A new challenge

I've been following new dietary restrictions for about three months now. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it might be, but tomorrow I will be facing a new challenge in this new part of my life.

Tomorrow I leave home. Obviously I leave home all the time, but just for the day. Unfortunately on Monday evening my mom's only brother, my uncle John, died suddenly. Tomorrow we will be driving to Oklahoma for the funeral, returning on Sunday (12 hour drive each way). Finding a decent meal on the road at fast food restaurants, convenience stores and hotel continental breakfasts will be tough. I walked through a c-store last week and walked back out empty handed. I'm not saying I can't find something to fill up on, but its hard to find fruits and vegetables, rather than just meat and fries.

I feel bad because I'm afraid I'm going to be filling up the car with my stuff, but I'm going to be bringing my blender so I can make shakes, a bag of food and a small cooler for almond milk and the lunch I've made for myself - rice with black beans, roasted corn, salsa and cilantro. I also picked up some cooked chicken at the Marsh salad bar as well.

Then of course, once we arrive in Oklahoma we will probably be eating at several restaurants so I'll work through that as well. I know I'll be just fine, but the first time for any experience like this is always a little scary.

How lazy I've been...

Lazy as a blogger, but otherwise not lazy! I've actually been very busy. I've held two fundraising events for Team in Training and planning a third for next week. I've been doing P90X, running and of course carefully planning meals.

For the past three weeks I've been posting my meals on a nutrition group Facebook page. The smart thing to do would have been to post here at the same time. Oops.

So here's a quick rundown of some of the meals I've made:

Honey-mustard chicken & steamed broccoli
Grilled tamari-marinated tilapia with ginger rice & bok choy
Garlic veggie stirfry
Grilled steak with sauteed spinach and baked potato
Black bean, red pepper and quinoa salad with salsa verde
Grilled vegetable kebobs with rice noodles
Thai red curry stirfry with brown rice
Roasted turkey with hummus and bell peppers

Right now I have italian vegetable soup simmering on the stove (bell pepper, onion, celery, carrots, white beans, tomatoes, garlic, beef stock and herbs).

I'm not sure what's on tap for this week, but we're well-stocked so I shouldn't have any trouble. This isn't an official plan, but some ideas include:
Pork chops with sweet potato and apple
Thai chili-lime stirfy
Tilapia with salsa verde & rice
Tacos
Italian sausage & pasta

I'm trying to reduce the amount of meat we eat. Not cut it out completely, but reduce the frequency of which we eat it. Hopefully that can help offset the cost of eating better quality, less process foods.

Crazy nails

I forgot to mention earlier that my fingernails are growing like gangbusters. They are crazy long and stronger than normal. I'm going to chalk that up to improved nutrient absorption. That is all.

Tuesday, March 6

I would start by saying things have been crazy lately, but I realize that crazy is actually my normal so I'm not sure how to describe the state of my life lately.

We had all three kids last weekend (this seldom happens!) so Saturday was a busy day with a movie and a birthday party at a bounce place, followed by more playing at Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A was heartbreaking. There was nothing wrong with my grilled chicken nuggets and fruit cup, but it sure wasn't my normal chicken nuggets with honey mustard and waffle fries with polynesian sauce and I had to put up blinders (literally) while Scott ate cheesecake after dinner. But I will say again that this has been much easier psychologically and physically than any of the times in the past in which I've changed my diet to attempt to lose weight. I don't know if it is because my body has stopped craving empty carbs or what, but it just seems easier.

This weekend we have another busy weekend. Saturday I have group training at Eagle Creek early in the morning, immediately followed by Annyka's second round soccer tournament game then we'll have to get the house ready for guests. We're hosting a Team in Training/LLS fundraiser game night. I hope a few people actually show up! I want the house to be clean and have to make sure all the food is ready.

This week dinners have been delicious so far. Yesterday I made rosemary chicken with roasted potato wedges and broccolette.Tonight was pasta pomodoro with chicken Italian sausage from Trader Joes. The sauce on the pasta was amazing. It was the kind of meal that I wished I had written it down as I made it so I can make sure to make it again, but I'm going to try to write it down.

Rosemary chicken marinade
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
dried rosemary (fresh would be great, but I didn't have any)
two garlic cloves, minced
sea salt
cracked black pepper
mustard powder
Mix all together and marinate chicken overnight. Bake at 400 degrees until juices run clear.

Pomodoro Sauce
1 bell pepper diced
1 onion diced
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 jar capers
sundried tomatoes
basil
2 Tbsp red wine
1 can diced tomatoes
Saute pepper and onion in olive oil until soft. Add capers, sundried tomatoes, garlic and basil. Add red wine. Let simmer for about 2 minutes, until reduced a little. Add diced tomatoes. Simmer on low for about 30 minutes.
Serve over pasta.

Sigh.

I was having a pretty good couple weeks there for a bit. Last week I had a skinny week. I don't weigh myself because it's just depressing most of the time, but I felt smaller, less bloated. Today I had a good lunch hour run - once I got past that awful first mile, it felt really good. I felt light and fast. Hopefully I feel the same way for Group Training on Saturday.

So I was feeling good until something went wrong at work. Honestly it wasn't really that big of a deal, I just missed a meeting, but it was just kind of a breaking point for me. I haven't cried about work in a while, but today I did. I hate that.

I feel like I want to binge on junk food, or drink copious amounts of alcohol, but I can't. I need a vice. No smoking, no alcohol, hardly any junk food. I'm so boring.

So a quick update on the meals over the past few days...

• Chicken fajita salad
• Bell peppers stuffed with rice pilaf and lentils
• artichoke burgers and potato wedges
• quinoa salad with spinach and sundried tomatoes

Wednesday, February 22

Today does not feel like a Wednesday. I think its because I took Monday off. This week feels like winning. I made a commitment to make sure I'm being active every day and it feels good.
Yesterday I made myself take a lunch break and work out. Today I went to Fit Club and did workouts with some old Team in Training friends.
Plus I successfully made chicken tenders/nuggets for the family using corn Chex as a "breading" and have meals all ready to go for the remainder of the week.
Oh yeah, and since I got my tax return, I've bought my plane ticket for this summer's vacation - I'm headed back to Yellowstone again. This time just me meeting up with my sister and we're going to try to go backpacking. I'm so pumped! Annyka will be going to Michigan and Wisconsin with my parents during the same week.
So even though work is crazy (broken record), this week is going swimmingly. 

Mission: almost impossible

Yesterday I ventured out on a mission. A mission to find energy foods that I can eat with my new dietary restrictions. Unfortunately almost all of the energy gels that I am familiar with use maltodextrin as their main proprietary carb blend. That will not work for me as malt is one of the “big three” sensitivities for me (malt, barley, gluten). 

BUT with the help of the associate at Performance Bicycle, I found one. One brand, one flavor that does not have maltodextrin: Honey Stinger Gold. That’s it. Even the other Honey Stinger flavors have it, but Gold does not. Hopefully I can stomach it and I will be able to use that for races.

I also slipped up though. I was so focused on finding (or hopefully not finding) maltodextrin on the label of the energy products that I totally missed that WHEAT FLOUR was the first ingredient on one item I bought and ate today after my workout. IDIOT. I feel kind of stupid. 

Oh well, I’ll survive. Happy Mardi Gras. Tonight’s dinner will be red beans and rice with andouille sausage (from Trader Joes).