Well, well, WELL Wednesday

I walked 1.25 miles today averaging now about a 50 min walk.  I took a different route today and found a wonderful to drool over block & an art center that I will go back when open.   The owner it turns out has been ill and the place is only open on the weekend right now.  I am going to go back this weekend to speak with her to see if she would like to hire me to run the place during the week. 

2 doors down what I thought was a business turned out to be someone home and he invited me in (so New Orleans). Turns out he collects lots of art asked me to send him images of what I do as what he does is pay his bills and buys art.

Oh he was safe. I could have took him out if he got funny.

He left the doors open & I stood near it if I had to turn and run. Actually I stood on the sidewalk at the door

But I still could take him out. I was admiring the sculptures he own. 

Then I had to head over to Winn Dixie with my meager funds to buy food. I was happy Winn Dixie had olive oil, pomegranate red wine vinegar, chicken breasts, talpia, broccoli & shrimp as buy 1 get one free. I also got carbonated water & juice to make my own sparkling drinks to keep me from drinking soda, Creole mustard, Tabasco sauce & cayenne pepper for seasoning. And cage free Omega-3 eggs.

Man if I had more money I could have done some serious damage!

Now does pushing a grocery cart around a store qualify as exercise? :=)

Crustless Spinach, Onion and Feta Quiche

Nutritional Info

• Fat: 5.5g
• Carbohydrates: 13.5g
• Calories: 142.0
• Protein: 10.6g

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced
6-oz fresh baby spinach
2 large eggs
1/2 cup egg beaters (liquid substitute)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/3 cups non fat milk
1/2 cup feta cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F.
Lightly grease a 10-inch quiche/tart pan (or a pie plate)
In a medium frying pan, cook diced onion with a bit of vegetable oil (or cooking spray) over medium-high heat until translucent and tender. Add in fresh spinach and cook until just wilted. Set aside to cool for a few minutes
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, then stir in spinach-onion mixture.
Pour quiche base into prepared pan. Top with feta cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until center is set and the outside edge is golden brown.
Let set for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

Number of Servings: 6

Spicy Taco Soup

Nutritional Info

* Fat: 10.0g
* Carbohydrates: 29.6g
* Calories: 281.5
* Protein: 17.9g

Ingredients
1 lb Ground Beef
1 Onion, chopped
2 14.5 oz cans Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
2 15 oz cans Pinto Beans (drained)
1 15 oz can Black Beans (drained)
1 15 oz can Cream-style corn
1 package ranch style dressing mix
1 package Taco Seasoning
1 Cup Water (or broth) Optional

Directions
Brown beef with onions in a medium soup pot. Drain excess grease. Add remaining ingredients, stir and simmer for 20 minutes. If it seems a little thick you can add some beef broth or water to it while it is simmering.

This is great with cilantro and a dab of sour cream!

8 servings of about 1 1/2 cups each

Weigh to Goal~ Something I Never DO...

10-17-10 This is me today beginning this modest goal...

I rarely ever do this "I want to lose XYZ amount of weight by_________"

So I am trying a modest objective.

It began because of something I did not follow through on that of being this past week despite my intentions, I did not get one day of real walking in although I did small increments of some movement. Somehow the week got a'weigh from me.

But now I learned my eldest daughter's Commencement is January 14,2011 in California and oh course I will be attending with rings on my fingers & bells on my toes! She has worked so hard for this.

They (my daughters, SIL and 8 of the 9 grandchildren have seen nothing but a few pictures of me since the surgery. The people who see me locally comments all the time about my weight release.

But now it is the appropriate time to gear up. I am writing this not as a commitment, but a contract to myself to move more to walk a bit further.

My goal will be to release about 30 pounds before travel. It only comes to 10 pounds per month or 2.5 pounds a week.

Since I will be heading to the West Coast after Commencement, I will travel onto the Pacific Northwest to vist my son & his family & if I dare perhaps a fast "holla" to a friend in Washington State on my return back. I love the train so it will be fun to gadabout.

And to see family & friends especially in the case of the ones in the PNW it will be over a year, 2 in some since I've seen them all.

So back to walking I go. Fortunately our winters are temperate & I like walking in the cold. I will do that before beginning the rest of my day so I won't get distracted. There will have to be some tweaking on time because as much as I like chill I will not be doing the 7am in the dead of winter.

Weigh to be whole~ Small delights that add up

Brussel Sprouts or Brocolli? Any gardeners out there that can identify?
Brocolli or Brussel Sprouts?
Mustard Greens 10-13-10



I woke up feeling wonderful no obvious reason, I been smiling inwardly for the last few days.

One of my musician friends came by this morning with his handsome son on a father /son day and what did he do? Toss my compost around and cover it with a tarp so it can "cook". I should have a wonderful nutriently sound soil for my spring garden before too long.

Great thing to do and a great lesson for his son about aiding one's neighbor.

He also pulled out of my loft space above my closet my suitcases with all my fall winter clothes stored. Kinda funny thinking of doing that now since we are still having low 80's weather for a few more weeks.

But I figured while I had the muscle & someone able to climb the ladder I better take advantage of it.

Much to my delight as I tried things on as I was gathering things to give to the woman who has a food bank and thrift shop as donations, about 1/2 of the items I could not begin to fit in with the hernia now fits beautifully which means I have now returned to my 2007 weight! are tops & tunics I had purchased some clearance, some thrift that turns out to be too tight in the sleeves or stomach & I just held onto them.

Well now they are just like they are suppose to be. I loved the fabric and/or colors and had hoped for the day I could wear them. They sat for almost 2 years and I told myself if they did not fit by 2010 I would donate them.

One in particular I held onto for 2 years after making an impulse purchase. It appealed to me though I am not normally a ruffly kind of woman. But the shirring on the sleeves got to me as well as the color.

Another 1/4 are big and half to be altered. What is funny is on the grey tweed skirt, the only thing keeping it from sliding from my waist to the floor is my still swollen abdomen. It fits like it is suppose to since it was a riding skirt so it is to be fitted in the waist & flared as if riding a horse which I won't be any time soon

The remaining 1/4 is being donated as they are too big and not worth the expense and/or time it would take to alter. And someone can get to enjoy them. As of now I have quite a few things going to this woman's clothing shop (not for sale she gives them away to people who come there for food and many of her clients need other things too).

I know by spring that many of the things will join the donation pile as I move toward my goals, but at least I got a chance to enjoy them for a season and will be willing to let them go so someone else can enjoy them!

I just acquire a blender & a slow cooker, so now I can make smoothies! Its amazing what can bring you pleasure, eh?

I thinned out my green beans. While I had a few, they are not thriving because they needed to be thinned out weeks ago & I could not, so now while the sun is shining I will get them done!

My collard & mustard greens, brocolli, brussel sprouts and Kohl Rabi are coming along nicely. It will be awhile before I can harvest but they survived my transplanting! This morning I also planted green onions, collards & red onions

Funny I intensly dislike mustard & collards as a child but love them now.

Last night I had shrimp curry with rice. It was really good. I opened the fortune cooking and saw the word "wait" on it. It was not the fortune it was the reverse side, but I thought it was interesting as that is what I am doing...

I would like to solve the mystery of which pot has brocolli and the other brussel sprouts. I know in another 60 days when it is time for harvesting I will know but I want to know now.

Sweet Inspiration...

Y'all should check out (especially if you have a sweet tooth. Sandra will hook you up!

http://www.thesweetsensations.com/

Geaux Dat(English translation: Go there)~ When you have had enough...

Among all the things that seem to be reinventing themselves almost under warp speed and by their lonesome, it seems, I have also found myself becoming impatient with certain phrases, outdated attitudes and unrealistic expectations that when they do not happen gives license for a serious beat down on oneself.

In all due respect & without , seriously, me pointing any fingers as people can say or do whatever they want, I have found myself really annoyed and irritated when people talk about their experiences especially with working on their health as a "journey".

For me apart from it being trite, I never thought of doing this was somehow a destination to get to. I know we will have many experiences we will have if we live long enough, but the use of the word journey seems to have become so overuse that it has no meaning for me.

I also find it interesting that people I have known, some who I have loved, others I have put up with many I chose not be part of, seem to have more excitement as my weight is fallen off then they have of all the things I've accomplished over my life. While important, I just don't get how 30 pounds matters more then my artistic work, my being published, my rearing of amazing children and a bevy of other things I've done both while I was small and while I was larger.

I went there a few days ago while look for a poem I wrote that I thought was on my blog and had to go through the archives. While not finding what I was looking for, I found something more; I found myself in the pages of recent years and realized how creative I was and still am. I unconsciously was smiling at some of the passages, my thoughts and my visual art.
It was a great excursion into myself.

Yet people who just recently saw me, that never paid attention to me before I lost the weight were far more friendlier & "into" me then where they were 2 months ago. I found it odd, somewhat disconcerting and a tad bit troubling as they were more thrilled with the weight release then that my health was far better off since the surgeries.

I do not see it as my problem and yes I know people can be just a tad bit superficial. I am the same or should I say a more enhance me that had nothing to do with the 30 pounds, but that seem to be all that mattered (to some).

I guess I am adding to a growing list of "I've had enough's" .

i know what I am doing & why I am doing it. But now I am incline to say something when people rattle on about "NOW I will be one hot mama". Funny thing I always thought I was before this, like now my life will start and I thought my life was already chugging along quite merrily.

But then I guess that's what is seems a "journey"...

Weigh to Say "No Way (Jose')~ Did you know...

I was reading an article in the health section of the New Orleans Times Picayune yesterday called "5 Reasons why your Diet is not Working" i the weekly "Eating Right" column by Molly Kimball.

Just the fact that I am NOT dieting made me almost skip over it but then something caught my eye and made me pay attention.

It made me quickly think of the tons of people here on Sparks and others who beat themselves over and over with wet soggy noodles agonizing over why when all they try, they never seem to lose weight.

Separate from the issue of are they doing things properly, there are always extenuating circumstances, things outside of your ability that could easily contribute to why it isn't happening. I've listed a few highlights from the article.

While it is not a (as in Monopoly) free "get out of jail card", it may also bring some awareness as to why it is more difficult for some to release weight.

I would suggest ones do their own research and adjustments. And one has to gauge if the benefits they receive from especially in the 1st listing is better one should continue to use it. Its a decision you and your doctor makes together for you health & well being.

For me, it explains when while Dr. Strangelove had me on all those different BP meds as she experimented why I put on some much weight although my food intake had remain the same. It was not ALL meds that did it, some of it came from slowing down as I got sicker & sicker, but at least now I know I had an external contributing factor.

And I did indeed raise questions about other approaches for my blood pressure, including things more holistic, but she was so adamant that "NO! Nothing else will work, you can only do this! If you don't you'll be dead in 6 months". (Well that statement was made almost 2 years ago & I am still here!)


If not relevant to you, please skip.

Several common culprits that might behind those excess pounds:

1.Prescription Medications (Caught my attention)

Certain medicines CAN cause weight gain or at least make it more difficult to lose weight. Unfortunately it may take months & a gain of 10-20 or more before you realize that a medication may be to blame.

According to Sal Scaccia,Pharm.D list six main categories of commonly prescribed medication that may cost weight gain:

Blood pressure meds, particularly certain alpha blockers & beta blockers. Alpha blockers may increase appetite & some beta blockers decrease metabolic rate, inhibit the breakdown of fat & increase insulin resistance, which can lead to weigh gain.


Birth control pills & HRT. It is not clear why hormones may cause weight gain in some people, but it is possibly a combination of increased appetite & fluid retention.

Diabetes medication. Insulin can lead to weight gain as a result of improved appetite, better use of blood sugars & an increase in the conversion of carbs & protein to body fat" according to Scaccia.

Oral steroids. Some like Prednisone taken for an extended period can impair glucose tolerance & increase the amount of fat tissue in the body.

Antidepressants (SSRIs like Celexa, Prozac,Paxil & Zoloft can increase appetite carbs in particular, because they affect the body's serotonin & histamine activity. And tricyclic antidepressants like Elavil & not only increase carbohydrate cravings, but can also decrease metabolic rate.

Anti-seizure meds & mood stabilizers including Tigretol, Neurontinin,Depakote,Lyrica & Lithium can decrease energy expenditure & inhibit the breakdown of fat + increase carb cravings & increase the conversion of carbs& protein to body fat.


The other 4 reasons:

2.An under active thyroid

3.Polcystic ovarian syndrome

4.Overestimating calories burned in exercise (I found this interesting):
"Most cardiovascular exercise machines are calibrated for a 150 pound man. If you weigh less (or a 150 pound woman who generally have less muscle mass per pound, tend to burn fewer calories per pound then men), will have burn fewer calories then the readout will show.

5. Taking the weekend off.

Researchers who've tracked people's food intake over a year have come to discover that on the average people consume an extra 236 calories on each weekend day.

Fizzy Navel

Orange Juice Fizz

Nutritional Info

• Fat: 0.2g
• Carbohydrates: 13.2g
• Calories: 51.6
• Protein: 0.6g

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons lime juice


• 1/4 cup orange juice


• 1 teaspoon sugar


• 1/4 cup club soda

Directions

Mix all ingredients and serve over ice.

Serves 1