I decided that even though we are going out to dinner tonight, starting the clean eating challenge today would be for the best. Why put off something when you can start right now? I decided on a game plan for dinner; since I normally have to check menus ahead of time because of my sulfite issues (thank you the internet), I figured I could take advantage of this and pick out a healthy "clean" dinner meal. Why? Because this is real life and chances are that in the next 4-5 weeks, I will be going out to eat again. If I can't plan ahead this early in the game, what am I going to do when my patience is starting to wane or my self control is diminishing. Just because I am challenging myself diet-wise does not mean I cannot go out and actually enjoy life and have fun with my friends. I already planned to DD (remember, no alcohol) so my husband could drink and have fun with his friends who he doesn't get to see as often and this will allow me to be able to be up early tomorrow morning for my morning work out.
This morning I had boot camp, which is an hour-long intensive group fitness class I take 3 times a week. I really enjoy the class and the instructor. The class is small and I have had the opportunity to get to know a lot of the folks I take the class with which has made the experience even more enjoyable. I'm super competitive so this kind of training is really up my alley. We do a lot of circuit training and high intensity training, mixed with running and cardio. To say I come home drenched in sweat is an understatement. It was particularly humid this morning and we were doing laps around the building in between rounds of circuit training today which gave me some glorious extra-sweaty funk.
On the days I am not doing boot camp, I will go run at the lake next to my house (so convenient) or I will do Bodyrock (www.bodyrock.tv). Bodyrock is a fitness and health website that I stumbled upon a little over a year ago thanks to Pinterest. They focus on 12-20 minute high intensity interval training that you can do at home in your own living room. The best part about this website is that it's completely free. Also to note, their community of fans and advocates grows exponentially by the minute. BodyrockTV was also named one of the best online fitness websites by Shape Magazine back in December and that has done a lot to help get Bodyrock out there and propel it's popularity. I also follow along to Zuzka Light's work outs (www.zuzkalight.com) which also builds on the philosophy of short but intense body weight (or little equipment) work outs that you can do anywhere. The beauty of these free sites is that I can mix and match old and new work outs and do them at home, or even on our back deck (when the weather permits).
But back to my diet. I will aim to post what I am eating everyday so help give an idea of what I am eating and how I am following along to my own challenge. I do not calorie count but rather go by a basic food "goal" for the day: 3 servings of lean protein, 3 servings of healthy carbs, 1-2 servings of healthy fats, and 5 servings of fruits and veggies. This plan usually gets me to about 1600-1800 calories a day which is ideal for my height, weight, and training program. Some days I am hungrier than others and some days I am not very hungry at all. I also drink about 4 liters of water a day mostly because I love water and crave it all the time. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day, usually with 1 teaspoon of sugar but because of the challenge, I am drinking it black. When I do have alcohol, I am pretty much limited to only vodka and seltzer (plain carbonated water) so that is normally what I drink. I usually will have only 1-2 drinks and this is maybe once a week but more often about two times a month.
Okay my diet for real this time.
Here is a list of what I ate so far today, including a new recipe.
Breakfast (Pre-Boot Camp Work Out): 1/4 cup red quinoa, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 water, 1 small (like SUPER SMALL) dollop of raw honey (I realized that for something like this, since I am no longer using milk, I do need a small amount of sweetener to help and that little tiny bit of honey made a HUGE difference so I will allow myself some raw honey but only in the morning in my oatmeal and that is it).
Lunch (Post-Boot Camp Work Out): Stuffed Green Peppers (adapted from Mama Laughlin's Pinspiration Wednesday Dinner Recipe)
3 Green Peppers
2 Tomatoes
1 Jalapeño
1 Teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon
Salt to taste
1/2 Pound lean white ground turkey meat
1/2 Teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of red pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon of ground mustard seed
1 Avocado
Red Quinoa (cook according to package)
Chop the heads off of the green peppers and de-seed. Place peppers in a pot with water and set heat to high to boil. Boil for 3 minutes and then remove peppers to dry off and cool.
While the peppers are cooking, chop tomatoes and jalapeño. Place in a bowl with the freshly squeezed lemon and a sprinkle of salt. Set aside.
In a frying pan set on medium heat, cook turkey until cooked through. Add in chopped tomato and jalapeño and spices. Stir and continue cooking for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Scoop out avocado from shell and mash. Set aside.
Once the peppers are cooked, scoop in spoonfuls of the turkey and tomato mixture and then scoop in a spoonful of red quinoa. Continue until filled to the top. Top off with mashed avocado and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
Snack: Leftover ground turkey/tomato mixture and 1 handful of raw almonds
Dinner: Since I have planned ahead and looked at the menu, I am going to have the Chilean Sea Bass but ask for it grilled plain (it comes plantain encrusted) and then ask for the spaghetti squash to be cooked plain (instead of caramelized), and also ask for the mango salad plain with no vinaigrette. By asking for everything plain, this ensures that I am not only sticking to my challenge but that I am also avoiding sulfited foods and a possible reaction later this evening.
I will report tomorrow if I really stuck to my dinner wits and didn't cave. Fingers crossed!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
30 Day Clean Eating Challenge
If you read my posts (the maybe 1 or 2 of you out there, hi!), then you notice that I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I have been slipping a lot recently with my diet. I say "diet" because it's easier than saying "the food I am forced to eat because of the food I cannot eat due to non-diegestion of bad-for-me food." Again, I stress that being sulfite sensitive/intolerant means that this is a lifestyle choice and I can't flip a switch and be good or bad when I want. Unless I want to gain 35 pounds back that I have lost in the last couple of years and start having major digestive problems again, I need to be more legit about my diet.
I have to admit, I do really well during the week for the most part. I have breakfast and lunch down to an art, mostly because I pre-prepare my meals the night before so I can just grab and go in the morning. This saves me a lot of time and energy trying to come up with safe-for-me foods and I also don't make excuses like, "ugh I don't feel like making something" or "I don't have time." Dinner works to my advantage about 90% of the time during the week and only about 50% of the time on the weekends. The weekends are a little more hectic for us and we find that we normally end up grabbing something quick at least one night while we're out and about doing marital things like browsing Best Buy on a Saturday night.
I find I don't do well when I have been home all day - case in point, today. I worked from home, something I have not been in the routine of doing in almost a year. I used to work from home about half the week but last year I changed jobs with my company and part of taking the new position meant I was now back in the office full time. It was nice in the fact that I had structure but bad in the fact that I had to make my meals ahead of time again. But now I am moving back to being home more often which means that I don't have to pre-make meals (yay) but I find myself home more and tempted by food. By the way, just throwing it out there - I have no self control when it comes to food whatsoever. So in the afternoon when work kind of dies down, I find myself bored and "hungry." Which brings me to eating weird combinations of things like almond butter, soy-free butter (which is the best/worst/best thing ever), and raw honey mixed together eaten with a spoon (it tastes like the inside of a reese peanut butter cup). And then I have a healthy dinner and then go bananas over some more honey mixed with more soy-free butter and now agave nectar. Hi, my name is Cassie and I have issues with sugar.
Guilt sets in and I realize that I am so much better than this. And that my body deserves so much more than this. I try to play mind games with my subconscious by telling me that it's "okay" for me to eat these things because it's natural sugar and not processed sugar. Um hello, it's STILL SUGAR. What is wrong with me???? After this war happens in my brain for about 15 minutes, I resolve to stop. Yes, I have done this before. Easier said that done. But I really do need to stop. I would love nothing more than to be seen as uber fit - a fitness model would be stretching it but I think it would be a pretty lofty goal to have to be in at least one magazine one day showing off all my hard work. Dreams and goals make us work harder.
So here is my vow - starting on Sunday, August 12, 2012 through September 14, 2012 I will be eating clean. No bullshit. No deceiving. No telling myself that raw honey and agave nectar are okay because they're natural. And definitely no sugar. I need to bring it back to basics and really see how far I can push myself. Here is my list of things I will be focusing on eating:
Protein: lean meats (top sirloin steak, chicken, tilapia, sea bass, swordfish, tuna), chia seeds
Healthy Complex Carbs: old fashioned oats, quinoa
Fruits and Veggies: everything I basically am allowed to eat. I will avoid corn (mostly because I just can't have it anymore) and limit my potato intake to just sweet potatoes
Healthy Fats: almonds, avocados
This basically eliminates processed breads (which I don't really eat much of anyways), dairy (which I need to stop having, including Greek yogurt which I love but shouldn't have as much as I do), sugar (including agave nectar, raw honey), alcohol (which I don't really drink much of anyway), and processed fats (like my soy-free butter).
I encourage all of you (yes all 1 or 2 of you - seriously please comment so I can say hi) to join me, even if it's just for a week or a few days. I would start this tomorrow but we have a birthday dinner/party planned for my husband and a few of his friends who share birthdays and yes I know I am already making excuses. I am going to eat clean all day leading up to dinner and my goal is to eat clean at dinner. I don't plan on drinking since I plan on DDing and I will report back on my success (or failure).
I have even set reminders on my phone every day to tell me I am doing the right thing and to keep it up. Motivation always seems to help as does competition so you know having a friend or two to join in will do nothing but make me feel better.
Good luck!
I have to admit, I do really well during the week for the most part. I have breakfast and lunch down to an art, mostly because I pre-prepare my meals the night before so I can just grab and go in the morning. This saves me a lot of time and energy trying to come up with safe-for-me foods and I also don't make excuses like, "ugh I don't feel like making something" or "I don't have time." Dinner works to my advantage about 90% of the time during the week and only about 50% of the time on the weekends. The weekends are a little more hectic for us and we find that we normally end up grabbing something quick at least one night while we're out and about doing marital things like browsing Best Buy on a Saturday night.
I find I don't do well when I have been home all day - case in point, today. I worked from home, something I have not been in the routine of doing in almost a year. I used to work from home about half the week but last year I changed jobs with my company and part of taking the new position meant I was now back in the office full time. It was nice in the fact that I had structure but bad in the fact that I had to make my meals ahead of time again. But now I am moving back to being home more often which means that I don't have to pre-make meals (yay) but I find myself home more and tempted by food. By the way, just throwing it out there - I have no self control when it comes to food whatsoever. So in the afternoon when work kind of dies down, I find myself bored and "hungry." Which brings me to eating weird combinations of things like almond butter, soy-free butter (which is the best/worst/best thing ever), and raw honey mixed together eaten with a spoon (it tastes like the inside of a reese peanut butter cup). And then I have a healthy dinner and then go bananas over some more honey mixed with more soy-free butter and now agave nectar. Hi, my name is Cassie and I have issues with sugar.
Guilt sets in and I realize that I am so much better than this. And that my body deserves so much more than this. I try to play mind games with my subconscious by telling me that it's "okay" for me to eat these things because it's natural sugar and not processed sugar. Um hello, it's STILL SUGAR. What is wrong with me???? After this war happens in my brain for about 15 minutes, I resolve to stop. Yes, I have done this before. Easier said that done. But I really do need to stop. I would love nothing more than to be seen as uber fit - a fitness model would be stretching it but I think it would be a pretty lofty goal to have to be in at least one magazine one day showing off all my hard work. Dreams and goals make us work harder.
So here is my vow - starting on Sunday, August 12, 2012 through September 14, 2012 I will be eating clean. No bullshit. No deceiving. No telling myself that raw honey and agave nectar are okay because they're natural. And definitely no sugar. I need to bring it back to basics and really see how far I can push myself. Here is my list of things I will be focusing on eating:
Protein: lean meats (top sirloin steak, chicken, tilapia, sea bass, swordfish, tuna), chia seeds
Healthy Complex Carbs: old fashioned oats, quinoa
Fruits and Veggies: everything I basically am allowed to eat. I will avoid corn (mostly because I just can't have it anymore) and limit my potato intake to just sweet potatoes
Healthy Fats: almonds, avocados
This basically eliminates processed breads (which I don't really eat much of anyways), dairy (which I need to stop having, including Greek yogurt which I love but shouldn't have as much as I do), sugar (including agave nectar, raw honey), alcohol (which I don't really drink much of anyway), and processed fats (like my soy-free butter).
I encourage all of you (yes all 1 or 2 of you - seriously please comment so I can say hi) to join me, even if it's just for a week or a few days. I would start this tomorrow but we have a birthday dinner/party planned for my husband and a few of his friends who share birthdays and yes I know I am already making excuses. I am going to eat clean all day leading up to dinner and my goal is to eat clean at dinner. I don't plan on drinking since I plan on DDing and I will report back on my success (or failure).
I have even set reminders on my phone every day to tell me I am doing the right thing and to keep it up. Motivation always seems to help as does competition so you know having a friend or two to join in will do nothing but make me feel better.
Good luck!
An Unordinary List of Things I Cannot Eat
I get asked frequently about things I can and cannot eat with my food intolerance. Sulfites are a tricky food, especially in the US. The FDA doesn't exactly regulate sulfites and how they are listed in ingredients so many manufacturers get away with saying something is "preservative free" but in reality it is anything but.
The obvious thing I have to stay away from is anything that has the word "sulfites" listed in the ingredients. These are usually my red flags, especially if it actually says on the label, "contains sulfites."
Here is my running list. I have found I pretty much react to anything on some sort of level. Sometimes it's my hands swelling. Sometimes my hands and feet just get itchy. Other times my intestines swell and I bloat and gain weight. Extreme cases normally mean I have insomnia and shooting pains up and down my arms. Almost always I end up with some sort of stomach issue because of it.
My Sulfite No-No's
Wine and Beer
Colored liquor
Soda (except for plain carbonated water)
Soy
Malted anything (which is found in most breads and flours)
Canned foods
Jarred foods
Cured Meats (especially all pork products)
Grapes
Shrimp
Lobster
Corn anything (this is on the newer scale - I know I cannot have corn syrup and corn starch but I am almost finding I cannot have polenta and corn chips FML)
Pre-made stuff (like frozen meals, pre-made biscuits or pizza dough)
Eggs (if I have 1 once a week I seem to be okay)
Kale
Broccoli
Asparagus
Chips, cookies, crackers, pretzels (unless homemade)
Caregeenan (which is found in heavy cream, almond milk, and protein powder)
Pre-packaged meat (the pads they put underneath the meat helps keep it fresh and is soaked in sulfites)
Bottled juices
Onion and garlic
Bottled lemon or lime juice
Molasses
Salad Dressing
Ketchup/Mustard/Condiments
Pre-shredded cheeses
Deli Meat
Chocolate
Cortisol steroids
Ice Cream
I am sure there is more but this is what I can think off of the top of my head. Obviously, there is a learning curve. There have been plenty of times that I have made the mistake and eaten something I shouldn't have or I throw caution to the wind and eat something I know I will react to and then feel horrible later. The good news is that I have become so in-tune with my body that I can almost immediately detect when symptoms begin. To try to alleviate the symptoms, I take epsom salt baths, I drink hot water, I work out to try to push my body into revving my metabolism, and I eat clean. This isn't so much a lifestyle change as it's more like, well I have no choice. My intolerance can continue to get worse if I don't actively avoid sulfited foods and it won't ever go away (nothing annoys me more than when someone tells me I'll probably 'outgrow' this problem. Yeah, no I have tried and it's just getting worse). So this is where I am today. And about 9 times out of 10, I am okay with it. I do have those moments where I envy people who can eat fast food or pizza or ice cream and not worry but then I am reminded that I can handle this intolerance like the best of them and I'm better for it. Plus, I rather know what is going on and watch what I eat than not know and be as confused as I was a few years ago.
The obvious thing I have to stay away from is anything that has the word "sulfites" listed in the ingredients. These are usually my red flags, especially if it actually says on the label, "contains sulfites."
Here is my running list. I have found I pretty much react to anything on some sort of level. Sometimes it's my hands swelling. Sometimes my hands and feet just get itchy. Other times my intestines swell and I bloat and gain weight. Extreme cases normally mean I have insomnia and shooting pains up and down my arms. Almost always I end up with some sort of stomach issue because of it.
My Sulfite No-No's
Wine and Beer
Colored liquor
Soda (except for plain carbonated water)
Soy
Malted anything (which is found in most breads and flours)
Canned foods
Jarred foods
Cured Meats (especially all pork products)
Grapes
Shrimp
Lobster
Corn anything (this is on the newer scale - I know I cannot have corn syrup and corn starch but I am almost finding I cannot have polenta and corn chips FML)
Pre-made stuff (like frozen meals, pre-made biscuits or pizza dough)
Eggs (if I have 1 once a week I seem to be okay)
Kale
Broccoli
Asparagus
Chips, cookies, crackers, pretzels (unless homemade)
Caregeenan (which is found in heavy cream, almond milk, and protein powder)
Pre-packaged meat (the pads they put underneath the meat helps keep it fresh and is soaked in sulfites)
Bottled juices
Onion and garlic
Bottled lemon or lime juice
Molasses
Salad Dressing
Ketchup/Mustard/Condiments
Pre-shredded cheeses
Deli Meat
Chocolate
Cortisol steroids
Ice Cream
I am sure there is more but this is what I can think off of the top of my head. Obviously, there is a learning curve. There have been plenty of times that I have made the mistake and eaten something I shouldn't have or I throw caution to the wind and eat something I know I will react to and then feel horrible later. The good news is that I have become so in-tune with my body that I can almost immediately detect when symptoms begin. To try to alleviate the symptoms, I take epsom salt baths, I drink hot water, I work out to try to push my body into revving my metabolism, and I eat clean. This isn't so much a lifestyle change as it's more like, well I have no choice. My intolerance can continue to get worse if I don't actively avoid sulfited foods and it won't ever go away (nothing annoys me more than when someone tells me I'll probably 'outgrow' this problem. Yeah, no I have tried and it's just getting worse). So this is where I am today. And about 9 times out of 10, I am okay with it. I do have those moments where I envy people who can eat fast food or pizza or ice cream and not worry but then I am reminded that I can handle this intolerance like the best of them and I'm better for it. Plus, I rather know what is going on and watch what I eat than not know and be as confused as I was a few years ago.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Things I Cannot Do with a Sliced Finger....
....that I will never take advantage of again.
1. Texting with two thumbs
2. Buttoning and unbuttoning pants
3. Changing the song on my iPhone
4. Tapping the home button on my iPhone
5. Bottom-locking the front door
6. Hitting the button to open the garage door
7. Typing
8. ...Okay there were more in my head...
Backstory: I sliced the tip of my right thumb while cutting brussel sprouts. It was bad enough that I had to go to Urgent Care. The MD wanted to give me stitches but I talked her into the liquid dermabond stuff instead. Part of the deal for getting the dermabond is that I couldn't work out for 5 days. Uh, does she know who she's talking to? I grudgingly agreed and my husband held me to it. The first words out of his mouth when we got into the car was, "you do need to listen to the doctor and not work out for the week." FINE.
I kind of took this week off as an opportunity to really focus on my diet (so all wasn't lost). I was starting to have problems eating things I wasn't supposed to and my allergy was really started to flare up again. So I figured if I couldn't work out, this would hold me more accountable for my diet since I couldn't make up the excuse that well I ran 3 miles so I can entire this entire pizza nomnomnom. I know with my food intolerance, it's just a matter of getting back on track and that normally can happen within a few days as long as I have willpower. Taking the negative and making it positive, go me.
This past week hadn't been all bad. My husband was kind enough to come home early from work most days to keep me company (and I think to check in and make sure I wasn't working out) and I was able to get some of the bloat down from this dang reaction I have been battling since Monday. But then today happened. Today was hands down one of the most craptastic days in the office, to put it lightly. I won't delve into details but I will say that I am quite passionate about what I do and I am feeling conflicted with how I feel my position with the company should be going and where it is going. And it's not one of these rawr rawr rawr they want to give me more work how dare they! but rather they want me to stop doing some of my tasks altogether when I feel what I do now has a lot of purpose. But you know, what do I know...I'm just along for the ride. So there's that.
Because of this god awful day, I came home raging. Didn't help I was listening to the 90s station the whole way home (seriously I used to claim the 80s were my genre of choice but I am sadly mistaken....the 90s occupied so much of my youth that it will forever hold a place in my heart) but I changed out of my work clothes (which by the way was ANOTHER cute outfit that I forgot to snap a picture of FML) and threw on running clothes, defying the doctor's orders. I said a quick prayer to the finger slicing gods that my thumb wouldn't bust the heck open in the middle of the woods and I took off for a 4 mile run in the sweltering heat (is it hot by you? It's been disgusting here all summer and I kind of want to die). I came back dying of heat exhaustion and instantly feeling better. It's amazing what a little sweat and heat can do for the mind and body. No longer do I feel the need to rage.....or want to down a bottle of Grey Goose. Instead, I feel more relaxed. It would better if I took tomorrow off but I am manning the fort since my coworker is going to go enjoy a little impromptu weekend with her fiancé. But I get to work from home so yay next best thing!
Okay so yeah I don't know how a post about my thumb turned into a ramble about my job but let's go with it. Anyways, I realize that work is work. There will be good days and bad days. I also value the fact that my job doesn't suck 100% of the time and that those days when I do feel down (which is rare), running always seems to make it better. Or maybe it was the 90s music. Both is superb so let's just go with that.
1. Texting with two thumbs
2. Buttoning and unbuttoning pants
3. Changing the song on my iPhone
4. Tapping the home button on my iPhone
5. Bottom-locking the front door
6. Hitting the button to open the garage door
7. Typing
8. ...Okay there were more in my head...
Backstory: I sliced the tip of my right thumb while cutting brussel sprouts. It was bad enough that I had to go to Urgent Care. The MD wanted to give me stitches but I talked her into the liquid dermabond stuff instead. Part of the deal for getting the dermabond is that I couldn't work out for 5 days. Uh, does she know who she's talking to? I grudgingly agreed and my husband held me to it. The first words out of his mouth when we got into the car was, "you do need to listen to the doctor and not work out for the week." FINE.
I kind of took this week off as an opportunity to really focus on my diet (so all wasn't lost). I was starting to have problems eating things I wasn't supposed to and my allergy was really started to flare up again. So I figured if I couldn't work out, this would hold me more accountable for my diet since I couldn't make up the excuse that well I ran 3 miles so I can entire this entire pizza nomnomnom. I know with my food intolerance, it's just a matter of getting back on track and that normally can happen within a few days as long as I have willpower. Taking the negative and making it positive, go me.
This past week hadn't been all bad. My husband was kind enough to come home early from work most days to keep me company (and I think to check in and make sure I wasn't working out) and I was able to get some of the bloat down from this dang reaction I have been battling since Monday. But then today happened. Today was hands down one of the most craptastic days in the office, to put it lightly. I won't delve into details but I will say that I am quite passionate about what I do and I am feeling conflicted with how I feel my position with the company should be going and where it is going. And it's not one of these rawr rawr rawr they want to give me more work how dare they! but rather they want me to stop doing some of my tasks altogether when I feel what I do now has a lot of purpose. But you know, what do I know...I'm just along for the ride. So there's that.
Because of this god awful day, I came home raging. Didn't help I was listening to the 90s station the whole way home (seriously I used to claim the 80s were my genre of choice but I am sadly mistaken....the 90s occupied so much of my youth that it will forever hold a place in my heart) but I changed out of my work clothes (which by the way was ANOTHER cute outfit that I forgot to snap a picture of FML) and threw on running clothes, defying the doctor's orders. I said a quick prayer to the finger slicing gods that my thumb wouldn't bust the heck open in the middle of the woods and I took off for a 4 mile run in the sweltering heat (is it hot by you? It's been disgusting here all summer and I kind of want to die). I came back dying of heat exhaustion and instantly feeling better. It's amazing what a little sweat and heat can do for the mind and body. No longer do I feel the need to rage.....or want to down a bottle of Grey Goose. Instead, I feel more relaxed. It would better if I took tomorrow off but I am manning the fort since my coworker is going to go enjoy a little impromptu weekend with her fiancé. But I get to work from home so yay next best thing!
Okay so yeah I don't know how a post about my thumb turned into a ramble about my job but let's go with it. Anyways, I realize that work is work. There will be good days and bad days. I also value the fact that my job doesn't suck 100% of the time and that those days when I do feel down (which is rare), running always seems to make it better. Or maybe it was the 90s music. Both is superb so let's just go with that.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Saving Money
So my husband and I are in the process of house hunting. Ultimately, we would like to build a house but knowing that means we need to figure out now what we like and don't like and what we can and cannot afford. This has been an interesting experience to say the least because we both see ourselves in different kind of "forever" homes. While we both love open floor plans and generous upgrades, I have found myself fawning over smaller homes (2700 - 3000 square feet). There is a new community being built in the area that capitalizes on "urban living." This means homes are closer together and property is much smaller. My husband, on the other hand, thinks bigger is better. Eventually, we will meet somewhere in the middle. But for the time being, we are trying to save money for our down payment. We are lucky we both make good money so it won't be too difficult but obviously if we can save extra money along the way, all the more better.
So here we are on the money saving plan. I put together an estimate of how much I can contribute per month into my savings sparing any major disasters (like more HVAC problems at my condo) and part of this plan includes nixing lunches out with coworkers and friends, nixing shopping sprees, and trying to stick more to my grocery budgets (food is so freaking expensive, especially with my food allergy). Granted, I am not giving up everything (dear boot camp I can't give you up, I won't let you down) but I am trying to be more cautious. So far I am doing remarkably well. I think because I have a rough number in my head of how much I could potentially save, I haven't felt the need to say, "F this" and go on a major shopping spree.
Plus, I spent so much money on clothes in the last year that I am actually trying to be more creative with what I own (kind of like those 30 by 30 challenges a lot of bloggers do). I went from a size 12 in 2010 to a size 2 in early 2012. And at this point, I haven't really lost anymore weight so I think it's safe to assume I do not need anymore clothes. I actually still have a lot of nice stuff that I bought when I got to a size 6 and didn't think I would lose more weight (whoops) that I wore maybe 1-2 times. So part of this saving money/being creative goal is to also get rid of stuff I don't actually wear so I can better visualize the stuff I should be wearing.
Another thing to note is that work attire is so ridiculously casual at my company it should be a crime. We can wear jeans and t-shirts every day if we so please and since I work from about 7 to 3, this makes my life a million times easier. It also makes it easier for me to dress schlumpy so I have been trying really hard to put together cute outfits that still look nice. I draw a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. I don't try to replicate the outfit entirely, but rather study the picture and see what kind of similar items I own and could pair together. This has helped me put together two outfits that I would have never thought of pairing. Exciting!
I forgot to take a picture yesterday but feast your eyes on today's outfit.
PS - I am just noticing how dirty the mirror is that I took these pictures from. My apologies. Also, I think the mirror is propped to make me looking slightly bigger than I am. Yeah, this will be fixed ASAP.
I also might or might have not bought $30 worth of scratch off tickets for my husband and I to try to win some money. I think we won $8 but we had fun and it's not often that we do something like that.
Anyways, I will be back, probably tomorrow, with another update. Did I mention that I sliced my finger open on Sunday which required some liquid stitches and part of the deal I made with the MD at Urgent Care was that I wouldn't work out for 5 days so my finger could heal. Yeah, part of me is regretting that deal but it's okay I guess. This week is forcing me to be strict about my diet, something I have not been recently because I would then make the excuse "well it's okay I worked out." Because you know eating something with sulfites will somehow balance out by running that extra mile. Who am I kidding?
So here we are on the money saving plan. I put together an estimate of how much I can contribute per month into my savings sparing any major disasters (like more HVAC problems at my condo) and part of this plan includes nixing lunches out with coworkers and friends, nixing shopping sprees, and trying to stick more to my grocery budgets (food is so freaking expensive, especially with my food allergy). Granted, I am not giving up everything (dear boot camp I can't give you up, I won't let you down) but I am trying to be more cautious. So far I am doing remarkably well. I think because I have a rough number in my head of how much I could potentially save, I haven't felt the need to say, "F this" and go on a major shopping spree.
Plus, I spent so much money on clothes in the last year that I am actually trying to be more creative with what I own (kind of like those 30 by 30 challenges a lot of bloggers do). I went from a size 12 in 2010 to a size 2 in early 2012. And at this point, I haven't really lost anymore weight so I think it's safe to assume I do not need anymore clothes. I actually still have a lot of nice stuff that I bought when I got to a size 6 and didn't think I would lose more weight (whoops) that I wore maybe 1-2 times. So part of this saving money/being creative goal is to also get rid of stuff I don't actually wear so I can better visualize the stuff I should be wearing.
Another thing to note is that work attire is so ridiculously casual at my company it should be a crime. We can wear jeans and t-shirts every day if we so please and since I work from about 7 to 3, this makes my life a million times easier. It also makes it easier for me to dress schlumpy so I have been trying really hard to put together cute outfits that still look nice. I draw a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. I don't try to replicate the outfit entirely, but rather study the picture and see what kind of similar items I own and could pair together. This has helped me put together two outfits that I would have never thought of pairing. Exciting!
I forgot to take a picture yesterday but feast your eyes on today's outfit.
Cardigan: Banana Republic
Belt: Tart
Blouse: The Limited
Jeans: Citizens of Humanity
Shoes: Belle
PS - I am just noticing how dirty the mirror is that I took these pictures from. My apologies. Also, I think the mirror is propped to make me looking slightly bigger than I am. Yeah, this will be fixed ASAP.
I also might or might have not bought $30 worth of scratch off tickets for my husband and I to try to win some money. I think we won $8 but we had fun and it's not often that we do something like that.
Anyways, I will be back, probably tomorrow, with another update. Did I mention that I sliced my finger open on Sunday which required some liquid stitches and part of the deal I made with the MD at Urgent Care was that I wouldn't work out for 5 days so my finger could heal. Yeah, part of me is regretting that deal but it's okay I guess. This week is forcing me to be strict about my diet, something I have not been recently because I would then make the excuse "well it's okay I worked out." Because you know eating something with sulfites will somehow balance out by running that extra mile. Who am I kidding?
Monday, July 9, 2012
Vegan Dinner: Ricotta "Cheese" Eggplant Roll Ups with Roasted Tomato Sauce
Hello my peoples.
My apologies once again for the lag in posting. I was busy getting married. Who would have thought that getting married would actually take me away from my favorite things - writing and cooking!
I have recently started to delve into sulfite-free, soy-free vegan cooking and baking, mostly as a challenge but also knowing that a way to conquer my food allergy is to eat as clean and as healthy as possible. So here I am - back with a YUMMY sulfite-free, soy-free "cheesy" eggplant dinner. This meal took me about an hour from start to finish to make. The longest part is roasting the tomatoes and letting the eggplant drain but trust me it's worth it! I broke it up into parts and so if you want to piece this recipe into other recipes then you can mix and match easily. This recipe came solely from my head. I had done some previous research on roasting tomatoes and draining eggplant properly but other than that, this was a giant Monday science experiment.
ROASTED TOMATOES
4-5 medium tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt
1-2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut tomatoes into quarters. Place on a cookie sheet (covered with aluminum foil) skin side down and brush with olive oil and salt lightly. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Once done, take the tomatoes out and let cool for about 10 minutes before peeling the skin off the tomatoes. Once the skin is peeled, take the "insides" of the tomato and place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Mix in chopped basil and salt to taste. Put aside.
EGGPLANT BASE
2 small eggplant (or 1 large eggplant)
Salt
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice eggplant long ways to create long, thin bases. Lightly salt both sides and sit eggplant in a strainer over the sink for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, water will have sweated out of the eggplant. Pat dry with paper towel until dry. Place on non-stick cookie sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, flipping the eggplant over after 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
RICOTTA "CHEESE"
1 to 1 1/4 cup of unsalted non-roasted cashews
1/4 cup of filtered water
1/4 cup of freshly chopped basil
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
Sea salt
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
Place cashews, filtered water, and about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl to soak for about 30 minutes. Once soaked, dump the bowl into a food processor. Add lemon and nutritional yeast and blend until creamy (takes about 10-15 minutes). Remove from processor and place in seal-tight container.
EGGPLANT ROLL UP
Take the ricotta "cheese" across the cooked eggplant base. Add chopped basil and roll up. Bake in oven for additional 5-10 minutes. Serve with roasted tomato sauce on top.
My apologies once again for the lag in posting. I was busy getting married. Who would have thought that getting married would actually take me away from my favorite things - writing and cooking!
I have recently started to delve into sulfite-free, soy-free vegan cooking and baking, mostly as a challenge but also knowing that a way to conquer my food allergy is to eat as clean and as healthy as possible. So here I am - back with a YUMMY sulfite-free, soy-free "cheesy" eggplant dinner. This meal took me about an hour from start to finish to make. The longest part is roasting the tomatoes and letting the eggplant drain but trust me it's worth it! I broke it up into parts and so if you want to piece this recipe into other recipes then you can mix and match easily. This recipe came solely from my head. I had done some previous research on roasting tomatoes and draining eggplant properly but other than that, this was a giant Monday science experiment.
ROASTED TOMATOES
4-5 medium tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt
1-2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut tomatoes into quarters. Place on a cookie sheet (covered with aluminum foil) skin side down and brush with olive oil and salt lightly. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Once done, take the tomatoes out and let cool for about 10 minutes before peeling the skin off the tomatoes. Once the skin is peeled, take the "insides" of the tomato and place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Mix in chopped basil and salt to taste. Put aside.
EGGPLANT BASE
2 small eggplant (or 1 large eggplant)
Salt
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice eggplant long ways to create long, thin bases. Lightly salt both sides and sit eggplant in a strainer over the sink for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, water will have sweated out of the eggplant. Pat dry with paper towel until dry. Place on non-stick cookie sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, flipping the eggplant over after 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
RICOTTA "CHEESE"
1 to 1 1/4 cup of unsalted non-roasted cashews
1/4 cup of filtered water
1/4 cup of freshly chopped basil
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
Sea salt
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
Place cashews, filtered water, and about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl to soak for about 30 minutes. Once soaked, dump the bowl into a food processor. Add lemon and nutritional yeast and blend until creamy (takes about 10-15 minutes). Remove from processor and place in seal-tight container.
EGGPLANT ROLL UP
Take the ricotta "cheese" across the cooked eggplant base. Add chopped basil and roll up. Bake in oven for additional 5-10 minutes. Serve with roasted tomato sauce on top.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
I am Your Nosy Neighbor
I will flat out admit it; I am nosy. I like to know what's going on and I hate surprises. It's more fun to be in-the-know than out as I like to be a part of the surprise than the surprised.
With that said.
I enjoy taking my fiancé and I's dog for daily walks. I try to get him into the habit of going on a little 15-30 minute walk with the intentions of daily but more likely it occurs 3-4 days out of the week. Short of it down pouring, I will take him through the neighborhood. The dog loves it. We feel bad that at almost four years old we still have to crate him but he gets depressed when we leave him out alone and we end up finding him drunk upon returning home (long story but lesson learned - don't leave re-corked bottles of wine out for the dog to steal and drink). I preface that we're going on strolls so the dog could get his exercise but really, I mostly enjoy these walks because I get to peer into our neighbor's lives. I especially love going on walks when it's kind of dusky out and people have their lights on. Then I can see how they decorate their homes. Hi, I am your nosy neighbor.
I also like to see who has their house on the market and for how long. And I might or might not check out your home on the real estate websites (seriously the one house down the street that has been on the market for about a year - you would sell your home in a heart beat if you would get rid of those UGLY hand painted murals that seem to follow in every.single.room. No one likes that but you). I call it research but I think my fiancé knows I particularly like to see how people fashion their home and their walls. I like to know if they have all the fancy upgrades or if they kept all the traditional builder shit that this house came equipped with.
I get a huge kick out of open garage doors. My favorite is when they're filled to the brim with crap and my neighbor cannot even park their car in the garage. I'm sorry but what's the point of a garage if you can't even use it? It's not a storage center; the point of a garage is to have a home for your car to sleep or to protect it from baseball-sized hail (which for some freaky ass reason we have had at least twice this year alone).
But what REALLY gets me are the college students who live down the street. They have parties almost every weekend or they invite their friends over to pre-drink before going out. And that's cool, I will take a social neighbor over a weird, creepy one any day, but what I don't get is why every single friend feels compelled to drive over in their own car, which then takes up all the available parking spaces on our street. Don't get me wrong, we have tons of parking here which I love and normally on the weekends I park my car in the driveway (my fiancé parks his car in the garage because he understands the point of a garage is to keep your car there!) but occasionally my fiancé will be out and about and I don't like blocking the driveway when he's not home so I'll park on the street (I'm nice like that but then again we'll see how it is when we've been married for a couple of years). Problem is that if it's a Saturday night, more than likely our college neighbors (who really live about 3-4 town houses down from us) will be having friends over and they will take up all the available parking. And then I'm left to park my car in rape vicinity. I vented my frustration about this to my fiancé about a week ago.
"What is rape vicinity and why do you even say that? We live in a really nice and SAFE neighborhood."
"Rape vicinity is when my car is parked far enough away that if someone wanted to attack me very early in the morning, no one would be able to hear my screams."
"With how loudly you talk, I highly doubt no one would hear you."
And I will confess, I am overreacting but I am from a very urban and part part of New Jersey and I am always on my guard. I don't trust no one and I am always looking over my shoulder. When I run at the lake next to our house, I have started to find myself psyching myself out so I run faster because I make myself believe there is a crazy person high on bath salts waiting for the right moment to go all face-eating crazy on me. We live in a very safe neighborhood with two cops living in our same stretch of town homes (one is our next-door neighbor). Even the area outside of our neighborhood is nice. I call it Ethni-City because it's mostly immigrants. They flock to this side of town because housing is inexpensive, it's close to the university (most come here because they get scholarships to attend the graduate and PhD programs), and the schools are good. My parents used to always tell me, move to where the immigrants live, they will only live in areas where the schools are good. Because of the high ethnicity rate over here, I imagine that the schools are pretty nice. And since this is still considered Raleigh city limits, it's like win-win. I might be outside of the belt line but not out in the middle of nowhere which is a bonus. I came from living in an upper-incomed downtown area and I worried that the "suburbs" would change me for the worse. But I actually enjoy it a lot and we like this side of town.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Yes, I am your nosy neighbor. Yes I will walk by at dusk to peer into your lives, and yes I will report everything I see back to my fiancé. And never fret, I will watch intently with my police radio app if the cops get called to your house. Because you know, someone has to do and I would prefer that it was me.
With that said.
I enjoy taking my fiancé and I's dog for daily walks. I try to get him into the habit of going on a little 15-30 minute walk with the intentions of daily but more likely it occurs 3-4 days out of the week. Short of it down pouring, I will take him through the neighborhood. The dog loves it. We feel bad that at almost four years old we still have to crate him but he gets depressed when we leave him out alone and we end up finding him drunk upon returning home (long story but lesson learned - don't leave re-corked bottles of wine out for the dog to steal and drink). I preface that we're going on strolls so the dog could get his exercise but really, I mostly enjoy these walks because I get to peer into our neighbor's lives. I especially love going on walks when it's kind of dusky out and people have their lights on. Then I can see how they decorate their homes. Hi, I am your nosy neighbor.
I also like to see who has their house on the market and for how long. And I might or might not check out your home on the real estate websites (seriously the one house down the street that has been on the market for about a year - you would sell your home in a heart beat if you would get rid of those UGLY hand painted murals that seem to follow in every.single.room. No one likes that but you). I call it research but I think my fiancé knows I particularly like to see how people fashion their home and their walls. I like to know if they have all the fancy upgrades or if they kept all the traditional builder shit that this house came equipped with.
I get a huge kick out of open garage doors. My favorite is when they're filled to the brim with crap and my neighbor cannot even park their car in the garage. I'm sorry but what's the point of a garage if you can't even use it? It's not a storage center; the point of a garage is to have a home for your car to sleep or to protect it from baseball-sized hail (which for some freaky ass reason we have had at least twice this year alone).
But what REALLY gets me are the college students who live down the street. They have parties almost every weekend or they invite their friends over to pre-drink before going out. And that's cool, I will take a social neighbor over a weird, creepy one any day, but what I don't get is why every single friend feels compelled to drive over in their own car, which then takes up all the available parking spaces on our street. Don't get me wrong, we have tons of parking here which I love and normally on the weekends I park my car in the driveway (my fiancé parks his car in the garage because he understands the point of a garage is to keep your car there!) but occasionally my fiancé will be out and about and I don't like blocking the driveway when he's not home so I'll park on the street (I'm nice like that but then again we'll see how it is when we've been married for a couple of years). Problem is that if it's a Saturday night, more than likely our college neighbors (who really live about 3-4 town houses down from us) will be having friends over and they will take up all the available parking. And then I'm left to park my car in rape vicinity. I vented my frustration about this to my fiancé about a week ago.
"What is rape vicinity and why do you even say that? We live in a really nice and SAFE neighborhood."
"Rape vicinity is when my car is parked far enough away that if someone wanted to attack me very early in the morning, no one would be able to hear my screams."
"With how loudly you talk, I highly doubt no one would hear you."
And I will confess, I am overreacting but I am from a very urban and part part of New Jersey and I am always on my guard. I don't trust no one and I am always looking over my shoulder. When I run at the lake next to our house, I have started to find myself psyching myself out so I run faster because I make myself believe there is a crazy person high on bath salts waiting for the right moment to go all face-eating crazy on me. We live in a very safe neighborhood with two cops living in our same stretch of town homes (one is our next-door neighbor). Even the area outside of our neighborhood is nice. I call it Ethni-City because it's mostly immigrants. They flock to this side of town because housing is inexpensive, it's close to the university (most come here because they get scholarships to attend the graduate and PhD programs), and the schools are good. My parents used to always tell me, move to where the immigrants live, they will only live in areas where the schools are good. Because of the high ethnicity rate over here, I imagine that the schools are pretty nice. And since this is still considered Raleigh city limits, it's like win-win. I might be outside of the belt line but not out in the middle of nowhere which is a bonus. I came from living in an upper-incomed downtown area and I worried that the "suburbs" would change me for the worse. But I actually enjoy it a lot and we like this side of town.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Yes, I am your nosy neighbor. Yes I will walk by at dusk to peer into your lives, and yes I will report everything I see back to my fiancé. And never fret, I will watch intently with my police radio app if the cops get called to your house. Because you know, someone has to do and I would prefer that it was me.
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