Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
St. Patrick's Day!
St. Patrick's Day. Just doesn't mean much any more :( Went to the grocery store today and saw people sporting green - like grown up people sporting green! I didn't even really think about it. Such a party pooper I am.
Gary & I ate at Kroger's. I've eaten the salad bar there before but not the hot bar. A hot meal - one entree and two sides - for $7.99!!! Our super Kroger has a seating area. It wasn't bad. I got roasted chicken (a tad heavy on the Shake 'n Bake), lima beans, and green beans. I would eat there again.
Gary ended up helping a friend all afternoon and ate dinner there, so I was on my own for dinner. Really didn't feel that hungry, so I just heated up some of the oatmeal I'd made the other day. That was dinner until....
I got busy in the kitchen and made two batches of muffins. Had 1/2 of each one of those. Also licked my fingers when I made some more Energy Bites!
The protein powder muffins were pretty good. They are kind of spongey. They "fell" when they came out of the oven, but they are still pretty good. They are gluten-free:
Banana Bread Muffins - oven 350 degrees
3/4 cup ripe banana (1 banana)
3/4 cup egg whites (I just used 2 eggs)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cups oats
2 scoops protein powder
1/4 cup sweetener
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon - I used 1 teaspoon
Put ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Place in muffin papers. Bake 15-18 minutes.
The other batch of muffins have more of a muffin texture. They are Banana Muffins:
Banana Muffins - oven 400 degrees
2 1/2 cups oats
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons flax seeds
2 ripe bananas
Place oats in a blender and pulse for 10 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Place in muffin papers and bake 18-20 minutes. (I added almond extract, vanilla extract, and chopped pecans.)
Both recipes are pretty good. I think I'll stick with the protein powder muffins most, because it's lower in carbs.
I've been buying almond butter from Good Foods Co-op. I like to support that store, because it's local; however, it's farther from home, and I don't make it there often. Today I just bought almond butter at Kroger's. I couldn't tell if anything is added, but I don't think so, since it is ground as you use the machine. I don't know how much per pound it is, and I can't remember how much almond butter is at Good Foods. Good Foods grinds their own and puts it in containers on the shelf. I know that is just almond butter. I need to do a cost/taste comparison.
I also bought some fruit to puree for a topping for pancakes. I did blackberry, blueberry, and strawberry. I added some of my canned applesauce to each of them. I used the VitaMix and didn't bother to wash out the blender between batches, so I have somewhat of a mixed berry puree for each of them. I think the overriding taste will still be the individual berries. I put them in small containers to freeze.
In addition to all of that, I cleaned the den carpet and rearranged the furniture in there! Busy day.
Gary & I ate at Kroger's. I've eaten the salad bar there before but not the hot bar. A hot meal - one entree and two sides - for $7.99!!! Our super Kroger has a seating area. It wasn't bad. I got roasted chicken (a tad heavy on the Shake 'n Bake), lima beans, and green beans. I would eat there again.
Gary ended up helping a friend all afternoon and ate dinner there, so I was on my own for dinner. Really didn't feel that hungry, so I just heated up some of the oatmeal I'd made the other day. That was dinner until....
I got busy in the kitchen and made two batches of muffins. Had 1/2 of each one of those. Also licked my fingers when I made some more Energy Bites!
The protein powder muffins were pretty good. They are kind of spongey. They "fell" when they came out of the oven, but they are still pretty good. They are gluten-free:
Banana Bread Muffins - oven 350 degrees
3/4 cup ripe banana (1 banana)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cups oats
2 scoops protein powder
1/4 cup sweetener
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon - I used 1 teaspoon
Put ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Place in muffin papers. Bake 15-18 minutes.
The other batch of muffins have more of a muffin texture. They are Banana Muffins:
Banana Muffins - oven 400 degrees
2 1/2 cups oats
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons flax seeds
2 ripe bananas
Place oats in a blender and pulse for 10 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Place in muffin papers and bake 18-20 minutes. (I added almond extract, vanilla extract, and chopped pecans.)
Both recipes are pretty good. I think I'll stick with the protein powder muffins most, because it's lower in carbs.
In addition to all of that, I cleaned the den carpet and rearranged the furniture in there! Busy day.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
March 16, 2013
Came home and took a nap!!! Gary woke me up to tell me we'd been "invited" to Hayley and Paul's. Gary put up three ceiling fans for them - two more to go. I played with Eliza.
I should have planned better for dinner. Just wasn't thinking about being there that long. Paul ordered pizza from Pizza Hut. Normally that would be one of my very favorite things, but I'm trying to avoid that gluten. I saw them eating pizza but didn't actually even want it. Odd. I got their wings instead. I think they did have breading on them but not as much bread as pizza, I'm sure.
Along with that, I had some celery. Pretty simple meal.
Along with that, I had some celery. Pretty simple meal.
Home now with my feet in the foot massager. Steps so far: 9384. I really expected my feet to be sore tonight after doing the Shamrock Shuffle. I usually go about 2.7 mph on the treadmill. Today we did 3.5 mph. My calf was getting to me about midway. It never got bad enough that I had to stop or bad enough that I thought I was doing damage - I hope. Going at it hard and heavy on uneven surfaces gets me every time.
Good day. Friends, family, exercise, and sunshine!
Friday, March 15, 2013
Cheese!
No "Say cheese" today. I forgot to take any pictures. Really didn't have anything spectacular to photography anyway - traditional fare. Gary was home today. I made scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, and grapefruit for breakfast. Got the grapefruit at Krogers. Really good grapefruit. Wish I bought more than one. We usually order from Dooley Groves in Ruskin, Florida each year, but they have gotten so expensive, and we can almost always find decent grapefruit and oranges here now.
Lunch was some summer sausage (no antibiotics, etc.), nut crackers (gluten-free), and cottage cheese.
We went to the gym mid-afternoon. Gary worked out and I swam. The pool at the gym has been broken for a couple weeks. It felt so good to get back in the water. Aahhh... I'm so nerdy in the water. Never learned to swim the breaststroke, so I use a mask and snorkel. Oh well. Whatever gets the job done. I also use fins. That really sounds like cheating, but the fins work the legs big time - more resistance. The snorkel makes me BREATHE! I always thought it was a work-out. That was verified when I read that some swim teams use them to practice with, because it causes you really work your lungs.
Here's the thing about eating summer sausage before swimming: you belch summer sausage into your snorkle!
I did forty minutes of laps in the pool and then some stretching.
Dinner was steak and salad with oil & vinegar.
I still have some of those energy bites. Had one after my swim. They really are yummy.
My snorkle is one that rides in the front of the face. Typically a snorkle is on the side of the head. That allows water to get in easier. The kind I have bends back over my face/head. It has a band that rides on the forehead and a strap that goes around the head. Doesn't attach to the mask like a regular snorkle. This doesn't exactly show it clearly, but this is like mine. Mouthpiece goes in and snorkle goes up the front of the face and towards the back of the head.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
March 14, 2013
This year is ticking by fast. It's almost Easter - which also means spring is almost here. I'm so ready. I need daylight!
My feet are still a bit achy today. I may need to back off on steps per day. Just try for 8,000 which is my goal v 10,000 that is supposed to be the goal. I think swimming is definitely going to have to be my every-other-day exercise. I'm trying to save my feet for Saturday. We're walking the Shamrock Shuffle downtown with friends - 3K. I'm trying to find the right combination of footwear, orthotics, and other gadgets to get my feet healed. I've read blogs and websites about plantar fasciitis. Seems everyone has the same problem - there is no one fix. Having said that, I bought a new pair of tenners yesterday and another OTC insert for my shoes.
Finished off those yummy pancakes this morning. The other varieties I made are in the freezer. I guess I'll swap off to something else for breakfast tomorrow.
Ever have days when you're just not hungry? That was today. I don't have many days when I'm ravenous. I do have days when my cravings take over. There are days when I just can't find what would satisfy me. It's probably something like potato chips, a Twinkie, or a Milky Way! I just can't go there. But today, I just wasn't hungry which makes deciding what to eat more difficult. For that reason, lunch was a turkey jerky stick and mandarin oranges! Odd little lunch.
Got in the kitchen tonight and made some energy bites. Found this recipe on....Pinterest, of course. They are pretty good. I think I'll make a double batch next time, because Gary likes them, too.
Energy Bites
1 cup (dry) oatmeal
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
I added 1/3 cup of oat bran. I didn't have vanilla, so I just left that out. I also added some dried currants. I was able to stir this together with a spoon. I then used my hands to form the balls. Even with the peanut butter and honey, they are a bit crumbly. I thought I would be able to roll them into a ball. Instead, I had to form them into a ball and press them together. Not a problem, really. I decided to add some olive oil to the last bit of batter hoping it would make the balls stick together. Can't say it really helped. I haven't tried those yet. I put the balls on a cutting board and refrigerated them for a bit before I put them in a container. Gary said they reminded him of no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies.
Dinner was chicken breasts cooked in my new yellow pot. Such a pretty, cheery color for cooking food. Just browned the chicken in the pot, added some chopped vegetables, a bit of tomato sauce, and baked it for about an hour. I had leftover rice, so we ate it over rice. Steamed some asparagus - and that was dinner.
My feet are still a bit achy today. I may need to back off on steps per day. Just try for 8,000 which is my goal v 10,000 that is supposed to be the goal. I think swimming is definitely going to have to be my every-other-day exercise. I'm trying to save my feet for Saturday. We're walking the Shamrock Shuffle downtown with friends - 3K. I'm trying to find the right combination of footwear, orthotics, and other gadgets to get my feet healed. I've read blogs and websites about plantar fasciitis. Seems everyone has the same problem - there is no one fix. Having said that, I bought a new pair of tenners yesterday and another OTC insert for my shoes.
Finished off those yummy pancakes this morning. The other varieties I made are in the freezer. I guess I'll swap off to something else for breakfast tomorrow.
Ever have days when you're just not hungry? That was today. I don't have many days when I'm ravenous. I do have days when my cravings take over. There are days when I just can't find what would satisfy me. It's probably something like potato chips, a Twinkie, or a Milky Way! I just can't go there. But today, I just wasn't hungry which makes deciding what to eat more difficult. For that reason, lunch was a turkey jerky stick and mandarin oranges! Odd little lunch.
Got in the kitchen tonight and made some energy bites. Found this recipe on....Pinterest, of course. They are pretty good. I think I'll make a double batch next time, because Gary likes them, too.
Energy Bites
1 cup (dry) oatmeal
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
I added 1/3 cup of oat bran. I didn't have vanilla, so I just left that out. I also added some dried currants. I was able to stir this together with a spoon. I then used my hands to form the balls. Even with the peanut butter and honey, they are a bit crumbly. I thought I would be able to roll them into a ball. Instead, I had to form them into a ball and press them together. Not a problem, really. I decided to add some olive oil to the last bit of batter hoping it would make the balls stick together. Can't say it really helped. I haven't tried those yet. I put the balls on a cutting board and refrigerated them for a bit before I put them in a container. Gary said they reminded him of no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies.
Dinner was chicken breasts cooked in my new yellow pot. Such a pretty, cheery color for cooking food. Just browned the chicken in the pot, added some chopped vegetables, a bit of tomato sauce, and baked it for about an hour. I had leftover rice, so we ate it over rice. Steamed some asparagus - and that was dinner.
Got really kitchen-y today. I can't eat oatmeal in the morning. I know it's good health-wise and want to include it. Dawned on me that I could have it at night as a snack before bed. I typically cook steel-cut oats on top of the stove, but I thought, if I can cook rice in the steamer, why can't I cook oatmeal in the steamer? I did it - and it worked! I used 1 cup of water and 1 cup of almond milk. I also added dried currants (it's not that I'm a huge fan of currants; just needed to use them up, which apparently, I did today - in energy bites and oatmeal!). If I were going to eat this immediately, I would add more liquid. The oatmeal was a bit on the dry side. I usually make a batch of oatmeal and reheat. When I do that, I add liquid. That's what I'll do with this. I also stirred in some chopped pecans after the oatmeal was done.
Showered this morning and just put my jammies back on. I do that some days. Nice to just stay in and get things done in my own time and in my own way.
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