Life Stuff

atthequillsmercy

So, I made a turkey…

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I know that Mother’s Day is classically the day a mom is supposed to rest and not do a bunch of work, but would you trust a 14 year old to cook a turkey? Maybe you would, but I don’t trust mine to do this…

I try brined this for three days with lemon pepper, sage, thyme, and garlic powder then stuffed it with tiny limes, a sliced up lemon, onion, and garlic. Towards the end of the cooking, I threw in more onions, whole garlic cloves, and those tiny potatoes. It turned out amazing; juicy and citrusy (which is a real word, I checked). I’m relieved it worked out because I’ll obviously be eating turkey in some form for awhile. Next Sunday, I’ll make some broth from the bones and freeze it to use later.

I think making broth from the bones is my favorite part of cooking a while bird. I haven’t tried duck broth (and I probably won’t anytime soon unless another happy accident happens like with the turkey and I randomly end up with a whole duck) but I have made some delicious chicken broth that I used in chili or straight up drank as a meal because it was that good. It also comes in handy when the teenager gets sick. I don’t need to go to the store to buy broth or soup. I can make it at home.

I have a feeling I may have to make turkey soup just to change things up because the straight up plate of turkey and potatoes will get boring after awhile. I bet I could make a good soup out of it, though…

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Numbers

I went in for my annual and they did my regular blood test. I clearly got too complacent in always getting great numbers because this time was not good. My bad cholesterol went from 155 to 177. Holy shit. I guess I treated myself a bit too many times here…

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Now, my plan is to do extra workouts daily. I have the desk bike at work and I grabbed my kettle bell today. I know I do have a weight loss goal for the scale but it’s more important for me to get healthy and have a better quality of life as I age. I may not be able to run like I did in my 20’s but I want to be able to walk when I’m in my 60’s.

One of my little tricks is to do 50 squats whenever I brush my teeth and considering I’m gonna try extending my desk peddler time to at least 40 minutes, my legs are gonna be burning. My arm muscles are already trembling from just 10 minutes of kettle bell so I am CLEARLY not in as good a shape as I could be. I mean, I have good endurance that I can walk for long distances and the bag I carry daily has to be about 20 pounds and I don’t struggle much to lift it. I have a lot of work to do.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Lunch Walk

I had a random craving for some carbs and cheese so I went to the store on my lunch break to get some crushed tomatoes and mozzarella for dinner. Luckily for me, both items were on sale. A shame I didn’t have any cabernet to add to the sauce but this wasn’t a simmer for an hour type of evening. This was a get that food cooked in 30 minutes so I can go up to my office and write kind of day.

It was enough to satisfy my craving but it reminded me that I should batch cook some sauce at some point. And balanced out with a salad for lunch, I had a good caloric day! Even with nibbling on those homemade chips I made.

Those are addicting for me, now.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Cardio and What I Cooked Yesterday.

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I did a quick session on the under desk bike while going through some library journals and having a mild heart attack and the cost of the vegetables I regularly eat. I really need to just grow things at home. 

I doubt I’ll be able to grow broccoli but I love to eat it so I’ll have to deal with the cost. I didn’t have any bok choy so I used broccoli and steamed pork tenderloin to make ramen. That first bowl is for my teenager; who I have caught drinking hot sauce from the bottle, hence the pile of chili crisp. I honestly wonder how they taste anything anymore… I sautéed the broccoli in just sesame oil with just a dash of MSG since the ramen I used has plenty of flavor. I think it turned out pretty good and was super filling. Next time, I will have to put some scallions on top.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Cardio Day 2

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I took a break yesterday to work on a short story that I seriously should have finished by now. I don’t know why I’m having such trouble with it but it’s a SLOG to get the words on the page. There are times where writing is like a wild ride and there are times where writing is WORK. And this story is being so stubborn.

In addition, after my trip to the eye doctor, I have to stop and take more breaks because of blocked oil glands. The doctor asked me “How many books do you read?” and after laughing, I told him my side gig along side being a librarian who’s on screens all day, I write and review books; meaning more screens. I use a warm compress he gave me twice a day at least and it’s both comforting and unnerving being medically forced to take a 10 minute break a couple times a day. But, I need my eyes so, I gotta take care of them.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Desk Cardio and Crochet

I know I’ve been pressing the cardio and that’s because I’m able to multitask. I have all these trainings I have to do, writing I need to get done, and needlework to do, I can’t spare the time to do just one thing. I have to get my work out there as much as I can because honestly, much like millions of others, my salary isn’t keeping up with the rising costs of everything. It’s even at the point where if I got a second library job, the fuel costs to get there negate any net profit I would make. So, selling my side work is gonna have to be it.

But the plus side is I made this!

One of my coworkers is going on maternity leave soon so, I made her a blanket as a gift. And I got some of the yarn stash used! Only to get a $50 gift card for my birthday and buy more yarn but hey, I still have my online store. I can put more things there to sell. I dunno about more blankets (since they take a long time to make) but Ill be adding more stuff there soon.

Also, I’m still writing. And posting reviews. I have a stack of reviews to post and plenty of books and graphic novels to review. I’m gonna try and get through these rough times.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Biking and How I Make My Lunch At Work

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I’m doing a bunch of training this week and I’m doing a big push at home with my writing and needlework so, I figured biking at work would be best. Once I hit the house, I hang up my coat, snarf down some food, then go to the side work.

But speaking of food, I thought I’d share an example of how I prep and cook my food at work.

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I use my Itaki electric lunch box. What I do is use the containers and prep the ingredients at home.

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I use different meats (I haven’t successfully tried fish yet) and this time was some steak. I slice it up small and marinate it in soy sauce, cumin, paprika, and red pepper. Either I prep it in the morning or the night before but it gets to sit in those seasonings for awhile in the fridge. I’ve also experimented making chicken marinated in lemon juice and lemon pepper seasoning. That’s a refreshing meal.

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This box has more capacity so I fill those spots with vegetables. I tried noodles a couple times and rice but on the Saxenda, the carbs are too much and I can’t finish it. This time is bok choy but my go to is broccoli. Mostly because I like my veggies crunchy and it takes about 20-25 minutes for the meat to be done. That makes the broccoli perfect for me but the bok choy ends up too soggy. I keep those off until the tail end of the cooking.

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As you can see, I also add sliced garlic and onions. Sometimes I get fancy and add some ginger. This is my go to when I have time to prep and cook at work. Not every day gives me enough time so I bring leftovers or a salad.

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I also love to add this stuff. It’s amazing.

The caloric intake varies on what ingredients I use and hovers around 290-350 calories. It’s hearty and filling for me, even before I was on the Saxenda. I think I tried tofu once (I vaguely recall this) and it wasn’t as satisfying. I may try it again but I found a great concoction that works for me.

Obviously, this means I have a place to plug this in and a lunch hour long enough to cook and eat this without feeling like I’m shoveling the food down my throat. There are other combinations I’d like to try, too. I’ve seen some impressive meals floating around on YouTube. It’s a fun little gadget to have.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Week 4 Day 2 and Today’s Dinner

Today was an off day! So, I gave myself a little break and slept in but the first big thing I did was this run. I pumped up the speed in the end and it felt great. My muscles felt like they did some work but I was fine to do some chores after. Cue some meal prep!

Butcher Box and Misfit Market were my inspiration for dinner. Above is a serloin cap steak searing in a cast iron pan with some salt, pepper, garlic, and red chili pepper.

I was searing the steak while the oven heated to about 400F. I tossed in some whole garlic cloves, dried rosemary (I’m too broke for fresh) and unsalted butter (because there’s already salt there) and basted like all those fun Tiktoks you see.

This was after 25 minutes in the oven then I took it out to rest while I did the veggies.

Like I said before, the vegetables from Misfit Market need to be used right away. My delivery was today so, I tossed the brocolli rabe and regular broccoli in the pan and cooked them on the stove.

Steamy, right? I sliced up the meat while the veggies cooked and this was the final stage before plating.

I made myself a small bowl and put the rest in a container for lunch tomorrow. This was so savory and comforting. I did the veggies just long enough so that they retained the crunch that I like, even if I have to reheat them another day.

This was the perfect dinner for a day I do a run. I had just a salad with tuna for lunch before this; super light and easy to make.

I dunno the science behind protein before or after a run but since I don’t really do breakfast (I have gummy vitamins and coffee) it’s usual for me to have food after a run when I’m off for a day and run first thing in the morning. Also, this wasn’t a huge meal prep day. This was more of a big dinner that fed me and the teenager (no clue if they even like this…) tonight with some leftovers for me to use the next day. The amount of food I used wasn’t suited for a week’s worth of food unless I cooked it all in a different way. I had fun cooking this and is totally a meal I’d only make if I had time. This isn’t something to throw in the oven after work and eat while still giving me enough time to workout, do one of the three side hustles I have, get the dishes in the dishwasher, and get to bed at a decent hour.

But the last bit of meal prep I did was a huge hit with the teenager; who demanded I make that more often. Hey, cabbage is cheap. I’ll make that whenever.

Just, in case anyone hears my kid saying I don’t know anything; I had to teach them to put lettuce on the bottom bread before you put the juicy chicken and coleslaw on top to make sure you don’t have a soggy sandwich. This is to the kid who also said they hated sandwiches…

Parenting is a journey, let me tell ya.

I do plan to post an example of how I cook my lunches at work soon!

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atthequillsmercy

Interesting Meal Prep (Nope, not sponsored)

I started getting Misfit Market to save some money on vegetables but I have noticed that I end up with stuff that still goes bad too quickly. So, I decided to get creative.

I got a bag of potatoes that there was no way I was going to use up by eating a baked potato with dinner every so often. I figured making chips was the best way to use up the whole bag and satisfy my regular cravings for salty crunchy things. Only drawback is I underestimated how salty Trader Joe’s Cheesy Seasoning was on it’s own and added too much salt. The chips are still good but I know anyone but me probably wouldn’t be able to tolerate them. I combined the cheesy seasoning with garlic powder as well. Awesome combination, in my opinion.

I also got cabbage and the first box I had with cabbage in it I kept with all the good intentions of using it but I hadda toss it. This time, I chopped up half of the red and white head of cabbage, sliced up one red and one white onion, seasoned it with (a reasonable amount of) salt and pepper, a dash of onion salt, some cilantro, and lime juice. I let it sit for awhile as I prepped the chicken thighs.

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The chicken was from Butcher Box (so I had a lot of this as well) and was marinated in lemon juice, rosemary, garlic salt, pepper, and paprika. I probably should have done it overnight but it was just for 5-6 hours or so. I led them keep marinating while I made the chips and when the chips were done, I just fried them in the same oil. Not the healthiest way to cook them but I wanted to get all the use I could out of that oil.

The warm chicken and cold cabbage were surprisingly refreshing! I would totally make this again for a lighter dinner than pasta or chili. And it gave me plenty of leftovers to pack for lunch today.

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I reheated the chicken on the top of the container in the microwave for one minute to keep the other ingredients cold. All together, this lunch is about 390 calories and is really filling. And in that picture, you can see how over salted some of those chips are. Luckily, there’s a decent balance of too much and just fine and since there was so much seasoning on the chips, the rest of the meal didn’t need it.

And heck, it’s pretty to look at!

Most of the time, I bring in ingredients to cook at work. The next time I do that I’ll post about it but it’s meals like this that come in handy when I don’t want to or can’t spend half of my lunch break cooking the food. This was quick and tasty. Absolutely gonna make this again.

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