Ten Things of Thankful: Mutiny Experiment Edition

I have been absent on The Hop for weeks. OK, let's be honest with ourselves...it's been months. If you are newer to this place, I’m certain I seem new to you at this moment...and I am perfectly fine with that. But I must confess that I used to be here faithfully each week. But life got in the way…blah, blah, blah.

But this morning, as I was ruminating on my first week through The Mutiny Experiment (there are 4 posts in which I have discussed it to some degree…lest you be interested in further explanation on why I am sounding something like a deranged woman in my list of thankfuls below, you can click here to find the initial one), and I was overwhelmed with a thankful heart.

And knew I must share my thankfuls…not just on the blogosphere, but here specifically at The Hop.

So thank you, Lizzi, for keeping this beautiful thing going and allowing me the chance to jump in as I’m able and inspired.

Without further delay, here is my Ten Things of Thankful Mutiny Edition:

1. So far I have been able to find eggs and berries on sale at decent prices…knowing at some point I may not, I have been glad for it while it's been available.
2. That I bought a 5-pound bag of quinoa a few weeks ago, not knowing that we would be making good use of it so expeditiously.
3. That there are several ways to combine these foods to give some semblance of variety: quinoa, beans and chicken served cold or warm; black bean and chicken soup; scrambled eggs with spinach and quinoa; quinoa and black bean burgers (includes spinach and eggs also); spinach salad with cold roasted chicken and hard-boiled egg. Now I ask you: does that sound ALL that bad? I suppose if you don’t like one or more of those ingredients it would, but I think it’s provided us with sufficient variety so far…we ARE only one week in, with three weeks to go.
4. Physically, I feel better…no more headaches, no mid-afternoon slump, none of that. And that I am thinking more carefully about what I put into my mouth and seeing the correlation between good food and feeling good.
5. I have this magnesium thing straightened out and haven’t had restless leg issues (yes, it is a real thing, people…I have had a few people ask me about it. Sure, it sounds C.R.A.Z.Y. but it is VERY REAL) for the past 2 nights…although Mr. AR said that when I first fall asleep and he’s still awake, my legs have been giving some violent individual jerks. Fortunately for me, I am sleeping through it.
6. That I found a bit of a loophole and have enjoyed some frozen yogurt the past two days. Lest you be curious, I don’t think it totally negates my objectives. And if anything, it makes me MORE thankful for it/variety/a taste of sugar than I ever was before. At the same time, it is not an all-consuming desire for sugar when I eat it…but I am wondering if somehow it is helping me sleep better? I figure I’d better not risk it and keep eating a little bit of frozen yogurt before bed. (Confession: I also added one slice of whole wheat bread to each dinner, which may also help eliminate the RLS.)
7. That in searching message boards to discern why my restless leg had flared up so terribly, I had a minor panic attack that I might end up GAINING weight on this fast-of-sorts b/c of the increased in fat and protein in my diet. So I am thankful for myfitnesspal.com where I am able to track it and make sure that I am not too skewed in one direction or another.
8. The discovery that berries (strawberries especially) are lovely on spinach…even without dressing; even the PBA like it…which is saying something. (NOTE: I have had strawberry and spinach salad in the past, but was always drowning in a vinegrette…I encourage each of you to try it WITHOUT the dressing; you’ll barely notice that it’s gone. I promise!)
9. I am spending WAY more time in the kitchen that I usually do…this “little to no processed foods” thing is kind of hard. Which, I know full-well, is why we haven’t done it before. Don’t get me wrong, we are still stocked with processed foods in our house…as I won’t throw away “perfectly good food” although I know it’s NOT “perfectly good food”. But I did spend money on it and I can’t just let it go to waste. I am trying to have the boys, to some degree, “eat down the stash” during this time so that when we are finished, we can all start new. So yes, I guess I am encouraging my kiddos to eat the craptastic diet just a little while longer. For the record…not ALL the time, just occasionally, so it’s not a full-force effect on their systems. All this rambling to say in this: I am thankful that I am a stay-at-home/homeschooler mom who IS home and CAN spend time in the kitchen to prepare things from scratch: roasted chicken, home-made yogurt, washing the fruit and veggies, making the quinoa, boiling the eggs…all those things that take time, or need some “baby-sitting” which would be a struggle to accomplish if I were working outside the home.
10. And rounding out my list for today: I am not NEARLY as hungry as I was at the beginning…which, I assume, was part of my body detoxing from my overt sugar addiction. Or just me over-eating.

So what are you thankful for this week?

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