The Middle East for Dummies

A new goal has been realized...it's probably going to make me sound like an airhead, though.  This week in my class, students are reading articles from Junior Scholastic about world leaders.  I had to explain things I thought I knew about the Middle East but then wasn't so sure about.  It reminded me that a few years ago--come to think about it, this was another sister-self-improvement idea--right around New Years, Renee and I went to Barnes and Noble to spend our Christmas gift cards.  Renee bought a book on American history, and I bought The Middle East for Dummies.  It has been sitting on my desk since it made its way out of the bag...enter, perfect goal! 

Goal #34:  read and (hopefully) understand the Middle East.  It's sitting here on the couch next to me...still haven't cracked it open, but I have 10 1/2 months!

Well, I need to go perfect my Halloween costume for tomorrow.  I've never been a huge fan of dressing up, but tomorrow's costume will be comfortable and requires no face paint--that's where I draw the line!  I'm dressing up like a seventh grader...my students advised me on outfit ideas, so now I have to make my final selection:  skinny jeans or yoga pants?  flip flops or fake Ugg boots?  high bun or fish-tail braid?  So many options...I may be able to use this costume again next year!

Happy Soon-to-be Friday!

Gluten-Free Banana, Walnut, Dark Chocolate Chip Pancakes...YUM!

Tonight I had a few extra minutes, so I decided to try and make something for a quick and easy breakfast.  Gluten-free crackers and peanut butter are starting to get a little old.  It's been hard enough packing a lunch for myself; making breakfast causes me to run a bit later than I want to in the morning. 

In the interest of continuing to limit my gluten since I've been feeling so good, I bought some gluten-free pancake mix to try.  I'm sure my mother would find this ironic because on the few occasions that I actually make pancakes from scratch, I usually buy the kind that only needs water (more conveniently, Pillsbury has made pancakes that you can keep in the freezer and whip up in 30-45 seconds!).  As it was, I actually had to get an egg, some milk, and a little bit of oil...here comes the good part!  I had made banana nut muffins this weekend, substituting almond meal flour for half of the white flour.  They were YUMMY!  With that as my inspiration, I added some chopped up bananas, walnuts, and just a few dark chocolate chips (those are good for you, too!)  The mix was a bit bland when I got a bite that didn't have enough of the good stuff, so syrup is a must.  Instead of Aunt Jemima, I bought some 100% pure maple sugar, and I also have some turkey sausage in the freezer.  I actually can't wait to go to bed so I can get up and eat breakfast tomorrow morning!

I'm still growing my hair out and loving the length, but I'm struggling with the bangs.  Every Tuesday when I watch New Girl and see Zooey Daschenelle's beautiful hair, I decide I need short bangs.  I've made it through the beginning of the fall season so far, but season one just arrived from Netlix, so I have a feeling I may cave this weekend! 

Well, Brian just started New Girl on DVR, so I'm going to have to sign off for the night and spend the next half hour with hair envy!

Spinach??? What???

(The following post is from yesterday, for those of you wondering how in the world I did all of this on a Monday!)

What an incredibly busy and productive day!  I started the morning with a run--about 2 1/2 miles--with my friend, Colleen.  Running and talking always gives me ideas for doing things I don't have time to do...and yet, I do!  Today it was to organize all of my recipes in a binder, according to type.  Over the past several weeks (and months and years), I have printed a gazillion recipes off the Internet.  My Better Homes and Garden cookbook is crammed with loose sheets of paper and my recipe box is overflowing with magazine clippings.  I never know where anything is when I need it, so I end up searching on-line again until I find it or something close.  I am still searching for the perfect binder because the tabs actually stick out about an inch too far and that will bug me.  In the meantime, though, I have a neatly organized system to help me perfect my culinary skills...for now!  Tonight I tackle the stacks of magazines I have piled next to the couch.  I'm ripping out what I want and pitching the remains!

Recipes before:                              Recipes after:

I

Motivated by my new binder, I decided on veggie lasagna for this week's recipe.  I started out with some chopped onion, red pepper, garlic, and baby spinach (stems removed).  The lasagna noodles are made from brown rice and are gluten free.  From what I understand, gluten-free noodles tend to get mushy and slimy.  These had the same consistency of regular noodles that I make for Brian's lasagna, and I didn't really notice a difference at all!  I used this pasta sauce, not because it was organic, but because the spices were already added in and was sugar free.

I sauteed the veggies together and added the sauce after the spinach had wilted...amazing how such a huge bunch of spinach reduces to so little.  As I prepared this, I was amazed that I was even considering eating it...Old Cher, again!

Then I did the typical layering of noodles, cheeses, and sauce, baking at 350 degrees for a half hour.  (Aren't you getting hungry just looking at these pictures???)  The final result was a very tasty and nutritious meal that I will now be able to pack for lunch the rest of this week!  I even brought some for my good friend who initiated this dramatic change in me. 

I whipped up a chopped salad and indulged in my half a can of Caffeine-Free Coke.  I look forward to trying this again with some additional veggies.

As it stands, I have lost a couple of pounds but haven't noticed anything really dramatic, other than my wedding rings all fit better, so something must be going on!

Hope you had a great weekend and here's to a fabulous week!

The New Me!

I'm two days free and haven't really indulged as much as I thought I would. Ok, the Biagio's donut this morning doesn't count! My sweet son got me a jelly donut because he knew it was my favorite--I couldn't just turn away from such generosity! I compensated by lunching on some fruits and veggies (still no pop yet!).

The boys spent the day with Grandma, so I went to Whole Foods with my friend, Cindy,  and got the makings for some veggie lasagna. After searching the Internet, I found two versions that I'm going to try to blend...one has red peppers and mushrooms and the other spinach (Speaking of the Internet, I talked to an adorable elderly man who was asking me what no-stir almond butter was...he said he read on the Internet that it was better for you than peanut better...so cute!). I also got brown rice to try; I thought maybe if I mixed it with my jasmine rice it would be more palatable...we shall see.  Fifty dollars later, I have some new food options this week to try and make the 21-Day Challenge more of a life-style challenge.

Next door to Whole Foods is the most amazing place I've ever been (that may be an exaggeration, but I'm really not sure!): a massive TJ Maxx and Target. The Target had two stories and an escalator for your cart! It was like I had come home to the mother ship! I restrained myself and only bought some wind pants for my son, but I will return! At this point, you should take notice that I STILL had not had a pop!

For lunch we headed towards home to a new place called Zoup! It's on the corner of 306 and 20 between Old Navy and Marshalls...could there be a better place???  There were so many varieties of soups, and they let you try samples! It was like the adult version of Baskin Robbins. I had to try the chicken pot pie soup which was absolutely amazing--it had little chunks of pie crust! It was a very heavy soup, though, so I opted for the lighter homestyle chicken noodle and half a chicken sandwich. And here is where I had to have a pop. Zoup! is one of the few restaurants I have found that actually serves fountain Coke instead of Pepsi. The old Cher would have ordered a medium and refilled before leaving...the new Cher opted for a small and tossed it on the way out.

Since Old Navy was right next door, we had to stop there as well.  I found a really comfy hoody for jammies on clearance for $12...imagine my delight when I found out the clearance rack was 30% off and that if I used my Old Navy card, I got an additional 30% off of that!  Glad I didn't cancel it yet!  There is nothing better than finding a good deal and getting an even better deal out of it. 

It was a great day spent with a great friend.  I even missed the drama of the end of the Buckeyes game.  I didn't need to be in the house to know that Brian had some choice words for the last four minutes of the game. 

Last weekend, since I was feeling so good, I decided to tackle goal #26 - quit biting my nails.  I dug out the Nail Biter nail polish, and I'm excited to say that tonight I was able to polish the teeny bit of nail that I've been able to grow in a week.  They aren't picture-worthy yet, so you'll have to trust me on this.

I'll try to remember to take some pictures of my lasagna tomorrow.  I'm also going to try to make a healthy version of banana nut muffins for myself.  I got organic cane sugar and some almond meal flour...should be interesting!

I survived!

Tonight was the last meeting for the 21-Day Challenge.  We talked about how to gradually add foods back into our diet, gluten being first.  I've been thinking about this all week, and I'm going to see how long I can extend my healthy eating. 

• I really don't have much desire to eat a piece of bread right now, so I think I'm going to try to hold off on the gluten. 
• Pop...sugar...caffeine...not so easy.  I have missed my Coke with my dinner, but maybe instead of drinking an entire can, I'll just drink half.  I'm going to stick with 100% juice for breakfast, keep an ice-filled water bottle with me at all times, and
  try to acquire the taste for tea.  In the spirit of venturing into the tea world, I conducted a little experiment tonight.  The one on the left was pomegranate with acai berry...the smell and taste reminded me of cough medicine--FAIL!  On the right was black tea with orange and spice.  It was rather bland and I was a little put-off when I read the ingredients and saw clove--not a fan.  In the middle was a decaf green tea...little taste on its own, so I juiced an orange and added it.  Not bad...not bad at all!  Definitely tolerable and something I think will grow on me!  

• As I've mentioned before, I'm pretty good at making justifications for things I really want.  I know it's unrealistic to cut out sugar, but I certainly can limit it!  I'm going to be more aware of product labels and try to look for evaporated cane juice or cane sugar or pure sugar.  My biggest sugar-gluten fix is a bowl of Frosted Flakes...and what about the box of Count Chocula I finally found after years of searching.  We'll have to call it a rare treat.
• Alcohol was not a big sacrifice for me and is definitely not one I'll be indulging in until I go on my first wine tasting.

I'm headed to Columbus on December 8 for a Power of the Pen meeting.  As if I didn't have enough going on selling Thirty-One, managing the PTA pie fund-raiser at the boys' school, and learning how to eat healthy, I've agreed to have my school host the District Power of the Pen tournament in February...oh lordy!  It's going to be a busy, busy year but one that I think will be very self-satisfying.  Anyways, I told my sister that we had to have our 40 goals hammered out by then!

Happy Friday in 40 minutes and Happy Jeans Day for me!  G'night!

2 Days Left!

My lettuce wraps were AMAZING!  It is very rare to hear me say that about something I cooked myself, but they were filled with flavor and healthy eating.  I will admit they were not so filling, though...I was hungry an hour later.

sautee red pepper, onion, minced garlic, browned ground turkey (I think water chestnuts would be good, too), a splash of Braggs natural soy sauce, hot sauce, and rice vinegar

julienned cucumber (and if you like bean sprouts, I bet they would add some more crunch)

put some of the hot mixture in a leaf of lettuce with the cucumber, and wrap it up

SUPER HEALTHY, right?

 

I have now gone 18 days without pop.  I'm undecided on what I want to eat first on Friday.  We are supposed to introduce the gluten back into our diets very slowly...a piece of toast or something, then gradually add in the others.  I'm going to see how long I can hold off, though.  I haven't really missed bread, but it will be nice to have a bowl of cereal again! 

Those close to me will be surpised to hear that a pop is not number one on my list!  I've actually been staring at those Kashi chocolate almond butter cookies in my pantry, mouth watering, counting down the days until I can indulge in one with a nice big glass of iced skim milk. That said, I really really hope I can maintain some of these improved eating habits; it will definitely be a challenge!

I also thought of a new goal!  It's something I've wanted to do for several years but never followed through on. 

#33: do some type of service project with the boys this summer - I have wanted to do this for a couple of years and was thinking along the lines of delivering Meals on Wheels or finding a place to volunteer to pick up trash (Jason really wants to do that!).  I would also like to have the boys participate in my school's Relay for Life team.  Every year on that weekend, we end up going somewhere and can't help out.  I'm keeping the calendar clear this year!

I'm off to read a new Susan Donovan book.  I'm taking a little break from The Fountainhead.  If I don't finish it soon, that may become goal #34!

I can cross off goal #32!  I took the kids on the haunted hayride tonight at Lake Farmpark, and it was definitely not "haunted" scary.  The rain refused to hold off one more hour, so we ended up a bit soaked which may have taken away some of the haunted effect.  I'm definitely not complaining about that!  The kids had fun, so that's all that matters.

I have to say that it is a true testament to my determination and will-power to stick to the 21-Day Challenge (Hear that, Cindy?  Major sacrifice going on here!)  We ate at the mall since Olive Garden had a one-hour wait.  I had already determined that I was not going to totally deprive myself on a fun night out; I was really looking forward to Olive Garden's salad, skip the breadsticks, and maybe some grilled vegetables.  The Food Court proved a bit more challenging, so I got rice and Bourbon chicken at the Chinese place.  I know it was loaded with sugar but no gluten.  I even ordered the veggie mix of cabbage, broccoli, and carrots...the stuff that I'm always wondering who actually orders!  Jacob ordered the thin crust pizza, the only kind I like, and he just had to sit by me.  I also let the kids get Auntie Annie's cinnamon-sugar pretzels with glaze dip for dessert...oh the humanity!  The ultimate test came when we walked through the farm park--past the funnel cakes and fresh-cut french fries and caramel apples.  I was never so happy to get back to the car and my emergency stash of Skinny Pop popcorn.

Tomorrow's recipe is going to be my own version of lettuce wraps.  I saw a recipe on, where else, Pinterest.  It has considerably more ingredients than I have available and that I'm allowed right now, so I'm going to modify it a bit.  I love spring rolls (which my mom is making on Tuesday...can't wait!).  Everyone else in my family likes to dip egg rolls and spring rolls in my mom's homemade fish sauce which has a bit too much kick for me.  I'm a soy sauce girl.  Unfortunately, soy sauce is on my no-no list.  Fortunately, I discovered Braggs which tastes exactly like soy sauce but is way healthier--even Jacob will eat it--so I'm planning on trying that with my lettuce wraps.

It's been a wonderfully relaxing, but not totally productive, weekend. We are headed to Grandma's tomorrow for lunch and the Browns game then back home to grade.  At this point in the weekend, I always wonder why I procrastinated, but it doesn't seem to motivate me to start right now.  Instead, I'm going to go read a bit! 

Have a good one!

Still Going Strong!

Week two is under my belt; I'm more than one third of the way through! I just got back from the third cleanse meeting, which I prefer calling my support group. I got some fresh ideas to help pull me through the final week. One is a new dressing to add a little more flavor to my salad and the other is a sugar free chocolate milk which will hopefully cure my evening craving. It uses almond milk, cacao, and agave.

It's confession time, though--I had a bite of chocolate cake today. I was at Marketday pickup, and the woman who helps me brought samples for the upcoming fundraiser. The boys each had a piece and told me we had to buy this cake next month. I couldn't very well spend money on a cake I had never tried! What if it tasted horrible??? I can't afford to waste money like that! Let's just say it's a good thing my sugar fast will be over soon.

One of the best discoveries of this challenge has been deep stretch yoga. I've attended two of the Wednesday evening classes, and both times, I spent the rest of those nights luxuriating in a semi-comatosed state of relaxation. I'm definitely going to make this class a part of my weekly routine!

Now, to finish off our third week, as if I haven't deprived myself enough, our teacher threw out a final challenge to end the last two days with a fruit cleanse. I've never tried anything like that, so why not? Although I haven't sounded all that positive about my eating restrictions, I have to admit that I feel great. My energy level is up and I'm motivated to continue some of these as life changes.

I'm off to enjoy the start of my long weekend. I WILL FINISH THE FOUNTAINHEAD! Season one of New Girl arrived from Netflix tonight, too, so I'm envisioning a laughter-filled afternoon with my girl, Zooey!

Happy Thursday!

Must...eat...food

You never realize how much food is a part of your daily life until you can't eat what you really want.  I don't think I've thought so much about food in my entire life as I have in the past 10 days.  When I'm not eating, I'm thinking about when I'm going to eat.  When I'm eating, I'm thinking about what I'm eating (and what I'm not eating).  It has made me realize how horribly I usually eat...OK, I guess I always knew but didn't want to inconvenience my life-style enough to make the change.

So, check out what I found in my gluten-free crackers today!  I was sitting at my desk, minding my own business, taking what pleasure I could from a dry, saltless wafer of cardboard (OK, they aren't really that bad), and I noticed this crazy thing!  I wanted to take it as a sign that I should just chuck the bag and go grab a box of Ritz crackers, but I realized that was completely unreasonable--my hunger speaking.  I thought about writing a letter and sending this to the company hoping they'd send me a free box...then I though about it...do I really want to eat these again???

I'm ashamed to admit that I backed out of the challenging yoga class tonight, but I'm getting ready for my 8:30 walk.  Anything is better than nothing, right?   You would think that after an entire weekend, I'd be all caught up on my grading, but that is not the case!  I made a pretty good dent, though, so I think it's time for some me time! 

Laters!

Renewed Motivation

I'm sitting in a blessedly quiet house.  I miss the boys, who are spending the night at Grandma's tonight.  I'm so thankful they haven't gotten to "cool" to spend the weekend there!  Although, what's not to love?  I hear they made home-made donuts tonight which I will not be able to enjoy when they come home tomorrow! 

Anyways, the blessed part of my quiet house is that Brian is GONE!  He's been so hyped up all day about the OSU game that he was driving me crazy!  He was walking around the house shouting like he was actually in the locker room getting psyched up for the game and kept smacking me on the butt saying, "Good game!"  I was so happy when it was time to drop him at his brother's for the game.  I'm finally able to get caught up on my DVR'ed shows--the ones I never get to watch because it's never my turn to watch TV and I'm usually too busy to watch anyways.

I finally had time to actually cook today.  I wanted something that I could use for a quick dinner and pack for lunch, too, so I made chicken vegetable noodle soup.

vegetable stock
1 small can of tomato sauce (Hunt's is SUGAR FREE!)
carrots, baby white potatoes, peas
chicken (I baked a couple of Market Day chicken steaks with garlic salt)
gluten free spaghetti noodles

With a cucumber-tomato salad and some gluten-free crackers, it was pretty decent!

My only problem now is the sugar cravings I get at right about this time every night.  My substitute treat is tortilla chips with a bean dip I made.  It's very tasty, but it's definitely no cookie!  When the 21-Day Challenge is over, I do plan on making sure I limit my gluten and sugar, and I already have a cookie in mind.   It uses evaporated cane sugar and honey as sweeteners...from what I've read, evaporated cane sugar contains the same amount of sucrose but goes through less refining than regular sugar.  So as far as sugar goes, it's still in there, but if you're good at making justifications like I am, it's better for you.

How about an update on my goals?

• running 2-3 times a week (in training for my 1/2 marathon?  still not sure about that!)
• haven't cut my hair yet
• made a new recipe this week
• blogging = journaling
• reading...well, grading seems to be getting in the way of that, but as soon as I'm done with tonight's post, I'll be curling up with my Nook to wade further through The Fountainhead
• shoes NOT in the closet - FAIL
• I have been entering foods into My Fitness Pal, which has helped a lot.
• I have been drinking PLENTY of water
• haunted hayride on schedule for next weekend
• still biting nails - FAIL
• Words with Friends - a little inconsistent there, but I'm trying to play my words when I'm blow-drying my hair in the morning 

I really want to go enjoy some of my solitude and read, but Channing Tatum is on TV right now--reading may have to wait! 

Oh!  I almost forgot!  I lost a couple pounds when I stepped on the scale this morning, hence the renewed motivation (I've noticed that the hardest part of blogging is coming up with a creative/catchy/relevant title each time!).

Have a great weekend--I know I will!

7 Days Coke-Free

I just got home from my second 21-Day Challenge meeting feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the next 14 days.  I'm seven days Coke-free and feelin' fine!  My only frustration at this point is that I haven't lost a single pound.  Weight-loss was definitely not my goal when I started this, but seriously...I've given up all sugar and gluten.  No pop, no Wonder white bread, no Frosted Flakes.  One pound is all it would take to give me that little bit of motivation I need when Brian is sitting next to me drinking a Coke and eating cookies.

I have to say how wonderfully supportive all of my friends have been in encouraging me and providing me with healthy alternatives to all of the foods I crave.  Suzanne made these wonderful corn muffins and is bringing me my first home-made smoothie tomorrow.  Christy introduced me to these all-natural carrot cookies which have just enough natural sweetness in them to satisfy my between-classes cravings.

I know, or at least I think I know, it is not realistic to believe that after this is over I'm going to be able to maintain this sugar and gluten-free life-style.  Caffeine--no problem. Alcohol--never been a problem.  So as I reflect on this experience, I don't want it to be for nothing.  I feel good which must be a result of having a healthier body and mind, so there are definitely changes that I see being able to make.  (Oh my...could I have a less supportive husband???  He just opened a Coke right in my face and loudly gulped about half of it down.  What a pig!)

Anyways...

1.  eating smaller portions -- nothing new, I know, but I've actually been putting it into practice and noticing that I'm just as satisfied after lunch and dinner.

2.  wait 15 minutes after eating to decide if I'm still hungry -- sometimes I eat just because food tastes so darned good!  Fifteen minutes later, I'm regretting taking seconds, so I'm going to make a concerted effort to eat only what I put on my plate.

3.  Caffeine-free Coke at meals -- one of my biggest struggles is drinking only water.  I need something with a little bit of taste for when I'm eating.  That being said, I know I'll be back on pop on day #22.  Instead of buying a 16-ounce Pepsi at school, though, I'm going to bring my pop from home to ensure I'm off the caffeine and maxing out at 12 ounces. (Not sure how to curb the Starbucks green tea-lemonade addiction, but I had already cut my sugar down to half with it.  Since Starbucks refuses to open in Madison or Concord, it will remain a guilty pleasure when I venture to Mentor and not a daily necessity.)

That's all I've got tonight, but now that I'm caught up on my grading, I hope to be back on-line more consistently.  G'Night!

I'm free!

I only have time for a quick post tonight, but it's been so long that I wanted to make sure I checked in!  I've been inundated with grading, and I was DETERMINED to get everything finished tonight.  It has been difficult to fit everything in around the challenges of the 21-Day Challenge.  Things I wasn't prepared for:

1.  Deep Stretch Yoga = 91 degree room holding poses for so long you can't even feel your body.  We did a pose called "broken toes"...I'll leave it at that!  That was Monday, though.  Tonight, we had a different instructor, and I left feeling much more relaxed and refreshed--not quite as challenged, but I like the balance.  (Brian is having fun with the whole yoga thing...he talks to me in his Yoda voice whenever I'm leaving or coming home from a class.)

2.  To find something that is both gluten and sugar-free is virtually impossible.  Just about everything I want to eat has to be made...in the kitchen.  I've spent more time in there this week than ever before. 

3.  HEADACHES!  The withdrawal from the caffeine, and maybe the sugar, was pretty rough this weekend.  I had a headache from Friday night that didn't completely clear up until Monday.  Since then, it's been smoother sailing, other than the limbo I'm living in of perpetual hunger. 

I know I'm making this experience sound like a bad thing, but it really has made me  so much more self-aware of what I'm eating and how it makes me feel.  Overall, I'd have to say that I feel great!  Much better than I thought I would at this point; it's hard but certainly not impossible.  Thank goodness for my good friend, Christy, who has provided me with so much advice and food alternatives. 

I promise to discuss more specifics tomorrow, but Brian is bellowing!  It's time for sleep.