Juicy Joyful July!
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LizLovesVeggies wrote: »that will make you feel less like a lawn mower lol.
Haha! Yes, it did feel a bit like that - but then today I tried out a no-oil hummus recipe, and had a hell of a time translating it into Canadian can sizes and ended up with hummus smoothie, lol. It tastes great though, and I wolfed down a pound of celery, carrots, cucumber and peppers without feeling like a lawn mower at all!
@AustinRuadhain sorry that was a bit vague! I don't know what happened to the scales midweek, but [drumroll please] I lost 7lbs on my first ETL week
It's prolly mostly water, but I don't feel any pressure to quit so... Also, my blood pressure has been consistently 10% lower than like ever, for the last 4 days straight. Again, it might be just the reduction in salt, but I'm happy as punch about it
Also 2, nailed my breakfast smoothie (with a slight cheat): 1 cup spinach, 1.5 cups blueberries, 1/2 banana and 1.5 cups of low calorie cranberry juice (which apart from the aspartame is basically non-existent as far as I can tell). A real zinger for the morning, but I keep forgetting to add chia seeds.
Big reader here too: just found a pristine copy of Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch in a little library nearby and am thoroughly enjoying it. Our bookclub is reading Atwood's Handmaid's Tale next which I read years ago and didn't much enjoy - her poetry is much more interesting to me than her prose. Anyone else read poetry?
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@00markw - What fabulous news about your numbers! Especially that healthier BP number!
And a big hurray to all the ways you are finding to eat more fruit and veg without feeling like a lawn mower! (I love that description!) Nailing your breakfast smoothie -- such a win!
I have not read The Goldfinch. It's on my list of books I should get to!
I do also read some poetry, and I love short stories. I am currently reading #notyourprincess. Do you ever check out the Poetry Foundation's website? I enjoy finding new people there occasionally. (Here's a recent find from there by Aimee Nezhukumatahil!)1 -
Great numbers, Mark! I agree with Austin, especially that BP number going down.
My first day of vacay...
Prepped salad fixings and having one for breakfast. (this is all I had in my house...really need some scallions...and will probably add a little potato for next time to make it more scrumptious.)
Air fried mushrooms
steamed cauliflower and broccoli and then ice water shocked to stop cooking...(I never do that...but trying to make this a health retreat kinda feel on my vacay.)
Chopped bell peppers ... red and yellow and yellow squash
romaine
cilantro
Tahini lemon dressing.
Enough for probably three more salads.
Going for a hair cut...when I get back...will portion into quart mason jars to have each morning.
Lunch: fruit salad
Dinner: bean tostadas
Dessert: Oatmeal with berries/flaxmeal/cinnamon/raisins OR Lara Bar with tea
Trying not to snack so much while on vacay. Just so I get a better routine in place for when I go back to work. I eat too much at work* because I am so bored.
I pack so much so I will not go to the snack machines. I do occasionally get the pretzels (vegan but not GF and not good for me) when I am low on snacks.
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Magic - Thank you for that rec. I just bought the cups & can't wait to make those!
Mihani - Savory breakfast - WOW. My husband loves savory breakfasts but I don't normally whip those up M-F. Tofu scramble w/ toast, avocado & tempeh bacon is my favorite. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
Mark - CONGRATS! That is freaking awesome. Good for you!
Re: Books, I really enjoyed The Goldfinch and hope you do too. Also enjoyed the Handmaid's Tale though so perhaps that's a sign that we don't have the exact same taste in books? We shall see! Recently read City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert and loved it.
Austin - I don't read a lot of poetry but I love Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver. That baked poem you linked too is great! Noted on your other book recs - added to my goodreads list. & thanks for the dessert ideas list - the oatmeal peach dessert sounds really good.
I am also weight training 3x week and loving it. Every time I go up in weight I feel such a strong sense of accomplishment (even if it's from 10 lbs to 12.5 and the weights look so small compared to everyone else!).
Update re: desserts, I stumbled across a chickpea cookie dough recipe that is calling my name... Anyone made chickpea cookie dough before? I really like Eat Pastry's gf cookie dough (not WFPB) and hoping it will taste like that.
B- My Bean & Green "kitchen sink" smoothie w/ Canned navy beans, banana, frozen bluebs & cherries, frozen spinach, chia seeds, almond butter, vanilla, water & soy milk (really liking this organic edensoy extra bcs it's creamy, tasty and has 11g protein per serving)
L- Split pea soup & french lentils, An apple & frozen cherries.
D- "souper greens" soup from juice press (ingredients -> Broccoli, Spinach, Celery Root, Onion, Quinoa, Lemon Juice, About Our Parsley, Garlic, Nutritional Yeast, Black Pepper, About Our Sea Salt, Coconut Milk, Sunflower Seed Oil, Coconut Aminos, Rice Starch, Avocado) & big salad.1 -
What I ate today:
black coffee
salad carrots, yellow and red bell peppers, yellow squash, mushroom, romaine, steamed cauliflower & broccoli, lemon/tahini dressing
oatmeal with flaxmeal, cinnamon, raisins, frozen wild blueberries, oat milk
watermelon
more salad with added baby potatoes
Lara Bar...apple pie.0 -
I had a tasty ETL day:
B - black coffee; blended cauliflower, spinach, blueberries, flax seed meal; side of goji berries
L - roasted Brussels sprouts; steamed mushrooms; savory baked tofu; steamed zucchini with grape tomato, red onion, mint, basil & spices; steamed mustard greens, dijon & spices; steamed diced apple and butternut squash with a splash of cashew milk
S - walnuts + apple slices
D - steamed zucchini with homemade fermented hot sauce; small side of apple cider vinegar cabbage slaw; big salad (massaged kale, romaine, roma tomato, roasted beet); dressing (white miso, nooch, vinegar, lime, cilantro, green onion, spices); steamed diced apple and butternut squash with a splash of cashew milk0 -
Thanks everyone.
Let my hair down with a slice of cheese pizza tonight, but other than that another good ETL 6wk plan day for me today. Feel genuinely positively reinforced by last weeks numbers, and the planning and prepping is getting slightly easier.
That baked goods poem was great, Austin! Good find. I do know that site, and now you've got me scratching around trying to list other food related poems - that aren't really about sex or romantic love, lol.
Some great sounding dishes you're all creating - lots of food for thought! Here's hoping my hummus smoothie will be set by tomorrow
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@LizLovesVeggies - haven't read City of Girls but Elizabeth Gilbert is so deep on podcasts, recommend?1
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Hi y'all... been having a super busy week and working super late past two days. I am seeing progress, but it's going to take a while to actually get caught up. I'm reading everyone's posts but no time to respond. Hoping another couple weeks and my work life will finally start to settle down.
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LOVE being on vacation...even though this is just my weekend, still...my head is totally in Healthy Retreat Mode.
Today:
Black Coffee
Big Salad with salad dressing from the WFPB Cooking Show "Crack"
Oatmeal with the usual stuff
Bean Tostadas
Fruit
Grilled Veggies with Jasmine Rice
Nice Cream Chocolate with PB
Have a great day everyone!
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Have a great break, Magic! Gluck with that work stuff, Mihani.
Here my hummus is still gloopy, but it's lunch with veggies tomorrow whatev. Today I made my great Viva Veg Chili with loads of peppers, tomatoes, corn, spinach and beans - with a refreshing and not at all lawny salad. Nice and spicy, hits the spot.
Forgot the chia seeds in BlueGreen morning smoothie AGAIN! Dang. Note to self...
Spent a happy hour finding more food poems, thanks Austin, and came across one fun one new to me: Blackberry Eating by Galway Kinnell - https://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/poetry_in_motion/atlas/chicago/blackberry_eating/
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Having a lovely break...last day of weekend...tomorrow starts my four day vacay!
Today's Plan (lots of repeats...totally ok with me...one of the keys to success I believe...at least for me)
black coffee
oatmeal and wild organic blueberries, flaxmeal, cinnamon, raisins, oat milk
kale salad
fruit cantaloupe, mango, cherries, ezekiel grilled cheese
bean tostadas
PB cups nice cream
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Hit Sprouts this morning...bought two giant bunches of curly organic kale. Washed, stripped off middle thingy...torn into pieces...salad spinned...made a lot. Four Massaged kale salads worth. Added lemon, nutritional yeast aka nooch, a bit of Crack dressing, raisins. Really good.
I like my massaged kale salad better than a romaine veggie salad. Had the time this morning and went for it. I just need to do this twice a week. Massaged kale salad stays so well. And fun to change up ingredients. Tomorrow, adding fresh mango instead of raisins.
Hope everyone is having a great day. @Mihani dont work too hard.
Later, gang.
me: looking into audio books...think it would help me get stuff done in the house.
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First recipe really spoke to me. If you are cooking without oil, easy enough to eliminate. First one is so versatile!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAwanemlagU&t=193s 1 -
I do like that stir-fry recipe, Magic, especially with the raw red chilies and cilantro leaves at the end. I might combine it with Liz's zoodle thing, skip the noodles and accept the toasted sesame oil as the price I pay...
Definitely finding the ETL 6 week plan a bit easier. Getting used to keeping a bowl of salad by my side now that I'm not slavishly counting it. And I'm also quite happy eating the same main dish a couple of days in a row, so that does make life easier. More of my Viva Veg Chili today, with salad. BlueGreenMeanie smoothie again, but today I forgot the banana AND the Chia seeds! Dang. And didn't have time for lunch, so I don't know what state of solidification my hummus smoothie is in.
Happy foraging all.
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Gosh, Mark...you're doing so great. All of you are.
My menu is exactly like yesterday's...I really love those bean tostadas. I am in love with Amy's Organic refried beans.
coffee
oatmeal
kale salad
fruit and grilled cheese
tostadas
nice cream
might not be in that order
did not order the audible subscription but did get this: Collapsable cutting board https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S6T5QZH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Hoping it cuts down on my prep time. We'll see. One keeps coming across my facebook page and thought I would check out Amazon to see what they had that was comparable. Good luck to me.
HAGDE!2 -
Spent a happy hour finding more food poems, thanks Austin, and came across one fun one new to me: Blackberry Eating by Galway Kinnell - https://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/poetry_in_motion/atlas/chicago/blackberry_eating/
@00markw - I love the Galway Kinnel poem!
@LizLovesVeggies - I have downloaded the first Robert Galbraith novel to my Kindle. I had lost track of those. It looks fun!
I just started listening to Declare by Tim Powers. It's excellent so far! I have a friend who has been suggesting Tim Powers to me for ages, and I am just finally trying him.
@magic71755 - The stir fry recipe looks great. I am going to show it to my husband, who loves stir frys! (The 13 year old does not, so it won't be a family dish.)
I had an excellent ETL day yesterday:
B - black coffee; goji berries; blended green drink (cauliflower, spinach, flax seed, blueberries, cashew milk)
L - cabbage mango slaw; Brussels sprouts (tossed with pepper and a bit of balsamic vinegar); savory baked tofu and steamed mushrooms; turnip greens; steamed zucchini with grape tomatoes, red onions, jalapeno; steamed butternut squash and apple
S - apple slices and walnuts
D - steamed zucchini and grape tomatoes; big salad (romaine, massaged kale, roma, baked beet, bell pepper) plus an ETL cilantro-lime-tarragon dressing; steamed butternut squash and apple
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Today went like this:
Black coffee
Raw Oatmeal with the ususal suspects
16 ounce green juice (cuke, celery, apple, lemon, ginger)
Romaine salad with veggies and rice noodles, crack dressing
Mango
Amy’s low sodium retried bean tostadas
Nice cream PB cup1 -
haha! Magic, love the collapsible chopping board. We've got a water bowl for the dog like that, but never considered its dual functionality.
I'm down to one pack of sweetener in my black coffee of a morning, and it's enough already. Leftover veggies and cauli in a Curry for me today. Not great ETL as I didn't get much time for raw food - just some celery with my ever liquid hummus
Had 3 bowls of the veg curry tho: one with a banana, one with an apple. I like the spicy sweet.
Glad you liked that poem, Austin. Have some foodie music - Booker T
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjgjoSsOvi4 0 -
Hmmmm...
Today:
coffee
Joe's Mean Green
Oatmeal
Massaged Kale Salad with Vermicelli Rice Noodles
Bean Tostadas using Romaine Leaves for the tostada part
Fruit
Nice Cream1 -
Hey @00markw ! It sounds like you continue to rock along on the path of healthier choices! Awesome! No need to worry if you see room for improvement. You'll get to where you want to be!
Oh, and the Booker T/Green Onions song was great fun!
I am curious about your next batch of hummus. If you made it with canned chickpeas/garbanzos, maybe you did not drain them first? I've never had overly runny hummus, and was trying to think where I'd have stumbled up when new to making it.
I am currently eating black beans as my Beans. I got behind on cooking this week, so popped open a can of them yesterday. I want to make some more savory baked tofu tonight.
@magic71755 - Your menu looks delicious!
As a faollow-up to the discussion about things we are reading -- after starting an audiobook of Declare by Tim Powers, I got kind of lost. He's bouncing around in different timelines, which I don't mind, but I can't follow it easily in the audiobook. I am going to look for a print copy (it's an interesting story!) and a different audiobook.
Work calls! Catch you soon!
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@AustinRuadhain re the hummus, yeah I saw https://hellonutritarian.com/extra-creamy-no-oil-hummus/ and another US site and tried to scale it all with a Gaussian blur and use the 'aquafaba' plus an extra great splash of lemon juice for flavour. And not being a great mathematician, I got the proportions rong. Nevermind, I added a load of roasted garlic and cilantro/coriander and black pepper and it tasted righteous so I'll tinker with the same thing next time.
Never tried black beans, but I will! Navy beans have a good rep, lol [I never thought I'd hear myself say something like that ]
Not a wholly ETL day today, but I'm Not going into details. Time to gird loins again.
Neruda, love him or loathe him, famously loved his food: Ode to Tomatoes: https://www.pablonerudapoems.com/ode-to-tomatoes/
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Made it through a very busy work week and spent yesterday continuing to work on the house with my buddy helping. The kitchen is almost done. Still need to do some surface cleaning but the cabinets and drawers are all finished. Threw out SO much stuff, including half my spices because they were so old and seldom used. Now I'll be able to find the ones I use often more easily. It sure is nice to have things organized and get rid of clutter. Still a looong way to go, but the rest of the house will be a breeze compared to the kitchen and my home office. Glad those are done!
I ate some junk (crackers and blue corn chips) the past few days, and had a few beers last night, but today should be a good one. Started it off right with a breakfast salad. Planning soup for lunch, and a pita pizza for dinner.
Better get going, have to go to the office today. I hope eventually I will be taking entire weekends off.
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Totally envious of you @Mihani ...I have done little to nothing productive. Figured out my food processor...LOVE it Kitchen aid...so easy...should have opened months ago.
Today
Coffee
Massaged kale salad with romaine , red bell pepper, carrot, cucumber, vermicelli, crack dressing
Joes Mean Green minus the Kale
Tofu air fried more salad (made a huge amount this morning)
Dried apples. Costco on sale. Really good
Nice cream
I may have some oatmeal...made fresh almond milk yesterday...4 days I think it stays good. Love in my raw oats.
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I love my food processor Magic! Makes slicing up veggies for salads or making hummus a breeze. Mine is a cuisinart. I bet I've had it at least 15 years and still going strong. There's a small crack in the bowl and when I looked at replacing it the price was almost half what it costs to buy a brand new machine, so I'll probably just buy a new one at some point.
Stuck to my plan today. I ordered the Chef AJ bundle from Mamasezz which should arrive by Thursday or Friday. I'm interested to see how the food tastes and if it is worth the price. I've been considering it for a year, and decided to take the plunge. I just don't have it in me to prep lately and I'm throwing out a lot of food that never gets cooked. Too much going on at work and with the house. Between Mamasezz and my salad prepping friend, thinking I'll be all out of excuses. LOL
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What is the Chef AJ bundle is the first question out of my mouth...but I will google it. Also, I worked on my kitchen. I have so many appliances and a tiny kitchen. So,
I took one of my oragami shelf things and set up against the wall in the dining area right outside the kitchen. Put all the appliances on it except the air fryer. I use it all the time...makes sense to use up kitchen counter real estate for it. Cleaned off the kitchen table. Now, I have a work area. Did the dishes. I wash all the plastic. Only glass goes into the dishwasher...glass and silverware. Swept the floor. Steam mop tomorrow. And finish with the decluttering. Will work on living room and dining room tomorrow.
Finally feel like I accomplished something.
Plan went like this today:
coffee
big salad
green juice
oatmeal
nice cream
hope everyone sleeps well. I still cannot believe I did as much as I did (stopped before pain started) and I do not have pain.
One time I worked so hard I ended up at emergency room...thought I had a blood clot in my leg. The back of my leg hurt so much. Was a Baker's Cyst ...holy crapola...so painful. Out of work four days getting the pain to subside. So I must watch how much I do.
Ok, later gang. Going to go look up Chef AJ bundle. 1 -
Coincidentally used our air fryer today for [slightly illegal in ETL 6week] spring rolls. But they were great! Bit crispier than normal fry, but that's not a bad thing. Put them on a big green salad and was very happy. BlueGreenMeanie smoothie for brekky [sans chia seeds grr] and the last bowl of veg curry for lunch = good ETL day for me, thank you very much Not too scared of the number crunch tomorrow - but you never know! 0
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@00markw - The ingredients in your runny hummus sound awesome! As you say, less liquid next time. I usually start with little to none, and work my way up until the consistency suits me. And, hmm, I may make hummus this week. Hummus with a load of roasted garlic and cilantro/coriander and black pepper does sound righteous & delish!
I like both black beans and navy beans!
Ode to Tomatoes: Great one! I love it! I would be a "love" on Neruda.
Your air fryer springs rolls on a salad sound healthy and delish and like they made you very happy -- hooray!
I hope today's numbers go/went well!
@Mihani - Your organizational work is inspiring!
And breakfast salad - wow!
I do hope weekends off come soon for you!
@magic71755 - Congratulations on all your kitchen work!
And hooray to getting so much done with no pain!1 -
Hi ETLers - I hope you had a WONDERFUL weekend! Catching up on all your posts & responding below...
Magic - I love Apple Pie larabars! Keep them in a bowl in my office (along with chocolate) so no one gets hangry in meetings with me.
I like this concept of one's head being in "Healthy Retreat Mode." What does that look like in terms of activities?
That collapsable cutting board made my mind explode. Do you like it??? I live in a small apartment so this could be a godsend, er, a magic-send.
Good for you for doing all that de-cluttering and cleaning! Glad you are pain-free. Had to google baker's cyst. SO painful yikes.
Markw- I highly recommend City of Girls! Strong smart and interesting sexually liberated female protagonist set in NYC during/post WWII. If you like this theme you'll like it! -> "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time, she muses. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is."
I love chili! It's such a key go-to hearty meal that leaves little/nothing to be desired. Lots of beans really are the key for me.
Your hummus situation makes me sad. Why is it so gloopy/liquidy again? And can it be fixed/stopped? "not being a great mathematician" Lol
Finally, consider this a reminder to add chia to your smoothie lol! It does make it more filling plus you get your omega 3s
Mihani - Sorry you have to work late so much. That must make it more challenging to keep healthy habits on track.
Heard re: spices. There are some we use a lot (cinnamon, red pepper flakes, cumin, turmeric) and others which are definitely expired but I haven't made the time to check. Good for you for cleaning it out!
Austin - I hope you like it! It's not for everyone (esp those who wanted another type of Harry Potter - hence her nom de plume - because it is not that), but if you like detective novels then this should do the trick. Noted re: declare. LMK what you think when you've finished it as it sounds like you're giving it mixed reviews!
Canned beans save the day for me when we haven't batch cooked any. Black beans FTW!
RE BEANS: We are VERY into rancho gordo beans. I can't remember if I posted about them before - if so please forgive me - but we have been having fun getting into trying different kinds of beans. (Kind of like we used to do for meat, but no more of that for us!) Check out their heirloom bean options if you are looking for a treat. I recently bought this heirloom bean sampler for my husband as a present. They are special!1 -
AustinRuadhain wrote: »@00markw - The ingredients in your runny hummus sound awesome! As you say, less liquid next time. I usually start with little to none, and work my way up until the consistency suits me. And, hmm, I may make hummus this week. Hummus with a load of roasted garlic and cilantro/coriander and black pepper does sound righteous & delish!
Doh! I just put everything in the processor and said a Hail Mary! Your way is better/why didn't I think of that? I like a nice kick of lemon juice in mine too - let me know your final recipe as I see more hummus in my future.
Today's number were all good, thanks. Lost 2 more pounds this week which is down from last week's grandstanding, but expected and still good. BP is remaining stable too after last week's drop.LizLovesVeggies wrote: »Markw- I highly recommend City of Girls! Strong smart and interesting sexually liberated female protagonist set in NYC during/post WWII. If you like this theme you'll like it! -> "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time, she muses. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is."
Well, I like that kind of liberation thing. Great summary, thanks. EG impressed in her podcasts. It might be one for the book club.
Don't feel sad about my hummus! And Dang but I read your chia seed reminder too late! Tomorrow [and tomorrow and tomorrow]
Which reminds me, do Omega 3 supplements count as oil in the no oil part of ETL?
Ton of salad here today. [I'm going to get a Lawnmower pin made up!] It's easier when the weather's warm.
Keep on keeping on, etlers all
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