Maverick's Meals

OK People.  I am here.  I photographed all my foods.  While Goose is on her "high" week of the month I am on my "low" week of the month and just getting by.  I have not worked out in 2 days but think my body really needed it.  I a looking forward to my spin class today where the instructor has pre-warned us it will not be an interval class but we will be staying in zone 2 for an entire hour simply cruisng along using our power.  I must be on the verge of breaking free from this low week because this morning I can imagine being fairly productive.  If only someone would take little-miss-high-maintenance-drama-queen off my hands I actually might be able to relax and get something done.

So for breakfast yesterday:

Oatmeal with a little maple syrup and decalf English Breakfast tea.

Lunch:

Left over Jambalya from dinner the other night.  And a glass of water not pictured.

Isabelle made her own sandwich:

Then in an effort to get out of pretending I was the "mommy dog" while spending promised mommy and Isabelle time together we decided to do something I knew I shouldn't...we made cookies.

Check me out...I can mix a batch of cookies while also photographing my daughter cracking an egg in the batter.

My little chef

I froze 2 dozen balls of dough ready to pop in the oven for a couple fresh warm cookies whenever we want to have a tea party.  Of course my son and husband think they are there for the to have a quick cookie dough fix so if I am not careful they eat them all before I get to make any.

The finished product being shown off by custard the cat.

I will say I was very controled about eating the cookie dough even though I really love it and I would by lying if I didn't confess to eating a few cookies but I brought the rest to church to share with friends so they would be out of the house.  So none left today.

Dinner was my typical lazy, rushed meal of spaghetti.  I put a couple frozen meatballs in there as well.

I did drink more than the one glass of water but definately have identified over the past couple weeks that I am seriously deficient in this area of my life.  I used to put a pitcher of water on the counter every morning which I would drink all day long but somehow even knowing I need to do it again haven't been able to get back in the habit.  Today when I return from spin class I will do so!

And now I am off before I am too late and don't get a bike!

iFood day #3

Today was my crazy day. We have to leave the house by 8:30 am, with lunch and toy bag in hand, to spend the morning homeschool co-op.

Plus, Caleb woke up at 5am with horrible coughing.

So once I got him medicated and calmed back down I went to the gym. I ran for 45 min and then raced back home.

On these crazy morning I don't have time for any fancy breakfasts. In the past I've even boiled eggs the night before to have in the morning, but even that takes too much time to peel. So a bowl of cereal it is. At 8am sharp.Once we are done with Co-op I pack everyone back in the car and finally, around 12:30 have time to eat my lunch that I packed. (Today was the Valentine's Day celebration at Co-op so I just happen to have my camera with. :) ) My lunch was a Ham Sandwich, Baked Lay's Chips, and my nap-in-a-can.

Then my day fell apart. We get home and there is GOBS of Valentine candy in their box. I eat some, and then I eat a little more... I hate not being able to have any self control with that junk!So then, feeling slightly sick, supper was Manwich (made with venison) and baked cauliflower at 5 pm sharp. (Becuase then the kids have to leave for AWANA's. I said Wednesday's are a crazy day!) Can I tell you how much I LOVE baked cauliflower. It is SO good that even my baby girl asks for seconds. It's that good.I have tracked my points for the day. I did go over, but not as bad as I thought. I'm sending ALL that candy with my husband to work tomorrow. Lot's of times he just leaves whatever treat I've sent with him in the car and then doles out a little to the kids each day. That makes my life so much easier.

All right, my friends, onwards and upwards!

Goose's Grub on Wednesday

I am digging the blogging right after dinner plan as a way of keeping me from eating anything else the rest of the evening. It worked last night. So I am doing it again tonight. I find that brushing the teeth early in the evening helps, too.

I kicked off the day with, of course, my coffee...hello, coffee. i heart you. For those interested, my favorite is Millstone Hazelnut Decaf. Black. Straight Up. No fluff. I save the fluff for the afternoon if I want to trick myself into thinking I am having a coffee drink.


The girls had late start at school today so after I got them off to school, I had my breakfast about 9:30am...repeat of yesterday-total cereal w/ skim milk and a little granola thrown in for flavor. I am a creature of habit. I could eat the same exact thing for breakfast, lunch and snack every. single. day. and be happy as a clam with my only variety being dinner. goose trivia.



After remembering to bring the 4th child to her art class at 10am, I laced up my new running shoes and headed out and accomplished a 45 minute straight power run in my neighborhood to take advantage of the upper 40's and sunny temps before it rains for the next two straight days...


After the run, as is my usual, I started the shred and quickly realized that, while the shred seems like a good idea after a 30 minute run, it is not such a good idea after a 45 min run. Although I survived it, I did so just barely. Note to self: no shred after 45 min runs.

I had lunch around 12:30 and combined these ingredients...


Into this...


Yum.

Free Tip: put Greek yogurt and Agave Nectar on your next shopping list.

Somewhere around 3:30 I was feeling workout fatigue setting into my body and needing a snack, but fortunately not feeling all foodie like I was yesterday at this time. Thank goodness for small miracles. So I had my favorite go-to snack - an apple, a handful of almonds, and a glass of water-very filling, very satisfying...and what the heck, I threw in some string cheese, too...


Later in the day, I was feeling like I might want to open a bottle of wine. I am trying to avoid alcohol right now except for social situations, since it is an empty calorie distraction and even just one glass loosens the mental control and makes eating a bag of chips or a block of cheese seem like a good idea. So to avoid making this mistake I brewed another couple cups of coffee in the late afternoon and added a little fluff to make it "special"...fat free french vanilla liquid coffee creamer:


While making dinner I had one of these little secret magic bullets. Individually wrapped prunes. I know, gross, right? But seriously, try it! I did and they are quite tasty and a good choice if you are craving something candy sweet, but feel you can resist the temptation to grab another one of those Bliss or Dove chocolate hearts (coughIcemancough). And lets not forget the added benefits of prunes ifyouknowwhatimean. wink-wink


Dinner was a group effort. Sarah and Daddy cooked the Tilapia while I cooked the brown rice and asparagus--a family favorite meal that we have once a week. Frugal tip: Tilapia is CHEAP! I "blinged" mine up with a squirt of lime and chopped tomato to go with the delicious, salty caper topping. We ate about 7:15pm.


And chef Sarah did not want to be left out of photographing of her food, which she is finding quite humerous and intriguing, so I indulged her...


Now. I cannot tell a lie. Husband usually saute's or bakes the Tilapia in a very healthy way, but for some reason, unbeknownst to me, he decided to fry the Tilapia in vegetable oil tonight. I have used nothing but olive oil for a couple years now, so my system is not reacting very nicely to this vegetable oil fried fish and my stomach is being a little funky right now. I was going to finish off the night with my dark chocolate Dove heart, but actually don't think I can manage it with this gross saturated fat in my system messing with me. The body knows, people! The body knows!

In other news, I drank a lot of water again today. You should, too.



So that is Goose's Grub for Wednesday, Feb. 3rd.

Gooooooose-Out.

Iceman Imbibing Day #2

Yeah! I'm so excited that you're on board with me girls!

After seeing Goose's food choices for the day I'm feeling a little glutonous, but I'm not going to fret. I'm even under my points allotment for the day. And I feel VERY good about that.

Well, no work out for me today. I work out MWFSu. Four times a week is about all I can handle. I have found out in previous years that when I go more than that, I start to burn out. MWFSu I can maintain forever. :)

I liked how Goose put in at what times she ate too. I think I will add that myself, so here goes!

Breakfast. It was at 8:30 this morning. I make these applesauce/ oatmeal pancakes from scratch. High fiber, low calorie, and the kids just eat 'em up.

Lunch was at 11:45. I love these portabello mushroom burgers. And only 1 pt! Amazing! In the bowl is Cottage Cheese and Pineapple, a throw back from my youth. And yep, the diet Dr. Pepper for the day...
After the kids and I were done with school I had my afternoon treats. This is Sugar Free, Fat Free pudding with whip topping and sunflower seeds, about 3 pts total, YUM!

And then I couldn't resist the chocolates. :)
Supper was at 5:15. I made Meatloaf Muffins (made with venison and Turkey sausage ) then a baked potato and green beans. Another meal that my family loves.

Lastly, I was starving around 7pm and so I had a bowl of cereal. I love cereal, it's my weakness. I was very proud of myself that I stopped at one bowl. Maybe it was because I knew I would have to put it on here...So there ya go! My food for the 2nd day. Geesh, this is kinda fun!

Iceman Out!

What did Goose Gobble on Tuesday?

Inspired by Iceman's challenge, I photographed every morsel I ate today, and also photographed my workout...I tend to be an overachiever, I know you didn't know this about me.

As I suspected, the accountability this provided me was very beneficial, especially when you see what my family left out on the counter to taunt me with. Had I not had to show you what I ate today I probably would have given in to temptation. So, already, Iceman, this challenge to photograph our food and share it is working for me! :)

We just finished dinner here, and now, in an effort to not eat anything else for the remainder of the evening, I am going to get this blog post up, brush my teeth and stay out of the kitchen. I have a late night ahead of me with Biggest Loser on! :)

So lets get to it...
Goose's Gobbles for Tuesday, Feb. 2 (shout out to dad--hey dad! happy birthday!)

My day kicks off immediately with a cup of coffee, or two, or three. After being fully decaf for a number of years, I have let caffeine slip in more the last couple months. I have gone cold turkey again back on to full decaf the last couple days, and I currently have the headache to prove it. I should be fine in another couple days. I like to drink ridiculous amounts of coffee, and I just can't do that if its caffeinated--I get SO wired--so copious amounts of decaf it is! I could drink it all day, I heart coffee so much...



Next Stop: Workout at my friend H's. Today was a bike day...road for 45 min/12 miles. The pic is fuzzy because a 4 year old took it, but I am thinking that is a good thing, because then you can't clearly see my just rolled out of bed appearance:


After the biking we always do the Shred...actually I always do the shred after running or swimming too, it is my magic bullet. I figured you'd prefer to see Jillian over me shredding, so here she is:



Grabbed a cup of coffee from H to drink on my way home (yes I did drink 3 bottles of water during the workouts)...this time I added some coconut milk creamer she had, as a little treat:



Time for some breakfast. Ignore the fact that it is 12:30 by now. I know I should eat first thing in the morning. I often do. It just didn't happen this morning. It did screw me a bit, because I was much hungrier later in the afternoon than I thought I would be. I will do better tomorrow. Today I had a bowl of total with skim milk and added a little pumpkin and sunflower seed granola for a little more flavor since I was out of bananas, which I usually cut on top of the cereal:



Lunch was around 3pm and it was quite tasty. A bed of brown rice with a chipotle black bean burger patty on top, a diced plum tomato, salsa, and a squirt of fresh lime. Yum.


I have to admit, by 4-4:30 I was having that "foodie" breakdown. I stroll through the kitchen and this is what I see my precious family has left out on the counter to torture me:


BUT I DID NOT EAT IT!! NOT ONE BITE!! I knew if I had even one bite it would all be over for me. And, this is where this blog challenge really came in handy. I knew I'd have to photograph and tell you about it. If not for having to photograph what I ate today I am pretty sure I would have succumbed to the temptation. So I decided to photograph it to tell you about how I survived the temptation of a huge weakness of mine...an open bag of potato chips!!

But I needed something....so I made this:


And, YES, I ate the whole bowl. All by myself.

And after I was done, I wanted to eat something else. But I didn't. I didn't want to have to photograph it and have to tell you about it.

But I figured I'd start making dinner at 6pm. Here's what we had. Note the luncheon plate I used to trick myself into having a big, full plate:



not pictured: one knife-ful of organic peanut butter that I just had to lick off while I made dinner.

Also note that I had water with every meal. It is another magic bullet. It is really the only thing I drink besides coffee and an occasional glass of milk. I have drank a lot of water today.

My final morsel today...a little dark chocolate Dove heart...because, you know, its good for the heart. Yum. And, yes, I only had one.


So I am done for the day, except my ever present glass of water. Looking forward to seeing what Iceman Imbibed in and Maverick Munched on today!

Goose-Out

Day 1

Here is my food for Monday Feb. 1st. Breakfast was Steel Cut Oats. I love these things. They are yummy and they fill me up for HOURS.

Lunch, The chips and Pop aren't necessarily good. BUT I have found, in this stage of my life. I have to have some caffeine. Not much, but for the years I have been caffeine free, I am SO tired in the afternoons, one can of pop and I don't hit that wall. It's just the way it is folks.

And Supper, it was broccoli with a little Sesame Salad Dressing on them, marinated chicken and stuffing. It wasn't nearly as good as I thought it would be. I am a bargain grocery shopper and had bought a couple bags of stuffing a while back. I still haven't found a good way to use it in a casserole (which I feel I must :) )

All right ladies. You both have nicer cameras than I do. It doesn't take ANY time to snap a photo right before you eat. YOU CAN DO IT!

A Challenge, Girls!

All right Goose and Maverick. It's Monday morning, the week is sparkling brand new and we can revel in the newness that His mercies are new every morning. So with that I have a challenge:


For one week all three of us take a picture of the meals that we are eating. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. If you have time you can add the recipe's, but don't worry about that as much as getting the pictures up.

My reason for this is two-fold. 1. Ideas, it's always so interesting to see what people eat and can inspire our own palette! 2. Accountability, the major theme in all of our posts seem to be the struggle that we have with food. So with this challenge, maybe we'll second guess another piece of pizza.

All right! Start snappin'. Breakfast today is probably over for all of you today, ( I had steel cut oats that are pictured above) but lunch is do-able. I thought each of us could do one post at the end of each day with our food choices for the day.

One week, can we do it?