Moving Forward

So it is over 24 hours from my last post, so I thought you should have an update on my progress.  Since I last spoke to you, I have accomplished the following things:

1. I have created a dairy-free meal plan for the week.  Here is a picture of my menu board.
2. I went back to aquatics today and Joe joined me.  I was welcomed back by many of my fellow classmates, which was nice.  The instructor teased me and gave me a hard time about my absence.  Apparently the class was much harder than it has been in a few weeks and I think he did that for me.  He kept saying, "This is what you get when you take 3-4 weeks off!"  All in all it was a great class and I was in THR for 30 minutes.  I can't wait to go back on Friday!
3. I missed my opportunity to start strength training yesterday because of work, meal planning, grocery shopping, and a night out with friends, but I plan to do both upper and lower body strength today.  (But after I recover from my hard aquatics class!)
4. All meals will be cooked/made at home today!  So last night our outing was "Film on the Rocks" at Red Rocks.  The movie was "Blues Brothers" and it was a blast.  Joe and I met friends in the parking lot for some pre-movie tailgating.  Our friends brought a grill and cooked up brats and hamburgers.  I had a brat and guess what?  It didn't hurt my stomach!  Woo!  I made a salad and we brought some chips as well.  All the food was awesome and the night under stars was lovely.  We even got to see a fox in the parking lot!
5. My new salad obsession that I brought last night and had just now for lunch is a mix of spring lettuce and spinach, strawberries, sliced almonds, hulled sunflower seeds, and balsamic vinaigrette.  It is a variation on my salad that has chunks of fresh mozzarella.  I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy it as much without the cheese, but the sunflower seeds give it an extra crunch with the almonds and it is really tasty!  I don't even miss the cheese.  And it was a hit last night as well.  Score.  New summer salad.
6. For the past week, I have been feeling quite bloated after dinner and I haven't been sure why.  I hadn't had any dairy and not too much gluten (not that I am watching gluten, I just know it can make some bloated).  Those nights I was bloated were nights out at restaurants, so it is hard to say what the culprit was.  Last night, I was not at all bloated and I wonder if it has anything to do with not eating at a restaurant.  I am really not sure, but we will see how I feel today after eating at home all day.  I don't know what the point is here, just that I am keeping an eye on it and trying to figure out what's going on.
7. For lunch, I made my Beef and Bean chili (recipe on the side of this page), but I substituted the beef with ground turkey and the beef broth with veggie broth.  Joe is enjoying it and says he doesn't miss the beef.  Just one more step in limiting our red meat.  Also, I don't feel like I need to load it with cheese or sour cream, which I have done in the past because it is just so yummy as is.  Bonus.