Hello all!  Today I started out the day with a 2.5 mile run and I didn’t even hit the pavement until after 7 in the morning…this was a real treat!  I love not having to get up in the 5’s to get my run in.  Today's run made number 5 for the week.  This was the first time in March I achieved the five day per week goal.  Good stuff!  Additionally my weight is still holding at 149. 

I can’t call it all good as far as the week goes though.  Friday, I ate too many baked beans for lunch.  It was one of those situations that you load your plate up more full than you would normally, just because there is a little bit left and it would be silly to just leave such a small portion…or would it?  This is where I see my actions and think- why?  First off, leaving a small portion of beans is a perfect idea especially if you have a toddler that is supposed to be eating iron rich foods such as beans (and I happen to have one of those). 

Secondly, why do we say we don’t want to waste foods?  I know it really does seem like a shame to throw away foods when there are so many people living lives without their next meal guaranteed, or even likely.  It is sad!  I tell my children all the time how lucky we are…in our hometowns and neighborhoods there are children that go home and do not eat after school.  Does that mean, I should clean my plate regardless of what my tummy says though?  Or should that also lead me to dishing more up on my plate than I know I need? 

I was recently pondering this, when a friend of mine was cleaning out their freezer when we were visiting.  They began snacking on a popsicle their child left in the freezer and I said, I thought you were going to throw that away…can you guess the response?  Didn’t want to waste it…it is engrained into our actions to not waste food from the time we are kids and our parents are telling us to clean our plates. 

I do not judge my friend in the least about this as I clearly do it too.  Also, at least my friend just had a couple bites of a popsicle…I had to eat an extra cup’s worth of beans and experience the natural consequence.  Later Friday evening after not wasting the beans, I got into a car with my husband and told him that I ate too many beans for lunch and it really was not working out for me.  His response- “It’s not working out for you?”  Note to self- never again!

However, on Friday my calories went like this:

Lunch then Linner

Salad with 3 saltine cracker and my homemade balsamic vinaigrette ½ cup brown rice 2 cups baked beans Total- about 750 calories

Today I enjoyed a smoothie in the morning and then made tacos for dinner. My calories were about more than 1130…but it is pretty much worth it.  Here is a picture of two of my four (shameful, I know) tacos with about 8-10 tortilla chips with guacamole.  They were filled with my rice & bean taco filling (a complete protein) topped with onion, jalepenos, valentina, and of course guacamole. 

Delicioso!