HI All,

I have been totally off the rails. I keep getting injured or sick. Coming off a ankle injury so back to the gym. Hopefully, for a long stretch. Without exercise my I cannot keep the weight off.

Work has been so busy I cannot keep up. This is the first chance I have had to take 2 minutes for myself. So, if this is my new norm, I will need to adjust the way I do things and become more efficient.

Hope everyone is doing well. Will catch up later.

Terri

Hi all. Had a great day food wise yesterday - 100% ETL!! This was despite DH grabbing dinner for him and the kids on the way home from a late soccer practice. Was so proud of myself. I had a veggie stir fry and a kale mixed salad. At some point I want to make a big pot of lentil soup and have it on hand for dinners as well. Today is looking pretty spot on too. Makes me so happy to be able to put this effort into myself. Next week when I am finally done with school I am looking forward to going home and getting in a nightly walk in addition to all these changes.

Spent last night typing up the first discussion post for the week for my class. That leaves one discussion post and a 12 page paper to wrap up by 5pm Friday. The final push! During that time I just have two end of year ceremonies and a soccer game to fit in. Geesh!

Hope everyone is well. Gotta go read Sloth's new blog post!

Zoot, I went through a period of reading a lot of nutritional studies for a while too. There are still some books on my list, but time is limited the past couple years.

Laura, glad to hear you are doing so well and that your stress is going to be reduced once you get through your last class. Yay for your daughter getting her cast off and your son’s graduation.

Terri, I am glad to see you. Take it easy and make sure your ankle is healed.

Sloth, liked your blog!

Lia, sounds like a very fun weekend. I’m going to be working most of the coming weekend, but the following weekend will be off. Already told my boss not to even think about asking if I would come in then. All the pets are holding the status quo (which is good). Glad to hear you are feeling strong. June is right around the corner!

Got in a short workout last night, a little longer one tonight. I have been checking out the Walk Away the Pounds videos on youtube. There are a couple full length free ones. They are more of a workout than I thought they would be.

Consistent bedtime is a primary goal this week too. Being tired is a big danger for me when it comes to resisting cravings.

Day 3 on track for me too Lia... maybe we should make it a contest! LOL Those peppers look yum. Sleep is good. When I'm tired I'm more hungry, more stressed, less productive. Carla (wonder where she got to) turned me on to this recipe from Veganomicon. I make it often, it is wonderful. I use either 1 T of oil or no oil... you definitely don't need 3 T. I use a non-stick pot for this, otherwise I have a nicely burned layer on the bottom.


Red Lentil-Cauliflower Curry

From “Veganomicon” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Serves 4-6 & takes about 1 hour

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons grapeseed or peanut oil

1 large onion chopped

1 large chili pepper (jalepeno or serrano), minced

2 large shallots

1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (I use the jar stuff, so much easier)

1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons curry

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 1/2 cups red lentils, sorted and rinsed

4 cups of veggie broth or water

1 1/2-2 pounds cauliflower, trimmed and sliced into small florets

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium heat and saute the onion and shallots until tender and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the grated ginger and chile and saute for one minute. Add the spices and briskly stir fry for thirty seconds then add the parsnip and stir fry for another minute.

Slowly pour in the veggie broth then stir in the lentils. Cover the pot, raise the heat to high and boil for 1 minute. Give the mix a stir then cover the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Allow the lentils to simmer for 10-12 minutes. They should turn light yellow and look mushy.

Add the cauliflower florets stirring to coat with the lentils. Partially cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the cauliflower is tender but not falling apart. Remove from heat, and stir in cilantro, lime juice and salt. Allow the curry to sit covered for 15 minutes before serving.

NewMe, that sounds like a great time was had despite the hard work. I hear you about the refrigerator bursting at the seams with produce. I have promised myself a new commercial sized one or a second one for produce capacity when we get to move ourselves. I feel proud of myself that I need to consider a second refrigerator just for produce, lol. Best of luck on your paper due Friday and congratulations on your (very likely) last MBA class- woot! I'm glad your daughter is doing better with her foot and not in pain. That is wonderful! Also, congratulations on the impending graduation festivities! You have a lot going on!

Lia- no I don't know which island I would prefer just yet but I can't imagine it being the big island- too touristy for me. We also chit chat about the Virgin Islands or somewhere like that, too. Anywhere with a beach, clear blue water and warm sun and I will stay there until I croak, lol.
Below is a recipe I modified that is my mother's potato salad recipe (I can't tolerate the potato carbs hence the cauliflower). I am making this for Memorial day weekend as a matter of fact.


FAUX-TATO SALAD (Zooty's Mom’s Potato Salad revamped)

10 Eggs- hard boiled, cooled and diced
1 head cauliflower-greens and core removed, diced to bite-size pieces approx. 1”, steam al dente, drain and cool a bit in the colander
5 Scallions, diced
3 Celery stalks, diced
6 small Pickles (Vlasic Sweet Gherkins), diced finely
Miracle Whip –approximately 2 cups (add slowly until desired consistency.)
2 T. Prepared mustard- French’s
1 tsp. Celery seed
10 sprigs fresh parsley- chopped
Salt & pepper
Paprika
Mix all the day before in a large bowl except the paprika to let the flavors meld. The next day, taste for seasonings then sprinkle paprika on top and serve.
Makes 12 servings.

(The nutrition charts didn't translate well but you can figure out the numbers by counting the entries left to right)

Nutritional profile as made:
Ingred. Cal. Fat Sat. F. PolyF MonoF Chol. Sodium Potas. Carbs Sugar
Eggs 780 50 16 7 20 1870 620 630 6 0
Cauli. 146 1.6 .4 .1 .1 0 176 1758 29 11
Scallion 25 0 0 0 0 0 80 1380 2 .5
Celery 18 .3 0 0 0 0 96 312 3.6 2.1
Pickles 60 0 0 0 0 42 42 42
Mir. W 1200 105 15 60 30 150 3000 60 30
Parsley 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 55 .6 .1

Totals 2233 156.9 31.4 7.1 50.1 2062 3978 4135 137.8 85.7

Serving 186.08 13.07 2.61 .59 4.175 171.83 331.5 344.58 11.48 7.14

Ingred. Fiber Protein A Calcium D b-12 Vit C Iron b-6 Mangan.
Eggs 60 50 20 110 100 0 30 50 10
Cauli. 12 11 0 12 0 0 472 13 55 22
Scallion 13 2.5 20 28 0 0 21 32 0 0
Celery 1.8 .9 9 3 0 0 6 0 0 3
Pickles
Mir.W
Parsley .3 .3 16 1 0 0 22 3 0 1


Totals 27.1 74.7 95 64 110 100 521 78 105 36
per
Serving 2.25 6.22 7.91 5.33 9.16 8.33 43.41 6.5 8.75 3

 
For comparison, if you had used the original 10 medium potatoes:
Cal Fat Sat. F Poly F MonoF Chol. Sodium Potass. Carbs
Per 10 potatoes 1630 20 10 10 0 0 130 8970 370
Using potato; totals 3717 175.3 41 17 50 2062 3932 11347 478.8
per
Serving; totals 309.75 14.60 3.41 1.41 4.16 171.8 327.66 945.58 39.9
Compared to cauliflower per serving +123.61 +1.53 +.80 +.82 -.015 -.003 -3.84 -601.00 +32.76
Fiber Sugar Protein A Calcium D b-12 Vit c
Per 10 potatoes 47 17 43 0 20 0 0 700
Using potato; totals 62.1 91.7 106.7 95 72 110 100 749
Per Serving 5.17 7.64 8.89 7.91 6 9.16 8.33 62.41
Difference +2.925 +.50 +2.67
+.67
+19

Sloth, I enjoyed your blog post and got a few chuckles out of it to boot.

Karrie - That sounds like a huge workout. Sounds a lot like what my 16 yr old lacrosse player son endures in practice. He's very athletic, and it damn near kills him. And 580 calories is a huge burn!

karrie what a great workout! I find that the heart rate monitor is 1/2 the calories of the machine that I use.

need to go to the gym still but so exhausted from work. So behind at work still . Hopefully, next week will be slower so I can catch up.

night all

You wanna hear something funny?!? My hubby can't stop complaining about how sore his butt is from all those lunges. He's going on and on about it. I'm totally fine...

And then this morning at class, we did 80 squats, 120 lunges, 60 lunge jumps, and 120 glute press/raises (?) I don't know what those ones are called, but there were 120 of them... And I STILL don't feel all that sore (but decidedly more sore than yesterday...)

So I'm clockin' that one as another NSV.

Tomorrow I'm gonna go for a nice, long walk - maybe 10 km. But all just walking. Then Sunday I am going to shoot for 14-16 km of jogging - hopefully all non-stop. Only 1 more week before the big race!!!

Karrie you are on fire. I am so jealous; wish my body would cooperate to work out like that.

Zoot sorry to hear about your parents. ARMD can be devastating, and your Dad in hospice I am so sorry. You are dealing with a lot right now.

Mahini now I understand why you work so much. Glad you are doing well right now. Maybe this will help with your last few pounds.

I finally have a Saturday to get some cleaning done. i spent Friday night transferring the winter clothes to the summer clothes. somehow i lost all of my shorts. Got to be somewhere. Today, it is finish the transfer project, clean the kitchen and bathrooms. My husband has been In Marrakesh, Morocco all week and is coming home this evening. Can't wait to see him.

Been doing pretty well down 5 lbs so far. I came to the realization that I like being thin more then I like sweets. So, some how I am going to figure out how to cure my chocolate addiction.

Tomorrow, my nephew is getting Christened, will be a bit of a challenge to stick to ETL. But it will be nice to see everyone.


Happy Memorial Weekend and the unofficial start of summer