Vindaloo and a Dinner Date

Yup, the breakfast parfait is alive and well. Plain Greek yogurt mixed with 1 tablespoon of sugar free pancake syrup, a small tangerine, strawberries and ½ a banana for the fruit filling and 1/3 cup of granola. 376 calories, 2.4 fat, 66 carbs, 7 fiber and 22 protein.

The weather was beautiful at lunch there was no way anything was going to stop me from getting outside. I checked weather.com – said it was partly sunny and 50, so I wore a long sleeve shirt and my light fleece – after 50 minutes I was actually pretty toasty – it felt great to be moving!

So I saw a recipe on Epicurious.com for a chicken vindaloo. I saw the spices they used and knew that not only my SIL would like it, but my co-worker would too. However, once put together, I didn’t like the original outcome. The directions said to mix the tomatoes and spices together to make a paste, then “fry” the paste in oil, cook for a few minutes, then add diced potatoes and chicken.

The sauce was super runny and the chicken had a “boiled” taste to it. Next time I make this and put the complete recipe in, I will sauté the chicken in the oil about half way done to get some browning on the chicken. Since I didn’t like the consistency, I ended up scooping out the chicken, then pureed the potatoes with the tomato mixture and liked that much better.

I had to deconstruct it to figure out the calories – I basically divided the sauce in four servings, which actually turned out really tasty – although my co-worker and I still kicked it up with sriracha. I will give you the recipe for the sauce, because it’s something that can be made ahead of time and poured over chicken and veggies to spice up leftovers.

Vindaloo Sauce (makes 4 servings: 106 calories, .3 fat, 23 carbs, 4.3 fiber and 3.1 protein or 3 WW points)

• 4 medium whole tomatoes (fresh, not canned)
• 2 ½ tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cube of fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne

Throw all the ingredients into a food processor. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

My bowl: 2 cups of steamed broccoli, 4 ounces of chicken, and ¼ of the sauce and cilantro for the garnish.  Lunch comes in at 417 calories, 13 fat, 32 carbs, 6.3 fier and 22 protein.

I was so excited for dinner because I was meeting up with blogger Mara from What’s for Dinner?  She and I first met a few years ago.  I had written a post about a co-worker who was pregnant and her secretary had made cookies that said “these cookies have nuts” and they had a blue ribbon around them, to indicate that she was having a boy.

Mara happened to read that post, showed her co-worker, who just happened to be the sister of the woman who was pregnant in my office.  Talk about a small world!  We then discovered how close we lived and worked to each other.  For some reason, this is only the third time we’ve met in person, but we plan to change that.  She’s funny, down to earth and super easy to talk to.  And we both dislike KathEats.com. Show of hands of anyone else who doesn’t care for Kath?

I had a Restaurant.com gift certificate for Nozumi in South Barrington.  This is probably the sixth or seventh time I’ve been there and it has been awesome each and every time I’ve been there.

I told Mara about the calamari fries.  Seriously people, I dream about these fries.  Lightly battered, not greasy, paired with a vinegary slaw and Chinese mustard mayo dipping sauce.  I usually put all three together and it’s the perfect combination.  I know when Mara goes back with her husband she’ll get these again.

I ended up ordering the yakisoba noodles with chicken, shrimp and veggies (no onions!) and had them make it spicy.  It was so much food, I ate maybe half?  You can imagine what I am having for lunch today – leftovers!

Mara likes sushi – I think this one was the salmon roll?  I love how pretty the row looks on top.

And what’s dinner out without dessert?  Chocolate lava cake and green tea ice cream.

Thanks Mara for a fun dinner – and next time? Five Guys Burgers in Crystal Lake!

I tried my best to figure out the calories in dinner – I put in fried calamari for the calamari fries and based on everything I ate, my guess is dinner comes in at 627 calories, 30 fat, 41 carbs, 2.8 fiber and 37 protein.

Stats for the Day:

• 1420 calories, 46 fat, 141 carbs, 16 fiber and 100 protein
• 40% of calories from carbs, 29% fat and 30% protein
• 50 minute walk at work
• delicious dinner out with a friend

I’ve been using fatsecret.com to figure out my calorie intake. Yesterday when I was inputting my food a pop-up came up and said I hadn’t entered my weight in 16 days. I put in my current weight, and this is what it said:

You lost 0.4 lb (0.2 %) since you last weighed in on Sunday 01 Apr 12.
At that rate it will take you about 39 months to get to your goal weight.

I need to pick up the pace people!  Well, after I try a Five Guys burger!

Make it a great day!