Ok people...for the past few weeks I've been harboring a deep fear of winter. Not because of snow or ice or freezing miserable-ness, but because of food. See, I started this weight loss journey in late April...right when fresh fruits and vegetables were becoming bountiful. Now that fall and winter are approaching, I just don't know what I'm going to do without fresh fruits and veggies at my fingertips.
Life is hard.
So today, I embarked on a frozen/canned adventure. I'm really not a fan of canned ANYTHING. When I was younger, pretty much everything I ate came out of a can. Vegetables, ravioli, spaghettio-os, etc. That's probably part of the reason I ended up being over 200 lbs. Canned goods can harbor all sorts of nastyness, but I'm a broke-ass 22 year old with limited options. Here's how I made the best out of a non-ideal sitation, in preparation for winter cooking:
Roasted Potatoes and Frozen Veggies
Ingredients:
-1 can whole new potatoes (find a kind with very little or no added salt)
-Frozen Veggies (I used a California medley: broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots...but you can use whatever the hell you want to)
-Onion
-Garlic powder
-Creole/Cajun Seasoning
-Parsley
-Salt and Pepper
-Olive Oil
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
Drain and rinse a whole can of potatoes. Cut up any larger potatoes to whatever size you like...I ended up halving most of mine. Add in desired amount of frozen vegetables. I ended up using about 1 cup...you can add less for fewer servings or add more for more nutritious and numerous servings. Honestly, I just used what was left in the bag. Chop about 1/4 cup of onion. Put these ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss with about 2 tbsp of olive oil.
Spread mixture out on a tin foil lined cookie sheet. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, and cajun seasoning as desired. Really, you can season these however you want. I love cajun seasoning because it always brings something unique to the table. And I'm obsessed with New Orleans.
Roast in oven for 7-10 minutes. Flip veggies and re-season as necessary (note: I used enough seasoning the first time around so I didn't have to add any more). Roast anther 5 minutes or so until tender.
In my opinion, this is a quick and easy side dish you can make year-round. If you're making this in the summer, I highly recommend using all fresh ingredients. Adjust the cooking time accordingly - it will take longer since your potatoes aren't already cooked.
I also considered adding shredded cheese to the top of this in the last minute or two of cooking, but had already had enough dairy for the day and really didn't need the extra calories. I bet it would be delicious though!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Mamavation Monday 9/6
Hello ladies!
The past few weeks have been a little bananas for me, with me quitting my job and being in class all day for two weeks straight. That said, since August 23rd I've gained 3.8 lbs. Totally lame.
The first week of class I did great with packing my lunch...the second week, not so much. I got to know my classmates better and went to get lunch with them instead. I could have made way better choices, but didn't. I was also studying like crazy and fell victim to late night snacking...another bad choice.
Pretty much the only good thing I did last week was drink lots of water. I was constantly sipping it through class.
Hopefully I'll get a job as an SRNA soon, so I'll be able to establish a routine again. Looking forward to that day!
My goals this week are to try to avoid eating out, particularly fast food. I think that's what really killed me last week. I'm convinced a homecooked meal, no matter what it is, is better than most fast food options. Since I'm not working, I'm going to try to work out more as well. School has taken a priority these past few weeks, but my nursing assistant class is over now, so my days aren't as busy until I start working again.
Hope you all have a fabulous week!
The past few weeks have been a little bananas for me, with me quitting my job and being in class all day for two weeks straight. That said, since August 23rd I've gained 3.8 lbs. Totally lame.
The first week of class I did great with packing my lunch...the second week, not so much. I got to know my classmates better and went to get lunch with them instead. I could have made way better choices, but didn't. I was also studying like crazy and fell victim to late night snacking...another bad choice.
Pretty much the only good thing I did last week was drink lots of water. I was constantly sipping it through class.
Hopefully I'll get a job as an SRNA soon, so I'll be able to establish a routine again. Looking forward to that day!
My goals this week are to try to avoid eating out, particularly fast food. I think that's what really killed me last week. I'm convinced a homecooked meal, no matter what it is, is better than most fast food options. Since I'm not working, I'm going to try to work out more as well. School has taken a priority these past few weeks, but my nursing assistant class is over now, so my days aren't as busy until I start working again.
Hope you all have a fabulous week!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Mamavation Monday 8/23
Hello ladies
This week was pretty good for me. I lost 1.6lbs which brings me down to 235.0. I definitely paid more attention to what I was eating this week, but didn't work out. I also didn't get on Twitter and follow the Mamavation hashtag as much as I should have.
However, I DID quit my job at the bank this week...and committed to a total and complete career change. I was having some anxiety about it this weekend, as far as how the money situation was going to work out for the next few weeks and if I'm really going to like this whole nursing thing. Everyone I've talked to about seems to think I'll make a good CNA (and eventually nurse)...because I'm so caring or something, so I suppose that's reassuring. I guess there are just always nerves when facing the unknown. Read more about the whole situation HERE.
School started for me on Thursday, and since I'll be going to CNA classes as well for the next 2 weeks from 8-4, I've been trying to get a head start on things. My teachers seem like genuinely good educators, so I'm pretty excited about that.
With this new CNA class, a tight money situation, and college classes all starting, it's really important that I meal plan and strategize this week. I'm not usually one for meal planning for an entire week...but I at least need to get a few days head start so I don't end up going through a drive-thru, spending money I don't need to spend, and consuming thousands of empty calories. At my old job, I had the luxury of coming home on my lunch break, but I'll have to pack a lunch ahead of time now. That makes waking up even earlier. I'm not so good at that waking up thing.
Anyway, despite how busy I'll be this week, I'm going to try and hop on Twitter more and hopefully make it to Mamavation TV Monday night to congratulate Jenny and Lisa on a well-done campaign! I can't believe it's almost over. Where did the summer go?
Lastly, Earth Footwear is sponsoring this week's blogging carnival. Since I'll be on my feet all day (or night) working in a hospital (hopefully) soon, I would LOVE a pair of these! @MMScarlett let me try on hers a few weeks ago, and was I got over the balance thing I was in love. And totally jealous.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
I'd Rather Wipe Asses Than Kiss Asses
So...I currently work in a bank. A bank that just so happened to be going under due to bad mortgages while our CEO kept assuring us we were fine and in the last quarter raised all these millions of dollars in capital but really we were sinking so fast the government refused to give us any bailout money and flat out told our misleading CEO (who had told all of us lowly branch employees to assure all of our faithful customers we were fine) we were pretty much EFFED. So this glorious bank was then bought by an even MORE glorious bank that charges fees for EVERYTHING (even lost debit cards) and never refunds any of these fees, and actually punishes employees who do give customers back their $7.50 because their wallet was stolen and has mysterious initials that don't quite have an explanation.
Shady.
So how did the free-spirited, beautiful, smart, talented CJ come to work for this bank?
It all started in the fall of 2006...
I was a freshman at a gigantic university. We're talking the number of students was triple the number of people in my home town. But I was ready. I was smart. I was prepared to show this university that I'd breeze through it, just like I had with all of my other academic endeavors. They should have been honored that I was a student there...and they were. They showed this by giving me a full tuition scholarship. I mean hell, if I hadn't chose to live in the dorms (and thus pay for student housing) THEY would have practically been paying ME to go there. That's how awesome I am.
But, things aren't always as perfect as they seem. Turns out I had a pretty horrific underlying and untapped social anxiety issue (or as I like to call it, "I Want My Mommy syndrome). Living in approximately 3 square feet with a stranger, sitting in a classroom with 250 other students, and not knowing a single soul wasn't really my thing. And by not really my thing, I mean I would have crying, sobbing, the world is ending panic attacks multiple times a day. In my dorm? Walking to class? The library? Inside a lecture hall? Yep. Had them in all of those places.
So I eventually just stopped going to class. I'd escape to hang out with my sister, go home to my parent's, or just drive around the city...anything to get off that damn campus. I powered through two semesters like this. Barely going to class, but still managing to do enough studying on my own to keep my GPA up.
After my first year, I just couldn't do it anymore. I was lying to my parents about my slipping grades and horrendous attendance and everything in my life seemed to be falling apart. I mean HELLO! I'm a smart kid...I do NOT drop out of college. Except I did.
So I took a part-time job at a bank, fully planning on taking ONE semester off and then getting right back to it. That didn't happen. A full-time spot opened, so I did that instead...because the bank wasn't so bad at the time. Then the newness of it all wore off, and all I could think about was going back to school. So I signed up to take two online business classes, with the intent of working in banking for the rest of my life. All was calm again.
And then I failed those two classes. Because I never studied or turned anything in. I failed out of college AGAIN. There were no social anxiety excuses this time around...I just simply didn't like the classes. You see, it wasn't business and finance in general that I liked about the bank. I liked my co-workers. I liked working and interacting with people. I did NOT like the monotony or the corporate BS. I especially didn't like the need to constantly be kissing someone's ass to keep the higher-ups happy. I signed up for ANOTHER business class online, and made it through with a good grade. Mostly because I absolutely had to prove to my parents that I could do it before they gave up on me completely and washed their hands of the entire situation.
So, here I am now. Signed up for one class this semester with a new major in mind: nursing. Now, nursing majors are required to be certified nurse's assistants. What's a CNA? That person you see cleaning up poop, or who pops in for a split second to take blood pressure, or who is changing sheets on a hospital bed is a CNA. Now...nursing programs do not require that you actually have this job at some point, just that you're certified. Most people will tell you that all CNAs do is wipe asses all day long. How chic.
But I've thought a lot about this...and my parents are being ultra-supportive based on my ONE online class I powered through last semester and my constant complaining and crying about how much I ABSOLUTELY HATE WORKING AT A BANK (oh mom and dad, how I love you so). So they've kindly encouraged me to take one nursing pre-requisition and a CNA certification class. They've also informed me to save what money I can and they'll consider helping me out so I can take a two week fast-course CNA class and get a job doing that instead.
After a lot of thought, I can only come to one conclusion.
I'd rather wipe asses than kiss asses.
Shady.
So how did the free-spirited, beautiful, smart, talented CJ come to work for this bank?
It all started in the fall of 2006...
I was a freshman at a gigantic university. We're talking the number of students was triple the number of people in my home town. But I was ready. I was smart. I was prepared to show this university that I'd breeze through it, just like I had with all of my other academic endeavors. They should have been honored that I was a student there...and they were. They showed this by giving me a full tuition scholarship. I mean hell, if I hadn't chose to live in the dorms (and thus pay for student housing) THEY would have practically been paying ME to go there. That's how awesome I am.
But, things aren't always as perfect as they seem. Turns out I had a pretty horrific underlying and untapped social anxiety issue (or as I like to call it, "I Want My Mommy syndrome). Living in approximately 3 square feet with a stranger, sitting in a classroom with 250 other students, and not knowing a single soul wasn't really my thing. And by not really my thing, I mean I would have crying, sobbing, the world is ending panic attacks multiple times a day. In my dorm? Walking to class? The library? Inside a lecture hall? Yep. Had them in all of those places.
So I eventually just stopped going to class. I'd escape to hang out with my sister, go home to my parent's, or just drive around the city...anything to get off that damn campus. I powered through two semesters like this. Barely going to class, but still managing to do enough studying on my own to keep my GPA up.
After my first year, I just couldn't do it anymore. I was lying to my parents about my slipping grades and horrendous attendance and everything in my life seemed to be falling apart. I mean HELLO! I'm a smart kid...I do NOT drop out of college. Except I did.
So I took a part-time job at a bank, fully planning on taking ONE semester off and then getting right back to it. That didn't happen. A full-time spot opened, so I did that instead...because the bank wasn't so bad at the time. Then the newness of it all wore off, and all I could think about was going back to school. So I signed up to take two online business classes, with the intent of working in banking for the rest of my life. All was calm again.
And then I failed those two classes. Because I never studied or turned anything in. I failed out of college AGAIN. There were no social anxiety excuses this time around...I just simply didn't like the classes. You see, it wasn't business and finance in general that I liked about the bank. I liked my co-workers. I liked working and interacting with people. I did NOT like the monotony or the corporate BS. I especially didn't like the need to constantly be kissing someone's ass to keep the higher-ups happy. I signed up for ANOTHER business class online, and made it through with a good grade. Mostly because I absolutely had to prove to my parents that I could do it before they gave up on me completely and washed their hands of the entire situation.
So, here I am now. Signed up for one class this semester with a new major in mind: nursing. Now, nursing majors are required to be certified nurse's assistants. What's a CNA? That person you see cleaning up poop, or who pops in for a split second to take blood pressure, or who is changing sheets on a hospital bed is a CNA. Now...nursing programs do not require that you actually have this job at some point, just that you're certified. Most people will tell you that all CNAs do is wipe asses all day long. How chic.
But I've thought a lot about this...and my parents are being ultra-supportive based on my ONE online class I powered through last semester and my constant complaining and crying about how much I ABSOLUTELY HATE WORKING AT A BANK (oh mom and dad, how I love you so). So they've kindly encouraged me to take one nursing pre-requisition and a CNA certification class. They've also informed me to save what money I can and they'll consider helping me out so I can take a two week fast-course CNA class and get a job doing that instead.
After a lot of thought, I can only come to one conclusion.
I'd rather wipe asses than kiss asses.
Off the Wagon
I fell off the wagon. Not only did I fall off the wagon, but I rolled down a hill and landed in a ditch full of fast food. And it was glorious.
Until it wasn't anymore. I've actually been sleeping MORE (bedtime, 10:30...haven't done that in a while) but have been feeling exhausted, irritated, lethargic, and just all around bad. I blame you, McDonalds. I also blame my job...because I loathe it and like to blame everything on it.
The earthquake in Haiti? Violence in the Middle East? AIDS? All my job's fault. Assholes.
The fact that I haven't been to the grocery store in two weeks might also have something to do with this fast food clusterfuck. Oops.
But here I am, feeling like death and doing my Mamavation post a day late. Atleast it's here. I am ready to climb back on the wagon...and I know I have all my Mamavation Sistas there to reach out a hand and help pull me back up.
So what's been going on in CJ's life for the past two weeks? Well, I've pretty much ( say "pretty much" because I'm a commitment-phobic) decided on a complete career change. More to come on that later.
So this week...I pledge to go to the grocery store. And not buy boxed mac and cheese. I will buy whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and deoderant. I'm keeping this goal fairly simple because I'm coming out of a processed food tornado. And I'm starting classes for the fall semester. I need to ease myself back in.
On a lighter note, sometime between July 25th and yesterday morning, I managed to lose 0.8 lbs...so all hope is not lost.
If you see me around on Twitter this week (@CJinKY) please give me a shout out to make sure I really am back on the wagon, and not lying in the road several miles back.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Blog Hop '10
So...as all (or see it seems) of my Blogging and Twitter friends are at BlogHer, I've decided to join Blog Hop '10. w00t! I'm excited, as this is my FIRST blog hop.
My blog is pretty much brand spanking new (tiny, infant, baby blog) and has so far consisted of weight loss goals and weekly challenges. I also might have done a post about my dog (priorities...I have them). The hope for this blog in the future is to not only report weight loss, but also share recipes, healthy living tips, and some of my snarky sassyness. Get excited!
Edit: After further thought, I remembered that I also blogged about the BP oil spill and whether organic farms are really organic. All that important stuff and I remembered the dog post. Like I said....priorities, people.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Mamavation Monday
Hello ladies!
This is going to be a quick post as I had a busy, fun-filled weekend and it's late.
This week I lost 1.4 lbs bringing me down to 236. I now have a net weight loss of 20.4 lbs and a total weight loss of 23.4 lbs.
I'm really happy with this not only because it's a great loss, but also I now know that I can still lose weight even with all of my birthday celebrations this weekend. It just goes to show that one "bad" food day doesn't ruin everything.
If you read my last post, you saw that I met my goal of losing 22 pounds by my 22nd birthday. My mom asked me what my next goal would be and well...I'm not really sure yet. I'll think about that and let everyone know. Anyone have any ideas?
Gruve Solution is sponsoring Mamavation this week. If you don't know what they're about, I seriously recommend checking them out. This looks AWESOME!
Update: Here's my very first vlog!
This is going to be a quick post as I had a busy, fun-filled weekend and it's late.
This week I lost 1.4 lbs bringing me down to 236. I now have a net weight loss of 20.4 lbs and a total weight loss of 23.4 lbs.
I'm really happy with this not only because it's a great loss, but also I now know that I can still lose weight even with all of my birthday celebrations this weekend. It just goes to show that one "bad" food day doesn't ruin everything.
If you read my last post, you saw that I met my goal of losing 22 pounds by my 22nd birthday. My mom asked me what my next goal would be and well...I'm not really sure yet. I'll think about that and let everyone know. Anyone have any ideas?
Gruve Solution is sponsoring Mamavation this week. If you don't know what they're about, I seriously recommend checking them out. This looks AWESOME!
Update: Here's my very first vlog!
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