I’ve been joking lately that I really need to get another dog the way I take care of the squirrels in our yard is if they were our pets. I had to look back on the blog to see when it actually happened, and it was a year ago this week that we put our dog Ed down.
I just can’t believe it’s been a whole year already! Tony is still not close to getting another dog, but we might get a cat. I grew up with cats. We had a stray cat come to our house and my Dad named it Gus. He would pamper that cat like nothing else – feed it table scraps in a pyrex dish. The only thing was it wasn’t our cat – we finally put a note on Gus to see where he would go when he was gone for days at a time, and the owners called my parents. After not seeing Gus for a couple weeks, the owners called us to see if we had the cat. Nope. We later learned that the cat had been hit by a car. My Dad swore NEVER to own another pet. Until we went to Virginia on vacation and I can’t remember exactly if it was kittens at one of the properties my Aunt and Uncle owned, or if they got the kitten at a shelter, all I know is that my Mom brought the kitten to my Dad and he said “I am not even going to look at that thing!” Well, he was sitting down on a chair and my Mom just put the kitten on his shoulder. We all walked out of the room and with seconds my Dad started saying “Now aren’t you the cutest kitten I’ve ever seen!” Since it was a girl, it’s name was Gussie and my parents had that cat for years.
Tony had a cat when his son was born Pooh Bear, although the cat only liked Tony’s first wife and hated Tony. But when my step-son was born, the cat stayed as far away from the baby as he could and would only venture up from the basement when Joe was asleep. We’ll see – for now I guess I’ll keep making granola for the squirrels!
Yesterday was more . . . breakfast tacos! So good. This time I Pam/1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil so they were nice and crunchy. 3 extra thin mission tortillas, 1/2 cup egg whites, 1 egg, baby spinach and 1 ounce of cheese, and after I reheated them in the toaster oven to crisp them back up, put some roasted pineapple salsa on them. So good and only 350 calories for all three!
I ended up biking at the gym. I ended up doing the bike for 8 miles. I do random so it’s kind of like a hill climb – my goal is to keep the RPMs above 100, no matter how “steep” the hill. I was pretty sweaty by the end!
I ended up having more of my leftover beef chili – no picture today because I got busy, so you can just go to this link for the recipe if you happen to have leftover beef roast. I love the flavor of this chili!
You all know what a soup whore I am, and I came across a recipe for a low carb squash soup – Helen, I thought you might like to check it out for your 2 week program you are on? I think I am going to make it next week. Maybe add some chipotle peppers or sriracha to kick it up?
Well, turns out you can’t have crab legs and shrimp every night of the week. I picked up some cube steak over the weekend. I think people call this “poor man’s steak” but I actually love cube steak. My only downfall was that I cooked it a bit too long. I put a couple baked potatoes in the oven before I left for work – just schmered with olive oil and salt and pepper, and had Tony put the oven on 400 at 5:00 to bake them by the time I got home from work. Pretty sure you can’t have baked potatoes without bacon, right?
I ended up eating half of the cube steak, all of the potato and lo and behold – I see a vegetable on my plate! I sauteed a small zucchini for my plate.
So I had a bag of my granola at my desk, leftover from my breakfast on Monday. I wasn’t even THAT hungry, but I found myself digging into the bag all afternoon yesterday – wtf?! I probably ate a cup of it without even realizing it. And last night when I watched the Biggest Loser finale? Ate pretzels – probably a cup of them too. Just mindless eating – I need to get a handle on that – stat! I included those extra bites in my totals. And what I realized is that my stats for the day weren’t that bad. I mean, the old days I would have probably had 1800 calories before dinner – Suzy-Q and Dr. Pepper snack on the train to work, Burger King sausage croissant and cheezy tots for breakfast and one of my favorite places to eat when I worked downtown – Sbarro Pizza. They had a giant slice of pepperoni pizza that was to die for – so that would have been a typical day for me – and already before dinner that adds up to 2150 calories and 98 grams of fat.
So I am not going to sweat a cup of granola and a cup of pretzels – could have been a lot worse!
Stats for the Day:
- 1874 calories, 82 fat, 175 carbs, 105 protein and 28 fiber
- 37% of calories from carbs, 39% from fat and 22% from protein
- 8 mile bike ride at lunch
- average blood sugars 123
Luckily we only got hit with another three inches of snow last night – off to brush off the cars and get this show on the road. Make it a great day!
Question of the Day: What would have been your typically food day look like when you didn’t care what you ate?
I’m catching up on your posts since I was on vacay last week. Late comment, but your Ed looks like our guy, turning 11 yo this Saturday.
My typical eating day when I didn’t care was a mostly healthy breakfast at home (cereal, skim milk, banana), then a “2nd breakfast” picked up on the way to the office (bagel/cream cheese, a muffin, or maybe some cookies). Lunch was eaten out – think pizza, fast food, a big calzone, a sandwich & chips, etc. After lunch was a stop at walgreens or cvs for snacks to get me through the afternoon – almost always it was candy. I’d frequently stop to buy a snack for the train ride home as well. Dinner hasn’t changed much, though my bf and I are trying – we still eat out too frequently simply because we’re not good meal planners. I try to eat smaller portions because I always like to allow for a small sweet treat before bed, something around 100 calories or less.
Wow – the year has flown by! I feel like you were just writing about this…..you should totally get another pet, soon!
Your lasagna soup was killer by the way, we LOVED it!
I can’t believe it’s been a year. Seems like just yesterday I was loving him through your blog. I miss him! I think you guys do need a pet, even if it’s an evil cat. 😉
I can’t believe it has been a year, either. Where does the time go? You know if you lived near me, I would have a cat (or two) eventually for you 😀 Strays ‘R Us!
I still pretty much just eat whatever – the only thing that really saves me is the fact that I’m not a big snacker.
When I made that granola, I had to measure out what I had allowed and leave the container at home. Thankfully, Mr. Helen loved it too so he was eating it by the handfuls.
Thanks for the soup recipe, that will totally work if I sub the chicken broth for vegetable broth. It’s going on my “to make” this weekend list.
Oh yeah…it was a year ago December 5th that we had to put our Hyko down….we still miss him. We still have Kylie, but when she is gone to the groomer, it is sooooo quiet around here, those couple of hours, I think animals make the home.
I do alot of mindless eating, especially when the husband is at work and I am home alone. Popcorn is my downfall, or chips (can’t have those in the house). Then when he comes home @ 1am he wants a full meal….so I am tasting everything, I feed him better then I do myself….it’s so hard to lose weight that way. He can eat anything he wants and not gain a pound….I just have to look at food and up goes the poundage. I love watching the food shows, like chopped and Guy’s show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” some of the things he shows how to make, make me so hungry for!!! I so wish I lived near that diner or drive-in. 🙂
Well have a good day.
No dog now? How do you clean the dropped food from the floor? Just kidding, but sometimes I think we should have named our dog Hoover or Garbage Disposal!
Aww, Ed was a handsome dogger! I hope you guys can get another pet soon. They just love so unconditionally. We had to put my first and only-ever adult pet down a year ago last August and I swore I wouldn’t even think about another cat for months. Well, it was literally about two weeks and we went to the shelter and adopted not one but TWO kittens. I can’t imagine life without them! 🙂
1. Wow, that egg taco thing looks SO GOOD! OMG I’m drooling! How do you get it to look that good??
2. Sorry about your puppy last year. So sad. Mine had a rough 2013 but she is doing a bit better now after a surgery. She’s going on 15 though so not sure how much time she has left.
3. I saw that slice of pizza and thought you ate that! Then I read the post and was like “Oh good!” lol. Nice job and yes, don’t sweat it. You know you were mindless eating so just work on that.
Can’t believe I’m reading this today. We may have to put our beloved George down today. Just found out last week that he has lung cancer. I’ve been spending all my time with him and haven’t had a chance to read anything. Luckily, we will still have Freddie. It’s so hard.
Adopt an animal, whether it be a dog or cat. There are so many in need!
I have a sweet little puppy you can borrow, but he stealth poops in the laundry room. 🙂
Wow it’s been a year already! Too funny that you are cooking for the squirrels!
So, I haven’t watched the biggest loser finale yet because I watch it on Hulu and it’s not available yet. So I scrolled past in case you gave it away.
But what IS IT with that show!! I am fine with not snacking at night, but watching that show makes me want to dig out the dessert!
Aw! You must get another pet! I’m a dog person all the way, but would to see you two have a little fur baby. Those tacos look amazing. Whenever I read your blog (every day ;)), I always say I’m going to try harder to make better breakfasts…some day I will actually do that. I’m not sure I’ve ever had cube steak. I’m not much for red meat, but I do enjoy ground beef every once in a while. Have a great day biz
Has it been a year already? I remember it like yesterday because I was so sad for you at that time. I’m not a cat person, I don’t particular like cats either although I make an acception for the fabulous Neva, Pixie, Kip and Henry. For myself a dog is the only pet I want.
If I had a food day and could eat anything I want, I don’t think I would much different than I do now. There might be a piece of cake during the day but that would be it.
Have a great day!
I love that Fran makes cat exceptions for blogcats. 🙂
A kitten would be fun. And crazy…but hey, why not inject some random excitement into your life, right?!
Glad you didn’t get too much snow. Stay warm, and stay off the crack! 😉
A typical day of food in college looked like cereal, sandwich and pizza or a calzone with lots of unnecessary snacks in between. I actually cannot believe I wasn’t heavier.
Our schools have been cancelled since yesterday even though not a flake touched the ground until after 3am. We have about 4-6 inches now and it’s supposed to snow all day. The drive home from work this morning was a bit scary, but luckily I live only a few miles away. Drive safely today.