This week was pretty much documenting a baseline where I logged what I ate (for science! Okay, not really--for pattern identification!), did a lot of stretching because my piriformis, psoas, and QL muscles are jacked, and tried to identify some changes I could make.
Let's get right to...
What I'm eating
'Tis the season for leftovers! We try (try being the intent here) to minimize our food waste by keeping a running list of things we need to use up on the fridge. And this week we actually made it through everything except the coleslaw and the applesauce (the coleslaw went to a landfill, while the applesauce lives to fight another day).
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| My, my. What pretty handwriting. Leftovers never sounded so lovely. |
I had some leftover ham from Christmas, Observed on the 30th with my parents, and then some leftover fresh broccoli from a veggie tray my SIL made for NYE. So I made this Crustless Ham, Cheese, & Broccoli Quiche recipe by Skinnytaste and it was very good. I mean, it was as good as quiche without a crust can be. (According to my friend Jason and my sister Amy a crustless quiche is probably not very good at all but they didn't try it since they are pro-crust and probably more importantly I didn't offer them any). I'd like to point out, though, that Amy hates eggs so why are we even listening to her?
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| Mmmm, eggy goodness... |
With the leftover carrots, I made Filetto di Pomodoro sauce, which is tasty with pasta, especially ravioli. (If you make this, chop the carrots very finely and sauté them before the onions and garlic. Also see the tip about balancing out the acidity if needed.)
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| Photo from Skinnytaste |
It didn't use any leftovers, but I love this Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip also by Skinnytaste. It's lightened up with reduced fat (but not fat-free) cream cheese and either fat-free sour cream or fat-free Greek yogurt. The recipe creator prefers sour cream, and I've made it both ways and prefer the Greek yogurt. Franks red hot sauce and blue cheese crumbles give it a kick, and I eat it with both Fritos and celery sticks. It's perfect for football watching and easy to scale down by half.
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| This photo also from Skinnytaste. She has way better presentation than I do. |
I also made this lightened up Loaded Potato Soup on Saturday because Saturday was a Good Soup Day. And now I'll have some soup to eat for lunch during the week. It's lightened up by using Greek yogurt and cauliflower (and I use bone broth for some added protein).
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| One more photo from Skinnytaste. I don't bother with the bacon and just blend the cheese & chives right on into the soup. |
I managed to remember to snag the HUGE bag of frozen cauliflower before all of the Resolutioners could buy it and leave me cauliflower-less like they did last year. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender) is really key here, and what makes this taste luxurious and not tasting like "diet soup."
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| Ha ha, suckers! I beat ya this year! |
Overall, here are my takeaways about what and how I'm eating:
- My messed up sleep schedule is causing a messed up eating schedule, so that's actually the big thing I need to get under control
- I need to add in more fruits and vegetables, make sure half the grains are whole grains, and get a smidge more protein (difficulty level: I do not like the taste or texture of a lot of animal proteins)
- I should hide the Toblerone
Here are the deets on what I ate if you're interested. If you're not, just scroll to what I'm reading & writing. All you're missing is a(nother) rant about quiche.
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| A representative sample... |
- Tuesday
- Breakfast was quiche with a side of tomatoes, ice water, and 2 cups of coffee with vanilla soy milk.
- Lunch was the last slice of free pizza and some veggies and dill dip plus unsweetened tea.
- Dinner was veggie soup made with chicken bone broth and two leftover cornbread muffins and more unsweetened tea.
- Snack was green tea, more veggies and dip plus some chips and Toblerone. Chris got me the mega pack of Toblerone for Christmas so I hope you like reading about it as much as I like eating it.
- Wednesday [Programming Note: I slept poorly and then had hilariously bad memory recall and time management.]
- Breakfast - I forgot that I had 7/8th of a quiche in the fridge and made an entire giant breakfast instead. Slow claps. So breakfast was a cup of tomatoes, a third of a cup of roasted mushrooms, 2 slices center cut bacon, 2 deviled eggs (made with lite mayo, mustard, and hot sauce), a piece of toast with jelly and coffee with vanilla soy milk.
- Lunch was nothing because I was not hungry for lunch after eating that breakfast.
- Dinner was one black bean enchilada from Hello Fresh. Still not hungry.
- First Snack was popcorn and kombucha while we played a board game.
- Second Snack--because now I have become hungry--was nachos and a bowl full of veggies. And by nachos, I mean some tortilla rounds that I spread bean dip on, top with some reduced fat cheese & jalapenos, and then bake. And also some Toblerone.
- Thursday
- Breakfast was sleeping. Chris and I both agree that we might be fighting something off? Either that or it's Short-Week-At-Work-Itis
- Lunch was a Chick-fil-a Cobb Salad and a large unsweetened iced tea.
- First Snack was a bowl of veggies--tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers.
- Dinner was spaghetti with Brussels sprouts from Hello Fresh and It. Was. Delicious!
- Second Snack was nachos.
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| Delicious spaghetti & Brussels sprouts with toasted panko from Hello Fresh. |
- Friday
- BREAKFAST WAS THE QUICHE. I remembered the quiche today! And froze half of the quiche for another time! And ate some blueberries & raspberries with the quiche! And had 2 cups of coffee with soy milk!
- Lunch was nachos & veggies.
- Dinner was Anitas--two tacos and refried beans. By Friday night we're both usually worn out from work, so we always order in this night.
- Snack was green tea and Toblerone.
- Saturday
- Chris made breakfast (thank you, Chris) and he works out all the time and is a growing boy, so he can get down with pancakes, sausage, and center cut bacon. I added some raspberries and blueberries to my plate.
- Lunch was the potato soup with whole grain crackers and a bowl full of veggies--more carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
- Dinner was spaghetti and the sauce I made and garlic bread.
- Snack was green tea, kombucha, and Girl Scout Cookies. Thin Mints in particular.
- Sunday
- Chris and I both made brunch today, and he did his usual pancakes (I had 2 little tiny ones), sausage (1 link), center cut bacon (3 pieces) and then I brought vegetables to the party with sauteed mushrooms and a seared tomato with some salt, peppers, and thyme.
- Dinner was Bartaco and I had a seared ahi tuna & brown rice bowl, kimchi, pineapple, and esquites.
- Snack was the Buffalo Chicken Dip with Fritos and celery sticks, plus some kombucha.
- I just finished listening to Wintering, The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. And dang, y'all, this should be required reading/listening for anyone who is going through a (please pardon this phrase I hate but will use) a difficult season of life. She also has a podcast called How We Live Now: Pathways for a post-everything world so I might dive into that too.
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| Highly recommended if you're going through a Season of Suck |
- The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas. (I'm about to say something spoilery, so skip ahead to the writing section if needed.) I was reluctant to read this series because a trope I cannot cannot cannot stand is "teenage girl falls in love with a thousand year old prince," and she uses that liberally so I was very pleased that there were two normal-aged love interests in the first book. But I just got to the third book AND HERE COMES THE THOUSAND YEAR OLD PRINCE LOVE INTEREST AND I. AM. IRRITATED.
- This blog post, obviously. Thank you all for your comments and chats, keep them coming! It's good to connect/reconnect over shared experiences/collect some dopamine.
- 30 more postcards to voters for a total of 35 for the year. I wasn't planning to write that many, but the campaign to write for Tom Suozzi, who is running to fill George Santos's empty seat opened up so honestly how could I not?
- Yoga with Kassandra - 15 Minute Evening Yoga Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
Then I just kept doing Day 3 over and over because my IT band and hamstrings are so tight, and these stretches were so good. If you're looking to ease into some not-too-difficult yoga, I highly recommend these little bite size classes. - Massage - I got a 90 minute massage today and it was grrrrrrrrrrrrreat. I go to Calvert Rejuvenations in Herndon and I highly recommend them for massages, facials, and their infrared sauna.
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| A little pic from the relaxation room which has complimentary hot tea, spa water, neck wraps, and dark chocolate. |
- Transferred my Venmo & Ibotta balances to my bank account. An $89 value! Because it's going to make 4.35% APY in my savings account compared to the 0% APY it's gonna make by just sitting in my Venmo and Ibotta accounts.
- Sold some stuff. Specifically at McKay's Used Books in Manassas, which netted me $24 in cash and $9 in credit.
- Actually returned something on time - y'all, I got SO BAD about returns last year. I have a box of stuff I need to list somewhere (FB Marketplace? Ebay? Mercari? You tell me) because I got super slack with returns. But! I got some hot sauce for Chris and found something I liked better, so now I have that $15 back.
- Cashed in Savings Bonds - Thanks to Uncle Ron, who bought me savings bonds in 1991, 1992, and 1993. They were $25 each and you more than quadrupled your investment.
- Scrounged for Cash - After hitting up all my cash hidey holes around the house I had a few hundred dollars. Half of which was foreign currency that I had held onto for the next time I go back to Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden (seriously, I need y'all to all get on the same Kroner), the UK, or anywhere that takes the Euro. But again, that was earning me 0% interest sitting in an envelope. So the cash is now in the bank (not in the house), do not come rob me. You'd have to deal with the dog, and she's a LOT.
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| I feel attacked. |
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| I like soap, I like Girl Scout Cookies, I do not like them together. |
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| Photo Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty. Lord knows I don't run in her circles. (Whispers: Call me, Sophie!) |