DAY 2...pride, disappointment, and resurrection...

So today was Day 2 of the "30 DAY CHALLENGE".  I woke up HUNGRY...really hungry.  This is not unusual.  I always wake up hungry.  What's different is that now I don't stumble in the kitchen and grab a meal replacement bar or Low Fat Pop Tart.

I put off breakfast and worked for an hour after I took kids to school and then I made my breakfast.  It's different to eat this way.  I usually don't look at or think about my food and I certainly don't arrange it all pretty or take a picture.  Breakfast was good and filled me up.  I went back to work and before I knew it...it was almost 2PM and I hadn't eaten lunch.  I have been so busy, that there hasn't been as much planning and preparation as I would like.  Surprisingly, I came up with a lunch idea on the fly and it took a while to cook, but it was really delicious.

Once lunch was through, I called my Mom to get a quick reminder on how long to cook a roast.  She told me and then I got out the roast, brazed it on all sides with onions and using Ghee/clarified butter.  I poured water in the pan to make my own beef broth of sorts, because today I learned how important reading labels is and that there is sugar in things you would never guess...like in bouillon, broths, and dried marinade mixes.  I was tired and felt like I had spent half my day slaving in the kitchen, but there was a real sense of accomplishment and pride.

I set out to the post office late in the day to mail off STRONG LOLA orders that had come in and then I headed to the park to run.  I knew I had just enough time to do all this and come home to a savory roast...ready to add carrots and also potatoes for my kids.  My house smelled so good and I left excited to eat the roast later.  That excitement quickly faded when I walked in the door a couple of hours later and I smelled it...my roast.  It was that strong, I'm about to burn whatever it is I'm cooking smell.  Panic set in...and for good reason.  I opened the oven and my beautiful roast was all alone in the center of a dish...looking almost black and the onions were black and stuck to the bottom of the dish.  (see pics below!)

I'm not gonna lie.  I cried.  I was thinking about how hard I'm trying and felt defeated.  I told my kids to call their Dad and tell him that he would have to take them to get something to eat.  I added some beef stock and carrots and fresh, non burnt onions to another dish (see the original ruined, burnt dish in pics below!  LOL!) and plopped it back in the oven.  I decided that I would eat it no matter what.  When I went back to get my disastrous creation out, to my surprise the roast was looking better.  It had absorbed a lot of the juices and while it was still overcooked, it looked ok.  I made a plate and took a bite.  It was DELICIOUS!  I couldn't believe that after texting friends and crying my eyes out, I had resurrected a pot roast!!!

What I learned is that there will be mistakes along the way.  I wanted a candy bar in the worst way when things started to go wrong, but I didn't eat sweets and I got through it stronger in the end.  2 Days down...28 more to go!

Here's what I ate:

 

WORKOUT:

Run 5 miles