Zucchini Pasta

NOTE TO SELF:

Next time try sauteing the zucchini noodles with a little butter and garlic. Might take care of some of the water and might give more of a noodle like texture.

More experimental cooking

I managed to fit in quite a bit of experimental cooking this weekend. Some of it by design and some of it accidentally.

The planned ones were sweets - I tend to gravitate toward those because they are much more foreign to me in their primal forms and I'm still getting a feel for what things taste like. Meat and veggie recipes I can usually look at and have a pretty good idea what it's going to be like.

I'm also looking for some things that will add a little more variety to lunches. I seem to want a little something sweet after lunch more often than I do after dinner. Dinner tends to be a heavier meal and I'm satisfied when it's done, but lunch leaves me wanting a little something. The dark chocolate is great and I've really grown to love it, but it's nice to have something different.

I've been meaning to try these Almond Butter Pumpkin Brownies for a few weeks now, and I finally got around to it. I used maple syrup rather than honey, and I don't think I used as much. The verdict is that they are a little bland but pretty satisfying. They're reasonably moist, but still taste just a little dry to me (and my son), but they kick ass with a glass of milk.

I also finally got around to trying out Truffles. They are excellent! The ones I made with rum are little strong, but the orange ones are fabulous. These might prompt me to overeat them, so I won't be making them often, but it's good to know I can and they are easy.

The surprise recipe was a German style baked pancake with a lot of eggs that I thought might be very much like my mom's Finnish Pancake that I love so much...but it wasn't.  It was made with coconut flour and was more like corn bread. Not too bad with butter and a little maple syrup, but not worth making again I don't think.

Life's been busy lately so our attempts at meal planning have been kind of dicey, but we've been doing all right. It's always easy to fall back on your basic meat and veg dinner, so staying primal is pretty easy. We HAVE gotten better at cooking a little extra (and not eating so many seconds) so that we have leftovers for lunches.

I also made a fantastic chili for dinner last week and not only got lunch the next day, but froze three more pairs of servings for future lunches.

I think I'm turning the corner on the season change adjustment - I've had an easier time getting up in the mornings again, AND I've had a little more energy for longer and more intense workouts. I'm still sticking to the somewhat lower intensity in general, and I won't be killing myself anytime soon, but I'm back to what I think of as more "regular" workouts. (And I got this fabulous Roller Derby Workout that showed up today and I'm going to do tomorrow!).

So Long No-Poo

I'm okay with that. I was expecting it. We picked up the folks from the airport Tuesday evening, and they were tired and it was late and everyone just wanted a hot meal. They are not primal and so pizza sprang to their minds first, and since they were the ones who'd been traveling and were beat, we went along with it. It's been a few months since I had "real" pizza from our favorite pizza place, so I enjoyed a few slices, and they were fabulous. Also a few glasses of wine.

Also, yesterday a coworker brought in some spice cake with cream cheese frosting and I had a piece. It's the first non-primal eating choice I've made that I regret. It was good, but not THAT good, and I really had no need at all for it...I just kind of fell into old habits and easy justification. So I'll try to remember that feeling and think twice the next time I'm deciding on a choice like that.

In the long run, it's no big deal and I'm already moving on and doing fine.

My workouts have been pretty light the last couple of weeks. A fair few 20-min ones that were low intensity and basic. I did a few Harmony doubles, and a good walking workout. This morning I opted to kick it up a notch and pull out one of my old FIRMs - Maximum Body Shaping. It felt pretty good and I enjoyed it a lot, although my elbow is still bothering me a lot and I'd like to get it healed up.

I'm no longer no-poo. I went back to shampoo out of a need for ease and luxury and I'm still in an evaluation phase. Both methods have their pros and cons and neither one is really remarkably better than the other over all. But shampoo is easier and it smells nice so I'm going that route for now. I need desperately to figure out what to do with my hair and depending on what I do I may go no-poo again. The only part of that experiment I'm sticking with is my face - I only wash it with plain water and a washcloth and it's been very soft and nice. I don't feel the need to use any kind of cream so I know something is good here. Although, I don't know if not using any is a wise choice or not. I probably will as winter creeps up.

Workouts and a Recipe Retrospective

Still waiting on Powerfit Harmony, but I've been having a lot of fun with my more "moderate" take on the cardio workouts. I also pulled out CLX Burn Circuit 1 yesterday, since I was getting worried about losing my strength - this was the plan all along, and now that it's cooler I feel more motivated to do the harder work.

One really interesting thing happened - I could do push-ups MUCH better than I ever have been able to. When I was doing the original CLX rotation, I was really hoping I'd be able to do push-ups by the end, but it never really happened. During Lean Phase, I was so wiped out all the time, I actually got worse. Now that my body's had a chance to rest up, though.....I was doing really good! (For ME - which is to say that I was rocking knee push-ups and going about halfway down on toes)

I've had some cooking successes lately that I took pics of but hadn't gotten around to posting before, so I will now offer up a quick retrospective on Things I've Been Eating Lately.

Philly Cheesesteak in a Bowl:  We had some leftover roast to use up, so I sliced that Philly style and it turned out really great!

Zucchini "noodles" with Spinach Sauce:  The sauce has been a family favorite for YEARS and was already primal, so it was just a matter of switching out the carrier. The zucchini was really good, although next time, I think I'd steam it longer - it was still a little crunchy.

And...Coconut Orange Pound Cake:  This is fabulous with a little butter and fresh strawberries

This weekend is mostly devoted to housecleaning and laundry - which I'm actually looking forward to, partly because it needs it so damn bad, and partly because Fall is my nesting season.

I love FALL!!

Whee!!  The weather is finally just the way I like it and I'm so thrilled!!  I've had kind of a strange feeling of peace or calm lately, and I'm trying - without picking it apart too much - to find the source so I can foster this. I think part of is has to do with getting the house cleaned up last week, and we'll need to get back into the habit of keeping it tidy, because I know that's a big influence on my mood.

I also think I'm starting to feel a little more motivated again now that it's cool enough to cook and do whatever workouts I like, etc...

I did a little cooking yesterday, and feel great about that. I did two spinach quiches, one for lunch today and the other to throw in the freezer on reserve. I also bought a bunch of salad fixings and chopped them all up right away and put them in containers for a kind of salad bar system that should make it a little easier and more appetizing to make salads with dinner, or throw one together for lunch. I did some other cut veggies too, and that made it nice to banging together three lunches this morning.

I tried making my own cashew butter, but my nuts just wouldn't "butter" - maybe they were a little too old and dry, I don't know. I've also considered the idea that my food processor just isn't up to the task. It's old and the blade has never been sharpened, so who knows. I'd REALLY like to figure this though, because there's so many great things I could do.

Got a dehydrator on Friday and tried out zucchini chips - they were a little bland, and probably could have dried longer, but I like the general flavor and I think with a bit of seasoning and practice, they could be pretty good. Also made my favorite squash soup and it was YUMMY. Next time I'm going to try doing the squash in the crockpot during the day, but really - it only simmers for 20 minutes anyway. I'm getting a little more fired up about trying new recipes again, and about doing a little meal planning. Hubby is maybe starting to see the value in that (he's hated previous attempts I've made in that realm and not been the most cooperative), so hopefully I can get him a little more comfortable with the idea.


I ran out of smoothie supplies last week, so I experimented with some IF'ing. Both Thursday and Friday I skipped breakfast, which wasn't too bad. I'll admit, I missed it a little, and I was STARVING by the time I got to lunch. But it wasn't horrible. It wasn't the wellspring of energy and clarity that several people say it is, but then I'm not going to expect a whole lot from anything until I've been primal for at least six months maybe more. I think there's still a lot of adjusting my body needs to do.

One interesting thing, which I will most certainly keep in mind: By Friday afternoon, I was craving bread and doughnuts like nobody's business!! This is the first time I've skipped twice in a row, and it must have something to do with that. I've also always held the belief, long before I went primal, that there's some magic on the smoothies that helped curb my cravings somewhat. So my conclusion is either don't IF two days in a row, or be well prepared to deal with the results. Have a really great dinner planned or something to keep my mind off Krispy Kreme. (Note: I had a smoothie this morning and the thoughts of doughnuts are NOT having anywhere NEAR the same effect they did on me Friday)

Working out is going well - I've been pulling out some of my cardio workouts and trying them with more of a "moderate activity level" approach, rather than trying to actively burn as many calories as possible. There's been a thread at VF that I've been following closely because it seems to address this: Does working out too hard slow/prevent weight loss? I'm interested for a few reasons - admittedly, I'd like to lose weight still, but also, I do need to create fitness habits that are sustainable, and while I think a stint of CLX occasionally, or a few killer HIIT workouts will do me good, I'm inclined to believe that I'll do best with a general level of workout that is a little kinder and gentler than I used to think I needed.

To that end, I went ahead and ordered a set I've been thinking about for several months now: Powerfit Harmony. Which is a system of ten 20-min workouts that work together. You can either do a straight up rotation of them all, or you can do doubles to get 40-min workouts, which is what I'll likely do most of the time. It's definitely time for me to start planning rotations again because I've been waffling a little and not making the best of my time.

I'm so sick of summer....

Bleh.

I had such high hopes for this past weekend. I was going to clean and organize and play in the kitchen and cook new foods. It was going to be fabulous!!

It was fuckin' hot and humid. I mean icky horrible - move and you sweat kind of weather. I've just had too much of that this summer. I don't handle heat and humidity well anyway, but after all we've had lately, I just couldn't take it. I mostly sat in front of a fan and worked on my computer. By Sunday, I was holed up in the bedroom with the AC.

About the only good thing was that I think I have found a reasonably decent solution to managing all the recipes I've been collecting on the internet. I started a Delicious account and I'm bookmarking them all there. That way I can use tags to sort and organize them and make it easier to find the ones I want, and keep track of stuff I want to try.

I always worry a little bit that when I go back to a link, the stuff might not be there anymore, but as I find recipes that I like and that work well, I will either save them to my computer, or print them out and make my own primal cookbook.

I did try one recipe this weekend. Parmesan Crusted Baked "Fried" Zucchini. I did mine in the toaster oven, so I took FOREVER to cook (But I just couldn't bring myself to fire up the oven), and I learned that you need to grease the tinfoil or they stick and you end up peeling all the crust off the backsides. They were really tasty, though, and I'll be making them again when I can stand to be in the kitchen.


Workouts continue to be gentle - mostly stretching and yoga. I was going to do a CLX yesterday, but the heat made that impossible. This morning I didn't even bother. It's supposed to start cooling off, so hopefully and I do some weight lifting later this week. I also have a couple new ones coming that I'll talk about later on. Looks like some really fun stuff!

My hair has been totally flyway and fluffy looking around the head, so I'm going to resist shampooing other than a rare treat. I may look into CO washing and see what that might do for me. I did BC/ACV on Monday and that felt pretty good again. Doesn't fix the hair smell, but I'm going to go shopping for some new essential oils soon and see what I can use that will please the Hubby.

Vacation Report

We took a short family vacation this week. I feel happy and refreshed and a little more stable than I was feeling last weekend. I had been starting to kind of slip into that resentful feeling of never being able to have foods that I love again..... Those thoughts would definitely lead me down the road to ruin.

We took off Tuesday around noon, and had a lunch of primal snacks in the car while we listened to a mystery book on CD. I love that my kids were into it just as much as we were. That evening I had a couple beers, and I ordered pizza for dinner, but it was HORRIBLE and I mostly scraped the toppings off with my teeth. So less damage there than I might have had. (But no wonderful pizza bliss)(Which is okay, I found a really promising recipe for pizza crust and would like to try it out over the weekend).

My beer? Was PINK!!  I had a lovely raspberry cream ale, and it was great:

Wednesday, I spent the whole day riding go-karts and roller coasters - fabulous! The weather was perfect, lots of sunshine, not too hot, pleasant breeze. I had a couple margaritas, and the big splurge: I ate a funnel cake for lunch. That was WONDERFUL. We played at the water park in the evening, and then went out to dinner. My food was mostly primal, but I had three large sugary rum punches, and then we got fudge for dessert. Not surprisingly I had reflux issues in the night. Not TOO horrible, but a nice reminder of why I don't eat like that very much anymore.

Thursday was mostly back to primal, although I had one last go at the fudge just to feel like I really indulged.

Today I'm back on track and feeling very happy with that. I'm looking forward to playing in the kitchen this weekend and moving forward next week when the kids go back to school. I think over all that allowing myself to splurge in situations like this is a good arrangement for me.

I used shampoo in the shower this morning. I'm still not sure if I like the poo-less results. There are pluses: Thicker hair, stays clean longer. But there are minuses too: My hair DOES smell a lot of the time. Not horribly, but earthy and hubby has said he misses the shampoo smell. (I'm experimenting with essential oils in the vinegar rinse for that). Although my hair feels nicer, it doesn't exactly style any better - though this may be an issue of being long overdue for a haircut, so I'm holding judgment on that too.

The biggest issue? Showers are not very satisfying anymore. I MISS the lather and the soap and the luxurious scents. So today I used shampoo. I kept it minimal, and I only used it on the scalp, and it was nice. My plan now is to see if I can incorporate a shampoo now and then and still reap the benefits of being mostly poo-less. No idea if this will work since the shampoo will mostly stimulate oil production, but we'll see.