Bouncing Back

We have definitely bounced back from yesterday. Even though I didn't go over my calories I wasn't happy with how the day went in general. I felt stressed. One treat just seemed to make me want more. Then there was the constant mental struggle of do I just forget trying for today and "restart" tomorrow.  This morning we were both back on the wagon. I can say with certainty that other times we have tried to lose weight it has all ended with a day like yesterday. I am proud of our determination :)

This morning it was all about the bunnies.  I saw so many of them in the neighborhood while I was walking. I thought it was be futile to try to get a picture of the speedy little things. Not to mention, I was really trying to get a good time this morning. Stopping to take bunny pics would have been a bit counterproductive. So I finally got these shots in my front yard when I finished walking.

 I have been frustrated lately that my mile pace hasn't been improving. In fact I haven't been under 15 min/mile for a couple of weeks. This morning I finally got a sub-15/mile.  Okay, it was 14:45 but I will take it.

After we walked/ran we went to the gym. My husband wanted to get his weights out of the way early. I did some of the weights with him. I was a bit worn out so I did a lot of watching.

Then we got home it was yard work time - UGH! My husband mowed and I worked on the garden. Having those raised beds makes such a difference in upkeep - so much easier than previous years. This morning's harvest was a doozy!

 I planted several things for the first time this year so it has been a challenge to figure out how to use everything. My husband despises Brussels sprouts so I might have to take them to work and make them on a day when I am working alone. Every time I cut the broccoli it sends up more florets - I didn't know it would do that, but I am very pleased.

Our tomatoes are finally starting to make their move. We have 4-5 different kinds of cherry tomatoes this year. I think our favorite will still be the yellow ones - Sun Gold. The stripey green one at the bottom is Green Zebra. These aren't quite ripe, but I had to rescue them after their vine was murdered today by a crazed weed eater. Hopefully, they will ripen up and the other plant will produce well.  The kind of brownish tomato are called Black Pearl. Not the most appetizing color and the flavor was okay. Probably won't plant them again.

I attempted to grow these Mexican Sour Gherkins last year, but my plants died. I am not very skilled at growing plants from seeds :(  This year I managed to get a rather sickly plant in the ground. Then I just direct sowed a few more seeds figuring they didn't have much chance. Well, they grew. The gherkins are about the size of a grape. They have a kind of lemony cucumber flavor. They look like baby watermelons.

We have several jalapenos plants. We are big fans of pico de gallo.  My husband will make tons of it when the tomatoes really get going. This one jalapeno plant is so odd - the peppers are growing straight up. All the others hang down. Weird.

Now you all know since I harvested this morning I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how I am going to work all this produce into meals. Here is what I came up with for lunch. Gotta love the grill.  The corn is actually from my boss' garden. The pork steak is marinated in some of our homemade salsa verde then grilled. I highly recommend grilling green onions/scallions.

That became this.  Pork/veggie tacos with salsa verde and fresh tomatoes. Pork steak is pretty high in calories (220 for 4 ozs.) so I wanted to bulk it up with some veggies. The zucchini and onion worked perfectly. I chopped it all up and mixed it together. I could eat this every day. The corn was so easy. I just put it directly on the grill and it is doesn't take long at all. Sure beats a pot of steaming water in your kitchen.

Dinner was grilled chicken - marinated in rosemary, basil, garlic and balsamic vinegar. So flavorful. I served it with grilled Italian bread topped with a little mozzarella and tomatoes with basil and balsamic vinegar. I splurged awhile back on some pomegranate balsamic vinegar. I have been loving using it. It is going to be gone soon and I have to decide whether or not to invest in another bottle...it was a bit pricey.

There is only so much two people counting calories can eat in one day. So I used some of the cucumbers and onions to make refrigerator pickles. The peppers are store bought - gasp!  We were almost out of the salsa verde so I made a double batch to use up the ripe tomatillos, more onions, jalapenos and cilantro.

Overall, I think it was a pretty productive day!