Monday, September 14, 2020

It's been a while

A lot has happened since I last posted.  After my Opa left us, I had a hard time with a lot of things. 

But I'm back now. 

I'm better now.

And I have a mission.

I'm working on a frugality challenge right now.  I started it this afternoon.  But I need accountability to help keep me going and doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Which is why I'm here.

And I'm inviting anyone reading this to join in.

Too often I find myself resorting to quick and easy fixes for meals, and don't worry about the nutritional value in the food.  Or the calories.  I really need to.

I had gastric bypass surgery on March 4 this year.  I had struggled with so many failed diets, then tore my calf muscle which benched me from exercise.  Then came the diabetes.  4 finger pokes a day.  2 insulin injections a day.  Struggling with lows because wasn't eating often enough.  Then the highs came.  300+ blood sugars.  Elevated liver enzymes. My health was going quickly downhill, so my doctors recommended bypass.

Here I am, 6 months later, and 60 pounds lighter.  I lost all of my weight so far in the first 3 months, and really haven't lost much since.  But I know I need to increase my activity.  And I need to be more conscious of the choices I make in my food.  Ideally, my diet should consist of 70% protein and 30% other (mostly veg).

So in addition to eating healthy, I'm giving myself a Pantry Challenge.

Here's the rules:
1) Anything in my pantry/fridge/freezer is fair game.  Pretty much, any FOOD in my house is fair game.
2) I'm allowing myself a WEEKLY budget of $20 to put towards any meals (milk is not included in this budget because my kids go through 1/2-1 gallon per day.  When I buy milk, I try to buy it when I go to town 30+miles away, because  (like today) I was able to purchase it for $3.19 per gallon, whereas if I purchase in town 3 miles away, it's $5.35 per gallon.  This morning I bought a gallon close to home because I NEEDED it, then I bought 6 gallons when I went into the bigger town)
3) I'm TRYING to get my husband on board, but I know he wants an exception for his Coke.  Without it, he gets migraines 😢
4) USE UP leftovers.  Yes, my chickens LOVE getting treats in the form of people food that would otherwise be thrown out, but we need to be throwing out LESS.

Now to the plan:
On Friday, we met with Hubby for lunch and took a couple pizzas.  There was half of each pizza left over, and he forgot them at work.  Today he brought them home so that was supper.  Quick and easy.

Tomorrow I have to work (unless Monkey has to go to the hospital... he had a feeding tube put in about a month ago and has granulation and bleeding coming from the tube.  Waiting to hear on what the clinic wants us to do... I messaged them yesterday, called and messaged and sent photos a couple times today... but the GI doc was out.)  I made an apple baked oatmeal to take to a friend today, so I mixed up a second oatmeal -banana chocolate chip - and stuck it in the fridge.  Supper tomorrow night - just 30-40 minutes in the oven and top with milk. Mmmm.

Tomorrow morning we are also going to another small town near us to see what's coming on the Food Truck.  Basically it's a mobile food pantry.  There are no income or residency requirements.  My great uncle actually works as a volunteer with it and said that if people don't show up for it, they won't do it.  It's all surplus food that is distributed so it won't go to waste.  (Even with the people showing up they still have excess food.)  Sometimes there are dairy boxes (milk close on date, 5 lb tub of yogurt, cheese, sour cream, etc), sometimes there are meat boxes (fully cooked frozen sausage patties, bacon, meatballs, etc) and there is always fruit and veggies (corn, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and more).  There are usually other odds and ends.  Last time we got a big box (20+ pounds) of granola cereal, crackers, pina colada mix, instant mashed potatoes.  I can't wait to see what's on the truck this week!!

I'm going to start working on a list for meal ideas... tomorrow after we "meet the truck," I'll have a better idea of what is going to be on which day.  I'm hoping to post again then 😁😁😁

Let me know in the comments if you want to play along!  What meals are you making this week?

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