While the girls were here there were an awful lot of snacks around, but now that it’s just Brett and me again they’ve disappeared. I didn’t go crazy snacking, but the macadamia nut caramel corn, mochi peanuts, the Kaua’i Kookies, and other Hawaii/Kaua’i treats were definitely a distraction, especially since they all were left out in a corner in the kitchen so the girls could easily grab something.
Brett and I do snack, but they are measured and in my case, recorded and limited to once a day. Our favorite afternoon treat these days are Nature’s Bakery fig bars (original, blueberry, or raspberry – 200 calories per pack), but I’ve also come to love Thinaddictive’s Cranberry-Almond Thins (100 calories per package). Both provide a nice boost in late afternoon when my blood sugar is dropping. Brett also eats a small dish of roasted peanuts every day, but we have stopped buying them and when the current container runs out, that’s it. Snacking has been our downfall in the past but over the past couple of years we’ve changed our ways and are counting on new habits to see us through while we travel.
Last week’s meals involved finishing up odds and ends of things we had on hand before YaYu left while making sure she got to enjoy things she loved, with Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese at the top of her list.
Sunday: Chopped vegetable & barley soup; toasted cheese sandwiches
Monday: Fried rice with surumi & vegetables
Tuesday: Vegetable egg rolls & potstickers; steamed rice; sweet & sour coleslaw
Wednesday: Macaroni & cheese; roasted mixed vegetables
Thursday: Crispy chick’n patty sandwiches; leftover namasu; fruit salad
Friday: Mini cheese pizzas
Saturday: Cheesy white bean-tomato bake with zucchini
We enjoyed three evenings of olive oil orange cake at the beginning of the week, and then I discovered a last six-pack pack of All-American fudge cake cupcakes at Costco and snapped those up. We have been having just a quarter of one of those for our dessert and it’s plenty – it’s almost too much chocolate, if that’s possible.
Brett and I have returned to vegetarian/vegan meals and get to enjoy a few favorites this week, especially since Meiling brought us a few greatly-missed items from Trader Joe’s. We’re especially looking forward to the potsticker soup, made with TJ’s ginger-miso broth.
- Vegan burgers
- Chili shrimp
- Curry with tofu, cauliflower, & carrots
- Mini pizzas
- Broccoli & tofu stir fry in spicy peanut sauce
- Chick’n pot pie
- Vegetable potsticker soup with bok choy
After a week off from walking for me, we walked every day this past week mostly around the perimeter of the golf course, approximately two and a half miles, and at a slightly slower pace than we do on pavement. I was happy to find that while my foot was a bit sore while I walked, it never really became outright painful, further proof (to me, anyway), that the uneven pavement and fast pace we had been walking were what brought on the Morton’s Neuroma. We avoided looking for golf balls unless we found them right under our feet, and only brought home six last week. Brett has cleaned them up and they’ll be given to our favorite groundskeeper next time we see him.
Scenes from around the golf course this week: a floral carpet after a windstorm; storm clouds in the distance; a air fern growing in the roots of a giant fiscus tree.
My walking shoes are also part of the problem with my foot – they are almost completely worn out – and if we were leaving in less than four months they would be replaced. But I’m not taking along walking shoes this time. I have two pairs of Sketchers, my Duckfeet boots, and my blue suede boots and red slip-ons and those should be enough for our usual walking. IF I feel I need some dedicated walking shoes while we’re overseas, I will buy them there.
The Occasional Nomads 
Holy smokes! Those Costco cupcakes look amazing. But like you, I can feel my teeth ache looking at them. 😂 That is not to say I wouldn’t try them. Costco does bakery so well.
We are back on the after holiday food plan. I’m finding that eating differently really helps my acid reflux, so it’s much easier to eat less and pay attention to sugar levels, etc. I’ve lost a couple of pounds, but the big holdup is movement. January is a challenge for me. But hey…we’re halfway through it.
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We loved the big All-American cakes from Costco back in the day but even our whole family could never finish one! They were just too rich. A quarter of one of these mini cakes is perfect. I hope they get them in again here, but I’ve never seen them before so who knows? They do make great desserts at Costco, but our selection here is sadly very limited.
We are so happy to be back to how we were eating before the girls’ visit and feel so much better for it. Neither of us gained anything over the holidays but we were near fanatics about portion sizes and measuring everything, and kept up with the walking as much as the weather would allow and that helped. Every time we think about living back east we think of the snowy winters and being stuck indoors and wonder if would could go that long without walking.
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