Monday, June 14, 2010

Monday’s Meandering Musings

I love alliteration!  Anyway, this is going to be one of those rambling type posts again when I jump around here and there.  And anyone who knows me in real life is not the least bit surprised by these types of posts since I tend to do this in my conversations! 

Monday Weigh-in

Things have been going well for me in the weight loss arena.  I have lost a total of ten pounds and you wouldn’t think that would make much of a difference but it has.  I decided to try some clothes that I had tucked away in my closet and they fit!  So I now have 3 new skirts and 3 new tops and I didn’t even have to spend any money.  That’s my kind of shopping! 

So for this week’s weigh in…

I gained/lost zero pounds.

Total lost ~ 10 pounds

I do believe that most of my weight loss is due to working in the garden.  Since we had VBS last week, I just did not work outside like I did the week before when I lost all of the weight.  I’m back outside this week so hopefully that will come across on the scale.

Weight Loss Goals and Plans

Before I closed my weight loss blog, I mentioned that I was trying to make changes a little at a time so that I would not burn out from doing so many new things all at once.  I said that I would start with eliminating my drinking of soda.  I am still working on that goal though it is much better than it was.  I have now moved on to my second goal. 

Goal #2 ~ To eliminate refined, white flour products and eat whole grains.

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Since starting this goal, I have discovered Ezekiel bread.   (Just for fun, I included this recipe for Ezekiel bread.  I do not have a grain mill so I can’t make it but I thought it was neat that I found a recipe too.) I found the bread at the health food store and it is so incredibly yummy!  David and I love it toasted with a little natural peanut butter and honey.  Mmmmm…  Here’s the funny thing about the bread.  Since it is made of whole grains, it is chewier than white bread.  It actually takes you longer to eat it.  By the time you finish your sandwich, etc, you are actually quite full.  Hence, you eat less!   

I like it with a little melted cheddar on the top though I will be making a switch soon to a healthier cheese so this may be for a limited time only.

DSCN4407 ~Fresh cucumbers from the garden!~

I’m still working on making the switch from white rice to brown rice.  I love my white rice but the brown is growing on me.  I wish I could say the same for my kids!

Monday’s cook ahead progress

In a previous post about our weekly menu, I included plans for a cook ahead session for Monday.  Well, I’m not the least bit surprised that I over planned.  That’s pretty much how I do things. :)  I did make some progress but not as much as I would have liked.  Here is what I learned from my first day of cooking ahead:

  • It is hard to cook ahead if you are cooking  regular meals too.  Plan it for a day when you eat easy meals or eat out.  Yeah, that sort of defeats the purpose, huh?
  • Plan to cook ahead on a day when you have help with the kids… for me that is Saturdays. 
  • Large families must plan to cook a lot more than the recipe.  (I found this out today when I doubled a recipe and the kids wiped out most of it.  I do have two older boys who have hefty appetites so I must take that in to account.)

So I did not actually get as much frozen as I intended but you live and you learn.  I will try to do what I can on Tuesday and I will plan my next cook ahead session for a Saturday.  (sorry ~ no pictures because I forgot!)

Potato Digging

I love gardening…a lot…but I may agree with a neighbor who said that it was easier to go to the store than to grow food when it comes to potatoes!  Man, that was some hard work and it was some kind of hot when I was digging.  Though it was kind of fun to hunt for the potatoes.  I did not have as big of a yield as I had anticipated but my soil is heavy.  Next year, I will amend the soil to help my potatoes out a bit.  Oh, and I’ve not dug up the Yukon Golds yet.  It won’t be much longer before those are ready though.

~Potatoes~

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How’s the weather in your neck of the woods?

I know people usually talk about the weather when they don’t have anything to talk about but is it as hot where you live as it is here?  It was so hot today (our thermometer registered 100 degrees)  so I was incredibly thankful for the pool after I finished digging potatoes! 

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DSCN4440  ~Pools and popsicles…the staples of summer~

DSCN4444~Wildflowers that we planted are our view from the pool~

DSCN4413~I love the colors on this one~

 

Those are some of my thoughts from our Monday.  I hope you had a great Monday too! 

4 comments:

  1. Those potatoes look great!
    That is exactly why you are losing weight. It is some hard work when you get temps up and you are working. I am so proud of you!!!10 pounds is HUGE!!! It looks like you are very much enjoying your pool. I tell you, it's our favorite thing around here. I like to think of it as our mini vacation spot. Right in our backyard. Your wildflowers look great!
    I've had that bread and I agree that it is delicious. I've been adding chicken to my salads and you would be surprised at how filling that is too. I just made some bread last night and added lecithin granules and it sure does give it a hearty fill. Some beautiful photos today.

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  2. I almost forgot...
    How's the weather here?
    Up until this week, we've had some beautiful 75-80 degree temps. This week is totally another story. Alot of storms moved in over the weekend and the last few days highs have been around 87-92 degrees. Needless to say, bugs were REALLY out yesterday. I thought of you when you when we decided to cut our air on last night and eat indoors!

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  3. What beautiful pictures of your kiddos, the garden yeilds and meals! I'm behind on reading all of your posts!

    Congratulations on the 10 lbs. loss! That is fantastic!

    We have been eating Ezekiel bread for many years and we love it too! It's very satisfying and I love the "heaviness" of how it feels. You might want to try their muffins too. They are really good toasted with some all fruit spread on them.

    We are doing pretty well weather wise - only the mid 80's during the day, and it really gets chilly at night still. But July and August are always killers here. We will be in the triple digits then - yuck!

    Have a great week Adriane!
    Love and Blessings,
    Caroline

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  4. Amanda ~ Did you all just turn on your air? Wow! We've had ours on since March. We're probably a little heat phobic and could actually probably go a little longer without using it. And we are loving the pool. It has been worth every dime spent on it.

    Caroline ~ This is very early for us to be triple digits all ready. A friend said her car thermometer read 103 degrees yesterday. If this is the trend, I am dreading August.

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