Health – The Creative Salad

The State of the Pantry

I’ve been exercising like a mad woman (well, sorta), I feel fantastic, but am still stuck at my pre pregnancy weight (i.e. twenty pounds higher than I’d like to be). Wah wah.

One thing that’s looking lighter around here though is our pantry.

Here’s what it looked like a year ago:

And the state of it today:

Oh, and here’s our baking cupboard:

While we have less food in the pantry, there’s WAY more foodstuffs in the fridge. (I love the summer produce season.)

In fact the fridge is stuffed to the gills with salad fixings and veggies, cooked quinoa, hard boiled eggs, nuts, stews, braised meats, grass fed beef hot dogs, handmade salad dressings…

Despite no dairy, gluten, nightshades, corn or chocolate in ~~our~~ my diet, we’re eating well around here!

Now to really up the exercise… as much as I love the yoga and walks, they don’t impact my weight the same way that running does. (Good thing I love, love, love my runs!) So I gotta prioritize and find the time to run more than once a week. Right now I feel like it may take a miracle. I’m going to aim for three runs a week and go from there.

May Wishlist: Workout Chic

I am now at eleven weeks postpartum. I’ve already lost thirty pounds, putting me at my pre-baby weight. But I still have a long way to go.

My next weight loss goal is twenty pounds, also known as the elusive pre-kids weight. I’m not gonna lie: I want to look twenty pounds lighter, but–more importantly–I also want to set a healthy example for my kids.

To do this I’m continuing with my pseudo-Paleo diet that makes me feel freaking fantastic. I’m back at the mama-baby yoga class (that I can bring both kids to) and absolutely LOVE. I’m walking more and want to get back into a running routine (my FAVORITE exercise of all).

I just have one problem: while unpacking my non-maternity wardrobe I discovered that most of my workout clothes were worn through.

Since having kids I’ve found I need workout clothes that I’m excited to get into, since getting out the door to exercise is hard enough already.

So here is my workout wishlist for this month:

Shown above: 1. GapFit gFast power colorblock capris (pin) | 2. Forme Jacket from lululemon athletica (pin) | 3. Elongate Burnout Long Sleeve from lululemon athletica (pin) | 4. GapFit Breathe elbow-sleeve T (pin) | 5. GapFit Motion racer tank (pin) | 6. Swagger Skirt Capri from Athleta (pin)
See more at my Retail Therapy Pinterest Board!

Some of the gear I already own or recently bought (on sale!). Some of the clothes are beyond my budget right now and remain firmly in the “wish” category.

Where do you buy affordable yoga and running clothes? My Target clothes didn’t last, so I’m looking for another spot that sells well-made, less expensive clothes. Think Gap Fit, not Lululemon.

What’s Really Going On

You may be wondering the REAL reason I’ve been blogging lightly over the past three months. Well, our daughter has some news to share with you:

Instead of blogging, I’ve been napping.

Yes, we’re having a baby!

After such a long journey, we’ve finally made it to the second trimester. The baby’s heartbeat is strong. I’ve been feeling him or her move around for several weeks now, having one big dance party after another.

Let’s all take a big sigh of relief.

We expect the latest Spritzer Leyba to arrive this February.

I’m hoping to head back to our regular blogging schedule just as soon as the second trimester burst of energy kicks in. I’ve got so much to share with you! Stay tuned…

Getting the BPA Out of the Kitchen

We’ve tossed the BPA-laced canning lids and only buy BPA-free canned goods, yet we still have BPA lurking throughout the kitchen. Here’s my plan of attack.

Replace our old salad spinner with a metal or BPA-free-plastic salad spinner:

Toss out our old plastic cutting boards in favor of bamboo ones and say goodbye to our Cuisinart food processor:

Many countertop appliances like food processors or blenders contain BPA in the food bowls. (Yet another reason to switch to the BPA-free Vitamix blenders — we LOVE ours!)

I just contacted KitchenAid and evidently the bowls for their brand new 7, 9, and 13 cup food processors are now BPA free! (The 7 cup is model KFP0711, the 9 cup is model KFP0922, and the 13 cup model is KFP1333.) Since Cuisinart has yet to jump on the BPA-free band wagon for their full-sized food processors, it looks like I’m going to be asking for a BPA-free KitchenAid food processor for the Christmas this year!

Updated November 2012:
Great news! There are now MANY more food processors that contain BPA-free bowls: Breville BFP800XL Sous Chef Food Processor, Cuisinart DLC-2011CHB Prep 11-Cup Food Processor and Cuisinart FP-12DC Elite Collection 12-Cup Food Processor, among others (see Cuisinart’s site for more information about each of their models).

Donate our plastic cooking tools (like spatulas and ladles) and keep our bamboo, wood, silicone, and stainless steel ones:

But it’s not quite so simple.

There are so many other places BPA may be lurking:
– plastic strainers
– plastic mixing bowls
– plastic measuring spoons and cups
– plastic tupperware (instead we use sets of these Pyrex glass and BPA-free lids and Snapware Glasslock Glass Storage Containers!)
– plastic water pitchers (Brita pitcher are BPA-free)
– any type of canned product that doesn’t specifically say BPA-free; including soda pop cans, not just that can of soup! (I recently stopped buying cans of coconut water and now buy terta pak containers instead.)

While I believe that making the above changes are important for our health, it’s difficult to justify the expense of replacing kitchen items that remain functional! I need to remind myself that while it may seem like an extraneous expense, we feel it’s an important one. I guess we had better budget for those new kitchen items. Check back in to see how we do.

How I Inadvertently Started Eating the Paleo Diet and Began to Feel Better

Here we are, trying to lose weight and attempting another fad diet… Wait, that’s not what’s really going on! Let me back up and tell you about my food sensitivities and how we stumbled on to this one.

I’m gluten intolerant, so I can’t eat your typical breads, pastas, and cereals. I’m also sensitive to corn, and rarely eat processed sugar, caffeine, or alcohol (just cause it makes me feel crappy!). I’m trying to lose weight (spraining your ankle and miscarrying repeatedly seem to be weight-gaining activities for me, imagine that!), so I’m cutting down on my intake of rice pasta, potatoes, gluten-free breads, and cheese.

For the past few years I’ve been thinking that I was completely worn out from being a mom — after all, being on call 24-7 IS exhausting! It turns out that it wasn’t just parenthood wearing me down. Evidently I wasn’t eating what my body needs.

I just started eating meat after two decades of vegetarianism and found it energized me. I stopped feeling worn out and tired all of the time. I started laughing and smiling more because I finally have the energy to really keep up with my four year old.

Over the past month I’ve realized that I feel best eating vegetables, fruit, nuts, and meat every day. Cut out the other processed crap and that’s what I crave. I wake up every morning and eat a meatball. Or a hamburger. With a big bowl of greens and some toasted nuts. And I feel great.

Oh my. Why, that’s the Paleo diet. I just can’t seem to help myself.

That being said, I still eat brown rice occasionally, put milk in my morning cup of tea, and love eating cheese, so I’m not 100% Paleo, but I’m curious to see how I’d feel if I cut those things out.

We’ll see how this goes. I’m typically as skeptical as you are right now… except that I’m feeling so darn good!