Strawberries and Jillian

Before I get into yammering about my life and my food I just want to say how awesome you guys are.  I really appreciate your comments and your encouragement, it means a lot to me.

First thing.  Confession.  When I bought the supplies for the Rice & Beans I had $4 left over in my budget, so I bought two bags of chips that were on sale at 2 for $4.  It was meant to be, or so I thought.  They didn’t survive the night.

This brings me to a good point, easy access food is dangerous and I can’t be trusted with it.  But, I’m lazy and sometimes don’t even want to put in the effort of heating up leftovers.  So, here is my current solution to the problem.

Strawberries + granola + yogurt, (preferably french vanilla) = happy stuffing of face.

Strawberries are on sale right now so this recipe also works for my budget.  It would probably be cheaper to make your own granola.  Did I mention I’m lazy?  (Because I don’t have any honey – a key ingredient to granola – I convinced myself it would be cheaper to buy pre-made granola than buying the ingredients for granola.  Plus, I wouldn’t have to clean any dishes if I just bought it.)  Is honey that expensive?  I have no idea.  Are you that lazy?  Maybe.  Sort of.  Does it matter?  I’m working on it.

Here’s the trick, as soon as you bring home the strawberries rinse those suckers, cut them up and throw them in a tupperware.  Why?  EASY ACCESS!!  While the combination of these three is delightful, it’s also so nice to have healthy, easy access food around.  I have sat with each of these three ingredients individually, spoon in hand, and gone to town.  I figure it’s better than chips.  Plus, when I look in the fridge after work and I see a fruit or veggie that I have to work to eat, (like cut a bit of green off) I’ll ignore it and it will go bad.  I guess that’s just a product of growing up in a processed culture.

At the risk of being long winded I’m also going to tell you about my exercising adventures.  Are you serious.  Yeah, you don’t have to read it though, I’ll understand.

My sister, Janelle, told me about a workout dvd that her co-worker let her borrow by Jillian Michaels.  Yeah, the lady from “Biggest Loser.”  So, I bought it on amazon for $7.99, it was last month and I put it on my credit card.  Gasp!  I know, I’m ashamed.  The dvd is, Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones.  The first time I tried it I only lasted for eight minutes.  When I told my sister her response was, “The first five minutes are a warm-up.”  Are you serious?   I know, I’m ashamed.  I pulled it up again yesterday and gave it another go.  This time though, instead of using the 5 lb hand weights that I used the first time around I used some coffee mugs, (suggested by my sister) and lasted almost 21  minutes!  Today, after talking to Janelle again, she told me she used can foods.  It turns out I don’t have any canned food.  But, I do have two things half full of salt, so I used those instead.  And, even though my abs and legs were sore I did the video again today and lasted 24 minutes.  Oh wow, three minutes more!  Your sarcasm is noted and I must remind you that this is about progress, no matter how small.

After I’ve reached that point where I’ve stopped the video, my brain is usually frantic and I can’t think and I hate my life and I just want to curl up on the carpet and go to sleep.  To avoid the mental breakdown, both times after working out I’ve taken a short cool down walk around the neighborhood.  By the time I’m back home I’m able to think again and am usually more motivated.  In fact, it was the most recent walk that motivated me to put this post together.  You can leave now, I’ve kept you here long enough, the only thing that’s further down is some pictures from my first walk.  Thanks for the heads up.  Anytime.  If you wanted to though you could scroll down really fast past the pictures and leave a comment.  I knew you were going to comment beg!  I can’t help it, I crave approval.