Sometimes a Family Just Wants Spaghetti

So I need to be completely honest here. We’ve been having trouble with our low-carb food choices in the last few weeks. I haven’t lost any more weight in the last month; in fact, I think I’ve gained about three or four pounds. I seem to bounce back and forth on the scale, and while sometimes it shows that I’ve lost 36 pounds, I’m no longer on my streak of healthy losing momentum.

We’re burnt out. We’re burnt out on BBQ chicken and chili and beef tacos and tuna and protein shakes. Most of all, I’m just burnt out on cooking. I’m burnt out on cleaning the kitchen.

Our schedule has been crazy busy, and the last thing I want to do is spend my weekend doing meal-planning and grocery shopping. To be truthful, sometimes we’re so busy on the weekends that we can’t fit it in. So we wing it. And everyone knows what “winging it” does to a diet. Planning is key.

It’s not all bad. I’m still not drinking pop or milk, and I am still not eating processed foods or hamburger buns. But I’ve been having more sugar, and when I do, I get an instant headache. So that’s still good, right? I’m trying to convince myself that it is anyway. Ryley and I bought a box of her Girl Scout cookies, and once I had one, I couldn’t stop. I ate the whole sleeve in less than an hour (deprivation, maybe?), and I felt instantly nauseated. I have had Chinese food twice, and I felt tired and draggy for the following 24 hours. I’ve had pizza three times, and even though I tried to make a better decision by choosing thin crust, I lacked mental focus for the next day. I’m learning that my food choices really do affect my productivity and mental health!

My poor body is so confused. One day I feed it with vitamins and proteins and I’m able to make it through with virtually no carbs. The next day I cram egg rolls and pizza down my throat.

If I learned anything from my nutritionist though, it’s that you can always start over the next day and truly mean it. It’s the truly mean it part I seem to have trouble with right now.

After Ryley’s play on Friday, we had red velvet cake (her favorite) and vanilla ice cream to celebrate. Well, I had to indulge in that.  And on Valentine’s Day, we went to Carrabba’s, and I decided I would let myself eat what I really wanted, which included pasta. And tonight? Well, Ryan and I were sitting on the couch, and he said, “You know what sounds really good to me? Spaghetti.”

I haven’t made spaghetti for our family since September, and it used to be a weekly meal for us. Well, I did make it once with quinoa, but it didn’t turn out so great. He wanted real spaghetti, and I’m sorry… if we’re going to make spaghetti, I’m going to eat it too. So we made it, and it was delicious, and both Ryan and Ryley thanked me over and over again for making it. Sometimes a family just wants spaghetti, you know?

In addition to sticking with our diet, I know it’s time to add some exercise to the regimen. I’ve hit that plateau where my eating choices alone can’t support the weight loss. For the last month, courtesy of Ryan’s work, we have had an elliptical in our home, which I have never used. I look at it, and I just don’t want to!  It’s so much more enjoyable to just sit. :-)

Anyway, here are some things we have been doing right:  :-)

Chicken skewers

Sometimes I can be a little dense. I absolutely love the flavor of these….chicken massaged with lemon juice, olive oil, dill, salt and pepper, then skewed and grilled. But cutting the chicken into pieces and skewing it is more labor-intensive that you think. When I complained to Ryan about it, he said, “Well, why can’t we marinate the chicken the same way, then grill it normally, without the skewers?” :-)  That’s why we’re married; God knew I needed such a smart husband.

And our new fave… roasted broccoli:

 

This is a variation on a recipe I found on Catherine Newman's blog, which I've mentioned before. We have this a lot. It’s taken me some practice to get it just right. I burned the first batch, and the second batch was too salty. But now I’ve got it down.

I usually use two heads of fresh raw broccoli. I pull them apart and cut each of the florets in half, then cut the large stems into several smaller pieces too. I massage everything in a drizzle of olive oil, a few teaspoons of kosher salt, and a teaspoon or two of sugar, then bake them at 375 on a foil-lined baking sheet for about 15-20 minutes until they’re soft and golden on the underside. Delicious! Even Ryley loves it. The sugar and kosher salt combo is light and yummy, and I guess I feel like the fact that we’re eating so much fresh broccoli counteracts the fact that we’re sprinkling sugar on it. :-)  It’s also good to serve with lemon juice!

Anyway, so here’s to making healthy food choices! Pics of the play coming soon, so stay tuned!!!