I had a strange week, food-wise, in the sense that I was highly prepared and had planned out meals, but then I sort of didn't exactly do any of them right. Oops. Turns out when you have a new dog who loves to snuggle and cuddle it's hard to be like, "leave me alone so I can stand in a hot kitchen and slather my hands with salmonella!!"
So, I started the week well. I actually cooked breakfast for my office on Saturday of last week and used it as an excuse to take Olivia in to meet everyone. A few of my coworkers had already tried slices of Egg Bake, so on Rachel's suggestion I made them as muffins!!
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| I forgot to take an "after" picture. Oops. |
They stuck to the aluminum cups, however. I've never made muffins or cupcakes or anything similar before, so I didn't really know what I was doing. I guess next time I'll just try lining the cupcake tin with parchment paper pieces? Not sure. Trial and error. Suggestions?
Regardless, they were delicious, my coworkers were all happy, and I even took in my organic ketchup so they could enjoy that as well with it! Happy team!
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| And happy dog. This was before we found her a car seat that she wasn't afraid of. |
Sunday after I made my last post, I finally meal-prepped it for the week and took off to Hy-Vee.
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| This reminds me of studying for college finals and is giving me an ulcer. |
That day I also made the Crock Pot Balsalmic Roast (http://paleotable.com/2011/02/crock-pot-balsamic-roast-with-sweet-onions) and my kitchen smelled amazing all day.
I picked out one nice hunk of meat, if I do say so myself.
I advise finding a good cooking buddy to talk to whilst meal prepping*.
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| *cooking buddy not guaranteed to participate in conversation |
This recipe also called for a cauliflower mash. It was interesting to make. I'd never had cauliflower before, let alone attempted to create faux-mashed potatoes out of them. It was surprisingly easy! (Everything's easier with a NINJA!!!!!!!)
After 8 hours, the roast was ready to shreddy. (bahahaha)
It's so awesome how a perfectly cooked roast will just fall apart!!
Here's my review of the meal: The roast was fantastic, if a little over-salted. But it made for really delicious leftovers for a few days. The cauliflower mash left something to be desired. I don't know if it's just that I don't like cauliflower (like I said, I'd never had it before), or if I didn't use enough butter (I used more than the recipe called for anyway), or if it was the fact that unlike mashed potatoes, as soon as I poured the pot roast over the mash, it basically disintegrated and was icky.
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| Uhh.. |
So, basically after a few bites of that, my mouth was sad, so I just made myself a dish of just the roast and no cauliflower. It was better, and my mouth was happy.
Moving on.
One other meal I did make successfully was Margarita Chicken Salad, from the Robin Takes Five cookbook my mom got me. I don't have the cookbook in front of me right now but basically it consists of cooked chicken pieces, lime zest, lime juice, celery, mayonnaise, strawberries, and salt. I think that's it. So of course, we don't do mayonnaise up in here, we do Ninja'd cottage cheese. It's awesome. The rest is pretty self explanatory. Mix together, enjoy. I'll find the recipe tomorrow and update this.
One other meal I did make successfully was Margarita Chicken Salad, from the Robin Takes Five cookbook my mom got me. I don't have the cookbook in front of me right now but basically it consists of cooked chicken pieces, lime zest, lime juice, celery, mayonnaise, strawberries, and salt. I think that's it. So of course, we don't do mayonnaise up in here, we do Ninja'd cottage cheese. It's awesome. The rest is pretty self explanatory. Mix together, enjoy. I'll find the recipe tomorrow and update this.
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| Lime zest and lime juice smell good. |
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| Who doesn't love a strawberry? |
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| Okay is it just me, or do these look like the Star Trek symbol thing? |
The rest of the week was weird. I'd planned on mostly leftovers anyway, but then Delilah suggested something different. On Tuesday night, we'd BINGE. Try to eat a LOT. And then, for the rest of the week, just KILL it by eating smaller portions, less dairy, and working out harder (for me? just working out, period. I hadn't started that yet). The reason behind this idea was because our bridesmaids dresses had come in and were ready for us to pick up and try on.
When we'd gone to Alfred Angelo Bridal to try on and order our dresses over Labor Day, we both ordered a size too small, determined to lose the weight. I was terrified. I don't remember if I mentioned this in my very first post or not. But I was. This was the day before I began clean eating, and I had ZERO faith in myself. So I said to the salesgirl, "Well, I guess if I fail, my punishment will be having to get it taken out." The salesgirl looked at us both like we were maybe a little bit insane.
Back to this week. So, I told Delilah, sure! Let's give it a shot. But what do I binge on that's not a mega cheat that'll make me super sick? She recommended pizza and gelato. I decided I'd try to eat 2 Udi's gluten-free pizzas (they're small) and some gelato.
But it turns out, my stomach has sort of shrank a bit in the last month, and I was STUFFED after one pizza and two small scoops of gelato, which I forced (although they were DELICIOUS). So, I called it a night.
The next day at work, I developed a migraine that kicked in about 3pm and lasted the entire rest of the night. I went to bed at 7pm, so my meal plan for that night went out the door. My migraines often appear to me as hunger, even if I'm not hungry - For years I'd get migraines if I was low on caffeine or food, so when I get a migraine I instantly feel the need to drink a soda and eat a lot. So that night I came home, ate the other Udi's pizza and passed out. No exercise, no thawing chicken for the next night, no making whatever meal I'd had planned. Damn.
When I talked to Delilah about it, she wondered if the migraine was a result of the sugar in the gelato. Any sugar I've had in the last month has either been in the form of fresh fruit or cane sugar in very low amounts. So to suddenly eat processed white sugar? Definitely a possibility.
Friday night I finally got around to actually making something delicious: Stuffed peppers! For those of you paying attention, you'll recall I made these for my parents when they were in town the first week in September. That time I'd used goat cheese as the recipe called for, and discovered that I hate goat cheese. So this time I used shredded mozzarella and was thrilled with the results!
Plus this time the peppers weren't all filled with ick inside, so that was nice.
I didn't use as much cheese in the preparation so I just added a little extra to my leftovers when I was re-heating! Yum!
Then Saturday happened.
I went down to Lincoln with two goals:
1. Introduce Olivia to my sister Emily (YAYYYYYY FUN!!)
2. Pick up the bridesmaids dress (AAAAAAAAAHHHH TERROR!!!)
That second one was filled with terror because while I've been actively weighing myself almost every day for the last month and I can see that I've lost 10 pounds because the scale tells me so, I can't really see it in the mirror. And all of my other clothes fit relatively the same. I will say that my work pants are finally fitting a bit more normally and not making me want to unbutton them every fifteen minutes, so, there's that. But I digress.
I was so afraid that this bridesmaids dress wouldn't fit. Because when I tried on this size over Labor Day, yes it *technically* zipped up, but I couldn't even breathe in it. Not at all.
So I got to Alfred Angelo, and the same salesgirl was there. She didn't act like she remembered me but I wasn't offended or anything; after working in rental for 5 years I know what it's like to see 100 faces a day and not be able to remember someone one month to the next. Duh.
I get the dress, and I head to a dressing room to try it on. My heart's pounding, I'm sweating a little.
I put it on, and I start to zip. I hold my breath, just in case.
I keep zipping. Waiting for it to get too tight.
I stop zipping. Is it stuck?
Nope. It's all the way zipped. And I've got plenty of room to breathe.
TOO MUCH ROOM TO BREATHE!!!!!!
That's right bitches. That dress fits just right in the waist, and actually needs to be taken in about an inch or two at the bust. BOOM BABY MY BOOBS ARE SHRINKING!!!
In truth, the waist could comfortably loosen up an inch or two and still be quite comfortable. My appointment with the seamstress is on Oct 10th, so I've got 2 weeks to knock off a few more pounds and have it taken in even more! I went and tracked down the salesgirl, reminded her who I was ("Oh yeah! You're the girl who was going to eat clean and if you didn't you'd punish yourself by having to take it out!") and told her I lost 10 pounds and I was almost in tears. She basically freaked out too, and it was a nice little moment for me. :)
I got back to Omaha, and as if I weren't already feeling motivated and awesome, it was time for my treadmill to be delivered!!
YAYYYY
As I mentioned above, I haven't really begun to work out yet. I wanted to focus on my diet first to really get that locked in before I tried to add a lot of exercise and over-do it. So now I've got my treadmill. Plus, Olivia gets 20-30 minute (minimum) walks every morning and night, (and every couple of hours on the weekends, plus at least one 45-hour or longer walk/adventure on the weekend) so right there I've already added some basic cardio. Saturday evening I did 30 minutes brisk walking on the treadmill at a 5 incline until the last 2 minutes, which I lowered the incline and jogged. The pic shows less time because I actually had to stop the machine a little after starting it to put up a gate to keep Olivia out of the room! Don't want her getting hurt!
Today I did another 30 minutes, but instead of finishing with a jog, I would jog for 1 minute increments every 10 minutes. I know it doesn't sound like much, but keep in mind I have done basically ZERO exercise for the last two years. So for me, this is a lot. After the treadmill today I also did 25 crunches, broken up by 10 pushups and 25-second long planks. I was sweating something fierce. And after all that, I took Olivia out for a 15 minute trip around the complex. Whew!
And today, because it's Sunday, I meal prepped it up.
I didn't take a ton of pics today, but I planned out & prepped the following meals:
1. Chicken Salad w/ Grapes
2. Spaghettti Squash Marinara Bake
3. Pork Marinade w/ Grilled Pineapple
4. Pesto Chicken w/ Zucchini Noodles
5. Melt in your Mouth Chicken w/ Veggies & Hummus
And to add a few more "I've never tried this cooking thing before" to my list, for breakfast I fried eggs for the first time. It's super easy! (I'm sure you're like, duh, Laura, everyone knows how to fry a stupid egg) But guess what? I didn't know how. So I googled it. Shut up. But now I know, and it was awesome, and delicious, and yay.
I also have never cooked a steak before. Ever. I always assumed because I don't own a "real" grill I couldn't make a good steak. I freaking LOVE steak, too much to try to make one on my George Foreman grill. I feel like that's just insulting to a filet. But tonight I made a filet in a skillet! And guess what! ALSO SUPER EASY, AND SUPER DELICIOUS.
I just threw down some salt & pepper on a plate, & seasoned that bad boy up. I chopped up some zucchini & onions to saute as well. Damn, doesn't that look like a nice cut of meat?
Heated up some oil, then put the steak in the skillet. One side for 4 minutes, flipped, other side for 3 minutes. Added the veggies, about 45 seconds later I tested the temp of the steak and it was a perfect 135 for medium rare. I let the veggies cook a bit longer and then VOILA amazing dinner.
And so wraps up another exciting week in my food-life. Thanks for joining me!
See you next week, nerds!
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| And no, I wasn't going to eat two pints of gelato. I just wanted to mix the vanilla bean with the chocolate. Duh. |
But it turns out, my stomach has sort of shrank a bit in the last month, and I was STUFFED after one pizza and two small scoops of gelato, which I forced (although they were DELICIOUS). So, I called it a night.
The next day at work, I developed a migraine that kicked in about 3pm and lasted the entire rest of the night. I went to bed at 7pm, so my meal plan for that night went out the door. My migraines often appear to me as hunger, even if I'm not hungry - For years I'd get migraines if I was low on caffeine or food, so when I get a migraine I instantly feel the need to drink a soda and eat a lot. So that night I came home, ate the other Udi's pizza and passed out. No exercise, no thawing chicken for the next night, no making whatever meal I'd had planned. Damn.
When I talked to Delilah about it, she wondered if the migraine was a result of the sugar in the gelato. Any sugar I've had in the last month has either been in the form of fresh fruit or cane sugar in very low amounts. So to suddenly eat processed white sugar? Definitely a possibility.
Friday night I finally got around to actually making something delicious: Stuffed peppers! For those of you paying attention, you'll recall I made these for my parents when they were in town the first week in September. That time I'd used goat cheese as the recipe called for, and discovered that I hate goat cheese. So this time I used shredded mozzarella and was thrilled with the results!
Plus this time the peppers weren't all filled with ick inside, so that was nice.
I didn't use as much cheese in the preparation so I just added a little extra to my leftovers when I was re-heating! Yum!
Then Saturday happened.
I went down to Lincoln with two goals:
1. Introduce Olivia to my sister Emily (YAYYYYYY FUN!!)
2. Pick up the bridesmaids dress (AAAAAAAAAHHHH TERROR!!!)
That second one was filled with terror because while I've been actively weighing myself almost every day for the last month and I can see that I've lost 10 pounds because the scale tells me so, I can't really see it in the mirror. And all of my other clothes fit relatively the same. I will say that my work pants are finally fitting a bit more normally and not making me want to unbutton them every fifteen minutes, so, there's that. But I digress.
I was so afraid that this bridesmaids dress wouldn't fit. Because when I tried on this size over Labor Day, yes it *technically* zipped up, but I couldn't even breathe in it. Not at all.
So I got to Alfred Angelo, and the same salesgirl was there. She didn't act like she remembered me but I wasn't offended or anything; after working in rental for 5 years I know what it's like to see 100 faces a day and not be able to remember someone one month to the next. Duh.
I get the dress, and I head to a dressing room to try it on. My heart's pounding, I'm sweating a little.
I put it on, and I start to zip. I hold my breath, just in case.
I keep zipping. Waiting for it to get too tight.
I stop zipping. Is it stuck?
Nope. It's all the way zipped. And I've got plenty of room to breathe.
TOO MUCH ROOM TO BREATHE!!!!!!
That's right bitches. That dress fits just right in the waist, and actually needs to be taken in about an inch or two at the bust. BOOM BABY MY BOOBS ARE SHRINKING!!!
 |
| Before - Labor Day 2013 / After - Sept 28, 2013 |
In truth, the waist could comfortably loosen up an inch or two and still be quite comfortable. My appointment with the seamstress is on Oct 10th, so I've got 2 weeks to knock off a few more pounds and have it taken in even more! I went and tracked down the salesgirl, reminded her who I was ("Oh yeah! You're the girl who was going to eat clean and if you didn't you'd punish yourself by having to take it out!") and told her I lost 10 pounds and I was almost in tears. She basically freaked out too, and it was a nice little moment for me. :)
I got back to Omaha, and as if I weren't already feeling motivated and awesome, it was time for my treadmill to be delivered!!
YAYYYY
As I mentioned above, I haven't really begun to work out yet. I wanted to focus on my diet first to really get that locked in before I tried to add a lot of exercise and over-do it. So now I've got my treadmill. Plus, Olivia gets 20-30 minute (minimum) walks every morning and night, (and every couple of hours on the weekends, plus at least one 45-hour or longer walk/adventure on the weekend) so right there I've already added some basic cardio. Saturday evening I did 30 minutes brisk walking on the treadmill at a 5 incline until the last 2 minutes, which I lowered the incline and jogged. The pic shows less time because I actually had to stop the machine a little after starting it to put up a gate to keep Olivia out of the room! Don't want her getting hurt!
Today I did another 30 minutes, but instead of finishing with a jog, I would jog for 1 minute increments every 10 minutes. I know it doesn't sound like much, but keep in mind I have done basically ZERO exercise for the last two years. So for me, this is a lot. After the treadmill today I also did 25 crunches, broken up by 10 pushups and 25-second long planks. I was sweating something fierce. And after all that, I took Olivia out for a 15 minute trip around the complex. Whew!
And today, because it's Sunday, I meal prepped it up.
I didn't take a ton of pics today, but I planned out & prepped the following meals:
1. Chicken Salad w/ Grapes
2. Spaghettti Squash Marinara Bake
3. Pork Marinade w/ Grilled Pineapple
4. Pesto Chicken w/ Zucchini Noodles
5. Melt in your Mouth Chicken w/ Veggies & Hummus
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| I opted for four small, boneless pork chops instead of 2 large, bone-in this time. |
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| Grapes as big as cherry tomatoes? Okay by me. |
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| THE BAG SAID SEEDLESS. YOU LIED, GRAPES. LIAR GRAPES!!! |
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| Silly girl, what are you doing with a pineapple hat?! |
And to add a few more "I've never tried this cooking thing before" to my list, for breakfast I fried eggs for the first time. It's super easy! (I'm sure you're like, duh, Laura, everyone knows how to fry a stupid egg) But guess what? I didn't know how. So I googled it. Shut up. But now I know, and it was awesome, and delicious, and yay.
I also have never cooked a steak before. Ever. I always assumed because I don't own a "real" grill I couldn't make a good steak. I freaking LOVE steak, too much to try to make one on my George Foreman grill. I feel like that's just insulting to a filet. But tonight I made a filet in a skillet! And guess what! ALSO SUPER EASY, AND SUPER DELICIOUS.
I just threw down some salt & pepper on a plate, & seasoned that bad boy up. I chopped up some zucchini & onions to saute as well. Damn, doesn't that look like a nice cut of meat?
Heated up some oil, then put the steak in the skillet. One side for 4 minutes, flipped, other side for 3 minutes. Added the veggies, about 45 seconds later I tested the temp of the steak and it was a perfect 135 for medium rare. I let the veggies cook a bit longer and then VOILA amazing dinner.
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| You jelly? |
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| PERFECTION. |
And so wraps up another exciting week in my food-life. Thanks for joining me!
See you next week, nerds!
