Oroblanco

That is the new fruit for the month of March!  Bought one the other day in the store next to the grapefruits.  I'm not really a fan of grapefruit, but I had never heard of this so I thought we'd give it a go--

It tastes like an orange even though it looks similar to a grapefruit.  It is tasty--and the kids devoured it!  Guess I'll have to google it to find out more...

Just Call Me The Movie Runner

Dear AT&T U-Verse TV,

Today you tipped the scale up on the HATE side of our love/hate relationship.  Well, that is not entirely true--the scale has been tipped a while--you just gave the HATE side a good shove up.  This has led me to make the decision that we will Kill the Bill by September 1st (unless of course our baseball team goes to the World Series--in which case the deadline is November 1st). 

I usually record funny sitcoms or action movies to watch while I run on the elliptical.  This makes exercise something I look forward to--getting to watch something I want--sometimes inappropriate for my little ones.  It makes my workouts go by fast--super fast if its a really good movie that takes a couple of sessions.  Today, I was excited about starting the new (should say newest--as its not very new anymore) Star Trek movie.  Instead of kicking my work out in high gear watching a juvenile Spock, I watched the little U-Verse reset circle spinning around and around. 

U-verse TV gave me thirty painstaking minutes to think about how irritated I was.  So that is it--that sets the deadline in motion.  I know streaming and renting will be a little more of a pain--but at a $75/mo. savings--it is looking less and less complicated. 

On a different note...

150 minutes--I read an article saying that is how many minutes of exercise I need per week.  If I run on my elliptical 5x a week--I will get that and then the yoga or other exercise will be icing on the cake!  (Literally and figuratively)

So we are barely sliding in February's new fruit or veggie.  I picked out a Canary melon to try.  It sorta tastes like a cross between cantaloupe and honey-do to me.  It is good.  We polished off half of the melon after a bowl of mac-n-cheese for lunch.  The kids liked it and liked stabbing the little balls I cut with toothpicks.  How come food always tastes so good when its skewered onto a toothpick?  Anyway, we decided the rest will be refrigerated--maybe even freeze some.  I think it would make a good slushy.  I think it will taste even better cold. 

February = Canary melon...
What is up for March?  All I know is that I am going to have to branch out from out two little groceries to find something new...

I bought some vanilla herbal tea for my bedtime treat.  I figure I can add a splash of light vanilla soymilk and that will hopefully fix my night time sweet craving.  Hopefully it will help out with trimming off some weight too!  Surely cutting out a nightly bowl (well not every single night~but close) of ice cream will help with my weight loss goals.  Ice cream and portion control are my eating weaknesses!!!  Chocolate is a close third...

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.  Lent is a time that we reflect on our mortality, appreciate this life God has blessed us with, and renew our efforts to take care of ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically.  Every year I try to pick something unhealthy that has been a particular vice.  Last year I gave up ice cream.  If you have read a few posts--you'd know that is BIG for me.  After all, Lent is forty days not including Sundays!  I did pretty well, but really I did cheat.  I ate some gelato.  Technically, gelato is not ice cream--that was what I told myself when I cheated.  This time I'm going all out--no ice cream OR ice cream substitutes!  And I'm giving up soda.  Not really a big soda drinker, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to completely cut that out for a while.  I probably go several months at a time without drinking any anyway.  So that is my lent plan this year.  I'm going to try to kick exercise up a few notches too.  It is time to make the most of this body that I am blessed with!

January food

Okay technically turnips are not a new food--but they sorta are because I have never made them myself--and I can't tell you when I ate any last.  So for dinner last night--I counted turnips as my new January food--yes I know, barely sliding it in...

I made turkey joe's with pumpkin puree (--makes it sweet so you don't have to add sugar), roasted kale chips, and diced roasted turnips.  I peeled and diced the turnips, tossed them in a little evoo, added a few dashes of salt and pepper, roasted at 450 for 8 minutes, stirred and then 8 more minutes--it was fantastic!  I had no idea turnips were so delicious!  My hubby and I devoured ours.  We had to add ketchup for the kids, but then they ate theirs fine too--the best part--healthy, cheap, and local. 

And speaking of local--that is why I bought the kale--cheap and local.  If you have not made kale chips--get on the bus!  I made a whole bunch's worth plus, the kids devoured them.  There was not a single piece of kale left!  I made it the same way as the turnips--you have to wash and dry thoroughly, then just toss with evoo, salt, pepper and roast.  I kept the oven at 450 and tossed them around every five minutes--probably cooked for a total of 15 minutes.  Light and crunchy and divine!!!

Weight loss update--only 1 pound, =(  Have to start downsizing portion size.  I think I got a little carried away over the holidays.  Portion control, portion control, portion control...that is my new mantra...

It's a new year so it is time for a new goal.  I'm sad to say I did not reach my previous goal.  I do however think my new goal is very attainable!  You my dear blog are going to keep me company over the next five years while I lose 40 pounds.  That is less than 10 pounds per year!  I think I can manage it!  I weigh 170 right now so that will put me at 130.  Then I am going to celebrate the big 4-0 by eating my way through a birthday trip in one of my favorite places on the planet...New Orleans!  I plan on eating both lemon and chocolate doberge cake, drinking hurricanes, and working in helpings of oysters, shrimp, crawfish, gumbo, beignets, and all the other ridiculously good food down there!  If I gain 5-10 pounds back that is okay (I'm working that into my figures, ha!).  And yes, I packed on several holiday pounds in case you were wondering how I was at 170 again. 

I made a New Year's resolution too--one new fruit or veggie per month.  I feel like I get stuck in a rut: apples, bananas, grapes, stawberries, oranges, peaches, pineapple, pears, kiwis and lettuce, tomatoes, celery, corn, soybeans, okra, onions, garlic, carrots, bell peppers, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, artichokes, olives, mushrooms, and rarely squash and zucchini.  Maybe I'm leaving a few out, but seriously--that is about it!  So onward new fruits and veggies!  Time to join my diet.  Haven't tried out a January pick--will be on the hunt this week!