Canned vs. Frozen: Frugal Food Friday

I've made several tasty healthy recipes to share since my last Frugal Food Friday post...and things were so crazy at dinner time, I forgot to take a picture...so now I'll just have to make them again...YUM!

Anyway, I thought I'd share something new that I'm trying.  The more processed a food is, the more nutrician and flavor it loses.  Therefore in general...fresh is best, frozen next best, then canned.  Canned food can also be quite expensive, not to mention all the packaging that goes into canned.  (We don't have can recycling here, so we save them up for a visit to parents who live in more enlightened parts.  I just cannot bring myself to thrown cans in the trash.)  I try to buy frozen veggies when possible, but then they tend to get freezer burned if I buy them in big bags.

So...maybe all of you already do this...but it just occurred to me.

I bought my big bag of corn a week or so and did the same thing I did with my beans a while ago.  I filled up an empty can with the corn.  Dumped those in a ziploc back and repeated until I had a lot of 1 can size baggies of corn, ready to pull out and substitute into recipes calling for canned corn.  Then all those little baggies go in a big baggie, so they're double protected from the freezer burn.

Katie: Week 63

It's not really my 63rd week.  It's my 24th week.  That 63 was a little joke I picked up from my wonderful, funny in-laws.  I won't bother to explain except to say that, in the Lewis family, when someone is being a sir grumps-a-lot (like when you're losing a board game and getting really mad about it or when someone tickles you and you're not in the mood so you throw a fit or something along those lines) everybody tells you you're 63.  Or, if you're big enough to admit it, you tell everyone else you're 63.  Which usually makes you laugh a little.

Anyway, I said week 63 because I was not in the mood to post today.  At all.  See, I was 140 last week.  And somewhere in the middle of this past week I was 139.  Then 138.  The skinniest I've been in so long!  The skinniest I've been in years!  And then I got cocky.  Thought I could eat whatever I wanted.  Chocolate chip cookies looked good.  Super big mini M&M cookies looked good.  Double Stuf Oreos looked good.  Ice cream looked good.

You get the picture.  It's a sad picture.  It's a picture entitled: "This week's weight: 141."  Even though I was 138.

I fluctuate so much between wanting to sacrifice goodies to reach my goals and wanting to "enjoy life and be realistic."  The truth is, I was enjoying life when I was goodie-free.  But it's hard to tell that to a cookie.  You tell the cookie that carrot juice tastes good and what does it do?  It sticks out its tongue at you and points to its chocolate chips.  Little mean cookie.  And yet, it's so full of good feelings and happy memories and yummy tastes.  How can a cookie be so good and so bad at the same time?  I struggle with that.  All the time.

Anyway, so there's my weekly update.  The good news is, Sarah is back!  And we went on a walk this morning.  Which makes everything in my life seem to fall back into place.  Our 5K is this weekend.  Bryan says you can walk 3 miles in 45 minutes.  Hopefully we'll do better than that.  Wish us luck!

Fuel For Race Day

My half marathon is this Saturday and fueling is on my mind. Carb-loading can be complicated and controversial, but I like to keep it simple. The basic concept is to store up glycogen (an easily-accessed fuel) by increasing carbohydrate/starch intake and decreasing activity. This allows you to have energy as well as hydration because the carbs store water. Here are some carb-loading and nutrition tips from Runner's World magazines and experienced running friends of mine.

• Carb-load for the week leading up to a marathon, three days leading up to a half marathon. There is a lot of debate over carb-loading for shorter distances. I say, there's no harm in trying it out.
• Get your carbs from a variety of sources: grains, dairy, fruits & veggies, and legumes. Everybody thinks of pasta, but potatoes are even better on the glycemic index.
• The last 2-3 days of carb-loading, 70% of your caloric intake should be carbs. Adjust (decrease) fat intake to allow this.
• Don't worry about gaining water weight while carb-loading because it will help more than it hurts you. Keep drinking that water.
• Favorite carb-loading foods: bagels (Thomas' whole wheat), apples, granola bars, oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon, carrots, fruit juice, and my personal favorite... french fries.
• No matter what, eat something for breakfast the day of the race. I like a banana and a bowl of raisin bran cereal. Plus a half of a whole wheat bagel if the race start time is a couple hours away.
• Rest the day before the race.
• Along with great food, be sure to get great sleep the week before the race.

I noticed a remarkable difference in my running when I carb-loaded for my marathon. My marathon felt a million times better than my 20-mile training run and I attribute it wholly to how I was fueling my body. I plan to carb-load this week starting Wednesday. Tomorrow I run 5 miles, then just two or three on Thursday. Carb-loading is exciting for me because it is the only time I am really strict with my food. I know it works. It prepares me and gets me excited for the race.

Do you have any experiences with carb-loading? Have you noticed a difference in your workouts as you change your eating habits? What foods have helped or hindered you in your exercising?

Kathy Week 23: Sunshine!

Kathy's Week 23 Stats:

Today's Weight: 136

Last Week's Weight: 139

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 15 pounds

I live in the Pacific Northwest, in a notoriously rainy region. It is gloriously green around here, but you don't get green without moisture! I rarely complain about the rain, even when I'm out camping and hiking. I have learned to buy good rain gear (it can be expensive, so I buy one piece at a time) and just get out and go! 

However, this spring has been a doozy for rain. We had a week or so of gorgeous sun in February. March was its usual rainy self. It rained every day in April. It rained almost every day in May. It's rained every day in June so far until...today! It's supposed to start raining again tomorrow, so I wanted to hurry outside and take this week's photos for you:

I am so excited to be down by 15 pounds since January! That's an average of 3 pounds a month; a nice, steady, healthy rate of loss. I feel healthy and strong. Hooray!

I'm still going to yoga class once a week and the Curves gym 3 mornings a week. Here are some fun moves we learned in yoga last Tuesday:

The half hand stand. I can maintain this for almost a minute. I'm practicing this pose regularly, to increase my arm and shoulder strength. I'd like to be able to hold it for two minutes or more! (My trunk and legs are supposed to be at a 90 degree angle - I didn't quite get there on this practice. But it's fun to do and I'm getting better at it!)

The standing half moon. I practice this on both sides, for balance, leg strength, and a core body workout. (Still trying to get that outstretched leg up a little higher, so that I'm straight out...I'll keep practicing!)

Speaking of the rain...last Monday my husband Mark and I were signed up for a 10K walk. But...you guessed it...it was so rainy that we backed out. Mark has a jacket and pants that are water repellant, but not water proof, and we didn't think it would hold up to 6 miles in 2 hours of steady rain. (To tell the truth, I had to coax him a bit to undertake a 10K in the first place, and I didn't want to push him out into the rain and have it end up being his last 10K.

The race was to begin at 8:30 am, and we had planned to leave the house by 7:30 to take care of registration. At 7:30 it was raining pretty hard. By 8:30...it stopped raining! Oh, no! No way to get to the starting line in time, now.

Can you guess what we did instead? Does the word "biathlon" pique your interest? Click here to find out how we had a great athletic morning after all. And then come back and leave me a comment about how you make the best of rainy days.

Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the sunshine, wherever you are!

Making a list, checking it twice...

No, it is not Christmas. However one of my favorite things to do is check things off a list...I make lists for everything! I decided to capitalize on this and use this new format instead of trying to make myself write down things I eat in a food journal...which, while is a good idea and works for some people, it is like pulling teeth for me- I just hate it and can't make myself do it!

So I made this handy little chart for myself- some of the categories have more blocks than they really should, but it is so I aim high in those areas (yes, I know my own weaknesses very well!) Basically I check off a block for every serving of food I eat in the appropriate category. At the end of the week I give myself an overall grade in each category (just however I felt I did in each area, A to F...it is just a random, arbitrary grade) and then make a goal to raise my grade in at least one area the next week.

Click HERE to view the GoogleDocs Spreadsheet

For some reason this really works for me- it motivates me to get more fruits and veggies and water into my day and limit my snacks, candy, and dessert. I hang it on my fridge with a pen attached so it is really accessible. Maybe it will help some of you...try it out!

Have a great day!

picnic food!

Picnics are my very favorite. Back in the single summertime days, Katie and I went on many many good ones. I think we usually had pretty healthy foods, but picnic fare can easily turn fatty and sugary and processed (those things are so easy to pack!).

Some of my favorites to bring along:

-lots and lots of fruit and fruit salad (not with whipped cream or pudding or any of those fruit salad ruiners--just make sure there are chopped strawberries in there and the whole thing becomes nice and syrupy)
-veg for eating plain (little tomatoes, sugar snap peas) or dipping (carrots, celery, cucumber)
-a good dip (hummus is my favorite and has no dairy to get hot and rotten)
-favorite salad (cucumbers + tomatoes + avocados + sea salt)
-tabouli (packs well and tastes great made from a package)
-crackers and cheese

I know Katie posted about Hungry Girl long ago, and I recently found that the site has a whole lot of "bite it/fight it" recipes--good old recipes made much healthier. I saw this potato salad recipe and want to make it for our next day out to the park.

The Good German Potato Salad
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cored and roughly chopped
10 oz. baby red potatoes, roughly chopped
3 cups dry coleslaw mix
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 tbsp. precooked real crumbled bacon (like the kind by Oscar Mayer)
2 tbsp. Hellmann's/Best Foods Dijonnaise
1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
Dash black pepper
1/4 cup chopped scallions

Directions:
Place cauliflower and potatoes in a large microwave-safe bowl with 1/3 cup water. Cover and microwave for 6 minutes. Stir, re-cover, and microwave for 8 minutes, or until tender. Once cool enough to handle, drain excess water and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add coleslaw mix and onion. Stirring frequently, cook until soft and slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add contents of the skillet to the bowl with the cauliflower and potatoes. Set aside.

To make the dressing, combine all remaining ingredients except scallions in a microwave-safe bowl. Add 2 tbsp. water, stir, and microwave for 1 minute, or until warm. Mix thoroughly.

Add dressing to the large bowl with veggies and potatoes, and toss to coat. Add scallions, gently mix, and serve! (P.S. If you're making this ahead of time, refrigerate and then warm it up just before serving.)

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Serving Size: heaping 3/4 cup 
Calories: 85 
Fat: 0.75g
 Sodium: 324mg
 Carbs: 16g
 Fiber: 3.25g
 Sugars: 6g
 Protein: 3.5g

You can find this and other recipe swaps here.

What do you bring on picnics? And, please go on one soon!

Katie: Week 23

Woot!  Woot! 

Current weight: 140 pounds
Last week's weight: 143 pounds
Total weight loss: 30 pounds!!!!!!!!!!


I guess that's what happens when you throw up a lot and then have no appetite for days.  Hopefully I won't bounce back up again.

Goals chart from this past week...

Well, obviously I did not meet my goals 100% this week.  Can you tell my body and I have not been getting along this past week?  For those of you who didn't read my whiny post on Sunday, I'll give you the quick version of what I've been through this past week:


-been having extra bad back and neck pain and daily headaches for the past couple of weeks
-Thursday: went to see the chiropractor, had some things adjusted, was given some advice
-Thursday night/early Friday morning: threw up violently due to what I'm sure was food poisoning
-Friday: laid in bed all day
-Saturday: had a lazy day
-Sunday: woke up super, super stiff and cranky
-Monday (yesterday) we did (among other things) the following:

Went for a little family hike with Lisa.

Don't be fooled by that shady look on her face.  She loved being in the backpack and fell asleep in it on the way back down.

The view from the top of the waterfall.

Then we hiked back down and had a really healthy lunch.

After that, we all got back in the car and headed up to IKEA where Bryan and I bought...

...this little desk!

We decided it's time we stopped stooping over the laptop from the couch, so we got this little desk.  And we're planning on getting a yoga ball to sit at the desk with to help with my posture problems.  But I'm completely at a loss for what kind and size of yoga ball to buy.  I'm about 5'4", so should I buy a 65cm ball or a 75cm ball?  Does anybody know?  I don't.  Or does anybody know if there's a store that had a bunch of them inflated so I can go and try out the different sizes?  If any of you have suggestions or recommendations please please please let me know in the comments.

Anyway, we did some other stuff yesterday, but I'm getting bored talking about it (although it was fun to do), so... the end.

Happy Tuesday everyone!