Day One

Today I woke up, weighed myself (which only try to do once a week) and discovered that I had lost my one pound holiday weight gain. Yay! Today was also my first day back to work. Luckily, I only had to go in for a couple hours and play with the kids.

Anyway, for breakfast I had cereal.

I bought it at Costco in Sapporo. It's high in fiber and made with whole grain oats. I had 1/2 cup of cereal and 1/2 cup of milk, which should be around 250 calories. I also had a banana (like most days).

I was able to share the morning with my husband so we did some laundry and hung-out. He, then, headed to work and I made lunch.

Lunch: Southwestern Panini (I got this recipe from EatingWell.com) with a few exceptions

Ingredients:

- 1 cucumber, shredded

- 2 medium carrots, shredded

- 1/2 cup cheese, shredded (In Hokkaido, we really only get one choice of cheese but I recommend cheddar if you can get it)

- half red onion, diced

- salsa, optional

- wheat bread

Preparation:
1. Shred your vegetables. Mix vegetables, cheese, onion, and salsa in a bowl.
2. Place a fourth of the mixture on a piece of bread and cover with a second piece of bread.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon of canola oil in a non-stick skillet. When hot place the prepared sandwich on the skillet, using a second pan to flatten the sandwich.
4. Once the down side is golden brown, flip the sandwich and, using the same technique, brown the other side.
5. When both sides are golden brown, Enjoy!

After you make this once, you'll realize how quick, simple, and delicious it is. I can usually get about 4-5 sandwiches out of the vegetable mixture. I just put any leftovers in a storage container and it will stay refrigerated for a few days.

I don't eat any side with it because one sandwich has about 331 calories and they're plenty filling.

After lunch, I had to go to work, so I walked to and from work. Now don't get too excited because it's only about a 10 minute walk (in the winter). It does, however, get me out of the house and allows me a bit of cardio.

Since my husband works tonight, I had to make dinner for myself only. I had read about this Blue Cheese Sauce on EatingWell.com and have been desperately wanting to try it so I decided to make a "healthified" version of Buffalo Wings. Which, if you know me, you know that I can't go too long without my Buffalo Wings and since they don't make those in Japan, I have to make my own.

Dinner: Buffalo Nuggets with a Blue Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:
(Nuggets)
1/2 cup buttermilk*
3 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons hot sauce
1 chicken breast
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons cornmeal
2 tablespoons canola oil
(Blue Cheese Sauce
1/3 cup plain, low-cal yogurt
1 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
1. Take any skin off the chicken breast. Cut the breast into cubes of similar sizes. Set aside.
2. Mix the buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 2 tablespoons of hot sauce in a large bowl. Place the chicken cubes in the mixture, making sure all the chicken is covered. Let it marinate in the fridge for no less than 10 minutes, mixing every so often.
3. While waiting on the chicken to marinate, go ahead and make the blue cheese sauce. It's really simple. Mix the yogurt, blue cheese, and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
4. Next you can make an extra hot sauce for later. Mix the remaining hot sauce and vinegar together in a small bowl and set aside.
5. Prepare the flour mixture by mixing the flour and cornmeal in a shallow but wide bowl.
6. By this time, the chicken should be well marinated. If not, wait! If so, go ahead and take it out of the fridge.
7. Place the chicken nuggets in the flour mixture, coating them evenly and shaking off any excess. (Toss out the remaining marinade).
8. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Make sure the oil is nice and hot before adding the chicken. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces one at a time, making sure to get a little oil under each piece. Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side.
9. If you need to cook the chicken in two batches (I did) be sure to rinse the pan out between uses and add a new tablespoon of oil.
10. Arrange the nuggets on a plate. Drizzle with the hot sauce mixture and blue cheese sauce. Enjoy!

The calorie count for this meal should be right around 400 or so with the blue cheese sauce (if used sparingly).

Calorie count for the day: Right around 1200 calories, which is what I like!

Now I'm headed to the other room for a good 30 minute upper body workout! See you all tomorrow!