I love food. Always have, always will. The problem is that I love food too much. The problem is also that I have severe cravings for foods full of sugar, fat, oils...you know, the good stuff. I of course have attempted weight loss numerous times in the past. I start out with good intentions and then I start justifying why I should give in to a certain food temptation and that cascades into a throw away day which snowballs into a throw away week and then month and then I'm back where I started. Christmas week was spent indulging in various sweets and treats with reckless abandon. It was a glorious, fatty week. I knew I would regret the decision to eat all that I did within a week but in the moment, I enjoyed it immensely. Before I made the decision to try once again to be healthier, I contemplated on whether it would make me a happier person to just give in and eat whatever I like and not worry about the weight. I have stayed within a certain weight range for the past 10 years and it isn't THAT big is it? But then I of course see a photo or video of myself and I realize just how big I am and how I don't like looking at photos and videos of myself because of it. The trendy thing seems to be meal prep. I decided that this would be a good option for me since portion control and impulse eating decisions are a major weakness of mine. I looked online for inspiration and bought some meal prep containers on Amazon to get started. My first meal prep session was using boneless, skinless chicken thighs, california blend frozen veggies, and rice. I'm still using white rice because I still have 40 lbs. of it to use and the frugal fanatic in me could never let it go to waste. I found a recipe to cook the chicken thighs in the crockpot with a soy/ketchup/honey sauce. They smelled amazing and when I took them out of the crockpot, I threw in the freshly steamed veggies to toss around in the leftover sauce before adding to my containers. I used measuring cups to figure how much of each item to place in each container and I was set for 3 days. Breakfast has been an aventure. I tried an omelet using 2 egg whites and one whole egg with peppers, onions, and mushrooms. I only allowed myself one piece of toast which was not enough to see me through the whole omelet. I can't stand eggs without bread so I only ate 2/3 of the eggs. Today, I toasted a piece of whole wheat bread, spread some chobani roasted red pepper spread on the toast, layered a small amount of deli sliced turkey and a boiled egg on top of that. I drizzled a tiny bit of candied jalapeno sauce/mix/whatever you want to call the liquid in that jar, and fresh black pepper. It was very tasty. I'll be repeating that one I believe. Suppers are more difficult because I have to cook fresh for a family of picky eaters. Last night was 10 bean soup and it was good. Tonight will be venison cooked with mushrooms. I am working on a casserole thingy made with leftover beans from last night paired with long grain rice. I'm even interested to see how I pull this one off.
0 Comments
I have no creative or clever title for this blog. It's just some ramblings about the weekend that I'm trying to type out as the cat tries to help me type. Maybe I should have called it CopyCat #1 with copy as in writing and cat as my idiot cat continuosly jumps on the keyboard. Hold on, let me go put CopyCat #1 in parentheses. Last Christmas, my husband bought me an electric pressure cooker. This thing is perfect for a procrastinator such as myself. I don't have to remember to thaw things that I find in the dark recesses of my freezer. I just add them to the cooker with some water and seasonings and less than an hour later I have cooked meat ready for incorporation in various recipes. This time I chose chicken leg quarters that I found buried under various bread products I am sure I'll use sometime in the future. *yeah, sure* I cooked them for 45 mintues in the pressure pot and then used the stock and meat to make chicken n' dumplings. Later Friday evening, I took my youngest daughter to a karate ladies' lock-in hosted by our Dai Sensei at the local church building where our karate lessons are taught. The karate class itself was exhausting (but in a good way) as there were only three people training so it meant we each got extra attention and things moved quickly. It was great to get pointers on the finer points of the katas we are working on but the quick pace of the kihons led me to be unable to catch my breath so I had to excuse myself once to step outside and breathe. It really reminded me how out of shape I am in. I'm trying to do better but it's a long row to hoe if you know what I mean. After kata, we were allowed to choose a new weapon to become familiar with. I ended up with sai and though I had thought I would never be interested in sai as a weapon, I enjoyed the movements and feel of the weapon. I ordered myself a pair so I can practice at home and at class when allowed. We then had a Bible lesson focused on fear and how it can keep us from the purpose God has in store for us. The exercises in the lesson were to make us realize what fear is in us and how we can cope with and overcome it. After our lesson, we began playing board games. There were six of us in the class at this point and we had a great time laughing and competing at a variety of games like Say Anything, Apples to Apples, Heads Up, and other fun, group games. I did have a moment of realization about how much older I was than the other ladies at the lock in when it was time for bed. We each took a portion of floor mats we use when practicing take downs in karate class to form a bed surface to lay our sleeping bags on. I was unable to find a suitable sleeping position for several hours until I just passed out from tiredness wedged against the wall. As soon as the alarm went off at 7:30, my daughter, who is not a morning person in any sense, was ready to go home and I eagerly obliged. It was great getting back home and laying in my own, soft bed. I had a great time with the ladies and would do it again but next time I'll definitely bring an air mattress. In addition to my warm, soft bed, Saturday also brought the annual Christmas parade in our small town. Hubbie and I are both Ham Radio Operators and are members of the local radio club. Each year our club runs communication to make sure of the parade's progress and warn of any break-downs or delays. There was a mystery pause of 15 minutes but then it was determined that the local high school band had decided to stop the parade to perform for the people in the very center of the parade route leaving everyone else along the route cold and confused. Everyone kept their good humor though and eventually the parade started up again. After the parade we got to enjoy a late night snack with the other members of the radio club. We all enjoyed getting to talk about the parade, radio gizmos, and a number of other everyday topics. Sunday was a normal day with Sunday School, Church, dinner with the family, and then church again. However, we were gifted a deer to process for the meat on Saturday afternoon that we had to work up Sunday afternoon. Hubbie and I spent a few hours in the garage cutting up our tasty venison and then preparing the jerky in its flavorings for snacks to come. It was a good weekend with family, friends, and deer. How many times have we been fired up to start a blog and ran online to claim our domain name, find a host, and start building a site that we just know we're going to keep up with this time? Myself? About 4 times now. I always have ideas of blogs I think would be interesting but then I get distracted and forget about it.
So, here I am trying again. Rather than focusing on one aspect of life, I hope to use this blog to collect my ramblings on any number of things. Family, hobbies, adventure? Who knows? I just thought it's always worth another try. So here's blog number one as I sit at the computer next to my daughter who is on a neighboring computer finishing her math work for the day. I've played around with the site and overcame my first aggravation in trying to connect my domain name with my weebly site to try and save money. If you made it here, I guess it worked! Thanks for stopping by and checking out what my first ramblings are :) |
AuthorMy interests are all over the place. I get really excited about things and want to write some about all of it so I can remember the enthusiasm I had. Archives
September 2018
Categories |