Random nothings

Hello all!

It has been far too long since I wrote a new post. There have been several times over the past couple weeks that I thought about it, but then was like, "Nah." I apologize for the hiatus. Since it's been such a long time, I think I'll take a page out of my friend Erin's book and write a random post just to catch up and fill space. Because I can.

(You should TOTALLY click the link for Erin's blog. She's hilarious, and her baby is adorable, and her blog is #5 on Top Mommy Blogs. Pretty impressive.)

Probably the most notable thing that's happened since I last wrote was Chris and I had our one year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's already been a year! Where has the time gone?! The month or so leading up to the date we tossed around ideas to go on a weekend trip or stay in a hotel or do something fun and off the wall. In the end, we decided to keep it low key because we don't have to have lavish gifts and celebrations to show that we still love each other. (Actually, we did it because we're poor. I'd totally live a lavish life if I could, let's be real.)

We ended up staying home most of the weekend just spending time together. He usually works evenings on the weekends, but he took Saturday and Sunday off so we could have both days to ourselves. We did yard work and house work, worked in our garden, built the beginnings of a fire pit, ate sushi, walked around Barnes and Noble, and drank together on the couch while watching our favorite stupid TV shows. Ah, paradise :)

Speaking of gardens, we planted one! And it's growing!!

It's so cute!

Sink full o' lettuce.

My mom and grandma have gardened my whole life and I HATED helping out as a kid, but watching my own efforts grow and picking my own produce really is fun and rewarding. (I get it now, Mom. Sorry for being a pill when I was younger.) Right now all that's ready is lettuce and spinach, but it's still awesome to come home and eat a salad for lunch that I grew and picked with my own hands. And I'm eating organic food without even trying! (Although I hope our lack of pesticide/chemical usage doesn't come back to bite us in the butt later when we go out to the yard and discover everything has been eaten by ants or something. Oh well.)

I got to visit with my adorably pregnant friend Anna and my wonderful, delightfully snarky friend Michael earlier this week. Besides Christmas, my semi-annual Michael reunions are probably my favorite times of year! And Chris FINALLY got to meet him. Isn't it a little sad when two of the most important men in my life have never met face to face, even after I've been with the hubs for almost four years? Well we don't have to worry about that now, because they've shaken hands and made small talk and laughed at me together and all is right with the world. I love you Michael, and can't wait to see you again in another six months probably!

My younger sister is leaving to work at a Younglife camp for the next five weeks, so tonight we went to the new pizza place, il Lazzarone, with my parents to hang out and try the much-anticipated pizza. It was delicious! The staff still has several kinks to work out regarding waiting tables professionally, getting food out in a reasonable time frame, and having enough products to last the whole night (they ran out of dough both yesterday and today and had to turn away upset customers). However, the quality of the food more than makes up for it, and hopefully they'll have a good following once things slow down a bit. I'm really liking where the St. Joe food scene has been heading recently.

I can't remember the actual dates, but I have follow-up appointments with both my primary doctor and the endocrinologist in June. For the past few days, I've been trying to come up with excuses as to why I haven't lost any weight in three months. I don't have a good excuse. Did I stop trying? Is there something wrong with me that's causing all this self sabotage? I don't know. Ugh. It's a constant uphill battle. One thing I've realized about myself is that in my mind, I don't think I should have to be super strict about what I eat. I don't want to be like those weight loss success story people in Women's Day magazine who eat nothing but kale and water for a year to shed pounds. I'm hungry ALL the time. I'm not exaggerating. So why should I deprive myself of delicious things? I deserve to enjoy what I eat just as much as the next person, and just because I'm overweight doesn't mean I need to resort to something drastic and boring and terrible. Right?

Whatever. I guess we'll see once I go to the doctor. Is it awful for me to say that I kind of hope she'll prescribe me something to help give me a boost? Yeah, I know it's awful. Sorry for suggesting it. Diet pills aren't the answer, kids.

Lastly, I've decided to join Instagram. I know I'm a few years behind the times and that I used to scoff at people who had it, but it's high time I see what all the fuss is about. Plus I love food so much that maybe following healthy Instagram foodporn accounts will inspire me to try new things. Also, photographing my own food (as annoying as that can be to some people) might be a good way to hold myself accountable for the things I do eat, prompting me to rotate more greens and fresh veggies into the mix of pizzas and mac 'n cheese. Fair warning: If you decide to follow me, there will be dog pictures. Probably a lot of them. Because Chris and I's lives basically revolve around those two dinguses. My name is BWilson525, so look me up!

Trying to eat clean

Earlier today I posted a rambling rant on Facebook about how frustrated I was with a clean eating meal plan I ran across. It looked quick and easy at first, but upon further inspection I discovered it contained ingredients and cooking methods that didn't seem simple at all. (Although I'm sure it was written by an elitist New York trust fund baby that works at Buzzfeed and drinks a $6 cold-pressed juice on her walk to the office every morning. No, I'm not bitter at all, why do you ask?)

All frustrations aside, I decided it was high time to refocus my dietary journey. Chris and I got a little -- well, WAY off track in April, both food-wise and money-wise. In neglecting to write out a budget for the month, we fell into some of our old spending habits. On top of that, multiple doctor and chiropractor appointments drained us of what little extra money we had, so we supplemented by buying and eating cheap, unhealthy meals. Chris bought a whole pallet of Ramen for like four bucks. Delicious, but ineffective.

The past week or so, though, I've made a few improvements that I'm quite proud of. For example, after YEARS of trying, I think I finally found a way to enjoy iced tea. I hate sickly-sweet iced tea, but unsweetened black tea is too blech for my taste buds. It turns out I was drinking the wrong color: green tea with a bit of honey is perfect! It hydrates me and also gives me a nutritious antioxidant boost. Plus, Chris swears it expands and turns into magic in your stomach to make you feel full all day so you eat less. I have noticed fewer afternoon stomach grumblies at my desk recently, so maybe he's right?

Another thing I've consciously started doing is eating more greens. And by greens, I mean spinach. Because I'm not a huge fan of kale and I'm not adventurous enough to try anything else. I interviewed an awesome guy last week who runs a health food store downtown (Jim Fly at A-Z Freshair Fare, he's one of my favorite sources!) and we discussed how people never get the right amounts of nutrients in their diets. He mentioned how greens are a nutritional powerhouse, we just need to eat more of them. At this same time Chris was attempting to start a juice fast, so our fridge was (and still is) loaded with fresh produce. Long story short, Chris got super sick over the weekend and threw up all of his juice, so he's lost the taste for it forever. (Hooray! I hate green juice! No more smelly fridge!) But we still need to figure out how to use up all our produce, including three bags of spinach, before it goes bad. In the past week I've eaten spinach salads, piled it on my sandwiches, stuffed my tuna wraps full of it, and sauteed it with garlic and olive oil. I think I'll attempt baked spinach chips and spinach and artichoke pasta in the near future. Come to find out, I'm still not sick of it yet! I feel great about eating it every time, knowing that it's doing my body good.

Our fruit and veggie surplus will probably be beneficial in other ways, because I refuse to throw out anything that could potentially become a good meal. I anticipate a veggie omelet or two soon, perhaps even another attempt at homemade vegetable stock. And while I'm kind of picky when it comes to fruit, it usually always sounds good in the morning for an on-the-go breakfast.

Besides eating better, Chris and I have decided to avoid alcohol for a while. It's part of the reason he was so sick last weekend, and it's becoming more evident that we don't really need it. Why is it necessary for us to kick back with a few beers or glasses of wine at the end of the day when it's just the two of us playing games or watching Netflix at home? As I get older, I realize more and more that alcohol is more suitable for occasional social settings rather than an everyday indulgence. It's full of empty calories too, and I suspect it's a major culprit in a lot of the weight I've gained over the past year. Don't get me wrong, I love beer and margaritas as much as the next girl, but I need to stop for a while to reevaluate my relationship with alcohol since I'm already doing it with food.

To combat my frustrations from earlier today (and to potentially give you guys healthy eating ideas, since I'm such an expert), I've decided to make a quick list of go-to ingredients I always like to keep in the house. Unlike the Buzzfeed meal plan I found so annoying, these foods don't include fancy things like tahini or avocados that no normal person keeps in their kitchen all the time. Because I'm normal. Obviously.

(And if you're wondering about the avocado thing, I firmly believe that a food that mushy has no place on my plate unless it's already in its perfect, true form: guacamole. If you try to force-feed me plain avocado halves or slices, I'll cut you.)

BROOKE'S FAVORITE HEALTHY FOODS (in no particular order, and with commentary of course, because it's me)
-Frozen peas; I love adding them to noodles (my biggest weakness) or eating a bowlful before my main course so I fill up on the good stuff first.
-Frozen corn
-Frozen broccoli
-Frozen green beans (Do you detect a theme here? Really any frozen veggie can be steamed, roasted or sauteed in a snap for a delicious side.)
-Asparagus; try to get the fresh stuff for this one, especially since it's in season right now.
-Whole grain or oat bran bread from Aldi; as cheap as generic white bread, as good for you as fancy whole grain Sara Lee.
-Tortillas; I know these technically aren't that good for you, but I love bean burritos or tuna/lunch meat wraps when I'm short on time. Plus I've downsized to the small fajita ones instead of the behemoth burrito size.
-Fat free refried beans; they taste JUST like the regular kind, I swear! Bonus points if they're the vegetarian kind that don't contain any traces of lard/other stuff. Extra bonus points if they're refried black beans, mmmmmm :)
-Clementines/tangerines/whatever they're called
-Bananas; though they almost always turn too brown before I can finish them all. Good thing they're always fully stocked at work!
-Apples (Same sitch as bananas. Did you like my Kim Possible reference?)
-Almonds, pecans, cashews and/or pistachios
-Lara Bars; they're the PERFECT (non)granola bar. Most contain less than six ingredients, unlike Clif Bars. Although those are good too.
-Belvita breakfast biscuits; whole grains for breakfast without having to choke down oatmeal? Score.
-Pickles (in moderation)
-Any kind of cheese, but I suppose string cheese is the healthiest snack choice.
-Tuna
-Tilapia
-Swai; I spotted it at Aldi a couple weeks ago and thought, "I don't know what it is but I'm buying it anyway." Basically it's a jumbo-sized white fish filet that tastes like a cross between catfish and tilapia. And it is CHEAP.
-Brown rice
-Spinach
-Ground turkey
-Hummus
-Tortilla chips and salsa; again, I know these aren't that healthy, but I figure they're better than potato chips. Opt for corn instead of flour.
-Skim and almond milk
-Eggs; glorious, glorious eggs! There are so many things you can do with them! For me though, they're usually scrambled in the style of Gordon Ramsay. Perfection.
-Zucchini; it's nature's most wonderful vegetable, especially when you pair it with a little Parmesan.
-Boneless, skinless chicken breast TENDERS; never buy yucky frozen chicken breasts again! Instead, spring for a ginormous package of raw tenders (we get it at Sam's Club for around $13) and divide them into a few gallon Ziploc bags at home, then pop them in the freezer. They thaw quickly, can easily be added to anything, they're the perfect amount for two people, and you generally end up eating less than if you were to eat a whole chicken breast. It's definitely the best bang for your buck.
-Pizza; JK pizza is terrible for you, but behind Chris and coffee and noodles, it's basically the love of my life.

That's about all I can think of for now. I eat/cook with these things all the time because they're fast and relatively good for you. I could do better though, so I always welcome suggestions! What are your favorite healthy foods that you think I should add to my regular grocery rotation? How do you make eating clean, real foods easier for yourself and your schedule? Lemme know!