I'm aiming my life toward being more active and eating better. My former therapist once said, "I don't make resolutions; I make decisions." Last year, I decided my watchword of 2011 would be Simplify. This year, in the spirit of recycling, I'm using the same watchword. It worked well for me last year to make my life less complex when faced with a decision.
My doctor told me last week that exercising 5 or more days a week reduced one's risk of heart disease by 60%. I have been getting up at 6 anyway, but not really doing much. So starting last Tuesday (Monday being a holiday), I got up, put on exercise clothes, and turned on the Wii. I have Let's Dance 2, DDR Ultimate Dance Party 2, Wii Sports, and Wii Play. Lots of options. I exercised 5 out of 6 days. I'm keeping it up this week.
I also got hooked into the 100 Days of Real Food blog. I not only want to eat better, but I want to buy less prepared food. I got three slow-cooker cookbooks at Christmas, and made up a menu on January 1 for the next week and a half. Drew up a shopping list, showed up at Trader Joe's... which was dark. Bleah. Had to shop at Safeway, and was astonished at paying $95 for basics (NO prepared food of any sort). That included a bulk pack of chicken wings for an astonishing $2.99/pound. (The soup recipe called for 10 c of chicken stock, and the book included a recipe to make the chicken stock in the slow cooker, so I tried it out. It was ok... but I'm not sure I saved any money!)
I did a week of recipes out of the 100 Days blog last fall, and most were well received by DS. The whole-wheat biscuits were not--I failed to take into account that they would not rise much, and they were pretty much like thick pieces of cardboard. But I'd like to steer that way in general--whole grains, preparing foods at home, and bringing them for lunches at work. I also want to freeze a fair number of them to keep on hand for last-minute meals instead of something instantish.
We're well on our way, I think.
My menus:
I got 3 cookbooks for Christmas, and my son was reminded that he has the Emeril Lagasse kid's cookbook--and that he says he wants to make 3-4 dinners a week.
Monday--Spaghetti & Meatballs (Emeril), make chicken broth, turkey meatballs (Italian)
Tuesday--Turkey Meatball & Escarole Soup (Italian, but using chard instead of escarole)
Wednesday--Lasagne (Emeril)
Thursday--leftovers
Friday--Yellow Lentils (Indian, but using the red lentils I have and cumin seed for the carom seed that I don't have)
Saturday--leftovers
Sunday--make white bread to use in meatloaf, Top Ramen soup with lots of vegetables
Monday--Green Lentil & Rice Porridge with lowfat yogurt (Indian)
Tuesday--Slow Cooker Meatloaf (Slow Cooker Revolution)--I made this over Christmas break and it's YUMMY
Wednesday--Chicken Enchilada Casserole (make with canned sauce) (Revolution)
Thursday--
Friday--
Saturday--
Sunday--
