Sunday, August 30, 2009

Home at last....

and back to eating from my own kitchen. I have been a little under the weather, so dear hubby has been boiling corn like a mad man. He has perfected the technique, and is so proud of himself! When it is in season, you need to get your fill of the good stuff! As for me? I am just glad to have food on the table at prescribed times with appropriate caloric values! In short, I am learning to not be sooooooooooo fussy!

We made the drive home in eight hours. We didn't stop for lunch, because, really? What is the point. Chances of "contamination" are just too great, and trust me, the garage in Ashern, Manitoba isn't a high point in gastronomic circles!

The next jaunt will be to BC in a week or so, which leaves me all sorts of time to plan menus for the week. Unfortunately, I have no interest whatsoever in doing so. I am excited because we are planning to shop our way home through the States! The whole trip will be about nine days, which requires a bit more planning. Time to prepare. Picture Rocky with not so good hair, and that is me. Da da da dum da dum dee dumm......Da da da dum da dum dee dumm

First order of business is to lighten my luggage. I am really working on keeping my eye simple in all things. So far, I have trimmed my toiletries down to a minimum, and found that when you put the products in small bottles? What a difference that makes. I can even fit my hair brush into my cosmetics bag now. Who'd would have thought?

Second order of business will be to chose a capsule wardrobe for the trip. I will need outfits for all sorts of occasions...comfortable travel, shopping, dinners out and I believe one formal "do". I will have to be presentable for a great deal of the time, so sneaking into hotels under the cover of darkness wearing my much loved used and abused Indian cotton won't do this time! We are stopping to see friends along the way as well, so I do need to be respectable on the journey!

Third order of business, is to figure out what to take along for snackage and quick meals. I have found a gluten free cracker bread that travels well (in Tupperware, of course!) and gives me a bit of crunch with my scrambled eggs and salads. A vehicle for butter, and a good crunch is all you really need. I am tempted to reach across and taste Rick's bread at times, but how quickly that idea leaves my head! I still want bread, but know how disastrous one little bite would be. AND the cruel thing is, that a crumb is as bad as a loaf.No more "one little bite" for me! Your system gets more and more sensitive as time goes on, so the need to be vigilant will never pass. Ah well. So worth the effort!

Today I have to tidy the house in preparation for maid day tomorrow. Now, not that I have a maid, but years ago, I figured out that if I did have one? I would tidy up before she came to make her job easier, and to reduce my embarassment at my slovenly side that creeps out when I am not looking..... Why, I thought, shouldn't I do that for myself? So now, the day before I clean, I make sure all my ducks are ina row, and I can speed through the house like lightning. Old, menopausal, slow lightning, but lightning none the less!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Carrot cake for lunch...

There is something to be said for going gluten free...number one? Every Saturday we go to Lorenzo's to buy their fresh baking. Today I went before lunch, and picked up a little tiny carrot cake - a mini loaf actually, a blueberry pie, a dozen tart shells, two pie crusts and the basic staples that I needed. I have never had so many treats in the house at once! Possibly because they made me sick to eat, so I just eliminated them. Well, welcome back calories! I do make an effort to eat treats in moderation but when everyone else is chowing down on muffins at coffee break through the week? I have only to think of my trip to Lorenzo's on Saturdays to bring a smile to my face!

Our menus have been quite interesting of late, but not worth writing down. Ribs at ten at night after a shopping trip to Costco, fish and potatoes with cream sauce were a couple of treats we had this week. Trouble is, that since two people need one rack of ribs, not four, I have a huge bag of ribs left over...just may freeze them for later use. The freezer is bulging, because I still make a weekly pilgrimage to Costco, even if we aren't here to consume our purchases. Soon the snow will be falling and I will be glad to have well stocked freezers this winter!

My weight is dropping, but slowly. I have come to realize that this is just the way it goes. I don't have a clue how people can lose a hundred pounds in a matter of months and still maintain their health. I for one can not live on five hundred calories a day. Been there, done that. Won't do it again.

So thank you for stopping by. Since I purchased a new laptop, I won't be computerless while we are travelling, and hopefully I will keep up the entries.

Menu for today:

Breakfast: two scrambled eggs, Barkat cracker bread (1) with butter, glass of skim milk and coffee

Lunch: glass of skim milk and 1/2 mini loaf carrot cake. Equivilant to a 2x2 slice WITH ICING!!!NUM!

Supper: baked chicken breast with tossed salad

Snacks: peaches, peaches, peaches!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Where does the time go?

We are back from another ten day trip...I am beat. But not defeated! Somehow I managed to stay gluten free the whole trip, without incident. I have not had one scrap of gluten since July 5th (knowingly that is - the accidents were unavoidable, and the subsequent reactions really awful...it is like smoking. The more you get away from it? The more it affects you when you run into just a tiny bit) and life is good. Life is good.

I was visiting my sister again, and she is a fabUlous cook. We both love our veggies, and her suppers are absolutely amazing. She always buys produce at the farmer's market where she lives so the flavours were fresh as fresh can be. Rick left me there for a good three days, and we had quality sister time!

Now we are home and the man is on holidays for the next week. We are very loosely scheduled for those days...maybe in town, maybe out. Depends on how our mood goes! It would be nice to swing down to the US for some quality shopping time early in the week - although after enduring the trip from Saskatoon today, it really doesn't appeal to me to pack and go again! It would help if I unpacked first! Hotel rooms sure lose their appeal when you have to live in them. We weren't able to get a suite in Saskatoon as the hotel was booked, but we did stay in our usual digs in Regina. I find it so much easier when you have a kitchen to work with, no matter how small. And it is even nicer when they provide dishes etc. so you don't have to schlep all of your stuff from home!

It would be nice to just go and play in Fargo for a day or two.....