Experimentation

A couple nights ago, I made soba noodles with grilled pork, mushrooms, green onions and sesame seeds for dinner. I had heard of soba noodles before, but never ventured out to try them. I mean, let's be honest...some things we just avoid because they intimidate us. IE: soba noodles.

Soba noodles are essentially noodles made out of buckwheat. They are a whole grain and minimally processed, which is great! This means that they are a little heartier and slightly chewier in texture. And browner. BUT, they passed the hubby taste test, and this is a very big thumbs up for the soba noodle!

Another new food venture for me this week was the boiler-fryer chicken! I feel like a whole new world of menu items has been opened up to me! Do you even know how excited I am about the endless possibilities I forsee with my boiler-fryers?! I can shred/chop/dice up a whole chicken and freeze it, casserole it, sandwich it, or just snack on the deliciously tender morsels! Not to mention...HELLO! Chicken stock! How excited am I?! A lot. :) Silly Lacy! You shouldn't have ever feared the boiler-fryer. The boiler-fryer is your friend! I can taste the chicken salad sandwiches now.

Experimenting with new methods of cooking, new ingredients, new recipes is fun! It's challenging! It breaks me out of my routine and comfort zone. I dare say a large predictor of failure in a diet is boredom. If you are bored with your food, you don't much care to eat it.

Soba noodles, you bore me not!

excuses, excuses.

It's really cold outside.

I'm not a big fan of cold weather. I hate shivering and being numb and having my nose run and wishing I was laying under an electric blanket with thermal underwear on. Being outside, as you can imagine, just isn't on my list of things to do these days. Especially when hitting freezing means it's a balmy day in Michigan.

Thusly, my time spent out walking or strolling the baby, or anything outside has been minimal. Or, let's just say non-existent. Also, I don't have a gym membership. I own ONE video. It's Tae Bo and I don't know where it is.

I don't like exercising too much. I don't hate it, I just don't love it. I like dancing. I like kick boxing. I like being silly and flapping my body all about to get my little girl to giggle, but a walk around the block is about as exciting as getting a flu shot. So, what's a lazy girl to do?

I'm pretty sure I need something fun. I tried Zumba once, and I liked it. I still like Tae Bo. I think maybe I need to invest in some DVD's. BUT, I don't want to buy them only to find I don't like the DVD's. Anyone out there in the interwebs have some Zumba DVD's I can try out?

At any rate, I've been making a lot of excuses about why I can't exercise. I have to get up earlier than my baby, and wow, that's too early...mama needs her beauty rest. Or, I can't afford a gym membership. Or, sweating sucks. Or, my ipod needs charging. The list goes on.

I'm pretty confident that had I been exercising during the month of January, instead of shedding 10 pounds, I would have lost maybe 12-15.

So, I need to get with the program. Hi, my name is Lacy. I'm slacking.

*yawn

Thank God it's bedtime....

I'm exhausted. Today was a good day, except I'm pretty sure I ate about ten too many chocolate covered almonds.

I felt like I might DIE if I didn't eat something sweet and indulgent. So I compromised. I went to Trader Joe's and I bought dark chocolate covered almonds. In case you didn't know, that was a pretty good choice as far as indulgences are concerned. I got my healthy fat and my antioxidants in one fell swoop.

Now, I'm off to hide the rest of the almonds before I devour them in a fit of sleepy eating.

Nite nite.

Good stuff maynard

I made chicken soup tonight for dinner! I've never taken a fryer-boiler chicken and done a single thing with one. They look so intimidating don't they? All chickeny and huge? How do I cook the darn thing? But I did it! I made chicken soup!

The only thing I could have done without was the egg noodles. They kind of gummed up after sitting in the broth for awhile, but other than that, it was yummy!

Hurray for trying new things. :)

Oh yum yum

I've been tending away from the sugary foods for a long while now, but I've upped the ante a little bit and it's showing; food is just tasting so much better now that I've started eating fresh fruits and vegetables and leaner cuts of meats-seasoned and spiced up all pretty like!

For instance, last night I had a delicious meal at my in-laws house. It was great! And to finish it off, we were presented with some yellow cake with chocolate icing. I LOVE this cake. It's one of my favorites...right up there next to carrot and spice cake. So, I took a half of a half piece, and ate it and enjoyed it. But...I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually do. Typically, cake is like, YUM! But this time, it was more like "yum." And, I considered after I was done, that an apple with brie may have satisfied me more and I would have left feeling lighter and happier with a less calorie laden choice for my nutritional bang. (Have you ever had brie on sliced apples?! Ohmygoodness, it's heavenly and decadent and feels like sinfulness!)

Some people may think I'm off my rocker. Like my husband for instance. But I'm truth telling here people! My tastebuds are demanding to be heard! "Give us the good stuff" they say! And I dare not imply that I don't eat chocolate now and then. I sure do. But wow if my body isn't starting to CRAVE fruits instead of pastries. The resolve is growing. The choices are becoming easier. Passing up that apple fritter in the starbucks baked goods window isn't as hard as it used to be. Cause, you know, I'll peel myself an apple! I'll put some splenda on it! I'll sprinkle it with almonds and cinnamon! I'll bake it! OH YUM YUM! Talk about delicious!

I'm trying to convince my spouse that transitioning over to healthier choices isn't really that hard. A sweet potato rather than an idaho white. Whole wheat pasta rather than white, wheat flour rather than white. Brown rice rather than white. {I suppose we can assume white is a dirty word from now on.} Bran flakes rather than corn flakes. It's just a hop-skip-and jump over to the other side.

And really...it's OH YUM YUM!

Convenience

I've noticed that these days, it's all about quick and easy. And that's great! I like things to be quick. I also like things to be easy. But I wonder at what cost am I bypassing all the little steps it takes to arrive at a final product?

As I was grocery shopping today, I was super-mindful of all the ingredients in each package and every item ending up in my cart. I grabbed at a package of wheat "flat-outs" which are essentially whole wheat tortilla wraps. As I perused the ingredient list, I was shocked! How on earth can something as simple as a tortilla contain ingredients that I can't even pronounce? Shouldn't it be something like "flour, water, yeast..." or whatever?

I'll admit I don't know much yet. In this food game, I'm a pretty new player. Still learning about what should and should not be making up my menus. However, I think I'm starting to catch on. In the name of preservation and convenience, food manufacturers have sacrificed simplicity for longevity. We want our food to last more than a day or two before molding or souring or turning. So, we get preservatives and long lists of things that are added to enhance color or shape or texture or life.

I'm not complaining. Please please please don't think I'm complaining. I really enjoy that my bread doesn't mold after a few days. I also like popping in the occasional lean cuisine when I'm feeling too lazy to make a sandwich. What I am doing is becoming aware. The price of convenience is perhaps more complex and costly than I realized. Lays are quick. Lunchables are easy. Campbells soup is tasty. However, if I baked my own chips, sliced my own lunch meat, and simmered my own soup, I'm confident that I would KNOW what I was eating was simple and clean, calorie controlled and fat found. It's so much easier to know your food when you are chopping it up yourself.

So, I'm not attacking convenience. I love it! It's my hope, however, that as I keep my eyes peeled and my mind open, I will become ever more aware of what goes into my food for the sake of being easy and quick. Opportunity cost is about trading this for that. I'm ready to trade a little bit of time for control over my food, I think. Then again, I'm not quite ready to go off the deep end yet and trade my lean cuisine yet. Percentages! If I can manage to have 75 percent fresh and simple whole foods on my plate and 25 percent or less prepackaged and "conveniently" prepared goods on my plate, then I will feel like I'm definitely at a good start.

What really satisfies

When I decided to start eating healthier foods, I erroneously thought I might be sacrificing taste and flavor for health. How untrue! It's this reason that causes so many people to fail before they even start. I actually started making this transition in late December, early January, and already I've lost about ten pounds. I can honestly say that not one of those ten pounds was lost by denying myself something that tasted good for something that tasted like cardboard.

Sugar and fat make stuff taste really darn good, that is indeed fact. I particularly like the salt part of the taste equation. Sodium = yummm! But, this too has become a point of concern for me as I get older. In addition to fat and sugar, I need to monitor how much salt I'm taking in.

I'll admit, I'm a BIG fan of splenda. Those little yellow packets make my heart flutter. Coffee isn't coffee without my packet of splenda and dash of cream. My instant oatmeal is made all the more delightful by my splenda-did addition. Not to mention how much better my all natural applesauce is with a little help of artificial sweeteners. However, one thing I'd like to do is move away from depending upon artificial sweetness and really enjoy the taste. So, what's a girl to do! If I'm reducing my sugar (virtually eliminating all added sugar sources, really) changing my fat sources to plant based and limiting my sodium, what can I do to flavor my foods?

Herbs! Spices! Citrus! Olive Oil! Wine! Broths! Honey! Fruits! Experimenting with flavors and tastes that come from the earth and really satisfy your tongue! This is something I'm trying to purposefully focus on because I know it's going to be a big factor in my long term success. If my daily diet doesn't satisfy my tongue and the cravings I have for delicious tasty cuisine, then I'm not gonna stick with it.

Last night, instead of having ye old standby snack of a mozzarella stick (which, while good, isn't much of a powerhouse of taste) I cut up four baby cucumbers, sliced in half about a handful of zima cherry tomatoes (SO SWEET) sliced my cheese stick in 1/2 inch pieces and mixed them together. I whisked together some vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, a dash of lemon juice, and generously put some pepper on top with a few pieces of fresh basil mixed in. It was beyond delicious and completely hit the spot.

For those interested in learning more about herbs (the leafy parts) and spices (the non leafy parts) then check this link out! It's a good place to start learning about the differences in various seasonings, how they can be used, and their various flavors.

Keepin' it real

Hi! I'm Lacy. I'm 29 (hurdling at lightspeed towards 30) and have myself a husband, a baby, an apartment and a diet that is desperate need of authenticity. For the first time in my life, I'm attempting to eat a diet (and by "diet" I mean a way of eating) that's primary goal is encouraging health increase rather than weight loss. Let's not fool ourselves. I also really wanna lose some L-B's. BUT, my main goal is to live a healthier lifestyle. This blog is going to be my little spot of the interwebs to blah blah blah all about my journey in that sphere of health and fitness. If you'd like to spy in on me and see how it's going, please do! I'm a natural saleswoman for the things I love. If I try a toothpaste that makes my mouth sparkle, I'm gonna tell you all about it. If I found a pair of socks that insulate my footsies just perfectly, you'll know too. It only makes sense that something as important as food be a part of our daily conversation.

A little background:

From about the ages of 10 to 26, I had a growing weight problem. It started out with just a little chub, and grew and grew and grew until it was clear that I had a serious issue that needed addressing or I may in fact become a statistic of our western diet. Junior high, high school, college and then, post college all were years of failed resolutions, attempts and defeats. I wanted nothing more on earth than to be like everyone else. I wanted to be thin.

It all changed one day when after many years of denial, I looked down at my scale for the first time and saw a number I didn't know I could hit. At my highest weight (oooh, this is hard to admit) I was a grand total of three hundred and forty pounds. (It doesn't look so bad when you write it out!) How on EARTH did I get so heavy? Where did all this weight come from? How could I possibly lose it all? Was there any diet I hadn't tried? Was there a magic pill I could take? I vacillated between panic and acceptance. The panic won over. I knew I was going to die prematurely if I didn't do something. So, I thought about the things I could do to win this weight war I'd been fighting for years. And I made one of the best decisions I've ever ever ever made.

Three years ago, I had weight loss surgery. As a result, I lost over 150 pounds in about two years, making my lowest weight 180.

But this isn't a blog about my surgery. It's a blog about food and health.

I should obviously say WLS helped me shed a lot of weight. I couldn't have done it alone without that tool. It set me up for success. And success I had. But here I am, post baby, post surgery and still the struggle exists. After having my child six months ago, I did not, as anticipated, lose the weight quickly. Breast feeding wasn't the magic answer that some purported. The success I had with surgery and the tools it's given me are still invaluable, but I am now able to eat normal portion sizes (not overeat, however). The surgery was about survival. I HAD to lose weight or else. The health benefits I gained from surgery were a result of the DRASTIC reduction in calories. I also couldn't consume large amounts of sugar or fat due to a condition called (and elegantly so) "dumping" which causes sickness. However now, with the severe restrictions loosened, the sugar and fat effects lightened, many of the choices that were made for me are now more in my own control.

Which leads me to the point. I am finding myself drawn towards the concept of real food and real living. After reading 100daysofrealfood.com (GO THERE!) I knew I had to take my inklings, my late night wandering thoughts, my ponderings and do a little something with them. It's pretty simple really and doesn't need much explanation.

I eat too much fake food. I eat too much food that other people have messed with and fooled with. I eat too much tasteless food. I eat too refined, white, man-made-food-like-imitation-food. I'm gonna start eating real food. Meaning, food that is "whole." Not messed with. Not overly processed. Not refined. Not pretend food. Nothing that has an ingredient list a mile long. Food that is whole and flavorful. To start, I'll be journaling for thirty days about what I'm eating, how I'm feeling, if I'm exercising or not, how hard it is, how easy it is, and any delicious recipes I've tried. Also, let's not lie...cause the theme is "keepin it real," I'll also be watching ye olde friend the scale to see how this effects my weight.

I'm relying on the help of a couple sources for this, and I'll share what I'm learning along the way. I'm gleaning from "The Sonoma diet" but adapting for my own purposes. I'm also doing all this on a pretty tight budget, as I know many of us have concerns about the cost of whole foods and organic vs. the other.

What I hope to have accomplished after 30 days:

1. Not go broke.

2. Be more in control of my food choices and what I put in my body.

3. Be informed about what goes into the food I buy and feed my family.

4. Lose weight.

5. Eat really yummy good food.

6. Get moving too.

And for the numerically minded (and cause it matters to me too) here are my stats:

Highest weight: 340

Lowest weight: 180

Current weight: 210

Goal weight: 160