Yikes

It's been a little while! I am in the middle of several projects around the house and haven't been spending too much time on the computer. Good news though, my kitchen is almost done! My weight loss seems to have slowed down. I know some of the reasons why and hopefully have made some corrections. One reason is that I have spent so much time working on household projects that I haven't made exercise a priority. I know I need to exercise, not only to boost my weight loss, but to be healthy I need more exercise. So how am I planning to fix that? I am just making it one of the items on my daily to do list. I have started using a daily list for a lot of things and decided that exercise needs to be on there, because if it is on the list and I see it, I am more likely to do it. I am one of those people that gets some satisfaction of actually marking things off my list. Another reason is that as I am reading more and educating myself more and more about the food I eat, I have been eating more "real" foods. Real bacon, not turkey bacon, real maple syrup, not maple flavored syrup, butter not margarine, and real fruit mixed in my yogurt, not fruit flavored yogurt. I haven't been always checking out the nutritional information to find the correct portion size and calorie content. I am focusing more on making sure I am serving myself more correct portion sizes.

Grocery deal of the week. First let me share this little tidbit that I have never noticed before. I started buying the individual frozen chicken breasts for convenience back when I was single and just continued because they were so convenient. I knew the cost per pound was higher that wholes chickens, but I was willing to pay extra for the convenience. What I didn't realize was that those often came with this printed on the bag "enhanced with up to 15% chicken broth". That was on the brand that I buy. From my reading, I learned that some brands add up to 20% of water or broth in their chicken. So that total weight that I thought I was buying that I carefully calculated down to the ounce to see which stretched my dollar budget more? Yeah, I was basically paying for some water and some chicken. It irks me too because when you see that word enhanced, you think it's been made better. Well selling me chicken pumped up with water or broth makes me feel like I am getting even less for my money and the only thing enhanced is someone else's bottom line. So even though it takes more prep I have started using chicken with the bones still in it. I have been looking for the organic hormone free chicken but the price was often out of my budget range. When I went shopping this week, I found some that was on sale for a more than half off which made the organic stuff cheaper than the other stuff. Because this is what I want to start using, I bought all 7 packages that were in the display case to freeze and use later.

I have been doing lots of label and ingredient reading as I am making the changes to become a healthier person. I am trying to eat only real stuff and have been eliminating most all convenience foods. It does take me a little longer to shop, but that is getting better as I am familiarizing myself with healthier brands and ingredients. It also takes me a little longer to cook. One thing I am doing to help with that is to make extras and using leftovers. Like if I know I am having brown rice as a side dish one night and then a couple of nights later I am using it as a base for a stir fry, I will cook extra rice so that I am cooking it only once a week. Same thing with some veggies and quiona. As these new methods are becoming more routine it is getting easier and a little faster.

Bento Box Friday

When I first started trying to incorporate healthier foods in my diet, I was doing a Google search for healthy lunches and found all these cool Bento boxes. I started looking at them more and more and even got Samantha kind of hooked on them. I have made her several but mine aren't nearly as decorative as the ones she has been seeing online. She keeps telling me to practice and one day mine will look that good too. You have got to love the faith that an eight year old can have in you! I finally ordered her an actual bento box and also ordered some of the decorative picks and things that we have seen with so many of these boxes. She didn't know that I had ordered them so it was a surprise when I showed up at school for lunch today. I pulled it out of the bag and she knew exactly what it was as soon as she saw it. She said she couldn't believe she had a real bento box. Too cute! Any way, our lunch was a whole wheat pasta salad with chicken and some tomatoes and cucumbers, a salad with some tomato "balloons" and some ranch dressing for dipping and then the top tier was some Pepper Jack cheese and pepperoni kabobs and some orange slices. Since this one had some actual decorative touches I got a thumbs up for creativity as well as the selection of foods I brought her. I only took a picture of hers since it looked so much nicer in her bento box than mine looked.

Milk

I have been thinking of switching from regular cow milk to another product. Kip and I were talking the other night and somehow we got on the topic of buying and using raw milk. Neither of us were sure what the benefits vs. the cons would be. And if you know me at all, that means as soon as I can get my fingers on something I am going to look it up. So I did some reading on the subject and then some more reading on milk in general. It was pretty interesting and it reminded me that I had been thinking about switching. Not sure which route I will end up going with; soy, almond, rice or coconut or even sticking with the milk that I currently drink. I bought some almond milk a week or so but it has just been sitting there. I did finish off the milk that I had on hand before wanting to try it. I had some on my cereal this morning and was surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I think I can do that. I will probably still try the other kinds and then pick a favorite from there. 

I am trying to not throw away everything in the pantry and fridge/freezer as I am eliminating processed foods. The main reason is that I can't really justify to myself throwing away the money that I spent buying it in the first place. There isn't that much left and I will add it to a meal here and there just to use it up. But is one of them shows up in a meal it will typically be the only processed thing on the menu that night.

Anyone else drink a milk alternative?

Weekly Weigh in 1/24

Better this week, I lost 2.0 pounds. Still following my eating plan pretty closely and slowly adding in more and more real foods and eliminating artificial ones. I went grocery shopping yesterday and it took ma even longer than usual because in addition to price comparison I read every label of every product I put in the cart. Some things I don't know if I will be able to completely stop buying. Like crackers. I know those can be made, but I think that is a project for later after I have mastered a few other items. Last night for dinner we had refried beans, tortillas, corn and then the usual fixings for tacos. The refried beans were made from dried beans and cooked in the crock pot over night and weren't actually refried so they had no lard or oil in them. The salsa was made and canned by my Dad from items grown in his garden. For the first time, I attempted to make my own tortillas. For a first time thing they weren't bad. They were too thick though, next time I will know to roll them out thinner. I found a new recipe for ranch dressing so I am making that to go with dinner tonight. It is interesting all the things I used to buy, I have started looking at differently. I am leaning there is a recipe for everything on the internet!

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 6 month check up on my blood pressure. It is staying in the normal range on medication. I really want to get to the point that I no longer need it though. We are also trying a higher dose of the medication I take for my back, increasing it by 25 mg. Hopefully that will give me even more relief. As it is, I can tell a difference. It does not take away the pain or really diminish it that much. What it does do is keep me at my base pain level for a longer period of time and allow me a longer period of time of functioning. Keeping my fingers crossed for more pain relief too!

Sunday Dinner

This was our third week of "Sunday Dinner" and the second week that we invited people over to eat with us. I wish I had taken a picture of the table. I pulled out the china and then each place setting had their own napkin and napkin ring. It looked cute. I cooked Chicken Pot Pie, mashed potatoes, home made rolls and an apple/avocado salad. It was pretty good. Not as healthy as I have been eating, but that was in the plan. I invited my friends L & C and I knew when I invited them that I would have to make a pot pie. C tells everyone that I make the best chicken pot pie in the world. I did use a commercial pie crust and the potatoes were instant. I am slowly phasing out all the prepared stuff but in the interest of not throwing away food (and money), I am trying to use what is in the pantry. I am replacing them with more whole food and more basic options. 

Friday night I made BBQ Chicken Pizza. It was my first attempt to make a whole wheat crust. I was pretty happy with the result. The recipe said that it would make 2 thin or one thick crust. Normally when I use my large baking stone, I use the full recipe and it is kind of a medium thickness. This one was a little thicker than what we like, so the next time I make it I will only use half of it. Oh, but it was delicious!

I have some beans cooking in the crock pot for tomorrow nights dinner. I am going to make refried beans and attempt to make tortillas. That should be an adventure! The beans are a healthier version and aren't actually refried and don't have a lot of the calories that commercial beans have. Tomorrow is weigh in day!

Eating Out

One thing I am trying to do to be healthy is limit the meals that I eat in restaurants. I have been making a detailed menu and the sticking with it which helps with that late afternoon "I don't want to cook" feeling. Since I am following the meal plan that I made and shopped for I have been less tempted. I am really trying to make sure I eat foods where I know what the ingredients are. For the longest time I did not realize that restaurants added butter to steaks and other meats. I thought they just cooked theirs better than I did and theirs stayed tender while mine were more dried out. That butter really packs on the calories too!

I remember when I was growing up we didn't eat out a lot. Sometimes on Sundays after church and then an occasional Friday night or so. As I got older we ate out more, but when I was younger it was a real treat. If you drew a circle about two miles around my house there are probably at least 40 restaurants. There are times when Kip will ask where I want to eat and none of them sound appealing. I would like to get back to where eating out is a little special and is actually something to look forward to. 

We are having another Sunday Dinner this weekend and will be having four additional guests. I am having so much fun with this, planning the menus and pulling out some of my serving dishes that haven't been used in a long time. I didn't do this for our first one, but I am going to start setting the table using real linens and everything to make it feel even a little more special. We are celebrating friendships so that certainly deserves the good stuff!

Weekly weigh in 1/17

Hmmm, not really sure what happened this week but the scale stayed the same. I have been making healthy choices and I have exercised too. If I were on Biggest Loser, it would be the dreaded Week 2 weigh in which is pretty notorious for low numbers. I am not discouraged, at least it did not go in the opposite direction and I know that I have eaten healthy for the most part. We did eat out twice this week so I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not. But I didn't go crazy at the restaurants either. I enjoyed my meals and probably ate a little more than I should had. I went shopping with my new week's meal plan and got lots of fresh foods. one thing I did do yesterday that wasn't the best for me was making homemade potato chips. I was craving something crunchy and salty. I did make them with a sweet potato though. And I only made one potato that Kip and I split. 

I am kind of on a kick too where I am trying to make as much of the food I eat as possible. I have been making my own salad dressing, made my own chips and  bought the ingredients to start making my own bread. It bothers me that so many of the foods I eat have ingredients that I have no clue as to what they even are. I have also made the last several batches of salsa that we have had too. One the menu for Friday night is a BBQ Chicken Pizza with whole wheat crust and I am going to make the BBQ sauce too.

Healthier Fried Rice

I haven't blogged this week much, but I am still eating healthy and have managed to get it some exercise almost every day. the changes I have been making over the past few months have become more and more routine so that i am not having to think about is as much. I wanted to share this picture of a recipe I made from the Biggest Loser cookbook. It is a brown rice saute filled with veggies and using brown rice. Several months ago I decided I really liked making my own fried rice meals. They are fairly economical and a great way to use up leftovers without having to eat the same meal over and over. I followed this recipe as written with the exception of leaving out the celery. That is one food that I just do not like at all. When I make it again I would do it the same way except I would probably add some mushrooms. Other than that I really liked this healthier version of Fried Rice. Tomorrow is weigh in day!

Weekly Weigh-In

Mondays are my weigh in day for several reasons. Because it's Monday and isn't that the day you start all diet related goals?? Seriously though, having that Monday weigh-in does help keep me on track for the weekend. I know that I don't want to blow an entire week of work on two days of eating so that is a motivation. Another reason is I am logging my food and calories using the Lose It! app on my phone and it resets each week on Monday too. I have learned logging everything really works for me and having something that calculated my calories for me as I go is even better. No chances of adding wrong and accidently over eating or anything like that. Having the app on my phone means my food log is also always with me so it is easier to log everything, I am not forgetting foods like I probably would if I waited and added it all at the end of the day. 

So what's the verdict, how did I do? Drumroll please....I lost 4.8 lbs last week. I am very pleased with that number. I did start the healthy eating and exercise both last week. Because remember, my goal is to be healthy and healthy people gets regular exercise. I want to start establishing that habit as soon as possible.

I live in Tennessee and we don't get a lot of snow. When even flurries are in the weather forecast everyone makes a mad dash to the store to buy milk and bread. We were supposed to get snow last night (and we did) and more through the day and tomorrow too. Mondays are my regular grocery day and I braved all those shoppers last night to make sure I had plenty of fresh food so that I could stick with my eating plan!

One of our other resolutions we are working together this year is bringing back the Sunday Dinner in our lives. We plan to have Sunday Dinner at our house on a regular basis, sometimes alone and sometimes inviting others into our home. We are doing this for several reasons, one of which is that we tend to eat out on Sundays and we are cutting way back on that. The most important reason is that if I make it, I know exactly what is in it. Plus I decided I could make enough food to feed the both of us plus several other people for the same or less than we could buy dinner for two at a sit down restaurant, especially if you add in $2.00 drinks and a tip. Sundays I will not be following my plan as closely but still plan to make wise choices and watch portion sizes. I don't think I will be recording my Sunday meals here (they are logged in my food plan though and calories counted). Yesterday we invited Kip's entire family over to eat with us. It was nice. Normally we do more buffet style, everyone fixing a plate and then eating at the table. Kip decided to put all the food on the table and we passed it around family style. As the food was going around, I thought it was like eating "sunday dinner" with the Waltons or something. 

I am comfortable cooking for large groups and can just as easily cook for 25 as I can two. I have tons of beautiful serving dishes that do not get enough use. I also enjoy cooking for large groups. In our quest to simplify more, I decided having friends into our home more often would make me happy and Kip agreed. One thing I did not do yesterday that I plan on doing more is using my china. We were having chili yesterday and I used the regular dishes mainly because of the size of the bowls. Not everything matched and that was okay because we had a good meal and a great time of fellowship with family. And when it comes down to it, that was what was important and the only thing that mattered. Sunday Dinner at the Lindsay house?Mission accomplished.

Ahh, the weekend

Weekends are hard for me to keep from snacking. I find that I do better if I stick to scheduled times for eating and since I am not at work and my days aren't as defined by having to be somewhere, I tend to get off my schedule. I have done pretty good today though. I also walked on the treadmill for quite a while. I am actually proud that I walked for 30 minutes. I also included a couple of 30-45 second bursts of running. When some stuff got moved a couple of months ago, the treadmill got piled up and I just got it cleaned off and useable again. Usually when I start walking after such a long break, it takes me a few days to work up to 30 minutes. Since one of my goals this year is to participate in a 5K, I was going to try and see how long it would take me to walk it on the treadmill. Let's just say I am not there yet. I am happy that I did log in the 30 minutes though. I think I am going to start keeping up with how many miles I walk each week. Just because that is one of those weird things I would enjoy keeping up with!

Here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with Smart Balance spread.  (382 calories)

Snack: Mozzarella string cheese stick (80 calories)

Lunch: BBQ Lentils with rice (385 calories)

Snack: Homemade Hummus and carrot sticks (143 calories)

Dinner: Chicken breast, green beans and corn (300 calories)

Snack: Popcorn (200 calories)

I had the munchies last night so I ended up eating another snack between dinner and bed. I think part of the problem was that I ate dinner about an hour early so I was still a little hungry. Here is todays eating plan:

Breakfast: eggs scrambled with basil, spinach and mushrooms, 2 slices of bacon, 1/2 grapefruit  (236 calories)

Snack: Homemade hummus, carrot sticks (143 calories)

Lunch: 4 oz. of ground turkey (burger) on whole wheat bread with lettuce and slice of swiss cheese (373 calories)

Dinner: 5 oz pork tenderloin, sautéed mushrooms, peas and small salad with homemade shallot vinegrette dressing ( 526 calories)

I am trying something to see if it works too. I have been reading how "fake" foods are one of the things being attributed to the obesity epidemic. That often the original thing is more satisfying so our hunger is met and cravings are reduced. Things that are low fat or substitutes for other things are slowly going off my list. I do nothing fat free, but I will chose the lite option if the the calories and carbs are very close. The thing I am currently trying it on is bacon. I love bacon. I had been eating turkey bacon which is okay, but I still wanted real bacon. The calories are very close in the brand I was buying vs. the bacon I bought last week, so I thought I would give it a try. I guess I will be able to tell when I weigh in on Monday.