First off...do not use strawberries in the smoothie from my previous post. I repeat. Do not use strawberries. They are entirely too tart. So yeah...there is a reason the banana is in the smoothie. Although, an apple might be sweet enough. I don't know. Now I'm too afraid to venture out.
I did go semi healthy last night when making dinner. When I make meatloaf I usually go all beef for the meat. This time I mixed in some turkey. But you must know that I'm not a big fan of turkey. I'll eat it during the holidays dipped in ranch dressing but that's about it. It's just really dry and lacks a lot of flavor. (I tried making turkey tacos one time....fail.) I don't like turkey lunch meat, turkey bacon, turkey burgers. You get the point. I like my meat to have flavor. Or at least have flavor without a lot of work. And turkey takes a lot of seasoning to make it taste good. So, I don't bother. But, the half turkey/half lean ground beef mixed with bread crumbs, milk, onion, bell pepper, egg and Heinz 57 sauce was perfect. I realized this evening that if I had gone all turkey it would have been too dry so thank goodness for cow. Granted, the Heinz wasn't exactly healthy but there was maybe one table spoon of sauce on each meatloaf muffin. Yes. Muffin. I cook my meatloaf in muffin tins so that it cooks in about half the time and makes for small servings. It doesn't hurt that my food looks cute either. The other half of the meal? I got industrious and decided to take the plunge on making cauliflower mashed "potatoes". I've seen this idea floating around Pinterest for a while but just couldn't convince myself it tasted good. I'm a potato loving girl. I'd make one heck of a Irish Lass. Or full blooded Irish Lass would be more fitting. But I must say I wasn't disappointed. I did forget to steam my clove of garlic with my cauliflower which probably would have made them perfect but overall, if I had to give up mashed potatoes I could live happily.
There are recipes all over the internet and they are basically all the same so I'm not going to link one. But when I say it's super simple I'm not kidding. You'll need and do the following:
1 Head Fresh Cauliflower
1 Clove Garlic (or more if you desire...or leave out completely if you don't like it)
1/8 Cup Milk (I kind of eyeballed mine but it was close)2 Tbs Butter (The buttery flavor..Mmm!)
Salt & Pepper to taste
I steamed the cauliflower for about 15 minutes or so. I would have steamed it with the garlic if I had remembered to even use it so don't forget!) You can't overcook this so don't worry. It should be extremely tender. Almost fall apart tender when you pull it out. I let the tops of my florets get slightly brown before pulling it out of the steamer. When your cauliflower is cooked throw everything into a blender or food processor and blend away. Mine turned into a puree like the stock internet picture. I should start taking pictures of my food. Some people said they mashed theirs like real potatoes but I wanted fast and finished so I could go to bed. And I wanted to make sure it turned out creamy and not grainy. If it had a bad texture it would instantly go in the trash.
As a potato connoisseur, I went in skeptical on the flavor. My first taste was more along the lines of meh but after a few more dips of the finger and little more salt, I was satified enough to go ahead and allow it in my lunch for the next day. I had it for lunch today and dinner tonight. My husband tried it for the first time this evening and found it to be quite tasty. He even said it tasted almost like potatoes. It's a definite make again. So, if you're trying to go low carb this is a great substitute. Cauliflower isn't starchy like potatoes but gives you the same flavor and a similar texture. If you love potatoes but can't do without them, then try this recipe out.
Oh yeah. That scale stuff I mentioned in the title. I finally got my digital scale in from Amazon and just as I expected, I weighed more on it than on my little metal cheapie. So much so that I think my starting weight was 160 rather than 155. I've been stepping on the scale nearly every day just to see the numbers change. Day before yesterday I was at 153. Yesterday had a 154 and this morning showed 156. Not exactly exciting but I also know different clothing and even retaining water can affect the numbers. I just have to keep telling myself to not obsess. Mainly because I am lifting weights to burn more fat. I found this picture on the left on Pinterest that put it in perspective. Just because she weighed 127 pounds didn't mean she was fit or slim. At 136 pounds she was leaner yet heavier because she had built up muscle. Ladies, I promise you. You won't get all bulked up like men if you use weights. You may not lose weight near as fast as you want but I'd personally rather look leaner like the photo on the right than be skinnier like the photo on the left. If you want abs, you have to strength train. If you want toned arms, you have to lift a little weight. By no means do you have to lift 100 pounds or anything like that. I'm using weight that makes it just tough enough to finish my reps. Depending on the exercise, it ranges from 8 pounds to 40 pounds. But I'll stop harping. I just remember the gym manager telling me that long distance runners have a higher average body fat than sprinters. Sure, you can run a half marathon without stopping. If that is your goal then keep up the awesome work. But I want a lean body with a lower body fat percentage so I'ma lift me some weights. ;) 
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