14 Days in, an update

Its been 14 days since i've begun, and despite a few minor set backs, (sometimes when my in-laws ask if i want something for breakfast from Mc Donalds its really hard to say no), I've been doing very well. Even over the past week, despite my lack of posting, I was still cooking better meals for myself and my family. (a certain monthly friend decided that twice the pain and sticking around twice as long was a great idea)

And how do I feel? great. I get up in the morning and I no longer feel sluggish. that's different. that's quite new. I'm actually feeling refreshed. I'm not doing this to loose weight, or something like that. I am working on making some Important lifestyle changes, Starting with the food that I eat, to make myself a healthier individual. and its working. I feel different. we still eat out, but its a rare thing. and when we do, we think about what we eat. Gyros from the local diner, no fries. things like that. 

I let myself have a doctor pepper for the first time in two weeks yesterday. That was nice. I REALY enjoyed that. because you can't deprive yourself of everything you love just because its not super healthy for you. Tonight I'm making Beef Burgundy and redskin mashed potatoes. its going to be delicious. AND it's going to be healthy (because i'm not using a stick of butter and 3 pounds of meat)

Glad I Didn't Have a V8 (fruit and veggie Smoothie)

So my father has been on a Juice and smoothie kick for a while, and working hard to get me to try it. I have been wanting to get one of those magic bullet things i see so many times on Infomercials. because its COOL! and has bright colors! and pretty! and i like collecting Kitchen appliances. (2 crock pots, a blender, a juicer, a rice cooker, all i'm missing is a food processor)

so i got a magic bullet for myself for Christmas and went digging for a good recipe to try. Which means Pintrest. i found myself over on Perry's Plate, which is a blog for mostly Paleo recipes. I'm not entirely sure what Paleo stands for, other than the fact that it makes me think of Archeologists and the Stone Ages. i could google it and figure out what it is, but i'm feeling kind of lazy.

I knew I had one chance to really wow my husband with a smoothie, so he'd be willing to try other ones. This recipe she had up was perfect.

Carrots, Strawberries, Spinach, blueberries, and fruit juice. really simple and easy to put together and make. I'm not posting the full recipe here, because i want to send people her way as well, its only fair.
so here's a link to the recipe, and I'll just talk about what i changed. ( the picture is mine, BTW)

The Morning Smoothie for People who Hate Green Smoothies

so first things first, I used a magic bullet. I also used about half of everything since i was making it in separate individual cups. in my husband and Hobbit's smoothies, I used grape juice instead of Pomegranate juice, because I'm the only one who will drink it, and its expensive (so its mine. ALL MINE)

everyone loved it, even my father in law, who just tasted some of Hobbit's smoothie. So I'm ecstatic. and also quite satisfied. i drank this, than realized i wasn't even remotely hungry for lunch. I think between this and salads I don't even need to worry about luncheon. And i wont feel so bad about my single shortbread cookie with Afternoon tea.

SODA (and have you LOOKED at the sugar content in most juice???)

when you look at all the drinks out there, and you start looking at the nutrition facts, you'll realize that half of them are just as bad as soda. some are worse, and the rest taste gross because really isn't that how health food is supposed to taste? but there's a bunch of things you can do to get rid of the not so great stuff and not have to suffer with just drinking water.

Now soda's not that hard for me to give up. there are 2 main sodas i drink, and usually only 2-3 sodas a week. 5 if we're getting fast food more than once. Doctor Pepper is my staple, Ginger ale when i want some thing different, or when my stomach is bothering me, and every once in a while, i really really like cherry coke. or cherry Pepsi, or cherry Dr Pepper. Cherry soda is my sweet sometimes treat. I've actually given up soda before, but Doctor Pepper brings me back... every time...

So how do i keep myself from going back? I don't. Not in the way you'd think. everything is fine in moderation. every now and than, 2-3 times a MONTH, its okay for me to have a Dr. Pepper. because hey its my life and whats the point of living if i can't enjoy it?

That being said, most juice is too sweet for me. I like my tea without sugar, or depending on the tea, very little sugar. but i really like juice and i really like it when my drinks are fizzy. easy fix. fruit juice and seltzer. my staple, 1 serving of Minute-maid Cherry Limeade (there i go with cherry again) and a can of Lime seltzer water. it waters down the overly sweet flavor of the drink, while giving the seltzer some flavor. so i CAN have my cake and eat it too!

And than there's tea. when someone tells me they don't like tea, i kind of want to laugh. okay. you don't like tea. what kind of tea? Because seriously, not all tea tastes the same. there are wildly different flavors of tea out there. I had tea with cocoa beans and chili powder in it the other day, Thank you Emzie. and i have a tea on my shelf right now that's sweet even without any sugar in it, and tastes like wild berries. my point is, don't be nit picky. go forth and taste the tea!

Too Much Thyme on my Hands

After a fairly active day of shopping, rearranging the kitchen, and gutting the fridge of last year's leftovers, I settled down to do some fun things. I bought about 6 different types of herbs at the fresh market and proceeded to chop them all into little bits, than throw them in labeled freezer bags. now i'll have fresh herbs and i don't have to worry about finding them 2 months later in a very icky state in the back of my fridge. I also made myself Thyme sticks for when i make food in the crock pot.

Bundles of Thyme wrapped in thread that get pulled out either at the end, or part way through cooking. because pulling leaves off thyme is my least favorite activity. right beside running.

In any case, i now have Parsley, Thyme, Tarragon, Cilantro, Oregano, and Basil in my freezer ready to be used.

~ ~ ~ ~

For a recipe i'm doing later this week, (aka tomorrow) I required an unusual ingredient that they don't carry at my local grocery store. which is odd because there's a very large Indian community here. I needed yellow curry paste. i must have gone to 4 different stores looking for it, before finally venturing bravely into my local Indian food mart. 

I'm reminded a lot of high school, where the jocks had their hang outs, the nerds theirs, the goths theirs, and if you went into the wrong area, everyone knew you didn't belong and stared at you out of the corner of their eyes, watching you. yeah it was a little like that. but a really nice young man at the register assured me i was buying the right thing, and even gave me some tips on his favorite way to cook plantains, (which i saw and had to get, having been 7 years since i last had them). Long story short, Definitely going back there again. saw a bunch of things i want to cook. and eat. especially eat.

Its not a New Years Resolution. I never Keep those.

Its all well and good to have a plan. to make a plan. to have menus and meal plans and grocery lists, and rules and requirements. Counting this, adding that, weighing your food, yourself, and just for fun, your pets. But actually doing it? I've never made it that far before. actually taking that step and doing it as more than just a passing faze. Something you try for a day or two before old habits creep back in.

The Problem is, I love food.  I love food a lot. I love cooking food, smelling food, feeling the texture of awesome food, the sight of a perfectly put together plate, and really, the taste of food. I eat with all 5 senses. and I eat a lot. because really, its just so good. I get into heated arguments sometimes about food. Like butter. Butter is perfection. Butter can do no wrong. There is no such thing as too much Butter. add butter, than cook in butter. garnish with butter. I may have a slight problem...

So here goes me, Nerdy me who enjoys my Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, and Dinner. (if you go by the movies there's also Supper, but there's only six hobbit meals in the books. yes, I'm THAT kind of Nerd...)

Also 4th meal, if you're into that sort of late night thing, but i digress...

The big one for me is Dinner. Dinner is the source of most of my problems. I can behave most of the day. Yogurt and Granola, than a tuna sandwich and carrots for lunch. tea and a cookie in the afternoon, but Dinner... you evil temptress, you seductive meat and potatoes, and butter. (there i go again. seriously. a problem. one i'm not sure i'm willing to part with.) i eat plenty of veggies. that's not an issue. But i also eat plenty of meat. and potatoes. and butter. and desert. and more butter. (Seriously, butter Pecan Ice-cream. you evil evil Seductress you...)

So if Dinner is the issue, than that's where i'm focusing. which means meal planning to keep me on track. Which means a calender. My awesome mother emailed me her template, and its super-simple, which is great. i just dolled it up a little:

Yes, that is a Snowman of the 4th doctor. like I said. NERD. so far I have Dinners for the next five days thanks to a magazine my father-in-law got. because i'm not just cooking for me. There are 4 of us, so chances are you'll see things like "MUST NOT COOK FOR HUSBAND" on things, usually involving tomatoes. my Father-in-law is quite flexible, but someone... not saying any names here, Hobbit.... is a lovable, but picky eater. and my husband can at times be even worse. Still, everyone loves a good challenge. right?

But that's enough of my rambling for now. Tomorrow I grocery shop, than start cooking all sorts of things. and somewhere in all of that, Job hunt. how my mother does all this, hold down a full time job, keep her house looking like a model showroom, and belong to about 6 different nature/Humanist organisations i have no idea.