This past week, we have eaten a lot of meat.
My father-in-law came to town on Thursday to take us out for supper. It was my husband's birthday and I usually indulge in meat eating for special occasions (I can't get rid of the Nebraskan in me!).
We ate at Ruby Tuesdays. The salad bar was excellent, as always. The ribeye disappointed me. It reinforced my belief that most of these chain restaurants are expensive fast food that is reheated by kitchen staff.
On Friday night, my mother-in-law and my husband's stepdad came over for a belated birthday dinner. My brother-in-law and his wife came too, which was a special treat. He is enlisted in the army and they just got back from spending a year in South Korea.
My husband grilled spiraled beef hot dogs (which I read about on Huffington Post) which tasted delicious, crispy, and perfect for holding ketchup and mustard on a hot dog bun.
I slow-cooked beef ribs in the oven at a low heat for five hours. I put them in marinade on the previous Wednesday, so the flavor was divine. The slow roasting made them surprisingly tender. I ate three ribs and one hot dog. I also made a four layer brownie cake (my husband doesn't like cake, but loves brownies) with homemade raspberry pear jam and cream cheese frosting I whipped up a few days earlier. I regret nothing.
Saturday evening concluded my husband's birthday festivities. We had a few friends over to play Catchphrase. Keeping it simple, I prepared chicken salad sandwiches from chicken thighs I canned last year and used homemade Tomato Oregano bread (my friends and family can't get enough of this stuff). I also made barbecue beef sandwiches, using store bought hickory sauce, beef my friend and I canned last month, and homemade whole wheat bread with wheat I ground in my Vitamix.
My friend brought over a few bags of potato chips and we finished the snacking with another pan of brownies with leftover cream cheese frosting.
This was more meat than we have eaten for over six months.
We felt sick to our stomachs after meals. We didn't have as much energy and felt tired and lethargic. Our bowels slowed down, which left us feeling constipated. Our waists became thicker, even though we only gained a few lbs.
I know there were other factors than just eating meat. We also didn't eat as many fruits and vegetables.
This week, we are back on track and feeling much better. The days of feasting helped us realize why we only eat meat on special occasions!
Here is what I ate yesterday:
For breakfast, I had my easy stand-by: Nature's Path Flaxseed Plus with an extra Tb. of ground flaxseed and original almond milk.
I ate my new favorite wrap for lunch: a Ezekiel tortilla with a Tb. of Better than Cream Cheese, a Tb. of Italian seasoned tomato paste, and fresh spinach. I finished with a cup of fresh Bing cherries.
As an afternoon snack, I ate a zucchini I sliced from my garden with fat-free hummus I made from garbanzo beans, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and lemon juice. Yesterday I posted about how I make large batches of dry beans ahead of time in my crockpot, then freeze them.
For supper, I made whole wheat and flaxseed pizza crust, then topped it with pizza sauce, spinach leaves, black olives, organic mozzarella cheese, and garlic feta goat cheese from a dairy about 30 min. drive from here. I also ate a romaine lettuce salad with locally grown tomatoes and Annie's Goddess dressing.
I feel so much better after eating this way (mostly vegan) again!
What indulgent foods do you allow yourself to have on special occasions?
As for fitness in my life, I'm doing week 4 of the couch to 5k again. Last week was a short week due to the holiday, so I only ran one day. I used the elliptical trainer for three days last week, did yoga stretching, and lifted some weights.
