Garage Reorganization

Before you go thinking that this is a blog all about food and exercise, Friday night i decided to start the process of reorganizing the garage.  Sadly, this is a multi-step process and my pictures came out lousy, but i promise to write more about it soon.

Breakfast, lunch and a snack!

Breakfast - maple blueberry refrigerator oatmeal! (small jar)

Lunch - blueberries (the dark spot in the center top), half an apple, cucumber slices, 2 hard boiled eggs, salt, cherry tomatoes, strawberries

Snack - lifesaver and wasabi & soy sauce almonds

Beverage - lemon ginger refrigerator iced tea

It's all delicious!  And happy!  And easy!

Sorry it's not the greatest picture.  I was very tired last night and not so enthused about making things.  Making things in bulk seems to be the way to go (like boiling the eggs and making several jars of oatmeal).

Bruschetta

Another non-recipe recipe for summer.  This is one of my go-to favorite dishes to bring to a party or potluck in the summer, and tastes delicious even a day or three after making it.

So first off you need some tomatoes.  In years past i've used plum tomatoes, because you don't want this to be too watery.  Having now made it with heirloom cherry tomatoes, i'm not going back.  The smaller tomatoes were easier to work with, and having a variety of color and taste was awesome.  But really, you just need tomatoes, cut into small pieces and thrown in a bowl.  Leave out the watery goop if you use full size tomatoes.  SUPER EASY, right?

Mince up some garlic.  My tomato averse spouse has explained to me that this really is simply a carrier for garlic and basil, but i actually enjoy the taste of tomatoes, so however much is up to you.  For this much i used about 8 cloves.

Take that garlic and a little extra virgin olive oil (a tablespoon-ish) and heat it up in a skillet.  Just get the garlic golden brown so it's not overpowering.  5 minutes maybe.  Let it sit off the heat while you do the next step.  No stove?  It'll taste fine with raw garlic.  Be sure to really mince it fine is all.

Cut up some basil.  Do fresh, none of that dried nonsense.  It'll look prettier and taste better.  I like to roll up a pile of leaves inside each other and then slice, to make thin ribbons without bruising the leaves.  Throw that in the bowl with your tomatoes.

Remember the garlic and olive oil?  Into the bowl.

Next add a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar to that bowl.  Gently mix.

You can add salt & pepper.  I tend to skip that because of the dietary needs of my family.

You can make it the night before, covered and refrigerated to really let the flavors mix, but if you're rushing it'll still be awesome so long as you use good ingredients.

Serve with sliced up french bread (toasted or plain), on top of salad greens, on top of chicken, on top of pasta... really, it goes good with a lot of things.  Add a little mozzarella cheese if you like.  

Today's Breakfast/Lunch/Snack

Today's breakfast/lunch/snack.  Wasabi almonds, hardboiled egg (with salt), raspberries & blueberries, salad (lettuce, tomato, broccoli & cucumber), babybel cheese, strawberries, salad dressing & lifesaver in Planetbox. Strawberry vanilla refrigerator oatmeal in jar.  Freeze dried peaches in tin.

I may not eat it all, but for 2.5 meals, 725 calories isn't bad.  Still leaves more than half of my budget for dinner!

FitBit

I am in love with my FitBit Ultra.  A FitBit is a teeny tiny pedometer, but calling it just a pedometer is like calling Romeo & Juliet a play.  It is, but also much more.

The happy little black gizmo is about the size of my finger, and can be clipped onto your waistband, or stuck in a pocket or even a bra.  It's much less conspicuous than any other pedometer i've ever tried, which i admit, was a concern.  I may be geeky and overweight, but i try to draw attention to neither of those things!  It tracks your steps, flights of stairs (and hills), calories burned, distance traveled and gives you the time.  All of this you can see by pressing the little button on the unit itself, or when it syncs to the website via wireless connection when it is 15' or less from the base station.

It took a little adjusting to get my mileage more accurate to my runs, initially it was overestimating my stride, and i still would like to go to the track to get some more accurate measurements, but in due time.  I've now used it for several walks, walk/runs and even a hike and found it was quite accurate.  It's been a great motivation to do a little more throughout the day, and even helped me do my chores!  If i am 'short' on my daily goals, i will walk around the house putting things away to collect steps and flights of stairs.  It's amazing how sedentary i am during the day at the office and how active i can be by just simple things like cooking, cleaning and having fun!  Even shopping suddenly turns into a mental game of how i can get in a few more steps.

For years i've heard the lines about park further away from your destination, use the further copier, and other little tricks to get more activity in your day, but never really thought hard about how they actually have an effect.  It's 20 seconds, right?  Wearing a pedometer has turned those little things into something numeric, and therefore more real for me.  Because i have a goal to work towards each day, i am inspired to try those small changes, rather than see them as something nice, but not important.

I also feel that by using the fitbit i am more accurately tracking my calories, because some days i am very active at work and other days not so much.  It's helpful for me to know what an office day looks like so i can find other ways to be active.  Similarly, when i am more active, i can balance that with a lighter workout for balance.

Although i don't know how accurate it really is, you can also use it to track your sleep.  By wearing it on your wrist (it comes with a wristband), it will track your movement and create a report of how long it took you to fall asleep and how often you woke up.  This has been very helpful for nights where i have had trouble sleeping and noticing patterns in my sleep habits.

Because it syncs with tools i am already using, primarily LoseIt and RunKeeper, it also is particularly useful.  Unlike a traditional pedometer, i don't have to enter anything.  Each time i sync, Lose It adjusts my exercise calories and tells FitBit what i've eaten.  There is a huge list of apps and sites that work with FitBit's API, and i suspect it'll keep growing.

Overall, i love this little gadget and think it will continue to be a great tool on my weight loss journey!