18 days in...on my new eating habits

In the past 18 days, I have been trying to find a happy medium on my new look on eating. I have continued to read Eat to Live and for the most part I am truely sold on what it says. But on the other part it seems just too difficult to completely to remove all animal products from my life. What I have realized is that just because you are vegetarain doesn't mean you will loose weight or be healthy. There are so many dishes which consist of cheese and carbs that I could continue to never eat meat again but be a very unhealthy size. Which has trigered me to want to stay away from animal products as much as possible. Doing this has allowed me to loose 7 lbs! Without one bit of excersise. I do plan on starting that soon but I just haven't yet. Okay... you might wonder.. Am I ever hungry? Yes, when I don't plan for a snack after work. But am I starving? NO, absolutely not. Do I miss the meat?  For the most part I don't. The only hard part is cooking for a family of meat eaters and then trying to modify the meal for myself. So what have been eating? Beans, greens, quinao, and all kinds of veggies. For breakfast I have an herbal life shake and no animal product meal for lunch. This has been working out since I am eating whatever I cooked for dinner the night before. Reciepes that I have tried:



Quinao Salad
 I cooked the Quinao using garlic powder and black pepper to taste. (15 mins) Then filled my bowl with power green mix bought from Wal-Mart. Placed a 1/4 cup each of black beans and corn on top of the mixture. Added the quinao and placed in the microwave for 1 minute. This made the greens soft and warm. Yum! This was very filling for 240 calories and high in protein.



Turkey marinara sauce and spaghetti squash. I had never made spaghetti squash before so this was completely new but so easy! All you need to do is cut it in half, scrape out the seeds and place in the microwave for 7 minutes. It really depends on the size. Now it doesn't taste anything like pasta but it is so much better. Also, next time I will not use any meat products 



Bell Pepper Salad
Again, I used the Power Greens mixture. Chopped yellow, red and green bell peppers, red onion, cucumbers, strawberries and blueberries. For salad dressing I mixed 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of vineger then added chopped basil leaves. Mixed and drizzled on the salad. If you noticed the pieces of chicken on the side, it's because I thought I had to have it to survive. But after I started eating,, the salad was so yummy that I didn't eat it.

My new purchase is the Ninja chopper. I have been going to get protein shakes every morning for 2 weeks. And that is getting pricey. So, last night I bought the machine and protein mix. I prepped the shake last night so all I had to do was mix it this morning. It was so easy. The only thing is that it didn't chop the ice. So,,,,I need to figure that out. Maybe I used the wrong attachment.

1 scoop of Target protein mix

1/4 cup of greek yogart

1/2 cup of frozen berries

1/8 cup of oatmeal

31g of protein, 15g of sugar 7g of fiber.....268 calories

Pantry staples so far:  Power Greens, Quinao, strawberries, blueberries, dried fruit, nuts, salt free seasoning

NO DIET COKES in a loooong time! I'm scared to cheat here because I'm not sure I could turn it away again.

 

I posted my Goal on the World Wide Web!!!!!!! Now I have to live by it...because everything on the web is true!

Today I took a huge leap and shared my goal of eating healthy on a forum I have been a member of for almost 2 years. Am I crazy! I did it because I think I am ready to work towards my goal of living to102 no matter what my weight may be.

My focus will be more on the healthy choices rather than weight goals. In hopes that by my healthy choices I will loose weight. Since, everytime before I have quit when I didn't see results. Or loose the weight then celebrate with a big hamburger and gain it all back after the summer. So what have I done...

1. I brought out my juicer...This purchase was a result of watching fat, sick and nearly dead. last year but I stopped after a couple of months.
2. Now I am reading Eat to Live. This book is really helping because I read it every night before I go to bed which gets me geared up to fight off McDonalds on my way to work in the morning. I am only on Chapter 5 but when I get to Chapt 9 I will get to the reciepes and list of foods I will eat. I have not peaked AT ALL. I am trying to train my brain for what  I getting ready to hopefully commit to. Or I might see the list and close the book and head to Chick fil A.

Things I have changed so far....
1. Less than one diet coke a day. (4 days)
2. drinking 2 bottles of water a day (2 days)
3. No salt added to my meals (2 days)
4. I have cooked 5 days straight 2 days without salt or oil
5. No eating out at lunch or dinner...packing healthy food (8 days)
6. Protein shakes in the morning (2 days)

Okay I realize I have not been doing this long....but the more I read the more I understand what all the high fat, sodium, sugar etc. is doing to my body. And since my goal is to live to 102 I have a long ways to go! And if I beat that goal I won't be disappointed! LOL

Oops! It's been longer than I though.....

Okay... so it's been a while since I posted. So much for documented daily happiness. =) That was probably wishful thinking on my part anyways. Life is always full of twist and turns that it is hard for me to stay on schedule.

Things that have changed....

1. My mother in-law now lives with us. Which has mostly been great once I realized that having help around the house is better than taking claim to every inch of my house.
2. My sewing room became my mother in-laws room. Which got a complete make over. New floors and textured walls. Fresh paint and trim.
3. My son's room also got a complete make over and became a shared room of his stuff and my sewing stuff. I wasn't thrilled about the idea but once I realized I get better natural lighting. I don't think I will ever move out of it.
4. We got new carpet through out the house! Now that is a big deal!
5. My hubby finally got a new work car. No more watching him sit on the recliner searching for a car. (That was too much time wasted)
6. X got his drivers license and a car.

As a result, I have not thought much about sewing or crafting. I do have over 200 pictures sitting a Wal-greens waiting to be picked up so I can start a yearly photo album. I am thinking I would like to do a mobile phone album. Then each year I can delete everything on my phone and start new. That would be cool!

But anywho what started this post was....

I have been tempting to juice more for health. I bought a juicer last year. Which after a couple of months it ended up in the cabinet not being used. But I pulled it out over the Christmas break and I am ready to start again. Even KK is enjoying it this time.

So trying to get inspired I found a blog about juicing. http://dishondesigngal.com/ Which she is now trying this out.... We have the same hopes and ideas but I believe she has more will power than me. Since I have never juiced for 30 days. To me that is scary!  Not because of health reason but because I love food! This diet is more of eating your healthy food than juicing them. Maybe the two combined will be more realistic for me. Since I love cruchy foods!

I have also bought a 5 year diary. One for me and one for my Mom. That is the one thing I wish my Dad would of had when he past.....a diary of his thoughts. I miss him so much and wish I had a small idea of his thoughts. Hopefully, she will do it for me. Even if its just for one month....at least I will have one month of her thoughts.

My little French Girl......

Wee..Wee! KK was totally digging this cute little hat at AG store. I just love being a Mom to this wonderful little girl! We have so much fun togeather. She is spontaneous and witty. You just never know what will she will say.....Her teacher just told me "She is like a little person, inside a little person." I am assuming she meant she is a little adult inside a little person's body. Here are a few more pictures of shopping trip to AG store....

I think the bags were a little heavy...LOL

JSL Charity Ball 2012

Isn't my hubby the cutest?

 We had such a great time...80's music, great food and open bar. And all for a good cause...Military wifes.

#4 Sundays

Lately my favorite day of the week has been Sundays. This past Sunday was as perfect as the last one. I don't know if it is the cool weather, relaxing with my hubby and kk, or church. But they have just been wonderful. KK had her bestie over and they played so good while Ricky, my Mom and I watched the Texans game. I made baked chicken and pasta salad, we ate until we were completely satisfied. Lovely.

This was my happy moment in the day. The girls were playing with their dolls. Even Zoey was playing with Smokey the Bear...or shall I say chewing. Soon after this photo kk noticed and took the bear away from poor Zoey. I pray life is always this simple.

A Small Piece of My Paradise

When you look at this picture you might see a mat that needs to be straightened or leaves that should be sweeped but I see a little piece of my heaven. This is my Uncle Chris's porch. I rarely visit but it's a place where I feel home. It's where I enjoy drinking coffee in the morning and a bud light at night. There are no busy streets. Just dogs barking or strolling the street and the occassional smell of street dust as a truck drives by. I truly believe that when we go to heaven we will be surrounded by all the things here on earth that bring us peace. I know that it is said that there will be streets made of gold in Heaven but what if dirt roads are what I perfer?

#3 If Life gives you Lemons

Make Lemonade!

KK and I spent part of the afternoon picking lemons off the tree in hopes of giving the tree some rest. The tree just looked to darn tired from carrying the weight of the lemons. I could hear the tree go aawww! As it's limbs were relieved. We picked 32 lemons just off the bottom limbs! Whew...that's a lot of picking when you are swatting mosquitoes in the 98 degree weather.  We rewarded our self with Lemonade.

Recipe:

 3 Meyer Lemons

1.5 cups of sugar

2 quarts of water

Rocker Chic

KK's doll was feeling a little wild this weekend and needed an outfit to fit her mood. We decided to make her a fringed jean skirt with a  fitted skull and chain sleeveless top. We are hoping it's just a phase she is going through or she is just preparing for Halloween.

Capturing Happiness #2

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy moment!

My oven is working after 1 month and 7 days of craziness. My parent's wonderful friends and my hero's came and fixed the outlet for my oven. Which means....I don't have to buy a new one....And I have $850.00 in a Lowes gift card to go on a shopping spree! I guess it does pay off to buy the warranty! Sometimes their negligence works in your favor. Whoo Hoo!