Weigh in, anyone?

Does anyone want to reveal how much they have lost so far? I think it might motivate me to kick it up a notch and give ya'll a run for your money :). I have lost 5 lbs so far. Unfortunately they are the 5 lbs I gained before I finally started taking this contest seriously. But hey, I worked to lose those 5 pounds so I'm happy about it.

So, does anyone want to weigh in?

My long over due update

Tomorrow I start the detox that Liz did. I am excited to feel clean. I have lost 8 pounds to date. Sadly those 8 pounds were not lost due to hard work and exercise. They were lost due to some virus that made me feel like I had morning sickness for about 3 weeks.

After I kicked the virus I started in on some rash that itched like crazy. I wanted to shed my skin crazy itching. After a few weeks of that my doctor diagnosed me with a reaction to stress. Great. Does anybody not have stress? I took a steroid for a week and today was my last day. 

Tomorrow I hope to wake up rash free, virus free and ready to be healthy. I'm kicking my sugar and carb addiction. I have all kinds of fruits and vegetables on hand. I have plenty of fresh eggs every day and a stash of turkey patties too. I'm also not drinking any more soda. I drink soda more than water. True. Sad. True.

I canceled my gym subscription. It was more of a subscription than a membership as I saw looked at it more than I used it. I really do not have the time to take away from my family, farm and work to spend time in the gym. I know how that sounds and some might be thinking, "Melenie, you have to take the time to be healthy and in shape, you have to make the time to go to the gym."  I've actually been getting more of a work out since I quite the gym though. I do a nightly exercise routine that involves wall push ups, and step aerobics using the kids' bathroom stool among other things that crack my kids up.

Running a farm is actually a good work out in itself. Most of my feedbags weigh 80 pounds. I'm not sure how much a bale of hay or straw weighs but it sure feels like I'm getting a workout when I move them around. I've been digging holes and hammering nails, lifting pigs and goats and chasing chickens. It feels good. 

They boys and I dance and take hikes. I'm going to start jumping on the trampoline with them (thank you Poise!). I'm enjoying my life and am excited to get my body with this new phase of eating. 

♥ Ya'll

Creamy pasta primavera

Here is the recipe for the healthier creamy pasta I made.

Sauce:
1 head cauliflower
6-10 cloves garlic or 2-3 tbsp minced
1/2 an onion, I used red but white or yellow would be fine
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup cashews
4-5 cups chicken broth

Cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces, cut the onion into bite sized pieces, place cauliflower, onions, and garlic (can be whole or chopped or minced) into a roasting pan or spread out on a cookie sheet. Salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with olive oil. Stir around the pan ( you can also put all the ingredients in a bowl or zip lock bag to mix, just make sure it is evenly coated with salt pepper and oil) roast (bake) at 420 for 25 minutes.  Once done roasting place in a blender or food processor with 4-5 cups chicken broth and blend until smooth.

Meanwhile chop your veggies. I used what I had on hand. I used zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli and tomato. I also bought fresh basil. Set aside. Cook some noodles, any kind will do we used spaghetti because I had some left over from a previous dinner.

I used bacon in this recipe but I think it is totally optional. You could totally go all veggie or use grilled chicken or some yummy chicken sausage would all be really good. I just happened to have some bacon in the fridge and thought it sounded good. I cut it up in small pieces and cooked it in a deep sauce pan. I poured it out when done and then used the greasy pan to sauté the veggies, except the tomatoes they go in at the very last.  You don't want to over do the veggies so cook until still a bit crunchy but not too much.  Toss your  cooked and drained noodles in with your sautéed veggies, add the cooked bacon back in, pour some of the sauce over add a big handful of shredded parmesan cheese, your diced tomatoes and stir. Add more sauce as desired. Another hint, I only used a small amount of noodles, maybe 3 cups cooked. It should be more heavy on veggies than noodles. You could also use spaghetti squash.

I had a ton of sauce left over that I just put in the freezer. And trust me this is every bit as good as regular Alfredo sauce!! We had no left overs!!

Checking In

Liz, you are so good a keeping us updated so I am following your example. Unfortunately, I can't say I have lost any weight. In fact I have gained two. Boo! But it's my own darn fault. I hate exercise and I have little self discipline, therefore I dont't exercise!  But I am starting to look at this from a new angle. Because if I try to exercise just because I want to lose weight it IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! So my new way of thinking is this.....

One reason for being here on Earth is to become more like our Heavenly Father. We are to become more like Him in preparation for eternal life where, hopefully, we will be Gods and Goddesses. If I want to be more like Him I need to work on my self discipline. Surely Heavenly Father can resist eating ice cream after a bad day because He knows it's not what his body really needs. Surely He would be willing to exercise regularly because he knows our bodies are gifts and would want to take care of it.

Working on improving my self discipline is something I need to do in order to become a better person. It is something I need to do to prepare myself for a wonderful future that can be mine if I am willing to do hard things.

Hopefully by working on my self discipline I will also become a more regular exerciser. And THEN I can finally report weight loss. Woo hoo!

P.S. I Have been drinking green smoothies and it feels really good to know I am getting more fruits and veggies into my body. In fact I crave them now which makes me very happy.  Also, I have an acquaintance who swears that this nutritional supplement, called Zeal For Life, has dramatically improved her depression. Like, she swears it saved her life. So I'm trying it cause I'm sick to death of struggling with depression and all it's side effects. 

day 1 of 21

I wrote a post in my personal blog today that I thought I would share on here...I have been super struggling and am ready to try something unprecedented....for me that is.


Today I am starting my 21 day detox to hopefully kick start my body back to health. I have been having a lot of problems lately.  The biggest of concern to me being that I can not seem to lose any weight. Two years ago when I did weight watchers and exercised it seemed to come off in a fairly standard manner.  It was hard but I got results so it made it worth it.  At the first of this year I went off all candy...which should have helped me shed at least a few pounds given the shear amount of candy I normal ingest...but nope. I have actually gained more than a few pounds since the 1st of the year. And I have grown an entire size up. I have been working out hard and consistently and eating pretty good...but zero results. I don't feel better nor have a shed a single pound...in fact I gained a few more. So I am looking into other issues. Starting with what I am hoping is just a resistance of my body to sugar in all forms. So I am doing a 21 day cleanse to get it all out and hopefully reset my system. This will no doubt be one of the hardest things I have ever done. At least when I have done crazy things like this in the past I always gave myself the "but natural fruit sugar is ok" out. This time it is 0.  I will basically be eating meat, nuts, veggies and eggs. I can eat beans but that isn't very fun without rice...Still waiting to hear if I am allowed quinoa or not. It is technically a grain but has lots of protein.  So here I sit. Trying to think of anything other than food, which means all I am thinking about is food. I am going to try to find other ways...more healthy ways...to be kind to myself. I don't need sugar to make me feel good.  I am addicted to sugar. It is my mood enhancer, my quick fix, my reward, my indulgence, but it isn't kind to me. It is destroying my body.  I love my body. I love to be active. I love life. But lately I don't really love any of those things. I want to lay around all day and try to sleep. I am grouchy. I am depleted of all energy. I am going to make a list of things to do to be kind to my body that I am going to start incorporating back into my life...

1. yoga...Ok I know it sounds hokey but I used to do yoga and I loved it...I went today for the first time in years and it was great! Hard and painful but very good for me! I am going to incorporate it at least once a week into my life.
2. Climbing. I love to climb. I get a much better high from climbing than sugar ever provided. I am going to start climbing again even if I have to do it alone.
3. working in my flower beds. Thankfully it is that time of year again when I can start prepping my flower beds. Being outside is good for me and helps me feel energized. Making my home beautiful gives me a sense of accomplishment.
4. reading. I love to read but have not taken much time to do it lately.  I am going to start by finishing the book I am currently reading, "The Continuous Atonement" after this one I would like to read "the Infinite Atonement" I also want to read "The Book Thief".  I also want to read more to my girls. I would like to spend time everyday reading. We read frequently but not every day. I would like to change that. I used to read to Tien every day but now I don't.  I want to do that again.
5. walking. I have stopped walking over the winter. I am going to begin again.  I would like to go walking at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes.
6. ride horses. now that spring is here I need to work it out with my friend Debbie to go riding again.
7. Steam room. I love steam rooms and my gym has one but I never take the time to use it. I will start using it at least once a week.

All of these things are things that I can do to be kinder to myself that actually promote wellness within me. They are all things I deeply enjoy.

Frustration...

No movement on the scale or in my measurements...feeling very frustrated and unmotivated.

Soup Recipes

I was telling Melenie about some recipes and I thought I would just post them here for you all.

Roasted Asparagus soup

1lb Asparagus, bottoms trimmed off
1 onion cut in large pieces
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Chicken Broth 6-8 cups
1/2 to 1 cup cashews
crushed red pepper to taste

Cut Asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces, place in a roasting pan or cookie sheet lined with foil with the onions, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper generously to taste. Roast (bake) in an oven at 420 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile boil your chicken broth.  Once veggies are finished add them all to a blender (preferably a blendtec or vitamix if you don't have one of these do smaller batches rather than all at once) pour the broth over the veggies add a handful of cashews and blend until smooth.  If you don't want to use cashews you can use whole milk or cream...for those of you with your own animals I would recommend it! We like ours to be a bit spicy so we add the crushed red pepper.


Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup

One large head Cauliflower
One bunch leeks (look like HUGE green onions, there are usually 3 in a bunch)
4-5 cloves garlic peeled
olive oil
salt and pepper
Chicken broth 6-8 cups or more if you want it thinner
1/2 to 1 cup cashews
crushed red pepper

cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces, slice the very bottom of leeks off and then start slicing them in thin slices using all the white and light green part toss the darker green.
Place all the cauliflower and leeks in a roasting pan drizzle with olive oil, add garlic and salt and pepper toss to mix and coat. Roast at 420 for 25-30 minutes, do not under cook or it won't blend smooth.  Then follow the same directions, boil the broth add it all together to a blender and blend until smooth. This one is particularly good spicy.  Also good to garnish with Bacon, or leave out for fewer calories and fat.

We love both of these soups, they are awesome served with the Costco Garlic bread or any other yummy bread for dipping in the soup.

Enjoy!! I discovered these recipes after not knowing what to do with Leeks and Cauliflower I had gotten in my Bountiful Basket, and now we love them and eat them often!