New Month, New Challenges

Hello Dear Readers, sorry I've slipped on posting. I started of okay and kinda got away on stuff.

It's December 1st, a new month. Time to begin new goals, new challenges, start over or continue. One of my sisters has recently began taking back her health and has inspired me to up the ante on my own workouts and eating habits. So I'm going to share the December challenges I'm attempting on this post. I may  will truncate them into one calendar, I think, to make it easier to see what's happening all at once.

I hope all my readers had a great Thanksgiving holiday (and my non-USA readers had a great weekend). I hope ya'll made great food choices and made sure to get some activity in (even if it was walking the mall/stores on Black Friday). I was happy to step on the scale this  morning and see no change. I'm down 4lbs from the beginning of last month and was kind of worried that I overdid the junk food over the weekend.

We have just over 3 weeks to prepare for the next big food holiday, and it will be 3 weeks of temptations. Work Christmas parties, Church parties, friend and family gatherings, and your own baking will be all around. These will be hard to avoid without turning into a Scrooge. So make smart choices, eat intuitively (I promise an article/post coming up on that soon, just need to find time to do it right), get active and most of all...don't let it stress you out. Food is great, being with people you care about is better. Do not let the fear of a few extra calories scare you away from being social. Just work it into your plan.

Without further ado, here are the challenges I'm attempting this month:

Well-Girl posted this lunge challenge that I think I'll try:

Sweat Like a Girl has an ongoing challenge event on Facebook. Here is Decembers. 

Blogilates, Cacey Ho has her December calendar up. Just subscribe to her newsletter for the password.

And finally, I came across this one from My Fit Station that I will attempt:

That looks like a lot, I know. So here is all the workouts on one handy dandy calendar to hopefully simplify everything a bit.

I didn't add every day to run, but the goal is to run on the nice days.

Sugar Challenge

I slipped a little on the F You Sugar Challenge.  However, I'm getting back into it with the help of another challenge.  The Gracious Pantry and Fit Fabulous Forever started a two-week no sugar challenge on Facebook. No added sugar of any type, no natural sugars (honey, molasses, etc), No sugar.  Allowed two pieces of fruit a day.  It's pretty strict but I think I can do it for two weeks.  I need to do it. My plan is to follow this challenge along with the other challenge.  When this two weeks are over (on 03/24/2011), I'll still be on the F You Sugar challenge and will be able to use small amounts of natural, clean sugars. 
Next Thursday I go back to the dentist to get my teeth pulled and top denture.  On St. Patrick's Day. I wonder if I wear green if it'll be less painful.  Should make following these challenges easier as I most likely won't feel like eating anything at all for a few days.
Well I need to get off of here, start laundry, work out and do some homework.   I've been on spring break this week and have been rather lazy.  The week is almost over so I guess it's time to get busy.

Sugar Challenge update and some worries

Sugar challenge is going fairly well.  I had one slip up yesterday and took a sip of my hubby's mt. dew and ate two small york peppermint patties.  Was really wanting chocolate and did not want to dig into the milk chocolate, chocolate chips that are in the freezer.  One small slip is not a failure, it just makes me more determined to do this right.  I'm going to be planning some meals for the upcoming week this weekend.  Tonight is pork chops, corn(not sure what I'm going to do with yet, but I want some corn) and maybe some brown rice...a garlicky rice sounds good, with some sauce from the pork drippings(my hubby has to have sauce/gravy with his rice or he won't eat it).  Yea that sounds like a plan.  I also have some cantaloupe that needs to be eaten so that will be dessert.  Tonight I'll figure out a meal plan for the week and make a trip to Save-a-lot tomorrow for anything we need and don't have.  It'll have to be stuff that won't add up to more then twenty dollars this week.
Reason for this is I just paid 1905.00 on dentures (just the tops this time).  Yep I'm in my early 30's and need dentures.  Main reason for this is plain old-fashioned poor dental hygiene.  Though breast-feeding babies every other year from 1996 to 2001 probably didn't help much.  That and I know I don't get enough calcium, I rarely drink milk (only milk I take in is in baking) and I'm not real good at remembering to take a multi or calcium pill everyday.  Need to I know, for my bone health.  I'll get there just not in the habit yet.
I'm not worried about being fairly young and needing dentures.  What I worry about is more important and probably going to seem a bit shallow.  My worries are more about my looks and my love life.  Will my hubby still want to kiss me with dentures in my mouth?  Will I start to look like an old lady? Is there ways to prevent this? Hubby says he will still kiss me.  I wonder though, will it be pecks or good 'ol french kiss.  I've actually been googling "kissing with dentures" to see what others say.  So far it's promising.
Also I wonder if it's okay to leave the dentures in 24 hours(minus like time needed to clean them) as long as I keep them very clean.  I don't want to develop sores, but I don't want to go without any teeth in my mouth either.  This question I know I can ask the dentist/dental hygenist...still makes me wonder though.

So far on the challenge

Not doing too bad so far.  Yesterday instead of the deer stroganoff we had baked pork chops (just seasoned with salt and pepper, no breading), Fried potatoes(fried in 2 tbsp coconut oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and chili powder) and steamed broccoli(with lemon juice, salt, pepper and a bit of butter).  Tonight is going to be German Pancake Soup from The Gracious Pantry.  Modifications I'll be making will be to substitute cauliflower for the broccoli and to add some leftover pork chops from last night.  Oh and I don't have marjoram so I'll substitute some other seasoning for that, probably thyme.  It sounds good and it's a bit chilly tonight so I think it will go over well with the kiddies.  Hubby is working out-of-town this week so I don't have to worry about pleasing his palate. The kiddies are used to being my guinea pigs and so will try anything once.

So today's plan was:
Breakfast: 2 eggs fried in olive oil
Lunch: some teriyaki chicken and steamed rice from restaurant on campus (not exactly clean but I wanted something warm for lunch)
Dinner will be as described above, the pancake soup
Snack, nothing planned but have some starfruit that needs to be eaten so will have that for dessert.

Tomorrow(Tuesday)
Breakfast: Oatmeal with flaxseed, almond butter, honey
Lunch: probably tuna salad
Dinner: Deer Stroganoff on whole wheat egg noodles and un-fried green tomatoes
snack: fruit(probably cantaloupe)

Wednesday
Breakfast: Oatmeal/honey muffins, hard-boiled egg
Lunch: homemade granola bars (it's my long day and I've not time between classes for a big lunch)
Dinner: Chicken (to be determined on how I'm going to fix it) and sides(again t.b.d)
Snack: carrots and hummus(homemade)

Thursday....

Thursday and Friday I'll have to figure out.  I'm thinking some hamburger pizza on homemade crust on one day, we'll see.  I'm not the best at sticking to menu plans.  I'm trying and I'll get there because I have to.

1st day of challenge

Today starts the first day for the next 3 months of this challenge.  So far so good I guess. For breakfast I had a version of clean-er pancakes.  They would of been better if I had used whole-wheat flour, but all I have right now is unbleached white flour.  I also could of substituted some oats for some of the flour.  I didn't really think of that till after I had it mixed up.  So will keep changes in mind for next time (probably tomorrow). Anyway my plan for eating today and tomorrow are:

Saturday 2/26/2011
Breakfast: Clean-er pancakes and Kroger brand Just Fruit blueberry spread
Lunch: Homemade leftover chili
Dinner: Grilled chicken and Garlic pepper beets
Snack: Homemade granola bars

Sunday 2/27/2011
Breakfast: pancakes (going to change up the recipe a bit)
Lunch: Chicken salad, whole wheat tortillas
Dinner: deer meat stroganoff, unfried green tomatoes
snack: clean-er chocolate chip cookies

I'll post next weeks menu plan on Sunday after I finish getting it worked out.  Also recipes to come.

F You Sugar Challenge

So on the Eat Clean boards there's this challenge where you go "white death" free for 3 months. Be done and looking and feeling fine in time for bikini's.   I'm going to try this, it's going to be hard.  There will be tears.  I've cut so much sugar out that it shouldn't be totally awful.  I've done a bad job of it this week though and am feeling sluggish and blah for it.
I may have to buy Tosca Reno's book Eat Clean recharged or maybe the cookbook to help with menu planning.  I'm going to have to menu plan.  I'm horrible about reaching for crap of the processed sugar variety when I don't plan snacks and meals ahead.  I'm going to have to plan out meals and snacks for my family that fit in with this challenge, that are affordable (read: really cheap) and my bunch won't feel like I'm feeding them cardboard.  I need to find natural sweeteners that are frugal.  I love stevia but it's not exactly cheap.  I've not tried agave syrup, again it's not cheap. Honey is great, but not cheap.  So maybe I'll buy these and just use them frugally.  I know if I add spices/seasonings, such as cinnamon, that we associate with sweet eats I can trick myself and my bunch into thinking we are eating something sweeter then what it really is.
So starting tomorrow stay tuned for recipes and meal plans that incorporate these ideas.  Also, if you have any links to any good recipes that use clean, whole, affordable ingredients then please share in comments.  I guess a trip to Whole Foods or Fresh Market is in store for the upcoming week.  This is starting to sound like work. Oh well, if it was easy then the reward at the end wouldn't be so great.

Hopes and Dreams and Food Challenge Update

I'm excited about this summer. I'm planning on attending University of Memphis(Go Tigers!) majoring in Chemistry with a concentration in BioChem and maybe a minor in Biology. This is all for my pre-med work. With luck, in 3-4 years I'll apply and be accepted into UT Memphis (Go Vols!) and be on my way to being a doctor. Then, if the fates smile upon me graciously, I'll get a residency in Memphis or near here. Or what the heck by then all the kids will be out of h.s. and maybe a change of pace will be due. Anyway hopefully, if all goes accordingly to plan(and Mice will tell you about the best laid plans of Men,right) I'll be Dr. Jackie in about 10-11 years.

I tell this to people I work with and they are like "Why? Just become a nurse and start working and earn money." Well I'm not in it for the money. I'm in it 'cause I love it. I love the bloody, messy, confusing, frantic, mundane, frustrating aspects of medicine. For years I've told people I wanted to be a nurse. But, the only reason I've wanted to be a nurse is 'cause I was scared of the time it took to be a doctor. Now, it doesn't really seem that long. So I'll be 41-42 when I start to practice. That's nothing when your used to seeing people ages ranging from 70-103. We also have a doctor who comes and sees pts at the nursing home who just turned 82. 82! That would be 40 years of practice if I started at 42. Most likely I'm looking at around 30 years of practice...that is a long time. A 30 year old car is an antique. I will be 47 when I reach my 30th wedding anniversary. 30 years is a good long time.

I'm not worried about the time or cost of school. Nothing I can do about either. It's more important to go into a career that I'm confident I'll love(at least 80% of the time) and not tire of(much). Nursing is a great career, but I never wanted to just be a RN I wanted to be a FNP(family nurse practitioner). That's 8 years of school...so whats as couple more years. I'm not old and as long as I have a will to continue learning I'll never be old.

Okay enough of that. Here's my Food Challenge update: Thrown away; leftover chicken wings, one slice of pizza, small baggie of cabbage. Not too bad. Not zero, but we've done worse and I'm glad I'm doing this challenge and making myself aware of what we waste.

Food Challenge Check-in

I've been doing the Food Waste Reduction Challenge from the Crunchy Chicken blog. So far so good...the only wasted thing was about a quarter gallon of milk(maybe not even that much) that has gone past its expiration date. Everything else has either been used the next day for my lunch at work or remade into a different meal a day or two later. For example, chili was turned into chili dogs then used later in a baked nachos dish that went over well. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy was partially used as my lunch and a cabbage roll casserole type dish(again that went over real well too). All in all I'm pleased with the results and hope to continue to do well in this challenge.

I'm going to try a challenge

I decided to try Crunch Chicken's Food Waste Reduction Challenge 2010. I think it'll be interesting to see how I can utilize leftovers (reuse or freeze for later use) and keep from throwing away spoiled food that has been forgotten in the fridge. You can read all the rules for the challenge at the link above or the link in the sidebar. I need to make myself a rule, if I freeze something I need to use it within two weeks...because if I don't I'm likely to end up with lots of mystery meals in the deep freezer.