Update!

So I want to apologize to the readers who expected me to update yesterday about my new diet and such. I just was way too busy and by the time I got some time to myself, I just crashed.. So Anyways .. As for my getting into shape strategy.. my current weight is at 225. I Want to lose 20 say within 3 months. I am ultimately aiming for my birthday in January, so we shall see. Today I ate very minimally which is good and bad, but only because school was very demanding and it was very hard to find time to actually eat. Tomorrow I will start my cardio and so forth, and keep posting. But for right now, until I get into the swing of things, there wont be much to say about it! ~~~~~~~~

Moving on~ 

                So today at school my class had a lab all day. A lab is basically a day out of the week where my group from my entire class gets to prepare all the restaurants menu items as well as working on other things such as techniques, etc. I made my own variation of a Panzanella salad to compliment a Chicken dish that my group made. I thought it was a nice touch. I'll post the traditional recipe below, but I will put in parenthesis my own twist or technique that I find works better. Its a quick easy salad, from an old rustic Italian style of cooking. ~~~~~~~~

Panzanella Salad

Ingredients

• 6 cups day old Italian bread, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 3/4 cup sliced red onion
• 10 basil leaves, shredded
• 1/2 cup pitted and halved green olives
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-size pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (I would just put some olive oil in a sauté' pan and just sauté the bread pieces, I find its a quicker way to do it, also if done right you will end up with a bread cube that has one side that is crispy, and the other that is flavorful and soft.)
2. In a large bowl, toss bread with 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Lay bread on a baking sheet, and toast in the preheated oven until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes; allow to cool slightly. (Or just see my technique above, remembering to still season your bread crumbs, just in the pan over high heat until they are crispy)
3. While the bread is in the oven, whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Gently toss together the bread, tomatoes, onion, basil, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Toss with the vinaigrette and let stand for 20 minutes before serving. (Whisk together olive oil, Salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, pour over bread crumbs in pan. Serve this over a bed of fresh spinach, add some tomatoes, onions, and just serve it!)