Breakfast, Lunch, Where is dinner?

It is pretty safe to say my Friday this week was tinged with some Monday highlights. WOW! I thought I'd get in some simple tasks, a few big meals, and some nice craftitng. What I ended up with was plenty of simple tasks, a few larger tasks, and some unexpected add on bonus events. Meals were small and I missed one somehow. Crafting? There was some of that cardio-knitting stuff and some evening catch up knitting on a pair of socks. The cardio-knitting progress was small. Not enough to see a big difference. Just a few rounds walking back and forth to the gym. The second sock however is quite obvious. I was 2 inches from the heel turn yesterday morning. I finished up the gusset, turned the heel and made it through an inch of the leg.

Breakfast was fast. I had errands to run before heading out to the gym. Grilled pattypan squash and chicken sausage. 

Morning snack was 1/8 of a fresh cantaloupe and 1/2 ounce of cheese. Lunch was late. Remember I had a few added tasks. I sauteed pattypan squash, roasted a chicken breast and had arugula salad with it. I decided to have some gluten free blue cheese dressing with it because the meal was lacking in healthy fats. 

And this is where the day fell apart. I needed to move forward and plan dinner. I needed to get on with meal prep instead of get caught up in miscellaneous stuff that didn't progress my day. There was an apple and a few nuts. Then at 9:30 I realized I was hungry. Not the kind of hungry that is really thirsty. No I realized I forgot about dinner. YIKES!! I really wanted a salad and a bit of protein. Yes. I am one of the weird people in the world that craves salad and can be happy with one for breakfast or for a late night snack. I didn't have salad. There is another story explaining why I had not purchased groceries. I'll save that one for tomorrow. What did I do? I had purchased shrimp from the coast. I steamed it up with Old Bay seasoning. We ate peel and eat shrimp at 10 pm. It tasted wonderful. It was lacking the cold beer that came with late night peel and eat shrimp in my early 30s. 

The moral here? Plan meals and eat meals. Be flexible in your day so you have food available when last minute or forgotten appointments change your meal plan. 

Beautiful Yarn!

Oh the day that was Wednesday. Breakfast was creative. I had that black bean and corn salad still. I wanted hot food. I hadn't put any dressing on it so I decided to saute it up and have turkey bacon with it. Protein and veggies or sort of veggies anyway.

Lunch was roasted zucchini and pulled turkey. The apple was more a desert thing since I ate it after the meal.

Dinner was almost gone by the time I remembered I needed a picture! I sauteed the rest of the corn and black bean salad with a yellow squash. and added sliced chicken breast to it. I had it over a bed of arugula and topped it with pumpkin seeds.

Thursday morning I had a Bengi workout. I ate an apple and had a coffee. I took a meal into the gym to eat after the workout. I remembered the picture an hour later! What did I eat? I diced a sweet potato and sliced up a chicken andouille sausage. I put these on a lightly oiled pan and put it under the broiler for 15 minutes to cook the sweet potato. It was quite tasty. 

Lunch? A skillet meal of course! First I sauteed half an onion and half a pound of ground turkey in olive oil. Then I added one small diced sweet potato, one ear of fresh corn cut from the cob, one can of black beans drained and rinsed well. I have a spicy Mexican meat rub that I've been using for flavor lately. It is some obscure thing I found. I will do my best to start using seasonings that are replaceable. The base however is chili powder and cumin. I believe it has coffee in it. It sure smells like it. 

Dinner was spectacular! Sauteed pattypan squash! YUM!! I also had fresh tuna brought from the coast. I sear that. I coat with sea salt and cracked pepper before searing on a hot griddle for a few minutes each side. The salad? I have a kale salad I like to make. It goes through many incarnations based on the availability of ingredients. This one was dinosaur kale chopped fine, 2 tbs finely chopped scallion, 1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, and an ounce of grated Romano cheese. The salad dressing was 1/4 cup of olive oil and 2 tbs white balsamic vinegar. It really is one of my favorite foods! The sliced pear was intended as garnish but added fabulous flavor!

Crafting? Oh yes! There has been spinning progress! I have been walking and knitting. First the sock. I'm not walking very far. Only enough to do a couple of rounds. I have thought I should start walking the long way and adding in 1/2 a mile. I would also have to leave earlier for work and it is rather warm in the afternoon. Maybe I'll just start plopping myself down on the bike more often and getting in some serious cardio knitting. 

Spinning though. I have completed 17 ounces of wool! I had an issue last night. My flyer (this is one of the vital parts of the spinning wheel) malfunctioned. That is to say it separated and spins where it should be still. I recently watched the Lego Movie. I know that Everything is Awesome in the world. This was not awesome. I thought that if Kragle worked so well on the Legos it might work on my flyer. Here it is being held down by two of my cast iron pans. It stayed this way overnight in hopes that setting the glue would work.

It did work. It worked long enough to finish the last ounce of spinning and the plying of the final yarn. Then it started spinning where it should be still again. The wheel is 44 years old. I'm feeling like it might be indicating this is its last yarn. I'll share the yarn a day early. You deserve it after that horror story. I now have 540 yards of yarn. I'm not sure what pattern I'll be using but I know I'll be knitting up a vest for Kam. It is her request. I like it when she requests my hand knit items!

Sunday Runday!

Sunday is normally a long run day in my world. The last few Sundays however have not included a long run. Yesterday Kam and I went out for 6.5 miles through the neighborhoods. Our intention was to be running before 9 so we caught the last of the chilly morning air. Unfortunately we missed that mark by an hour. It was 10 when we headed out. By 11 the sun was really warm and I was not enjoying myself any longer. At the end of our run we stopped by the house and picked up the dogs for a nice walk around the block...another 3/4 of a mile around the block. They were happy and we were so hungry it was no longer funny.

What to eat before a 6 mile run? I usually have coffee and nuts if I am running in the morning. Eating and running are not a good combination for me. I had an ounce of walnuts, half a cup of fresh blueberries, and a cup of coffee. During the run I had a serving of Gu Chomps, Peach Tea is my favorite flavor. I had plenty of water. Hydration is important during a run. After the run though real food was priority. Breakfast was perfect! Eggs and bacon over top fresh spinach greens with a bit of pepper Gouda on top.

I spent a bit of time out in the front yard spinning yarn. It was so refreshing. I had my audio book going and a lovely iced coffee to sip. Before I knew it I had spent 2 hours out there. The yarn I spun was 110 yards long. It is starting to look promising!

Then I relocated to a friend's pool. Well, not her own pool but one that is on the property where her house is. I took knitting for the poolside entertainment. I even managed to get through most of the gusset on this sock! It was quite an afternoon of crafting in public.

After the pool we went to her deck for a snack. Guacamole and carrots. I would much prefer to have chips and guac but I'm not eating chips right now. Carrots are just as good a vehicle as chips for moving guac to the belly. They also have more fiber, more nutrients, and less processed carbs. So carrots win over chips right now. 

Dinner? Oh yeah. We had some of that too. Funny thing about running days, we are always at least one meal down. We burn extra calories and rarely find the time to replace them. Dinner was a version of Mexican salad. Spinach and arugula in the bowl first, then seasoned black beans, then seasoned browned ground turkey. I topped this with a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds. Then topped it all off with a tablespoon of fresh salsa, two table spoons of fresh guacamole, some green olives, and a slice of fresh mozzarella. It was quite satisfying! 

How to Survive a National Holiday

Friday was Independence Day here in the United States. Traditionally this is not the healthiest food holiday. Hot dogs and hamburgers, chips and cupcakes are popular menu items. I think we can safely say I might now eat a hamburger on a green salad but the remainder are not on my list of consumable foods. With a large country family potluck in the plans for Friday Night Dinner I had to make some fast plans!

Breakfast was interesting. Turkey bacon for protein, roasted sweet potatoes for the veggie carb, fresh apple for the raw enzymes, and peanut butter for healthy fat. Covered all the bases but was a bit odd with the mixed tastes.

Lunch before we hit the road was fresh salad (baby kale), rotisserie chicken breast, grilled squash, and green olives. 

Then we hit the road for our close to 2 hour drive. I snapped a picture of the sock progress just before we left the driveway. 

We landed alongside a beautiful river. I sat and knit for hours. Here is a shot of the next sock. I finished the toe and started to surf left while riding. 

'

My total progress on the new sock? Huge!

My afternoon snack was simple. Just an apple with a bit of goat cheese.

Dinner was classic picnic. If by classic picnic you mean chicken salad on baby kale, chickpea and roasted eggplant salad, dilled yellow and zucchini squash, cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives. 

On the drive home we were a bit snackish. We had to stop for gas. Silly car was a bit hungry too. It is hard to find snacks on the road when you are eating a clean diet. Fortunately we live in the southeast. Roasted and salted peanuts are always available. I was sure to portion out a serving size and stick with it. How much is a serving size? About 3/4 of a cup.

Saturday was a bright new day! I woke with a great idea! I have some de-cluttering to get done. There is too much stuff in the house. It has been bothering me for quite some time. I woke with the idea that I could "shop" through the stuff and "buy" only what I wanted. Everything else needed to leave the house and go to one of three locations, a local thrift shop, a friend's home, or the garbage bin. What a fabulous idea! I started the day with a good breakfast (brunch really because I was super tired and slept late). Remember I'm not a huge fan of the classic eggs for breakfast. We had grilled steak, kale green salad, sauteed squash, and the healthy fat was a nice clean dressing for the salad. I was all fueled up and ready to tackle the day.

I spent three hours shopping in my crafting area. I packed up two boxes to mail out. I collected items for a third box. Kam and I sorted through the miscellaneous kitchen stuff that has been collecting on the back porch. We eliminated 2 boxes of kitchen items and two more boxes of clothing. We dropped it all off at one of the thrift stores and headed to the grocery store. When we returned we made ourselves lunch. Turkey burgers with melted pepper Gouda on top of baby spinach with fresh guacamole and slices of jicama. It was perfect! We had fresh blueberries with walnuts and cream for desert. 

Kam fixed dinner. It made me smile! She reheated the remaining steak and made a fresh caprese salad. She was very sweet and thought I would like sliced cabbage with gluten free blue cheese dressing on it. I think it is better with Italian dressing. I ate it anyway though. When you are making this many meals for yourself you will eat what someone makes for you and be happy with it. 

While I was shopping I came up with a plan. I found this amazing amount of fiber. The white is a fleece I washed and started carding myself. The dark blue is a braid I was given but was partially felted during the dyeing process and couldn't spin as it was so I had already carded it once. The light green is alpaca I purchased at the fiber festival a few years ago. It is not long staple but very pretty. The turquoise blue is coltswold I found that same year at the fiber festival. The green and yellow braid is one I purchased from a friend who no longer has an online store. That one is not wool but faux cashmere, nylon! My idea? To card up batts out of this for spinning.

The batts are beautiful. I have over a pound of fiber to spin up. I was fascinated by it as I spun!

The resulting yarn has a nice art quality to it. This is only the first skein. It is 100 yards. I am hoping for 4-500 yards for the total basket. 

Broccoli is too Breakfast Food!

In the interests of a low glycemic impact meal fresh veggies are of utmost importance. Every meal needs to have fiber and protein. Sometimes that means breakfast might include foods that are not considered "normal" breakfast foods. Broccoli is one of those. Yes, broccoli can be found in a quiche or in an omelet. It is rare to find steamed broccoli on a plate with eggs and bacon. Well, it is rare to find that in the average American kitchen. My kitchen is not average. I go for whatever green vegetable I have on hand when it comes to breakfast. I'm about over the eggs for breakfast kick. It doesn't last long for me. There will be changes coming soon!

I purchased two boneless turkey thighs on Friday. I was feeling creative so I rubbed them with 1 tsp of sea salt and 2 tsp of Kickin' Chicken spice. I put them into a deep casserole dish and covered them tightly with aluminum foil. Then I baked at 325 for two and a half hours. The result? Pulled turkey barbecue. If I was a bread eater I would have made a wonderful sandwich. I'm not a bread eater. I had two meals using this meat. The first was simple. Just over baby spinach.

The next was pretty simple as well but had more fat in it. Kam is on a wedge of iceberg lettuce kick. So we did a wedge salad (gluten free blue cheese dressing for me), fresh tomato with chopped parsley and fresh mozzarella with the turkey thigh. 

My mid-afternoon snack was an apple with peanut butter. Just a tablespoon of the healthy fat as is appropriate.

At the end of the day I was feeling the need for more food. I didn't want a full meal yet I was feeling hungry and needed something. I chose to make a healthy desert. I sliced fresh pear and put it under the broiler for 10 minutes until it just started to brown on the edges. Then ate it with 1/2 a cup of Greek Yogurt and some raw walnuts. It was quite tasty!

Sock progress? There was plenty! Oh yes. I managed to get to half the foot!

Cardio-Knitting on the Trail

Yesterday was hike day. I love getting out into the woods. Usually it is for a trail run. This weekend since I'm on detox trail running wasn't the best idea. So we drove north on the Blue Ridge Parkway and hiked a small portion of the Mountains to Sea Trail. The dogs love hiking. It is quite an adventure. I decided that since I was not running and we were hiking one of the easier portions of the trail that I would work on a sock while I hiked. It may sound crazy but once you are accustomed to cardio-knitting walking outdoors and knitting is not that difficult. I have been walking the urban trail (sidewalk) to work while knitting most of the week. I simply combined my skills of trail running and cardio-knitting for a 3 mile hike. Kam was intrigued and insisted on taking a video. I'm not sure how exciting it is to watch someone hike but I will admit the dog noises are humorous.

What do you eat before hiking when you are doing detox? I suggest more than this. It was a lazy sleep in morning so fixing breakfast at home was not quite as fun as you might think. Kam came up with the idea that we stop off at the grocery store and get salad bar picnic. It is interesting how quickly the taste buds get used to good fresh food. I could taste how the peppers were OK but not freshly cut. The olives were canned not jarred. My intention was to avoid adding in legumes as long as possible. Kam felt that if I was going for a hike I needed the fuel. I ate the garbanzo beans. I did not enjoy them. They too tasted canned. But the fruit was amazing.

We found some fun rock formations and had to take the time to play on them. Kam was almost swallowed up!

Ceili just thought is was a cool place to hang out. She was such a cutie out there. We crossed many small streams. Each time she would stop an drink. Darby rarely wanted a drink. She was all about the walk. Once Ceili sat right down in a puddle. She was obviously overheating. 

When we go on a long trail run we often use it as an excuse to eat pizza. Always gluten free and topped with healthy items but still pizza. There is no pizza on detox. I was still craving it. I opted for pretend pizza. I sliced up a beautiful tomato and topped it with chopped garlic and sliced new red onion. I added on some Italian herbs. Then I put it under the broiler until the onion was cooked. I ate it over top of some baby kale greens. Perfect pizza taste and I didn't go off my detox plan!

As is the case with most Sunday afternoons we had projects to get done. While Kam worked on the back porch I cooked another meal. That back porch turns into a pantry every winter. It is single wall construction. On any given day it is about 5 degrees warmer than outdoors. In the summer it is about 15 degrees warmer than outdoors. We love it spring and fall when we have the perfect outdoor weather. The meal? I roasted brussels. I love them tossed with olive oil and garlic. No oil on detox. What to do?? I tossed them with a bit of lemon juice, fresh chopped garlic, and sliced scallions. They were tangy and delicious. One of Kam's fun things is to have a wedge of iceberg lettuce. So we opted for warm roasted veggies and cold crunchy plain iceberg salad. 

For dinner I was reaching over hungry. REALLY really hungry. I blame it on the hike. It was pretty warm in the house too so I didn't want to cook. I opted for salad. For the two of us I chopped up a gala apple and a pound of jicama. I added half a pint of blueberries and a bit of lemon juice. We had this on top of chopped lettuce. I was amazingly satisfied and quite full. 

And what is the knitting progress for the day? Well I managed an inch of plain knitting and the heel flap of the green striped sock while out on the trail. My afternoon/evening knitting was on that blue lace sock. I turned the heel and finished the gusset. I think it was a spectacular day! Plenty of healthy food, exercise, knitting, and some solid progress on the late spring cleaning projects. 

Can we just REST now?

I can honestly say I have been pushing hard. There were plenty of coaching hours logged in the last two weeks. In that time Kam and I lead a weekend long TLS Weight Loss Training where we trained close to 20 new weight loss coaches, we hosted a business presentation, and we lead a three and a half hour training for new business owners. When I woke on Saturday I was ready for a rest. Instead of lounging around I ate a hearty detox breakfast and headed to the gym to lead two group training classes.

Breakfast was another version of salad. Crunchy, sweet, and a bit of greenery. It was all raw too. Cauliflower, jicama, green apple, and lettuce a nice plate full of food.

After the training I was needing a snack. Since crunchy kale is seems to be the go to right now that is what I did. I used balsamic vinegar instead of the tamari though. It was delicious. 

For lunch I went with leftover jicama salad and steamed broccoli. It really was a keep it simple kind of day. 

Dinner was more of the same...veggies. Go figure. In this case it was beets, steam sauteed bok choy, and fresh carrots. The bok choy was pretty easy to cook. By heating to almost boiling vegetable broth you can add in diced onion and keep it simmering until the onions are clear. Then add the chopped bok choy and some more broth and tamari. Keep stirring and cooking until the bok choy is tender. Why do the beats look so washed out? They were candy cane beets. They are really pink when they are cooked. 

Knitting progress? I did take some rest and recover time. It was important. I finished up those socks from Friday and then cast on a new pair. It would be a shame to let the needles get too cold! The finished pair...

and the newly started pair...

I'm hoping for some speed knitting on the new ones. Maybe even get them done by the end of the week. Who knows. Life can be exciting and push sock knitting to the back burner.