Getting Ready

It's Saturday and this week-end is all about "getting ready". We are getting ready for the week ahead with a camping trip at the end, we are getting ready to start our training program for the Survivor run, and we are starting the Whole30. I say 'we are starting' because even though my husband is not planning on adhering to the Whole30 plan, I am the one cooking the majority of his meals, so in that respect, he's getting some new dishes on the menu.

Today I am purposefully not recording what I eat, but rather assessing each meal the way I am supposed to on the Whole30. This takes practice and is reminding me how to check in with my body before diving in to eat. When I prepare my meals, I am consciously practicing measuring portions: protein sources should be as big as the palm of my hand, fat sources should be the size of my thumb, use a small cupped hand to measure nuts, etc. It's pretty exciting to realize I get to saute my fish in grass-fed butter and throw avocado on my salad with the olive oil dressing. But I still can't go overboard. A thumb size goes pretty quick if your supper has multiple steps.

One of the things we were clearing out of our freezer in preparation for Whole30, was a packet of pre-cooked chicken breast in a chipotle sauce. All it needed was to be heated up and the chicken 'jerked'. There was also a bag of pre-seasoned fajita vegetables I threw in with the chicken. I know the pre-made stuff had all kinds of bad-for-me chemicals and crap in 'em but it was darned tasty, and it got me thinking I could totally recreate that from scratch with healthy, local ingredients in the crock pot tomorrow. If it goes well, I'll post the recipe.

We also went on an epic bikeride. The day started off raining, turned to snow, and just when we were ready to throw in the towel and call it an inside day, the sun came out and we jumped on it. We rode for about 3 hours: downtown to the farmers market where Erik sniffed soaps and I perused Betsy's new fabrics at Intertwined Designs, then over to the Hub to check out what was there and how they are set up, and on to the Interurban trail for another couple miles before turning around to come back. As we were coasting home, I was reminded why I'm doing this thing. I want to keep feeling just like that moment. When I'm out in nature, I want to feel strong and vibrant and active. I just don't feel that way when I'm eating things that inflame me, slow me down and hack into my lifestyle. So tonight, I continue to let go of old habits, old loves and start looking at things from this new perspective.