Running behind schedule

I know we are getting close to the 4th of July and everyone is busy. I have missed posting for the last several days and I have a slew of new posts ready for editing. I will get those posting online soon. I may go ahead and just post several in one day so look out. I hope you will enjoy and have a safe and healthy 4th of July!

Day 18, Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Breakfast: You guessed it, breakfast was another wonderful fruit salad.

Snack: My spouse had a banana and I had a plum

Lunch: My spouse had a black bean and cabbage salad with pickles. I had two ears of corn and the last of the teriyaki noodles.

Snack: We both had our organic cameo apples with natural peanut butter.

Dinner: Dinner was a nice change up as I made pearl barley to go under the bean dish (for taste, flavor, and contrast of mouth feel). We also had an ear of corn and stir fry vegetables. A little bit later we had a sweet potato with lemon as the second part of dinner.

Snack: We had the remainder of the fruit bake, a veggie juice (kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, lemon, and a cameo apple). I also had a cup of hot water with lemon and honey.

Overall: We had another wonderful day, in regards to food and our progress. Just wanted to mention that even though it seemed like we ate a lot of the whole wheat pasta (teriyaki noodle dish) over the last few days we really did not. With that said after reviewing the container it stated that it consists of seven servings total or one seventh of the container. I am happy to announce that we stretched it out to cover 10 servings!!! Before the last 18 days, we would have consumed that box of pasta in one to two meals and this time it went a lot further. Hooray for us, we continue our transition and transformation of the body, mind, and the soul. 

Day 17, Monday, June 27, 2011

Breakfast: We had a fruit salad with eclipse melons, blackberries, grapes, and strawberries.

Snack: I had the remainder of the gallo pinto (it was roughly a half a cup). My spouse had a banana.

Lunch: My spouse had a cabbage salad with tomato, pickles, and onions. He also had a side of black beans. I had an ear of corn (because I was out and about and had ill-prepared snacks for the first time in 16 days).

Snack: My spouse had a cameo apple with natural peanut butter. I had a small serving of teriyaki noodles with a few black and green olives.

Dinner: A side of teriyaki noodles, stir fry vegetable, cranberry bean dish, and sweet potato with lime.

Snack: My spouse had a cup of tea with cotton honey and I had a cup of hot water with lime and cotton honey. We also had some of the awesome and low-cal fruit bake that I made tonight. See the recipe and pic below

Overall: To start the week I made a few dishes that will stretch over a few days. I made a stir-fry vegetable dish (being careful not to overcook the vegetables), cranberry bean side dish, and fruit bake. As you get to know me, I like to make as many large batch side dishes possible that will stretch over a number of meals (up to a week). We had a good day even though it was a Monday. I was a little down today, for other reasons not related to food. We are looking forward to the wonderful changes as we continue to see them. And by wonderful changes I mean our continued health improvements, our skin, our even-kill personalities, and our continually shrinking waist lines.

Fruit Bake

2 apples (any type but cameos work best), sliced and last ¼ of apple is diced

1 pear, sliced

1 plum, sliced

1 peach, sliced

1.5 tablespoons of raisins

2 tablespoons of blackberries

2 tablespoons of honey

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 pinch of nutmeg

1 sheet of aluminum foil

1 9 inch round cake pan

Preheat oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit

Place peach slices on the bottom of the pan in a circle. Next place one of the two apple’s slices on top followed by the plum slices and finally with the last apple. Place diced apple pieced in the middle of the pan (where there is empty space). Next place raisins, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place blackberries on top and place aluminum foil on top and place into oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. 

Day 16, Sunday, June 26, 2011

Breakfast: We had a wonderful fruit salad saturated with of course what else fruit. Our fruit salad this morning consisted of blackberries, strawberries, anana melon, eclipse melon, plums, red grapes, and pear.

Lunch: We had the rice and bean dish (gallo pinto), an ear of corn, and a tomato salad.

Snack: We had grapes, a banana, and plums. Later after getting home we had an apple each with two tablespoons of crunchy natural peanut butter. Anytime we miss our morning snack we tend to get hungrier before dinner time.

Dinner: Teriyaki noodles, and ear of corn, and tomato salad.

Snack: a granny smith apple with natural peanut butter and my spouse had a cameo apple with natural peanut butter. My spouse had a cup of tea with cotton honey and I had a cup of hot water with lime and cotton honey. We both had a vegetable juice to end the night. The vegetable juice was an array of veggie goodness including: cucumber, kale, spinach, cameo apple, celery, and lime.

Overall: We finished our weekend on a good note. Again we have been very happy and even-kill in regards to our mood. This journey has been extremely eye opening to both of us in regards to what we use to eat and at times how much money we spent on food and were rarely ever content or full. We look forward to this coming week and the changes that will 

                                                      take place over the week and next weekend. 

Day 15, Saturday, June 25, 2011

Breakfast: We had several plums and a banana each. It was sufficient as we had a number of errands to run this morning.

Lunch: We had a bowl of around three ounces of the whole wheat pasta dish, I called it my teriyaki pasta chocked full of vegetables (onions, green pepper, violet pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms, and garlic).

Snack: I had a granny smith apple with crunchy natural peanut butter and my spouse had a fruit salad of anana melon, pear, black berries, strawberries, and kiwi.

Dinner: We had an ear of corn, small sweet potato with a slice of lime, and more teriyaki spaghetti from earlier.

Snack: We had a fruit juice of oranges, strawberries, and blackberries.

Overall: I wanted my first grain to be my rendition of a wonderful pasta dish I have had time and time again at one of our favorite restaurants. The restaurant makes wonderful teriyaki noodles with chicken, green peppers, and onions and I wanted to make my healthier lower calorie version of this. I had a great level of success and it made enough pasta for the entire week based on how the vegetables helped to stretch out the pasta. 

Day 14, Friday, June 24, 2011

Breakfast: We had a simple fruit salad of eclipse melon, pineapple, and red grapes.

Snack: My spouse had a banana and I had red grapes that were supposed to be part of my breakfast. I did not have time to finish breakfast so I packed up the grapes and brought them with me.

Lunch: I had an ear of corn and a plum. My spouse had my version of gallo pinto (black beans and long grain brown rice with peppers and garlic). My spouse began to implement grains today because there was an office eating event. To make sure we both stayed on track we both agreed that for him to implement grains one day earlier is better than him straying because there are no other food options available.

Snack: I had a banana and green apple with natural peanut butter. My spouse had a fruit salad.

2nd part of dinner

1st part of dinner

Dinner: Sweet potato with lime, an ear of corn, black beans, and a side salad of tomato, cilantro, pickles, olives, and onions. The sweet potato was awesome, sweet with all the wonderful caramelized goodness and the lime helped to pull out the wonderful flavors.

Snack: We had a handful of grapes. The sweet potato with lime with last night’s dinner was the perfect amount of food and a normal sized snack was not needed.

Overall: Another one bites the dust, oh I meant another week has come and gone with a great deal of success. We did well even though my spouse started to implement grains back into his diet a day earlier because of an office function. I made a rice and bean dish, my rendition of a Costa Rican dish (gallo pinto) that I sent with my spouse to work. I made the dish so at worst he would have this to eat if the other participants (from his office) brought things on our no-eat list.  

Day 13, Thursday

Day 13, June 23, 2011

Breakfast: Fruit salad consisting of eclipse melon, pineapple, watermelon (for me only), grapes, and mango.

Snack: I had a bowl of watermelon and my spouse had a banana with natural peanut butter.

Lunch: For lunch I had grapes and an ear of corn. For lunch my spouse had an ear of corn with a side salad of fruit, and a handful of carrots.

Snack:  I was finally able to have my granny smith apple halved with natural peanut butter (1.5 tablespoons total) to myself. When I am home and my apple is tempting up (I am a bit of a temperature snob in regards to food) my spouse will normally beg me to share my apple. My spouse often states that because it is mine, it makes it taste all the better. My spouse had a pear.

Dinner: Dinner was wonderful as usual. It is still hard to vision where we were just a few weeks ago: our meat portions out of whack, our going out to eat and over eating frenzies and the likes. So back to dinner, we had a half an ear of corn with a side of red kidney and black beans with garlic and a spinach salad with avocado, pickles, olives, tomatoes, onions, and a teaspoon of dried cranberries and golden raisins.

Snack: Like I mentioned, I tried tea with cotton honey but it did not work for me. I think I got down three sips before calling it quits. My spouse consumed both teas as a result. We also had a veggie drink of celery, cucumber, kale, lime, a green apple, and spinach.

Overall: I am starting to get a little antsy over the thought of incorporating something new (grains) in two days. I think I am always worried about how we will feel with the new implemented foods and how it will affect our holistic health, fitness, and weight loss goals. But overall today was another good day and I have not been able to complain to much other than the cotton honey. The cotton honey is by no means a sour wood honey. I loved sour wood honey and feel a little lost without it. I think I may try having hot water with lime and honey and see if I can slowly warm up to the cotton honey. But we will see. 

Day 12, Wednesday June 22, 2011

Let me just start by saying that I have not had one drop off coffee in 12 days!!!!!! Nada drop, zilch, nil, ningun, zero, zip, and cero!!!!!

How is that possible? Read today’s post and the previous posts for more information.

Breakfast: We had another wonderful fruit salad consisting of what else other than fruit. See the pic to determine the fruits incorporated in our morning fuel J

Snack: My spouse was sent with two bananas (they were beginning to spot badly) and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter. I had a banana and watermelon. My grandmother shared her watermelon that she purchased on our last farmer’s market excursion on Monday and it is truly sweet! We have pretty much made Mondays in the late spring and summer a family outing for farmer’s market (my grandmother, my aunt, and I).

Lunch:  My spouse had an ear of corn and an edamame salad with tomatoes, onions, carrots, and pickles (I thought it was a nice change-up from the traditional salad).  For some reason I ate like a king or queen rather. I finished up the oven roasted vegetables (with mushrooms, onions, peppers, garlic, and yellow squash) about a cup of it, an ear of corn on the cob, and a side of tomato salad consisting of tomatoes with Himalayan salt and pepper, green olives, and Vidalia onion.

Snack: My spouse had a handful of carrots and a cup of eclipse melon. I had more watermelon and it was still awesome!!!!!!!!!!

Dinner: Red Kidney beans with an ear of corn and a salad filled with avocado, romaine lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and green olives. It was a quite yummy dinner. The avocado as usual added a layer of healthy goodness (texture and mouth feel) including healthy fat and fiber to our meal.

Snack: We shared my granny smith apple with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter on each side. We also had a cup of Oolong citrus organic tea with cotton honey. Unfortunately we ran out of both the white tea and our beloved sour wood honey. When I went to the store today that sold the sour wood honey (it was the best I ever had) that is also locally produced (as we are trying to purchase as much locally produced produce and products possibly while keeping our eye on our wallet).

Overall: We keep moving forward towards our goals and not looking back at the way we and things were. We realize and can admit that what we were doing previously was not working out well for us, so a more drastic approach was needed to kick-start us on the right path. You may have noticed or have tired of our overuse of the words sweet and tasty to describe a lot of the fruits we have purchased lately. The reason we use those terms a lot is that by eating much healthier we have allowed our taste buds to heal and repair and we are more in tune to the taste of the natural sugars in our fruits and vegetables that we would not have noticed before.  It has also been good for us all to get out, see, explore, and purchase an array of freshness. It has (our family outings to the farmer’s market) been good for family bonding and spending quality time. We can all (the family members that go with me from time to time) that what we can get locally at the market taste a lot better and is often cheaper. The good stuff that our bodies need to keep going the right way and to heal and repair itself. There is truly something to be said about the freshest forms of produce (if it does not come from your own garden) is that buying locally is a great benefit for everyone involved. When buying locally you  help support a local small business owner  who in turns helps to support your local economy in more ways than one (including  hiring staff, purchasing needed supplies and products for his or her harvest, etc.).

Day Eleven, Tuesday June 21, 2011

Breakfast: Fruit salad consisting of blueberries, grapes, and eclipse cantaloupe.

Snack: We both had bananas although my spouse had natural peanut butter in addition

Lunch: My spouse had a romaine salad with tomatoes, pickles, onions, and rice vinegar and he had a handful of carrots and grapes. I had ½ a tomato with Himalayan salt and pepper and an ear of corn.

Snack: I had a peach and a tablespoon of olives and my spouse had a pear.

Dinner: We had an ear of corn, side of red kidney beans, and oven roasted vegetables.

Snack: I had a granny smith apple with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter. My spouse had a cup of eclipse cantaloupe. We then finished the night off with fresh juiced orange juice!!!! It was a refreshing change-up and much appreciated change. The orange juice was so smooth that OJ from a store cannot come close. I am not sure if we will ever buy OJ from a store in the future or if I will just resort to making the tastier version courtesy of our handy-dandy juicer. 

Overall: It was another good day besides the smog in our area from several wildfires throughout our state. We could smell the smoke and the whole day was hazy and it was all in the air which made it harder to breathe and so we both stayed inside a little more than we normally would. We felt good and are at a point that we feel like our changes have become more of our routine than a hindrance. We are doing well and pushing forward. I did exercise three times last week to get started and by Sunday my reoccurring knee injury had flared. Therefore I took Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off and iced my right knee a good bit. I plan to get back on the wagon tomorrow as my knee is starting to feel a little better.

Day 10, Monday June 20th, 2011

Day Ten

Breakfast: Fruit salad and fruit juice made from peaches and a wedge of pineapple

Snack: My spouse had a banana with natural peanut butter.  I partook in some wonderful blackberries my aunt purchased on our farmer’s market run today. They were T-A-S-T-Y and SWEET!!! So sweet I may pick up some on my next farmer's market run later this week.

Lunch: My spouse had a cabbage salad topped off with tomato, pickles, onions, and rice vinegar dressing.  I had one and a half ears of corn, roughly two tablespoons of black beans with ginger and garlic, and half a tomato seasoned just right (pepper and Himalayan pink salt).

Dinner: We had an ear of corn, edamame, and oven roasted vegetables consisting of mushrooms, onions, peppers, and a little rice vinegar and soy sauce (two tablespoons) and Himalayan salt and pepper

Snack: We shared a granny smith apple and each half had a tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Peach and pineapple juice

Overall: Not a bad day for either of us. It was another wonderful Monday and we survived. With our new eating habits and holistic approach Mondays have definitely become easier to deal with (and get through).  It was a rather emotional day for me (not sure why other than hormones). We began and ended our day on a good note. However I must make a serious and valiant attempt to be in bed before 11:15 p.m. or earlier!!! My health and possible success (holistically) depends on it! We also made another wonderful trip to the farmer's market for corn, eclipse melons, peppers, tomatoes, and more. See the wonderful spread of goodness in the pic below.

Day 9

Day Nine

 

Breakfast: Fruit salad including grapes, eclipse cantaloupe, and pineapple.

           
Lunch: Corn, black beans with garlic and ginger, and tomatoes       salad

Snack: We shared a pear (we were not as hungry at that point in the day because we ate our breakfast and lunch roughly 3 hours apart)

Dinner: More corn, chick pea salad, and oven roasted vegetable medley of mushrooms, onions, peppers (bell, yummy, and violet), and yellow squash) to increase our vegetable intake

Snack: We did forgo the juice tonight because we were actually pretty full but we still managed to partake in eating a banana with two teaspoons of natural peanut butter.

Overall: We have been feeling good. My spouse is still singing the praises of our transformation daily. I personally feel a bit more balanced since we added in the legumes. Before I felt really light and almost airy but now my body feels more balanced with the new additions.

Day 8

Day 8

            Breakfast: Fruit salad filled with blueberries, pineapple, and peaches

            ***We interrupt this broadcast to bring you the farmer’s market update for Saturday***

            We actually went today to the farmer’s market when it was crowded but we survived!! Okay once you get to know me you will realize that I do not do crowds well (I plan grocery, clothes shopping, and most public outings to avoid crowds). I will go on a tirade another day about my dislike of crowds in malls, grocery stores, and in most public settings. Okay so back on track here, we went in and got a number of wonderful        

Our finds

produce items to get us through the weekend and to start our week with. And I was happy to see that peppers, corn, plums, and a variety of other wonderful and tasty of all sorts are finally making their appearances for the season. We purchased white flesh corn, cucumbers, bell pepper , yummy peppers (it’s a really really light yellow bell pepper), lavender colored pepper, tomatoes, and some wonderful and interesting small melons (I will get the name of this type of melon next week and mention it)

Snack: Our introduction to legumes: Banana with natural peanut butter (two teaspoons to start). We wanted to start slow with the legumes. The container of peanut butter states two tablespoons constitutes a serving, but I wanted to wean us back up to the jolt of calories and the heaviness of the product. We also made a point to purchase natural peanut butter (store brand) that was less than two bucks and it consisted of two ingredients (the way it should be) roasted peanuts and salt. It was so hard to stir it up (with the oil settling on the top of the container) the peanut butter. I was really amazed, but I also know it is better for us (the lack of unnecessary ingredients added) and we both enjoyed the taste too so it was a bonus.

Lunch: We had some more legume action. We had black bean with ginger and garlic as a side, sliced tomatoes with Himalayan salt and pepper, and yes you guessed it; corn on the cob. It was an awesome, awesome meal let me tell you.

Snack: We had a handful of red grapes and shared a peach. That was plenty to tie us over until dinner time.

Dinner: Chickpea salad and corn on the cob. It was a wonderful and filling meal and yes I am aware that it was slightly imbalanced. Actually lunch and dinner were both imbalanced by the lack of vegetables. We also had a veggie juice a little later in the evening made from kale, celery, lime, cucumber, and cabbage. We hoped the juice would at least make up for some of the missed vegetables today. We will do better in days to come in regards to consuming what we consider to be a healthy daily amount of fresh produce.

Snack: There was a serving of the apple pear bake left and we each had a cup of white tea with sour wood honey. We are now OFFICIALLY out of white tea and honey. What will we do!!!! I will have to figure it out shortly and get on the ball.

Overall: It was another good day. My spouse simply cannot stop chatting to anyone who will listen how much better we both feel and the results we have experienced too in such a short time. My spouse should be nicknamed Chatty Cathy or Chatty Carl at this point. J  Everyone we know is aware of how much better we feel via the spouse. It is funny and at times boring to hear over and over again but it is also nice as it is a reminder of what we are doing. It also reminds me daily that this is the right decision for us at the right time in our lives. 

Day 7 and it's Friday!!!

Day 7 and it’s Friday!!!!

Breakfast: fruit salad containing blueberries, mango, and peaches.  

Snack: Fruit juice with peaches and pineapples 

Lunch: Corn on the cob for myself with carrots, grapes, and two strawberries. The spouse had another cabbage salad with pickles, tomatoes, and onions with rice vinegar dressing.

Dinner: We were on the go so I packed our dinner with a piece of fruit. We both had peaches for our fruit. We had oven baked vegetables with balsamic vinegar and an ear and a half of corn.

Overall: Today has been a better day. I am still trying to get over the trauma of the pear-pineapple-ginger juice from yesterday that turned my stomach for most of yesterday. We have amazed ourselves. We knew we would be out late and not have time for a juice once we returned home. There is no substituting not getting in those additional nutrients in liquid form and we knew we could not substitute it so we added an additional piece of fruit to our diet today. 

Day 6

Day 6  

Breakfast: We both started off with a heavy laden blueberry fruit salad. Next I had our fruit juice for the day (my spouse will drink it later today). The juice consisted of four pears, a wedge of pineapple, and an inch of ginger. Ewww it was gross!!! I think the pears and pineapple were not the best combination and the ginger just added insult to injury. I am glad it is over. I will make a point not to combine those items again.

The Infamous Juice

Snack: I packed snacks for both us consisting of bananas, grapes, strawberries, carrots for me and cabbage for my spouse. I did not eat my snacks today but I did partake in afternoon tea. I was not hungry actually after the corn experience so I backed off the emotional notion of eating just to eat not because I was hungry or having hungry pangs. Read the section below about the corn experience.

Lunch: My spouse had this morning’s fruit juice, cabbage salad with tomatoes, onions, pickles, and rice vinegar with a splash of fresh lemon juice. I had an ear of corn on the cob, banana, and large glass of water.

Dinner: Avocado with tomato, onion, romaine lettuce, green peppers, pickles, green olives, and rice vinegar and lemon juice dressing with a side of corn on the cob. We also had a veggie juice (6 to 8 kale leaves, celery, cucumber, cabbage, and a bit of lemon).

Snack: White tea with sour wood honey and apple pear bake

The corn experience: Let me describe it to you in detail. I made it back home a little early because I simply had corn on my mind. Not in a oh-my-God I cannot function without it kind of way or maybe I have really big issues kind of way. I think it was in a, I am going to reward myself with this piece of corn for lunch kinda way. After that juice this morning, I was pretty much done with eating for a while. When it was time for my snacks, I refused them because I had convinced myself that the next thing going in my belly besides some good ole cold agua would be corn! I took out of the refrigerator the covenant piece and placed it on a paper towel and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds, followed by another 30 seconds. In meantime I had made my way back to the refrigerator to look at the bag of corn (there was around 8 ears left) and doodled at the option of eating the whole entire bag. I came to my senses and put it back. I finally made my way to the microwave, recovered my ear of corn, tall glass of water, and banana and went to the table. I could easily see a repeat of last night, eating all the juicy morsels in one fell swoop, so I tried to pace myself. I made a point to take one mouthful at a time even though I wanted more…. I then halfway through the ear, made myself put it down and take a few sips of water, to I guess preoccupy my thoughts and goals. I then went back in and dove in, head first. I began to cough or choke a little right before I finished, which finally got my attention. I finished off the corn in ecstasy. It was great, every juicy kernel.  Wow, I love corn, every wonderful kernel of it, especially when it is on the cob.

Overall: I realize I have to make a valiant attempt to get more sleep! My spouse wakes up feeling refreshed and energized for the most part. I wake up needing another hour or so and dead tired to the world. Besides the sleep we both feel great. 

Day 5

Day 5

Breakfast: Fruit juice of mango, strawberries, peaches, pineapple, and oranges. My spouse used his portion of the juice as a snack and I had mine as part of breakfast. We both had a fruit salad.

Snacks: I packed us both with carrots, grapes, and strawberries. My spouse also had a banana with his snack. I had to make a grocery store run to pick up more bananas, pears, and apples.

Lunch: My spouse had a romaine salad with tomatoes, onions, mint, and pickles. I had the leftover oven-roasted vegetables from the night before.

Snack: My spouse had the remainder of his snacks and I had a cup of white tea with sour wood honey.

Dinner: Dinner was served in two parts tonight. The first part was a side salad and ear of white flesh corn. The second part of our dinner was implementing a veggie juice (6 to 8 kale leaves, 1 large cucumber, ½ lemon peeled, 2 ½ celery stalks, and one small apple) to boost our veggie count and the health benefits associated with juicing. I really missed my banana today and was a little hungry this afternoon so by the time dinner was served, I scarfed down the corn on the cob in probably less than 60 seconds. I should have picked up a piece of fruit this afternoon, but I was determined I could make it to dinner time. Afterwards my tummy hurt for a little while from the whole ear of corn hitting it simultaneously.

Dessert and Snack: More apple and pear bake hoo-ray! It, the apple and pear bake was actually better tonight than last night.

Snack: We then followed our meal and dessert with a cup of white tea and sour wood honey.

Overall: We are still making progress: steady energy level, clearer skin, even mood, and temperament. We seem to spend so little time eating and in food preparation this past week and we both have found ourselves with more time because we are not constantly eating, thinking about food, or doing something food related. It has been a relief on one hand but an adjustment on the other hand. We eat several times a day (4 to 6 times) but it does not take us long nor are we lingering over food. We feel satisfied with our meals and how we feel afterwards. But again, it is still an adjustment getting used to how prevailing processed foods and fast foods in our society. It should not be a shocker to anyone as to why it is difficult for most to hold unhealthy views of nutrition, overweight, and feel absolutely helpless to do nothing about it. I made a short trip to the grocery store to pick up a few fresh items. I ended up buying more peaches and pears at ninety-nine cent a pound and bananas at fifty-one cent a pound. The total was right under six dollars. I felt a little jittery and had white tea with sour wood honey as a snack this afternoon. I think the tea has helped me wean off of my daily cups of coffee.

Day 4

Day 4, Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Breakfast: 10 ounces (per person) of juice (10 strawberries, 2 oranges, and a pineapple wedge) 

and a wonderful fruit salad

Snack: For me I had carrots, ¼ of a pear, red grape, and plenty of water. For my spouse: a banana, carrots, pear slices, and fruit juice.  

                                                        

We interrupt this program to bring you an important message: The writer of this blog absolutely loves corn on the cob!!!!! I love corn. I love corn. I love corn on the cob!!!! I have always really liked corn on the cob, but it appears lately (over the last year or so) my like has turned into full carnal-love of corn on the cob. Not sure why I love it so, but I do. There I said it. I love corn on the cob.

 *The corn yesterday was so good, I made a second appearance today to my local farmer’s market and this time purchased 12 ears (a dozen) for $4 from the same vendor (I wanted the same quality and taste in corn or better).

Lunch: for me was an ear of corn and a banana. My spouse had a small salad with green peppers, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and rice vinegar dressing.

Snack: White tea with honey and an extra tablespoon of sour wood honey. It was great!

Dinner: Oven roasted vegetables, corn on the cob, and tomato salad. I know the pic inserted here is not that great. I will do better at plate presentation in the future. I have to say, it is a rather sloppy pic. Presentation, presentation, presentation is oh-so important. I am trying to convince you of the benefits and by posting sloppy pics I could be possibly turning you off. Shame on me. I will do better next time.

Dessert: Apple and pear bake. I looked over a number of recipes and have combined a few into the following:

2 apples, cored and diced

1 pear, cored and diced

1 cup of pitted cherries

1 tablespoon of golden raisins

2 tablespoon of dried cranberries

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 pinch of nutmeg

1 tablespoon of honey

2 spritz of extra virgin olive oil

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

Place all diced or pitted fruits onto a pan, next add cranberries, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, and olive oil on top. Mix all items together with your hands. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on top loosely. Place in the oven and remove after 30 minutes. Let baked item sit for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 5 single servings or 2.5 servings for a couple.

Overall: Our skin looks clearer, less outbreaks and pimples. We both have been feeling pretty good overall. We have a steady level of energy which has been great. There is still a psychological element holding me back mentally. There were a few temptations today and I won the battle today. So little by little we are making a lot of progress. You may be wondering why would we ever stray from the goodness we have found? That is an easy question to answer: temptation, product placement, and propaganda regarding edible food like substance being plastered everywhere we turn. 

Day 3

Day 3, Monday, June 13, 2011

I went to the farmer’s market this afternoon and had a ton of fun (with family) :-)  I bought some more awesome carrots. I bought a batch of golden and a rust color batch of carrots. I also purchased the following items at the market: tomatoes, English-style cucumbers, white flesh corn, kale, and cabbage. I was able to keep my entire trip to around $12 and spent another $17 in a discount grocery purchasing fresh produce for the week (including blueberries for ninety-nine cent each, strawberries for the same price, celery, lives, pickles, carrots, and romaine lettuce).

Breakfast: Can you say fruit salad. Hooray for fruit. I am glad my spouse and I like fruit, because if not we would really be hating life right about now.

Lunch: I packed lunches for both of us. Mine consisted of an apple, carrots, grapes, banana, and water bottle. My spouses consisted of another fruit salad, banana, carrots, grapes, cherries. My spouse had more produce so he could eat what he wanted as snacks throughout the day and still have something available for lunch. 

Dinner: Salad, corn on the cob, and remainder of the tomato juice served as soup. This was a really feeling dinner and the corn was wonderful.

Snack: White tea with honey

Overall: Good day. We were both tempted being outside our home but stayed on course. We are happy with our overall benefits we are reaping so early on (high and steady energy levels, more even-kill personality and mood, overall feelings of optimism). 

Day 2

Day 2, Sunday, June 12^th, 2001

Breakfast: We started our day off right with a wonderful fruit salad. I have made a point to make our fruit salads the night before to give us more variety. In the past, we ate a lot of fruit salads from fresh fruit, but I would make one big salad at the beginning of the week and we would eat it daily for breakfast which does not lend to a lot of variety. By the end of the week some weeks we would both be tired of having the same ole fruit salad.  Here is another pic. 

Snack: We were out and about visiting family and took a snack with us consisting of a shared pear, grapes, and carrots. The family members we were visiting are very supportive and offered us watermelon and bing cherries. This was the perfect amount and I was finished with my lunch. My husband wanted a bit more food, so I made a juice when we arrived home.

Juice: We wanted a small pick me up juice, so I prepared a juice consisting of: three peaches, one apple, one pear, one piece of ginger (about an inch long), one stalk of celery, and one wedge (1/4) of pineapple. The ginger made the juice slightly spicy but again it was really tasty. It was probably the best juice I had made to date. 

Dinner: We have read that many people heat their juice and serve it in bowls as soup. One must be mindful not to overheat the soup or juice as the nutrition may be cooked out.  This gave me a wonderful idea. I place several mushrooms and two cloves of garlic in a sauce pan with three skirts of extra virgin olive oil (most juicing regiments state that olive oil is okay when sparingly used) and sautéed them lightly and then I added the tomato juice I made. The goal was to make a slightly meaty soup. The tomato mixture itself would be smooth because of the juicer, but the mushrooms and garlic would provide the meaty chewy taste that we often associate with being full and satisfied. The juice itself was less than spectacular. I must admit, we should have stopped at one onion versus adding two.

Snack: We finished the night off with a cup of white tea with a tablespoon of sour wood local honey. I think we are really beginning to fall in love with our sour wood honey purchased locally. The white tea is nice and subtle and is probably helping to curve my cup a coffee a day craving. I really have not craved coffee, but I think the tea might have helped as well.

Overall: We had another good day. We were full and physically satisfied most of the day as far as food was concerned. The tomato juice/soup left a lot to be desired but again this is a learning process and growing process as well. We planned for our outing and was properly prepared (with snacks) to satiate any hunger that arrived (and to keep us from missing a meal). We are still surprised at the amount of energy we have had. I did have a brief headache this evening, I think as a result of not having coffee for two days but I think the white tea really helped.