Saturday, August 15, 2015

Getting Back on Track


This morning I woke up in my own bed, home after a wonderful road trip, but quite certain I had put on a few pounds with our summer activities.  The first thing I did after a cup of coffee was take a half-hour walk.  Next, I cleaned out the fridge.  I had stopped shopping for perishables when I knew we would be gone for most of a week, but there were little packages of unidentifiable leftovers from the past few weeks.  You know the gook that gets sort of built into the drawers and shelves of the refrigerator?  I showed the produce drawer to Stan and he took it apart so I could clean it.  It was a bit touch and go getting it back together, but now that I know he can do that, I look forward to cleaning the rest of the trapped-in crumbs and bits.


Fridge - before

I spent some time thinking about what I would need to help me get back on track with my eating plan.  I know I do better if I have lots of good healthy food on hand to choose from, and lately I hadn't been getting shopping, or hadn't been prepared when I did get to the store.  On most of the 4 days/week that Stan cooks he says "I'm going to the store.  Do you need anything?"  And lately I've been saying "Hmm, no, I do need stuff but don't have a list ready".  Today I worked on my list and was ready to say "I'll go with you."

Here's what I wrote down for food I should have on hand for healthy eating:

Breakfasts:
We usually have eggs and sausage, sometimes bacon, on hand.

I need:
Cabbage or sauerkraut and apple
or Kale, spinach or other greens
Onion
Pepper
Zucchini
Avocado and salsa, occasionally
Occasional plain Greek yogurt and fruit

Lunch – big green salad  and bone broth
Greens
Tomatoes (have been using from pea patch and Aerogarden, but none ripe at present)
Snap peas and/or other salad veggies
Tuna
Celery
Berries
Fruit in season
Pecans or other nuts
Bone broth

Dinner
I cook 2 nights/week – plan two meals and have ingredients ready
Dark chocolate (our usual dessert)


Snacks
Pistachios
Fruit and nuts
Carrots, celery (with peanut butter or cream cheese)
Occasional veggies and dip
Nice to have some paleo muffins or bread in freezer


Beverages
Soda Stream sparking water
La Croix canned lemon water (Melanie found this - it's good)
Kombucha
Lemonade or other fruit juice or syrup (I add a little to our Soda Stream water - Mira's idea)
Occasional gazpacho or Knudsen’s Very Veggie
Tea
Very occasional white wine

 Today is Tuesday, so I only need one meal planned for this week (Thursday, my other day is Monday).  I chose a dinner my friend, Marcia, posted on Facebook:  Lemon Butter Chicken.  I figured out what I needed and added it to my shopping list.  I'm going to be very happy when Thursday rolls around and I don't have to wrack my brain at the last minute for something to cook and then go to the store to get it!  I have often said I wouldn't mind cooking if I had a recipe and the ingredients - it's thinking up what to cook that's the hard part.

Here's what the chicken is supposed to look like, and I'll add a green veggie or salad.   I'll let you know how it turns out.




We went to the store and I bought the items on my list.  Now I'm confident I have enough to make my healthy veggie stir-fries for breakfasts and some big green salads for lunches.  Also some good snacks - yum! - I love celery with cream cheese or nut butter, and I have both.  If I eat enough good stuff all day long, I have less trouble limiting myself at dinner and thereafter.   Here's what I bought:



Yes, there is a bottle of white wine there...  this is what comes of going to the store at 5 PM instead of 9 AM!  I decided it would be easier to cut back over a few days instead of stopping the wine cold turkey after indulging every day on our trip.  I had two small glasses tonight and now I'm sipping  Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime herbal tea - one of my favorites.

So, here's my refrigerator, cleaned out and stocked with some healthy food.  (Does everyone use prime space in the door for storing batteries?  Is it true they last longer when kept in the fridge?  Maybe I'll research that sometime...)  You can't really see much, but my healthy produce is there in the drawers.  If you see something questionable, please remember I share the fridge with someone whose eating style is different from mine  : )



I have read suggestions to wash and cut up vegetables for a whole week at a time, and store them all ready for throwing in a salad.  So far I haven't done that, as I'm retired now and can spend time cutting up my breakfast veggies and then do it again for my lunch salad, however, I may try it, and if I do I'll write a post about how it works out.

P.S.  The next day I had good options for my breakfast, lunch and snack.  I mixed my veggies with some steak left over from the last meal of our trip.  Here's what I had.  btw - not to brag, but as I type, Stan is cooking Coq au Riesling for dinner  : )


Breakfast

Lunch

Snack


P.P.S.  According to Ask How-To Geek I am wasting valuable refrigerator shelf space for our alkaline batteries.  It seems that maybe some types of rechargeable batteries might lose their charge more slowly in the fridge, but the alkaline ones we keep there are more likely to get damaged from the condensation than they are to benefit.  They lose their charge at a rate of 1% or less per month at room temp and should be kept in a cool, dry, non-refrigerated place.  This is great!  I can spread out my walnuts, pecans, almonds and sunflower seeds, and Stan can put in a few more Stellas.

P.P.P.S.  Here are Stan's Coq au Riesling and my Lemon Butter Chicken.  Both were delicious!

Coq au Riesling

Lemon Butter Chicken


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