Live. Laugh. Grow.

Food Inc. and change

2009-11-08T16:20:00.001-05:00

As a fan of Michael Pollan’s, I’ve wanted to see Food Inc since its release in theatres in June. This week, E and I finally got to see it as part of the Marshall Artist Series’ Fall Film Festival. I’m in the middle of reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” so I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I was about to see.

About the film (source):

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

This was a seriously powerful film, and I was shocked to realize how much surprised me. I had several moments where I was thisclose to crying, and I’m not the crying type. When I left the theatre, I was angry more than anything else. Food Inc. covers a lot of ground, so I’m going to talk about the matter which affected me the most.

In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164. In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli 0157h7 (an intensively dangerous deadly strain causing hemorrhagic colitis), so that if a plant repeatedly failed the tests, they could be shut down by the USDA. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has the power. E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks have become more frequent in America,
whether it be from spinach or jalapenos. In 2007, there were 73,000
people sickened from the E. coli virus.

Our government is not protecting us. They are allowing corporations to rule in their own best interest, choosing bottom line and highest profit over humanity and ethics. If the meat you’re producing is making people sick or dead, you shouldn’t be allowed to produce it anymore. End of story. If you think that there are laws to protect you and your family against disease and unclean conditions, you are so very wrong. This doesn’t just affect carnivores – it affects everyone. E, as a vegetarian, is no safer than me because the waste and by-products from factory farming go into the ground, the water supply, and contaminate so much more than meat. We shouldn’t have to worry about peanut butter and vegetables making us sick, but we do, because the USDA, FDA and other government bodies are useless and too fearful of lawsuits to do anything about it.

SB63 Consumer Right to Know measure requiring all food derived from
cloned animals to be labeled as such passed the California state
legislature before being vetoed in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger,
who said that he couldn’t sign a bill that pre-empted federal law.

Once again, WHERE IS OUT GOVERNMENT??!?!?! What kind of country is this that we don’t have the rights to see what’s in our food, the nutritional make-up of it or even to know whether it’s from a cloned animal or a genetically modified product. If we can’t count on being protected, we should at least be given the opportunity and rights to protect ourselves.

1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; Among
minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2.

We are literally making ourselves sick. From all the fat, salt and sugar we eat to the 200 lbs. of meat the average American consumer consumes in a year, we are helping ourselves into an early grave. Diabetes is no longer something that’s a genetic hurdle, but a certainty. When it’s cheaper to get a hamburger than an apple, there’s an issue. The cost of food isn’t just the price at the store or on the drive-through menu, but in the medical bills, the despair and the early loss of life 5, 10, 20 years from now. Just because the burger you eat today doesn’t hurt you, the effects of it will.

It really bothered me to not see Perdue, Tyson or Monsanto present their point of view in Food Inc, which stated that they declined to comment. In fact, a Tyson farmer who was willing to show the inside of his chicken houses changed his mind after some visits from company representatives, and a Perdue farmer who decided to show both the chicken houses and speak on camera lost her contracts. To be fair, Monsanto and an alliance of meat production associations did both publish responses to the film, which can be seen here and here.

E’s stepfather is a dairy farmer, and I assumed every farm to be like his – happy workers, happy animals and green grass and rolling hills. I visited the farm to feed the newborn calves last Thanksgiving, and had a blast. The animals are happy, playful and respected, and get to see sunlight, roam in the pasture and eat grass if and when they choose to. Basic care, right?

Wrong.

Most of our meat comes from plants and factories, where the goal is to produce meat as uniformly and as cheaply as possible. Chickens are raised with hundreds packed so closely together they can’t move, without sunlight or fresh air and grow so quickly so fast they can no longer support their own body weight, are unable to stand and can die from being so huge. It takes a chicken 3 months to reach 5 pounds, and commercial broilers reach that weight in a mere 49 days. Cows spend their days knee-deep in manure, never knowing, feeling or touching grass (the very thing they should be eating!) or are literally lying on top of each other. These animals are being treated as a product instead of as beings with needs. They aren’t respected from the day they’re born until the day they die, and that’s a problem. We are led to believe that without factory farming, we will run out of food and land and that’s simply not true. Humans have been farming and cultivating for thousands of years and have yet to have such a problem. In the last 50 years, we’ve done more damage to the Earth and to ourselves than in the last 5000.

I believe that Food Inc. is an important film, and that it’s important for the public to see it, especially now that it’s out on DVD and Blu-Ray. I will warn that it has some very graphic scenes, and I was horrified at some of the scenes I saw. Several of the bloggers I read had some interesting points to make about the movie as well.

At the end of the day, I’m angry. Really freaking angry, actually – at myself for being so naive, the government for not protecting us, especially from life-threatening diseases that are preventable, and the giant meat conglomerates for abusing their farmers, workers and animals to add another dollar in their big, fat pockets. Food Inc. has taught me an important lesson, though – I have no right to be angry or indignant if I’m not willing to do anything about it. Thankfully, there’s a silver lining to all of this – we can change. In fact, according to Gary Hirshberg, founder of Stonyfield Farms, “The irony is that the average consumer does not feel very powerful. They think that they are the recipients of whatever industry has put there for them to consume. Trust me, it’s the exact opposite. Those businesses spend billions of dollars to tally our votes. When we run an item past the supermarket scanner, we’re voting.”

The Food Inc. website has some fantastic tips on how we can make a difference:

The way I feel about food now has forever impacted me, and I’m making changes in my own life. I’ve been a vegetarian before, and E is a vegetarian, but it’s just not the right choice for me, but this is:

Eating ethical meat – if my meat isn’t naturally-raised, pastured or grass-fed, I’m not eating it. I believe that animals have the right to be respected and treated humanely, whether I choose to eat them or not. I stopped eating veal after my day with the calves, and pork went out the window a couple of weeks ago. I will only be purchasing meat for myself or eating meat served in a restaurant or in someone’s home if it fits the criteria. A few retaurants, including Savannah's and Jewel City Seafood in town and Bluegrass Kitchen in Charleston are safe, and there's a farm about an hour away where I can buy meat and poultry. Otherwise, my options are to have a meal consisting of ocean-friendly fish/seafood or one that is meatless. The only exception to this would be game that is caught by a loved one, such as venison or wild turkey.
Continue buying organic milk, yogurt and produce, and buy other natural and organic products as budget and availability allow.
I will make more of an effort to learn where my food is coming from and what it’s made of, and to respect the seasons, and not just what was flown in.
I will support companies and products that I believe in, and let every dollar we spend vote in our best interest.

Have you seen Food Inc? What opinions or thoughts did you have about the film and/or your eating habits? How do you vote at breakfast, lunch and dinner?

an adult tuesday

2009-11-06T14:52:00.004-05:00

So, my last post was a little confusing, but completely on purpose. Wait, that doesn’t make a ton of sense in itself. But…oh, never mind. A couple of weeks ago, I signed up to be a volunteer for a new community kitchen that opened in town. They have an amazing collection of cookbooks, give free lessons 4 times a day, 5 days a week, and use all organic produce and ingredients.

Oh, and this guy:

image source

Seriously.

The Kitchen’s goal for this week is to have 1,000 (or 2% of) people in Huntington cooking, and so a cook-a-thon was thrown! From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., there was a cooking class held every 30 minutes, taught by Jamie, for free. They made a beef and scallion stir-fry with noodles, and it smelled amazing - going outside was torture!

We had a great turn-out; the firefighters and the media came out, and by 3 p.m., we’d had 250 people cook. Considering 20-30 people were cooking at one time, that’s crazy!

So, did I meet him?

YES!

He’s super-sweet, and at one point, he even called out to me from the stage, and was all, “darling, are you okay? we having fun?”. Oh yeah, we totally bonded. I’m bummed I wasn’t able to get a picture with him, but he was running around like a madman, and I hated the thought of bugging him like the crazy foodie fangirl that I am. I did get the next best thing, though.

Yup, totally posing with his shirt. Love the fact that I looked thrilled beyond belief. For a shirt. I’m such a weirdo!

After coming home and eating dinner, E dragged me away. Don’t I look terrified?

Just kidding! It was more like a treat…AVENUE Q!

The show was amazing. The puppets were incredible (and I hate puppets!), the songs were amazing, and it was just darn plain funny. I would definitely recommend it, but not to young children, anyone uptight, or those who have no sense of humor.

Now for the food!

9:15 a.m. Kashi GoLean and Honey Sunshine, with a teeny banana on its last legs, pecans and nonfat milk

12:25 p.m. Clif Mountain Mojo Trail Mix bar – sheer heaven!

12:50 p.m. ‘Bucks’ Grande Passion Tea with 1 Splenda

4:35 p.m. Worst lunch ever! Benny’s Hickory Chicken sandwich, no bacon and no Swiss and a garden salad with no cheese and ginger dressing on the side. Seriously disappointing – too much bbq sauce, stale bread, off salad dressing, and obviously cheese. Ugh. I ate all the veggies, 1 tsp of dressing, all the chicken (with half the sauce wiped off) and half the bun. Everything else got tossed, although I able to salvage the cheese for E’s next lunch, which was about 1/4 cup’s worth.

Now some girls are all about little blue boxes, but for me, my heart melts for a certain medium red one.

Oh yeah. The fastest way to my heart is chocolate-covered fruit, and to me, Edible Arrangements is king. The best part? Thanks to Facebook, it was free. Definitely had to sample to make sure it was up to par.

5:20 p.m. Granny Smith covered with dark chocolate. I was a good wife, and split it with E.

6:30 p.m. Cedarlane LF chicken burrito. I’ve never had a Cederlane product that I didn’t like, and this was no exception. A little spicy, a lot of chicken. Almost too much chicken, but can there ever be too much? This guy was small but filling, especially with Blue Smoke salsa and shredded mozz on top.

7:00 p.m. And of course, fruit for dessert! Dark chocolate-covered pineapple, split with E.

Now there may or may not have been a junior whopper, no mayo, consumed after the show, on the way home at around 11 p.m. Not ideal, but it happened. Just saying.

Who’s your foodie rock star?

Mine are definitely Jamie Oliver, Rick Bayless, Grant Achatz, Giada deLaurentiis, and Paula Deen. Edited to add Martin Yan, Alton Brown and Michael Smith - how could I have forgotten? Thanks for reminding me, Susan!

halloween downtime

2009-11-03T11:52:00.002-05:00

Hi guys!

Happy belated Halloween - was it a smash?
E and I had planned to go to Athens, but between the rain, refinishing the bedroom and E putting in an 8 hour day at the office, it just didn't happen. Instead, we had a veggie turkey dinner, complete with homemade cranberry sauce and triple-chip pumpkin raisin muffins, followed by drinks and appys and a visit to the pumpkin house. Not exactly how we planned it, but fun nonetheless.

E and I mad a late-night run to Target last night when we realized that both of our cameras' batteries were dead, and the only charger we could find wasn't working. Bought a new charger, tested it out and thankfully, it works like a dream! Today's plans? A touch of community nudity and hanging out on the Avenue.

Confused yet?
I'll explain everything in the next post - happy tuesday!

remember me?

2009-10-29T16:29:00.005-04:00

Hello lovelies - you have no idea how much I've missed you!
Thank you to everyone for all of your support and kind words after the mini-tri; it's meant everything to me!
Tons has happened since my last post -

I tried my first macaron - amazing!

Also found my BFF from back home - say hi, Tim!

It's still a little awkward for us to meet up 900 miles from home, so we don't see each other much.

E and I had a garden, after all. We ended up with a mass of herbs, some jalapenos, and a few tomatoes. We also had raspberries, but we let the bees keep most of them.

We got to get a guard 'dog' to keep our veggies safe. Meet Porter.

Celebrations!

The big 2-6 and the big sangria.

Final game of the Stanley Cup at Pittsburgh's finest

giving in to my deepest, darkest secret - being a housewife!

Trying out some goodies...

and some not-so-goodies....excuse the awkwardness that apparently is my hand...

plus, who could forget hanging out with E's dream gal and a few of her co-workers?

A lot's changed, guys - some for better, some...not so much.

Finally got my permanent residency, which means that I'm now employed and in school. I've enrolled in a local community college to up my GPA to get into the program of my choice in a year or so at the university level, which may or may not be dietetics. I've also figured out the bus system, which means that my car's still staring at me from outside the house, wondering why I can't man up and drive already. Me too, car, me too...

I went home in September for the first time in over a year. It was awesome to see my peeps, but I'm bummed that I couldn't see everyone. Unfortunately, I came back home less than a month later - my best friend lost her dad. It was one of the most tragic losses I've ever experienced, and being there was a really tough thing to do. I also learned that one of my cousins is in the last stages of cancer. Not a happy month over here, but I'm hoping that from now on, every time I go home, it'll be for a happy occasion.

So, what have I been eating? Everything! Between the stresses of a so-called new life, traveling, family issues and more, I've done the opposite of "eat less, do more". Thankfully, I haven't gained a pound (weird, right?), but I can definitely feel the difference. I'm grouchy, lethargic, and feel downright pudgy! I just plain feel unhealthy, no matter what I eat. It's been a wake-up call, my ah-ha moment. I always thought when I was really obese that I might've been fat, but that I was healthy. Well, guys, I wasn't healthy at 294 lbs. last December, and I'm not healthy at 245 lbs. now. Am I a size 18 instead of a size 24? Yeah. Is that healthy? For me, not so much. Sometimes, life is just about what feels good, and being this big just doesn't feel right. I've started to journal again, and just make better choices. I'm also starting to get back in the gym, slowly but surely, and it's making a big difference. I just plain feel better - about myself, e, the world. It's funny, a year ago, I would've been thrilled to feel this good, and now, it's not good enough. I couldn't miss something I didn't have, but now that I've had a taste of this kind of life, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

What's been your ah-ha! moment in life?

and the winner is....

2009-06-21T00:09:00.005-04:00

ME!!!

Yup, that's right, not only did I survive the mini-tri, but I rocked it out, and at 1 hour and 14 minutes, finished first! Okay, so it ended up being a biathlon in my case, but still - after I crossed the finish line and they announced my time, I walked up to my trainer and was all, "so, where's everyone else?". She looked at me, and seemed confused, and said "everyone who?" I looked at her, and said "you know, the ones who are finished already." This was the moment when it hit me. Or when she mentioned, "uh, Carly? there IS no one else. you're the only one done."

Dude!

Okay, so I'm all over the place, but it was awesome.

Starting from the beginning:

E and I were up, ready (pb&j in tummies) and headed out by 7, with us being at the meeting place at exactly 7:30 am. We were weighed in (50 lbs, thankyouverymuch!), marked and measured, and then grouped up to hear the course. The trainers decided to do a 1.8 mile walk/run instead of a 3, with 9 miles biking and 1/4 mile swim, which somehow meant swimming or water jogging. We all got ready, and headed out to the pool.

Amanda & I, before go-time

Except for me, who headed indoors on my awesome stationary bike they brought over from the gym. Yup, I was that girl. It took me a few to adjust the seat, got on and "headed off". I've never been more thankful for my iPod, by the way, since it kept me pumped the entire time. About 3 minutes in, my trainer decided that instead of walking the 1.8 miles, I should just do an extra 6 on the bike, for a total of 15 miles. 2 days ago, I doubted being able to do 9 miles, and all of a sudden, it was practically double?!?!?! I decided to do what I could do, try my best, and hang on. Around mile 5, my energy level took a bit of a hit, so I decided to take some lemon-lime gu
- such a strange texture, it was like a Vaseline-maple syrup lovechild! It was kinda gross to be honest, but did the trick! Mile 9 was a tough one, and I ended up needing to use my inhaler. Then, the rest was kind of a blur. 6 miles later, I was done, hopped off the bike, and went out to the pool. I started swimming, but my heart rate went nuts, so I switched to water jogging, which was surprisingly still pretty challenging! The minute I was done, my goal was to dry off as much as possible, which I realized pretty quickly was easier said than done. Sopping wet, I threw on my clothes and my kicks, and headed for the finish line.

Being done was fantastic - I did what I set out to do, and even though I couldn't do it the way everyone else did, I did it my way, and succeeded. If you can't be proud of that, what can you be proud of??? I felt so much support, from fellow bloggers and readers to family and friends to the strangers at the tri, that there was no way I'd come out as anything other than a winner! The best part? The chocolate chip Cliff Kids ZBar that was waiting for me at the end, as was this.

In all seriousness, I don't know what was better: seeing my time, or realizing that I'd burned over 800 freaking calories doing it.

A week ago, I didn't know if I could bike the 9 miles - I figured if I could, it'd take 1 hour and a half to 2, I'd be in last place and I'd be too exhausted for anything else. It felt nice to put myself in my place, and prove to the most important person of all that I can and did do it.

tryin'

2009-06-20T06:13:00.003-04:00

Today's the big day - the mini-triathlon for the show, and to say I'm nervous would be a massive understatement. At a 9 mile bike, a 3 mile run/walk and a 1/4 mile swim, it's nothing crazy, but it's a pretty big deal for us. I have horrible allergies, so originally, I wasn't even able to participate, but about a week ago, I got the call to be able to do most of indoors, so here I am. Sure, I've missed out on 2 months of training sessions, and sure, I have bronchitis, but what the hey? I'm determined to try!

E & I headed out to Dick's last night to pick up a couple of things, and I picked myself up a little gift that I've been wanting for a little while.

For those of you not in the know, this is the infamous Polar fitness monitor, which tracks your heart rate, calories burned and exertion level using a chest strap around your rib cage and the watch, seen here. This one's pretty cool - not only does it allow you to link your monitor with your computer, but it also keeps a weekly diary of what you're up to, has an alarm in case your heart rate gets too high, is waterproof up to 30m and, let's face it, is PINK, which is obviously the important part! At $98.99, it's definitely more than I would normally spend, but I thought it a fitting way to spend the birthday money from my dad, a marathon runner. Thanks Dad!

I also picked up a little motivation - it's going to be hard doing this with E in another area, so some positive self-talk is definitely in order.

Here's my gear all laid out, minus water bottles, iPod, flip flops and some Cliff Kids ZBars for after the race. Yes, that is totally my inhaler - a must-have for this morning!

My mission is to finish the biking and swimming, and evaluate. I'm hoping to be able to do everything, but if all I could do is the bike and pool, at least I've tried, and 5 months ago, I wouldn't have even tried that. We're also doing our final weigh-in and measurements, so emotionally, it's a big day.

Wish me luck!

back for good

2009-06-18T18:35:00.003-04:00

hey guys, what's up?

it's amazing that it's been so hard for me to post lately - even though it sometimes feels like i'm chit-chatting away to myself, i really love having a little space of my very own, and being able to share it with all of you. there's been so much going on lately; a new little princess in the family, vacations, dilemmas, celebrations. so much to talk about, and hundreds of pictures that to upload, and still...nothing.

i feel like i'm regressing.
at this point, almost 50 pounds are gone, and as of monday, the show will be over, and it'll be back to normal, whatever that means. i can't see myself (or E, for that matter) no longer caring about what we're trying to accomplish, and going back to the way we were, which eliminates that concern. it's a slippery slope, though. as easy as it is to go overboard on the eating and slack on the exercising, it's just as easy for me to go the other way, and exercise too much with not eating enough. it's a tricky one, but hey, i can accomplish anything, right?

i read that the two worst things any blogger can do is apologize for not posting and to be negative, and i'll admit, i'm guilty of both. i'm in awe of most of my blog roll - positive thinkers with much busier lives than mine, posting multiple times a day and having a blast doing it. one day - i'll be there, too. for now? i'm going to ride the wave, and like with everything else, simply do the best that i can. comparing myself to others definitely gets me into trouble from time to time, so my resolution this summer is to stop it.

this is turning out to be a pretty serious post, but i'm glad i've made it.
maybe now it'll clear the air to bring the fun back!

big night out, take two

2009-05-31T11:49:00.010-04:00

Last night we headed out on the town to go to opening weekend of a new restaurant: Rosendale's Modern Bistro. Although Rosendale's opened a couple of years ago, Chef Richard Rosendale switched things up this past year, putting the formal, white-gloved service restaurant upstairs, and making the downstairs into the Modern Bistro. Getting back to basics with custom dining, the bistro is a more social experience, with moderately-priced dishes that are simple yet complex, and perfect for sharing. In light of the economy, Rosendale's Modern Bistro is music to a foodie's ear.

We'd made reservations in advance, and I'm glad we did - they were bustling! As we waited for our table to be ready, we were greeted by Vince, who offered to make us something special from the bar. More than a bartender, Vince wowed us with what he prepared - we had to track him down and make him give up the ingredients. My drink, on the left, included Creme de Cassis, orange Vodka, Triple Sec, a splash of cranberry juice and a squeeze of lemon. E's drink, on the right, has (from what I remember!) Rye, Elderflower Liqueur and fresh lemon juice. I'm usually a lightweight, but these were so good that I had 2, along with a couple of sips of Malbec later in the evening.

Palates open and bellies growling, we were happy to see our appetizers and get dinner started! I didn't want anything heavy or cloying, so I chose the Ham and Melon Skewers, composed of watermelon topped with prosciutto, which sat atop a reduced sherry vinegar syrup. Salty, cool and sweet, this was a perfect way to start off.

I normally don't mention E's meals too much, but I'll make an exception. E chose the White Truffle Popcorn as his starter, and after I tried a piece, I was hooked. Tossed in butter, sea salt and truffle oil, it was reminiscent of the escargots in garlic sauce that I grew up with. Then again, I have a really strange palate, so maybe it's just me.

We also had some really fresh bread, which was just how we like it; soft on the inside with a crisp crust, and sliced somewhat thin.

It was served with butter that was sprinkled with Himalayan sea salt and black pepper, which enhanced the butter's creaminess and flavor.

When it came to mains, Chef Rosendale had me at "braise". I ordered the Olive Braised Lamb Shank, which was described as "traditional braise, rosemary, natural sauce". The lamb was perfectly tender, and the flavor was deep and complex. The meat fell off the bone, and was somehow tender and luscious at the same time, making it the perfect comfort food.

Since the menu was sharing-friendly, E and I split several sides. I normally hate sharing, but this weekend has been really fun - why limit yourself to one dish when you can try two?

The definite star of the meal were the French Beans with smoked honey, toasted almonds and tangerines. Absolutely magical, the beans were perfectly tender and the honey was smoky-sweet, with a slight bacon undertone. The almonds and tangerines rounded out the dish fabulously, adding just the right amount of crunch and acidity. Complex yet simple, this was a must-try.

I love ketchup, to the point that I was shipped two giant bottles of Canadian ketchup to tide me over last year. The sweet potato fries were so good that I didn't even want the ketchup, as good as it was.

I loved that the Steamed Asparagus was subtle. Flavored with Hawaiian sea salt and lemon oil, they had a slight crisp left to them, and tasted just like they should. Simple works, and I wish more chefs would understand that the way Chef Rosendale does.

We were lucky enough to have the chef take a moment away from his busy kitchen and come to our table. It was especially great for E - in high school, he was at the Greenbrier in the middle of a culinary competition, and needed to crack a coconut and be able to use the shell, meat and water for various dishes, but had no idea how. In a world of hurt, E spent dinner preparing himself to crack the coconut using (sterilized) machinist tools his shop teacher had brought along. Thankfully, the then-sous-chef came over to his table, bringing over a chef's knife and coconuts, and taught him how to do the cracking.

You may recognize Chef Rosendale from numerous specials shown on Food Network, and was the youngest member of Culinary Team USA and the captain of the team in 2008. He's also a certified ice carver, the youngest chef to be on active status for the Certified Master Chef exam, and an all-around nice guy.

We had a hard time choosing a dessert to share, but finally decided on the Lemon Curd, which also had ginger ice cream, toasted meringue and crushed berries. Refreshing, tart, crunchy, sweet and soft, it was a great ending to a wonderful evening.

We were also brought out a teeny bit of creamy tapioca to try. Olivia (our server) was right - this was just like Grandma's, only better.

Check out the tiny spoons, especially compared to a sugar cube!

In all honesty, it has never taken me this long to write a review, let alone post it. Having worked in several restaurants and eaten in many others, I'm pretty critical. I kept waiting to find a flaw, but I couldn't. Dinner at Rosendale's Modern Bistro was, in all honesty, the best meal of the year, and one of the best of my life. The food was fantastic, and had a price point that allowed us to spoil ourselves, and try some of everything. The staff was amazing - after we were done, Olivia apologized for being so short-staffed. Apparently, there were only 3 servers that night handling a full restaurant, and we never even noticed. We must have had every single one of them at our table at one point or another, and not only were they friendly, attentive and fun to be around, but they genuinely seemed happy to be there, even with all the stresses of opening weekend. The blog actually came up in conversation, and Olivia even wrote down the URL and later invited me to a girls-only brunch the next time I was in town. So Olivia, if you're reading, thanks for an amazing time, say hi to the rest of the crew for us, and give yourself a huge pat on the back for all of your hard work.

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication for a restaurant to survive, never mind thrive. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing Rosendale's for many years to come.

saturday

2009-05-31T01:26:00.009-04:00

I'm not sure if it was that we left the blinds open or the feather pillows, but I couldn't sleep worth a damn on Friday night, and woke up bright and early Saturday morning. With E still fast asleep and breakfast not being available for another 3 hours, I headed down to the hotel gym for an early morning swim. I was shocked at how small the pool was! At most, it was 15x10, with the deep end being 5 ft. I swam a few laps, but after 20 minutes I was totally bored, and without being able to tread or do pull-ups, I headed back up to our room.

Post-"workout" snack" - 1/2 each of a Bartlett pear and a gala apple, plus some Barney Butter. E wanted to eat the pear without cutting it, so I had to wait for him to finishing munching on his half before he'd cut up mine - silly boy!

I got a couple of packets of Barney Butter right before we headed out of town, so this was the perfect time to give it a try!

pros:
-very smooth consistency
-made in a completely peanut-free factory
-kosher
-low in sodium and sugar
-comes in both jars and single-serving packets
-roasted peanut flavor

cons:
-hard to find in brick-and-mortar stores
-unlike MaraNatha which contains only almonds, Barney Butter also contains evaporated cane juice, palm fruit oil and sea salt. While the additives are natural, I don't know that they're necessary.
-very similar consistency and mouth feel to peanut butter, which is evidenced by E, Mr. PB himself, liking Barney Butter when he's never like any other nut butter before. Great if you love PB, not so much when you don't.

I'd definitely buy the single-serve packets because they're super-portable and great for traveling, but when it comes to jars, I'm sticking with my MaraNatha - sorry, Barney Butter!

Once we were finally ready, we headed out for breakfast at ZenCha. A little under a mile away from the hotel, we decided to walk it, and I'm glad we did. The Short North is one of our favorite neighborhoods, and it was really great to be able to stroll by on such a beautiful day. As we were walking, I couldn't but think how less than 6 months ago, there were days when it was a struggle to walk half as far - we've come a long way!

Check out the greatest advertisement ever - given more time, we would've totally hit it up for kicks!

ZenCha is what tea heaven must be like - with 120 or so varieties from all over the world, and everything from Bubble Tea to French tea lattes, you just can't go wrong! E picked a sampler of 3 - silver tip white tea, Earl Grey, and a Pu-erh which is an aged and fermented black tea. E loved them all, and got somewhere between 7 and 9 cups of tea out of the mix, which definitely jazzed him up.

I'm a simple gal, and had an iced Cinnamon Mint Chai. Creamy, refreshing and soothing, this was the perfect pick. I really loved that they added the ice cubes to the filter inside the pot, so not only was this constantly cool, but the tea wasn't watered down a single bit.

With so many great dishes to choose from, we decided to share two, and thankfully we were on the same wavelength!

Our first pick was the Arabian Night, a delicately crisp yet fluffy cardamom-scented waffle. With dates baked right in and topped with sliced almonds, orange supremes, a little creme fraiche and served with an orange-cardamom syrup, these were some serious waffles! Not too sweet and definitely satisfying, these were spot-on.

Check out the cross-shot of waffle goodness!

For our second choice, we went savory with a Vegetable Okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake/omelet hybrid filled with veggies like shitake mushrooms and crispy napa cabbage, and topped with Kewpie mayo and a mysterious sauce similar to a hoisin. This was our time to try okonomiyaki, and it will definitely not be our last! I can just imagine how great the chicken and seafood varieties are.

We decided to take our time coming back, and checked out a few of the little shops lining the street. We also took a side trip to one of our favorite spots, North Market, where E convinced me to try some Morbier, a super-stinky cheese he's been wanting for years. Surprisingly delicious, the Morbier turned out to be much milder than it smells, with a nice nuttiness. I shared in, and ate about 1 1/2 oz. of the cheese with a little more than half of a wholemeal roll.

We headed back to the convention for a few hours, and picked up a small lunch since we weren't eating dinner for a while. I had another packet of salmon and avocado sushi.

I also had a few of these teeny hash browns, were were really fresh and crisp. Yum!

Later on, I'll be posting our experience at dinner, and don't forget to vote for me here. Also, Eating Bird Food is having a sparkling giveaway which you need to check it out, so head on over!

big night out

2009-05-30T21:33:00.001-04:00

great drinks.

amazing meal.

fantastic company.

what more can a girl ask for?

on the road again

2009-05-30T09:07:00.008-04:00

I made a pretty important decision this morning - I'm not tracking my food or exercise intake all weekend. I tend to get a little obsessive, and I'm trying to eat like a normal person, and normal people to obsess over or record every bite and step. Don't worry - I'm not going to take this as an excuse to shovel down everything in sight! I will pay attention to what I eat, and enjoy every bite, meaning if I don't enjoy the first taste, there will be no second. We'll see how this works; if nothing else, it's an interesting experiment!

We headed down the road pretty late yesterday, and kept waiting and waiting until we were finally both so hungry we couldn't stand it. We headed over to a Burger King, where I had a pretty mediocre grilled chicken sandwich. Other than it not being the best of condiment choices, I really dislike mayo on most things, so I just got mustard instead.

Thankfully, I'd made my favorite fruit salad earlier in the day, so E and I munched on that for a little while - it definitely made up for the earlier sandwich! Apple, pear, walnuts and cinnamon mixed together with a small container of vanilla Oikos - super simple and delicious!

Side note: Oikos has got to be my favorite yogurt of all time. It's thick. tangy, high in protein, fat free and low in carbs, and is a great substitute for sour cream or mayo. Love it!

An hour or so later, we got pretty munchy, and broke into the Krinkle Sticks. OMG, these were amazing, and were like a thicker Pringle! Light, crisp and totally yummy, they're also gluten-free, cholesterol free, dairy free and vegetarian, which means pretty much everyone can enjoy them. E and I were totally fighting over the bag, and it fulfilled both of our snacking needs. It really is Snacident Prevention!

After all that driving it felt really nice to have a room.

Especially one with a view!

We got a corner room on one of the top floors, and the views of downtown are amazing, especially at night. Too bad the internet's ridiculously expensive! As soon as we checked in, we headed down to the convention, picked up our passes, and headed to the food court to get some dinner. Sushi and Thai? Yes please!

I had an order of salmon and avocado sushi, which was really fresh and tasty.

E and I also shared a plate of veggie Pad Thai - really flavorful, but didn't taste the same without lime juice, crushed peanuts and tofu.

Tattoo conventions are some of my favorite places on Earth - great people, amazing artists and a heck of a lot of fun. We spent a fair amount of our time at Innerstate, a new live painting exhibition. 40 of the world's best tattoo artists paint live for 5 days straight from morning to midnight, with convention attendees streaming in and out and a DJ spinning tunes. I honestly could've stood there and watched for hours, and we'll probably be back today and tomorrow. This painting by Muriel Zao had me entranced:

Finished off the night with a trip to the bar, which is always the most popular part of the convention! Started off with some bar mix and a Pearl Harbor Punch - Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, pineapple juice, sweet and sour , a grenadine float and a cherry. Fruity and tangy, this went down like nothing at all! At 92 proof, one was enough for this lightweight!

We needed sustenance to even out all the booze, so E and I split an order of veggie nachos, which were the cheesiest nachos I've ever had! I ate a little less than half.

We're heading to a tea house today for brunch, but expect a recap tonight! If you know of anywhere totally awesome in Columbus, OH that we should check out, leave a comment or e-mail me at livelaughgrow AT gmail DOT COM.

rundown

2009-05-28T20:06:00.004-04:00

I know I say this a lot, but gosh, it's been too long! I uploaded my camera, and had over 150 pictures to sort through - yeesh. E's calling for me to help him with some yard work, so I'm going to have to make this quick!

My weight's been pretty much the same over the last couple of weeks, but between my mom being in town, being sick and eating out all the time, I'm okay with it! A loss may be better than no loss, but it definitely trumps a gain. This week, I've only been able to get into the gym a couple of days, but the hotel we're staying in this weekend seems to have an awesome gym, so we'll see how well that goes! We're heading to Columbus for Hell City, and have plans to stop at a few awesome restaurants, including one which is opening this weekend, and go to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Neither of us have been to a WF before, so we're both really excited! I'll be (hopefully) posting all weekend, so I'll have you along for the ride.

In other news, my sister-in-law was due last week, and she had really strong contractions last night. I've been on serious baby watch for 3 weeks now, and I was worried that we'd miss the birth. Well, Sarah went to the doctor today, and it looks like our niece is a stubborn little thing! She has until Tuesday to come out on her own, or else they're going in. Hopefully, she'll wait, because we're coming home on Monday. What a selfish Aunt Carly!

In even more news, I went into Old Navy a couple of days ago, and tried on a shirt in a regular size and it fit!!! Granted it was still a big size, designed to be roomy and the other two were a bust, but this one fit and that's all that matters to me! Proof:

My running shoes are absolutely shot, especially after gardening in the pouring rain on Sunday. E and I checked out Dick's, where I found these beauties:

Livestrong Nike Air Pegasus kicks! Between a coupon and a expired promotion that was left up, I was able to pick these up for $45 - Happy early Birthday to me!!!

I've also picked up a new hobby of jewelery making - so far, all I can make are bracelets, and I'm having a hard time being creative, but it's actually really calming, and gives me something to do with my hands. I've made probably 10 so far, and even made holders for my grandmother's reading glasses. The first three I've made:

We've tried a ton of new snacks lately, and I can't wait to post about them. Until then, check out this Snackcident Prevention kit that arrived on my doorstep a couple of weeks ago. Thanks Kyser!

We're heading out pretty early tomorrow, so I'll be back tomorrow night. Have a great weekend!

end the fat talk

2009-05-26T15:16:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Caitlin for sharing this very-much needed video right now.
Watch, think, pledge, respond, repost.

compare and contrast

2009-05-22T07:53:00.004-04:00

It's been a crazy week, and I have oodles upon oodles of meals to upload - I haven't even had time for my weekly allergy shot yet! I have a lot to talk about, including a new hobby, but that'll probably have to wait a little bit. Just don't be surprised if one day there's like 30 new posts, k?

After taking a week or so off from weigh-ins, I'm happy to report that I've now lost 45 lbs, which is absolutely freaking nuts! My big ol' goal is to lose 129 in total, but 45's a great start, and I'll take it!!! I think sometimes it's really easy to forget the big picture, and focus too much on the little things. When this whole thing first started, I was super cautious about everything, and would eat like a really picky bird. Now I look more at my ratios of carbs, protein and fat, the calories I consume and whether or not they're foods worthy of the impact they make. I still don't do net calories (in vs. out), because that's just too complicated for me right now. Heck, I never did Weight Watchers because the Point system was too complicated for me! Anyways, the point is, if I want a brownie, I eat a brownie. Guac? sure, no problem! Last night in fact, I was like 300 calories under my minimum for the day after eating dinner, so what did I do? Headed over to TCBY for a giant small bowl of Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough. Hey, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do!

To further my point, some pictures. If you're a personal BFF, you've most likely seen these before, so feel free to skip over. This from Thanksgiving 2008, and while it's horribly unflattering, it shows how big I was - I'm wearing a size 24/26 and am around 290 lbs.

Here is Easter 2009 - I was in a size 20 and weighing around 260. The numbers didn't seem big, and neither did the measurements, but a picture is really worth a thousand words.

I don't normally put out such truths about myself, but this was worth it. I'm not ashamed of my weight or embarrassed of what people may think, because I'm proud of myself, how far I've come and how I'll be going: in style.

Vote for my doesn't-make-it-to-spaghetti in Daregal's recipe contest, which is open to voters until June 5th.

mo'mentum

2009-05-17T00:38:00.004-04:00

What a long day - really great, but really long!

I'm proud to say I reached my goals for the day, which means no cheddar biscuits for me! I also resisted taking nibbles off of anyone else, which is quite a feat between 2 restaurants and 11 people. I almost took a taste of E's pasta tonight, but caught myself, and gave our server my cutlery instead. After all, no cutlery, no nibbles!

We ate lunch at Red Lobster, and it was pretty good. Wood-grilled Rainbow Trout, steamed unseasoned broccoli and a baked tater with pico de gallo. The potato came smothered in salt, so it took me a few minutes to brush it all off. There was at least 2 tablespoons poured on top of it, and for the life of me, I can't understand who'd want to eat that. With unsweet tea, lunch came out to 456 calories.

We headed straight from lunch to the School of Nursing reception - tons of food and tons of people. Normally, I'd take the opportunity to do a ton of grazing, but I resisted. I had my eye on a giant piece of carrot cake - thankfully, the university provided an awesome tea bar, so I had a Bigelow Vanilla Chai with nondairy creamer instead. The nutmeg, cardamom and other spices totally filled the cap, and at 15 calories was such a better choice! I loved the disposable mugs they had - not environmentally-friendly, but super cute.

The proud graduate! Even though he's not officially done until mid-August, we're so proud of him.

The ceremony took forever, or at least felt that way. By the time we were seated at Outback for dinner, it'd been 6 or 7 hours since lunch, and I was starving. My original plan was to bring some carrots for during the commencement, but I completely forgot! After a sip of E's Yuengling and my mother-in-law's Pinot Grigio, I settled for the best drink of all, a giant bottle of San Pellegrino with lemon. I nursed this all night, and it hit the spot - having the wine glass was just part of the effect.

I had a teensy slice of bread (probably 1/20th of the loaf), and decided on my starter. I could've totally gone for a bite (or 5) of this:
But instead, I chose this!
House salad, no cheese, with Tangy Tomato dressing on the side. I ate everything other than one crouton that mysteriously ended up in E's mouth, and 4 or 5 fork dips of the dressing. I feel like I always get the same thing whenever I go out to eat: chicken or fish, baked potato, steamed veg. It's been getting kind of boring, so I decided to mix it up! Grilled chicken and shrimp with grilled veggies, grilled pineapple and a huge sweet potato with cinnamon. Other than half the potato, everything ended up in my belly! Really good and a nice change, the night out ended at 520 calories.

I had a carrot when we got back to our room, which brings the daily total to 1465 calories. I'm actually really excited and proud, because I dodged some major personal landmines. Red Lobster and Outback are both well-known to be calorie-busters, and buffet service and I are the best of friends. Today could've been a total nightmare, and it was completely within range! It was a great test, and has given me that much more confidence. I know I can do this!

mo breakfast, mo problems

2009-05-16T10:31:00.002-04:00

My workout plan for this morn didn't work out so well - their machines are a piece of crap! One of them wouldn't stay on for more than a few minutes at a time, and the other decided my heart rate was 45. Needless to say, I didn't do all that much! I got through 10 minutes on the treadmill and 15 on the bike before I got fed up, so it's better than nothing at all. Thankfully, I brought a resistance band with me, so I'll probably just do that tomorrow.

I'm a total sucker for hotel breakfasts, especially the continental kind, which is loaded with excess fat, cholesterol and sodium, among other things. I tried to take a different approach this weekend, and brought along a box of Kashi GoLean and some walnuts so that I can at least have a healthier option for breakfast. I was really happy when we headed down, and I spotted a bunch of little cereals, including Kashi Heart to Heart and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, a childhood fave.

Breakie = GoLean & Heart to Heart & Cinnamon Toast Crunch with walnuts in nonfat milk with 3 egg whites and half a sausage patty. Yum! At 449 calories, this was definitely better than it would've been - I passed up biscuits, gravy, waffles and the whole nine yards.

I've already planned out lunch, and I'm bringing some carrots to munch on later if I get hungry, so I should be fine. Goal today? Not eating other people's food! It's the bites and nibbles that get me in trouble, so no tastes for me today.

Check out the little piece of love I found floating in my bowl this morning!

Have a great Saturday!

motown express

2009-05-15T23:02:00.004-04:00

Happy Friday!

Today's been a great day - my mom came with me to the gym, and it was really fun. I'm so proud of her! She hasn't exercised in at least a decade, and boy, was she ever a trooper. Not only did she come to Weighted Workout with me, but she did all 45 minutes of it! It wasn't easy, but she did it, and I don't know too many people that would've. She seemed to enjoy aqua aerobics a little more, and it was easier on her joints, so she's pledged to do that all of next week. It may be baby steps, but they're pretty big ones to me.

We rushed around most of today, so not too many food pics. Breakfast was a pumpernickel bagel with a little Smart Balance with Flax for 228 calories, and in between classes, I munched on a string cheese and a handful of almonds for 122 calories. Since my mom has never been to Panera Bread, we had lunch there. The Fuji Apple Salad with chicken sounded amazing, so I ordered that with a side of the french baguette. Boy, was I in for a shock! Without any changes, the salad alone was 520 calories and 30 grams of fat, which is absolutely nuts for a salad! I only used 4 forkdips of dressing, and they forgot the pecans, so that brought it down to 357 calories and 12 grams of fat. Not great, but definitely better! Between the salad, the baguette, and a teensy sample of a cinnamon crunch bagel, lunch came out to 518 calories.

E's little brother is graduating from WVU's school of nursing tomorrow, so we made the drive to Morgantown earlier this evening. For some reason, I get super munchy anytime a road trip comes into play, and today was no exception! Even though it only took us about 3 hours, it felt like we were driving for-e-ver. I ate dinner pretty early on, which was probably my first mistake. Since we took home some of last night's picnic leftovers, I took sliced up some of the jerk grilled chicken and grilled zucchini and squash, and mixed it up with some fresh pineapple salsa and pasta salad (whole wheat penne, a few pine nuts and broccoli). It came out to 370 calories, and even though it was definitely tasty, it wasn't filling at all!

I found organic carrots on sale the other day for $0.19/lb, so I peeled some up this afternoon. Good thing, too - by the time we'd gotten to our hotel, I'd eaten 4 of them, and they were the best carrots I've ever had, hands down.

Once we got to the hotel, I had some orange sections and some of the biggest cherries I've ever seen - imagine this x2. My fruit and veggie snackout came out to 208 calories.

Which means the total for today was 1447 calories - perfect! Tomorrow I may not be so lucky - we're having lunch with the fam at Red Lobster, and my goal is to avoid the Cheddar Bay biscuits at all costs. They're total Kryptonite, and I can never stop at one. I'll report back, and let you know what happened.

When is one never enough for you? I can't be alone in this!

102

2009-05-14T21:27:00.006-04:00

Apparently I hit 100 posts yesterday and didn't even notice.
I wish I had made some kind of fanfare, but I'm not really a fanfare kind of gal. I don't like birthday cakes because of the singing, I can't take compliments very well, and I panic when I'm the center of attention.

I'm growing as I'm shrinking, or at least trying to, so happy freaking 100th to me.
It's a learning process, people!

Now onto the food!
Today was the first day of easing back into 'normal' life after a week off and also having my mom in town, so we were kind of all over the place. Thanks to Mom, I got to start off my day with an amazing, fresh Montreal pumpernickel bagel, half spread with Smart Balance with Flax and half spread with the greatest butter known to man, a.k.a almond butter. I'm absolutely addicted to the stuff, and so far, MaraNatha Natural is my drug of choice.

Went to the gym and did an awesome workout. It just felt nice to be back, youknowwhatimean? I never thought I'd say this, but man, not working out was killing me, along with Mr. Sickey. I can't imagine how I never got into the gym before. Well, no, that's a lie, I do know - I never wanted to get into the gym before. Amazing what just a few months can do, huh?

I was pretty hungry after the gym but was running off to an almost-forgotten doctor's appointment, so I grabbed some almonds to tide me over for 55 calories. By the time we were done, Mom and I were in the mood for food! With the beautiful weather we've been having, fresh seafood seemed like the perfect choice so we headed over to Jewel City, a local gem.

I grabbed a few of Mom's fried pickle chips and a clam strip. Fried food is definitely not the healthiest option, but it was nice to have to munch on - you've got to try a fried pickle once in your life!

I decided to live on the edge, so I got the daily special - SHARK! It was pretty darn good, perfectly grilled and really meaty. One of my favorite things about Jewel City is that they don't add any animal products or grease to their vegetable sides, making them healthier and just as tasty! I had the fish (aside from a bite to the mom), a hush puppy, the collard greens and half of the potato salad, along with the juice from the lemon. Super satisfying, the entire meal comes in at about 583 calories.

For dinner, we were invited to the park for a grilled picnic by the show's staff. I was a little worried about what we'd be eating, but I shouldn't have been! It was really nice to have so much fresh food available, and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

My plate, with jerk grilled chicken, a couple of whole wheat pita wedges, cilantro hummus, tabbouleh, fresh pineapple salsa, cucumber and red onion salad and grilled asparagus, zucchini, squash and red peppers. I wasn't a fan of the tabbouleh or cucumber salad, but I ate everything else, aside from a small piece of chicken to Mom. It's so much fun being able to share meat with her!

I also had dessert:
A little piece of angel food cake with fresh strawberries and (I'm assuming) Cool Whip. This wasn't more than 3 or 4 bites, but it was the perfect size, and was so summery. Including dessert, dinner clocked in at about 452 calories.

That means the grand total for the day is 1358. I have a little wiggle room left, but since I'm not hungry, I won't use it! I'm glad I avoided the healthy food trap - like so many others, I tend to overeat on 'healthy' foods. The healthier it is, the worse I get. I'm really proud of dinner especially; no bites off anyone's plate, no nibbles on the side, and no seconds!

Do you fall into the trap? How do you deal with buffet-style meals?

P.S. check out Junghwa's giveaway!

back in the saddle

2009-05-14T11:03:00.009-04:00

I cannot believe it's Thursday already - The week's just flown by!

I was really bummed out from not being able to be in the gym all week, but today I bit the bullet, sucked it up, went and had a blast. I did two classes - weighted workout and express fitness, and mixed up my pre-class cardio by doing a little stair climber and cross trainer and the good ol' treadclimber. I don't know how accurate the calories burned on Fitlinxx are because today, with everything combined, it came out to 1146, which just seems crazy! I'm thinking of possibly getting a Polar or something similar to monitor calories burned and heart rate, but I still haven't decided yet. Also, I have a confession to make: I took yoga last week and didn't hate it. There, I said it. Don't get too excited, though, I was under duress! It's definitely nice to know that yoga's there when I need it to be, instead of forcing myself to do it every week. It totally takes the stress out of "de-stress".

We picked up my mom at the airport last night, and are we glad to see her! She brought us each some really cool gifts (which she totally didn't have to do!), including our very first kiddush cup, some really cool books, and my absolute favourite pumpernickel bagels and whole-wheat challah rolls! Nothing says home like fresh baked goods, so they're definitely appreciated. I just have to make sure to freeze them ASAP before I eat them all, which would definitely be bad news bears.

My appetite seems to back, which is awesome, but now I have to be careful to not eat everything in sight! I weighed myself today and I'm down another 2 pounds, so the week off hasn't hurt me, which I'm so very thankful for.

Latest eats!

Tuesday

Breakie!
Kashi GoLean, the last of the Strawberry Glucerna, fresh strawbs, walnuts and nonfat milk, 294 calories

Lunch!
canned salmon mixed with dijon, a little light mayo, sriracha, herbs and paprika on a light italian FlatOut wrap with a mango and string cheese, 357 calories

Dinner!

Jimmy John's Turkey Tom with extra veggies and avocado instead of mayo

with half an oz of skinny chips!
calories? 423

The day's total was 1075 calories, which is way way way too little, even if I was sitting around all day. Not healthy!

Wednesday

Breakie of Kashi GoLean, the last of the Cinnamon Life, walnuts, strawbs and nonfat milk for 348 calories. Cereal just doesn't taste like cereal without walnutty goodness!

Lunch was super-boring; a Boca Chick'n patty on whole grain white bread with garlic and herb Laughing Cow for 335 calories

I got pretty hungry right before we left for the airport, so I grabbed one of E's crunchy granola bars for 95 calories. Maple and brown sugar = delicious!

My mom's flight kept getting delayed and we were hungry! I had about 5 oz. of this Bud Light Lime, although it wasn't very good.

I also had a side salad - radishes, carrots, green peppers, tomato lettuce, and red onion, pepped up with a dash of parm, some black pepper, and about a tsp of Golden Italian dressing. I also had 3 slices of pepperoni, 2 slices of thin salami and about 1/4 cup of diced lean ham on top. This 'snack', with beer, came out to 293 calories.

Mom came bearing trail mix! I had a giant cashew out of the bag for 8 calories

We were all starving at this point, and headed back to Bluegrass for a late dinner. I had all of the salad and goat cheese with 2 Tbsp. worth of the homemade super-chunky amazing blue cheese dressing, 2 slices of the bacon, and half the sandwich with 1 Tbsp. of sun-dried tomato mayo. This sandwich was the bomb! It had lemon-thyme roasted chicken, field greens, tomato and onion on some amazing french bread - now I know why they call it the Perfect Chicken! I wasn't going to eat the bacon, but once I took a bite and it was seriously the best bacon I've ever tasted. Local and nitrate-free, it was porky perfection! With a bite of my mom's burger (meat only), dinner, part 2 came out to 579 calories.

The day's total came out 1657 calories - a little higher than I'd like, but still within range. I'm just glad my appetite's back!

monday mood

2009-05-12T18:28:00.003-04:00

Waking up yesterday morning, I was still feeling like absolute crap, and couldn't work out due to congestion and breathing issues, which pissed me off tremendously. I was going to cancel my appointment for a hair cut, too, but figured since I waited 3 weeks for it, I should probably go. I grabbed the usual cereal before I went, but amped up the protein and fiber - the combo of the day was 2/3 Strawberry Glucerna, 1/3 E's Kashi GoLean, 1 Tbsp. of walnuts and some nonfat milk.

If nothing else, the haircut made my head feel a little lighter and slightly less congested. I walked a couple of minutes down the street and got my weekly immunotherapy shot at the same time - gotta love a 2fer trip! I decided to walk a little bit, and somehow ended up almost a mile away when it started to pour. I happened to be in front of Fat Patty's, so I hopped in for a bite. I had their Cobb salad, but made a few changes to healthen it up - I omitted the dried cranberries and sliced olives, got the dressing on the side and added bell peppers and carrots. I forgot to ask for no cheese, and I didn't realize it came with garlic bread. I ate the egg whites, all the veggies and chicken, half of one piece of garlic bread and only the cheese that was stuck to the chicken and lettuce, which was about 2 Tbsp. I did 6 fork-dips of dressing, about 1 tsp. and accounted a tsp. of oil, which I guessed was about the amount the chicken was cooked in. With two big glasses of lemon ice water, it came out to 428 calories.

The salad filled me up really well, so I didn't snack much at all. Around 5:30, I got munchy and grabbed 3 almonds and a yogurt pretzel and dark chocolate almond from my candy stash. With the starlight mint I had at the salon, it came out to 87 calories.

I was out of ideas for a creative and yummy dinner, and was way too stuffed up to make anything time-consuming. I didn't want to order out, so I threw something quick together. We had some It's All Good Chick'n Bites Provencal sauteed with spinach and shredded carrots with a half each of Kashi's Mayan Bake and 1 3/4 baked corn tortillas with Blue Smoke Salsa. I liked the plantain in the bake, but the sauce just wasn't my thing, and could've used something to brighten it up. The chick'n bites were good, but a little too springy for my tastes, so I gave 1/4 of them to E, bringing dinner to 375 calories.

I wasn't too satisfied from dinner - it just didn't work for me! Around 9ish, I heated up a strawberry Bagelful for 200 calories, bringing the day's total to 1359. It's under the daily range that I try to hit, but the protein was high, the carbs were low and the fat was right at range, so I decided not to eat any more. With a very random appetite, it's hard to eat properly when you're sick, so I did the best that I could, and I'm okay with that.

weekend - sunday

2009-05-12T17:48:00.005-04:00

Since it was Mother's Day, we headed down to E's hometown to visit the family. We wanted to surprise E's mom with hanging baskets, so we tried to leave ASAP (well, after watering the patio garden and the lawn, that is). We didn't really have time for breakfast, so I grabbed a Cliff bar on my way out It was good, but I'm so used to Larabars that this just didn't do it for me. The texture was too stiff and crunchy, and it was just way too sweet. I ate what I could stomach, and gave the last quarter to E, who really liked it. On the way out of town, we stopped at Mickey D's for some of the worst coffee I've ever had, and E picked up a meatless Egg McMuffin for his breakie. I had a bite, bringing my breakfast total to 257 calories.

Lunch was really good, and full of my favourites - grilled corn, bbq grilled chicken breasts, fluffy yeast rolls, Toodle's Noodles, and boiled potatoes and green beans, with homemade pecan pie for dessert. I ate everything here, other than 1/3 of the corn, plus another piece of chicken and another serving of green beans and potatoes. With 2 bites of pecan pie, this came out to a whopping 731 calories! I definitely didn't need the extra servings, and I probably only really wanted 1/2 the roll.

I was totally grazing, and had a snack of two bites' worth of pecan pie, a tablespoon of crumbled feta, and a serving of roasted turkey deli meat, which came out all together to 189 calories.

We ended up being around when the church's youth group came over for dinner. They ordered pizzas from one of our favourite places, and I just had to have some. I had about 1 1/2 slices' worth of squares for 398 calories.

The day's eats were not the best, but it wasn't the worst, either. I think this is where the learning curve of wellness comes into play. Sure, I could've not had the second helpings at lunch, or pizza for dinner or pie at all, but I can't help it. I have never been one of those people who could pass up food and just not think about it. I actually was treated for an ED when I was younger, and I will do practically anything to avoid a binge, even giving in to my 'cravings'. At the end of the day, I'm calling this a draw. Totalling up to 1574 calories, the eats were mid-range caloriewise, high in protein, low in carbs and mid in the fats department. It could've been better, but it definitely could've been much, much worse. I want to lose weight, but I also want to eat like a normal person, without being so fixated on food all the freakin' time, and worrying about eating too much or too little. Hopefully, this way will get me there!

recap - saturday

2009-05-12T16:23:00.006-04:00

Saturday didn't start out as well as I thought it would. We woke up bright and early (like 6 a.m.) to eat, get ready and be on time for boot camp (at 8), and I went from "I'll go and do what I can" to "I can't make it down the stairs to the front door" in about 15 minutes' time. Needless to say, I went back to bed, and didn't wake up until almost noon! E still wasn't home, so I called him while I made a simple breakfast - Strawberry Glucerna with chopped walnuts and skim milk for 266 calories.

I had lost my voice, so E couldn't understand a word I was saying, but explained everything when he came home. Apparently, our trainer had decided that in the last 30 minutes of the session, they'd head out on a 5 mile walk around town, but didn't tell any of the participants about it. Even though it was supposed to end at 10, it didn't end until 11:45, by which point most of the participants' families were calling them frantically, worried that something had happened. I appreciate the trainers' efforts into mixing things up at the bi-monthly workouts, but this seemed to be a little ridiculous. E wasn't in the best of moods when he got back, so we decided to work on the garden for a little bit, potting our herbs and our patio tomatoes. We needed some potting soil from Home Depot, and on the way there, stopped for lunch at Panera. I wasn't really hungry, but hadn't had an appetite all day, so I figured it was better to eat then to skip a meal. I ordered the LF chicken noodle soup with a side of baguette and opted for an iced green tea at the last minute. I ate 2/3 of the soup and 3/4 of the bread with a couple dips of E's tomato soup and all of the tea for 325 calories.

E had picked up a little poison oak over the last couple of days, so we stopped at CVS for some meds, and I picked up a diet Pepsi, which actually made me feel a whole lot better.

We ended up out in the yard for 5 or 6 hours without even realizing it! We took a quick break at 6:30 pm to watch this week's episode of the show (with our little interview), and headed back outside. ended up running to the store around 8:30 pm for some twist ties and pots to finish potting the rosemary and oregano and to stake the tomatoes. I still wasn't hungry, but E was starving (which he should've been!), so we grabbed some food on the road - Arby's. I'm not one to sit around and put 'fast' food down, because lord knows, there are days when it comes in handy, with or without planning, and Saturday was one of them! I had a regular roast beef, 1/2 packet of 'horsey sauce' (horseradish mayo) and 1/3 of a medium curly fries for 482 calories.

For some reason, while we were waiting for SNL, I got absolutely starving for the first time all day. I totally wanted comfort food, and something fast and warm, so I heated up a strawberry Bagelful, which was perfect, for 200 calories.

Normally, I wouldn't have been happy with the day's eats, but when all was said and done, I was under my targets in calories, fat, the whole yard, so it actually wasn't too bad. The only thing I was really missing was fresh produce, but in all honesty, I probably wouldn't have eaten any with the way I was feeling! I definitely let my body have what it wanted, and while I hope not to make a habit of it, seemed to work. All in all, the day's totals were 1273.

recap - friday

2009-05-12T10:35:00.019-04:00

I apologize for the last few days' absence - somehow, my lungs, throat and sinuses teamed up and planned a siege against me. Yup, that's right, once again I am Sickey McGee. I had to miss out on boot camp on Saturday, and I haven't been able to work out since Thursday. Hopefully, the villagers and I will reach a truce very soon!

Looking back on Friday, I probably should've realized that I'd be sick very shortly; I couldn't stop eating! Sure, it was very here and there, but it was still more than normally. We were up pretty early, since we had to head to Charleston for a 9 a.m. meeting with US Citizenship and Immigration Services for fingerprints and such as part of the process to get my permanent residency. Expecting to be stuck in horrendous traffic, we left the house at 7:30 with some Banana-Nut Baked Oatmeal in hand, and set off.

Traffic wasn't too bad, and we made it with 20 minutes or so to spare - a very good thing, because we drove by the building, and almost missed it! Biometrics was over and done within 15 minutes, and was definitely the shortest step in the entire process. With nothing planned for the day, we headed in the mall to zone out and relax, we were both a little out of it. We saw an old friend, and couldn't help but stop for a snapshot.

We said our goodbyes, and headed to Starbucks. I tried the Wild Sweet Orange tea with a little honey, and it definitely hit the spot, along with 1/4 of E's croissant.

We also stopped by a candy shop, where I picked up a little something special.

I'm really glad I chose the smallest size (probably 1/3 of a cup's worth), because I would've gone overboard with more room. I got a yogurt pretzel, a chocolate pretzel, a chocolate pecan, a few dark chocolate almonds, a nonpareil, some raspberry, blueberry and blackberry gummies and a chocolate raspberry jelly bar. We were getting pretty bored at the mall, so we decided to go grab lunch. On the way there, I had a little snack of a blueberry gummy and a chocolate pecan.

This is probably the point when I should've realized something was up - I never eat on the way to eating! We went to our all-time favourite, Bluegrass Kitchen, and were just happy that there wasn't too long of a wait. My second clue that something was up should've been that E and I ordered a bunch of items and split them - everyone knows that I'm not good with sharing, even with my main man. We each started off with a soup - spicy vegan red bean for me and corn chowder for E, of which I had a couple of bites. I also had one of the whole grain crackers that came with my soup.

I also had a bite or three of the amazing mac and cheese that E ordered a cup of. Every time we've gone to BGK, we've tried to get this dish, and they're always sold out. Needless to say, it was every bit as delicious as we thought. With farfalle, peas, cottage and monterey jack cheeses, I've got to try making this at home.

We shared our mains, and chose
the Bluegrass Veggie Burger house-made with special blend of organic grains and veggies, perched on a Charleston Bakery brioche roll and topped with white cheddar, lettuce, tomato and onion.
and
the Beefsteak Portobello Burger braised marinated mushroom with tomato, smoked gouda, pesto mayo and organic greens on a ciabatta roll.

Definitely two of the best sandwiches I've ever had, veggie or not! I also ate the half dill pickle spear, and 3 or 4 of the chips with about a Tbsp. of salsa.

After lunch, . we headed to the YWCA Secondhand store to see if we could find any treasures. We didn't buy anything, but we both fell in love with this little guy, who held bananas in a previous life.

We decided that we both needed to walk around and take in some fresh air, so we headed to Capitol Market, where they have absolutely everything.

fresh stevia!

every varietal of herb you could possibly want

salad burnet, a green that tastes just like cucumbers

some amazing pineapple mint, which is sweet and minty, perfect for fruit!

I ate a chocolate pretzel while browsing

The Wine & Cheese Shop's wall o' beers

a vanilla truffle bar that I shared with E

our favorite browsing stall, which only sells local products, from foodie gifts

to pottery

to flavoured honeys

and jams, jellies and butters

even pepperoni rolls!
nothing says West Virginia like one of these babies.

plus all things ramps, a local delicacy

We stopped and shared a seltzer water and picked up some hard red winter wheat so I can finally make wheatberries! I accidentally deleted the pictures of those, sorry! We decided to pick up some herbs and plants for our soon-to-be garden, and headed back outside. While we were browsing, we spotted these guys, which totally reminded me of space aliens and their tentacles.

loved the colors and the smell of these guys in the air!

Part of our bounty: sweet basil, spicy basil, compact basil, opal basil, pineapple mint, spearmint, mexican oregano, cilantro, curly leaf parsley, stevia, mortgage lifter tomatoes and black prince tomatoes. We also bought japanese long eggplant, crookneck squash, peter pan (patty pan) squash, yellow and red striped heirloom tomatoes, tumbling tom and sunsugar yellow tomatoes and black beauty bell peppers and gypsy bell peppers, all as plants.

We ended up at Outback for a E's dad's birthday celebration with the fam. I started off with a big glass of lemon water and a slice of bread (1/8 of the loaf) with a little butter.

For my main, I had Chicken on the Barbie with the bbq sauce on the side, a sweet potato with some cinnamon and some steamed veg and 2 more big glasses of lemon ice water. The sweet potato wasn't planned, but it was delicious!

Despite the after-dinner rainstorm, E and I headed to our friend Bill's wrestling match. It was my first time watching wrestling, and I was pretty excited! While waiting for the show to begin, I had a raspberry and a blackberry gummy and another dark chocolate almond.

Thankfully, that was the last thing I ate for the night - I don't know if it was the weather or the way I was feeling, but I could've eaten all night that day! I'm glad I was able to just sit there and enjoy the 'show'. Bill was awesome and definitely in his element - I'm really glad we were able to come out and support him.

happy mother's day....

2009-05-10T08:05:00.006-04:00

...to all the amazing mothers in our lives

thanks, oprah

2009-05-06T13:32:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let y'all know that, thanks to Oprah, you can get a free KFC grilled chicken meal!
Head here, and you'll be able to print up to 4 coupons good for a free 2 pc. grilled chicken meal including 2 individual sides and a biscuit. The coupons are valid from 05.05.09 to 05.19.09, not including Mother's Day, and must be printed before 9 p.m. tonight (05.06.09).

I tried the chicken during Free Day, and while I wasn't super-impressed with it, it's definitely worth the price in this case. If your family is into The Colonel, this is a great way to make a poor choice into a better one. The stats are fairly good, and if you pick your sides right and toss the biscuit, you'll have a decent little meal for a whole of zero dollars. We don't really do the KFC thing, but I did print up a few in case my mom wanted to try it in a couple of weeks when she comes down for a visit. If you have tried it, let me know what you thought of it!