Tips & Tricks: Shakes, Salads and Other Stuff Around the Kitchen

Some random tips and tricks I've been collecting for a few weeks now....


Strawberry Ice Cubes
I bought four quarts of fresh strawberries two weekends ago, but I only had time enough to turn two quarts into strawberry jam for the upcoming year.  The remaining two quarts were losing quality fast--they were super ripe to begin with, so the shelf life was really short. I had tossed a few into my morning shakes last week, and while they were a wonderful addition there was no way I was eating 2 quarts of strawberries before they turned bad.  So I had this ingenious idea that ACTUALLY WORKED.  I pureed the berries in the blender, and then froze the liquid in silicone ice trays. And my wonderful strawberry ice cubes were born!!

So today when I went to make my breakfast shake, I popped two strawberry ice cubes into the blender with everything else!  The silicone trays released the frozen fruit very easily.

Simple Seasonings
I've been eating about one salad a day now for over a month, and I've found the one thing that really dresses it up is freshly ground salt & pepper.  I picked these grinders up at my local grocery store during a 2/$4 sale and I keep them at work in my desk drawer.  A few twists of fresh salt and pepper really adds dimension to a salad, and I find I use less dressing when I have salt & pepper than when I don't!

Re-purposed Bread Basket
A number of years ago I went through a Longaberger basket phase...I haven't purchased any new baskets in quite some time, and it is a non-negotiable requirement that I use the ones I have purchased.  I have my bread basket (technically the bagel basket) on the kitchen counter, but since I've been trying to limit refined carbs I haven't been buying bread.  So I turned my beloved basket into a mini produce stand.  I keep my onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers, and in this photo, grape tomatoes in the basket on my counter.  Keeps everything handy, and the basket stays purposeful!

On the Menu: June 20th - June 25th

Last week's menu is going to mostly carry over into this week! Although I planned, several nights ended up being completely off schedule.   We ate out several nights, only one of which was planned.

Monday, June 20th:

• Breakfast: strawberry nutrimeal shake made with strawberries, blueberries, water and ice
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg & romaine lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, black beans & leftover steak
• Snacks: yogurt, USANA oatmeal snack bar
• Dinner: pesto pork chops, stuffed eggplant (tomatoes, squash, mushrooms, onions)

Tuesday, June 21st:

• Breakfast: dutch chocolate nutrimeal shake made with water and ice
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg & romaine lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, black beans & shredded chicken
• Snacks: apple & yogurt, USANA oatmeal snack bar
• Dinner: Greek chicken with feta, spinach, olive and tomatoes

Wednesday, June 22nd:

• Breakfast: dutch chocolate nutrimeal shake made with water and ice
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms and hard boiled eggs (2)
• Snacks: apple & yogurt, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: dinner out...U2 concert!!!!!

Thursday, June 23rd:

• Breakfast: strawberry nutrimeal shake made with strawberries, blueberries, water and ice
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms 
• Snacks: apple & yogurt, USANA oatmeal snack bar
• Dinner: fish & veggies on the grill

Friday, June 24th:

• Breakfast: dutch chocolate nutrimeal shake made with water and ice
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms 
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: steak & grilled veggies

Saturday, June 25th:

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, tomatoes and a little feta cheese
• Lunch: too be determined...
• Snacks: USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: My high school class reunion...hard to say what they'll feed us!

On the Menu: June 13th - June 18th

I stuck with last week's menu about 75% of the time.  My deviations came with eating out two nights and eating lunch out two days, all of which stemmed from the bf being away.  

Monday, June 13th:

• Breakfast: dutch chocolate nutrimeal shake made with water and ice
• Lunch: skipped 
• Snacks: cottage cheese, USANA oatmeal snack bar
• Dinner: Grilled Italian sausage packets with veggies

Tuesday, June 14th:

• Breakfast: vanilla nutrimeal shake made with water, ice and fresh strawberries
• Lunch: corn & black bean salad on a jalapeno tortilla
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA oatmeal snack bar
• Dinner: Greek chicken with feta, spinach, olive and tomatoes

Wednesday, June 15th:

• Breakfast: dutch chocolate nutrimeal shake made with water and ice
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms and hard boiled eggs (2)
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: pesto pork chops, green beans

Thursday, June 16th:

• Breakfast: vanilla nutrimeal shake made with water and frozen mixed fruit including wild blueberries, pineapple, mango, peaches & strawberries
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms 
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA oatmeal snack bar
• Dinner: dinner out; to be determined

Friday, June 17th:

• Breakfast: vanilla nutrimeal shake made with water and frozen mixed fruit including wild blueberries, pineapple, mango, peaches & strawberries
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms 
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: fish & veggies on the grill

Saturday, June 18th:

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, tomatoes and a little feta cheese
• Lunch: vanilla nutrimeal smoothie made with water and frozen fruit including wild blueberries & strawberries
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: cook out...

The Importance of Planning

Planning is crucial to so many aspects of life; while it may seem glamorous or carefree to fly by the seat of your pants, it really isn't a healthy or effective long term strategy.  In my own life, I can say with certainty that my lack of planning has negatively impacted my emotional, physical and financial health at various points in time.  I also recognize that it isn't always easy to plan; just look at the money that project managers make in any industry.  It takes a certain level of diligence to make a plan, and even more to stick to it. But it isn't impossible; it just takes practice.

Last week I put together a menu for the week, and even though I didn't stick to it 100%, that simple exercise gave me a baseline to compare my choices to as the week went on.  Sometimes I made better choices than I had planned, and other times I made worse.  By having the baseline, I can at a minimum measure and track my choices and their subsequent consequences.  Last week, my positive adjustments out shined my negative adjustments and I am happy to report weight loss of another pound down this week.  I even ate out a few times--twice for lunch and twice for dinner--which just goes to show it is possible to make decent choices at restaurants.

This week I am embarking on the same exercise.  I even picked up a new recipe magazine at the grocery store on Saturday.  The magazine caught my eye because of the number of recipes that used fresh veggies and herbs, and it is perfect timing since our local farmer's markets are in full swing.  I'm looking forward to dinners this week, and I even have a few new salads to try out for lunch.

Well Timed Article: What sugar actually does to your brain and body

From Lifehacker:  http://lifehacker.com/5809331/what-sugar-actually-does-to-your-brain-and-body

On the menu: June 6th-June 11th

I know I've published a lot of posts today, but I've had a ton on my mind for the last week and just too little time to let it out of my finger tips.  I want to try to post my weekly food plan for the week every Monday, so this will be my first one.  Next week when I post another, I'll let you know how the previous played out.


Monday, June 6th:

• Breakfast: vanilla nutrimeal shake made with water and frozen mixed fruit including wild blueberries, pineapple, mango, peaches & strawberries
• Lunch: leftover Maryland Crab Cake, carrots & leftover buffalo chicken dip (about 1/3 c)
• Snacks: pear & cottage cheese, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: feta & spinach stuffed chicken breaks, roasted veggies

Tuesday, June 7th:

• Breakfast: dutch chocolate nutrimeal shake made with water and ice
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms and hard boiled eggs (2)
• Snacks: pear & cottage cheese, USANA oatmeal snack bar
• Dinner: Steak, grilled onions & mushrooms

Wednesday, June 8th:

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, tomatoes and a little feta cheese
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms and hard boiled eggs (2)
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: pesto pork chops, green beans

Thursday, June 9th:

• Breakfast: vanilla nutrimeal shake made with water and frozen mixed fruit including wild blueberries, pineapple, mango, peaches & strawberries
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms 
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA oatmeal snack bar
• Dinner: dutch chocolate nutrimeal shake made with water and ice

Friday, June 10th:

• Breakfast: vanilla nutrimeal shake made with water and frozen mixed fruit including wild blueberries, pineapple, mango, peaches & strawberries
• Lunch: green salad made with iceberg lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, red beets, mushrooms 
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: Headed to the Orioles game with my best gal Marion; might eat at the ball park but I'm really not sure yet. 

Saturday, June 11th:

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, tomatoes and a little feta cheese
• Lunch: vanilla nutrimeal smoothie made with water and frozen fruit including wild blueberries & strawberries
• Snacks: apple & cottage cheese, USANA chocolate snack bar
• Dinner: dutch chocolate nutrimeal shake made with water and ice

Some notes on the menu:  the bf is teaching a class in neighboring state Thursday & Saturday, so I will most likely be cooking for one those days/nights.  And that means I will most likely NOT cook, and instead I will replace those meals with shakes just for simplicity's sake. 

My frozen fruits are from those big bags you get at the discount stores like BJ's.  I love having that handy for mixing in with my shakes.  And try tossing some fresh or frozen spinach in as well; you won't notice a difference in taste or texture as long as you are also using frozen fruit, but you are supercharging the vitamin content. It will be an awful color green though, so if you are a visual eater like I am, opt for a solid color cup with a lid.  I've found a half of a fresh or frozen ripe banana can mask the taste of 1 1/2 c of frozen spinach.  But definitely check your teeth before heading into the office or out to the shop...the spinach is notorious for sticking.  

Managing Expectations

A full week after completing RESET, I've kept the weight off that I lost through the process.  I managed this even with 2 cookouts for Memorial Day, a dinner out with family AND a graduation party, all inside of 7 days.  I ate, I drank alcohol, and my exercise consisted mostly of chores and errands prepping for Saturday's festivities. Did I lost more weight?  No.  Did I expect to? No.  Last week I was focused on survival, and for the first time in a long series of attempts at losing weight, survival mode did not negatively impact my progress.

Because of this, I had a minor (or major) epiphany that it is really important to keep realistic expectations for ourselves, otherwise we just feel run down and beat down, and it is our own fault. I knew this past week would be difficult, so I kept it real.  I didn't forbid any food for myself, but I did try to make choices in line with my new set of goals and expectations.  That worked pretty well for me.  And when I did have something that wasn't as excellent as I would have liked, I didn't beat myself up over it either.

Throughout this week I was presented with many opportunities to slip back into my old lifestyle.  A few times I did indulge in foods that I would now consider less than excellent, and I had some interesting responses.

1. First, I had a brownie.  A brownie...meaning one (1) brownie.  It was ok, not awesome, and I certainly did not want 37 more.  That is a MAJOR change for me.  I love sugar, I love chocolate, and brownies are chocolate sugar perfection.  Or at least they were.  
2. I also had some Gatorade while out golfing.  I've never been a big fan of Gatorade, but I had the fruit punch flavor because it was hot and I was out of water.  And it was gross.  It tasted like some sort of chemical concoction, and after a few sips, I opted to wait until I could get some water rather than to continue drinking it.  
3. I also did not eat from the bread basket at dinner Friday night.  I didn't even think twice when the waitress sat the warm, sourdough bread down in front of me, and the only time I touched the basket was to hand it off to someone else at the table. 
4. I did not purposely try to avoid soda during RESET week, but I found myself not wanting it so much, and that has continued this week.  I've had a Diet Dr. Pepper here and there, but nothing like before.  I don't even think I am craving the caffeine or anything.  And I was someone that would have accepted a marriage proposal from Dr. Pepper without a second thought.

Yet another positive side effect from RESET is that the sensitivity I was experiencing in my teeth is mostly gone.  I am really impressed with that, but  I suppose it only makes sense that if you eat too much sugar your teeth hurt. I still don't care for really cold beverages, but things that before I would be extremely careful about letting hit my teeth directly have little affect now.

After a week, I am still feeling empowered to keep making great choices.  I also don't feel guilty for eating a brownie, drinking a glass of wine or having a few bites of buffalo chicken dip.  A little bit of each of those was enough for me, and that really felt good.  I think I am finally running this show instead of the food.

Party!

So this past weekend the bf graduated from community college with his AAS.  To celebrate the occasion, we decided to host a party Saturday afternoon once the ceremony was over. Weeks ago (WEEKS AGO) we stopped by a local restaurant and reserved their private room, talked about menus, arrangements, etc, and for the 10 days leading up to Saturday, I was emailing with a manager finalizing menus and such for our 50 confirmed guests.  I ordered the cake & balloons a week in advance from a store right around the corner from the restaurant so I would be able to drop in, grab the cake and balloons, and head straight to the restaurant.

The actual graduation ceremony ran a little longer than I had anticipated; I had no idea it was the largest graduation class in the college's history!  But the ceremony was great, and it was really nice to see the bf so excited about his accomplishment.  It really isn't easy to work full time and attend classes, let alone wrap up an AAS inside of 3 years.

I showed up at the store to find that my cake and balloons were not ready, and that totally screwed up my time line.  Then as I was trying to get the balloons in the car, the grocery cart with the ½ sheet cake in it rolled down the aisle in the parking lot about 50 feet from me. At the same time, a gust of wind took the balloons out of the back of my car and in a direction 90 degrees from the path of the cart.  I ran after the cake for a rescue, and luckily the balloons got hung on the side mirror of another vehicle in the next row over from where I was parked.  Once I finally had the situation under control again, I noticed a 70+ year old woman laughing hysterically in her car.  She was laying forward over the steering wheel cracking up.  Nice.

At this point I was running 25+ minutes late, and when I showed up at the restaurant (it was right at 3 pm when the party was to begin) about 10 of my guests were standing outside.  What the heck?!!!??!? The restaurant totally dropped the ball and didn’t have the room set up or any of the food ready.  The earth may have shifted slightly on its axis at this point; my temper was at  a F5/Category 5/10.0 on the Richter scale level.

The manager coming on to duty was also the general manager, and he quickly got everyone working on things and it recovered very well.  It also earned me 30% off my bill and use of the room for the whole night instead of just until 6 pm, like I had contracted.  Luckily the kitchen had the food out quickly and the servers were exceptionally attentive with drinks orders, so none of the guests that arrived after 3:15 had a clue anything was out of place to begin with.

It ended up being a great day even though it was rocky in the middle.