Day 19: Sad and pathetic

Breakfast: Coffee. Lots of coffee

There's a reason for that. I flew out the door just about the second I could get Uriah up and ready to get out to some garage sales. It paid off. I got a TON of fun toys for only $30. Probably my best find was this little beauty:

He actually came as part of a "set". There were ratty stuffed animal versions of Donatello and Leonardo that the 20-ish kid who sold them to me insisted be kept together. I told him that I only wanted the Rafael; but he insisted they had to find a home together and that he would throw them in for free. The way he was looking at them I half expected him to snatch them back and run into the house crying. I kinda felt bad when I threw them in the dumpster when we got home. I'm sure his mother would thank me.

Lunch: Sad and pathetic turkey rolls

In theory, these sounded like a great idea. Roll some lettuce, tomato and cheese up in a couple of slices of turkey lunchmeat. Totally makes sense. I'm pretty sure I did it successfully last time we tried this diet. This time? They were super pathetic. I think it mostly was because the turkey was kinda "shreddy" (not really a word, but I'm pretty sure it's the best word to describe this turkey). We ate them, but I don't think I'll be doing this one again. They were about as sad-looking as the kid who sold me the Ninja Turtle.

Dinner: Mahi fish tacos

I melted some butter in a pan, added a little crushed garlic, Trader Joe's limeade and cilantro, then grilled some Trader Joe's frozen mahi mahi filets. Once they were cooked, I sorta broke them up into taco-sized pieces in the pan.

I put them on a corn tortilla with shredded cabbage, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro and lime. Not too bad.



Not gonna lie, looking forward to dinner tomorrow night. It's gonna be go big or go home.

Day 18: Honoring my husband makes me sick

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and peaches

I finally remembered to take a photo of breakfast. Aren't you glad?

Lunch: Uh oh

I believe that's it's truly important, as a wife, to respect your husband's decisions and honor his opinions. So if my husband decides that we must have The Habit for lunch, then I guess we really must. I'm just trying to be a good wife.

Funny thing is, last time we had The Habit, we didn't feel sick at all. This time, we both felt like we were gonna burst. I felt gross most of the afternoon. We both got exactly the same thing as last time--except for the fries. Last time we both got sweet potato fries. This time we got regular fries. Interesting, I guess.

And yes, that is a chocolate milkshake.

Dinner: Chicken tostada nacho thingys (again)

We wanted something a little on the lighter side for dinner after our terrible lunch. So I used the leftovers from lunch yesterday to make a few more of these. Chicken, raw organic cheese, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and lime. These are great and quite easy to make. You will probably see these again over the next few weeks.


We are almost halfway. Good thing, because we've already wanted to quit a couple times. One of the things that makes this tough is that I really enjoy eating out. It's one of my favorite things to do. Especially the sitting and lingering after the meal, just sipping on what's left of your drink and relaxing. Eating at home every meal means that as soon as we're done, there are dishes to do. Bleh.

On the plus side, I lost another 5 pounds this week for a total of 15 from the start of the diet. Not sure if that trend will continue. Supposedly the weight loss is supposed to taper off after Phase I. So we'll see.

And, of course, I probably gained another 5 pounds back after those fries today.

Day 17: There's a weird announcement at the end of this one.

Breakfast: peaches, blueberries and pears. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

So apparently I'm really bad at remembering to take pictures of things in the morning. Oopsies. 

Lunch: Chicken tostada nacho pizza things

Clearly I don't really know what to call these. The package said tostadas on it. But I always thought tostadas were bowl-like. These were more or less just hard corn tortillas. Exactly the size of corn tortillas, but round.

Anyway, I simply sprinkled some raw organic cheddar cheese and some cooked, diced chicken on them, put them in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes (just until the cheese melted), then added tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and avocado on top. Then I sprinkled lime juice over them. They were a great experiment. Something a little different than a taco, and not quite nachos (which Andy won't eat).

Dinner: Baked chicken with a spring salad and fruit

We had a meeting at church tonight, so we had to take our dinners to go. I chopped up some baked chicken, tossed it on top of some spring mix with apple cider vinegar dressing, then added some grapes and pears. Not the most exciting meal ever, but it was quick, easy and transported well.


Wanna know something weird? Ok, so I guess you don't get a choice. I'm gonna tell you no matter what you answer. I guess you could stop reading....but that would be no fun.

Andy and I both have had a huge decrease in the amount and frequency of bowel movements. I tried to say that the mature way. I feel like it sounded pretentious. Let's try again: We aren't pooping very much.

I'm gonna assume that's because our body is producing much less waste, the food we're eating can all be used, etc. Either way, I can't complain. :)

Stay tuned for another fun experiment for lunch tomorrow.

Day 16: Facing my fears

I conquered a fear today. More on that in a bit. First--

Breakfast: Yup. An omelette. We did have some peaches with it though, so that was something new.

Lunch: Cobb Salad

Romaine, tomatoes, red onions, eggs, avocado, turkey, turkey bacon and red onions; tossed in apple cider vinegar dressing. The recipe for the dressing is in one of my posts from the first week.

We were hardly even hungry, to be honest. I only ate about half of the salad I'd made and had get rid of the rest. As odd as it sounds, it's truly freeing not to be so dependent on eating all the time.

Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with meat sauce

I have always been terrified of spaghetti squash. It intimidates me. It scares me. It's weird. But my hunger for spaghetti drove me to face it.

And it was WAY easier than I thought. Here's a fantastic video explaining everything you need to know about making spaghetti squash. The only complaint I have is that it made cutting the squash in half look easy. It was not.

For the sauce, I simply used Trader Joe's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce.

There's a little bit of added sugar, but other than that we're in the clear on that one.

I started by cooking up some ground beef (yeah, I know, it's supposed to be sausage, but that's not how MY mom always made it) in a sauce pan with some salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once the beef is cooked, add the marinara sauce and simmer until it's warm.

After preparing the squash, I simply dumped the sauce on top. It was really good. And very filling. I was pleasantly surprised. Uriah actually seemed to like this more than regular spaghetti. I will definitely be making this again.

Day 15: the day that corn tortillas changed my world

Breakfast. A smoothie. Frozen from yesterday.

Lunch: Trader Joe's Maui Short Ribs and broccoli

Super easy.

The short ribs can go in the oven at about 450 for 8-10 minutes, turning over halfway through. The broccoli is the microwaveable bag from Trader Joe's. Barely even any cleanup.

Dinner: Steak and chicken street tacos

We can have corn tortillas now. This changes everything. We can actually eat out places. Lots of places. Like downtown Huntington Beach at the farmer's market places. Life just got about a bajillion times easier.

The tacos are from a booth put on by the Irish pub downtown. Which is kinda weird until you think about it......all the guys who work in the back at the pub are (you guessed it) Mexican. And they make some killer tacos.

I also got some great produce tonight--peaches, tomatoes, cilantro, onions, bell peppers and strawberries that all look great.

And Uriah got to have some fun with his Uncle Allan.

Day 14: I have never loved fruit so much.

Smoothie for breakfast. Strawberries, coconut milk, flax oil, honey, ice. The ice definitely make the smoothies a lot better.

Lunch: Omelette with turkey bacon, tomatoes, red onions and avocado

Go figure.

Dinner: Steaks, corn on the cob and peaches with blueberries

Steak:
Heat a pan over MedHi heat. Melt a little butter, then add some crushed garlic. Add the steaks and season with salt and pepper.

Corn:
This takes a little more time, but it's not any extra work and it results in amazing corn on the cob. Soak the corn in hot water for about 5 minutes (doesn't have to be boiling, but it can be). Then individually wrap each cob in foil, including some butter, salt and pepper inside (I usually lay the foil down, put the butter, salt and pepper on it, lay the cob on top and then wrap it all up). Place the foil-wrapped corn in the oven at about 350 degrees for at least 10 minutes. What's great about this is that you can actually leave the corn in there for quite a long time. I usually do the corn first before I do anything else, then just leave it sitting in the oven while I make dinner.



Thank God for fruit. Seriously. I'm pretty sure these peaches weren't really that super; but Andy and I both were fairly convinced they were the best we'd ever had. It's so good to have fruit again.

Phase II: Happy Columbus Day!

Happy Columbus Day everyone! I have no idea what this holiday is really about, except for a bunch of people who didn't have to go to work today that celebrated by having a pool party at the gym while I was trying to swim laps. Not bitter or annoyed at all. Nope.


On a happier note, today starts Phase II! In Phase II, we can eat everything we could in Phase I, with the addition of:


Eggs

• Fish roe or caviar (fresh, not preserved)

Lunch meat

• sliced turkey (free range, preservative free)
• sliced roast beef (free range, preservative free)

Dairy

• Homemade kefir from raw or nonhomogenized cow's milk
• Kefir from pasteurized, nonhomgenized cow's milk
• raw cow's milk hard cheeses
• cow's milk cottage cheese
• cow's milk ricotta cheese
• cow's milk whole-milk yogurt
• cow's milk plain kefir
• cow's milk plain sour cream
• raw goat's milk

Fats and Oils

• expeller-pressed peanut oil

Vegetables

• sweet potatoes
• corn
• yams

Beans and legumes

• white beans
• kidney beans
• tempeh
• black beans
• navy beans

Nuts and seeds

• raw walnuts
• raw hazelnuts
• raw pecans
• raw macadamia nuts
• raw brazil nuts

Condiments, spices and seasonings

• ketchup (no sugar)
• all-natural salad dressings (no preservatives)
• all natural marinades (no preservatives)

Fruits

• apples
• grapes
• peaches
• pears
• kiwi
• pomegranates
• guava
• apricots
• melon
• oranges
• plums
• pineapple
• passion fruit

Beverages

• raw beet juice
• raw carrot juice
• coconut water

Sweeteners

• honey (up to 3 Tbs a day...so now we can just have more than before)
• Stevia

The game-changers here are the addition of corn, sweet potatoes, and all the fruit. Also the raw cheeses aren't that bad, just pretty expensive. And of course, caviar. We definitely have that in our budget. 

Not that I'm really keeping track, but I did weigh myself at the gym today. In the last two weeks, I've lost 10 pounds. :)