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A Merry Life

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What I Learned From A Ruined Smoothie

June 18, 2009 by Mary

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for details.

Last night I went to watch a friend’s little sister play a softball game.  While I was there I probably sweated out a pound as well as let mosquitoes suck away a pound of blood.  Mother Nature = naturally painful weight loss techniques.  I would rather just do it myself, thanks!

This morning I’m itchy all over but pretty excited about how this week is going so far.  I am going to be out of the 240s soon, I know it!  I am so tired of seeing those numbers.  Its just not right.  Not natural.  Mother Nature clearly wants me to be thinner (see above) so why buck against what she wants?  I shouldn’t.  I give in Mother Nature!  Call off the mosquitoes and heat! 

At least I’m sitting in my office at my part time job right now.  Its mosquito free AND has great air conditioning.  One thing it doesn’t have is food.  Normally I wouldn’t need my office to have any food since I bring my breakfast and sometimes my lunch.  But today I brought a failed breakfast.

Before I left for work I through some things (blueberries, strawberries, flax seed, yogurt, etc.) into a blender to make a smoothie.  Once it was blended the blue and pink colors were beautiful and I couldn’t wait to drink it.  When I started drinking it the texture felt off but I shoved that thought out of my mind.  I hadn’t used ice like I normally do so I figured that was the problem.  I kept drinking it on my drive to work but by the time I got to my office I couldn’t stand it anymore.  It tasted different, felt different in my mouth.  It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it didn’t taste really good.  To the trash it went, a sad smoothie death.

After thinking about it for a few minutes I realized that the yogurt I used was probably expired.  I know, I know, I should have checked the date before using it.  But I ignored that small step.  I think that was the problem and why it tasted so … eh.  A minor skipped detail made me throw away my breakfast and forced me to go pay $2.00 for a granola or protein bar.  This is not exactly how I like to start my mornings.

Lesson to be learned from this story?  Check the expiration dates on your food!  Pay attention to details!  Don’t rush through food preparation!

Because I rushed myself to make the smoothie I didn’t pay attention.  I just threw stuff in there and hit blend all the while keeping one eye on the clock.  (Here is the kicker – I can go to work whenever I want.  I just made an imaginary start time so I’ll wake up each morning.) Because I rushed I ended up throwing away perfectly good fruit that was in the strawberry.  If I had noticed the yogurt thing I could have saved myself the need to buy a new breakfast.  I could have just brought the fruit to eat alone. 

This rushed feeling is strange since I actually have plenty of time.  I rush, I hurry, I act like I have absolutely no time to prepare food.  This is the area of my life which gets rushed the most.  I feel like I never have time to prepare and cook healthy food even though I do.  Instead of using that time I convince myself I need to make something quick.  I live off of sandwiches and anything that can be fixed in under two minutes. 

Smoothies are quick.  Smoothies are convenient.  Smoothies normally taste good too.  But I don’t really need to resort to smoothies.  I have plenty of time in the morning to make a healthy breakfast.   Even if I am making a smoothie I am in not such a big time crunch that I should just pour stuff together without looking at dates.

I know a lot of you really are busy.  You have no time.  You have full time jobs.  Kids.  Part time jobs.  Blogs. Activities.  You have less free time than me.  But you still manage to cook and pay attention to what you are eating, right?    I have a feeling this is all in my head (obviously).  I make myself feel rushed so I will feel better about the quick, often crappy, food choices I make. How do you make the time out of your super busybusybusy schedules to make food and pay attention to what you are eating?  Just make it a priority?

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: food


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Comments

  1. Hanlie says

    June 18, 2009 at 9:32 am

    It’s called being present. Something I need to work on a lot more… But we can do this too!

  2. Christina says

    June 18, 2009 at 10:40 am

    I don’t have the time either BUT I make the time.. I know that if I don’t come to work prepared with good lunches that I will go downstairs to our cafe and get fries, onion rings, burgers, soda, etc.. and while I’m walking out the cookies, chips and chocolate call my name.. What works for me is Sunday night after dinner I will get my salads for lunch together for the week. so they are easy to grab especially on the days that I oversleep. I also eat A LOT of hummus with veggies and will cut the veggies up sunday night and place the in containers with hummus so they are easy to grab as well.. definitely saves me time and allows me to just unwind at night and not have to think about lunch.

    Christina’s last blog post..Fort Lauderdale or New Orleans?!

  3. Sagan says

    June 18, 2009 at 11:59 am

    I spend half an hour to an hour every night making my lunch for the next day and deciding what I’ll have for breakfast so it’s all prepared. My roommate is the sweetest and doesn’t seem to find it weird at all, which I’m grateful for :)

    Sagan’s last blog post..A New Addition to the Family

  4. Fat[free]Me says

    June 18, 2009 at 1:55 pm

    I must admit to being a bit rushed myself when it comes to food prep (and a bit lax with expiry dates too come to think of it). Will be on the alert for making a similar mistake, that would be just the sort of thing I could so easily do!

    Hope the rest of your day went better!

    Fat[free]Me’s last blog post..I Ate My Garden

  5. Shannon Fab Fattie says

    June 18, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    This is a problem for us all it seems. Something that I started doing is baking a full pan of chicken breasts 6-10 pieces and put them in individual baggies. It makes it so easy to just grab and run out the door. One of my favorite lunches is a chicken breast and a can of green beans. EASY!
    That’s my little tid bit for you ;) Love the post!

    Shannon Fab Fattie’s last blog post..Bad Economy..Good for Weight Loss

  6. Merry Mary says

    June 18, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    It seems like everyone is a fan of making food beforehand. Hmmmm….. I’ve done it a few times before myself, but it is not a regular habit.

  7. MackAttack says

    June 18, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    I am not a morning person so, either I prepare or I have bad options. This is why I keep the frozen dinners in my fridge, back up so I don’t make bad choices. I too am a bit flexible with expiration dates….Haven’t had the same bad consequence though, however this is a good reminder to be better about reading the dates!

    MackAttack’s last blog post..Carb Sick

  8. Seaward says

    June 19, 2009 at 3:04 am

    Your way of loosing the weight is really natural. Nice article.

  9. Miz says

    June 19, 2009 at 4:34 am

    It is so FREAKIN trite but so true for me the line of BUSY PEOPLE GET THINGS DONE.

    before I was married and had a child and a job and no day care I got FAR FAR LESS DONE and ate waaaay more crappily, errrr, nonhealthy.

    now everything can seem like a chore (yeah, I said it) so food prep is just another one.
    I dont make food ahead of time but I do use my microwave like its going outta style in the morning :)

    egg beaters, faux sausage patties and oatmeal.

    Miz’s last blog post..Living not blogging: STRENGTH TRAINING (giveaway post).

  10. Merry Mary says

    June 19, 2009 at 7:09 am

    @Miz
    Oatmeal is a quick option that I like. Can I put egg beaters in the microwave? I actually avoid the microwave as much as possible, because I’m scared of what it does to food, but it is the best for quick prep.

  11. wildfluffysheep says

    June 19, 2009 at 7:32 am

    I have no job. No activities. Just exercise and thinking time :D oh the life of a student…. I actually wish I was busier. I have no excuse of taking time out to prepare great healthy food… instead I ate the healthy stuff I know and love. No adventure…. pah.

    wildfluffysheep’s last blog post..the pub and other stuff…

  12. merri says

    June 22, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    Last week my roomie and I decided to make a smoothie. It was gonna be soo good! Only, we coudlnt find the cover to the blender. We finally just put a plate over it and started blending. Then we smelled a strange smell… and the blender started smoking… hmm.. It was broken. We started pouring out the smoothie anyway, and what was in there? The plastic cover to the blender! We blended it! LOL. Plastic bits and pieces are WAY worse than past its due date yogurt. We tried drinking it but after tasting plastic pieces decided not to and had to throw out the entire smoothies, plus the whole blender. LOL I don’t know how my friend didn’t notice the cover in there when he added the ingredients.

  13. Katie says

    June 23, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    I think that the more time and effort you put into preparing/cooking your snack or meal or what have you, the better it tastes, and the longer it takes to eat it. Figure this-you spent so much of your precious time/energy that you cannot afford wasting into creating something to fuel your body and soul, so you want to enjoy it! Plus, you’ll probably end up eating less as it tastes so good you don’t want it to be gone and you’ll save it! It sounds silly, but it works for me!

  14. yvonne says

    June 24, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    Hi,
    Great blogs!!! I love to learn new things that can help others loss weight and stay healthy.
    I am an advocate for health and wellness

  15. Drew says

    June 25, 2009 at 4:00 pm

    Preparing food ahead of time is the only way I can consistently ensure I eat good meals. I also back that up with canned fruit, soups, tuna, whatever that I keep in my desk for those times when either I didn’t pack a lunch or the times when I am hungry and need a bit more than I brought. It’s one of my tricks to pack less and then know that I have a few things if I want them. Most of the time, “less” is enough.

    When I’m home, eating before I’m “starved” is a must. Otherwise I won’t take the time to prepare good food. Also when I’m “starved”, I end up eating too much as well.

    Drew’s last blog post..Enjoy Your Vacation Without “Blowing It”

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