an ode to food preppers

does anyone else out there ever feel like they spend more time preparing their food then actually eating it?

the other night (sunday night) it’s 6pm and i’m in the kitchen chopping away. i felt like veggies were flying everywhere and with the time spent cutting veggies and cooking tilapia you would think i’d have come out with some honkin 5 star dinner.

nerp. i came up with a bowl of shiznaz all glopped up

now don’t get me wrong i thought it was 5 star. but it was a lot of work!

maybe 20 minutes after i digested dinner i was back in the kitchen prepping my food for the next day.

breakfast? check!

lunch? check!

deej: “what the heck are you doing up there!”

julie": “makin breakfast ma!”

van: “were you not just in here making dinner…”

julie: “well now i’m making breakfast. can i interest you in french toast while i’m here..maybe some eggs benedict..?”

and by the time i was done gathering my food and chip chopping away well it was time for bed.

now. i’m not complaining. well maybe i am. but i’m just sayin that it' takes alot of work to prep food for my meals. and sometimes just sometimes i wish it didn’t take so long.

mocha cookie dough oats: 1 1/3c decaf coffee, 1/8c egg whites, 1/3c oatbran, cin+stiv, archer’s farm s/f caramel syrup, 1 6oz plain chobani & sprinkle of xanthum gum. overnight & added en route to work with 1/2 scoop gnc cookies n cream protein powder

for the record xanthum gum in overnight cookie dough oats makes them extra cookie dough like.

a-may.ze.

is it worth it?

oh. totally.

but for anyone out there who thinks that losing weight is hard, well just wait until you try and maintain.

can i get an amen to maintaining equals constant maintenance?

so by the time i got home from work last night now granted i had an hour and a half commute to come up with some 10 course piece de resistance for dinner i still couldn’t decide what in derek jeter’s name i wanted for dinner.

i knew one thing. 8oz of mushrooms was for sure going to be on the menu.

well mainly because they were already sliced. thank you very much king kullen.

so you’re probably waiting on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what this iron chef came up with?

5 egg white omlette with cinnamon, cream of tartar and stevia +1/4c pumpkin & 1/4c-ish cottage cheese, 2tbsp hummus, april’s low carb soy muffin & steamed veggies in ridiculous amounts of noochishticity

believe it or not. this plate made for a goddess took a good half hour to create

worth every second spent over the frying pan and microwave? you bet your bottom dollar.

but not more then 20 minutes later i found myself slaving over the blender simply for a batch of protein ice cream

call me crazy but sometimes i think i spend more time in the kitchen then any other room in my house

it brings me back to the time pre weight loss, pre blogging, pre health fanatic & all things clean and fresh and green. and i think about the amount of work i didn’t put in and how in the world i just went places without prepping food and flying by the seat of my pants and i think about all of the people who go to work not knowing what they’re going to have for lunch or dinner or caring about the double twix and snickers that end up being their breakfast, lunch & dinner.

and then i think..actually i know it’s worth it.

and i might be crazy.

and this morning i might have been lazy

and you may call me a rat or a bitch or a judgemental snot. but to me it doesn’t matter. i like prepping my food, i like knowing what i’m eating is good for my body and my soul. and yes it’s tiring and yes sometimes it drives me up a wall but knowing what i’m putting in my mouth is wholesome and greensome and good for you makes it all worth it to me.

so for everyone out there who is struggling with maintenance or thinking that once you reach your “goal weight” it just gets easier..

well the straight truth is that once “you get there” wherever “there” may be, well that’s when it gets hard.

and by hard, i mean fun and delicious, and makes you feel good about yourself.

because when you unwrap your freshly made turkey sandwich which is oozing with laughing cow & health joy and your co worker or friend or random person on the street is unwrapping their freshly made arby’s bacon cheddar heart attack in a paper wrapper quarter pounder at least you can feel good about the maple syrup you had on your pancakes last sunday instead of the corn syrup in their ten thousand pounder.

so all of you food preppers out there give yourselves a hug today. because i for one think your awesome. i understand the work you put in. i recognize your effort. i’m with you in the kitchen late at night, early in the morning, mid-day. i understand your sometimes stress and i think you’re amaze-a-balls for all the work you put in.

::high five and hugs::

so with that being said i’m off to my home away from home to do none other then make tonight’s dinner, tomorrow’s breakfast, lunch & dinner.

i’m sure by the time i’m done it’ll be time to make today’s lunch and then probably next november’s thanksgiving day turkey.

worth it? totally.

call me crazy go ‘head i’m sure plenty of people out there will, have, or are going to. but i. don’t care. ;)

oh. have you entered for some vitas yet? time’s a tickin! you got till wednesday!

question! love me or hate me? food preppers or fly-by-the-seat-of-your-panters give me your thoughts, vent here, etc!