A Dilemma

Yes I’m still here, and yes I’m still working on my health and I am still following Shay and trying to remember “Time and Pressure”. I have been writing stuff out but it’s on a personal blog that I keep all posts private on. It’s a place where I write things to me, for me and I don’t worry about putting myself down or saying things that may be taken wrong because no one else can see what I write.

I was going through some of my old posts, as I am wont to do so that I can see how I’ve changed, and I noticed this little list that I made up back in September. I figured I would do an update on that list to see how I’ve been at keeping up with it.

– go to bed at 10 pm

I’ve been…. so-so at keeping up with going to bed at 10… I get to bed somewhere between 10 and 11, and for the most part, it’s closer to the 10 mark. This has helped me be able to get up in the morning better, though I still feel like I need more sleep, I’m not missing the alarm as often as I used to.

– eat breakfast at home

This one is a complete success. I have been eating breakfast at home for about 95% of all mornings. Weekends are a little touch and go as to WHEN I eat my breakfast, but I have greatly decreased my “grab on the run” breakfasts, or worse, “forget to eat at all” breakfasts.

– make special lunces on the weekend

I will admit, I have not done this. This is something I hope to get into the habit of doing more often. Having something that’s in the fridge or freezer that I can just put into a bag and head off to work with is something that I really need to have. I usually eat leftovers for lunch, and my hubby is very good at making enough food for me to have at least one meal, however, there are days when we don’t have leftovers. On those days, I’m left scrambling and I usually take either an unhealthy lunch, or no lunch at all requiring me to run across to the gas station to grab something quick, cheap, and even more unhealthy.

– increase her fruit/veggie intake

This is touch and go too. I’ll do REALLY good for a month, then… it… falls off. Right now I’m doing good, I’ve been trying to eat a salad a day (whether big or small, lots of ingredients or just spinach and blackberries with sesame dressing… just something), and we have fruits and veggies in the house. This has also bumped up Hubby’s veggie intake which is always a good thing.

– do 50 crunches when she gets home from work

*Falls on the floor laughing* Did I really list that I would do this… whoops… well I think maybe that went well for 1 day, though I have been hitting the gym/wii fit more than I used to, so there is some bit that’s better there. I completely failed on the crunches part though.

– make real food snacks for everyone

Still working on this one. Basically, this is saying “I need to bake good munchies that aren’t so processed/filled with crud/at least a little healthy” because I live in a house with 2 boys who ALWAYS have the munchies, they’re growing boys, what can I say. Hubby and Roommate go through a box of cookies in 1/2 a day on the weekends if I don’t watch them and comment on it… I’ve been good at keeping fruit, yogurt, veggies, and granola in the house, but I still have to fight the cookie/chip monsters, and will continue to do so.

– harrass Hubby the night before for what tomorrow’s meal will be

Hmm not too successful on this either, but we’ve been trying to make a meal plan and stick with it. Partly because our budget can’t tolerate us eating out all the time, and partly because that way grocery shopping is much simpler. However me not reminding hubby about food for the next day has resulted in us not having meat ready and having to deviate from our plan, but we’re working on it.

– clean the kitchen right after dinner

Hmm not so successful on this one either… I’ve been trying to keep the kitchen clean more, and hubby has been very helpful with running the dishwasher, but I have been falling behind. I’m hoping to get a good amount of the dishes done tonight, and I’m pretty good at catching up mostly on the weekends. The problem is, if hubby has no room to cook, hubby doesn’t really cook… so that’s why having the kitchen clean is so very important.

Looking over that list, I think I’ve done pretty good on it all things considered… It’s been about 6 months since I wrote it and I have made some improvements in my life, even just by writing it down and working on it.

Now I have the Dilemma mentioned in my post title, and it’s this. I could never, ever be Vegan, I’m sorry, I just can’t. I love meat, cheese, yogurt and such way too much, however I do not ever claim that the obvious health benefits aren’t there.

I would love to cut down on my animal product eating, if not cut it out entirely, however the problem is the two wonderful men who live with me, one being Hubby, the other Roommate. Both of these guys do not worry about their weight (for the most part…) Hubby is a bit watchful of his, but last summer he had health issues that dropped him WAY too low in weight and is now working on getting back up to a healthy level. Roommate just doesn’t really care. This means that when one member of the household is trying to eat healthily, it is very difficult. Especially when that one person is not the main cook in the house as she is the last person to get home after work.

Now I am not belittling, or speaking against Hubby making dinner. I am HUGELY greatful that he’s willing to have dinner ready, or at least in the process of being made by the time I get home at 6:30 pm. The alternative would be to eat at 7:30-8 pm and go to bed around 10… so this way we are eating at 7 and have a bit more time after dinner. However, this does also mean that I am at the whim of the cook. I try to make meals healthier, this last Monday we had Spaghetti, and I was able to add onions and red peppers to the sauce. I also made  a salad. However, there are other meals that aren’t so healthy, that I can’t really change (Breakfast for dinner being one, eggs, steak, hashbrowns… I try to add fruit, but if I don’t have any in the house I’m kind of stuck).

Now there’s another issue as well, price. I know that right now, it’s not financially feasible for me to go Vegan. At least not while keeping a fully balanced diet. You have to admit that a lot of the alternative stuff out there (almond/soy milk, earth balance butter substitute, wheat grass) is all pretty expensive. So I know that if I was willing to give up meat, milk, eggs and such entirely, I would either go further into debt, or be missing a lot as far as getting all my nutrients and vitamins.

That being said, I have been massively drooling over the recipe posts that Ange over at Oh She Glows has been putting up. I think I’m going to need to make sure that my kitchen is clean so that I can go through those recipes and get my freezer stocked.

At the top of my list is:

Super Veggie Lentil Taco Meat by Ordinary Vegetarian (I’m a huge fan of Taco Salads)
Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes by Eating Bird Food (Travel Sized!!)
Baked Sweet Potato Falafel by Bran Appetit (Falafel Pita’s are my favourite!!)
Quinoa Pizza Balls by Newlywed, Newly Veg (SERIOUSLY must make these!!!)

I’m going to add one thing to my list that I did in September, and maybe in 6 months or so I’ll come back and see how I’m doing again.

I’m going to try and make at least half of my lunches every week Vegetarian/Vegan, this may not seem like a big deal, but for me it is. I eat a lot of very processed foods, though I am better than I used to be, and I need to work on cutting that out.

I know there’s probably no one who reads this, but if you have any favourite Vegetarian/Vegan recipes that freeze well, please let me know in the comments, and until next time, I’m going to be stalking Oh She Glows for more delicious recipes!

Oh, and another thing that makes things difficult for me to change my diet… I’m a very picky eater. I’m finally getting to the point where I’ll eat black olives, but it’s taken a while… maybe I can eventually get myself to like avocados in something more than guacamole….