Meatloaf?

I bought some ground dark turkey meat and some ground beef (93% lean) at Whole Foods yesterday in anticipation of making meatballs.

I changed my mind. Instead I found a recipe on Cooking Light for Meatloaf and modified it. I think I modified it to make it a little fattier (the recipe called for egg whites and I used whole eggs). I also decided that I would use half turkey and half meat. So I divided the recipe in two, and mixed it in two bowls. Then I made two half-sized loafs and mushed them (mushed is the technical word) together and coated them in ketchup.

The husband liked it and said he would eat it again. Next time I will use the meat combination suggested in the recipe of beef, veal and pork. I also liked it and I normally do not like meatloaf.
I also made some asparagus, that I marinated in garlic salt and olive oil. I have a lot of leftovers. The husband claims to like it, but picked it up, looked at it, and put it back down. More for me!

Accountability: I did some strength training and some walking today, but mostly I did stuff around the house and also worked.

Oh I almost forgot...the reason why I should not have any snack like food in the house - I ate STALE whole wheat crackers. 7 of them. I was hungry (it was before I ate the pasta at lunch time).

I also had a banana - but that was a good choice.

The husband is looking for snacks. We have no snacks except for some leftover stale wheat crackers, which I would not recommend.

Sunday to myself (well almost)

I cooked today after breakfast (in between blogging and working and doing laundry).
I made some beets. Red ones. Now I know why people make golden ones. Red ones stain. They also can cause a little bit of alarm in the bathroom, when suddenly the toilet bowl turns pink.

I only panicked for a second. I figured it was the beets. Also red beet juice gets everywhere. I'm not naturally a 'neat' cooker, so I got a lot of red beet juice everywhere.

I then made a cold pasta salad for lunch and for lunch this week:

Barilla whole grain plus penne pasta - 1 box
1 jar of black olives, drained.
1 can artichokes, save some juice.
1 1/4 cups of feta cheese
a handful of chopped sun dried tomatoes
salt
olive oil

I cooked the pasta, and mixed it with olive oil and some salt, and let it cool.

I then mixed in some of the juice from the canned artichokes.

Once the pasta cooled I added the artichokes, olives, feta and sun dried tomatoes. Then I ate some and put the rest in the refrigerator.

I also ate some of the pasta while it cooled.

The husband will not eat it. That ensures that I will have lunch for the rest of the week.

Moisture, moisture and more moisture

I love lotions. Mostly I love lotions that actually keep my skin soft. I slather lotion on myself after every shower. I got thinking (and reading) and started to realize 'what am I putting on my skin'. It is my largest organ after all. Pretty much I have been loading myself up with chemicals. I don't think that the chemicals in moisturizers are going to kill me, but why not be more careful about what I slather on myself every morning.

First of all, I'm not willing to compromise on my facial moisturizer - at least not yet. I'm one of those lucky 30 somethings who seem to have re-hit puberty and the moisturizer and soaps I have been using seem to keep break-outs at bay. (That is a story for another day.) The first product I decided to try was during this past winter, I bought it at Whole Foods. I figured that this was a good place to start.

I smelled a lot of products. I really am not into anything that smells like a college student. (No offense to college students). But I don't want to smell like I did in college, when I wore grungy clothes, ripped jeans and Birkenstocks. I want to smell like an adult who wears suits and pantyhose to work. I don't want to walk around in a waft of memories. SO, after smelling SEVERAL products I decided to try Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion, put out by Avalon Natural Products. It's okay. The smell is a little strong for my taste, but overall pleasant. It says that it is the maximum dry skin formula. I woke up with dry skin. Then again it was winter. I think it might be the summer version of maximum dry skin. (Did I say that I SLATHER moisturizer on in the winter.) Also, it's vegetarian. That's good to know. It has me a little worried about products that don't say they are vegetarian. That's for another day. Overall it says that it has alpha hydroxy and anti-oxidants. There are a lot of chemicals on the label - in fact just as many as on my other moisturizer. I feel a little healthier (and I'm thinking of college) using it, but I don't think I'll be buying it again before summertime.

They do have an unscented version, but I'm thinking I'm going to branch out and try some other products.

Things I should not buy

I went to Whole Foods yesterday. I bought very healthy and yummy things. I also bought chocolate chip merangues. I do not know why I bought them.

I thought I would have one a day. It is the next day and they are all gone. I even had one while I was waiting for my steel cut oats this morning.

There were only four in the package, but I can't buy them anymore. I have no self control when it comes to fluffy crunchy sugar and chocolate.

Margaritas and Mexican Food

Last night the husband and I met our very good friends for dinner at our favorite restaurant, El Sarape. It's not far from our house, and driving by you would never know that inside is one of the best restaurants around.

I'm not into counting points or doing weight watchers. I want to make a healthy lifestyle change forever, and not just so I can lose weight. That being said - I have been on so many diets in my life, I know what to eat and what not to eat. I also know that depriving myself just makes me more hungry.

I have some favorites at El Sarape, and have a hard time expanding beyond them, mostly because they are so delicious. Usually I have enchiladas verdes or camerones javier. Last night I branched out and had camerones en tres chiles (or something like that). It was shrimp, spicy chili/cilantro sauces and some potatos with a side or rice and beans. Delicious and spicy.

I also had two melon margaritas. My favorite. I also had some guacamole and some chips. I do not feel guilty about any of it! I wasn't overly full when I got home.

Also, my friend has been golfing for awhile and has a set of starter clubs I can use while I figure out what I want for clubs.

I really need to start taking pictures :).

I am NOT hungry.

How's that? I went on a long walk (a little longer than anticipated because I really do not have a great sense of direction - something I will not admit to my husband) with my Beet Loving Friend. Leanna did not know that I have a poor sense of direction, so somehow or other we ended up at Hingham Lumber.

I thought this was also a good opportunity for a before picture, so here it is:

Note: I am holding a cancer causing bottle. I was unaware it was cancer causing - and sort of feel like lot's of things cause cancer, but I digress.

I went for a 90 minute walk, we even walked by JJ's (a very favorite place of my friend Amy). The best part, is that I did not even want any JJ's!

So then we ended up walking up Route 3A until we got to the abandoned railroad - which I thought was another great opportunity for before pictures. Leanna is on the left, I am on the right.

Ok, this is actually a very very good before picture of me. And this is not meant as a judgment. I look fat. I am fat. This is not the body I have when i think of my self. In my head I am not a 'fat girl'.

I also made a trip to Whole Foods and got some great food for the week.

This is what I have eaten so far today:

Waffle (Fig and Flax)

Coffee (homemade but Dunkin Donuts variety)

Edamame Salad

PBJ from Whole Foods

Peach Orange Nantucket Nectar

A Chocolate Chip Merangue

A banana.

We're going out to dinner with friends tonight.

Finally Friday!

I weighed 118 pounds in January of 2000. 118 pounds. The funny thing is that was not my lowest weight as an adult. I think that that was up from 112. That was the year I got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. One doctor I went to (the first) told me that I had iritable bowel syndome and I should be happy because I was so nice and slender (I was probably around 122-125 down from a 137). I cried on the way home. I was sick and I knew it. So eventually I found a great doctor, and have since switched to a different great doctor, and all is well.

I met my husband right around when my weight was normalizing and I was getting healthy...and by the summer of 2001 I was at a good healthy fighting weight! I just kept on going. I wasn't exercising as much due to getting a 'real job'.

When I took the bar exam, I was rigid about self-care. I would study for certain periods of time, eat, exercise and make sure that I took a mental break from studying by spending time with pretty much anyone who wasn't studying for the bar. What happened?

That's the question that I am starting to answer.

Today, I was ok. I had to have a blood test that required fasting so I skipped my morning walk and breakfast and had a dunkin donuts coffee, a raisin bran muffin, water, then had a banana, some california rolls, an apple, microwave popcorn and then out of boredom...a snickers egg.

The best part, I don't even like snickers. They are edible, but generally I do not like nuts in my dessert and snickers is no exception.