secret single behavior, post #2

last night's dinner:

2 small bowls of tuna tomato pasta
2 salads with avocado (1/2 per salad), blue cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar
4 strawberries with cream cheese fruit dip
5 sips of sierra nevada summerfest. i am ashamed i let so much beer remain unconsumed.
4-6 mindless handfuls of goldfish, to round things out.

well, it's better than sunday night's dinner.

me and my big mouth

my mouth keeps getting me into trouble. the scale has never consistently stayed above 115 for weeks (okay, months. shut up.) on end. i absolutely hate it. i have never really had to deal with weight issues--it's always been relatively easy for me to use mostly minimal or moderate effort to stay in shape. i've NEVER had to restrict my diet. or if i have, i don't remember and it must have been way easier, probably because i was too busy partying or working out to notice. i know my exercise quota is lower now, and my eating is up (part of being married is a hungry husband!), but man! i do pilates, walk the dog, have started to incorporate cardio--i'm hitting a wall here! and since all this extra is settling right onto my belly, it all comes back to my mouth. so, diet restrictions it is. and to keep me accountable, i'm going to blog what i eat. every day. i know you are about to pass out from all the excitement. here goes.

monday: coffee with cream and sugar (from now on, cwc&s), one slice roast pork with carrots and potatoes, spaghetti with meat sauce, 1 chik-fil-a chicken nugget dipped in polynesian sauce, and most of a chik-fil-a cookies and cream shake. it was not as good as regular cookies and cream ice cream. exercise: walked the rox 1.5 miles on the track.

tuesday: cwc&s, greek yogurt with strawberries, 1 pack peanut butter crackers, 1 slice american cheese and some raisins while waiting on dinner, spinach salad with carrots, tomatoes, croutons and ranch; rice; sauteed zucchini and some crazy mexican chicken dish i made: 1/2 chicken breast and a sauce made up of cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, roasted tomatoes and black beans. i tried to make fisherman's bake cod, but the fish was slimy after its defrost and stunk up the whole house, so we threw it out. i made this chicken dish up on the fly, and it turned out ok. i must remember it and improve upon it. exercise: walked roxy mostly 1.5 miles at the track, taught pilates for 1 hour, then 30 minutes on an elliptical.

not only does my mouth getting me in trouble by taking in too much, it also gets me in trouble by speaking too much. i am haunted by this passage in matthew 12.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

jesus is talking to the pharisees here, but i think it applies. i've heard the phrase, "you will be held accountable for everything you say, not necessarily in a court of law." and i believe it to be true. our words are a direct reflection of the condition and contents of our hearts. jesus speaks harshly of a sharp tongue, and also clearly spells out there is no room for neutrality or fence-flopping in Him. words have power. it's truly terrifying to me to think that every word i have uttered, every curse, every shred of gossip and untruth and meanness, with or without thinking, will be used to judge me in the end. and it should be enough to scare the impulse out of me. i have struggled with this recently and am now recommitting to speak truth and kindness, even when i deem it undeserved, because i am undeserving.

tuesday dinner

as i munch on my shipley's chocolate-covered donuts of the deep-fried-goodness variety, i'll share with you the recipe for the turkey cutlets i made for dinner last night, which was much healthier than my breakfast of choice. at least i got 2% instead of whole milk this time.


i found this recipe for turkey turnovers from my rachael ray magazine.

you'll need: one pack (about 3-4) turkey cutlets, available in the butcher section of your local kroger usually next to the pre-made kebabs, one can of fire-roasted tomatoes (or a lot of little cherry tomatoes, halved, whichever you prefer, but you might have to add some water in the recipe), one pack chopped frozen spinach (or fresh spinach), one package soft herbed cheese, like boursin, (you can use the regular or the light, but take a look at that calorie/fat content first!), some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and fennel (which i don't use, cause i usually don't have any).

-defrost the pack of chopped spinach.
-heat the olive oil (a turn of the pan or so) in a large skillet.
-give the cutlets a good pounding to flatten them out and season with salt and pepper.
-place a mound of the spinach and cheese on one side of each cutlet and fold over the other side to make the turnover. secure with toothpicks.
-place turnovers in the heated oil, on medium high, and cook for a few minutes on each side until slightly browned. this can get tricky, so use tongs and don't worry if the stuffing falls out a bit.
-after both sides have cooked, pour in the can of tomatoes and juice (or your little cherry tomatoes and some water).
-bring to a quick boil, then cover and turn down the heat and cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until the turkey is done.

hope you like it!

wondering if i should spring for chocolate donut #3?