So, I went back to work this week. Part time. The biggest issue this week is the planning and the scheduling of meals.
You see, spouse and I are trying to lose weight. So we are also logging everything into MyFitnessPal. That adds a whole new level to the planning. You have to make sure you eat enough but not too much. You need to plan ahead and not be caught off guard. It's challenging. My diet plan recommends planning a week in advance, all meals. I could only handle 4 days.
So for the next week, I'm going to try something new and different. Or old and the same. Meaning, I'm going to pick one thing to eat for lunch, and that's what we'll eat for lunch. Example: a week of burritos (homemade and/or Trader Joe's). Or a week of sandwiches (make sure we buy enough bread and fillings). Or a week of rice and stir fry vegetables. This week we had a lot of pasta.
It may get boring, but we'll see. For example, the week of stir fry I can buy cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and peppers, and mix up the veggies each day. For burritos, I love them so much I can eat bean and cheese burritos no problem.
Then all I have to do is plan the dinners, and three different ones with leftover should do the trick.
Every other time I've lost weight, I've eaten leftovers for lunch. That works too, but some time mid-week you run out, then you have to choose what your next lunch will be. And seriously, with two kids, I have so little time. From when I pick up my kid from school until I pass out in bed, there is NO down time. So planning each day, or even several times per week, doesn't work.
So next week is burrito week. I'll make burritos on the weekend and freeze them, and plan out our fruits and vegetables. I overbought on fruit this week. Still have an entire melon and many apples left.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Beef...it's what's for dinner.
So...I was feeling social this weekend. It's been awhile since I've felt up to hosting folks at my house, what with a new baby and all. I invited friends over, and ended up with TWO dinners at home, one on Sunday and one on Monday. Lucky for me, the Monday dinner friend (our oldest friends in Santa Barbara), offered to bring dinner. So she provided the ribs and green beans, I provided bruschetta with some pretty sucky French bread, because I was too lazy to walk the extra block to the fancy grocery store from Albertson's. My bad.
Anyway, we have these big grass fed steaks. My friend/coworker and her husband buy grassfed beef in bulk from a local place, but don't have enough room to store it. So I benefit. The great thing about buying in bulk in the price. I got 10 lbs of steak for $6 a pound. Now, we generally don't eat much steak, and in fact, don't really know how to cook it well. But even the local beef at the farmer's market is $7/lb for GROUND beef, nevermind steak, which is way higher.
In any event, grassfed steak is tricky. It's very lean and is very prone to overcooking, and overcooking = leather. Johnny dropped it off and said "6 to 8 minutes a side, trust me on this". So the first time we tried, it was very rare, and by the time we tried to recook, we got leather.
This time, my spouse mentioned that he thought it was still partially frozen the first time. So I defrosted it a day earlier, and marinated it. I googled "steak marinade" and got this recipe, which was great, but I subbed balsamic vinegar for Worcestershire sauce, because I didn't have any. And I used bottled lemon juice because I was down to 1/2 lemon, and I was using it for my bubble water drinking. I made 1/2 a recipe for a 1.25 lb steak.
This time...success! A perfect pink in the middle and tender and delicious. I wish I took a picture. But the reality of trying to get dinner on the table with 4 adults and 3 boys (6, 2, and infant, who doesn't eat at the table), means I was just happy that the food was all hot at the same time. Well, the steak had to rest longer, because the rice wasn't done in time, so I tossed it in the pressure cooker, and then overcooked it. I used this recipe, but next time will cut the tomato sauce in half and replace with water - it was too tomato-ey. I left out the onion because my friend hates onion (I KNOW!!)
We also made burgers. Because we were worried we'd ruin the steak, we had a backup plan. In the end, I ruined the rice. Go figure.
So tonight, we still had 4 of the six burgers left. They were good, even without the onion. ;)
I didn't know what to make as a side. It's Tuesday, and we're getting low on veggies from the CSA. We had cucumbers and carrots, and some broccoli from Trader Joe's. I opted to use nap time #1 to make this Moroccan Carrot Salad recipe from Casual Kitchen that looked good to me. And...it was delicious! And so easy! I microwaved the carrots instead of boiling. And I topped mine with feta, because I found another recipe with feta, and avocado, because I have a ripe one, and I had to do something with it. For a laughably cheap recipe, this was a real keeper. Except my kid thought it was "too spicy" (the lemon juice? the vinegar? I cut the garlic to one clove already.) Being a good mom, I rinsed his portion in the colander and let him eat the plain steamed carrots.
On a side note, trying to lose weight and count calories when you are nursing...sucks! I'm starving! At 2300 calories a day!
Anyway, we have these big grass fed steaks. My friend/coworker and her husband buy grassfed beef in bulk from a local place, but don't have enough room to store it. So I benefit. The great thing about buying in bulk in the price. I got 10 lbs of steak for $6 a pound. Now, we generally don't eat much steak, and in fact, don't really know how to cook it well. But even the local beef at the farmer's market is $7/lb for GROUND beef, nevermind steak, which is way higher.
In any event, grassfed steak is tricky. It's very lean and is very prone to overcooking, and overcooking = leather. Johnny dropped it off and said "6 to 8 minutes a side, trust me on this". So the first time we tried, it was very rare, and by the time we tried to recook, we got leather.
This time, my spouse mentioned that he thought it was still partially frozen the first time. So I defrosted it a day earlier, and marinated it. I googled "steak marinade" and got this recipe, which was great, but I subbed balsamic vinegar for Worcestershire sauce, because I didn't have any. And I used bottled lemon juice because I was down to 1/2 lemon, and I was using it for my bubble water drinking. I made 1/2 a recipe for a 1.25 lb steak.
This time...success! A perfect pink in the middle and tender and delicious. I wish I took a picture. But the reality of trying to get dinner on the table with 4 adults and 3 boys (6, 2, and infant, who doesn't eat at the table), means I was just happy that the food was all hot at the same time. Well, the steak had to rest longer, because the rice wasn't done in time, so I tossed it in the pressure cooker, and then overcooked it. I used this recipe, but next time will cut the tomato sauce in half and replace with water - it was too tomato-ey. I left out the onion because my friend hates onion (I KNOW!!)
We also made burgers. Because we were worried we'd ruin the steak, we had a backup plan. In the end, I ruined the rice. Go figure.
So tonight, we still had 4 of the six burgers left. They were good, even without the onion. ;)
I didn't know what to make as a side. It's Tuesday, and we're getting low on veggies from the CSA. We had cucumbers and carrots, and some broccoli from Trader Joe's. I opted to use nap time #1 to make this Moroccan Carrot Salad recipe from Casual Kitchen that looked good to me. And...it was delicious! And so easy! I microwaved the carrots instead of boiling. And I topped mine with feta, because I found another recipe with feta, and avocado, because I have a ripe one, and I had to do something with it. For a laughably cheap recipe, this was a real keeper. Except my kid thought it was "too spicy" (the lemon juice? the vinegar? I cut the garlic to one clove already.) Being a good mom, I rinsed his portion in the colander and let him eat the plain steamed carrots.
On a side note, trying to lose weight and count calories when you are nursing...sucks! I'm starving! At 2300 calories a day!
Friday, August 31, 2012
The week in pictures
We had salad:
I made split pea soup and tabouli (I don't have a pictures for those).
I made zucchini risotto (in the pressure cooker!) and topped it with shrimp:
And the day the baby got his shots (lots of crying): homemade bread (bread machine), spaghetti with marinara and meatballs, steamed yellow string beans with goat cheese, olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder.
I made split pea soup and tabouli (I don't have a pictures for those).
I made zucchini risotto (in the pressure cooker!) and topped it with shrimp:
We had TJ's chicken tenders, with celery and PB, apples, and steamed broccoli:
And the day the baby got his shots (lots of crying): homemade bread (bread machine), spaghetti with marinara and meatballs, steamed yellow string beans with goat cheese, olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Simplicity in the kitchen
So, as my complicated life with a husband, 6 year old, and infant is about to get more complicated (returning back to work in two weeks), I started googling to find some suggestions on how to achieve simplicity in the kitchen.
That may seem silly coming from a woman who has got a simple cooking blog, and has had one for years. But hear me out: as life becomes more complicated, you need new strategies, new tips.
I couldn't really find what I was looking for. I found tips on simplifying your kitchen gadgets. While that is helpful, I don't really need that. In fact, there are some kitchen gadgets that aren't necessary, but make cooking MUCH simpler. Think: bread machines, food processors, and rice cookers.
I also found tips on how to prepare your food more simply. Clean as you go (a very good tip!) but also how to do prep work. Meh...not what I'm looking for.
I also found tips on how to do meal planning. Again, somewhat helpful, but just not it.
But nothing was really what I was looking for, so I decided to write my own so that I could refer back to it later.
I like to consider myself pretty efficient and a multi-tasker. Parenthood has only strengthened those traits. You really learn to get things done in 15 minute chunks. I know it seems NICE to have a solid 3-4 hours to finish a project, or an hour to cook dinner, etc. But reality with an infant is that you may get a 2 hour nap, you may get a 20 minute nap. And that doesn't improve much when your kid gets older, unless you are REALLY willing to use the TV or video games. Which I admit, I have been the last week.
So here are my tips for simplicity in the kitchen:
1. Learn to break things up into 15 minute chunks. Whatever you are making for dinner, how can you do this? For me, it's always clean and chop the vegetables first, put them in the fridge. Marinate meat. Cook pasta if you are making a baked pasta dish. Cook up the soup if it's one that needs to go into the blender (and reheat later...it's better then anyway). Toast nuts. Cook rice. Steam greens. Wash lettuce.
2. Simplify your preparation. I like making complicated dishes just like the next person, but those have little to no place in my life right now. As in: once a week, tops. Examples:
- vegetables: eat raw (wash/peel), steam (wash/peel/chop/micro), roast (wash/peel/chop/toss with olive oil S&P/roast/stir/roast), stir fry (wash/peel/chop/stir fry), or make a soup (wash/peel/chop/cook into soup)
- fruits: prep ahead when possible: washing berries, cutting melons, etc.
- rice: rice cooker instead of a pilaf
- beans: cook in a pressure cooker
3. Limit your diet. I know we all like to have a varied diet, but it makes it more complicated. Consider this: vegans eat grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts. No meat or dairy to consider. Paleo/primal folks have kitchens devoid of grains, beans, bread. Your diet will be simpler this way, and there will be fewer foods to choose from/ go bad in your fridge and pantry.
But for those of us who are omnivores that don't eschew carbs, it can be more difficult. Or can it? My meals growing up were pretty simple. They were always cooked at home, and tended to be meat and potatoes or meat and pasta. But usually potatoes. We almost never had rice. It was standard old American food. And it worked.
In contrast, my meals today are quite varied. I love ethnic food and enjoy cooking Indian, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Chinese foods. These all come with their own spices and ingredients. A far cry from my mom's pantry of garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and pickling spices. There are so many options. It's cheaper to make these foods yourself instead of ordering in. But you may end up with a pantry full of bits and pieces.
grains: bread, bulgur, brown rice, white rice, oats, arborio rice, quinoa, pasta, etc.
beans: black, pinto, garbanzo, split peas, lentils...
meats: chicken, beef, pork, shellfish, fish...
cheese: goat, feta, blue, American, cheddar, parm, swiss, havarti...
yogurt: sweetened or not, large tub or individual...
nuts: almonds, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, and don't even get me started on the nut butters. And nuts go rancid if left at room temp for long. You can keep them in the freezer. But then you have a freezer full of frozen nuts.
vinegars: I make my own dressings. Just saying. My mom had apple cider and plain white. I have at least 7 different vinegars.
So if you like ethnic foods, one way to keep a varied diet and a simple kitchen is to choose one ethnic food or type of food and stick to that until you are out. You know, buy a bag of almonds. When it's gone, switch to cashews. Buy cheddar cheese, then switch to swiss. Buy a bag of brown rice. When it's gone, you can buy rice for risotto. Buy the ingredients for Thai food. Eat until it's gone. But don't keep coconut milk in your pantry "just because". If you have marinara, eat the marinara. When it's gone, THEN go get more coconut milk. Wait until you finish your tortillas to buy more pasta. And choose only one kind of pasta. Noodles or penne. Not both.
4. Consider frozen. I have been eating a lot of frozen meals lately. Truth be told, while it is more frugal, preparing your own from fresh is not as simple. You have to clean and chop the vegetables, where as you can buy fresh or frozen already prepared. The same goes for meats: if you buy in bulk, you either have to remember to defrost before you cook or buy fresh and shop more often. Or buy in bulk, cook ahead and freeze, and try to remember what you have in your freezer. Sometimes heat and serve is easier. Having frozen vegetables is "simpler" than having to prepare fresh. Having already cooked meatballs or chicken in the freezer is "simpler" than fresh. It's generally not as frugal or as healthy, so you will have to choose which is more important.
5. Set up a regular meal plan: Chicken on Monday, soup on Tuesday, Pasta on Wednesday, etc. This takes the thinking out of it. Less planning when you go on autopilot.
6. Keep a minimal pantry. I have, at times, wanted to have 3 months food on hand for emergency. I planned meals a month in advance, and didn't have children back then. Keeping a stocked pantry makes it easy to "whip something together", but it's not so simple if it is so packed that the food expires or goes stale. If it's effort to keep on top of it, it's not simple. For some people, the pantry principle is THE way to save money. Stock up when things are at their absolute rock bottom, and only then. That does, however, take effort and planning. For others, it's more money saving to only shop weekly for exactly what you need, and eat staples and foods on sale.
7. Use up foods. I have a problem with celery. A few of my recipes call for a few stalks (soups and stews mostly). But I have to buy the whole head. And I have a lot of leftover. I generally steam it and freeze if for later. So. I have a couple of bags of celery in the freezer. That get buried because I forget about them the next time I make soup. It's probably better for me to just cut it up and eat it with peanut butter or dip, rather than fill up the freezer.
8 . Use your gadgets: crockpot meals. One pot meals. Rice in the cooker with vegetables and a meat.
9. Make a double (or triple) batch: if you are cooking anyway, leftovers are easier to reheat, if they even need to be reheated. Something like a tabouli does not need reheating. But soups, stews, chilis...double it.
10. Cook ahead (and possibly freeze): I know above I said to finish stuff off instead of cooking and freezing, as in the celery. But that's ingredients. I make an exception for meals/ completed dishes, assuming you will remember to eat them. Sometimes it's nice to look into the freezer and realize that you have one meal's worth of soup or beans and rice just waiting for the microwave. If it keeps you from ordering a pizza, then score!
Okay, what tips does everyone else have? Because I implemented one tonight - I made risotto, and used up the rest of the arborio. I won't be buying more until I finish off the brown rice and white rice. I have two weeks to get back in the zone.
That may seem silly coming from a woman who has got a simple cooking blog, and has had one for years. But hear me out: as life becomes more complicated, you need new strategies, new tips.
I couldn't really find what I was looking for. I found tips on simplifying your kitchen gadgets. While that is helpful, I don't really need that. In fact, there are some kitchen gadgets that aren't necessary, but make cooking MUCH simpler. Think: bread machines, food processors, and rice cookers.
I also found tips on how to prepare your food more simply. Clean as you go (a very good tip!) but also how to do prep work. Meh...not what I'm looking for.
I also found tips on how to do meal planning. Again, somewhat helpful, but just not it.
But nothing was really what I was looking for, so I decided to write my own so that I could refer back to it later.
I like to consider myself pretty efficient and a multi-tasker. Parenthood has only strengthened those traits. You really learn to get things done in 15 minute chunks. I know it seems NICE to have a solid 3-4 hours to finish a project, or an hour to cook dinner, etc. But reality with an infant is that you may get a 2 hour nap, you may get a 20 minute nap. And that doesn't improve much when your kid gets older, unless you are REALLY willing to use the TV or video games. Which I admit, I have been the last week.
So here are my tips for simplicity in the kitchen:
1. Learn to break things up into 15 minute chunks. Whatever you are making for dinner, how can you do this? For me, it's always clean and chop the vegetables first, put them in the fridge. Marinate meat. Cook pasta if you are making a baked pasta dish. Cook up the soup if it's one that needs to go into the blender (and reheat later...it's better then anyway). Toast nuts. Cook rice. Steam greens. Wash lettuce.
2. Simplify your preparation. I like making complicated dishes just like the next person, but those have little to no place in my life right now. As in: once a week, tops. Examples:
- vegetables: eat raw (wash/peel), steam (wash/peel/chop/micro), roast (wash/peel/chop/toss with olive oil S&P/roast/stir/roast), stir fry (wash/peel/chop/stir fry), or make a soup (wash/peel/chop/cook into soup)
- fruits: prep ahead when possible: washing berries, cutting melons, etc.
- rice: rice cooker instead of a pilaf
- beans: cook in a pressure cooker
3. Limit your diet. I know we all like to have a varied diet, but it makes it more complicated. Consider this: vegans eat grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts. No meat or dairy to consider. Paleo/primal folks have kitchens devoid of grains, beans, bread. Your diet will be simpler this way, and there will be fewer foods to choose from/ go bad in your fridge and pantry.
But for those of us who are omnivores that don't eschew carbs, it can be more difficult. Or can it? My meals growing up were pretty simple. They were always cooked at home, and tended to be meat and potatoes or meat and pasta. But usually potatoes. We almost never had rice. It was standard old American food. And it worked.
In contrast, my meals today are quite varied. I love ethnic food and enjoy cooking Indian, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Chinese foods. These all come with their own spices and ingredients. A far cry from my mom's pantry of garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and pickling spices. There are so many options. It's cheaper to make these foods yourself instead of ordering in. But you may end up with a pantry full of bits and pieces.
grains: bread, bulgur, brown rice, white rice, oats, arborio rice, quinoa, pasta, etc.
beans: black, pinto, garbanzo, split peas, lentils...
meats: chicken, beef, pork, shellfish, fish...
cheese: goat, feta, blue, American, cheddar, parm, swiss, havarti...
yogurt: sweetened or not, large tub or individual...
nuts: almonds, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, and don't even get me started on the nut butters. And nuts go rancid if left at room temp for long. You can keep them in the freezer. But then you have a freezer full of frozen nuts.
vinegars: I make my own dressings. Just saying. My mom had apple cider and plain white. I have at least 7 different vinegars.
So if you like ethnic foods, one way to keep a varied diet and a simple kitchen is to choose one ethnic food or type of food and stick to that until you are out. You know, buy a bag of almonds. When it's gone, switch to cashews. Buy cheddar cheese, then switch to swiss. Buy a bag of brown rice. When it's gone, you can buy rice for risotto. Buy the ingredients for Thai food. Eat until it's gone. But don't keep coconut milk in your pantry "just because". If you have marinara, eat the marinara. When it's gone, THEN go get more coconut milk. Wait until you finish your tortillas to buy more pasta. And choose only one kind of pasta. Noodles or penne. Not both.
4. Consider frozen. I have been eating a lot of frozen meals lately. Truth be told, while it is more frugal, preparing your own from fresh is not as simple. You have to clean and chop the vegetables, where as you can buy fresh or frozen already prepared. The same goes for meats: if you buy in bulk, you either have to remember to defrost before you cook or buy fresh and shop more often. Or buy in bulk, cook ahead and freeze, and try to remember what you have in your freezer. Sometimes heat and serve is easier. Having frozen vegetables is "simpler" than having to prepare fresh. Having already cooked meatballs or chicken in the freezer is "simpler" than fresh. It's generally not as frugal or as healthy, so you will have to choose which is more important.
5. Set up a regular meal plan: Chicken on Monday, soup on Tuesday, Pasta on Wednesday, etc. This takes the thinking out of it. Less planning when you go on autopilot.
6. Keep a minimal pantry. I have, at times, wanted to have 3 months food on hand for emergency. I planned meals a month in advance, and didn't have children back then. Keeping a stocked pantry makes it easy to "whip something together", but it's not so simple if it is so packed that the food expires or goes stale. If it's effort to keep on top of it, it's not simple. For some people, the pantry principle is THE way to save money. Stock up when things are at their absolute rock bottom, and only then. That does, however, take effort and planning. For others, it's more money saving to only shop weekly for exactly what you need, and eat staples and foods on sale.
7. Use up foods. I have a problem with celery. A few of my recipes call for a few stalks (soups and stews mostly). But I have to buy the whole head. And I have a lot of leftover. I generally steam it and freeze if for later. So. I have a couple of bags of celery in the freezer. That get buried because I forget about them the next time I make soup. It's probably better for me to just cut it up and eat it with peanut butter or dip, rather than fill up the freezer.
8 . Use your gadgets: crockpot meals. One pot meals. Rice in the cooker with vegetables and a meat.
9. Make a double (or triple) batch: if you are cooking anyway, leftovers are easier to reheat, if they even need to be reheated. Something like a tabouli does not need reheating. But soups, stews, chilis...double it.
10. Cook ahead (and possibly freeze): I know above I said to finish stuff off instead of cooking and freezing, as in the celery. But that's ingredients. I make an exception for meals/ completed dishes, assuming you will remember to eat them. Sometimes it's nice to look into the freezer and realize that you have one meal's worth of soup or beans and rice just waiting for the microwave. If it keeps you from ordering a pizza, then score!
Okay, what tips does everyone else have? Because I implemented one tonight - I made risotto, and used up the rest of the arborio. I won't be buying more until I finish off the brown rice and white rice. I have two weeks to get back in the zone.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Triathlon! And exercise
Today was the Santa Barbara sprint triathlon. If you've been reading long, you know that I've done the last 2 years. I decided when I turned 40 it was a good time to learn to really swim and be comfortable in the ocean, being that I live here. I went to college, joined the Navy, honeymooned and vacationed on beautiful islands with lots of snorkeling...and was terrified of the water. I credit my mom-friend Whitney for finally getting me to do it.
Sadly, I missed this year. While I swam, biked, and walked right up to delivery, there was no way I'd be able to do the tri just 7 weeks later.
However, I took the boys down to cheer on some of my buddies. I didn't get to cheer on very many (see: I had the two boys). We got there right about when the fast people were coming in off the bike.
It was fun, but a bit depressing. It was encouraging to see all these people complete the course. For some, it's just another tri. For others, it's exciting and scary because it's their first. For another set, it's an attempt to get a personal best. But the depressing part is that I'm in no shape to be doing a triathlon.
There was one group together wearing orange at the finish line. Women in teeny bikinis and men in orange shorts. I saw a familiar pink hat on one of the bikinis. Trim body, tight abs, and I realized she's the women who I did the tri with two years ago...when she 8 months pregnant. At least I hope it was 2010 and not 2011. And it's her fourth baby. Wow. 2 years later and she looks like that? Now, I have to be honest. I do not have that kind of body. Trim legs, long and lean. I. Am. Not. Built. That. Way. I have big hips and thighs and always will. Pre-baby, never looked like that. Certainly after having two babies (the second at 42), the only way my abs will look like that is after some serious skin tightening surgery. And...I'm not really into that.
So, you go girl! I can dream about looking like that, right?
I also saw one of the coaches that I had in 2010, and she's pretty pregnant. She asked me if I'd join her next year and I said "of course". But really, she'll finish the sprint probably 15 minutes ahead of me, at least. I'm an hour and five minutes person. She'll be out of the water before I go around the first buoy.
On a positive note...the only exercise I've been doing and have had the energy for lately is short walks. But I've been doing them. Some with the baby in the sling, bjorn, or moby wrap (but I have to go early...it's hot and sweaty for that.) Sometimes with the baby in the stroller. Today, I knew parking was totally going to suck at the beach, so I had to look at the map and figure out where to park.
My first option was the courts where my husband was playing tennis. But that was 1.8 miles away, we got a late start, and I was walking with my 6 year old. I continued to look and found a spot about 0.7 miles away where I figured there would be plenty of parking. It's in a depressed area of town, and I'm pretty sure I saw someone buying marijuana on the walk back to the car, but we were fine.
And that's the good part. We were easily able to park and walk 0.7 miles to the finish line. And back. Many many people aren't able to do that, and would never consider doing it. If they can't park very close to where they are going, forget it, we're going home.
Sadly, I missed this year. While I swam, biked, and walked right up to delivery, there was no way I'd be able to do the tri just 7 weeks later.
However, I took the boys down to cheer on some of my buddies. I didn't get to cheer on very many (see: I had the two boys). We got there right about when the fast people were coming in off the bike.
It was fun, but a bit depressing. It was encouraging to see all these people complete the course. For some, it's just another tri. For others, it's exciting and scary because it's their first. For another set, it's an attempt to get a personal best. But the depressing part is that I'm in no shape to be doing a triathlon.
There was one group together wearing orange at the finish line. Women in teeny bikinis and men in orange shorts. I saw a familiar pink hat on one of the bikinis. Trim body, tight abs, and I realized she's the women who I did the tri with two years ago...when she 8 months pregnant. At least I hope it was 2010 and not 2011. And it's her fourth baby. Wow. 2 years later and she looks like that? Now, I have to be honest. I do not have that kind of body. Trim legs, long and lean. I. Am. Not. Built. That. Way. I have big hips and thighs and always will. Pre-baby, never looked like that. Certainly after having two babies (the second at 42), the only way my abs will look like that is after some serious skin tightening surgery. And...I'm not really into that.
So, you go girl! I can dream about looking like that, right?
I also saw one of the coaches that I had in 2010, and she's pretty pregnant. She asked me if I'd join her next year and I said "of course". But really, she'll finish the sprint probably 15 minutes ahead of me, at least. I'm an hour and five minutes person. She'll be out of the water before I go around the first buoy.
On a positive note...the only exercise I've been doing and have had the energy for lately is short walks. But I've been doing them. Some with the baby in the sling, bjorn, or moby wrap (but I have to go early...it's hot and sweaty for that.) Sometimes with the baby in the stroller. Today, I knew parking was totally going to suck at the beach, so I had to look at the map and figure out where to park.
My first option was the courts where my husband was playing tennis. But that was 1.8 miles away, we got a late start, and I was walking with my 6 year old. I continued to look and found a spot about 0.7 miles away where I figured there would be plenty of parking. It's in a depressed area of town, and I'm pretty sure I saw someone buying marijuana on the walk back to the car, but we were fine.
And that's the good part. We were easily able to park and walk 0.7 miles to the finish line. And back. Many many people aren't able to do that, and would never consider doing it. If they can't park very close to where they are going, forget it, we're going home.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Alton Brown's Sardine Toast
I've got these sardines in the pantry, that I keep for emergency rations. And I eat them occasionally too (don't want to toss them). I did just toss a can of tuna that expired in 2011. I mean, how long do you have to keep a can of tuna before it expires? A really long time. I have another can of sardines about to expire.
Why sardines? Well, I grew up eating them. When it comes to fish, there are certain fishes that are sustainable, healthy (low mercury/PCB's), and frugal. Sardines and canned salmon fit that bill. Which is probably why I grew up eating them, being from a poor landlocked family.
I remember seeing an episode of Good Eats Alton Brown discussed how he lost a bunch of weight, and this was one of his recipes. So I made it today. I've made it before. Now, I don't have sherry vinegar, so I just used lemon juice. I have a butt load of avocados from the farm and my boss/coworker. I personally ate an entire avocado on this toast. Now, every healthy eating and diet book I've read discusses how the proper serving of an avocado is 1/8 or 1/4 of an avocado. Uh, no. First of all, they don't keep. Second of all, I'd rather just eat less of something else and not waste the avocado.
I try to incorporate fish into my diet for its health benefits. Just about everything you read discusses the health benefits of fish, and any studies of the healthiest people in the world has to include the Mediterraneans and the Japanese, both of which eat fish in abundance. In fact, I was sitting the other day watching Forks Over Knives (I've seen it before), and hearing about the benefits of a "plant based diet". Then I went to Denise Minger's website where she discusses many of the results in the movie (despite the fact that she has a lot of respect for most of the doctors). She reminded me that people like to skew the results their own way. This movie is no different. Sure, a lot of health improvements can be had by going vegan (let's call it what it is), but many of the health improvements that come with it also come with removing processed food.
Anyway, when she mentioned fish, that reminded me of the avocados and sardines. So that was my lunch on Friday.
So, on a family note, yay husband is back. So much easier. Now we are in cleanup mode before cleaning lady comes tomorrow, and I have to figure out what to do with the kitchen produce. I did so little cooking when he was gone. I know there will be roast potatoes and some sort of zucchini dish in my future for dinner. I want to cook up a ton of food today when I have spouse at home to help with the boys.
Why sardines? Well, I grew up eating them. When it comes to fish, there are certain fishes that are sustainable, healthy (low mercury/PCB's), and frugal. Sardines and canned salmon fit that bill. Which is probably why I grew up eating them, being from a poor landlocked family.
I remember seeing an episode of Good Eats Alton Brown discussed how he lost a bunch of weight, and this was one of his recipes. So I made it today. I've made it before. Now, I don't have sherry vinegar, so I just used lemon juice. I have a butt load of avocados from the farm and my boss/coworker. I personally ate an entire avocado on this toast. Now, every healthy eating and diet book I've read discusses how the proper serving of an avocado is 1/8 or 1/4 of an avocado. Uh, no. First of all, they don't keep. Second of all, I'd rather just eat less of something else and not waste the avocado.
I try to incorporate fish into my diet for its health benefits. Just about everything you read discusses the health benefits of fish, and any studies of the healthiest people in the world has to include the Mediterraneans and the Japanese, both of which eat fish in abundance. In fact, I was sitting the other day watching Forks Over Knives (I've seen it before), and hearing about the benefits of a "plant based diet". Then I went to Denise Minger's website where she discusses many of the results in the movie (despite the fact that she has a lot of respect for most of the doctors). She reminded me that people like to skew the results their own way. This movie is no different. Sure, a lot of health improvements can be had by going vegan (let's call it what it is), but many of the health improvements that come with it also come with removing processed food.
Anyway, when she mentioned fish, that reminded me of the avocados and sardines. So that was my lunch on Friday.
So, on a family note, yay husband is back. So much easier. Now we are in cleanup mode before cleaning lady comes tomorrow, and I have to figure out what to do with the kitchen produce. I did so little cooking when he was gone. I know there will be roast potatoes and some sort of zucchini dish in my future for dinner. I want to cook up a ton of food today when I have spouse at home to help with the boys.
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