I'm Super Mom

I'm Super Mom.

I found myself daily wanting to let you know what I was eating, thinking, and fixing.  I took pictures and had so many thoughts.  I should have done this daily, but here, at least, is my account of a week's worth of labor (hard, gosh-darn, labor - not the pregnant kind, but the dirty nail and back aching kind - man, that still sounds like pregnant labor...never mind, you get it).

Left: Exhibit-1  Right: Exhibit-2 (Gittleman, PhD, C.N.S, A. L. (2017). The New Fat Flush Plan. McGraw Hill Education.)

What started out as a way of counteracting my heavy eating habit (Exhibit-1) was very well intentioned with a perfectly planned menu from Fat Flush but became a work of art (Exhibit-2).  I spent the mornings with a planned attack, ate well during the lunch and snack times, sweated dinner (while also cooking for the men of the house -"Super Mom") and then prepped and cooked until 11pm or so for the next day.  I have worn myself out - ragged.

WholeFoods, Wegmans, ShopRite, VitaminShoppe, ACME, Costco.  They all contributed to my shopping.  No one explained that these menus weren't written for one.  I bought as if they were.  My frig is loaded with foods that I didn't even know existed (jicama, daikon, fennel, flank steak, hemp seeds).  I've enjoyed some (jicama) and detested others (daikon and fennel...blech!).  I gave celery another try, but just couldn't get a whole stick down.  I knew not to try mushrooms (been there, done that, and hated).  Artichoke hearts and hearts of palm came up on the menu, but honestly, I have so many vegetables in my frig, that some had to be left out --- these were just the only options (smirk).

Delights and Realizations

I love berries (already knew) on whey protein pancakes.  I was happy with these because I could frig and reheat in the morning.  I'll have these again.  Cuban Rosa Vieja is amazing.  I shredded beef for the first time in my life (yes, cook, not just from a HelloFresh kit). It also lasted for four meals. I also loved making Egg Drop soup. Cool!  Take-Out but made in.

There is something to be said for the number of vegetables you put in an omelet, and whether or not you should use not-ripe avocado thinking they'll just moosh in the eggs.  Yes, there is a max, and ripe are necessarily better.  Doesn't my sink look all cool though with the herbs that I bought and trimmed?  Then there are the vegetables that you think you are preserving and really, you're just growing mold.  Check out these asparagus. Yuck!

 

I can now look up recipes and create them to satisfy the menu, my goals, and use leftovers.  I saw this recipe, remembered I'd made spaghetti squash at some point, and then turned them into lunch.  I mixed them with braised (I just used a fancy cooking term, ikr) greens, mustard I think, that I had also cooked previously.  I don't remember when as per Exhibit-2.  And then there was the cranwater.  You can't forget the cranwater.  I mix it 1:7 in a gallon container, and drink almost all of it each day. 

Proud of myself for learning to cook and use ingredients rather than just do what I was reading.  Here's an example of too much tomato and onion, shown previously, and using it later in moderation.  That was much better.  I think I'm in a great place to finish this 7-day menu and do better on the next week, but you'll soon read about that.  I just have to finish all the food I bought.  Here's just one of the many bags I ordered.  Just for 5 days. You get the picture.  I'm working on it.