Pizza, pizza!!

Trader Joes is probably my most favorite grocery store, EVER! I love the atmosphere, variety and friendliness of the entire store. If you haven't been to a TJs, you need to pack your reusable grocery bags and head over there NOW!

Ok, now with that out of the way (!), dinner last week was an impromptu home-made pizza. After watching a food show about pizza, I had the bug for a Caprese pizza. So, to Traders I go!

They have dough (Garlic-Herb, whole wheat, and plain), pizza sauce and all the toppings one could dream up! Seeing as how I am trying to be more mindful about the products I purchase, the food I consume and how my food is created/fed/butchered, etc. I opted to buy my own basil plant ($2.99!!) and chose the whole wheat dough. Now, confession time. I. Do. Not. Bake. Have I discussed this before? I think I have. Yeast has a mind of it's own and I cannot control it. I do not like that. So, buying my own dough was a big step. Maybe someday I'll actually MAKE my own. Anyway...there were many worries in my mind about cooking my own dough, but I manned up and it was FABULOUS!

The dough was sweet and cooked just perfectly. I did spray the pan with a tiny bit of cooking spray and the flour from rolling it out was just enough. I used the entire container of sauce and it wasn't over powering for this pizza. The mozzarella was amazing, the fresh basil was

a bright flavor and the tomatoes were perfect! It was an all-around wonderful dinner!

Cook vs. Baker

I'm definitely the former as opposed to the latter. Baking terrifies me. There's chemistry involved. Your measurements have to be a lot more exact and precise than in cooking. You can't 'ad-lib' as much in baking as cooking. If I don't have a shallot, I can add an onion; but in baking, if I only have 1/4 cup of flour, I can't sub baking powder. When I try a recipe for the first time, I try to stick to it and not interject my own opinions, however, once the trial run is complete, I'm off and running! One of my favorite recipes doesn't call for a red onion, but hello? It totally needs it. I've added it since day one.

There's a popular WW substitution in baking that involves a can of pumpkin instead of oil and eggs. I like the cookies, other people aren't such a big fan. But if I can have 3 WW cookies over 1 normal cookie, I'll take the 3, thank you very much. The cookies don't taste like pumpkin at all. I've used a spice cake mix as well as a chocolate and no pumpkin flavor. They're of a more cake-y consistency than a crispy cookie which suits my chewy preferences.

Anyway, baking. Today, I applied the pumpkin substitution theory to an Apple Bread mix from Trader Joe's (which is my fav store, btw). The first time I made it a few months ago I totally spaced on putting the eggs in! I don't bake, I'm trying to tell you this. The bread was fine though. I was a bit apprehensive today, but then I figured I couldn't mess it up more than not putting eggs in it, so what the heck? The verdict? It's delicious! The sub was pumpkin minus the butter, eggs and milk! Very moist and full of flavor. I like pumpkin, so if it did taste pumpkin-y, I didn't mind, but some people may be hesitant. Don't be!

Applesauce is another popular sub for oil or eggs. There's a great slow-cooker chocolate cake recipe that uses applesauce. As far as baking goes, those are the only tricks I know. Cooking, I can hook you up! My most popular subs are ground turkey for beef, low sodium sauces/soups, FF soups (unless you're making a casserole, in which case, you do need some of the fat to hold it together), a butter flavored yogurt instead of actual butter, PAM as opposed to coating the pan with olive oil. One sub that I refuse is turkey bacon for real bacon. I read or heard somewhere that turkey bacon actually has more sodium because they have to add it to the turkey to preserve it whereas real bacon has salt naturally. If I'm going to splurge on bacon, give me the real stuff!

Sick exercise

The BF was really sick a few weeks ago and of course, it came about 3 weeks into his consistent gym workouts. This was a major wrench in his program. I was sick with a 24 hour bug this past week, and it fell on my Couch-to-5k run day. Of course. This sparked a good convo with the bf:

When you're sick, should you maintain your normal workout regimen?

I'm sure you've heard of people who run every day and haven't missed a day in 5 years. I heard of one woman who only missed 3 days in 5 years and those were the days she was giving birth. What the heck?!

I am not one of those people.

Not that I look for excuses, but I am a firm believer that the body needs rest. However, if I was the birth-runner lady, that amount of physical activity is normal for me and my body is used to running every day. In this instance, I do believe she should maintain her running. For all I know, she only ran for 5 minutes a day while she was pregnant (although, probably not).

In the case of the bf, he was just starting his work-outs and therefore, taking a day or two (or week) off, wasn't the worst thing for him. Once he builds up, I think he will miss his walks and work-outs. I miss my work-outs when I'm sick. Although, I did not miss my run yesterday. I could barely walk and think. I needed the time off.

Do you work-out when you're sick? Does the intensity vary? I'm really curious about this.

Sick

I hate being sick. It's like a full-time job to recover. Meds every 4-6 hours, drinking water, sleeping, peeing...so much! This sick is different. All intestinal. Even worse.

When I'm sick, I don't feel like eating. I have to force myself to eat and try to recover. For example, today I have had the following: Sprite, Saltines, soup and some oatmeal. Water, of course. I have no desire to eat.

I always feel that after being sick is the best time for me to jump back on the wagon, because I'm not viewing food as anything more than fuel. It's not something I desire or use for comfort. It's strictly nourishment. This is how I know that I can change my mind about food. If I was sick and still craving and eating, I know I would have a deeper problem. I am aware of my food and how I feel towards it. Does this make sense?

How do you feel when you're sick? Do you eat? Part of it may be laziness, too. I don't want to cook anything therefore I'm not eating much because I have no energy. Do you have staple foods you eat when you're sick? Does your significant other help you or do they leave you alone?

Week one: Successful

The first two days were horrible. It did get easier.

And the scale showed the result. Down 2.8. Woo-hoo!! Now, don't get me wrong, I know deal is that when you start eating carbs again, you'll gain the weight back, but here's the deal: I'm cutting back, not out. I can't have too much or I lose control. I've cut back eating at the hospital and haven't even been to the cafeteria! It's been almost a month of working there and I've never purchased anything from the cafeteria!

I've been running too. Re-inspired by a few friends and my mom and the wonderful Couch-to-5k program, I'm trying to stay active despite not being able to see my trainer as regularly. We'll see.

Day 8 of almost carb-less....

One day at a time, one choice at a time...

Day 2 of the carb-less life

Yesterday I had a cookie.

Today I had an enchilada.

In the family of bread and pasta, those are the only two carbs I've had and of course, all I can think about now is how badly I want that darn cookie or granola bar! Coming from someone who didn't think she consumed a lot of carbs, I'm seeing just how many I did consume and what part they played in my diet.

I've had more fruits and veggies in the past two days and also more fat, I feel like. Because I've been in meetings for the past two days, I'm at their mercy for lunch. Yesterday I ate the toppings off of my pizza. Yes, that's right. I didn't even eat the pizza bread! I scrapped the toppings off! Who does that? And today, I had an extra amount of re-fried beans because I couldn't have another enchilada. Both days have been filled with salad and fruit. No bagels, muffins, toast or pizza crusts.

How am I feeling? Hungry. I'm sure it's more of a state of mind than an actual physical need. Telling your body you can't have something is a sure-fire way to get it to crave that thing! I'm not saying no to ALL carbs....just 99% of them! So far, so good. Also, I need to hit up the gym later today or tomorrow morning and run a bit. Just to get things stirred up, you know?

And finally. It has been brought to my attention that my mother is planning on participating in a 5k. Woo-hoo!! I have offered to do it with her as it will keep me motivated to run towards something (literally and figuratively). Don't we all need goals like that? I am so goal oriented/driven. Type A. I know.

Words of wisdom for today: Get a goal. Try to go carb-less (mostly. Well, at least for a little bit). Stay healthy so you don't have to come to the hospital.

Going totally (almost) carb-less...hopefully

So. We've all heard about Atkins, the no-carb diet. And we all know how NOT into these all-or-nothing things I am (which is funny, because I am a very black/white person...whatever). With that said....

My trainer and I have been discussing carbs a lot and he knows my feelings towards totally cutting something out of my diet. He is graduating with a degree in Kinesiology next week and we have good discussions between my gasping for breath during our workouts. As a pre-graduation gift, he received a book about eating for your blood type. Yes, I said that right. A book about eating right for your blood type. I'm talking A, B, AB and O. The positive/negative doesn't matter in this situation. Apparently, my O+ type needs a moderate amount of exercise in addition to a limited (read: scant) amount of carbs. Hmmmmm. This isn't good. Although, given the past few months, I'm inclined to believe it.

Today is my last day on carbs (for the week). Well, carbs as I know them. Most things have carbs but I'm talking bread and pasta. I had artichoke chicken sans pasta tonight for dinner. Fortunately this week will be mostly easy, I think, because I'm in meetings Monday through Wednesday. I can make breakfast at home, eat lunch there or bring it and then be good and sensible for dinner. It will also be interesting because I don't think I eat a lot of carbs in general, but I'm sure now that I'm being more conscious of them, I will realize how much I really eat.

I'm curious as to see how my body reacts to the decrease in carbohydrates. I guess I should put off my interval running for a week so I can determine each result individually. Notice the power of positive thinking? "So I CAN determine each result individually"? I have to believe the decrease in carb intake will affect my body in positive ways and I have to think my interval running will affect my body in positive ways. Just like the Little Engine that Could...I think I can, I think I can. I know I can, I know I can.

More to come...eat some bread for me. :)