Life is Healthy

My hamstrings are wishing I'd stayed in California. So are my obliques. They aren't super sore, but they're letting me know this morning that they are NOT happy that I "abused" them again yesterday. I think they liked the week off.

No gains! At least nothing substantial. I stepped on the scale this morning and it said 129. I was 127.8 a day before vacation. Just a little water weight, probably.

So how are you all doing? Eating well? Working out? Yes? No? Thinking about it?

One of the comfort foods I missed while I was on vacation was this pumpkin/pudding concoction I discovered over at Hungry-Girl.com. Mix 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin, a container of Jell-O sugar-free vanilla pudding, a packet of stevia (or Splenda) and 1/2 t. of cinnamon. You get a LOT of creamy yumminess for your calories. And a lot of fiber, too. Very filling. I bought my weekly can of pumpkin yesterday and a six-pack of pudding and I'm good to go for awhile.

Catching up on my blog reading, I found a great article link at The Skinny the other day. "10 Best Foods For Women" talks about, well, the kinds of foods women should eat to stay healthy. I thought I was all smart and stuff until I got to the part about kale. Kale? I've not seen much written about the health benefits of kale. Spinach, yes, but kale? So I bought some kale yesterday. Any of you have it before? How do you cook it? I was going to saute some in onions and garlic and serve it with the tempeh that's currently in my freezer.

Also included in the article is a recipe for Pistou Vegetable Soup which includes kale. I'll "vegetarianize" it (it calls for chicken broth) and try it this weekend.

I was a little ticked this morning when I discovered the calcium supplement I bought has gelatin in it. My vitamin D levels are low so my doctor put me on it. Considering we haven't had any sun in four months, no wonder my levels are low! Unfortunately I already opened the package so I can't return it. Now I'm on the hunt for vegetarian calcium supplements. I'm sure it won't be too hard to find, but really. Gelatin? Is that really necessary in calcium?

It's good to be home again, but I really loved California. I'm also not afraid to take time off from my workout schedule anymore. Not that I want to take a week off again anytime soon, but always in the back of my head was that worry that I'd gain all 168 pounds back. In a week. Irrational, I know, but that's how my head works sometimes.

I updated my 2008 page on my Lynn's Journey site with some photos from California. Click here to go there.