Staying Healthy: Eating & Exercise (2/14 – 2/20)

Posted on by Laura & Brett
Mega Omega trail mix, our new afternoon snack

Besides eating more mindfully, Brett and I are making an effort to snack more mindfully as well. So, when we shopped at Costco this past week one of our goals was to find some new and better snacks than what we had been having. Costco has an amazing array of organic/natural and affordable snacks, but we had gotten hung up on their salted peanuts and had been having some of those almost every day for the past several months. The trouble with salted peanuts though is that a small amount is never enough and both of us found ourselves eating more and more of them as time went on. Lately I had to admit that I was walking not just to get more fit but in order to earn enough calories to eat more peanuts! The salt was getting to be a bit much as well. Anyway, after checking prices, calories, and so forth we chose the Mega Omega trail mix, which contains walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and dried mango. It’s a keeper – only 140 calories for 1/4 cup, and much more satisfying than peanuts and without all that salt. We also chose a bag of organic baked apple chips – wow! Much better than salty potato chips, and I say that as someone who loves potato chips. We’ve found with the new snacks that less is more – we’re getting everything we want from a snack, but in a smaller amount. The apple chips have been a great accompaniment to our sandwiches this week, and much healthier than potato chips. We’ll be stocking up on more when we shop this week!

Here’s what we had for dinners this past week”

These Valentine’s pancakes were more difficult to make than I imagined – the batter did not want to stay in a heart shape when it hit the pan! That’s lilikoi curd on the pancake in stead of butter.

Sunday: Heart-shaped pancakes; breakfast sausage; fresh papaya; ice cream & gingersnaps

Perfect risotto is so quick and easy with an InstantPot.

Monday: Chicken-rosemary risotto; cucumber; ice cream & gingersnaps

They didn’t have quiche at Costco this time so we picked up these wraps instead. They’re great because they contain cabbage instead of lettuce. 

Tuesday: Costco’s Asian chicken wraps; baked apple chips; ice cream & gingersnaps

Brett and I finally got our turkey dinner (YaYu doesn’t like turkey). The plate looks overflowing, but that’s just three ounces of turkey, a half cup of stuffing, three TBSP of gravy, one TBSP of cranberry relish, and a whole lot of green beans.

Wednesday: Roast turkey; stuffing; turkey gravy; Monkeypod Jam cranberry relish; sautéed green beans; ice cream & gingersnaps

Yes, I did have a couple of bites before I remembered to take a photo!

Thursday: Turkey club sandwiches; baked apple chips; ice cream & gingersnaps

I was going to make something fancy with pesto, but decided to go with a classic instead.

Friday: Pepperoni mini pizzas; cucumber; ice cream & gingersnaps one last time

My favorite way to eat leftover turkey.

Saturday: Hot turkey sandwiches; roasted zucchini & tomatoes; gingerbread with lemon curd

Next week’s menu, in no particular order:

  • Spaghetti with meat sauce
  • Egg roll in a bowl
  • Barbecued pulled pork sandwiches
  • Thai curry vegetable & chicken stir fry
  • Tom Colleccio’s one-pot pasta with bacon
  • Zucchini frittata; broiled tomatoes
  • Mini pizzas (not sure what kind)

I did not lose any weight this past month, but that’s okay. I’ve been steadily losing since last June, and I’m guessing I’ve hit a plateau. I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing and assume that things will pick up again in a while. 

I decided to go ahead and order my new walking shoes this past weekend versus waiting until next month. My old shoes have had it, and my feet are miserable right now. The amount of walking we’re doing has been very hard on my feet and nails, and the shoes in their current condition are not helping. I ordered my new shoes from Zappos – they have good prices, good availability, fast shipping, and their customer service is superb. The ones I originally wanted were not available in my size, so I’m trying out a different style. Zappos has a great return policy though if they’re not a good fit or I have other issues with them. I’m greatly looking forward to having a spring in my step once again! 

The rain stopped a couple of minutes after we arrived at the park on Saturday, and the sky started to clear so we were able to get in a good walk (4.2 miles). However, it poured the whole way home afterwards, and there was more rain off and on after we got home.

The weather hasn’t been all that great for walking this past week, but other than taking a day off on Monday and staying home on Friday because of a storm Brett and I walked every day. We actually walked in the rain (light mist) on Thursday and arrived just as the rain was stopping on Saturday. We’ve had to avoid the trails through the woods though because of issues with mud. We’re going to try walking in our own neighborhood now and again – three laps of the street and cul de sac at the end gives us a mile and a half. Usually though the weather up at the park is better than it is in our neighborhood, but with all the road construction going on it can be a pain to get out and up to park so we’re glad to have another option.

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Published by Laura & Brett

Slow traveling the world with a sense of adventure!

7 thoughts on “Staying Healthy: Eating & Exercise (2/14 – 2/20)”

  1. Thinking what I want for dinner for next couple of days. Mr S is having a leftover curry that I am not a fan of. Tonight i will have salad. I want that turkey dinner. Thanks for the inspiration. We are both over coming up with ideas but want something different. I will pick ingredients up on the way home and have it tomorrow. Can’t wait.

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    1. Before we left on our travels I told Brett I was done with meal planning and cooking. Well, you can see how that turned out! I try to keep things easy these days, but I like preparing my own food, and I like variety as it turns out.

      We so missed having a turkey dinner last Thanksgiving – I love a traditional turkey dinner, especially all that can be done with the leftovers!

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  2. I have to say, I really love and appreciate your words and photos about meals and such. I’ve been keeping it simple but hopefully nutritious too these days(for a while now…) I keep telling myself it’s not that difficult and meals don’t have to be restaurant perfect…to be good and healthy. I like what you add to my “menu”, as well as your approach. My teen daughter has always been on the picky side but now I just cook…..and she eats it, and likes it!! Who knew?
    Ah well, we are learning all of the time aren’t we? I like that I can eat less, control my weight a bit more but actually enjoy food more (and sometimes all the cooking ha!).
    Anon in mass

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    1. Thank you so much, Anon. My meals are definitely not restaurant perfect, and all of them are pretty easy to put together as well as I still don’t like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. But, I do like knowing exactly what I’m putting into a meal, and being able to control things (i.e. calories, fat, etc.). It also helps these days that Brett takes care of all the clean-up.

      I am sort of surprised though by how many different meals I’ve come up with in the past few weeks. I had no idea I had it in me any more.

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  3. Instant Pot risotto! I LOVE risotto and must try more things with the Instant Pot. I’ve also heard that it boils eggs perfectly. And since it can slow cook, I can probably get rid of my crock pot. Tonight’s dinner turned out well once I figured it out…the Instant Pot has too many options and it’s electronic screen wasn’t working with me at first. LOL.

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