Veggie Blues

A few years ago my son Andy was privileged to sing a song on the FlyLady Cd named, UP KIND OF DAY. It is a wonderful CD for children(of all ages) The song is called Veggie Blues.  I will share a little of the lyrics to the song. I was sitting at the table. Just poking at my plate. Wishin that my veggies. Could change to chocolate cake. Yeah, but then I saw something. That chilled me to the bone---My asparagus stared singing  into a microphone and he said.  "Hey, kid you better be careful. The way that you're poking at me. Don't you know that I'm the one who keeps you strong and healthy? Cause when you get your body fueled with fruits and veggies too you're  gonna have the strength to do the things you wanna do." It has more lyric about what the asparagus has to say and what the kid does. It is a really cute song. 
The reason I bring this up is because I have been thinking about veggies and the good they do for us. I was never exposed to different fruit and veggies. I don't remember anything but the basics. Corn, green beans, peas, and potato.  I have been finding and trying new things the past few years and have even changed a few old ways of cooking the veggies. I posted on my blog a photo of my baby crookneck squash. I crave them. The way I had always prepared them was to fry up a lot of bacon and then add onions and the squash. Everything coated in bacon grease.  Now I knew that was not the way to drop the weight by eating my veggies. I started to take the very 97% fat free thin, thin, sandwich ham cut it into slices about the size of bacon. (make sure is smoke cured not honey ham) Then I add the onion and squash.  I don't know if my family has even realized it is not bacon. They love this squash.(tell a man that there is bacon in it and he will eat anything.) Another thing I do that has added to the veggies eaten at our house is I make my own salsa. Tomato, green pepper, and onion.  Nothing else. I make a big amount and then I freeze some of it in ice cube trays. After frozen I put them in a large Ziploc bag. When ever I make anything. I throw a couple of cubes in to add extra veggies. Meatloaf, sauces, soups, eggs, the list is endless.

Yummy

I like to cook a lot of my veggies when using the oven. I throw in covered casserole dishes with Mushrooms, squash, fresh green beans, or carrots. I then store them in the fridge and use them over the next few days. I have added cooked mushrooms and cooked chopped up spaghetti squash to my meatloaf and no one seems to notice.(shush....my secret)  I also will take a huge pan of onions and caramelize them.  It takes a while so I do it while I am cooking a meal. Just cook them low and slow and stir on occasion. I then keep them in the fridge. They really add flavor to about any type of meat by warming them a little and putting them on top.  Your house really does get stinky but it is worth it. I grow parsley and basil that I add to some of the veggies as I am "baking" them. It adds a little different flavor and they look pretty. One thing that I do to keep me from snacking is almost every day I put a little plate with cherry tomato,  sweet peppers, cucumbers, or jhicima on my counter and  eat on them through out the day.  It seems to give me a lot of satisfaction and every time I go in the kitchen there they are saying. "EAT ME!!" Don't be afraid to research recipes and try new foods. There have been some that we have tried once and once only but most of the time we find that we enjoy the different flavors.


 

Five veggies with a ham Sammy. Tomato, Spinach, Carrots, Beets, and green beans.

I don't believe it.

My husband has at times had to reluctantly eat what I was eating.  When I first started my journey he was not interested in seeing if he could do anything for his health. It took him about a year and a half before he really began to realize that it was going to happen. (Like it or not) I decided I was not making separate meals for him anymore. That he would eat what I ate and at least act like he enjoyed it. (or cook his own.) It was just to hard for me. Slowly ever so slowly I introduced him to a different way of eating and thinking.  His hardest step was giving up the French frys, maple bars, and Reese Peanut Butter Cups that he liked to enjoy very often. He stills has them on occasion but I don't think he enjoys them like he use to. Now I cook for both of us and we have some really tasty meals. He enjoys lean meats cooked in many different ways and sometimes three different vegetables on his plate. Once in a while we have a little pasta or rice. I do still prepare him the white rice but I prefer brown now. We usually have a fruit too. Our meals are colorful and he often says, "that was a fine meal." Now he is down in weight over 50 pounds and feels so much better.

     Something had happened to his vision and he told me about it this past week. The other day he told me that he could not see. His vision had changed and he could not see clearly. He has been wearing contacts for all the years that I knew him and has always been very careful in taking care of his eyes. He decided to go into the eye Dr. and have an exam even though it was not time for his yearly visit.  The Dr. spent a lot of time on the exam as he knew my husband was pretty worried about this vision change.  His vision has been the same for so many years. The Dr. kept telling him that this just doesn't happen. That he hadn't see this before. He then told my husband that his vision had improved in both eyes. Neither one of them could believe it.  They talked for a while and the ONLY explanation they could come up with was the great nutrition received from eating all the vegetables. Something awesome had happened. My husband has been so excited because he has done something that is medically back up to improve his life.  He also seems to be enjoying all those vegetables a little bit better at dinner. 

Repairable machine.

I have had quite a few people ask me to tell them how I lost my weight.  I have included a lot of that in my previous posts. They ask me how I got the "fire" and kept it burning throughout my journey.  All I can say is it was hard.  I decided that I was going to have to become number 1. I had to be 100 percent honest with MYSELF. No more lying and thinking I was not eating to much. I had to do this.  I had to constantly tell myself that I wanted to live a full rich life. I was tired of sitting in that damn recliner and watching my family go hiking, camping, and playing with me watching on the sideline. That was NOT what I wanted my life to be. I did hours and hours of research. (if I was going to change I was going to know why and how everything worked together in my body. That was the RN in me.) I researched nutrition, exercise, controlling blood sugar levels, frequency of eating, H20, vitamins, protein, and on and on. I wanted to know how to fix this REPAIRABLE machine called my body.  I read articles that told me I could fix so many of the things I thought I had to live with. It gave me hope and it gave me drive.  It gave me the fuel to keep that fire going. I went to the gym and I asked questions. I quizzed everyone. Everything I was told I came home and researched to know FOR MYSELF.  I do not just go by what others tell me. I do not want to risk injury or illness. You all keep saying you wish you were me. No your really don't. You wish you were YOU but feeling good. You ask me what I eat?  What to do? I can answer that but it won't be the right choice for you. Your body is your body. It is different than mine. What I eat may be absolutely wrong for your body. What I do for exercise may cause you injury.  I want to tell you to research your own body. Start looking for what works for you. I had many days and weeks that my weight would climb or stay the same but I usually knew what I had done wrong because I was researching myself.  I can tell you some of the things that helped me.
1. I never set a goal. To easy to get discouraged. Just see what happens. Then celebrate the losses.
2. Asking the experts then researching.
3. Getting into the water to move.
4. Changing my eating completely.
4. Drinking, drinking, drinking H20.
5. Increasing my protein.
6. Support system. (Family, friends, Doctor, and Weight Watchers members.)
7. Great shoes. (not thongs)
8. Small hand weights.
9. Large ball to sit on and exercise on.
10. Getting up out of the recliner and moving.
 Your body is a wonderful REPAIRABLE machine. You become the expert mechanic!!!!!!