Seems to me that fruit has been bandied about the blog world a little more than usual lately. Helen doesn’t really like it, Shelley has the market on WATERMELON, and Lori can get blueberries cheaper than either Shelley or myself!! Then there was that bit about blueberries being a negative calorie food, which all us foodies had a good laugh over. Of course there are those who think fruit is to be limited/avoided, etc. Then, occasionally, I hear someone comment that they could eat 12 servings of fruit in a day!! Are you kidding me?
I LIKE fruit. Duh. Its sweet. But I am rarely tempted to overdo on fruit, and it just seems normal for me to have 2 servings a day. I don’t think about it or count them out, but that’s usually what it turns out to be. Once in a while a day will go by and I will realize I only had one serving.
The thing about fruit is that, by itself, it just does not hold me that long. It is so pleasant to eat, very enjoyable at the time, but it does not appreciably satisfy my hunger. I usually have fruit with some kind of protein, most commonly with cottage cheese or yogurt.
All that said, this is the time of year for the most wonderful fruit. I try to limit the amount of fruit I have in the house at one time so I do not feel pressured to eat it ‘just because its there.’ Right now I happen to have a LOT of really great fruit in the house. So I decided to try something this morning. I made a fruit salad. Four types of fruit, cut and put in a bowl. Four servings, approximately 400 calories. I wrote that down on my food journal this morning.
Here’s how I had the first serving, over a half cup of Wal Mart cottage cheese. This is the world’s best cottage cheese!
At first I thought, yep, it didn’t hold me, but then I realized it had been 3 hours since I ate, so I had a second breakfast–very low calorie English muffin French toast. With Smucker’s sugar free syrup. That is the only sugar free syrup I like. I really try to soak the muffin in the egg mixture so I get a decent amount of protein in there.
Had the second bowl of fruit for my afternoon snack, with a 3M Chia muffin (10 grams protein), and I had the last bowl for dessert tonight. All in all, a very satisfying experiment. But I don’t really need to eat that much fruit. And overall, I think I like eating one kind of fruit at a time.
But we should all eat fruit, don’t you think? One of God’s great gifts to us. Full of all those good nutrients (you’re gonna have to look elsewhere for what exactly those nutrients are…)
So earlier this week I was involved in what could only be called a QUILT OBSESSION. Quite a while ago, I put together these various assortments of simple squares using my boxes of pre-cut strips and squares. And then I switched gears and started working on the housetop quilts. But I was determined not to let those orphan squares go to waste. So I pretty much worked non-stop on this quilt for a few days. I had the idea of zig-zagging the squares to a background instead of sewing them together, since they were odd sizes that wouldn’t exactly fit together.
You can see my ‘zig-zag technique’ in this photo.
I did realize that all that sitting and sewing was making me quite stiff. So I did get in some walks every day. And I did actually make it to the gym three days this week! But the biggest source of exercise for me this week was FUNCTIONAL exercise. Yeah, where you actually USE all those muscles you’ve worked so hard for. I FINALLY returned to the garden, and bought some plants, and actually planted them. Planting them involved moving around a lot of big heavy pots full of soil, bags of soil, and all that. Its so nice to have flowers in the garden again. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Noah seems to be leaving them alone. He does still like the plastic pots that they come in.
THEN, more functional exercise. I did a lot of housework, and I cleaned off the back porch and the deck and took a load of stuff to the dump! You know, keeping busy like that keeps your mind off of “what’s next to eat?”
So, speaking of what’s next to eat, I found a really interesting product at Trader Joe’s the other day. Literally has three ingredients: honey, chocolate liquor, and oil of peppermint. Quite decadent. And interesting, as I don’t think the chocolate is sweetened. About 50 calories each. I find that one mint usually satisfies my sweet tooth. I also like the Russell Stover sugar free mints.
So, I don’t know what got me in the mood. Maybe it was my dingy socks and my filthy shoes? Anyway, I started looking around the internets for those darn Newton’s Running Shoes, and I found that they sold them on Ebay! So I sprang for a pair. Free shipping, and they accept returns, so I’ll only be out about $5 if they don’t fit and I have to send them back. And I also ordered 10 pairs of my all time favorite socks. These really are THE WORLD’S SOFTEST SOCKS! I love how they feel, I love how they stay in place, but they aren’t too tight around my ankles. And they last a pretty long time.
Doggie love. That Bess is a cutie. We had a little emergency with her earlier this week. She had a scar on one eyeball when I got her. Not that unusual for a pug, I thought. But somehow it got irritated, and overnight it looked really terrible. I think the vet gave me NEOSPORIN for the eyeball, along with a little steroid. She has certainly made herself at home here.
And Mr. Monk, in a particularly energetic pose.
Sophie’s version of a big stretch. Isn’t she cute?
And the latest completed housetop quilt, with two of my favorite verses on it (Matt. 11:28-29, and Psalm 23.) I think you might be able to see the writing if you click on the picture and enlarge it.
Oh, I was reviewing my pictures from Paducah today and I ran across this great picture. This garden art was in what seemed to be an abandoned lot. Isn’t it great?
Wow, I should really blog a little more often. Well, you could save this and read just a little every day…
debby weighs in 
Would never put it to the test, but I think I’m one who probably could eat 12 servings of fruit in a day. One of the reasons the 17 Day Diet worked so well for me is that it’s a lower carb, carb cycling plan that does allow fruit. I’ve truly come to appreciate how fortunate I am that I just naturally love fruit and generally would choose it over something sugary. After yesterdays farmers market run, staying OUT of the fruit was my biggest temptation.
I think the 17DD is one of the most balanced lower carb diets out there.
I supposed I should clarify my feelings about fruit… it’s not that I don’t like it, I just don’t like it as much as I think I should. Most of the time fruit just disappoints me and some of that could be because most of the time I’m having to buy it at a supermarket vs. a farm or farmer’s market. Every once in a while I do manage to get a terrific piece and then I think, “I’m eating ALLLLLL the fruit!” I do love a good fruit salad though. I know you also identify with this: if you’re the only person eating the fruit it can get tiresome to have to eat a whole watermelon (unless you’re Shelley!
I too find when I am busy, I don’t pay much attention to food even as much as I love it. Sometimes that feels like a relief.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of the Newtons. I personally don’t care for them for walking in and haven’t found that I love them for running. I’m not going to buy another pair.
Yes, I can see that if I got fruit that was not primo I would not be at all interested in it. I am VERY picky about getting fruit that is at the peak of perfection. LOL at the watermelon problem. Yes, that’s why I seldom buy it. But those mini ones have gotten cheaper so I’ve had it several times this year.
Uh oh about the Newtons! Well, we’ll see. I was kind of going by the fact that Shelley wears some of the same other shoes that I like, and hoping that our feet would like the same running shoes! Even though I just walk in them.
Mr Monk and Sophie look like they are doing the cobra Yoga position. Bess is a doll-love that little tongue.
I love fruit. My husband doesn’t eat it much, so I go from fruit to fruit to fruit. I just finished off strawberries and cherries. I just bought blueberries and pineapple. It’s a matter of fruit cycling for me or it goes bad. When I can find a precut bowl of raspberries and blackberries mixed I’ll get it. This fall It will be apples. And I am a daily dried cranberry / raisin consumer. Sweet tooth.
Oh yes, forgot about dried fruit. I can easily go overboard on that stuff! And yes, I try to fruit cycle most of the time. I just happened upon some fruit that I couldn’t pass up this week!
LOL on my dogs doing yoga. Poor Bess has a pronounced underbite so her tongue sticks out most of the time.
Mr. Monk being energetic – precious. 🙂 We like fruit but continue to have that argument about it being “free”. I wish I had never told my husband that Weight Watchers went there. Sigh. I have already eaten at least three watermelons this season and shared another three while I was in Mississippi. A good watermelon is hard to beat. I usually have two servings of fruit each day year round.
I FORGOT completely about the WW “free” fruit! Yeah, they didn’t know how much fruit us foodies could put away either LOL.
FRUIT!!!!!! You know I love it. I could eat 12 servings a day. I usually eat at least 3, if not 4.
Those socks do look soft and warm, but it is in the upper 80s here and I would have to tuck them away until winter 😀
LOL. I actually didn’t know that you liked it that much. Your fruit servings seem well within the limits of normal on your blog posting.
LOL at me on the socks. I thought about that after I got them. But I do wear those socks year round for walking, cause I have not found any short ones that do not fall down and bunch up in my shoes. I HATE that!
I am definitely pro-fruit and find that when I eat it, it nearly ALWAYS satisfies me, unless, of course, it’s a bad piece of fruit. Nothing worse than a mealy apple or dry peach 🙂 My favorites are berries.
I really love that top quilt…do you sell them?
Ah, the quilt! When I was doing CPE, if someone wanted me to come back and check in on them, I might show up around 8:30 or 9 pm and offer them a “Spiritual Sleeping Pill.” So many people find it hard to sleep in the hospital. My sleeping pill often included Matthew 11: 28-29. Also Psalm 121 — the Lord who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. As I interpret it, you can sleep because God’s up and has your back. If you still can’t sleep, at least you know who else is awake and who you can talk to.
Oh, that is lovely to hear. When I was in nursing school, another nurse was murdered in our small town, and some of us had trouble sleeping. Psalm 4:8 was my favorite bedtime verse! “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
I eat 3-4 servings of fruit a day. And personally, I don’t see a problem with a person eating a watermelon all by herself. Not all at once, of course .:)
Your quilts are always so interesting!
I enjoy certain fruits, especially watermelon and cherries. I always put apples and peaches in my oatmeal before cooking it in the microwave, so it sweetens it and is delicious with the nuts and a few dried cranberries. I guess I’m a “fruitie.” I think I’ll go get some watermelon right now!