Testing New Meal Ideas

This morning I woke up feeling pretty tired and couldn’t convince myself to go to the gym. Instead I rolled over and slept until it was time to get up for work. Last night I slept better than I have in a few weeks; uninterrupted pure sweet sleep. This is probably why I was so tired this morning.

Work started at 6am for me. Breakfast included a large mug of English Breakfast tea, bowl of Kashi Honey and Cinnamon oatmeal, and a serving of no sugar added applesauce. After breakfast and a bit more work. I did my only source of exercise today which was push-ups and sit-ups.

I started out with my progress test for the onehundredpushups program. I’ve been “stuck” on Week 4 for about two weeks, not because I felt like I needed to spend extra time on it but because for two weeks I forgot to do Day 3 of Week 4. Instead of starting Week 4 again for the third week in a row, I decided to proceed on to the progress test. I had to do as many pushups as I could at one time. This number helps me to determine which column I start in for Week 5, which I’ll begin on Sunday. I managed to pump out 44 pushups.

Next I finished Day 3 of Week 3 for the twohundredsitups program. I’ll start Week 4 on Monday. Like the pushups I managed to spend two weeks on Week 3 because I kept missing one day. I’m going to do my best to finish out these next two to three weeks correctly. Both the push-ups and sit-ups took me all of 15 minutes. That’s what I call a workout, lol, although, I’m itching to do something else. I’ll force myself to rest because my foot is still sore :(

For lunch, I had a Morningstar Farm Spicy Black Bean Burger on Ezekiel bread with medium cheddar cheese, red onion, spinach, and some ketchup. Delicious! Really enjoyed how all the flavors blended so well. My stomach felt content but still light. Not overly full! It was my first time trying Ezekiel bread as well as the black bean burger. I got the idea from ELR. She comes up with fantastic meals, making it very easy for me. Just means that I don’t have to think of new ideas on my own. I’m learning from other’s suggestions and experiences while building and creating my own! I rounded out my meal with Salsa Garden Sun Chips and a glass of skim milk.



Dinner was another new experience for me. I attempted to make Alaska Smoked Salmon Summer Pasta Salad. I first tried the salad at a wine festival at the beginning of June. They handed out a little pamphlet with several smoked salmon recipes, which included the pasta salad. I’ve wanted to recreate it for some time. I finally found most of the ingredients for the salad. Although the salmon is not from Alaska....shh, don't tell anyone. I invited my mom, sister, and the kiddos over to be my guinea pigs! It took me about 1 hour to finish the whole meal (prep and cook time). I’m a bit slow, but know I can make it quicker now that I know what I’m doing. We learned that the kids liked smoked salmon by itself! Dinner included the pasta salad and fresh cut peaches.

I thought it turned out pretty good. My mom and sister gave it two thumbs up (well that’s how I’m interpreting it, lol). I didn’t give it time to marinate, so I’m interested to see how it tastes tomorrow when I eat the leftovers for lunch.

I’d say my day of new food experiences was a success! I’m looking forward to incorporating these dishes into my meals in the future.