What I Ate Today

[ChristyB]

I'm just coming to eat at Farley's house everynight

[troublesmom]

That does sound good. Farley did you ease into that type of eating lifestyle or go "cold turkey"

[Cathy]

Sigh. I know I would eat better if I had someone helping me in the kitchen! It's sooooooooo much work to eat right.

Hubby & I did the South Beach Diet for a few months and we felt great. Dropped weight quickly and the cravings were gone. He would get up early with me and help me cook breakfast and pack the lunches. Then at dinner he'd be right back in the kitchen helping out.

Then came the Holidays.........and we both hit our heads falling off the wagon.

Both our jobs are very stressful right now, so it's incredibly hard to spend the time on eating right. Too easy to use the microwave and the drive thru. Although we both aren't too overweight, probably 10-15 pounds over our goal weight, but still - the clothes are tight..........

I'm always good at eating well short term. I can drop the weight and maintain for awhile but then slowly it creeps back on.

Sigh.

And Sigh again.

Farley you have so much willpower and motivation! Perhaps that's why you look so darn great! Good for you.

Cathy:)

[paddlegal]

Good evening, it's menu time!

Cheryl, DH and I went cold turkey for several reasons. First in our case DH's life depended on it. I mentioned on Luanne's losing weight topic how in just 16 days eating this way literally turned DH's health around...it works that fast. Second, if you continue to eat animal proteins your taste buds are going to have a very difficult time adjusting to tasting what food really tastes like. We have been so saturated with oils, sugars and salt and other chemical flavor enhancers like msg that we don't actually taste the food underneath it. By going cold turkey (and I can tell you it's not easy the first few weeks if you're a meat-a-holic or cheese lover (me)) you are clearing out your system of all those toxins from animal products and allowing your taste for whole plant-based food to adjust.

Cathy, you are right about the amount of work. DH has been fortunate and has thanked me countless times for dedicating my cooking to his health and our family's. I do spend a lot of time in the kitchen and because of that I've invested in some very helpful small appliances and non stick pots and pans. I've learned over this past year how to use shortcuts, plan ahead and cook huge portions to freeze when I need some "fast food". It is so easy to make excuses and fall off the wagon...done that too. But planning is the key to this working as a way of life. I do my best to look ahead at my week and if I know that I'm going to be gone all day I make sure there is something cooking in the slowcooker/rice cooker or have some good leftovers ready to reheat.

This isn't about will power at all but it is about dedication. But in my way of thinking it has been a no brainer when you see how DH is no longer suffering from chest pains, totally off diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure meds, has lost 60 lbs so far and swears his hair is growing back on his very bald head, (I think he's right!)

Will power is not needed at all when you've got the right food around, you can eat as much as you want whenever you want. Remember this has been a 12 month journey for us so far so I've had a lot of practice learning how to cope with this change. This will be our way of eating forever. It's not something you do for a few months and then go back to doing the unhealthy stuff all over again.

Tonight's menu: I had a physical therapy treatment today (myo-fascial release therapy) so I knew that after having that, doing some shopping, picking up DS and taking him to trumpet lesson on the other side of town and returning during the worst part of traffic and being a puddle by the time we got home, I planned ahead several days ago...

B: Oatmeal, fruit, latte and some leftover reheated Japanese sweet potato...delish
L: Out all day so took water and some "Mary's Gone Crackers" crackers. Made from brown rice, quinoa, sesame seeds and flax seeds. Really, really good. They have become my "chips"
D: Leftover roasted potatoes and veggies from two nights ago, brown rice (cooked while I was gone) and greens.
Snack: got more sweet potato cooking

Bonne appetite

[paddlegal]

Today was a pretty average meal day

Breakfast: the usual
Lunch: the usual
Dinner: the usual...just kidding...sort of. I'm tired so I sauteed in red wine chopped onions, chopped baby portabello mushrooms and chopped sugar snap peas. Serve over the usual rice and greens with a dash of balsamic and/or tobasco. The sugar snap peas are a favorite because they stay crunchy and are a little sweet. Very satisfying.

[troublesmom]

Farley all of it sounds good. Right now I'm trying to ease off of some stuff. Cheese is my most favorite thing in the world next to ice cream - good for ya huh.

I think one very big advantage for you is living in California - if I remember correctly that is where you are. You get the best choices of veggies fresh all the time. When our son lived out there he would hit the stands everyday and always cook fresh.

I really do like hearing about all this and know that I have at least 30 probably 40 pounds I need to loose and hubby could use loosing maybe 10 -15 he doesn't ahve the weight problem I do. Right now we are getting ready to move the treadmill into the spare bedroom and I do plan on using it. I had been walking daily until the holidays and then it has gotten so cold here there is no way I'm going to be outisde in it.

[paddlegal]

Cheryl I often forget just how spoiled we are on the West Coast. If the produce isn't grown here we get it from Mexico. But the grocery stores are always full of any kind of plant food your heart desires. But there is still frozen vegetables and that is just as good really as fresh. But this way of eating isn't just about veggies, it's about plant food. Grains, legumes, beans, roots etc.

So I'm experimenting right now with my smaller slow cooker and red lentils. I'll let you know later after dinner whether we could eat it or I had to start from scratch. I know I can always fall back on my trusty rice cooker which is going right now.

Later,

[paddlegal]

Dinner was easy and very tasty tonight. I'm skipping the whole daily menu since it doesn't change much. Lunch is typically leftovers of the dinner the night before.

Since DH and I planned to walk late this afternoon to see the sunset I got dinner cooking itself before we left. Rice of course in the rice cooker. In my small slowcooker I placed 2 cups of red lentils, a container of Trader Joe's "Salsa de Cabo" and filtered water to cover the contents by about an inch and a half...depends how soupy you want it. Let it cook for 2.5 hours. Served it in a bowl by layering it first with chopped fresh spinach, rice, lentils, chopped fresh green onions and red bell pepper with another dollop of the salsa. We inhaled it. Any blended type salsa can work, this one has roasted tomatoes in it so the flavor was smoky-good.

Yummers,

[ChristyB]

going to have to try this one too Farley. Trader Joes salsa is one of our all time favorites. This looks yummy

[troublesmom]

Does sound good. I haven't bought any salsa in a long time.