Avocado Pasta & The Tale of The Healthy Fats

I like healthy fats and I cannot lie!

Okay, sorry for launching into a song parody right away but it’s true! Yesterday I had avocados like all day and I felt SO FULL.

Here’s one of the things I ate:

Avocado Pasta

I already had some homemade pesto made with basil from the garden along with garlic, Parmesan, and nuts (walnuts, I think). I added two big spoonfuls of homemade pesto to two ripe avocados, added a little bit of olive oil, and blended it together. I saved about a cup of spaghetti water before I drained the spaghetti.

After my spaghetti was done cooking, I toss the avocado/pesto concoction into a pot with the spaghetti. Add the spaghetti water and toss to coat. Then add tomatoes and cilantro on top and viola – dinner was made. This took about maybe 20 minutes to do and it was quite filling! You can easily add more veggies to this, too. The sauce was so creamy and flavorful and it was a great way to use up the little bit of pesto I had lingering in the fridge.

Multi-Stress Day

Yesterday was a multiple stress day. I had a couple of things happen to get my emotions out of whack (one was a thing with Jake but I think I was stressing because he was stressing and the other was work related – someone accidentally erased a bunch of work I did resulting in me being quite frustrated).

I’ve noticed that since I am being more mindful now and actually taking the time to pay attention to my emotions that it’s easier to figure out that the sudden cravings I’m feeling are totally due to stress and not actually being hungry.

IMAGINE THAT.

I mean… I probably knew this before I started this journey. But it felt easier to succumb to the feelings. To get the quick reward I knew I’d feel from having a candy bar or eating a bag full of salty chips. The reward was instant, satisfying, and comforting. But I don’t need those extra calories in my life. I don’t want to feel guilty later for the emotional stress eating. And paying attention to my crazy cues and figuring out what sets me off is helping.

You know what I did instead?

I went for a walk. I found some pinecones in the parking lot and kicked the crap out of them. I felt better. I took a breath, enjoyed some fresh air, then I went back to work and did what I had to do.

Will this always work? Time will tell. But at least I’m paying attention now. I can stop. I can breath. I can take the time to figure out what my body actually needs. 

[stop to smell the roses]

It’s been just a few days on this journey so far and I’ve learned so much already! I can’t wait to see what else is in store for the future and to see how being mindful will pay off.