Coffee and Convenience

It is day number 5 on the Daniel Fast. 

Like I mentioned in a previous post, we are modifying the fast slightly and our main focus is on avoiding dairy, meat and preservatives.  James told me before we started the fast that he thought I should keep having my Nutella/Aldi Berryhill Hazelnut Spread in the morning since I actually found a breakfast that I will eat with regularity.  Nutella pretty much doesn't fit into the fast at all, but I was very happy with his recommendation because it is allowing me to keep a good routine down.

I have been having oatmeal with 1/1.5 tablespoons of Nutella and a banana pretty much every morning for the past three weeks or so.  It keeps me satiated for much longer than most breakfast foods.  So while the Nutella might not be a great choice, it is much better than the coffee and donut(s) that I used to get from the gas station in the morning.  I tried to replace Nutella with peanut butter the other day and it was not good. 

I think the thing I'm missing the most right now is actually coffee.  I wouldn't consider myself addicted to coffee or caffeine, I can easily go without it.  I just really enjoy my morning and mid afternoon coffee.  I had small group on Wednesday evening and we meet at Caribou and I thought about being really naughty and getting a delicious coffee beverage, but instead I got a Sparkling Mint Lime White Tea, which also doesn't fit the fast, but it was somehow more appropriate in my mind. 

The other thing that gets a bit tricky when fasting is convenience.  There isn't much convenience foods that fit into the fast and I needed something today.  This morning was rough.  Getting myself and three kids out the door in the morning is a bit like playing Russian Roulette.  Some mornings are fine and everyone is compliant and we get out the door with no issues.  Other mornings, it is a disaster and I think someone is filming my life and laughing.  Yesterday morning was one of those mornings.  As I was trying to dress a screaming two year old who didn't agree with my choice of socks, my half naked almost four year old stood at my side sobbing because she didn't want to wear pants with her dress (Minnesota weather makes life with independent children difficult) and then suddenly proceeded to empty her bladder on the rug at my feet…apparently she forgot to use the bathroom before the pants freakout.  Cleaning up an ocean of pee wasn't really in my plans for the morning and I didn’t have time to get my lunch together.

I ended up running to the Rainbow by my office and decided to see if I could find anything by Amy's Kitchen.  I love Amy's frozen meals, but they are so expensive so I don't get them very often.   I decided to give the Black Bean Tamale Verde a shot since it pretty much completely fit in the fast.  

 

It was delicious, I think I'm going to have to try and replicate it at home.

I'm not sure if it is the fast or restarting the couch to 5k at a faster pace, but the numbers on the scale are dropping quickly.  I lost about 4 pounds this week alone.  It is nice to see some progress again.  The crazy thing is that I've gone over my calorie limit nearly every single day, but still seeing movement, so I am pretty happy.  I'm not expecting this to last that long, but I'll take it to get me motivated again.

We've got lots of fun stuff going on this weekend, I'm sure I'll be exhausted by the end of the day on Sunday.

Thanks for reading, hope you all have a wonderful weekend!