Whew, the last 4 days were nutty and so much fun!
Day 17: Wednesday night we went up to Maysville where we used to live for their congregational Independence Day. It started off with a potluck (basket) dinner, then a 3 hour worship service. (I’m stumped why it needed to be 3 hours and why it ended an hour after dark, but it is that way every year.) Then homemade icecream and fireworks. We had a health emergency with a couple of the kids and had to leave before fireworks. We would have left during the service, but I was supposed to sing the last number. It felt like the service would never end so we could get home and deal with the problem at hand. The kids grabbed bowls of icecream to eat in the car on the way home.
This was the easiest day to make good choices. I had a hamburger patty topped with ketchup and mustard; broccoli salad; fresh fruit; and some faux potato salad made with cauliflower (thanks Rebecca!) And a deviled egg. I went back for seconds on the broccoli salad–that’s my favorite thing! Then on our way home, Darren ran back in and grabbed me a small bowl of dairy-free chocolate coconut ice-cream that Rebecca had also made. It was such a treat to enjoy ice-cream again. I usually don’t like coconut, but this was really good, creamy and smooth with no ice crystals. I need that recipe!
We got home a little after 11:00 pm and after dealing with the health issue, it was 3 am before all were in bed. We had planned to get up early on the 4th and go out for a water ski show (and possibly a 5K race), but all those plans flew out the window with the late night.
The only life jacket to fit Grant was Barbie–but he didn’t care. That’s a man secure in his manhood :).
Day 18: We arrived just in time to see two water skiers flip over each other on boogie boards; and a 9 person pyramid (all with tow ropes) ski around the lake. That was pretty awesome. And the turtle race–fun stuff :).
My niece and her 2nd place turtle.
The day was amazing with good friends; boating; water skiing; fishing; and relaxing. The food was more challenging. We had pulled pork, brown sugar baked beans; potato chips; potato salad; macaroni salad; ravioli salad slathered in olive oil and cheese; slaw, and several types of cookies and brownies. It was all delicious but the only partially supportive choice was the smoked meat.
For evening meal; it was more of the same with hot dogs and s’mores to boot. I wish I had brought some meals to eat with everyone, but with the crazy night and packing 6 kids for the lake–it was just too much to think about. There’s almost always good choices available amongst the bad, but not this time. We ended the day with watching a fireworks show on the lake and you could see the sky lights reflected in the water–beautiful!
Day 19: Friday, I tried to get up and run intervals outside, but it was hot and my body was stressed with the things I had eaten. I ended up walking for 2 miles and coming home. Emotionally I was about to hit the wall. I ate clean all day then had date night at a friend’s house. She served grilled tilapia; brown rice salad; Cuban beans; rosemary artisan bread; slaw; and for dessert flourless chocolate cake with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Delicious! But not Back on Track.
After dinner we toured their farm and then learned to make kombucha tea hands on. She sent me home with my own scoby and I’m super excited to make my own batches of tea. It has a small amount of caffeine in it (from green tea) and tons of B vitamins and probiotics in it. I do really well with a half can of RedBull in the afternoons (though don’t drink it during FYM challenges) and am hoping this will be a healthier alternative for the afternoon slumps.
Day 20: Saturday: I got up at 7 this day and did my FYM strength workout and stretching routine right away. Then I prepare food for the day and headed up North to the family farm for our 4th Independence Day celebration.
Two of my sisters in law are also FYMs! So we got together and planned the food. We had grilled hamburgers and hotdogs (which I ate without the bun) a veggie platter; broccoli salad made with Greek yogurt and stevia dressing; fresh watermelon; pineapple and cantaloupe; then chips and cookies for the kids. I made a Peanut butter cheesecake with stevia. It was ok, but would have been better with a different stevia. Here’s the improved recipe:
Ingredients
- 4 bricks (8 oz) neufchâtel cheese
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 tsp nunaturals pure stevia extract (this is the least bitter stevia I've found.)
- 2 Tbs plain gelatin powder (I buy mine in bulk or you can use 2 packets of Knox)
- 2/3 cup peanut flour
Instructions
- In a mixer with a cookie paddle, beat neufchatel cheese and stevia until light and fluffy.
- Meanwhile place 1/2 cup of water in a deep microwaveable dish and sprinkle gelatin on the top. Microwave on high for 1 minutes or until gelatin is dissolved (It will want to boil over so get a really dip bowl.)
- Beat gelatin mixture, water and peanut flour into the cream cheese. (I took plastic wrap and wrapped my kitchen aid bowl to the top of the mixer to keep anything from splashing out. A splash guard will work too.)
- Pour into a glass 9x13 dish and chill for several hours until firm.
Notes
Protein 8g; Carbs 5g
I made a crust for mine with flax meal; almond flour; stevia and coconut oil but think it would have been better without. Alternatively you could lay a layer of graham crackers in the bottom of the dish before pouring the cheesecake on top. But really, it's fine without crust.
You can halve the recipe and pour into a pie pan. Or substitute 2 cups of cottage cheese pureed for 2 bricks of cream cheese. This saves money and calories and boosts the protein. But the flavor isn't quite as good.
For the evening meal we brought it all back out and had cold cut sandwiches instead of grilled meat. I had two slices of turkey inside a pita bread and also had some potato chips–too tempting for me after a hot day.
I was VERY grumpy on Saturday, complaining at and about my husband who is the dearest sweetest one I could have. Found out it was major PMS plus just TOO Much. Too many gatherings, too many late nights; too much running around; too much rich food. I ended up napping on the couch for several hours and then never felt quite with it the rest of the day.
Day 21: Sunday: I decided to weigh and find out the damage from the last 4 days. I never missed a workout and made the best food choices I could under the circumstances but still found myself 3 lbs up. I expected it but it was still discouraging. I’m going to give it another day to let the water retention work through and the hormones to stabilize and then do my halfway assessment and essay. My husband preached in the morning for sacrament service, which is one of the more stressful (important) services to do. I took the children to church early and left him home alone for some quiet moments. After church I made taco salad for lunch and then took a nap–sleeping through my manditory camp meeting :(. I’m going to be a counselor at Girl’s camp in two weeks–oh dear. I’m glad the director is my good friend and very forgiving.
We went to Summer Series in the evening where they have a cookie reception afterwards. I packed my own protein cookie to eat so I didn’t feel left out. But was pleasantly surprised to find a table full of fresh fruit and veggies beside the cookies. I had a little produce with my protein :).
