What Have You Learned?

Rachel and I went to do the monthly grocery shopping at Costco today and on the way there, we had the following conversation:

Rachel:  You know, you should blog about stuff you’ve learned through this whole thing.
Me:  Learned?
Rachel:  Yeah, you know, like a post about why use coconut oil instead of other oils, that kind of stuff.

Awkward pause.

Me:  Um…If someone were to ask me why I use coconut oil instead of other oils, I’d just say, “Because Rachel said it’s better.”
Rachel:  (sigh)  Mom, don’t you want to know why you’re eating the way you do?

A good question.  In the beginning, the answer was “no”.  I honestly didn’t care why I was eating what I was eating.  Rachel was doing all the cooking and I was losing weight.  Everything was perfect.  In fact it wasn’t until I started this blog and asked her for a one sentence summary statement of what I eat that I discovered I don’t eat dairy!  How did that get past me?!  But now that I’m doing my own cooking and am realizing I’m in this for life, I really do need to spend time learning why I eat the way I eat and why it results in weight loss.  Yet another journey.  And I’m looking forward to it.

But for now….use coconut oil.  (Happy, Rachel?)

Oh, and for all you busy moms out there that are asking for quick and easy lunch ideas, here was today's lunch.  10 minutes to make, but it'd be faster if the turkey sausage was made ahead of time.

1 cup black beans
1 oz avocado (which is about 1/4 of a regular sized avocado)
1/8 cup almonds, chopped (makes it seem like there's more)
2 turkey sausage links, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Mix together.  Chill if desired.