Lucy's Random Thoughts

Valentine's day is one of the only days in the year when I don't have to do anything in the kitchen.  This year, I got sick on Valentine's day, so I really couldn't do much anyways.  However, the husband conspired with Winnie and really surprised me this year. 

When I got home, the husband was dressed up in a really nice shirt (that I bought for him), and black slacks.  Since he has lost some weight recently, he looked even more handsome than usual!  Our living room floor was CLEAN, free of clutter.  Turns out he just dumped the clutter into our family room... hahaha  The sofa is covered in a red blanket, creating a very eye catching backdrop.  He also got me pretty flowers and even arranged it in a vase.  Here is a secret, I suck/do not like arranging flowers.  Somehow, I manage to arrange it in the worst possible way and mutilate half of the flowers.  So I always leave the flowers to the husband.  He has a touch with flowers that I am just lacking in. 

This year, the husband created a mini hunt for my Valentine's Day gift.  The first step started with a sheet of paper on the wall, with an arrow pointing at the direction of a bear and snoopy on a stool with a picture of us in the backdrop.  Then, following the direction that the bear was staring, it led us to another bear on the sofa.  That bear was looking across the room at yet.. another bear!  That bear has a Cal hat on, gazing at a corner behind the couch, where I found Mickey.  At Mickey's feet, the husband hand wrote a $200 gift certificate to the Northface.  Interesting gift... since 1)  it isn't a real gift certificate and 2) the husband happens to love Northface....  coincidence?  I think not!  He also bought a pair of converse shoes for me, but it was a 5.5.  Too bad my shoe size is actually a 7!  So we are returning the shoes for sure. 

The husband really hit my spot with dinner.  All of the supplies came from Costco (would I expect anything else? ).  For the protein, he grilled a piece of wild sockeye salmon with a little S&P on the George Foreman grill.   He also seared 2 scallops each on the side to keep it a little more interesting.  The starch was brown rice, and he sauteed baby spinach with garlic for veggies.  Oh!  I forgot to take a picture of some miso soup with tofu, wakame, and shitake mushrooms. 

To top it off, he even washed all of the dishes.  Why can't everyday be Valentine's day??  =) 

I have been trying a few new recipes to broaden my culinary horizon recently.  But to put it in plain English, the husband got sick of the foods that I usually make, so I had to come up with something else!  =) 

I have recently discovered a new favorite veggie..  spaghetti squash.  It's really yummy as a substitute for pasta, and I have made it into savory pancakes as well.  I'll put up the recipe for spaghetti squash pancakes later.  This wasn't my idea, but from reading countless food blogs and the recipes that other people have posted! 

After looking back, I realized that most of the food pictures below were for the husband.  I tried to spice things up with a few of the following dishes:

1) Sirloin steak with red wine reduction, garlic rosemary roasted potatoes, garlic roasted brussel sprouts
     - I tossed 3 different types of potatoes into a minced garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper, and olive oil mixture.  Baked for about 30 minutes @ 400 degrees and sprinkled a bit of parmesan at the end.
     - I used the leftover mixture to coat the brussel sprouts..  hehe  nothing gets wasted at my house!  The husband did comment that he doesn't want as many brussel sprouts next time... 

 2) Multi-grain pancake with banana and walnuts
     - The pancake had 1/2 mashed banana in the mixture to add a slight hint of sweetness, and chopped toasted walnut to add some crunch
     - Also topped it with the other half of the banana and more walnuts.  The husband said it really didn't need any syrup because he doesn't like sugary pancakes!  Thumbs up from the husband!

3) Stir fries
     - Quick stir fry with asparagus, carrots, and pork loin
     - Another stir fry with potato strips, carrots, celery, and asparagus

4) Roasted cornish game hen on a bed of cous cous
     - Found this recipe on Shape magazine.  Called for a shallot, galic, and white wine marinade overnight with chicken.  Roast chicken at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  Reduce the marinade on stove top for sauce.  The husband found the chicken flavorless, although the skin was crispy.  We ended up redoing the chicken the second night by braising it with some more soy sauce..  haha

5) Spam noodle soup with pan fried egg on top

Here are some of the things that I ate

1) Spaghetti squash with salmon, arugula, roasted red pepper, and tomatoes, topped with parmesan cheese and basil
2) Soft tofu with shitake and umeiji mushrooms and cauliflower
3) Eggplant Boat!
   - I was watching Giada in Paradise Capri and saw this simple recipe. 
   - Cut eggplant in half lengthwise, scoop out the middle, and chop.  Sautee eggplant with olive oil, garlic, toss with chopped fresh tomatoes.  Scoop mixture back into the "boat", and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. 

This year's health exam had mostly good things and a few bad things... 

So let me start with the negative

Weight :  Gained some weight in the past year...  kinda starting a bad trend here.  Another warning from the doctor...  If only he knew how much I am working on this department.  The doctor suggested that I drink more water to curb late night snacking urges.  I'm currently working on that!

Cholesterol:  Although my total cholesterol went down to 200 from 202 last year (very insignificant), my HDL dropped a bit, along with my LDL.  So it's a real mixed bag.  I would like to maintain my HDL, and lower my LDL for next year!

                             HDL         LDL
Last Year                83           110
This Year                80           109

Triglycerides:  That's the fat in my blood...  that went up quite a lot. 

Onto the positive

Body Fat %:  I am maintaining my body fat %, so the weight I gained wasn't pure fat. 

Curl Ups:  This measures abdominal muscle strength and endurance.  I did 58 curl ups in 1 minute last year, and upped it to 80 this year.  Now if I can just seek the 6 pack behind the fat on my belly...  haha 

Flexibility:  I've improved on my flexibility a lot more this year, mostly due to yogalates.  The bad thing is that I have given up that class in favor of zumba...  Sigh...  I have to work on stretching at home I guess

Blood Pressure:  My blood pressure is low, 92/62.  Definitely would like to maintain this

Heart Rate:  My resting heart rate is 48.  I still think it's some sort of fluke because I usually average 54-56 in the past years.  Hopefully I can lower it even more next year!

Push Ups:  The health exam incorporated push ups into our upper body strength and endurance assessment.  I don't have prior year data to compare myself to, but I did 28 push ups before I gave up.  I was mentally trying to do it to my age.  Maybe I should have done more.  These are REAL push ups, not modified.  And I didn't cheat by putting my hands out really wide either...  hehe  I love doing upper body strength training

Overall, I think I am pretty healthy.  I definitely need to work on lowering my weight/body fat % this year.  I don't mind weighing more than before as long as my lean mass increases and my body fat decreases.  It's a crummy feeling when your muscles are covered by excess fat and can't show off the arms and shoulder muscles in the summer!

Have you done your annual checkup yet??? 

I have been doing my annual health exam every year at my work.  It is a very comprehensive exam that includes blood, urine tests, as well as tests of physical fitness.  This Tuesday, I went to get my blood drawn and they took some other measurements.  My resting heart rate is 48 and my blood pressure is 92/63.  I wonder if the nurse took my resting heart rate correctly.  I believe the last 2 years, my RHR was 58 and 56.  Well, I am not complaining about it!  The lower my RHR, the better!  The only thing that went up was my weight...  sigh. 

Next Thursday, I'll get the results of my blood tests back, and take the rest of my physical tests.  From last year, I remember they tested me on my arm and leg strength, number of sit and reach in 1 minute, various types of flexibility, and a treadmill test.  This year I am skipping the treadmill test, but hopefully I have stronger arms and legs than previous years.  I better not skip any of my classes next week!!!  It is my last ditch effort before my exam. 

Does everyone do a health exam every year?  If not, you should!  I found out I have high cholesterol after I did my first exam.  Unfortunately, my high cholesterol is due to family reasons.  All I can do is eat healthy and keep on exercising.  The good thing is that my HDL was high and my LDL was low.  This is one thing I am worried about this year.  I have been a horrible eater this past year, and that might have caught up with me somehow... 

I'll keep you posted!  Wish me luck!

Aside from food, my little Shih Tzu, Winnie, is also a big part of my life.  She is a friendly, hungry, and playful little dog.  Although she tends to get pretty hyper when people come to visit, she is actually very calm when we are home by ourselves.  Most of the time, she likes to snuggle right next to us, or on her sofa.  Here are a few pictures of her as she goes about her day!