Saturday

New teeth... NOT

This post has nothing to do with being healthy, so if you are looking for a healthy tip today, look elsewhere.

When I was in the third grade, I was running out of the auditorium from a dance recital (maybe dress rehearsal?) with my tap shoes on. At some point between the door and the car, I tripped and fell on my face - chipping the bottoms of my two front teeth. Since then, I have had them patched with what is probably similar to the gunk they put in a cavity hole. They put the smelly stuff on there, then turn on that light until it beeps - you know the drill. Well, in the past few years, I've noticed a very distinguished line between real tooth and patchwork. Food was getting stuck in the crease often, and it really just bothered me. So, I asked the hubs if I could have my two front teeth for Christmas this year.

Three weeks ago, I had the majority of the prep work done for my new veneers (porcelain teeth caps) and have been walking around with temporary (obviously fake-looking) front teeth while my new ones were made. Yesterday, I went to have my new teeth put on, and they looked so awesome!! They were a little bit smaller than my real teeth, so I have less of a "horse" mouth with two long front teeth. The color perfectly matched my other teeth - they "distress" veneers to look look like your imperfect, natural teeth. The dentist tried them in my mouth and I loved the way they looked. She then passed them to her assistant and went to work to start cleaning my teeth and getting them ready for the final cementing.

Then he dropped one of my new teeth on the floor and it broke in half.

So... I have the temporary teeth back in, and hope to get my Christmas present next Friday.

Tuesday

Need new veggies. STAT.

I need some new roasted veggie ideas. I love the ease and simplicity of throwing a teensy bit of olive oil and garlic salt on them before putting it in the oven and setting a timer. The result is awesomeness in my book because the veggies are tasty, reheat well and are good for you.

I've done broccoli (my fav), carrot (meh), brussell sprouts (close runner-up) and butternut squash (I used cinnamon instead of garlic salt. boring, but edible). I have been eating broccoli a LOT lately and I'ms starting to get burnt out.

So, what do you roast?

Monday

Finding the balance

I don't know about you, but this week and next week are somewhat crazy for me at work. I don't know if everyone was getting back into the swing of things after the new year, and are now plowing full steam ahead, but it's just madness.

That said, I have not had a soda in two weeks. I'm still trying my best to stay away from artificial sweeteners - which has its pluses and minuses. I feel better about what I'm putting in my body, but at the same time, I know it's more calories. So, having to balance those two things is a real challenge for me - especially considering my sweet tooth. I'm already heavier than I was before the holidays (oh hi, tight pants) and I don't like feeling guilty about the extra caloric intake.

What are your thoughts on natural versus artificial sweeteners? How do you find the balance?

Tuesday

Butternut squash risotto

Tonight I attempted my first try at risotto. Butternut squash risotto to be exact. It took me an hour, but I thought it turned out quite well. Much better than my ravioli mishap. It was creamy and cheesey with just a hint of squash.


This photo was still taken at night, but with my Nikon. The leftovers.

P.S. I made this while the hubs wasn't home because I know he wasn't thrilled about the sound of butternut squash in anything. He came home and ate about half of the pan and said I should make it again sometime, so I'm taking that as a win. :)

Monday

I only had one.

Since "quitting" soda a week ago, I'm happy to say that I only had one soda - and that was last Tuesday. I was sure that I'd slip up during the weekend, if at all. The weekend is my usual spot to eat sweets and chips and drink soda while hanging out with friends. This weekend was pretty low-key so I didn't end up being too tempted. Even the husband cut back significantly from his 2-3 sodas per day. I think he only drank three sodas last week, which is a pretty good drop for him.

Baby steps here people. Baby steps.

Saturday

Bacon talks

For the first year or so that the hubs and I were dating, we would split our time between my parents' house and his dad's. It was rare that we would wake up at my FIL's house without bacon or sausage being cooked. Friends of the hubs say they remember bacon being at the hubs house growing up every weekend. Whatever isn't finished at breakfast is put on a plate and nibbled on throughout the day.

Don't get me wrong, I like bacon as much as the next gal, but I don't eat it every weekend. I probably eat it six times a year for breakfast. (I know bacon is in other things that we eat, but I'm talking about cooking bacon for breakfast.) Today, I cooked bacon in the oven (on a rack with a baking sheet to catch the grease at 400 for 15 minutes if you wanna try it) and it was awesome!

I've tried this once before, but it was still to mushy for my tastes. I like my bacon crispy - which is why pan-frying is my usual go-to mess. Today, I left it in a few minutes longer and it was crispy enough for me. It's a little more flat than pan-frying and not quite as crunchy, but still good and much easier to clean up. I lined the baking sheet with foil, so just let it cool and throw it away.

Or if you are in the boat that thinks bacon grease is the best thing ever to cook with, save that grease and then throw away the foil.

Wednesday

Cooking failure

I failed miserably at an attempt to make ravioli for dinner tonight. It was supposed to be stuffed with basil, sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese. They all opened while boiling.

We ate spaghetti.

Monday

Day 1

Today was day one sans soda. I usually only drink one soda a day anyway during the week, so it's not a huge transition, but I might as well get rid of it.

My new favorite food finds:
Barbara's shredded oats original
Amy's organic black bean soup 
Annie's bunny grahams

I tried both the shredded oats and bunny grahams while visiting friends last week in Georgia. They are lucky enough to live near a Fresh Market and I stocked up. My friend Katie introduced me to the black bean soup - I ate that for lunch today and it was delish!

How was your first day back in the routine?

Saturday

Merry New Year

It's officially 2011. Welcome. I'm hoping for great things this year, and for the hubs and I to move on to the next phase of our lives together. Hopefully this fall will bring him a full-time teaching job and we can get out of the rut we've been living in lately.

As most people are doing, I'd like to tell ya'll about my resolutions. (I've spent the last week of 2010 in the south, so I might be picking up an accent...)

1. Learn to shoot a gun. The hubs and I have been talking about this one for a while. We have a gun in the house and I don't know how to use it. That's dangerous. Solution: learn to shoot.

2. Decrease the amount of processed food - ideally in half - I eat. While in the south, I read the Skinny Bitch book in one afternoon and am officially hooked. I've known most of what they talked about in the back of my mind for a while, but reading what they wrote really hit me. I already don't trust the government anyway. I don't take medicines of any kind - rarely even a pain killer because I agree that the body is trying to tell something by hurting. So, I'd like to cut out a lot of the processed foods I eat and go more for the whole food route. The hubs has even agreed to quit soda with me. I'm not going to go crazy overboard like the Skinny Bitches say, and cut out things like cheese and meat completely. I do plan to eat more veggies and fruits and read labels more carefully.