One Week In...a Rant!
One week in. One long, roller coaster, emotional week in!
It has not been an easy week. I've found myself moody, irritable, and hungry. I've also at times felt energized and inspired. But mostly (you can ask my husband) very very up and down.
April 1st I came down with something. Or potentially had food poisoning (though my hubby and friend, who had eaten the same as me the night before, did not get ill). As desperate and enthusiastic as I was to start ShApril off with a bang, I ended up in bed, all day, begging the hubby to bring my soda crackers and plain noodle soup. I don't know if this was a combination emotional/stress reaction, or whether my body was purging, or whether I did catch a bug from the young students I had seen that week. But the first day ended up being a bit of a write off. That morning I did manage to make a huge batch of quinoa-potato latkes, which were delicious, and that we continued to eat throughout the week.
The next two days, Thursday and Friday, were eerily hellish. I felt like I was coming off of a drug or an addiction. I was constantly hungry, thinking about food, craving salty and savoury things, and wanting pretty much nothing to do with salad. My moods and energy were up and down all the time. I was irritable with my husband for absolutely no reason. I also had forgotten the "epic video game night" planned for our house on Thursday night...so while I had spend most of the afternoon milling fresh flour and making it into homemade spaghetti, boys were showing up at my condo with bags of chips and boxes of oreos. I did make a delicious one-pot-pasta that evening, which we ate before the party started and before I left for my friend's house. After chatting and sipping on gin for several hours, my friends decided to order a pizza: my ultimate temptation. I was a little "jokey mad" with them about the pizza, and asked if my friend had any vegetables I could eat. While they sat on the floor and mm'ed and ah'ed over my favourite food, I sat, eating half an avocado and tomato with salt and pepper. I'm proud of myself for not caving...but it didn't help the moodiness!
The next day was the first day of Passover (hubby's family is Jewish). We had poached eggs on latkes and fruit for breakfast, and leftovers for lunch. We decided to allow for holiday meals, as we were going to two relatively fancy (by our standards) Seders. By the time I got the Friday night Seder, I was desperately hungry, and cravings all the matzah ball soup and brisket in the world. By the time the Seder finished and we had had our four "cups" of wine, I was ravenous. That first bowl of matzah ball soup went down in seconds flat. As the veggies were passed around, I took generous helpings. And was eating a lot. But then when the meat came around (no brisket!) I found myself turned off, and entire not hungry. I had a bite of a few desserts, and then felt utterly awful. Bloated, exhausted, anti-social, and like all of my energy was going to digesting. I tossed and turned all night.
Saturday we slept in. I made a late brunch of veggie omelette, roasted potato wedges, and celery with freshly ground peanut butter. This may have been the first meal that truly satisfied us! We had just gotten back from an epic $100 shop at the farmer's market. All the ingredients were beyond fresh, the potatoes gave me enough carbs to feel full, and the peanut butter was a welcome taste of familiarity.
Saturday night we had another Seder, during which I regulated my eating much better than the night before. I was beginning to feel not nearly as moody or unstable, and being inspired to cook. That day I made slow-cooker split-pea dahl. Sunday I roasted a whole capon in my slow-cooker and planned out the meals for the next couple days.
So far I've only hit the gym once (which felt great). Taking the stairs is routine after 4 years of ShApril, and feels fine as well. I probably haven't been drinking enough water, and I definitely have barely cut back on wine. (Though I've done well with other alcohol). This is proving to be a rough road, filled with momentary frustrations and creative solutions. On to week two!
Quinoa latkes, fried tomatoes, apple with cinamon
Pan-roasted bruseels, whole slow-cooked chicken, homemade sweet potato fries, with homemade pesto and salsa
Clean-eating haul