Clearning the Initial Hurdle

I have made it through TWO whole days....look at me go.  Truth be told it has been a bit of rocky start.   But the good news is I have not fallen off :)   I have made my calorie goal both days. My Fitness Pal gave me a goal of 1510 calories and I decided to just go with that for now.


Lunch on day one was a bit of a fail.  In an attempt to be uber-healthful, I had all the right things pulled together - grilled veggies, red quinoa and grilled chicken breast.  What I did not do is season/flavor it well. The meal was in desperate need of some sort of dressing/vinaigrette to pull it all together. The grilled veggies were delicious when I first pulled them off the grill.  However, the next day warmed up they were just "meh".  I can't quite put my finger on the problem, but I think it might have something to do with the peppers. Could it be that I am losing my taste for them?  Could it be they have some sort of unpleasant chemical reaction in the fridge/microwave. I did manage to stick to my lunch plan so that is a win.

Still determined not to waste the grilled veggies, I tried them again for lunch the next day.  I just couldn't eat them and now they are all in the trash. The rest of the lunch was not my best work - hard boiled eggs, leftover baked beans and watermelon. In the words of Ina Garten, it pretty much "looks like a dog's breakfast".

Our oven has been out of order for over two weeks and I am really missing be able to whip up some of my healthy staples - turkey meatloaf and egg muffins. It is being checked tonight - hoping it is an easy fix. Thinking it may need a new part, so that will have to be ordered and installed. Fingers crossed all goes smoothly. Thankfully, the stove top is fine and I have the grill.

Yesterday, I picked out a couple recipes from my Cooking Light magazines (including April - that I am embarrassed to say I hadn't even opened yet). Thank goodness for summer issues that include recipes that don't require a stove. These are a few I picked out...not exactly meals, but I am hoping they will inspire me.

Cauliflower Salad with Herbs
Grilled Romaine with Feta and Nuoc Cham
Banh Mi Burgers
Double Serrano Watermelon Bites

There has been the obligatory freakout/meltdown last night. I can't do this!  I don't want to eat healthy food! I have lose a million pounds! I have NEVER gotten close to goal!  Yeah, it wasn't pretty. Fortunately, I have a wonderful husband who talked me off the ledge.

Hopefully, I am over the major hurdle of getting back on plan...getting started. Today I purposely didn't bring my lunch. I am planning to pick up a sandwich at Subway conveniently located inside Walmart. I need to go to Walmart on my lunch hour anyway. Although, there is a bit more "processed food" in Subway (which I am trying to avoid), it is calorie friendly and hopefully a good transition. I don't want my last two days of  lunch misses to derail me.

The garden is a hot mess jungle (too embarrassing for a picture). All the plants are GINORMOUS and wild looking. I will be picking the first batch of tomatillos this weekend and hopefully whipping up some yummy Salsa Verde.


The squirrels are back to their tomato eating ways of last summer.  So much for last year being a fluke. We put netting on them last year and that was a mess the tomatoes got so tangled, it was almost impossible to pick them.

Two blog posts in the same week!  It feels good to be back :)

A girl needs some meat and bread too....and I will get to walking!