Well, I nixed the gym in the morning. The amount of snow was not so much the problem, it was the blowing wind.
I knew we had to shovel anyway, so it’s not like there wouldn’t be exercise in there…
I settled in to make a warm breakfast. Banana custard cream of wheat topped with creamed honey and toasted walnuts.
If you have never tried creamed honey, please do so. It’s really just honey that is crystallized with super fine crystal and is smooth and velvety. I am going to try to make my own, I think. It just takes time and a bit of creamed honey as a starter.
It feels so good to get back to normal eating. I was eating dinner last night and thought how nice it was to eat my chicken, pears, and brussel sprouts for dinner (yes, I know that seems kinda lame, but I like it). I ended up not eating a single piece of candy or cookie yesterday. Not on purpose really, but I think my body had just had enough. I didn’t even have any honey drizzle on my afternoon latte. I ended up with a no-added sugar day on accident, so that crosses off 1 goal for the week already!
After breakfast, we went out to shovel. I bundled up really well because of the wind. I don’t mind cold too much except when it is windy on top of it. Meet Nanook of New York:
I actually did some trainer riding as well, just for extra exercise. After some work and the usual stuff, I was really hungry for lunch. BBQ chicken sounded good to me, and here it is!
I did feel like a little something sweet today, so I had a white chocolate truffle courtesy of one of my nieces.
Went well with a latte. Or would have, if I hadn’t finished it first.
The snow stopped and the sun came out, although the wind is just wretched. We were able to keep our appointment for blood donation. Last one of the year!
I have now gone straight to having a supervisor do the needle stick for me. I have a very large vein in my arm, but it is a little scarred and rolls a lot, which has caused problems with past donations where they have to fiddle with the needle. That makes me very uncomfortable (putting it mildly), so I just went straight to the top to have the stick done. It worked like a charm! My iron (hemoglobin) is also really great. 13.4. Go broccoli! Not to mention the pot roast we had on Christmas eve probably helped a lot.
I supplemented the iron with raisins after donation.
It was past dinner time when we got home. I put some clam strips in the toaster oven for us. I noticed that the nutritional info has these clam strips at containing 70% of the RDA for iron! Yay!
On a side note about iron and anemia, did you know that your body will store about 2 years’ worth of vitamin B? That’s why it can take a long time for someone who is a vegetarian/vegan who does not pay attention to their diet enough to become anemic. Very important to pay attention to that nutrient if you go that route. Not me, though. I like my meat.
Evening snack tonight:
Pumpkin ricotta mixture.
I have to work some more tonight, but staying in an snuggled up under a blanket. Not getting me out again today!
The older I get, the more appealing moving a little more South seems. Not too far, though, because I like 4 seasons, but it would be nice to have it not quite so cold and windy.
Question: What iron-rich foods do you like?
We eat a lot of raw spinach leaves for iron. Also steaks once a week.
I wish we would get some snow! Boo!
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Cheddar Garlic Bread =-.
We eat lots of greens, raw spinach in our morning juice, mustard, turnip and collard greens cooked with lots of garlic and hot peppers. Yay for iron, for sure!
.-= Andra Ruscoe´s last blog ..Strength Training Finally! =-.
Shovelling snow and giving blood all in one day; you are a model of virtue! 🙂 I like my leafy greens and raw nuts for iron. I haven’t eaten meat for 20 years and I have never been iron deficient. Keep warm, Lori.
.-= Jo´s last blog ..Lunch of champions =-.
That means you have a great diet!
that cream of wheat looks delish
I don’t eat specifically for iron, but taking a look at the list, I do eat a pretty good variety of iron-rich foods. I like meats (beef, chicken, pork), and you know I like my eggs. And of course the green veggies, like broccoli, string beans, and kale crunchies! Yum!
Hope you all are staying toasty and healthy, with all that snow!
.-= Pubsgal´s last blog ..Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! =-.
P.S. I’m cracking up, because I read your blog title and thought, “Oh, Lori enjoyed her strength workout at the gym today!” And then was confused when you said that you didn’t go to the gym. “Oooooh, she meant DIETARY iron!” 😉
.-= Pubsgal´s last blog ..Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! =-.
I used to have trouble with iron levels, but not anymore! It’s not something I consciously think about, but I think eating balanced food groups helps me keep the numbers where they need to be!
Stay warm!
.-= cammy@tippytoediet´s last blog ..Embracing the Blobbiness =-.
I try to be really conscious of my vitamin intake since I only eat fish (no meat) and believe I do fairly well. For iron, I eat a good amount of spinach, eggs, tuna, and salmon.
.-= Beth @ Beth’s Journey to Thin´s last blog ..Weight Loss Rewards =-.
Hey Lori, I think East Tennessee would be a perfect place for you and John. You’d fit right in my neighborhood and we could do some major hiking and biking! Unfortunately, my immediate neighborhood isn’t very bike friendly, but it isn’t hard to get to places that are!
They make a big deal about my iron levels when I donate platelets, so you must be right about the broccoli and green leafy stuff. I eat lots of it!
Love the snow pics, but thank goodness, we don’t have any of that down here in sunny Florida!
.-= Sharon´s last blog ..Simple Sunday Random Thoughts =-.
ahhh spinach
we had a little TO DO here this weekend where the child suddenly realized shed been eating spinach and not minding (shakes/smoothies) and was none too happy about 🙂
.-= Miz.´s last blog ..On your marks Get set KITCHEN EXERCISE! video =-.
That winter pic is beautiful but BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Nope, can’t do that. I grew up in it but I have been in CA since 1971 so my blood is not wanting that any more except to visit!
Congrats on that good day for you & your little treat!
I have lots to choose from on the iron list so looks like I am OK.
.-= Jody – Fit at 53´s last blog ..Know Thyself =-.
We had the Wicked Wind here too… still do today. And the prediction is for 40s by Saturday. Typical.
You do realize that south of us they’ve been getting some bad storms too? I’m thinking maybe Jacksonville, FL would be good – some cool temps but not usually freezing or snow!
Yay for you giving blood. What an awesome donation! I have to go straight to supervisors too. I have nasty rolling veins.
And yay for making it through the day withough all the candy and cookies, without even trying. That’s awesome!
Besides any kind of meat, my favorite iron-rich foods are pinto beans and eggs. My mother-in-law used to make her kids drink some of the broth from the cooked pinto beans regularly just for the iron. A doctor suggested that idea to her when one of the kids became ill.
I tend to be lower in iron, and have been denied from giving blood before. I bet it’s better now. Good for you guys for donating!!
Love the wintry photo, but I’d want to be inside and not out in it. 🙂
.-= Leah´s last blog ..Weigh-In Hot 100 Update 13 & Christmas Miracle =-.
That looks pretty cold indeed! Ocala, Florida is pretty nice…and believe it or not, we do have four distinct seasons! And, your pics have me wanting to try clam strips. Do you just get them in the frozen fish section?
The clams are seawatch brand http://www.seawatch.com/index.html
They are just frozen and we bake them rather than fry them – although that would be pretty awesome…
My husband and I have been saying the same thing – retirement is a long way in our future, but we thinking of some place that has some change of seasons, not just the drastic ones like the midwest. This morning I left the house and it was 11 degrees with a windchill of 2 – on Friday the high is 50 – so weird!
Shoveling is good exercise though 😀
.-= Biz´s last blog ..Merry Christmas! =-.
Yay you for donating blood!!! And your iron level. And I so understand about eating normally. There is NOTHING strange about liking pears and brussel sprouts!!! Have a great day.
.-= Roz´s last blog ..The day of the borrowed photo mascots… =-.
Haha. I just found your blog and you have me suckered at the Lindt chocolate being good with the latte “if you hadn’t eaten it first”. So something I would do/say. Have a great day!
.-= Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun´s last blog ..I Just Had to… =-.
You guys are so good to make blood donations. I can’t stand needles THAT much, that I have never donated my blood willingly. In fact, if I had a troublesome vein like you and they had to “fiddle” to get the blood, I’d pass out. Actually – lets stop talking about it, I’m getting nauseous.
As for iron rich food: SPINACH!
.-= Joanne´s last blog ..Exercise after 4pm and Warm Crab Vegetable Salad with Peas =-.
Iron-rich foods I love: meat! Give me meat!
Glad you’re bundling up. My sis lives in NY and I’m concerned about her. Take care.
Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com
.-= Vee´s last blog ..Knock on Wood =-.
I guess I’m like you, now that I’m getting older it seems harder to get used to the weather changes more than when I was younger. It took me a month or so to get used to the weather we’re having now. But I like 4 seasons too, I think I would be bored if it was Summer or Winter all year long.
When my body needed a monthly boost of iron I used to crave liver. Love it. I know, I am strange 🙂