Home, Sweet Home

Let me start by saying that lunch yesterday at Street Breads was AMAZING! I had the Heart Lovers salad with shrimp and unsweet peach tea.  The salad was refreshing, delicious, and portioned perfectly.  I also loved the tea, so much so that I think I'll start going in just to order a drink!  My lunch date and good friend  Jennifer doesn't drink caffeinated drinks, and she let me know all the fountain sodas are caffeine free and organic.  I also noticed an advertisement for gluten-free pizzas.  I hope to go back soon to try some other dishes.

Last night, after hitting the extra 40% off the clearance sale at Dillards, I went to see a friend's new house and have a few beers.  All of her roommates (4 people live there) had people over and it turned into a full fledged house party with drinking games and even a mini-keg stand.  It felt just like college. I loved college! And just like college, I thought Taco Bell at 1:00 AM was a good idea...It wasn't. I woke up this morning full of Taco Bell and regret.  My stomach felt awful!  I couldn't bare the thought of breakfast. If I skip a meal, you know I am feeling bad.  Eating wasn't even a possibility until noon, almost 12 hours after the cheesy, beany indulgence.

Since I ate (and drank) way too much last night, I vowed to jump right back on the clean eating wagon today.  My sister, who has been away for 13 weeks, finally got home today. In honor of her return, my mom cooked our traditional, quintessentially Ardoin "Sunday" dinner.  This consists of roast, rice and gravy, *"paw paw" peas, maque choux corn, and corn bread.  Resisting this meal is probably the biggest nutrition challenge I could ever face.  I ended up eating 3 small pieces of boudin as an appetizer, then a small piece of roast, a big serving of peas, and a small slice of cornbread.  Although this wasn't a perfectly clean and balanced meal, skipping the rice and gravy and the cream puffs mom plopped on the table after dinner was a victory for me. 

Because my sister is moving back into her one bedroom house that I have been occupying, I have moved back into my parents' house/my childhood home.  Hopefully, for no more than a week or so.  While I love staying here (it kind of feels like staying in a hotel), it is not easy to eat healthy.  There are always sweets around.  My dad went to the grocery store today because he was out of ice cream and Blue Bell was on sale 2 half gallons for $8.  When he returned home, he not only had 2 half gallons of sweet, creamy goodness, but also a box of Little Debbies, a few Honey Buns, and a pound of smoked boudin. This is why I packed 3 bags of groceries and a menu for the week.  I let mom and dad know that I will be doing some of the cooking, and I also requested that my dad make his famous smothered okra and chicken. This week I will be cooking and posting the following things: smothered okra with chicken; turkey, eggplant, spinach, tomato, and quinoa stuffed peppers; grilled pork loin; pain perdu; my version of yonanas.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a run in today, but Andrea and I have committed to a running date tomorrow evening.  I'm hoping to get in 4 miles.  It has been a while since either of us have run more than 3, but I have no doubt that if we keep an easy, comfortable pace, we will cruise through 4.

*My family calls purple hull peas "paw paw peas" because my mom's dad always planted them in his huge garden.  All the grandkids would go help when it was time to pick peas. Unfortunately, he isn't able to garden anymore, but they will always be "paw paw peas" to us!