Three Beautiful Things 11-27-2023: Positive Hour at the Gym, Soup and Salad at Moon Time, Tomato Tortelloni Bake

1. I checked in with Eddie at the rehab gym, happy to report that I had worked out for 200 minutes on my own over the last week. I also lost a little weight. Today, on both of the machines the staff has assigned me to use, I increased the level of difficulty slightly and I liked how these levels pushed me harder, but didn't leave me feeling depleted or sick. I also moved up to five pound hand weights. My blood pressure upon arrival was great. 

It's working splendidly for me to work this program, primarily because I do better when I have someone to report to. This was true several years ago, back in Maryland,  when two of my former LCC students who were earning their nursing degree emailed me,  needing a "patient". All I had to do was report to them my weight, blood pressure, and number of steps. Working with both of them at separate times helped me take better care of myself. I do better when I have someone to report to.   

2. On the spur of the moment, as I was leaving CdA, I decided to stop in at Moon Time for a cup of soup and half a salad and a couple glasses of water. The soup was a delicious, moderately spicy pineapple and shrimp curry and I ordered half a Thai Crunch salad. Even though it was a half a salad, I had to box up about a quarter of it or so and bring it home. It was delicious, but I couldn't eat it all in one sitting. 

3. It sure didn't take much effort to fix tonight's HelloFresh Tomato Tortelloni Bake. All I had to do was briefly heat up some oil, Italian seasoning, chili flakes, and finely chopped garlic in a pan and then add two diced tomatoes to the pan. I let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes and then added a packet of tomato paste. After it cooked for a couple of minutes, I added a cup of water, vegetable stock, and cream cheese and when these ingredients were combined, I dumped the tortellonis in the pan and cooked them until tender. I added a hunk of butter to the tortellonis and sauce and once it melted, stirred it all up.

I had already combined panko, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil in a small bowl and now I spread this mixture over the tortellonis and tomato sauce and put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes and ABBACADABRA!, Debbie and I each had a delicious bowl of food for dinner.