Sugar is my favorite!

Sugar!

You know you love it! We all do!
And this time of year, I mean Halloween, the house if filled with it. So why fight it? That' what I'm going with right now. Within reason of course. But come Halloween night! It's party down time. The grandparents are coming to watch the kids and we can stay out all night if we want to! Yep, I love to party on Halloween!

So don't expect much good behavior from me.

Thursday, October 29 2015
Everything bagel with butter
Yogurt with pear and a little sugar
DC coffee with whip cream
2 cup tea
Rice cake with peanut butter and jelly
Cheese rice cake with hummus
Cheese
3 fun size 3 Musketeers bars
Chili
Corn bread with bacon and butter
Squash
3 Oreo cookies
Chicken Cesar wrap
Cheetos puffs

Well what do you say to this Coke!

I've debated with myself about a calorie being a calorie. And now the research is in! Here is a study that shows SUGAR is the culprit.

"The findings add to the argument that all calories are not created equal, and they suggest that those from sugar are especially likely to contribute to Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases,..."

So what do you say now Coke?  By removing the added sugar from the kids in the study diet, they effectively turned their health around.

Luckily I don't have to debate with my kid's school anymore. They got a new director, far better than the other one in my opinion, and she is on board with improving the kids snacks and reducing their sugar intake.

That said...I ate 3 fun size candy bars today. I'm working on it.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Bagel with butter
2 cup tea
DC coffee with whip cream
L/O Sheppard's pie with added mushrooms
Celery and dip
Rice cake
Cheese and crackers and bean dip
Chicken and squash
2 Oreo cookies
Beer and 3 shots whipped vodka

Gas and nausea

Nothing seems edible lately.

My stomach is in a constant state of nausea. I don't get it. It seems like since I caught that stomach bug I haven't been enjoying food. I feel hungry but nothing seems appetizing. Except candy that is.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Everything bagel with butter
Cottage cheese with pear
L/O Sheppard's pie
3 fun size 3 Musketeers
Meat stick
Cheese stick
Quinoa chips
Rice cake
L/O Shepard's pie
Snacks at Halloween party

On the south end of 210

Well, I got on the scale the other day which I haven't done in a while. It read 209. Well, I thought at least it is on the lower side of 210. I've said it before that I'm not focusing on the scale and I really haven't been doing anything to get my weight down. I tried the Couch to 5K thing and that didn't work. I just couldn't push through the pain. I don't think it was supposed to hurt that much anyway.

So what do I do now? I hate that my town doesn't have full access to a pool year round for working out. It just sucks! I love swimming and that is my choice of workout. But that is another excuse.

Monday, October 26, 2015
Bagel with butter
Rice chex cereal with cashew milk and strawberries
DC coffee with whip cream
2 cup tea
L/O beans and rice
Bread with butter
Olives
3 fun size 3 Musketeers bars
Brats and sweet potatoes
Rice cake
Jelly beans

I paid for my indiscretion

Well, first of all yesterday I was so looking forward to my fast food meals. But, when we got to McDonald's drive through the line was super long and it was not moving! I mean not at all! I waited 8 minutes at the back of the line (8 minutes is a super long time for fast food and when you want to get out of town). So I diverted and went to Burger King. That was a mistake. I paid for that with heartburn, indigestion and gas. By the time I got to Bismarck I had to shit!

Me and the kids did have a super fun time at Pappa's Pumpkin Patch

We played and ran around. I pretty much forgot about my stomach issues. The kiddos didn't want to go to Wendy's for dinner and frankly neither did I. My gut was still twisted and I could hardly think of eating anything. So we went to McDonald's for happy meals. I got a cheese burger and small fries and a water. Not the indulgent fast food meal I wanted, but it suited the mood I was in.

So today I'm going to try and be better remembering the gut ache I had yesterday. Although tonight I am hoping I can do some indulgent drinking and a little smoking (if you know what I mean). The husband is taking one of the kids to visit the Grandparent's farm and I'm planning on putting the other kid to bed early and watching TV! If you are a mom you know how precious having your own TV time is. I rarely get to watch what I want. It is with TV as it is with eating. We don't want our kids to watch too much and we strictly limit their intake. Consequently I don't get to watch that much TV and I've started to treasure it as much as my kids do.

Exercise =
Friday, October 23, 2015
Cottage cheese with Jelly
Roll with butter
2 cup tea
DC coffee with whip cream
L/O stuffed acorn squash
L/O spiced chick peas with yogurt sauce
Quinoa chips
Meat stick (these things are bad for me too, they repeat on me and I taste them all day), cheese stick and olives
Chocolate ice cream
Dinner?

It is bad that I'm excited about this!

 Ok, so today I have plans to take the kids to Pappa's Pumpkin Patch. It is a fun little attraction in Bismarck (1.5 hours away from me) that has a bunch of pumpkins all over the place and fun activities for the kids. There is a corn pit where the kids can play in a bunch of dried corn kernels and get it all down their pants. They have hay bail mazes and slides, a mini zip line and horses for them to look at. I am picking them up at their respective care givers after they eat lunch.

However, this means a quick lunch stop for me and that means Fast Food!!

I will probably get something from McDonald's on the way out of town. And we may stop at Wendy's for dinner with the kids. I am imagining eating a burger and fries right now. Is this terrible of me? It may be, but lately I just haven't been up for eating anything and this is getting my mouth watering.

Don't think bad of me. I once made a list of things I wouldn't eat anymore and fast food was on that list. But come on...swearing off that stuff forever is just impractical! Right?

Exercise = followed the kids around Pappa's Pumpkin Patch.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Oatmeal with peanut butter and jelly
2 piece cheese
Granola bar
Burger King - whopper and fries with diet cherry coke
McDonald's cheese burger and small fries

The dilemma of dinner

I'm in charge of food here. It is my lot as the Mom of the house. So that means I have to get creative and have a constant source of inspiration for meals.  My one go-to are these "Everyday Food" magazines that have been discontinued. They were a Martha Stewart production and I was super pissed when they stopped making them.

There are so many good tips and recipes in this magazine. Yes, they now have web stuff and youtube videos, but I don't use those resources in my kitchen. I'm happier with my paper bound cookbooks and non-electronic resources.


Exercise = none
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Oatmeal with blueberries and honey
DC coffee with whip cream
Celery with peanut butter 
Rice cake with humus
Spicy chick peas
Olives
Roll
Cheese quesadilla 
Grilled red pepper

The stomach bug

The mysterious stomach bug. When you get it you will know. Diarrhea, vomiting, general feeling of weakness. Yep that's how it goes. It has run its course through the family here and we are slowly recovering. My 4 year old got it first and I'm convinced he got it from school.

Everyone goes through it at some point right! It isn't pretty and when your kid is barfing and doesn't yet know they should make it to the bathroom before they puke all over the carpet it can be a big mess. My 2 year old puked all over our rug and we had to drag it outside and hose it down. I'm just hoping that my nose hasn't gone blind to the smell and we were actually able to get the smell out of the house.

Exercise = 45 minute nature walk with the kid
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Cottage cheese with rhubarb jelly
Egg and cheese in a cup
Beans and feta
Rice crackers
DC coffee with whip cream
2 cup tea
Stuffed acorn squash - with sausage, onion, celery and apple
Cheese

Ok, ok, I know I'm boaring

Ok, so I haven't had anything exciting to blog about lately. I'm just a little drained. Or rather I haven't been inspired by anything lately. It seems like health conscious stuff comes in spurts and maybe it is the time of year. Halloween is coming and no one wants to think about depriving themselves of the candy avalanche that comes along with Halloween.

Fall is a fun time of year for some people and I really do LOVE Halloween. But I do get the blues this time of year too. Especially since I've moved to North Dakota. I don't like being cold. I grew up in Florida where the winters rarely got below freezing and if it did, it didn't stay that way for long.
The first time I saw snow I was 18 and on a trip with my mom to Colorado. We went up into the mountains and saw some snow up there. This was also the first time I'd ever seen an ice scrapper.

We rented a car and there was one in the glove box. I had to ask my mom what it was used for. She laughed and said "you really don't know what that is do you?" Funny moment.

It isn't just the weather it is the shorter days too. It seems to come on suddenly here. The muted daylight is very noticeable and it is dark by 6:00. This will definitely impact my eating habits.

Exercise =
Monday, October 19, 2015
Cheerios with cashew milk
Cottage cheese with rhubarb jelly
DC coffee with whip cream
Triscuit crackers and cheese (4 with pepperoni)
Triscuit with cream cheese 
Ham sandwich
3 Musketeers bar
Diet Coke 
Beans and rice
(there may have been more I ate today, but I can't remember)

A bubbling in my tummy

So there are several things going on right now and I'm not sure of the exact cause. My stomach is in knots. My TMJ pain has been acting up for over a week now and I'm taking the prescription neproxin that I have. I believe that stuff is irritating my stomach.

In addition, my kids are sick with a stomach bug that is making them vomit. My one kid had it over the weekend and the other one has been puking since Tuesday. So I may have caught that and it is working its way through my system.

I also believe I'm in need of a major carb detox. I mean I've been overdoing it for the past 2 weeks and need to come off it.

My stomach felt full by the end of the day, maybe I had too many snacks. But by the time dinner rolled around I didn't feel like eating anything. So I just ate light for dinner.

Exercise =
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Cottage cheese with jelly
Toast with peanut butter and honey
DC coffee
2 cup tea
Rice cake with peanut butter and honey
Rice cake with cream cheese and jelly
Granola bar
Cheeze-its
Guacamole chips
Meat stick
McDonald's hamburger and fries
Diet Coke x2
Jelly Belly jelly beans
1/2 veggi enchelada
Black beans

Hard time getting started

Ugg...I'm having a hard time getting started today. I'm not sure why, I had a nap yesterday and I slept well last night. I had a cool dream about going to a Motley Crue concert and being in the front row and hanging out with the band between sets.

I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open and focusing. And I have accomplished nothing on the work front.

Exercise =
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Microwave egg and cheese
Toast with peanut butter
DC coffee
2 cup tea
Chicken Cesar wrap
Piece Mozzarella cheese
White chocolate
Cottage cheese with jelly
Cheese and crackers
Brat and roasted Califlower
Jelly belly jelly beans
Chocolate bar (2 pieces)

Traveler's diarrhea

Ok, this is getting tiresome. I've had the shits ever since we got back from LA! It has only been urgent one day, but today I am on the road and suffering from frequent loose poos. Ok, this is getting gross very quickly. But that is what is going on. I'm in Madison prepping myself for a Lamaze training class tomorrow. I drove all day today and was eating road food. Although I think I did pretty good.

I brought with me a bag of snacks that held me over through snack time. I did stop at Wendy's for a frosty, burger and fries. Of course I stopped there! No Wendy's in my home town. But the rest was filled with cheese stick, meat stick, Trisket crackers, and other stuff I forgot to remember to write down.

I did get a diet Coke from a vending machine at a rest stop and how fun it had the name of a good friend of mine!

I think I'll go to the grocery story and pick up something light for dinner as my stomach isn't in tip top shape and I'm a little nervous about tomorrow. I should also pick up some Immodium.

I do hate hotels sometimes. You are sleeping in a strange bed, with strangers all around you. And this Howard Johnson hotel has incredibly thin walls. I can hear the conversation in another room. I say another room because I can't tell if it is above me or next door. 

I'm hungry!

I'm hungry! And this is a dangerous situation to be in. For me it means binge eating and eating all the wrong things. I know there is a load of leftover pasta in the fridge and I may just feed on that.

I'm rarely "hungry" because I usually head that off by snacking. I love to snack! But this morning I had cereal and that rarely sustains me very long. I haven't been having the protein packed breakfasts lately because I'm down on eggs at the moment. So I've been going with other things that I'm deducing are ok and healthy enough. I probably need to explore some of the breakfast recipes in my new Thug Kitchen Cookbook. There are probably things in there that will help me out, and likely involve beans of some description.

P.S. I've had the shits for the past three days and it is either the Bologna or all the pasta I've been eating.

I'm off to Madison, WI for a Lamaze training class. I'm sure I'll find some great food there. Will I be eating healthy, in the land of cheese? Probably not.

Exercise = none, soccer cancelled 
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Bran flakes with frozen blue berries and cashew milk (unsweetened)
L/O WW pasta with pesto, peas, added cheese
L/O meatballs, 2
1/2 Dylan's candy bar, Angle food cake
DC coffee with half and half

Chicken Cesar wrap

2 baby bell cheese

Pork chop 

Beet, chard, quinoa salad with Dejon dressing

Alcohol = one hard cider 

Keeping tabs

I'm wondering if I shouldn't evolve this blog into something more than just food and into life. I've already speculated on what I want to talk about. I've also had a philosophical post about church life.

So what do I incorporate now to create interest for myself to write about? Do I start talking about my kids? My life? Or do I move this stuff over to my other blogs?

Anyway, as you can tell there isn't much on my mind today, except for the lement that I don't log or journal my life enough. There are things I want to remember in life and I don't want them to pass me by. I want to look back on certain moments, no matter how small and remember them. It is no surprise that these moments revolve around my kids. Because it is the little moments that comprise the everyday life that I love.

Exercise =
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Everything bagel with butter
2 pumpkin doughnut holes
2 cup tea
Piece of bologna
Noodles with black beans, ricotta cheese, olive oil
4 piece of cheese
Granola bar, cherry and dark chocolate

Piece of cheese

Piece of bologna 

Almonds

Quinoa chips

Enchiladas (it is supposed to be vegan but I added cheese at the request off the family)

Recovery

Ok, I think I need a carb detox. We got back from our LA vacation last week. We had a blast and the best eating experience we had were these awesome doughnuts from Stan's Doughnuts. There was this chocolate peanut butter one that I can't stop talking about.

I need to recommit to my health. I've slacked off, I think mostly because of pain and lack of results. I did feel stronger but even though I said my main goal wasn't loosing weight, I think I was deluding myself.

Plus, this weekend my mother-in-law was visiting and we had a guest for dinner on Sunday. This guest is a particularly picky eater and my husband informed me that he doesn't eat beans. Well that cut out the recipe I had planned for the evening. Enchiladas from this new cook book I got.

It is a vegan cook book which I have never tried before. My husband baked the banana bread recipe from the Thug Kitchen Cook book this weekend and it was great.

I'm looking forward to exploring and making the recipes in this book. It may help me with my diet rehab.

So anyway, we ate out on Saturday and I had a pasta dish, then on Sunday we had spaghetti and meatballs (my delicious recipe) which was more pasta. And I just ate the leftovers from my pasta dinner on Saturday. So no wonder I feel like I need a carb detox. Plus I can feel the number on the scale rising.

Exercise = 
Monday, October 5, 2015
Cottage cheese
Bagel with butter
L/O tortellini with cheese sauce and asparagus and chicken
DC coffee
2 cup tea 
Popcorn
Piece of Bologna 

Meat stick

Chocolate covered blue berries

Red beans and rice

Going on vacation!

On Saturday (butt ass early in the morning) I will be boarding a plane to Los Angeles, the city of angles.

That means no holds barred on eating. I will be eating travel food the whole time. I'm going to try stuff and not worry about how bad it is for me. I'm sure however that a place like L.A. won't be too bad for me. I imagine the opportunities for good food will abound and with a more health conscious place like L.A., I assume there won't be too many things that will hurt me.

I am looking forward to going to the beach. I haven't been in so long and am looking forward to warm weather as it starts to get cold here in N.D.

Exercise = none today
Friday, September 25, 2015
Rice cake with cream cheese and jelly
Rice chex with cashew milk
Almonds
Cottage cheese with kiwi
DC coffee
2 cup tea