Saturday, April 21, 2012

A Little Around the Middle



I have always been on the scrawny side but a few weeks ago I noticed that I was starting to develop a little belly.  Why is that when we gain weight that is where it goes?  Not to our face, not to our little tush, not to our legs but straight to the stomach?  Someone needs to tell me the answer and fast!

I realized after thinking about my diet for a while (actually probably longer than a while) that we were (actually I was) having ice cream every single day, sometimes twice in one day.  We are not just talking one little scoop either. I had been taken in by the Harris Teeter Premium Ice Cream Devil, it was the buy two get three free that did me in.....so here we are 3 weeks later in a "No Ice Cream Zone".

Let me tell you it has not been easy shopping, when I went to the store earlier today I knew they had the buy one get one free deal.  I felt the call of the cream "Buy Me Eat Me".  Michael was not with me to help me be strong but...somehow I survived and came home ice cream less. 

We are going to Michael's family reunion next month and we both want to look good.  My goal is much more attainable than his is but we are going to make it.  One of the things we are doing is trying (very hard) to avoid starches.  I thought this would be harder than it really is, it is amazing that if you don't have pasta, potatoes or rice with dinner and just have more healthy vegetables you get up from the table still full but not feeling weighted down.  Our dinner for example last night was Grilled Salmon and Baked Stuffed Zucchini, there were bread crumbs in the vegetable but there were more veggies than bread.  Tonight is something with Shrimp.

I had a young lady write to me a while back about a weight loss site she was going to start.  She emailed me back yesterday that the site is up and running.  It really is worth a look, they cover diet, exercise and there is a fantastic support group to keep you going.  The site is http://slimkicker.com/ and it is definitely worth a look.

Tomorrow night we are going to a Slow Food event, this one is a pot luck at Crosby's Dock (the place the Mussels came from the other day) and best of all its from 5 - 8 so we get to see the sunset over the marsh.  If you don't know about Slow Food, here's the link http://slowfoodcharleston.org.  They do a ton of great work with kids and nutrition. 



Yesterday we made our pilgrimage to the Vegetable Bin in downtown Charleston.  I know I have talked about shopping there before, we get healthy, inexpensive, good tasting veggies for a portion of what we would pay at the grocery store.  Many of the items are local and some are organic.  This is what we brought home yesterday for about $25.00, sorry I don't have the weights of the items, I was cleaning out my purse and threw out the receipt!

Head of green leaf lettuce
About 1 lb of snap beans
1 eggplant
1 jalapeno
A bunch of celery
2 large zucchini (for stuffing)
3 medium sized yellow summer squash
1 head of Cauliflower
A bunch of green onions
1 bag o onions
Around 1 pound of brussel sprouts
3 fantastic vine ripened delicious tomatoes
1 avocado
3 juicy South Carolina peaches

When you add this to what we already have in the house and the $60 spent at Harris Teeter this morning (mostly fish) we are more than good to go for the next 2 weeks. 



8 comments:

  1. I don't know what you're planning to do with the cauliflower, but the low-carb-types like to use a blender or ricer and turn it into something like smashed potatoes.

    Or the raw-types will send it through a ricer to turn it into fake sushi rice for wraps and salads and veggie rolls and stuff.

    Having trouble picturing you with a tummy, tho...

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  2. We eat lots of cauliflower. Raw with our favorite dip. Hidden Valley ranch, powdered ranch dip mix we mix with sour cream. I'm a big fan of Gobi Aloo and so are my sons. An Indian recipe with cooked cauliflower and potatoes. My wife doesn't think Gobi Aloo is food, she says that's what food eats.

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  3. I am going to have to try this place. I have never heard of it. Of course, I'm not much of a veggie eater, but really need to be. REALLY need to be.

    Good luck to you on your health eating quest. I so need to do this. When is the reunion?

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    1. It's a bit of a drive for you unless you are going downtown. I have not really noticed the reduced starches although Saturday night we had Indian Shrimp Curry with brown rice and last night I made a Southwestern Quinoa salad.

      The reunion is May 17 to the 20th up in New Jersey.

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  4. JuJu, the vegetable bin is freaking amazing. It's next to the Harris Twee... Teeter downtown on East Bay? That tiny one-way street right past it as you head away from Broad/ toward Calhoun? You turn down that, toward the port, and it's just to the left, same parking lot as the ACE hardware.

    Magic shop... totally magic. They should have great piles of local peaches by now.

    Oh, and they almost *always* have fresh green tomatoes.

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    1. The SC peaches we in on Friday, not a ton and not completely ripe but I waited unti yesterday to try one. The juice was running down my arm.

      As for tomatoes, they have the best ones year round and I have yet to pay over 1.29 a pound. They are ripened on the vine and taste heavenly even in the winter when all others taste like plastic.

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  5. Amazing! My favorites are in there: brussels sprouts, tomatoes, avos, and PEACHES!!! Mmmm.

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    1. I have been not so patiently waiting for the local peaches to come in. The juice drips down your arm when you eat them!

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