A Meeting With Future Me (and a very large beet.)

(A giant beet next to a normal lemon. The beet was about the size of a baby's head.)

I had a little meeting with Future Me today. She's been getting word of all the changes I've been going through and wanted to give me some feedback. Actually, when I make changes in my life now, her life changes. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes in big ways. It's good since she's from the future and knows stuff.

1. Keep doing yoga. She said this is very important. For my physical health and my mental health. She said when I started doing this, and kept up with it, she instantly felt better, stronger, fitter, younger, happier.

2. Keep up with the mindful eating. She said when I started doing this it made a big difference. In my physical health and my mental health. Funny how those things are connected. She said eating what I want when I want it and feeling what I feel when I feel it is a really good idea.

3. Keep moving into the discomfort. Putting off or avoiding uncomfortable things doesn't make them better. Keep on moving towards those things. It will be so much better in the long run. And the short run. And the middle run.

4. Save a little more money. Where you can, when you can. Just squirrel it away.

5. Speak your truth. And live it. Really. It's the only way to be.

6. Keep making enchiladas. They will get better in time.

These were a mix of chicken, pinto beans and corn with some enchilada sauce and tomatoes with green chilies. Then a little cheese. They were good but could be improved. A few will be going in the freezer with some rice and collards for me to take to lunch later. I think Future Me will be pleased.

Compromise

I meant to go to yoga class. But as the day went on I realized I just wanted to go home. Like, really just wanted to go home. So, I gave myself permission to go home, with the compromise that I'd use the time wisely by cooking, and doing some yoga later in the evening. And cleaning the kitchen while watching the Biggest Loser, of course.

I made whole wheat pasta, needing something other than brown rice this week I think. While that was cooking I sauteed sliced chicken thighs, added chopped cabbage, capers, a little Parmesan and then just some milk with cornstarch to make a nice sauce. Salting each layer lightly (and the pasta water heavily) makes such a difference in the flavor. I ate half, and half is lunch tomorrow.


I also roasted some cubed butternut squash for dessert. Just some oil, salt a pepper on 400 for about 30-40 minutes, flipping halfway through. Again, eating half and packing half for lunch tomorrow.

Dinner over, getting up off the couch and going to wash dishes with the Biggest Loser folks.

Pork and Beans

My legs are beginning to catch on the fact that they worked today. I am also figuring out that treadmilling for 30 minutes straight at the same speed (and varying inclines) is a more intense (although shorter) workout than when I hike. I'm never just plowing up the mountain non-stop when I hike. I trod, trudge, meander perhaps and definitely get more of an arm workout with my poles, but aerobically today's workout was quite good for my lungs.

I got my cantaloupe and grapefruit cut for the week. And made some Chile con Elote from The New Laurel's Kitchen. Basically it's an onion & garlic sauteed with 1+ tsp. of chili powder, 1 tsp. cumin then add 1 cup diced tomato, 1 cup corn, 1 chopped pepper, 2 cups mashed black/pinto/kidney beans and 2 cups whole beans. 1.5 tsp salt. Simmer for 30 minutes. So sweet and spicy and yummy. And it can be made with cans of everything - corn, beans, tomato. Perfect for a speedy healthy meal.

I had a little of that with some pulled pork. And some of the spicy cabbage coleslaw from last week. Lots of spice and a little crunch.

Now to clean up the kitchen for what feels like the 7th time today. Then I will clean and chop the greens while I watch some 90210 that came from Netflix. Yes, cheesy tv keeps me entertained in the kitchen.

(And if my former blogging buddy is reading this, consider this a little nudge to start the blog anew, perhaps to record your training for the 3-day and keep me company in the big blogosphere and on the treadmills and sidewalks.)

A Return to the Kitchen

I've returned to the kitchen. The last few weeks (2 months) have again been riddled with the worst anxiety I've ever known.  I am hoping it is under control now.  And when you are dealing with adrenaline coursing through your veins, or where ever it courses, almost constantly, the last thing in the world that matters is how much you weigh. I would have taken 30 extra pounds to have felt better.  A side affect of all that anxiety was a complete aversion to food until I had to eat for fear of passing out - at which point I would try to eat something dense in calories like pizza or bread and butter.  There was about a week where I was eating nothing until dinner, and even then I was only getting about 800 calories.  And I didn't eat a I wasn't cooking, I wasn't preparing lunches, food was a chore, something to be choked down to keep me going. 

So, my weight loss has remained steady, maybe down a few pounds.  My exercise has mostly been walks with the dog, in between thunder and lightening storms.  (We are waiting for one to end now so we can head out.) The dog hates thunder, so she and I have been on a steady dose of Rescue Remedy.  I spray it in her water, and put it in mine. 

But today I bought groceries, and cooked them and ate them! I bought kale and froze it since it seems to wilt quickly, and cucumbers, zucchini, purslane which has more omega-3 fatty acids than any other vegetable, and chicken and bacon and yogurt. I got all the vegetables at the organic farm for $10.00.  What a bargain. 

These are the lovely pot stickers I made tonight:
The insides are ground turkey, ginger, garlic, egg whites, soy sauce, hot sesame oil, finely shredded napa cabbage (I used the food processor) and a few leaves of kale finely shredded. Broccoli minced in the food processor would be good, too. I got the little pot sticker maker in my stocking when I was young. I thought it was kind of odd at the time, but it turned out to be one of the best presents ever.
Here they are waiting to be put in the pan. The batch makes a lot. More than I can eat at once, so the rest I make and freeze on parchment paper, and then I put them in a zip-lock bag. They can made cooked from frozen, so they are a very easy, fast and healthy meal. And very fun to make.

Here they are sticking to the pan. First they are cooked with a little oil to get brown, then you throw in a 1/2 cup water and put the lid on so they can steam and cook for about 10 minutes, then you remove the lid to let the water all cook off. I just drizzle a little soy sauce on them, but I suppose you could make some sort of fancy dip.
They are one of my favorite meals. Other than the fajitas. But thinking about it, they are pretty similar to the fajita in that they are a meal all wrapped up in some sort of flour based container.  And they have kale in them. 

I have a feeling the dog and I will be walking in the rain tonight. But there are worse things than rain.  

Putting the Butter in "Beets, Butter & Mountaintops"

Today at Whole Foods I found organic, grass-fed, unhomogenized heavy cream. And you know what that means - homemade butter!
It starts off just like you are making whipped cream. You beat it for a while and nothing happens, and you wonder if anything will. And then....
...it passes quite quickly from whipped cream into something strange. I think mine skipped the whipped cream phase altogether, or else I blinked and missed it.  Then a minute or two later...
...the buttermilk starts to separate out and the butter solids start to clump together.  Pour off the buttermilk and keep beating for a while. 
Here's the buttermilk. 
And here's the butter! Then you sort of knead it with a spatula to get more of the butter milk out, and I salted it, too.  It has a very strong flavor because it is grass-fed.  I haven't tried it on the bread yet, I think I will wait for morning.  

Exercise today consisted of weeding about 80 pounds of garlic mustard and some other invasive vine out of the raspberry patch.  The poor plants were getting strangled by the weeds, so I spent some time in there this morning getting bitten by mosquitoes and trying not to get scratched on by the raspberry stalks.  Hopefully, they will be happier now and we'll have berries soon.
I'm going to walk the dog after dinner (which will probably be posted about as well.) 

Feeling Kneady

Here's the bread so far. After kneading it for quite a while, to the point my wrists started to hurt, I put it aside to rise.



After rising, split into loaves, brushed with water, sliced the top and now for another rise. I might cut this rise short since if I let it rise for an hour, and then cook it for an hour, it won't be done until 9 p.m. This will have to be a bread that is started on a Friday or Saturday night since takes quite a while too prepare.