Saturday, April 25, 2009

ARGGGGGGG

I don't know what I got into, but I have HIVES. Horrible, itchy welts all over me. PLUS I am weak as a kitten. Oh JOY! What else can go wrong with me this year? Or dare I ask?

The meals have been unusual to say the least. I was keeping up pretty well until a couple of days ago. Now, it is catch as catch can...anything that doesn't require a long prep time and fills a hole is on the menu. I just don't feel much like eating, but there is a danger in that (low blood sugar) that has to be avoided like the plague. Hmmmm....wonder if that is what is wrong? Nope. Haven't been out of the house in ten days let alone the country...

On the upside, although the vacuum is sitting at the foot of the bed, I did manage to dust today. One step at a time, one minute at a time....

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Menu for the Week April 22 to April 29

but still not well enough to tackle the building dust levels. I have discovered that if you don't move anything the dust is less noticeable. And face it. I haven't been moving up a storm around here lately!

I made myself breakfast, but have lost interest in lunch. I will force myself to make supper. Tonight there is chicken stirfry on the menu so what is not to like about that! Besides the hour of prep required....sigh. I am such a slug. But the good news is, that with the help of SUDAFED, I can breath now. Almost. The thing that I like, is that it stops the rude noises!

Just a little note about microfibre cloths. When I was first introduced to them, I bought them like a crazy woman. They are still good, and I wouldn't be without them. But did you know that Flylady sells ones that are just as good and a fraction of the price? 9.99. FOR THREE! AND a bag to wash them in. Now, the only downside is that it takes awhile to get rid of the purple bleeding, but wash them with jeans and you will be fine. Well worth the trouble and postage.

So, I have made up the menu for next week. Leave a comment with your addy if you would like to see what our household will be chowing down on for the week of April 23 to 29. I find that if you have your meals planned out ahead of time, it is so much easier to stick to the program, even if plans change and there is only one for dinner, I tend to stick to the plan. One of the benefits to being anal, I guess! There are enough variables in life to make it worth my while not to let food be one of them...too often!

Monday, April 20, 2009

This is a killer cold...

but somehow, I managed to get a shepherd's pie assembled yesterday. It was pretty good...I think! The power of leftovers never ceases to amaze me. I had the gravy (made with a bit of flour and chicken broth...not fattening...to my delight...with a teaspoon of beef bouillion powder, it was instantly "beefy") left over from the chicken dinner - ditto the peas, carrots and mashed potatoes. All I had to do, was to whip the egg and cream cheese into the potatoes for the topping, and cook up the ground bison. I was able to do that right after breakfast, while I still had the ambition, and at five o'clock, I was reallyl glad I had done it! There was absolutely no effort involved on my part. Hubby put the casserole into the oven and made a salad, so after just half hour in the oven, and dinner was not only "on the table" but one step further... my lap in my recliner! Tonight, rather than following 'the plan', we will just have a repeat performance. I am not sure what the calorie count was, nor do I care. I had a modest portion with a large salad, so the balance was as it should be. My focus over the last couple of days has been to maintain an upright position, if even for half an hour at a time. On that happy note? I am now going back to bed!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

I wonder what my breakfast tasted like...

with this miserable cold, it is hard to know...but it looked right. Thank goodness I made my menu plan this week, though, otherwise I could easily utter death dealing sentences like "I don't care...why don't we order something in?" to my dear hubby who would jump at the chance to have a square meal with eight corners....

As it is? I have a plan. And even if I can't taste it, it will be food that I need. Such a shame to waste calories on things you can not taste. Since the menu plan originally called for tonight to be an "open" night, I have bumped the meals ahead a night - Rick will be out of town for a few days next week. "OPEN" can easily become soup and crackers when I am on my own, but he just doesn't feel like he has eaten when I give him something like that. He has to have a sandwich etc. to go with it, and by the time you clean up after that, it is just as easy to make a "real" supper.

HOWEVER back to today. I am going to make a shepherd's pie when I am done here, and it can be tucked into the oven when the mood strikes. I just may make two, and freeze one for later, although I don't know how the mashed potato topping will do. Iadd an egg to it, and some Philadelphia cream cheese to get that puffy topping. I also use extra lean ground bison, which is so much nicer than beef. It may be my imagination, but I do find it easier to digest. Basically, it should be the same though...a cow is a cow is a cow wouldn't you think?

On to the kitchen, and then my recliner...my lovely recliner....ah, skip the kitchen. Ordering in isn't such a bad thing...SNAP OUT OF IT! GET GOING! OOps. Did I write that down?

Friday, April 17, 2009

Friday

Nothing brilliant to say today, but thought I had better get back into the habit of blogging. It really keeps me on track. I have a miserable rotten cold...the only thing I want to do is to sit and sip hot liquids and nap. The housework will keep for awhile yet...you can cover a lot with neatness! Although I was looking around this morning, and finding a few too many nicknacs to suit me! So, there is a growing list of things to do when I am able to breathe again. Colds. Yuck.

Strawberries are on sale everywhere, but of course the best ones seem to be at Costco. I have had two meals of cottage cheese and these plump juicy berries. A real taste of spring.

Today my mission is to get out to the grocery store and buy some carrots. I think I may be able to handle that after a nap! Ah, life in the fast lane.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

It is great being a Grandma!


You would have thought that I would be a few pounds lighter after this little one stole my heart! Instead, I have been forced to come to the conclusion that love must weigh a ton!

Slugs

have more energy than I have had lately! We have been on the road, had visitors, and now I have a cold. Oh joy. But I did manage to get my menu plan together for the coming week. That makes such a difference. Basically, when I feel the urge to eat, I go to the frig, look at the menu plan and get going. Otherwise? I nibble my way through things I ought not, and still end up hungry. This way? I know there is a balance in there somewhere!

There is an added benefit of saving money, as well. It is amazing how short my grocery list was this week. As a treat, I bought a humungous container of cottage cheese at Costco, and had a bowl of strawberries and cottage cheese for supper tonight. Cottage cheese is my comfort food. My ULTIMATE comfort food. I like it with baked potatoes, or with fresh fruit. Rick had leftover scalloped potatoes with cottage cheese, so we were both well fed easily! Tommorrow is the start of the menu plan so it worked out pretty well. Fruit and cottage cheese makes a great meal for about the same "cost" as soup and crackers, so I imagine I will be substituting a bit here and there until the container of cottage cheese is gone!

Here we go: (Breakfast, lunch, supper, snack)

April 16 to April 21
Thursday 19
eggs, toast, butter, milk
vegetable soup, crackers
mashed potatoes, roast chicken, peas & carrots strawberries
Friday 20
mushroom omelette with cheese, milk, bacon
chicken soup & crackers
hot chicken sandwich,peas oven fries/gravy
veggie platter/dip

Saturday 21
eggs, toast, butter, milk
Assembly lunch of sandwich, veggies and fruit, Fibre One Bar
OPEN ( restaurant or pantry supper)
cheese/crackers/orange

Sunday 22
cereal & milk
bacon and tomato sandwich
Shepherd's Pie/Green Salad
Fibre One Bar/Fruit
Monday 23
eggs, toast, butter, milk
Tossed salad with canned red salmon
Pork Tenderloin/Roasted Vegetables/Rice
Goldfish crackers/orange

Tuesday 24
eggs, toast& butter, bacon
Cheese & Crackers
Fish with Cream Sauce/Baby Potatoes & Vegetables

OPEN snack (movie night)
Wednesday 25
poached eggs on toast
soup & crackers
Stir Fry with noodles
ice cream bar

Thursday, April 2, 2009

A new month....

brings new resolve...I WISH! Things have sort of tanked in the WW department around here. I am frustrated with counting every crumb and seeing no results. Mind you, holding my own was a bonus...I quickly put on five pounds in my rebellion. Back in the saddle again.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, bacon, toast, butter and skim milk 11 points
Lunch: 1/4 cup cashews, 2 pieces of fudge...I am SO lazy. Calorie count was 255 for this bit of debauchery at 11:57 AM in retrospect lunch! Rules are out the window around here. I want what I want when I want it. I read an article this morning about smart snacking, and how the portions have grown since 1976. No wonder we are fighting the battle of the bulge when we are given such huge amounts to pack away as "normal". If you cut a portion in half that is supposed 3 times what it should be, you are still overeating! We notice a huge difference in the size of portions in the US, but here in Canada we are victims of "inflation" as well. I have been on a diet of some sort since I was 12. Just goes to show that the best way to gain weight is to focus on it, and be really conscientious. I am inclined to believe that those that eat what they like, and like what they eat are so much better off. A craving is a momentary desire, that gets satisfied before it turns into a major outbreak of indulgence. I am learning that it is okay to eat six licorice babies, when I really want to eat the tub. Well, twelve is better, and still under 130 calories. I try to always short the amount of the rated portion. A portion is a lot different than a serving. The article I read this morning said that when they checked a new edition of a classic cookbook, they found the same recipe that originally made thirty brownies, now made sixteen. Two inch cookies are now two fisted four inchers. Hmmm. Easy to see where the problem is, isn't it?

Now, just to do something about it! Eat lots things every day, but a lot less than the "suggested" amount on the labels!

Lunch: See above
Snack:
Supper: