Last day of vacay before the kids start back to school tomorrow.

Wins:

• Returned to my old exercise habits, and it feels great!
• Returned to my old eating habits, plus added some new delicious meals, and it feels great!
• Kept the dining room table clear and kitchen mostly clear, which helps with food prep, eating, and overall feelings of accomplishment
• Played lots of games with the kids on the tidy dining room table!
• Received a work evaluation today that I always worry over, and did better than I thought I would!
• Spent most of vacay at home, which meant we all had mostly home-cooked meals and lots of peace together
• Took care of a few of the tasks on my to-do list

Losses:

• Still some things on the to-do list that are giving me an upset tummy when I think about them
• Clutter is beginning to return to the kitchen island
• I've had trouble falling asleep before 1 am, and I've been sleeping in a little too long

Overall, not bad, really. Back to the real grind tomorrow, as I try to continue my exercise and food progress while dealing for the first time with the weekly activity schedule for the little dudes. Monday is the tough one, because they do two activities with just enough time in between for a quick meal. I'm thinking egg salad sandwiches or grilled cheese plus veggies and hummus will likely be their Monday meals until the second activity ends in about 6 weeks. Otherwise, they just have one activity on Wed and one on Friday, so it's not an intense schedule the rest of the week.

Those of you who are parents with elementary or middle school kids, how do you handle the grind around driving kids and preparing their meals on those busy days? Is there a good go-to meal I should consider?

LesIckaBod wrote: »

Last day of vacay before the kids start back to school tomorrow.

Wins:

• Returned to my old exercise habits, and it feels great!
• Returned to my old eating habits, plus added some new delicious meals, and it feels great!
• Kept the dining room table clear and kitchen mostly clear, which helps with food prep, eating, and overall feelings of accomplishment
• Played lots of games with the kids on the tidy dining room table!
• Received a work evaluation today that I always worry over, and did better than I thought I would!
• Spent most of vacay at home, which meant we all had mostly home-cooked meals and lots of peace together
• Took care of a few of the tasks on my to-do list

Losses:

• Still some things on the to-do list that are giving me an upset tummy when I think about them
• Clutter is beginning to return to the kitchen island
• I've had trouble falling asleep before 1 am, and I've been sleeping in a little too long

Overall, not bad, really. Back to the real grind tomorrow, as I try to continue my exercise and food progress while dealing for the first time with the weekly activity schedule for the little dudes. Monday is the tough one, because they do two activities with just enough time in between for a quick meal. I'm thinking egg salad sandwiches or grilled cheese plus veggies and hummus will likely be their Monday meals until the second activity ends in about 6 weeks. Otherwise, they just have one activity on Wed and one on Friday, so it's not an intense schedule the rest of the week.

Those of you who are parents with elementary or middle school kids, how do you handle the grind around driving kids and preparing their meals on those busy days? Is there a good go-to meal I should consider?

Well done on the impressive list of wins. I have found the way to keep clutter off surfaces is to do a 10 minute blitz once a day when I go through the house and put everything back where it should be. 10 minutes isn't long but its surprisingly effective, especially as i start putting things where they belong when I am finished as I know I will just have to do it later if I don't. I do get that kids complicate a plan like that, but maybe get them in on it and they do their own 10 minute blitz with you and see who can do the most in the time available.

With 3 kids all 5 years apart (youngest just finished college) and working full time plus, there was always so little time. All 3 played hockey through college. They played hockey all year round and other sports each season. It took me a bit to learn that no one cared if the dishes weren’t done right away or if the dust accumulated. Only I cared. I never once had a neighbor stop by and do a glove test. I am glad I stopped stressing about that and spent more time with the family. I have decided family and clutter go together. Realizing this made me less stressed and, as my family says, less “crazy”. I would buy bulk healthy snacks and through portions in containers and store them in a cooler in the car. The kids had many water bottles that were filled wherever we were. I also wish I had spent time on myself, maybe working out 3 or more days a week. I was always so tired. I didn’t realize that I would have had more energy if I had done so. Whatever you do, enjoy it because they eventually move out and then you get weirdly nostalgic.

I cooked this on the stove top – very simple and easy to do… AMAZING soup.

Keto Tuscan Soup eatwell101.com/instant-pot-keto-tuscan-soup-recipe

Instant Pot Keto Tuscan Soup – Creamy and hearty, you’ll enjoy every spoonful of this Instant Pot Keto Tuscan Soup. Italian sausage, kale, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and onion are all simmered to perfection in a savory cream base. This Keto Tuscan soup tastes divine and it is unbelievably easy and effortless – anyone can make it! It’s comfort food at its best!
Ingredients list for the Instant Pot Keto Tuscan Soup
• 1 lb (450g) Hot Italian sausage, casings removed (or turkey sausage)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bunch kale, leaves stripped and chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
• Fresh chopped parsley, for serving
1. Add Italian sausage to the insert of the Instant Pot and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Drain excess fat.
2. Add garlic, onion, and oregano to the Instant Pot with the sausage meat. Cook, stirring constantly until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Stir in chicken broth and sun-dried tomatoes; season with pepper, to taste.
4. Cook the sausage soup.
5. Stir in kale to the soup until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream until heated through, about 1 minute; then adjust seasoning of the Tuscan sausage soup with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately with fresh grated Parmesan and parsley. Enjoy!
Notes: You can add cauliflower florets to the Instant Pot to make the Tuscan soup even more nutritive.

Nutrient summary can be found by looking up the page

@yellobird13 I don’t see anything wrong if you have set a calorie limit for that day higher than the rest of the week and adhere to it. Everyone sets their own calorie limits and if yours happens to be, for example, 2000 instead of 1500 for Saturday then that is what it is.

@yellobird13 Interesting question about higher calorie days. Is this what they call calorie cycling? I think planning one is probably a good idea, using @impala007's idea to track the calories and keep them under a certain higher amount.

I've found myself thinking recently that the problem with counting pass days is that if I go over my daily calorie goal, I will have lost my extrinsic motivation to restrict calories. So, if I go over by 50 calories, why not go over by 1500? The barn door would be wide open to eating all I can cram in, because why not, the day is already a "pass". (My little demon is talking here!)

A planned higher calorie day might help avoid that problem. Over the course of the week, some of my days are quite far below my goal, and some are right at the goal. Looking at the average of the week would give me more calories to spend periodically.

I'm still working through this idea myself. I'm curious to hear what others might have to say!

@lalabank, @LesIckaBod, @pridesabtch. Thanks everyone for weighing in. I agree it kind of depends on how one looks at it. I think I’ll stick to the challenge I set myself for this month, but will “schedule” my two remaining pass days. If this works well, I might incorporate one day a week with an elevated calorie goal into next month’s challenge!

Hello everyone, I am a little late joining the January group, but I am glad to see UAC is still active and going strong.