Go Team

This weather is phenomenal.  A few weeks ago, I was roasting in the 100 degree heat and now for the last few days it's been a pleasant high 70.  I was able to go for a short 10 minute walk with my mom and my boys this evening and it felt wonderful to be moving.  Around the 10-minute mark, it was beginning to hurt my incision so we turned back.  Will try for a 15 minute walk tomorrow.  


We had a leftover dinner tonight.  Homemade chicken soup, local bread, and a big green salad.  I think the soup was even more delicious than last night as the flavors melded together overnight in the refrigerator.  I added slivered almonds and sunflower seeds to my salad tonight for a little change.  I forgot how much I love seeds and nuts in my salad!  I'll be doing that more in the future.  


The family is all bathed, in pajamas, and ready to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics!  Go Team USA! 

Creative Energy

Feeling pretty good as the day wears on.  My wonderful mom and sister-in-law took my boys to a local park so that I could rest.  It was a lovely, quiet break and I just slept.  Was able to eat a normal lunch of tuna, a handful of salt & vinegar potato chips, and a large salad.  

Feeling good enough to work on a little sewing.  Had to take a few breaks, but it feels good to be up and not resting all day.  Working on a table topper that I've wanted to make over the last few months.  Can't wait until it's finished!  

Now I just have to cut out 84 more 2.5 inch blocks.  Yikes! Don't think that will all happen today, but at least it's started!

Closer to Normal

Had a delicious, normal breakfast this morning - yea! Still in pain today, but not nauseous which is fantastic! I ate Coach's Oats (my most favorite oatmeal) topped with Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola and almond butter.  This is my routine breakfast and usually keeps me full until lunchtime.  The difference is the almond butter.  Without it, I am hungry soon after eating a bowl of oatmeal.  With it, I am full much longer; the protein in the almond butter makes a big difference.

I've tried many different types of oatmeal before settling on Coach's Oats as my favorite with Scottish oatmeal a close second.  Rolled oats are not my thing.  Maybe I ate too many packets of instant Quaker Oats as a kid, but I'm over the rolled oat.  Steel cut, although lovely texture and flavor, takes too long to cook, especially on a work day.  And, no matter how I experiment with cooking it in the microwave, it always boils over leaving a gooey, starchy mess to clean up.  Cue Scottish oats, produced by slowly grinding the oat kernel between two large mill stones.  They cook in about 10 minutes and work beautifully in a microwave. The oatmeal flavor is delicious.  I thought I had found my holy grail of oatmeal.  Then, while reading the Kath Eats Real Food blog, I heard about Coach's Oats.  A quote from the Coach's Oats website:

The groats are toasted to bring the natural sugars to the surface of the oat, then cracked into small pieces. This patented Cracked n' Toasted™ process means that Coach’s Oats are never mushy, always naturally delicious and cook in just 3 to 5 minutes on a stovetop or in the microwave.

The only downfall is that no retailer in my area sells them so I have to order them online and pay for shipping.  One way I save money with buying them online is to combine my order with my family's to save on shipping, etc.  I heard a rumor that Costco used to sell Coach's Oats. Not sure if it's true or just some cruel joke.  Nonetheless, if I plan well enough in advance, I buy them online, otherwise I settle on Scottish oats (usually Bob's Red Mill). Either way, my favorite breakfast these days is a hot bowl of oatmeal.  Yum.

Chicken Soup for the _____

My mom made homemade chicken soup for dinner (thank goodness for moms!) which was just what I needed.  That and two slices of seedless sourdough from a local bakery and I was good. No nausea after eating, but still in lots of pain. Ended up taking a pain pill to help after all. Having a low-key evening and catching up on my reading.  Hoping to go to bed early and get my body some rest! Have a good one!

Hanging in There

Today has been a tough day. I'm in a lot of pain and the pain medicine is making me nauseous, so I've decided I'm not going to take it.  I've been sleeping on and off most of the day due to the nausea. I didn't post my breakfast photos as it was just scrambled eggs and a glass of juice and I felt too sick to write.  I did manage to eat a late lunch.  Unfortunately, I felt sick to my stomach after that meal as well so I'm going to do a light dinner later on and hope that works.  Probably soup.  

For lunch I decided to eat the leftover pizza and salad from last night's dinner.  I figured since it sat well with me last night, it would therefore sit well with me again - wrong.  It was delicious while I was eating it, however. You can see the greek pizza is topped with lots of veggie goodness (sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion, pine nuts, artichoke hearts, etc.).  Checkers Bistro makes the best pizzas.

Now it's time for a cup of tea.  Whenever I'm under the weather, I like a cup of black tea with a little milk and sugar.  Luckily, I'm not under the weather that often.  This tea is an expensive French tea that we save for special occasions - Dammann Frères Loose Leaf Jardin Bleu Tea.  It's the best tea I've ever had, has an amazing strawberry aroma, and almost tastes like strawberry rhubarb pie. It's incredible.  

I'm going to go back to relaxing and enjoying this cup of tea because if having surgery isn't a special tea-drinking occasion, I don't know what is.  Happy Thursday!
  

Out of It

Surgery went well.  Now on pain meds for a few days and a little out of it.  Was told I could eat lightly when I got home and have a normal dinner.  Had toast and tea for my light lunch, a few glasses of half water/half 100% cranberry juice over the course of the afternoon and then 2 slices of greek pizza and a good sized salad for dinner.  Used the Sol Food lemon-garlic vinaigrette again - yum.  

Glad to be home and glad the surgery is behind me.  I had a small umbilical hernia that need to be repaired.  It was one of the side effects of my pregnancies and I'm sure keeping on my pregnancy weight didn't help my poor ab muscles. I was not allowed to do any core exercises (pilates, crunches, etc.)  until I had it fixed.  I'm glad to know that in about 2 months I can start getting my abs in shape.  The poor things need it!  

Now off to bed in a percocet haze.  I'm not big on pain medicine and hope to discontinue it tomorrow.  We'll see...  Have a great night!

Running on Empty

Nothing to report here on the breakfast front.  I'm not able to eat today before my procedure.  The only sound one can hear is the typing on a keyboard and the growling of my stomach. Around 4am, I did wake up (as the pre-admit RN instructed me to do) and drank 2 huge glasses of water and had a light meal.  I decided 2 organic whole grain waffles topped with almond butter would last the longest during the long stretch before surgery.

My mouth is watering for my morning cup of coffee.  My favorite brand is local and truly makes the best.  I think the trick is the beans are lightly roasted compared to some well-known larger chains. I mix the organic decaf with another blend (espresso or breakfast) for a 1/2 decaf cup. Mmmm....

Here's to a good day!

Stir Fry in a Pinch

Had an afternoon pick-me-up around 3pm - an iced low fat latte from the cafeteria at work.  Not the best, but just what I needed to make it through the rest of the workday.


Tonight it was a quick & early dinner as I'm having a minor surgery tomorrow and am trying to finish up a few things before going to bed.  Chasing the boys around usually takes up my evening, but tonight my goal is an early bedtime for them and some free time for me to finish up laundry, dishes, etc. before I hit the hay.  

The boys played as I pulled what I could out of the fridge.  Settled on a leftover chicken breast, frozen veggies (peas, cauliflower, green beans, and broccolini), sauteed onions and garlic, mixed with soy sauce, chicken stock, and a few glugs of Hoisin sauce.  Turned out pretty good!  I ate 2 bowls. Water with lemon to drink.


Even the boys (who had been asking about ordering out for chow mein) enjoyed it.  They used 2 pairs of chopsticks each to eat their dinner (one pair a gift from Japan (athankyou KT) and another "cheater" pair from Sur La Table).  

.

Julie's organic blackberry sorbet bars for dessert for the boys.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

On my work days, I forgo a true 30 minute lunch break for a mid-morning 30 minute walk and then eat lunch at my desk.  On the days I’m not able to do this (heavy rain, too many meetings, etc.), I feel sluggish and hit a mid-afternoon slump that rivals Snow White after eating that infamous apple.  Suffice it to say, my goal is to get out for a 30-min walk each and every workday. Today the weather was perfect and my sister was able to join me.  A lovely morning!

Today’s lunch was a simple salad of organic lettuces (butter & red leaf), spinach, carrots, zucchini, thinly sliced red onion, steamed green beans, grilled chicken, and my current favorite salad dressing: Sol Foods lemon-garlic vinaigrette.  Heaven in a bottle. 

The Plan

For awhile now, I've wanted to lose weight and get healthy.  At 32-years old and 100+ pounds overweight, this needs to be done.   For over a year, my 4-year old will ask me why I’m fat and I tell him that for awhile Mama didn’t take such good care of herself to which he responds, “how do you get ‘un-fat’”?  I tell him exercise, put healthy food into your body, and take care of yourself.  Simple really.  But, for some reason, since having my first son 4 years ago, it has seemed ridiculously hard.  Which diet do I follow?  How do I fit exercise into my life with 2 small kids + work + home, etc.?  Do I follow a diabetic, vegan, or high protein lifestyle? 

All that changed a few weeks ago when I simply thought, if I had to post a picture of each meal I ate, three times a day, every day, would I eat this?  And, if the answer was no, it became simple – I didn’t want the food I had previously coveted.  No feelings of deprivation, no need to draw on a stockpile of will power.  Just the idea of telling the world that I ate a huge bowl of macaroni and cheese for lunch with no vegetables or fruit on the side (while my children ate a balanced lunch), made me rethink it and eat something healthy.  Maybe it stems from knowing that no matter what I tell myself, I am the example my boys see on how to be healthy, or perhaps it was knowing that what I put in my body is really how I feel about myself (put crap in, feel like crap, etc.), or maybe it’s just good ol’ peer pressure.  Whatever it is, I’ve lost 10 pounds with 110 left to go.  Wish me luck.

Forgot to take my first blog photo, before I ate! This was a work breakfast today: steel-cut oatmeal topped with Nature’s Path organic pumpkin flax granola and a tablespoon of almond butter.  Water on the side.  Ecco Caffe organic coffee with half & half at home this AM.