The Best-Food Thanksgiving

I realize eating properly helps when you have a family who is "with you on it" or you live by yourself. I am somewhere in between. Rick has been really into eating healthy as of late (he is a food-pro so when I have nutritional questions I ask him) and so for the first time, I came away from Thanksgiving feeling completely happy and not over-stuffed!

We prepared a small, organic chicken with lemons, garlic, and thyme stuffed inside of it. Simple.

Fresh brussel sprouts and asparagus roasted with garlic and salt/pepper.

1 loaf of pumpkin bread.

Individual apple pies (so we could avoid left-overs).

I ate a small portion of each item and was done eating.

Aaaahhhh. So that's what Thanksgiving not being stuffed feels like? Nice.

(this is NOT a complaint against other Thanksgiving meals I have experienced - they are usually SOOOOOO good I forget "diet rules"!)

________

But, on to daily food decisions. Laying a good foundation during your daily routine will help you when food is the main source of celebration. Cementing your decisions for food and shrinking your stomach NOW so that when the option to stuff yourself isn't as appealing.

So, two weeks ago I sat down and did some research. I read this blog and was completely encouraged. I wrote out all of my favorite foods on a spread sheet along with the calories.

I used a calorie calculator to estimate how many calories I should consume.

I followed the advice of the blog writer and scheduled in to eat approximately 360 calories of fruit/veggies and 250 calories of meat/fish.

For me, I estimate in approximately 1,000 calories/per day. That may sound like a very small amount to you, but in all honesty, when you are cutting into 5 small meals with lots of fruits and veggies and the proper amount of protein and carbs, it is VERY satisfying. I only had one day where I went to bed hungry and I think that was because I didn't space the meals out properly.

I made two charts: DAY 1 - I wrote out one menu plan; DAY 2 - another menu plan (so that I have some options).

As an example:

breakfast

2/3 cup Cascadian Farms granola

1/2 cup skim milk

snack

apple

1 Tbs natural peanut butter

lunch

1 4 oz piece of salmon

1 cup of broccoli

snack

2 cups of mixed green salad

1 can of tuna fish

dinner

1/2 piece of chicken

1 large red potato

Now, you may look at this and think, "That looks like a lot of work."

Well, yeah. It is. At first. Eventually, it will just become your daily routine.

If you work a normal job (unlike me) and you have to bring your food with you: put peanut butter in a Tupperware bowl, open and drain tuna fish and put it in another Tupperware... bring your snacks with you and eat breakfast/dinner at home. Some people prepare all of their food on Sunday night for the entire week so its not as much work.

Motivators:

Find quotes that keep your focus and hang it in the kitchen.

Find a picture of yourself when you felt you look your best and hang it somewhere you will see it often.

Go to bed 30 minutes early at night and wake up 30 minutes earlier to work out. Just think: IT'S ONLY 30 MINUTES.

(this is more of a pep-talk for myself today... haha!)

A new way of living...

In the past six months, I have increased my knowledge and drive for learning to eat well and to exercise. But, in the past two months, I have really found peace in being more diligent with it and within the past week, I have discovered a new plan.

(please note: when I say "diet", I mean that in terms of balance of food groups, proportions, and regularity. I am not a fan of strict diets which leave you hungry or dieting which denies an entire food group).

Disclaimers:

I don't do it perfectly.

I often have to start over again (implied: I stopped doing it at some point).

I need LOTS of encouragement from my husband

I find myself in tears when I don't get the results I want when I want them.

I love sugar.

I find new methods on a regular basis (I get bored easily).

I am the best critic of myself and I often need someone on the outside to help balance my view of myself.

Things I have learned:

All new methods should lead to the same thing: food balance and exercise.

If you cheat on your "plan", don't worry: just keep going like it didn't happen. Don't give up altogether.

If you can't find time for 20-30 minutes of exercise every day, you should reconsider your lifestyle and priorities (this was hard for me!).

Be patient and remind yourself: it's about being healthy; not about being a certain size.

Last week I had a "slap in the face" when I saw some recent pictures of myself. The worst part? The weeks preceding these pictures, I had worked tirelessly on my diet and exercise routine and I still looked bloated and fat. I was incredibly discouraged. I cried and vented and felt angry and embarrassed and many other emotions. This is where the concept of time comes into play. It could take twice as long to lose a pound than it did to gain it.

I have had a change of perspective. I don't really consider myself a big eater but I don't think I looked at food as the simplicity that it is: substance to live by. I look at food and ask: "Is this beneficial to my body?"

The answer is, often, "No."

Are sugars out of the question? No.

Should I eat a lot of it? No.

Do I even eat it every day? No.

In my experience, the more strict you get, the harder it is to follow through. So, make it simple for yourself. Keep It Simple Stupid.

some sort of yummy pastry/mexican thing.

I like pie crust.

I like this pie crust.

It's light, fluffy, SOOOO Tasty and buttery... Yum. Need I say more?

I simply could use this recipe for a lot of things: pie, pastry's, entree's, etc.

Here is the latest: I have no name for it.

shredded chicken

onions

garlic

black beans

spicy pepper

corn

cumin (lots!)

chili powder

splash of soy sauce

salt

pepper

mix it all together.

make the pie crust (make sure you have time to refrigerate it!).

roll the pie crust out and fill with the yummy chicken/bean/corn thing.

Put shredded cheese on it before you roll.

Bake at 3:75 for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden on top.

some more... of, well, the same book.

Today was the first day that I was able to feel like summertime might actually come to the North Country. The breeze swept through the windows, out the back door, and down the sloping, well-groomed hill. The lilac trees are blooming and the smell of blossoms linger near my back door. (I have no idea what kind of flowers they are. Danica could tell you.)

But, nighttime comes and I find myself cleaning up the kitchen and then finding a comfy seat on the couch with my slightly broken laptop. I search for Doberman puppies for my husbands dreams, and I look at real estate further down south for my own dreams.

And within an hour, I put the laptop down and I feel slightly nauseous. Not really physically, but more emotionally. It's not the first time I have felt this. It is a common side-effect of dreamers - it was especially bad in high school. But, over the past 6 months, it has re-entered my life. And it is plain and simple: restlessness. An aching for doing something new; something different.

So, I collect my things - journal and 1,000 gifts - and I go upstairs to my bedroom. I shut the door behind me and get myself comfortable with pillows behind my back and a bowl of airpopped popcorn. I honestly already knew that opening this book would bring some sort of peace to my soul. And it did.

Ann Voskamp is in the middle of telling me about naming. Sounds kind of... simple, right? She thought so too. Naming? What is that suppose to mean? She begins explaining to me that identifying our blessings and naming them is what we were designed to do. Adam was given dominion over the animals and was to name them. God had designed good things - but was it enough that they were just around Adam without being recognized?

Just as a parent wants to see their children learn to thank people for acts of kindness shown towards them, so God wants to see us give recognition for the gifts He has put in our life.

Why? Can't we just live life day to day?

Aaahhh. But, what does that do to our perspective? (I'm telling you, this book is Holy Spirit breathed. I really, truly believe that.) Isn't our perspective everything in life? When we are having a bad day, don't we tend to see every situation through that bad day? When we wake up with the birds chirping and the sun shining, doesn't that alter our disposition?

C.S. Lewis says, "If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable; think of it as a place of training and correction and it's not so bad."

Interesting, huh?

I have seen this change take place in my life. Well, on the days I embrace this lesson: eucharisteo. Giving thanks; communion with God. It teaches your heart to be joyful in an instant. Instead of holding a grudge when harsh words are spoken, the habit has been formed to soften your heart quicker. Rather than living with restlessness: gratefulness and contentment can be reached through praise. Settling for depression and despair doesn't have to be the only choice - joy through giving thanks can set you free!

I have a confession though: I have only read 1/3 of this book, but I am thinking, if it has impacted me this much with only 1/3, I can't WAIT to see what else God has in store as I read the rest of it!

1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp

It has been a while since my last post. Surely, that can't mean I have nothing going on in my life, right? Well, it certainly hasn't been boring. Each day brings something new: and in the more recent past, that something new hasn't typically been special or nice. I would even venture to say that if someone were to look in from the outside they would wonder what we did wrong to deserve this life. Real estate controversy, neighborhood drama, physical ailments, unemployment... the list goes on. Maybe we did do something wrong? Fortunately, I am trusting God to work in my heart so that I learn from this and we can move on!

But, really, what I was going to write about -- what has re-inspired me to come back to this space on the world wide web - is a book. If you know me at all, I am NOT a big reader. I like pictures, movies, magazines, and baking. NOT reading. And if I do start a book, I rarely finish it. But, there is a new book that everyone was a buzz about. So, when this sister related this book to being like a breath of fresh air... or was it a glass of cool water? -regardless of the analogy, it caught my attention. I could use a glass of cool water. Ya think?

So, what is all the hub-bub about anyways? What's so great about this book?

The minute I started reading it, it caught my attention - which is, by the way, the only reason I continue to read a book - the first 5 minutes.

"Our fall was, and has always been, and always will be, that we aren't satisfied in God and what He gives. We hunger for something more, something other."

Huh.

Well, if that isn't the epitome of human nature, right? This echoed the things the Lord had already begun etching into my heart: satisfaction. But, the book doesn't end there. That was just the beginning. She goes on to communicate her own personal lesson in giving thanks. In Eucharisteo. Which translates, "he gave thanks". But, it also has the root words of joy and grace.

"The only real fall of man is his noneucharistic life in a noneucharistic world... humanity's discontentment with all that God freely gives..." Over and over again she states how eucharisteo is shown time after time in the Bible as being key to our salvation experience. I quickly grab a 3x5 and scribble a quote down and sit it in front of the sink so I can see it every day: "I would never experience the fullness of my salvation until I expressed the fullness of my thanks every day, and eucharisteo is elemental to living the saved life."

Wow. I step back and read it again. It's like a glass of cool water. Ann quotes another author in her book who writes, "You can read many books about the fact that water will quench your thirst, but until you put the books down and bring the water to your parched lips, you will never experience what you are reading about." In that same way, I knew. The minute I read those words about eucharisteo being elemental to my saved life... I knew. I needed some of that. I needed that drink of water.

It's a lifestyle. Daily. Making a list in your head opens an awareness in your heart of the Lord's goodness. When you focus on HIS bigness, it humbles you to the point of gratefulness and true joy for what He has done. So, I am reading the book slowly. After each chapter I mull over it. I take in the meaning and try to practice it in my life and already I see a change. Already I see a miracle happening right in front of me.

It's my recommendation: read the book.

It's almost the end of January and the month has flown by so quickly I don't even remember if Christmas happened. The only clue would be the Nativity Scene that is still set up in the corner of my living room - I didn't even remember that it was there until a week ago. How did I miss that?

Rick is still gone - gone till February 1st. He left Christmas Day. Oh, don't worry - we have seen each other for 20 hours since December 25th. Not consecutive hours, but ya know - I can't complain; it's better than nothing.

I was thinking about getting him this sweatshirt, just to remind him:

Mozart is sitting next to me and I know I am boring him to tears. But, what can I say? I am NOT venturing out in this weather even if he paid me to. It's hit that kind of a low temperature that makes you scratch your head and ask, "really? -30 degrees?" But, it's true. And going out to the mailbox was the furthest I will walk outside during evil times like this.

The fireplace is rip-roaring and I am sitting here enjoying my evening immensely. Instead of crashing the minute my last client was done, I forced myself to vacuum both hardwood floors and carpets of the main floor. Tomorrow? The upstairs. We shall conquer. I have company coming and I refuse for someone new to view my house at the level of disarray it has hit.

Amongst things like work and cleaning a house, I am thoroughly enjoying teaching Jr. Church on Sunday's. I took on the challenge of teaching 2nd-7th grade children and we are doing an in-depth study on the Old Testament. I LOVE it. I find that I am learning more than I had ever expected and the Word of God does not ever get boring! I hope the kids are learning. They have several different papers in their folders: a chart for the books of the bible with the date they were written, the author, and the number of chapters in each book; a list of the books of the bible with lines for the "highlights" that we find the most significant in each book; and I table of contents to help in memorizing the order and the name of all 66 books of the bible.

Someone said, "Carina, I heard you took on Jr. Church? As if you didn't have enough to do?" I laughed, "When you feel inspired, better go for it: you never know when it will run out!" When God gives you vision, you better do something with it: you know what the parable of the talents says....

just stuff. life. really.

It's a new year. I keep chewing on that and yet New Year's Eve feels like a few years ago already. Time is a funny thing.

Rick left Christmas day for two weeks to attend a Dog Training School in North Carolina (to be a dog trainer, not specifically to train Brahms). Between this trip and training for a new job that is done in Syracuse, he will be gone for six weeks with a quick, short week after the first initial week away. In time for Christmas, but barely here for Christmas.

I feel as though I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I have begun the arduous journey of getting my tax information together and for those of you who might be self-employed, you know that, unfortunately, that doesn't mean you have a W-2 form and a few receipts. Ha. Right now, I actually wish I wasn't self-employed. But, I always wish that come January.

But, it has been a good year. We bought a beautiful home - which you all probably know. But, I appreciate it more and more. It's been lonely as of late, but that actually doesn't mean I get to accept every invitation that someone extends. I still have dishes in the sink, a bathroom that DESPERATELY needs to be cleaned, clients that need to be satisfied, laundry... and a dog. And, much to my dismay and sadness, my thoughts and emotions are being used up primarily on a frustratingly confusing application for my business permit here in Madrid. To which I am now being called to appear before the Madrid Planning Board. Oh, I know. It's all in God's Hands - and believe me, after this year I certainly know it's not in mine - so the outcome will be what it may, but it takes lots of preparing for. Including 2 1/2 hours of looking through 1,000's of call logs on AT&T today. Aahhh. The joys.

view from my front porch this morning

My New Year's Eve was spent at my in-laws eating dessert pizza complete with Brie, apples, cinnamon, and pecans. Yum, if I do say so myself. ;) My mother- and sister-in-law played games with me and watched TV until 11:30 (which is when both my MIL and I fell asleep). Something woke my MIL up at 12:02 and she shouted, "Happy New Year!" and we promptly went to sleep in our beds.

me and Motsy on New Year's Eve. Doesn't he look happy?

Things that stink about Rick being gone: I don't have a laptop and am confined to using a desktop. I tried lighting a fire in the fireplace TWICE and it was an Epic Fail. Mozart is desperately bored and thank goodness for him, his friend, Bailey, down the street enjoys his company and fortunately for me, so does Bailey's owner! I find that I sleep more on the couch than in my own bed - largely in part because Mozart tore up another of his bed's and he finds towels very uncomfortable. (can anyone say SPOILED?)

Mozart definitely misses his buddy.

The thing I feel the best about my January 1st is not the resolution to exercise more, or even to read my bible more - but I am mostly impressed that this weekend God lifted some serious depression and sadness off of me. Yeah, yeah, I am still having moments of fighting that and choosing Joy, but something in my heart just "snapped". No, seriously - snapped is the correct word. I'm at church and suddenly realized how easy it is to justify our sadness. Like somehow, we are the exception to the rule. NOT. In God's perfect plan, Adam and Eve had NOTHING to be sad about: they had everything. In God's perfect plan, Adam and Eve didn't want for anything. Huh. Then why would I maintain that state in my heart if it's not His perfect plan? Nope. I'm not gonna.

And the coolest thing is that I went home and wrote Rick this long, long email (which he probably cringed a little bit at when he opened it) and then was talking with a friend about it a little while later and it became so cemented in my heart. I'm done being sad. So, Monday night I go to the CFC prayer meeting and someone came over and said, "I have a word for you: God says, 'It's over.' That depression you have been under is done... and you are going to have Joy."

The last few months had become painfully too similar to a season I went through in 2005. No, I didn't recede to the small attic bedroom at my parents. No, I didn't withdraw from every form of socialization that I could avoid, but it was there. In my heart. And it hurt and it was dark and almost smothering. But, it's over. It's a new "day" - with it's new challenges, of course, but a new day nonetheless.

Happy New Year to you all.