It's All About August!
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Mornin' all.
Carla, I do 3 classes but I double up on Saturday. I think next month I will try to do another weekday strength class to spread them out more. I keep thinking I'll do a strength workout at home on my own on Thursdays but I never do. I guess I've come to the realization I need the commitment of going to the classes to get it done.
I like your plan of making a few favorites to rotate through. I do much the same although I don't often make recipes generally just foods I know I like to eat and will use up.
Spring, I was cheese and bread girl here too. It was crazy how quickly I lost weight when I decided to go vegan, and I wasn't even trying to lose weight! Granted, a couple years later the market exploded with tasty vegan junk food and I gained some back.
I have a pretty good collection of dumbbells, weight bench, treadmill, plus bands, pilates and yoga accessories, etc. so there's no reason I can't get good workouts at home, other than sheer laziness. Last night was a time I definitely would have skipped working out, but since I had class I did it anyway.
Nanc, great idea for enjoying your tostadas at work. Do the tortillas stay crisp for a while? I still haven't decided about getting an air fryer. I have too many gadgets already and don't even use them that often.
Bisky, glad you had a good time. Are you going to do a little pond or anything in your yard? I hope you enjoy Dr. Essy's book. It is definitely way up there on my favorites. That recipe for bibimbap looks delicious. I may try that without the oil. Ugh, sorry about your smoothie mishap. I hate when I do things like that!
Marilyn, how are you feeling?
My shoulder has been really sore since PT on Monday and the workout last night was rough, but I do feel there has been a little improvement. I didn't do the PT exercises last night since I was pretty whipped from the strength class but will get started doing those every night tonight.
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Yesterday I had an accident with a caramel apple. (i ate it, oops!)
No sweet stuff today.
Tonight we're making fajita bowls and using some of our carrots and zucchini from the garden. This one is a must-do in our rotation because we do not have enough fresh greens in our diet and the base of this one is mixed greens.
We went to the park again with the doggos, this time fitting it into a regular weekday morning. I hope to be able to do this at least a few times during the week.
I am looking into / considering joining a fitness club that bisky found online. It is a 10 minute drive from our place and has an indoor-outdoor pool, sauna, and various classes. The pool opens at 5am and is for laps only from 5-8 am. that gives me a nice long window at the best time of day for me. I'm talking to Joe about it but he so far he doesn't seem too excited about the idea.
Mihani, hope the PT is helpful for you. I am SO happy to be able to do up my bras in the back again. Totally worth the hassle of the referral and appointments.1 -
You guys write such interesting stuff and by the time I get to the end, I forget most of it. LOL I need to take notes.
YES, the corn tortillas stay crisp. I put them in whole (you could, I am sure, do the same thing in a low temp oven...keep an eye out and test for time and temp). I used to cut triangles and place all neat...what a pain. Just put in whole, eat as a tostada or break apart and eat as chips. Some people spray lime juice on them before heating.
@Carla_wfpb , I was sure you were going to say you broke a tooth or pulled out a filling
on the caramel apple. Phew...glad you only ate it. Cute and you had me going.
@Mihani IS crushing her workouts.
So jealous of all of you that have gardens. I see SEED SHEET I think it's called on my Facebook feed...they were on Shark Tank. I should be able to grow something on my patio. Add that to list of things I need to do.
I am back in the sauna at the gym. I can go four days a week on my days off. Today will mark day four. 30 minutes four times a week... gym membership is 37 bucks a month. I think it is really worth it, AS LONG AS I GO AND USE IT! You cannot have any blood pressure issues.
Menu is pretty simple and has lots of repeats.
BLACK coffee
yogurt with blueberries, banana, and grape nuts
refried bean tostada
roasted veggies, and CHICKPEA PASTA...BANZA! Hope I like it.
Fruit
Right now, everything is about beans and more beans. Of course, all the plant docs say beans are our BFF. And you know the BLUE ZONE folks..well, that is their staple.
Love today's poster, @Marilynsretired! I really do think differently. ONLY vegan at work and take a whole lotta kidding. But they are used to me now and get that I am NOT CHANGING.
@bisky I use the directions from DETOXINISTA to make my almond milk.
soak 1 cup raw, organic (I use organic) almonds overnight
drain and rinse really well
in the vita mix add almonds and four cups of water
blend really well...at least one minute
use a nut bag to strain
I store in quart milk bottles (found on Amazon years ago). So good. So creamy. Such a mild flavor.
https://detoxinista.com/how-to-make-homemade-almond-milk/
wishing EVERYONE a very delicious day!0 -
Carla, the fitness club might come in handy when the weather gets bad and you can't get out as much to walk the property. I hear ya on the bra thing! I'm still hooking mine in the front and spinning it around. LOL
My salad veggies didn't last this week. The lettuce was already turning brown yesterday so I had some for lunch and tossed what was left. Some weeks it is good right through Friday and other weeks it barely lasts the weekend. I still have power greens for smoothies so I will be able to get some green leafy.
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@magic71755 I'm in the same boat! - reading through the posts, engaging, and then losing track of it all by the end! Agree, the gym is totally worth it if you use it. It will be interesting to see if you continue to notice improved sleep from using the sauna.
Mihani, I notice that with my veggies too. Mine seem to go bad faster when I pre-wash and chop them, which I think means that they aren't being stored dry enough. idk. I went full on lazy a while back, buying boxes of mixed greens and for the most part we've just been using that for leafy greens. I'm starting to use the fresh whole stuff again and just chopping it when i need it.
There's a $12 drop-in fee option at the fitness club/pool, so I'm going to do that and see what I think before signing up. The sign up is one of those automatic withdrawals from your account every month, with a 3 month minimum, so I want to be sure it is worth it.
If we do start going to the pool, we're thinking walks in the park on MWF and swimming laps T and TH.
today
coffee
blueberry oatmeal
greens and strawberries smoothie
fajita bowl leftovers (forgot how good this is!)
baked tofu0 -
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Oh Marilynn, I love that quote and it is so true about yesterday and tomorrow. How are you feeling?
Carla - I think a day pass might be a good value for you to find out if you like lap swimming or the other available classes. Plus, getting your swim in early, shower and you are ready for your day. I love how the water feels on my body no matter what weight and it is always aerobic.
Magic - How was the Banza Pasta? You can't eat it plain as it has no flavor to it. But I find that true of regular pasta. I made Banza last night with Sun dried tomatoes, basil and spinach plus a little of my sugar less greek salad dressing.
The bean tostado sounds good. I might make that tonight. Brooks makes black beans with hominy and chipotle pepper in the instant pot. I am down to my last container...yikes. Going to have everything ready for him to make another batch and then followed by garbanzo beans. I want to make Carla's Garbanzo bean curry. I really enjoy the bagged versus the canned.
Mihani - I agree for some reason it is hard to exercise at home. I have a hard time focusing in on it. I have a Peloton bike and the classes are fun but I would much rather be outside walking dogs or biking. I do like indoor swimming. One of the many perks living on this base is the indoor 25 M pool and the outdoor 50M pool ( I am not ready for that one yet). I am very much enjoying Dr. Essy's book...I might make the transition to vegan yet. I was holding out with yogurt, cheese, fish and eggs. I think the oceans are in trouble and ready to give up fish. The latest from my GI Dr. is he wants me to stop all dairy products until I have surgery as well as gluten to calm the gastritis down. Dairy actually makes it worse. Plus I recently read this: https://www.mdanderson.org/prevention-screening/manage-your-risk/diet.html.
Here it is Thursday ....it seemed to come so fast. Nice walk with Dogs this a.m. but towards the end it was already high 90's.
Trying to find something interesting to make with broccoli & cauliflower for tonight...maybe I will save it for the curry.
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I am SO glad this week is almost over. At the office late every night. Answering the phone is awful. I feel like I've barely moved anything off my desk all week. I'm not doing anything tonight though. It's almost the weekend and I can do some catching up then.
Nanc, I often open a notepad file and type my post there then copy/paste because I forget if I wait until the end too. With the notepad file I can type as I scroll through and read everyone else's posts.
Thanks for the info on the corn tortillas in the air fryer. I think I'll ask for one for Christmas. I really have to watch my budget now with the vet bills mounting in addition to everything else going up. My boy is 13 now and while he's in great shape for his age he's starting to have a few issues and vet visits, x-rays, meds this month added up. The x-rays didn't show anything to be afraid of so yay for that. He's a large dog and at 13 he's getting to the end of his lifespan unfortunately, but I hope he'll continue to enjoy good health and be around for a while. At his age and breed (mostly shep/lab) you'd expect some arthritis, but he still gets around great just a little more slowly than he used to.
Carla, it is disappointing when my salad veggies don't last all week, but it's worth it even on weeks that happens to have my salad prepping friend doing the work. It's a little retirement income for her and she enjoys it. Whenever she has to go out of town she worries about what I will eat without her doing that for me. LOL
The drop-in idea sounds great to check it out and see how you feel about the fitness center.
Bisky, I used to be so committed to exercising at home (years ago) and I just can't seem to motivate myself anymore. The fitness place I joined is all small group classes or personal training and by appointment only so if you sign up you wouldn't feel good about not showing up. That adds a layer of accountability for me.
Can you share the secret recipe for the black beans Brooks makes? Glad you are enjoying Dr. Essy's book.
You mentioning broccoli and cauliflower reminded me of this recipe: https://ohsheglows.com/2013/03/05/roasted-buddha-bowl/ I made it some time ago and remember very much enjoying it. I didn't use the oil.
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lol funny, i was about to ask bisky for the the black bean recipe too. it was actually still sitting here waiting for me to hit 'post'
just got back from walking with the dogs at the park. lovely morning. I finally remembered to wear my fitbit. roughly 3k steps in the route we took today. Not a long walk by any means, but we go fast to build up a sweat, with a few jogs in the mix. The dogs love it. There are lots of trails to choose from so we can switch things up as needed.
Yesterday we realized we were out of fresh greens, so we switched up our plan. We had the roasted veggies from the fajita bowl over quinoa and added baked mexi style tofu. we heated the homemade vegan cheese sauce up (it is normally cold on the salad) and poured that over everything. Salsa on the side. New favorite.
I am really liking our menu rotation plan so far. We're going to end up eating more variety, which is a bit counterintuitive but true in our case, have more beans and more quinoa. And recipes become so second nature when you do them all the time. Joe and I cook together and we can knock this stuff out in no time.
Today is leftovers. We have some of the curry, quinoa, a few roasted veggies, cheese sauce and baked tofu. Our garden is starting to pump out zucchini like crazy, so I think I'll roast or saute some of that too.
Happy Friday friends!
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Happy Friday!
From Brooks:
Okay babe, taking long lunch break now……here you go for. Instant Pot Black Beans:
1) Goya Black Beans 1lb bag
2) 1 can (? oz) Hominy, white or yellow…..we like white
3) Chipotle 1/2 small can (Brand?) plus 1/2 Chipotle sauce in the can
4) Better Than Buillion Vegetable, 4.5 cups
5) Cracked Pepper
6) Red Pepper Flakes
7) Himalayan Salt
[Garlic Pepper if desired]
PRESSURE COOK 70minutes, let steam vent AFTER 20mins
Enjoy!
I think you can skip the salt as the bullion has a bit of salt. Depending how you feel about corn or hominy you can skip that too. I like the chipotle pepper for the zing and smokiness. I sometimes mash up a cup after cooking for "refried bean" texture.0 -
Mihani - old dogs are the best. They are so sweet. I admire you for limiting purchases to pay your dog's care. I love the Roasted Buddha bowl. I kinda ended up making one last night with the Broccoli & Cauliflower, garlic and Quinoa. Did top if off with Greek dressing (was before I got to the chapter about olive oil and other fats).
Carla - did you check out the Fitness facility yet? I am interested in your impressions of it. Going to the commissary first to see if they have arrowroot or Fenugreek leaves.
Now I am feeling the pressure to give up my beloved Greek Gazebo salad dressing after reading a few chapters of Dr. Essy's book. I watched a You Tube video of his wife and daughter talking about the diet and showing how to sauté onions and mushrooms. It was funny, sweet and informative.
Having my warmed up Banza Pasta and sun-dried tomatoes over spinach-kale lettuce with crunchy mung beans for lunch....no oil! I think the leftover Banza is slightly better warmed up a little.
I am not making any big announcement to Brooks about becoming Vegan. I am going to make more effort to have dinner, snacks and desserts planned. Going to make the minestrone recipe in Veganomics using Banza Pasta and Carla's Curried tomato garbanzo beans this weekend. Tonight a salad with Arugula. Using this recipe as a guide but skipping the olive oil: https://shortgirltallorder.com/chickpea-quinoa-arugula-salad. Too hot and humid to cook today. Will just shop and maybe prep. Blueberry, peach and plum fruit salad for dessert.
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Carla, 3000 steps is nothing to sneeze at! Especially if you are walking/jogging fast enough to get in the zone. I have been watching the zone minutes on my fitbit lately and trying to make sure I get at least 22 minutes every day.
Thanks for the recipe, Bisky! Saved that to try maybe next weekend. Already have planned the coming week. I liked Dr. Essy's book because it was full of info but an easy and relatable read.
So, I've managed to come down with a cold. Yesterday sucked because we had the one person on vacation last week and then the other one took off yesterday as well, so I was on my own and couldn't cut out early even though I felt lousy. I cancelled classes anticipating I wouldn't feel up to it this morning, and I'm glad I did although I feel better than I did yesterday. Just stuffy and tired. I am going to work and nap today and take it pretty easy since my equilibrium feels off. I hope by tomorrow I'll be back to normal so I can prep and get laundry done. I don't plan to go to the office this weekend and will just work from home.
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Aww, hope you feel better soon, Mihani. It will be nice when everyone is finally back in the office and you can work towards getting that extra part time person. (You're right, 3000 steps is nothing to sneeze at and on bad days I'm sure I've done less than that all day long. It is a good length walk for us for now. thanks
)
Thanks for the recipe, bisky. It is in my recipe repository and I think I'll try to fit it in as part of one of the meals in my rotation. I'm going to buy some dry hominy and cook it in the IP along with the beans. I haven't been to the fitness center yet.
Tonight we're having pasta w/ veggie-filled red sauce, baked tofu, walnut parm and banza pasta. I started adding ground fennel seed to the baked tofu when I'm using it for Italian foods.
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We just got back from taking the doggos to the park. I forgot my fitbit and sports bra. We took the same route as last time so around 3k steps. When it was time to jog, Joe took both dogs and I held my boobs. Good thing we were in the woods LOL.
I found a plant based recipe for zucchini cakes that I'm going to try. In the recipe they are cooked in a pan using spray oil, but I think I'm going to put them in the air fryer instead. If they turn out, they'll be oil free and super easy to cook. I'll post the recipe here even though I haven't tried them yet, and after I've made them I'll review it.
today is repeat: coffee, oatmeal, spaghetti, half caramel apple or strawberries with small dollop of cashew cream
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Howdy all.
Carla, you crack me up! Glad you had someone to wrangle the dogs so you could wrangle the girls. LOL
I am feeling better just still a bit tired. I got a couple hours of work in while doing laundry and now I'm cooking, and then I'll work the rest of the evening until bedtime.
On the agenda...
Mashed potatoes
Roasted broccoli
Steamed green beans
Big wok full of onions and greens (green kale, purple kale, mustard greens, coconut aminos, garlic)
Salads this week are lettuce, radish, carrot, pickled onions, raw broccoli.
I have to schedule my 60 day check-in at the fitness facility. It's hard to believe I've stuck with something for 60 days! PT tomorrow night. I have done the exercises she wanted me to do several days but need to be better about getting those done every day if I want it to heal.
Better go finish my prepping.
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Congrats on 60 days, Mihani!
Completed another walk at the park this morning, this time with my sports bra. I didn't bring my fitbit, but Joe did and we took the same route.
Spaghetti again today.
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Carla, glad to hear your veggies are coming up nicely. If I recall correctly, you were concerned in the beginning of the season. The zucchini cakes look delicious.
Bisky, sorry to hear about the smoothie mess, hope it wasn't too much of a hassle to clean up. Thanks so much for the black bean recipe.
Mihani, I'm in the same boat with gadgets. Fortunately, my new oven has an air fryer setting. We reheated something in it last week for the first time, and it came out really crispy, so I'm looking forward to air frying more and pan frying less. So glad to hear your doggie's doing so well for his age. Glad to hear your cold cleared up quickly and congrats on 60 days!
Marilyn, hope you're doing well.
Magic, thanks for the info on the air fried tortillas, I'm definitely going to try that. If I've missed a day or more, I actually open two windows on my computer, one to scroll through all the posts, and the other to type in my comment. That way I don't have to keep scrolling back down to my comment while trying to remember what I just read LOL.
The bra thing - I don't think I've ever hooked my bra at the back, always in front and spun around. Although for years when I was younger, I often wore bras with front closures.1 -
Spring, glad to see you. I've talked to quite a few women about the bra thing and I am really surprised how many people say they always hook the bra in the front and spin it around. Like that's how they learned to put a bra on and have never done it the other way. It has been comical to see the looks like they are wondering what in the world I'm talking about and why this would even be an issue.
Excellent mileage this week, Carla! So glad you found a walk you enjoy. I bet the dogs love it too... adventure time for them.
PT tonight. I definitely felt improvement in my shoulder this week and when she took measurements there is much better range of movement already. I am to continue the same exercises plus another one for my back. I think I signed up for 8 sessions so I'm hopeful this will be all better by the end of that.
B - cantaloupe, half a cup of oats with sweet and tart cherries and a couple walnut halves
L - mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli, steamed green beans, cooked greens
D - big ol' salad with chickpeas and half a small avocado and a splash of bragg's
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sorry I haven't given an update in some time - but all is going well. Loving the way I now eat - though that last week or two have been difficult because of having emergency surgery 2 weeks ago. Starting to feel somewhat better but other problems have surfaced today so needing to take care of them - and one thing I need to do it up the vegetables some. I am now getting 74.4 oz of water each day so think that is where I will land for some time - water is so important in all areas of our life isn't it. Am about to go to my meeting to get officially weighed - keeping fingers crossed that I will be the same or down a bit but this past week has been difficult due to recovering from surgery but getting better is the key
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When I was in my 20s and 30s, I found the best way to deal with a bra was to not bother wearing one LOL. But gravity has changed that over the past 15 or so years.
Mihani, glad to hear your PT is helping you.
Marilyn, I've enjoyed all of your inspirational posts, but am happy to hear how things are going with you. Sorry you had to go through an emergency surgery, I hope you're able to continue to a quick recovery. It sounds like you're making great food and water choices, I hope your weigh-in is good news. Good luck.
I've been getting some terrible leg cramps at night, almost every night for the last 4 or 5 days. I haven't been exercising lately and sitting way too much, just plain lazy, and I'm wondering if that's causing it. I've read that it could be a vitamin or mineral deficiency too, so I think it's time to find a doctor down here and get an annual wellness exam with some blood work thrown in for good measure.
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Ugh...what a morning...procrastinating and dithering about this a.m. and lost the narrow window to walk dogs before heat arrived. Now procrastinating about making Minestrone with Banza Pasta. Recipe is from Veganomicon.
We went to what we call the Gucci grocery store in San Antonio called Central Market. Produce is beautiful but overall the store is pricey. They do have bulk spices and was able to buy 50 cent bags of spices for making Carla's Garbanzo Bean Curry and minestrone soup.
I took another detour and 3 hours later need to finish this post.
Soup is made, loaded with delicious vegetables and Banza pasta. Called for agave syrup and was going to use honey but it tastes fine without it.
Sparky - I use to wear tight fitting camisoles when I was younger. Now my 80 y/o sister refuses to wear a bra and wears Spanx type camisoles.
Marilyn - good for you getting yourself flushed with water. I wish I could bring you over my vegetable soup.
Mihani - I have to ask you the C word about your cold. Could it have been Covid. I had it at the end of June and then Brooks. We both bounced back quickly. My friend had it 2 weeks ago and after 5 days she and her husband were fine.
Carla - Have you made the zucchini cakes. I am soaking the garbanzo beans for tomorrow and making the Garbanzo bean curry.
Magic - what else do you use your air fryer for? Trying to justify buying one.
Found this great vegan cheese at Central Market called Misha's. Smoked cheddar cheese. should be illegal it is so good tasting. Hiding it from Brooks.
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A picture from Hawaii when we were at Tripler Army Medical Hospital for Brooks' surgery.0 -
Marilyn, great job on getting in all that water. That should help a lot with the kidney issues. Good luck at your weigh-in.
LOL Spring... me too and often just wore camisoles instead. Like you said, gravity makes a bra a bit of a necessity these days, but outside work it's mostly comfy sports bras.
I sometimes get awful leg cramps at night, where I have to get out of bed and it takes a minute to even get my foot flat on the floor to walk it off. Now that you mentioned it I don't think I've had a single one since I started working out and stopped alcohol. Which, by the way, my 90 days of being alcohol free will be over in 30 more days and I'm wondering what I'll do then. I still want to lose more weight so I may just stretch it to Thanksgiving.
Bisky, I'll have to look up that soup. I didn't even suspect covid. I have so many allergy and sinus issues anyway and this year has been awful. Beautiful picture.
PT last night was good. She measured a decent increase in range of movement. Continuing with exercises at home.
Meals same today as yesterday. I should have enough to get through to Friday but I need to pick up more power greens for smoothies.
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Mihani - It is a good tasting soup. I added zucchini and squash plus spinach to it. I didn't have navy beans...used butter beans. I cooked the Banza separately then added it to the pot of soup. It was great when I served this but later when I went back to put it in containers (It makes a lot) some of the Banza fell apart. If you use Banza or other chickpea pasta I would just make enough for one serving and add it to your bowl rather than adding it to the pot of soup. I even cooked it 2 minutes less than the directions.0
