I'm Growing A What?!!?

A will power people! I'm growing a will power!!

As it turns out, saying no is not actually going to kill you, and sometimes it feels pretty good! Will power and self restraint is something that I have struggled with my entire adult life. I would love to wax poetic and tell you how its all because of childhood trauma caused by my cousins-sister's-best friend's-boyfriend's gay pet cockatoo, but I think I just like food. Certain things that I would eat would trigger me to binge eat boat loads of crap. Like Potatoes. Potatoes are a huge trigger food for me. Not only would eating potatoes trigger me to eat more potatoes, but the starchy goodness of them would always make me want to eat something sugary right after. Not anymore! Not only have I been able to avoid temptation, but the longer I do it, the easier it is!

Trigger foods are foods that you eat that make you want to continue eating. Deficiencies are nutrients that your body is missing that make you want to consume a certain type of food in order to repair an actual or percieved deficiency. And everyone knows what emotional eating is... Something makes you feel bad so you seek to give yourself an endorphin dosage by eating something. Whatever. You know what the important part is? The important part is I HAD THE DOLLAR BILL IN THE VENDING MACHINE AND I TALKED MYSELF DOWN. "So what?" You say. "Big Freaking Deal." You're right. It is. In the completely unprecedented and personal victory kinda way!

People ask me how my new diet is going. Its going people. I love it. I'm am whole heartedly on board. They say it takes a month to develop habits? I believe it. I'm getting close and this already feels natural to me.

I spend a lot of my time weighing stuff.

And chopping stuff.

And then actually cooking stuff myself.

I'm spending more time on my nutrition than I ever have before, but damn if that hasnt increased my satisfaction with it!!

Speaking of which, there have been some requests for some recipes. I'm going to share the recipes for the tomato free tomato sauce, which I can only take credit for part of it. The idea came from elsewhere on the web. I'm also going to share the recipe for the veggie lasagna and it was created by Amanda Beckner. So, not mine, don't thank me, thank them. Deliciousness!

Tomato-free tomato sauce:
Ingredients:
2 cans beets (not pickled)
1 bag baby carrots
1/2 cup lemon juice
 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 onion
2 tbsp oil
2 cups of water
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop the onion and garlic (doesnt matter how fine, its going in a blender). Sautee onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add beets, carrots and 1 cup of water. Cover pot and lower heat to medium. Cook for 40-60 minutes until carrot is soft. Add 2nd cup of water and spices. Remove from heat and stir well to distribute spices. Mix in lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. Transfer contents from pot to blender and blend until chunks are gone. (This only took about a minute). Use immediately or freeze.

I love this sauce! Its yummy and works great on pasta, in lasagna and also as a dipping sauce. And, because its beets and not tomatoes, it doesnt stain my tupperware! Double score! In addition, there is no added sugar or anything, so when I eat it, I'm like, "Eating my veggies dude, back off."

Ok, so now onto the veggie lasagna. I told you that it belongs to Amanda Beckner, but also, I made a few changes to it. Its yummier now. Also, if you come across an ingredient like "Dairy free Daiya cheese shreds" Just know that it will work just fine with real cheese.

Ingredients:

1 cup fat free cottage cheese (or dairy free substitute)
1 package frozen california veggies
1 box gluten free lasagna noodles (or regular ones if you are lucky enough to be a wheat-eater)
2 cups tomato free tomato sauce (or tomato if you prefer)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp parsley
1 cup daiya dairy free shredded cheese substitute (Or mozarella cheese if you are of the cow's milk persuasion)
5 ounces frozen spinach

Start by preheating the oven to 375. Then, the lasagna noodles say that they are no cook, ready for the oven noodles. They lie through their delicious pasta teeth. The first time I used them, they stayed hard as a rock. I now soak them in hot water for ten minutes prior to usage. Works perfectly.

Mix the garlic, basil and parsley into the cottage/ricotta cheese. Set aside. In an 8 x 10 pan, lay 3 noodles flat on the bottom (they will fit this pan size perfectly. Next, spread half the red sauce, all the cottage cheese, half the daiya, the spinach and the california veggies ontop of the noodles. (I like to chop the veggies to make smaller pieces, that way, your maintain your lasagna-ish composition). Lay the other three noodles ontop and top with the remaining sauce and daiya. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and back for 20 additional minutes. Serve and enjoy!

I didnt take any pictures of me cooking the lasagna. I was going to take a picture of me eating it, but trust me, it wouldn't do it justice.

So, the next step in this game is to get fresh with it. I'm still a slave to the convenience culture. I like my veggies pre-chopped and my salads pre-washed. I'm going to a farmers market on monday, so, I'll let you know how this goes.

Lets talk about results!! I have big news to report! Not only did I spend today mostly pain free, but I had excess energy to burn and man! My mood has never been better. And.... ::drumroll please:: I have had to go four holes tighter in my belt!!! Its my fat girl belt and there is only one hole left, so after that, I will have to buy a new belt!

Speaking of, there is still time to get in on the game! The person with the closest guess as to how much fat I will lose by february 2nd will win an amazon.com gift card valued at that number! Leave a comment with your guess and either your name or email.