I'm So Sore! That's a Good Thing!

My daughter Molly complained on my facebook wall yesterday that I had posted no pictures or updates except that I was at the gym pretty much every day and how was she supposed to keep up with her mother?  After all... isn't retirement about having more time?  Theoretically that is true.  So what have I been up to?  Hmm... I'm old... I forgot.  :)  Actually she's right.  I have been to the gym... not every day but most days.  That has been a really positive (and somewhat painful) change for both Dave and I.  He is usually with me.  As he said yesterday... we may have to start taking two cars.  I like to stay longer than he does.  Perhaps it's not so much like to as need to :)  He started out in better shape than I am.  We discovered yesterday that we both have lost a lot of inches.  I gave him the customary hug as he started out the door and we were amazed to find that our arms seemed to be much longer.  Either that or our midsections are shrinking.  Sweet!  I keep getting on the scales and am not impressed with any great weight loss but I'm definitely becoming a more firm elephant.  As a matter of fact, I tried on the dress I wore to Bobby's wedding on December 3rd and it was almost baggy!  I want a wedding picture redo!!!  Speaking of the non-impressive weight loss... the fatometer cried out 160.3 this morning and glucose was 114.  Seems like that should have been lower too.  Must have been those 9 or 10 purple tortilla chips I lined my tuna salad with yesterday...

Since it is now the end of the month and as usual I have spent every last dime of my budget I am now in the get really creative phase of cooking.  What this means is I have to figure out what to do with what I have on hand since there will be no more buying anything until Feb 1.  Here was yesterday's idea.  Avocado tuna salad.  This was scrumptious.  You have to like tuna salad but if so... yum!  Instead of mayo I used plain non-fat Greek yogurt.  I don't think I even have mayo in the fridge.  If I do I shouldn't as that would mean it's been there for months.  :)  I used up the remaining very tasty relish that my good friend and neighbor Carol brought me.  I added a couple of hard boiled eggs, some curry powder, chopped sundried tomatoes and a handful of ground almonds.  I had half an avocado that needed to be used so I threw that in too.  It's things like that avocado that are possibly slowing down the weight loss but... no bread!  Oh wait... tortilla chips!  Dang!   The day prior (again... what on earth am I going to make without going to the store) I made some really tasty soup!  I'll call it... Black Bean, Veg, Turkey Sausage Tortilla Soup...

Next time I'll try to remember to actually wipe down the cutting board before I take a pic... but Dave was really hungry and getting cranky having to wait.  I had a couple of whole grain tortillas left over so that inspired me to throw this little concoction together.  Again... the white blob is non-fat yogurt rather than sour cream.  I also added a can of black eyed peas, some frozen tomatoes and a few kernels of frozen corn from the garden.  And since it's just not food with out some sort of meat I chopped up some turkey sausages and added them.  A little taco seasoning, diced avocado and fresh cilantro and yeah baby!

Let's see, what else...  I cleaned out most of the remaining veggies in the fridge (bean sprouts, cauliflower, red onion, orange bell peppers) and used up some left over home made curry peanut sauce and a couple of ounces of sliced steak with this Thai style tofu dish...

There was so little meat in this dish it was almost vegetarian :)  I wonder if I could actually live as a vegetarian?  Well... that's a pointless question.  We have too many cows in the pasture to eat :)  

Speaking of cows...  Yesterday just as Dave stepped out of the shower after coming home from the gym he gazed out into the pasture and noticed that Red Bull was hanging out with the ladies at the top of the pasture rather than being in his own pen and that his cell mate Chuck was actually in Jeremy's (non-resident neighbor) pasture.  He had a wonderful afternoon of playing musical cows trying to get Red Bull and Chuck back in their pen and fix the fence in three places and the chicken yard which Chuck trampled through to escape.  My job was to walk the fence-line to discover the points of escape.  That wouldn't have been so bad except that I did work out really hard at the gym and there is still about six inches of crusty snow to tromp through.  That's why I'm so sore this morning I think.  He was almost successful with returning the correct cows to the correct places.  Red Bull is back in isolation but instead of Chuck he's hanging out with Sara.  She's already pregnant though and Chuck and Sara just wouldn't cooperate.  Seeing as how we ran out of daylight that's how the sleeping arrangements were decided for the evening.

Here are just a few pics from our snow, melt, snow, melt, freezeathon this week.  We were just out for a stroll to the mailbox... look at that handsome skinny man :)

And here I am... not so skinny but improving...

And just the last rays of the day lighting up the hill behind the barn.

Well... I've been blessed with the good fortune of sitting around in my jammies, entertaining myself with thoughts of food and watching the sun come up.  Guess it's time to get busy!  

Before I go... if you occasionally pop in to read my convoluted obsession with food would you consider (if you have not already done so) clicking on the button to become a follower of this blog?  It's helpful to know that you are out there hopefully having a chuckle at my expense :)  Thanks!!!

Ciao!

It Was A Very Fat Year!

Well!  I'm glad 2011 is over!  It was a very fat year.  Between December 1st and today I believe I lost and gained 7 pounds three times!  Bad plan, I know!  But... I'm off to a great start.  I have 10 lbs to go to lose down to where we left off last spring but I can do it!  Actually 2011 was a year filled with many wonderful blessings... but I totally lost my focus :(  So... now I'm back!  With a little discipline I will once again attempt to shrink down to my goal weight of 140.  I can almost see the finish line... if I look through binoculars!

Toward the end of December Dave decided it was time to join the little gym in town and we've been getting his moneys worth for sure!  I can definitely tell I'm making progress.  I will certainly be glad when I look in the mirror and I see something other than a fat little frog looking back at me though!  This morning the fatometer read 160. even and my glucose was 85.  That's a great reading.  The glucose that is not the weight.  Ugh!  No doubt the exercise is really helping those blood sugar numbers.  It's been all over the board the last few months as I feasted my way through the holiday season!

Exercise is big but so is food so I'm back to a fridge loaded with veggies.  Here's what it looks like on the plate...

Grilled cod piled with peppers and side salad.

Big fat amazing salad with pears, figs and feta

Just a big wok full of veggies that became...

Steak stir-fry rotini.  The pasta was whole grain and was my treat for almost passing out at the gym today.  

Cauliflower, salad and rib steak.  How does rib steak fit into a diet you ask?  Well... I split one with Dave.  My portion was just slightly over 2 ounces.  Yes, I weighed it.  The other steak was used to make the steak pasta stir-fry shown above and this slammin salad.  :)  

That my friends is "good eats".  Speaking of good eats... well, let me back up.  Our daughter Amberlyn went with me to the gym...

 pretty much every day between Christmas and New Year.  Except for the day we went skiing...

oops... back to the gym... she helped me learn some of the equipment and showed me some things to do with the free weights.  She said that it is very important to eat some protein after working out.  She really is a little workout freak :)  I don't remember why protein is necessary.  I just remember "blah blah blah protein, let's go buy some protein bars".  So we did.  They are really expensive though!!!  So... I was pretty sure I could find a recipe on the internet and make my own.  The one I chose was from Alton Brown who hosts the series "Good Eats" on food TV.  You did not really think I was going to wind my way back around to good eats did you?  Hmm???  Anyhoo... I made them and they are scrumptious!  They are my healthy protein reward when I finish my workout at the gym...

They are made with pomegranate juice, dried fruit, silken tofu (sounds gross I know but is very good, makes them quite moist) wheat flour, wheat germ, oat bran and walnuts.  Here they are all wrapped up and ready to go.  

They are now in a freezer bag and sitting on the freezer shelf (out of sight out of mind).  I grab one and tuck it into my gym bag as I walk out the door and eat it immediately on the way home.  :)  

Well, there you go!  First blog post of the new year.  Are you exhausted?  I am!  But it's now 10:30 pm and I've kept myself busy (at your expense) writing rather than snacking so now I think it's safe to sign off and go to bed.  

Ciao my friends :)  Here's to a wonderful 2012.  Very hopefully not the year the world ends...