My Crappy Appointment

So thanks to a combination of stress and medication, my weight has creeped up. At my last appointment with the surgeon's office, I was told by a really rude nurse that there was no way that I was following the rules... I had to be having binges. I was in tears by the time I left! Even though there is well documented proof that the 2 daily meds that I'm on both cause weight gain as a side effect.... apparently that's a crock and I'm a liar.

I understand that they deal with food addicts and addicts are known to lie about having whatever it is that they are addicted to...... but it's really crappy when you're telling the truth!

But moving on....... I've decided to do the 5 day pouch test to bring me back to basics. Combined with making some life changing decisions, I'm hoping to kick start my weight loss again.

Oh ThinkGeek.... How I Love Thee

I'm totally insane for a site called ThinkGeek! I love so many of their products and own many of their t-shirts but one product in particular caught my eye......

The Perfect Portions Nutrition Scale

All of us trying to lose weight have used a kitchen scale, but not like this one! Trying to keep an accurate daily tally of calories, fibre, fat, carbs, etc isn't easy to do. This scale makes it much easier though. All you do is turn it on, pick from the 2,000 preloaded foods or the 99 custom foods you can input, then place the item on the scale. It gives you the totals for just about everything you would need to keep track of but it's based on the weight!

It also keeps a running daily total. It sells for $49.99 USD. ThinkGeek only has it in silver, but Amazon is selling it for the same price and it comes in silver, red, blue, black, and white.

The Speech

This is quite possibly the best motivational speech I've ever heard. You can equate this into any life battle you're having..... anything that you're trying to get control over.... it's simply an amazing speech! Any time I feel down about my life or what I'm trying to do, I plan on watching this.

Coming Back

Hello everyone. I'm going to try blogging again. I've really been missing the outlet lately and have decided that regardless of the negatives it was bringing before, the advantages to me far outweigh those negatives. I need to have this outlet back in my life. I'm not promising a daily post.... but I'll do my best :)

So life has been complicated since my last posting. My weight loss has come to a stop and I've now gained.... thanks to the new combination of medication that I'm on and the stress that I'm still under. So what to do from here? Well.... I go back to basics.... measuring and weighing everything that I eat and keeping track of it all. I'm also starting to get back on track with my exercising.

I've had some stuff going on in my personal life as well. My son was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. Basically his brain doesn't properly process anything that is input through his senses. Since birth we've had problems with his eating. He has a texture aversion and ends up throwing up so often that he is now very unwilling to try anything new when it comes to food and drink. We're working with a wonderful occupational therapist to help Miles with his disorder and things have been going well so far.
I've also been worried about how things would go with my daughter (Becca) with Miles getting so much attention. But she's been wonderful. I've been trying to make sure that she gets lots of one on one attention.... as much as I'm able to anyways. But it's hard when Miles needs so much so my time.

The Santa Claus parade was this past Sunday evening and normally I take the kids and spend the whole time keeping my eye mostly on Miles. This year was so great! My stepdaughter (they're half sister) and her mom took Becca with them to the parade and she had a fabulous time.... much more fun than she would have had if she had been with me and Miles. And I was so glad that she had been singled out to get the two on one attention. Afterwards we all had dinner together at my parents' house. If anyone had told me a few months ago, that I would be sitting at a dinner table with my husband's ex and enjoying myself, I would have said you were crazy.... but we all laughed and talked and it was a good time.


My daughter after the parade. I had just "decorated" her face for her....LOL

I'm working outside of the house now and loving it! It's only part time because of childcare issues, but I'm out of the house.... with adults.... 5 days a week (2 full shifts and 3 part shifts) and it's amazing! I miss doing home daycare and spending my time with my kids, but considering everything, I'm happier.

Overall, some parts of my life are still out of control but other parts are so much better. It's time for me to take more control of the parts that I don't like and change them!

I hope everyone is doing well and you're ready to start reading now that I'm back out of hiding? LOL

Raw Foods Diet and a Recipe

So I've been trying to kick start a food revolution within my own house.... trying to get the kids and the hubby to start eating healthier. I starting checking out raw food recipe websites and found some really good recipes.

The first one I tried, which very not surprisingly only went over well with me, was simply tittled "Zucchini Surprise"

The ingredients are simple....

3 zucchini, shredded

2 red apples, cored and chopped

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped

cumin to taste

Braggs Liquid Soy Seasoning to taste

The instructions are even more simple....

Mix together and serve.

I was apprehensive to try this one because the thought of combining apples and soy sauce didn't sound too appealing but it was awesome!

The nutritional information per 1 cup serving....

calories - 134.5

fat - 7

carbs - 19.6

net carbs - 12.9

fibre - 6.7

sugar - 2.4

protein - 1.8

Not a lot of protein at all but as an occasional meal or a 1/2 cup serving with a meat it's a nice low calorie, low sugar option.

I'm Not Gone... Honest!

I didn't think I'd been gone that long, but apparently so. Looking around I'd say the first thing I need to do as soon as I get time is to change the Easter theme...LOL. I'm having a really hard time not having this blog be personal so I'm thinking of making a second blog which will be invite only..... or I may just keep with the one and make it invite only... not sure yet but I'll let you guys know before it happens.

Evelyn's Eggplant Chili

My aunt brought down some eggplant chili a couple of weeks ago and I fell in love with it! I got the recipe from her so I could share :)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-size eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes



• 1 tbsp salt



• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil



• 2 medium-size onions, cut into 1/4 inch diced



• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped



• 2 large green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch diced



• 1 can (35oz) Italian plum tomatoes



• 1 1/2lbs fresh ripe Italian plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes



• 2 tbsp chili powder



• 1 tbsp ground cumin



• 1 tbsp dried oregano



• 1 tbsp dried basil



• 1 tsp ground black pepper



• 1 tsp fennel seeds



• 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley



• 19 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and washed well



• 19 oz can chickpeas, drained and washed well



• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill



• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Place the eggplant in a strainer adn sprinkle with the salt. Let stand for one hour. Rinse in cold water to remove the salt. Gently squeeze out some of the water, then pat dry with paper towel.

Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant and saute until almost tender. Remove the eggplant to a very large pot.

Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and reduce heat to low. Saute the onions, garlic, and green peppers just until softened (about 10 minutes). Add to the large pot.

Place the large pot over low heat and add the canned tomatoes with their liquid, fresh tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, basil, pepper, fennel seeds, and parsley. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes.

Stir in kidney beans, chickpeas, dill and lemon juice and cook for another 15 minutes. The eggplant peel should be tender. Stir well and adjust seasonings to taste.

Nutritional Information (per 1 cup serving)

calories - 130.7
fat - 6.7
carbohydrates - 15.6 (net carbs = 10.7)
fibre - 4.9
sugar - 0.7
protein - 4.2

I add one scoop of Beneprotein to my 1 cup serving. That makes the calories 155.7 and the protein 10.2.