Tag: paleo

That’s not my bag, baby!

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And we’re baaaack.  From Puglia that is.  It was a great trip.  Instead of telling you all about it (a few sneak pics on Instagram), I’d like to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming (HA) to introduce my friend Kristiina (not a typo) of a little of a lot.

I met Kristiina way back when I worked at a law firm before law school.  Her family of four is having its own little adventure right now; they just moved from Virginia to Denver.  Kristiina has mad photography skillz, knows her way around ALL the beauty products, and she was eating paleo before it was cool.  She also singlehandedly demystified photo editing for me, for which I will be eternally grateful.

Today Kristiina is interviewing me about, gulp, what is in my purse.  Click on over to see

  • how many things have molded in my purse,
  • how many USB drives I found upon an actual cleaning, and
  • which purse I am looking to defile next.

Thanks for checking it out!

Your turn!  What can’t you live without in your bag?  And am I the only person who forgets to clean her bag, like uh, ever?

Goals for 2015

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Well, I looked back on 2014, but I forgot to mention my favorite song:

You’re welcome.  And now on to 2015!  Instead of resolutions, I’m trying for some goals.  You may be getting quarterly updates on these.  You know, just to keep me honest.

Blogging/Writing Goals

Stockpile some posts.  A lot of my blogging is done in real time.  Nap time rolls around, I sit at the computer and share with you immediately.  Sometimes this is fine, but it is not always ideal.  Some topics I’d like to think about a little more.  Sometimes we travel and I can’t write a post.  I like to vary the content so you don’t get just kids or just food on any given week.  This would all be easier to do if I built up some post reserves.  The goal is to have some posts that I can choose from instead of feeling pressure to get a finished product out every day.

Make the blog look prettier.  You may have noticed some site updates.  I am hoping to continue to upgrade.  Until now, my goal has been content, content, content.  I wanted to get on a regular posting schedule, and I generally have.  Creating posts was more of a priority than having a slick-looking platform.  Now I’d like to make the whole thing a little easier on the eyes and easier to use.

Group blog content in a more helpful way.  I’m working on creating a travel resources page.  I’ll also try to work on other ways to organize content so that it may be of use to you.

Read 4 books on writing.  I’ve read Bird by Bird, but I really haven’t read much else on writing.  I love to read.  Getting through a book on writing each quarter should not be a hardship.

Read more about blogging.  I’ve been down a rabbit hole on Blog Tyrant over the last few days.  There is so much I know nothing about.  I’m sort of shocked that I figured out a “.com” way to blog.  This goal is a bit loosey goosey, but I want to get better.

Submit a piece of writing to another platform.  The goal is not necessarily to have the writing published somewhere (something I can’t really control) or to be paid for writing.  I just want to make myself send something somewhere.

Kid Goals

Potty train the toddler.  He turns 3 this fall.  I’m not pushing the potty agenda yet.  I’ve heard that boys generally train later.  But I’d love to cut down our diaper consumption at some point this year.

Get the baby sleeping through the night.  Mac generally still gets up once a night.  Some mights it is closer to 6:00; not really complaining about those.  Some nights it is more like 4:00 am.  Not cool.  I get that a lot of this goal is outside of my control, but I’d like to keep working on it.

Get some childcare.  I mentioned before that we’d like to get some baby parking for Henry a morning or two each week.  Mostly because I think he will love it and it will be good to get some Italian language exposure.  I’m not in a rush on Mac, but later this year I’d like to have some system for some kid-free time for me.  It would be good to have some time to take a language class, exercise, do more writing, wander the city, etc.

Be braver on morning outings.  Up to now, we’ve stuck closer to home so that Mac could get a good morning nap in his crib.  He still naps, but he is starting to be a little more of a pill about it.  I think we may start to venture more far flung and Mac can nap on the go if he needs it.  Morning adventure should get easier as it warms up this year.  I’d like to get zoo annual passes, check out the children’s museum, get comfortable with the kids on public transportation, and more.

Health Goals

Build exercise into my routine.  My real goal is to lose the last few pounds from the last baby, but I’m trying to work on process goals instead of the end result.  I still haven’t made exercise a priority, and I need to.  The goal is to try to figure out a time when I can run and to make myself get up earlier for other exercise, like pilates.

Build a paleo(ish) meal plan.  I don’t mind repetition in food.  We end up eating a lot of the same things anyway.  My goal is to have a week or two of meals all planned out so that I can have a ready-to-go grocery list that will equal a meal game plan for the week.  I say paleo-ish because I’m ok with some beans and cheese.  If I get this one figured out, I’ll be sure to share!

Cook for leftovers.  I’ve written before that I struggle on making healthy and tasty lunches.  Leftovers would really help on this front.  For some reason, I struggle on making more for dinner the night before.  I aim to fix this.  I’m eying recipes for soups, frittatas, and slow cooker meals that should result in a better lunch than yogurt.

Cut down on added sugar and gluten at home.  If I can ever get the holiday sweets out of the house, I’m going to try to adhere to a “treats are for outside the house” mentality.  Same for gluten.  Pasta and pizza are OK for when we are out, but we will try to avoid at home.  The Italians make better pasta and pizza than I ever could anyway.  This goal will never reach 100% compliance, but I do want it to be the goal.

Other Goals

Hang up the rest of the pictures.  The goal was to hang up everything before our friends visited at the end of the year.  We have been making excellent progress, but a few left.  Maybe can finish before my mom gets here next month?

Behold my frame wall!

Behold my frame wall!

Make more time for email.  Being away from people is hard.  But in a way it has been good because I’m emailing with some people more than we got to talk when living in the same country.  And then I drop the ball.  Some days life just feels like kids and blog.  I need to carve out time for my correspondence.

Do a big trip each quarter.  That list isn’t going to see itself.

Tackle those neglected corners of the house.  Most things are put away, but a few spots need some work.

The corner of my bedroom where things go to die.

The corner of my bedroom where things go to die.

Make a photo book for 2014.  I actually need to make photo books for every year except 2007, but this seems like a more realistic goal.

Well, that should keep me busy.  Do you have goals?  Resolutions?  Resolutions still intact?  How is it already Jan. 20!

 

Thoughts from my “Whole 10”

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Earlier this month I did 10 or 11 days of a whole 30.  This is not exactly the way the program is supposed to work, but it can be a helpful tune-up.  I made it through a weekend which I’m proud of.  Now I’m back to normal, but with some modifications.  Here are some thoughts about the process this time around:

If you are thinking of doing a whole30, but know going into it that it is OK to stop early, then you will probably stop early.  My goal was to try it to clean things up, but to stop when it made sense for me.  Which is fine.  But having that attitude–at least for me–almost guaranteed that I would stop early.  I was thinking about this because I’m toying with participating in National Novel Writing Month in November.  I haven’t done much planning, but the program says that can work.  I’m just not sure it will work for me.  I’m mostly hesitant because I don’t have an idea that I love.  And you really need an idea that you love if you are going to commit to 50,000 words in a month.  Part of me thinks, well, I’ll just try it.  Even if I don’t finish 50,000 words, it will be a good writing exercise.  But.  This approach dooms me from the start.  If I allow myself an out, I’ll probably take it.  So I’m not sure I want to announce to all of you that I am committing to NaNoWriMo.  Definitely not yet.  But I’m still thinking about it.

Paleo really is hard to do here.  This is particularly true on convenience food.  If we are out and about, the quickest option is pizza.  I miss having that spontaneity.  Although whole30-ing doesn’t really lend itself to convenience food anywhere.

I just shouldn’t keep chocolate or gelato or anything else too delicious in the house.  I have a lot of willpower about some things.  Not dusting off the bag of peanut butter M&Ms is not one of them.  There is plenty of room for treats when we are out of the house.

I should keep cutting out the glass (or so) of wine after the kids go to bed.  This one is hard.  But I think it makes the biggest difference on how I feel the next day.  I’ve been trying to have more booze free days and focus on more targeted drinking, such as date night, weekends, with friends, etc.

Less wine = nicer wine.  If I’m being more strategic, I don’t want to deal with a 4 euro grocery store grab that turns out to be awful.  So more trips to the legit wine store in our future.

I really should stop eating after dinner entirely.  If left to my own devices, I will nibble all evening.  If I am successful on not having treats in the house, this should help.

I’m trying to do pasta only once a week.  It’s an easy meal.  It is delicious.  But I’m limiting for health and to avoid pasta fatigue.  People who have been here a year tell me this is real, and even though I am scoffing at them right now, I will find myself in the same place.

This helped snap me out of my yogurt-for-lunch rut.  I find cooking paleo dinners pretty easy and Henry and I eat ALL the eggs for breakfast, but I was stumped on lunch.  Now I’m trying harder to have leftovers.  I’m also working to stock more convenient proteins to throw on salads like canned fish, anchovies, and smoked salmon.  Soup season is upon us which should help for leftovers!

So you're thinking about a whole30 . . .

So that’s where I ended up.  Less booze, more lunch ideas, and confidence that paleo is possible in Italy.  If you are thinking about a whole30, learn from my attempts:

  • Prepare, prepare, and then prepare some more.  If you wait until you are starving, you are screwed because paleo is often not quick and easy.
  • Definitely stock up on some make-your-life-easier essentials: ghee, almond flour, coconut milk, coconut aminos, canned tomatoes, nuts, canned fish.
  • Make sure you get enough fat in your meals.  You aren’t supposed to be hungry all the time.  If you are, you’re doing it wrong.
  • Avocados and sweet potatoes are your friend.  Roasted sweet potatoes are really good for feeling comforty when you just want carbs.
  • Let your crock pot also be your friend.
  • Sparkling water with lime is nice for when you get sick of regular water.
Have you ever tried a whole30?  Any other tips?  Would you ever do one?

State of the Situation

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We’ve been here almost seven weeks.  W00t!  It’s true what they say: time flies when you’re trying to figure things out in a foreign country.  For fun, here are some stats and updates on previously discussed topics.

Cappuccinos enjoyed (Melissa):  3

Cappuccinos enjoyed (James): eleventy billion   Ok, it just feels that way.  But I think he gets 2/day at work.

Restaurants sat in as a family:  2  We did go to one 2x.  We’ll try to increase this number, but tough because most places don’t open until 1900 or 1930.  We have done pizza and panini take out.

Date Nights:  2  This should be four, but we’ve have had babysitter cancellation.  We’re currently trying to find more sitters.

Exotic Takeout Delivered:  1!  After I mentioned a lack of options, I discovered justeat.it.  For you law-firmians, this is very similar to seamless.  They have plenty of Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Thai places listed.  The knock is that most places don’t open until late which means delivery is pretty late.  I don’t think it could be here in time for a family dinner, but we may use it as an at-home date night after the kids are in bed.

Days of whole30:  9ish  After declaring my plans, I was going strong with only one accidental goof.  (I put some premade pesto on veggies before remembering, duh, parmesan.)  I was proud that I made it through a weekend.  But then last night we ordered sushi and I went a little crazy with some off-plan rice and soy sauce.  This is definitely not the way the program is supposed to work.  If you give it a try, I encourage you to really stick with it for 30 days.  I think I had a different mindset knowing that I might allow myself to wrap up early.  It has been a really helpful reset, and I’ve made it through the feel-crappy-early-days.  I’m sticking with it again for now, but might stop based on any weekend travel plans.  For example, it just would seem all kinds of wrong to go to Tuscany and not have a little wine.

Markets visited: 2  One vegetable and one antique.

Parks visited: 3  We’ve made it to Villa Borghese, Villa Ada, and Villa Torlonia.

Playgrounds visited:  5  We’ve been to two in Borghese, one in Ada, and two in our neighborhood.  If there is a playground, Henry will find it.  And immediately head to the swings.

Trips outside Rome:  0  😦  But we just booked our trip to Germany for this December!  We’re going to see the Christmas markets in Munich and Nuremberg.  Excited to cross something off the travel wish list.  We may see about something close by this holiday weekend as well.  The rest of our stuff gets here Friday (holla!), so there will definitely be plenty of unpacking to keep us busy.

Runs:  1  I’m embarrassed to say just the one at this point.  I resolved here to do more exercise, and this still needs work.  I did pilates two mornings, but Mac has been uncooperative with his sleeping.  This means I might be dealing with him in the morning or just more tired from being up.  I am trying to be more deliberate about going for walks.  Which has the added strength training benefit of pushing a large stroller or carrying an 18 pounder.

Suckers given to Henry:  2  He added another to his count of freebies.

Visitors:  0  But we have people coming in December and April!

Gelato eaten:  too much to count

 

 

Paleo Fail-io

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Once upon a time, James and I read It Starts with Food and did a Whole30.  Basically you cut out all gluten, added sugar, dairy, booze, legumes, and corn for 30 days, and then gradually reintroduce foods to your healed body to see how it does.  Even though it was strict, I found it worked better for me than trying to be reasonable.  I am definitely an abstainer and not a moderator.  At the end of the program, we had both lost about 5% of our body weight.  We did feel great.  James and I couldn’t shut up about it and annoyingly preached the Whole30 gospel for quite some time.  I think almost everyone in my family has done one.

We do try to do more paleo cooking, but we’ve definitely fallen off the wagon.  Italy has not helped that.  Gelato!  Cheese!  Pizza!  Wine!  I can’t figure out what to make for lunch so Henry and I frequently have yogurt.

I feel less healthy in other ways, but this has to do more with stay-at-homing than with being-in-Italying.  I don’t walk as much.  Not because I’m driving, but because we don’t venture out as far.  There is a playground steps from our door.  The grocery store is only two blocks away.  I used to walk to public transportation, walk around the building, walk for lunch.  I’m trying to say yes to more dance parties and head out for longer walks.

Our schedule makes big walks hard though.  I love our schedule.  But with Mac’s morning nap, we are never really more than an hour away from someone’s nap or meal.  Also, Henry will tolerate some stroller time, but he also likes to walk.  If he’s walking, we cover less ground.  And it is easy to release the kraken, but will he go back in the stroller?

But the other day, I decided to grab hold and seize it.  We would head back to Villa Borghese and explore some other area of the park.  We live 10 minutes from Rome’s Central Park.  We owe it to ourselves to enjoy everything it has to offer, darnit!

This was probably too ambitious.  First off, we all have colds right now.  Second, instead of a low-to-mid 80s kind of day, it was more of an upper 80s kind of day.  But it was too late.  I had loaded up more than 50 lbs (not an exaggeration) of children and gear, and we were off.

By the time we got to a previously unvisited portion, I was sniffly, hot, and tired.  And it was time to go back for lunch and Mac was not pleased.  And Henry definitely did not want to go back in the stroller.

But we got to see a few new things before we turned back.  While Henry was chasing pigeons or other such, I noticed this guy in a tree.  He was so exotic looking that I thought he must have been someone’s escaped pet.  But I saw three of them in the tree.  Turns out my first instinct may not have been too far off.

9.16_green bird

We also saw this little guy.  He stayed remarkably patient with the toddler who wanted to embrace him.

9.16_lizard

And then after bargaining, bribery, and threats got everyone (read  Henry) loaded back in the stroller, I’m pretty sure I saw two people having sex in the park.  Sorry–no pics!  They were a little far off, and I didn’t want to stare.  So there’s Rome for ya.  Start off talking about paleo, end up with sex in the public park.