Have you ever seen a squash so big!?
We got our CSA delivery today and the box was filled with giant yellow squash –
Plus a bunch of other loose things – onions for Karen, green beans, strange looking okra, carrots, potatoes –
On the menu tonight was good ol’ vegetable seafood spaghetti to use up a jar of open tomato sauce the husband had last week. It’s from Trader Joe’s and is HANDS DOWN the best jarred tomato sauce I’ve ever had!! It had so many different complex flavors –
We also have had the rest of a bag of Trader Joe’s Seafood Blend in the back of our freezer since we bought it this day and ate half the bag this day.
We were going to serve the seafood + veggies + sauce over noodles, but when I started cutting up the MOUNTAIN of veggies, I decided I’d do more of a ratatouille-style dish. I’m glad I did because it was filling enough without noodles – and made for an easier dinner!
Veggies included the jumbo squash, zucchini from our garden, CSA carrots, and CSA basil.
I sipped on a Tonic + Lime Mocktail (just diet tonic and lime) while chopping –
The end result – topped with some parmesan cheese –
I estimated this mountain to only be about 300 calories, give or take a few.
Insatiable
I had a bout of insatiable "hunger" this afternoon. Hypotheses? 1) Lunch was too nibbly 2) Hormones!! 3) Not enough water due to outdoor run.
It wasn’t stomach growling hunger though, but almost a pain/ball of fire-type hunger, so I don’t think it was real (otherwise I would have had more real snacks). That’s why I think Option #2 was the most likely. My theory is that hormones make you feel hungry but you really aren’t.
I had a big bowl of Stonyfield blueberry yogurt with organic morning cereal and blackberries around 3pm. Plus a seltzer.
Plus 5 unphotographed kashi crackers.
Scraping The Bottom
But I managed to get out about half a cup! Grocery list: ice cream!
STUDY TIME!!!!!!!!!
lauren says
how much do you guys pay for your CSA stuff? Is it just a random batch of veggies and herbs each week??
KatieF says
Note on the hunger–I get really bad hunger pains/nausea when my blood sugar is low. A splash of juice sometimes helps. Just thought I’d share. 😛
Faye says
Mmmm, I agree, Trader Joe’s has the best tomato sauce! Sometimes I get that pain of fire pain hunger- but I always took it as real hunger. Did you grab something to eat or did you wait it out?
Heatherlee says
Hi Kath,
I really love your blog and admire the healthy lifestyle you lead.
I am trying to lose around 10 pounds and it is proving to be quite a task. I have lost weight before (40 pounds after college on the south beach diet). I kept the weight off for about 2.5 years but have put 10 pounds back on in the past year.
I was wondering if you have any suggestions for healthy weight loss. I don’t want to do the south beach again. Any suggestions would be nice.
Thanks!
lara says
That dinner looks great!
Oh, and two cartons of ice cream would be done in five days at my house! haha. Did your husband eat most of it? (i didn’t see it on your blog much)
it would be interesting if the husband did a post of his eats for a day 🙂
yadi says
Oh, heatherlee, I’m right there with you, just 8-10 lbs. would make me feel so much better and I’d be back into some of my prettiest clothes. After two kids, work and a husband with a new business, I can’t figure out what else to do. I did end up with hypotyroidism and the synthetic hormone is helping restart my metabolism. Check your blood levels etc. Make sure your healthy. I’m tyring to change my work out and REALLY watch what I eat.
Alyssa says
Ooo dinner looks yummy! I was just wondering if you got the e-mail I sent you a day or two ago. Just making sure, I know you’re busy! Good luck studying!!! 🙂
Emily says
Kath,
My very sweet fiance wants to make me his mom’s famous stovetop oatmeal tomorrow morning for a romantic breakfast before I leave for my trip to Puerto Rico (which yesterday you gave me excellent advice on how to enjoy myself while there). I am excited about it, but I’ve always made single portions and measured it myself so I know how much I’m eating. How much does a 1/3 cup uncooked portion of oatmeal equal cooked? Thanks in advance for your help! 🙂
Every Gym's Nightmare says
ha- your ice cream containers look like mine.
and i am SO jealous of your squash- i cant find any good ones anywhere!
www.groundedfitness.com
Hil says
Emily,
The conversion rate depends on how much water you add, as well as on the type of oats. Probably slightly less than a cup, but it depends. As I see it, you have three options:
1. Ask your sweet fiance to tell you how much oatmeal is the batch. I am sure he will be supportive. Alternately, beg for the recipe and deduce from there.
2. Eyeball it. I’m sure you’ve eaten a lot of oatmeal…you know how big of a bowl you usually eat.
3. Eat as much as you are hungry for and don’t worry about it. It’s a romantic breakfast, and oatmeal isn’t exactly a high calorie food.
I think you’re going to be FINE with any of these options. If I remember your last comment correctly, you’ve been maintaining a significant weight loss for two years now. It’s okay to trust yourself a little, and life is to short to be scared of the occasional unmeasured quantity of oatmeal.
I hope you have a great breakfast and a great vacation.
Brittany says
I agree with the hormones causing hunger. I always tend to eat more when it’s that time of the month.
Sidi says
Look at that squash, it’s huge!!! It must be tasty too. I like it sliced and baked.
Kath says
lauren ,
It’s about that many vegetables every other week from June – Sept. or Oct. It was about $400 for the whole summer, which is around $30 per week, I think (since I’m unsure of how long it goes). You don’t really join a CSA to save money though, it’s about supporting local and maybe organic so it’s worth a little extra to me. And it’s so fun!
Heatherlee ,
My best advice is to up the exercise. Add 10 minutes to your routine or try to get in an extra 30 minute walk. It’s SO hard to eat less, so try to move more. And eat whole foods! And don’t have dessert unless you’re out of the house.
lara ,
I think we’ve had these cartons for almost a month now. And yes, his portions are usually a cup to a cup and a half at a time! I’ve had bits here and there if you search for “ice cream” in the yellow box.
Alyssa ,
I don’t know if I got it – could you try resending? I’ve responded to all in my inbox.
Emily ,
Hil gave awesome recommendations (Thanks Hill!) Just eyeball your usual portion in a familiar bowl. But I think it’s about a cup…
Kath
Emily says
Thanks Hil and Kath for the advice on the oatmeal. I woke up a little extra early to read your comments and took your advice. I got my bowl I usually eat oatmeal from and eyeballed it. The only thing other than oatmeal fiance added was a splash of milk and a tsp of brown sugar on top. It was really good and it was Bob Red Mill’s special gluten free oats since fiance is intolerant. I really liked the texture much more than my regular oatmeal. It was heartier. Anyway, thanks to you both – it was a great breakfast and I’m not stressing over exact calories. In fact today marks my first day of no more calorie counting. Depending on how I feel after my vacation I may count for a few days just to get back on track, but I really need to stop counting and trust myself more. That’s why I come here everyday because Kath is just the positive influence I need to gain confidence to develop a healthy relationship with food and gain more confidence. My confidence has already come a looooong way in my short time of reading this blog. Sorry, I had no idea I was going to get so long on this comment. Congrats on being done with summer school!!!!! Enjoy that feeling of being finished!! 🙂
Kelly L. says
Emily- Instead of worrying about the calories in your fiance’s oatmeal why don’t you just enjoy the fact he offered to make you something special. Life’s to short to worry about something so trivial in my opinion. Have a great trip and don’t stress over food so much. Trust your body. It’s smarter than you think, I promise. 🙂
Kelly L. says
Kelly,
I couldn’t agree more. I’m getting there, slowly but surely. I can honestly say to myself and everyone that I truly enjoyed waking up and sitting down to breakfast and have not at all thought twice about how many calories there were. I enjoyed the treat of having brown sugar on top… I never put it on my own everyday oatmeal and it sounds dumb, but it was really special. And it’s been over a year since we actually sat down and ate breakfast together, can you believe that?! So it was especially nice. Thanks for the encouragement. I’m so excited for my trip and I’m happy that I’m starting to trust and listen to my body.
Emily says
OOPS! That last comment was me, I accidentally wrote Kelly’s name in – sorry!! 🙂
Kelly L. says
Ha ha, it’s okay. I was confused at first but I just figured it was a good up. 🙂
I understand it’s hard to trust yourself. Been there, still there, and like you, I’m working through it. I don’t count calories but I tend to overanalyze what I eat. It amazes me just how smart our bodies are. really and truly! One day we eat more, the next day our body wants less. Some weeks we want and need more, some weeks we need and want less. I think people get into trouble when they think they are smarter than their body or just plain don’t listen and eat anyways or in some cases don’t eat. Like last night, I was NOT hungry but I thought I needed a Zbar and a package of O’ Cocos cookies. I didn’t need them, really wasn’t craving them but I tuned out and listened to my mind rather than my body. I’m not beating myself up about it because it happens. It’s hard, I know. You can do it. Sometimes vacations are a good jumping off point. 🙂
Emily says
That’s exactly how I’m looking at this vacation – my jumping off point! I’m basically getting a gentle little shove to relax and let go of controlling, measuring, and counting every little thing I put in my mouth. It’s just hard after losing so much weight (close to 70 pounds!) because I know how terrible I felt bigger and I don’t ever, ever want to look like that or feel like that again. I’ve printed out all of these encouraging comments and cut them out into little cards to remind myself while I’m away to relax and listen to my body like you said. This is actually really exciting to me and I’m not nearly as nervous about it as I was before I posted my concerns here, so thank you Kelly L. and everyone else who has made such a difference in my mindset! You all have been so supportive and nice to me!!