Mid-Memorial Day Weekend Post

Wanted to take a few minutes to just jot down some random thoughts. Having a very laid back weekend, the first one in I don't know how long. There are certainly plenty of projects we could undertake this weekend, but we're not. My wound-too-tightly side of my personality will probably resent that in a few weeks, but for now, it's nice. We're washing and folding laundry while watching Giants baseball on tv, or washing the car, going over to the softball field to practice pitching and going out for ice cream and playing Guitar Hero on the Wii. Leisurely enjoyable activities. A little bit of chores mixed with family time.
In the midst of that my brain is always running a million things through it. Random thoughts about the business, about food, about finances, about life in general. So I'm going to take a few minutes to just off-load the items worth making note of.

-I have been tossing slogan/catch phrases around. Something along the lines of "Never again worry about 'what's for dinner?'" Or e-mealplanning.com - the answer to "what's for dinner?" I want something that can easily get my brand message across if I were to create an ad or on a business card. Or even a car magnet.

-Promotional materials. I am going to shop around for items I can use to spread the word. Reusable bags for sure, maybe a magnet sign to put on my car, maybe mouse pads. I have a couple opportunities to create a donation for a fundraiser (one a silent auction, one a raffle) and so I'm thinking about creating a bag of goodies that would include a month of complimentary service. So I want some swag with my logo on it.

-Recipes. A topic never not running through my head. Either I'm thinking about where to search for more sources, when I can work in testing some myself or when will I take some time to write out my own recipes. 85% of what I cook is from my head. Actually, it's probably more 95%. A lot of that inspired by recipes I have read, but unless I'm baking you'll rarely see me in the kitchen with a recipe on the counter. With preparing for this business I'm using recipes more because I am testing the recipes I come across, but usually I have a variety of cooking techniques and I just use those to create our meals.

-Fitness/losing weight- Along with trying to get a food-related business up and running, dealing with a nutty toddler, a busy 10 year old and a husband who commutes 2+ hours a day to work, I've been waging a war on my weight. Since mid-January I've lost 22 lbs. My goal is to lose another 20 by the end of the year. I made my goal realistic and planned to accomplish it slow and steady. I've worked my butt off (literally) at the gym. In my profile, I actually wrote the fitness was one of my interests. 2 years ago I would have laughed at that. I have always liked being active and got way, away from it. But now I read Shape magazine and go to the gym 5 or 6 days a week. When I'm not at the gym, I often find myself thinking about when I will go again and what I'll do there. BUT, I still love food, and it's sorta hard to try these new recipes and make sure I lose weight at the same time. Although they are not unhealthy, but this week I've been following a food plan outlined by my trainer to jump start my metabolism and get my body into fat burning mode. So I haven't tried any new recipes since I need to follow this strict plan. But I have tried to get creative in how to prepare the same damn meals every day. I feel pretty good about what I've made and how it's tasted. (another set of recipes I will have to find time to write down)
So with my own weight loss work in mind, I need to incorporate that into the meal plans I will create for the business, with a focus on naturally low fat or healthy foods. Not utilizing commercially created low fat foods (who really LIKES low fat mayo or cheese? ICK!) but helping people easily fix fresh, healthy meals that they will enjoy.
One of my dinners from this week- grilled talapia, a saute of carrots, zucchini, asparagus and English peas, and salad of baby greens and heirloom tomatoes. Most of the veggies came from my Farm Fresh to You delivery. I felt so good about what I made and how organic it was. Nerdy, I know, but I was proud.