Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The home is where the heart is...but the heart of the home is in the kitchen!

How many of you grew up hearing the saying: Home is where the heart is. While I agree with that saying, as I’ve gotten older and especially now as I have a home of my own and the constant need to play the role of hostess to go right along with it, I’ve come to understand that saying all the more but believe that to take it a step further: the kitchen is the heart of the home. Any time there is a social gathering, regardless of the kitchen space available, everyone seems to find themselves huddled in the kitchen hanging out and socializing. Have any of you noticed the same thing?

This past weekend I was in North Carolina with my momma to not only mourn the death of Aunt Catherine (her aunt, my great aunt) but to celebrate her life. We spent the majority of our time in Mount Olive at her daughter’s home (a home where I’ve spent many a holidays and family gatherings) and for the most part, right in line with my kitchen is the heart of the home statement, we found ourselves camped out in the kitchen around the bar-recalling old memories, looking through old photographs, and just enjoying our time together. But we all know what happens in the kitchen of a home when one has just passed away, right? There was food EVERYWHERE. From side dishes to meat dishes, pies to cakes, it just kept arriving. Have you ever noticed that people express their “help” through the delivery of food? When someone passes away, you prepare a meal. When someone has a new baby, you deliver a meal. When someone is sick, you take them food. Am I the only one that’s noticed this pattern? Needless to say, I used a few extra points during the two days that we were at Beth’s. I do have to say however that I remained in control, made decent choices, and didn’t feel guilty about any of them. For me that’s a huge WIN!

As I mentioned in my last posting, being on the road and not being able to have total control over when you will eat and what you will eat is hard for me. However, I think I, along with my mom whom I’m very proud of, did a bang up job of staying in control, tracking every bite, and making good choices. On Sunday as we were heading to Beth’s for the first time my mom, my aunt, and I decided we should stop and have lunch (we had the salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays) prior to our arrival for the exact reason mentioned above-we knew there would be LOADS of food but not necessarily foods that would help us stay focused. On Monday following a family luncheon (oh-so-delicious and oh-so-Southern, if you know what I mean) provided by Aunt Catherine’s church family and then her funeral services later that evening we again decided to stop for dinner (again, salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays). Overall, my trip was a food success. As I was telling my mom yesterday on the way home, I didn’t one time have a fried food, a french fry or a coke. In my book that was a huge success. When you go on a road trip, are there any foods you often find yourself falling victim to that you wouldn’t normally eat at home? What have been your food successes in the last week since I started this blog? In the last month?

Again, I have to thank all of you for your continued following and your uplifting remarks. While I was gone I heard from 2 of you and it was so good for my soul! Thanks for checking in. Sorry for the delay in posts but things were a little busy. I’m home now and getting settled back into the routine! Also, thanks for sharing your food yesterday, Hoover! Hopefully your “comment” will be helpful to others out there reading this, as it is always helpful to me! If any of the rest of you feels comfortable sharing your “journal” please feel free. This is a safe, loving environment! I would love to hear about your victories, and even your struggles. That’s exactly what this blog is about. Celebrating and overcoming! Until tomorrow, wishing you all good eats!

Breakdown of Sunday and Monday:

Sunday:

Breakfast included a bowl of mixed berries and Greek yogurt ( 1 point and 125.5 calories) and a bowl of oatmeal (1 c=4 points and 307 calories) with ½ a banana (0 points and 53 calories), blueberries, cinnamon, sugar(1 t for 0 points) and walnuts(2 T=2 points and 82 calories) for a total of 6 points and 490 calories. This brought the breakfast total to 7 points and 615.5 calories.

Lunch included salad from the salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays and was topped with egg (2 points and 78 calories), croutons (5 points), ranch dressing (4 T=8 points and 296 calories), craisins (1/8 c=1 point and 49 calories), cheese (1 point and 22 calories). This brought lunches total to 17 points and 538 calories. Don’t ask how that math works out. Breakfast at 615 and half the points? I’m really getting a bit frustrated with both calculations.

Dinner included 3 cups of clam chowder (12 points and 543 calories), a piece of pork tenderloin for 3 points, slice of pecan pie (9 points and 339 calories) and a smidge of banana pudding (4 points and 143 calories). Dinner put be over my points and into my weekly extra points by 18 and well over my calories. Thank goodness for those extra points each week-they really are what keeps my sanity! Dinner is where I feel victim to the “kitchen is the heart of the home” saying. Because we were spending our time in the kitchen and because the kitchen was where all the food was (not only was it there but it was all laid out and its aromas were super enticing) my “nibbling” got the best of me.

Monday:

Breakfast included 1 cup of oatmeal with 1 T raw sliced almonds (1 point and 45 calories), 1 t agave sweetener (1 point and 20 calories), and cinnamon along with a bowl of mixed berries, 1 T sliced almonds and Greek yogurt. Breakfast equaled 8 points and 542.5 calories

Lunch was a little tricky. We had lunch at the church as a family and I wasn’t exactly able to calculate everything but I am being 100% accountable for every bite: baked ham, 1 T creamed corn, 2 T potato salad, 1 roll, 1/4 baked sweet potato, green beans, 1 T mac & cheese, 1 small slice pound cake, 1 small slice of some sort of yellow cake with a chocolate whipped frosting, and one bite of brownie. I opted not to have fried chicken and not to have heaping spoonfuls of the other options. Everything was extremely delicious but being Southern myself was enough for me to understand that everything was most likely prepared with butter-and lots of it. Not to mention the other ingredients that makes Southern food so delicious but artery clogging!

Dinner was salad from Ruby Tuesdays again. It was a refreshing way to end the evening. My mom used to tell me, “Candace, you are going to turn into a rabbit with all the salad you eat” but what can I say-nothing beats a good salad!

In my next post you won’t see calorie calculations. I’ve decided (through much conversation and through several days of observation) to reduce my daily points from 34 to 29 and that should be right in line with the number of calories I should be consuming each day. If you see a food and just want to know the information about it and I haven’t provided it, please feel free to ask!

1 comment:

  1. You are doing great!!! :) Your posts are so thorough and I know it takes a lot of time to track points and calories...just like anything, you will figure out the best way as you go along and you are already adapting so well! :) Keep up the great work and I love you!

    Love,
    Sarah

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