Wait, What Kind of Chips? Kale chips?

Yup.  Kale chips.  After this afternoon, I'm going to be up to my eyeballs in them, but hopefully the D&D groups demolishes them tomorrow night.  If not, I'm going to be eating A LOT of kale this week.

I guess Natalie started it, if that's fair to say.  She's the one who brought a box of them with her last week.  Then Obes tried them and liked them.  And then Dave.  I passed because they were salt and vinegar flavor, but remarked that I've made them in the past and I really liked them.

A bit of back and forth was had about someone bringing more next week, and no, I will, and so on.  And I sort of thought that would be the end of it.  Figured, maybe this coming week, somebody brings some.  Or not, whatever.

Until this weekend, Dave and I went grocery shopping.  We eat TONS of veggies.  I think we polished off a pound and a half of roasted cauliflower last night.  He sees neat little bundles of kale and remarks that I should make kale chips for gaming.  Next thing we've got 3 bunches of kale in the cart and a whole list of different flavors I'm supposed to make today, since I only had a half day.

Well, I can't remember what the flavors were supposed to be, so Dave's getting what I feel like, HA! but I figured I've share the basic recipe for these tasty little buggers, since it's been a while since I've posted a new recipe.

So, without further delay!

Kale Chips

1 bunch kale

Cooking Spray or your favorite oil in a sprayer or Misto

Salt (any kind)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Wash and thoroughly dry kale.  Tear into bite-sized pieces (stay on the big side, they'll shrink some).

Arrange kale in a single layer on a cookie sheet or in a large shallow baking pan.  (I've seen that some people like to throw parchment paper in the bottom.)  Spray generously with oil - I like olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Bake chips for approximately 20-25 minutes.  Turn/stir them about halfway through.  Keep an eye on them so that they only dry/toast.  Do not let them burn.   It's gross.

Enjoy!  Make more than you think you'll need, they don't last long.

If you have leftovers, or you're making them ahead, let them cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Other options:

• add black pepper and garlic powder, for a simple but flavorful seasoning
• taco seasoning
• McCormick Parmesan Herb Perfect Pinch plus grated or shredded parmesan cheese
• Ranch or other dressing mix
• curry powder

or whatever other seasonings you love!

Reboot! New Year, New Blog, New Happy!

Ok, well, February is not exactly the beginning of the year, but there's been a hell of a lot going on and this hippy needs to get back on track.

So, we're starting over.  I will ask that you all (there's probably only like 5 of you anyway) forgive me for the lack of posting and let me get a new start.

Here's what's new.  New start, new reasons to be happy, new health concerns, new friends, new motivation, new opportunities.

Dave and I are trying to learn to eat healthier and be healthier.  What makes me think it'll work this time?  Because Dave is in it with me.  I won't have to work around him or fight against him.  He wants to eat better too, and while it's for slightly different reasons than me, we have a lot of the same goals and plans.

Step 1:  Breakfast.  We both suck at breakfast.  I'm perfectly happy to call a cup of coffee and a donut from Wawa a good breakfast.  Dave doesn't eat breakfast.  Or if he does, he doesn't eat enough.

So we're starting with baked oatmeal, done as cupcakes.  I got this great recipe from my friend Kate, who found it, who knows how she found it.  It doesn't matter.  It's awesome.  And super easy to alter.  We made it a few weeks ago as Apple Cinnamon Raisin, and I made a "no unnecessary sugar" Pumpkin Pie version for a friend.

This morning, I made Maple BACON!  And, yes, it's not like bacon is particularly healthy, but if it gets us actually eating breakfast, for now at least, I'm ok with that.

Step 2: Blog and Blog a lot!  I'm going to use the blog for accountability for myself and for both of us.  I'm going to start sharing recipes again.  And the first recipe I'm sharing, is the Maple Bacon Oatmeal Cupcake Hack!

Step 3:  Baby Steps.  I've said this before and I'll keep saying it, diets sucks.  Lifestyle changes are what sticks, but you have to break it down into chunks you can commit to.  I'll have bacon cupcakes for breakfast this week, that's totally something I can stick to.

(I'm not such a) Tough Mudder!

So, yesterday I participated in the Philadelphia Tough Mudder!  (Go, ME!)

And I have to admit, I use the phrase participate very loosely.  I only made it 1 mile!  I had to pack it in really early because of my knee.  I twisted it on Thursday, climbing this:

So it's not like I'm just a total wimp.

All in all, it was a good experience.  I learned a lot.  I had fun.  I spent some time with dear friends (who spent much more time with each other, because they actually finished).

I had a lot of trouble with my asthma in the humidity yesterday, which is new for me, and I think related to the pneumonia I had over the winter.

I made the first obstacle with no trouble, but by the time I got to the second one, my knee was already starting to protest the uneven ground and I couldn't adjust my brace because of all the mud on it.  So, rather than risking a serious injury, or preventing the boys from finishing, I bowed out gracefully and waited for them to finish.

They had a blast and now we all know the things we need to be better prepared for to do it next year.

I also noticed that I was, by far, the heaviest girl I saw all day who was a participant.  In a way, I'm proud of that, of the fact that despite my size, I tried anyway.  But mostly, I'm sad.  I'm sad that more bigger girls don't just get out there and try.  And closer to my heart, I'm sad that I let someone I should have been able to trust, affect me, my health and my self-worth in as negative a way as I have in the last few years.

But every day is new day, and a new chance to make a change, and change I will!  I'm already less lonely and more social than I've been in ages.  I'm spending time with more people who are better influences on me and I'm already seeing the positive impact on my health. (and my waistline!)  I'm eating better and keeping up around the house.  I'm getting art projects finished.

And most importantly, I'm really, truly happy for the first time in a long while!

Good things are afoot!

So, in the last month or so a lot has happened.  I don't really want to go into all of the gory details, but suffice it to say, it has become time to make a change.

That being said.  My house is cleaner than it's been in longer than I care to admit.  I sold a bunch junk that I was guilt-tripped into taking at a flea market and made a few bucks.

I've been doing yoga again and I've been out hiking twice already this year. I got to take a friend who'd never been there, to Jim Thorpe and to Tuscarora

I'm eating better and more regularly.  I'm packing my lunches and actually cooking breakfast.  I'm making foods I enjoy, and prepping healthy snacks.

I've learned how much my wedding vows meant to me and how much that doesn't matter if you spouse doesn't feel the same.

I've learned that amazing people can be found in unexpected places and that my family and friends are pretty much the most amazing people in the world.

I've found that I'm happy.  Really happy.  I love my freedom and I don't regret where I am.

And I got the chance to remind myself that there really isn't any better place to be that with the people who care about me.

Cream Sauce!

You may or may not know that I'm lactose intolerant in addition to having recently developed a dairy allergy of sorts. One of the big things that I miss is cream sauce. Also: cream cheese. For cream cheese as an ingredient, Tofutti's Better than Cream Cheese is a great substitute, like cream cheese with pesto on crackers or cream cheese and jalapeno jelly. But it doesn't have enough of a flavor (for me, at least) to just slather a pile onto a bagel and chow down.

However, I discovered that a couple of tablespoons of Better than Cream Cheese and a big healthy glop of pesto stirred into hot pasta (or veggies) makes a pretty damn good cream sauce! I've done it with Basil Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and it works out great. And even better, we use a pasta that's got veggies in it or lots of protein, like Barilla's Picollini or Plus, no it's not a carb bomb for Carl. The Pesto Cream Sauce has next to nothing carbs, too! Most pestos are pretty low carb and Better than Cream Cheese only has 1 carb per Tablespoon!

Food Processor, Flatouts and Flaxmeal.

So, yet again, it's been almost a month since I posted. (I really need to get better about that.) But now that the Christmas Crazies and inventory madness are done at my store, I've been helping out with other projects (both in and out of our store) that didn't fair so well through the holiday season. I've also been playing catch up at home.

I'm slowly but surely getting my craft room organized. The other day I spent most of the afternoon building a rack to house my totes of yarn, so that I can stack them higher without having to fight to get to the stuff on the bottom of the stack. With the craft room shaping up, it means less clutter in the living room, because my yarn (along with everything else) is starting to be where it belongs.

I've gotten into the habit of drinking much more coffee than I should the last two months or so, but I've been slowly replacing that with tea instead, so that's an improvement on several fronts, not the least of which is that I rarely use sugar in my tea, but always do in coffee. I've gotten a better handle on my dairy-free, largely by discovering "cheats" like goat's milk cheese which I can actually enjoy without suffering. But the biggest thing is the 9 pounds I've shed simply by having the time to actually eat meals, rather than surviving on fast food and baked goods.

The biggest hurdle we're still working our way around is balancing Carl's low-carb eating with my hypoglycemic need for carbs. He's been shedding a lot of excess weight simply by avoiding carbs wherever possible, however, I need to eat a pretty even split of carbs and protein.

I bought a food processor with a gift card from my Dad (Thanks, Dad!) which I think will be a big help with finding that balance because among other things, I can make my own "breadcrumbs" now. We made a batch this morning that I will probably use for dinner tomorrow that's about 50-50 Whole Grain Cheezits and Flaxmeal. The Flaxmeal added a lot of bulk to the crumbs, but because it's nearly 100% fiber, it doesn't add any net carbs.

We've both started using the Multi + Flax Flatouts (Thanks, Lisa!) for sandwiches and things because again, the addition of flaxmeal adds bulks, but lowers the net carb count. It's great for him to be able to have a burger than's only got 12 carbs in the "bun" versus things like Kaiser rolls which can rack up to almost 50 carbs. It's good for me because it's not low carb in an artificial way like a like of the "Atkins Approved" snacks that were everywhere a few years ago.

We're enjoying the foods so far, because we're being creative and I think as long as we can keep coming up with new ideas, I think that we won't have any trouble sticking with it!

The weather is turning colder.

This is my favorite season, without a doubt! It's cool enough to work on my bigger projects, like finishing my quilt tops and maybe starting a big afghan project. It's apple picking season, which means homemade apple sauce, and pumpkins are just around the corner for jack o'lanterns and pumpkin butter! A friend has baby #2 due in a couple weeks and another friend is having a Halloween wedding!

With all of the cold weather cooking I like to do, you guys are gonna have to stay on my butt about eating right. And I'll probably need some extra nagging to make sure that I stay active as it starts to be too cold to ride my bike. That's right! Free license to be a pain in my ass! What more could you ask for!?!?

It's been tricky to balance Carl's lowered carb eating with my hypoglycemia, but we're doing pretty good. I've been eating a lot of rice and couscous because they're quick to whip up on the side of an otherwise low carb meal. Carl's heartburn is greatly improved and he's lost about 10 lbs.

We're feeling pretty good about things right now, especially as we, just yesterday polished off the end of the first big ol' pot of winter chili! (It was chili verde and it was awesome!)

Wish us luck as we transition from wild, unpredictable PA summer weather into freezing, unpredictable PA winter. I'll enjoy the fall either way, I'm just not sure about the effect on my waistline.

Craziness.

I've not had much free time due to family commitments lately, between the nephew's doctor appointments and birthdays and so on, but we're still plugging along on the "Get Healthy" plan.

I've been doing really good at staying away from dairy and watching my portions. Carl has started eating low-carb. Which, by the way, it's a blast balancing a low-carb diet with a dairy-free hypoglycemic diet. I need carbs, he shouldn't have them. Cheese is an awesome option for him, but I can't have it. It's like grocery shopping for two separate households! I don't know how Lisa does it without losing her mind.

Right now, we're cooking a protein and a veggie, then I'm having a quick carb side, like veggie pasta or whole grain something while he has either a second portion of the veggie or a second veggie. It seems to be working pretty well now that it's starting to be a routine.

For snacks, we hide his cheese in a drawer in the fridge and we hide my crackers and pretzels in a cupboard that up until now wasn't really being used for anything. Again, so far so good.

I made homemade ketchup and some coarse ground mustard as well as making sure we're well stocked with salad dressings. I made a huge pot of meat sauce so I have something handy for my pasta and he's got something different to throw on his eggs for breakfast.

I have to saw that I'm really impressed how quickly he adapted to having a scramble egg wrap for breakfast from the peanut butter and honey that he's used to. He tells me his heartburn is almost gone and he's seems like he's starting to lose a bit of weight.

We're going to have a ton of bumps in the road I'm sure, but it seems as if we've finally found the right path! Wish us luck!

Pluggin' along.

I made 80 miles on my bike for June! I was aiming for 100, but I'll take it. I'll try for 100 again this month. This time I know that I need to take a couple significant rides other than the trip to work to get there.

Carl still hasn't gotten into the habit of running, even though he keeps saying he wants to. I've even offered to go with him and give it a shot. Any ideas how to motivate him???

I got a tip from Me You Health about using cucumber to flavor water and I'll tell you what, I'm completely in love with it! Super easy, just drop a few slices in your glass and let it sit a minute.

I feel like I may have lost a bit more, but I haven't been near a scale to check. I'll have to weigh in at my mom's in the morning. Unless I'm not remembering correctly when I think that she has a scale.

I have a bike ride planned with my mom in the morning, so I'm gonna keep this short.

Summer Spinach Salad

1 packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing

Pomegranate infused vinegar (Basalmic or red wine)

vegetable oil

Fresh Spinach

about 12 Chopped Fresh Strawberries

1/2 cup Roasted Salted Sunflower Kernels

1/2 cup shredded or crumbled Colby cheese

Prepare dressing according to package instructions with pomegranate vinegar and vegetable oil.

Toss all ingredients except the dressing in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and Enjoy!

(since I have to eat almost entirely Dairy-Free, I'm going to try this with a few cheeses that are a little friendly to my system and post my results)

A few thoughts on Getting Healthy!

The Daily Challenge at MeYou Health is built around this idea. Health.com slideshows devoted to it. I was doing it by myself because the bigger goals seemed to intimidating. What am I talking about?

Small Actions. Baby Steps. Mini-goals.

Call them whatever you want, but time and time again, it's been found that this is the best way to make a big change in your life. With weight loss, they may not give you the most immediate results, but they're going to be the things that you stick with.

Swaps are the easiest baby step to take. Here are some that have worked really well for us.

• Iced Tea instead of Diet Coke (Carl)
• Whole Grain/Whole Wheat/High Protein Pasta instead of Semolina Pasta
• Pita Chips instead of Potato Chips (mine)
• Edy's Fruit Bars instead of Ice Cream
• Seltzer/Homemade Sodas instead of Mass Produced Soda
• Trail Mix instead of Junk Food
• Jayone Rice Rolls or Ryvita Fruit and Nut instead of Cookies
• Kashi Cereals instead of High Carb/Low Protein Options (mine)
• Almond Milk instead of Cow's Milk (mine)

Little stuff. When we crave crispy, we eat crispy. When we want pasta we eat pasta. If I want milk, I drink milk. We just make the smarter choice.

Carl is walking and doing more and more of the really nearby (within a few blocks) errands. I'm riding my bike to do the ones that are a little further (Up to 5 mile round trip). We drive if it's too far to walk/ride or if it involves hauling something home, like the case of seltzer I bought last night.

We've both opted to completely ignore the numbers. I look out of curiosity and because Lyam is diabetic and I like to have an idea of carb counts for him, and because I need to make sure I get enough protein at breakfast, but that's it. The only number we're concerning ourselves with is our respective pants sizes.

We don't count carbs. We don't count calories, points or fat. We don't weigh ourselves. We don't even own a scale. We promised not to drive if we don't need to. We promised that every time we light the grill, we're going to add a vegetable too. We promised to support each other and to help each other make smarter eating decisions. And he promised to let me buy new bras and underwear if I can get below 200 lbs.

I'm beginning to see that he's losing weight (in fact, he just told me he's wearing shorts he couldn't fit in 2 weeks ago!). When my Grandma wanted me to weigh myself the other day, I discovered that along with a pants size, I had dropped 16 lbs!

And the best part is, by making swaps instead of sacrifices, the only thing I miss is cheese, and since I've become quite lactose intolerant, there's not a lot I can do with that one, except have 1 or 2 slices of swiss on a sandwich when I can't take the craving anymore. If I have more dairy than that or anything and creamier, I get too sick and it's not worth it.

Screw the numbers. Start small. Eat Smart. Do more. Lose weight. Get happy.

Don't dwell on the numbers. If you do the right thing, the numbers will follow.

Make little changes. Don't say, I'm never going to have pasta again. Instead, say "I'll have pasta less often and when I do it will be whole grain (or veggie pasta, whatever works for you)"

Make smarter food choices. If you have a fast food craving, don't make yourself suffer, get the kids meal. 20 years ago, that was the value meal anyway at most places. Plus, you get free toy!

Get off your ass! Park a row further from the building at work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk the long way around the building. All that little stuff adds up!

The inches/pounds/sizes will come off. Have faith in that. It may take a little longer before you see results, but you won't give up before you see them like you would on a crazy diet.

The happy happens all by itself. And it multiplies every time someone says you look thinner. Or that what you're doing must be so hard (and you know it isn't!)

One more time!

Screw the numbers. Start small. Eat Smart. Do more. Lose weight. Get happy.

Check-In. And I thought I was inconsistent.

The biggest downside, to me anyway about dairy-free, believe it or not isn't the fact that it's somewhat more pricey than the regular dairy options. It's not even the fact that in order to get dairy-free you often have to go vegan, or gluten-free. Or sometimes even, gluten-free, fat free, sugarfree, flavor-free.

What never fails to piss me off is the completely random and inconsistent ways that grocery stores seem to stock the dairy-free options. Sure, put them in the organic or natural section, I expect that. Put them in the Vegan section, I can even deal with that. Even better, put them in the same cooler as the organic dairy, I can deal with that. But when they're randomly intermingled with the organic "regular" dairy, it makes me want to cry.

Why is it so difficult to put the dairy-free/vegan all on one or two shelves at the top or bottom of the door and fill the rest with organic dairy? Why do should I have to sort through organic cheeses and spreads to get to the one tub of Better Than Cream Cheese at the back? Why is organic ice cream stocked between rows of dairy-free and vegan desserts? I stock shelves as a large part of my job. It's not like it's hard to put the Daiya shreds up or down one shelf.

And while we're talking about it, why does it seem like the dairy-free stuff is always randomly in and out of stock? Do they order by hand? (Ok, at Sign of the Bear, they do. But they're also way more organized than grocery stores I'm talking about.)

For the longest time, I was convinced that nobody but Sign of the Bear carried Better Than Cream Cheese. Now it seems that (at least our local) Wegman's has an over abundance of it, crammed in the back of the bottom shelf in the last cooler in the natural/organic section. They carried Tofutti Cuties in Key Lime and All Vanilla forever. Tonight I go, all they have is the classic vanilla with chocolate wafers. No sign that they ever even carried the others.

My Giant doesn't have any Soy Yogurt and hardly any natural, organic, dairy-free or Vegan options, even though the next closest Giant to us has an entire organic/natural market in the back and several other Giants in our area have an organic aisle. Nevermind, my closest Giant is on the opposite side of a city park from WEGMANS!!

This is a huge change for me and I'm trying to be good. I really am. Why are the grocery stores making it so damn hard!?!?! You wouldn't randomly change your regular ice cream flavors. Sure they add new and get rid of poor sellers, but the dairy-free stuff seems like it changes from week to week sometimes.

The regular dairy cheeses are always neatly organized, excepting when there's an amazing sale, why is the dairy-free/Vegan/Organic always a huge mish-mash that looks like there was a total free-for-all battle in the cooler?

Come on, be nice to those of us who need/choose to eat a little differently.

Check-In. New Loves!

A few websites that I've found that have been wonderful for my personal "Get Healthy" movement.

Me You Health - Daily Challenge - you fill out a short questionaire, they give you your well being rating and then everyday you get a Be Healthy Challenge. They range from arm wrestle someone in your house to make a pledge to learn to use the right amount of sunscreen. It's a huge community of people all supporting each other! You can give out Smiles (similar to Facebook "Likes") and post congrats and support to friends and strangers! Tons of fun.

Bike Journal - If I belonged to a Bike Club, I'd get even more use out of this website, but they give you tools to track your bike rides. There's a journal, a great forum, and a huge community.

In other news, I'm proud to say that I've biked just over 25 miles in June so far! If I can keep up with this rate, I'll hit 100 miles this month! Not bad for a hippy chick who didn't even own a bike 6 weeks ago!

I'm settling further and further into the smaller pants size and I'm finding that some of my size 18's are actually way too big to wear outside the house. I'm starting to collect them together, so anybody interested in Hand-Me-Downs??

Except for my closing shifts, where I ride my bike less (Carl picks me up and brings the bike rack, so I'm not riding in the dark.) and get home later still wound up, I'm sleeping much better most nights and have even cut the dose on my OCD meds back down to where it was before our house fire last year.

Carl has given up on Diet Coke altogether and as a Congrats present I bought him a 64 oz water jug that he uses to carry fresh brewed tea or filtered water with him to work. And, he's taken to munching on seasoned nori strips which, as far as I'm concerned, he can eat till he floats, they have 1 Calorie and 1/10 of 1 carb each!

All in all, we're in doing pretty good with the get healthy stuff and when the veggies start to come in out in our little garden, I think we'll do even better!

Check-in. Healthier Choices.

I've lost nearly a pants size!

We're learning a lot about ourselves through this whole get healthy process. Here's the highlights!

• I feel like a little kid when I'm flying down a hill on my bike!
• If we have Edy's Fruit Bars or Whole Fruit Bars in the freezer, they're nearly always our first choice when we go for a snack.
• The fruit bars have also cut down on Carl's ice cream cravings, while making giving up dairy easier for me.
• Keeping chocolate in the house, but somewhere that's a pain to get to, has cut down on chocolate binges for both of us, and has almost completely eliminated my urges to buy a candy bar at the check-out.
• Pita chips have solved my issue with not being able to substitute crunchy for crispy.
• The 5 mile round trip to work on my bike seems to be what I need to be able to sleep well.
• I have a lot of fun battling traffic on my bike. Although I still walk it across the 22 interchange on my way to work.

All in all, I think that we're making a lot of change for the better and Carl is even starting to make plans for what he's going to do to make up for the fact that he can't really bike to work even if he wanted to.

Check-In. Go figure.

I was up this morning with plenty of time to walk to work. I was keeping an eye on the weather and it seemed like the rain was holding off. I decided that I was going to spend a little more time on the internet and then ride my bike.

I got my bag together and headed out and I think it actually started raining during the time it took for me to walk away from the laptop and out the front door. And it kept raining. The whole time that I was on my way to work.

From the water thrown off the tires, I basically looked like I fell ass first into a puddle. I do take a change of clothes with me, but I was so soaked that my soggy underwear was starting to soak through my dress pants after I changed.

BLarg! Guess I'll be walking some of the days this week.

Check-In. Trail Mix!

Can't even remember what I had for breakfast today, so it can't have been that interesting. It may have been clementines, actually.

Clementines and honey wheat pretzels for lunch (11-7:30 is a tough shift for me, mealwise. It's over two meals.) and a candy bar for a snack.

More egg-spinach-meat sauce in a tortilla for dinner.

Made a ton of trail mix tonight for lunches.

I had a pomegranate fruit bar for a snack so I wouldn't pig out while I was making the trail mix, also.

Sprouts are doing really well, in another couple days we can really harvest them.

Gonna try to get a little more work done in the garden tomorrow night. I should have asparagus this year, if the roots took and held up over the winter. It'll be nice to find out.

If anyone wants any mint, with or without roots, let me know, I've got tons. Spearmint and a chocolate mint hybrid.

Check-In. Sprouts!

I have tiny sprouts in my Alfalfa jar. Actually, I stole one tonight. It was about 1/2" long and it was super tasty! Nothing beats growing it yourself.

Clementines and trail mix for snacks today. Not much of a lunch at work. Had scrambled eggs tops with meat sauce that also had spinach in it for breakfast and the same in a tortilla for a late supper.

Probably will eat like crap tomorrow because I work crappy hours (11-7:30). Gonna try to get over to the steps for our weekly check in tomorrow. Hopefully, I can shave a bit more off my time.

Need to get up a bit early tomorrow. I never changed after work tonight and managed to ruin my last pair of work pants. Oops.

Also, I've discovered that even though I like plain Almond milk, I really don't like the unsweetened vanilla, unless I take the time to sweeten it with agave nectar.

Check-In. Sprouting Progress.

Sausage Biscuit for breakfast. Trail Mix snack. Hot dog for lunch (I know, crappy!).

Pasta with meat sauce for dinner and I jazzed up the sauce with wilted fresh spinach and cayenne pepper! Pomegranate popsicle while dinner was cooking.

Trail mix to soothe my snack craving.

The sprout jars are mixed results so far. I have tiny little alfalfa sprouts starting! But the chia is a mess. I need to look into that a little more, because with the lids I have I can't get the chia drained. because it turns gel-ly in water, then I realized it might not need to be rinsed. I'll look into it more and start again. Or I'll buy other sprouting seeds.

Gonna have a second clementine to finish up my bedtime snack.

Also, I've walked to work every day for over a week now and my pants are fitting better to loose depending on the pair.

Check-In. Stomach Yuckies.

Had a good breakfast at Nick's Diner this morning with Dave. Splurged a bit and had pancakes and sausage. Also, had eggs scrambled with spinach, which needed a bit of salt, but were otherwise wonderful, in spite of the funny looks from the waitress. (She's a sweetie, I forgive her.) Edy's Fruit bar for a snack and then spent the afternoon dealing with a seemingly random upset stomach.

Light-ish dinner and then a nap. Had another Fruit Bar tonight,

I got a little bit of work done in my back yard, in between not feeling that great.

Also, I started a sprouting jar of Alfalfa last night, and I'm starting one with Chia tonight. (If you've never seen a sprouting jar, this is one of the ones I have.) I picked of 3" PVC 'T' joints to set my jars on to. They need to be upside down, but can't set on the lid because they need the air circulation. The directions recommend tipping them at about a 45 degree angle in a pot or bowl, but I'm gonna see if this works. I don't really have enough pots or bowls to forfeit them to propping up a Mason jar.

Also, yes, Chia as in Chia Pet. You can buy food quality seeds at most health food stores. They're pretty tasty, behave really strangely when you get them wet and have tons of vitamins and nutrients. Bonus! If you eat Chia gel (chia and water) before a work out, or add it to juice or more water and drink it, it helps you stay hydrated longer!

Let's see how it goes.

Check-In. Been awhile.

I've walked to work three days this week so far, which is every day, actually, since I had off for Easter on Sunday.

I cheated a bit on my no-dairy to eat some of Gramma's Homemade Peanut Roll Eggs, but it was totally worth it!

We went back to the MLK stairs on Monday night and I shaved about 6 more seconds off my time, 2:54.54! Carl kicked my ass and made it in 2:10.38. BOO!

Eating hasn't been exactly great this week again, but I've been snacking mostly one Edy's Real Fruit Popsicles and Popcorn, rather than anything really crappy. Drinking lots of water, tea, juice.

Also, I got pretty awful sunburn yesterday, so I had to invest in aloe gel and sunblock today.