Massive Holidazical Food Coma

Since I last posted we have celebrated Ryan's 29th year of life, a merry Christmas, a happy New Year, and completed rule #61-64 (kind of).

Leaving something on our plate was impossibly hard. Especially because it's the holidays and all the food we have been eating is SO GOOD. We have been spending a lot of time with my mom and sister (visiting from LA). Our family enjoys to cook and eat and when your sister slaves away in the kitchen to make homemade Austrian food Ryan and I would feel too guilty not eating every last bite. We hated this rule. It seemed like such a waste. Why can't we just take smaller portions?

When Ryan and I started this food challenge we decided that if a rule is just too hard, just once, could we invoke Rule #64: Break the rules once in a while. So, that is just what we did. We licked our plates clean on some meals. Other meals, we attempted to leave one bite on our plate.

Sweet Potato Curry Pancakes...I think they were good enough to be called latkes :)


Austrian Food....I can't remember what it's called but it was one of the best meals I have EVER had:


Christmas Pup


29!


Make a Wish!


2012!


Hats off to 2012!


Girls


I wish I remember why Serena was making this face (classic)


One of my favorite 2012 mamas!


The next few rules are summed up as followed:

Rule #62: Plant a vegetable garden if you have the space, a window box if you don't. I fully plan to plant a wonderful vegetable garden this spring, but the ground is too frozen to start any of this now. In order to meet this rule, I plan on making an indoor herb garden. The one problem we are facing is counter space. We will keep you updated as this problem is sorted out.

Rule #63: Cook. Really?!?! This is like asking us to breath. We LOVE cooking and would have it no other way. Rule #63, we have you in the bag.

And this leaves us at the end of our Great Food Experiment. But because this is not a good end post, and because I want to show everyone what we come up with for Rule #62, we have have at least a few more posts. The final post will be a reflection of our favorite rules and how this 2-plus year challenge has changed our bodies and relationship with one another for the better!

Happy 2012!

Eating with Friends, Eating Cows, and Rule #60

This past week I did not care for the food rule much, not because I don't think eating with others is important, but because I felt this was largely outside of my control. Who wants to eat alone anyway? I always prefer to eat with others and feel like I try to do so whenever I am able. But my work schedule and my house location make things difficult.

Hands down, my favorite meal "not eating alone" included Ryan's aunt Denise and grandma Mary Jean. We met them for lunch during our buying-a-half-a-cow adventure in Bend. We don't get to see them very often so it was fun to catch up and enjoy a meal together. It was also fun being in Bend. Rio is now finished with all of his immunizations and is allowed to go outside so he joined us in the adventure. We now have 200-plus pounds of beef in our chest freezer in various cuts. See pictures below.

Here is our half-a-cow receipt that includes all of the cuts of meat we ordered:


The cow ranch across the road from where we bought our cow (there were no cows to take pictures of at our ranch because all the cows were slaughtered at once)


Our sunset walk along the Deschutes. My two favoirte boys: Ryan and Rio


I am very sad I forgot to snap a picture of Mary Jean and Denise. There will be a next time though...perhaps when we find a place to buy a hog from in Bend?

This week we are following Rule #60: Treat treats as treats. This rule is definitely doable but man, oh, man, do I have a sweet tooth. Luckily, we will be celebrating Ryan's birthday this week so at least one day we will be treating ourselves to some treats!

Table NOW please and Rule #59

Wow. Only a few more rules. Eating at a table (and only a table) was way more difficult than anticipated. I had no idea how much snacking I do before/after the whole sitting at the table part. Seriously, this rule was eye-opening. Ryan doesn't snack the way I do so he stated, "Yeah, not being able to eat lunch in my car was difficult." We broke this rule so many times and we were really trying. It went something like: "Piece in the pan, piece in the pan, piece in my mouth, DAMN! (repeat)." Even thought I am on a new rule right now I think this rule might stick with me.

Rule #59: Try not to eat alone will also be difficult because Ryan and I live in the twilight zone. Please, anyone, are you out there? People that has been to our house know what we are talking about. We live in the middle of bum F nowhere. I also work mostly from home (when I am able) so eating alone is pretty much a standard unless Ryan is around. So, the big questions is: Does eating with my puppy count? Sad. If anyone wants a breakfast/brunch/lunch date just give me a holler!

For our picture this week we have to showcase the pup. We are learning a lot about being healthy people...but what about healthy dogs?!?! Well, for starters our health kick inspired us to find the best health food out there (ahem, Acana). Hands down this is the best. My work friend told us about it and we did a TON of research. The meat is all organic open pasture. No weird additives. A person could even eat it and not feel too grossed out! For treats we are giving Rio raw buffalo bones (what a spoiled little boy). This is his first one and when we tried to take it away he FREAKED out! Feed your pets how you would want to be fed!

ThanksgivingX3 and Rule #58

Yes, I got stuffed. We had 3 Thanksgiving dinners (my family, Ryan's mom's family and Ryan's dad's family). Delicious, fun, and exhausting (Turkey and a puppy make you very tired). I think Rio had the most fun. He got to explore Ryan's mom's farm and meet his Uncle Rondo at Ryan's dad's house.

Here are some thanksgiving pictures:

Beautiful dessert table set with my Grandma's china:


Rio and his Uncle Rondo:


Turkey:





Pie made from foraged huckleberries:


We ate at no gas stations. And not letting my clients eat from gas stations only brought about minor issues (the kid settled for Wendy's and I even convinced him not to order any sugary drink or fries. Yay for a small victory).


This week we are moving on to Rule #58: Do all your eating at a table. Okay, I have only been at this rule ONE day and I have broken it so many times. For example, a handful of pretzels for the road....a few tastes of dinner as you cook.....some gummy bears as you lay around on the couch and watch tv. Goodness, I need this rule. I hope I get better throughout the week.

Soup Week & Rule #57

Snacking on fruit, veggies, and nuts this past week has been difficult with hypoglycemia. For some reason, these foods do not help me when I am really feeling like I need a snack. Instead, I need/crave carbs and finding carbs that are not processed is difficult. Does anyone else have this issue?

At the beginning of the week I ate a lot of apples, kiwis, and nuts. Towards the end of the week I was in soup heaven. Ryan went crazy with our recipe book of one pot meals. He made a spooned beef recipe, a stew, split pea, and butternut squash soup. I also made some pumpkin bread. Perfect unprocessed foods/snack for the cold winter weather.


split pea cooking in the slow cooker


baby Rio curled up in his new bed, wishing he could eat people food

This week we are on Rule #27: Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does. This will be a perfect rule for Thanksgiving week because we are doing several road trips and it will force us to plan ahead instead of eating anything at a gas station stop. This rule also got me thinking to when I do purchase food from gas stations. Aside from road trips I buy a lot of incentive treats for my clients (yes, I bribe my kids sometimes with junk). One time I tried taking one of my clients to a local coffee shop and he wanted to order a gatorade. When I explained that they don't have gatorade at coffee shops he asked for a frappachino. Oh Starbucks, what have you done to a generation of kids who are now unable to have an appreciation for a simple hot cocoa on a cold wet day? This week I will also refrain from allowing my clients to eat from the same place my car does.

Let's Finish this Thing!

Wow. It's been a while and there have been so many changes. The most interesting part of all of this is that we took a long hiatus from our blog this exact same time last year--September through November. What is it about this time of year?!?! Last year I rafted the Colorado river for a month, lost my dad, lost my childhood dog, and got a new job. This year I got married, traveled to Spain, and became a momma to a little Rio pup.

While I write all of those changes in list form I have to recognize that losing my dad definitely has affected me the most. I miss him everyday. More than I can explain in a blog.

Everyone made it seem like marriage would be a life changing experience, but for me, the relationship I have with Ryan does not seem all that different. I think the fact that I have lived with him for so long and already felt very committed made marriage more just a fun way to celebrate it all (don't get me wrong though, I do take the vows I made seriously!).

So with that being said, we are back, to finish what we started! This upcoming Monday we will forge ahead with Rule #56: Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods. I think this one will be challenging because with work and puppy-parenting I have been eating a lot of junk on the go.

We only have 8 rules to go! I will now leave you all with a pic of our growing boy. He insists sleeping on our lap even though he now barely fits. I don't know what we are going to do in another few weeks!

W(h)ining and Rule #56

Ugh. Late post but I felt not-so-great today. I actually feel HORRIBLE. It's my own fault and it was worth it. Last night we did our wedding wine tasting (Thanks Carrie!) and drank WAY too much. It was tons of fun, except I never want to see a bottle of wine again...until dinner tomorrow night at least.

This past week eating meals was a breeze as we expected. Up next we have Rule #56: Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant food. Good thing I ate a banana today and did not snack yesterday!

Eating like Kings (and Starving like Paupers) & Rule #55

I thought Ryan would love this rule way more than he actually did. I woke up at the crack of dawn each day to make breakfast fit for a king. The crack of dawn would be 6:30am. If you are VERY brave you can look at the picture of me below to see what a hot mess I am at that terrible hour. BUT you are forewarned because it's not a pretty sight. We had lots of fruit smoothies, tea, pancakes, biscuits, waffles, french toast, sour cream coffee cake, veggie sausage, and eggs. We would then have a regular size lunch. Dinner was more like a snack. Ryan accused me of starving him for the 5th billion time during the challenge. It was really hard switching my internal clock. When I woke up I would not be hungry at all. I would try to force myself to eat and then by dinner time I would be starving. It was rough but it got easier throughout the week.







This week we are on Rule #55: Eat Meals. This sounds simple enough. Don't snack constantly throughout the day. And if you do need to snack, don't eat processed stuff.

I think Ryan is going to miss me waking up with him and cooking breakfast along side him! I, however, cannot wait to sleep in this week!

Only Firsts and Rule #54

Well, I discovered you can still eat a lot even without taking seconds. Ryan's method was to just to take a lot of food to begin with (but that could have been his normal serving size, the boy's metabolism is out of this world). The way I ended up over eating was thanks to my cousin's beautiful wedding. We had a huge Thai food feast and the dishes kept coming...and coming..and coming..and coming. I only took firsts (of all 5 billion dishes) but I have never been so full in all my life. All in all, we did a pretty good job of following this rule.

Also, speaking of FIRSTS I have had a few lately. I made an enchilada with tomatillo sauce and it was my first time cooking with actual tomatillos (in the past I have just bought the pre-made sauce). What funny little things and surprisingly sticky too. The dish turned out excellent but I forgot to take pictures. If you do not know what a tomatillo looks like I order you to go to the grocery store right now.

Another night I cooked some strange little peppers for the first time. I do not know the name of said peppers but I baked them in the oven covered with olive oil, salt, and pepper. We ate all of them. If you know the name please let me know because we want more (see picture below!).





As for Rule #54: "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper" I am going to need to switch my whole schedule around. Holy moly. I will have to get up earlier to cook a decent enough size breakfast. Did I mention Ryan leaves the house at 7:30am.....the time I usually start to wake up. Boo.

Little Plates. Big Hunger. & Rule #53

Oh my. I don't know if my recovery week helped anything. But we were able to regroup enough to experience Rule #52. This rule asked us to buy smaller plates and glasses because people that use smaller dishes eat less. This rule seemed absolutely ludicrous to us considering we have just registered and been receiving tons of dishes. NO MORE (except what we already registered for, of coarse). Instead of buying new dishes we just used the smaller dishes we already owned. Side note: We were we able to fit a lot more into a dish washer load this week!

See the pictures below. It looks like we are complete pigs because we have our little plates piled high. But, Ryan did notice that it seemed he was eating a better portion size. So, maybe this mental trick is worth something after all. Also, I included some bonus pics of a beautiful summer dinner party we had tonight. Sigh. That is the life.














This upcoming week we have Rule #53: Serve a proper portion and don't go back for seconds. MAN! I love my seconds. This week should be interesting.