how to do it. From what I can tell, the only way to do it is to sign up on wordpress.com and then sign in before you visit the blog. You will see a “follow” link at the top of the page. If you would rather not do that I understand, if you just want to subscribe on YouTube that would be great too. Thanks for all the support.
Yeah yeah I know I haven’t posted in what 3 weeks? There has been a lot going on in the Paladin household the last little while, and yes most of it has been good. For starters my new local gaming store had a grand opening recently and I had to do a lot of work trying to help them get a few donations of things to give away as door prizes, I had to prepare to run a couple of games, and I had to pack all of my game stuff up for transport back and forth. Second, my dryer decided to take a dive and I had to run around for 2 days to get the parts to fix it. Wait, how is this a good thing? Well, I’ll tell you how its a good thing just wait a darn minute why doncha. Its good because it made me have to go to one of those massive hardware and everything stores. Which I navigated quite easily without getting at all tired actually, something that was a very big fear for me when I had to go. Once I got what I needed I fixed the dryer and it has gone from taking over 3 hours to dry a load of clothes to just a bit over one measly hour. This makes my life a lot easier. In addition to those things I have been on a cleaning binge. Since I went to that hardware store I realized I am capable of so much more now, and I’ve really pressed my advantage and been scrubbing as much of this house as I can reach. I’ve made several minor repairs around the house and ended almost every single day of the last two weeks or so as an exhausted lump on the couch. How’s that for working out?
The other big thing that has happened in the last few weeks is that my father in law has come home. He was stuck in a physical rehab facility for just over nine months. He had broken his ankle about two years ago now and it wasn’t healing correctly so they had to do surgery to repair the damage. Then in January he rebroke the same ankle! So back he went to the facility after only a two day rest. Just about a week ago though he came home and has been doing well. He’s still not incredibly steady on his feet so I’ve been going over to their house a few times a week when he gets physical therapy to help out and make sure he doesn’t fall or get hurt. He’s doing great though, as a matter of fact just yesterday he had a doctor’s appointment and walked for the first time in 2 years without any sort of support shoe. His doctor said his xrays looked great and that he should be back to fighting shape in no time.
So there has been my life for the past few weeks. I haven’t stopped the diet, I’ve been working just as hard as always. Time for measuring, and the energy to make it happen just hasn’t been there for a while. This weekend will be another busy one, but I’m hoping that Monday things will calm down and I can get the time to have my wife do some measurements for me so I can update everyone on the real progress. So don’t fret my loyal soldiers, I am still waging a war against my waistline!
Once again, you can see the video here.
Things are going well all things considered in my life and in my diet at the moment. I’m feeling good, I have some amazing goals to prepare for, and I have lots of great people to hang out with that are paying attention to my progress. There really is nothing to complain about right now.
Now on to the recipes!
Summer Gazpacho Soup(4 servings, 8 pts per serving)
5 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped(2 pts)
1 garlic clove, minced(0 pts)
1/4 cup olive oil(12 pts)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar(0 pts)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced(0 pts)
1 avocado, diced(8 pts)
1/4 cup chopped red onion(0 pts)
1 cup beef broth(1 pt)
1/4 cup lemon juice(1 pt)
1 (12 ounce) can tomato juice (2 pts)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce(0 pts)
2 celery rib, minced(0 pts)
4 teaspoons cilantro, finely chopped(0 pts)
coarsely ground salt & pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup chopped green or red pepper (optional)
Hot Sauce sauce (optional)
Preparation
1. Partly puree all the ingredients (except 3/4 of the avocado).
2. Chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Garnish each serving with remaining avocado dices, sour cream (optional) and a sprig of cilantro.
15 Minute Vegetarian Chili(2 servings, 8 pts per serving)(A BIG thanks to IvanStu for this recipe.)
1 tsp canola oil (3 pts)
1 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced (0 pts)
14 1/2 oz stewed tomatoes (2 pts)
15 oz canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained (3 pts)
15 1/4 oz canned yellow corn, drained (3 pts)
15 oz canned tomato sauce (2 pts)
1 Tbsp chili powder (0 pts)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (0 pts)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (0 pts)
1/4 cup(s) dehydrated onion flakes (0 pts)
1/4 tsp black pepper (0 pts)
4 Tbsp low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, sharp-variety (2 pts)
Instructions
Heat oil in a large, nonstick, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, corn, tomato sauce, chili powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, onion and pepper; stir well.
Increase heat to high and bring chili to a boil; cook, stirring frequently, until chili is thick and flavors are concentrated, about 5 minutes. Spoon into serving bowls and sprinkle with cheese. Yields about 1 1/4 cups chili and 1 tablespoon cheese per serving.
Roasted Red Pepper Soup(2 servings, 7 pts each)
8 red bell peppers (2 pts)
1T olive oil (3 pts)
1 medium onion, chopped (0 pts)
3 cloves garlic, minced (0 pts)
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups chicken broth (2 pts)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (3 pts)
2 cups whole kernel corn, drained (3 pts)
Using a gas burner or grill roast the peppers until the skin is solidly black all over the outside. Place the peppers into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. While they steam, saute together the onions and garlic seasoned with salt and pepper until soft. Add onions, garlic, and broth to a blender. Remove the seeds and stems from the peppers, and using the back of a knife scrape away as much of the black as possible before adding them to the blender as well. Blend until completely smooth and pour into a pot to bring to a simmer. Add corn and black beans and serve.
I wanted to take a minute to talk about a few things that have happened to me over the course of the last week or so. First my wonderfully amazing wife schemed behind my back(don’t worry I say that in a good way), to plan a possible trip for me to GenCon. Some things are unsure at the moment and we weren’t sure we could afford it and I had to tell the person she was planning it with that we couldn’t afford to go. In turn this person, in a great act of awesomeness and charity, offered to buy us the passes. I am not naming this person because I don’t know if they want this to be advertised, but to you I say… wow. The act in and of itself was quite touching and I still am not sure how to react to it. I still have to think on whether or not I want to take you up on your offer, but I will let you know soon.
So, the thing I learned. People are just amazing. I had kind of given up on the human race a long time ago to be honest. After the local gaming store Gateway Games and More opened and the people there were so cool to me and have made me feel so welcome I started to rethink my position. Today though, with what happened… I can’t keep thinking that people suck. Because people are awesome. At least… some people are.
Also, I tried on a pair of pants today that are two sizes smaller than what I have been wearing for like three years now. My wife, again being the most wonderful woman in the world, was cleaning out our closet earlier tonight and found several shirts and a pair of jeans that I hadn’t worn in at least three years. She begged me to try them on “Just to see where you are now.” I tried them all on and the shirts mostly fit, just a bit snug over my gut, and the pants fit pretty well too. The jeans were mostly snug around my calves which I’ve been having problems with lately, but overall they were actually fairly comfortable. I’m actually kind of proud of myself at this moment even though I’ve been feeling cruddy about myself lately. So yeah… interesting day.
Yeah its going to be short this week. I just don’t have the desire or drive to do much this week. Tired from preparing for a yard sale and kinda having a dumpy week altogether. So, go check out my video on YouTube. No recipes this week, again I apologize for that. I’ll be back next week with your usual update. Oh yeah, my overall measurements this week is zero inches. I lost some in waist and chest, but gained a decent amount in my legs again. So the net is zero. Oh well, hopefully next week is different.
Here we are again, another week in and five and a half inches thinner. I have to say I do feel really good in the two months now that I’ve been doing this. Much better than I ever expected to, and it’s also much easier than I had anticipated. Make sure to go check out my video on YouTube where I discuss some of the changes I’ve noticed in the past eight weeks.
This week is fairly short and for that I apologize, but as I mentioned in my video I’ve been very busy. So instead of expounding upon what I recorded I’ll just say… go watch the video! And leave you with your recipes:
French Onion Soup (Makes 6 servings, 10 pts each or 6 w/o croutons or cheese)
6 pounds yellow onions(12)
6T margarine(6)
1t salt
1/2t pepper
16c beef broth(8)
2T Flour(2)
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2c white wine(2)
6 croutons(6)
6oz swiss or gruyere cheese(18)
Peel the onions, and cut in half, then slice lengthwise. Melt margarine over medium heat in a 6 quart dutch oven, and add the onions, salt, and pepper. Sweat the onions for 10-15 minutes until they’ve given up most of their water and gone translucent. Turn heat to low, and cover. Cook for about 90 minutes stopping to stir every 10 minutes. At the end of that period deglaze with a few tablespoons of water and continue cooking for 45 more minutes, deglazing and stirring every 5 minutes until the onions are very brown and soft. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Add the broth, thyme, and wine. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Pour into crocks and top with croutons and cheese if desired, placing crocks under a broiler until cheese is brown.
Greens Soup(makes 6 servings, 7pts per serving)
4 slices bacon(4)
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cans of assorted greens, undrained(4)
1 can tomato puree(1)
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained(1)
4 qts chicken broth(8)
2t crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
bay leaf
1/4c apple cider vinegar(0)
4oz small dry pasta(stars, orzo, etc)(8)
1 pound chicken or ham cooked and diced(15)
Cook bacon until rendered and partly crisp. Saute onion in the bacon fat until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add all remaining ingredients except pasta and meat. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add pasta and meat and simmer 10 more minutes.
Chicken Noodle Soup(4 servings, 7 points each)
2T margarine(2)
5 ribs celery, chopped(0)
4 carrots, diced(1)
1 lg onion, diced(0)
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
8c chicken broth(4)
2c egg noodles(8)
1 pound cooked chicken, shredded(15)
1T dill, chopped
1T parsley, chopped
Melt margarine in a soup pot and add vegetables. Saute until soft. Add remaining ingredients except dill and parsley. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the herbs and serve. You can make this Italian style by omitting the dill, 2 cups of broth, and the egg noodles and instead adding a can of diced tomatoes with juice, a can of chick peas, some whole wheat penne, and a few ounces of grated parmesan. This will take it up to 10 points per serving.
Hey all, I just finished a 45 minute Wii workout with my wife(with post workout cooldown shower!), and I realized while I was in the shower that I forgot the most important thing in my posts and videos this week. My measurements! So here they are:
Rt Bicep: 21 3/4″(23)
Rt Wrist: 8″(8)
Neck: 23 3/4″(25)
Chest: 69″(73)
Waist: 70 1/2″(74)
Rt Calf: 28″(27)
Rt Thigh: 36″(36)
Lt Calf: 25 3/4″(28)
Lt Thigh: 36″(38)
Which is a pretty good in comparison to last week’s numbers which are italicized in parentheses there. As you can see I lost at least a little bit in almost every area. Going over my points I can see that my average points intake is 37, a full 7 points below my maximum. So.. there we go. Now you know. Next measurements update on Sunday May 1st!
The Portly Paladin 