A Sensible Dinner - Pearlieq's Journal

[eeyore25]

Hi Pearlieq!

Hope you are having a great Tuesday! Keep up the good work.

 

[rcyannacci]

Sorry your kitty is injured...maybe some neosporin or something? That's probably what I'd do for my pups, assuming they couldn't reach it to lick it off. If it's a really deep gash, I'd probably go to the vet...but, my DH would tell you, I tend to over-react to such things.

Good luck, and hope you have a good day.

 

[Lesli54]

Good morning Pearlieq!

You gave me such a great laugh when you mentioned telling your DH about the soy milk. I could just picture him swallowing the pudding really hard as he says "it tastes good dear", all the while thinking that you are going to poison him with wholesome foods.

Hope that today is a good one for you!

 

[pearlieq]

8/24/05

8:20am

--1 light 'n fit cup
--1 light string cheese
--1/2 cup rocks & twigs

Well we had an hysterical bit of drama last night. As I've mentioned before, Magellan loves to play fetch and his ball is his most treasured toy. Well, last night while DH was brushing his teeth before bed, Magellan came up and laid his ball directly outside the bathroom door and sat there waiting for him. DH wasn't really expecting this, so he accidentally stepped on him as he came out. DH felt terribly guilty, so he picked up Magellan's ball and threw it for him, even though we don't usually do that in the bedroom.(don't want him expecting to play in there while we're trying to sleep!) We'll just DH's luck the ball flies out the door and lands on the plant shelf in our 2-story foyer!

This shelf is one of those useless, ridiculous things that builders put into houses to be "decorative" and there's no access to it. Well, Magellan was yowling for his ball, and we weren't 100% sure he wouldn't be dumb enough to try to jump across the foyer to get at it, so we had to get it down. I was laying in bed and heard several minutes of commotion until finally DH asked if I could come help him. I found him downstairs, poking at the top of the plant ledge with two of his old crutches lashed together with a belt! I know I married an engineer, but I couldn't help thinking that the ladder was readily available right there in the garage. DH's contraption did work though, the ball was safely rescued, and we could all go to bed!

11:45am

--1 small banana

1:00pm

--1 bowl vegetable soup
--1/2 strawberry poppyseed salad
--1 sourdough roll

I started having an asthma attach after I cam home from my walk this morning, so I called my doctor and they managed to squeeze me in. I felt a little better as time went on, then they gave me a breathing treatment when I got to the office that cleared most everything up. I haven't had athsma for over 10 years, but I'm thinking it might have been triggered by all of the allergy problems I've been having lately.

4:00pm

--5 or 6 corn puffs

I stopped by a local farmer's market. It wasn't that big, but I did find some nice things. I got some apple butter and strawberry spread, both no sugar added. I also got tomatoes, green beans, plums, apples, corn, and the aforementioned corn puffs.

I didn't exactly mean to buy the corn puffs, but I stopped by the both for the Women's Club, just to see what they had. They had a bake sale going on and it was run by 3 very elderly ladies and I just didn't have the heart to walk away without buying anything. At least I only bought a packet of these little corn puffs. I'll probably get rid of the rest of them, or pass them off to the kids across the street.

5:00pm

--1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese
--1 100 cal bag popcorn
--1/3 cucumber
--2 T hummus
--1 bite peach

Ick! My peach had not ripened the way I though it had. It was somehow both rock hard and grainy.

6:00pm - 8:00pm

--2 southwest egg rolls
--2 T light sour cream
--4 kashi waffles
--3 T light butter
--1/4 cup syrup
--3/4 cup honey roasted peanuts
--1/2 cup raisins
--2 cups peanut butter cereal
--3/4 cup 1% milk
--2 mini cheese rice cakes

Good gracious I hope this is it! I didn't eat enough earlier in the day and I got way too hungry, plus DH got stuck late at work so my dinner plans got derailed. The thing that was nice about this (if there is such a thing) is that going veggie severely cut down my options for a big destructive binge like this. No more fast food as an option!

 

[septbride2002]

I am married to a drafter/designer so I know exactly what you are talking about!

~Amanda

 

[rcyannacci]

great story! I could definitely see my DH doing the same thing!

I'm inspired to go to our farmer's market this weekend! Could be just the right motivation to cook healthy!

Hope you're having a good week.

 

[Lesli54]

Good morning Pearlieq!

Your DH going after the kittie's ball was hilarious. My DH comes up with some strange ideas sometimes as well and I am always wondering why he didn't go for the simpler solution.

I hope that you have a magical day today!

 

[pearlieq]

8/25/05

8:30am

--1 light string cheese
--1 peach

Another day at it. I'm going to have to make a better effort to balance my calories if I want to avoid going crazy like I did last night. I've got Bunco tonight, but I'm not all that worried about it. I plan to eat dinner beforehand, and I can't imagine they'll be much for me to choose from to eat, so I should be safe!

DH didn't make it home from work last night until after 1:00am. Poor guy! He's tired today! He's coming home early this afternoon so we can meet with the builders rep to go over all of the fixes needed for our house. I can't believe it's already been a year since we moved in!

12:45pm

--1 Panera Stawberry Poppyseed Salad
--1 4" section sourdough baguette
--1oz chips

I ate the chips because they were in front of me and I was upset, not because I needed or even wanted them. They were just kinda there and I took advantage of them.

We aren't going to be doing the house walk-through. DH is swamped at work and I don't want to meet with the guy by myself. I'm not that confident in my abilities when it comes to mechanical or building things. I'm not feeling all that well either. I'm having a bit of trouble breating and have been having dizzy spells. I hope this thing passes soon!

2:30pm

--1 SB bar

Hoping to stave off the evening snacking. DH may or may not be late, so I'm going to start dinner at 6pm with or without him. That way I'll get a good meal before Bunco and the leftovers will be there for him to heat up whenever he gets home. I'm going to do the English muffin pizzas we were going to have last night and also make up some teriyaki green beans from the fresh beans I got at the farmers market yesterday.

5:00pm

--1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese
--1/3 cucumber
--2 T hummus
--100 cal pack popcorn

I love these popcorn bags! You get a very generous serving and it really lasts! I think I've changed my mind for dinner tonight. I'm still going to make the pizzas, but I think I'm going to save the green beans for tomorrow night. I'm going to just have a couple of my farmers market plums with it. Tomorrow I think I might make barbecue sausage and serve it up with the green beans and fresh sweet corn. I hope DH will be home for it!

6:40pm

--2 English muffin pizzas
--2 small red plums

These are so good! I took my normal light, whole wheat English muffins, split them, and sprinkled them with a little garlic and popped them in the oven to blind bake, so to speak. While that was going I shredded 6oz of part-skim mozzarella. Once the muffins were done, I took them out, topped them with a TB of bottled pizza sauce and cheese. Once the cheese was on I gave them another sprinkle of garlic and some italian herbs, then back in the oven until the cheese melted. They are so yummy and filling. This one's a keeper! I'll have to find a sub for the muffins since these aren't vegan, but I'm sure I can come up with something in the future...

I'm off to bunco in a few minutes. I've got up to 850 more calories I can use today, but I doubt I'll find much to indulge in. Still, it's nice to know I have the option!

8:45pm

--5 baby carrots

9:30pm

--1 nsa fudgesicle

A couple of small, late-night snacks. Bunco was a bust again. Only 7 showed up, which isn't enough to play, so we just sat around talking. The food looked so good! They had BLT wraps, parmesan popcorn, Snickers salad, and butter bars--all lovely, all NOT vegan! I knew I wasn't going to find much, but it sort of seems the world is laughing at me a bit by trotting out my favorite foods after I've decided to give them up. I was cutting out my coupons yesterday and there was a big sheet of coupons for that McD's chicken sandwich I love and all sorts of other coupons for these meat products that I used to enjoy! Oh well, I'm confident in my decision, it just seems that the universe wants to test it!

 

[calena]

I hope the breathing and dizzy spells thing quits soon, or else get it checked out! I was dizzy when I went on Phase I South Beach, but that was carb withdrawal!

 

[Mykelogan]

Hi Pearlieq!!

I am caught up with ya finally!!! I hope that your decision to go veggie is working out well. Sounds like you are really trying to find access to the foods you need to make it happen, I wish you the best completely with it!!!

I hope that you are having a happy & healthy night!
Mike

 

[pearlieq]

8/26/05 - Happy Monday!!! (er, make that Friday... )

7:00am

--1 cup Panda Puffs
--1/2 cup 1% milk

I felt like a little treat this morning. With eating so early I know I need to schedule in an AM snack later. My hips are sore again, which means I need to go back to using the pillow between my knees when I sleep.

I think I might try going to Curves later. Naturally I've signed up for a full year membership, then decided I don't want to go. I much prefer walking. I do, however, need to keep up with my strength training. Of course, the big new park district gym opens next month, leaving my Curves membership totally redundant. What was I thinking when I signed a 1-yr contract? I'll have to review the terms, but I don't think I can get out of it either. Oh well--another expensive lesson learned!

9:50am

--1 light string cheese
--1 sm peach

I'm back from Curves--it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was actually a pleasant workout. I think I get into trouble when I fall into my all-or-nothing trap and decide if I'm going to go to Curves I have to go 6 times per week and do 3 circuits each time. I actually sort of enjoy it if I back off and go 2-3 times per week. Maybe there is a place for it in my regimen for the next year after all. Hmm...

11:30am

--1 lc tortilla
--2 T bacon bits
--2 T light ranch
--1/4 cup shredded carrots
--1 med tomato
--1/2 cup mashed potatoes

I was still thinking about that wrap from last night when I had an inspiration--I still had a tortilla and some bacon bits leftover! Add some ranch, carrots, and tomato, and voila! Wrap! It was pretty good. The potatoes were leftovers and I was hoping they'd get me full. We'll see...

2:30pm

--1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese
--1 LC garlic chicken meal

I needed lots more protien today, so I was able to get a nice shot of it here. I'm going to run out and get the kitties their new food. I decided to switch them to a different brand because Iams/Eukanuba does animal testing--more than seems necessary and in less than ideal conditions. So, I found another premium cat food - Nature's Valley - which asserts that it doesn't do animal experimenting. The funny thing is, it's no more expensive than the Eukanuba I was buying. I keep finding this--all of these organic and/or cruelty free products are no more expensive than what I used to buy. I would imagine a lot of people wouldn't guess that--I surely didn't. For the same price, wouldn't you think a lot of people would want to choose organic and/or cruelty free options? There must be a better way of getting the message out...

4:00pm

--1 oz honey roasted peanuts
--1/2 cup raisins
--2 cups Panda Puffs
--3/4 cup milk

Oops again! I tried most of my usually strategies for avoiding the afternoon binge (hearty, protein filled snack, getting out of the house, etc.) but I still wound up here. At least it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but still way more than I needed.

6:00pm

--3.5 servings turkey sausage
--1/3 cup barbecue sauce
--1/2 lb fresh green beans
--1 ear sweet corn

This was yummy and I'm nice and full. With this afternoon's indescretion I'm at the top of my calorie range for today, so the challenge for tonight is to keep out of the kitchen! I am not going to eat again unless I'm severely physically hungry, in which case I will eat the one light 'n fit yogurt I have left and then go right to bed.

9:30pm

--1/2 cheese pizza

So much for that yogurt...

 

[Lesli54]

Good morning Pearlieq!

Is it Monday? Or does it just feel like it? Around here, I am so lost on days that I could get easily confused.

I think you did really well at Bunco last night. It just seems that your favorite foods are taunting you, because you have made a commitment. In time, those foods won't be your favorites and they will be easier to resist.

I completely understand the Curves thing. Although, mine has more to do with the distance to drive there.

Hope today is a good one for you.

 

[Mykelogan]

I needed lots more protien today, .... So, I found another premium cat food...

Ok I do want to answer your serious question about cruelty free products but I must first let you know that I laughed quite hard because I quick read your last paragraph and read the above sentences as if they followed each other! LOL hehehehe!

Seriously now, I am not sure why people would not choose a cruelty free item if the cost were the same. The only thing I can even think is that people are creatures of habit and making change takes time. Not really a reason I guess, but more of a contributing factor maybe?

Anywho, I hope that you are having a great night Pearlieq!
Mike

 

[J4Dis]

Hi. thanks for visitng my journal.

We like panda puffs at our house, too!

Tell me about Curves. I'm thinking of joining. I've never done any kind of gym. It seems less intimidating for a beginner. But I also hesitate at the one year contract.

 

[Lesli54]

Good morning, Pearlieq!

It's cute that you switching the kitty diets as well. Now if you could get your DH to do a switch, your house would really be something to reckon with. As far as the organic foods versus the others in cost, I am sure that a large part is in lack of advertising. AND I wonder if the organic foods cost the grocer more to stock. If that is the case, they could be make a smaller margin and therefore not really willing to advertise the items. I don't know. About the only organic foods that I can guarantee that we buy for the store are certain seasonal fruits from local farmers. Everything else comes through the warehouse and being a smaller store we don't have access to alot of the "specialty" items, which also would make getting the organic products out to the consumer even harder.

Hope that you have a great weekend.

 

[rcyannacci]

Hey! Hope you are having a good weekend! Great job at Bunco...I'm not sure I could have passed up something called snicker salad...my curiosity has the better of me...what is this intriguing dish (not that I could have any either )

Here's my prediction- I bet you'll feel so great switching over to a vegan diet that you won't even miss the foods you think you are going to miss now. Just a guess...

And, as long as you bought into a year at Curves, might as well hit it twice a week or so. The strength training is really good because it increases you metabolism...the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

Have a great day!

 

[pearlieq]

8/27/05 - Weigh In

319.0 - Down 1lb from last week.

Down is good, I suppose. I was seeing 318 earlier in the week, but I made the super-smart decision to eat 1/2 a pizza at 9pm last night. It didn't cause me to go over my breakeven point for calories so I shouldn't have actually gained weight, but I'm sure I'm holding on to the bloat/salt.

Goals for next week:

1.) Exercise! I made my goal for last week (3 workouts, w/at least 1 at Curves) and I need to move that ahead for this week. I can't get to slacking on the workouts! So, this week I'm going for 4 workouts, at least 2 at Curves and 2 of my choosing.

2.) Snacking - this is really getting to be a problem for me. When I clean up my eating I get ravenously hungry every 2 hours or so. Unfortunately, every opportunity to eat is an opportunity to overeat for me. I really, really, really need to balance our my calories so I don't wind up eating 1/2 a pizza after dinner! I'm going to try experimenting during the week next week on the following plan (we'll tackle the weekend another time--too unpredictable!)

Breakfast (by 8:30am) - 400 cal
AM Snack (by 11:00am) - 200 cal
Lunch (no earlier than 12:00pm, no later than 1:30pm) - 600 cal
PM Snack 1 (no earlier than 2:30pm, no later than 4:30pm) - 200 cal
PM Snack 2 (no earlier than 4:30pm, no later than 6:00pm) - 200 cal
Dinner (as soon as possible, DH's schedule is too unpredicatble!) - 600cal
Late Snack (only if absolutely needed) - 100 cal

That puts me at 2300 calories for the day, which is right in the middle of my 2000 - 2500 range. I need to make sure I'm actually eating all of my calories. When I try to skimp I wind up bingeing. It's such an old pattern and I really need to recognize and deal with it!

 

[pearlieq]

8/27/05

9:00am

--1 1/2 cups multi-grain cheerios
--2 T raisins
--1 light 'n fit cup

I really need to figure out whether I'm a vegetarian or a vegan. Vegan life, especially when going out, is hard! But that seems like kind of an insincere reason to cave and eat eggs/dairy that I know were raised in less than humane conditions. I don't know what to do about this--take last night's pizza. I chose Little Caears because their crust and sauce are vegan and they specifically choose to use vegetable enzymes and rennet in their cheese so they're purely vegetarian. They're a very veggie-friendly company and I want to support them. Also, I wanted pizza. I wanted pizza with cheese, though, even though I knew darn well the milk they use for their cheese comes from a factory farm.

Where is the balance? Is all the "good" I did (choosing a place with vegan crust/sauce, choosing a veggie-friendly company, foregoing meat on my pizza) enough to compensate for the "bad" (paying for and eating milk from a factory farm)? I have a feeling I'm going to be wrestling with that one for a long time.

12:15pm

--3/4 cup califlower
--1 cup green beans in margarine
--1/2 cup fried potatoes
--3 T Italian dressing
--10 cherry tomatoes
--1 cup peas
--2 T sunflower seeds
--3/4 cup cantaloupe
--2 bites apple crisp

I indulged DH today and took him to Old Country Buffet where the world continued to mock me (they had orange chicken, chicken tenders, fried fish fillets, corn dog nuggets, hot dogs, and those yummy insitutional hamburgers that aren't all beef...). It was definitely a vegan adventure as there were slim pickins! It wouldn't have been so bad if they had a veggie burger or something, but alas, I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to go there. DH and I both have a part in meeting each other halfway.

I actually concocted a neat little salad of peas, sunflower seeds, and Italian dressing--I'll have to remember that because it was quite tasty. I had the full-fat Italian because it was the dressing most likely to be vegan. The portion I had was over 200 calories, though. I need to research better for next time so I know what my best choices are.

4:00pm

--1 LC garlic chicken
--1 peach

The 2nd to last Lean Cuisine! DH and I went to see the 40 Year Old Virgin by which I was pleasantly surprised. The main character was actually somewhat complex and didn't always do what I had expected him to do. Of course, there was a lot of rauchy and/or sophmoric humor and a lot of very aggressive profanity and slurs, but there was also an underlying sweetness that made it palatable. It didn't need to be anywhere as dirty as it was, but it also was a lot less stupid than it could have been.

We've actually got a couple hours to rest here before we go back out. We're meeting some friends for dinner (Chili's--my old faithful bean burger!) and then we're going to see a show by The Second City. Should be lots of fun!

7:00pm

--1 Black bean burger, no ranch
--1/2 cup broccoli, no cheese
--4 fries

Sad to say, but the show was a disappointment. It really reminded me of a group of college speech majors who decided to run a comedy show on campus rather than a professional touring company. A lot of their sketches weren't very tight--they tended to ramble and lose the punchline. It had moments, but not enough to justify the Second City name or the $20 ticket price. I'm actually going to call the box office on Monday--we're holding tickets to another date of this show and I really hope I can exchange them. I feel kind of ripped off...

 

[eeyore25]

Hi Pearlieq!

Way to go on the pound gone....that is great.

You are doing great. Keep up the good work. Have a great weekend.

 

[Lesli54]

Congrats on losing the lb. That is definitely a great break in your plateau. I noticed that while you have been concentrating on finding the right foods for your new lifestyle, you haven't been dining out as often and grabbing as many quick fixes. That surely helped with getting the losing back on track.

I am sure that you will find a happy medium that you can live with in your food changes. It just takes a little time. I think that you just have to realize that it isn't a perfect world and need to let go of the all or nothing (my problem as well). Buy what you can that supports a vegan lifestyle, but maybe be a little realistic in knowing that there are going to be some foods that you can't get around, like the cheese on the pizaa last night. Maybe those are foods that you can choose to limit to once a month. That way, you are supporting the people you wish to support and yet making your statement by not buying all the time. It will take time for the world to change it's views on this subject, but for now, you can do what you can to make a difference. Hey, people never thought that fast food establishments would ever sell salad, yogurt, and water. Change can happen.