Week 2 Monday

Insane day, starting with the alarm failing to go off when intended.  But we had a plan, and I had packed lunches last night, so we were fine.

Left a shopping list and instructions for dinner for Jamie.  We had lots of this week's list inthe pantry, and scott had done a partial run yesterday, so it was a manageable list.

Borrowed against a later breakfast and grabbed the strawberry quinoa muffins (confess...I had two) for breakfast in the car.  Glad I had those handy.

Lunch was leftover tortilla lasagne and an apple.

Late afternoon snack of a kind bar and banana, since I had class tonight and wouldn't have dinner until 8:30. 

Dinner was as you planned for tonight...the chicken and the cucumber salad.  My favorite meal yet.  Absolutely delicious.  Look forward to making it for guests!

I felt totally filled and satisfied with this meal.  Not too long ago, I would have added bread and maybe rice too.
 

Since we never made the chili yesterday, we're going to have the pitas with shredded chicken and the cucumber salad for lunch tomorrow.  I shredded the chicken tonight, and will make the pita sandwiches in the morning.

Rachel is loving the breakfasts and most lunches, but resisting dinners.  She's a steak and potatoes kid, so this has been hard.  We have no plan to stop, but need to work with her more on healthy alternatives. 

Week 2 Sunday

Fun day of food!  Here's a quit shot of our kitchen, so you get a sense of the operation.  It's a great space, and a fun place to cook.  Good to be putting it to better use again.

We improvised a bit today to use up some food in the fridge from last week. 

For breakfast, I had a quinoa-egg-spinach-feta thingy I had frozen some time ago for Nora for a quick meal. Yum.  

 

For lunch, I made the asparagus soup that was on the schedule for today, since I had some free time between sessions. Śo easy and good.  Scott especially loved it.  I also had my leftover tequila shrimp and rice from our Friday takeout. 

Continuing our food fest, I made the strawberry quinoa muffins.  I have mountains of gluten-free flour here of every variety, so opted not to peri chase the quinoa flour. Instead, I used 2/3 cup almond flour and 2/3 cup of a GF all-purpose flour. We had them for a mid-afternoon snack.  They were delicious!  While I may not be a consistently great cook, I do love to bake, and I've become a great GF baker thanks to Nora.  Almond flour was a game changer for us.

I also finally got some mint tea, and made a batch.  So tasty, so thanks for that suggestion.  I'm not sure what got into me, but I put some artificial sweetener in there.  Not a good choice.  Tomorrow, I'll make it with just a splash of honey.  Rachel really liked it too.

Just made the tortilla lasagne for dinner.  Really, really good.  I added a green bell pepper, as I had one that needed to be used.
 

 

 

 

 

Day 7: Saturday

I had 5 senior sessions on Saturday, and I'm way behind in processing sessions, so it was a complete panic day.

Scott made the girls a big pancake breakfast, and I grabbed a Kind bar before my session.  I had just a 30 minute lunch break but made another strawberry banana smoothie (my quick version) for lunch.  We jumped back on your plan for dinner.

Scott had picked up steaks in the morning from our farmer's market and cooked them to perfection.  Such a great dinner!!!

 10k on the fitbit, all from just doing my sessions. 

Day 6: Friday

I work at home on Fridays.  Oatmeal for breakfast.  Love Coach's Oats!  Made it with some brown sugar and cinnamon, and I had a pear.

Lunch fell apart because the cilantro had gone bad.  I went with my old favorite strawberry banana smoothie made with whey protein instead.  Scott had a work lunch.

Rachel had friends over for a sleepover, so we ordered pizza and wings for them. Feeling lazy and exhausted, we also got takeout from our favorite local Mexican place.  Good news is that this place doesn't do mushy texmex -- it's fresh and authentic, with some really great healthy choices.  It's also walking distance from our house.  So, I got my favorite... Tequila shrimp with avocados, tomatoes, and white rice. I reserved about a third for a leftover lunch. Also had some fresh salsa and a handful of chips.  And I must confess to later having a few of the girls' leftover wings. 

I took sweet Stella on a nice walk in the morning, and then went back and did week 1 day 1 of the C25K running programming, mostly walking but putting some little runs in there.  12000 on the Fitbit...better than most days lately. 

We improvised, but it was still a healthy day. 

Sunday morning reflections... end of week 1

What a great week.  Thank you so much for giving us this structure and support.

I am amazed by how much weight I lost this week... over 5 pounds, mostly from my midsection, I would guess, judging by how things feel.  Yeah me!  

And there was lots of good, hearty food involved!!!

By Thursday, we definitely were losing some steam.  It was really hard to get motivated to make dinner that night, but Scott did it and we pushed through. 

Weekends are a mess right now, because I'm worked nonstop and we are all burnt out. This is the last big weekend of sessions, so it should get easier moving forward.  I have two extended sessions today, and Scott is protesting a grocery store run, so I think we'll be filling in today again with some of the missed meals from last week to clean out the fridge some. And then I'll have Jamie (our nanny/helper) do a Wegmans run tomorrow to get us back in track. 

A few comments about the grocery list!  I think this is one of the keys to us doing it, so thank you.  I had recognized a few items that were for later in the week and had pulled for purchase later in the week to prevent spoilage (asparagus and salmon), but we had a few other things go wonky too, so I need to watch that more closely and plan on a small run on Thursday or so for end of week produce.  We ran out of carrots, as Scott had bought skinny little things, so that required a midweek run.  And the steak and sweet potatoes weren't on the list. No problem, just thought you might want to note these things...

Also, as an FYI, I'll be in Atlanta Sunday, September 29 though Saturday, October 5, at my sister Tara's helping her were her kids, so I think we'll skip that week as a formal plan week, though I plan to cook and eat smart.

Thanks so much!!!

Day 5: Thursday

Perfect day. Loved the blueberry smoothie. And the leftover Veggie Stew for lunch. 

Scott made dinner, exactly as recommended, and it was delicious.  We added some brown rice, as we were all hungry and wanted it. :) I was very careful with my portion. This was Scott's plate.  He was more generous with himself. 

I also had wine with dinner.  It just seemed unfinished without it, so I made a trade with Friday for my wine.  

 

Day 4: Hump Day

Leftover banana pancakes for breakfast.  Perfect!

We were running late, but I managed to make lunch for all three of us in 12 minutes.  Just having a clear plan and all the ingredients made all the difference.  I have a picture  Everyone loved the wrap, even Rachel, who's providing a bit more resistant to some of these changes. 

 
Should also mention that I'm working hard to cut back on wine, especially weeknights.  That's my sweet craving and bad habit in the evening.  The goal will be to reserve wine for weekends and special occasions only.

I'm feeling great!  And have lost several pounds.  Yeah!

Day 3

Day 3 and still enthusiastic!

This morning I made the strawberry banana smoothie, and it was a perfect start to the day.  Great recipe.

That reserved the hard-boiled eggs for lunch!

Snacked today on an apple, peach and a Kind bar.  I also made a huge drink change that I think will work.  I have had a serious Starbucks trenta black tea lemonade habit to get me through the afternoon.  Starbucks is a short walk from my office, and I know that was sugar and preservatives I didn't need.  So today I switched to black iced tea, and added a packet of honey and a wedge of lemon.  It cuts the calories in half and seems a cleaner way to go.  Good, yes?

And then dinner was great!  Scott couldn't find the Amy's black bean burgers and I had all the ingredients and time to make homemade, so that's what I did.  Also added a slice of pepper jack cheese and some guacamole. Extra calories for sure, but it helped get everyone on board and made it extra yummy. I have a serious dislike of steamed broccoli, so I roasted it with olive oil and garlic.  Add the sweet potato fries, and everyone was very happy!!!

Day 2

What a great start. This morning we made the whole wheat banana pancakes we were supposed to eat yesterday but didn't due to the late start. They were fabulous!  A hit with all three of us. We saved half for Wednesday!

The roasted veggie and hummus wraps for lunch were delicious.  Another success.  We each added an apple.

And the chicken and veggie stir fry was great. So yummy and simple.  We doubled the batch, but even then didn't have enough for leftovers.  We ate hearty portions, but nothing outrageous.  I think I'd add a side of broccoli to this one in the future, but it's definitely a keeper. 

Please forgive the lousy iPhone pics.  Once I get through the crazy senior portraits in another few weeks, I'll work on my product photography. 

Day 1 of Clean Cooking and Eating

We are excited to be eating with planning and menu help from you. We've been wanting to eat healthier and needing to find a way to plan better, cook and eat at home more, and make it all brainless. We don't have a lot of time to plan, but are willing to do the work to cook, and we're so grateful for support in out making some changes! We got a late start today, as we didn't make it to the grocery store until midday, but OMG how cool to have a detailed list and plan!!! Scott hit Wegmans with the list, and I cleaned out the fridge, which was humbling...something of a graveyard for condiments and other random foods. Here it is, clean and restock with help from Shirin. Our first meal was perfection... roasted chicken and vegetables with brown rice. A standard around here, but Shirin's recipes were fabulous. So tasty! Best part is that leftover veggies go in wraps for lunch tomorrow, and we made extra rice as the basis for tomorrow's dinner stir fry -- such smart and easy planning! Great start. Thanks, Shirin!