Week one- Somebody's

Let me just say how awesome you girls are doing. So pleased!!! And now let me catch up.

When I weighed in on the 5th I was only down 0.8 from my weigh-in on June 1st (curse you, macaroon recipe testing project). Today, I am down 2.0.

I haven't exercised at all because of the plantar fasciitis and because I've been so busy trying to get Girls' Camp pulled together. And because I'm kinda lazy and don't do any crunches or curls in the morning when I used to be walking. It just seems like there are so many other things I could be getting done. Must repent. After Girls' Camp.

So what have we been eating for the past two weeks?

Lots of salad. The garden lettuce is all ready; we have salad every day and can't keep up. In addition to green salad as a side dish every day, we had Crispy Chicken Salad once.

We've also eaten:
Chicken and Dumplings
Bacon, eggs and hash browns with juice and fresh fruit
Brisket, baked potato (w skin)
Salmon with brown rice
French dip sandwiches (testing out an idea for last minute extra day at camp)
Sloppy Joes (tasty recipe made w lean beef, brown rice, etc)
Grilled lamb steaks (garlic/mint pesto rubbed) with experimental sweet rice (another camp test recipe)
Sunday we had waffles, Canadian bacon and fruit.

This week we plan to have:
cashew chicken
soup and biscuits
salad bar
grilled chicken w brown rice
tacos
meatloaf, potatoes
and something else, to be determined
(all of those with green salad and maybe another veggie)

For our breakfasts, we have hot cereal twice, pancakes once, cold cereal on days that I work and eggs and toast once. We usually have fruit along with breakfast and sometimes at dinner.

My plan is to get new walking shoes when I'm back from camp and start walking again. I'm supposed to walk a lot slower for a few weeks. And I'm supposed to take smaller steps. If all goes well, I'll be back to walking 3-5 miles by the end of summer. Somebody's Father has the bug to go through the canyon again. We'll see. It depends on if/when/what new job. If I can't go with him, he'll probably do a all-in-one-day crossing without me.

As for the breakfast dilemma, I suggest whole or multi-grain muffins that you can microwave as needed. Add a piece of fruit to that and call it breakfast. If it isn't too much like a cold cut, add 2-4 slices Canadian bacon for lean protein.

We tried something new for breakfast and liked it:

Oat and buttermilk snack cake

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup steel-cut oats
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon powdered sugar (optional)
Preparation
Combine buttermilk and oats; cover and refrigerate 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Lightly spoon flours into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; beat until well blended. Stir in oat mixture; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture, beating just until moist.

Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Garnish with powdered sugar, if desired.

I cut the recipe in half and substituted whole wheat flour for half of the white flour. I put quick oats in the food processor to make oat flour and you could do the same thing with a blender.

When I make it again, I am going to pour 1/2 cup boiling water over the steel-cut oats and let them sit until cool, then drain and add the buttermilk for the overnight soak. I might also substitute canola oil for the butter and see what happens.

It was pretty convenient because I mixed the dry ingredients, the wet ingredients and greased my pan before I went to bed. My oven can start itself, so it came on and was preheated when I got out of bed. All I had to do was pull the oats/buttermilk and the egg/sugar/butter mixtures out of the fridge and mix it all together. By the time I was all dressed and ready to eat, it was ready, too. Tasty, warm and just a hint of sweetness instead of the cupcake-style sweetness of most muffins and snack cakes. I served it with with fruit and it made a nice breakfast.

I think you could reduce the sugar and oil in most muffins, substitute wheat flour for part or all of the white flour (might have to do that gradually) and have a healthy breakfast bread. Portion control is the secret to having whole grains in your diet.

So there is my tip for the week.