Eating Healthy Again - Take 179

I have not eaten healthy the last year and the scale is definitely showing it.  I give myself too much leeway and don't moderate myself.  I find myself facing similar numbers on the scale as what I saw back in 2015 when I set about to lose a significant amount of weight.  Now, because I was lax with myself, I have that challenge in front of me again.  *sigh*  The good news is I know I'm capable of doing it.  The bad news is that it took me almost a year last time.  Maybe if I'm strict with myself, especially on vacation and around holidays *sobs* I can cut that time down some.  We shall see.  One thing I liked to do when I was losing weight was blog, especially about my meals.  So here we go again...

I made my own ramen bowl last night for dinner.  It had chicken broth, a little tomato bullion, some Asian noodles I got from World Market, onion, zucchini, green onion, sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a poached egg.  It was MARVELOUS!!  I anticipate having a similar meal tonight or for lunch today!  Yum!!  Hooray for a veggie stuffed meal!

This morning for breakfast I had a veggie hash and a slice of toast.  I was going to have an egg with it, then I decided I would probably be plenty full with just the veggies.  I was right.  I went to Grandma and Grandpa Heorman's last night for some fresh fruits and veggies and I put almost all of them into my hash this morning!!  My recipe included: baby russet potatoes, zucchini, onion, tomatoes, and a bit of shredded cheese.  Since none of my veggies are the same consistency, they all needed different cook times.  I started browning the potatoes (cubed small, as was everything else), then added the zucchini and let it soften a little, then added the onion until it was opaque, then I poured the veggie mixture in an oven safe bowl, topped it with tomatoes and a sprinkle of shredded cheese and broiled it about a minute.  It was DELICIOUS!  I am stuffed!

I am going to try really hard to get veggies into all of my meals.  They keep me full and I love them, so I don't see why I don't eat them more.  Hopefully that will be a regular change for me from here on out.  Wish me luck and hopefully the scale will move quickly!

I should also add, I went on a 5.5 mile walk yesterday!  😪  I was playing games on my phone and just kept going.  Also, it was time put of the house and quiet alone time, so I wasn't in a tremendous hurry to get home.  🤣  It also kept me out of the pantry for a couple hours.  😋  I doubt I'll be out as long tonight, but hopefully I'll be out again.  I was just walking, but I figured I'd note my fastest mile time on here and maybe I'll get better.  Also, maybe (let's just say it, fat chance) I'll start running.  😂😂😂

My fastest mile was: 19:26
My average mile was: 20:04

That's all for now.  Happy Tuesday!  ❤❤❤

My Crunchy Dream

Hey friends!  It's been almost a year since I posted anything of substance on here.  My apologies for the long absence.  Basically, long story short, life is busy and so am I.  But I'm writing today.  No promises for the future, because you just never know.

I desperately want to live a crunchy life.  But it is just not as possible where I live.  So I have a dream of a crunchy life that I thought I'd share.  😉  Maybe someday when the kids have moved out we'll build our own house and some of this dream could come to fruition.  Time will tell.

If you have no clue what I mean when I say, "crunchy life" let me explain.  The term/phrase originated in the 60's with hippies, the original hipsters, I like to think.  They were people who ate raw and organic foods before they were buzz words, grew their own food, lived in tents or busses, didn't shave, etc.  Now please, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of modern conveniences I have no intention of deserting.  Indoor plumbing, big fan, excess body hair on me, not a fan, natural deodorant does not work, but there are a few things that I do think sound awesome.  For instance, I'd love to have a big, nice garden, that actually grew food we could put on our table each night.  Having a few chickens for eggs sounds great.  Even roasting my own coffee beans sounds like a fun challenge!

So someday, when the kids are moved out, when we buy some land outside of Manhattan and build a home for just us, there are a few things I'd like: 
-A nice garden to grow any and all vegetables and fruits I'd like
-A couple fruit trees and even an avocado tree (though it may have to stay in the house part of the year)
-To bake my own bread every few days, and use little to no store bought bread or even tortillas
-To raise chickens and have a small chicken coop for eggs and possibly for meat if I can stomach the dressing process
-Depending on how much land we end up having, a couple cows for beef would be pretty cool too

I suppose most of that is just food related.  It's mostly about being healthy, saving money, and being environmentally conscious.  We're already slightly on the crunchy side, we used cloth diapers, made our own baby food, I nursed both kids so we didn't have to use much formula, I drive a hybrid, and we invest in wind energy.  Now most of that is just because it's cheaper, but some is for the health and environmental benefits.  It's nice when the things we want to do to save money (like get better gas mileage on a hybrid) also have other benefits (like being better for the environment).  The wind energy is the only one that isn't saving us money.  We actually pay more for that service, but our home is powered by wind and that's great for the environment and practical in Kansas, and that's worth it.

Before I get on a political rant, I think I'll bring this to a close.  😉  Enjoy a few pictures of some food I've made in the last few days.  Not all of it is stuff I could grow, raise, or bake myself, but a lot of it is.  Maybe someday!  ❤

PS - If any of the food looks good, send me a note and I'll get you recipes.  😉