Bye bye January !

Right around February first, I start feeling restless and need to do something different to something or with something ,otherwise I am a bear to live with. It's kind of like that episode of Northern Exposure where the ice is about to crack. So, first we ate breakfast:


Pumpkin oats ( 1/2 c oat barley mix, 1 c water,1/3 c pumpkin,1 tsp brown sugar,1 tsp cinnamom)
topped with 2 T ground Flax,2 T crasins,2 T seed nut mix,2 T flaked coconut,1 T goji berries,
1 t olive oil,1 T peanut butter
Yo Plus digestive yogert, water, coffee



And then , in celebration of the first day where the temperatures were not so cold that your face would snap off, we headed out to the woods for a wonderful, refreshing and sanity producing walk, still with snow piles all around. Here is my hubby . Winter gear is so flatttering an thinning !
There was still about a foot of snow on the ground and all the trails were snow covered and hidden, so we walked along the road. There is a real beauty to the stillness of the woods in winter that people too often miss. I think it is because we humans have to bundle up like ticks about to pop in order to enjoy it. Much like my husband and son were.
After the walk it was time to head back to the land of the living with errands, commitments and road salt everywhere you turn. But first, lunch ! One of the places we like to go is Golden Coral Buffet. Lots of people dieting have something that amounts to a mortal fear of buffets, but not me. It is a very good place to make good choices, learn to follow your body clues and get a balanced meal on the quick. If you have children, they can be lifesavers ! I chose to stick to low carb options, and was too chilled for a salad to be appealing. As we got there they were changing over from breakfast to lunch ( we are early people), and so the first plate was a weird mix heavy on the protien



scrambled eggs, cauliflower, green beans, shredded chicken BBQ meat , a sausage patty, a sausage link





Second pass had more of the normal lunch fare out, and i let my appetite be my guide
Asian green beans with almonds, Bourbon street chicken,fresh pineapple wedges

After that I was totally satisfied, full and just stopped.



From there it was shopping for groceries, and while making a stop at the Super Target I bought a George Forman Grill. One of the things that has been a stumbling block to eating more protien in my meals is the fact that they require a few more steps to prepare. At lunchtime this can be a problem, and I think having one of these grills will make life a little easier.Then home again, home again to do mixing, repackaging and so forth.

Come dinner time , none of us were really hungry , but sort of nibbly, so we just kind of had a grzing sort of dinner
carrots,celery,2 fat free cheese sticks,17 almonds
water

Later on in the evening I was thinking I might have gone low on the fruits and veggies, so I grabbed 1 c watermelon, sugar free pudding. For some reason, the pudding with watermellon sounded like a fun mouth feel.
Exercise
90 min walk ( out in the woods and more)

Filling foods 5
water 14

Today while the guys are doing Superbowl things( I would rather play the game than watch it, but I love the commercials) I am going to be reading a copy of the Belly Fat Diet book by the folks at Prevention Magazine. Our library had a copy , and I am curious as o what the angle is. Prevention has some pretty reputable information in the ways of health