The $13.35 fast food dinner

This has been another rough week exercise wise ! Between the back to school routine ( with doing things in a very different way this year) and the constant wild cards with house stuff, I feel like I am living in a blender or something, waiting for things to stop - or at least slow down enough to grab onto the walls and get my bearings ! I finally got out for a short walk this morning, and it has been the only "exercise" I have been able to get in. There has been a whole lot of movement in the form of obsessive house cleaning, but no "you are moving for a certain time simply to move so you burn calories and rev up your metabolism " kind of stuff. With good reason !

Since we made the discovery that we were dealing with ringworm that we most likely got from the hotel swimming pool, I have been a little creeped out. First about the idea that a swimming pool can have such a nasty thing in it, and second the fact that we had no idea what this was for like a month and it that time it has most likely spread to every surface of our home and gone unchecked. I am not a germaphobe, but this made me one ! My course of action was to wash and disinfect every surface, the rug, the mattresses, the shoes and more. Nick has been a huge help, and we have been working our butts off. Cleaning the carpet ( Nick and I go through here barefoot most of the time so who knows how much stuff got transferred to the rug) has occured over the last two days , and for some reason running the machine and the ten thousand bends to retrieve the fur balls it spits out everywhere kills my back. By yesterday afternoon I was wiped out and my back was too sore to make our planned meal , so I asked Bob to stop to pick up dinner. One of the chains here, Portillos, has a grilled tuna salad and fruit smoothies that we have wanted to try, so I suggested he get these. Bob is a very good shopper- he understands exactly why we buy certain things, why we avoid others and uses his head to come up with acceptable alternatives when things need to be changed. He stopped and noticed that the grilled tuna salad was a Grilled Tuna Cesar salad, and Cesar salad dressing often contains anchovies ( so does some forms of BBQ Sauce, steak sauce and a few other things). He has gotten used to the rules when I had the fish allergy and is adapting to the new fish is okay but shelfish is not rules, and the poor guy could not remeber if anchovies were fish or shellfish ! He rationalized that we wanted the fish, needed the veggies and onion rings will not count, so here is what he brought home

Grilled yellow fin tuna sandwich on a bun with lettuce and onion, side salad (HUGE) and a pina colada smoothie. I was starving, it was delicious, other than the size of the salad a darned healthy choice. But the price - GASP !!! Dinner for 3 ( we all had the same thing) was close to 40 dollars. For fast food ! I really cringed about this, but he assured me that it was fine, I was worth it and next time we will figure out a way to do things less expensive.

It makes Subway look very attractive ! I wish they had a fish option that was not tuna or moc crab in a ton of mayo sauce ! It also makes me wish that Subway would instruct their employees about the recipe for their offerings ! It drives me crazy when I go in to order a Veggie delight sub and they ask me what kind of meat I want on it ( this has happened to me at least 4 times). Perhaps it is a regional problem . Portillos has been the only fast food chain where you always get exactly what you order . Our local McDonalds seems to have a problem with complicated orders, such as ones requesting 2 cokes and a coffee. It's always like Christmas when you drive through to the window where you pick up your order. Will it be drinks ? Fries ? a Sherpa ? It all seems to depend on the person taking the order's ability to understand electronically muffled speech - a tricky thing it seems.

I really dislike fast food for these reasons. However, sometimes it is a necessary evil , and I am thankful for healthy options. Even if they wind up costing $13.35 per person !

BBC NEWS | Health | Eating at night myth 'exploded'

Interesting study. Findings show that your body processes food in exactly the same way no matter what time you eat it,and that hormones do indeed have a big impact on weight. Decrease in estrogen and progesterone increases the production of Leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells , which influences food intake. ( Other studies have shown that leptin increases the hormone cortoisol, which makes you gain weight in the middle, causes your skin to age and much more)

BBC NEWS | Health | Eating at night myth 'exploded'

Perhaps a personal goal

Another busy day here ! With extra housekeeping activities to rid the house of any traces of our little friend , I have been hopping. Hopping, moving, scrubbing but not officially exercising . I get up at 4 am to start my day and stay flying till after dinner, where I struggle to keep my eyes open and make my back stop hurting. All this bending, shifting, scrubbing is murder on it !

A thought came to me today while I was changing the reservoir tank on the carpet shampooer. I have been really hesitant in the past to set a definite weight loss goal for myself , simply because I am working with different issues. I do not struggle with emotional eating, bad choices or so forth, but hormonal issues. It seems that these cooperate when I eat fish (something I have not been able to eat due to an allergy till recently). If I have another good loss this week ( last week was not a stellar week for exercise either and I had a very nice loss) , I am going to set my first ever personal goal- to be in One-derland by this Thanksgiving. This would be a 42 lb loss in roughly 14 weeks. That is 3 lbs per week, and possible . I would not beat myself up over it if I lost, but if I could archive it, this would be the fulfillment of a goal that has been 20 years in the making ! Perhaps with this in my sights it might tell the universe to stop tossing so many wild cards my way for a while because I have other uses for me for a while.

The thought makes me feel very optimistic !

Monday brings memories

Mondays are such busy days here ! Between slightly heavier school load and the weekly housecleaning, time can be the most precious commodity of all ! When extra things get tossed in, it gets a little crazy ! There is one very bright spot in Mondays this year though. I have included a mandatory reading time on Mondays and Fridays for my son, with the instructions that it has to be a chapter type book. He really dislikes this kind of reading, but he desperately needs it to help with his own communication abilities . In order to write and peak intelligently, you need to see and hear examples of how it is done ,IMHO. A miracle has happened this year- Nick actually LIKES reading these kinds of books. I caught him while he was doing his reading :

( note- he is wearing shorts but you cannot see them past his shoulders !)

Enjoyment brings cooperation, and this makes a more productive , peaceful school day ! It also makes our lunch breaks a lot nicer- when no one feels like they have been through the wringer, it's easier to feel restored after a meal. If that meal sort of looks fun, it's even better

We made something I call Monkey Tails ( peanut butter and banana rolled up in a high fiber flat bread ) and had it with a salad we made from the leftover bits of Saturday's Sushi making. Celery, carrots, avocado, moc crab, little bit of rice and nori tossed with rice wine vinegar and a couple drops of sesame oil. These were joined by five baby plum tomatoes- a new variety to me. It seems almost illegal NOT to eat tomatoes at least once a day at this time of year- they are so darned plentiful !

We had a late visit from the Cable company for some necessary work , and dinner was late. I decided to try a different brand of salmon burgers- these from Sam's Club


These are 10 calories more that the Aldi's brand and slightly higher in sodium. The cost is also about 15 cents per serving higher, but we wanted to try all of the possible options. I served these with sweet potato fries an the Healthy Life buns

The verdict ? We actually like the Aldi's brand more. However , if Aldis stops carrying these, it is nice to know that we can get them at Sams.

For some reason I was totally wiped out after dinner. Okay, there was a reason. 20 years ago on this day my first son was born dead. Yes it is a distant event and so much more of life has happened since then, but you never forget a child. Mothers bond with their babies the minute they suspect their presence, and nothing removes that bond. No matter if they are in existence for minutes or years, the emotional connection remains. Before birth , only the mother perceives something about the soul that is attached to the physical creation that is her child. When a child is lost before birth , one of the most profound emotions that comes with the experience is feeling that you are the only one who actually knew the life lost. When there is no grave , you feel pressured to keep their memory alive , or they simply cease to exist.And at the same time nothing can remove the memory of their existence from your mind.Children change the depth, breath and quality of your soul- part of you is never really born until you conceive a child. Sometimes this feeling becomes a burden that you do not dare put down and other times it can feel like it will smother you. Anniversaries , no matter how distant, bring a new or renewed sense of experiencing this sacred burden, and a flood of questions. If they had survived they would have been __ yrs old and most likely doing ___. When you encounter others who would have been the same age, you automatically compare. Because it was the 20th birthday ( anything ending with a zero seems so much more important) , I was feeling all of these things more deeply. Not guilt or even loss , but just a physical reaction to some deep seated memories. I was achy. I was tired. I really just wanted to find a cave to spend 24 hours in. A good night's sleep was in order and much appreciated. It's a brand new day, and I am blessed with the responsibility of raising Adam's younger brother and continuing to share a happy life with his father. Life does indeed go on.

There's a new bun in town

Move over Arnolds Thins, there is a new kid in town ! This one is lower in calories and an actual bun !! Healthy Life now makes a wheat bun that looks like a hamburger bun, tastes like a hamburger bun, but comes in at a skinny 80 calories ! That is a mere 10 calories above an average slice of bread, but for a whole bun !

Here is the nutritional information ( sorry for the bad photo !)

For those following a Weight Watchers points program ,these come in at one point per bun- Better than Arnolds ! They are also cheaper per package. I found these in our market and really wanted to give them a try. I have bough other Healthy Life breads in the past and was very happy with the quality. To see that they now also have buns in my market was a happy thing ! Yesterday for lunch we had these with an Aldi's find- Salmon burgers ( I hope it is not a seasonal item !)
Here is the nutritional information for these tasty little guys
Click on it to "embiggen"- lables seem to be ard for my camera to capture . These two finds met, liked each other and were married in order to form a tasty, healy lunch that came in at 310 calories for the whole shebang

I am very thankful that it is not required for me to dress up like a clown and stand under an arch to get my family to like a burger type lunch ! I think those big shoes would be a hazard to my health .

New friends...yeah, that's how to veiw it !

It seems that the ability to eat fish again is not only making me VERY happy, but seems to get the scale moving in the right direction once again. It's a win win kind of thing. Fish has always been my favorite food , and when the allergy came into existence , I felt like I had been removed from a big part of myself !

Yesterday was our usual "run to do grocery shopping" round, followed by chopping and then singing at the 4 pm service for Bob. We began the day with the new breakfast favorite ( eaten 7 days a week) , Overnight oats. Here is how I make it :

Overnight Oats

1/3 cup rolled oats
1 cup soy milk
1/3 pint fresh blueberries ( or can use chopped apple)
2 tsp Splenda
1 T cinnamon

Before bed combine all ingredients in a container. Place in the refrigerator
overnight. In the morning , stir and eat.

A note about Splenda- a lot of people , in an attempt to eat healthy and lose weight will start out using things like Splenda or Nutrasweet and then dump it in favor of things like agave syrup, Stevia or sweetening with fruit because it is perceived as healthier. Truth is agave is a HIGHLY refined product, and both it and fruit affect your blood sugars, plus add calories. Splenda and other artificial non caloric sweeteners do not. Using these can reduce the caloric count of your serving by 25-50 calories. And, if you have any reason to watch your blood sugars, they are an even more intelligent choice . This last issue became clear shortly after breakfast !

We had gone to Gatlinburg for vacation a few weeks back , and when we came back we started noticing odd rash things on us. The complex sent out a notice that we were being sprayed for bedbugs, but none of these bites looked anything like bedbug bites , and we had seen no evidence of bedbugs. Several of the "bites" had rings around them, and I have been vacuuming like crazy, looking for ticks, bedbugs, spiders or anything that could possibly be biting us. Also watching for any sign of fever or Lyme disease. It has been very nerve wracking to say the least. After we finished breakfast we were talking about the plans for the day and I looked down at Bob's foot and saw a water blister on his toe, and offered to put some antibiotic cream and a band aid on it for him. While treating his toe I noticed that he had Athletes Foot between the toes, so we added a stop to get some spray for it to the list. Bob has had a problem in the past with athletes foot and other things , and as a result has to wear certain kinds of shoes and socks. I noticed he had a lot of these ring bite things around his ankles, and I was concerned about an allergy to whatever had been biting us. While we were at the store I picked up a can of Lotrimin spray , was reading and the words "also affective on ringworm" literally jumped off the label and screamed at me. It dawned on me that we might be dealing with ringworm ! It's one of those things that you hear about , but never really watch for. Once we got home from shopping I did some research, and sure enough it seems we are dealing with ringworm, and most likely got it from the swiming pool at the motel. A generous souvenir if you will . So here we go with creams, a round of grapefruit seed extract internally and replacing the towels. We have gotten into a very bad habit of using the same towel over and over between the three of us ( air drying between uses) , and this has made the fungus spread like wildfire. We were also eating a lot of melons and high sugar fruits, so basically we made ourselves and our home a four star resort for the beasties. Low sugar or sugar free will be the way to go now.

Ringworm, incidentally, is not a worm at all, but a fungus. It got it's name from the ring like appearance of the eruptions. You can pick it up from animals, any damp surface, swimming pools, tanning beds and any place where infected human skin has touched. It can surface on just about every part of your body. Ringworm...bedbugs...urban life of today is nothing like urban life when I was younger !

While it sounds disgusting, there is great satisfaction in at long last knowing what you are dealing with and how to proceed. There is resolve, and progress can be made. By lunchtime I was feeling empowered !

Lunch was a grilled yellow fin tuna sandwich from one of our favorite sandwich places, Portillios. They have great burgers and sausages, but they also make this grilled tuna sandwich that is one of my favorite things to eat ! They serve it on a bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion and a thin coating of mayo. Not sure of the calorie count because they do not post the nutritional info, and to be honest I do not care ! This sandwich is to die for ! I also got an order of onion rings ( one splurge for the week) , and ate it with about 10 baby carrots, a pint of blueberries and a diet green ice tea. Yummy !

The afternoon was spent washing and cutting veggies and other kitchen duties. Dinner was going to be a combo of my two favorite things- fish and oriental food ! One of my favorite styles of cooking is oriental, and it has been a while since I had gotten to play. One of the things I love to make ( and the guys love to eat) is California Rolls- or sushi as my son calls it. Now that fish is no longer a problem, we can have it at home . Nick and I worked together to construct dinner- California rolls and Beansprout salad with Garlic and fortune cookies. Here is my plate, and I went back for seconds on the sushi !

Bean Sprout Salad With Garlic


2 tablespoons Black sesame seeds
3/4 pound fresh bean sprouts thoroughly washed- and drained
1/4 pound fresh Chinese pea pods thoroughly washed and drained
3 medium garlic cloves peeled and minced
2 medium scallions -- trimmed & minced
1 inch cube ginger root, fresh, minced
2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Fresh bean sprouts are a must for this recipe . The canned variety don't have the
requisite crispness. Place the bean sprouts and pea pods in a large heatproof bowl and set it aside.
In a medium-size skillet set over moderately low heat, stir-fry the garlic, scallions
and ginger in the oil for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are limp.

Add all the remaining ingredients, increase the heat to moderate, then boil the mixture,
uncovered, for 1 minute to slightly reduce the liquid. Pour the boiling dressing over
the bean sprouts, toss well, then cover the bowl and chill the salad for several hours.
Toss again before serving.

California Roll

1 pk Nori sheets
2 cups brown rice
5 cups water
3 T rice wine vinegar
1 tsp Splenda
1 pk mock crab
1 avocado
2 or 3 carrots
2 or 3 ribs of celery

Cook the rice and water according to package directions. You want more water to make
a sticky rice. Remove from heat, stir in rice wine vinegar and splenda and let cool.
Cut Avocado, celery, carrots and crab into thin strips. To assemble, lay a sheet of nori on
a cutting board, pile on rice, wet your hands and press down to a thin layer so it covers
the nori sheet. Place strips of the above ingredients down the middle and roll up in a tight roll
and press all over to insure it sticks. Cut into 8 slices and put on a plate. Chill and serve.

We sat eating , talking and laughing at the fortunes ! It cost 89 cents for a bag of fortune cookies , and it may be the cheapest entertainment of all. We interpreted the meanings of the fortunes with a kind of dark , comedic twist and laughed. One that my husband got we decided was just a sign that the creator of the fortunes was just plain overworked

" Ask not what your fortune cookie can do for you, but what you can do for your fortune cookie "
???????????

Later we had dessert- homemade coconut ice cream ! I have been experimenting in the past with creating good home made ice cream. This one was inspired by something Culvers was offering for the flavor of the day a while back. The flavor is right , but it cures way too hard in the freezer.

Coconut Ice Cream

2 cans coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup coconut
3/4 c splenda

Blend in a blender and then freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturers directions

Ice cream eaten in proper portion size will never hurt you. Proper portion size is 1/2 cup. It is only when you begin to treat a pint or a half gallon as a serving that you will get into trouble !

Weigh in, and a light at the end of the tunnel

Just a quick post - busy day today ! However, it is weigh in day, and time to see how eating fish works...or does not. We simply switched to eating fish instead of any other kind of meat this week.

Me- DOWN 4.8
Nick - DOWN 3.4
Bob - DOWN 1.8

Fish does indeed work ! Not shellfish like shrimp, lobster or real crab but things like cod, flounder, turbot, salmon and so forth. One reason may be that it is naturally lower in calories than other meats. Another may be that it is high quality protein , and in the case of ocean fish contain a higher level of iodine. This nutrient supports the thyroid, which if it is sluggish , can make weight loss very difficult. One of our primary sources of iodine is iodized salt ( NOT sea salt) , and when you start cutting salt from your diet, you also rob your body of iodine. It's a catch 22 situation.

Obviously going to continue doing the same this week , and I will get back to posting meals and pictures. I wanted to wait to see if this indeed worked !