1 week down, the rest of my life to go!

So yesterday marked one week.  No pictures to post today, because change takes time.  Last week was an experiment.  I'm the type of person who does all or nothing, which can be hard because when I feel like I've failed I tend to say f-it and just eat whatever, without control, and with later regret.  From Wednesday night through Friday I just gave in to nightly craving.  Why is it so hard to maintain control at night?  Friday night I ate Domino's and it made me feel horrible for the rest of the night and all day Saturday.  As a result I woke up Saturday with determination.  I focused on eating protein, protein, and more protein and felt much better Sunday.  Yesterday I tried to focus on protein, but add in some veggies, because home girl feels plugged up.  Not sure if it is from all the crap I ate Wednesday through Friday, the high protein and low carb diet Saturday and Sunday, or a combination of both, but I don't like feeling this way.  I'm on the search to find some happy medium.  It's all about balance and moderation.

Today is Monday and a new week with new goals.  My goals are:

• To continue eating high protein
• To limit processed carbs as much as possible
• To eat more vegetables
• And to track my water intake to make sure I'm drinking at least 8 glasses (Something tells me I've been consuming more caffeine and less water)

I'm feeling positive about this week because my husband is willing to eat low carb with me for dinners and I have some fun meals planned.  Plus, I weighed myself today and despite not feeling like I did my best (I'm terribly hard on myself if you couldn't tell) I'm down 1.1 lbs!  Here is to week 2! *raises water bottle and chugs, chugs, chugs*

Let the journey begin

I normally would never do something like this, but I feel like I need to be open for accountability.  I've been trying to get back to my pre-mom body since my son was born, or at least around the 8-12 week mark, and while I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, maybe even a few pounds less, everything just looks different from the me I remember.  By no means am I overweight, but I guess by today's standards one could argue a whole bunch of things about my body, but that's not my point or the direction I want to go with this post.  I'm working on making me happier with me and more comfortable in my own skin.  My body has changed a lot in the last few years, but the biggest and hardest change for me was when I was diagnosed with PCOS a few years ago.  I stopped taking birth control in an attempt to get pregnant and at first everything was fine, but then my period just got longer, and longer, and eventually stopped coming.  And somewhere during that time I started putting on weight especially around my midsection and found it extremely hard, no matter how much I dieted to lose the weight.  It really hurt my self esteem.  I saw my OBGYN and was diagnosed by ultrasound and blood work with PCOS with insulin resistance, which was confirmed by a Endocrinologist.  I went on Metformin to get a period and control the pre-diabetes and it only did the later.  If you are wondering Metformin did not make me lose any weight.  

Fast forward to today.  My son is almost 9 months old!  I can't believe.  Time goes by so fast.  I'm still fixated on my stomach and those damn love handles.  However, while I blamed them on PCOS in the past my recent blood work was normal.  Go f-ing figure.  I did try going back on Metformin, but this time could not deal with the stomach bloating and constant feeling of nausea.  I last almost 2 weeks on it, but had to stop taking it a few days ago and already feel so much better!  Luckily for me since I've been tracking what I eat I was able to analyze what I believe I'm doing wrong.  Scratch that... what I believe I could be doing better.  (I'm channelling that positivity yo!)  I've definitely changed how I exercise and frankly do a lot less of it than I did in my 20s, but my diet could definitely be improved and that is going to be my focus.  And today is the day.  Today is the day I start take steps in the direction I want.  

Exercise

Getting exercise in has been a challenge.  I went through a phase where I got up at 5 am to work out, but it's hard and I like... no, need... no, like and need sleep so my option becomes exercising at night or going on walks at lunch (I do that often).  And while I could go workout right after work and leave my son longer at daycare, I don't even consider that an option.  I get so little time with him during the day that those few hours we get together before he goes to bed are really important to me.  I need time with him and I'm not willing to sacrifice that at this point.  And I also have a dog who deserves more than being put in the backyard to do his business.  So my exercise generally involves going for a mile or 2 walk with both my boys (yes fur baby and human baby).  Lucky for me my baby is entertained by being outside so this is my main exercise these days.   Working out at home can be more of a challenge, however, I do find that if I can get in about 20 minutes of home exercise when Carter is in his walker with some toys.  

Plus we get to spend some time together and he often thinks me trying to get in shape is hilarious.  You're welcome kid!   

I truly believe that every little thing you do during the day adds up so if I can only do 10 minutes here or 20 minutes there I'm happy.  I did something and something is better than nothing.   

Diet

This is sitting on my counter right now:

I love dessert.  LOVE.  I'm pretty sure I asked my husband last night why cupcakes can't make me skinny.  Seriously, why can't they.  They're just so good.  And I'm so addicted.  I eat dessert every single night.  That's one thing I want to work on.  

Counting calories hasn’t been working for me in terms of changing how my tummy looks.  Everything I've read says:

     1. Cut the sugar (I'm trying!)

     2. Watch the carbs (but carbs make me happy!!)

     3. Stop eating 2 hour before bed (but how else will I stay awake?)

     4. Eat more protein

My goal for this week is to try this low carb thing.  Not sure if I can do Keto style low-carb. Let me rephrase that: I have absolutely no desire to do that.  I need some carbs and being extremely restrictive has never worked for me.  I haven't really decided what version of low carb I want to do in terms of macros other than trying to reduce sugar and sweets in my diet while eating more vegetables.  I'm about sensibility and moderation.  Also, my goal is to eat more protein.  The other day I read that you should eat the number of grams in protein as your desired goal weight.  120 grams of protein seems like a lot of protein, but I'm going to trust my research on this one and reevaluate my short term goals in one week. 

So stick with me as I document this journey and please be nice, because it is not easy to put yourself out there.

Last weeks goal was a fail, but Ebates...

Last week I failed my goal of eating all the veggies in my CSA box, but I didn't throw anything away.  So I will try, try, try to finish everything before it spoils.  Thank God family is coming to visit this week so I can have some help consuming these veggies.

On a side note, I recently received my "big fat check" from Ebates.

This is definitely not the biggest or fattest check I have ever received, but free money is free money.  I use Ebates every time I shop online and receive cash back.  There is literally no catch.  I have talked about Ebates a number of times and am still shocked that people don't use Ebates for all their online shopping.

Sign up today with my referral link here and receive $10 in addition to the advertised cash back after making a purchase through Ebates.  By signing up I also get a chance to win a vacation to Disney World and you know baby Della Favorite would love to go to Disney World.  Fine, I would love to go as I have never been.  Regardless sign up and let me know what you think of Ebates and how much money you have gotten back.  My friend has already surpassed by total earning by shopping for all his work purchases through Ebates.  Yes, I'm jelly, but love that he is getting to reap the benefits of this amazing site. 

Chimichurri Sauce / Marinade Recipe

 MONDAY

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to post, but the only vegetable I ate was a tomato with my cheese quesadillas.

I had plans of making dinner for my husband since I hadn't seen him in 6 days, but instead we decided to order pizza and spend some quality time together, you know, watching Claws.  Love me some Desna and her crew.

TUESDAY

Monday I marinated a skirt steak in homemade chimichurri with the plans of eating the steak that night.  Because we don't waste food (or that's the goal) dinner was chimichurri steak, mashed potatoes, and mozzarella topped tomatoes.  

Chimichurri is super easy to make in the food processor.  I always make extra sauce as I like to top my meat with it.  Whatever chimichurri sauce you don't use can be stored in the fridge for up to a week in a air tight container.   

Chimichurri Sauce / Marinade

Ingredients:

1 cup parsley, leaves removed from stems (about 1/2 of bunch depending on size)
1 small shallot
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup olive oil (If you prefer a thicker sauce reduce the olive oil to approximately 1/4 cup)

Directions:
1.  Combine wet ingredients into a pourable container.  Set aside.
2.  Add parsley, shallot, garlic, and spices to food processor.

3.  Turn on food processor and pour in wet ingredients blending ingredients until dry ingredients are finely chopped.
4. Use as a marinade for the meat of your choosing

Chimichurri goes great with  red meat, poultry, and fish / seafood.  You can use the sauce as a base and a sauce to top cooked meat.  I also served a side of sliced heirloom tomatoes topped with mozzarella, basil, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.

This is by far one of my favorite snacks.  It is easy to make and looks pretty.  Plus my dog loves tomatoes so he is a fan.  

Tonight's meal Incorporated a number of veggies in my CSA box.  Tonight we finished all the potatoes and some of the parsley, garlic, shallots, and tomatoes.  

2 days of veggie eating down, 5 days to go.

Another week, another box of veggie goals

I got 99 problems, but a 1/2 bushel of organic veggies ain't one, HIT ME!

A month ago I made it my goal to eat all the veggies that came in my CSA box.  I chronicled my week starting here posting pictures of what I ate as well as sharing some recipes like my basic pesto.  Ultimately I did not meet my goal and tossed some vegetables.  For those of you who know me, I hate wasting food.  It goes with my hoarding nature.  For the most part I've eaten 90-95% of the weekly vegetable box.  However, last week I did end up freezing some onions and shallots because... let's be real, a girl can only eat so many onions and shallots before she is over it!  I'm convinced they give me heartburn.  Or it could be the baby in my belly?  Either way...  At least I didn't toss any vegetables last week.  I would say that is progress.

This week I'm going back to the goal of consuming ALL the veggies I have before I pick up next Sunday's box.  And I don't want to have to freeze any items this week.  I'm going to chronicle what I eat if it includes a vegetable from my box and share recipes again if any of them are share worthy.  In fact I'm getting hungry right now writing about food so I will cut this post short.

The items I received this week are pictured above.  I'm sad that the farm told us we would not be receiving any more Jersey corn, but I'm excited at the variety of the different vegetables I got this week including:

Stay tuned to see if I can reach my weekly goal.  "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I CAN!"

Free Money

The number one way I get paid to shop is through Ebates, which I have talked about many times before.  To read my last post about Ebates and how I get free cash back when I shop online click here.  Yes, it really works.  I have currently received $916.55 from Ebates and no I don't shop that much online.  Sign up for Ebates here through my referral link and get $10 bonus cash when you make your first purchase.

Today I want to tell you about one way I get free money when I shop in stores with an app called Ibotta.  I mainly use this app when I shop at grocery stores, big box retailers, convenience stores, and pharmacy chains such as ShopRite, Target, Walmart, Costco, CVS, Wawa, 7-11, etc... you get the idea.  Each week participating stores offer different cash back incentives off various items they sell from fruits and veggies, to wine, to household cleaning supplies.  Additionally, most stores offer a $0.25 cash back rebate on any item.  Yep, that's $0.25 for simply shopping in a store.  As far as I'm concerned every quarter adds up.

The Ibotta app is super easy to use and I will give you a quick overview of how it works.  Normally I would recommend looking for rebates at participating stores before shopping, but let's be real... I often forget to do this.  Follow along to see how I redeem a receipt for cash back from my recent shopping trip to Costco.  I find it easiest to manually search for stores, but scroll through the long list if that is your thing.

Nothing I bought at Costco was on rebate and that's when I appreciate the $0.25 on any item cash back rebate!   To add the rebate to your account click the "+" and then "redeem."

This will take you to a new screen that makes you read or watch an advertisement or answer a survey question.  In this case it was an advertisement for Amazon.

After clicking the link for "Add $0.25 Cash Back" I was directed to a screen instructing me to take a picture of the recent Costco receipt and confirm which incentive I was redeeming.

Sometimes you have to scan the barcode to confirm that you bought a specific item, but not in this case.  So collect that money!

And within 24 hours your account will be credited with cash.  

Ibotta is literally the second easiest way to get free money for shopping.  If you can use a smartphone, shop in a store, and follow directions then you can use this app.  Before this current rebate I had $67.70 in my account.

And after my Costco shopping trip I had $67.95.  Get it!

I am on a mission to get to $100 so I can buy groceries without having to spend anything other than cash from my Ibotta rebates.  That would be awesome and I hope to reach this goal by the end of the year.

This is honestly an extremely user friendly app and I would encourage you to sign up for Ibotta.  If you sign up by my referral link here you will receive a $10 welcome bonus for free after you redeem your first rebate.  So what do you have to lose?  Get that money!

Goal Failed

Well today is Sunday and we did not eat all the veggies in our CSA box.  We ended up tossing some lettuce and a few sliced red onions.  I still have a yellow squash that I will try and eat this week.  Lucky for me I have guests coming this week who love veggies so I hope to not have to toss any veggies this week.

About last night... Basic Pesto Recipe

I had plans to blog about my veggie eats yesterday since I incorporated veggies into TWO meals, get it girl, but I was exhausted after work and making dinner.  Plus, soaking my feet and watching Master of None was much more appealing.

BREAKFAST

Turns out chard is much more palatable in a green drink with berries.  Yesterday I blended chard with Siggi's Mixed Berry Yogurt, vanilla almond milk, and frozen mixed berries.  I pounded it on my way to work.

The earthy taste of the chard was masked with the sweetness of the berries.  I normally like pineapple with spinach or kale, but I think chard goes best with berries.  I have some more chard to eat so I'll continue to experiment.

DINNER

Dinner was very green, but awesome!  I love pesto and whenever I get basil in my CSA box I make some type with stuffed pasta and last night was no exception.  I made a traditional basil pesto with cheese tortellini and sweet Italian chicken sausage.

Plus a side of sauteed zucchini and onions because the week is coming to an end and I have to eat all the veggies in my box! #goals

I think I make a delicious pesto if I do say so myself. You can substitute the basil with any green, however, I recommend that at least half the greens are basil when making this recipe. 

Basic Pesto

Ingredients:
2 cups washed and dried basil, stems removed
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup parmesan reggiano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until the consistency of your choosing.

It's that easy.

You can eat this pesto cold or warm.  When eating it with a pasta I cook the pasta as directed and then bring the pot back to the warm stove top.  With the flame off I add the pesto to the warm pan and gently fold in the cooked pasta.  In this case tortellini and chicken sausage.  The pesto will warm with the residual heat of the stove top.

Serve with cheese and enjoy!

Remaining veggies:

- Mixed greens
- Yellow squash
- 1/2 of a purple onion
- Swiss chard
- 2 cobs of corn