Check out the easy-to-use, treadmill-friendly app Sameer created after long sleepless nights, endless testing on my treadmill workout routines and is now available on the iPhone and iPad.
Download it for free! -> http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/easyinterval-free/id464568942?ls=1&mt=8
I’m down to week 4 now and my jeans are sagging on me. You know you’ve lost weight when you need a belt or new pants! It’s thrilling for me to know that I had the will power to get through these past 3 weeks without breaking for even a second. Because I’m such a foodie, dreams, thoughts and wishes of food run through my mind all the time – I went to sleep thinking about the chicken korma/curry served at weddings in Pakistan with sheermal (type of bread). And all I could think of was, soon enough, just one more week and I’ll be devouring it. (I really won’t but the food whore I am, those thoughts get me by each day!) =]
It was truly a test for when I realized in between Week 3 that instead of losing weight, I was gaining weight. I was still drinking more veggie juices, cutting back on the fruit juices, was running/walking in intervals daily, and yet my weight went up 3 pounds! I didn’t understand it, got all huffy and puffy, and Sameer assured me it was nothing and probably was the fact that I was gaining muscle and losing inches. Muscle is heavier than the fat in your body, hence it weighs more. The more you work out, the more muscle you gain. Made sense. I stopped worrying my head off about it and kept my cardio on each day.
I’ve been having knee problems since last year (left knee – something to do with the patella I think) and the pain actually went away significantly when I started juicing. It took me one wrong step on the treadmill for the pain to rush back. I stopped the treadmill workout and instead have been vigorously gardening 2-3 hours each day for the past 2-3 days. It’s definitely kept me active and it’s not as stressful on my knee. Kudos to any form of exercise that gets you moving! And by the way, I hate weeds and those dumb landscaping rocks people put on the sides of their houses.
One more week to go – I can do this.
SPARTANS! Prepare for glory!!!
Get some yummy juice recipes from the following links:
http://jointhereboot.com/reboot-program/recipes/juice-recipes/
End of Week 3 Tallies
Total Amount Spent for Fruits & Vegetables: $360
Total Weight Loss: 15 pounds
Week 2 was so much easier and I felt my cravings diminish each day. After reading a lot about juicing and following some tips from JoinTheReboot.com, I started drinking more vegetable juices and cut back a bit on the fruit juices – only for breakfast and an apple or pear in my veggie juice for lunch/dinner. Fruits are great for you but in limited quantities. They’re high in sugars and so a lot of that sugar/fructose eventually turns into fat – when you’re not burning the extra sweet energy off. When I gained back 2 pounds around the start of week 2, I pretty much was down in the dumps and slightly disheartened.
Sameer really helped me pull through that day and said, “I think you should just start working out now!” I was basically taking it easy for the first week and just drank juices, thinking oh this is easy! (NOT!) But yea, I was just ignoring the exercise part of it altogether =] So, I incorporated a 30-minute cardio workout with running/walking in intervals each day and it’s helped me tremendously – keeps me active and I know (I knew it all along but I was just being lazy!) I’ll be losing weight faster this way. I can truly feel it and my pants have gotten a little looser. Yay! Now that’s a good feeling!
Note: Add a whole lime to any veggie juice to cut back on the “grass” flavor as Sameer calls it.
Also, try this breakfast juice recipe I experimented with:
1 large juicy organic peach
1 medium to large organic carrot
4 clementines (couldn’t find organic ones)
Add ice and sip - DEEEEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS!!!
End of Week 2 Tallies
Total Amount Spent for Fruits & Vegetables: $290
Total Weight Loss: 12 pounds
Goodbye week 1, Hello week 2!
The past 7 days have been excruciatingly difficult at times while some of it has been easy. Being busy at work has helped me not think about food at work, since usually, correction, EVERY DAY I think about what I’ll have for lunch. But this time, I didn’t have to think of anything. I had my fruit juice for breakfast, my veggie juice for lunch and lots of water in between each day. Granted I am peeing 10 times more than I was before, but it’s definitely worth it.
Excruciating Moment #1: Watching Sameer eat baghaaray baigan one day and kabab/paraatha the other day! Man oh man!
Excruciating Moment #2: Sitting through a massive summer potluck at work! Someone throw me in a hole and cover it up!
Excruciating Moment #3: Watching Sameer chow down on Pizza! Someone just put a slice in mouth, please!
Sadly, they all had to do with eating! However, I have been feeling my cravings diminishing each day. Also, I don’t feel hungry as much since I’m keeping myself hydrated in between juices with a lot of water. Truly is working though and I’m feeling optimistic starting Week 2. Noticed my nails have gotten stronger, as they would break, literally every day!
End of Week 1 Tallies
Total Amount Spent for Fruits & Vegetables: $200.54
Total Weight Loss: 7 pounds
Day 2 was definitely harder than Day 1. Why? Because all I could think of eating big juicy steak, with fries, with a side of shrimp masala, biryani, and every other food that was going through my mind. However, I stuck to it and sipped on fruit juice in the morning (Carrots, Strawberries, Blueberries, Apples, and Raspberries) and veggie juice for lunch (Kale, Spinach, Tomatoes and Onions – tasted kinda gross!). For some reason it’s easier to get through the day at work since it’s so busy. For dinner I had another round of fruit and veggie juice. (Fruit: Beets, Apples, Carrots and Veggie: Cucumber, Carrots, Kale, Parsley, Tomatoes). Getting hungry again around 11:00 pm, I ended up juicing some oranges, pears, apples and beets for a refreshing late night snack. Yum!
However, the true test for me is the weekend – that’s usually the time I am pigging out for two days straight. Hopefully I can get through it without craving mussels with garlic bread or roasted chicken with penne pasta. Man. That sounds so good right about now. Stop, stop, stop! I can do this!!!
I downloaded an app called My Fitness Pal (www.myfitnesspal.com) where I can record everything from food, weight, exercise and get a record of my diet plan. Definitely easy to update and you can do it through your smartphone or online. Recommended for tracking!
Yesterday, we went and bought at least 10 bags of veggies/fruits from the Farmer’s Market in Brooklyn Park, MN (off of Zane Ave). I bought a small crate of tomatoes, 2 heads of kale, 10 cucumbers, 15 carrots, 1 head broccoli, 1 big arse cabbage, 2 cups of raspberries, 20 beets, 4 bell peppers, 15 green chilli peppers, 10 onions.
The Breville Juicer came in the mail yesterday – the thing looks like it can create subatomic particles involved in creating the big bang theory or something. It’s sleek and it juices oh so well! Super easy to use too!
So, this morning I woke up, got ready, ran to the kitchen and prepped up the juicer. I threw in a head of kale, 2 cucumbers, 10 carrots, and 1 cup of raspberries in and got about 25 ounces of juice. It’s green in color and it tasted pretty good – a bit like grass but I think that’s the cucumber flavor overpowering some of the others.
My breakfast this morning!
I started drinking this around 8:00 AM and it is now noon. No sign of hunger as yet. But, that could also be because I inhaled Brazilian churrascaria last night at Fogo de Chao to celebrate my juice fast and it is still in my stomach. I know that’s actually not what you should do to prep yourself before this fast but hey, that’s one restaurant that makes me one hell of a happy camper! That was my way of saying goodbye to food for (I hope) 60 days.
Total Amount Spent for Fruits & Vegetables: $94.77
(The total amount will be updated each week as I buy more fruits and vegetables – a running tally. The fruits and veggies from the Farmer’s Market cost me $23 while the fruits and vegetables from Cub Foods cost me $71.77! What a difference!)
And we’re back with much anticipation. Apologize for the slight delay in getting this webisode out to you. Life pulls us into many directions, and with this third episode, we got swept away by the ocean and brought you “Shrimp Masala”. We took a different approach with this webisode, as you’ll see, and it’s much shorter!
This easy and extremely delicious recipe was given to me by Sameer’s mom, our beloved Ammi, may God rest her soul in peace. She was and remains in our hearts and memories as a strong and amazing woman, and of course one of the best cooks. I am so thankful to have written this delicious recipe and have this opportunity to share it with you all. I cook this recipe almost every month and eat it with khichri (rice + lentils) like Sameer’s family always does. Khichri? You ask. Yes, khichri, an unexpected, but exquisite combination!
Sammy’s Kitchen is a new cooking show privately produced by Sameer and Samreen Saadi (s2elements.com) where we try a variety of recipes given to us by our family, friends, found on the net or simply created by ourselves.
Music by: sifr (Thanks Sameer Saadi!)
Video Production, Camera Angulations, & Editing by Sameer
Created by Sameer & Samreen Saadi
(For Talha & Naurine’s Valima on July 3rd, 2010)
Sameer Saadi & Zohair Beyabani – “Pehla Nasha”
http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/s2elements (Please click on this link to Donate!)
Please help us raise money to help Mercy Corps aid the men and women who are starving, hopeless, hungry, and have no home… those helpless men and women, their children, their friends and families affected by the flooding. When you consider the impact that these small amounts can make, it’s clear that we all can have a part in the recovery effort:
$10 — provides a family with clean drinking water for two weeks.
$30 — provides a family with a two-week supply of cooking oil, rice, sugar and other staples.
$70 — provides a wheelbarrow, shovel, hammer and other tools to clear debris and repair damaged homes.
Thank you oh so much!
With prayers and love,
Sameer & Samreen Saadi
Desperation Grows in Pakistan (CNN)
Latest News: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/16/pakistan.floods/index.html?hpt=T2#fbid=P-Ob5YG5MIC&wom=false
And we’re back with the 2nd episode/webisode of Sammy’s Kitchen – with some new camera angulations, abundant lighting (thank you Home Depot and their bulb selection), crispier contrast and colors – all thanks to Sameer Saadi’s dedication and skeeellz! And of course, this just couldn’t be Sammy’s Kitchen without my teeth showing at least a couple of times – And yes, I’m not AS serious as I was in the first episode and I made sure of that! Thank you for pointing that out to me! =D
In this 2nd webisode, we bring to your kitchens, the scrumptious and absolutely delicious Hyderabadi Biryani (by popular demand/multiple requests). ”Biryani” is a meat + rice + spice (or veggies + rice + spice) dish, originating from Persia, and was brought to the South Asian/Indian subcontinent mainly by Muslim merchants and travelers. And interestingly, Biryani is not only eaten in Pakistan and India, but its many variations can also be found in Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, etc. to name a few more countries.
The meat/veggies are cooked separately from the rice and then layered and steamed (dum‘ified – dum daytay hain! – Main bhi kahoon tu bhi kahay, dum duma-dum!). Hyderabadi Biryani, mainly non-vegetarian, is cooked the same way, and uses fried onions and yogurt to create the meat masala and finally topped off with saffron. (This is different from the “Kachchay Gosht ki Biryani” or the Raw Meat Biryani, also famous in Hyderabad, where the raw meat masala and uncooked rice are layered and cooked together.)
This is our family recipe and has been passed down in my Dad’s family who are originally from Hyderabad, India. And although my Mom (born in Aligarh, India) only grew up in Hyderabad, it was after she and my Dad got married that she quickly learned and adopted the Hyderabadi styles and ways of cooking, still keeping her own “Hindustani” cooking alive.
And since my Dad loved to cook so much, I often witnessed this heavenly biryani (and many other amazing Hyderabadi/Non-Hyderabadi dishes) being made by both my Mama and Pops. Their duo created, by far, THE BEST Hyderabadi Biryani I have ever, EVER eaten – the perfectly cooked rice bursting with the rich aroma of saffron, accompanied by the finger-licking good meat masala that was always balanced in salt and spice and tenderness and taste!
My lovely Mama & My beloved Pops – This one’s for both of you – for giving me your cooking genes. And I can’t thank both of them enough for passing the recipe on and giving me the opportunity to share it with you as well!
Comments, suggestions, critiques, likes, dislikes are welcome! The few sentences I speak in the “intro” are in Urdu, but in the Hyderabadi accent… an accent often made fun of because, well, it does sound funny! It doesn’t stop me from randomly throwing out a phrase here and a word there in Hyderabadi!
Bon Appetit and we humbly apologize for the delay in getting this 2nd webisode out!
(Thank you Shuja Bhai for the technical suggestions and feedback!)
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Sammy’s Kitchen is a new cooking show privately produced by Sameer and Samreen Saadi (s2elements.com) where we try a variety of recipes found on the net, created by ourselves or even family recipes that have been passed down from our parents’ generation.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Sameer
SammyQS