We started our morning bright and early at the gym on Friday. Woo hoo! *happy dance* Yeah, I know I am not right. It was so dark this morning when we arrived it looked like night though it wasn’t. There is something wrong about getting to the gym at 6am but I am learning to get over that. ;-) I spent the majority of my time on the indoor track and my knee was only a little sore later in the day. Needless to say I am calling this a major success.
After leaving the gym we had to run to the lab for blood draws. Both Dan and I have appointments with our internist soon so we wanted to get this out of the way. I do not like having my blood drawn. Honestly I am not fond of needles in general but blood draws are the worst. I am “blessed” with veins that roll which means they have a hard time hitting them when I need to give blood. The vein situation is so bad that it makes other people queasy.
About a decade ago I had signed up to donate blood through the hospital where I worked. My boss, a former marine, was sitting next to me and after the fourth stick and watching the person dig around inside my arm with the needle to hit a vein he told I had to go back to work because he couldn’t watch any more. When you make a battle hardened former marine nauseas you know it is bad. Thankfully the person at the lab got me with one stick and only had to adjust the needle on the third vial. Nonetheless I am happy to have this little task behind me for a while.
Once we got home we both had a bowl of oatmeal with mixed wild berries, freshly ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, powdered ginger, and walnuts. Dan had the same thing but a larger serving and his contained a little stevia and soymilk in place of water.
Since it was Friday I had my usual errands to run which included checking on my parents and do a little cleaning for them to give my dad a hand. It was late when I got home so I had a big veggie salad with beans and salsa.
While I had a little time at home I made a pot of Southern Italian tomato sauce with fennel seeds and hot peppers. I made a large pot of sauce so that this could be used in a couple different meals over the coming days. If there is any leftover on Monday it will go into the freezer in small containers to use later.
Dan worked late on Friday so I made myself something I call pizza veggies. I take whatever veggies I have on hand and top them with tomato sauce and walnut parmesan. This is something I have made for over 30 years. I started eating this in high school only then I used dairy parmesan. It is a tasty combination with the flavors of pizza but no refined carbs (dough) or animal fat (from the cheese).
You will not be surprised to hear that Dan had his favorite dessert tonight. Yes I made him another batch of strawberry banana soft serve. I need to find him a new dessert. LOL!
After dinner we watched another episode of season six of Criminal Minds. I think we have two episodes left and we are caught up on this year.
Food Philosophy:
For some reason I was thinking about food today and I realized that the biggest thing that separates my food from society is the fact that it is “slow food”. What I mean by that is that since my food is homemade it takes longer to cook. However I think this is also what makes me feel better. I know that when I used to eat processed food I didn’t have the vitality that I have now. If you are currently eat a diet of canned, bagged or other processed/chemically preserved food I would suggest that you try eating homemade food for one week and see if you feel different.
I am not sure how to describe how I feel now. But I can say that compared to how I used to feel now I am somehow lighter and have more energy. It is as though the food has nourished me on a different level. Cravings that I used to have for unhealthy food, sugar, flour and even wine are now rare. I think that the cravings left because I am better nourished though I can’t prove that is why. All I know is that I feel much better eating food that is minimally processed. I think if you try it you will understand what I am struggling to describe.
Happy Thoughts:
The weekend is starting well here. Here are the things I am thankful for now:
• Friday and Saturday have been good days for us. Any day that you wake up is by definition a good one. This is something that we used to take for granted but I try to remember that each day is precious and enjoy it to the fullest.
• As always I am thankful that I have the time to take care of my family (Dan and the fur babies) and help out my parents. In the end relationships and people are what matters in life.
• Saturday we slept in and both enjoyed that luxury. We both relish our Friday night, Saturday mornings to recharge from the prior week. ;-)
• My Teavana on-line order arrived and we had a chance to enjoy one of the new white teas. I really do enjoy the purity of the products are Teavana. The teas they sell aren’t exactly inexpensive but they are good.
• Saturday Dan and I made a trek to one of our local health food stores (The Health Concern) and picked up some dried herbs for tea. I was thrilled to find all but one item on my list. The tea book that Aimee and Michael gave us for Christmas is coming in very handy. :-) Dan pointed out that I was beaming at the herb counter. Clearly I enjoy this whole food lifestyle. I am becoming very granola in my old age. LOL
• We also made a run to Whole Foods and picked up organic kale for green smoothies since Dan was having withdrawal. I never thought he would learn to love green smoothies but I am extremely happy that he has. I appreciate that Dan indulges my "healthy tendencies" since I know not all men are as cooperative.
• Saturday we watched “The Future of Food” and another documentary “The Giant Buddhas” on the Buddhas in Afghanistan that the Taliban blew up. Both films were good and I will be watching them again. If you have Netflix I recommend them both. They are both available streaming on Netflix if you are interested.
Signing out:
It is time for me to log out and relax before bed. I hope all of you are having a good weekend. Talk to you again tomorrow.
Hello Ali,
ReplyDeleteIt has been a hectic day! UGH!
I too often get excited about early morning activities, especially in the spring!!!!
I thought your oatmeal looked divine! I love berries!!
I am sorry you had to go get stuck at the doctor. I too am a horrendous stick. I ahve to get a remicade on Monday and I am not looking forward to it. Here is a littel advice. Flood yourself with water. As much as you can ingest before you go and they can sometimes float the veins and get a clean draw. Just a thought.
BTW...your "veggie pizza" I thought I made that up....darn it! LOL
Great minds....
Have a great night
B~
I have a tea at Teavana you might like. It's called Haute Chocolate (hot chocolate). It's a robidos tea that smells just like it sounds.
ReplyDeleteBrandi,
ReplyDeleteFriday tends to be hectic here for some reason. ;-)
I like getting moving early but I don't like to wake up early which I know makes no sense. It is nice to have my exercise out of the way but I would like it more if I didn't have to get up early since I am not a morning person. LOL
I hate getting stuck! *ugh* I do drink tons of water just before and do some arm exercises too.
A neighbor taught me the veggie pizza idea when I was in high school. I have loved it every since.
talk to you later,
Ali
Snuggle bunny,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the recommendation! I have not tried that one yet but I will now. At the moment I am loving "Youthberry", "Frutto Blanco Pearls", and "Go Go Goji". One of my friends likes to combine "tropical rooibos with jasmine pearls". Those are also on my list to order next. I love tea! ;-)
thanks again,
Ali
Glad your knee is doing better. I am so with you on blood draws. I always pass out cold. Thankfully my veins aren't the issue, it's the fact that I hate needles.
ReplyDeleteUgh, sorry about the vein situation. I'm not too easily upset about that stuff but I definitely need to look away. Eek! Anyway, it's over.
ReplyDeleteThe pizza veggies sound awesome! Similar to salsa on salad, kind of. My food philosophy is a lot like yours. I've been eating pretty much everything homemade for at least the last three years. Another bonus to the "slow food" is that when you cook, it is calming and I think that helps a lot of people to not overeat. Also, the work and the smells and the entire experience of cooking and working with your hands is satisfying in a way that also helps you not eat as much - you feel as if you've already partaken of a meal. Or at least, I do. :)
Thanks for the link to the tea site - I just had my last cup of my new favorite tea which I think is seasonal! Oh no!
Tehehe...I get to the gym at 5:00 am right when they open, and my old gym opened at 4:45 am and I was there waiting every day :-) So if you are "wrong" for getting there at 6am, I guess I have all sorts of problems!
ReplyDeleteCourtney
Great post, Ali! Thanks for sharing your food philosophy! Thanks also for sharing what movies you're watching. I'll add them to my queue!
ReplyDeletexoxo,
LJ
Pizza veggies sound good - you are right, a little tomato sauce on things can really make a pizza flavor.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point on slow/fast food. I think my food is about 70-percent slow. I'm interested in hearing more about how convenience foods came about. I think I remember hearing once that box mixes, etc, came about to aid the home cook because it wasn't fashionable to be a cook. Many housewives would think it was beneath them, so the quicker the meal could be prepared with less "effort" the better. That makes some sense, but it doesn't match the family legends I have thinking back to my grandmothers. So who knows, but they both liked recipes that call for Campbell's condensed soup. ;)