Day 51
I received the phone call today- work is a GO for tomorrow. I am grateful and want to get into some sort of routine. My food routine has been consistent, yet it is carb filled. I know I have to UP my protein, as I really believe this will help. I have just about finished up the carb things in the house that were “mine” and will shop today. I snuck a peek on the scale today and it was up over 1 lb. I havent gone over in calories, so my next guess is the lack of protein. I am going to up the protein for the next 2 days, and see how it affects my Friday weigh in. If it does, I have temporarily found my answers. Does anyone have any suggestions how to get more creative with veggies? Just down the road from my job, a new grocery store just opened. I need to find out if they have a salad bar. That would help at lunch- I do eat a big portion of veggies with dinner. I am going for lean meat and veggies for dinner for a while- no starchy carbs. I have stretched my boundaries with potatoes and rice lately, so I have to wean them out for a while. I think I eat them mainly for the “full” feeling I get anyway. I’ll have to work on that. Well, must run my errands on my last day home. Looking forward to tomorrow, yet a bit anxious for such a change. Change is good, so I’m optimistic. Catch up with you later. Thanks for your comments.
Yay for starting the job!!
I’m excited for you, as I’ve been kind of feeling a bit “unfulfilled” lately as a stay-at-homer. As much as I would miss spending all of my time with my precious little one, I’ve been feeling a bit of an emptiness that would probably be cured with a part time job or something. Anyway, I’m happy for you, and I hope you enjoy your day tomorrow!
Veggies? Hmmmm. I like to buy frozen veggies that are already seasoned. My favorites include “Tuscan Herb Vegetable Blend” by Green Giant, and “Brussel Sprouts with butter sauce” - I don’t know who exactly makes those. Salads are hard for me to like, since the only way I REALLY like a salad is when it has tons of high-calorie toppings on it, like buttermilk ranch dressing, croutons, cheese, eggs, and bacon bits. Or at least some parmesean cheese, and Caesar dressing. If it doesn’t have all of that on it, I don’t like it too much. But I have been buying pre-packaged salad (my favorite is Sweet Baby Greens - -I think) and I just put a little “Parmesean Caesar Vinaigrette” on it and I can handle that just fine. The dressing goes a long way, and it’s really good, even without all of the toppings that I would love to have on there! And now that I’ve found turkey bacon, I could crumble up a piece of that to put on my salad, and I’d be a much happier salad-eater. I could give you all sorts of ways to make good veggies from scratch, but they probably won’t be low in calories, since I like to use a lot of butter and bacon. I’d be glad to tell you how to make some yummy green beans or brussel sprouts the way I like them (which is not the healthiest way to eat them…). Other than that, I like sweet potatoes with a tiny bit of brown sugar (Splenda makes a brown sugar blend that works good if you want to save a few calories) and cinnamon. They are a little better than regular potatoes because of their low glycemic index value. They’re like the “brown rice” of potatoes.
Sorry my comment is ridiculously long and drawn out. I’m bored right now. I have hardly anything else to do…
This is not that creative but it helps me: sometimes I buy frozen entrees for work when they’re on special - you know, like those WW or Lean Cuisines that go 5 for $10? I also buy a bag of whatever - broccoli is nice. When I microwave my little teeny weeny mingy stingy WW entree, I also microwave a cup or so of the frozen veg. (after the WW entree, not at the same time) - frozen veg only takes about 2 or 3 mins - I don’t bother to put water in or anything. Then I put the veg with the entree & it really fills me up.
Another tip is to have a glass of V8 now and then. That’s one whole serving of veg. I see they make a lower sodium, but it doesn’t taste as good. The sodium in the regular V8 is not what’s going to give you heart disease, at least that’s what I figure. I drink it without guilt.
BTW - CONGRATULATIONS!
A hard boiled egg at 10:30 or 2:30 will keep you going, too.
It depends what kinds of veggies you like.
If you like steamed vegetables, the new microwave steaming bags that they have in grocery stores are fantastic. They come 5-ish per box, and steam about a max. of four cups of veggies. You can also add garlic, or oregano, or whatever else you like to them, for added flavour.
Frozen vegetables are super easy to prepare (and quick!) and for a change, substitute the water used to cook them with a low sodium beef or chicken broth. The flavour is subtle, but really, really good.
If you are looking for veggies on the go, our grocery stores have these pre-packaged lunch snacks with baby carrots and dip, or celery sticks and dip. The dip isn’t so great for you, but if you use it in moderation, (or not use it at all) you can still get in a serving of veggies almost anywhere. Be careful with the carrots though, high in natural sugar.
For those who hate salads, instead of all that fatty bacon and croûtons, try mixing in mandarin orange pieces, or clementines, tangerines, etc. int your salad. I read once that grapefruit pieces are also god in salads, but have never tried them. The mandarin oranges are my favourite.
that would be “good” in Salads…not god……although it might taste heavenly. =]
Hope you made it to work on time today! Hahaha! I’ll be sitting here all day hoping that your day goes great, so be sure to post something this evening (if you aren’t too worn out from a full day of work, of course)!!
Yay… you get to start your new job today. Oddly, the last day of the month.
I am also trying to get more protein in, but my personal method is a little more challenging because at the same time I am gravitating towards vegetarian lifestyle , though I’m still cookin’ the meat for DH and still having a little of it . But heck yeah, way less of the starchy & sugary carbs, way more of the complex carbs (fruits and veggies and whole grains). Surprisingly there’s quite a bit of protein in the foods which are classified as complex carbs . Greens and Grains…. to put it into two simple words.
(if it has anything to do with once being green, as in sprouting out of the soil, it is a complex carb…. but once it’s processes, and altered, as sugar and flour, watch out… there goes the protein , vitamins, and fiber.
First list the veggies you like most, and perhaps just google recipes including those veggies. Start experimenting. I need to do this as well, as I am not yet a good vegetable cook. Funny how ‘vegetarian’ can sometimes have little to do with actual vegetables. ha ! That’s me…. ! As for potatoes, I think that they mustn’t be as bad as they’re given the bad rap for. First off, not all potato dishes are created equal. Rules to go by ~ don’t peel, (The more skin ratio the better),the smaller the better, and choose multi colored rather than russets. “Fingerling’ types and all kinds of new heirloom varieties are available to us now, and EAT THEM , they are GOOD! Experiement at least.
Sandy, Thats great that you are starting your new job! I am excited for you, making vegetables interesting, hmmm , I cook them with garlic and thats the extent of my interesting, unless of course you count my X rated pepper that I posted
I think what i do to keep the veggies interesting is more of changing them around and not eating the same veggie every day. we made some home made french fries a few nights ago that were great, and its just cutting the potato into wedges like steak fries, seasoning them to taste, then sticking them in the oven at 450 degrees, I finished up under the broiler for a couple mins to crisp them a bit and they were very good.
As Ever
Me