For the one person left out there...

Jen...I think you may be the only one that didn't give up on me/us when we "fell off the wagon".  I know Lisa checks in every now and again, as well at least one of my aunts and one of my cousins...so I figured I'd write this one to you :)

Today, I am feeling hungry...and I don't know if its just a subconscious thing or if my body was starting to get used to not eating the right portions again.  I'm about to make dinner (Whole Wheat Chicken Pizza Pockets) and I find myself not wanting to get up and make them.

Also, that whole counting calorie thing is not for me, but I figure, it's part of the app/site...might as well get an idea of how many calories I am ingesting.  I know, in the before time, in the long long ago (I'll laugh if you get that reference) that we were probably eating about 2200 calories a day with no more exercise than our job (which some days is 6 hours on your feet) and we were still losing.

But I have a problem...which is, if I see the calorie count and I go over, then I will feel  :(   even though I know that what I am eating is as minimally processed as possible.  At the same time, I do like to know the breakdown of everything.  So...hopefully, I don't get bajiggity about the number...as long as it doesn't go over 2500...that would just be bad.

I hadn't used the site in a long time...so thanks for getting me back onto it.  Hopefully the novelty doesn't wear off like it did the last time.

If you have October Unprocessed rants, rant them to me...I know how you are feeling :)

Wow...Have We Been Lazy

Hot...busy...just downright lazy!!!

Three things that have kept the last 8 weeks full of reasons why we've fallen off the wagon!!

10 lbs for each of us...which mostly comes from high levels of sodium...and sugar (welcome home soda...how I've missed you)!!

Every day we say - "We have to get back on track! And we really need to do it this time!"

I know our biggest reason for struggling to get back on track every day is we both remember just how nightmarish the cravings were - for both salt and sugar...and food in both quality and quantity.

So the plan is grocery shopping this afternoon...with - if I make it on time after what I have to do for work today - a kickoff dinner.  Then we are going to kick it into gear...

because have pledged to October Unprocessed 2012 (check it out - http://www.eatingrules.com/october-unprocessed-2012/)!!  And if we don't start now...come October 01...its just going to be too difficult.

That's all for today...there will be more soon :)

The End of the Beginning

Tomorrow is our last weigh in for the competition that we've been in with my family.  It's the end of the beginning.  It's a good thing, because it has kept us motivated this far, but I'm a little wary that not having that motivation will cause us to relapse.

We've been trying to be good lately, but it's been really hard - especially because we are working at getting A/C in the house but it is WAY to hot to cook.  That was kind of the nice thing about trying to not eat meat this week...but that was hard to, because I really missed it.  I think Kurt did too.

The other day, my friend posted a link to the most delicious looking burger ever.  It was a pepper jack and green chili stuffed burger.  Mmmmmmmmm!!  However, we had to go about rethinking it so that it wasn't too horribly awful.  We used mozzarella instead of pepper jack because its less oily and of course no bun.

I was still very much impressed with how it turned out.  It really hit the spot.  We went a little overboard with it and had 2. :/  But you could definitely be filled up with one and a side (we had yams cut up into cubes and barbequed in a foil envelope for about 15 - 20 minutes.

Try it out!!

Green Chili and Mozzarella Stuffed Burgers

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb of lean ground beef
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 3-4 garlic, minced
• 4 slices of mozzarella
• 1 - 3oz can of whole green chilies, seeded and diced
• Green Leaf Lettuce

Directions

1. Mix together ground beef, onions and garlic in a bowl
2. Separate into 8 - 1/8 oz patties
3. Place one slice of mozzarella on each of 4 patties
4. Coat cheese slice with green chili pieces
5. Cover each of the 4 patties with the additional 4 patties
6. Pinch the edges of each burger together to keep stuffing from falling out
7. Grill on barbeque or stove until desired temperature
8. Remove and wrap in 1-2 lettuce leaves
9. Add your favorite condiment and enjoy.

Cheesy Vegetable Pasta

I had a thought today about how I've been doing the blog.  Usually, when I have a recipe, I "predate" the blog post to before we started the blog in the first place so it doesn't get in the way of the meat of it all.

However, then that requires everyone to go to the recipes section and decide whether we've actually put a new recipe in...so I've just decided to integrate it...because the chances of you seeing it are far greater.

This was very yummy...and you could do really whatever vegetables you want.  I'm going to write it out the way we made it though.

Cheesy Vegetable Pasta

Yields 4 servings
Based on a recipe from www.realsimple.com

Ingredients

• 4 servings of whole wheat spaghetti (I have one of those spaghetti forks with the serving holes but from what I remember, 1 serving is 2 oz dry, 1 cup cooked)
• 1 - 16 oz bag of frozen broccoli
• 1 bell pepper (I used yellow)
• 1 zucchini
• 1 - 14-15 oz can of diced tomatoes, strained
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced
• 4 oz of mushrooms, sliced
• Italian Seasoning (as preferred)
• Garlic Cloves, minced (as preferred)
• Salt (as needed)

Directions

1. Boil water and light barbeque or preheat oven to 450*F
2. Slice bell pepper and zucchini and mix with frozen broccoli
3. Create a pouch out of aluminum foil and fill with vegetables
4. Place pouch in barbeque or oven for 15 minutes
5. Add spaghetti to boiling water
6. Drain tomatoes and empty into saucepot
7. Add garlic and other seasonings you prefer to tomatoes
8. Heat tomato mixture over medium heat while blending into sauce with a hand blender
9. When tomato mixture is fully mixed and heated, add onions and mushrooms and continue heating
10. Drain spaghetti when ready
11. When everything has fully cooked, add spaghetti to bowl and top with "steamed" vegetables and tomato sauce mixture
12. Top with freshly grated parmesean

Enjoy!!

A Repeat of Day 1...Again!!

So...we've fallen off the wagon pretty hard.  It's been about 3 or so weeks since we've really eaten well.  We've let our busy schedule and a lack of motivation overwhelm us to point in which ... well, we both feel like crap.

We have been consistently saying "We need to go grocery shopping."  "We need to go grocery shopping."  I have had no drive to meal plan and I can't walk into the store anymore and just wing it.  If I do that, I'll find myself wandering endlessly down the aisles wondering what to make - a waste of energy and time.

FINALLY, with the help of a Papa Murphy's Take 'n Bake Pizza last night, Kurt and I agreed that we felt awful and we HAD to go to the store.  We've been pretty run down lately.  We've been snapping at each other more than we had when we were regimented.  We've gotten tired earlier and not wanted to get out of bed in the morning (of course, a little in our defense, we've been pushing ourselves to try to stay up until 11pm or midnight and get up between 4am and 6am - too much to do...not enough hours in the day).

We decided that we were going to lay off meat for a little bit (for about a week or two, depending on how long we last) - partly because, while we both have relatively maintained our weight for the duration of our cheating, we both feel like we've put the weight back on (due to the sodium bloating and overall unhappy body feeling) and partly because I'm watching this movie called Forks Over Knives.

I am not all the way through this movie yet, but the overall premise is two doctors who have studied the affects of a high animal protein diet on the body - and have found that cancerous cells have a higher growth rate the higher the animal protein in your diet.  Now, of course, I don't like to take things at face value and I would like to look into the research they are discussing, but it's enough to turn my stomach at the thought of eating meat for the next week.

So, tonight we picked ourselves up, picked the gravel out of our road rash and are dragging ourselves back on the wagon.  We made a mushroom, onion and red bell pepper pizza on a whole wheat crust - just to ease ourselves back in.

And the cravings have set back in...not as bad this time...but enough that I want sweets and salts. 

Right now we are getting most of our exercise from working on our front yard - Kurt has been removing all the dead sod while I have been trying to till up the first couple of inches of soil so that we have a base to work with.

We are making a variety of new meals this week - Mushroom and Poblano Tostadas, Grilled Portobello Quesadillas, and Roasted Vegitable and Quinoa Salad to name a few.  I will definitely let everyone know how it goes - and post recipes if we enjoy it.

I just remembered that we have dinner out tomorrow - so there may be a possibility of some meat, as I don't know what's on the menu...so a little meat tomorrow probably.  Since we didn't buy any meat...well, we bought bacon for our egg casserole bites, but not for a main course, our grocery budget for this next week was very low...about $112.  Which is good, because we have applied for...WAIT FOR IT...health insurance!!  Woo hoo!!  Wouldn't it be nice to see a doctor once in a while!!??  Anyway, we have to budget just a little better so we can afford it.

Anyway,  I'll try to be on here more as a means of motivating myself more.  Until next time!!

Uggg

Just a quick note before I head out for the day...

So we have been in the thick of things with work...long hours, not a lot of time, not a lot of drive when we do have time...and we've struggled in the past 2 weeks.

We've done better than we have in the past 2 weeks with our cheating than we use to in the past, but still we've been bad.  Today is our weigh in day for our competition...and it isn't going to be good.

We though it would be easier since we were lacking in drive to shop on a daily basis, and it seemed to be working pretty well...but it also allows for cheating more...so

Today on the way home, we're going to get back on track...go grocery shopping...and hopefully we can turn ourselves around.  We both have been enjoying the weight loss and the feeling better...and we would like to keep it going :)

That's all for today...

The Highs and the Lows

I slacked off a little on this weeks post.  Partly because I have information that I try not to give away regarding the weigh in competition that we are in - and I usually don't like to share our numbers until everyone in our competition knows what percentages that everyone was at for the weigh in...but mostly because I am on the computer SO consistently now that sometimes the extra 5-10 minutes it takes me to get out my thoughts on the week are too "painful" to consider continuing to sit at this desk.  I really get that "5-0'clock" I'm done twitch feeling when I don't need to be sitting here anymore.

So, regardless of everyone in the competition knowing their results (which I suspect has a little to do with my mom and stepdad's scale being at the house they are not living it - and they should just bring it to the house that they are living at) :

This last Monday Kurt was down 6.8 lbs from his weigh in 2 weeks earlier and I was down 11 lbs.  Yea!! :)

In all fairness...my drop was really only 8ish lbs because the day that we weighed in 2 weeks from this last Monday, I had gained 2 lbs from the previous 2 week weigh in...but the next day I was down 3 lbs from that...so my 2 (now almost 3) week ago weigh in was a little bit of a fluke.

But I'll take what I can get...and so will Kurt.  That was the high.

Now for the low...we've both fluctuated between 1 lb either direction this week.  We really haven't been the best this week - but at the same time, we haven't been awful.  He's still been getting over the remnants of his cold while for me, some days I really feel like I'm getting over my allergies...and others - like yesterday...they were very bad.  I didn't help that we were photographing a house that seemed to be coated in pollen.

All the bad things (before yesterday) really hadn't been awful.  I forgot to make tortillas this week, so we had to buy a bag of whole wheat ones at the store.  We wanted a little ice cream so we bought a pint of vanilla that we shared over 3 days and had a couple of Oreos with it (ok...that was bad - but we were really craving sugar this week).  There was one day that Kurt did not like what we made for dinner - "Breaded" Chicken - chicken thighs breaded in almond meal - so we didn't have the leftovers for lunch the next day...but to be honest with you...I can't even remember what we had...I think we split a small pepperoni pizza with white sauce and some cheesy bread.

Okay...now that I've really had a chance to think back at it...yeah...it was kind of a bad week...a bit more awful than I originally thought.

As for yesterday...I'm not even going into that...you don't want to know.  All I can say is I felt awful all night, had a hard time sleeping...and of course - we're going back to our regular routine today.

Today is grocery day...and of course I haven't even made my meal plan yet.  I finally got a greater repentance of my sense of taste and smell back so hopefully I can actually taste what I cook this week.  I think there were a couple of meals from last week that I would like to try again...Kurt said they were good...but I have only their texture to go on.  I'll post more recipes as I can taste stuff.  I'm sure I have a couple I can put up...but I really would like to get away from my desk for a little bit.

Last grocery day - we spent $144 - but it does not include the things we cheated with.  The amount we spend on groceries is usually the way we deter ourselves from cheating, because we don't want to through money  away ... this week, other than the leftovers Kurt didn't like...I don't think anything has gone bad.  So grocery-wise, not a bad week.

Until ... probably sometime next week,

I've Been Falling Behind on my Job

I guess now that throughout the summer I will be only getting to update about once a week...so I'll just have to remember everything that has happened since the last time I blogged.

I was mostly good this weekend with my parents and siblings being here.  And I believe that they enjoyed all the food I made for them: baked banana oatmeal, chicken nuggets, honey mustard chicken on cauliflower "rice", frittata, and dry rub burgers (which really aren't so dry rub anymore, because I like the seasoning better mixed in with the meat).

I had a couple of cheater moments this weekend...there was a chocolate bar at the food co-op that looked really good - chocolate with almonds and toffee, and I had a burger when I went to the airport to pick up Kurt...but all in all, I was pretty good.  Kurt and I were talking about what he ate while he was away...and well, he was less good, but he still tried really hard to not give up entirely.

Our biggest challenge to date has happened now though.  We both are "sick".  Kurt got off the plane with a low grade fever and sore throat.  I am not sick (as told to me by PA I saw yesterday) but I'm having the worst allergies EVER - which is causing me to be completely congested with a sore throat as well.

As a result, neither of us has the energy to want to make food.  Last night we cheated with a pizza, but tonight we are going to try to not do that again.  It's so easy when you are not feeling well to say "whatever" and just get something quick and easy and not good for you in the least bit.  It's definitely going to be a struggle until we are feeling better. 

We need to go grocery shopping.  The funny thing is we haven't gone in a week and a half, but we had enough left over stuff that we haven't needed to.  When I was putting the dry rub burgers together to freeze before my parents got here, I realized that I already had 8 in the freezer...so I cooked all the new ones, plus those 8 and we had extra for our lunch and dinner on Monday and our lunch again yesterday.  I also found an extra lb of ground beef in the freezer which we are making meatballs with for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch and an extra thing of pork chops for tomorrow.  So I started thinking that even though we spent a little over $200 on our last shopping trip, it actually lasted almost two weeks.

On the way home today we have to run by the grocery store...but I don't think it's going to be a full trip...just enough to get us through Saturday so we can go back on our weekly schedule - essentially fresh fruit and vegis, something for dinner Friday and side dishes.

So, now for some good news!!  Monday was 8 weeks since we've started our "life change".  In 8 weeks, Kurt is down 18 lbs and I am down 20 lbs.  YEA!!  We've had a lot of challenges and we've struggled quite a bit, but we're headed down the right path...so we need to keep on keeping on. 

That's all for now...time to get ready for the day...after I put up some of the recipes that I've been promising for a while!!

I am Blaming the Solar Eclipse...

for everything. Mostly that for our bi-monthly weigh in, Kurt was up 0.6 lbs and I was up a whopping 2 lbs!!

Meeeehhhhh!

And where does the fault lie? With the solar eclipse...yea!

Ok...I know it was us! We've been struggling quite a bit over the last 2 weeks. The whole "more life...less work...work is not worth you're health" thing is really proving to be much more challenging than anticipated.

Not only is it the time constraints, but it also ends up being getting over the funk of a bad day.

Saturday, for example, we needed to go grocery shopping but first we had some favors we had to do first. Before that was over, we had a business phone call that was, I'll say, less that peachy. Basically, we suck at our job...but I won't bore you with the details. The problem with me (and I think it affected Kurt in a similar way) is that I tend to shut down when I'm in a funk. So what was a need to go grocery shopping turned into let's just go out and get food for lunch and dinner.

The three things that are wrong with the situation: 1. it's not worth letting the outside forces affect us in such a negative way; 2. going out to get a fast meal should never be the option; and 3. if you ate 2 meals a day like the ones we ate Saturday, not only are you loading your body with crap it doesn't need, but you could spend upwards of $1000/month on just lunch and dinner!! Nothing else!!

So, we are struggling to get back on the wagon today (yesterday we each had a sushi roll for lunch - in comparison to Saturday, not bad, but not great).

It's going to be a hard week for us both. Kurt is out of town for his MorMor's memorial Thursday to Sunday, so he really isn't in control of the meal planning while he is away (even though I know he will be given good options) while I am home and will be trying to convince myself that, Yes...I need to cook something for dinner and not just airpop some popcorn and call it a meal...at least Thursday and Friday. I have people to cook for Saturday and Sunday :) YEA!!

On a final note, groceries were a little on the high side this week...about $210. We needed a couple of pricy things this week (maple syrup is just WAY too expensive) and I'm cooking for an extra 4 people this weekend so the price goes up a bit...but really there were a couple of sales I couldn't pass up for things I know I can use in the following week.

I'll let you know how we fare this week...and I'll try to at the very least get some more recipes up...we've just been pretty busy.

Waiting...Waiting...Waiting...

Good morning all...and welcome to Monday!!

Not lots to talk about...just have a moment while my computer is processing photos, so thought I would check in.

I'll start off with new recipes that we are trying this week.  Kurt's mom brought a couple of cookbooks with her when his parents came for the weekend and we went through them to see if there were things that sounded good (whether they came ideally prepared or we had to change up the ingredients to suit the way we eat now).

Last night we made Joe's Special...it's kinda like Ghetto Asian Mac but without the Asian.  It was good...but I think it would be a nicer as a breakfast than a dinner.  I'll put it up soon.

Tonight we're making Zesty Caribbean Chicken...it sounds really good...hopefully it is!!

Saturday we did our grocery run...this week it was $159 - about $30 of it was necessities (dish soap, body soap, ziploc bags, foil, etc).  We had a lot of chicken left over, so we had to get very little - but we decided to go for organic chicken breasts instead and we also decided to get farm raised cage free eggs (both are a bit more expensive, but we are slowly trying to transition into better food now that we are eating better).

Anyway, like I said, not a lot to talk about, just a quick update.

Don't Judge Me

It has just been...a week! So much to do...so little time.

We've been a little cheatery this week - not really for the lazy factor (even though that's easy) but dinners this week have been ... eh.

We only went out once when we had our visitors last week...so only one "bad" meal where we tried to be good (but also had a sugar overfilled dessert), and we had very good dinners Sunday and Monday night....but Tuesdays dinner was not as good as anticipated. We had Pecan Crusted Chicken...and it needed a little something...more spices...more flavor...just something.

So as a result, we REALLY didn't want to have the leftovers for lunch the next day - we went out for Dickie's BBQ instead (mmm).

We had a good dinner on Wednesday - asparagus stuffed chicken which turned out better than last time so I'll get a recipe up for that - and finished those leftovers for lunch yesterday.

Of course, as the day progressed...the thought hits me...we didn't take anything out for dinner!!! I swear - as soon as I make my meal plans for the week, I am just going to put reminders in my phone to take things out the night before, as needed.

So, burgers and fries it was...and it was good...but not good enough to want sooner than later.

The problem I am finding is that crappy food actually causes me to become all congested...my throat is all phlegmmy and really won't recover until (hopefully) later tonight. That phlegm causes me not to sleep well also and so I'm lacking in the energy I typically have throughout the day.

My approach to this week - as of this morning - has been 'ok...it's kinda been like we've been on a vacation but now it's time to get back to work!'

Because we've been slacking this week, we've really hovered around the same weight all week. For our bi-monthly weigh in last Monday, Kurt was down 4.2 lbs, but I was only down 2.1 lbs. Time to really step it up a bit.

We've been "in the field" for some long hours this week so it's been hard, but we've been trying to formulate a busy season plan do we don't fall off again.

We've had a chunk of groceries left over from extra stuff we got on the last grocery trip so we didn't shop yesterday. Going tomorrow - which would probably be a better shopping day for us anyway. I'll do a budget update after.

I Swear To Not Become Crunchy Hippy Granola

I am slowly feeling the change...physically, intellectually and emotionally.

We've been watching a lot of Food Inc type movies on Netflix and some of them are good (like Food Inc) and some are just TOO preachy (like Food Matters). I am embracing this change in our lives...but I am trying to stay away from being too hippy tree-huggery because that isn't me and I shouldn't be forced to be so by those sharing their information with the world.

For example, in Food Matters there were two parts I very much disagreed with (to an extent): 1. People need to fix their priorities. Instead of paying for things like rent and a car, they need to buy better food, and 2. Raw food is the only way to go. The guys brother lost (I can't remember - something like 150) lbs in 8 months. Some days he lost 13 lbs.

Ok...so...yes - I think people do need to change their priorities...but rent and a car (minus if you really don't need one, which most households need one) are not logical ways of expressing the need to purchase better food.

As for the raw diet...I'm not opposed to a natural cleanse in the short term (7-14 days) but as a lifestyle, I disagree with only eating raw. I understand that many nutrients in food break down when cooked, but I feel you are missing access to some nutrients that would be harder to come by raw. The guy in the film did talk about some vegetables that you could get higher levels of certain nutrients than meat, dairy, etc., but some of the things I've never heard of and I don't even know where I would find them. Also - 13 lbs in a day...it may be build up in your system, but I don't understand how a loss that big in one day could be good for you.

Anyway, Wednesday we took our cousin Courtney to the GBC Food Co-Op and she was pretty excited about it!! So if we are able to start going pretty regularly, she has agreed to tag along (especially if she gets some honey out of it, I think).

I made my first raised bed yesterday. The downside...I think most of my transplants aren't going to make it...so I'll just have to start from seed again. Exercise of the day...leveling the area and lifting +/- 100 lb bags of soil around.

We went on our weekly grocery store run...a couple of meals this week had to get pushed into next week (don't you hate when you forget to defrost your dinner!!) and as we have visitors for part of the weekend...our grocery bill was $109 and some change + $17 for some things I had to pick up earlier in the week...so $126. Mostly all vegis and fruits...some chicken and ground beef. We have more chicken than we can use in the next week though so that will lessen the next bill.

Had the best Honey Mustard Chicken last night...I'll put up a recipe soon for it.

Other than that, we're just trying to take the effort to make sure we don't slack off with this as we are starting to get regularly busy at work. We have a couple of meals out scheduled for the weekend since we have company...so one of us will let you know how we fared with going out to eat (different than the regular cheat meal).

Have a great weekend all!!

Food Inc.

Hello all,

Since Candace is the consummate blogger in regards to our quest eating better I feel like I should pitch in as well. So today I am going to talk about a movie that I feel everyone should watch and discuss with their loved ones.

How many of our followers have seen Food Inc.? And for those who haven't seen it, why haven't you seen it? I have been hearing for years how our farming practices and food quality have been heading downhill for years now but I guess I couldn't or didn't want to believe how BAD things have gotten, even in my life span.

There are so many differences, most of them I would consider bad that it boggles the mind on how modern America is still alive, not healthy since most of us aren't. The first thing that comes to mind is the differences between the price of meat that is grown organic or from the supermarket. How much do you pay when you by Chicken? The last time we got chicken it was $1.99 a lb and it is normally $2.99 lb. We were able to get $20.00 of chicken that will last us a while. 2 days later we went to the Great Basin Community Food Co-Op and saw organic chicken that was $7.99 a lb. Why is there such a huge difference in price? The chicken that routinely sells for $1.99 a lb. is raised in crowded pens were there are thousands of birds getting fed corn to make them fat and profitable. They grow from a chick to harvest size in 49 days when a normal chicken takes around 120 days to get to that size. The cheap (no pun intended) bird is pumped up with antibiotics since they are covered with feces all day. Many of the birds have severe health problems due to fact that they grow so quickly that the body is unable to keep up with the rapid growth. Oh yeah, the farmers are forever in debt to the sellers of the chickens so they are essentially like slaves. I won't go into details on how they are processed to go to market, watch the movie.

The $7.99 a lb. chicken is fed grain and grass seeds, they are allowed to be outside they grow in a appropriate amount of time. When it is time to process them, they are processed in a way that might seem unsanitary (at least in the example in the movie) but the amount of feces in the meat is on around 200 FCS (Fecal Colony Standard I believe.) This admittedly sounds pretty disgusting until you compare it with the $1.99 a lb chicken at 2200 FCS.

This prices difference is the same across the board for all the meats (yes including farm raised fish as well). This is due solely to introduction of corn as feed. Corn is subsidized by the US Government which keeps the prices way way down. This allows animals that fed this way to be sold much cheaper, but at what cost? Ever notice the amount of contaminated food stories you see on the news. For all of us over the age of 30, look back and see how often that happened when we were really young. Now compare the frequency of the outbreaks. E. Coli is now no longer just a problem with meat, it is entering the vegetable as well. In the movie, one of the interviewees states that if cattle are fed grass for just 5 days, the amount of E. Coli reduces by 80% percent. Corn and the products that produced from Corn (which are incredibly numerous) is causing serious health problems for every creature that comes into it. I am not saying that Corn on the cob is a problem or Fresh Popped Popcorn is horrible. I am simply saying that corn produced into sugar then poured into our foods or fed to food supply is just wrong! Some 30% of our farm land is dedicated to corn production, land that could be used to grow grass or other crops is being wasted on the very product that is making our nation obese.

Last figure, in 1980 the average waist size for the average man was a 32. In 2010 the average waist size is 40. What is appears to be the culprit in the 25% increase in waist size in 30 years? About 1981 High Fructose Corn Syrup was introduced as a low cost alternative to sugar. I know there are other factors as well, but it rather interesting.

I find it strange that throughout the human race's history us humans have always struggled to get enough food. Starvation and disease were our constant foe claiming untold lives. Now we are eating our selves to any early grave and the years we are alive we aren't as healthy as we should be.

My post is going to end on kind of a downer this time, I promise my next post will be more uplifting. I promise to offer some solutions that we have tried and have researched. It is easy to complain about a problem. It is harder but far more productive to come up with some possible solutions instead.

Until next time...

4 Weeks In!!

Last night marked 4 weeks since we decided that we didn't want to change the way we ate and lived (again, and hopefully for the last time).  In these last 4 weeks, we've struggled a lot but have also have had many successes as well.

For example, we had a bit of a cheat night for dinner on Friday (pizza) and I think we've decided that our cheats have to be further apart.  We had decided that before, but always Friday comes around and we get tempted into something else.  This last Friday, though, we were so overly full and bloated with sodium that we decided that, at the very least, when it cheats, pizza is not an option anymore and that we have to do better with not cheating (even if it is once a week for only one meal - we need to try to extended it to once every two weeks for only one meal).  Of course, that may or may not happen this week as we do have visitors for the weekend...but we'll try.

In the past 4 weeks, I am down 17 lbs (12 from my official weigh in 5 weeks ago for our competition - but I put on 5 in the week between) and Kurt is down we think 15 lbs (because he didn't weigh himself when we started - but 11 from the official weigh in 5 weeks ago).

We're starting to have more energy (he gets it a bit more than I do), clothes are starting to loosen up a bit (some that I had that were feeling a little tight fit well now) and we aren't so tired after a long day of work as much as we were before.  Plus being on our feet for a long day is getting easier.

So SUCCESS!!

Cravings are slowly going away...and randomly one comes up and you think...REALLY, that's what I want.  And we've been trying hard to quell those cravings with other things.  We made some blackberry sorbet a couple days ago, and the tartness is kind of a nice change from the sweetness (I think I need to look at something that is a little less seedier though).

Yesterday we stopped by the Great Basin Community Food Co-Op which reminded me a lot of being in Santa Cruz again.  Some things were pretty pricy - raw unpasteurized almonds for $12.99/lb but other things weren't as bad - 32oz of local raw honey for $10 and some change.  We picked up some honey mustard salad dressing (which does have some cane sugar in it - but I tried to make a honey mustard vinaigrette and it was awful and I need a salad dressing).

My favorite thing that I TOTALLY want to go back for when I'm ready...refrigerated ladybugs!!  They were so cute - and depending if I actually get the garden in shape this year (because my seedlings desperately need to be transplanted), I might have to get some.

Last thing before I go (since I have to get ready for work) - our budget.  We went grocery shopping last Thursday, and we though there was no way we were going to get out of there under our budget because we bought a ton more meat than usual for this week (ground beef, pork chops and chicken breasts - more chicken than we needed but we figured we could use it the next week) and it still came out to about $142.  We were stunned.  Of course now that we went to the Food Co-Op and seeing the prices of meat there I'm starting to really thing about the meat we've been buying at the grocery store...but more on that later.

Ok...I lied...two things

1. Celery has become to salty to us...especially after reading how much sodium is in celery...we can taste it now!!  Suggestions for other vegi snacks to take out with us (to go with our carrots)

2. Dry-Rub Burgers...mmmm...check it out

Mmeeehhhhhhh!

This week started off a little more entertaining than it has become...so we had to try to liven it up a bit.

Monday was our 2 week weigh in for our family competition...and while I knew I wasn't going to win because my husband beat me by 0.27% lost...I was disappointed (excited for her, though) that our cousin, Courtney, beat us.  (BTW - I rescind my "suck it"...I know you did a lot of walking this last week and it looks like it paid off).

But what it comes down to is that we each lost about 5 lbs in the last 2 weeks...which is GREAT but it was also a little disappointing - because my instant gratification turned on.  I just want it gone!!  I know its not going to happen quickly, but I do have a hard time accepting that sometimes because it came on SO easily.

Anyway, Monday night I decided it was about time to "create" my own recipe.  We made burritos with ground beef, black and kidney beans, whole wheat tortillas, lettuce, a little cheese and some cauliflower "rice".  It was pretty good, but I have to tweak it a bit before I put it up in the recipe section.  I'm excited that many are enjoying/looking forward to the baked banana oatmeal...you are, if you have not yet experience it, in for a real treat.

Tuesday, we decided that we were a little curious about how many calories and grams of fat are in some of our meals.  We started putting in some recipes...and were actually a little disappointed.   Its not that the food was bad...it was that we're probably now eating anywhere between 1800-2100 calories a day and yet we are losing weight just through eating better.  I was disappointed with how awful we were treating our bodies before.  I know I should be happy about how much better we are doing...but it's hard not to be upset about the damage we were doing for so long.

Food-wise...we got a little bored with our roasted tomato and basil leftovers this week...so leftovers I think are going to have to be frozen for a different week...which kinda made our week of meals a little bland.  BBQ Chicken Pizza Pockets were good...you should check them out!!

With all of the mmeeehhhh this week, we decided to step it up a little bit.  We've been trying to get out on walks everyday...but between going out to shoot and editing photos...we get a little lost for time.  By the time we think about getting out to walk, it's starts to get dark.  And between that and the back and forth weather, we decided to get The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout the Xbox 360 kinect.

We started it last night and I liked it a lot...I was sweating up a storm...and while I'm not feeling too beaten up today, I was feeling it during - tried to push through the pain, but it was getting the better of me.  Kurt is having a little more trouble with it, because they give you a very quick here's how to do it, but he has a little more trouble following along, but I think if he does it more...it should get better. 

So I'm trying to get out of my funk, so it doesn't start to get the better of me.

On a more positive note, our seeds are growing like gangbusters in their little greenhouse...and of course we aren't ready to plant them outside yet...but I'm hoping so soon because I really am excited for them to grow.  We've planted thyme, cucumbers, carrots, jack-o-lanterns, cilantro, snow peas, basil and sugar pumpkins.  I am SO excited!!

What is wrong with us?!

Hello all,

I know that we haven't been the bastion of good health for many years but now that I know what "real food" is and tastes like I don't want to go back to my old way eating garbage.  As many of you know or don't know I like to see what is going on in the world, much to Candace's dismay sometimes... but I felt it necessary to post this story.

I came across this article and nearly gagged on many many levels.  I read this story on msnbc.com http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11357034-did-heart-attack-burger-claim-a-second-victim-at-vegas-diner?lite&preview=true and was horrified by this restaurant.  The "Heart Attack Grill" are you freaking (I want to use much harsher language ) kidding me? It figures that a city that would benefit from a meteor hitting it would allow this affront to humanity to be built.  The burger buns are covered in lard and the largest item on the menu has over 8,000 calories in it. That is over 4 days of food in one burger.

I understand obesity and the causes of it but to reward something that WILL kill you is insane.  One of the advertisements is if you weigh over 350 pounds you eat free. I expect a old time carnival barker yelling out front "That's right folks, if you have given up on ever improving yourself and want to die young and sick eat yourself to an early grave on us." They have a ambulance parked out front for Christ sake!?! 

I realize this anger might be surprising from me, but after losing 5 pounds in 2 weeks by eating the correct portions of unprocessed foods it makes me so angry to see businesses pray on the anguish that obese people feel about themselves is immoral.  The idea old idea of a jolly old fat person is patently ridiculous. At the beginning of this, I was 265, about 75 pounds overweight with a BMI of 34 which put me in the obese category.  I know that my weight isn't that severe but I now realize how bad I felt before even with a 5% decrease in weight. Imagine if you are 200 pounds overweight, and imagine how horrible you feel physically. Then triple it then you have an idea what it does to you emotionally. Have you ever watch "Horders" and do you notice how many of them are obese?

This wretched place helps perpetrate the myth eating bad food is cheap and good food is for those with money.  Our food bill has decreased by half by eating good. It rewards activity that requires help from loved ones and those in the health profession.  This type of restaurant and its promo's are like a bar saying "If you drink till you pass out, then you drink for free" or "Have a DUI, then drink for free".  I hope the turd that opened the restaurant gets sued to bankruptcy. And to any would be patrons... Seriously? Do you play Russian Roulette when you are bored, do you drink rubbing alcohol when your run out of Rum? Why eat something that brags about "This Establishment is Bad For Your Health". My father brought this to my attention, 2 million US children go to bed hungry every night. How many children could be fed a well rounded meal rather than helping obese people kill themselves.  8,000 calories divided by 12 is about 670 calories, a large dinner for a child. 12 child for each of those meals that one person stuffs down there mouth.

Sorry for the rant, but this just made me very annoyed. My next post will be much happier I promise

Bye for now!

Fingernails Don't Belong Here

This whole eating better and getting off our butts thing has been working out pretty well...much better than I would have thought originally.  We are still trying to get used to some things.  For me that includes still having energy at the end of a more active day and eating things that I know are better, but that I'm not a huge fan of.

Yesterday and today have been filled with trying to fix the exterior of our new house.  We've finally have the front yard sprinklers working...only had to dig up half of them.  Luckily none of the pipes underground have broken.  But I've been pretty drained of energy by the end of it all.  I know that with time that will lessen, but it's a pretty big hurdle to overcome - because some days I'm still just looking for an excuse to stop.

Last night for dinner we had Roasted Tomato and Basil Casserole and I am anything but a tomato person...it's mostly a texture thing, but I also have a bit of an issue with the flavor.  I wanted to try it because I am extremely fascinated by the spaghetti squash, but I had to talk myself into it because of the tomatoes.  It was a bit of a struggle, but I figured the worst thing was that I didn't like it (Kurt, of course, will eat most things) and I just make something else.  It was a good thing though - I very much enjoyed it.  I still had a little difficulty getting past the skins and the sliminess but it's something that I would eat again.

With healthy eating comes new experiences.

If I had to complain about one thing though...it would be fingernails.  After 30 years on this planet and the conscious ones of biting my fingernails, I had finally given it it.  They were growing out and actually looking great.  Between mixing and kneading dough, continuous chopping of vegetables, grating garlic and cheese and working in the yard, I decided that fingernails don't belong here.  See...and you thought I was going to complain about all the food I'm "missing". :)

If you haven't seen it already, check out our breakfast this morning...Baked Banana Oatmeal.  It was super yummy!!

Excited for dinner tonight...making BBQ chicken pizza pockets with homemade barbecue sauce.  Will keep you updated!!

We Need A Little Magic

We need a little magic spell that give us the will power not to long for certain food items we have given up on.  We had a few temptations this week, and I'd like to say we didn't give it, but we did a little yesterday.

Thursday we stopped by a 7-Eleven and although I was really wanting a Slurpee (not the intention for the stop - we can drive past one without longing to stop), we just grabbed some mozzarella cheese sticks instead.  However, yesterday, Kurt had to pull off the street to make a phone call and of course we ended up in the Jimmy Johns parking lot.  I have an obsession with Jimmy Johns that has been lessened since moving from Las Vegas by the fact that they are all on the other side of town.  It had been a long time since we had eating had a sandwich from there, so we gave in to the desire.  We also gave in to a little non-authorized chocolate for dessert. :)

They are still as awesome as I remember...but still I can live without them regularly (considering we have been anyway).

The reason we need a little magic to keep up my will-power is really because we feel like crap after eating that way.  For the rest of the evening, I couldn't get comfortable - it was as if all my limbs were restless...which Kurt pointed out that he hasn't felt that way since we've been eating better, and I can say the same thing.  And it's too aggravating of a feeling to suffer from just so I can have something I really shouldn't be eating.

Another reason to be good!!

We haven't posted very much this week.  Not a lot has been really going on.  I've been trying to find new meals to make so we don't get tired of the same stuff.  Most are good (Taco Salad and Frittata)...some just don't make it (Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes - the texture is just off).  I'll try to get a few more recipes up this weekend.

Today we're going to spend some time working on the house and going for a walk...or a bike ride.  I've got to look through some of the stuff I have so we can also start working on building muscle until we decide that its time for us to get a gym membership (I don't trust myself with gym memberships anymore, because at some point I always stop going and then it's just a waste of money...so I have to build up to going to the gym).

I did say that I would keep an update of budgeting for the grocery store.  This week was AWESOME - partly because I found a lot of meals for this week that serve 8...so we have 2 dinners and 2 lunches from one meal.  This week we spent about $135 and it included stocking up on a few things that we didn't need immediately (coconut oil - we still have half a container, but it was on sale this week; toilet paper; whole wheat flour - I was getting low but I need to make more bread and tortillas) and a couple of more pricy things that were needed but will last a while, like vanilla (which I really just need to order some beans to make my own).

This week was definitely easy on the budget. If I was to factor in our dinner last night, it would take it up to $150 which is another reason why we don't want to do that anymore - considering that is 1.3 days worth of what we bought in groceries!!

Whales vs. Dolphins

I thought it best to go dark for the weekend and catch up on life...only to find out that life isn't that exciting.  Tried to do a little yard work...found out the sprinklers are broken somewhere.  Want to get some rooms painted, but people are being asses about paying us on time.  Had a bit of work to finish up on (busy weeks are coming - Cassie I may actually have work for you soon if you wants it).

We started falling into a little bit of a rut this weekend.  We allowed ourselves a cheat dinner - pepperoni pizza...I was longing for the pepperoni...but ehhhh. Old stuff just doesn't taste good anymore...which is good overall, but it makes me a little sad.  Who wants to have a cheat meal if things aren't going to be as good as they used to?  Kurt joked with me that cheating is now going to entail having homemade french fries or potatoes with homemade gravy...but in a way, it wasn't a joke.  I would rather eat non processed "bad" foods that eat the crap that you can pick up quick (this doesn't include going out for a nice dinner which we are trying to save for once a month).

I am still floored by all the crap that's out there.  I hadn't been paying attention to everything.  For example, I had imitation vanilla in the pantry...didn't think twice about it before using it in a couple recipes.  One day I decide to pay attention...propylene glycol.  REALLY!??! An FDA approved food additive that when slightly tweaked is also used as an industrial additive for aircraft de-icer & anti-freeze, paint, liquid detergents and in the production of polyester resin.  I understand that they see it as low in toxicity (they say alcohol as a higher toxicity - http://www.propylene-glycol.com/index.php/faq) but I've decided that is something I do not want to put into my system anymore.  It's really the same problem I had with Splenda when it came out - chemically altering something that is intended to be ingested is risky because some may have no reactions while others could have fatal ones.

I do have to point out though, that while I still haven't hit that energy heightening that is supposedly suppose to come with eating better (maybe its a byproduct of integrating the exercising - which we still need to do), we've been sleeping better, not so congested although things are in bloom and overall just don't ache as much.  All in all - it's a good thing!! :)

I have deviated from my thought process though...we've been in a little bit of a rut.  We're plateauing a bit, which has been starting to get us down a little...but which just means we really need to get in gear with incorporating exercise.  I'm hoping that we shake it by the end of this week.  I've been trying to come up with new meals, but I feel, while some are less processed, they are still meals that we should try to limit ourselves on.  Two nights ago, we made slow cooker fajitas, which were good but I felt the meat was a little too fatty.  Last night, we made a version of salisbury steak (I read it wrong and bought steak instead of ground beef) and it was good - had a beef stock and red wine reduction sauce - but the whole thing called for 6 Tbsp of butter.  So it gets me down a bit when I am trying to be better, but it just doesn't seem to be coming out that way.  It'll get better though.

So you might be thinking...ok Whales vs. Dolphins...what does any of this have to do with Whales vs. Dolphins.  Well...here it goes!

When we were in Maui for our anniversary, we were there at the height of whale season - mamas and their calves, some with a male escort.  We got to go whale watching for the first time...and it was awesome!!

Here's some knowledge from my days of working at a marine lab - all dolphins are whales but not all whales are dolphins.  Kurt and I agreed that the next time we go to Maui, we want to be dolphins and not whales (smaller whales - hehe).

I thought of this because today I was going through all of our expenses of the last year trying to find places we can save - since this winter was a bit of a struggle for our business - and what did I have to face?  We ate SO horribly in the last year...and not only that, but it cost us an arm and a leg (and probably some internal organs weren't too happy either) to do so.  There was quite a bit of fast food (not as much as I had thought or remembered) but there were also several trips to the grocery store and all I can remember was picking up junk!!

We are trying to make an effort to not spend more than $150-$175 a week for groceries and household essentials and in the last week we've worked within the budget well.  Last summer we were spending upwards of $250-$300 a week...and what did we get from it?  Junk (and increased weight).

So I'll let you know as we progress, how we do with our budgeting as time goes on.  As we are still getting use to this and picking up things that we don't have now but will last a while, we'll be cutting it close, but I think as we start getting into the habit, it should work out for us.

Anyway, that is what happens when I don't talk to the world for a couple days....I rant and rant.  I'll stop now.  :)

Conspiracy Theories

You know what I thought was one of the biggest eating better conspiracies was?  The things you loved before just don't taste as good when you have them again.  I'd like to say that I just wanted to test this theory, but I really just wanted some chocolate.


Last night we caved in for chocolate...and I wouldn't even call it caved in...it really was just more like we wanted some and thought a once in a while special treat is not going to hurt us.   Just a plain Hershey bar...and I'm pretty sure that I could live without one ever again.  It wasn't awful...but it DEFINITELY wasn't the same...DEFINITELY wasn't worth it.

So...it is theory no more!!

The funny thing was...I didn't feel guilty for eating it...I felt guilty by the thought of not posting it.  I think the reason why is we aren't doing this to cheat.  Hiding failures isn't going to get us anywhere...not that I consider this a failure.  We made the conscious decision to have a once in a while treat without feeling like we want to give up or have to start all over.

On another note, during last night's post I was a little distracted, so I forgot to talk about my new favorite app - Fooducate.  It scans bar codes and gives you a score based on its ingredients and then details based on what its ingredients are.

This app has been helping us a lot when we have to get certain things from the store that we can't make on our own or don't have the time/equipment to make.  Its a free app (there is a pay one too) so you should check it out.

Finally, we were looking for almond meal/flour at the store and found it in a 1 lb bag for just over $10.  That's insane!!  So we decided to make our own today.  I've found that roughly 8 oz of almonds makes about 2 cups of almond meal.  We used the flat blade on the magic bullet but many say that a coffee grinder works best.  It was a tedious project, blanched, removed skin, dried in the oven, ground and sifted, but at $3.88 a lb for almonds, I'd rather make my own.

We made apple muffins with the almond meal and they were good, but different.  I was looking to make something as a dessert, but they weren't very sweet.  The texture is not that off of wheat flour, but I think it will take a little getting used to.  I'll get it into the recipe section.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!