It’s the simple things in life that are priceless.
Chicken Thigh Week – Sunday, The End
Another short post today. There’s too much bracketball to watch today.
Breakfast – Roasted chickpeas and veggies
Lunch – Ampaipitakwong Fried Rice (aka Pete’s), egg roll (yes, it does resemble last night’s dinner)
Dinner – Chicken fajitas
I enjoyed tracking my meals this week and learned a lot.
I no longer need to track consumption like I have in the past. The habit and behavioral changes have stuck around.
My snack last night was grapes and crackers. They found my mouth after I posted.
The very ripe spotted bananas seemed to ripen faster when residing in the same bowl as the once rock hard green avocados that are now ripe enough to eat hence fajitas for dinner tonight.
I made Whole Wheat Banana Muffins (updated). See above.
Snack – muffin?
For the week 1/3 of my meals were meat based. Time to rename The 90% Solution The Nearly 70% Solution.
Still not a vegan.
Chicken Thigh Week – Saturday
Short post today. The Boss is Back and there will be Boss directed activities to be done today.
Even More Things I Learned This Week
Rock hard green avocados ripen faster when placed in a bowl with very ripe spotted bananas.
Fresh grapes satisfy my sweet tooth.
I forgot to weigh myself this morning. “Daily weighing may be key to losing weight.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181105081735.htm (accessed 03.25.23). My OCD may be getting better.
Keeping a food diary/journal makes me more aware of what I’m eating and provides opportunities for improvement. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-keep-a-food-diary-2019013115855.
The Boss noticed the brownie supply in the freezer was smaller than when she left. I have no idea what happened to them.
I forgot to include some snacks in my meal count.
Today’s Meals
Breakfast – Low sugar box breakfast cereal, added raisins, low fat cow milk
Lunch – 2 shrimp tacos, cup of black beans, green beans, 4 french fries
Dinner – Ampaipitakwong Fried Rice (aka Pete’s), egg roll
“Do not worry about immediate results. More and more you must concentrate on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.”
Thomas Merton
Chicken Thigh Week – Friday
Friday 3/24
After 47 years as a cardiologist with 200,000 patient visits, I can firmly say that vegans are my healthiest patients. I certainly agree with you it is not easy. My position is that 90% vegan which is 19 of 21 meals a week will do just fine. Foods should be, prior to preparation, ideally organic and unprocessed whole foods exactly as they grow up out of the ground and in the field.
H Robert Silverstein, MD, FACC
I found this quote in the comments section of an online article years ago. The 90% Solution has been my targeted balance of meals ever since. Yet the older I get the more I realize things are never that simple nor easy. Life is never simple nor easy. Too many of us don’t know what we don’t know.
More Things I’ve Learned About Myself
Over time I’ve revealed more personal information. At first I hesitated to share personal details about my journey. Now I’m much more relaxed about my privacy than in the past.
My personal journal remains my primary journal. My blogs have become journals as well. They’re all me. Remember what is here is only a part of me.
I write differently in my personal journal than I do in my public journals.
Writing in a journal has incredible health benefits so Keep a Journal (not just about food). Going back in time develops wisdom.
For the first time I’ve taken a deeper dive into where I’ve been in this blog. Some of what I discovered surprised me. I sometimes don’t follow my own advice. It is always easier to say rather than to do. It’s been quite some time since I posted Keep a Journal/Food Diary. I can’t remember the last time I tracked my meals.
When The Boss is away I listen to more jazz when working.
I’ve taught myself how to write more in my journals during the day when taking work breaks.
Today’s Meals
Breakfast – Buttered whole wheat toast, oatmeal with raisins, milk
Lunch – Two soft beef tacos
Snack – crackers
Dinner – Black bean chili, Texas Corn Bread
No Chicken!
Chicken Thigh Week – Thursday
Thurs 3/23 Update 5:25 pm
I’m learning a lot about myself this week from tracking my meals. Since The Boss is away my meals and eating habits are totally my own. I don’t have to think about, shop for, plan or cook with someone else’s preferences in mind. I like not having regularly scheduled meals. I much prefer to Eat Only When Hungry. Last night I didn’t have a big dinner meal, just a cup of homemade chili beans.
Things I’ve Learned About Myself
I spend far more time at grocery stores than I realized.
I like spending time in grocery stores.
I tend to shop the sales and plan meals around what I end up buying with basic pantry items already in the house (ahem, Chicken Thigh Week?).
I do not like wasting food and will eat leftovers until I get sick and tired of them. I’ll also incorporate food items into several different meals to reduce food waste. For example I picked up a tub of organic greens for $1.49 (yes, you read that right) which I’ve been eating all week. The tub got eaten up today.
Although I once said I’m incapable of creating a 7 day meal plan I think I’m getting better and feel I can now plan a full day ahead.
I eat a lot of peanut butter.
Today’s meals –
Breakfast – Strawberries, banana and full fat Greek yogurt. Two Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes.
Lunch – Toasted Irish Cheddar Cheese sandwich with organic greens and mustard.
Snack – apple
Lunch #2 – cup of soup, PB on whole wheat bread
Dinner – Roasted Chickpea and Veggie Burrito (see Veggie Burrito Spice Blend for the seasonings).
Chicken Thigh Week – Wednesday
Weds 3/22
The Anti-Bunko meeting last night was a rousing success. Seven showed up and five of us ordered zero sides. Two ordered tots with their burgers. I guess it takes some people a longer time to learn why their jeans no longer fit.
I’m not sure if it was last night’s burger or busyness at work but I wasn’t hungry this morning. I didn’t notice any signs of hunger til around 10:30 AM. So while I may describe my meals as most people would, the times are definitely not the typical meal times. This turned out to be a good day to practice how to Eat Only When Hungry.
We should add eating only when hungry to this post Five healthy habits net more healthy years — Malheur County Health Department and make it Six Healthy Habits.
On Wednesdays the local store changes their weekly ad. I pulled the ad up online and to my surprise found boneless chicken thighs for $1.99/lb!
Chicken Thigh Week! An excuse to get out of the house!
But I was disappointed.
Avoid purchasing chicken if the package has excess liquid sitting in it. The excess liquid usually results from the conventional method of immersing chickens in water to chill them to an appropriate temperature. These liquids are expelled by the chicken once it is in the tray, which weakens the flavor and results in a mushy texture.
Guide on the different types of industrial chicken https://www.watermelon.market/post/guide-on-the-different-types-of-industrial-chicken
I did not buy any cheap chicken thighs BUT I did find one package of the $2.99/lb not as cheap chicken thighs. Now I have plenty of chicken thighs both boneless and bone-in.
So far my meals for today:
Breakfast – Raisin bran, soy milk banana at 10:30 AM
Lunch – cup of soup from the pot I never got around to freezing portions at 1:30 PM
Second Lunch – 2 roast chicken wraps with organic greens and hot honey coarse mustard at 3:00 PM.
It’s “dinner time” now and I’m not hungry.
Eat Only When Hungry
Retrain yourself to recognize feelings of hunger and respect them. Eat when you feel them and stop when they stop. Don’t eat when you’re not hungry. This approach starts with eating breakfast, planning snacks, or eating only part of your lunch and saving the rest for a snack later on in the afternoon. Eat regular meals but don’t eat by the clock.
Eating When You’re Hungry versus Eating on Schedule — https://www.dummies.com/article/body-mind-spirit/physical-health-well-being/diet-nutrition/general-diet-nutrition/eating-when-youre-hungry-versus-eating-on-schedule-202578/
Chicken Thigh Week – Tuesday
Tuesday 3/21
Well, it was a good plan until it wasn’t. No boneless chicken thighs at the store, the bone-in thighs I bought need to be frozen and I refuse to drive around town looking for chicken thighs. Tonight is a night out with the guys so there will be no cooking tonight. Several of us meet monthly to go out for a burger and a beer. This started many years ago when our significant others gathered monthly for bunko (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunco). Rather than sit at home separately we started our own monthly get together. We call this monthly gathering Anti-Bunko.
“The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health,” said Robert Waldinger, director of the study, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too. That, I think, is the revelation.”
Good genes are nice, but joy is better — https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/
Today’s meals consisted of the following:
Breakfast – Greek Yogurt Pancakes, banana, scoop of full fat Greek yogurt. I try to Eat More Protein at Breakfast but some days are better than others.
Lunch – Semi-Organic Vegan Split Pea Soup, see yesterday’s post Chicken Thigh Week – Monday. I’ve got a whole pot of this stuff. PB&J.
Snack – Apple
Appetizer – green salad, marinated artichoke hearts (at home before going out)
Dinner – Burger, no cheese, no fries and beer.
Did you know more Protein for Older Adults is important?
I guess Anti-Bunko night with burgers and good company is a good thing.
Chicken Thigh Week – Monday
Monday 3/20
A faithful reader of my blogs mentioned a 7 day meal plan would be nice to have. Initially I thought that was a good idea. But when I sat down to create a 7 day meal plan I realized I never know what I’m making to eat until I see what looks good at the store. I probably go grocery shopping 3-4 times a week. I’ve been working from home since 2006. Food shopping gives me an excuse to get out of the house.
I love leftovers. Last night I roasted four chicken thighs with the idea there would be leftovers to toss into a quesadilla or chicken salad, or any of a number of dishes you can make with leftover cooked chicken.
I ate them all (they were small).
Back to the 7 day meal plan. Since I’ve never planned for shopping and making meals for 7 days straight I thought I’d simply document my meals for the week. Hopefully this will help with my Writer’s Block so I can write another chapter of The Future Best Seller. This also provides a glimpse into my current dietary habits (which are far different than the 370 pound me).
Breakfast – Strawberries, banana and full fat Greek yogurt.
Lunch – I made Semi-Organic Vegan Split Pea Soup for lunch but didn’t have it for lunch. Instead I had a baked potato with butter, salt, pepper and a salad topped with marinated artichoke hearts. Yes, I made this one up today with apologies to Martha Rose Shulman. My Garlic Vinaigrette pays homage to Martha’s recipe.
Snack – Peanut butter. Yes, peanut butter.
Dinner – Breaded Chicken Cutlet (thigh, of course), egg fried rice, salad.
I went back to the store that advertised boneless chicken thighs for $2.99/lb. Still no boneless thighs. And no bone-in chicken thighs either. But since I bought some bone-in the other day it’s still Chicken Thigh Week.
A Chronic and Multi-Factorial Disease
In Mexico, more than 80 million children, teenagers and adults live with overweight or obesity (55% of children from 0 to 11 years, 44% of teenagers and 74% of adults, from a total of 126 million inhabitants). This means that most Mexican people live with abnormal or excessive body fat that may impair their health.
Verónica Vázquez Velázquez, PhD, Co-founder and President of Obesidades — https://www.drsharma.ca/
Note: the link above takes you to a blog and the quoted article is several spots down, so scroll down.
Our neighbor to the South appears to have the same obesogenic environment we have here in the US.
Just because the odds are stacked against us does not mean we give up the fight. Start with small, everyday decisions that over time stack the odds in your favor. Make better choices about the foods you eat.
My typical breakfast is Greek yogurt and fruit. A snack was a few crackers and walnuts. A few weeks ago temptation arose when I least expected it. For lunch I debated between a double cheeseburger or a slice of gourmet pizza from the new restaurant downtown. But before I succumbed to temptation I chose instead to try the new bakery and bought a loaf of fresh honey wheat bread. Lunch ended up being a PB&J.
Make better choices every day.
Postscript
I had pizza yesterday. I gained two pounds in less than a day.
AND I ATE CAKE…
Take Home Lesson:
There are times when the right choice involves more than just making the right food choices. Choose flexibility over rigidity. It’s always good to be a kid again even if for just one day.
garyskitchen.net 