Posts from — August 2010

A day to relax, eat leftovers, enjoy the family, the garden and the great outdoors…

Can you tell I had fun with my camera today?  

And there’s gonna be lots of pesto in my future.

Have a great day, everyone!

What type of camera do you use?  Mine is a Canon Powershot SD780.  I’m saving all the pennies I find in the street for a DSLR!  One day…

I have been wanting to go canoeing all summer long and here, it is almost over!  The husband and I decided today would be the perfect day, so we got up early and packed up the daughters for a day at the lake.

First, I filled up with a big bowl of AB&B (almond butter and banana) Oat Bran…

• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1 1/4 cup water
• dash salt
• dash cinnamon
• 4 drops liquid Vanilla NuStevia
• banana
• 1/2 tbsp. almond butter
• sprinkle of sliced almonds

Oat bran is so filling.  Following the serving size on the box makes a ton!  Although I love volume, it was a little too much for me and I couldn’t finish it.  I’ll have to scale back on it next time.  I’d rather skimp on the oat bran than the almond butter

After breakfast, we were off to Marsh Creek Lake.  I’m not sure why we never thought to visit the lake before today.  It is a beautiful place!

The lake covers over 500 acres and draws many boaters to the area.  Sailboats, rowboats, canoes, kayaks and paddleboats were all available for rental.  Because of the vast lake area, the husband thought it best we rent the motorized rowboat so we could explore for a couple hours.  Good thing since about 4 seconds into our scenic ride, little daughter was already asking when we were leaving

I smile and row…

We explored the lake for close to 2 hours, then returned the boat and found the nearest picnic table to eat lunch.  I packed the traditional sandwich and chip fare.

Almond butter and fruit-only raspberry preserves on white whole wheat for me…

along with reduced-fat Kettle chips and a gala…

Then, we headed home and crashed!  All that fresh air knocked us out!

I got moving after a quick 10 minutes of shut-eye and started preparing dinner.  We invited my parents and Gram over for a falafel party.  Yes, FALAFEL!!  I know, I’m still yelling in happiness about these

The falafel party spread included…

• Falafel Republic falafel balls
• whole wheat pitas
• Trader Joe’s Tzatziki sauce
• Hummus
• shredded lettuce
• sliced cucumbers
• sliced tomatoes
• sliced onion
• roasted sweet potato wedges with chipotle guacamole dip
• salad

The chipotle guacamole dip was a big hit with the parents.  In a small food processor, I combined 1 chipotle pepper (in adobo) with 1/2 cup greek nonfat yogurt and 1/4 cup guacamole and blended until smooth.  The heat was a nice compliment to the sweetness of the potato.

My plate of falafely goodness…

We ended the night with a family game of Sequence…

My parents whipped our butts again.

Twice.  

I smile and go.

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you like boating?  Have you tried canoeing or kayaking?  I ogled the kayaks;  I really want to try that next time!

I got a call this morning…

*phone rings*

Me:  Hello.
Gram: *insert Italian accent and broken English*  Maaadeeesa, it Grahma.

Me:  Oh, hi Gram!
Gram:  You wanna come fa lunch?

Me: *mind swirls with excuses knowing nothing good can come of this, but I cannot lie*  Uh, okay Gram.
Gram:  Yeah, I gotta tuna fish sahlad an chick sahlad from the place (restaurant in her complex).  You share wit me.

Me:  That’s okay, Gram, I’ll just bring my lunch.
Gram:  Noooo, we share it.

Me:  Gram, I don’t really want to eat the tuna or chicken salad.  It has a lot of mayonnaise and I’m trying not to eat that kind of stuff.
Gram:  Noooo, it don’t have too much.  They give you extra on the side.  It’s good.  I have it before.  You like it.

Me:  Really, I can just bring my lunch Gram, it’s no big deal.
Gram:  NOOOO, we share.

Me:  Gram, you eat it, really, I’ll just bring my own.  I have tons of stuff here.
Gram:  Ooookaaaay, whateva you want. *translation:  You are dead to me*

Me:  Okay, Gram  I’ll share with you.   Sounds good.  See you for lunch.  Bye.

If this was Moot Food Court, Gram won hands down.

I was so frustrated when I got off the phone.  And a little mad.  Why do I have to eat something that doesn’t make me feel good?  Why do I have to eat this heavy-duty lunch that I don’t really want?  Why can’t I just say no?  I had a million why’s going through my head and found myself getting more and more upset.

Then, it hit me.  The reason why I was getting upset was fear.  I was afraid of all the calories in tuna and chicken salad with mayo.  I was afraid that eating it would blow my healthy eating aspirations out of the water.  I was afraid that I would gain weight if I ate it.  I was afraid that I might like it and want more.

I wanted to blame my Gram for these feelings.  I wanted to lament that I live with food pushers who are always trying to make me eat things that I don’t want.   But, I can’t.

To my family, food is love.  It may be strange to some, but that is often how we show our love for each other and it symbolizes togetherness as a family.  We make food.  We eat food.  And we want others to eat our food and share in the love.  Gram is big on showing her love through food.  Although I feel it’s overboard sometimes, that’s her way.  It’s all she’s got. 

Fear does strange things to us.  It holds us back and keeps us from experiencing joy in life.  I was allowing fear to do just that.  Instead of concentrating on enjoying time with my Gram, I was worried about tuna salad.  One lunch of tuna salad was not going to break me.  I would not gain 5 lbs. from eating it and I would not continue to slop a vat of mayo on everything I ate for the rest of my life.  It’s just one lunch.

I started to calm down.  The more I thought about the situation, the more I realized it was silly.  And about much more than tuna salad.  It’s about relaxing and trusting.  Relaxing about not having control over everything I put in my mouth at every moment.  Sometimes, other people are going to make food and I am going to have to eat it.  I am going to eat at barbeques, dinner parties, weddings and restaurants.  I won’t have control over what is served and how it’s prepared.  And it’s OKAY because it’s just one meal.  That’s it.  No need for fear that my hips will immediately inflate if I ingest a dish with a little extra oil, butter or whatnot.

Then there’s trusting.  Trusting that I am strong enough to have these meals without going overboard.  Trusting that I will continue to stay the healthy eating course for a lifetime.  I have already talked about crossing over and never going back.  I need to trust that it’s the truth.  I need to trust myself.

Today was a good lesson.  Another opportunity for growth in this whole crazy journey.  All part of the fun, I guess! 

*insert Gram voice*  I know I like it

We shared, we ate, we loved…

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you fear food that you haven’t prepared yourself?  Are you able to relax and eat without guilt or fear?