End of Indulgence - Day 2

End of Indulgence Day 2 - Not bad, though I did indulge in the last piece of birthday cake, and one *TINY* Almond Joy. But now that crap's out of the house, so there are no excuses.

Menu - Day 2:
Breakfast:
Publix Blended Greek Coconut Yogurt
10 Fresh Blackberries

Lunch:
Leftover Stove Top Mac n Cheese
Caesar Salad

Snack:
1 cup Fresh cubed pineapple

Dinner:
Pan Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa
White Rice (1 cup - should've had less. but it's my weakness)

Bad Girl/Slap my hand:
1 slice coconut cake
1 tiny Almond Joy

Here's to day 3!

Also, pool is looking good! I'm already researching healthy pool snacks for poolside this weekend. Stay tuned!

Month-Long Indulgence ENDS NOW! Day 1

I'm *THE BEST* at starting meal plans. Breakfast, Day 1 is always PERFECT. If you've been here awhile, you know I did a month (4 weeks) cleanse and stuck with that, but I've been struggling since. I've not GAINED any, but in particular, the past 3 weeks, what with birthday celebrations and abandonment of (most) adult responsibilities, I feel way off. We ate out every single dinner meal last week.

ENOUGH!

Mike got the pool opened yesterday, and well, that means swimsuits, which means body self-loathing, and well, instead of just bitching about it, I'm going to do something about it. Again.

So, not just to lose weight, but to get more workout time in, and eat well, but also eat ENOUGH. I think my biggest problem is night time snacking but I feel I'd be more likely to avoid night time eating if I ate enough during the day. So I went to the store yesterday, and got lots of fruits/veggies and snackables. Not those processed meat-cheese things, but some healthy crackers, healthy dip, and Kashi bars (my BFF got me HOOKED).

As always, this is my accountabili-place. And this is why I'm here. If it works, we should be able to refer back to it, right?

Today:

Breakfast:
1/2 cup 2% Low Fat Cottage Cheese
1 cup quartered Strawberries

Lunch: (See picture!)
Shrimp Caesar Salad Kit:
1 cup lettuce
1 TBSP shredded Parmesan
2 TBSP croutons
1 1/2 TBSP Cardini's dressing
5 oz boiled shrimp

Snack 1:
3 celery sticks
5 carrot sticks
2 TBSP Marzetti Cucumber Dill Feta Dip

Dinner:
Mojo Grilled Chicken Breasts
Black Beans

Snack 2:
Chocolate &Almond Sea Salt Kashi Bar
Blueberries


Exercise: Derby practice!

This is my Shrimp Caesar Salad Kit! Note: That is way too much lettuce. I used about 1/2. Apparently a sandwich bag of romaine is enough for two. Who knew?!

4/18/16 - Overnight Oats (PS: I hate oatmeal)

I've been MIA on here for awhile, but I've GOT to pull it together. My cholesterol was "high" again this year, despite all my efforts to cook at home and eat healthy. I read that oatmeal (which is NOT my favorite food, by far) can help lower your cholesterol, so I've been trying to eat more.

I've been turned-off to Overnight Oats, because all the recipes call for milk, which I cannot have. However, I finally realized I can do the same with coconut milk (duh). I'm still tweaking the recipe, but this is where I landed today:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup coconut milk (I use Silk, Unsweetened)
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
- Soak the above overnight in the fridge.
- I added in about 8 each of raspberries and blueberries
- The vanilla is in red italics because this tasted like I was eating booze. I'm guessing the vanilla was the culprit, so when I try this again tomorrow, I will omit the vanilla. I think the syrup adds enough sweetness to keep it from being bland.

That's all for now. I'm still sitting at 10 lbs down since I started the candida cleanse. I need to lose about 20 more. 10 more is my first goal. Fingers x'd.

Days 1-7 - Budget Diet

This is where we start.

I've started checking the ads, for my grocery stop home, and I'm definitely stopping at Sprouts on the way home for the butchery!

Sprouts:
Pork Loin Chops - $1.79/lb
Boneless Chicken Thighs - $1.77/lb
Cut-Up Whole Chicken - $1.69/lb
Split Chicken - $1.49/lb
Boneless Pork Butt - $1.79/lb
Home Run Inn Pizza (our fave) - BOGO

Budget recipes:
Friday:  Price per serving: $2.50
      Home Run Inn Pizza              2 servings     $5.00

Saturday:
       Breakfast Burritos (Chicken Chorizo)
                 Chicken Chorizo         3 servings        $3.43
                 Eggs                            4 -  
                 Tortillas                       6
       Refried Pinto Beans              3 servings      

Sunday:
      Roast Chicken with Root Veggies
      Pilaf

Monday:
      Crock Pot Pulled Pork
      Cole Slaw

Tuesday:
      Pork Chops au Poivre
      Roasted Sweet Potato Slices
      Green Beans

Wednesday:
      Oven Fried Chicken
      Mashed Potatoes
      Corn and Zucchini Medley
     
Thursday:
      Lemon Rosemary Chicken
      Rice
      Steamed Broccoli











Groceries: 

Green Pepper - 1                      $.48
Zucchini - 2                             $1.03
Kobocha Squash                     $2.72
Lemons - 2                              $1.00
Red Pepper - 1                        $.48
Red Onion - 1                         $1.06
Sweet Potato - 1                      $.89
Yukon Gold Potatoes - 6sm    $1.28

Refried Beans                         $.99
Pilaf                                        $2.50


Milk (Mike)                            $2.79
Sour Cream                             $1.69


Pork Shoulder                        $5.01
Pork Chops                            $2.85
Chicken Chorizo                    $3.43
Chicken Thighs - 6                 $4.85
Cut Up Whole Chicken          $3.90

Tortillas (20ct)                         $3.99
Frozen Pizza - 2                      $9.99





 

Thanks! Next up...

Thanks to those of you that read/kept up with the Candida portion of my TMI Dieting Adventure. We're on to a new adventure which I'll elaborate on shortly, but I'll say after a week of being off plan, I've gained only minimally (due to Valentine's sweet treats and delicious eating), and where I didn't really notice before, I apparently had a kind of persistent (Sorry TMI) Athlete's Foot situation which has COMPLETELY cleared up. I may as my doctor for a Candida Test in my next visit, just to be sure, but otherwise, I'll be going back to the drawing board trying to figure out these hand issues.

In other news, I'm on day 4 off Lexapro. That's been a bit of an adventure on it's own, but I did 12 days on 1/2 a pill (5 mgs), and then cold turkey starting Sunday. Other than some minimal withdrawals, and some tears last night I couldn't really control, so far, so good.


My next adventure is of the BUDGET kind! I'm going to take the next 30 days to cut our food budget, and hopefully cut some other budget pieces, as well. We will see.

30 Day Challenge - Cut food budget starts SATURDAY!

Goals
Lower food budget to $100 a week (for us both). We usually average about $200 a week, $150 for our Su-Th groceries, and $50ish for our Friday/Saturday. Obviously there's some carry over from the two, but I will document all food costs, what we have on hand already, and hopefully I can find a way to feed us healthy, and cut some costs.

This will also entail coupons, reviewing weekly ads, and going to multiple places to shop.

Of the stores I will use:
Sprouts - I'm really looking to find out how they compare in prices to the other stores.
Trader Joe's - As much as I don't really care for that place, I'll go in if savings will happen.
Walmart Neighborhood Market - Only packaged foods (canned, spices, etc.). No produce or meats
Publix - Standard go-to. Not always the best prices, but they do have good sales.
ALDI - My husband hates their store-brand items though, so probably only minimally.

Wish me luck! And I'd love to hear any tips you might have!

Back to reality.

I took a work from home day yesterday, as my sinuses were acting up, and I wasn't feeling 100%. I prefer not to share potential germs with my coworkers. I feel like that is a common courtesy. However, thank GOODNESS I was at home as (TMI coming) I spent the entire day in the bathroom! Was it the cheese? The pear I ate before bed? The ONE beer I had after our derby bouts Sunday? No idea, but the discomfort has passed, and I'm on day two of back to normal eating. It's DEVINE. We had REAL white rice with our stirfry last night, that contained SOY SAUCE. So far, I feel great!

We had THIS last night for dinner, no SUBSTITUTIONS! Served over Jasmine Rice
Kung Pao Chicken

Though I did omit peanuts. I'm kinda skeeved by them due to learning they contain mold. Gross. No one needs to eat mold. I also have the Kung Pao for lunch today. With another pear! So we'll see if that is the culprit.

Tonight is this: Grilled Chicken with Chorizo Confetti

I have more of that chicken chorizo I got from Sprouts, so I'll be using that.

Happy Tuesday! We're calling it Bon Jovi Wednesday, as Friday is a VACATION DAY!! WOOT WOOT! Mike got our Deadpool tickets for Thursday night, and I'm counting down the hours.

I've also started relearning math for my upcoming GRE test. I used to ACE this crap, and a lot of it is escaping me. I did do math problems last night for 3 hours before bed, though, and that was super fun. I've always loved math, assuming I can figure out how to do it.

Ooh! Also, shout out to the Cobb County Libraries, in particular the East Marietta Branch. It's not the closest one to my house, but I like it's tiny quaintness, and the modern design of the building. Though, the parking lot full of dead Christmas Trees scares and confuses me. Oh well. They're keeping me from spending money on Amazon on books about math and the GRE. No one should spend money on those.

Days 27/28 - I QUIT!

So, I didn't make it 30 days. It became too much for both myself and my husband. I got to Saturday night and didn't want to THINK about making anything restrictive, and where I abandoned the Candida Cleanse, I'll call it a success. 4 weeks is a long time to do anything, and not drinking in that time was also a challenge (not because I'm an addict, but because I love to have drinks!)

At the very least, I've succeeded in the following ways:

1) I ended my CoffeeMate creamer addiction. I know that stuff is filled with garbage, and even though the flavor is my FAVORITE, I will limit its inclusion in my diet for road trips, or special occasions (guests). I drink my coffee black again, which I know my body is thanking me for, even if coffee isn't the best for me. At least I've cut out consuming the chemicals.

2) I lost 10 lbs. My goal wasn't necessarily to lose weight, but it was an added bonus. I actually haven't weighed since last week, so it might be more, but that is a long-term goal, not a short term one, and if I can cut back on my portion size, and add exercise, then I feel like it will fall off. I'd rather be happy than skinny anyway.

3) I cut out dairy for 4 weeks. That is huge for me, and I could for sure feel the difference. What I miss the most is CHEESE. I've never handled milk that well, and other things like ice cream have also caused me problem, but I've never been able to figure out why cheese doesn't bother me. I had parmesan last night with NO problems. So I googled it. Duh. This is what I found. So, apparently I can eat SOME cheese and not feel the issues in my tumtum that I feel if drinking milk. I'll probably continue to sub coconut milk when a recipe calls for milk. It seems to have been an adequate substitute. And those around me with noses will thank me. In case you didn't read the article, basically, harder/aged cheeses are safer than softer and processed cheese. Don't eat Velveeta. No one needs those chemicals. I'll stick to cheddar, especially sharp, parmesan, and swiss, and then also fresh mozzarella (yay caprese!), cream cheese (hooray for my homemade pimento cheese!), and ricotta, you know, for lasagna. I think I can manage the lactose discomfort by being aware of what I put in my mouth. I should be more aware of this anyway. It looks like I should also be okay with sour cream, so that's also good news. Ummm, okay mac and cheese will be in my future - Homemade of course.

I will continue the journey of good eating, and I think once we're back from our Valentine's trip next weekend, I will continue some sort of paleo/whole30 situation during the week, and then a moderated free for all on weekends. What can I say? Food makes us happy. We've not been too happy about our foods lately.

Where I did go off the plan, I've been trying to keep it moderated. This is what I did as a "reintroduction", and how we are easing back into it. I'll continue to share our recipes, just because this has been a good way to journal my eating, which they say is good for having moderation. It give accountability, which frankly, I need.

Day 27 Menus:

Brunch: Leftover Quinoa, 1/2 an avocado

Dinner: Rotisserie chicken (lemon pepper), baked sweet potato


Day 28 Menus:

Brunch: Cobb Salad, no blue cheese, no dressing

Dinner: Parmesan Polenta and Spicy Sausage Sauce
I used the Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage I got last week. Delicious.

Thanks for following my journey! Please share any successes you have yourself!