It's funny how resilient the body can be when it is treated right ! I am noticing a reduction in my arthritis flairs and a general improvement in my overall mood already. I feel more calm and centered as a rule, and I am noticing the same thing in Nick. Sleep is also improved by us all- not where it should be yet, but better than it was. Bob is noticing that something seems to have shifted in his metabolism as well, so overall I think so far the change has done us good.
Breakfast yesterday was scrambled cheese eggs with tumeric, pork sausage , a piece of whole wheat bread and an apple. For me french press coffee with cream and sugar was added.
Why tumeric ? It is a wonderful antioxidant that adds a bright yellow color to any food. French Press coffee is perhaps one step removed from morning Heaven and this handy little portable press just makes for one less dish to wash . The bread is the end of one of the last loaves of bread I will ever buy ! I make bread and do it well but stopped when the weight loss journey started, simply because I cannot slice a loaf consistently into 16 same sized slices- a very necessary step for calorie counting. Some loaves - in particular ones made with oat meal- were able to be sliced thinner and more slices. Others such as whole meal pumpernickel could not be sliced as thin and wound up with only 12. Had noting to do with over consumption, but everything to do with not wanting to drag a calculator into the kitchen every time I baked and making loaves according to flours by weight instead of the feel of the loaf. I gave up good bread made with real ingredients in favor of a "frankenfood " that was uniform in serving sizes and calorically calculated. Never again ! All breads in this house will be home made with soaked grains and real food.
After a morning with no cravings, plenty of energy and a very productive school morning we broke for lunch- a bed of romaine with tuna, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and wasa crisp bread with some remaining laughing cow lite on the side and an apple. Wasa, AkMak and a few other brands are the only crackers I will buy now because of their simple, basic ingredients, Laughing Cow lite cheese will be replaced with marscapone that I season with my own herbs and spices. Less chemicals and more real food. Dressing was a splash of balsamic vinegar- dressings are another thing that are going to start being home made to avoid things like high fructose corn syrup and questionable oils.
Dinner included another adventure in soaked grains, this time a mix of black and white quinoa that had been soaked for 24 hours
Soaking whole grains improves their texture and your bodies ability to digest them.(Soaked grains - information and directions
can be found here) I used the two kinds of quinoa because I found two partial packs in the cabinet and wanted to free up some space. All grains besides brown rice require 12-24 hours of soaking to bring out their maximum benefit, so it takes some advanced planing for meals. Quinoa seemed to be the best grain to go with the planned dinner, which was one that looked very blah , but was incredibly delicious !
Creamy lemon chicken, roast fennel and quinoa. To make the chicken place chicken thighs in a pan, sprinkle with lemon zest, saute onions and mushrooms in butter and top the chicken with these. Whisk together cream and sour cream and pour over the thighs. Bake 375 for 1 hour. For the fennel, slice and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and roast at 375 for 40 minutes. The whole thing looks kind of beige, but it was very yummy ! Best thing about the day was absolutely no cravings or snack attacks ( something that Nick struggled with each and every day). There is a very long satiation with eating real food .
Today is going to involve making room in my freezer for the purchase of a turkey . I am finding a million little dribs and drabs of odd things in there , and while this could be a great sign of frugality, I have no idea how long most of these things have been in there, and some I have no idea what they even are . There is one of my very bad habits- not lableing what I put in my freezer ! At least it does not have to be defrosted !
2 comments:
I am loving grains lately :) This morning i had a 3 grain porridge made with apple cider, kamut berries, wheat berries and barley!
I am right there with you with dense, nutrient-rich foods. I started planning my days ahead of time, so I could consciously decide to eat real food and not faker food when the urge to eat strikes. Just a few days in, and I, too, am finding that I am feeling more satisfied and the scale seems to be creeping downward. I think this may be the way for me to go. :)
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