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General Weight Loss Tips

My Quick, Healthy, Cheap, Delicious Dinner

Here’s the thing, I live in what most people would call “the middle of nowhere” and by that I mean, we do not have any food delivery service in our town. Which isn’t a bad thing. And truth be told, I’m kinda secretly glad. Mostly.

Here’s the other thing. I love to cook, but I’m also a human being living in modern times and sometimes I just downright don’t want to cook. So my solution is a handful of go-to dinners for days when I’m not feeling the extra time spent in the kitchen. I also like that this dinner is cheap. About $1.75 a serving. Which I will happily throw in the face of anyone who says it’s too expensive to eat a healthy meal. You just cannot get an organic, filling, delicious meal for $1.75 anywhere. Trust me, I’ve looked. And on top of that- one serving is just shy of 300 calories.

Here’s what you do…

chop up an onion and place it in your skillet with about a teaspoon of olive oil. sauté with a little salt until tender. *bonus points: I usually chop up several onions at a time and keep them in the refrigerator.

Rinse a can of organic lentils.

Add lentils to onions and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes.

Pour the jar of jalfrezi sauce in. I’ve seen this brand at kroger and food lion and highly recommend it. It’s the best Indian sauce in a jar I’ve ever had. Don’t be scared by the word “hot” on the label. I assure you, this dish is not hot. Also, I add about 1/4 cup of water to the jar, put the lid back on and shake. I pour this into the pan with everything else. And sometimes when I’m feeling really crazy I’ll add about 1/4 cup coconut milk to make it extra delicious! Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Serve over organic basmati rice. *Bonus points: I make extra batches of rice in my rice cooker and store in the refrigerator for future use.

Enjoy!

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Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

Predictable

I’ve written this sort of post before, but I just haven’t had a lot to say this week. So I’m posting to say that I’ve been exercising every day as well as counting calories (staying around 1,600 a day) and things are going well.

I’m in a groove. My food posts wouldn’t be very interesting because I’m eating the same meals over and over again right now. It’s just comforting to eat 1/2 c meusli with 1/2 C of milk and know that it will be good and keep me full for hours with only 255 calories.

For lunch, I am eating a hot sandwich using my panini press. Usually chicken and muenster on whole wheat. Maybe a side of spinach or carrots.

And for dinner you will find us eating rice with either a lentil/onion indian dish or thai red or green curry with shrimp or chicken and vegetables. Coconut milk and basmati rice are in regular rotation around here.

After my workout, I break out the food processor for a frozen fruit smoothie. One banana, one cup strawberries, one cup blue berries, juice of one tangerine and one cup milk. If I have it I’ll add mango, or vanilla almond milk.

Sometimes it varies, but right now, this is good, healthful, comforting food for me. It’s predictable. Something I usually hate. I love variety and I’m sure next week I’ll switch to eating something else every single day. But this week, I know what I’m probably going to eat. And I know that I am most definitely going to exercise and push myself.

I feel good. I feel a vibration of health running through me. I don’t even know what that means, but I was at the grocery story last week, several hours after yoga and I just felt whole and balanced. Standing there in the aisle, I unexpectedly felt whole. Things are happening, and I feel like I’m on my path.

I realized in an almost alarming way that I am content right now. Not settled, not stunted or too comfortable, but content. I don’t want for anything at the moment. I don’t feel a push to be more than who I am being right now. I know it’s because of exercise and eating well. I know it’s because I have 10 bags of stuff to donate to goodwill today. I know it’s because I’ve hit a balance that I am pleased with.

I feel good.

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