When The Bones Are Good - How To Make Stock

When the bones are good, the rest don't matter
Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter
Let it rain 'cause you and I remain the same
When there ain't a crack in the foundation
Baby, I know any storm we're facing
Will blow right over while we stay put
The house don't fall when the bones are good
When the bones are good
         - The Bones, by Marren Morris

Much like the foundation of a house, a good stock is the foundation of many recipes. It's a great way to add flavor and nutritional value to rice, quinoa, and other grains, build your own soup from scratch, make risottos, etc.

Principles of stock

• Stock can be made with or without bones. If you use only vegetables, it is vegan.
• You don't have to follow a specific recipe unless you are looking for a specific flavor.
• Stock is a great way to stretch the life of your vegetables, and extract nutrition and flavor out of things that were destined for the compost bin.
• Good stock doesn't take much effort, but it does take time.
• Stock lasts about 5 days in the refrigerator, and indefinitely in the freezer.

What to put in stock
The trick that I've found to making stock is to keep a container of vegetable trimmings in the fridge, add to it for about a week, then when you have time, use this stash to make your stock. This allows you to utilize things that would otherwise be waste to make great flavor, and keeps you from having to buy and store more vegetables specifically for this purpose. You can include almost any vegetable trimming, but here are some things that may help you make better stock.

Do not include these

• Moldy or rotting trimmings -- limp, wilted, or bruised items are fine, but do not include anything showing visible signs of mold or rot.
• Chili pepper trimmings, especially the seeds -- these may make your stock very spicy, and if you use it in a recipe where it reduces, it could turn out more spicy than you intended.
• Salt -- see above. You're better off seasoning your dishes as you cook them.
• Soft cheeses - gouda, cheddar, havarti, or anything else that melts can turn your stock into a mess.

Things that are great to include

Carrot tips and peels

Onion and garlic skins and trimmings

Celery tops and ends

Bell pepper trimmings - Although a lot of red or yellow bell pepper and carrot can make your stock a darker color. Flavor is still great, but for dishes where you're concerned about maintaining a light color, you may want to be careful how many darker colored vegetables you include.

Rinds and trimmings from hard cheeses, like Manchego or Parmesean. This is an especially good way to add hartiness to vegetarian stocks.

Potato and sweet potato peels and ends

Mushroom stems

Stems and trimmings from greens and herbs -- rosemary, thyme, or sage stalks will make your stock very flavorful!

Bones, cooked or uncooked. I prefer bones from cooked items (saved from a roasted chicken, pork chops, etc.)because they have a deeper flavor, but you could use raw bones if you wanted. Or, if you have raw bones, you could roast them on a sheet pan before adding to your stock. I typically store bones separately from my vegetable trimmings, typically in the freezer unless I know I can use them in 1-2 days.

Things you can include with caution

Brassicas -- broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc. You can experiment with these if you wish, but I find that these impart a bitter flavor.

Citrus peels, apple peels, apple cores, and other fruit trimmings. You can include these but they may make your broth more sweet than you'd want it for a savory dish

Beets, eggplant, or other dark vegetable trimmings will make your stock very dark.

Vegetables you do not like the taste of. Anything you include in your stock will impart some of its' flavor.

Make your stock!
Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: 8-10 hours
Post-cook time: 2 hours
Post-cook work: 10 minutes
Makes about 6-8 quarts of stock, but you can make a smaller batch with a smaller pot and fewer trimmings.

Dump your vegetable trimmings and bones into a big pot. Cover with water up to about 1 inch from the top of the pot.

Cover your pot and put on a back burner on medium-low heat. I use the 2nd dot on my stove's dial. You want a low simmer, but not a boil. Keep the pot on the heat overnight, or for about 8-10 hours.

Let cool about 2 hours, then strain into storage containers. Keep some in the fridge for your upcoming meals and freeze the rest. This batch had a lot of carrot and red bell pepper, so it's a bit darker in color. It also had onion skins, garlic trimmings, green bean ends, and pork chop bones.

Easy Dinner - Sheet Pan Sausage And Veggies

I enjoy cooking, but I don't always have time to do a big, involved dinner. On nights when I need to make dinner fast, I find myself falling back on the sheet pan dinner standby. This recipe uses root vegetables that will keep for a loooooong time, plus bell pepper for some additional flavor and nutrition. You can do any hearty vegetables that you like, just try to cut them in a size that will cook at about the same rate so you don't end up with some that are undercooked and some that are burned.

Estimated prep time: 10 minutes
Estimated cook time: 30-45 minutes
Makes 4 servings. 2 if you're hungry. 1 if you're The Rock. Note - This makes about 1 cup cooked veg per serving. If you want more vegetables, make more vegetables.

Tools

• Large mixing bowl
• Cutting board
• Chef's knife
• Sheet pan (preferably with edges but a rimless sheet would work)
• Scissors or kitchen shears

Ingredients

• 1 large potato
• 1 sweet potato
• 2-4 carrots
• 1 bell pepper
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 package sausage, any flavor (this time, I used a chicken-sweet potato andouille)
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. WASH YOUR HANDS. Really, in the kitchen you should wash your hands before you start food prep, after handling any raw food, and especially after handling raw meat or fish. After picking up anything you drop on the floor. After scratching your face....Just wash your hands. A. Lot.
3. Trim and dice your vegetables into about 1/2" - 1" pieces and put them in your mixing bowl. Smaller pieces will cook faster, larger pieces will take longer but be nice and soft on the inside. I don't peel potatoes or carrots -- the peel is nutritious and this saves time.
4. After all your veg is diced, drizzle liberally with olive oil -- about 1.5-2 tbsp, and toss to coat. Then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and toss again. Tossing with oil first helps the seasoning stick better.
5. Spread your seasoned veg over the sheet pan in a single layer. If it doesn't cover the whole pan, try to scoot it all together into the middle so you've got a nice bed for the sausages
6. Use the scissors to open your sausage packaging and put the sausages on top of your veg. You just touched raw meat, so what do you do? WASH YOUR HANDS and the scissors. Then, put the pan in the oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes until sausage is warmed through and vegetables are toasted on the edges and soft in the middle.

Substitutions and Variations
This is the kind of recipe where you can basically use what you have or want. You could mix in some broccoli and cauliflower. Toss in some turnips. You could add more delicate vegetables halfway through like green beans, cherry tomatoes, or asparagus. If you add them at the beginning they will be wilted and possibly burned by the time your sausage is done.

To add a bit more substance to your meal, fry an egg or two over-easy and serve on top of the vegetable mix for a breakfast hash take on things. Serve with a side of fruit, or vegetables and hummus to get a bit more nutrition.

As far as sausage goes, any flavor will do. I like to keep sausage as a meat option because many packaged varieties last 2-4 weeks, so it's a good 'back up' type meat to have after you run out of things that expire faster.

Sweet Treat - Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oat Cake

I have a huge sweet tooth, so for me, during my quarantine, it's important for me to have something sweet to nibble on. This recipe helped me use items in my pantry to make something sweet and a little healthy that helped me stretch my chocolate stash. This is a goey, dense cake that is more like a brownie in consistency. This recipe as written is gluten free. Substitutions are not.

Estimated prep time: 15 minutes
Estimated bake time: 30 minutes
Makes 6-8 servings. Or 4. Maybe 2. Everyone has a free pass to live their best life right now.

Tools

• Blender
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Pie plate

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Almond flour
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt



• 1 cup almond-coconut milk
• 1/2 very ripe banana



• 3 tbsp natural, sugar-free peanut butter
• 1/2 cup chopped semi-sweet baking chocolate



• Small amount of butter for coating pan (about 1/2 tsp)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. WASH YOUR HANDS
3. Put dry ingredients into a blender and pulse until oats have a fine consistency. Then, transfer to a mixing bowl.
4. Put almond-coconut milk and banana in blender and mix on high until smooth. Add to the bowl with the dry ingredients.
5. Add peanut butter to the bowl and mix all ingredients until relatively smooth. There will be some blobs of peanut butter. This is fine.
6. Fold in chocolate. Now your batter is done!
7. Rub butter over the bottom and sides of the pie plate. I've found that the best way to do this is to use your fingers. Wash your hands before and after :)
8. Pour batter into greased pie plate, put in oven, and bake for 25-35 minutes or until knife comes out mostly clean. Let cool before slicing otherwise it will fall apart. If you're okay with a warm bowl of goo, eat straight out of the oven.

Substitutions
Baking has a reputation for being finicky, and for certain items this is true, but cakes can be very forgiving. The texture may vary, but you can get something flavorful and cake-or-brownie-esque with a lot of different variations. The core principles of this recipe are that it be flavorful enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, have a soft texture, and be calorically dense but with some nutritional value. Substitute fats with other fats. Substitute dry, absorbent items (flours/oats/cocoa) with other dry, absorbent items. Substitute sweeteners with other sweeteners.

No blender? That's okay. Your cake will just have more texture. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, then use a fork to mash the banana with the almond milk.

No pie plate? A 8"x8" square pan, 8" cake pan, or small casserole dish will work. If you only have a 9"x13", I recommend doubling the recipe.

No almond-coconut milk? Cow's milk, oat milk, or any other milk will do. Water will work, but add a tablespoon of butter for additional fat and flavor.

No peanut butter? Use almond butter, sunflower butter, or other nut butter. You can also use 1/4 cup mashed avocado or 2 eggs.

No cocoa powder? That's okay, increase almond flour or oats by 1/4 cup.

No almond flour or oats? Use 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour. If doing this, you can skip the blender and mix by hand.

No baking chocolate? Use semi-sweet chocolate chips, frozen berries, or dried fruit.

No sugar? Add another 1/2 banana and 3 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup.

COVID-19 Essentials: How to Shop and Plan for 2 Weeks

Old mindset: What do I WANT for dinner?
New mindset: What do I HAVE for dinner?

For some, grocery shopping was never fun. For the rest of us, a once enjoyable activity is now fraught with long lines, stress at what will be in stock, and fear at the risk that comes with being around others for a prolonged period of time. Folks have recommended limiting shopping to once a week or two for physical safety, and for a lot of people, limiting grocery shopping also helps mentally by reducing the anxiety that comes with going into a potentially perilous situation. Today, we’ll cover things to help you get in and out of the grocery store fast, and make sure you’re coming home with enough to keep you set for a while:

• Make a list
• Plan your shopping trip
• Be ready to substitute
• Strategize your pantry/fridge/freezer (and sometimes car or closet)

At the end of the article is a shopping list that should keep 1 person relatively healthily fed for 2 or more weeks.

Caveat emptor – while some of these tips will apply to everyone, many of these recommendations assume a certain level of privilege: ability to spend $150+ at a time for groceries, ability to shop at flexible hours, time to cook for yourself and your family, basic cooking knowledge, access to a kitchen stocked with essentials, etc. If this isn’t your situation do the best you can to keep yourself fed and safe, and that is enough.

Make a list
This serves multiple purposes: it helps you start to imagine the types of meals you’ll be able to make with your shopping supplies, it prevents you from forgetting crucial items, and can help you be ready to substitute on the fly based on what is available. Tips for making a good list:

• Plan for breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks
• Plan for a few easy meals in case you get sick or busy – think canned soup, frozen dinners, etc.
• Shop your fridge/freezer/pantry first – see what you have before you start your list
• Include a few treats on your list: Chocolate, beer, wine, popcorn, fancy cheese – whatever makes you happy!
• Don’t forget things like shampoo, deodorant, and face wash
• Check your stock of Ziploc bags, trash bags, Lysol, dish soap, etc.
• Understand how long things will last, and plan to only buy what you can store or use before it goes bad

Plan your shopping trip
Grocery stores stock shelves at night, so shopping in the morning increases your odds of having a fully stocked store to shop. Many stores have dedicated their first 1-2 hours for senior citizens and other at-risk groups, so plan to shop between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Additionally, most people shop on the weekends, so try to shop Monday through Thursday. If you typically work during those hours, try talking to your boss to see if they will let you take some flex time to shop, or allow you to start you day later and work later.

Plan about 2 hours, plus the time it takes to drive 2 and from the store: This is 1-1.5 hours for shopping and checking out, and about half an hour for putting groceries away. There have been a variety of suggestions for how to sanitize groceries, however, most scientific evidence shows that practicing social distancing while shopping, avoiding touching your face while shopping, limiting the amount you touch and washing your hands as soon as you get home are sufficient. General guidance from professionals is that you do not need to disinfect every item when you get home. If it helps keep you sane, do it, but allow yourself extra time for your shopping. You SHOULD wash your hands when you get home, and again after you unpack your groceries.

Plan your route for going through the store. This will help you limit the amount of time you spend in the store and make sure you don’t forget anything. When you first get in, check for wipes to wipe cart handles, and take one to keep as you touch freezer doors, etc. As you plan your shopping list, group it by sections so you aren’t zig-zagging across the store. Be ready to skip aisles and come back if it looks like folks are crowding in one area. Also, following new CDC guidelines, bring a mask to wear (link includes sew and no-sew options). My path based on my preferred store’s layout is:

• Health & beauty
• Paper goods/cleaning supplies/plastic bags and wraps
• Produce
• Meat/butcher counter
• Dairy & eggs
• Cheese & packaged meat (bacon, deli meat, etc)
• Coffee/beverages
• Baking & spices
• Breakfast aisle
• Beans / rice /canned veg & soups
• Frozen foods

Be ready to substitute
With everyone eating at home and people buying 2-3 weeks worth of food at a time, grocery stores are having a hard time keeping stocked. There will probably be some things you want that aren’t available. Before you go, think out a few different options for essentials you may need in case they aren’t available. Below are some examples of things you may be able to substitute for things you want:

• Frozen, dried, or canned fruit instead of fresh fruit
• Ground turkey or pork instead of ground beef
• Frozen vegetables instead of fresh
• Make your meat dishes interchangeable – be ready to get whatever is available and/or on sale
• Planning Asian style meals but there’s no rice? Get pasta and go for Italian instead
• Check the freezer aisle for frozen meat, frozen fish, or frozen bread dough
• Most oils, while differently flavored, are mostly interchangeable: if there’s no olive oil, buy canola oil
• No eggs? Buy egg whites (a.k.a. egg beaters)
• They don’t have your favorite brand of cereal/yogurt/ice cream/soup/whatever? Try a different brand
• Get shelf-stable almond, oat, or other non-dairy milk in addition to or instead of dairy milk

Strategize your pantry, fridge, and freezer
Now’s the time to start learning how long things last, how to keep your food at it’s peak, and when ‘best by’ dates can be fudged. Except fresh meat, most fresh things are good at least 1 week past their dates, sometimes 2. Dates for dried, frozen, and canned goods are typically geared towards optimal taste, but these are still safe to eat a year or more after they expire – just check for anything indicating rot or insect infestation. Storing dried goods in glass or plastic airtight containers will help extend their life. With the timelines below in mind, as you plan your shopping list, think of things you want to “eat now” for week 1 and things you can buy or freeze to “eat later” for week 2.

Things that last a few days to a week (eat, get them cooked, or put in the freezer ASAP)

• Berries
• Stone fruits (cherries, peaches, plums, etc.)
• Avocados
• Pears
• Grapes
• Cucumbers, zucchini, and summer squash
• Fresh peas
• Mushrooms (may make it a bit longer than 1 week)
• Greens (except cabbage)
• Fresh fish (2-3 days)
• Fresh chicken (3-4 days)
• Fresh pork & beef (3-5 days)

Things that last 1-2 weeks (or more if stored well)

• Cabbage, Brussels sprouts
• Cauliflower, Broccoli
• Apples (can make it 3 weeks or more if kept in a well-ventilated, cooler area)
• Citrus (can make it 4 weeks, but will become less juicy but more intensely flavored)
• Carrots (can make it 3 weeks if kept in a bag in the crisper or refreshed with a cold water bath)
• Onions, Garlic, Potatoes (4 weeks+ if kept cool and away from sun)
• Turnips, Parsnips, beets and other root vegetables (can make it longer if stored in a cool place)

Things that last 3-4 weeks (or more)

• Yogurt (unflavored can be flavored with honey and frozen berries, or used in smoothies)
• Eggs
• Butter (freezes well)
• Bacon
• Salad dressing after opened
• Most cheeses
• Anything frozen, dried, or canned

I live in a 500 sq. ft. apartment so storage space is at a premium. In addition to my fridge, freezer, and pantry space, I have started using the trunk of my car to store excess toilet paper and ‘treat’ beverages like canned sparkling water, beer, and wine. Having these in a separate location also helps me ration them. I’ve been known to drink 3-4 cans of sparkling water a day and would rather make my supply last! If you have closet space, try to clear some out to store paper products, beverages, dry goods, or treats you want to ration.

Sample 2-week+ shopping list for 1 person
This assumes you have salt, pepper, oil, and some spices, most of the health and beauty items you need, as well as basic cooking utensils and skills, but that you may be in a scenario where you will need to restock some things. I’ve arranged this in an order in which I would shop through my preferred store:

• 1 tube of toothpaste
• 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bags
• 8-pack of toilet paper (will probably last longer than 2 weeks)
• Dish soap
• 1 bottle red wine
• 1 bottle white wine
• 6 pack beer
• 1 small package spinach
• 4 potatoes
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 2 heads garlic
• 1 head cauliflower
• 2-lb bag of carrots
• 3 bell peppers
• Berries
• 7 apples
• 7 oranges
• 3 lemons or limes
• 1 whole chicken
• 4-lb pork loin
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 qt half-and-half
• 1 large container Fage 2% yogurt
• 1 dozen eggs
• ½ gallon almond-coconut milk (refrigerator aisle)
• 1 bag shredded cheese
• 2 lbs bacon
• 2 14-oz bags of coffee
• 1 container shelf-stable almond or coconut milk
• 1 box of tea bags
• 2 cases of sparkling water
• 1 box cereal
• 1 large (42 oz) container old fashioned oats
• 5 lb bag flour
• 3 packets yeast (only by flour and yeast if you plan to bake. If not, buy bread and frozen bakery items)
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips OR 2 chocolate bars
• 1 bag popcorn kernels
• 4 cans soup
• 4 packets ramen
• 2 cans beans OR 1 bag of dried beans
• 1 bag rice OR 2 boxes minute rice
• 2 jars pasta sauce
• 2 boxes pasta
• 2 pints ice cream
• 2 bags frozen fruit
• 2 bags frozen vegetables

Was this post helpful? What other tips and information would you like? Let me know in the comments!

COVID-19 Revival

Through all of this, I’ve been watching on the sidelines, feeling helpless. I’ve been in a relatively good position – the startup I work for did go through some pay cuts but I’m fairly financially secure, able to work from home 100% of the time, and I’m equipped with the skills to keep myself fed with healthy food. Now, as new CDC guidelines are encouraging more Americans to limit their grocery shopping to once every two weeks, I’ve found my way to help. Over the coming weeks, I plan to share tips to help you:

• Shop to limit your grocery trips to once every 10-14 days
• Plan meals that will help you make the most of what you have on hand
• Learn techniques and recipes to help you stretch your food supplies

For Posterity’s Sake, Here’s What’s Up
It’s been about 7 years since my last blog post here. I’ve moved across country again (from South Carolina to Seattle), built a career in technology operations and program management, and largely been focusing on things other than writing. Then, everything changed.

A new coronavirus emerged in China at the end of 2019. It was nasty, hitting the lungs hard, resulting in many hospitalizations and deaths. In the US, we watched from the outside, thinking it wouldn’t hit us. Then, as happens with global travel, cases started cropping up in the US. Here in Seattle, we were home of the first known COVID-19 case on January 21. Community spread started happening. Evergreen Healthcare, an elder care facility, got contaminated, resulting in over 40 deaths.

We quickly became the first hotspot in the country – local tech companies began by allowing voluntary work from home, then made it mandatory. The King County health department issued stricter cleanliness policies for area restaurants. People traveled less and started cooking at home more. As Seattle started to slow down, cases began emerging in other parts of the country. On March 12, Governor Jay Inslee closed schools in King, Pierce, and Snohomish county. On March 15, a stricter order came through closing restaurant dining rooms (take out and delivery still allowed), and closing entertainment, recreational facilities, and gyms. Gatherings of more than 10 were banned, then weddings and funerals, except family only graveside visits. Businesses except essentials like pharmacies, grocery stores, and key manufacturing have closed under statewide stay at home orders. As of today, April 5, Washington has had 7,591 confirmed cases and 314 deaths – and we are considered to be doing well. We have ‘flattened the curve.’

Other places haven’t been nearly as lucky. The NYC metro is a new hot spot, as are California, Louisiana, and Florida. Currently New York, New Jersey, Michigan, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Illinois all have more confirmed COVID-19 cases than Washington. NY, NJ, MI, LA, and CA all have more deaths than Washington. To date, there have been 332,993 cases and 9,528 deaths in the US. Spain and Italy have been hit hard, and cases are growing in Europe, Africa, and South America.

On top of this, there has been a huge economic impact as over 6 million Americans have lost their jobs due to stay at home orders or because people are no longer shopping and dining out. The main directive to reduce spread of the virus has been ‘social distancing’ – limit your proximity to people outside your household. This has meant reducing dining out, closing schools and universities, and even releasing prisoners early. In the span of about 6 weeks, the national food supply chain has been disrupted as restaurant and institutional food usage has nearly stopped, and people are now eating almost all their meals at home.

Back again!

Hello there, world, it's been a while.

Right at 2 years, in fact. My how things have changed.

First things first. Since this is a blog about healthy eating, I should confess that for a while I was not eating healthy. By late January 2012 my weight had rocketed back up to about 349 lbs. Spring and summer 2012 I managed to get my weight back down to about 318. Over the winter, 10 pounds snuck back. Over the past month, I've shed them away. Yesterday morning I weighed in at 317.6 lbs.

There has been huge change in my life. During summer of 2011 my experience working at the restaurant changed drastically. Business there plummeted and so did my hours. I started working part-time at the news again. Around August/September I realized that in order to earn a decent living I would have to either commute an hour each way to Wichita to work, or I would have to move out of Hutchinson. First week of November 2011 I put my house on the market, packed up my things and moved back to Charleston, SC. I had a Craigslist roommate, no job and no real plan to speak of.

I got lucky in terms of work. About 3 weeks after I moved to Charleston I was contacted by a temp agency for a customer service position. 4 months later I was hired on by the company I was working for. 6 months ago I got a promotion. I make decent money, enjoy what I do, and can see opportunity for growth and advancement.

I was unlucky in my choice of roommates. January 2012 I was told I would either have to take over the lease by myself or move out - with 15 days notice. I found a cute apartment in Park Circle and I've been nesting here ever since. Oh, and in September 2012 my office moved from a location 25 minutes from my apartment to a location 7 minutes from my apartment. Adios, commute.

So, over the past year I've done relatively well keeping my weight near 320 lbs. It's time to move my healthy habits to the next level and drop some more weight!

Last week my parents and I started a challenge amongst ourselves. Whoever loses the greatest percentage of weight between May 2 and August 31 will win two new outfits, courtesy of the "lesser losers." I've stated Weight Watchers online to help me stay on track, and I plan to blog about my exploits - hopefully to inspire others and motivate myself.

Hello there, world, it's been a while. But I'm back, and ready to rock!

Bye Bye, Paxil Munchies

So, last week and the week before I was hungry all the time. I blamed it on the Paxil. Now my munchies are gone. Maybe it was just a getting-to-know-you thing between my body and the drugs. Appetite seems to have returned to normal.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to be feeling any less "blah". I still have that borderline-depression-don't-feel-like-doing-anything feeling. Perhaps I perpetuate this by not doing anything. Maybe if I actually forced myself to do things, I'd feel more like being productive.

My weight this week has remained steady. No weight lost, probably because of pizza consumption. I order pizza when I don't feel like cooking and/or don't have anything to cook and/or don't feel like leaving the house. Unfortunately, even a small amount of pizza has a large amount of calories.

The Journey Continues...New Job, More Weight Lost, and my battle with the Paxil Munchies

So, I promised I would be sharing more blog posts throughout my Choose 2 Lose experience but did not follow through on that promise. I give you no more promises, but I do come bearing an update.

A big part of the reason I have not been posting much lately is because I have changed jobs (yet again...yes, I know). I got hired as a cook at Wilder's Bakery and Bistro around mid February, and for a while I was working there and at the Hutchinson News (65-70 hour weeks, yikes). Even after I resigned from the News, I was still getting used to being on my feet all the time and the more physical nature of working in a kitchen. I was tired all the time and pretty much all I did was eat, sleep, work, watch movies on Netflix and do laundry. I'm finally starting to get into the routine of having a somewhat physically demanding job.

Working a job that requires me to be on my feet 40 hours a week has definitely helped with achieving my weight loss goals. Since starting at the restaurant, I have lost about 15 pounds. Yesterday I weighed in at 309 pounds. I have lost 37 pounds since I went to the doctor before my trip to Panama.

About 2 weeks ago I started taking generic Paxil (anti-anxiety/anti-depressant) which I think is affecting my metabolism. I am hungry all the time. It's seriously so bad I've started referring to the phenomenon as the "Paxil Munchies." They come on almost without warning and I feel like I'm starving even if I just had a snack a couple of hours before. In order to deal with this constructively, I try to eat about 5 small meals a day. I also make sure I have high-fiber granola bars on hand at work for a healthy snack, because we don't really get designated breaks, and it's a "grab what you can and stuff it in your face while trying to do 15 other things" situation.

Despite constantly eating, I have lost 8 pounds in the past 2 weeks (before I was losing 1-2 pounds/week). Something has reved my metabolism up, and for now I'm not complaining. Last night, I went out dancing with some friends and I wore a pair of jeans (2 sizes smaller than what I was wearing last fall) that I have not been able to wear for about a year and a half or two years. It was great motivation to continue eating healthy!

Sample day of Amy's Paxil Munchie diet
Breakfast:
2 cups of coffee w/2 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 1/2 cups Active Lifestyle red berry cereal
1 cup skim milk
1 cup lowfat plain yogurt
4 sliced strawberries

Mid-morning snack:
1 cup skim milk
1 medium banana
1 Active Lifestyle granola bar (high fiber, high protein)

Lunch:
Turkey Sandwich:
2 slices light wheat bread
1/2 tablespoon light mayo
1/2 tablespoon stone ground mustard
4 oz turkey
few thinly sliced red onions
few spinach leaves

1 cup low fat yogurt w/ sliced strawberries
1 medium apple

Afternoon snack:
1/8 "cookie cake" (equivalent to about 2 2-inch chocolate chip cookies)
1 cup skim milk

Later afternoon snack:
1 cup lowfat plain yogurt with 1/2 sliced banana

Dinner:
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
1 cup black beans (cooked with tomatoes, bell pepper, onion and spices)
1/8 cup shredded cheese

Night snack:
4 cups popcorn popped with 1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup pomegranate juice

Okay...that was actually 7 small meals. Did I mention that my meds make me hungry? All. The. Time. My strategy is to be prepared with something healthy to munch on so that I don't give into the temptation to run to Burger King or order from Papa John's.

Choose 2 Lose

So, its been a while since I've posted anything here. During the holidays I got out of my healthy eating habits and gained back about 5 pounds. I still have lost a total of 16 pounds since starting my weight loss journey. Wintertime is always difficult for me because I am more prone to depression, and the combination of darkness, loneliness, and cold make me crave high-sugar, high-fat comfort foods.

At my workplace, we have formed teams for Choose 2 Lose. This is a program put on by the Hutchinson Clinic in which teams at different companies compete in a weight loss/fitness challenge. The program lasts 10 weeks and teams receive points for days participants work out, number of pounds each participant loses, and percentage of weight lost by team members.

Each Choose 2 Lose team has a team captain. I was elected captain of my team. Part of my strategy is to provide weekly healthy eating tips to my teammates and archive them on this blog so that they are easily accessible to my teammates and to others who are interested in weight loss.

Sometimes the greatest motivation is motivating others.

Day 35

I weighed in on Sunday. Last week I lost 3 pounds for a total weight loss of 20.4 pounds.

In an effort to try and incorporate more vegetables into my diet, I made a veggie-heavy pasta sauce last night with canned tomatoes, red peppers, red onion, swiss chard, mushrooms and ground beef.

I had a new roommate move in yesterday afternoon and I have several tasks that I am working on for the Kansas Equality Coalition. My parents are coming next Monday to visit for Thanksgiving. What I'm saying is: I'm pretty busy so you may not be hearing much from me this week.