
Breakfasts here at Chez Aloha are simple, healthy, and satisfying. Brett and I typically don’t eat breakfast at the same time – he usually wakes up ahead of me and eats about an hour earlier than I do, almost always having a bowl of oatmeal with with a banana, no added sugar and only occasionally some dairy. My go-to breakfast is a cup of fruit, either blueberries or papaya, with a half cup of non-fat vanilla yogurt and topped with two tablespoons of Kaua’i-made Anahola granola. I break things up a couple of times a week, usually with a slice of whole grain toast and a poached egg, Every other week I make pancakes for the two of us. We’ve both talking about waffles lately, but we no longer have a waffle maker and don’t intend to buy one. Instead, I have put a cute little waffle maker on my birthday/Mother’s Day wish list this year. I’d love to make a big batch of mini waffles and freeze them so we can pop one in the toaster whenever the desire hits.

We had some great dinners this past week, with leftovers consumed for lunch throughout the week. We had gingerbread with lemon curd for our dessert every day, but later this week I’ll be making a Bacardi rum cake again:

Sunday: Thai coconut curry vegetable and chicken stir fry; steamed rice.

Monday: Spaghetti with meat sauce

Tuesday: Egg Roll In a Bowl

Wednesday: Barbecue pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw; cucumber spears

Thursday: Tom Colleccio’s one-pot pasta with bacon

Friday: Leftover barbecue pulled pork mini pizzas

Saturday: Zucchini frittata; Ruth’s Chris broiled tomatoes
And here’s the menu plan for this week:
- Beef tacos
- Polish sausages in a bun
- Pork chops with sauerkraut & apples
- Breakfast for dinner (omelets, bacon, and fruit)
- Mabo dofu with steamed rice
- Roasted kabocha squash risotto
- Mini pizzas with roasted squash, onion, and pesto
My new walking shoes will get their first tryout today. I am very ready for something new and more comfortable on my feet, but as Marie Kondo advises I will say a deep thank you to my old shoes before I toss them, for taking me through so many wonderful miles and getting me this far along my path to wellness and good health. I will keeping them around for a few more days until I’m sure the new shoes are going to be OK.

We had two no-walk days last week, one our regular day off and another cancelled because of the weather. We were also rained out of another walk on Thursday. And, when I say rained out I mean soaked to the skin. There was a dark cloud we had been watching but thought it was moving in a different direction. Instead, the heavens opened, we were stuck out in the open, and ended up having get back to the car and going home. And the wind! A nice breeze makes walking a pleasure; strong winds can make it a challenge and some days were a challenge. Still, we persevered and got in good walks on most days. We have given ourselves a goal of getting our distance at the park up to six miles a day at least a few days a week by the end of the month – this next week we will be adding the longer distance on one day, then two the following week, and so on.
After reading an article about the importance taking regular breaks when doing strength training I have cut back to doing my sessions to a recommended three days a week. The daily sessions were honestly not getting any easier, and now I know they may have been doing more damage than good because my muscles weren’t getting enough rest in between.