No More Belly and Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe
If you're over the age of fifty, you will most probably be able to relate to me and this post.
What happened to the days when I could eat all of the bread and doughnuts I wanted and didn't gain an ounce? Well, those days have been gone for decades now, but I do remember a time when I was drinking something really nasty tasting, called "Weight On", and eating ice cream every night to try to hit 100 pounds on the scales. I remember being embarrassed when the Red Cross came to our high school to do a blood drive. I went to donate and after filling out the paperwork, the lady said, "Sweety, you can't give blood- you don't weight enough." I never realized back then how much I would wish for the "skinny" problem when I got older...but, here I am.
It has been, for me, a very gradual weight gain. It sort of sneaked up on me...When I do the math, it's like I've gained a pound a year for the last 25 years, and when I weighed myself last week, I was shocked when it hit 130. There was something about that "0" with the "3" in front of it...I've never weighed this much, and I'm just not happy with that. Now, I realize some of you are probably laughing at that, but for ME, this is not okay. I have that "belly" and it is simply because I eat too much bread, cake and doughnuts. I tell myself I'm too busy to do any better......I find myself grabbing a quick snack of cake all during the day, with a cup of coffee. Not only because it's so good, but because it's there, on the counter, convenient.
Now, before I give you the wrong impression, let me say that I have always cooked "healthy" meals for my family, and I've always been proud of that fact. My husband always tells me that it's one of his favorite things, the way I make colorful fresh meals, complete with a fruit dish on the side and lots of veggies...and the way it smells so good when he comes through the door after work. I do fine when it's for the family, but where I fail is when it's time to fix a meal or snack just for me. So, this is not like I'm trying to totally change my lifestyle where food is concerned. It's just, like I said, a problem with those "meals" and snacks during the course of the day.
Day before yesterday, I decided to change things. It is simply the inconvenience factor that causes me to eat the wrong things...so, I've loaded the pantry with nuts and dried fruits for fast and easy snacks, and CLIF Bars for the breakfast that I don't have time to make. I went by Sam's Club and bought large quantities of fruit and fresh veggies. I've stocked up on lean meats. I bought no bread, not even crackers, and, I certainly didn't buy any cakes or doughnuts! No- I'm tired of this belly and no longer having a waistline.
When I weighed this morning, I was 126, so it's working...it's something I'll just have to stick with- a little lifestyle change. I will, however, treat myself to a piece of cake or something sweet on the weekend, because they say that if you totally deny yourself whatever it is that you crave, you will fail. I don't want to fail! Hopefully, I will get to a point where the desire for sweets just goes away. That did happen to me over 30 years ago when I switched from sweetened iced tea to unsweetened tea. At first, it was terrible...but after a couple of weeks, it tasted so much cleaner and didn't make my mouth feel nasty after drinking it. Now, I can tell if someone used the same spoon to stir the tea when they made it, stirring first the sweetened tea, and then the unsweetened. Yes, I can taste it...that tiny trace amount...and it drives me crazy. Hopefully, the same thing will happen with the problem sweets and breads, and they pounds will fall off a little faster than they went on.
This was lunch today. Mixed greens, carrots, avocados, roasted chicken breast, a couple of pickle chips and a small bowl of strawberries and blueberries.
What happened to the days when I could eat all of the bread and doughnuts I wanted and didn't gain an ounce? Well, those days have been gone for decades now, but I do remember a time when I was drinking something really nasty tasting, called "Weight On", and eating ice cream every night to try to hit 100 pounds on the scales. I remember being embarrassed when the Red Cross came to our high school to do a blood drive. I went to donate and after filling out the paperwork, the lady said, "Sweety, you can't give blood- you don't weight enough." I never realized back then how much I would wish for the "skinny" problem when I got older...but, here I am.
It has been, for me, a very gradual weight gain. It sort of sneaked up on me...When I do the math, it's like I've gained a pound a year for the last 25 years, and when I weighed myself last week, I was shocked when it hit 130. There was something about that "0" with the "3" in front of it...I've never weighed this much, and I'm just not happy with that. Now, I realize some of you are probably laughing at that, but for ME, this is not okay. I have that "belly" and it is simply because I eat too much bread, cake and doughnuts. I tell myself I'm too busy to do any better......I find myself grabbing a quick snack of cake all during the day, with a cup of coffee. Not only because it's so good, but because it's there, on the counter, convenient.
Now, before I give you the wrong impression, let me say that I have always cooked "healthy" meals for my family, and I've always been proud of that fact. My husband always tells me that it's one of his favorite things, the way I make colorful fresh meals, complete with a fruit dish on the side and lots of veggies...and the way it smells so good when he comes through the door after work. I do fine when it's for the family, but where I fail is when it's time to fix a meal or snack just for me. So, this is not like I'm trying to totally change my lifestyle where food is concerned. It's just, like I said, a problem with those "meals" and snacks during the course of the day.
Day before yesterday, I decided to change things. It is simply the inconvenience factor that causes me to eat the wrong things...so, I've loaded the pantry with nuts and dried fruits for fast and easy snacks, and CLIF Bars for the breakfast that I don't have time to make. I went by Sam's Club and bought large quantities of fruit and fresh veggies. I've stocked up on lean meats. I bought no bread, not even crackers, and, I certainly didn't buy any cakes or doughnuts! No- I'm tired of this belly and no longer having a waistline.
When I weighed this morning, I was 126, so it's working...it's something I'll just have to stick with- a little lifestyle change. I will, however, treat myself to a piece of cake or something sweet on the weekend, because they say that if you totally deny yourself whatever it is that you crave, you will fail. I don't want to fail! Hopefully, I will get to a point where the desire for sweets just goes away. That did happen to me over 30 years ago when I switched from sweetened iced tea to unsweetened tea. At first, it was terrible...but after a couple of weeks, it tasted so much cleaner and didn't make my mouth feel nasty after drinking it. Now, I can tell if someone used the same spoon to stir the tea when they made it, stirring first the sweetened tea, and then the unsweetened. Yes, I can taste it...that tiny trace amount...and it drives me crazy. Hopefully, the same thing will happen with the problem sweets and breads, and they pounds will fall off a little faster than they went on.
This was lunch today. Mixed greens, carrots, avocados, roasted chicken breast, a couple of pickle chips and a small bowl of strawberries and blueberries.
I went ahead and cut up a big bag of carrot sticks, so if I don't want nuts for a snack, I've got carrots.
I also made some salad dressing. I'll share that recipe with you at the end of the post.
Avocados- I've never cared much for them, but maybe I will like them with this garlic lemon vinaigrette salad dressing drizzled on. Anything with garlic must be good. Sounds like it will be similar to guacamole. We'll see.
This salad dressing recipe is so easy...just add the ingredients to a jar and shake. I also had the perfect jar ready to use, one that I had recycled after we had finished some roasted red peppers. (I never throw away jars...See why here.)
Garlic...I LOVE garlic. The recipe calls for smashed garlic, but I went ahead and coarsely cut the clove into small pieces after smashing.
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt...
...and, everything was added to the jar...
...and, here it is after shaking to incorporate all ingredients together...
...then, drizzled over lunch.
It was really good, and fresh.
Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe
4 T. lemon juice
1 t. honey
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
2 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. Extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in jar. Cover and shake until mixed. Refrigerate.
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Judy
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