The food box

Something I have been doing lately is buying a foodbox of local organic produce. There is a new business just up the street called Urban Harvest. I can put in an order and pick it up at the store. You can not choose the vegetables or fruit that you get but you know that it is fresh from a local grower. I started with the small foodbox and then (through a salesperson's misinformation really) have recieved my first large foodbox. It is full of great things and it is a bit like Christmas seeing what you are going to get. Even my son gets into it. He was particularly impressed by the monster sweet potato above. He also asked "Are those its roots?" It is a little food lesson in itself:)

If you are not into getting vegetables you might not buy regularly (for me this would be Chinese cabbage, turnips) I wouldn't do something like this. If you don't like lugging groceries around and if you enjoy exploring the cooking possibilities of new food, I would look into a similar service near you. It is fun and supports local growers. (Daughter of a strawberry, tomato grower :) The small foodbox (lower picture) was $28 and the large was $38. Right now they are selling what they call the"winter" foodbox for a series of weeks until February and it was cheaper if you paid up front for all they deliveries. This is quite an expense but it saves you a headache in the long run and ends up being cheaper as well. Here's to healthy eating!

Banana Mango Bread

I improvised this the other night based on what was around the house.

1 cup of spelt flour
1/2 cup of buckwheat flour
tsp baking powder
1/2 cup of splenda (brown sugar version might work better)
tsp cinnamon
tsp nutmeg
1 ripe banana -mashed
1 fresh mango cut into small pieces
Pam spray for baking pan.

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut up mango and heat in a saucepan with a little water. Cook until soft to the consistency of applesauce. Add banana and mango. It should form a stiff batter. If too dry add a little water. Put in bread baking pan that has been sprayed with PAM. Bake at 350 for about 1/2 an hour.

It turned out much better than I thought. I didn't have any eggs at home and if I do this again will add an egg I think.

Conference

I've been at a conference for the last 3 days. It was great but trying to maintain the routine wasn't. I had put proti-source aside to bring and forgot them at home twice! I left one of my water bottles somewhere as well. I brought a lunch because eating out is just plain difficult. I think it's too tempting for me. Out of sight, out of mind is best. I am still hovering at 150 but I have decided to look on the bright side. I am not buying my lunches at all anymore. I am getting my water intake. I feel better. Unfortunately I missed Zumba today because it was the last day of the conference. I really miss it.  I did go to Salsa class and that is always fun. It's not the intense physical workout that Zumba is but it is great to be learning how to dance.

That's a little TOO much yoga

On Sunday, my husband had an hour or two to look around for a new coffee table and light fixtures while our friends took our sons to the movies. Instead of checking the time of my yoga class BEFORE I left, I assumed I remembered the correct start time on Sunday. THAT was a mistake. We got home just before 4:00 and when I checked the yoga studio's website I saw that it started at 4:00, not 4:30 as I had assumed. (You know what they say about assuming.) I was really upset because I had really wanted to make the class and I was missing it! The silly thing is I have done this once before.

I had a little hissy fit. During this time my darling husband remained supportive and asked if I didn't have a DVD around somewhere. I do, but God knows where it is. We searched high and low and could only find old VHS tapes. Then I hit on the idea of trying to download something. We could locate nothing through i-tunes, which surprised me. I tried Yoga Journal website but a lot of their downloadable files are not routines or classes but instructions for single poses. I ended up finding a site call yogadownloads.com. I found a beginner hour long "weightloss" routine there. It took quite a while to download (half an hour?) so I ended up cleaning while I waited and then it was time to start making dinner! :(  Well, at least it's on the computer. I tried half of it tonight and it wasn't bad. I think it was a little late for me to get through the whole hour.

The humourous part of the whole process was scanning the possible yoga programs that were available. As we were scanning to choose a routine we noticed that some of the couples yoga was labelled "EXPLICIT". Uhhhh say what...??? We had to laugh. That's a little TOO much yoga. Although, after 6 years of marriage and 13 years together we may keep that little piece of information on file for future use;)

Trying to stay on track

Sorry for the lack of entries lately. We have been doing some painting  around the house and that took up a lot of time and energy last weekend. I hope to be a little more dilligent. Audrey tells me that people have noticed! That's good. It keeps me on track.
Well, the bump in the road was a BIG bump. I put on three pounds after Thanksgiving! I was half expecting that but not perhaps the work to get it off again. I think by the end of last weekend it started to come off and then it was 'that time of the month' and I went off track again at a good-bye party to a friend of mine. (She is moving to Scotland for a job for 3 years!) I had a great time and met a lot of nice people but indulged a little too much in the bowl of chips on the table.... :)
It seems I have been able to stay on track a lot more during the week. I forgot to weigh myself this morning but I think I am sitting at 150 still. I remember that when I was on the program before I dropped a good amount of weight at the start and then plateaued (sp?) at a point for a while and then dropped again. I am hoping this is true again!
I have still been going to Zumba, which I love. I have never taken a dance based class before in my life and Audrey dragged me to a class and I've been hooked ever since. The teacher's best advice was "Just have fun. If you don't know what's going on just fake it."  I've never considered myself as someone who picks up choreography very well so I am surprised that it has been as easy (but very sweaty) as it has. I missed Salsa class this week due to the ImagiNATIVE film festival opening on Wednesday night. I've also been remiss in my yoga. Perhaps I'll get my butt in gear and try to get to it tomorrow.

A bump in the road

I am an ESL teacher and I love my job. Especially this session because I have extremely didicated and happy students. As a way of celebrating special events we have potluck celebrations. This Thanksgiving's featured homemade vereniki (Ukranian pierogi), injiera (Eritrean flatbread) with spicy meat sauce, arepas (Venezuelan cheese stuffed corn frittters), apple cake, carrot salad, beet salad, Azebajani pilaf , homemade buns ...... I did exhibit self-control BUT homemade vereniki made by a Ukraninan grandma?? I can not say no.

Needless to say I'm up a pound and the weekend isn't even over yet! 2 more Thanksgiving events to go! I ate very well yesterday but this is going to be a hard next two days. I didn't eat ALL of the above but did have samplings of many.

The upside of the Potluck party was that a student taught many of us how to do some basic belly dance moves and we had a blast (and burned a few calories). Another sweet moment was when the large Ukraininan contigent broke out singing folk songs! It sounded beautiful and they looked so happy singing away.

Diet Prep Weekend Success

Well, I did the diet prep weekend and it was a success! I lost 4 pounds. Whoo hoo! Now at 150 lbs. It took ALOT of self-discipline but that's why I took my time to get into the diet prep. (2 weeks pre-diet) My sister Wanda commented on it (my self-discilpine) but I figure if you're going to take the time to do it you might as well do it right. As hard as it is to make this commitment on the weekend I'm glad I did because on day 3 I felt pretty groggy. (I had Monday off.) Audrey had told me before I started that I could try a bit of hot chocolate proti-source in my coffee if I was missing the milk in my coffee. I really didn't think I would like it at all but by day 2 that's how breakfast started. Thanks Audrey!

I went away with family that weekend and before we got in the car I had already baked 3 skinless/ boneless chicken breasts to take along. It was a 3 hour car ride to where we were going so I had a salad with chicken at hand if I got hungry on the drive, which I did. I was really glad I took the time to do that little pre-planning because stopping anywhere on the highway for a snack would be off limits anyway. Also had a proti and a hot herbal tea in a thermos. These little things really helped. I was surprised.

By day two I was already missing the crunchy soy proti source and the decadent proti bars. They make you feel like you are indulging. On the way home I had a big laugh because we stopped at a gas station and I found myself gazing longingly at a package of "Barbeque Chicken Wing Pretzel Bits BURSTING with flavour!"  I actually said "wow" or "mmm" or something like that. After a few seconds I shook my head and started laughing. They actually looked disgusting but because I was on the diet prep they seemed so much more appealing because they were sooo off limits. I would never buy them at any other time. Funny how the human psyche works!

So I am very happy with the results so far! I'm nervous about Thanksgiving though. I have 2 turkey dinners to attend. I'm sure I will indulge. It IS Thanksgiving after all, but I hope I don't get carried away!

How do you handle the holiday? Audrey has given me a recipe for "Guilt Free Pumpkin Pie Parfait". Ask her for a copy if you are interested. I am going to try it and perhaps adapt a "low carb" recipe that I have found. I will post it if it works out.

Support- You're Going to Need Some

Before I address how the diet prep went I want you to know that I am a full-time working mother. I am married and have a gregarious, fun loving 6 year old (just turned) son. That is why in some ways it is easier for me to stay on the program when I am in a routine of the workweek. I have a very supportive husband who is basically eating what I eat in larger portions with lots of bread on the side:) (He is a bread lover.) He knows I am doing this to feel better. When it is his turn to cook he runs the menu by me to see if it will be OK. Sometimes I have to make minor adaptions. (more salad on the side, or a steamed vegetable) I find I have to ask him to salt the meal after cooking so that it is not too salty for me. Luckily, he doesn't have a sweet tooth so those sweets aren't around too much to tempt me. His indulgence is usually a glass of red wine with dinner.

My sisters are also very supportive. For instance, this weekend my sister Wanda made dinner and I asked if she could roast my zuchini and carrots apart from the roast she was making so that they wouldn't be cooking in the fat of the roast. As well, nearing the end of a hike this weekend I needed to get back a little quicker because I needed a healthy snack back at the cottage. She walked back with my son at my his slower pace.

Of course, your family may not want to do the program with you. My sister and husband had wine by the outdoor fire and had to stop for coffee and snacks on the drive up and back. (Be prepared for long drives by the way.) They put gravy on their meat and veg. They had potatoes while I did not BUT they DID support me in my choices and I am thankful for that.

Of course this support may also come from close friends and co-workers. I realize at my workplace there are a lot of temptations. Our clients often bring in cakes and cookies as a way of thanking the staff. Just say "No thanks." and try to think of why you are making these choices. For a healthier, happier you.

Humiliating "before" pictures :) AKA Good-bye muffin top! Been nice knowin' ya

You get the idea. Audrey requested that I put some "before" pictures up. The reason I have the word before in quotation marks is because I had already been in the "pre-diet" phase for 2 weeks and had lost 5 pounds by this point. At 161 lbs I probably couldn't fit into these pants. I am probably about 155 here. I purposely chose clothes that are too tight on me right now in order to wear the same ones in the (hopefully glorious) "after" pictures. The proof will be in the pudding so to speak. I feel, however, healthy eating is a lifelong commitment. Sometimes, we just get sidetracked.

Diet Prep

OK. I may be sabotauging myself but I'm going to do the diet prep this WEEKEND. I will have 3 days off of work so I thought it would be a good time where I'm not rushing around doing this and that. I find this part the toughest but most rewarding part of the program. You really see results start to increase as you get your body ready to lose weight. Because I am not having the fat intake (dairy, oils etc.) I find really focusing on the spicing of your food helps a lot. For example I am making chicken with lots of paprika, a "Mrs Dash" like combo(onion flakes, basil, thyme), ginger, and sumach. I think I last stepped on the scale on Thursday and I was down another pound to 155 or so. We'll see what the results are like after the weekend.

I'm happy to say that I'm keeping up the workout routines. Zumba twice a week and Salsa once a week. I have missed out on yoga due to events and work scedules. I do love coming out of a yoga class and feeling almost like I've had a massage, so I have missed that.

I still find I have to be consciencious about my water intake. I really notice it if I miss drinking water throughout a part of the day. I get a very dry mouth and headachy. Also keeping up with my vitamins and EFA's needs work. Good habits take time:)

I am hoping to add some recipes soon and talk about a local farm foodbox that I have been ordering which is great. 

Wish me luck on the diet prep. Good luck and stay true to yourself on your health journey!