Alright. I took the day off from Zumba today. I needed a day to kind of reset and get my head around how to proceed from here. Thanks to all of you for your awesome suggestions on the last post! It's clear that calorie counting is what's ahead.
Last night George and I talked about our food choices and my frustration with dinnertime. It has to be fast, but it also needs to be healthy. Thanks to veggies that come in that steam pouch, I usually always manage to get a solid vegetable on the table (and no, never the ones with sauce or anything). But pretty much every night includes pasta or potatoes. Nope, not whole wheat pasta either. (Gross. That's just how I feel about it.) And I always keep some breaded chicken breast in the freezer in addition to the fresh organic chicken and beef I get from the store. But that takes time, so more often than not I'm reaching for the breaded stuff. But I usually also bread the fresh chicken too. So...yeah. Lots of breading here. Gonna have to find some interesting ways to prepare plain chicken.
Today at Costco, I was thrilled to find a 4 lb bag of organic quinoa! I've used it and eaten it before, but the last time I tried it was very bitter, and I've been hesitant to try it again. My fave way to make it is with organic chicken stock and root veggies, but clearly I'm going to need to change it up to get through a 4 lb bag!
Anyone have some favorite quinoa recipes to share? Or some good chicken recipes/marinades?
In addition to the quinoa, I got some organic mixed greens, organic apple slices, plain frozen chicken breasts, and lentil chips for my snack cravings. I was having pita chips, but nutritionally the lentil chips come out ahead. And I found a 24 pack of organic eggs for a much better price than in the grocery store. George and our kids go through eggs like crazy, but the price of organic usually keeps the supply limited. I love them hard boiled for snacks, so I was pretty pumped about that find.
So part of the re-focus on what I'm eating had to include what I was eating. Clearly my body isn't going to keep going with just moderation, and a disregard for what I am moderating, no matter how "decent" my choices are.
I'm going to download an app on my iphone, hoping that will make it easier to track the calories. To be honest, I'm not really sure what to aim for. Most of the time, 1200 is spoken of as being the bare minimum, so I was thinking 1500? 1800? I don't want to eat too little, but I do still need to cut back enough for weight loss.
Maybe I'll try one or the other and give it a few weeks. Then I can adjust if needed.
Thanks for reading! You all keep me accountable!!
I also recommend the bags of frozen green beans, spinach, asparagus, broccoli. Heat some onions or garlic with olive oil and give a quick saute. Adding just a little olive oil and seasonings makes veggies so much better.
ReplyDeleteOther ideas: take baby carrots and quarter them length-wise. toss in olive oil, sea salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 450 degrees until browned on the edges for delish carrot fries. You can do the same with green beans or asparagus, and cauliflower is wonderful, too!
It's getting to be a great time of year to make a meal out of vegetables. Fresh corn might be high in carbs, but is a better alternative to the pasta.
I have found that mashed cauliflower with salt, pepper, heavy cream and butter is actually a decent substitute for mashed potatoes.
ReplyDeleteI don;t know how you feel about FF products, I usually hate them BUT FF 1/2&1/2 is really good and a good sub for the cauliflower recipe above!
ReplyDeleteAnd roasted veggies are wonderful. Add some to that quinoa! I'm proud of you Emily, you are doing great!