Lobster Shorts cooking, dog adoption, dogs, Food, The Great Outdoors, vegetarian

Oliver’s First Birthday And The Weekend

This weekend we celebrated our puppy’s first birthday and the weather turned towards real Winter. It’s still technically Fall here, but November is usually when the real cold starts. It was -5 today, which is not bad, but it’s also windy, making it feel colder.

I had a cavity repaired on Saturday which brought us to the city, and we decided to go shopping for Winter coats. Sport Chek was having a huge sale and I got the coat I wanted for 40%-45% off! I was so happy and it is so warm. Mr Lobster Shorts found one too.

I was in the mood for warm and hearty when we arrived back home. I made soup from yellow lentils (moong dal), potatoes, cauliflower, vegetable soup cubes, potatoes, spinach, and a heaping scoop of curry powder. It was my intention to put a can of coconut milk in the soup, but it was fine without it. It was delicious. I turned off the lights, lit the candelabra, and loved how cozy it made the table. The bread was a multigrain loaf from the grocery store and it was delightful. It was a romantic, cozy ending to the day. We curled up on the couch together to watch a movie but were both falling asleep before it ended.

Sunday started with this super simple, delicious breakfast made with sweet potatoes, I got the recipe here. It was yummy and easy! We made one for the dogs too (minus the blueberries for Otis. He gets explosive diarrhea from blueberries. Although I’m pretty sure after all the sweet potatoes and cupcakes, we’re going to be waking up to something horrible tomorrow morning). Sunday is usually pancake day for the whole family and the dogs love it. They circle the table and kitchen like sharks until it’s their turn. They are not patient. Today we had something a little different. We all loved it, puppies too. Aren’t blueberries and sweet potatoes such a pretty mix of colour?

After breakfast, we took the dogs for a trek through the woods and tested out the new Winter coats. They did really well! We were both toasty warm. Otis still fit in last year’s boots thank goodness. For a street dog, he’s got sensitive little toes! Oliver doesn’t need them unless there is a lot of salt. The pups had fun in all the snow and didn’t seem bothered by the cold at all. I figured Otis would be okay, with his thick golden retriever fur, but Oliver is half-spaniel and his coat isn’t very thick. No coat, no shoes, no problem. He wasn’t cold at all.

Lunch was the leftovers from last night’s dinner (minus the candlelight). Isn’t soup always better the next day?

Oliver was wondering why we weren’t sharing lunch with him! He IS the birthday boy.

Doesn’t Otis look adorable in a birthday hat? This only lasted long enough to snap the photo, then he pawed it off his head.

Oliver was less chill about the hat. His expression here says it all. He took off running with the hat in his mouth after the photo. We had to chase him down before he ate it. Good times little buddy!

Birthday shenanigans ended with mini vanilla cupcakes (from the grocery store) and a new toy. Both dogs are currently having a late afternoon nap sleeping off their treats and morning walk. I’m sitting in a beam of sunlight enjoying a hot cup of tea, content.

Lobster Shorts cooking, Food, weight loss

What I Ate Today Sunday And Week Results

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet/nutritional advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

I made berry crisp for breakfast this morning. I cut up rhubarb from the garden, and then strawberries and blueberries from the grocery store. I added a half tablespoon of sugar and cornstarch.

I topped it with oats, whole wheat flour, butter, brown sugar, and some salt. I didn’t add a lot of butter and it was still delicious. The calorie count for one was 520 calories. It was really nice with black coffee.

I snacked on cherries and a couple of chocolate crackers and had a salad with avocado for lunch. My spouse wanted to surprise me with dessert today.

He spent all day making me coconut cream pie (I had mentioned I had been craving it) and I had a really big piece.

Dinner was a portabello burger (the mushroom cap was the burger patty) from Hello Fresh with a side salad.

I overdid the calories again today.

SundayCalories
berry crisp520
coffee0
chococrackers x260
salad325
Cherries 2 cups154
coconut cream pie429
hello fresh burger
burger and sald620
coconut cream pie200
Calorie Totals2308

Sunday is supposed to be the only day I go over 1800 calories. I didn’t do very well this week. My average daily calorie intake was 2141 a day, but I was down a pound. Monday morning I was just a hair under 176lbs.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

Friday Fun Day

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet/nutritional advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

Friday starts with “Epic Breakfast”. Epic breakfast has lattes from the Snapping Turtle and Harvest Sandwiches from Tim Hortons.

I was going out for dinner with friends this evening. Knowing that I had the option to take a train or walk home earlier that afternoon. It was a pretty hot day and I wanted to burn some extra calories before dinner. For the same reason, I wanted to have a light lunch.

I stopped off at the grocery store and you can see what I bought in the photo above. The strawberries smelled so wonderful I had to get them. I was pretty thirsty, so I also got watermelon. There were two slices of watermelon, but one of them didn’t make it home. It was SO GOOD! It got all over me it was juicy and delicious. YUM! I had half the garden salad for lunch with avocado and balsamic dressing. I forgot to take a photo of it. I got really hungry before I went out for dinner and had a chocolate cracker.

Dinner started with a cocktail at the Braai House in Stratford. I’ve been there a few times now and always enjoy the food.

I didn’t order appetizers. I rarely do. I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with being hungry with just the entree, so I skip it. I ordered a pizza to share with my spouse.

I had two slices of pizza and two cocktails. I will stick with one drink next time. Two drinks hit me like a brick and I left that restaurant pretty tipsy. I’m pretty sure I was still tipsy when I went to bed that night. One is enough lol.

FridayCalories
Tim’s Harvest Sandwich391
latte160
Apple sauce45
M&Ms100
Watermelon 2” slice87
Strawberries 1/2 cup25
garden salad130
Avocado 1/2160
Dressing 1/8 cup90
Watermelon 2” slice87
chococracker30
2 cocktails500
Pizza 2 slices740
Total Calories2545

I was trying to keep the calories down at lunch to come closer to 1800 calories, but as you can see, I went WAY over. I should have stayed away from those M&Ms at least. I didn’t have a calorie count on the pizza, so I used the same as it would be for a pizza chain for a large pizza and used that. I also used a tequila sunrise to guess how many calories were in the cocktails I had. I’m hoping there were less in what I had! I went over and it’s going to happen sometimes. I still want to be able to enjoy restaurants with friends and I’m not going to beat myself up about it and move on.

Lobster Shorts Food, lifestyle, vegetarian, weight loss

Back To Pound Town

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

This morning for breakfast I had an English muffin with an egg and 1/2 an avocado with a coffee. I love this breakfast, it’s so tasty and satisfying. I want two eggs, but have stuck with one cut in half for each side because I know it’s enough. I want the second egg because I like how tasty it is, but I don’t need it, I just want it.

For lunch I had a can of Campbell’s Moroccan Chickpea Soup and snacked on cherry tomatoes. I made another pit stop to the Snapping Turtle with my spouse again, but this time I told him no cookies, just the latte. I still had a bite of his, because the peanut butter cookies there are magical. Just a bite though.

My spouse surprised me with dinner while I was playing in my craft room. It was wine and a frozen pizza. He cooks them really well. The crust was wonderfully crunchy. It wasn’t the healthiest meal, but it was nice not to have to cook. I had some pickles and a chunk of cheese before dinner. I was hungry.

My hips were still super sore in the morning from jogging a couple days ago, but they were fine enough by the evening to get out the Slim In 6 tape again. I did the Start It Up workout again and it left me sweaty and breathless. I had to modify a small section of the arm part (most of that is from yesterday’s torture in the gym), but I did most of it. I did manage to get through the rest of it.

Here’s my post workout face for your viewing pleasure.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today – Day 6

I was craving bagels and fruity cream cheese yesterday, so I made this for breakfast, today. I served it with scrambled eggs, cherry tomatoes, and coffee. I only ate half the bagel in this photo. I was full and gave the other half to my spouse. As you can see, I like my fruity cream cheese in whorish amounts.

Mid morning I was thirsty, I skipped my morning tea and had a pineapple Bubly instead.

For lunch, my spouse made me a sandwich on a bun, potato salad, berries, and wine.

I was craving potato salad later in the afternoon and I made myself a snack of the leftovers.

Later yet, I was craving bagels and cream cheese again, so my spouse made me this for me. As you can see he is aware of my love for cream cheese. I tend to give in to my cravings more on the weekends, especially Sundays.

Late afternoon, we mapped out where we want to put a garden, using sticks and yarn. It was so hot outside (in the 30s) and I was really thirsty when I came in. I had this can of Sanpellegrino. Because I drink a lot of the Bubly, this was too sugary, especially, when hot and sweaty. I prefer the Bubly.

For dinner, I made a bowl of fridge dump soup, made with sweet potatoes, spinach, and broccoli. I flavoured it with vegetable soup stock, coconut milk, curry powder, and some other spices.

This photo of a glass of wine is from a previous day. While writing this, I haven’t drank it yet, but I know I will sometime before I go to bed. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today – Day 5

It’s an unusual breakfast, but I love it. I usually get an egg and cheese sandwich on an English muffin for breakfast, at the Stone Town Café, here in St Marys, but I was all egg sandwiched out. The cafe lets you order off the lunch menu early in the morning, so I got the Mediterranean wrap and a latte. My spouse made the order while I waited outside. He knows I love their oatmeal cookies, so he picked one up for me, which made a huge breakfast. We sat down by the river to eat our breakfast and went for a stroll afterwards. I was full after the sandwich and chips, so I saved the cookie for later.

When I got home I did some cleaning which made me thirsty, and I had a pineapple Bubly. Cleaning took awhile and I had the oatmeal cookie when I was done

For lunch I had a salad with balsamic vinaigrette, topped with cheese, and cashews. I love this salad. The cheese and cashews make it very filling.

After the salad I made a mug of vanilla chai tea and then had a second one right after. I’ve noticed since I’ve stopped eating anything after dinner, that I’ve been a lot thirstier lately. I rarely feel thirsty and usually drink tea just because I like it.

Mid afternoon I was back to crafting. Once I finished, I sat outside to enjoy the sunshine, and split a Stella with my spouse. It’s was 30 degrees out and sunny, the perfect day for a beer.

Dinner was a veggie burger and potato salad. I love potato salad. I did end up having a couple more spoon fulls of it that I didn’t take a photo of. It’s one of my favourite things to eat.

After dinner, I had a glass of wine and now I’m done eating for the day.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today – Day 4

Friday, my day started with my sweetheart making me breakfast. He upped his breakfast game by adding strawberries. I had egg on a whole wheat English muffin and black coffee.

I had my mid morning tea of Earl Grey.

I skipped the mid morning snack of a Larabar because I knew I was going to the Snapping Turtle for a latte. I was craving cookies and I added a peanut butter cookie to go with my latte. Their lattes are out of this world.

Lunch was lentil soup… again. I am so happy to see the end of this soup. It’s gone now and I’ll be needing to come up with some new lunch ideas. I think it will be a long time before I have more lentil soup again, but then again, it’s super easy.

Later in the afternoon I had the last dilbahar. Just yum.

I was feeling thirsty and didn’t feel like having anything hot. When I’m thirsty I want something cold. I had a pineapple Bubly.

Around dinner time I was hungry,, but I was busy crafting and didn’t feel like stopping. My plan had been to have a salad for dinner, but my spouse suggested pizza. When I’m hungry I’m weak. I was a solid yes for that idea and awhile later pizza showed up at the door. Banana peppers, mushroom, goat cheese, and chili flakes. It was awesome. I like to make pizza even healthier and get it with dipping sauce. I had the three slices you see in the photo. So far, posting what I eat in a day, for anybody to see, is keeping me in check, because I would have had another slice, maybe even another one after that. I couldn’t handle the shame of posting that, so I stopped at three.

After dinner, I went back to crafting and got into this mini bottle of wine. The whole bottle contained 250mL and I drank the whole bottle.

That was everything I ate for the day. I’ve been really good about not eating after dinner. I had a glass of water and called it a day.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today – June 3/2021 – Day 4

I had my usual breakfast today of an egg on a whole wheat English muffin with coffee. Later that morning I had a mug of earl grey tea.

I had a Larabar for a mid morning snack

Lunch was lentil soup again. I have one last bowl left that I will have for lunch tomorrow. I’ll be happy to see the end of this soup.

For a late afternoon snack someone brought me dilbahar! I LOOOOVE dilbahar. It’s a syrup soaked ooey gooey sweet.

I went to my in laws for a barbeque this evening and I had two glasses of red wine.

Dinner was delicious, some of my favourite things. There was potato salad and burgers. The burger patty was a Beyond Burger and done on the barbeque, which is a real treat for me as I don’t have a barbeque. I usually pan fry my burgers. It was delicious and so nice to see people again.

I was pretty stuffed after dinner, but didn’t turn down a small bowl of chocolate ice cream. After dinner we went for a short walk and then it was time to go home.

Halfway home I caved and had another dilbahar. I should have cut out some of the snacks since I was going to a dinner, but I didn’t. I’m thirsty but it’s late. I’m going to have a small glass of water and go to bed.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today – June 2 – Day 3

This morning I had my usual weekday breakfast, an egg on a whole wheat English muffin, with black coffee. This is a recycled photo because I always dig in before I remember I’m supposed to take a photo of my breakfast. I’m not all there in the morning.

Mid morning I had my usual cup of tea. This is also a recycled photo, but it’s so sunny it makes me happy. I love this tea.

Mid morning I had a Larabar. I usually have a second one in the afternoon, but I didn’t need it today. I was really busy this afternoon and didn’t have time to think about food. Maybe that’s the secret… keep busy!

For lunch, again I had homemade lentil soup. I still have at least another two bowls of it left, so you’re going to see it a couple more times. I’m starting to get sick of it, but I’ll finish it.

For dinner I had a pita. I had my favourite pita. Halloumi! I got a small halloumi on whole wheat. It was delicious and I ate the whole thing. I always think to myself “I’ll just have half now, and half later”. That never happens. I chow down and it’s gone.

After dinner I had a glass of oat milk. I’m writing oat milk, like it’s supposed to be called, but I always call it oaty milk. WIth the y. Oateeeee. Oaty milk.

I just finished drinking this can of peach Bubly. I may be up all night peeing. That happened last night too! I starting drinking it too late.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today – June 01/2021 Day Two

You’re going to see repeating photos from yesterday. I had a lot of the same foods. Breakfast was an egg on a whole wheat English muffin and black coffee, made by my spouse. We love the Hamilton Beach sandwich maker. It makes breakfast a breeze.

Later that morning I had a cup of tea. I’ll buy another box when this one is done. I really like it.

I had two of these Lara bars, one mid morning and the other late afternoon. I had two macadamia nuts with the second bar, but I forgot to take a photo of it. It’s hard to get used to taking photos of everything you eat.

For lunch I had a bowl of homemade lentil soup. I have a lot of this soup left, it’s going to show up for many days to come.

Check out this monster strawberry! This is the biggest one I’ve ever seen! I split it with my spouse and then had a second strawberry (about a third of the size of this one), but again, I forgot to take a photo of it.

This was my dinner. It was a monster salad with balsamic vinaigrette. I was craving it all day. It’s pretty awesome for me when I crave salad. I made it with spinach, cherry tomatoes, a shredded carrot, red pepper, cucumber, shredded cheese and cashews. I topped it with a packet of pita strips and slivered almonds. This came out of another salad packet that someone gave me. She doesn’t like the salad toppers that come in the kits. What the what!?!? That’s the best part of the salad! I had this salad with a big glass of oat milk.

I had a couple sips of my spouses gin and juice cocktail, I made it for him after he finished mowing the lawn. I was going to do that today, but he beat me to it. This cocktail is delicious! I don’t like gin, but I like this drink and I’ll tell you how I make it. Take a small bottle of cheap gin and throw in about 6 sticks of Juicy Fruit gum. Let it soak in there over night and then strain it (be careful because the Juicy Fruit will be soft and will get all over everything. To make the cocktail, use the juice of half a squeezed lemon, a shot of the infused gin, and then 1/2 a cup to 1 cup of sprite. It’s fantastic.

I’m currently drinking a pineapple Bubly and have finished eating for the day. I did great today! I know I should drink more water, but I’m not there yet.