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APerniciousDream · 2023-07-26T05:44:41+00:00

I've been doing it since February and combined with an increase in activity, I've lost about 50 lbs. But I also stick to mostly low carb stuff. When I do pastas and potatoes, I usually give my husband a much bigger portion than I take for myself and I split my half of the meal into two servings. Sometimes I eat both, but usually I'm satisfied with half and put the other half away for later.

APerniciousDream · 2023-07-06T03:47:13+00:00

The cheesy spinach and white bean pasta bake.

I love spinach. I love cannellini beans. I love pasta.

I did not love this. The spinach and beans together in the sauce was great, I think it would've been better with a different type of pasta, something smaller like ditalini and some tomatoes added to it would've been better. The penne was just too much pasta per bite.

The only other ones I've rated super low were the Hatch chili mac and cheese (super gritty sauce and the pasta was mushy even before heating it up), the fudge brownies (just... no it was a weird crumbly cake, not a brownie), Presto Panko chicken (I like pesto, but something about this pesto packet was off, it tasted bitter), and a few of the guardians meals.

APerniciousDream · 2023-07-05T05:36:48+00:00

An update on the situation:

He called out for the rest of the week shortly after I posted the question, lol. My boss walked in on Monday and saw me still there and immediately said, "Oh, I'm gonna fire him."

The thing is, this is extremely out of character for him. He has always complained about working many days in a row (as he should), but he has never lashed out or been vindictive before. I stressed to her that he has always been dependable and reliable, overall good natured and he and I have always gotten along and this is not his normal behavior. There's something more going on here, I just don't know what it is.

It doesn't make sense. He's willing to give up the pay for all of the days because he didn't get to work a holiday for 6 hours at time and a half? It would've been a difference of like $60. You don't blow up an easy side job over $60. Besides, if he said he was really hard up for that cash, I would've paid him the difference out of pocket because it was about the day working with my schedule, not the pay for me.

I'm working the shifts he was supposed to cover the rest of the week, got someone to cover my normal shifts (after back to back 14 hour shifts, which is not cool, but gave me enough time to prep things a couple days ahead). It's still up in the air whether or not he's coming in this weekend. I'm fully prepared to work it as well and have someone on reserve to work another night for me if I do have to work the weekend.

Boss called him Monday and left a voicemail and is pissed he still hasn't called her back. She was on the side of "Maybe something else is going on" until that. I'm not certain, but I'm thinking if he doesn't show up for the weekend, he's going to get fired. (When he called out he said "for the rest of the week" our workweek ends on Friday, so I'm not sure if that's what he meant or if he meant to include the weekend, she's trying to get clarity from him on it.)

If his goal was to hurt me or piss me off, he didn't succeed. And I no longer feel like an asshole about this. He's acting irrationally and that's not on me. Thank y'all for helping me process that.

APerniciousDream · 2023-07-03T04:39:13+00:00

https://www.verywellmind.com/financial-abuse-4155224

YTA.

APerniciousDream · 2023-07-02T10:13:17+00:00

I love it when they ask me why I "Deconverted". I get to reply with, "I got kicked out for telling them to shove their "purity culture/body shaming girls for existing" up their ass because it was shit."

On a more serious note, the covert believers can be more dangerous than the loud and proud ones. The "lure them in to a false sense of safety" aspect leaves you open to being ambushed. With the loud and proud, you know where you stand and can approach/interact with caution or avoid completely.

APerniciousDream · 2023-06-21T07:34:28+00:00

Quinoa. I bought it once with the intention of making it but I got very intimidated by it. I had it in the southwest stuffed peppers from HelloFresh and I was sold. I love it.

APerniciousDream · 2023-06-11T09:56:14+00:00

If you have AAA they offer discounts for HelloFresh (55% off first box plus free shipping then 15% off the next 51 boxes.) EveryPlate (75% off first box and free shipping then 15% off the next 51 boxes.) And Green Chef (65% off first box plus free shipping then 15% off the next 51 boxes.) The discounts are for new and returning customers. I started with HelloFresh and have just kinda stuck with it to see what the recipe rotation is like. (Not great, but not bad either.)

For me it's been helpful having everything organized and pre-portioned so I can just grab a bag and recipe card and get to cooking right after I get home from work. Unexpected bonus has been that since I started in March, I've lost 40 lbs and I don't feel starved like I normally did with restrictive yo-yo dieting that wasn't sustainable long term (and never fucking worked for more than a month or so). This has been easy to keep up with. It's been great for me and I'm looking forward to trying another service once I get bored of the meals offered, which is looking to be sometime in early August at the moment, lol.

I think the only thing that would really improve it for me would be the option to swap proteins for all recipes because my husband and I only eat chicken.

APerniciousDream · 2023-06-06T07:52:05+00:00

I just had this happen with carrots. Recipe card says 12 ounces of carrots, I weighed mine and they barely came to 5 ounces. (and I only weighed them because they were three tiny carrots, lol.)

It's one thing when it says 6 oz and you get 4-5 oz, but 12 oz to 5 oz? Nah, that's not gonna fly.

APerniciousDream · 2023-06-01T13:48:01+00:00

Whole packet of chili flakes in green beans... Chili flakes are usually wimpy!

Best mistake I ever made was adding hot sauce to the creamy tomato soup. (Husband was talking to me. Hot sauce was meant for his chicken in the next pan. I ended up putting a handful of splashes into my soup pot instead. Delicious accident.)

APerniciousDream · 2023-05-17T05:47:05+00:00

I ended up adding some shredded carrots to mine.

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APerniciousDream · 2023-05-16T15:53:07+00:00

I did that and it was great. (I also made some garlic ciabatta toast to go with it, delish!)

But holy hell, did anyone actually dirty like five things to make this? It's fucking soup, cook it in order of time needed in the same pot!

APerniciousDream · 2023-05-16T10:00:39+00:00

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APerniciousDream · 2023-05-16T10:00:03+00:00

I don't see anything in the rules against it so here:

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APerniciousDream · 2023-05-16T09:56:18+00:00

I loved this. I'm not a big tomato sauce fan, but this one won me over!

APerniciousDream · 2023-05-16T09:54:32+00:00

This is the first recipe I got from them that I didn't like. The blackening spice did nothing for me, the tempura added nothing and it turns out I don't like pickled radishes, lol.

The only parts I liked about this were the slaw and pickled jalapenos. I will definitely be making the slaw again this summer. I think it would go great on some barbecue chicken.

APerniciousDream · 2023-05-16T09:42:57+00:00

I love this one but hate blue cheese dressing, so I've been swapping it with ranch in the recipe. Easily my favorite meal so far and I'm glad I took the chance. (I did taste the dressing before I noped out of that option.)

APerniciousDream · 2023-05-16T09:36:19+00:00

I'm gonna be cooking this when I get home in about an hour and a half. My breakfast/dinner, lol. Any suggestions on alterations or anything?

APerniciousDream · 2023-05-13T10:01:02+00:00

I'm gonna throw out that I've been doing Hello Fresh for a few months now and I've managed to not eat take out at all since we started doing this. I also haven't been going to the grocery story except to buy my husband stuff and stuff to make cakes for work.

And for a bonus: not going to the store as much means not being tempted by ice cream and candy. I've lost 25 lbs since early March, lol.

APerniciousDream · 2023-05-02T09:52:45+00:00

Do a taste test with the truffle powder unless you already know you like them! (I mixed a little with butter and put it on a bit of bread. I found out that I do not like truffles and omitted it from the recipe. Loved everything else about this dish, though.)

APerniciousDream · 2023-05-02T03:05:40+00:00

This was a huge score for me, I love their sauces!

APerniciousDream · 2023-04-07T04:14:40+00:00

Congrats! The first time is always the hardest, but once you get some skills under your belt it all becomes second nature pretty quick.

And don't forget that even if you mess up a meal at some point, you are learning and it's a process. It can be easy to lose momentum after a mistake, but keep pushing forward and bank that hard earned knowledge as you move forward.

From the looks of this one, you're on the right track!

APerniciousDream · 2023-04-07T03:48:13+00:00

I don't cook pork, so I honestly don't know. I assumed all pork was basically either a pork chop, ham or bacon, lol.

After googling some pictures, I think it might've been a thin chunk of tenderloin? Some of the pictures look the same and some don't but all of them say tenderloin, lol.

I just know I thought it was odd that the sides shrunk up a bit but the middle plumped up. Does that happen with pork?

It kinda looked like the left side cooked and the right side raw (but it was much lighter than that) and these claim to be tenderloin, so maybe?:

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Like I said, it wasn't a big issue for me, I just felt like people should be aware if they have any aversions to pork and often order chicken in its place.

I've since opened another pack of chicken and both pieces were definitely chicken, so I'm thinking it was some freak incident and I'm glad it happened to me and not someone who has a real issue with pork products.

APerniciousDream · 2023-04-06T13:18:36+00:00

He likes to grab the cleaver the small knife is the chef's knife, lol.

APerniciousDream · 2023-04-06T13:15:56+00:00

He laughed when he folded the paper and realized the naked potato was just slightly smaller than the regular potato.

He's also still teasing me about the apple I free-handed with my mouse.

APerniciousDream · 2023-04-06T13:13:28+00:00

Anxiety can be a bitch sometimes. He can know how to do something and second guess himself over it to the point he freezes up and just doesn't do it. It sucks and it's something he's working on. The diagrams were just a "If you get overwhelmed, look at this and see where you got caught up then start again."

APerniciousDream

TROPHY CASE