Meals for Today

Sooo tired today... Been having trouble getting to sleep, the boys have been waking up early, and Gabriel's waking up multiple times during the night to eat... Which means Mommy isn't getting much sleep!

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - usual, Ghirardelli square
Supper - 1/2 can peas w/butter, spiced pumpkin pancakes, chocolate chip cookie dough (eggless)

Desire Vs Time and Opportunity

I belong to an online Biggest Loser Challenge group. It's not a weight loss challenge but a points challenge. We get points for eating healthy, drinking water, exercising, checking in with/supporting our teammates etc. Each week we have a mini-challenge. This week as part of the mini-challenge we had to pick a cardio exercise and do it in intervals during the day totaling 10 minutes. To get the points for completing this part of the challenge, I have to do it 5 out of 7 days (Monday thru Sunday).

I decided I would do "low jacks." It's a low impact jumping jack - you always have one foot on the floor, and you alternate sides instead of doing both at once. I decided I would do 5 intervals of 2 minutes each Monday thru Friday, and use my weekend days as backups in case I couldn't do it one weekday. It should be a piece of cake to find 5 2-minute blocks during the day, right?! WRONG.

Yesterday wasn't too bad but it was definitely a challenge. Today was rough :-( At 8pm I had only gotten TWO intervals in! Over the next hour and a half I managed to get the rest in by squeezing them in while getting ready for bed. Neti pot, brush teeth, do a set. Feed birds, do a set. Etc.

I'm a bit discouraged now. I want to start working out SOOO badly! But if I can't find 5 2-minute segments, how in the world am I going to be able to find enough time to do a "real" workout?! The little bit of time I'm not holding Crankadoodle (Gabriel) lately, I'm washing dishes. Or something else absolutely necessary. In case you're wondering how I find so much time to blog, I do it either when I'm feeding/holding Gabriel, or laying down with the boys at night while they fall asleep. Yes, my blogs are typed on my phone. Using the numeric keypad (no keyboard) and T9.

So like I said in the title of this post, it's Desire - which I have plenty of - Vs Time and Opportunity - which I have next to zero of :-(

It's just so discouraging...

Hurricane

For the first time in 15 years, we have a June hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico :-( The winds are barely hurricane strength (75 mph sustained) but according to the pressure it should've been a hurricane way before now.

It's too early in the season for this. It does not bode well for the rest of the season...

As for my hurricane prep, well, I have a thorough list made but have only been able to get a couple things on it so far. Really need to try change that next paycheck!

What Could I Do?

Second day in a row of Jesse working almost constantly (don't ask how much he's slept the past couple days). Yet another day in a row of Gabriel being very fussy and needing to be held almost 24/7 (growth spurt?). At least two days worth of dirty dishes in the sink (because when have I been able to do them?!). And on all the counters (the few we have). Everything I needed to cook with needed to soak before it could be washed. No transportation (won't have the alternator till at least tomorrow, likely later). Suppertime! If I cooked, I'd have to load the dishwasher, get pots etc soaking, handwash what I needed after it soaked, then cook. Would've been waaaaay too late for me to eat by then. Uh... "Hello? Delivery please..." In all honesty, what I really wanted was a veggie burger from Chili's (and it wouldn't be a cheat). But I had no way to get there:( Anything delivery would be a cheat, but what could I do? And the kicker? It didn't even taste that good to me :(

Breakfast - banana, 1/2 cup coffee w/usual
Lunch - cod (grilled on the stovetop using oo Pam) w/Essence and lime juice, broccoli (w/butter), Ghirardelli square
Supper - mushroom swiss burger on white bun w/lettuce, tomato, mayo. garlic cheese bread. brownies (cheat meal)

George's Aloe Saves the Day!

It could've been a BAD situation... Tonight while cooking supper I had 2 burners of my small stove on. The front left one was on high (boiling water to cook pasta), back right one on medium. I was in a hurry to do something in the living room and I tripped over the stool Ethan had been using to "help" me cook. I was definitely going to land on the floor - NOT GOOD with my ankles and knees! Reflex made me grab something to keep from falling. Unfortunately what I reached back and grabbed was the stovetop :( I immediately stuck my hand in the freezer on something frozen. I held it there for a few seconds then grabbed the bottle of George's Aloe gel I keep in the kitchen for burns. I slathered a thick coat on the bottom half of my hand where I had touched the hot stove.

Tonight it's a bit sensitive, but looking at my hand you'd never know I had burned it! That stuff WORKS!!!

When I was about 13, I was at my grandma's and someone tripped carrying a hot cup of coffee and it spilled all down my back. She had a huge aloe plant outside so someone grabbed a big leaf and we put it on my back right away. Half an hour later the burn was gone! We always used aloe leaves for burns growing up but this gel is as good or better than the actual leaves! Not the cheapest stuff, but right now, as I sit here with my hand NOT hurting, I can say it's worth every penny...

Meals Today

I found out I can have Stevia with my fruit! Now I just need to make it to the store that has it when I get the car fixed :)

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - chicken breast cooked in oo seasoned w/Essence in salad (Romaine) w/homemade honey mustard (aka usual), Ghirardelli square
Before supper - few chips (Zapp's sea salt and cracked pepper)
Supper - pasta w/sundried tomatoes (still need to get the recipe posted), 1/2 avocado, brownies

Dead Car :(

But alive me! :D LOL My alternator went out today. Luckily I didn't end up stranded! It'll be a few days though before I can get a new one...

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - rotisserie chicken breast, Romaine salad, homemade honey mustard (getting closer to a recipe I'm satisfied with!)
Supper - waffles w/butter and cinnamon (batch was 1/2 Bisquick recipe, 1/2 whole wheat/oat)

Nothing Special...

Breakfast - apple juice (while running errands)
Lunch - rotisserie chicken breast, salad (Romaine/spring mix) w/honey mustard, Ghirardelli square
Supper - Oriental rice pilaf, brownies, 1/2 cup homemade root beer (w/demarara)

Maybe?

It's now after 12:30am. I haven't been to sleep yet. The hormones are raging. Not affecting my emotions much, thankfully! Just my body.

I was texting with a friend tonight who didn't know about the anemia and thyroid issues and something hit me. I think this is my first postpartum cycle that my iron is near normal. Which means my thyroid is returning to normal. Which means my hormones are likely trying to return to normal for the first time since I got pregnant. So of course they're raging...

And on a happy note, I saw a slightly smaller number on the scale this morning :-) Still not below the range I was fluctuating in, but lower than I've seen it in a couple months. Usually I gain a bit when PMS'ing but we'll see what happens from here...

Grrr...

It's 10:30pm and of course I'm getting hungry :-( Bet if I sat up though I'd still be nauseous since I've been laying here for almost 2 hours... So much for getting to sleep early!

No Supper

A PMS'ing woman has to do what a PMS'ing woman has to do...

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - Italian buffet
Supper - (nothing - see below)

I got really overheated this afternoon :( We've been home over 3 hours and I'm still shaky, nauseous, and lightheaded with an intermittent headache. I feel like anything I eat will come right back up. So I'm just drinking plenty of Dasani and making it an early bedtime...

Today's Food

Nothing after lunch tasted good to me... I hate those days :(

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - usual + Ghirardelli square
Supper - garlic pasta and beans, brownies

Ugh

I'm starving. I finished eating lunch 1 1/2 hours ago and I feel like I could eat another big meal already! And chocolate... I could stuff myself with it right now!

Ugh

Yet Another Way to Do Pancakes!

I took my spiced pumpkin waffles recipe and used it as a guide to do spiced pumpkin pancakes for supper. Yummy! Recipe will be shared later...

I modified the honey mustard salad dressing recipe I tried a couple weeks ago. I'm interested to see what it tastes like tomorrow after the flavors have had time to meld. Once I'm satisfied with it, I'll post the recipe.

My stomach is still doing fine today!

I didn't call about the stevia yet. I won't be able to get it till Friday or Saturday anyway.

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - chicken breast (back to my usual - cooked in olive oil, seasoned w/Essence) in salad (Romaine, mushrooms) w/homemade honey mustard
Supper - homemade 100% whole grain spiced pumpkin pancakes w/butter, 1/2 can of peas w/butter

And totally related to health, but not food... I ended up holding Gabriel for a while today in kind of an awkward way while I fixed him a bottle. Twice. He was fussy and I didn't want him to start crying if I put him down. BUT... Now my knee on the side I was holding him feels loose. It's the one I dislocated years ago, and when Ethan was a baby it popped back out again (I didn't re-injure it, just from carrying him on the same side all the time). So I need to be really careful for a while... And start some exercises to try to tighten it back up. With Ethan it felt like this for a couple weeks before it popped out so hopefully I can stop it this time!

Upset Stomach

I had an upset tummy Saturday through yesterday. Not bad, but it hurt a bit after every meal. I was gassy too. I wonder if it was from the spaghetti Friday night? Then maybe Sunday's meal didn't help? Not only did the spaghetti have tomatoes which can aggravate my stomach, it also combined 2 proteins (ground beef and parmesan) and a carb (white pasta). Hmmm...

Last night I had my first normal BM since the spaghetti. And today my stomach feels better...

ETA When I do a cheat meal, I like to do it at lunch so my body has lots of time to digest it before bed. And I eat a real light supper. But the spaghetti was at night. Could be a big part of why it affected me the way it did...

Stevia?

I need to find out if I can add stevia to fruit. I Googled it yesterday and came up with 2 websites about food combining that say yes. I didn't find any that specifically said I couldn't, just the standard "don't eat anything else with fruit." So I don't know...

If I can use stevia with fruit, that opens up a bunch of other options! I'm thinking particularly of frozen fruit smoothies. It's getting harder and harder to find fruit that tastes like it's supposed to. Either it's picked early and the flavor hasn't developed so their taste resembles cardboard (the case with most fresh fruits), or it's very sour (the case with most frozen fruits). I am not going to eat fruit that doesn't taste good! And I get tired of the same old, same old.

If I can add stevia to frozen fruit and make smoothies out of it, that would be great! I love berries, but they're always so sour lately. Fresh, frozen, doesn't matter. And they're so good for you!

I already priced stevia. I can get a small dropper bottle of it for under $4. And with only using a few drops a day, I'm sure it wouldn't be expensive!

Think I need to make a phone call tomorrow and try to find out about this...

P.S.

A big wave Hi to my new followers!!! :-D

Misc + food

The boys are I are fighting colds :( Mine isn't bad with using the neti pot, but both of them are sneezing and a bit congested.

I got something productive done related to food today. I organized all my spices! It had been a looooong time since it had been done, and I found FOUR opened containers of onion powder, THREE of paprika, etc. What a mess :P But now they're all labeled on the lids and in alphabetical order :) Hopefully no more duplicates after this!

I ate a "mushroom burger" for lunch. Homemade hamburger patty with sauteed mushrooms ;) Even though it was lean (93/7 ground beef), it had a lot more fat than my usual chicken breast. Plus the mushrooms had some fat. And I didn't get hungry till suppertime! I wonder if I need to increase my fat at lunch and see how I do... The only reason I snacked before supper was because we had a severe thunderstorm on the way and it was so dark outside that I knew we could lose power anytime till it passed. So supper was a little late. So I ate something to hold me over.

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - hamburger patty, sauteed mushrooms (butter and olive oil), spring mix salad w/honey mustard and dijon, Ghirardelli square
Before supper - granola bar
Supper - mashed potatoes, corn w/butter, cookie

Today's Food

Gabriel had his 6-month check-up today. It went great! He's skinny for his height, just like Ethan :)

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - rotisserie chicken in salad (spring mix) w/honey mustard and dijon mustard, Ghirardelli square
Supper - can of asparagus, Oriental rice pilaf, multi-grain French bread w/butter, 2 chocolate-stuffed crescent rolls

I Wonder...

I wonder if I haven't been eating enough. I'm frequently starving before supper (see how often I've been snacking late afternoon?!). I wake up hungry when I feed Gabriel during the night sometimes.

I wonder if my metabolism has been adjusting to my lower weight and it's kicked up now? I haven't been eating any less than usual. In fact, I've been eating more. It looks like I've lost a couple pounds but am still in the range I've been bouncing around in.

I wonder if being back on most of my supplements is affecting my metabolism?

I wonder if all this means my body is primed to lose some more weight? I can hope :D

Father's Day!

Jesse requested a special meal for today and I was happy to make it for him! Food was weird today because of cooking around life ;) I ate "lunch" 1/2 hour early because I was starving (had been up since 6am) and I wanted to be hungry again by the time we ate the Father's Day meal and I didn't want to eat it late. When I do a cheat meal, I try to make it at lunch so my body has as much time as possible to digest it before bed! I wasn't very hungry for my last meal but I knew I needed to eat or I would be starving later. So I ate something fairly light that sounded good to me.

Breakfast - banana, 1/2 cup coffee w/usual
11:30am - rotisserie chicken breast in salad w/honey mustard dressing
2:30 - boneless chicken stuffed w/crawfish rice dressing, homemade macaroni and cheese, few sips homemade root beer (made with demerara, and lots less sweet than store-bought!)
4:00 - 3 chocolate-stuffed crescent rolls
5:30 - another one ;)
7:00 - mashed potatoes (instant, made with rice milk) and corn w/butter

Oriental Rice Pilaf

ORIENTAL RICE PILAF
(adapted from 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes)

Oil for sauteing
2/3 cup onion, chopped
2/3 cup celery, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup brown rice
1 cup millet
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained
1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup green onions, sliced
2 tbsp. sesame oil
4 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

Saute onion and celery in oil for 5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and saute another couple minutes. Add rice and millet and cook 2 more minutes. Add broth and heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in beans, water chestnuts, and green onions. Cook, covered, another 10 minutes. Add sesame oil and soy sauce. Cook another 5 minutes. Stir, cover, and turn off. Let stand for about 10 minutes or until the grains are tender.

Note: This is a double batch. It made enough for us to have at least 2 meals!

Exhausted...

Today was my third day being out in the heat of the day. Actually, I was gone from 10:30 to 3 with a very short trip home to unload some things and scarf down lunch. The heat index has been over 100 and with no shady places to park, my car gets SO hot, even with the windows being tinted! The AC blows very cold when the car isn't that hot, but in the heat of the day, it's not nearly as good :( Besides the heat, just being out running errands for three days in a row is tiring! Couldn't be helped though... Tomorrow is church then Gabriel has his check-up Monday then Tuesday I shouldn't have to go anywhere.

Breakfast - apple juice (was out of bananas so grabbed a juice when I got to Walmart)
Lunch - rotisserie chicken, salad (spring mix w/homemade honey mustard)
Snack - fries w/ketchup
Supper - Oriental rice pilaf (new recipe)

Friday's Food

We went to Jesse's parents' house for an early Father's Day celebration.

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - Chili's - steak fajita (meat and veggies only), Ghirardelli square
Before supper - potato chips (I was starving and needed to eat so I wouldn't get weak driving!)
Supper - spaghetti (homemade, ground beef, white pasta, parmesan cheese), fried roll (white), brownies

Thursday's Food

The boys and I were gone most of the day running errands with my mom. We ate out for lunch but I stuck to 1 meat + veggies so no cheat :)

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - homestyle buffet, Ghirardelli square
Before supper - fun size Twix
Supper - salad (Romaine w/thousand island), red beans and rice, garlic bread, fries w/ketchup

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

This is an approximation of what I did...

1 recipe homemade whole grain pancake mix (1 cup dry mix) made according to directions
Add in:
About 1 tbsp. sugar
About 1 1/2 tbsp. melted butter
LOTS of cinnamon
Salt

Cook as usual. Drizzle with sauce. I took a spoon and dipped it in the sauce, shook off the excess, and put a very thin layer on each pancake using what was left on the spoon.

Sauce:
Powdered sugar
Milk
Vanilla
Salt
Cinnamon

Combine sugar and milk to a very thin consistency. Add rest of ingredients and microwave to melt the sugar. Mix well.

NOTE: I used rice milk for the pancakes and sauce

Super Yummy Pancakes!

I was looking for some new ways to do pancakes today (using my whole-grain mix) and ended up making what Jesse said were the best pancakes he's ever eaten! I'll post how I did them in a bit.

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - cod baked with lime and Essence, can of peas with butter, Lindt extra dark chocolate truffle
Before supper (had to run an errand and was starving!) - single-serve bag of plain Lay's chips
Supper - cinnamon roll pancakes w/butter

Craving...

You know it's going to be an imperfect food day when you wake up to feed the baby at 3am and can't get back to sleep because you're craving a mushroom swiss burger :P But I figured out why I've been craving mushrooms, and the burger today. I Google'ed what vitamins and minerals mushrooms are high in and found out something very interesting. They're a good source of some of the B vitamins and zinc. If I don't take a B supplement, I have nerve issues. I take the supplement, and they go away. I'm still trying to build my B back up from when I was on the absolute minimum supplements. If I miss a couple days, I start having problems. And the biggie... I know my zinc is low. It's making my rosacea flare up, and I have other symptoms as well. So it makes total sense that I've been craving shrooms off and on for months! As for the burger, I've had to ration my iron the past few days. So that makes sense too - red meat is a great source of iron. And a mushroom swiss burger is one of my favorite foods anyway! So that's what the craving was about today...

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - (Chili's) mushroom swiss burger on wheat bun w/mayo, fries w/ketchup, broccoli/carrots, brownies
Supper - salad (Romaine) w/homemade honey mustard, toasted whole wheat bun w/butter

Honey Mustard Salad Dressing #1

My stomach ended up doing okay after eating out yesterday :-)

I tried out one of my recipes for honey mustard salad dressing today. I did the simplest one - mayo, honey, and dijon mustard. It was good, but not as full-flavored as I hoped. I have two more to try later.

Breakfast - 1/2 cup coffee w/usual. Canteloupe later
Lunch - usual chicken w/Romaine and mushroom salad w/homemade honey mustard dressing
Snack - banana
Supper - red beans and rice, garlic bread
Dessert - homemade brownies

And on a sad note, we lost one of our pet birds today... :-(

Something Else About Chinese Food...

I was first diagnosed with gallstones November 2007. I ended up in the ER after a vicious attack that lasted all night into the next morning. Wanna guess what I had for supper that night? The same Chinese buffet I ate at Sunday... And I already know the chemicals in food affect my gallbladder more than the fat. So what does that say about this restaurant?...

Week-Long Chinese Detox

I had detox symptoms all week... Headaches, claustrophobia, upset stomach, etc. It peaked last night. My stomach was bothering me so much! My bowels were a little loose but I was in pain! The pain was from gas I think (I took a gas pill this morning and have expelled gas all day today). At one point I thought I was starting with a gallbladder attack because it hurt so much :-( But soon after that it eased up. I had sucked on some chewable papaya and that seemed to help. When I got up this morning my stomach was still bothering me some but not bad. Sunday is the morning I always have 1/2 cup of coffee but not today. I ate an organic banana and even it threatened to upset my stomach! Later I ate some dried papaya and it did okay. I ate lunch and supper and so far so good... I think it took a full week to detox all the MSG etc in the Chinese food, and last night it finally cleared out of my system.

Breakfast - banana, dried papaya later
Lunch - homestyle buffet (cheat)
Supper - fries w/mayo and ketchup, salad (Romaine, carrots) w/honey mustard

My honey mustard salad dressing isn't tasting as good to me lately. I bought some dijon mustard and honey today. There are a few recipes I have to make it from scratch so I might try one this week... Would definitely be healthier!

Bittersweet Moment...

I discovered Gabriel's first tooth today! It wasn't there last night, but I felt it today when he started chewing my finger. My baby's growing up...

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - sirloin steak in salad (Romaine, mushrooms) w/honey mustard
Supper - chili burger w/usual, fries (oven) w/ketchup
Dessert - waffle (Bisquick w/bittersweet chocolate)

"Yucky"

Ethan didn't sleep good last night. He tossed and turned, kept throwing off the covers, and insisted on sleeping practically on top of me. Wanna guess how well I slept?! And then he woke up an hour earlier than usual...

I cooked red beans and rice for supper. Ethan usually loves it but informed me that it was "Yucky" Oh well :-P

Breakfast - 1/2 cup coffee w/usual, banana later
Lunch - rotisserie chicken (mostly breast) in salad (Romaine, mushrooms) w/honey mustard dressing and mustard
Before supper - cookie
Supper - red beans and rice, garlic bread, cookie w/Ghirardelli square melted on it

ETA Ethan ended up eating the whole bowl of beans. Couldn't have been that yucky LOL

More Detox?

Ever since Sunday, I've had detox symptoms. Tonight's the worst it's been. My stomach is a bit upset and I had claustrophobia earlier - just because both boys were in my lap. Definitely not normal! This started Monday and got worse Tuesday. Wonder if it's from the MSG in the Chinese?

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - rotisserie chicken breast, Romaine salad w/honey mustard and regular mustard, Ghirardelli square
Supper - chili burger on whole wheat bun w/avocado, mayo, mustard. Fries w/ketchup. Cookie.

Meals Today

I had a slight upset tummy tonight so I threw together something simple and fairly light for supper. Definitely a keeper!

Breakfast - banana, banana later
Lunch - chicken breast cooked in OO in salad (Romaine, carrots, mushrooms) w/honey mustard
Supper - can of corn w/butter, Simple Pasta, cookie

Simple Pasta

Simple Pasta

1 pk whole wheat thin spaghetti
1 onion, chopped fine
Olive oil
1/2 stick butter
Parsley
Salt

Cook pasta according to package directions. Saute onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until soft or until carmelized. Drain pasta. Mix in onions, butter, a handful of parsley, olive oil to taste, and salt to taste. Stir until butter is melted and all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Food Today

I can tell I didn't eat enough last night. I woke up a bit weak and was hungrier than usual today!

Breakfast - canteloupe (it wasn't organic but it was super sweet and yummy!)
Lunch - Logan's leftovers - chopped steak topped w/mushrooms and onions, order of sauteed mushrooms, Ghirardelli square
Before supper - cookie
Supper - Mexican rice and beans, cornbread (Jiffy mix w/chili peppers), fun size Twix

Detox Headache?

I've had a headache off and on for a few days. Not bad, just there. It was worse this morning but still not horrible.

It finally occurred to me today what it probably is. It feels like a detox headache. I've had them before when taking a certain supplement so I know what they feel like. Counting today's lunch (leftovers from last night) I've eaten out 4 times in 6 days. No more for a while! I am glad though that my body is letting me know it doesn't like what I've been doing to it... And it gives me incentive to make sure I'm cooking so I know what's in my food! It helps that things have calmed down around here too...

Mom's Night Out

And I didn't cheat! But I did satisfy a craving :-) It wasn't the healthiest but it followed my eating plan.

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - crockpot chicken in salad (Romaine, carrots, mushrooms) w/honey mustard
Snack - cookie
Supper - Logan's - roll w/butter, broccoli, order of onion petals w/a little of the dipping sauce. Brownie later + 1/2 of a small peppermint tea w/demarara

Long Day...

Five hours sleep. Frustrating day. Capped off by Ethan having a diaper blowout and diaper rash, likely from an allergic reaction... Something at lunch I guess?

I ate supper at 445 last night before we got ready for the recital. I went to bed hungry and woke up starving and weak. I felt like my body needed something more than fruit this morning. I still don't know if it was a good idea or not...

Breakfast - 1/2 cup coffee w/usual. Later, whole wheat bun, toasted, with butter. Later, hash brown from McDonald's.
Lunch - Chinese buffet (cheat)
Before supper - cookie
Supper - salad (Romaine, carrots) w/thousand island dressing

Long Day...

Busy day, dead car battery, late night, and I'm hungry :-(

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - crockpot chicken in salad (Romaine, carrots, mushrooms) w/honey mustard
Supper - chili burger on whole wheat bun w/1/4 avocado, mayo, mustard. Cookie

Meals

My throat is feeling a bit better, despite it raining off and on all day! Hope it's on the mend...

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - crockpot chicken in salad (spinach + a little Romaine/carrot/mushroom) w/honey mustard, Ghirardelli square
Supper - can of peas w/butter, whole grain vanilla/coffee pancakes

The Problem with Organic Produce...

Is that once you've been eating it a while, you smell and taste the chemicals in the nonorganics :-( I love canteloupe! Jesse and Ethan do too. I saw some big, pretty ones at the grocery store yesterday. I can always pick good ones. I do it by smell. But yesterday the ones that had any smell just smelled like chemicals :-(

I'm noticing that happening more and more lately... I don't think the produce has more chemicals than it did a year ago, but I think I'm more sensitive to them. I eat a large salad for lunch nearly every day. Meat plus organic lettuce. I've tried to save money occasionally by buying nonorganic lettuce. But it ends up going to waste because it doesn't taste good to me!

I wish we could afford to eat at least 90% organic. But finances don't allow for that right now :-( So I buy organic for some things - salad greens for sure! I'm tasting the chemicals in nonorganic bananas now too so I guess that's the next thing I'll go organic with. I buy them organic most of the time but I haven't been making an extra stop to get them. Guess I need to now...

That's probably my main complaint about living in the deep south - the lack of availability and variety, and the cost of organic foods...

"Meals" Today

The boys and I had a rough morning so we picked up my mom and ate a late lunch and ran errands. We didn't get home till after 9pm so no supper for me :-( I did have a granola bar about 8...

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - Italian buffet
"Supper" - chocolate chip granola bar

Fighting...

I'm fighting Ethan's cold :-( I have the sore throat like he did last week. I woke up with it, then it went away till I got out to go to the store and I've had it pretty much ever since. I'm trying not to take any Advil etc for it. If I need I'll use some Cepacol spray. I started my natural anti-viral stuff tonight and am doing my neti pot twice a day. I don't feel bad, just tired. But considering last night's sleep, that's to be expected. We'll see what happens...

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - crockpot chicken in salad (same as Mon, Tues) w/honey mustard
Supper - waffles (Bisquick, made with rice milk) w/bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate

Core in a BANANA???

The past 2 bananas I've eaten have had a core - a thick, fibrous section in the middle a couple inches long with lots of seeds.

Anyone ever seen this?!

Aha!

Now I know why I couldn't fill up yesterday... I was a bit crampy tonight and my stomach was threatening to rebel so I ate fairly light.

Gabriel didn't want to leave my lap today. That's okay because I didn't feel too energetic anyway!

Tonight I'm feeling claustrophobic :-( Haven't felt like that in a while! Wonder if my body is trying to detox some of what I've eaten the past few days...

Breakfast - banana
Lunch - 93/7 ground beef (seasoned w/Essence, tarragon, and kosher salt, cooked in microwave), crumbled in salad (Romaine, green leaf, carrots, mushrooms) w/honey mustard, Ghirardelli square
Supper - can of peas w/butter, fries (frozen, cooked in oven) w/ketchup and a little mayo, cookie