Spinach Sweet Potato Salad

I got this recipe from an episode of "The Healthy Gourmet" that I was captioning at work- who knew?

Ingredients:
- 2 sweet poatoes
- Baby spinach
- 1 lime
- Olive oil
- Sunflower or pumpkin seeds, ideally spiced

Directions:
- Chop sweet potatoes into tiny cubes (hash brown sized)
- Place sweet potatoes in a pan filled with an inch of water and boil until potatoes are tender.
- Drain potatoes, and roast for 5-10 minutes with a few tbsp of olive oil
- Pour hot potatoes onto cold spinach (yes, actually)
- Add the juice of the lime, a few tbsp of olive oil, and the seeds; and toss.

Very yummy- a great side for a veggie burger and an awesome substitute for any potato dish (esp. fries)

I'm Back with a Buddy!

So, David came back to Toronto for the summer and is proving himself to be the most unforgiving workout buddy I could have asked for. He joined my gym and is forcing me to workout at least four times per week.

We're doing the "Insanity" program, and I just put the videos on my computer so now I have no excuse but to do the 40-minute videos the required six times per week. If I can do that and keep biking the 4km to work (and the 4km back) at least four times per week, I should be good for exercise!

I'm liking this program because the time I need to commit to working out each day is much less than when I was just going to the gym. Going to the gym in the winter for me meant I'd get there by 5:30 and wouldn't leave til 7:30. But now we're arriving by 5:00 and I'm out of the shower on my way home by 5:50.

Eating right has been a more difficult challenge. I've just changed jobs where I'm not taking lunch breaks (cause I work for myself, and I'm a horrible boss). But the time goes by so quickly that I don't think I'm at any risk of over-eating due to boredom at work anymore. I think I can really try the 5 meals a day plan-
7:00am- breakfast
10:00am- morning snack
1:00pm- lunch
4:00pm- afternoon snack
7:00pm- supper
And any evening snacks will be limited to fruit and veggies.

I'll keep at it, but having David as a work-out buddy has been the best motivation I've had so far!

That Intoxicating Stench

When I worked in a bakery for three years, the most common (and annoying) question people asked was "Oh my!  How do you stay so slim working here with that smell?  If I worked here I'd weigh two hundred pounds!"  As much as we wanted to answer, "Well, ma'am, it's because we all have terrible eating disorders" the real answer was much more boring.  Your nose got so used to it that after about the first twenty minutes you really didn't smell anything anymore.  That and inhaling that much butter sometimes gives you the same gross "I ate too much chocolate" feeling you get after a junk binge that it kind of makes you just want to eat carrot sticks.

Through the last month of trying to eat healthy, it's always a struggle when I pass by a Starbucks, or waffle place, or the pastry shop right by the subway entrance when I go to work.  It smells so good sometimes and I'm always tempted to just treat myself and indulge.  That leads to my brain and tastebuds arguing furiously, which is never good.  Usually my brain grumpily wins by reminding myself that I'd feel gross after I finished eating it.

Which has lead me to an amazing new mentality- appreciating smells, indulging myself in them fully, but not having to eat them or make myself feel bad.  Now when I pass by the bakery I stop and have a nice inhale.  I think, "Mmm...what a delightful smell.  I'm glad I get the chance to enjoy the smell."  Then I don't connect enjoying the smell with feeling obligated to eat it or be miserable.

I know, it seems like such a stupid and obvious conclusion, but it's really helpful.  I don't think people appreciate smells on their own the same way most animals do, because so much of what we taste is because of what we smell.  But taking the time to separate them in my head has really helped keep me happy and sane.

If only all those regular customers had known the same tricks ;)

Week 5!

Well, I'm into week 5, which is pretty impressive.  I remember when I was deciding to do this that I figured if I could work out regularly for 6 weeks straight I would be solidly into the habit.  I think that's about accurate.  I'm really starting to get used to the routine, and I'm really proud that this is the longest I've gone consecutively exercising regularly. 

I weighed myself at the end of week 4, and I was only down 1lb (compared to 2.5lbs for the end of week 2).  It was good, though, because I knew I hadn't worked out as much or eaten quite as well so it's nice that my body is responding to how hard I try.  And the important thing is that I did lose some weight and didn't gain anything.

Anyway, I don't want to obsess over numbers because that's not really why I'm doing this.  Still, it's cool that there are tangible results from doing this. 

I definitely haven't been cooking as much, but thank goodness for being a vegetarian.  A quick or lazy dinner for me is a tofurkey sausage that has 12g of protein and 1g of fat and tons of B12 and 100 calories, plus a whack of vegetables.  Smoothies have also been a delightful breakfast or dinner on nights I come home late and don't want to bother making something huge.  Also, it'll get better in the summer when I have more time, daylight, and inclination to go outside.  Plus I'll start biking in about 4-6 weeks, which will be really refreshing.

Let's see if I can make it nicely to the 6-week mark :D

It Starts Before You Get Home

So I know this is going to sound obvious, but I've figured out how people manage to eat healthy.

They don't buy unhealthy food.

I've already come to grips with the fact that I have very little self-control around junk food, so I've resigned myself to not allowing any of it in my house (well, in my part of the fridge and pantry).  I know that I won't be depriving myself entirely, because there will be enough times where I go out and eat not-so-good foods or when I'm over at someone's house and eat (*gasp!*) a handful of chips or some cookies.  That way when I do break from the healthiness a little, it's not that big of a deal.

Par example, we had a pizza party at choir last night.  I had two party sized pieces (I guess the equivalent of 1 1/2 regular pieces) but I didn't let myself stuff my face.  And then I went grocery shopping and only got produce, tofu, milk, yogurt, and beans.  And it will be a delightful bean salad day :)

Still keeping up with my exercise routine.  Seeing results on the scale is definitely the best motivator to keep going (that and seeing the automatic withdrawl on my bank statement).

I wish I had known...

...lots of things about food.

For example, I wish I had known making lentils is as easy and takes as much time as making pasta.  So many wasted nights making white carby goodness, when I could have so easily put on a pot of water and a cup of lentils instead.  Ready in twenty.

So my new favourite dish of the week is this awesome lentil salad.  Cook the lentils in veggie broth instead of water (ratio is 1:2 of lentils to water/broth), then mix in chopped lettuce, tomatoes, yellow pepper and feta cheese.  Then mix with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, thyme, basil, and parsely and you've got a nummy salad.  The broth and balsamic vinegar make the lentils super flavourful and creamy.

I'm on track to keep my weekly exercise goals for this week.  I'm going to weigh myself on Monday...not sure what to expect from two weeks ago.  Wish me luck!

Week 2!

Week 2! 

Alright, the weekend was a bit tricky.  I figure I can find a nice balance between eating really well on weekdays and eating pretty well on the weekends.  The best way to keep a resolution, I find, is to be realistic.  Realistic revelation 1: I am entirely incapable of buying chips.  They have an evil power over me.  Someone once suggested pre-portioning them into small bags, but then I just eat more bags.

But there were no chips this weekend, actually.  Just too much chocolate from one of the kids in my choir.  So, maybe I should not accept gifts from anyone, either.

Cooking my own meals is tricky just because it's so time consuming.  But we made an epic pot of chili and as long as we don't get sick of it, it'll be great for this week.

My fabulous exercise checklist was totally checked off last week!  3x at the gym, 2x 5km walks, 1x yoga class and 1x other (which was two 1.8km walks and two 2km walks in the heavy snow which totally makes it way harder).

I think I just need to keep on reminding myself that excuses are stupid and I shouldn't give up. 

Go banana!