A Day with Friends
What a great day today. Despite the occasional rain, a day with friends is always good. The wife and I remodeled the backyard last year and this was a christening of sorts. We got to enjoy our new patio and fire pit, as well as the surrounding plant life. This was also the first time I entertained since undertaking my quest for fitness. I wanted to serve a delicious meal that was not only healthy, but satisfying. It was also a chance to showcase a number of the recipes I have featured here in the TDT195 pages. In my humble opinion, all cylinders were firing today.
We started with my red pepper hummus and some raw veggies. For a salty, crunchy fix we had Kale chips and the last of my Sweet Fire Sticks pickled carrots. I wasn't overjoyed with results for the kale chips this go round, but my guests couldn't get enough. Even my 10 year old godson was asking for more. Dinner was one of the easiest executions of entertaining that I have ever pulled off. My best friend Doug is always a huge help, but what really made it carefree was that all the salads were made ahead, including coleslaw (vegan for the wife), a whole grain 4 bean pasta salad loaded with flavor and fiber and a fresh tomato and avocado salad with my honey lime chipotle dressing. Entrees were a duo of grilled meat with an organic grass-fed skirt steak with a herbaceous chimichurri sauce and chicken thighs with my Dijon glaze. The interesting thing is that the favorite of mine was the inexpensive chicken rather than pricey steak. Goes to show you that you can make really good food with humble ingredients.
Almost off of these recipes can be found on Food Thursday entries from the last 2 months or so. All in all there were a total of 5 recipes from the blog and one which I will feature this Thursday. It was so satisfying knowing that I was giving my guests good and tasty food without loading them up on fat, sugar or preservatives.
The Yard Kicked My Butt
In preparation for today's festivities, I needed to do the typical mowing, edging, scrubbing of lawn furniture, etc. With the sun and humidity yesterday it totally kicked my ass. I was drained. Tab and I went out for dinner last night and I could barely keep my head up. I went to bed last night at 11, which is early for me. I would have gone even earlier, but I'm always afraid I will be wide awake too early the next day. That might not be a bad thing if I didn't have 2 dogs that will wake Tab up early as well. I am not sure how I used to do the yard work last year with 50 lbs. more on me. I'm not there yet, but someday I hope that the work that I accomplished yesterday won't be as debilitating as it was. Getting older will be easier with less of Mike dragging me down.
Hopeful
I feel good about this week's potential progress. I stayed the course and aside from a little more volume today than the norm, I was on target with my meals during the last seven days. I am looking forward to my Monday morning ritual, hopeful for the 50.
What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Kashi 7 Grain Nuggets w/half a banana, fresh blueberries and toasted pecans. Of the usual unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Lunch ~ Chicken and Turkey wrap w/tomato and lite mayo
Dinner ~ See above, plus one glass of Malbec
Exercise ~ Much time on my feet the last two days doing yard work, cooking and shopping
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