Day 81 - Fireworks and the Fourth!

We had a really great day at the cabin - celebrating the fourth.  We were able to use a lot of left overs from Day 80, plus my mom had a lot of food around too of course.  Thanks Mom!

My parents have a great space at their cabin (also known as a lake) to launch fireworks - so we bought a bunch of them and launched them off the end of the dock.  Or I should say Huzbun and my Dad did a great job of launching our "homespun" firework show.  They were really into it.  It was good to see some quality male bonding going on.  I am pretty convinced that "fireworks" and quite possibly "fire" is like a universal male love.  

I have already been shamed by Huzbun for neglecting to capture the event on video - so regretfully you will all just have to imagine.  Imagine lying back on a lawn chair, with your feet up - and being so close to the fireworks that they seem to fill the sky.  Then imagine bits of ash falling on your face (that's how close I was).   I love home grown fireworks shows.  They may not be as "classy" as the down town version - but being that close to the action really makes up for whatever time delay I experienced.  

After spending the day loafing about, eating cheddar brats and watermelon, launching fireworks, batting off mosquitos, and reading a good book - I decided I have a pretty darn good life... and if that has something to do with living in America - well then I'm certainly grateful for it.

Day 80 - Big Day of Meals

I more or less followed through with everything that I said I was going to do in terms of meal plans.

Breakfast Burritos went really well. We cooked the eggs seperatley from the rest of the mix this time, which was good for two reasons.  1) I think it gave them a fluffier texture (not so watered down runny-like) and 2)They did not get discolored by the black beans.  I went with dry black beans(which  were cooked) instead of the canned, but purchased the tortillas - homemade tortillas taste great and are super cheap - but are pretty time consuming to make.  The parents said they like them.

Lunch was Cauliflower or "Mac" and Cheese.  I used this recipe, but substituted the noodles with Cauliflower.  This h was pretty wonderful, but it made 5000 times the amount of cheese necessary for TWO POUNDS of Cauliflower.  In future I would try the same recipe halved.  Also there are a couple other good "mac" and "cheese" like recipes that are floating around the blogosphere so low carb friendly and vegan friendly.  We also had the burgers we love - (with the last package of ground beef - tear). 

Dinner was Steaks, a Salad, leftover Mac (made with broccoli this time too- like I said lots of ooey gooey cheese sauce)  Dessert was Grapefruit Ambrosia (with slight alterations of my own) from Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist.  The most difficult part of this and newest part to me was de-membraning the grapefruit - everything else went as smooth as the whipped cream on top - though it did take a while.

My family made short work of the Ambrosia - so that seemed to me like a job well done.

Day 79 - Running Running

Running, running
As fast as we can
Do you think we'll make it?
(Do you think we'll make it?)
We're running
Keep holding my hand
It's so we don't get separated

No Doubt

 

 Friday morning Huzbun told me we couldn't get ready for the cabin, until I came to the gym with him.  (Whoo hoo- go him!).  I mentioned already, that he has agreed to do my next 5K with me. So has my mom - so it's been fun to see both of them get into gear! Not to mention keep me on my toes.  

Anyway, post workout - we was HUNGRY! So Huzbun suggest we eat the vegan burgers we had the freezer --- say WHAT?  A very surprising move for a Meatatarian.We also had blueberries and cottage cheese.  Notice - the continued healthy eating theme! 

 

 Here is the burger packaging - these were left by BBQ goers.  (Hey thanks guys!)

Here's mine - slathered in ketchup. 

The one thing I thought was interesting about these is how "meaty" they tasted.  Obviously - it was distinguishable from beef - but not as "fluffy" as I expected it to taste. 

So - a lot of people left food at our house when we had the BBQ - I figure them leaving it meant they didn't want it (and there's no point in letting it go to waste).  However, should one make the effort to return "forgotten" food? 

Day 78 - Shopping or The Last Hurrah

Despite my good intentions, I did in fact "need" to make a trip to the store.  We were missing a few items in a
few recipes, and while I am the great substitutioner... I thought adhering to the original recipe in a few cases would be nice.  Also, we had a few other things to purchase as well. 

The total was $64.00.  (I am obviously rounding)

I lost my reciept between thursday and now, so I will only be able to give a good summary of what was purchased. 

First off - bread and tortillas.  As fun as it is to make these from scratch - it takes a lot of time.  With my work schedule switching to full days and just generally be "too lazy"  I decided we could invest a little here.

Chicken - 5lbs.  Being the good ol' American's that we are - this is more or less a staple in our diet. 

Steak - something I really really wanted for the meal on Saturday. 

Ingredients for Cat Cora's Grapefruit Ambrosia - Included Heavy Cream, a Grapefruit, and Bing Cherries... I substituted the pineapple with watermelon - and had most of everything else around the house. 

We also picked up Cottage Cheese, Diced Chilies, Black Beans (dried), 2 lbs Cauliflower, and a number of other things. 

The total here brings us to having just over $5 left for the entire time remaining.  One Week.  Maybe I should call this $5 week? 

Weight Loss

So I wanted to bring "weight loss" up on the blog anyway, but I got a question from TJ in the comments... and thought well that's lovely.  I am a relatively new blogger - so I still get pretty overjoyed about stuff like this.   

Is the challenge/$ restrictions helping with his (or both of your) weight? I'm curious. I would have thought that he should have noticed enough of a change to not have to get a weight-losing mindset. But good luck to both!

The short answer: The restrictions have "helped" both of us with weight loss.  

The much longer answer:

Naturally, Huzbun's five dollar day experience has been a lot different than mine.  His company has been growing a lot lately, so work covers some meals and so forth.   Also, he works a lot and has had limited time to work out with any regularity.  Also, I let him have certain allowances - beer for instance.  It's cheating of course, but I like living with a sane person - and that requires allowing Huzbun to "have a life" as he calls it.  I also don't think there is anything admiral or attractive about a wife trying to dictate a husband's every move.  Or vice-versa.  Or anyone trying to dictate anyone for that matter.  Also, I don't mean to say that Huzbun needs to have beer to be happy (ie - he's not an alcoholic) - it's just a good example of me giving him space.  Anyway, all this to say - he has maintained, but not lost, which is good.   
       
Huzbun has never been one for balance.   The last time he lost a lot of weight (60 lbs), he did it with a balls to the walls style of intensity.  Nothing but lean protein and vegetables.  Crazy long workout routines.  It wasn't anything insane but more or less lived as though he was on the Biggest Loser Ranch, which is not something that works with most peoples daily lives... consequently not his either.  So right now he has about 20-25lbs to loose. 

Recently, he decided that he would make some changes.  He has been working out 3+ days a week, with a goal to do more.  He exhumed the beer from the house (made a donation to a party).  He's been talking non-stop about body-buildling - he's pretty "built" already, but it's covered in a layer of love right now.  .... and he agreed to run a 5K with me.  .... so yeah he's really pepped-up .... I just hoping that it doesn't go off like fireworks, to be forgotten about by next week.  My Huzbun is a very hard worker, but there's a burn out factor here.  Also, while I'm a pretty big fan of the The Biggest Loser Show, and as much as huzbun wants to live on the ranch, I don't.  I like cheese people!

Anyway, that brings me to me.  For basically all of my life I have been a "thin" person.  While maintaining my weight comes naturally enough to me, I don't think I have an extraordinarily high metabolism or any super special caveat.  I am just a relatively active person who eats doesn't eat a ton of sugar.  The way I monitor what I take in (ie eat) is by "feel".  If I'm hungry I eat, If I'm not I don't.  Also, I don't eat many sweets - not never, but rarely.  I think it's a system that could work for a lot people, but it's probably not that easy to learn, if you are not already doing it.  This is because people eat for many other reasons other than hunger.  That being said if I eat largely unhealthy food when I'm hungry - I do gain weight, which is why I don't think I have a miracle metabolism or anything, and also why I try to make healthier choices.   It's probably worth noting that there are plenty of good reasons to eat healthy beyond weight maintenance anyway. 

To be more specific to this challenge, I have lost about 2 lbs since the beginning.  It's tough to say exactly, because I don't actually weigh myself much.  This puts me about 9lbs less than my "fattest" and about 9lbs heavier than my skinniest.  9lbs is not a lot, but on someone of my stature, it's more noticeable.  Enough that I am pretty uncomfortable with myself at either end of the spectrum - obviously for different reasons.  I think the loss of two pounds can be attributed to the start of running, more than anything else - but it also might be a lack of Taco Bell.

Day 77 - Not bad

There's a funny little play that goes on around here called "How to talk Minnesotan."  It is pretty cheesy, but some of it is pretty on point if you have lived around here for a while.  In one segment of the play, they describe how Minnesotans never want to say anything too strongly.  We say "not good" and "not bad"... something that is "not bad" is better than something that is "not good".

Ok so.... 


A local place called Shout House hold's an 80's night every Wednesday.  And if you dress like you walked off the set of Pretty in Pink you get in without paying a cover.  I'm not sure what the "rules" are for dressing 80's, but judging from what I saw at Shout House, it seemed like the wackier the better.  So free cover, plus I had a coupon for food.    Total spent:  $8.25.  Not Bad.

Ordinary - I would say this is pretty awesome... but it's pretty tough to take on this expense when you are doing $5/day.  Not Good.

So ..... who wants to see my 80's outfit?  Your going to have to beg!

UPDATE: There were some beggers, so...

Unfortunately (or fortunately) this photo doesn't let you see the whole thing.  I can't say it was the best rendition of 80's I've ever done.  However, I think the hair and make-up were totally on target.  I have great hair for doing 80's stuff... because it loves to "go wild!".

Day 76 - A healthy meal

Huzbun is trying to loose some weight... so I found this recipe, which I thought would satisfy my tastes, and his current health goals.  We "generally" try to eat healthy anyway, but I know he loves it when I make a nice meal with lean meat and vegetables (although other times he loves fat and greasy tasty food too).  He also likes simple food, and doesn't always love my "shenanigans" in the kitchen.  I figure I do at least 80% of the cooking, so he can shut up I can try to be helpful.  But this is to say that sans rosemary (we have none) - I followed this recipe to the letter... okay so I "eyeballed" the ingredients, but yeah - really close for me.  Here's some process photos:  

Soaking the Kabob skewers, so they are less likely to burn to a crisp on the grill.  For obvious reasons, you can skip this step if you have metal skewers.

Here the chicken bits soaking in the marinade

 The final product... oh yes - I added the remaining (and questionable looking) peppers to the skewers as well. 

The chicken turned out uber excellent.  Super moist on the inside and flavorful. 

My Huzbun also grilled romaine and asparagus.  This was "over-spiced" and over-grilled (and he thinks I'm trouble in the kitchen)... I still ate them though.  Iz good wife.