Saturday, March 18, 2017

Whole30 day 20 and a break from the food talk

I'm tired of talking about food so instead, I'm sharing a few photos from a quick little trip we just took...

My husband had to make a sudden business trip to one of his company's suppliers on the East Coast last week. He promised me dinner in New York City if I went with him. How could I not?

We flew into New Jersey on Monday, he met with the supplier Tuesday morning, we spent the rest of the day in Lower Manhattan and flew back home on Wednesday. So exhausting (the flights were so draining) yet so worth it.


We took the Path train from Penn Station in Newark to The World Trade Center Transportation Hub aka the Oculus



Stepping out of the doors of the Oculus onto Greenwich Street, there it is, right there...The Freedom Tower.



The North Reflecting pool. 



View of the Oculus from the North Pool



The South Tower pool.



St Paul's Chapel.



FDNY Engine 10, Ladder 10



New Jersey over there, across the Hudson from Battery Park City Esplanade.



One World Observatory at the tippy top of One World Trade Center.



Click here to see a few more photos of our New York trip on my Flickr account.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Whole30 day 4 thru 14 and staying compliant

I've been tested and I passed. I'm pretty proud of myself too.

For example...

Buffets and free booze:
My husband and I attended his company's annual dinner at a local Winery. I prepared by having some protein right before we went to the event. Once there I had club soda instead of the wine or beer. When it was our tables turn to get our dinner from the buffet, I asked the person in charge what the vegetables were cooked in because all the other dishes were covered in sauces or dressings. The vegetables were cooked in a butter...sauce. When I explained I couldn't have the sauces, I was offered a beautiful salad of spring mix, tomatoes, and carrots with lemon wedges and nuts. Yes!

I felt empowered (for a change) because I took care of myself instead of either not eating anything, or giving up by eating the food from the buffet so I wouldn't be a burden.

The evening turned out nice, as nice as a company function can be. Thankfully my husband likes to leave those things early.

Tagging along on my husband's business trip:
Two days later we flew to Newark, New Jersey. Yeah, I know, why in the hell would anyone want to go there? Well, I was promised, at the minimum, dinner in New York City. Yes, it really was worth the food prep before we left, learning how to ask for what I need at restaurants, eating a few boring salads, and two days flight travel for a half day tripping around lower Manhattan.

I made us breakfast; leftover Spinach bacon quiche and lunch; cut up vegetables and epic bars for the flights east. I packed emergency snacks such as Rx Bars, Lara bars, more Epic bars, Justin almond butter packets, and nuts. The hotel was pretty easy as I could ask for what I needed at the restaurant. In Manhattan; chicken and salad for lunch that was bland but compliant, then Sushi (of course) for dinner which hit the spot. We found containers of fresh fruit, cut up vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs at Newark airport right by our gate the morning we were flying back. Lunch in Denver (layover) was chicken and salad that was...again, bland but compliant.

I did it! I traveled across the country and back and stayed compliant.

We are happy to be back home. Not only are we recovering from those flights, ugh, but I can get back to planning, shopping, preparing, and cooking, cooking, cooking. Here I can control what I'm eating and I can make it all taste soooo good without worrying about SAUCES.

Next post - photos and hopefully less 'compliant' yammering.




Thursday, March 2, 2017

Whole30 day 4

Another day spent with my Grandson so I had leftovers for breakfast and lunch. For dinner, I made my version of Cottage Pie. Ground beef mixed with homemade onion soup mix and water topped with mashed potatoes, whipped with ghee, salt, and pepper. And a salad of baby greens, cherry tomatoes topped with a splash each of olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Still going strong. It's not hard as long as I plan and have the food I need available. I know, it's early... twenty-six days to go. AND I've got some real tests of my willpower coming up this weekend and next week.

Must get to planning some more meals.


Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Whole30 day 3

I'm still alive and kicking. 

Today was a good day even though I woke up late and tired. Once I got my butt moving I felt much better. Pilates with my sister today was just what I needed. I walked in feeling lethargic and ready for a nap. I left feeling light and recharged for the rest of the day. 

For breakfast, I started to make a new recipe but decided it was too late and I was way too hungry so I whipped this up...
Leftover Flank Steak from Monday night, a bunch of baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, and an egg.

Lunch was leftover roasted sausage and vegetables from last night. For dinner, I made my Ragu: Ground beef, shredded zucchini and carrots, and a can of crushed tomatoes. The fun part was the Zoodles I made with my new spiralizer. I'm going to have leftovers from this for lunch tomorrow. 

When I opened up my laptop to write this post, I remembered I hadn't downloaded the photos from our impromptu train trip to Sacramento this past weekend. Then I got lost in editing and googling how to sync photos between Lightroom on my desktop and Lightroom on my iPhone. I figured it out! This will save me some time in the future. Thank goodness.

It's a good end to the day when I get to play with photos.

Those clouds!

SO much water on both sides of the tracks. It was like we were floating.

Central Pacific Railroad Terminal 1926