Magical May!
Replies
-
I thought 💭 this would be the perfect time to MM!
WRONG 😑
Dance card is filling up during my time off. Better to MM when I am working.
Today
Bean burrito
Watermelon
Mashed potatoes with spinach and side of mixed frozen veg
Pasta with tofu “meat” veg sauce
Ninja pineapple
0 -
Mornin' all. I have been busy this morning. First load of laundry in the dryer, russet potatoes baking in the oven, gold simmering stovetop for mashed. I will cook up some more potatoes mid-week. My variation on Mary's Mini is going to be potatoes and cooked veggies for breakfast lunch and snacks, and a smoothie in the evening with baby greens and mixed berries.
I was reading a little bit from the SpudFit guy and one thing he said that stuck in my head was that when he ate only potatoes there was only one choice to make. Eat or don't eat. No decision on what to eat, how much to eat, etc. I think that sounds lovely. I definitely have decision fatigue and I always do better when I eat a pretty simple diet. My stomach feels better, I don't have to worry about gaining weight, and my brain is free to think about other things.
After I do this for a week then I'll go back to the grab and go, but stick to the less calorie dense entrees and salads.
I seem to have won the ant war in my kitchen. No activity this morning. It tapered off little by little but took 3 days. I cleaned up the counters and dead ants this morning. Blech. But I can cook again. It just wasn't appealing with all the ants running around.
Hoping to be done with all the chores and cooking by 10:00 and hit my desk for a few hours before going to visit with the family for a few.
0 -
Oh, and Nanc, I bought a watermelon too. I got one last week and it was wonderful! I hope it's a sign that it will be a good summer for watermelon.
0 -
Happy Mother’s Day ALL! Dog Moms included…may all our furry kiddos play forever pain free! We miss you dearly. 🐶
Coffee
Bean burrito
Lunch out with friends
Mashed potatoes with spinach & mixed veg
Ninja
1 -
Happy Mother’s Day to all. I was never able to have children but have my fur babies.
I made a 3 bean vegan chili with loads of vegetables. Did not really have high hopes for it but it was delicious today. We had potatoes last night and I could only eat 1/2 and told Brooks he could have the other 1/2 today. I am so jealous as he is putting the chili on it and it looks delicious.
Busy morning cleaning aquariums. They are heavily planted and I use to discard the plants when I trimmed them up. Brooks took all my stuff to our local aquarium store plus a few mystery snails and they gave him $50.00 credit. He bought me a new air pump! I also have a ton of baby fish and mystery snails that they have bought from me but I never considered selling all the plant trimmings. Setting up a new quarantine tank today for new fish I am buying next week. The fish store wants me to breed discus fish for them. They are beautiful and I always wanted a few and they are pricey.
Veggie corn tacos with my tofu seasoned in air fryer plus avocados and lettuce/tomato’s and onion. Love my tofu press. I feel like a whole new tofu world has opened up!0 -
Here is the print. The artist is Guillermo Silva Sanz de Santamaria
1 -
Haha it looks weird with the gnome hat underneath it. Like a tongue.
0 -
Love the painting...love it!
Lulu has a groom today and I have a mani/pedi. It was supposed to be our big groom day before the trip. Now it's just OUR BIG GROOM DAY.
Love knowing I am off for this week. I could really enjoy retirement. But I still need my paycheck...trying to get house paid off. The goal is 5/1/27. Three more years.
Meals are repetitive.
coffee
bean burrito
pasta with tofu veg sauce...(I love, too, my tufu press, Bisky)
watermelon it was sweet, Mihani...very promising for the season.
mashed potatoes with spinach and mixed veg
ninja
have a great day everyone...HAGDE!
0 -
That's beautiful, Bisky!
Nanc, I'm so jealous. I would love to have a week off. Heck, at this stage I'd settle for a weekend! LOL
Hope you and Lulu enjoyed your spa day.
I ate potatoes and watermelon today. Wasn't too hungry and the potatoes fill me up. I'm going to try sticking to the potato plan for the next 10 days and see how I feel and whether the scale starts moving again. I've been stuck for a long while now. The only things I will add in is some greens and cooked veggies, and a serving of fruit each day.
Hit the treadmill first thing this morning. Finally. I have been oversleeping a lot lately and skipping the treadmill. Not this morning!
0 -
Made a pot of refried beans today in instant pot
Excellent and easy and cheap
Found recipe on YouTube
Coffee ☕️
Burrito 🌯
Mashed with spinach
Tofu meat veg sauce with pasta 🍝
Watermelon 🍉
Ninja 🥷
🎊🥳🎊
0 -
Mihani - that sounds like a great plan to break the plateau. We had a lot of baked potatoes in Finland. Plus cucumbers, onions, peppers and fennel. I hope you get some down time.
Magic - how was the spa day?
Carla - now what are you creating?
Day 5 of no coffee or chocolate and 2 weeks of no protein coffee drinks. Drinking lots of teas with no honey, fake sugars or cream. One cup of coffee equals about 3 cups of tea so I drink 3 cups in morning and spend rest of day running to bathroom. 😂
Bit of a rant. My older sister is doing this keto diet since January. Now she is into all this “keto” baking with almond flour and monk fruit. She insists I can eat all these cookies, scones etc as they are gluten free. (Nothing sends me down a rabbit hole as fast as sweets and causes me to regain). I told her my 70 lb weight loss was plant based and that I do better with fruits for sweets. She then stated the only good fruits are berries and she will only eat a few blueberries with her keto diet. Trying to change the fruit subject I mentioned how
I bought a tofu press and am really enjoying tofu lately and it is suppose to be good for prostate cancer. OMG….you would have thought I was taking poison…she went off about tofu. I didn’t get mad at her but the conversation really bothered me. It was like a cloud over me. She only drinks tea…I also mentioned how I have given up on coffee and drinking black teas in am and herbal teas rest of day. Well, I got one upped again. She said I only have one cup of black tea in am and drink green teas rest of day because green tea is so healthy. 🙄 Now, when I lived in Japan they had wonderful green teas including matcha green teas. I asked her if she wanted me to send her some
and she said”I don’t like green teas.”😳🙄😜😜😜😜😜😜😜😜 glad I have an appt with eating disorder therapist this afternoon.
0 -
Hello everyone - I have not posted in this group for years, but the desire to return to plant based has been more and more on my mind. I decided to pop in to read posts for motivation and boy did I find it! Magic, the very first post of May, about your parents, hit me profoundly. We just buried my sister, age 72. Type2D, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, A-Fib. She literally fell over dead. We'd just communicated via text and less than an hour later she was gone. She'd had gastric bypass surgery in Dec '23 and was not following protocol with her diet, so I'm sure that was a factor too. I've lost 2 brothers, both with T2D and heart disease, aged 69 and 71 at death. My parents lived to their 90s, but both had heart disease and T2D. But my sister's death was a sobering wake-up call. I was just diagnosed with T2D in September, and had a stint placed 7 years ago at the age of 53. So, I've already had one wakeup call - I went plant based after that surgery.
My question for all of you who work fulltime is this: how do you manage the food prep for eating WFPB? I started back to work just over a year ago and I come home exhausted (40-45 hrs a week). My husband is retired but is not health-minded, so the meals he prepares are far from healthy. I would appreciate your suggestions.
0 -
Hello Coffee! Welcome back.
I am so sorry for the loss of your sister. That is just so sad. It is a wake-up call. My hubby who is iffy about eating healthy has also had a wake-up call recently for his prostrate cancer. We are following Dr. Fuhrman’s advice about the G-bombs for immunity and plan to make his anti cancer soup later this week. I realized I have to be very proactive with meal planning for better success.
I also see a nutritionist and an eating disorder therapist. I am down 72 lbs from Jan. 2023. It has been a very slow weight loss in last 16 months. I have never lost this much weight before…usually 30-40 lbs and then gained it back as I slid into old habits. I am determined with the help of the nutritionist and therapist to keep it off. I try to only make 1-2 changes a month and then work hard to incorporate it into habits. My one I am working on this month is giving up fish and learning to cook with tofu. So much help and support from Mihani, Magic and Carla over the years. I have said I would never go vegan but I might be eating those words.
I am the laziest food prepper around. I buy precut onions, peppers, brocolli and cauliflower. Frequently from TJ’s. I also buy premade salads frequently with cabbage. I am so lazy I also buy pre sliced mushrooms. How hard is it to slice a mushroom? I always have several packages of frozen vegetables (also from Trader Joe’s) just in case. On weekends I like to make vegetarian soups or chili and freeze half. I always have frozen fruit so I can quickly throw together a fruit/spinach/ginger smoothie for a quick pick up.. It is hard in our society to eat healthy, not all the prepackaged, processed food that is poisoning us. This last year, one month I substituted nuts for chips and encorporated them into my diet. I was sure the amount of pistachios, walnuts and cashews would lead to weight gain but they never did.0 -
Hi Coffee... long time no see. I am very sorry to hear about your sister.
I work 60+ hours a week. Not even kidding. Lately I've been eating stuff from a WFPB grab and go that opened just a few minutes from me, but my weight crept up a few pounds. I think I'm just overeating it because it's all so good and different, so I'm taking a week off of that to do a Mary's Mini and get things back on track.
When I cook for myself it's so basic but I enjoy that. I prep salad veggies and lettuce that will last most of the week. I eat oats or smoothies for breakfast which take no time to throw together. Like Bisky mentioned, soups and stews are easy to throw together and freeze well for later meals when you don't have anything ready to go. I love to saute onion, garlic and mushrooms (and maybe other veggies if anything is on hand), add some beans and a bunch of spices, then wilt in a TON of greens. A big pot of that will last me all week. Sometimes I make quinoa or rice to serve it over.
Nanc, what all you have planned for your time off?
Bisky, that is just so weird how your sister is with you. At least she's not enjoying her tea! LOL
I love my tofu press too! I have the tofu Xpress. Actually two of them because I got one for Christmas a few years ago and already had one.
0 -
Very good discussion with therapist. Her advice was to not talk about food/diet with this sister. She is on a different journey she has chosen but it does not mean she is allowed to criticize mine or vice a versa. I have asked this sister before not to talk diets with her and I always get sucked in. The therapist reiterated that artificial sweeteners do not help weight loss including stevia and monk fruit. She would actually have me use honey if I felt I really needed to add sweetness to something. The problem with artificial sweeteners is we have receptors in our mouth, stomach and intestines that are stimulated by artificial sweeteners. Causes a release of hunger hormones that are powerful. It is not an immediate affect but kicks in 1-2 hours later. The other problem with artificial sweeteners …they are much sweeter than sugar, honey or fruit and use of them changes our taste buds and fruit no longer seems as sweet and juicy. The new diet drugs are based on suppressing these hunger hormones. Humans can do it naturally by walking away from all processed foods, sugar and hormones in meats.
Today I made a smoothie with soft tofu, 1 roasted beet, Cherry berry mix from Trader Joe’s and 1/4 of a banana. So good!
Tonight I am making a mushroom risotto mix from TJ’s with added sliced mushrooms and spinach plus tofu.
Yesterday at the pool I met a lady who was a competitive swimmer and now teaches swimming to people with disabilities ( not on base). She and a couple of other women meet on base Tuesday am to swim and she gives pointers. She invited me to join then! Then afterwards I was in the sauna and 2 ladies w ere talking about the yoga class they just took! I didn’t even know they had yoga classes on base. $3.00 a class! Score….between endorphin release from exercise and these 2 positives the dark depressed cloud from my sister’s conversation was lifted. 😊
0 -
Quick post!
Welcome, ☕️ Coffee…back later with my tips.
Mihani, nothing special planned… spa day was great for both of us! Yesterday, AC man out for summer tune up! FYI, I live in Phoenix area. 🥵
TODAY, treadmill peeps coming to take apart TM and move to bedroom! I will have a proper living room and dining room. FINALLY! 🎈🎉🥳🎊❤️
Need a plumber for Friday or next Monday…major clogged sink in master bath. I have nursed it along since I moved in in 2017 and now I can’t nurse along anymore. It is in ICU and needs surgery.! 🙄
Tomorrow lunch with friends again and I think we’re going to Pita jungle. I think Saturday we’re going to Chili’s cause I have gift cards and I want to use them because I think they’re going out of business
Gotta go. Talk to you later once again oh wait, wait wait l
Bisky, fabulous talk with your therapist. I love everything she said and I’m thrilled for you that you’re going to swimming lessons and sauna and yoga and everything wonderful for you and you keep doing what you’re doing because you’re rocking it.
Talk to you guys later. I gotta go now because they’re coming any minute.1 -
Glad you are feeling better about things, Bisky. I got some precooked beets and am going to try adding those to my smoothies instead of beet juice so that I'm getting the fiber and other good stuff.
Nanc, sounds like you have having a very fun and productive week.
I left the office on time today because I am beyond beat. I'm leaving a little early tomorrow for a doctor appointment. I am going to bed early early tonight.
1 -
Thanks for your encouragement and suggestions! A good "shot in the arm". Bisky, my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February and will have a prostatectomy this next week. One of the biopsy scores was a 9 (aggressive), the others were 7s so the doctor said the prostate had to go. Where in the journey is your husband?
Sound advice from your therapist! My two sisters who are still here are experiencing the same "wake up call" as me. We'll need to be supportive without haggling over method.
Mihani, 60+ hours and making it work - inspirational! No excuses for me.
Magic, I love your dining room redesign!
I just started using a vibration plate and I'm loving it! Arthritis limits my walking so the vibration plate has been a game changer. Builds & strengthens muscle, strengthens bones, improves balance, drains lymphatic system, helps with arthritis. It's improving my energy, too. At least it's something until life slows down and I'm able to focus more on moving. I do try to walk in the park on my lunch break in good weather.0 -
Good morning. Dressed for yoga and have swim stuff ready.
Mihani - How was your smoothie? Drinking a beet one as I type. I would have alternated with spinach/ ginger/ banana and tofu but I ran out of spinach.
Magic - I bet Lulu enjoys having you home. Did you get the treadmill moved and put back together?
Coffee - My husband was diagnosed in 2019. His biopsy came back while he was deployed to Syria/Jordan. He had prostatectomy in 2020. His PSA levels have been slowly rising which indicates metastasis. Pet Choline scan found 2 areas. He started focus beamed radiation this week. He also has a very aggressive oral cancer that was caught early and is in remission. He is examined monthly. He was exposed to several burn pits during his military career which have been linked to cancer. I was very upset and felt helpless. I realized the best way I could help him would be to ensure he got his “G-BOMBS” in daily to strengthen his immunity. I love to eat but not the greatest cook so I use a lot of shortcuts. Yesterday I took the mushroom risotto from Trader Joe’s and added 1 cup more of mushrooms, 1/2 cup of onions and a cup of spinach to it and it was delicious.
0 -
Morning all...treadmill in my bedroom...love it...used it for 20 min last night before bed.
Master bath sink unclogged. Signed up for their VIP program, plumbing and electric. Electrician came out yesterday to do a review of what was going on...(I had a feeling this place needed work)...and I was right. They gave me a few options...as how much work I wanted done. Place was built in 1983...lots of stuff from THEN. Sheesh. Anyway...the safety of Lulu and me takes precedent over anything...so we will go ahead with the work. I think they may start Monday. Not what I wanted to hear but glad that that sink needed a real plumber...it may have save our lives.
Coffee: Mashed potatoes with spinach. I love it. I make mashed...use unsweetened soy milk or homemade vegan yogurt to blend. Heat them up, add in the spinach and let it wilt away...I love it.
Refried beans in the instant pot (today had taquitos for breakfast) ...here is the recipe I used:
YOUTUBE A Mind Full Mom Instant Pot Refried Beans--As good as ANY Mexican restaurant--and SO much better than canned! I followed directions exactly, except added on leaf of organic Kombu to cut back on gas from the beans. I think it worked. Also, I like spicy so next time, I will leave the membranes and seeds in from the jalapeno. Enjoy.
Today's Menu:
coffee still with Nutpods (sigh)
refried bean taquitos
watermelon
refried bean tostadas
big salad for dinner
pineapple whip in the ninja creamini for dessert.
Later, peeps.0 -
Hey all... the hits just keep on coming! Yesterday I got to the office and my HD was fried. Deader than dead. Called our IT guy to be sure and he confirmed death and swapped in a new HD. I started the verification of data from our online backup but it was taking forever so I came home around 8:00 and it should be finished when I go in this morning and I can start the actual restore. Going in extra early.
I think the whole beet will be better than juice, Bisky, but I haven't tried it yet. I am doing the potato thing this week. I broke my plateau and then some in 4 days. This weekend I'll get back to GBOMBS. *hugs* to you and Brooks
Nanc, yay for getting the treadmill moved. That's great you used it right away.
Coffee, walking during the workday is a great idea! I try to do that in nice weather although usually the day just gets away from me. I barely take time for lunch. It does help kind of relieve the stress if I get out for a few.
1 -
Today, hair cut...that's it...then home projects...guest room, STILL. Organizer is coming over (Memorial Day) one last time until next year...and she will definitely help me with the room. I am going to try and work on the paper monster before she gets here. Setting up a file system is a goal of mine.
I have to say, having a proper dining room (well, an area in my living room with a proper dining room table) has been life changing. Seems silly, I know. But I love it. Even using my mom's china. It is a simple pattern and very light and looks beautiful. I am so happy I did not give it away. I thought about it. Yay, for holding on to it.
today
coffee (out of nutpods...will see how long I can last without creamer)
homemade refried beans taquitos (I love those beans...oh my gosh...turned out amazing...recipe a few posts back) And, I just used Walmart's pinto beans...I think 2 pounds were under 1.50.
salad
pasta dish with loads of veg and tofu
ninja pineapple creamini
watermelon
HAGDE!0 -
Mihani, sorry bout the HD getting fried. What a headache. Hope things, at work, start to look up for you.0
-
Morning, all!
Nanc, do you have a scanner? I hardly keep any paper anymore. Just scan and right into the shredder. If you use microsoft 365 you can store in onedrive or you could use dropbox or something like that for a backup system in case something happens to your computer.
Back to normal at work thank goodness for online backup. I am going to the office after a bit. Got up and did a mile on the treadmill and got ready, but boiling some potatoes before I head out.
The results of my 5 day potatoes and nothing but potatoes (which wasn't really) is 7 pounds down. No joke! Holy moly did that break the plateau. I "mostly" ate potatoes but I did have some watermelon to finish off on Monday and Tuesday, and then last night I had some steamed broccoli with my sweet potato. Mostly ate boiled gold and roasted or baked russets, and nuked a sweet potato for a change a couple times. Minimal spices and condiments. A little spicy mustard a couple times.
I am going to continue the potato plan but adding in more cooked veggies and some fruit. I think my problem, and the cause of my loooooong plateau, was too much variety and too many little things creeping into my diet. I love the stuff from the grab and go but quite a bit of it has some oil. While it's minimal, I think it is part of the problem. I'm going to stick to the dishes that have NO oil when I start going back next week.
And the other problem is my obsession with the starchy carbs. Ezekiel bread and whole grains are healthy of course, but I overeat them. If I can't control the portion then I shouldn't eat them. And then there are the salty snacky things like crackers, pretzels, etc. So I am going to avoid all of them for now and get my starches only from potatoes, butternut squash, and oats.
I am having purple sweet potato this morning with broccoli. First time I've had it. Different but I like it. I'll post a pic in a bit. Gotta eat!
0 -
A little drier and less sweet than the orange sweet potatoes. Pretty tasty!
1 -
Major congratulations 🎈🎊🍾🎉 MIHANI!
You did a number of that Mary’s Mini! So proud of you! And love your “after plan “ ! Continued success! ❤️0 -
Hi all, having internet issues and couldn't get a lot of work done here at home today. It kept going in and out and disconnecting me and it got very frustrating! I am going to bed early and hopefully get to the office super duper early tomorrow.
Thanks, Nanc
Today was good other than not being able to work much. Or maybe it was good because of that? LOL
Treadmill 1 mile and found a 10 minute yoga youtube that was supposed to help with muscle tension. It actually did seem to help! A whole lot of creaking and popping but I definitely didn't feel as tense through my shoulders and neck after. I am going to look for more short videos that I like and do one every night.
Breakfast was sweet potato and steamed broccoli. This may be my new favorite breakfast. Really makes me feel like I'm starting the day right.
Lunch was oats with berries and cinnamon. I used some almond milk and had to throw out the first bowl and make a new one with water. I quit using plant milk in smoothies years ago because I prefer water, but I liked it on cereal. Apparently not anymore. I like plant based yogurts and use plant milk in cooking sometimes, but I guess I just don't like it straight up.
Dinner was a big ol' salad with red leaf, yukon gold potato, beets, pickled onions, sprinkle of balsamic. I used to buy these prepared beets all the time a few years ago so I got some, but I don't particularly care for them anymore. Greatly prefer raw beet in salads. The prepared beets will be fine to use in smoothies though.
Okay, off to get in another 200 steps to meet my goal and read for a bit before bed.
0 -
Magic - I love you are using your Mother’s china. I am sure she would be to! I am jealous of your organizer. I had one consult from an organizer and she was very expensive plus she wanted me to buy all these types of bins and storage stuff for over $1000. We still have 1-2 moves and I want to pare down but don’t want to spend the money on a place we are living temporarily. I think I will start packing stuff up this summer.
Mihani- congratulations on breaking your plateau! The broccoli and purple potatoes looks delicious! I agree about the processed carbs slowing or stalling weight loss.
Brooks made an interesting dish last night. He boiled potatoes and then put them in a quiche dish, squashed them skin and all with another dish to make a “crust” and filled it up with sautéed garlic, red peppers, mushrooms and scallions and baked it. No butter or oil. He did put cheese and bacon bits on his 1/2 but mine was delicious without.
Ok, what is the potato diet? We had potatoes a lot in Finland. They serve a large potato stuffed how ever you want it. My favorite one was chopped beets, onions, peppers, cabbage and nutts topped with a vegan cream. Beets are very popular in Finland and Russia. I seemed to be eating a lot in Finland and was sure my weight would be up 5-10 lbs but I was only up 2 lbs and have lost it already. I think I retain water during long distant flights.
Going to make my beet smoothie this am with blueberries and strawberries. My niece makes here smoothie with sweet potato. I too stopped adding plant milk. I like it really cold with lots of ice and ginger.
0 -
Oh and latest funny disagreement with sister who is doing keto. She started using instant pot she let sit for two years. Of course it was a pot roast. Next she is going to make full milk fat yogurt. I stated they are great for cooking garbanzo beans for hummus or black beans or making refried beans. She stated beans have too much sugar and carbs. 😂I stated milk products have a lot of sugar and carbs too in the form of lactose. 1 cup of plain full yogurt has 12 grams of sugar. She is counting carbs and I think she is limiting it to 20-25 grams of carbs. 😜I changed the subject.0
-
And I think this is very newsworthy and I hope they do a big study on this : https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/health/video/gupta-alzheimers-reversed-patient-digvid0
