Last and Next Week

I wasn't able to blog much the last week because the connection was slow, especially during night time. Since my mom is now staying at home (she retired from work last July), she would always use my netbook to chat with her siblings living abroad.

My fitness routine last week was an adjustment period for me. I get to walk everyday, sometimes with mom and/or sister, but I wasn't able to follow all the exercise programs and food plans.

The last two days though - yesterday's lunch and tonight's dinner - I got to prepare salad for the family. Sister has already started her no rice diet and was successful about it despite the many temptations, and it is now my time to follow her lead...although I would still eat rice for lunch. I've been eating rice most my life, taking it out my system would require a slow change.


Lunch salad yesterday - I got to buy a bunch of lolo rosso lettuce at the nearby market, just enough to prepare a bowl of side salad for us three girls. A few days ago, mom bought some seedless grapes, and because it is starting to get a little soft, I just added some into the salad. The addition of bell peppers and red onions did it for me and it made me crave for salad just because of those two ingredients. I paired this with fried tilapia, and us girls made a pact that we would serve salad whenever we feel like eating fried meat, just to balance the meal. I think it's a good compromise.


Today, we went to do the much needed grocery shopping and I bought two bags of lolo rosso and my favorite romaine lettuce. Another serving of salad for us for dinner, but unlike yesterday, we only had salad as our meal and for protein, I just cooked ground pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano until crispy. Trying out the mango vinaigrette was a gamble for us, but it turned out to be great. It's a little sweet, kinda like eating fruit tella candy, but more on the tangy side. I loved it because mangoes are great addition to salad, but because it's been raining all the time, it would be difficult to buy mangoes and this vinaigrette was a great substitute.

Tomorrow, my sister requested I serve grilled chicken with the salad for dinner, and I would be happy to oblige. Salad for dinner proved to be a good way to train myself to eat healthy - and because I have learned to add less than enough amount of dressing into my salad, I am sure this would help me lose weight.

As for the everyday meals, I decided to cook dishes with vegetables and if I want to cook dishes using just meat (adobo or dinuguan), I will just think of something to balance it. The important thing is, vegetables have to be a big part of our everyday diet, and I will also try to make friends with fruits. I bought some kiwi today, and will either eat it as is or pulse it in the blender, without sugar of course.

My sister's shift at work for the coming week is 8am-5pm. Sister asked me to wake her up at 4am, and I think it's a good way for me to exercise again. After preparing her breakfast, I will do my video workouts, giving me enough time to do my assignments during day time, and blog come afternoon and night. I think things are falling into place and I just have to grab the opportunity while it's knocking.

If you know any salad recipes that uses easy to find ingredients, please do share them with me. I love salad, but eating lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers all the time might lose my interest.