food prep

atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: It was not the day.

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My period is making my joints hurt more than normal (I bet the cold is a factor, too). The desk peddler was all I could handle since not only am I achy, I’m too tired for coffee to be effective. But, I have a ton of ARCs I really need to finish so, I did that while using the peddler.

For lunch, I took the time to pack my Bentgo salad container (not sponsored or an affiliate). It’s a nifty way to take a salad with me and keep the ingredients and dressing separated. I over did the onion but other than that, it was very filling. It’s a pain in the ass to clean but I love using it.

I made dinner at work with the Itaki (still no money made from this link). This time was steak tips; which I honestly like more than the chicken.

Even though I didn’t get in a run, I was more active during the day. I usually only hit an average of 2,000 steps a day and now, I average 3,000 or more. Even if it’s just to get up and look out a different window in the office, I do it so I’m not sitting so long. I have a movement reminder on my smartwatch and it’s going off less these days. I hope to keep this up and finally get out of the 200 club in a few weeks.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workouts: Too much?

Today I did two cardio sessions: the desk peddler and c25k. I do wonder if that’s overdoing it for my legs but I feel pretty good about it. Just moving around more and seeing my daily goals get checked off makes me happy.

It figures that the day after I say I don’t usually eat breakfast, there’s free bagels in the breakroom so, I have one for breakfast. The cream cheese was the light kind and I didn’t use much but I felt weird after. I’m just not used to eating early. For lunch, beef and broccoli with half a block of ramen noodles. I don’t use the seasoning packet since these are not the plain noodles I usually buy. I save those packets to mix with butter as a popcorn topping. That way, I use much less salt because I LOVE savory, salty popcorn. It’s my favorite snack.

When it came to dinner, I wasn’t hungry. I ended up having a little snack (not popcorn, sadly) after my run and that’s it. I really only have two regular meals a day; especially if I’m eating my usual meat and steamed veggies with noodles for lunch. It’s really filling.

Crap, I’m craving popcorn now…

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workouts: Back to it!

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In addition to a quick 20 minute session on the desk peddler, I dusted off my running shoes and started C25K once again. I am super excited to get running again and it felt great. I was able to keep form and a decent pace for someone who hasn’t done it in awhile. I plan to do this at least three times a week like the C25K schedule goes and do the desk bike and weights on the other days.

These were my meals for the day. I just did not feel like having a salad at the end of the day and opted instead for pasta with tuna in lemon and olive oil. I have an overabundance of red onion right now so it was a little strong but, it was a light enough meal that I didn’t feel gross running shortly after.

For the record, I don’t have a problem with hydration. I drink plenty of water throughout the day. Soon, I will take the time to record my measurements and see if I can measure progress that way instead of the number on the scale.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Still not quite there…

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I didn’t workout yesterday to do some chores instead (still counts as burning calories, right?) but today is the desk peddler. I am able to easily do 40 minutes or more so I think it’s time I get back to running. I totally missed my goal of getting under 200 by the end of the month (I’m still around 203-204) and I am very impatient with myself.

wp-1677538013301Last night I made another sandwich and I have decided I do NOT like the turkey. Maybe it’s the brand but I find it slimy to eat and I will be sticking with roast beef.

This was my lunch today. My child decided to use up ALL the onion I was saving for my lunch so I used scallions to replace it. It was about the same so it’ll do if the kid decides to make another salad using a 3-pack of romaine at a time. Kid thinks I’m rich! A bag of romaine is $4 if I can get it cheap. Considering we eat salads multiple times a week, that’s a LOT of money.

Over the weekend, I tried tomahawk steak for the first time. Like a typical nearly middle-aged woman who likes to cook, I spend too much time online watching food/cooking videos and the first time I saw this cut, I was obsessed. I had to try it. I used a reverse sear with butter, rosemary, sage, thyme, and as much garlic as I wanted. The onions went in last and I served it over rice with all the juices. Absolutely amazing and of course, I am comfortably eating the leftovers. I did save the bone to make some broth later.

I think that catches me up with everything. Now, I need to look into growing massive amounts of lettuce because I birthed a voracious vegetable monster.

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atthequillsmercy

Workout and Food Photo Dump

I wasn’t on the ball with posting my workouts toward the end of this week so here they are with some examples of meals. I was able to get the sandwich to stand up straight but I wasn’t able to get roast beef and used turkey instead. It was ok, I much prefer roast beef.

As for my activity, I was able to squeeze in more steps on top of making sure every workout was 40 minutes or more. Next week, I’m going to try and push it to 45 minutes as well as more about more during the day. I got my Butcher Box so, I can give chicken a break for a bit and have some beef with my usual bok choy and ramen. I’m probably not going to get very experimental so forgive me if the food pics get repetitive but, I like what I like. It’s easier for me to plan ahead if I have similar things in rotation so I know exactly how many calories are coming in and how I’ll feel after I eat. I just need to make sure I don’t get sick of any of them.

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Today’s Workout: Replacements and New Meals

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My goal for the desk peddler now is to keep above 40 minutes if there’s time for me to do so. My stamina seems pretty good so the plan is to start adding the treadmill at the end of the day.

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Yesterday, I tried to replicate the grilled chicken salad I love to get from this little store by my job. It’s really good but over the years it’s gone from $5.99 to $7.99 to now over $10 and the portion got smaller. So, I got some precooked chicken breast from Butcher Box and put together the salad at home and it was perfect. Exactly like the one from the store. Again, I would love to support small businesses but I just can’t afford to splurge like that on a salad.

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While I had more leftovers for lunch, I made this sandwich for dinner. It’s roast beef, red onion, romaine lettuce, a slice of tomato, and avocado on some take and bake garlic bread. Holy shit, this was AMAZING, and about 350 calories! I need to practice building a sandwich that doesn’t fall over and find a way to put this together in a way that I can pack for lunch and it won’t end up soggy. I didn’t have any chips as a side since the garlic butter on the bread was pretty salty (and you know me, I have a salt problem) but this was super filling and a way for me to incorporate avocado without getting put off by the texture and the fact it just tastes like grass to me. Next time, I may add some lemon or red wine vinegar and see how that tastes.

Once I get my new bread maker set up and make some bagels, I’ll make the sandwich with that, too. This is absolutely going to be a repeat in my meal rotation.

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I think I fixed it?

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Yeah, I ended up not going to work because I was kept up all night with gas pain. I went to the store and got some OTC meds and they worked wonders. I still spent the day burping and groggy because I got no sleep but, as of now, I feel much better.

Since I was home, I made something more detailed for dinner. Back when I made the whole chicken, I ended up with WAAAAYY more potatoes than meat. I had two packs of bone in chicken thighs from Butcher Box and since I’ve got a delivery from them coming soon, I wanted to use up more stuff to make room. This was really simple: salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and black garlic. Cook in oven until done. I don’t usually use red onions for this but I have red onions and I’m not wasting them.

My stomach feel so much better once I took the meds and the food sat just fine. I didn’t workout because I didn’t wanna risk jostling my stomach around but I’m not that broken up about it. I’ve been doing well and one day off won’t kill me.

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Today’s Workout: Baking through the cold snap

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I wanted to get in my cardio before I got home (even though I’ll likely get in some squats and such later) and managed to get in 40 minutes! My thighs are burning even though it’s the peddler. I go faster since there’s less resistance.

I tried something a little different with lunch today and instead of my usual seasonings, I used half of the seasoning packet from the tonkatsu ramen and, it wasn’t as good. I do want to try other flavors but it’s looking like plain noodles with cumin, red pepper, and paprika are the way to go.

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Over the weekend, we had a frigid day where I figured if I’m gonna get slammed with a terrible heating bill, I might as well get a good meal out of it. I brined the chicken and slow cooked it with potatoes, onions, and garlic cloves. Basically, this is gonna be my dinners until it runs out. Not that I mind. You can tell that if I like something, it’ll repeat in my meal rotation.

To save some money, I’m gonna try and grow some of my own veggies this year. I have some containers and plenty of seeds. I figure I’ll try lettuce, tomatoes, and various other salad elements since me and the kid are salad people. I’m also saving up for a bread maker. I’m just gonna have to find the time to make more things myself. With prices these days, convenience is too expensive.

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Today’s Workout: Splitting

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I split my workout in two for today. I did the first one at work with my peddler and the second one at home on the big desk bike. the bike at home has the resistance turned way up so, it’s much harder than the little peddler. I actually break a sweat and I’m still able to write since I have the desk.

Not that my brain will let me write. Post COVID brain fog makes writing feel like I am trying to pull the words out of my head kicking and screaming. It really sucks because the ideas are there, the will is there, but I just can’t focus.

I had my usual lunch today but I didn’t get up in time to properly wash the bok choy so, snow peas filled in. It takes less time to cook than broccoli but I can add it sooner than bok choy; that gets way too soft. I like my veggies to still have some crunch, not be soggy. It was super filling so I didn’t eat much for dinner. Just some left overs.

All in all, this was a good day. I can’t say I’ll always be able to get in almost an hour of cardio like this but, I’ll do my best.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Food Included

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I know it’s short but I felt it. Lots of squats and leg lifts with this home workout app. Again, keeping it short for now keeps me in control and keeps me from hurting myself or making myself sick. I did get in more steps over the course of the day and I’m goin to keep trying to increase those numbers.

As for my food, I had chicken and rice for lunch and a salad for dinner. Putting cheese on the salad probably made it less healthy than it could have been but it’s tasty so deal with it. As for lunch, yes those are giant chunks of garlic. I did not feel like doing a lot of chopping. I just sliced them in half and tossed them in with the chicken with some olive oil and a pat of butter. I think it turned out great because I am totally okay with a bite of food with a hunk of garlic in it. The only “bad” food was the rice; Uncle Ben’s instant. Those have a ton of salt and I already used salt and pepper on the chicken. It tasted good but ruined my sodium goal for the day. Eh, they can’t all be winners.

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