Nutritarian November

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Replies

  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,878 Member
    Sounds like you had a nice birthday Terri. I've been looking at dehydrators, what one did you get?

    Lia, glad you had a nice time. Ah the red lentil kale soup. I literally crave that stuff sometimes. So delicious.

    Made the thai peanut noodle bowl from OSG last night, very tasty. Lots of leftovers.
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    Love cuban black bean soup recipe. I have a very old favorite from the newspaper that I use often.
    Still have not tried to make my own “meatloaf” yet, especially in the crockpot. I'm putting that one on my list to make.

    Nature made sure I got some exercise over these past two days. We got at least 10” of snow by Tuesday afternoon, so there was plenty of shoveling to clear the driveway for our cars. Luckily we didn’t have to be anywhere till Friday, so we took two days to clear the snow. Man, shoveling snow really is a great workout.

    Oh, how I’ve tried to teach myself to ONLY eat when hungry. Such a simple idea. I have to stop and ask myself, every time I find myself in the kitchen, if I am actually hungry or if I’m just “browsing.” I’m a slow learner. But getting there!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,878 Member
    Mornin' all. I am not doing a very good job of getting to the gym as planned. Work is still really bad. We are getting a new computer in for me in the next week or so which should help me a lot. Mine is having problems and freezing up a lot. I guarantee I'm losing at least an hour a day, probably more, waiting for programs to respond or files to open or rebooting.

    Still going strong on two meals a day though. I've adjusted to it very quickly. Some days I may have some popcorn, nuts or fruit, but keep the snack at 100 to 150 calories. This leaves me more calories for breakfast and dinner, which are the meals I have time to enjoy and when I'm more hungry, so it makes sense for me. Down a few pounds over the past couple weeks yay!

    Lisa, that is a lot of snow! Shoveling is definitely a great workout, but I hate doing it.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Morning all!
  • whats_her_name
    whats_her_name Posts: 716 Member
    Happy Friday everyone!

    I have been a little crazy busy with the kids' activities and my own. I can't believe it's already November!

    And with that, there comes the realization that there are only 6 more weeks until Christmas, and only another week after that until the New Year. And like you, Mihani, I'd like to lose a few before I ring in the New Year.

    So finally yesterday I stayed firm on the no snacking after work. And I cut out most of the starchy carbs from my day - I did have some sweet potato at supper, but not much - it was just a small part of my chickpea stew. I went to bed with a big carb-reduction headache. And I woke up with it too. But I'm happy to report that I'm down 3 lbs on the scale, so that means it's worth it. :lol:

    That means that this weekend I'll have to do some good food prep so I have things ready to go for meals. I'm going to get a lot of veggies portioned out with some homemade hummus for lunches, some green smoothies for bfasts, and then maybe a couple of soups and lots of big salads for suppers. Time to get serious!!

    Tomorrow, I'm also going to start doing my treadmill workouts. When I'm consistent there, I have the most success. So it's time to suck it up and get my butt outta bed at 5am again... *sigh* Sleeping in was nice while it lasted...

    But that's the plan, and I WILL stick to it until at LEAST the new year...
  • whats_her_name
    whats_her_name Posts: 716 Member
    Oh, as a side note, my guitar lessons are fantastic - I'm loving them!

    I can play Brown Eyed Girl, I'm a Believer, Stand By Me, Ring of Fire, Hey Jude, Silent Night, Silver Bells, Feliz Navidad, Me and Bobby Magee, Candles in the Wind, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Kumbaya, and a couple more that I can't think of right now. We get between 2 and 4 new songs every week.

    It's a lot of fun!

    In January, I start private lessons so I can learn the things I want to learn. I'm going to learn some classical music, and then whatever else strikes my fancy. I am excited about that, too!

  • liapr
    liapr Posts: 648 Member
    Karrie, lessons sound awesome!!! Good for you, I'm so impressed you're doing them. I am finding it hard to gear up for the treadmill too. I keep telling myself I'm going to start a program (like couch to 5k) so that I can be consistent but then I put it off...

    Lisa, wow I can't believe you have that much snow already!! This time last year, we were swamped with snow. It's so strange. It felt like spring out there yesterday. It is delaying my christmas spirit.

    Mihani, how is the new computer? Hope it's making a difference. Don't forget to schedule your gym in the planner so you feel like it's an appointment! Maybe that will help??

    Hi Sabine!! How are you?

    I'm still lumping along. I feel like I am finally deciding for myself that ETL is the way to go and that my body really wants it. Whereas before, I felt like I was always trying to convince myself... and partly didn't believe it. Does that make sense? Christmas is daunting though. I am also worried about my weight so would like to lose a few before the new year too so that I'm not starting off 2016 a certified blimp!

    Anyone have any interesting new recipes they've stumbling across lately? OSG has been my crutch, but I'm wondering if there is even something new on her website I haven't seen or tried... I'll head over and look. Happy Friday xo
  • liapr
    liapr Posts: 648 Member
    Also HELP spice experts: I"m going to try this recipe from Forks Over Knives. It's basically a throw-everything-in-and-cook recipe. Any spice suggestions?

    INGREDIENTS:
    2 small onions, finely chopped
    2 carrots, finely chopped
    6 small white potatoes, finely chopped
    1 16-ounce bag brown lentils
    1 15.5-ounce can fire roasted
    tomatoes, diced
    8 cups vegetable broth or water
    1-2 cups finely chopped spinach
    salt and pepper to taste
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,878 Member
    Hi Sabine, always good to see you!

    Karrie, great start cutting out those pesky starchy carbs. I have definitively proven to myself they are my downfall. I've gone without for a couple weeks, feel great, weight going down, no cravings for snacks. One day of starchy carbs and I ended up hungry and grazing the rest of the day. I do seem to be able to handle a little bit at breakfast though, like some sprouted grain toast. Sounds like you are going to be a guitar virtuoso in no time.

    Lia, I’d probably add garlic (because I put it in everything) and I seem to throw cumin and coriander in everything too. Rosemary, thyme or paprika are always good with potatoes and/or lentils, although with the fire-roasted tomatoes they might not be the way to go. I have not been great about the gym. We’re so so so busy at work. I have to be in at 8 a.m. tomorrow for a client coming in to sign docs. What are weekends? I am a big fan of Dreena Burton and Nava Atlas, check out their websites for lots of recipes. New computer is on order, probably be another week or so before they will schedule to come in to set it up and migrate all the data.

    I’ll be treadmilling with you all soon I hope. I am hoping to set aside enough out of my Christmas bonus (after I pay off my rather alarming vet bill) to get the treadmill fixed. I miss it soooo much!

  • coueswhitetail
    coueswhitetail Posts: 309 Member
    Liapr

    You could make it into a curry if you like curries.
  • tdh1991
    tdh1991 Posts: 511 Member
    Kia I will add cumin, cilantro and Mrs dash spicy seasoning.

    In Williamstown visiting daughters catch up later
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited November 2015
    Tonight is one of my favorite dinner nights: Vegetarian hot pot. I LOVE HOT POT NIGHT!!!! Tonight's pot will have brussels sprouts, taro, rutabaga, spinach, broccoli, bean sprouts, mushrooms, baby corn, water chestnuts, cauliflower, tofu and bean noodles Yay. It's like fondue, only better.
  • whats_her_name
    whats_her_name Posts: 716 Member
    I'll second the cumin and coriander spice combo - they are my favorite go-to spices! My second favorite combo is garlic and dill - but that probably won't work with the tomatoes...

    I am now on day 5 of low carbs. I'm down 6 lbs, but since I had crept up that much, I'm just back to where I started. Again. Ugh. But at least I will be able to start logging loss again - maybe even tomorrow!!

    I'm doing really well this time - my resolve is strong. But I've found myself feeling a little shaky from time to time - especially in the mornings. I just take it as a sign of how much I was indulging myself in the starchy carbs. Not good. I was still a little shaky this morning, but nowhere near as bad as the weekend... Because of the shakes, I haven't started on the treadmill yet. I want to give myself some time to adjust - I will give myself another week to get used to my new diet, so I'll start this Saturday. Looking forward to it!! I have missed how great I feel afterwards. I might be interested in doing C25K, Lia, if you wanna buddy up...

    Saturday night was tough. My hubby and I went out with 3 other couples. Before we met up with them, we went out for supper - and my salad was tasty, but my falafels were NOT. Very disappointing. I can totally open a restaurant if that's my competition; my homemade falafels are SO MUCH TASTIER! :yum:

    Anyway, we went to a show - and when it was over, everyone was hungry, and my hubby wanted to go for dessert. So I had to sit there for over an hour at 11 o'clock at night and watch everyone else order SO MUCH FOOD - I could not believe how much everyone ate! It all smelled so good. And I drank a few glasses of water... :open_mouth: They were all trying to get me to eat something, but I stayed firm. I had only been good for 3 days - I had not earned myself a cheat day yet!!! I won't be agreeing to a night out like that for awhile... But I AM proud of myself for not coming undone.

    Today I'm having a 2-smoothie day, and then probably salad for supper, although I might make a pumpkin soup - I haven't decided yet...

    Have a great day!!!
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    Guitar lessons and working too hard and getting in the exercise. You guys are doing great! It is one thing about FOK that they don't use spices like ETL does, so I hunt around for similar soups/stews and check out the spices they use, then dump them in. Works great! Mihani had great suggestions. Don't be shy on the spices -- it makes the recipe! I only wish I knew more about spices sooner.

    I just tried a wonderful recipe from an old Vegetarian Times Thanksgiving recipe book. It's basically 2 large chopped peeled sweet potatoes, 2 large chopped peeled parsnips, 2-3 large chopped carrots boiled till soft, then mash 'em up. I used my mixer with whipping attachment to whip it all smooth. It was good as it was, but I added cinnamon and ginger to it (about 2 tsp each) and pow! it was so tasty!! You could also add soy milk and butter, I suppose. It will be served at my Thanksgiving meal so I had to taste it. It was great. Who knew? Parsnips have a really unique taste. With carrots and sweet potatoes, it really pops. I have a new staple recipe.

    I'm also serving roasted root vegetables, so I'll have a chance to see how parsnips and rutabagas taste when baked. I'm such a thrill-seeker!

    Happy Thanksgiving day to you all, if I don't sneak in one more time beforehand. I've got the grandkids this week so they keep me hopping all day; may miss a day or two here!
  • coueswhitetail
    coueswhitetail Posts: 309 Member
    That's some serious will power whatshername! I am impressed! I only rarely can resist temptation like that.

    Lisa, thx for the recipe ideas....sound good!
  • whats_her_name
    whats_her_name Posts: 716 Member
    Of course I was expecting to log a loss today, so the scale decided "no, not today..." Ugh! But I was good, and the non-movement of the scale isn't going to stop me...

    I'm having another 2-smoothie day. And a big greek salad for supper. :yum:
  • liapr
    liapr Posts: 648 Member
    Wow Karrie, I can't believe you said no to everything!! That's amazing. Huge mental battle. Normally I would say "well I didn't like/eat this, so now I can have this". Although right now, I am feeling really strong resolve too and have been saying no to temptations. Luckily our Thanksgiving is over lol so I just have to carefully navigate Christmas parties. I think that should be ok though.

    Karrie, definitely up for budding up with C25K! I need some accountability. Are you thinking of starting it again?

    Lisa, really cool recipe, thanks for the suggestion. What else will you guys be having with your T-giving meal?

    Thanks for the spice suggestions - I went with garlic, coriander and cumin, which are my favourites too. It really made the soup so much more interesting! It was an awesome blend and tons of lentils that kept me full. I rewatched FOK on Sunday night actually which is also helping my resolve this week.

    Sabine, what is a hot pot?!?!? Sounds delish.

  • whats_her_name
    whats_her_name Posts: 716 Member
    I know - the mental battle is 90% of the game, I think. Like yesterday. I didn't lose on the scale. So normally, I would have gone off the rails and eaten whatever, because the scale isn't moving anyway... But not yesterday. I stuck to my plan, and today I'm down .4 lbs. It's not much, but it's more than I would have had if I would have binged yesterday...

    Definitely up for doing C25K. But I might have to wait another week. I'm having a hard time adjusting to the no carbs. I'm still getting headaches and feeling shaky. This morning it's bad. I am not even sure why I came into work today... So I'll have to get that in check before I feel like it's safe for me to go on the treadmill again. I'll have to keep you posted, then we can set a start date. Maybe December 1st??

    A coworker was very interested in my green smoothies yesterday, so I told her I'd make her one today. She looked nervous when I gave it to her. I don't know if she'll drink it this morning or if she's saving it for lunch, but I'm curious about her reaction. :smile: I just used my go-to recipe with coconut water, spinach, mango and banana with some hemp seeds for protein. Yum!
  • liapr
    liapr Posts: 648 Member
    Sounds good re Dec 1! I can gear up to it lol.

    Also, that is my go-to smoothie too! Or mango and pineapple. Maybe you've converted someone! Woohoo :)
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 3,878 Member
    Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the USA. I am going to be cooking today, and it won’t be ETL approved stuff lol. I made the OSG thai peanut noodle bowl without the noodles, I thought it would make a nice cold veggie dish to contrast with the carby goodness of the traditional Thanksgiving food. I’m also making the sweet potato casserole from the Fat Free Vegan website. The casserole is not fat free, but it’s a very nice special occasion dish. I made it a few years ago, and it was delicious. Also making maple dijon roasted Brussels sprouts and fennel.

    Terri hope you are enjoying your visit with your daughter.

    Sabine I am intrigued after looking up hot pot. I might add that to my vegan sushi night party next year. Any tips or recommended websites for the broth?

    Karrie, very well done not caving on your night out. I think you’re wise to take it slow and get feeling better before you start the treadmill.

    Lisa, I will try that recipe. I love roasted parsnips! Hope you’re having fun with the grandkids.

    Lia, glad you are going strong! Lentils have become my go to lately, they cook quickly and are so filling and nutritious.