Primal Challenge Journal (FNW)
(110 posts) (8 voices)-
So frustrating... you can buy dried cherries or cranberries but they all have added sugar! Whyyy? I need a food dehydrator and/or a source for that sort of thing. I think (if I don't have the winning recipe video) I'll definitely be making one of those box food dehydrators that was posted here before... for making jerky and drying fruits and such.
Can you dry veggies? Like thin-sliced squash, carrots, etc? Would those be good for munching or only for adding to soups and such?
Posted 7 months ago # -
hannahc
MemberAccording to my dehydrator dried veggies are really only for storing before rehydrating...like in soups and stuff. It seemed like a lot of work and wasted energy just reading about it. Maybe you could do chip type things with eggplant, but I think that turns out better in the oven. Beef Jerky and dried apples though, AWESOME! I thought about drying cranberries too to avoid the added sugar. Whole foods has bulk dried cranberries with apple juice concentrate as the sweetener, at least they tast 1000 times better than Craisins! I used them to make energy bars last weekend...I don't recommend making them because they are way too delicious...
Glad you're back, how was your trip?!?
Posted 7 months ago # -
Yeah, drying veggies for soup doesn't sound that great to me, unless it's for a "survival kit" (like hurricane preparedness) or camping or something.
I can never get my veggie "chips" to be crunchy if I do them in the oven... was thinking drying them might work better... squash chips in the oven are AWESOME though even if they're not that crunchy.The trip to Auburn was good... brother-in-law is now an officer in the Navy and heading to Pensacola to be a student aviator soon!
If anyone is interested in my personal life (haha), pictures of my husband's winging are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elegantemily/sets/72157622006199974/
and pictures of my brother-in-law's commissioning are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elegantemily/sets/72157621879939203/Posted 7 months ago # -
Thanks maba! I feel great.
I've taken to measuring my waist instead of weighing myself lately... yesterday my husband "caught" me doing it (I wasn't hiding) and he said, "Did you learn anything with that tape measure?" My answer was, "Yes! I'm having a skinny day!" haha.
I've been having more skinny days than fat days lately...pretty nice!Posted 7 months ago # -
I have the same peeve about dried fruits.
I've been looking more and more into only buying local food, and that drying idea would be great for my winter stores (along with freezing and canning.) Thanks for the inspiration!
Great idea with the tape measure too. I've been so frustrated with my scale lately. Sounds like you've got the right idea. :)
Love the photos! So proud of your hubby and BIL. That's so awesome!
Posted 7 months ago # -
Diana, definitely try the tape measure thing... sometimes when the scale can be frustrating the tape measure will give you a boost.
I'm also very proud of these guys! They've worked so hard to get where they are now, and I'm excited about where all this is taking them both.Posted 7 months ago # -
Wednesday, August 12:
1. Fruit: none
2. Moving slowly 8 hr/month: 40 minute walk with the husband. (3 hours total)
3. Sprint 1/week: none
4. LHT workout 3/week: no.
5. No post-dinner snacks: none, though I really wanted some berries
6. Bedtime 10:30pm: I'll be in bed by then!
7. Fish oil: Took with dinner.
I also sent my fridge photo and my weekly groceries photo to Mark. They're in my flickr if anyone wants to see them. Hope I win!
Posted 7 months ago # -
Thursday, August 13:
1. Fruit: Strawberries, yum!
2. Moving slowly 8 hr/month: 45 minute walk with a baby in a stroller - I was babysitting. (3 hours 45 minutes total)
3. Sprint 1/week: none
4. LHT workout 3/week: yes! finally. Did bicep/tricep supersets for 10 minutes... I am so exhausted from it I can hardly lift my arms or type - no joking. 1/this week.
5. No post-dinner snacks: I won't have anything tonight.
6. Bedtime 10:30pm: I'll be in bed by then!
7. Fish oil: Took with lunch and dinner.
B: 2 eggs cooked in bacon grease, 3 pieces bacon
L: 3 pieces homemade sausage, 5 strawberries with whipped cream (which I whipped by hand this time... so rewarding)
S: homemade trail mix and a couple strawberries
D: chicken legs and veggies (which veggies is yet to be determined)Posted 7 months ago # -
Even though I'm not doing so hot on the sprint and LHT workouts and caved on a fruit tray a friend brought last week... I am still benefiting from this challenge.
My bedtime is much healthier now which is good.
I'm also moving slowly more than before... having a monthly goal for the time is better for me than weekly or daily, because with a daily goal if you miss it you miss it and it's easy to say, "Screw it all" and give up on the goal. With a monthly goal, if you don't walk one day you can go on a longer walk the next day.
Cutting back on the fruit has cut down on my snacking a bit (fruit is just so darned good) and probably on my carb intake though I'm not tracking anymore. No post-dinner snacks has also cut down on my mindless hand-to-mouth eating.
And fish oil is good, right?
So ... yay for the challenge! And it's not even half over.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Friday, August 14:
1. Fruit: Strawberries and cherries
2. Moving slowly 8 hr/month: none (3 hours 45 minutes total)
3. Sprint 1/week: none
4. LHT workout 3/week: none but my arms are definitely feeling yesterday's workout 1/this week.
5. No post-dinner snacks: no
6. Bedtime 10:30pm: Nope... didn't get home from the party until 10:40 so now I'm winding down and will be in bed by 11:30.
7. Fish oil: Took with breakfast and lunch.
B: sausage, egg, strawberries, cherries
L: fritata type thing made with broccoli and cauliflower, sausage, egg, and cheddar cheese
S: Cherries
D: Party at a friend's house. Barbeque pork (with gross sweet sauce), fruit, cucumber salad (w/vinegar yum), a couple jalapeno popper things.Then I had about 2 bites each of 2 different homemade pies (it was a "contest" and we had to vote)... immediately felt bloated and gross after those bites. It wasn't worth it. It's hard to toe the line between good-to-myself and polite-to-others sometimes.
Posted 7 months ago # -
maba sorry about the rice! So crazy how quickly our bodies adapt to eating RIGHT though...
And thanks for the compliment about how I'm doing this journal... I thought it was important to have clear-cut goals instead of "be more primal" or something. Otherwise how would that be different than before the challenge? haha. So I either did or didn't meet my goal for the day/week/whatever. No grey. And then I can do better next time.
Posted 7 months ago # -
So.... primal contests.
I've entered all the photo ones (hope I win something awesome. I'd LOVE to win the post-it one and get some vibrams!) and most of the comment ones though I maybe missed a couple.I was going to write a haiku but after reading Steve Adams's and deciding he should win, I didn't enter. He won though! Yay! He deserved it for his hilarious poem.
Mine was gonna be:
Remember that huge
Rack of ribs the Flinstones had?
That is my dinner.Not nearly as clever as Steve's.
I think I'm going to try to do a primal recipe video but I don't have any video experience so it might suck... but that would be an amazing prize pack to win. Anyone else making a video (recipe or workout) for the contests?
Posted 7 months ago # -
LOL! I love your haiku!
I'm really thinking about it, but I have no video experience either, nor a camera-man. I would LOVE to have the Vibrams and the dehydrator though. I'm totally hitting up the grocery store with some post-it's, FO-SHO.
Posted 7 months ago # -
I would love to win a pair of the vibrams too. Haven't had time to even look at the contests though.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Sunday, August 16:
1. Fruit: Strawberries
2. Moving slowly 8 hr/month: 20 minutes yesterday, 25 minutes today (4 hours 30 minutes total)
3. Sprint 1/week: Yes! I got in my 1/week this week. I did a few sprints during my moving slowly time.
4. LHT workout 3/week: Yup! SoG workout today. 2/this week.
5. No post-dinner snacks: no
6. Bedtime 10:30pm: Will aim for that
7. Fish oil: Took with breakfast.
B: bacon, sausage, eggs, strawberries
L: none
S: primal brownie - it was good but I need to tweak the recipe before it's share-worthy
D: pork chop, creamed spinach, broccoliAnd my husband's birthday was today. He wanted a "real" birthday cake even with the primal brownies around... so I made him one. I just used a box mix we had, but didn't follow the directions. Added canned pumpkin, 2 eggs, some cream, and a bit of cinnamon and instant coffee (dissolved in the cream). Then instead of icing I just made a thin almondy glaze, so it wasn't AS bad as it could've been.
But then I had TWO pieces... granted, if I had made a 2-layer cake like "most" birthday cakes it would've been like eating one of those pieces... I just made it flat like a brownie. Still though, I felt disgusting and my stomach was literally distended afterward. I couldn't believe it. I guess I need some of these stupid moments to realize how bad this stuff actually is.
My husband had no problems with it though and will happily eat the rest of the entire cake by himself.
Workouts were good today. Took the dog on a nice walk, did some sprints in the middle of it (wearing my little converse-esque sneakers, nothing supportive... it felt weird), then came back and drank some water, then did a SoG workout. I'm still way impressed that I'm able to do "man pushups" even if they aren't as deep as they should be... I've NEVER been able to do them in my life till starting to eat primally.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Haha, not a magic brownie... it was good though! I think the recipe needs work though... more moisture - maybe coconut oil and/or another mashed banana. Will have to play some.
I don't know if it's eating primally or what, but I can finally do the push ups... exciting for me. Definitely try and see if you can do any.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Also, I just posted 2 more recipes on my blog. Enjoy!
http://www.joyfulabode.com/blog/category/primal-recipes/Posted 7 months ago # -
Mark didn't post my breakfast pictures today :( I hope that doesn't mean he didn't get my email and I wasn't entered in the contest... that makes me a sad Grokette.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Monday, August 17:
1. Fruit: Blueberries
2. Moving slowly 8 hr/month: 45 minutes - 35 with the dog in the afternoon, 10 with a friend in the evening (5 hours 15 minutes total)
3. Sprint 1/week: Not today
4. LHT workout 3/week: Yup! My first time ever w/deadlifts and squats. I only used the bar because it's a new for me but I could feel it...awesome. 1/this week.
5. No post-dinner snacks: well, we had berries and cream as dessert, but no mindless hand-to-mouth stuff like I was doing before, so it's a win.
6. Bedtime 10:30pm: Will aim for that
7. Fish oil: forgot.
Oh, and Mark told me he did get my photos and they were included in the drawing, so that's good... they just didn't have time to upload all the photos before that blog entry was posted. Whew!
Posted 7 months ago # -
glad to hear it about the photos!
Posted 7 months ago # -
hannahc
MemberHey your husband and I have the same birthday! DCKMB we have another leo! Well sort of :) My hubby and I went to a real french restaurant while in DC, holy cow it was the best creme brulee I've ever had! If I hadn't eaten the bread at the table I probably would have felt just fine too. Gotta love real french food, they use real butter (delicious butter...) and heavy cream :) yum. I'll have to look at your new recipes too!
Posted 7 months ago # -
Happy Birthdays in order all around! Raising my glass of almond milk to you! Leo's are RAD!
Posted 7 months ago # -
FNW- I think you're doing really great! It sounds like you have really great workouts. :)
Posted 7 months ago # -
Sorry I haven't been around a lot... I'm in a funk. Gotta get out of it. *sigh*
Wednesday, August 19:
1. Fruit: Blueberries, strawberries, cherries
2. Moving slowly 8 hr/month: 30 minutes (5 hours 45 minutes total)
3. Sprint 1/week: Not today
4. LHT workout 3/week: Nope. But I did arms yesterday so that's 2/this week.
5. No post-dinner snacks: no
6. Bedtime 10:30pm: no. Husband wanted to watch the whole DVD of sex and the city so we could send it back to netflix tomorrow... who was I to argue? I'll be in bed soon though.
7. Fish oil: with breakfast.
Posted 7 months ago # -
wondered where you been. anything we can help with?
Posted 7 months ago # -
Ya know you can always find support here. You need help, we're your girls. :)
Posted 7 months ago # -
Thanks ladies... it'll pass. I appreciate your offers of support though!
Totally other subject though... a girl I don't know has been looking for a sitter/daycare for her 18 month old son. I gave a mutual friend permission to give her my information so she can meet with me if she wants me to do it. I'm not sure how much to charge though.
What's a reasonable rate for an adult w/an education degree, CPR, first aid, etc... babysitting 1 child?
Posted 7 months ago #
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