Saturday, August 13, 2016

Day 11, 12 and 13 ... the ups and downs of a lifestyle change

Hi there, 
  
I hope your trying to keep cool on this hot, hot, humid, sticky Saturday!! I am now in the AC and catching up on my blog (duh!).  So let me tell you about my last few days!  :)

Thursday started with my old stand by - it seems breakfast is just easy to have cottage cheese and fruit with a snack of yogurt.  While I'm not tiring of the flavor - I do not want to get stuck on monotonous meals that will discourage me from my challenge - so I think I will need to switch up breakfast a bit.


And lunch - again a stand by... but a good one!! Salad with cucumbers, carrots, Gorgonzola cheese and edamame - and a red wine vinaigrette. 



Dinner still seems to be the hardest for me - after a snack of hummus and cucumbers, when I get home for diner, I really don't want anything.  I certainly didn't want to turn on the oven or stove to cook the zucchini noodles that I had planned for dinner.   I brained stormed what i had in the house that I could have quickly and cleanly ... and came up with...PIZZA!

I took my flax, oat and whole wheat pita and put some crushed seasoned tomato sauce (tomatoes, olive oil, basil, onion and garlic!) with some fresh mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  A quick turn in the microwave and I had my clean pizza!!







This was such a good meal - and totally took care of that pizza craving that I was having!! 

I really do think it is time to re-think my meals.  I am a creative cook and I love to eat... So why am I eating so boring?!?!   Yes - boring isn't always bad - but it can keep you stuck in "easy" and then you can loose your focus for flavor - not realizing that you can have the flavor and eat clean - if you prepare, make a plan and get it done.  Can we change this up?  Of course - I'm in charge of my own life so I can change what I am eating!! 





So - Friday started with a change!!  :)  I decided to take a page out of an old Weight Watchers stand by... an egg mug   Except I used a bowl...  So I had an egg bowl for breakfast.  Very simply two eggs scrambled in the microwave with cottage cheese.   A whole new way for cottage cheese after all that fruit!!  It was very delicious and you'll see it again! Egg mugs, mini quiches... I forgot how much I love eggs for breakfast - so next week, bring on the eggs!!



And for the first time since I started this challenge - I didn't pack my lunch!  I was simply too tired and in a rush - so I decided that I would order lunch with the group on Friday.  They had decided to order from one of my favorite pizza joints - Mama's - and usually I'd have a few slices, or a huge bowl of amazing pasta...  but since I had cured my pizza craving the night before...  I went with a grilled chicken caesar salad - and it was absolutely amazing!  The dressing is clean - but I didn't smother the salad with it - I dipped into it to get the flavor but not kill the salad.  I didn't kill the salad!!  :)


After work - I went home to walk my pups...  Life in the heat has them worn down and tired - and just in the mood for sleep!

Delilah is zonked

Sam doesn't want to close his tired eyes in case he misses something... 
And Sage just wants to sleep..



















But off I went afterward, with a bit of Mozzarella to eat, to a friends house to watch a movie. It was a good movie and a nice night with my friends - but it proved to me that a bit of mozzarella doesn't cut it for dinner.  I was unprepared and while there was fresh fruit there to eat (and I did eat some) there was also chips.  Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips.  Seriously - I'm not a potato chip girl - but those... they are my go to chip.  I had a few handfuls.  Not the whole bag - just literally a few handfuls...

I felt bad about it after the fact...that I had a bit of a slip, but you know - mistakes happen.  We all can't be perfect all the time or even some of the time.  We will all make a choice or two (or three or four!) that we wish after the fact we had chosen differently.  It is not wrong.  It is not bad.  It is just life.  This is what happens in life (well... my life for certain).  I can feel as bad or guilty about those handfuls of potato chips as I want - but to quote Sharon* "Feelings are just feelings - they are not Facts".   I am OK with the feelings - they are mine and I own each and every one.  The fact is - I made a choice.  I will have to deal with that choice - and guilt or regret will just get in the way of that. 

Karma too... 

Saturday - I woke up this morning feeling something I have not felt in 13 days - BLOATED! There was simply nothing good that came out of those chips, for the brief moment they satisfied something with in me.  The side effects for me was not worth the satisfaction.  Lesson Learned.   And you know what - life will prove that some lessons are learned by mistakes.  A mistake is just that - a mistake.  Its not the end - its not a tragedy...It is a mistake that can be fixed.  

So I fixed it with my breakfast this morning!  Completely clean even though we went out to eat... and absolutely delicious.  I had one slice of whole wheat toast with four slices of mashed avocado, a bit of pepper and an egg.  So filling - and when followed up by a bowl of fresh strawberries - completely satisfying!! 

We ate late - so my lunch was mostly some snack-able items pool side!  Cucumbers with hummus and cheddar cheese. 

Pool side - my friend Dina and her girls joined me in the pool on this hot, hot day - along with my niece Julia and my nephew Andrew.  We spent about 4 1/2 hours in the pool, playing Marco Polo, having contests on who can hold their breath longest (...yes... I could!) and just enjoying the day.  After dropping off the kiddies - I did go shopping to get the house ready for the next few days of Clean eating!  Yeah me for preparing ahead of time!!   

We only have a few days home until my clean eating will be challenged - but I believe I have the tools to make this "challenge" of my challenge be for the good.  But - I'll have to get into this after the fact, for reasons you'll understand when I can talk about it. And yes - this means that I will be neglecting my blog for a bit...but it will be pretty awesome when I can write again!!  But I digress - I'm still here in the blogging world for a few more days until I go dark for a few...  :)

I made sure I had what I needed in the house to make - Quinoa!  :)  I made the base of quinoa with black beans, chick peas and edamame with a vinaigrette.  I'll leave that in the fridge to make several meals with lots of yummy additions for the next few days.  

But for dinner tonight - I took the base and added some goat cheese, artichoke hearts and a sprinkle of Parmesan.  Simple, clean, delicious and a nice, light meal on this hot night. 

You really should try it!!  OH, while I was at - I bought what I need to make Chia pudding - so you'll be seeing that in the next day or so!!

But off I am now to finish eating - and preparing my fruit for our day at the beach tomorrow!!  I hope you are staying cool, staying hydrated and having fun!

Until Next Time,
EAT (mistakes be damned!)

*by the way - you'll hear me mention Sharon quite often  She is my therapist.  She is someone who helped me take off my rose colored glasses and see things much more clearer.  I quote her a lot in my everyday life... so you bet, I'll be quoting her here.  :)

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