So, I’m off the no sugar wagon. The 77 degree sunny day on Saturday was just too much for me. I was forced by the utter delightfulness of the day to have a couple of hard ciders with my hubby and friend Michael. That was the beginning of the end. I also ate corn chips with our Macho Nachos. And I ate 2 bites of Tim’s Half Baked Ben & Jerrys. Whoever thought of putting brownie chunks and cookie dough together in ice cream was a genius.
Why did I fall of the wagon, you ask? Well, honestly it’s due to lack of self control. But the excuses I tell myself are that 1) I don’t want to lose any more weight. My teeth already look too big for my head. I read you can lose 1-10 lbs in the 21 days. 2) It’s TOO HARD! When we went out to eat, I had to hyper analyze everything. It was just not fun. 3) I was planning on starting Crossfit this week, and I was concerned about my energy levels on no sugar. But I reneged on that as well. I only slept about 4 hours last night, and I just didn’t have the energy to not only work out tonight, but to go to a new place by myself with no inkling of what to expect. That takes a lot of emotional strength on my part, and I just didn’t have it tonight. But now that I’ve missed this week, I can’t start up again until mid-November, due to trips and junk. Oh well. I think the weather will stay good enough over the next 2 months for me to exercise outside, and I can keep doing my body-weight exercises here at home.
So those are my excuses. I did actually reap some benefits, however. I’ve kicked my dark chocolate chip evening snack habit! You have to celebrate the small wins, you know.
I also am lagging in posting my weekly recipes! Here are the ones I’ve made over the past week or so.
Easy Crockpot Breakfast Pie: I baked this in our Nesco Roaster, and it turned out really tasty!! I had the heat too high at first, so the edges got scorched, but I was able to salvage most of the insides, and it turned out quite good. It tasted like a creamy quiche, which was odd since there was no cream or cheese in it. We ate this for supper and then for breakfast for a couple of days.
Shakshuka (Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce): This recipe was also super tasty. I made it with a mix of fresh tomatoes and canned tomatoes. I used serrano peppers from the Farmers Market instead of jalapeno peppers. They weren’t too too spicy, but when I chopped them up, they aerated the whole kitchen with their spiciness! Tim and I almost couldn’t breathe! We ate the leftovers with leftover pork chops. Muy delicioso.
Garlic Pulled Pork: I made this on Sunday, and it was super easy and super tasty. The only thing I would change is I would not put fresh garlic into the meat. The garlic rub is enough. Stuffing garlic cloves into the meat just gives certain bites ultra intense garlic flavor.
Moroccan Burgers and Moraccan Beet Salad: I was going to make this for supper Saturday night for my parents, but Tim dissuaded me. He eyed the 2 teaspoons of cumin called for in the recipe and was wary. He thinks cumin smells like feet. We also noted the inclusion of 2 T of cilantro. My dad dislikes cilantro, of all things. He’ll eat almost anything else. Just no cilantro. So we made Macho Nachos instead, and they were delicious. I made these burgers and the beet salad on Sunday night instead. I used 1 lb of ground pork and 1 lb of ground beef. At first, the burgers seemed a little bland, but when I ate the leftovers, I thought they were really flavorful. Tim prefers just a regular hamburger, and I have to say, I think I do too. Plus, these burgers are VERY, um, aromatic? When I ate one for lunch at work, my coworker was like, “OMG. What are you eating??” And it wasn’t said in a good way.
We ate the beet salad tonight. Tim liked it, but I thought it was just ok. I have a running rivalry with beets. They never turn out well for me. I had to simmer these beets to cook them, and I didn’t watch the pot closely enough. When I did chance to look at it, it had squirted blood red beet juice all over our white stove and light grey walls. Stupid beets. I guess I just really don’t like the flavor of beets. I’m probably going to toss this recipe.
So there. I’ve caught you up. It’s now Tuesday night at 7:52PM, and I’m ready to go to bed. Between the sleepless night last night and the shorter days, Hlo is tired and grumpy and depressed. But tomorrow will be a better day!! Sunny and 77. Really can’t beat that. Timmy Tee and I are running together after work, so that will give me something to look forward to.
Good night!