Falling Off the Wagon... and Getting Back On It

I really fell off the wagon for the last few days.  

Its the cereal.   It's the fact that I'm not eating at regular times so my hunger is hitting me and I'm going for the fast and easy instead of the healthy.   I still had my smoothie in the mornings, so that's good, but it's time to get back on track.

Tomorrow, I'll be sure to get things back on track.

I think the real problem is laziness.   I really dislike cooking.    I'm good at it..... really good at it.   But I don't enjoy it at all, and that makes me lazy.

I just can't really afford to be lazy anymore.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary

Today was a better day although I was right about my blood sugar.    It was the highest it's been in over a week this morning.   Not as high as when I was diagnosed, but high enough.

My husband had the day off today, and he really wants chicken Florentine lasagna for supper, so I'm not going to be entirely good today, but I'm doing my best.

For breakfast, I had a bowl of Raisin Bran with skim milk.  For some reason, I go through phases where I really like Raisin Bran then a time when I hate it.   I'm in one of those times when I like it though which is good.

For lunch, we were on the run so I had two pieces of turkey and four slices of cheddar.   I can't say it was very satisfying, but it at least kept my hunger in check.

For supper was chicken florentine lasagna and garlic bread and a big glass of skim milk.   I also had one mini Butterfinger for dessert as well.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary

Ugghhh!!   Well, so much for being good today.

I started off good.   I had the second half of yesterday's green smoothie today and was off to the races with running my errands.

The problem came around lunch time.   Maybe I just waited too long to eat and was too hungry.   Maybe I had a moment of weak will power and fell off the wagon.

Whatever it was, I started off with a bowl of last night's leftover stir-fry.   And then..... moved on to two bowls of Cookie Crisp cereal with skim milk. 

And, from there to three mini Butterfinger candies.

I can honestly say, an hour later I feel like crap and not just emotionally either.   I feel blah and sluggish and I've quickly developed a headache as well.   All around, the splurge was clearly a bad move.

I had a big bowl of leftover stir fry for dinner, which was good but not really satisfying.   I then had three more mini Reese's cups between supper and bed time.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary

Surprisingly, my blood sugar levels were normal this morning.   I read in at 6.3 mg/dl (115 mmol/L) when I tested this morning.

Does this mean I can eat 18 peanut butter cups a day and not worry?   Well, no.   But it -does- tell me that a little splurge and/or slip-up now and then isn't going to be the end of the world.

Today's breakfast smoothie was another success!  (Although, for some reason I'm still making the sour face when I drink it. It's a mystery but I plan on figuring it out eventually.)   It was made with two kiwis, a banana, a papaya, a small pear and the last of the romaine in the fridge (mostly romaine heart) as well as a squeeze of lemon.    It turned out a pea green color but it has really good flavor.

Between breakfast and lunch, I had four of those mini Reese's peanut butter cups.   Oddly, they tasted overly sweet today.  Still good, but much sweeter than normal.

For lunch today, I went with breakfast for lunch and hand four over easy eggs with two pieces of cheese and six pieces of low-sodium bacon.   There was too much.  My eyes were obviously bigger than my stomach today.  I think I would have been satisfied with three eggs and four pieces of bacon.   I'll have to remember that for next time.

Between lunch and supper I had four Reese's mini cups.   Then, for supper I did a stir-fry of cubed pork with onion, garlic and ginger, broccoli, bok choy and mushrooms with the leftover rice from the other day added in.    I think there's enough left over for three or four more meals.

Between supper and bed time... blah, 6 more Reese's mini peanut butter cups.  I swear, tomorrow I'm not going to touch them.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary

Okay, just sayin'?   Yesterday's excellent green smoothie wasn't at all as good today.  It had turned tart.   Very, very tart.   Oh my gosh, take a sip and pucker up type of tart!

I drank it, but it wasn't easy.  Every time I took a sip my cheeks tried to pucker in.

I can't really say I was very well behaved today either.

Between my breakfast smoothie and lunch I had six  (yes, I said six) mini peanut butter cups.

For lunch, I had four slices of turkey wrapped around four slices of cheese and just a dab of mayo.

But then, between lunch and supper I had another six (yes, that means six more) mini peanut butter cups.   I also visited with my neighbor for a few hours and had some mild salsa and corn chips.

For supper, I had a repeat of yesterday.   Rogan Josh flavored pork over a cup of rice and vegetable medley all warmed up in the microwave.  (I kind of have an issue with the microwave, but I'll go into that in a future post.)

And then.... between supper and bed time?   I had another six mini peanut butter cups.   Ugh!   That's eighteen peanut butter cups!!!

My sugar levels are going to suck tomorrow and I don't even feel guilty.   Okay, yes I do.  I feel guilty for not feeling guiltier though.  It's not quite the same thing.

And now?  I'm goin' to bed.  Tomorrow I'll be better.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary

Today was a fresh green smoothie day and, for breakfast, I made another with strawberries.

The flavor was terrific this time!   I used a banana, two kiwi, strawberries, half an orange and kale.   It was very good but I still made that weird face when I drank it.

It's obviously a reaction to something, I just haven't figured out what yet.  It's definitely not the flavor, though, because today's smoothie was very good.

For lunch, I was super lazy.  I had four slices of turkey, each one wrapped around a slice of cheddar.   I just wasn't feeling inspired and didn't feel like taking the time and effort for anything more complicated.  It was satisfying but not entirely filling.   I had a little mayo with it just to moisten it up a bit.

Between lunch and dinner I was a bit of a bad girl.  I had two mini Twix candies and one mini Snickers candy.

For dinner, I did an experiment.   I had bought some Rogan Josh sauce from the market the other day.  I was... curious.   Now, traditional Rogan Josh is a Persian dish that's made with lamb, but I don't have lamb and I have no idea how Rogan Josh is actually made.

What I did, was caramelized some onion and garlic, added mushrooms then cubed pork.   When the pork was about half cooked, I added a good dollop (probably half a cup although I didn't measure) of the Rogan Josh sauce and cooked it "stir-fry" style until the pork finished cooking and the sauce was nice and thick over the pork.

I admit, I was a little worried.   It didn't smell like my normal cooking.   Granted,  my cooking often leans towards Italian and Asian cuisine.   I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it though.   It turned out AMAZING!!  I ate the pork served over about a cup of white rice and with some of the leftover vegetable medley from yesterday.

Do I Have to Follow a Recipe when Cooking?

I don't do recipes.

It's true.   I don't.   I hate recipes when doing any kind of cooking other than baking. (Baking is special.  It's like chemistry and if certain ingredients aren't combined in the right allotment, bread doesn't rise, cookies turn hard, etc.)

I cook by smell with a gigantic dash of trial and error added in.

Sometimes this means I mess up.   Sometimes it means I have to eat some really nasty concoctions.  You've already read of me doing the first because of my trial and error with the green smoothies.   But its how I know how to cook.   For me, recipes bungle things up more often than not.

If you want to get what you cook perfect every single time?   Yes, you have to follow the recipe.  It will turn out the same every time if you do and thats what some people want.

Me?  I want it to turn out in a way that smells and, therefore, tastes 100% perfect each time.  And since our sense of smell and taste changes from day to day dependent on a myriad of factors (health, season, what we've ate or drank, even if a woman is on her menses) that means winging it more often than not.

So.... no.   You don't -have- to follow a recipe.   Not for green smoothies or for cooking supper either.  Just be aware of what you're putting in the pot.... and follow your nose.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary

As noted in my last post, I had a non-green green smoothie today.   It was made with strawberries, mango, banana and romaine with a touch of cloves.   It was the best one that I've made so far.   Oddly, my face is still making that "chlorophyll wince" when I drink my smoothies, even this one which was really good, and I'm not quite sure why now.   Maybe it's not the chlorophyll at all but the texture?

That was breakfast.   I then went to yoga.   On Thursdays I take a therapeutic yoga class to help with my mobility.  I have serious back issues and the combination of chiropractic care and yoga have pulled me back from needing a wheelchair to being able to not just walk on my own but with very little pain... and in some cases, no pain at all!  It's the best my back has felt in nearly 15 years, and that's with me being the heaviest I've ever been in my life.  

Chiropractor came second and then a doctor appointment before I could come back home for lunch.  

For lunch, I had leftovers from last night's supper.   A boneless chicken breast, 1/2 cup of white rice and about a cup of mixed frozen vegetables.  Reheated, the chicken was a little dry so I also had about a tablespoon of mayo.    And, starting to feel really deprived, I had one of those "snack size" mini Snickers bars they hand out during Halloween.

There was a 2 hour nap tucked into the afternoon hours.  The first one since I started the smoothies, actually.  I guess sometimes you just need one, regardless of how healthy you're eating.

Then, for supper I had the last bowl of leftover stir-fry from the other day. Pork, bok choy, broccoli and a bit of white rice.

Green Smooties Don't Have To Be Green

I made a green smoothie that wasn't green today!

I can't believe I did it, but when the smoothie didn't turn green in the blender I actually had to run to the computer and check if it was ok that it didn't turn green.   Yes, yes.  I know that its called a "green smoothie" not because of it's color but because you put fresh greens in it, but for some reason I still had to check.   Kind of silly, but I was helpless to go against the impulse.

My smoothie wasn't green because I'd added strawberries.  And, I need to look it up but I'm wondering if strawberries have some citrus in them?   Something in the smoothie was masking the Chlorophyll flavor and I'd forgotten to add the half an orange I'd meant to put in to the mix.

The smoothie today had strawberries, mango, banana and romaine (one more smoothie and the romaine should be gone.... next up to try is spinache).   I blended it with a bit of water and a half tray of ice.   I also added a pinch of powdered clove.

Clove are known to have higher concentrations of antioxidants than any fruit or vegetable. Their properties make them ideal for use as an anti-septic, local anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, rubefacient (warming and soothing), carminative (relieving flatulence) and anti-flatulent.

For me, I was interested in the "anti-flatulent" part since um.... well although the bowel movements have settled down to "soft" instead of "soup", I'm getting tired of being gassy.    I got the idea when I was looking up the whole "poop soup" issue the other day.   On one of the forums I skimmed over (Raw Food Talk), I saw a reply to this issue that cloves might help.   When I researched cloves, I saw there were quite a few benefits and thought I'd give it a try.

I did notice a bit of a warming sensation in my tummy while I was drinking it and for about a half hour after.   It wasn't unpleasant, just different.   And, it was such a small amount that I couldn't really taste it (I'm not a cinnamon/nutmeg fan so it goes to figure I won't really like the flavor of cloves either).  I'm not sure if I'd add it to every smoothie I make, but I think there's nothing wrong with adding it to one every once in a while for the benefits it's reputed to give.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary

YAY!  Today is cereal day!

Yes, I scheduled a cereal day.   Mom said once or twice a week and I decided that Wednesdays would be cereal days.

It's what works out best for my schedule.   Tuesdays and Fridays are mega busy days.  I don't have time to make green smoothies on those days would be a little too much pressure.

Since, when I make green smooties, I seem to always end up making enough for 2 days, this means on those days I need to make it the day before and have the second half on Tuesdays and Fridays.     This leaves possible cereal days as Saturday, Sunday or Wednesday.

Since I don't want to leave my smoothie longer than around 24 hours in the fridge (want it fresh) this means the weekend days are out. Can't make a smoothie on Sunday and have it sit there until Wednesday.    SO, Wednesday becomes the best day for cereal day.

So, this morning I had a bowl of Raisin Bran.    What I really wanted was Cookie Crisp... but, I just wasn't sure I could stop at just one bowl.   So I decided I'd hold off on that until some day in the future when I really feel the need for a treat.

Incidentally, I really liked my breakfast this morning   In fact, the raisins tasted almost too sweet for me, which kind of made it feel really indulgent.

Update 2:50pm - For lunch, which I ate while working, I had a bowl of the left over stir fry from the other day.   There's one bowl left in the fridge which I think will end up being tomorrow's lunch or possibly supper.

Update 8:50pm - My husband and I had a late supper tonight.   I know it's really not a good idea to eat at least 3-4 hours before you go to bed, but things got a little out of hand earlier and supper didn't get started at getting made until after 7:20pm.    We had grilled chicken (on the BBQ) flavored with Montreal Steak seasoning, steamed white rice, and frozen mixed veggies (they were getting a bit old and needed to be used up) with a smidgen of salt, pepper and margarine.   It was simple and really good.  I had one chicken breast with about half a cup of rice and a whole bunch of veggies.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary (okay, yesterday)

Told you I wasn't very good at the whole journal thing.  

You have to admit, I did warn you.

Yesterday was a busy day.  I had a lot of errands to run.    I had my smoothie in the morning (pre-made second half of the one from the day before) in the car while driving my husband to work. (It was my day to have the car and he slept through his alarm and, thus, then missed the bus.)

I had to run over the border to the states today, and I was hungry while I did it.   I really, really, REALLY wanted to stop at our favorite little diner for some food, but I managed to refrain.

On the way back, I even managed to stop at the grocery store (while starving) and -only- get what was on my list!  Amazing.... and a first, by the way.  

For lunch I had one of the leftover bowls of stirfry from the other day.  It's really good reheated, which is surprising.  I would think the pork would become hard and dry but it hasn't.

For supper, I had 3 eggs with 2 pieces of cheese and 3 pcs of low sodium bacon.

And yes, somewhere in there I also managed to fit in 3 peanut butter cups.  They're all gone now.   I'm debating on whether I should buy more or not.   I guess I'll do a dry run until Friday and see if I still need them.

The What I Ate Today Food Diary

Ok, so I'm not really sure how well I'll keep up on this one.  I admit, I'm not an "every day joural" kind of girl.   In fact, I've never once managed to succeed at writing in a journal on a daily basis, whether that be a food journal, a private thoughts journal or any other kind of journal.

BUT, I'm going to go ahead and give it a go, and see how I do.

Today, I had a 16oz cup of my green smoothie for breakfast.  You could say it was a whole breakfast and lunch thing, since I didn't start drinking it until around 11am and I didn't finish until around 1pm. (I have a little habit of getting distracted now and then.) In my smoothie today I had 1 kiwi, 1/4 lemon, a handful of romaine lettuce, 1/4 of a mango and 1/3 of a papaya.    Still no ill effects by the way, but it's still a bit early to know how my stomach will react today.

Yesterday I bought some pork steaks and set them to marinade in the fridge in a mixture of soy, sesame oil, minced fresh garlic and ginger, and just a teaspoon of honey garlic sauce.

Today, I stirfry/steamed it all up on the stove with broccoli, bok choy and mushrooms then added in a cup of white rice.  The pork is perfect, the bok choy is a bit crunchy and the broccoli a bit mushy but all in all, the flavor is good....  And that makes supper.   The entire thing made about 3 meals worth, actually, so I'll have to put the rest in the fridge. 

And lots of water, of course.   Which, since I can't have OJ anymore is about all I'm interested in since milk just isn't appealing to me without something sugary to go with it.

Update at 5:57PM --- Okay, and 3 mini Reese's peanut butter cups.

Update at 7:58PM --- And three eggs fried with lite margarine, two slices of cheese, and a touch of salt and pepper.

A Touch of Success

[ Insert holy chorus of singing here. ]

Whoooohhhhh hooo!   Success.

More on that in a minute.

First, we'll revisit yesterday's closing topic.

I was a little worried about going to bed last night. Ok, so after my afternoon nap experience, I was more than a little worried.   Worried enough to sit on the pot before going to bed then get up in the night and, even though I didn't feel I needed to go, go sit on the pot again just in case.

The good news is there was no more "poop soup" incidents.    SUCH a relief.

Now, on to today's success.    I managed to make myself a decent green smoothie today!

I should precursor this by saying that, as of yet, I haven't followed any recipes and am completely winging it.  I managed to make a good one today, though, thanks to my neighbor's citrus tip.   I used maybe just a touch too much lemon (the smoothie is a little tart) but it's not bitter.   I also experimented by adding not just water but ICE to the blender and -that- seems to have made a huge difference for me in the consistency of the smoothie itself.

We'll see later today if my stomach has the same reaction to it as yesterday though.   Too soon to tell yet.   Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Green Smoothies... and Some Grossness

If you're grossed out by the mention of human waste, this is not the post for you.

Sorry, but I had to put the disclaimer there because I'm going to get a little personal in this post.

So... I decided to go ahead and try a green smoothie approach to things for my morning meal.   It's the most troubling meal of the day for me because I find that I -need- to eat something in the morning or my stomach has issues.     And, I used to have cereal.

Well, since cereal is now out, I had to find something to replace it with.   So I decided to try the route that my chiropractor (an amazing man and very inspirational individual) suggested.

Green smoothies.

Right.

So I bought a blender.   A Ninja Pro that is surprisingly very good.  It has blades all the way along a center column instead of only at the bottom which seems to make a huge difference.   Not only that but it only cost $99 instead of the hundreds that a Vitamix would have cost.

I toted the blender home with a bunch of fruit and green leafy goodness and proceeded to make the first of my green smoothies.... and it went straight down the drain.  OH my god it was gross.   Mistake #1... do NOT use broccoli.  You'll be sorry.    Mistake #2... do NOT underestimate how a little green can go a long way. 

My second wasn't all that great either and I had to choke it down and didn't finish it.

My third had a better success rate.   I read up on soluble fiber and what fruits have it and took that info to the blender with me.  I used more fruit and less greens.   It was still a little bitter, though but palatable enough to drink.

I drank half of it yesterday with the help of a straw to bypass my tongue due to a bit of the bitter still left in the taste.

Then, I drank the other half this morning while visiting my neighbor.  And SHE taught me a wonderful trick.    That bitter taste?   Apparently it's the chlorophyll taste from the greens.   And to counteract it you need not just fruit but some form of citrus (lemon, orange, pineapple).   She put all of 6 drops of lemon juice in my cup and mixed it up.... and that horrible bitter was nearly entirely GONE.

YAY!  So I learned a good trick.

Now here's the gross part.

As of this evening when I got home from the movies with my neighbor?  I've had diarrhea.  Not just diarrhea but the "poopin' soup" kind of diarrhea.   Horrible, nasty, miserable.... yuck.    I laid down for a nap and sharted in my jeans in my sleep kind of uncontrollable diarrhea. (Immediate shower time, and the jeans are now on their 3rd wash and on their way to a fourth because I'm seriously grossed out.)

So I hopped online to do some research and, apparently, this is a common reaction from a body that isn't used to eating raw foods and fiber and -should- clear up in the next few days to a month at the longest.   UGH!!

Thing is, though.   I drank that smoothie this morning?  And I wasn't starving all the way to when I came home after the movie to eat supper.   So it really does give you energy and help keep hunger pains away.   I just hope this reaction from my body is temporary.

I should mention on a side note that I haven't been an entirely good girl here.   I've had a few of those little Reese's peanut butter cup minis.   I keep having these really restless, angry moments and the candy has helped that.  I know it's sugar withdrawal and I'm hoping by weening myself off with the last few pieces left here in the house that it won't be too bad for my husband, who's stuck coming along for the ride whether he likes it or not.