Today's eats

Tho't I'd get in a post about my food and exercise for the day.

For brekkie I had a half-cup of Krogers low-fat granola (think I'm going back to Bear Naked cuz it doesn't have as many unpronouncable ingredients), half-cup of frozen organic blueberries and about a cup of Krogers low-fat vanilla yogurt. It was quick and tasty. I missed my almonds though. A trip to the grocery is in order this afternoon.

After I ate I walked around the perimeter of the hospital complex. It's about 10 blocks. It was in the 60's and it felt so good to walk. My lower back started hurting but I kept on going. I know the more I walk the less my back will hurt.

Just now, for lunch, I had a piece of white meat baked bar-b-q'd chicken, with a mixture of overcooked broccoli and cauliflower and a not so overcooked mix of green beans and carrots. I also got some fresh strawberries which I cut up and put a little stevia on them. Delish.

More later...

I want to be...

the kind of person who:

• eats lots of fresh raw fruit and vegetables

• takes long walks in the crisp fall air and gets to feel leaves crunching beneath her feet

• takes the time to do a stretching routine every day at her desk (I found a great one in Bob Anderson's book Stretching for people who sit at the computer all day.)

• uses yoga for stress relief instead of food

• donates blood - today's the day (my employer has a blood drive every 8 weeks)

• is friendly and outgoing (I'm shy)

• isn't afraid to try new healthy foods (I haven't gotten into whole grains but I'd like to)

Next week will be September, gosh where has August gone. I'll be glad for the cooler weather. I love fall. I think it's one of my favorite times of year.

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****EDIT****

I was able to donate packed red blood cells today. My hemoglobin was 14.3. YES! Now it will be 16 weeks before I can donate again.

TGIF again

I don't know why I'm excited that it's Friday. I'm working two 12 hour shifts this weekend.


I just ate a huge salad with beets, mixed greens, carrots, broccoli, green onions, sunflower seeds and a splash of vinaigrette. I finished the meal off with a cup of summer melons cut up and 1 gigantic strawberry. I've got a 32 oz cup of water on my desk and my co-worker and I are having strawberry shakes this afternoon in celebration of the weekend.



I plan on finishing Real Food : what to eat and why this weekend. I've enjoyed reading it. Nothing new. It's kind of along the same line as Food, Inc. My daughter insists she's been telling me this stuff for years but it only recently sunk in. Sorry, Rach.



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All or...

I used to be the queen of all or nothing thinking. Made one poor choice and the day was ruined. If the day was in the middle of the week then the week was ruined. I would wait til Monday to jump on the diet bandwagon. Sometimes it was several Mondays before I could get back on track. I choose to no longer live my life that way. I am no longer dieting. I am up to 7-9 servings a day of raw fruits and vegetables. I eat one to two servings of dairy and oneI serving of almonds or other nuts. After eating all this there isn't much room for other foods. I decided to add real foods to my life and I look for ways to fit exercise into my life where/when ever I can. It's working. I have lots more energy and I just feel better in general. I feel lighter and I no longer have that brick in the stomach feeling after every meal. I plan to continue making one healthy choice at the time. My motto is "just do the next right thing". Thanks to the ripple effect one change changes so many other things. I am enjoying the ride.

Check out the great giveaway over at K's good eats. It's for a cookbook that I would LOVE to have.

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Zen Zero

Rachel and I had a grand old time Friday. She decided that she wanted to eat at Zen Zero. On the cover of their menu they call themselves "an Asian noodle shop & restaurant serving cuisine from Nepal, Tibet, Thailand, Vietnam, & Japan." It's located at 811 Mass Street (Massachusetts but everyone just calls it Mass), Lawrence, KS 66044. She's eaten there a lot but I've only been once before. There was a half page of vegetarian options but I chose the Dry Chicken Curry Thakali style which is a traditional Nepalese style curry with onions, ginger, garlic, garam masala, and tomatoes served with jasmine rice, rahar ko dal (yellow lentils) and potate achar. It was quite tasty although to me it tasted more of Indian cuisine. Of course, Nepal and India are in the same corner of the world.

After walking around for awhile we decided to take the plunge and drove into Overland Park (a suburb of Kansas City) to check out the Whole Foods store. Now I know why everyone refers to it as whole paycheck. I could easily have spent $500 there. They had many many raw food books and products. Most of the produce had signs saying they were from local growers. I loved the fruit salads but I checked on a pint container that had blueberries, blackberries, pineapple, and a couple of different melons - over 7 bucks - ouch. I decided that I didn't need fruit salad at that price.

After spending most of the money I had brought with me Rachel wanted to check out Oak Park mall in Overland Park. It wasn't too far from Whole Foods so we used google maps and drove over there. We spent a good two hours just looking around. We checked out Teavana. I really liked the Rooibos Chai. I now wish I'd bought some but I was so shocked at the prices on the cast iron tea pots that I forgot about it.

I have a feeling that we'll be going back to both places. It was a fun day. My mom and I used to have nice days like this and now I know how much she enjoyed them because I know how much I enjoy doing things with Rachel.

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Happy Birthday to Rachel

I’m off tomorrow!! Saturday my daughter will be 22 but she has school all day so we’re celebrating on Friday. She wants to go to Lawrence again. I’ll have to get her to take some pics cuz she’s the photographer in the family. These two photos are of Mass St in Lawrence. It's the original downtown area. See some of her work here. Anyway she wants to go out to eat (she hasn't told me where) and then we’re going to use a coupon from Barnes & Noble to get her a book on photography. It’s a series that she loves and the latest volume is coming out this week.

Breakfast was per usual this morning. I ran out of Bear Naked granola yesterday so I dug into a box of Kroger low-fat granola that was hiding it my goody closet in the break room. I had Stonyfield French Vanilla yogurt, frozen blueberries and a sprinkle of sliced almonds. I wonder how long I will still want to eat this same thing. Oh well.

Am all excited about the Healthy Living Summit going on in Boston this weekend. Wish I could have gone. I’ve never been to Boston. I’ll bet everyone has a blast. It will be fun to read about it on everyone’s blogs on Monday.

For lunch I had two cheese enchiladas with a plate of finger-food veggies and a cup of fresh summer fruits. The enchiladas were SPICY but tasty. I also ate a mini dark Hershey’s chocolate bar. Yum. When I want chocolate that’s what I go for. I once tried an 85% cocoa bar but it was a little too bitter.

I won’t be back ‘til Monday. Hope everyone’s weekend is pleasant and full of healthy delicious foods and yummy exercise. I know mine will be.

More then…

Les feuilles mortes

Fall is nearly here. Although it doesn't feel like it. It's 91* here. But the calendar doesn't lie and some schools started their year this morning. On my street there were several kids standing outside waiting for the big yellow school bus. I missed out on riding the bus to school. I always lived in walking distance in grade school and junior high and by high school I rode public transportation - streetcars and city buses. I'm looking forward to the change of seasons. I think fall is my favorite season. It's such a pleasure to walk through the neighborhood watching all the leaves changing color and the pretty fall plants with their orange, gold, and deep purple flowers. I love the foods of fall and everything surrounding Halloween and Thanksgiving.

You might want to check out an interesting post on "normal" eating ove at Nutrition by Eve. It's very interesting. I'm one of those folks who never got a handle on what is normal when it comes to food. Glad that Kath put up the URL on her blog so that I got to read it. Enjoy...

Today I'm concentrating on progress not perfection. Taking one bite at a time. For lunch I had a salad beast with whole fresh mushrooms, broccoli florets, baby carrots, spinach and some iceberg mixed in. I used about a tablespoon of real ranch dressing and added a small can of tuna. Lovely. I also had some fresh strawberries and grapes. The strawberries were huge - more than one bite each. I like little Louisiana berries better but you can't get them this far north.

I also did about 20 minutes of yoga concentrating on the upper body movements. My muscles just hum after doing this routine. I'm looking forward to doing lower body stretches when I get home. Don't like to get down on the floor while I'm at work.

More later...

So far today...

First thing this morning, before it got too hot, I went for a walk around my neighborhood. I don't usually keep track of distance but I do keep track of the time. This morning I walked for a little over 30 minutes. I don't listen to music when I walk. I just think and let my mind wander. I come up with some of my best ideas while walking. Then I came home, showered (I do not appreciate humidity), and drove to the library where I jumped on a computer in the nursing student's computer lab and read email and blogs while listening to music in my headphones. I still listen to ADAM every morning.

For breakfast I had my standby. It was tasty and filling as always. That was at 7AM. It's now 11:20AM and I'm starting to get hungry. Lunch will be delayed today so I may get into my goody drawer and have a snack. If I get too hungry I won't make good choices at lunch.

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Monday on Tuesday

Sorry I didn't have a chance to post yesterday. I had my normal breakfast of granola, almonds, blueberries and vanilla yogurt. I'm sure that I'll get tired of it someday but so far I wake up wanting it every morning.

At lunch I didn't want what they had in the cafeteria but the Hop Shoppe makes the best hamburgers and I wanted one. I tried to talk myself out of it but I figured that one hamburger (there may have been fries as well) wouldn't kill me. I could be wrong. So I had the burger, fries and a large cup of summer fruits. I spent the afternoon fuller than I like.

At snack time I had a piece of Hershey's dark chocolate and about a cup of dry tasteless popcorn. By the time I got home I just wanted a big green monster so I made one waited a couple of hours and fixed a hummus, spinach and tortilla wrap followed by a cup of cantaloupe cubed with coarse ground black pepper.

We had bad thunderstorms and lots of wind yesterday. Topeka missed the worst of it but on the news they showed lots of pictures of storm damage. Some areas just south of us had 80-90 mph sustained winds. That's hurricane strength.

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Taco Salad Yum

For lunch I had a deconstructed taco salad -

• no shell, or chips
• seasoned ground beef
• chopped tomatoes and lettuce
• a sprinkle of cheese and
• lots of salsa

Then for dessert I had cubed watermelon - about a half pound. It was so sweet and juicy wish I'd gotten more.

I also went on a short walk around the hospital grounds. It's several blocks to get clear around the complex. If it wasn't the hottest time of the year I'd go farther.

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'nother Friday

The Dillons store is just too convenient. I drive right by it on my way home and although it is a small neighborhood store I still stop there a few times each week. Last night I got organic carrots, organic blueberries, 2 Almond Breeze vanilla, an apple, sliced almonds, watermelon (chunks, not a whole one), and some brown rice. I fixed the rice (it was one of those 90 second microwave bags) and then heated up some Potato and chickpeas in a tomato sauce. It was quite tasty.

I also fixed a smoothie. I love this one. It's so easy and only 3 ingredients.

• 1 cup vanilla yogurt (last night it was Stoneyfield's fat-free French vanilla)
• 1/2 c orange juice
• 4 ice cubes

Cold and refreshing.

This morning I had my usual yogurt mess.

• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 c blueberries
• sprinkle of sliced almonds
• 1/2 c Bear Naked Granola in Vanilla Almond Fit (can you see the theme here?)

I also am drinking a 20 oz diet coke. I feel the need for a caffeine fix.

I'm doing my library job from 8:30AM - 5:00PM and then I'm working on the floor from 7:00PM - 7:00AM. Hopefully I'll be able to get some reading done and maybe watch a little of the food channel. Has anyone else noticed that Good Eats hasn't been on at 7PM (CDT) this week. It's still on at 10PM. Is Alton losing his prime time slot? I hope not - I have a "thing" for him.

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Hugh Jass Salad

For lunch I hit up the salad bar and loaded up my lid (I put my stuff in the lid then top it with the plate. It's easier to get lots of stuff that way.) with baby spinach, some iceberg lettuce mix, shredded carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, fresh mushrooms, and a spoonful of sunflower seeds. I used Wish Bone Red Wine Mist salad spritzer. 1 big calorie per spray. I also ate a big bunch of red seedless grapes. I am comfortably full. I also took a hike around the hospital grounds for a little break. It's just in the low 80's right now so the walk was energizing rather than soggy/sweaty.

I have a small snack saved for later this afternoon. I get great snack ideas from Heather's blog.

Last evening when I got home I had a basic green monster. I wasn't hungry for four hours. I'm getting to the point where one of them is actually an entire meal. Good stuff.

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Lovely Thursday

It was actually down in the 60's this morning. It felt so good to walk with the light breeze blowing. It's supposed to get near 100 today and I certainly won't enjoy walking then. I'll be hidden in my nicely a/c house.

This morning I had what was left of my Kroger's low-fat vanilla yogurt, 1/2 c of Kroger's low-fat granola, and 1/2 c frozen blueberries. I mixed it all in the yogurt container a la current trend. It was plastic instead of glass but it worked great.

Am still reading the Omnivore's Dilemma. I also pulled out the Dec 2008 issue of Fitness to motivate myself to do an upper body workout. Felt great afterward so I did 20 min of yoga on my own.

Have a pleasant day (tomorrow is Friday, yay)

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Buy local

Food, Inc.

I assumed that the theme for the film was going to be about the cruel way we treat animals who are going to become our food. I get mailings from PETA and have seen the photos of animals cramped into unclean areas, who are hardly able to move, standing ankle deep in their own excrement, and sickened by the food they are given. They are injected with hormones and antibiotics. I work in a hospital and I see what antibiotic resistant bacteria can do to the human body. It isn't pretty.

But the real focus of the film was "big business" and how four companies attempt to control every bite we eat. I threatened to boycott one of the big companies. I won't name them because I don't want to get sued for *definition* of character. My daughter informed me that I would have to give up eating and most other consumables products because the company is involved with everything. The company to which I am referring refused to be interviewed for the film. Paranoia you say? See the movie.

The best review I've read is here on Dori's Shiny Blog.

I'm going to buy as much as I can from local farmers and local companies. Ones that aren't run by the government or big business concerns. I am going to stay away from processed foods as much and as often as I can. The trailer was right -- it will change the way you look at food.

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Food, Inc

My daughter and I went to see Food, Inc. on Friday. I was shocked that the theater was barely half filled. With all the blog reviews and comments I just figured that it would be a sell out. Saturday I started reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Both require much thought. We also went to Iwig's Family Dairy in Tecumseh, KS to check out their antibiotic and growth hormone free cows. I've always loved their milk and it was fun to see the local jams, noodles, chickens, honey and other goodies they carry in their shop. I'm going to work on a post tonight to let you know what I think about the whole issue. I doubt that I will ever use any milk products other than IWIG from now on. I got to see the cows in the pasture. They were feeding on natural grasses and alfalfa. They each have names and the hands know which cow goes with which names. My vote goes with the local farmer in this case.