Wednesday, October 30, 2013
CLEAN EATING MACHINES LIVES ON!
After what feels like *AGES* of not being able to log in to this blog, my brilliant husband figured out how to get me up and running again. I'm so very relieved that I get to settle back in here and continue sharing the clean-eating love! There have been many times since my last log-in that I've wanted to jump on here and proclaim some awesome recipe/tip/workout to the blogosphere, but I couldn't. SO frustrating! But here I am again, still, and now I get to continue carrying on about delicious food, and running (marathon #4 is in the books), and the little guy--who, by the way, turned FIVE this summer and is in kindergarten! It's been a busy six months since I last posted, and I can't wait to start filling in the blanks.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Meal plan for two
Once again, The H is off exploring the wide wide world (Milwaukee is sooo exotic) so the little guy and I are enjoying some glutenriffic meals together. Here's what we have lined up this week:
Sunday - leftovers from a cookout with friends, including very early but very tasty sweet corn on the cob and strawberries
Monday - cheese tortellini or butternut ravioli with turkey meatballs, fresh green beans, mango
Tuesday - eggs and toast after running
Wednesday - I plan to go out with friends after yoga; little guy enjoys grandparent time
Thursday - lime quinoa or couscous, grilled salmon for me and chicken for the little guy, with a fresh veggie plate (carrots, bell pepper, green beans) and mango. The little guy prefers his veggies raw, which is a-ok with me.
Friday - pizza (pesto, goat cheese, fresh tomatoes, olives, local beef pepperoni)
My work lunches will be leftover kale-quinoa, yogurt, tomato-avocado salad, and hummus-on-whatever.
Sunday - leftovers from a cookout with friends, including very early but very tasty sweet corn on the cob and strawberries
Monday - cheese tortellini or butternut ravioli with turkey meatballs, fresh green beans, mango
Tuesday - eggs and toast after running
Wednesday - I plan to go out with friends after yoga; little guy enjoys grandparent time
Thursday - lime quinoa or couscous, grilled salmon for me and chicken for the little guy, with a fresh veggie plate (carrots, bell pepper, green beans) and mango. The little guy prefers his veggies raw, which is a-ok with me.
Friday - pizza (pesto, goat cheese, fresh tomatoes, olives, local beef pepperoni)
My work lunches will be leftover kale-quinoa, yogurt, tomato-avocado salad, and hummus-on-whatever.
Digging out
A few months ago I posted a giant whinefest of self pity. Good news: this is not another one. Even better, I'll keep this short and sweet, giving you the bullet points of what I've been doing to dig out of that waist-expanding hole:
1. Ran a half marathon
2. Stopped eating multiple weekly cupcakes
3. Invested more time in meal planning
4. Registered for another marathon
5. Joined some new people for long runs
6. Cut back my drinks-with-dinner consumption
7. Eating more good fats to feel satisfied longer and not mindlessly munch
After all this I am happy to report that my jeans fit better, though the number on the scale hasn't moved much. As long as my clothes fit like they should, I'm trying not to think too much about the number. Now that the weather is truly warming up, I'm looking forward to taking the dog on longer walks (he's 10 next week; can't keep up on my runs anymore), playing at the park with the little guy, and of course, beginning a marathon training plan in the middle of May.
Happy spring!
1. Ran a half marathon
2. Stopped eating multiple weekly cupcakes
3. Invested more time in meal planning
4. Registered for another marathon
5. Joined some new people for long runs
6. Cut back my drinks-with-dinner consumption
7. Eating more good fats to feel satisfied longer and not mindlessly munch
After all this I am happy to report that my jeans fit better, though the number on the scale hasn't moved much. As long as my clothes fit like they should, I'm trying not to think too much about the number. Now that the weather is truly warming up, I'm looking forward to taking the dog on longer walks (he's 10 next week; can't keep up on my runs anymore), playing at the park with the little guy, and of course, beginning a marathon training plan in the middle of May.
Happy spring!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Meal plan
This afternoon I spent a few hours making some lunch/dinner options for myself. The H has a short business trip this week, so I made this curried cauliflower soup (spicy!) and a double batch of my beloved kale-quinoa to get me through most of the week without having to think too much about food prep. We had "House Chipotle"** for dinner, one of the little guy's favorites, which means 2) HE ATE SOMETHING and 2) I now have four more 2-cup portions of black beans in my basement freezer.
The dinner parts of our week will look like this:
Sunday - House Chipotle (**seasoned black beans, cilantro-lime rice, and shredded cheese...with diced tomatoes, salsa verde, and soft corn shells for The H and me)
Monday - tortellini in red sauce for the little guy, one of my soup portions for me with a hunk of naan
Tuesday - eggs on toast, fresh fruit, decaf coffee (after running group)
Wednesday - split pea soup with diced lean ham in the slow cooker
Thursday - GF pancakes for my men, one of my kale-quinoa bowls and an ahi tuna steak for me after running and yoga
Friday - GF pizza (excellent pre-long-run fuel!)
I've been enjoying real oatmeal with nuts, a fruit, chia seeds, and pure maple syrup for breakfast, but also bought a bag of spinach and some bananas so I can make a green shake to mix things up once in awhile. Happy eating!
The dinner parts of our week will look like this:
Sunday - House Chipotle (**seasoned black beans, cilantro-lime rice, and shredded cheese...with diced tomatoes, salsa verde, and soft corn shells for The H and me)
Monday - tortellini in red sauce for the little guy, one of my soup portions for me with a hunk of naan
Tuesday - eggs on toast, fresh fruit, decaf coffee (after running group)
Wednesday - split pea soup with diced lean ham in the slow cooker
Thursday - GF pancakes for my men, one of my kale-quinoa bowls and an ahi tuna steak for me after running and yoga
Friday - GF pizza (excellent pre-long-run fuel!)
I've been enjoying real oatmeal with nuts, a fruit, chia seeds, and pure maple syrup for breakfast, but also bought a bag of spinach and some bananas so I can make a green shake to mix things up once in awhile. Happy eating!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Lesson learned
In my quest to use our freezer stash of beef, tonight's dinner was lasagna. The grocery store didn't have the gluten free DeBoles noodles I've had great luck with before, so I took a chance on another brand--and won't do that again.
Tinkyada brown rice pasta lasagna noodles came out of the box semi-broken, were pain to cook (DeBoles are no-boil), and then proceeded to further fall apart afterward. And I even undercooked them a bit to account for oven time! I had to piece them together like a puzzle in the pan, and ended up short on the top layer because some stuck together. It was not a great end to my annoying stressful day.
However, the little guy *loved* it, which is so rare these days (yes, even if you start your kids eating healthfully, they CAN and likely WILL become picky eaters at some point!), and The H and I enjoyed it as well. We have half the 13x9 left for lunch on Sunday, so overall I suppose it turned out ok. We served this with roasted broccoli, which is always a win in my book.
Tinkyada brown rice pasta lasagna noodles came out of the box semi-broken, were pain to cook (DeBoles are no-boil), and then proceeded to further fall apart afterward. And I even undercooked them a bit to account for oven time! I had to piece them together like a puzzle in the pan, and ended up short on the top layer because some stuck together. It was not a great end to my annoying stressful day.
However, the little guy *loved* it, which is so rare these days (yes, even if you start your kids eating healthfully, they CAN and likely WILL become picky eaters at some point!), and The H and I enjoyed it as well. We have half the 13x9 left for lunch on Sunday, so overall I suppose it turned out ok. We served this with roasted broccoli, which is always a win in my book.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Not just a day
Remember last month when I was griping about having a "fat day"? Yeah... it's turned into a fat month. Fitting that I'm posting about this on Fat Tuesday, huh? My clothes have been giving me a few FYIs lately, but apparently I've chosen to ignore them...and the scale, whose face doesn't lie no matter how much I beg it to pleasepleaseplease show a smaller number. I've become WAY too lax about having a treat once in awhile. Weekly trips to the cupcake shop at the corner (ahem: locally sourced desserts are still desserts!), a glass of wine or two with dinner several times a week, Bailey's in my coffee after dinner here and there--all these factors ADD UP. And they're taking their toll on my waistline and energy level. Blergh.
At this point I'm only a handful of pounds away from my pre-little-guy weight, which for the record was NOT my healthy weight. In fact, it was about 20 pounds above my healthy, happy, feeling-strong weight.
Yikes.
My runs are slowing down (partly due to snow, but even on the treadmill) and I have no oomph to tackle any new challenges. We've been traveling lately, which means a lot of convenience food and someone else's cooking and, honestly, movie candy in the car. (I KNOW! My name is CLEANeatingmachine, not CRAPPYeatingmachine!)
I'm annoyed at myself for getting to this point and also for not feeling motivated enough to get away from this point...until this past weekend when my sweet little guy innocently and inadvertently stung me with every overweight woman's favorite line, "Do you have a baby in your belly?" ::choke::
Time to dig out.
At this point I'm only a handful of pounds away from my pre-little-guy weight, which for the record was NOT my healthy weight. In fact, it was about 20 pounds above my healthy, happy, feeling-strong weight.
Yikes.
My runs are slowing down (partly due to snow, but even on the treadmill) and I have no oomph to tackle any new challenges. We've been traveling lately, which means a lot of convenience food and someone else's cooking and, honestly, movie candy in the car. (I KNOW! My name is CLEANeatingmachine, not CRAPPYeatingmachine!)
I'm annoyed at myself for getting to this point and also for not feeling motivated enough to get away from this point...until this past weekend when my sweet little guy innocently and inadvertently stung me with every overweight woman's favorite line, "Do you have a baby in your belly?" ::choke::
Time to dig out.
Monday, January 28, 2013
If we are what we eat...
then I'm a big bowl of kale-quinoa-chickpeas with steel-cut oats for legs. Seriously, can NOT get enough of those two things. Last night I mixed up a batch of kale-quinoa for lunches, using leftover quinoa, the last of my kale, and the last lemon in the house. I felt very resourceful. Then I thought, "Why not mix up some awesome breakfasts while I'm standing here at the stove?" So I did.
Fifteen minutes later, a quadruple batch of Trader Joe's quick-cooking steel-cut oats was ready to be portioned and refrigerated. To each bowl, I added chopped pecans, ground flax seed, chia seeds, a drizzle of real maple syrup, 12 chocolate chips, a few frozen wild blueberries, and a dollop of natural peanut butter. And then I almost couldn't resist eating a portion for dessert. LOVE that stuff! It's almost like a no-bake oatmeal cookie when it gets reheated, all gooey with peanut butter and a touch of chocolate (minus the guilt of nomming a pile of white sugar and butter).
My morning routine was delightfully streamlined having these two options in the fridge. After my run, I heated up some oatmeal while I packed my lunch, then it was off to shower and work. Great start to my Monday!
Fifteen minutes later, a quadruple batch of Trader Joe's quick-cooking steel-cut oats was ready to be portioned and refrigerated. To each bowl, I added chopped pecans, ground flax seed, chia seeds, a drizzle of real maple syrup, 12 chocolate chips, a few frozen wild blueberries, and a dollop of natural peanut butter. And then I almost couldn't resist eating a portion for dessert. LOVE that stuff! It's almost like a no-bake oatmeal cookie when it gets reheated, all gooey with peanut butter and a touch of chocolate (minus the guilt of nomming a pile of white sugar and butter).
My morning routine was delightfully streamlined having these two options in the fridge. After my run, I heated up some oatmeal while I packed my lunch, then it was off to shower and work. Great start to my Monday!
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