Day 69, Feast Day #36
Nine days and no progress on the the scale. I was expecting another plateau, but that doesn't make it any less irritating. The good news is that despite breaking my fast with half of a frozen pizza, I did not gain anything back. Zach had a rough day at work and was feeling mopey and tired, so I picked up a frozen pizza to cheer him up, along with some necessary supplies for when my mother comes to stay at our apartment for the next few days (aka a large bottle of white wine and whole milk for her coffee). I know it is not good to emotionally eat or encourage that type of eating, but in my defense Zach was hungry, we had a lot of chores to do to prepare for my mom's arrival, and it did cheer him up a lot more than some Swiss chard would have.
I may end up with an extra feast day or two this weekend with my mom being in town for my brother's college graduation. We'll see how things go. She normally only eats one meal a day (dinner) aside from coffee and likes to take an hour long walk daily, so maybe I will just roll with her one meal schedule and try to walk with her after Friday. I guess my mom is an intermittent faster already. I used to be unable to understand how she could go so many hours without eating. Now I understand that the body adapts to a one meal schedule like anything else.
I am a big fan of National Public Radio and pretty much all public media operations. While I am off doing family stuff for the weekend, I recommend reading this interesting NPR article that was posted today on how anthropological research is pointing toward diet as the source of obesity, not lack of exercise. Exercise is still good for you, so don't think this justifies being a coach potato.
Day 67, Feast Day #35
I have been struggling to eat a decent amount of iron lately without eating a good hunk of beef or a bowl of steamed clams it seems like. Due to the constraints of my time and my income, I can't be eating steaks or mollusks weekly. It also appears that Zach and I didn't buy enough iron-rich veggies this week.So I whipped together a more primal version of a classic potluck dish, a marinated three-bean salad, in hopes of getting a little more protein in my diet on the cheap. I substituted refined sugar for honey and avocado oil for vegetable oil Canned beans are not an ideal food for both primal (stricter people do not condone eating legumes) and non-primal reasons (the can), however, they are cheap. Zach's got to finish his doctorate degree before my pantry lacks cans of beans in it.
Note: Avocado oil is not cheap normally, but remember, I basically got this avocado oil for free. O
live oil is a cheaper substitute that you are more likely to have on hand. Also, I don't consider myself a 100% primal eater, I just have aspirations to transition to a more primal diet.
Marinated bean salad preferences are very prone to individual tastes (like meatloaf, barbecue sauce, and grits recipes). So feel free to adjust the salt, vinegar, and honey to whatever combo of sweet, sour, and savory floats your boat. Add in bell peppers or celery. Go crazy.
Honey Bean Salad (Yields 6 servings) ~153 kcal/serving
Takes 5 minutes
*BONUS* Cost me 50 cents a serving
- 1 can of beans, drained and rinsed (I used light red kidneys) ~385 kcal
- 1 can of green beans, drained and rinsed ~70 kcal
- 1 can of wax beans (sometimes called butter beans), drained and rinsed ~70 kcal
- 1/4 of a large onion, chopped (I used a yellow one) ~15 kca
- 1/2 cup of vinegar (I used white, white wine or red wine would also work well) ~11 kcal
- 2 tbsp of honey ~120 kcal (if you aren't a big vinegar fan, you can go with even more honey, or less if you want a more sour marinade)
- 2 tbsp of avocado oil ~240 kcal (olive oil would work too)
- 1/4 tsp of celery seed ~2 kcal
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme ~1 kcal
- kosher salt to taste, I used a bit less than a tsp
- black pepper to taste (I used 1/4 tsp at about ~2 kcal)
Mix up the vinegar, honey, oil, celery seed, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, creating the marinade.
Plop the beans and onion into the marinade. Mix. You can eat it immediately or chill in the fridge until your potluck or picnic.
