Week 4 & 5
Overall Summary:
It was a tough couple of weeks. My motivation is kaput. Changing habits is quite the uphill climb.
Also, quinoa is pronounced Keen-wah. That's for my sister who persists in pronouncing it "quin-o-ah."
Physically:
We're all feeling better on this. I've lost another 1 pound so that's 8 so far.
I also had one of our volunteers comment on how wonderful it is that I'm pregnant. Such a nice thing to say - IF I WAS ACTUALLY PREGNANT. WHICH I AM NOT.
I may need to add sit-ups to this challenge. I'm trying to figure out if I'm offended enough to make some changes. I don't think I am. I think I'm just offended enough to tell the story and lick my wounds, not enough to actually do a sit-up.
In other news, when I cheat (which was often this week), I get wicked headaches. Not fun.
The Budget:
No major changes so far. Still spending about the same.
Convenience and Time:
It was a battle these past 2 weeks. I failed more times than I'd like to admit. We were busy with work, Olympics festivities including ONE HELLUVA HOCKEY GAME and then we all got sick, to boot. We had company in town which culminated in a chocolatey-sugary-homemade-butter-icing cake.
I felt awful all week. Not just in terms of "Oh, I failed miserably" but physically.
I had time to cook but I simply didn't. I had time to grab snacks for the tinies but I didn't. I just didn't feel like it this week and we all suffered as a result. It wasn't so much an issue of inconvenience or lack of time. It was just that I didn't feel like it this week. It requires so much planning and motivation which I lacked significantly.
Bad habits are hard to change.
Favourite Recipe of the Week
Here's another substantial vegetarian recipe for the big eaters in your life. Brian really liked this one. Plus it helped me figure out something to do with quinoa.
Red Bean and Quinoa Chili
2 cups of cooked kidney beans
1 cup of water
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp sea salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in warm water and drained
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 cup organic tomato sauce
grated cheese for garnish
- Heat oil in 4 quart pot on medium heat. Add onion, 1 tsp of the salt, garlic, green pepper, 1 tsp cumin and the rest of the spices. Saute for 5-10 minutes.
- Add quinoa and stir in.
- Add corn, tomato sauce and 1 cup of water.
- Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add cooked beans and another tsp of salt. Simmer another 10 minutes.
- Top each bowl with grated cheese.
Spiritually
As many of you that read the blog know, I had a hard week. On top of that, we were all sick. And Joseph stopped nursing. So I just fell into a bit of a funk and didn't look after the food end of things. Which was probably the worst thing I could have done. In times like that, one really needs good sleep and good food.
I find myself discouraged about it this week. I now know what a benefit it is to eat better but I can't seem to find the motivation sometimes to do it. Even though I though my kids like it better, even though I feel better, sometimes I just can't bring myself to do it.
I wonder why? Why is it so hard to change a bad habit? Especially when you know better?
Favourite Website/Video of the Week
Cynthia Lair is the author of the book that got me going on this: Feeding the Whole Family. Her website is called Cookus Interruptus. It's rather fabulous. Everything from recipes to kooky videos, all about how to cook fresh local organic whole foods despite life's interrupts.
She is running a contest right now for the best breakfasts under $3 in challenge to a McDonald's ad campaign. Those of you that are creative cooks would probably enjoy this.
This Week's Link Round Up:
- Molly joins me in Going Natural
- If you are writing anything about food that's related, just leave your link below anytime during the week. I'll include you in the next week round up.
