It has been a good week this week. Even my Wii congratulated me on my healthy success. I worked out seven days in a row and the machine admired my dedication. I'll take the pats on the back from anywhere I can :) Other good news is that my blood sugar continues to decline slowly and my blood tests came back from the doctor with some thumbs up. Cholesterol is awesome (so awesome the nurse questioned if I take cholesterol medication ) Ha HA no! But I was ready for something to come back good. I also checked my blood pressure and that is well within a healthy range. Its nice to get some positive feedback and see true results. Because on those tough days it is easy to tempt ourselves and lose sight of the goal. But when results keep appearing it strengthens your resolve and keeps temptation at bay.
However, temptation still creeps at the edges and sneak surprises us. I had pizza. After three weeks of no pizza, no pasta, and a serious decline in bread consumption I gave up the fight. We had planned squash soup for Wednesday night. (Remember that excess turban squash?) We had purchased a beautiful butternut squash. Color was a beautiful tan with an almost flawless peel. And butternut squash is by far our household favorite squash - versatile, great flavor with a hint of sweetness, and long shelf life. Once again I was home with our little one for the day and had plans to peel and cube the newly purchased squash for soup. The day quickly flew by and by dinner time I was drained. I had no desire to hack through a squash after my recent bout with the turban squash. I turned to my hubby and hinted and than downright suggested pizza for dinner. He hesitantly agreed; excited at the prospect but wanted to be supportive of our new lifestyle. Easily 3 weeks is the longest we have ever gone without pasta or pizza for a meal. We switched up our regular order as two pizzas are pretty normal so that we can have at least a breakfast and lunch covered too. Plus a side of breadsticks (I love to dip!). But no longer are carbs our friends or at least mine. New order some wings with one pizza with extra thin crispy crust. I limited myself to three pieces which is not slices but smaller squares. And my blood sugar remained right on track. Obviously not an every night a choice but a treat that didn't bust the bank. And out of my guilt I prepped the butternut squash that night (and some onions) so there would be NO excuse to make the soup Thursday. I think I was scared of the squash due to the Turban incident but the butternut was so easy and quickly prepped within fifteen minutes. We did eat a delicious soup Thursday (still have leftovers - but soup leftover is yummier than the original meal as the flavors deepen and blend).
Speaking of prepping veggies which helps keep me on track to eating healthier. The veggie (or I should say fruit) of the week was the graffiti eggplant. How fun! Eggplant is delicious produce that I enjoyed stewed, roasted, grilled, fried, and baked. The graffiti eggplant has an interesting outer layer. The peel is either ivory with purple stripes or purple with ivory stripes. The texture was super smooth; almost plastic - like. Otherwise the graffiti eggplant is very similiar to the classic eggplant. So to test out our new produce we oven roasted the eggplant with onions, mushrooms, and peppers drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. YUM! We treated it like a salad and let it cool in the fridge as a side to our turkey meatloaf. The roasted produce had a tangy but sweet flavor with great textures of soft and chewy (eggplant and mushrooms) with a little bite (peppers and onions).
The moral of the story - a little prep work in the kitchen eases the cooking decision. I know it sounds like work and it takes a little bit of effort. But if you can spare that ten - fifteen minutes the night before after your belly is satisfied. It will save time (why debate the choice if the food is already prepped) and you can do the fun stuff right away (stirring and mixing and cooking) and money is easier to hang unto when you aren't paying someone else to feed you.
May your HealthFULL Journey include treats, wisdom, and effort. 'Til we meet again. . .
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