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I just finished an interesting dinner--we had spaghetti tonight, it's Hill's favorite and I had the stuff on hand. I make my own sauce, and we had some turkey sausage in the freezer, and as the cupboard is rather bare (payday's coming!) it was either that or waterchetnuts marinated in ranch dressing with a side of chickpeas. My dilemma, however, was how to eat it without using noodles as I'm trying to be back on Phase 1. I didn't want to fully cheat, but the thought of eating a bowl of "spaghetti soup", was less than appetizing. I didn't have any spaghetti squash on hand, and didn't want to make the trip to the store. Then, lightbulb!, I remembered that my dad used to put carrots (and raisins--not as bad as it sounds) in his spaghetti sauce. I had carrots on hand, so decided to cut them into strips with a vegetable peeeler, blanch them and use THEM as noodles. They were quite tasty, I have to say, and not as much work as spaghetti squash (though darling spaghetti squash, know that I love you dearly and will return to you!) Now, to all you sticklers, you SB literalists, I know that carrots are verboten in Phase 1, but I think it was a much better choice carb-wise than noodles, even whole grain ones. So all in all dinner was quite satisfying and I am declaring that I had a great food day. I have found that one of the fringe benefits of this WOE is the variety I now have in my diet. I used to think that I ate a wide range of foods, but I am finding that really I was just eating the same things over and over again, they just came in different colored wrappers depending on which drive-thru I went to. As I have cut out all the convenience food and am having to find ways to make my meals less boring I am trying a wider range of food, and in the process am becoming a better and more creative cook. Practicing creativity in the kitchen is extending to the rest of my life, because if I can succesfully come up with a substitue for the almighty noodle, then I can have the courage to successfully come up with solutions for other things in my life that need change. It's amazing how inspiring the humble little carrot can be.
On the fitness front, I didn't make it to the gym, however I took Maple (the dog) for a brisk walk--I worked up a sweat and maintained it for 20 minutes, so I got my exercise in too. Gustav's winds have been swirling around the north Dallas area for two days so the walk was made more effective by having to spend at least 20 minutes walking against very big gusts. Thank you, Mother Nature for enhancing my workout today.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day--Hill has a friend who hosts a "Thanksgiving Dinner" three to five times a year (cause really, once a year just isn't enough!). He's been doing it for the past nine years, and it has become a big deal with anywhere from 45-100 people at each dinner. I am looking forward to it, as it will really be my first opportunity for socializing since we moved here. I have really wanted to make some new friends, but haven't created much opportunity for myself to do that, so this is exciting. I'm a little trepidatious about the food--it is Thanksgiving after all, but I will make the smartest choices possible, and if a little mashed potato and stuffing make it past my lips, well, I'll apologize to my hips and move on. I'll actually probably be so nervous--yes, I get nervous around new people, it's even hard for me to believe--that I won't want to eat much, so I'm hoping to capitalize on that strategy. OOO, OOO, I could just be one of those snobby dieting people who are like, "No, I'm sorry, I just can't eat any of your deliciously tantalizing food because I'm watching my figure" then I'll eye their plate, make a slightly disgusted face, then sniff. I think that's a great idea, and I won't have to worry about nervousness because no one will want to speak to me! I have such great ideas! *grin*
Hope y'all have/had a great day!
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