Wakeup Call

So I had that Dr Visit today – you know the one – it goes something like this:

Courtesy alancleaver_2000 on Flickr

ME: “So Doc, I’m not sleeping – and I think I could lose a few pounds.  I know you have a magic pill for that right?”

DOC: “So Carrie – How much are you exercising every day, how about diet -what are you eating? how much? when?  what do you do when you cant sleep? Do you have a good bedtime routine…..” and on…and on….and on…..

I walked out with a long list of “todo’s” and no prescription – what the heck!?!

So here are the new rules – some from my DR – some from me:

  • Apparently I’m not allowed to call it a “damn diet” anymore
  • 45 minutes of exercise , 4-5x a week – apparently racing to the front of the store for the fresh french bread doesn’t count….RATS!
  • I need to lose 70 pounds to get out of the “nasty” BMI categories – i cant repeat them – it makes me throw up in my mouth.
  • I meet with a nutritionist in a few weeks.  Apparently “Fried, Bread and Pasta” are not in her vocabulary – I don’t think we’ll be lifelong friends – more like “frienemies”
  • Every meal has to be portioned out on my plate, and no 2nds and 3rds
  • Only eat meals at home while sitting at the table – no standing and eating at all
  • no sampling from the pot as I cook (this one is not my rule – i’m not very fond of it)
  • Bedtime routine – starts at 10:30 – includes some herbal/natural goodies – a warm shower and 15 mintutes of soft music and meditation.  I’m not a patient person – so we’ll see how the meditation goes
  • No more sleeping pills – altho I did get the OK for a dose of benadryl if I need help…..nice!
  • Oh, and I’m not supposed to eat anything heavy after 6:30pm – i can handle this – but that leaves like 4 hrs ’til bedtime, hopefully I’m exhausted from all the exercise and weight loss and am asleep by 7:30 – less time for temptation.

So the upside to my grumbling is I’m healthier, I sleep 8 hrs a night w/o pharmaceutical help, I set a good example for my kids, and hopefully I’m not so EXHAUSTED all the time……

My first step?  I ate an apple for dessert while everyone else had homemade rice pudding.  It wasn’t fun, but I didn’t die…….yet

Posted in Damn Diet, Every Other Day, ME | 3 Comments

I Think I Was Supposed to Be Country Girl

A rancher, not a farmer, because honestly i cant keep an aloe vera plant alive.  Im thinking noisy cows that bitch and moan when they’re hungry….the philosophy in my house is – if it doesnt annoy me when its hungry it doesnt get fed.

I was watching the Last American Cowboy last night – love that show – and realized that I should be living that life.  As a child, my happiest memories were of my Aunt & Uncle’s cow/calf operation in northern Minnesota.  I can remember working cows in the summer, finding calves in snowbanks in the spring, and working from sunup to sundown alongside them – and never being happier (except maybe that one summer i sunburned my back and arms so badly i couldn’t move.)

I think that ship has sailed tho – as much as i love horses and cows and goats and chickens – my city-boy husband is not a fan.  I try to convince myself he’s not a fan because he’s never lived the life, but I’m pretty sure 5am cow feeding before the ‘day job’ is something he’s not going to sign up for.

I thought about a chicken coop – but chickens attract snakes around here – I’m not a fan.  And the neighbors will not be happy about cows in the back yard.

Maybe I’ll just get a horse, the dogs have a really big back yard, maybe they’ll share it?

Probably not……..

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Comfort Food – What’s your Fave?

I feel icky today…..achey – hot, cold, bursts of energy that last about 15 minutes….then I want a nap.  I think its the beginnings of a cold but I Zicamed and EmergenC’d – so hopefully I can head it off.

Todd made dinner tonight, grilled chicken & instant mashed potatoes -the Idahoan ones in the packets are awesome, don’t knock it for a quick dinner til you try it.

I – on the other hand – am hungry but dont know what I’m hungry for.  I think chicken noodle soup sounds good. I think I have some Mrs. Grass’ in the pantry.  It’s what my mom made for me when i was sick as a kid.

I have a list of comfort foods -and every single one dates back to a variety of childhood ick.  The time I had strep throat REALLY bad – 2 weeks out of school bad.  Chicken Pox one summer was pretty miserable too.  I gave them to my mom – so once i was better – she was miserable :) .

Here’s my top 5 list:

  1. Mrs. Grass’ Chicken Noodle Soup
  2. Chow Mein Hot Dish
  3. Meatloaf Sandwich
  4. Grilled Cheese
  5. COLD Watermelon
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Why I Plan Menus – and you should too…

I’m a very distracted shopper – get me in a grocery store and I want to buy one of everything.  ”Oohhh that sounds great” – or “I can use this in recipe X instead of that other stuff”

As a result, my pantry looks like this:

I have taken to planning menus so I know I at least have something I can cobble together into a meal.  This pantry can probably make a few meals (ok more than a few) but my downfall is looking at the shelves and trying to decide if the kids will eat Triscuits and baked beans for dinner…..likely not going to happen.

By planning out what we’re going to eat for the week I accomplish a few things

  1. I know I have something in the house that will make into an edible meal
  2. I look at my veg and perishable situation and make sure to use what I need to use up
  3. The menu for the week is set, and I dont have to stare at the fridge or pantry and try to THINK Of something to make, which we all know is the hardest part of making dinner
  4. I can use store ads to get the on-sale stuff and save some dinero – always a good thing.
  5. I Don’t spend $200 a week at the grocery store on stuff i have no room for in my pantry. (Altho I do admit one or two things i dont have on my list make it into the basket every trip.)

I know a lot of people who dread the after work, kids are cranky, what’s for dinner, rush rush rush.  Planning things out on a Sunday before we go grocery shopping saves me SOME of that headache.

That’s not to say I don’t have some frozen pizza or lasagna stockpiled for those nights when I just cant bring myself to stand in the kitchen after a 10+ hour day.  I’m okay with that, no guilt at all :)

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Spaghetti Sauce – To Jar or Not to Jar

As a sprouting foodie, I somewhat guiltily still make spaghetti with jarred sauce.  I mean – I don’t begrudge those that use sauce, its a helluva time saver…I just feel like if I’m going to walk the walk – I need to talk the talk, so to speak.  I wonder though, is spaghetti sauce really the place to draw the line.

A few factors work into this line of thought – first of all – i dont have a great recipe for sauce.  Everyone says their recipe is the best, but I still search for the one that isnt to sweet, isnt too thick or too thin, or has the right “feel” to it.

As far as Jar sauce goes – I have a definite favorite – Newman’s Own Marinara – which my local groceries have discontinued.  UGH!  We are on the search for a few favorite – I’m partial to the Giada deLaurentis Tomato Basil – which you can now get at Target…but it’s thinner and VERY tomatoey – and not my hubby’s favorite.

Classico has a good marinara – but its a bit too sweet to call it my “Favorite.”  Maybe I DO need to develop my own sauce recipe – since the stuff in the jar just doesn’t do the trick anymore.

What are your favorites?  Jarred or Homemade?  If you have a recipe I’d love to try it :)

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Saturday Farmer’s Market Finds

Saturdays in the summer usually entail some sort of Farmer’s Market visit.  Right now the only one nearby is Glenwood Springs – it’s a pretty good one – so it’s not a hardship to head in on Saturday mornings.

Today I spent about $35 and got the following:

  • 4 zucchini – 2 are green, 2 are yellow – about 2 meals worth
  • 4 ears of Olathe Sweet Corn – best stuff on earth, hands down
  • 2 Heirloom yellow tomatoes
  • 1 bag of mixed salad greens – its the size of the plastic grocery store produce bags – probably 3 good sized salads or more in there
  • 1 bag of mixed green, yellow & purple beans – about 2 meals worth
  • 1 1lb bag of mild roasted green chile – the greens will get cleaned & chopped for green chile this fall
  • 1 1lb bag of sweet roasted pimento chilies – I’m thinking the reds will get cleaned, shopped & frozen in smallish bags for side dishes etc.
  • 1lb of gourmet wide fettuccini – fabulous stuff – 1 meal’s worth
  • 1 bag of handmade orzo – mised flavors – enough to make 1 side dish
  • 2 light yellow and 2 dark green bell peppers – probably going to stuff the light yellow ones – green ones for salads & sides this week

I think I did pretty good – I’m going to clean everything up tomorrow and will put photos here and in my flickr stream.

What are your favorite Farmer’s Market finds?  I dream of large cities with large farmers markets – I love the idea of vacationing and eating ONLY local food.  Where are your favorite places to find awesome locavore favorites?

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