Day 22

Ok, our food/eating events are over for awhile. I ate WAY too much at our family picnic and spent much of today suffering for it. It is very interesting how quickly our bodies have gotten used to eating healthier foods. We are used to lean meats, whole grains, and fresh fruits & veggies. Bombarding our bodies with picnic foods (burgers, salads, cheeses, rich desserts) was really hard to recover from. But I am back. I am re-motivated. I am focused. Here we go again. Sooner or later, it'll stick... 

I forgot to take any pictures today :(

The Breakfast Menu:

• omelet (egg whites, broccoli, red onion, garlic, spinach)
• 1 slice oatmeal toast
• 1/2 pear
• Special K cereal bar

I am fascinated by how different foods aren't fazing me nearly the way they used to. Broccoli, spinach, AND scrambled egg whites - all in one dish?? But I didn't even think twice about it this time. Good breakfast.

The First Snack:

We don't get home from church until nearly 1:00. I knew our breakfast wasn't going to stick with us that long, so I planned ahead and packed our snack.

• 11 dry roasted almonds
• 1/2 T. dark chocolate chips
• 1 T. raisins
• 15 grapes

The first 3 ingredients made a tasty little trail mix. It wasn't a large amount, but it was just enough to take the edge off our hunger until we could get home for lunch. The kids enjoyed each getting their own little bits in their own cardboard nacho chip trays :)

The Lunch Menu:

• sweet & spicy pork loin 
• small baked potato
• whole grain rice with tomatoes, garlic, and spinach
• thin slice oatmeal bread
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

This meal was a little heavy on the carbs/grains. We were supposed to have cooked cabbage, but by the time we got home, we didn't want to wait. We just grabbed the food out of the crockpots and dug in. VERY good pork recipe! We'll definitely be keeping that one.

Sweet & Spicy Pork

1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 lb. pork loin
1 tsp. olive oil
2 T. honey
1/2 T. hot sauce
1 T. minced garlic

Spray pork loin with cooking spray. Combine all dry ingredients. Rub onto pork. Spray skillet. Heat over medium-high heat. Sear pork loin for 1 minute on each side. Remove from skillet. Combine olive oil, honey, hot sauce, and minced garlic. Brush onto all sides of pork loin. Place pork in crockpot. Cover. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve with juices.

The Second Snack:

• 10 baby carrots
• 1 oz. low-fat cream cheese

I really like cream cheese, but a whole ounce of it is more than I needed for only 10 carrots. But I managed ;-)

The Dinner Menu:

This was odd. This is the actual dinner menu that was planned by the website. #3 said to me, "Mama, why did you plan all junk food for dinner?"

• 20 peanuts
• 5 baby carrots
• 3/4 oz. pretzels
• 1 oatmeal cookie

See what I mean? Everyone loved it, of course.

The Third Snack:

was supposed  to be fruit and yogurt, but it ended up being a couple more cookies instead ..... maybe tomorrow will be fewer grains....