Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Expecting the Expected


Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Last day of the month.  I can't say that it's been a good one.  I checked my weight this morning and as I pretty much expected it's up some.  Combine the relentless binge eating with less exercise over the last two weeks as the weather has turned bad and the result is bloat.  It's nothing super serious and it should go away with a few days of being good but it's still annoying.

One more day today of being not so good.  I have a work marathon planned so pizza will be involved.  There won't be exercise.  And then it will be over and November will be here.  A brand spanking new month filled with promise, hope and all that other crap.

Breakfast:  Mcdonalds egg mcmuffin, sausage burrito, coffee

Lunch:  3 egg omelet with bacon, cream cheese, avocado; sausage; coffee

Dinner:  Deluxe Pizza

Exercise:  None

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Slightly Sandy


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

I'm fortunate to live in an area that was spared the brunt of Hurricane Sandy.  It's still affecting things, though - rain, wind, generally miserable conditions.  I feel for people who have been hit hard.

On the personal front, I did exactly nothing last night.  I stretched out and watched coverage, then football, then I went to sleep.  Well, I ate a lot, but other than that I did nothing.  And I felt better as a result.  Not going back to that restaurant any time soon.

Breakfast:  McDonalds egg mcmuffin, 2 sausage burritos, coffee

Super super late this morning and surprisingly hungry.  This was about one burrito more than I needed though.

Lunch:  Leftover oatcakes, 4 CF bacon patties, 1 small organic avocado, coffee

I thought about having eggs too but this was sufficient
Pretty standard lunch.  Easy to fix and delicious.  In a dietary sense I should have had eggs instead of the oatcakes but there you go.

Dinner:  Domino's pizza with pepperoni, ham and onion.  Meh.

Snack:  A few potato chips.

Exercise:  None.  I intended to do a bunch of stuff around the house but got caught up in the spreadsheets.  Tomorrow is looking like a work marathon so it's not going to be a good week for this stuff.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Bob Let Me Down


Monday, October 29, 2012

Rough day today.  Explanation coming.

Breakfast:  Leftover ham and beans, coffee

Breakfast was not the problem.  I tossed the leftovers on the stove and got ready.  By the time I finished they were hot and proved to be just as delicious as the first time.  I am a fan.

Lunch:  Bob Evans classic breakfast - 2 eggs over easy, bacon, sausage patties, 2 pancakes w/ one contained of "butter".  Coffee.

Lunch tasted okay, but I paid a price about an hour later.  Ugh.  A trip to the can solved the pressing issue, but I've been quite dizzy since.  Quite unpleasant.  Also, while the food was decent I think I'm starting to become just a bit of a food snob - I'm no great shakes as a cook but I know that I can do better.  I think quality of ingredients is a big factor.  I'm really becoming a major fan of locally sources stuff that's produced the right way.

Dinner:  Little Caesars pepperoni pizza

Snack:  Chips and onion dip.

I have no idea what my obsession is with onion dip lately - I've gone years without eating the stuff.  Hopefully I'll toss the rest of it before I go to bed and I can be done.

Exercise:  None.  Feeling some effects from Hurricane Sandy and it just isn't nice out there.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Ham and Beaned


Sunday, October 28, 2012

Another good day except for excessive eating.  Still looking for focus.

Breakfast:  2 eggs fried in a bit of butter, 1 small organic russet potato fried in a bit of lard, 1 small organic avocado.  Coffee.


Looking at this objectively, it wasn't my finest effort.  The eggs were past over medium, the potatoes could have used another minute.  But ... I mixed it all up and it was entirely delicious.

Lunch:  Ham and beans, a little bit of sauteed carrot, celery and onion.


A new dish, something I haven't had before.  I got a lovely big smoked ham slice from a different local farm and cooked that up.  I soaked some great northern beans and cooked them up with a little onion and some spices.  Brought everything together and the result was fantastic.  I have one leftover meal (plus some extra ham), hope it's as good!  I didn't eat all that much of the carrot/celery mix, poor cooking job on that.

Snack:  Hot dog with bun and mustard, 1 package peanut butter crackers

Dinner:  Spaghetti with ground beef, salad with ranch, garlic toast.  Not my choice.

Snack:  Chips and onion dip, 1 fizzy greyhound drink.

Exercise:  18 holes with cart, some extra walking.  Pedometer said 4.5 miles.

Worth noting that I was super energetic - I did have a hard time getting up this morning but did a bunch of cooking and stuff around the house.  Had the ham and beans before going out and felt GREAT.

Raking Leaves, Not Taking Pictures


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Love weekends.  The eating is a little over the top though.

Breakfast:  2 McDonalds sausage burritos, coffee

Snack:  Hot dog w/ bun, mustard and onion, 1 package peanut butter crackers

Lunch:  Qdoba naked steak burrito

Dinner:  Deluxe pizza

Snack:  Chips and onion dip

Exercise:  18 holes with cart.  Pedometer said 5.5 miles, with a couple more when you factor in a bunch of yard work.

Entirely too much purchased food today - it was very expensive and I can't have this.  It was also not exactly good for me.

Friday, October 26, 2012

All Out

Friday, October 26, 2012

Rough week.  Sleep schedule is super messed up meaning that I've been running late in the morning.  I hate that.  Going to try and fix this weekend if possible.

Breakfast:  McDonald's egg mcmuffin, sausage burrito, small coffee

Lunch:  3 egg omelet with bacon, cream cheese, avacado; sausage; coffee

Snack:  ~ 1.5 oz CF cajun beef jerky

Dinner:  2 Taco Bell chicken burritos, chips and onion dip

Nightcap:  Sparkling greyhound (vodka, grapefruit juice, San Pellegrino sparkling water).  Pretty watery.

Exercise:  4.5 holes walking.  1.75 miles according to the pedometer.

Yergh

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Uh.

Breakfast:  2 slices sharp cheddar cheese

Lunch:  Oatcakes, ~ 3 strips CF garlic/pepper bacon, coffee

Snack:  ~ 2.5 oz CF cajun beef jerky

Dinner:  Turkey reuben with slaw on dark rye; fries; salad with ranch, 24 oz Miller Lite

Snack:  Popcorn

Exercise:  9 holes with cart.  At least there was that.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Stupid Accomplishments for the Win


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

As of mid-day it's actually nice outside.  Mid 60s, a little sun and most importantly NOT raining.  It's a shame that it's the middle of the week and there is work upon work to be done.  About all I can hope for is that I can leave shortly after 5:00 and maybe squeeze in a little walking.

I'm starting to think that I really should have some jerky or other low carb snack food on hand at work to deal with situations like yesterday.  I didn't leave until after 6:00 and had a couple stops to make on the way home so I ended up not pointing the car toward home until 7:15 or so.  At that point I knew that I wasn't going to feel like waiting to cook anything and it had been six plus hours since lunch so I was hungry.  Being short on time and being hungry results in poor food choices.  Being lazy doesn't help either.  If I am going to get serious about breaking out of my current range and losing a few dozen more pounds I need to avoid putting myself in that kind of situation.  History doesn't lie, at least not in this case.

As for stupid accomplishments, I cleaned out my linen closet.  Made sure all the towels were nicely folded.  The sheets are organized.  The junk removed.  The only thing I didn't do was re-paper the shelves - it's ugly but whatever it's a linen closet.  Doing this made me unreasonably happy.

Breakfast:  Bowl of leftover stew, coffee

Added less water on reheat this time, more stewy than soupy as a result
The last of the stew.  I probably pushed this a day more than I wanted but it was still fine.  I have to say that I have rather enjoyed having it for breakfast and will probably make another batch this weekend if I have any kind of suitable meat in the freezer - or maybe I'll just use ground beef since I know I have that.

Lunch:  2 large eggs fried over medium in a pat of butter, ~ 5 strips CF garlic/pepper bacon, 1 slice sharp cheddar cheese, 5.5 oz can of V-8 juice, coffee

And the world was shocked ... eggs for lunch?!?
Eggs were very good, cooked to perfection.  Same for the bacon.  I even made a good cup of coffee.  Yum.  Went with the V-8 out of the cupboard since the avocados I bought yesterday aren't ripe.  I've kinda come to the conclusion that I don't actually like V-8 that much.

Dinner:  Roast beef wrap (some sub 500 cal version), dinner salad with ranch

Snack:  Chips and onion dip.  Too much.

Exercise:  Just under an hour of golf with cart.  Barely counts but I'll count it since I'm going to go spend an hour doing stuff around the house too.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Slow Everything


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The sad realization that I'm not likely to reach my end of the year goal set in this morning.  I just haven't been very consistent and I have allowed way too many grains to re-enter my diet.  The reality seems to be that if I don't pay attention, binge and otherwise eat starch I'm stuck in this general weight range.

Which is not acceptable.

I'm cognizant of the problem.  I have a pretty good idea of what I'd need to do to fix it.  Now all that needs to happen is that I actually have to DO it.  Dummy.

On the non-food front I felt like I accomplished a couple little things around the house last night.  I even cleaned out the coat closet, one of those projects that gets tackled every ten years whether it needs it or not. Uh, yeah, it needed to be done.  Much improved.

Breakfast:  Big bowl of leftover stew, coffee

Amazingly enough I managed not to spill any of this.  LOL quantity control.
Still good.  Big bowl, probably more than I really need to eat in the morning.  Going to cut down the quantity next time and also cut back on the carrot and potato portions to reduce the carb count a bit.  And I dunno, maybe I should call it soup.

Lunch:  Leftover oatcakes, 4 slices CF garlic/pepper bacon, coffee

I'm definitely not tired of the oatcakes.  Yum.
I think that I've pretty much mastered how to cook the CF bacon.  The first time I bought it many months ago I wasn't super impressed - I think I probably overcooked it.  Now, it's fantastic.  I definitely like the garlic/pepper flavor.

Dinner:  Little Caesars pepperoni pizza.  Yeah, oops.

Exercise:  None.  Raining yet AGAIN.  Did a little shopping and now going to spend a couple hours doing projects around the house.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Painful Death Avoided


Monday, October 22, 2012

Well, the good news is that there appear to be no ill effects from forgetting to fridge the stew for a couple hours.  As you'll see I partook heartily and feel just fine.  The bad news is that I'm still not back in weight loss mode.  I really need to do something about that.

Breakfast:  Bowl of leftover stew, coffee

Not contained herein:  DEATH
Smelled fine, tasted fine.  I am probably excessively paranoid about food safety - this is pushing it pretty far for me.  I rarely even mess with expiration dates.

Lunch:  3 leftover oatcakes with a pat of butter, 4 strips CF garlic pepper bacon, coffee

This plate is definitely missing something...
Yup.  No eggs (didn't want to mess a third pan).  No veg (couldn't decide what would go well so I skipped it).  No fruit.  So very tasty though, love this stuff.

Dinner Part 1:  Bowl of leftover stew, coffee

This is a repeat, but the picture is not
By using more meat and more vegetables, I made more stew (duh).  I ended up with 4 good sized jarfuls -- you can tell by how full the bowl is -- and I don't really want to let it sit in the fridge too long, so I had a second meal of it.  Next time either I'll figure out if it freezes or else I'll go back to just using 1 lb of meat.

Dinner Part 2:  Homemade pizza with a little CF pepperoni and green olives, 2 pepperocinis

I could eat pizza at every meal.  It only seems like I do already...
Tried tweaking the crust recipe - used 1/3C each of self-rising wheat flour, brown rice flour and parmesan cheese with a bit of extra baking powder.  Turned out just fine, honestly hard to tell the difference versus the regular wheat/parm version.  Now, to find a soaked version, though I still have a bunch of self-rising flour that I'd like to use up and I don't imagine that soaking that is going to be ideal.

Exercise:  Nothing formal.  I'm going to go move some stuff around but again nothing I can point to and say "exercise yo!".  It's raining again.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sweet Day

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Nice day today.  Finally had good weather.

Breakfast:  Oat cakes with a pat of butter, 3 slices CF pepper garlic bacon, coffee

I almost titled today's post 'extreme shrinkage'.  I cut the slices in half to fit in a small frying pan (I was using the big pan for the oatcakes) and they ended up being bite sized...  As was the case last time I did not add any maple syrup - I had the bottle out in case it was needed.  The little drizzle in the batter was enough.  I also meant to try adding blueberries and I just plain forgot.

EXTREME BACON SHRINKAGE
Lunch:  Bowl of stew, coffee

I spent a bunch of time making the stew - it's not hard, just time consuming.  Most of that time it requires little or no attention, but it's not something you can make when you have to be somewhere in an hour.  I finished it, took it off the heat but left the lid on (I did it in an enameled cast iron pot that holds heat well), and jarred it when I got home an hour later.  That's all well and good ... but I forgot to put the jars in the fridge.  Crap.  I checked the net and the FDA says no more than 4 hours ... I think I'm OK since they were out no more than 3 before being fridged.  Needless to say I will be reheating these leftovers extremely well and I will dump them if they look or smell bad at all.  Dumbass.

Stew, this time with rump roast.  So good.
Dinner:  A couple slices homemade pizza, crescent rolls with ham and cheddar, crackers and bar cheez, celery with ranch/dill dip.  Obviously I was a guest at an afternoon party.

Late snack:  Italian sub

Exercise:  Nothing formal.  I did chase around the house and mowed the front yard this evening but I can't really point to anything and say 'look! exercise!'.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Errything But Sink

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Wow, super FAIL today.  Ate and ate and ate some more.

Breakfast:  Leftover oatmeal cooked in milk, coffee

Snack:  Hot dog with mustard and onion, peanut butter crackers

Lunch:  Qdoba naked steak burrito (as previously pictured)

Snack:  Chips and onion dip, a few pretzel bites

Dinner:  A couple slice of Pizza Hut pizza, a pizza roller

Late snack:  2 Taco Bell chicken burritos

Exercise:  9 holes w/ cart, shopping.  Pedometer said 4.5 miles by the time I finished running around, dunno if I believe it.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Uncomprehending

Friday, October 19, 2012

I don't think I'll ever really understand the human body.  I starched out last evening and generally had the kind of day that you expect to lead to bloating.  Instead, things feel loose this morning.  I don't get it.

Overslept and badly, I finally woke up more than an hour behind schedule, and that was after I had already canceled my early alarms last night because I knew I was in need of a full night of sleep.  Raced around and ran out the door without fixing the oats I had soaking.

I'm not expecting the rest of the day to be great either, it's supposed to rain again.  If I can get fired up I could knock off a bunch of work but that's not happening so far...

Breakfast:  McDonald's egg mcmuffin, sausage burrito, small coffee.  The egg mcmuffin was pretty good, the burrito blah and the coffee was OK once I took the top off.  I don't know what it is about those foam tops but they certainly impart an unpleasant taste.

Lunch:  About half or less of 2 eggs scrambled with onion, green pepper and mushrooms topped w/ 2 slices sharp cheddar; 1 bowl oatmeal with a little butter and a drizzle of maple syrup, 1 medium organic avocado, coffee
Cooking fail, plating fail, eating ... fail?
I didn't do a good job on the eggs and since I wasn't extremely hungry I didn't come close to finishing them - this was WAY too much food.  Tried adding maple syrup to the oatmeal, it was OK but nothing special.  I think I'd have to add enough to make it a dominant flavor and I wasn't willing to do that.  Eh.

I received a coffee grinder the other day and so I put that in action.  Good cup of coffee but nothing orgasmic - it may be that I should upgrade my coffee maker as well.

Dinner:  Deluxe pizza.  So bad and yet so good.

Exercise:  None.  Fail.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Omitted Post Title

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Another day.  Some good things happened, some setbacks.  Not much to talk about really.

Breakfast:  Leftover oatmeal reheated with milk, pat of butter, coffee

It's better this way.
I like the reheated with milk oatmeal better.  And I like it with a bit of rye.

Lunch:  3 egg omelet with bacon, cream cheese and avocado; sausage; coffee

Once I remembered that I was eating eggs it was picture time buddy
 Extra delicious today.

Dinner:  Sausage gravy, 2 medium organic russet potatoes boiled and fork mashed.

Still not visually appealing, still delicious
Nice thing about rainy evenings, lots of time to cook and then do all the dishes...

Snack:  Personal homemade pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms.

Pizza success, plating FAIL.
Yum.  Unnecessary but yum.

Exercise:  Sigh, none.  Raining sideways again.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Oscillating Within Range

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Stuck around the same number.  I'm not holding up the food end of the bargain.  Fewer binges, fewer carbs appear to be needed to really turbocharge the process.  Weather forecast for the rest of the week isn't very nice, not sure how much outdoor exercise is going to be possible.

Anyway, on with the show:

Breakfast:  Oatmeal, soaked w/ buttermilk and rye flakes and served with butter and bit of whole milk; coffee.  Standard stuff.

Nothing original to say ... it's oatmeal.
Lunch:  2 eggs scrambled, cooked in a bit of butter with diced green pepper and onion; 1 slice sharp cheddar cheese; 3 leftover CF bacon patties; 1 leftover oat cake.  Coffee.  Also standard stuff.

Just look at that beautiful plating.  Oh ... are those eggs?
I can tell that I've been eating at home more - I have used every dish towel I own during the past couple of days.  I foresee laundry in my immediate future.

Dinner:  Pizza with ham and meatballs.  A big one.  Sigh.

Exercise:  None.  Rain, rain, rain starting about 4:00 means no evening activity outside.  Work instead.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Recaked

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Despite the unnecessary chips and dip yesterday was still a decent day all things considered.  Work is killing me right now and I should have gone back but I didn't.  Needed exercise instead.

Breakfast:  Leftover beef stew, 1 leftover (frozen) oat cake, coffee

If I keep this up I might have to rename the blog "Eggs and Stew"
The last of the stew, it really was fantastic and I'll need to make another batch this weekend.  The oat cake reheated quite well I thought, still tasty.  I'll probably make another batch of those as well.  It still seems a bit odd eating stew for breakfast but it IS super easy - put it on the stove on medium low, cover and forget it for a while.  Do other morning stuff.  Come back, stir and eat.

Lunch:  2 eggs scrambled w/ a splash of milk in a bit of butter with diced green pepper and onion, 2 big slices Kraft jalapeno white cheddar, 3 CF bacon patties, coffee.

Cheese covers eggs and masks a really sloppy scrambling job!
No avocado today, I bought some at the store yesterday and they were not ripe.  Huh.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I did check them all to make sure I didn't buy any overripe ones...  Also, dumbest reason ever to eat 2 slices of cheese instead of 1 - I got fed up with trying to re-close the zip lock to save the last slice.  Patience and manual dexterity, how do they work.

Snack:  ~ 2 oz CF cajun beef jerky

Dinner:  1/3 lb cheeseburger with bacon, LTO and a slice of ham, fries w/ mayo, 34 oz Miller Lite

Exercise:  Golf with cart.  Pedometer said just over 2 miles, not real sure how accurate it was.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Great Starts of the Unusual Variety

Monday, October 15, 2012

After eating everything I could get my hands on yesterday it was nice that I felt okay this morning.  I didn't get up right away when the alarm went off (at 4:45, ugh) but did manage to get up earlier than usual.  No obvious bloating either, though I did not jump on the scale.

Because it was early and I knew that lunch was an iffy proposition, I knew that I needed a bit heartier breakfast than usual.  I also had not soaked any oats, so what to do...

Breakfast:  Bowl of leftover beef stew, 1/2 mini loaf pumpkin bread with a pat of butter, coffee

Regular breakfasts feature eggs.  This one?  Not so much.
That really worked out great.  Tasted fantastic and I wasn't close to hungry all morning long.  I think I might have the remaining serving tomorrow!  If I'd known this was going to be so good I would have purchased additional quantities of stew meat.  I did grab a rump roast so I may try the recipe with that instead ... once I go through the stuff I have thawed in my fridge that is!  So much good food on hand right now, it's great.

Lunch:  2 jumbo eggs scrambled with a splash of whole milk and cooked in a bit of butter, 4 CF bacon patties, 1 very small organic avocado; coffee.

Regular lunches do not feature eggs.
My lunches feature eggs regularly!
Pretty standard lunch, everything was done right.  I think I'd been overcooking the bacon patties just a bit, this time they were perfect.

On a completely unrelated note, I just noticed that I've consistently been spelling avocado incorrectly.  Must be the local accent - the first syllables are definitely pronounced 'av-ah' around here!

Dinner Part 1:  ~ 2 oz CF cajun beef jerky.  I took a picture but it's a lump of beef jerky.  Really.

Dinner Part 2:  Chips and onion dip.  Weak.  Polished them off so hopefully I'm done.

Exercise:  I spent a couple hours shopping.  Hit Meijer, Wal Mart, Menards and the mall looking for winter gear.  I had my pedometer but forgot to reset it.  Definitely got in a couple miles at least, so this does count.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

In This Post I Notice a Trend

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Yes, there is definitely a trend happening here.  I don't take pictures of the junk I eat, the pizza, the meals out.  We have an accountability issue.

Yesterday was definitely not good.  About the best thing I can say is that since I went to the farm, the farmer's market, Meijer and also the health food store I now have lots and lots of good stuff to eat.  I am stocked up and have a few new things to try.

Also on the must try list, I need to try the salad dressing recipes in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook.  It's pretty much impossible to find a commercial dressing without soy or canola oil -- even the organic and premium brands all have crap like "expeller pressed soybean oil.  Eff that, I'm trying to get rid of as much soy as possible.  I will live with what I have for the time being (obviously I bought salad fixins for the week) but I think it's going to be olive oil + lemon juice/vinegar + herbs time just as soon as I figure out what I need to do.

Breakfast:  Half a mini loaf of pumpkin bread with 2 pats butter, coffee

Picked this up - total impulse buy - at the farmer's market yesterday.  I'm indifferent to a lot of baked goods, especially sweet ones, but I do love pumpkin bread.  It was excellent.

I guess this counts as a meal.  Could have easily consumed the whole thing!
I have some oats and rye soaking to try and make blender oatmeal pancakes a bit later.  That could be interesting since I'm kinda winging it.

Brunch: Blender soaked oat pancakes (recipe to follow in separate post), 2 CF bacon patties.  Not pictured:  Another cup of coffee.  Now that I think about it, I had a couple cups I didn't mention yesterday too.  I don't worry about because they're plain, black coffee.

Anyway, oatcakes:  ZOMG.  Delicious!

As usual, my plating sucks.
Although it's in the picture, these did not need any extra maple syrup.  I ate two servings and froze the last three cakes to try reheating them.

Late Lunch:  A bowl of homemade beef stew.  I cooked up a batch using a pound of stew meat I got from the farm, celery, carrots and a small onion I got from the farmer's market, two small organic potatoes, parsley, spices and butter.  It turned out fantastic, well above expectations.  Loosely based on the Nutritious Stew recipe from Tender Grassfed Meat (page 120).  I didn't have any marrow bones or beef stock and I freelanced the spices but the overall concept was the same.

Simple homemade beef stew.
Yum.  Didn't eat too much because I have a dinner obligation.  Two meals worth of leftovers.

Dinner:  Canned spaghetti with ground beef and a bit of ketchup, garlic toast, salad with zesty italian

This used to be comfort food, now it's stomach discomfort waiting to happen.  Yergh.

Snack:  Chips and onion dip

Exercise:  None.  Another dreary rainy day.  I'll update if I do something.

Recipe Box: Blender Oat Pancakes

Blender Oat Pancakes, Today's Eats Style
Based on Soaked Oat Pancakes and Blender Oat Pancakes
Makes:  About 9 pancakes, 3 reasonable servings

The night before, place the following in the blender bottle:

1 C rolled oats
1/4 C rolled rye flakes
1 C buttermilk
A little warm water if needed to cover

After a good overnight soak, the next day add:

1 jumbo (or 1-2 large) egg
a pinch of sea salt
a drizzle of maple syrup
a bit of vanilla extract
pinch baking soda
slightly bigger pinch baking powder
1-2 T coconut oil

Blend until it looks like pancake batter.  I'd give it a minute or maybe even two.

Variation:  Stir in blueberries.  I haven't tried this but plan to some time.

Cook on griddle, medium heat, with butter or coconut oil until brown.

One serving (of three) - Blender Oat Pancakes
Serve with a pat of butter and or maple syrup

Note:  A lot of the measurements are approximate.  I tend to cook by feel more than by measurement, since I don't have to answer to anybody but myself most of the time.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

This Post Has Views

Saturday, October 13, 2012

A rainy start to what promises to be a wet weekend.  I'm supposed to play golf, not sure it's going to happen.  I don't especially enjoy playing in the rain, but will.

An unsurprising bobble last night.  It will probably be about the last time that happens this season (going out for pizza on Friday after golf that is) and I'm not exactly sweating it, but it was a stumble nonetheless.  On the positive side, I weighed myself today for the first time in a while and I dipped down into the next lower tens digit.  Yay!  Still miles to go, still woefully behind pace this month but it's always always always nice to see movement in the right direction.

Breakfast:  1 medium-large russet potato boiled, 2 jumbo eggs fried in a pat of butter, 2 leftover sausage patties and a slice of roasted red pepper.  Standard potato bowl.  Yum.  For whatever reason the store had jumbo eggs from the farm this week instead of larges, so it'll be a 2 egg kind of week, these things are huge.  Oh, and I had a couple cups of coffee too.

There is something about adding potato, sausage and
 peppers to eggs that makes them extra special
Lunch:  Qdoba burrito bowl with steak, pinto beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, salsa and pico.  I did manage to skip the tortilla this time.

Probably the 4th time ever I've had Qdoba.  It's tasty.
This is what happens when you get rained out, are out doing errands instead and don't have a plan B.

Snack:  Potato chips and onion dip.  I need to find a different time to do my grocery shopping.

Dinner:  Deluxe pizza

Snack:  1 bag Meijer naturals double butter popcorn.  3 bags left in the pantry.  Stayed up well past midnight watching the baseball game.

Exercise:  None, unless you count walking around stores which I don't.  Rain, rain and more rain.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Looser

Friday, October 12, 2012

It does not seem to take many days of being better about things for a difference to take place.  The pants were noticeably saggier this morning.  I'm just about to the point where I am going to need to find a smaller size.  I hope I have some in the closet because I'm not keen about buying for what will hopefully be short term use.

I stayed up way too late last night following the baseball game and I'm dragging a bit as a result.  It's not too bad but I'm not exactly bursting with energy.  Priorities, how do they work.

I finished yesterday's log before going to bed and overall I was pretty pleased.  I would definitely like to bump up the vegetation a bit.  I'm not sure when or how much I'll be able to add but it should be a point of emphasis.  Less grain and dairy and more vegetables.

Breakfast:  Leftover oatmeal reheated with whole milk; a pat of butter; coffee.  Probably the least interesting breakfast possible but I have a picture nonetheless:

I could not help but think of Monty Python whilst eating this
Also, before you ask no, I did not consume the stick of butter.

I picked up some rye flakes to try with the oatmeal when I restocked yesterday evening at the health food store, will be interested to see what the flavor is like.  I love rye bread and rye crackers but have never actually made anything with rye myself.  The idea is to use a bit as a booster when soaking to get the phytic acid out of the oats somewhat.  I have no idea if it works but soaking the oats seems to be working okay so far.

Lunch:  Corned beef reuben (corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss and butter on dark rye); cottage cheese; coffee

I won't even tell you about the eggs..
I didn't eat the thousand island, the sandwich didn't need it.  End result:  Full.  Quite full.

Dinner:  Salad (mostly iceberg lettuce with a bit of carrot, cabbage, cucumber, tomato, pickle, pepperocini) with zesty italian dressing, 1/2 medium deluxe pizza, ~ 20 oz Miller Lite

Invited out, could easily have not paid, did chip in.  No picture, I killed the battery on my phone by 6:00.

Snack:  1 bag Meijer naturals double butter popcorn.  Totally unnecessary.  I do think I'm about through my popcorn obsession phase.  I have about four bags left and think that'll hold me for a while.

Exercise:  9 holes with cart.  About 1.75 miles walking per pedometer.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Yes Just Do It

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  I kept things in check, got in a little brisk exercise and felt good while doing it and I tried (key word is tried) to go to bed at a correct hour.  I didn't fall asleep until after 11:00, but at least I get a foil star for trying to get it right.  Some times you just can't switch off the brain.

Other than being reluctant to get out of bed this morning until I had eight hours of sleep, feeling pretty good so far.

I spent a little while yesterday looking back through the past few months and I wrote down these exact words:  "Really, just read back through the last few months and what you're doing wrong jumps out!".  So much FAIL.  It is not rocket science.  To borrow a grossly overused commercial slogan, yes, I need to just do it.  Yesterday was not bad.  Add a little more vegetation, a bit more food at breakfast and some more exercise and it would have been excellent.  Do it.  Dummy.

Breakfast:  Oatmeal (soaked w/ 1 T wheat flour, 2 T buttermilk, water) with butter and a little whole milk, coffee.

I also noted while reading back that I do better when posting pictures of what I eat, so here's a thrilling picture of oatmeal:

Gruel.  No eggs.
There was a bit stronger flavor to this batch of oatmeal.  I can't say that I particularly mind it but it's a little different.  I suspect you get used to it.  I honestly have no idea if the soaking really does any good but it doesn't appear to hurt.  I was flipping through Nourishing Traditions last night while trying to come up with something new to try making this weekend (lots of options there) and something jumped out at me -- there was a blurb from Dr. Price's book about a couple islands off the Irish coast, and how a 20 year old girl from those islands had never seen a cow.  The diet of the isolated islanders consisted of oats and fish (iirc, my book is at home) -- so how if at all did they soak their oats?

You have to love nutrition, there are always puzzles to solve.

Lunch:  3 egg omelet (splash of milk) cooked in a pat of butter with ~ 2 oz CF pepperoni, a little frozen diced onion, jarred organic roasted red pepper and 2 slices Kraft jalapeno white cheddar cheese; 1 smallish organic avacado; coffee

I don't really have the perfect frying pan for omelets - I've been using a larger skillet this week which seems to work quite well in terms of size and cooking but it's not always easy to get the stuff out of the pan.  I probably should have just added the filling on the plate.  Oh well, live and learn, plating isn't super important when you're cooking for yourself.  Pic:

Eggs, poorly presented.  I give this plating an F minus
The combination of flavors was OK.  I wouldn't say five star but OK.  This was the first time I'd tried the CF pepperoni, it tasted a bit closer to salami to me but it was pretty good.

On a thoroughly unrelated note, the casual reader would probably be quite surprised to know that I really didn't drink coffee at all (< 3 cups/year average) prior to 2012.  Stupid soda habit.

Dinner:  Maybe dinner isn't the right descriptive term for this.  Let's try instead:

Part 1, before exercise --  ~ 2 oz CF cajun beef jerky:

I am 100% certain that beef jerky contains no eggs.

Part 2, after exercise -- 1 container Fage 2% plain yogurt with about 5 frozen strawberries defrosted:

Dairy product, close enough.

Exercise:  4.5 holes walking, total of 1.75 miles with a detour according to the pedometer.  I want to say I spent nearly an hour out there.

All in all felt quite good today.  Decent pep.  Shed a bit of excess water weight I suspect.  Took pictures of everything I ate except for the 2 sticks of Extra sf gum I chewed while walking.  Time to wind down and try again to fix the sleep schedule.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Unintentional Inspiration

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Yesterday was a bad day.  In any endeavor there come points where you just want to say **** it and I'm going to do whatever I want whatever the consequences may be.  I was way too close to that point last night.

Fortunately I received a little inspiration today.  Not the kind you might expect -- I've had a bunch of people comment on the weight I've lost the last couple weeks and have gotten nothing but encouragement.  If I stopped and thought about it, I should be extremely flattered that people notice.  Apparently I'm not wired that way.  But I did get to have a chat about completely unrelated stuff with someone who is inspiring (on multiple levels, for reasons not blogworthy) and I left feeling positive.  I know I can do what I need to do.  More importantly my "want to" got a boost.  I want to reach a goal that yesterday seemed a million miles away.

As I review the last few months, it's become quite obvious that I just can't be as lax about things as I have been.  Considering all the exercise I've been doing, it's ridiculous that I haven't lost another thirty pounds or more and that's 100% attributable to what's been going into my mouth.  Breakfast and lunch have been fine more often than not.  If I can pay more attention to my schedule to ensure that I lunch at home (and if I can have some backup quick foods in case of 'emergency') I'll be fine there.  Dinner needs to be fixed, and what I really should do is work on the home version of the taco salad.  Good volume without being extremely calorific.

Anyway, I'm feeling much more upbeat today.  I did even check the scale this morning and while I did take a hit it wasn't a huge one.  A little discipline will go a long way.

Breakfast:  1 big slice Kraft jalapeno white cheddar cheese, coffee

I was going to eat the usual salami as well, but when I opened a new package it just didn't look or smell right so I pitched it.  It was probably fine but I saw no reason to take a chance.

Lunch:  3 egg omelet (splash of milk) cooked in a pat of butter with 1 slice jalapeno white cheddar, leftover deluxe hamburger gravy, 1 small organic avacado, coffee.  Pic:

This is a different look for my eggs ... a properly folded omelet!
I wasn't sure how good the gravy would still be since I made it Saturday but it was OK.  Just thought I would test it before dumping it on the omelet.  It was OK but I generally prefer the gravy on a starch...

Dinner:  ~ 2 oz CF cajun beef jerky

Quick bite to eat before going out for exercise and for once I didn't eat again when I got home.  I didn't get hungry until pretty late, after the time I was planning to go to sleep.

Exercise:  4.5 holes walking, about 1.5 miles in about 40 minutes

I've been super tired this week and have had a real hard time getting out of bed.  I suspect that the bad eating at night is the primary cause -- hope that I'm right since that's easy-ish to fix.  I was definitely feeling the crummy mattress this morning too.  Ugh.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Just Not Good

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Yeah, not good.

Breakfast:  Leftover oatmeal cooked with a little milk, coffee

Lunch:  "triple" cheeseburger ( ~ 1/3 lb), order of fries

I felt fairly terrible by mid-afternoon.  Sick.  Headachey, aching and like something was coming on.  Thinking back I think I had that feeling another time I had lunch from this place.  Last time I just chalked it up to being short on sleep and it went away after a nap.  I wonder if there is something in the way they prepare things that I'm sensitive to.  I have no idea what it would be, as far as I know they're just fine in their food preparation practices.

Snack:  Popcorn, lots of popcorn.  16 oz orange juice

Dinner:  Applebee's chicken and steak fajitas with tortillas, rice, veggies, cheese and sour cream, 34 oz Miller Lite

Also:  McDonald's daily double, double cheeseburger, small fries

Exercise:  9 holes walking

I was glad that I felt better later and could get in a walk.  I forgot to reset the pedometer until the second hole but I'm pretty sure it was right about the stock 3.5 miles for that nine.

Afterward things were not so good.  Eating bad stuff makes me want to eat more bad stuff.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Corned

Monday, October 8, 2012

I think I forgot to mention that I got a new drivers license a while back.  Looking at the picture reminds me that while I look a little better than I did four (?) years ago I still have a long, long, long way to go and that I really need to knock off the slacking if I hope to get there.

It wasn't a good weekend on the eating front, though I did get in vast quantities (for me anyway) of exercise.

Breakfast:  Oatmeal with butter and whole milk; coffee

Slightly different version this time.  I soaked the oats in water and 2T buttermilk but added a T of wheat flour, that's supposed to help neutralize the phytic acid.  I also soaked them for ~ 24 hours instead of overnight.  I really didn't notice much difference taste-wise, they might have been a bit sour but it wasn't unpleasant.  I really do think that I'm going to dial back the oats once I finish them off though, in general I need to get back to cutting out the starches.

I forgot to take a picture.  Also of note, I was definitely not hungry this morning at any point.

Lunch:  Corned beef and sauerkraut on dark rye, cottage cheese, coffee

Invited out to lunch, got a nice pile of corned beef.  Skipped the thousand island, there must have been a little butter/spread on the bread, didn't need the dressing since the meat was so good.

I tried to take a picture but I killed my phone battery.

Dinner:  Little Caesars pepperoni pizza.  Oops.

Exercise:  4+ holes walking, 1.5 miles per the pedometer.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Poached

Sunday, October 7, 2012

I just typed August.  I guess I'm not ready for it to be fall.  Either that or I'm a good two months behind at everything which is also a distinct possibility.

Breakfast:  2 eggs, poached, 4 CF bacon patties, coffee.

I should just change the name of the blog to "Egg Pictures and Stuff"
I'm pretty sure that this was the first time I've ever tried to poach eggs.  I would describe the results as moderate success - they tasted just fine, but I lost some of the white.  I probably won't be poaching regularly unless I am eating toast.

Lunch:  Leftover deluxe hamburger gravy (reheated with a splash of milk), 1 medium organic russet potato, boiled, 1 organic avacado

It's still not pretty, but was tasty:

Eggs no, washed-out lighting YES!
I've been rendering some leaf lard I got at the farm so the stove top was pretty well covered for once!

Snack:  1 package peanut butter crackers, chips and onion dip (way too much of this)

Dinner:  Chicken enchilada, spanish rice

This is pretty much everything I wouldn't do for myself - it used light sour cream, canned cream soup, dunno about the cheese, processed bagged rice mix cooked with "smart balance" vegetable oil.    I did not eat to excess and skipped dessert.

Exercise:  18 holes, 9 walking and 9 riding.  I took the pedometer along and it said that I did 3.5 miles walking the front and 1.75 miles on the back when I rode.  Total of a little more than 5.25 miles.  Seems like that should be fairly accurate, the course itself is 4 miles without the distances between greens and tees etc.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Scot-like

Saturday, October 6, 2012

So after a rough day yesterday (busy, stressful, exercise-free) I have been happy that today is going better.  TGIS, I guess.  It's rainy and cool and breezy and generally what I imagine weather to be like in Scotland.

Breakfast:  2 eggs, scrambled with a splash of milk and cooked in a pat of butter, 4 CF bacon patties, coffee.  Pic:

Eggs, yes.  Lunch, no.
Snack:  Hot dog with bun, mustard, onion.  Before next season I'm going to be more organized about bringing my own snacks to the course.  I like to eat something little at the turn and I've had too many brats and hot dogs and peanut butter crackers because everything else is even junkier.

Lunch:  Qdoba steak burrito with pinto beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, salsa and pico

I did not take a picture, though I certainly could have.  It's a Qdoba burrito.

Snack:  Chips and onion dip (too many!)

Dinner:  Hamburger gravy, two small-medium russet potatoes, boiled.  Coffee

I tweaked my recipe and added a couple stalks of celery and some frozen diced green pepper.  This isn't the most visually appealing dish but it sure is delicious:

This dish features ZERO eggs.  Really.


Exercise:  18 holes walking.  Lots of aimless wandering while I waited too.  Felt good.  Did some shopping and stuff afterward, now ready to sit for a bit and watch football.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Stress Not So Good

Friday, October 5, 2012

It was a long day at the office and I'm still feeling the effects of Wednesday's marathon.  I need to catch up this weekend and then just kill it next week - tons to do before the 15th.

Breakfast:  ~ 2/3 of an oz genoa salami, 2 slices jalapeno white cheddar, coffee

Lunch:  1 triple cheeseburger (about 1/3 lb total), small fries

Dinner:  Deluxe pizza

Snack:  Potato chips

Junk, junk, junk.  I'll have a little time to re-focus this weekend, I hope, though I know I have some stuff to go to that will involve eating.  Sigh.

Exercise:  None.  Going to work around the house and hit the sack early (I hope).


Special Occasions

Thursday, October 4, 2012

I get a free pass for today.  It's not worth going into why.

Breakfast:  1 oz genoa salami, 1 slice jalapeno white cheddar, coffee

Lunch:  Jimmy John's #1, salt and vinegar chips.  Work lunch, I didn't pay

Snack:  Pizza flavor combos

Dinner:  Ham and meatball pizza, big one

Exercise:  9 holes with cart, all I had time for before it got dark

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

What Is This Rain

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

It's been a fantastic stretch weather-wise and so it's been a bit of a shock to see some rain this morning.  It's not raining hard, but it is raining.  It's enough to make me wonder what I'm going to do if it's still raining this evening and I can't get in my walk at the golf course.

Breakfast:  1 oz genoa salami, 1 big slice Kraft jalapeno white cheddar cheese; coffee

No oatmeal today, I didn't want to push the expired buttermilk further.  If it's raining tonight I might go do a couple laps around the store and pick some up.

Lunch: 2 eggs fried in a little butter, 4 Creswick Farms bacon patties, 1 small organic avacado, coffee

The bacon patties were new to me and were a total impulse purchase when I stopped at the farm the other day.  The ingredients are simple (going from memory they are bacon (pork, celery powder, black pepper and salt) and pork).  I wasn't entirely sure how to best prepare them so I treated them like sausage patties and tossed them on a cold skillet, heating until browned and cooked through and then flipping to brown the other side.  They were quite tasty, I'm not exactly sure how to describe them though.

This was an A+ meal.  How about a pic?

Eggs?  Eggs.  And ZOMG bacon patties and avacado and coffee!
Dinner:  Wendy's double with cheese, 2 orders spicy chicken nuggets.

I used to *like* this crap?

Snack:  1 bag popcorn

Exercise:  None.  I went back to work and stayed until almost 12:30.  Needed to do it.

Toward The End of Season

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Golf season is definitely winding down, although it was another nice day today.  Unusual for Tuesday I was able to walk, that helped make up for dinner.

Breakfast:  Leftover oatmeal cooked in milk with some butter (more than usual, most of a tablespoon), coffee

Lunch:  2 egg omelet with 2 big slices Kraft sharp cheddar, leftover sausage gravy, 1 small organic avacado, coffee

Featuring:  Eggs.  Duh.


Snack:  ~ 2 oz CF cajun beef jerky

Dinner:  Cheeseburger with a couple slices of bacon and a slice of ham + LTO.  Fries.  34 oz Miller Lite

Snack:  1 bag Meijer naturals double butter popcorn

I was invited out to dinner and did not say no, so that's one meal out against my total for the month.  I did manage to not eat out at lunch (which I often do on Tuesdays) so at least it was only one meal.  The burger and fries were tasty but it was very noticeable - when I eat that much starch I am just not satiated until I eat a LOT - thus the need for a snack later.

Exercise:  9 holes walking.  Forgot the pedometer again.

Monday, October 1, 2012

On The First

Monday, October 1, 2012

Tired this morning.  I thought I went to bed reasonably early, but when the alarm went off I switched it off and was deep in REM when it went off again an hour later.  Someday I hope to have made enough improvements that I can start sleeping better -- I still remember with great fondness a particular day years ago (when I'd lost a bunch of weight) where I woke up early with all kinds of energy.  It was a great feeling, and one most rare.  I am not a morning person.

Breakfast:  Soaked oatmeal with whole milk and a little butter; coffee

I noticed after I put the oats together last night that my buttermilk was past the expiration date.  It did not appear to affect anything, but I will need to get some more if I keep eating oatmeal.

Lunch:  2 egg omelet (eggs with a splash of whole milk, cooked in a pat of butter) with a sprinkle of triple cheddar cheese; leftover sausage gravy; 1 small organic avacado; coffee

How about a picture?

Featuring ... eggs.  I could have covered them entirely with gravy but ...
Very tasty and I have enough left to (probably) do this again tomorrow.  Unless I eat it up before then.

Snack: ~ 2 oz CF cajun beef jerky

Dinner:  1 bag Meijer Naturals double butter popcorn.  I wasn't real hungry when I got home but I did feel like eating something.  I think once I eat the rest of what I have I'm going to lay off the microwave popcorn.

Exercise:  9 holes walking.  A lovely evening.

An additional random thought -- it may be that I should pay more attention to the fine details of what I'm eating -- calories, carb count, portion sizes, all that.  I need to remember that the USDA has a lovely database that I can access to calculate things ... if I just remember to weigh, measure and record.

New Month, New Plan

September 2012 Review & October 2012 Goals

Somehow it managed to be October already.  I have no idea where September went but it certainly went by in a hurry.  There just aren't enough hours in the day.

Looking at my goals for the month, I didn't have many.  It looks like I wrote the goals post in about two minutes:
September Goals:
1.  Lose 15 lbs.   Going to require better focus.
2.  Keep up the exercise.  Gets harder as the days get shorter.
3.  Like I said, be more productive during work hours.
So, how did I do?

1.  Lose 15:  FAIL.  I actually forgot to weigh myself this morning but I know this was a fail.  At last check (some time last week) I was actually up a pound this month.  Apparently eating and eating and eating some more isn't good for weight loss.  Who knew?  I will probably check tomorrow and update.

(Update:  I weighed in, ended up down 2.5 pounds for the month.  Still extreme FAIL).

2.  Exercise:  PASS, with flying colors.  I'm way above target on this one.  Thanks to a string of good weather days I've been able to get out to the golf course most nights and I walk as many as three nights a week.  I rarely have time to walk more than 6-9 holes, but that's still a good hour plus and there are hills involved.

3.  Productivity:  FAIL.  Some days are better than others but on balance I didn't do real well this past month.

So, since overall September was a failure, let's talk about October instead.  

1.  First and foremost, let's cover a new plan:  October is henceforth International Eat At Home Month.  Yeah, I eat out too much.  Way too much.  It's not only calorific, it's expensive.  During the month of October I'm going to limit myself to one lunch a week out (where I get breakfast and it's fine) unless required by work and pizza no more than once a week.  I can even do pizza at home and will strive to do that at least once instead of ordering out if I'm going to have it.  If I can limit meals out to less than 10 total it'll be a success.  6 or less would be a complete success.

Other goals for October:

2.  Lose 15 lbs.  Yeah, you've seen this before.  I may have to nuke the grains and potatoes from the diet again to make it happen, but we'll see how it goes with just better focus first.

It's still possible to make the end of the year milestone I hope to accomplish but it's going to take 90 days of real, concentrated effort.  

3.  Exercise:  Continue.  15 days this month is the goal as always.

4.  Productivity:  On balance become more productive at the office.  Repeat of last month.

5.  Take steps to accomplish better sleep.  I'm going to try the following -- an alarm is going to go off at 9:00 signaling time to wind down.  Get to sleep by 9:30.  No electronics in the bedroom (TV, phone, ipod, etc).  It will be dark.  I'm going to dust with extra care and clean the carpet.  If I can find a way to justify it I might spring for a new mattress, though I really cannot afford one.  

There it is.  Five goals.  Reasonable goals.  Attainable goals.  I can do this.  Just need fewer FAILs and more good days.