Rice Milk and Steel Cut Oats

So far, so good! I've lost 7 1/2 pounds so far, and it's only been a week since I've been eating healthier.

No, I haven't followed the diet to a "t." I even let myself have a break on Christmas and had rice milk "ice cream" and tasted the prime rib that Alex made for Christmas dinner. All in all though, I'm darn proud of myself and feel great! I can tell that my body is doing better too. I haven't had any stomach aches when I eat like I did before, except yesterday after I ate the prime rib and potatoes. I awoke this morning with a lovely "sour stomach" and felt horrid. I know it's from eating the meat and the potatoes, and from drinking the wine with dinner (who can resist Châteauneuf-du-Pape? Certainly not me!).

One of my favorite things has to be a fruit smoothy I made yesterday. I blended frozen mango, frozen strawberries, frozen blackberries, a banana, a soya blueberry yogurt, about 1/2 - 3/4 a cup of rice milk, about 2 - 3 tablespoons of oat bran and about 2 tablespoons of ground hemp seeds in a blender. It made enough for 2 large glasses to hold, but I drank it all myself. It was WONDERFUL!

One thing I found I wasn't especially fond of was the Amy's brand vegetable pizza. The sauce tastes funny, and the picture of the pizza on the front of the box definitely was not a pictoral representation of the "pizza" I found on the inside. The pizza on the box was covered with artichoke hearts and halfed cherry tomatoes and crushed garlic on a spicy tomato sauce. The actual pizza looked like what my dog brings back up after eating dog food then drinking too much water too quickly. Next time I have a hankering for vegetable pizza, I definitely intend to make it myself.

While the kids and Alex got chocolate in their stockings for Christmas, I got a "Clean Eating" magazine, a "Crochet" magazine and a Pad Thai with Tofu boxed lunch. I'm ok with my stocking stuffers! The Pad Thai with Tofu was my lunch today, and it was exceptionally good. I'll have to find a few tasty recipes for tofu after these 11 weeks are over.

I am very proud of myself for doing so well on this new eating style. I don't feel like I'm starving at all. Actually, most of the time I feel completely satisfied to slightly full. I did switch up the quinoa I usually have for breakfast for steel cut oats and rice milk this morning. Alex (after eating the prime rib last night he too woke up with a stomach ache) decided he wanted them for breakfast, but I had him make mine without the brown sugar and cinnamon he poured on his. They were good, and a nice change to the quinoa.

Onward and upward! Or, as I told Alex this morning, "don't settle for almost good enough." I'm not settling in my life, or my diet, anymore. I'll keep going till I reach my best me, and then do what is required to stay there! I deserve the best!

Quinoa WHAT?

I've been watching a lot of the BBC America channel. There's a show on every morning that I watch as I get ready for work called "You Are What You Eat." A woman named Dr. Gillian puts obese people on an 8 week program of healthy/holistic/natural foods and they drop the weight like it's melting off. Most of the participants in the show lose upwards of 2 stone (that's 28 pounds in 8 weeks, and they are EATING a LOT).

Inspired by the show, I decided to look at the website for the channel and found an 11 week bridal program, complete with daily eating plans, menus and recipes. Since I get married in 33 weeks from tomorrow, I could realistically do it 3 times). I printed off a copy, and have been doing it since yesterday. The eating of the food isn't that difficult, it's the finding of the foods that gave me trouble.

Living in Alaska, I didn't expect to be able to find the Quinoa Porridge (the flakes are like cream of wheat after they are cooked), Nori (seaweed wraps), or Aduki beans (red beans with little white "stripes" on them). I was pleasantly surprised to find most of the foods at the Fred Meyer in Eagle River where I live.

Yesterday, I ate Quinoa for breakfast, Chickpea and mint soup with carrot salad for lunch, and had a pear and vegetable juice for snacks. I didn't even get to eat my dinner because it took so long to make (I was supposed to have Chestnut loaf with steamed vegetables). I also missed a snack, bean dip with vege sticks. It doesn't sound like much just typing it, but I was full all day until dinner. Missing dinner just about did me in and I got VERY grumpy (Alex told the kids I would be moody until my body got used to the "new foods" and got over the cravings for the garbage I usually eat). Although I'm eating foods that I can't even pronounce right now, having them be totally different is a good thing. When I came home and unpacked the groceries after shopping, I felt good about what I'd purchased. I know that I could "binge" on everything I got, and I still wouldn't feel guilty. How can I feel guilty binging on carrots and cucumber, chestnuts and pine nuts, and pears and apples?

The funny thing about this is that people at work noticed the change first thing yesterday. I've got people commenting on my food choices and expressing how "sorry" they feel for me. I don't feel sorry for me though. The stuff actually tastes good. I like the Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa), the chick peas are very tasty with everything else that's in the soup, and the Chestnut Roast that was supposed to be yesterday's dinner is awesome, and all I tasted was the mix. (I'm doing the first day of the plan over today, since I missed the roast).

Tuesday, I felt so bloated and disgusting. My stomach hurt, my pride hurt, my heart hurt. Today, I know that I'm on my way to making that all stop, and on my way to feeling and looking better, and losing weight.

The only downfall of this is that I am moody right now. I want to pop the skinny little blondes in my office that are telling me that the reason the trash stinks is because of the 'crap I'm eating now." (They seem to forget that they all left the leftovers from the office Christmas party in the trash all weekend). Give it 8 months, and I'll have them eating like I do. Ok, maybe not, but they'll all be jealous! :)

This chick's off to eat more chick peas and carrot salad!

I'll keep writing and reviewing the recipes I'm eating and update my weight. Hopefully, Alex doesn't read this. This morning, I weighed a whopping 17 1/2 stone. I'll let you do the calculation!