Bagel Day Revisited

I had a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese as usual on Office Bagel Day last week, and I lost 9 pounds in the meantime. So I figured I could continue the trend today. After all, one bagel and schmear per week can't kill me.

But that's the kind of curious thinking that has led me down dangerous paths in the past.

• "It's okay if I have a just a piece of coconut cake from Whole Foods. Once a week, at most."


• "A seafood and crab sub won't be too bad for me, if I just do it once...a week."


• "I don't eat Snickers that often; it will be a treat to have a whole bar. And the peanuts have protein and 'good' fat."


• "If I happen to eat this whole box of (frozen) Fruit Roll-Ups/Strawberry Gushers, I'd only be eating 500-600 calories. I can skimp the rest of the day."


• "An order of Shrimp Pad Thai (http://www.aromachicago.com/) once a week can't hurt, especially if I pair it with a cucumber salad."


• "This entire supreme Tombstone pizza won't kill me if it's all I eat today. I'm hungover; I need the salt and protein. I'll eat a salad later on to get my veggies."

It's a slippery slope, as you can see. I have had all these feelings in the span of one week before, several times over. Imagine two slices of coconut cake, or a whole 5" cake if they don't have it in slices (how do you think I spent my December 30?); imagine 3 days of seafood and crabbing, even though I promise myself to get turkey every time; imagine a Snickers or other peanutty candy every other day; imagine both a box of Fruit Roll-Ups and a box of Gushers in one night, over several trips to the freezer for "just one more." The pizza, on the other hand, I can only do that for one day a week, tops. Not a big fan of pizza, unless I make it myself or it's a frozen one when I'm hungover.

By the by, contrary to how I justified my various trips to Taco Bell and White Castle after Wednesday night karaoke at the Jeff Street Lounge in college, your body doesn't need salt, grease and fried stuff after a night of drinking; it needs water. I heard that the effects of a hangover - headache, nausea, dry mouth - are all because you're dehydrated; drink Gatorade and lots of water to restore function. Tip for ya - one that I learned too late.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I decided that maybe I should take steps to make my celebrated Bagel Day have less of a caloric impact on my body, while keeping mindful of the slippery slope I'm used to. I did after all decide to "make better choices" this year, so why not apply that to the bagel?

As for the type of bagel, I won't give up the master blueberry. I've loved them forever. I know it's not a true "bagel man's bagel," but it's a happy holdover from my youth, reminding me of the visits to Chicago and Bill and Paula's house, when Bill would get fresh bagels every morning while walking his dog, Happy. My young palate was never interested in the onions and the sesames, but did I love those blueberries. They were like fruity muffins in a healthier form. Pair that with strawberry or pineapple cream cheese, and it was an exotic treat.

Since then, thanks to my old coffeehouse job at Benjamin's in Franklin and close working proximity to Bronx Bagel in Jasper, I fell in love with the savory everything bagel with homemade veggie cream cheese. Right now, Eppy's Deli next door to my office has the best Everything/Veggie combo of all time, but I can't think of that now because I'm talking blueberries. And I don't want to start craving Eppy's, even though I've already begun.

So I'm sticking with blueberry at the office because they don't even have everythings, and I feel like an occasional sweet treat will do me right. And I won't budge on strawberry cream cheese. How am I going to make this bagel "a better choice?" And when am I going to finish this entry?

A-ha! I decided on a course of food trickery. After slicing the bagel in half, I took a spoon and scooped out much of the extra dough, leaving hollow wells in my bagel halves. I toasted them til crispy and smeared them with 2 Tbsp of whipped cream cheese. The best part is I thought I would overdo it on cheese because there was more space to fill, but I actually used less than normal; since the cheese had to cover more surface area, it seemed like I was using more. On a regular bagel, I would be tempted to pile on the cheese to mimic the ads on Philadelphia cream cheese commercials. It's tough to explain my long-time imitations of commercials (maybe that's another blog), but it makes sense to me.

Think of the empty calories I saved!

So there's that,

Laura

What a Crock!

I went to the store to pick up more tomatoes and spinach tonight, and I browsed my new favorite display in Whole Foods: Le Creuset Cookware.

I've been eyeballing Le Creusets for a few years now, and I've been curious about them since seeing them on The Frugal Gourmet as a kid. As an adult, I think they're too expensive to even

think about buying all the pieces I want at once.

I want them in Caribbean Blue:

And Cherry Red:

But then I got a lightbulb: why don't I reward my progress in making good choices by buying up all my dream cookware one piece at a time?

So last night, I bought a new chef's knife to replace my old, nicked one. I decided to make my Le Creuset purchases online to get the best bargains, of course. I've already seen some great options on JC Penney's site, which surprised me.

What will I buy when I'm full up on knives and enamel-coated iron cookware? There's always the ever-collectible dishes of Fiesta Ware:

So there's that,

Laura

Weighing In

I wanted to weigh myself on Friday, but I couldn't get up the nerve. I was going to go out that night with some ladies from work, and I didn't want a bad weigh in to be an excuse to binge on nachos and gin in a rash display of "what's-the-point?" depression. If I had a good weigh in, I would also use it as an excuse to indulge. "What's a little plate of nachos and some tall gins and tonics going to hurt? You earned it!"

That has been my love-hate relationship with weigh-ins. It's that thinking that makes me want to die for a few hours before every Weight Watcher meeting I've ever attended, and every appointment at the nutritionist or the doctor. Blurg. It's not a good feeling.

(Sidenote: I did get nachos on Friday. And two tall gins and tonics. Then later a vodka and soda, and some of an ice cream sundae. But I only had salad and cereal that day, so it balanced out. And I didn't go out for drunken fried treats afterward like I've been known to do. I did, however, wander around the convenience store looking for snackies, but after a 1/2 hour of reading labels, I just settled on a pack of Chaser pills.)

Just a half hour ago, I realized I didn't eat my breakfast yet, and I could feel a poop coming on. I'm being honest here. I thought, "What if I pooped, then weighed myself before eating?" It's the perfect weigh-in situation - out with the old, weigh in, in with the new. The moment between taking a dump and eating a meal is the fulcrum of two widely varying outcomes.

Does that make sense? It does to me and that's all that matters.

So I weighed in for the first time since December 20th, when I was at my worst weight in a while. And what was the outcome, after the weeks of Christmas parties, New Year's, resolutions, and a nacho-enhanced girls night out? On an arbitrary day like Tuesday? Not a nice round day like Monday or Friday or Saturday? I'll tell ya.

I lost 9 pounds! NINE POUNDS, BITCH!

And really, I've only been committed to "making better choices" since January 2. That's how I've decided to look at tackling my weight loss journey, as a pathway of better choices.

I was talking to Dad last night, telling him about the food I've been making and about the different choices I've made, and that's when I realized how awesome it all sounded. The more I talk about what I'm doing, the prouder I am. We talked about making better choices at restaurants and in convenience stores - his weakness as a nomadic worker. He complained about his weight and said he should get back on the Airdyne (our excercise bike), but he's too pissed off about work to do anything when he gets home. I suggested he channel his aggression into the Airdyne and just start small, 20-30 minutes every other day. The truth is, he likes eating healthier, but he just doesn't have the time or energy to put into it.

And I can't blame him; it takes a lot of energy. If this blog isn't evidence enough, I think about food all the time; not so much what I'm going to eat next, but how I'm going tackle certain options. If a coworker asks me out to lunch, what am I going to eat at Panera or Chipotle or Subway or The Little-Sandwich-Shop-of-Joy-and-Reubens? What am I going to get on a date at a tapas place? If the suggested restaurant is a chain, I research the nutritionals on its web site. And that's always an eye-opener. Wanna get scared into eating at home? Read the nutritional information for your favorite foods at Olive Garden, Applebee's, Ruby Tuesdays, or your favorite fast food chain.

I pack my lunch every night now, so I can't wake up late in the morning and shrug it off. I think about everything in my fridge and pantry and plan an exciting dinner, so I'm all worked up about cooking when I get home.

When I feel like having a McDonald's day or night, I make a Boca Burger on a Whole Wheat bun and bake some frozen fries. Saturday I made a Gardenburger Black Bean Chipotle Burger and topped it with my homemade salsa, which I also used for dipping fries. These fake-outs are tasty! I've had "burgers" 4 times in the past 2 weeks!

Last night I cooked up a 4 oz. piece of salmon that I froze two weeks ago. I cooked up some frozen green beans in Thai sauce from Trader Joe's that were in the back of my freezer for months. I was too afraid they'd taste like curry, so I never had the nerve to cook them. I cooked up the whole bag, and ate half of them with the salmon and an orange sliced into wedges. It was soooo good!

This treat is my new favorite trick: Put some unsweetened frozen fruit - peaches, pineapple, berries, what have you - in a tall glass and pour Fresca or Diet Sprite over them. It makes the best little cocktail ever. My personal fave is pineapple and Fresca, but last night I did peaches and Fresca, and it was awesome. When you're done drinking it, then you eat the fruit. I came up with this one last month when I had warm Fresca and no ice. By the way, does anybody else have a hard time refilling their ice trays when they're empty? I do. Hate it. I guess I just don't like sloshing the water all over my freezer.

Anyway, I guess I'm at a good point in my life where I can explore this stuff. As for Dad, how does a 53-year-old man with 35+ years of adult decision-making start to make changes? Especially when he lives with Mom, whose consumption habits are an amalgam of steak, potatoes, Virginia Slims and Lord Calvert Canadian?

Don't get me wrong, Dad's independent and makes his own meals most of the time. He's a great cook with a healthy eye, but it's pretty difficult to make your own choices when the person you live with stocks the pantry 80% of the time, and you end up eating things "just so they don't spoil."

Which is why I'm proud to announce that Dad is going to visit me at the end of February. He's coming up on Friday the 29th and leaving Monday, March 3rd. I promised him a "spa weekend" where I would cook all kinds of good meals for him, show him how to do some new recipes (Sauerkraut with Chicken Brats, anyone?), and I haven't told him yet, but he's getting a pedicure.

I told Mom and Dad once about the pedicures I treat myself to every few months, Mom scoffed, but Dad was curious. "What do they do?" They wash and massage your feet and calves, shave away dead skin and buff your nails. I've seen guys have it done. "Well, a guy doesn't give them, does he?" A tiny Asian man gave me my last one, yes, but they're mostly women. "Well, I wouldn't mind having that done with a woman, but I won't let a guy do that to me. Heheheh."

So it's settled. Dad's getting a pedicure and a spa food weekend. He deserves it. After all, it'll be the first time he's come to Chicago alone, that doesn't involve moving me into a new residence.

So there's that,

Laura

Roasty Toasty

I modified a recipe I saw on Everyday Italian with Giada "too-fucking-attractive-to-cook-all-that-fat-and-carbs" De Laurentiis.  Hers originally called for eggplant, tomatoes and garlic in the sauce, but I had to amp mine up.  And I used whole wheat pasta - something that bitch rarely does.

 

This was a good way to get some rarely used vegetables into my routine.  And it's easy.

 

Rigatoni with Roasted Eggplant Sauce

 

1 lb Whole Wheat Rigatoni (or other chunky pasta - WW rigatoni and penne are always easy to find)

1 medium eggplant or 3 baby eggplants (I used the babies because the mommas didn't look so fresh.)

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 pint whole button mushrooms

1 or 2 red bell peppers

3 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

fresh basil

lemon juice

parmesan cheese

 

Preheat the oven to 425F.

 

None of the following cuts have to be perfect.  Cut the eggplant into 1" chunks.  Wipe clean the mushrooms and slice them in half.  Remove the seeds and stem of the pepper(s) and slice into large (1") chunks.  In a large bowl, combine the chopped veggies and the whole cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves.  Toss with about 2 Tbsp of olive oil, a few big pinches of salt and pepper and the red pepper flakes, until all pieces are coated.  Place the veggies in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Roast in the 425F oven for 30-40 minutes or until the eggplant and mushrooms are browned.  Check every 15 minutes to make sure they're doing all right.

 

When veggies are close to being fully roasted, bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook the pasta according to package directions.  If you time this just right, you can finish the sauce while the pasta is cooking. 

 

Add the roasted veggies to a blender or food processor.  You will have to work in batches, so your appliance doesn't go crazy.  Just puree a quarter of your veggies, then add a quarter more, and so on.  When it's all pureed, add another Tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 cup of the pasta water, the juice of 1 lemon, some salt and pepper to taste, basil and some parmesan cheese (optional).  Blend to combine.

 

Drain your pasta and return it to the pot.  Pour your sauce over the hot pasta and stir over low heat until it's combined and warmed through.  This shouldn't take long.

 

I topped my little serving with a dollop of goat cheese.  Seriously?  If you haven't had goat cheese in your life, make it a goal.  It's supremely low in fat, tangy and creamy.  It adds a nice little kick and richness to tomatoey or brothy sauces when I'm not in the mood for a runny sauce.  It's good in green bean casserole, too.  It's one of my fridge staples along with parmesan cheese, dijon mustard, chicken broth, bagged spinach, tomatoes and Almond Breeze:  http://www.bluediamond.com/retail/breeze/index.cfm.

 

So there's that,

 

Laura

 

 

 

Like Butter

I just got back from my first work-sponsored yoga class. Oh. My. God.

I'd never done this stuff before - outside of hippie theatre warm-ups, the Curves stretch regimen, and anger management therapy - so I was a little sloppier than the others. But only when it came to the moves. Everybody else had the class before, so they knew the poses. I had to constantly look up to see if I was doing it right, so I wasn't focusing on breathing like I should have been.

But still, I was surprisingly super flexible. I could stand and touch my fingers to the floor without bending my knees, which I could never do in P.E. classes. I got a little huffy on "downward facing dog" (pictured on right), but I managed sustaining it. Hopefully after a few weeks of this, I'll be even more bendy. Plus, the instructor didn't even have to correct me, having walked past me a couple of times during the class and correcting others. Fat Girl is superior!

Bonus!: My back has been bothering me for the last few weeks - mainly because I tend to hunch over in my desk chair to see the screen...and to hide my internet habit. This weekend I was feeling tension in my lower back just lounging around the apartment. And this morning I noticed my back got tingly after sitting in the same position for too long on the 1/2 hour bus ride. I've been contemplating purchasing a shoulder band to draw my shoulders back so as they're not behind my ears.

But right now, my spine feels like butter. Buttah. And my shoulders are relaxed as I write this. I don't think they've been this far apart from my ears for months!

I'll let you know how this goes. I have another class tomorrow with a different instructor who is, reportedly, a "ball-buster." I look forward to the challenge.

So there's that,

Laura

Post Secret

I'll probably have time to write a better blog later today, but I'm phoning it in this morning just in case.

You need to visit this site every week. http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

People send these arty postcards with their deepest - and sometimes not so deep - secrets on them, and some of them get published on the site. There are also a few Post Secret books that have been published as well. I've paged through them in the bookstore occasionally, so sometime I should actually buy one.

Sidenote - I was thinking last night about my reading patterns. I generally go to Borders to browse, but end up buying about 5 books to last me about 2 months. Why not go to a library? I have a love-hate relationship with libraries, seeing as I can count the number of times I used my college library on both hands (using each hand only once. I don't know if that metaphor works). That's another post.

I think maybe I should start buying my favorite authors in bulk and read through their collected works as a private reading project this year. I did this with Philip Roth in college, which culminated into a 30 page paper discussing trends in his novels, short stories and memoirs; I got independent study credit for it, and the kicker is it was truly enjoyable. Maybe I can pick up the John Irvings that I haven't read yet, reread some favorites, and write a little essay on him. Okay, maybe not that far, but it would be nice to have a focused reading project.

I'd have to buy them online, to get better prices. No use paying $15 for a book at Borders when I can get a decent used one for $1 from an Amazon Marketplace. Tip of the day.

So there's that,

Laura

Meyers Make Do

I was preparing my cereal at my desk this morning when I remembered something Lyzz asked me a few weeks ago.


"You don't happen to have a plastic knife in your desk? I need to cut this banana."


I didn't have a knife. Sorry. I didn't even think to suggest using a spoon to cut it.


I was using my spoon to do just that this morning, and it made me think of how resourceful I am, having grown up as a Meyer. Here is a list of everyday items that have been repurposed by my family.

• An ordinary table knife can be used as a flathead screwdriver. I know Manda and I resorted to this when we couldn't get access to Dad's tools.


• Certain cabinet hardware - mainly a handle-style drawer pull - can be used as a bottle opener. The "first drawer" in our kitchen still bears the scars of many a Double Cola bottle.


• Who needs Kleenex? You can use toilet paper for the same thing. Observe the four-square limit.


• You've run out of toilet paper? Use paper towels...sparingly! They're murder on a septic tank.


• Out of paper towels? Try newspaper. Or drip dry. Or walk it off. Or take a shower.


• No Band-Aids? Wrap that gash on your thumb with a couple layers of toilet paper and some tape - Scotch, electrical, rubber, duct - doesn't matter. Use what you have. Don't cry about it; it's all in your head.


• No clean bowls? Use a cup! They fit easily in a car's cupholder for cereal/oatmeal/turtle soup on the go. We went through a phase where we bought Dad a ton of coffee mugs, even though he doesn't drink much coffee at home ("and never in the summer"). So when you see them on the floor of his truck, you know why they're there.


• Duct tape is a quick fix solution to minor auto collision damage. It's good for girdles, too. More on that in another post.


• Bar soap is shampoo. And according to Dad, a surefire solution to balding hair. "I've been washing with bar soap for over 50 years, and I'm not bald." Nuff said.


• Dish soap is bubble bath.


• A bathroom sink is a Barbie swimming pool. Add blue food color to give it that off-the-coast-of-Hawaii look that you saw in your teacher's vacation pictures.


• A birthday/Christmas/greeting card makes a great dustpan in a pinch.


• An insulin needle - properly cleaned - can have new life as a squirt gun! Note: Only use needles from those you trust, like your grandma.


• Use a brown grocery bag to coat chicken in flour and seasonings before frying.


• Use the same bag to drain the chicken after frying.


• No hammer? Use a hardcover book to drive in nails. Suggestions: Reader's Digest Condensed Books, the "S" edition of the second-rate encyclopedia set that was purchased from a door-to-door salesman back when they did those things, or The Bible. Maybe. Which do you treasure least? Judgment question.


• No money? Under the age of 5? For her birthday, give your mom a block of wood you found and drew a picture of Grimace on. She'll still be talking about it when you're 26.


• No lunchmeat? Make a sandwich of Miracle Whip and pickles. It will have 2/3 the flavor of your normal sandwich.


• Need your back scratched? Rub it against a doorpost. If you got textured walls in the 70s, then you made the right choice.


• It's the day after a snowstorm and you have no sled? Try out that rubber raft that your parents never use anyway. Or one of those old ceiling tiles in your grandma's attic.
• Can't find gloves? Use athletic socks.


• No Halloween costume? Be a toilet paper mummy. Observe the four-square limit.


• No raincoat? Tie a Wal-Mart bag around your head (not your face).


• Still need more protection? Cut a hole in the bottom and on either side of a black garbage bag and slip it over your head. Ta-da! Hobo Raincoat.


• No waterproof shoes? Two garbage bags, one for each leg. Bonus if they have pull string closures - you can hold on to those while you walk. Ta-da! Hobo Waders.


• No shoes? Go barefoot.

That's my list. Feel free to share your everyday multitaskers.



So there's that,



Laura