Nance, great job with your fasting and then breaking fast with steamed cauli...awesome! Happy Friday!

Hope you plowed through the work you wanted to, Mihani. Nice job with the fasting! Almost feel like I'm missing out over here with both of you fasting. But, .... food! yum! haha

Today is the official Thanksgiving day, but it often gets celebrated on the Sunday. We only ate like it was TG, we didn't have anyone over. My family still can't cross the border to get to us. Just Joe and I, and not a big spread, but a nice roasted butternut squash pasta bake with tofu crumbles and a cheesy sauce in there. Decadent and delish...though a surprise to me...I think my taste buds have changed, I actually enjoyed the soup from the day before more. The same roasted butternut squash with beans in a broth with sage and rosemary. Lower calorie and higher nutrient density too.

I only walked once yesterday and had date-nut balls. Ugh. Reset of the snack timer, starting today! They weren't worth it anyway, so that helps me moving forward. I don't feel like I'm missing out.

Today's plan:
b - strawberry smoothie
l - leftover soup, homemade flourless nut and seed crackers
d - butternut squash bake

3 walks, no snacks!

Happy Birthday, Nance! Hope you enjoy your lunch tomorrow and time with Lulu today!

How did those black bean burgers turn out, Carla? Thanks for that recipe. Can't wait to try it. I love butternut squash in everything. Adds such a great texture and flavor.

B - skipped it
L - big ol' salad, two wasa crackers
D - soup? stew? not sure what it is yet LOL

I water sauteed onion and garlic, added some fresh chopped banana peppers, diced carrot, whole bunch of red cabbage, veggie broth and a can of black eyed peas. Spiced it up with cumin, turmeric, black pepper, celery seed. It is simmering now and I may add a cup of bean pasta to soak up some of the broth and give it an extra boost of bean power. These "throw everything in the pot and see what happens" meals are almost always delicious.

Will dice up an apple and mix it with some thawed mixed berries, cinnamon, chia seeds after dinner since I haven't had any fruit yet today.

Hi Hawksgirl! I have wondered where you got to. Glad to see you again. How is everyone doing?

Busy busy day yet again. Glad this week is almost over. I brought home a couple files to work on tonight but doubt I will. It's Thursday and even if I work on them they won't get finished until Monday so I may as well put it off until the weekend because I am beat and want to get to bed early.

Have plans to go out with friends tomorrow after work so there will be some wine. Other than that I have had a nearly perfect WFPB sort of week.

B - skipped it
L - leftover cabbage and black eyed peas, an apple
D - will be a big ol' salad, mixed berries with cinnamon and chia/flax

Oh no! Sorry to hear about your back pain. Hope the hot shower helps. Wonderful that you have a friendship going all the way back to kindergarten! I met up with a friend from kindergarten 10 years or so ago and since then we've kept up online. She lives too far away to hang out, but we have a lot in common.

Hi Hawksgirl! Hope things calm down for you a bit soon and that you have some time to catch a breath.

Important soup correction (too late to edit post above): the amount of butternut squash is 8 cups (or roughly 1 squash). Also key: only use half of the roasted squash for the soup.

Glad your back is feeling better, Nance. Hope work isn't too hard on it.

Had so much fun last night. We had 10 people out at the bar/restaurant and we talked and laughed for almost 3 hours.

Going to spend most of the weekend at my desk but also have to do some basic housecleaning, laundry, and cooking. I have more cabbage but am out of black eyed peas so I think I'll run to the grocery since I need some other things too. I really loved that soup/stew and will make it again for this week. Also greens to stir-fry with onion and mushrooms, a pot of quinoa or rice, salad dressing. Got 3 huge broccoli crowns and will roast those. I didn't have any broccoli last week and I missed it.

Salads this week: red and green leaf, carrot, radish, sweet pepper, baby kale and spinach. Think I'll make the miso ginger dressing.

Plan for today...
B - ezekiel toast with a smidge of almond butter, berries with chia/flax and cinnamon, tea
L - big ol' salad
D - greens with cheezy chickpeas and rice or quinoa, an apple

I got a sampler of 15 different types of herbal tea so I could try some new varieties. I drink English breakfast tea in the mornings but need to cut back on the caffeine. I usually have two cups before I leave for work then another cup or two at the office. I'll switch to decaf/herbal once I get to the office from here on out.

Good news about your back & the swimming plans, Nance!

Mihani, sounds like a great night out! How are you liking your new washer and dryer?

I lost a lot of my momentum for weaving the tea towels, but I did finish the first one yesterday. One more to go and then on to the next project. I have materials for a prayer shawl for my Mom and a scarf that is woven to look like a snakeskin pattern. Not sure which I'll do first. The threading for the scarf is tricky, but because it is a scarf it isn't that wide and isn't as daunting as the shawl. Either way, I want to complete one of the two projects before ordering materials for the one after those.

I'm also treating myself to a monthly fiber club where I get a surprise braid of fiber for spinning into yarn. This is my first month's fiber. I love it!


Plan for today:
B - coffee, millet porridge w/ blueberries, cinnamon & walnuts
L - mixed greens, diced pear, balsamic walnut vinaigrette
D - spaghetti, side salad

That fiber is beautiful, Carla. Can't wait to see what you make of it. Let us know how the leafside is. I just can't bring myself to spend that much on them, at least not right now with all the other expenses going on in my life.

Magic, I like to roast veggies with a sprinkle of coconut aminos and some no salt seasoning. A mix of tahini and lemon juice is nice too and helps them brown with that fat source. I think Carla recently mentioned she used some of Dr. F's walnut vinaigrette recipe to roast veggies and they turned out nicely. I always use parchment paper to make cleanup a breeze. When I make the sheet pan fajita recipe that Carla had recommended I just cook them dry with the spices and they are tasty, although peppers and onions have more water regardless.

Got my cooking done last night. The kale I bought looked good in the bunch but when I untied them the leaves on the inside were gross so I had to toss. I had plenty of bok choy, cabbage and baby spinach/kale so I still made a huge skillet of veggies (included onion and carrot) and added soy sauce and shelled edamame rather than black eyed peas as originally planned. Also made jasmine brown rice, roasted broccoli, shane and simple vinaigrette.

B - roasted broccoli followed by thawed mixed berries with chia/flax, cinnamon and 1/2 cup oats with water, 2 cups of tea
D - salad, cooked greens and edamame with rice, an apple

Speaking of dinner, think I'll go have that now! I have been busy with work and forgot about lunch but now I'm hungry.

oh! i missed your post about ordering them, Nance! I am looking forward to your review...I only purchased the bowls for now. If you like them, they will be excellent for post-surgery and also good to keep a few at work for when you forget your meal.