Sunday, July 28, 2013

Eat your fruits and veggies!


The farmer's market here is in full swing with beautiful fruits and vegetables overflowing at the vendor's stands. I arrived yesterday morning around 7am, not crowded and enjoyed shopping for my fruits and veggies without having to stand in long lines.  Figs and blueberries seemed to be the most popular item, most all of the stands had them. I shot some really nice photos, but my camera somehow managed to eat them. Too bad, the vendors all do such a nice job with display. I'll try again next week maybe.

The afternoon market that I do was a washout, big thunderstorms rolled through just about the time I got my car packed and headed down the road. I just turned around and came home. Been there, done that, no thanks!



Weight Watchers is going well. I can't wait for Fridays to go to my meeting, weigh in and spend 30 minutes getting some great nutrition information. It's been three weeks and I have lost 6 pounds. I'm averaging two pounds a week... safe, healthy weight loss, and I am never hungry. That's the best part, no cravings, no crankiness from hunger. I feel so much better, I feel lighter, I have more energy, no more wanting a nap in the afternoon, and Wesley and I go out every day for a 30 minute walk up five steep hills in our neighborhood, and a couple of nice downhills.

I have also started to get up early and go for a Wog. Yes, I am once again a wogger, I walk a bit then jog a bit. Pretty soon, I should be able to run the whole street, but for now, I am making sure my shins don't get sore so I won't quit.


One thing WW suggests is putting your fruits and veggies up front in the frig, all nicely cut up in bite size bits and in clear containers, so when you open up the door hungry, all that healthy goodness is staring right at you, saying "eat me, "eat me!". It works, I swear. This is how my frig looks all the time now. Of course the grapes and pineapple came from the grocery, but everything else is fresh and local. This is what I reach for when I want something but don't really know what.

I bought a new cookbook at the meeting last Friday. It's called Veg Power, all vegetarian recipes. Everything I have made for us since Friday came from this book. It is fantastic!

Here is one of the recipes and my new favorite sandwich:

Toast two slices of whole grain bread, spread on goat cheese and fig preserves, then add thinly sliced pear and a small amount of black pepper. OMG! This might be the best sandwich combo I have ever had! The pear was crunchy and tart, the goat cheese creamy and the figs sweet. Heaven! Try it!

We now have about 20 days before Wes goes back to school. Yes, I am now counting the days..Weh.

16 comments:

June Perry said...

Sounds like a great sandwich. I'll have to check out that cookbook.

We had a great salad at a local restaurant last week. It wasn't vegetarian since it had some very thin slices of prosciutto just laid on the outer perimeter of the place, with a classic mesclun mix of lettuces, blue cheese, preserved figs, walnut pieces and a lovely vinaigrette. I could make a meal of that salad.

June Perry said...

OOPS, that should read "prosciutto just laid out on the outer permieter of the "plate".

Melissa Rohrer said...

What you said about having fruits and veggies already cut up in the fridge- so true. If I slice an apple or whatever I am much more likely to snack on that during the day than the less healthy stuff. Smart girl.

Tracey Broome said...

June,your salad sounds like it could be my lunch tomorrow!
Melissa, I read somewhere that when you reach for something to eat, think about eating an apple. If you are hungry enough to finish the apple you should eat something, if you don't want to finish an apple, you aren't really hungry for something. I try and reach for a veggie instead of a cookie, so far it's working!

Dennis Allen said...

Glad to hear it's going well.

Amy said...

You are inspiring! Great pics. Didn't know what WOG was until you explained. That's how I started out with running- a little at a time and then I increased and sometimes when I did too much, I had shin splints. Happy to say that now I run/jog 35-45 minutes a time and no shin splints. Good shoes really helps too- got my feet and stride fitted at a running store which made a HUGE difference. Thanks again for the inspiration!

Michèle Hastings said...

your fridge looks so neat... mine is a mess right now.
WW is so right about having everything up front and ready to go. This week I had fruit up front and center and chose that rather than cheese and crackers. You are inspiring me.
believe it or not, I use to be runner...25 - 30 miles a week... no I am a slug :-(

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Dennis, thanks, yes! Going very well.
Amy, I really like running when I get in the routine of doing it, a fast and easy way to burn some calories.
Hey Michele, I have been a slug for way too long. I finally reached a point where I was sick of it. I was a rock climber and a white water paddler before I found clay. Then I I became obsessed with waiting on pots to dry or fire in the kiln, haha!

Unknown said...

Congrats Tracey! I find as I age that fruits and veggies have to be the lions share of what I eat- not only does it help with the weight issue, but I feel so much better...fruit makes me happy! If you ever want smoothie recipes, let me know!

Lori Buff said...

That ww vegetarian cookbook sounds like it would be welcome in our house.

cookingwithgas said...

Good tips! Thanks for sharing with us.

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Karhy, thanks for the offer,I have lots of smoothie recipes too,but feel free to pass on any good ones!
Lori, I'll try and post a couple more recipes from the book as I experiment, I got it at the WW location, I suppose it's available online....
Hey Meredith,happy to share!

Susan Wells said...

Ooooooo I love your top shelf veggies and fruits!

Tracey Broome said...

Me toooooo!!!

Anonymous said...

this is the most inspiring photo of a fridge I've ever seen. the pepper on that sandwich sold me, shopping for pears today.

Tracey Broome said...

Cindy, my neighbors used to make fun of my frig and pantry organization, but like you. I am spacialy challenged, I have to see it organized, or I can't plan a meal!