We also kind of fizzled on our attempt to do our version of juicing this week. Juicing seems to be easier for us when we are working the normal days and hours, but since we were home most of the week it was harder to keep away from the solid foods. I am not disheartened. In fact, this gave me yet another opportunity to evaluate what and how much I am eating, and it made me realize I really need to refocus on my H2O consumption. I have not been talking in as much as I had got used to. We'll be making another go at juicing next weekend for seven plus days. I am going to use the strategy I had last time and prepackage my daily mix.
My biggest downfall that causes stalls in my weight loss is snacking. I am sure I have shared that before. It will always be a struggle for me. I am hoping my most recent tactics will help me getting back on track.
The first tactic is that we re did our pantry this week to create more storage space. How does this help? Giving myself more room to store food? This way I can put all of the kiddo snacks (graham crackers, goldfish, etc.) on one shelf, and that shelf is essentially "off limits" to me when I am having a moment of grazing weakness.
The second tactic is to redirect my snacking. Before I have a snack I really want to evaluate if it is just a matter of thirst as opposed to hunger. The deal is that I need to consume an entire bottle of water (my container is 32 ounces) and if after that I find that I am still wanting a snack it needs to be fruit, veg, nuts or dairy (yogurt, cheese, and such). Once the no meat month is over the snackage will also include lunch meat.
The third tactic is kind of a repeat of both the previous two, but still valid. I am only buying snack foods that fall into the categories mentioned above. I still need to keep the cracker type items in the house for the wee one. Unlike me she could stand to gain a pound on her wiry little frame. I just need to not eat them with her. Hahaha!
Speaking of her diet. This little booger amazes me at every step for a variety of reasons. I love how open she is to trying foods and eating things that are good for her. She will eat peas, edamame, and chickpeas before she will eat cereal or pasta. I am at peace that she may not always be like this, but I can hope. Today we allowed her to self feed using a utensil for the first time and she did pretty darn amazingly. Minimal mess considering it was yogurt. And for lunch she did what she could to eat her rice and peas with her fork.
Collin and I don't watch much "normal" TV; we tend to watch shows by streaming or on Netflix. I am not big throwing money at the cable company each and every month for one or two shows I actually watch on a regular basis. One thing I want to try though is the commercial break workout. Basically you do reps of this that or the other thing during the commercial breaks. Kind of a good way to keep the vegetation down a bit. I guess the way to accomplish this would be pausing for two to four minutes when we hit that point where a show would roll to commercial if it was on broadcast as opposed to streaming. I mostly mention this because my plan is to try this out tonight as I watch the Red Wings v. Canucks game (GO DETROIT!!!).
To avoid breakfast burn out I have been scouring my dear Pinterest in an effort to find make ahead breakfasts that I can make in batches, freeze as needed, and have on hand for us during the week. We have been doing slow cooked steel cut oats for a couple months now, and I love them, but I need something different for a bit. As summer approaches I intend to make mass quantities of homemade granola (it's easier than you think) so we can have that with yogurt and fresh fruit during the summer months. I will be trying my hand at some healthy breakfast biscuits and muffins this weekend for the next couple weeks. We shall see how it turns out.
On the topic of fresh fruit. I need to pick a ton more berries this next summer. We are barely into January and I only have a few gallons left of berries. Makes me sad.... July is way to far away. My goal in 2015 is to fill our chest freezer with berries and fruit as they come into season.
We are a officially a week into our no meat month. I am enjoying exploring these recipes and this lifestyle. I know different people are vegan (to varying degrees) for different reasons, and I want it clear I respect any and all who make the decision to be vegetarian. I would like to think I could be a full on vegan if needed (like for medical reasons), but I love fish and poultry way too much. I am trying not to even think about bacon. This first week was harder than I expected. Especially the first few days. I was craving everything unhealthy that had meat on it. It's not as bad now, but still. I am definitely an omnivore. Beyond the health advantages of eating this way, the savings by not shelling out money for meat is awesome in and of itself. This will definitely become a regular occurrence in our house.
The search for breakfast recipes brought to mind these muffins my mom used to make when we were kids. There was something special about the. Like, the batter, or mix or something was special. Something someone gifted to her or something. I don't remember; the last time she made them had to have been some twenty three years ago before she left my dad the first time. Unfortunately the last twenty three year have not been too kind to my mom and her memories (this is of her own doing) so I doubt she would even know what I am talking about. I just remember they had raisins and tasted so good. But I can't remember what flavors were in the batter. Maybe in my muffin adventures I will find something that resonates with this memory of mine.
The breakfast menu for the week will be carrot orange cranberry oatmeal biscuits, peanut butter banana chocolate oatmeal protein cookies, and some oatmeal muffin concoction; all will have chia seeds in them for their healthful properties. I will share the successes as we try them out. This morning I made pancakes in a muffin tin with blueberries on some and cranberries on others, all covered with flaked unsweetened coconut. They were delicious and so very easy. I literally just used the same pancake batter recipe I use every weekend for Sunday breakfast. The only difference was dividing it up into a standard muffin tin (filled the cups around half full) and baked them in a 350 degree oven for 18-20 minutes. So good. Didn't even use a drop of syrup on them, and oh the variations I plan to try with them down the road!
Today's fun activity with the family was a trip to IKEA. We let the toddler help push the cart, and check some things out on her own. She was enamored with the bristled kitchen brushes we normally get from there. To make it seem so epic, the lighting in the area where they were in the showroom seemed a little dimmed with a huge spotlight on the brushes. It was hilarious and adorable. She also loved this bedroom set up because the bed was low and there was a mirror she could stare at. She even went up to the mirror and gave herself a kiss!
She can now blow kisses by the way, and like all that the little monster does, it is mind blowing to me and beyond cute. I am completely subject to the biological imperative that makes me see my child as adorable and therefore tolerable and in need of protection. I wonder if this is how dudes feel about chicks; you know that instinctual drive to protect a female? Or in some cases other males.... Does this apply to chicks that are into other chicks? I mean, I can understand that if a female feels that she is actually a male, but what about when gender identity isn't the drive for coupling with another female?? That was an odd tangent....
Well, I have missed the first period's commercial breaks, but there is still two periods left in the game. Collin (lucky SOB) is at Winterhawks game tonight with one of his good buddies from high school. I was excited for an evening with my little princess, but she decided she couldn't be troubled to stay up past 6:45. No kidding, she practically leaped from my arms into her crib when I took her upstairs for bed after reading each of her books to her twice. And I have not heard a peep from her since.
Now to go do some planking and crunches and various yoga poses. I just updated my profile and the blurb about me that's somewhere over there >>. Check it out!
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