Attitude is Everything!
I have to say, my meals have been absolutely delicious since I've started this experiment. I usually post my breakfast picture, but I wanted to share pictures of some of my other meals to give you an idea of what I have been eating the rest of the day.
This isn't maybe exactly a Mediterranean recipe, but I am trying to follow the basic principles while learning new methods. This is perhaps more of an Asian inspired dish, but it was full of mushrooms, green peppers, onions and broccoli. I tossed two small chicken breasts cut up in whole wheat flour and browned on both sides to cook the meat first, before I added the vegetables to stir fry. I threw the left over Basmati rice right into the pan to evenly disperse and soak up some of the teriaki sauce I used for flavor.
This was an afternoon snack one day, when I was particularly hungry. A few whole wheat crackers with a skinny cheese wedge and a tomato, cucumber and onion salad.
This was my bike riding snack last week - almonds, raisins, pistachios and dried berries. It was well-deserved and really hit the spot. I use all natural, unsalted raw nuts.
And then there are the many, varied salads that I usually eat for lunch. As pictured above, first - a light mixed green salad with kalamata olives and paired with peanut butter on skinny whole wheat bread. The second salad had a little bit of chicken and marinated artichoke hearts with some other types of olives and feta cheese. The third had similar ingredients to the second with a wedge of watermelon. I usually add tomato and cucumber to any salad I make, if they are on hand.
I want to end today by sharing a few truths, obstacles, disclosures - whatever you want to call them.
1) Trying to learn new ways of cooking while getting through my work day and all of my other responsibilities is hard. I know I am not getting this 100% right - but that's not what matters. What matters is my attitude! I am trying. I am stumbling and I am accepting myself - flaws and all and not quitting or beating myself up.
2) I went grocery shopping yesterday and my local Aldi is now closed for 6 weeks. That is devastating both to my convenience and my budget. You can't beat their prices. I had to go to Walmart and my buggy overtook by budget quickly. I will have to change my routine and drive a bit further. This is unpleasant. But it is not a deal breaker.
3) I eat my lunch in front of the tv. I know, I know - but I enjoy this! I am rarely eating anything after dinner now and so I gave up a very pleasant eating/tv part of my day. I eat my breakfast and dinner at the table, but lunch time is tv time. I make this meal usually almost all vegetable based, so if I am going to accidentally overeat any meal - this would be the one to do it! I take a half hour break and catch up on a recorded show and really take a midday break. This combination works for me to clear my head and make me feel ready to get back to work.
4) Sometimes I think I'm dying. Not exactly literally - but still. One morning, I woke up convinced my heart was skipping a beat. I was completely relaxed and my breathing was slow and steady, but I could swear my heart was skipping a beat. Perhaps my resting heart rate is slower now due to all of my exercise? Whatever the reason or if I imagined it - I was freaked out! I have anxiety so a freak out could be a major trigger for me. But I told myself, if your breathing is so slow and peaceful, you are probably ok. And if you are dying, you will know shortly.
5) Along those lines, last night I was playing tennis with my husband and all of a sudden I couldn't quite clear my throat or catch my breath. I had a drink of water and then just something wasn't right. I tried to take a deep breath in through my mouth and couldn't. I imagine this is what asthma must feel like and I send much sympathy to anyone who has ever suffered from that. Luckily, I was smart enough to close my mouth and try breathing through my nose and thankfully, I was able to breathe just fine. Which alerted me to the fact that most likely I had just eaten a bug of some sort which was stuck. Gross! No choice but to gulp down water to wash it down. Yuck! But, I was so relieved I could breathe that it was slightly more tolerable.
6) Once when doing my morning workout in my gym, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I was grabbing my weights and saw I had a tic on my face, crawling toward my eye. That was worse than eating the bug! I flew into the bathroom, grabbing a paper towel on the way and looking at my face under the big light. I used the paper towel to pull the tic from my face and do the "jump and scream" dance while I flushed it down the toilet. I was so thankful it hadn't latched on my face. But, I regained my composure and went back to my workout.
7) In my "gym" - my little workout room in the basement, right near the furnace, I also set up a vanity area. I keep all my makeup and hair stuff down there. Under my vanity I put a nice maybe 4' x 6' carpet over the smooth concrete floor. As I was doing my workout the one day, I smelled cat pee. I was not happy. I assumed my cat just used the litter box on the other side of the wall. I was mistaken. I realized my cat had peed on my carpet. The carpet I laid my yoga mat on to do my ab exercises. What's a girl to do? I rolled the rug right up and out of my way and kept at it. Later, I pulled the carpet completely up and took it outside to deal with later. But I didn't let it stop my workout.
My point in sharing all of this? Just do the best you can! And don't let anything stop you! We don't have to be perfect. We just have to put one foot in front of the other headed in the right direction.
Until next time... Be well!
~Tracy
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