I woke up nauseated, feeling terrible. I had sunrise engagement photos scheduled, and I cancelled that even though I’m on a tight deadline for a project involving the photos. A couple hours later, I canceled my bi-monthly mental health therapy. I was still nauseated, but also had swollen brain feeling. I had no energy, no motivation, no desire to stick with my goals, little recollection of what my goals were and was generally bummed. I was having PMS, and this was actually much more mild than before I started to change my eating ways. In this state, in the past, I would have dragged myself to work, purchased sugary and salty foods to get me through the day, gotten home, probably skipped dinner and ate a couple spoons of peanut butter, passed out and hoped I felt better the next day.
But it’s no longer the past, it’s the prepared present. So instead, the rest of my morning went like I will describe. First, let’s go back in time to Saturday, April 6. I had the day off, but looking ahead knew I would have no time to cook. I worked April 7, had a meeting April 8 that involved “free lunch,” which most of the time means mayonnaise sandwiches. So, I decided to cook all the food I knew would keep lovely for several days. I made my version of this carnitas recipe, baked a pound of chicken, roasted three beets, roasted a tray of mixed veggies and walnuts, and made a vat of some lean-protein dense tomato sauce. I cut the chicken into small, bite sized pieces and put them in 5 baggies with the onions and lemon juice I cooked them in. I put the veggies in 5 baggies as well. I usually prefer reusable containers, but I was out at our vacation rental on the McKenzie River and we don’t have the selection of those there. I divvied the pork into serving sized portions as well, and left the beets in the foil in which I roasted them. Oh, I also made the Well Fed homemade mayo during this time. Total time in kitchen: 2 hours, plus the final touches on the carnitas, 2 mins here and there checking.
Portions of protein generated: 20 (portions needed for one week: between 30-35)
Portions of veggies: 8 (I like to make these fresh in most cases)
Return to today. Recall I am feeling horrible and in no mental state to advocate for my own health nor realize my choices will have cascading effects. I’m bummed and stupid. Luckily, there’s nothing crappy at my house to eat. There’s some Dave’s Killer Bread, and my personal trainer brother did tell me 40 grams of carbs per meal would help my brain function. I eat 1 piece with a thin layer of mayo and some of the lentils and veggies I made yesterday. I eat one scrambled egg and half a piece of toast (total carbs from this 33). I eat a baked grapefruit and cut up an apple to bake as well.
I realize I’ve wasted the whole morning and I have 20 minutes to prep food for work and shower. I have a late shift today due to a meeting. I look at the clock, it’s 11:22 a.m.. I pull out a tub of salad greens and fill a container with those, and put a baggie of chicken and a baggie of veggies on top. (when I heat those mixtures and dump over the salad greens, I don’t need dressing because both packets are pretty moist.) I slice up one of the beets and put it in a small container. I will add that to the salad when the time is right or eat them as a snack. I put some cinnamon and a little butter on the apples and pack those to go. I look at the clock and 3 minutes have passed. That is less time than it would have taken to drive to a fast food place, and I have a nutritious lunch despite my mood. Success.
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