Feeding my family yesterday

Here is what I fed my family today.

Breakfast
Oatmeal (made with rolled oats, not quick oats), a 1/2 c. of soymilk mixed in with the water, 4 Tb. of sugar, and frozen blueberries (very rich in antioxidants!)

Morning snack
Craisins (dried, sweetened cranberries) and a half of a tortilla (made from scratch, though I use a pizza stone for 3 min. in a 450 F oven).

Lunch (husband)
Leftover Mexican casserole (chopped onions, green peppers, serrano peppers, and tomatoes from my garden; corn I canned (though not organic like the rest); and layered with homemade tortillas and shredded co-jack cheese), all lots of flu-fighting vegetables and a banana.

Lunch (Peanut)
Home-canned unsweetened applesauce mixed with organic home-canned unsweetened pear sauce, a 1/2 a slice of from-scratch oatmeal bread and home-blended 1/2 butter and 1/2 canola oil, and a wedge of co-jack cheese.

Supper
Cottage cheese loaf (yummier than it sounds!) and fresh asparagus


My meals for the day:

Breakfast
Smoothie with blackberries, 1 banana, 3 roma tomatoes, and spring greens

After workout snack
4 carrots

Lunch
Smoothie with peaches, 1 banana, 3 roma tomatoes, and spring greens and fresh spinach

Dinner
Fresh spinach salad, raw asparagus spears, 2 roma tomatoes, and fresh pea pods

I better get things going now!

Day 4 on Detox

I'm on day 4 of the Raw Food Diva's detox and I feel AMAZING! I have more energy, my skin looks clearer, and I've lost 6 lbs.!

I haven't been following it exactly, like I said. I am very active and need a little extra oomph to get going to the Y in the mornings. I still have my caffeine (two cups of coffee and 4 cups of green tea in the afternoon. I also have a smoothie each day for breakfast.

On Tuesday, I caved and made myself some Parmesan-buttered stove top popcorn. The crazy thing is that usually I have an entire batch to myself. This time I couldn't finish it all. I didn't like the way that my body felt, all bloaty and sluggish. I had half of it and it was plenty for me. The wild thing is that I still lost 1.5 lbs. that day!

This week I have averaged 550 calories burned per day when I work out. Even with the healthier diet that I had worked myself into, I still usually was exhausted by Wednesday and spent the last three workouts drained, unable to get up to 450 calories burned. Today, the fourth workout of the week, I had lots of energy! I made it up to 585 calories today and would have burned over 600 if I didn't get to the Y late.

I'm at 169 lbs. now. I'm 5'8", so this puts me on the edge of overweight now. My highest weight was just before (hours) I birthed my son, 242 lbs. I gained 60 lbs. with my pregnancy and my son is 2 1/2 now. I've struggled to get the weight off and the other diets that I was on left me hungry and exhausted.

I'll keep you posted!

Day 1 on Detox

Wow!

I did the first day of the 7 day detox. I'm starting with the 2nd day, actually, since I spend 1 1/2 hrs. working out M-F.

Usually my breakfast is a 2 egg omelet, topped with raw spinach and a sliced roma tomato. I have been adding a piece of fruit, usually a banana. I was convinced that the smoothie wouldn't give me enough energy for my workout. Nonetheless, I made myself a green smoothie:

1 can of pineapple (didn't have any fresh fruit left at home)
handful of fresh spinach
2 roma tomatoes

When I got to the Y, I was already feeling great. I had planned on taking it easy, but since I had so much energy, I really worked it! My goal when I work out is to burn 600 calories. Most of the time I only accomplish 450-550 calories.

TODAY I REACHED 611 CALORIES BURNED!!!

I felt GREAT all day!

I went to the grocery store to buy more fresh fruits/veggies. I picked up frozen cherries, blueberries, and blackberries; and two clearanced spring mix bagged salads, fresh asparagus, bananas (ripe and overripe for smoothies), two red grapefruit, and some tofu. From what I've read, the frozen is just as nutritious as fresh (as long as I don't cook it!). As I mentioned before, I'm going to move my son and my husband up my scale of healthy eating too, so I thought the tofu would be good to have around.

For supper, I had a salad of spring greens, shredded zucchini, fresh minced parsley and sage, spinach, and two diced roma tomatoes. The tomatoes, parsley, and sage are all from my garden, so I know they are organic.

I made my DH and Peanut (our son's nickname) leftover hash browns (organic potatoes), canned peas, and zucchini patties. I don't cook precisely, here a little, there a little, so I'm sorry if the recipe is vague.

Zucchini patties

Shredded zucchini
Half of an onion, shredded
Clove of garlic, minced
Rolled oats (I run it through the food processor first)
1 egg

Add enough flour to make the mixture tacky enough to fry until browned.

Like I wrote before, little steps toward health.

Off to bed now! Sleep is very, very important!

Detox, small steps to keep my family healthy

I'm starting The Raw Divas 7 day detox today.

With all of the flu going around (both types!), I want to be as healthy as possible. I don't think I have a chance of getting my 2 1/2 yr. old or my husband to go on a raw food eating plan with me, but I am going to start moving them toward better health.

My son is already a vegetarian*, so I am going to work toward veganism for him, including more plant proteins and fruits and vegetables. My husband and I usually eat clean meats (beef, chicken, and fish) several times weekly. I'm going to leave out the meat for my husband and move him back into vegetarianism. We were vegetarians for a year about five years ago, but I am becoming increasingly concerned about my husband's health since he has the dreaded apple body type and only exercises a day or two a week.

Have a great day!

E

*We have always been freaked out by the idea of toddlers/babies/young children eating meat (dead animals??). People are often horrified to learn that he is a vegetarian, especially since he is average to above average for his height and weight (and sharp as a tack, if you ask his mommy and daddy!).