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April 30, 2006
Iced Chai
Every morning, MR makes me a giant thermos of green tea to take to work. It has stuff that's good for us in it... he can point you to all the evidence. But on weekends, he mixes our green tea with just a touch of chai spiced tea leaves and lightly sweetens with sucralose for a weekend chai spicy treat. Being a Southerner, I am genetically pre-disposed to pour everything over ice, so today I decided to pour my chai over ice. Delicious! A bit watery since the chai was hot, but in future I will chill it first and then pour over ice to maintain its strength.
I'm thinking of making lots of iced teas this summer: peppermint, chamomile, chamo-peppermint, blueberry-peppermint, green-peppermint, mango black tea over ice, the possibilities are endless!
Posted by april at 8:25 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 29, 2006
The Magic of Fat Free Ricotta
Thanks to all for your wonderful inspiration! I am looking forward to trying your recipes and variations on them! As usual, just asking for help seemed to help out a lot. I was struck with inspiration tonight, and made a delicious dish of red peppers stuffed with leeks, fat free ricotta, garlic, eggwhite and tomato sauce. Side of eggplant and eggwhite to bring up the protein, topped with flax and olive oil to bring up the fat and served with eighteen grams of hazelnuts. MR had two peppers, I had one. He had the eggplant/eggwhite side dish and the nuts -- I had my salad with yogurt. Both of us enjoyed our meals.
Fat free ricotta is an incredibly versitile ingredient. Whip it into a fritatta for a creamier dish... put it in a lasagna or a pizza for a high calcium, low calorie Italianish treat... mix it up with a dash of Splenda for a CR friendly "whipped cream." The possibilities are endless.
I am contemplating making a FFR creation in the food processor tomorrow. I might blend artichoke hearts with FFR and garlic powder to make an artichoke puff of sorts, and use it to top eggplant. Sprinkle with chopped shiitake mushrooms and oregano, cover with tomato sauce, bake, a voila -- eggplant artichoke puffs!
The best FFR dish ever, IMHO, is the CR'd "Nutella" pear pizzas. You remember -- low carb tortilla topped with FFR, Walden Farms' chocolate sauce, diced pears, hazelnuts, and hazelnut oil. A dessert as good as any I've had in a fine restaurant, and I've been to some good restaurants. I think I'll make it next week when CNN comes to interview me and MR...
Meanwhile, Mom is doing well. I took her out for her first adventure post-surgery today. We went to Subway for lunch, to the drug store, to the Bath and Body Works where she bought me some very exciting shower gels and lotions (for those of you who are junkies: Japanese Cherry Blossom, Magnolia, Fresh Vanilla) and then to Barnes and Noble where we read the books and had coffee.
I still have tons of work to do this weekend... about 200 calls to be exact to remind nurses at our largest hospital about a rally we have coming up on Thursday for Nurses' Day. And I have to do the cleaning. A two story house with two cats can accumulate fur very quickly. But Mom is feeling well enough to be on her own tomorrow, so I'll be spending the day the way I like to spend Sundays -- hiding in the house with MR and not going out. Even though both of us spend much of Sunday working, it's still nice to have one day a week when we're always in earshot of each other. I work so much that it seems like we barely see each other during the week. I do make an effort to get home for dinner when I can, but more and more that's happening less and less. Still, MR is the world's most understanding organizer's boyfriend, and he's always happy to see me when I come home.
The cats, on the other hand, are less understanding. Philo seems to need to be petted between four and five am, which isn't too bad since we get up at five anyhow. She did great at the vet's on Friday, and next week we will find out the results of her bloodwork. She's healed nicely from her unfortunate meeting with Kieffer back in January.
Now off to read the other CR blogs, then to bed!
Posted by april at 8:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 28, 2006
Recipe Inspiration
I turn to you, bloggiefriends, when I lack recipe inspiration. Usually, my little red head is so full of cooking ideas that I barely have time to chop all the vegetables necessary to create my fabulous creations. But with all I've been doing lately, I've found myself devoid of that spark. Used to be, I could just glance into the fridge and think of a million things I'd like to make. Today, I stare at a caulliflower and all I can think of is "mashed."
Here is the basic idea of what we eat around here:
-- main protein source is eggwhites. MR eats meat only once a month.
-- non-fat dairy, including yogurt, cottage cheese, and fat free ricotta is all good
-- all non-startchy veggies are fair game
-- gotta have oil, but added only after removing from heat, since oils oxidize if cooked
-- hazelnuts and almonds are good
-- fruits are fine, but not in huge amounts as they tend to be calorie dense and less nutritious per calorie than vegetables.
So provide me with some inspiration, bloggiefriends. What are YOU cooking these days?
Posted by april at 8:34 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 27, 2006
Stress, Diet, and Sugar
When I was in my early twenties, Dean Ornish's Stress, Diet and Your Heart was one of my favorite books. I am no longer a lowfat vegan, but I still find the title catchy.
Today I contemplated the role of stress, diet, and sugar. I stopped by my mom's place in the morning to bring her coffee and take care of various things she needed -- she can't lift or bend over, so simple things like dishes or scooping cat poop are no longer possible. Then to work for another exciting and stressful day of making the world safe for health care professionals to join the union of their choice. Then back to Mom's to help her shower and do a few things before I was off to a meeting. Stayed on my CR plan just fine all morning: usual breakfast, nice salad (made and packed by my angel MR) with yogurt and a half a megamuffin for lunch, plus sixty calories of almonds for fat. Then I got to Mom's and had a huge sugar craving. Ate about six of her little sour gummy candies, and they tasted so good! Between stress, low calorie levels, and afternoon blahs, it's amazing I didn't eat the entire candy stash at the Carb Castle.
I find sugar hard to resist when I am stressed and tired. Lately, my cat Philomena has been quite annoyed that I was away from her for several days between staying with Mom after surgery and my union convention. So she meows at me much of the night -- night before last, she woke me up once an hour. After getting almost no sleep, I was pretty exhausted all day, and it's no big surprise that I felt some sugar cravings.
At my late afternoon meeting we had some Panera Bread catered sandwiches, and with them came a giant salad. I helped myself to a big plate of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, plus less than a teaspoon of vinegarette and a few squirts of mustard. It was fun to eat something with the workers while not consuming very many calories. The salad was quite good, and I was still hungry for my brewers yeast and veggie soup for dinner.
Now it's after eight and I'm exhausted... I get so tired so early since we get up at five. On Saturday I am taking Mom for an adventure -- her first trip out since coming home from the hospital. We are going to look at flowers at Lowes, then to the Barnes and Noble to buy magazines, and out to lunch. She's doing so well, and I hope that soon she'll be up for a trip to see the big flowers at Longwood Gardens.
I've finished the dishes, the giant tabby is sleeping, the loud calico is howling, and all is right with the world. To bed.
Posted by april at 8:15 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 26, 2006
1%
At my union's convention, I had the honor of meeting the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell. He came to address us on many issues relating to health care and the nursing shortage, and his speech was well-received. Amidst of all the talk of improving working conditions for health care workers by eliminating mandatory overtime, passing safe staffing legislation, and creating a system of health care reimbursements that rewards hospitals that provide quality care, not cheap care, there was mention of another, complimentary approach to the problem of our nation's healthcare crisis.
Governor Rendell told us about how state workers in PA now pay 1% for their healthcare. That's not much -- thanks to the strong union workers sticking together to demand the affordable health care that they need for their families -- but it's definitely a bite out of a paycheck. However, there is one way to get out of paying the 1%. Employees who meet certain health criteria, such as not smoking and maintaining a healthy BMI, have the 1% waived. Governor Rendell says that the state saves lots of money on these people who maintain fairly basic standards of health. What a great idea! A glimmer of hope in a public health system that is so far down denial river that it can almost see the pyramids. As the former mayor of the former fattest city in the nation, Governor Rendell knows a thing or two about obesity. I congratulated him on our way out (I was in charge of escorting him to and fro the convention hall -- one of my friends got a great pic that I'll try to post to the blog!) on his commonsense approach to maintaining a healthy workforce.
I really wish that those of us who actually work at our health were rewarded in more ways. It can be a pain to negotiate with waiters, raid other parties' vegetable tray at hotels because your own convention offers nothing you can eat, and get carded well into your thirties. If there were more incentives for living a healthy lifestyle, I really think more people would do it. Americans pay attention to money, and if it costs them more to be overweight, smoke, and grow mold while watching TV on the couch, they're more likely to adopt the kind of habits that will keep health care costs down by keeping the people healthy.
How about this: a tax credit for not being a burden to the public health system? At the end of every year, if you maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, exercise, and can prove that you wore a seat belt, you get a portion of your taxes back?
I, for one, could really use the 1%.
Posted by april at 8:25 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 25, 2006
Home At Last
After two days of gak food, I am home at last.
Our convention was a tremendous success, and I had a great time. Hanging out with the nurses and other health care professionals who lead our union is always inspiring and fun for me. But the food was awful, from a CR perspective. Let me entertain you with the details:
Breakfast, day 1:
tray of danishes and tray of fruit
I ate nothing. I can't eat pure sugar that early in the day -- gives me anxiety attacks. I felt it better to fast.
Lunch, day 1:
Chinese themed. There was a salad with decent greens and mandarin oranges. But the food was covered in gaky sauce and/or fried. Eggrolls, fried rice, a beef gaky sauce thing and a chicken gaky sauce thing. I had a bunch of lettuce and put a few bites of chicken in gaky sauce over it.
Cheesecake, and other desserts.
Dinner, day 1:
The cat breath fish.
Cheesecake.
Breakfast, day 2:
This was really tragic. I was at the Executive Board meeting and we were supposed to order breakfast off the menu. I had discussed with our server that I could get an Eggbeater omlette with mushrooms, tomatoes, and green peppers. Fabulous! Almost like home! But the elevator broke, which slowed down the service, which made it impossible for us to order breakfast on time, so we ended up finishing the meeting and then joining the delegates at the larger breakfast buffet. I HAD TO HAVE PROTEIN by this time so I ate some scrambled eggs. Meanwhile, Susan was desperate for a clipboard, so I had to run down to my car to get one after shoving a few eggs into my face. Luke was angelic and grabbed me a glass of water to take my supplements before I had to run out of the room. That guy continues to amaze me with his ability to make my life easier.
Lunch, day 2:
Chicken in cream sauce
Beef in God knows what
MORE CHEESECAKE, and another cake.
Pasta in a cream sauce
Salad -- yea!
Fruit salad, strangely fermented. Yeah, I don't understand it either.
When I came home, after checking on Mom at her house (she's doing well!) I had an extremely happy surprise. MR made my favorite CR-friendly Zoned gourmet pizzas! I was about to fix my quotidian soup when he informed me that he had something else in the oven. I was so happy I almost cried. We just finished our delicious dinner, and I marvel once again at my amazing good fortune to have found a man so wonderful. And so very orange.
Off to pet the screaming calico and then to bed...
Posted by april at 8:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cat-Breath Fish
Last night at the dinner at our convention, the choices were beef or salmon. I don't care for salmon, but I don't really eat beef, so I ordered the salmon. Usually I can manage to eat it, but last night I was so exhausted and couldn't get it down. It just tasted too much like my cat's breath after she eats her favorite flavor cat food, Fancy Feast grilled salmon. I don't want to eat food that smells like cat breath. I had a few bites and called it a night.
The food here has been a big challenge, and I'll entertain you with stories about it later. Now, onward to a breakfast meeting!
Posted by april at 7:32 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 23, 2006
Return of the Squash-o-Lasagnish
MR has been missing my lasagnas, which are made CR-friendly by substituting yellow squash, zucchini, arugula, or another green, for pasta. Today I decided to make him one with squash, which apparently the Canadians call yellow zucchini. It has caused much confusion in our household.
I layered squash discs with nonfat cottage cheese, fat free ricotta, capers, garlic, and tomato sauce. Now I'm baking at 250 for about an hour and will top with a teaspoon of olive oil after removing from the oven. I may sprinkle on some dried basil and oregano as well.
This afternoon I leave for my union's annual convention, and VLC, who is making a cameo appearance at our union for a special project, is riding with me to Harrisburg. I'll stop off at Mom's house beforehand to make sure she has everything she needs. Then off to what will no doubt be two days of fending off catered gak. Here's my plan:
1. Eat any available vegetable, even if it belongs to another party.
2. Eat any available protein source, even if it requires scraping off sauce or gravy.
3. Avoid any dessert.
4. Avoid any hors d'oeuvres.
5. Drink only red wine.
6. If in doubt, call MR for a pep talk.
Wish me luck!
Posted by april at 12:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 22, 2006
Lemony Leek Soup with Brussels Sprouts
Mom is home and doing well... I stayed with her last night, and we had a light dinner of soup made with stewed tomatoes and three bean salad, plus a whole bunch of organic celery with hummus and baba ganoush (please correct my spelling.) I mixed some white wine with diet Sprite for a little wine spritzer; Mom drank caffeine free diet Coke and herbal tea. This morning I made her an eggwhite omlette with grape tomatoes and salsa, flax oil on top. Before I left she taught me how to cook a whole turkey breast, so it's in the oven roasting all day and will be ready for me to fix up tonight for our dinner.
Now I'm home with MR and doing some things around the house. I whipped up a quick soup for our lunch: Lemony Leek! I simmered the white part of one leek into salt free organic vegetable broth, then removed from heat and added a whole bunch (217 g) brussels sprouts. On top of that I squeezed the juice of a fresh lemon. I'm allowing it to sit on the stove till lunch, and when we're ready to eat I'll throw in a whole bunch of eggwhites (cartoned kind, microwaved and cut into cubes) to bring up the protein. Then I'll put in a teaspoon of oil per person, after removing from heat and just before serving. MR is having apples with hazelnuts, hazelnut oil, and cinnamon on the side.
Sunday night I have to go to a convention for my work, so I'll be out of town for two nights, during which MR will be looking in on Mom and her cat. I've saved up the trash for him to take out. Trash, as it turns out, is his job, and I wouldn't want to subcontract out his work. He's been angelic while I've been gone a lot -- taking care of the cats and keeping me in salads and tea, as well as packing cannisters of supplements for me to take while I'm gone. This morning I took my upon waking supplements with blueberry pomegrante juice! That stuff is delicious.
Speaking of weird beverages, has anyone tried the Diet Berries-n-Creme Dr. Pepper yet? I saw it for the first time yesterday. I am so excited. I love Diet Dr. Pepper, or DDP as we call it around here. We are on very familliar terms with the delicious diet soda. No calories, and just a little bit of fizz. MR has even researched the best way to keep the pop from going flat. While he was in Calgary, an envelope came from the UK for him, and I thought it must be something terribly important from Aubrey, so I called and asked if I should open it. As it turns out, it was a scientific article on how best to keep the pop from going flat. The man researches everything, and I get to reap the benefits of his investigations. I have the least flat diet soda on the block!
Posted by april at 11:13 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 20, 2006
Hospital Food
Well, my mom is in the hospital for another night (she's doing well but her hemoglobin was low so they're monitoring her one more night) and we continue to be horrified by hospital food. Most patients are in there for something diet-related, or diet-exacerbated. Yet hospitals continue to feed people evil, high saturated fat, high sugar gak!
Her first night, the meal consisted of a creamy soup (which she threw out -- Mom can't eat cream of any kind, makes her ill), fried chicken (Mom peeled off the breading and ate the chicken underneath), potatoes (Mom ignored), green beans (I think she ate one) and a chocolate cupcake (which she donated to a co-worker of mine who loves chocolate.) Super sugary Iced Tea in a box on the side -- Mom ignored and drank water and hot tea with one packet of sugar. The next day they made her an omlette for breakfast, and I was glad she got some protein. Tomorrow she's having an eggwhite omlette. Dinner last night was meatloaf, which at least had some protein, and she ordered a salad, side of broccoli, and ignored the dessert. She had a cup of sorbet that I brought her for her birthday (yes, she turned 61 in the hospital) and gave the cake that the hospital kitchen sent her for her birthday to the nurses.
I am looking forward to getting her home where I can cook her high protein, high nutrient food. I am even going to get some flax oil into her. I'm picking up a fresh turkey tomorrow that we can cook for her and her cat to enjoy -- lots of lean protein there. She's also a huge fan of my shrimp and scallops dishes, so I can make lots of those. For breakfast I can make my fancy eggwhite, shiitake and nonfat cheddar omlettes, which she has had and likes. I'll also fix her lots of veggies, and we can't forget the fruit. My mom is a fruit freak. Especially mangoes.
It really distresses me that hospital food is so horrible. I knew it would be -- I've read tons about how the diets they feed heart patients make them have their second heart attack right there in the hospital. But it's even more horrifying if you're sitting there. I am so glad she's coming home tomorrow where I can take care of her. Luckily, her apartment is three minutes from my office so I should be able to come over two to three times a day to cook, clean, pet cat, and generally entertain mom. MR is being angelic, and helped her out with housework right before she left for surgery. He's had everything well under control on our homefront while I've been away at the hospital, and my cats continue to be alive.
Meanwhile, Philo is acting weird again and I think I need to take her to the vet. Hopefully they can see her on Saturday, and Mom will be well enough that I can take Philo to the vet without worrying about Mom too much. Too bad they can't just go to the same doctor -- it would be much more convenient.
Posted by april at 8:47 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 19, 2006
Mom Is Okay
No time to write now... on way back to hospital.
She's doing well. More soon.
Posted by april at 5:33 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 17, 2006
Quick and Easy Leeknights
Cooking Light, a fantastic magazine for which my father has bought me a subscription for many years, has a section called "Quick and Easy Weeknights." Tonight, I had a quick and easy Leeknight! That's not a medieval knight with onion breath -- it's a quick and easy weeknight brought to you by that fabulous green tailed veggie, the leek!
I chopped up 100 g of the white parts of a leek, put them in 3 oz wine, boiling, with 3 g garlic minced, to simmer. I eventually added 98 g carrots, chopped, 100 g yellow squash, sliced, and 200 g tomatoes, diced. Mixed all up, simmered on high to let the onions sweat and the flavors all blend together. I finally added 360 g eggwhites, cooked and cubed, and about 1/2 cup no-salt organic veggie broth. Simmered, added some spicy pepper and a dash of lemon. 1 teaspoon flax oil added just before serving.
You could do this recipe with chicken, shrimp, scallops, tofu, Quorn, or whatever protein source you prefer. Eggwhites are our standard protein around here, so that's what I used. Be sure to simmer the leeks in the wine for at least 1/2 hour so their flavors are released.
Tomorrow my mother goes into the hospital for a hysterectomy, and I will be staying over with her, so I may be unable to blog for a few days. Please keep us in your prayers, if you have them, or send us some positive energy.
Posted by april at 10:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
CR Friendly Chocolate Hazelnut Pear Dessert
Last night I thought MR was going to have a major spiritual experience at the dinner table. He bit into my newest creation and began to laugh hysterically. "This is really good," he said, and continued to giggle and glow as he ate.
I got the idea from Luke, who had used his hazelnut oil on Nutella crepes. Then when we went to the CR Conference, I sampled some Walden Farms Calorie-Free chocolate sauce. Usually I don't like that kind of thing, but this particular product was quite yummy. I had it on fruit at the conference, and they had sent a ton of samples to the CR Society so MR took some home for us. I took a Trader Joe's low carb, no transfats tortilla, covered it with two tablespoons of Walden Farm's chocolate dip, put 1/4 cup of fat free ricotta on top of that, then put thinly sliced pears on top. Baked at 300 for about half an hour, till the tortilla was just barely beginning to brown. Then I took it out, topped with a teaspoon of hazelnut oil. You could put hazelnuts on it too if you wanted. MR loved it, and it looked so pretty! You could use other fruits as well... I think a blueberry one would be beautiful, and an apple would be good too. Even pumpkin at Halloween!
The amazing versitility of the Trader Joe's low carb tortilla continues to fascinate me. Praise to TJ's!
Posted by april at 12:29 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 16, 2006
Deviled Egg-o-Tatta
You knew it was coming. Something bizarre and CR friendly for MR's Easter lunch. Now it's here.
I decided to make a giant tatta inspired by the deviled egg. I am Southern you see so I can not allow the day that commemorates the resurrection of Christ pass without serving deviled eggs. If you don't get the connection, please return to Bible study immediately, do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred Whitman sampler chocolate crosses.
Of course, the traditional yolk and mayo filled deviled egg is not MR appropriate. It would be easy enough to make real deviled eggs with eggwhites and nonfat mayo or sour cream and eggwhites, then put them into actual cooked eggwhites for a gorgeous, apparently Southern Easter platter. My mom even has several deviled egg serving trays. But I lacked both eggs and time, so I made a giant deviled egg-o-tatta. I put in a whole bunch of cartoned eggwhites, three teaspoons of organic yellow mustard, a half cup nonfat plain organic yogurt, half a teaspoon red wine vinegar (we have no white vinegar), tomatoes so there will be some veggies in there somewhere, fresh ground pepper, and paprika. It looks really cool. I'm serving it with a side of brussels sprouts with olive oil and fresh lemon and a dessert of pears baked and topped with hazelnut oil and cinnamon. Should be a bizarre Easter treat!
I'll let you know if MR likes it.
Posted by april at 9:45 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 15, 2006
Curried Carrot-o-Tatta
280 g eggwhites
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
210 g carrots, thinly sliced
curry powder
dash of half-salt
Mix all together. Bake at 250 for about an hour and a half to 2 hours. Remove and top with juice of fresh lemon. Serve hot.
It's a great way to get rid of leftover carrots, while turning your Orange One even oranger!
Posted by april at 9:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 13, 2006
Asparagus Phobe
I am not making this up.
One of the new staff members has an asparagus phobia. He is terrified of asparagi. He can't pick up a can. When he walks by asparagus in the grocery store, he has to avert his eyes. He has a vague memory of getting sick when forced to eat asparagus as a child.
That's weird. He is also afraid of eating in the dark. He has to be able to see his food. No candlelight dinners. I wonder if I should provide a flashlight if he comes to our house for dinner? Our dining room light is a bit dim.
He is also afraid of mayonaise, but only if someone else applies it. It's fine if he applies it himself. I think he has food poisoning issues.
Does anyone else have good food phobia stories? The founder of my union had a phobia of all things green and creamy. Why? She said we didn't want to know. She's a nurse, so I believe her. When an RN says something is gross, don't inquire further.
The pastor of a church I went to growing up had a phobia of green food. Lime jello, all green veggies. Not someone who could transition easily into CR. Even black kale is really green.
Tonight I am taking my mom to the Ruby Tuesday's. I can't decide if I want a salad or an entree off the calorie controlled menu. Or both!
Then I have a meeting at 7:30 pm and won't be home till after 10. Life of an organizer. At least I am managing to get in a dinner break.
Posted by april at 1:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 12, 2006
My Skiing Disorder
One of the CR Society Conference participants said that he thought 50% of the list subscribers have an eating disorder. I challenged him on this.
"Anyone who can't go out to a restaurant or eat at a family gathering has an eating disorder," he said.
"Why?" I asked. "You may value going out to restaurants and eating at family gatherings, and as it turns out, so do I. But if one valued keeping one's calories low above these things, why would that be an eating disorder?"
He didn't have an answer.
It's all a question of priorities. We choose what we think is important and act accordingly. For some, the value of eating out at restaurants may be more than the value of keeping one's calories consistent and low. That's fine -- go out all you want. But what if a CR practitioner doesn't put a high value on eating in restaurants, and instead would prefer to save the money, save the calories, know what he or she is eating, and eat at home? What's wrong with that? Is eating in restaurants such a universal imperative that anyone who doesn't care to do it should be locked up in a mental hospital and force fed nouveau American bistro cuisine?
There's a cost benefit analysis involved. If you love restaurant eating, as I do, it's worth the risk of eating more calories, throwing off one's calorie balance, and aging more quickly than strictly necessary. If you don't, then why would you take the risk?
I, for one, am not interested in skiing. People get hurt skiing. Some people die, many break legs. My high school roommate broke her leg skiing. It doesn't look like that much fun to me anyway. It's cold, the clothes aren't cute. Why would I risk life and limb to ski?
Someone who really loved to ski might think my life was terribly empty because I don't want to take the risks involved in skiing. How could a life devoid of skiing be worth living, much less living for a long time? Sure, I might hurt myself skiing, but the risk is nothing compared to the pleasure I might gain.
I disagree. I don't want to ski. I have little to no interest in skiing. It's not worth the risk.
Do I have a skiing disorder?
We all make our choices. The key is to make choices that are in line with your own personal goals. I like to go to restaurants sometimes, so I work my CR practice such that I can. I don't want to go skiing. But if you want to ski, go ahead.
Just don't tell me that I have a skiing disorder because I choose not to ski.
Posted by april at 6:47 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 11, 2006
Vitamin Z
The symptoms are familiar, but it took me a long time to learn how to recognize them. Second guessing myself, feeling like I'm not quite good enough, bending easily to the influence of others. Before long, I diagnose the problem. I've had a Vitamin Z deficiency.
Some people can make their own Vitamin Z, but some of us do a lot better if we get a daily dosage from an external source. It's found everywhere in nature, but rarely in the kind of concentration that meets the human female's recommended daily allowence. Some forms of Vitamin Z are more bioavailable than others, and I strongly suggest that once you find a good source, you cultivate the suppliler and make sure you can get all you need. It's dangerous to run low on the stuff. People have been known to do everything from get married to the wrong person to stay in a dead end job, all due to a lack of Vitamin Z.
Vitamin Z is the voice within each of us that tells us to believe in ourselves, trust our instincts, tell our critics to *&^% off, and leave the well-beaten path far behind. It demands that we indulge our senses, revel in our pleasures, selfishly grab onto life and squeeze it until it gasps for breath.
If taken in too large amounts, Vitamin Z can make us mean, critical, tactless and angry. But one is usually only tempted to overdose when one has been too deficient for too long. If you keep up a steady stream of Vitamin Z at the right dosage, you're unlikely to experience negative side effects. If you're exhibiting symptoms of Vitamin Z overdose, ask yourself if you'd been showing the signs of deficiency recently. Do you boil over in a fit of rage after a week of holding your tongue in the face of unreasonable demands at work? Vitamin Z OD. Don't think you can skip your daily Vitamin Z without risking horrible consequences. Just a little Vitamin Z every day will keep you true to yourself without making you cruel to others.
I envy those people who can make their own Vitamin Z. My old co-worker and close friend VLC makes her own. She's totally independent, doesn't care what other people think, does her own thing, but loves and cares for others and is a ton of fun to raid a vegetable tray with. MR makes his own Vitamin Z -- you really have to in order to live the way he does -- and it turns his skin slightly orange.
I make some of my own, but I do best when I get a little bit of external Vitamin Z. Sometimes I need to be reminded to fight for myself, value my own comfort, and speak my mind even when I'm not politically correct. I'm a very strong person, but my need for approval and love sometimes gets the better of my strong personality. That's when I need an IV infusion of Vitamin Z.
And I know who to call. My dealer isn't always pleasant, and sometimes she's downright wrong. But it's my responsiblity to decide what to ingest and what to leave locked up in the bottle. MR keeps me young and strong and healthy in body and keeps my heart awash in love, but my Vitamin Z dealer makes sure that I never run out of that nutrient that makes tough women tough. You can't find it in oysters, you can't drizzle it on your salad. But you can't live without it, and I don't suggest you try.
I have it on good authority that in some places, the olives are filled with Vitamin Z. I'm not sure though... could be a Greek myth.
Posted by april at 7:56 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Who Moved My Cheese?
We got home late last night from the CR Conference, safely returned home from the airport by my mother, who also helped out with sitting for Kieffer and Philomena (our cats.) While the food was good, I am very much looking forward to returning to my quotidian diet. I was super excited this morning to eat my typical breakfast of a cup of eggwhites scrambled with a few shiitake mushrooms, teaspoon of flax oil and slice of nonfat cheddar cheese. I scrambled my eggs with the mushrooms, MR measured my flax oil as he was measuring his own for his breakfast salad, and I reached into the fridge to grab the cheese.
Gone. No nonfat cheddar anywhere. I am almost certain that when I left, there was most of a package.
Perhaps my mother or my cat sitter discovered the value of nonfat cheese and took it. That would be fine, as I want to spread the calcium-rich deliciousness. Perhaps thieves broke into the house and stole nothing but the nonfat cheddar cheese. Perhaps MR ate it all in the middle of the night but can't bring himself to admit to it.
Someone moved my cheese.
I spent an embarassing number of minutes this morning walking around saying, "Who moved my cheese?"
Now I probably owe royalties to the person who wrote that book.
Response to comments: Hi KC! Welcome! I'm 31, a union organizer, and I've been doing CR for just over two years. I'm 5'2" and weigh between 102 and 104. Pre-CR, I weighed 137. I average 1300 calories per day, split between most days of closer to 1150 - 1200 and one day a week when I got out to eat with friends or family.
Today it's back to work... still have to shower, meditate, and find something to wear before I go pick up Luke for another exciting day of making the world safe for health care professionals to organize with the union of their choice.
Posted by april at 7:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 9, 2006
Miscommunications Re: Mice
One of the central themes, as it turns out, of my involvement with the CR Society, the Mprize, SENS, and life-extension in general, has been miscommunications on the topic of mice. This conference was no exception.
For example, Friday at lunch, famous gerontologist Caleb Finch was speculating on regional differences in diets. The Great Luigi Fontana mentioned that not all traditional Mediterranean diets have been healthy. For instance, well into the middle of the last century, Northern Italian peasants' diets were dominated by large amounts of mice.
MR and I were most confused. "They eat mice?" we asked. "Yes, mice," said Dr. Fontana.
We looked at each other. We were not aware that Italian peasants, until the last forty years or so, subsisted almost entirely on mice.
"Ground-up mice. They make it into polenta," explained Dr. Fontana.
Mouse polenta. Where can I get some? What kind of CR friendly version of that can Miss Tenacity design?
M-A-I-Z-E. That's what Luigi, in his adoreable Italian accent, was trying to say.
"In this country, we call it corn."
Miscommunication resolved. Italians did not eat a diet consisting primarily of mice.
The topic of mice came up again and again, as you might expect when much of the data that convinces us to restrict our calories comes from rodent experiments. Dr. Steven Austad, who presented on the many reasons why he thinks CR might *not* work, catches wild mice himself. I found this fascinating. He goes all over the world catching mice in live traps, then breeds three generations of wild mice on whom to do CR experiments. The photos of his mice were adoreable. If you have a mouse problem, Steve Austad may be the guy to call.
I, for one, have no intention of handling mice. Luigi handles human subjects, and finds time and time again that the CR'd humans have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those eating the Standard American Diet. No big shock there. I'm thinking of participating in Luigi's study -- all those free tests! -- if I can possibly swing the time off from work.
I'm so sad that the conference has ended. MR and I will fly home tomorrow, and I'm grateful that I had much of today to spend with the incredibly fun Miss Tenacity and the divine Robert K. It's amazing to hang out with fellow CR freaks who believe that the future is worth living for.
Posted by april at 4:36 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 8, 2006
Food at the CR Conference
So what does one eat at the CR Society Conference?
Well, travel day Wednesday was a bit sketchy for me due to travel and time change. I had my usual breakfast, and a quite satisfying megamuffin for lunch. But dinner time came when on the plane to Tucson, and MR had his dinner but I was planning to go out with friends after we arrived, so I didn't eat. I was already under calories for the day so far because I had no afternoon snack, so I was very, very hungry. Then we went to the reception, had a great time, but I somehow lost the crew that was going out to dinner afterwards. By this time I was VERY hungry, as I had not eaten in 12 hours and was under calories to begin with. Luckily, one of the brothers had a car and took us to Trader Joe's to stock up on food stuffs. I frightened him by eating two orders of Trader Joe's shrimp and avocado sushi, totaling 660 calories. Had a 4 oz glass of wine upon returning to the room and still came out under 1200 for the very long day.
Yesterday began with the miracle of waking up at a CR Conference next to MR. The firebreathing prophet of the biotech rapture is really rather cute and cuddly, and he buzzed about making his breakfast salad while I tried to catch a little more sleep. He was fairly quiet, so I was able to sleep until about 7 and felt quite rested, having had no cat howling at me throughout the night. He figured out that the dining room would serve eggwhites, so I had eggwhites with the flax oil we brought from home and a bowl of the fresh cut fruit on the buffet. The fruit here has been delicious -- citrus, melon, grapes.
Lunch was a group meal catered by the hotel, and turned out to be a quite respectable salad bar, some roasted turkey, and a huge fruit platter. All buffet, so MR was able to weigh all his food appropriately. I weighed my turkey but constructed a large salad of lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and vinegar by eyeball. 10 g of hazelnuts for fat, which I weighed on baby scale. My lunch companions were somewhat infatuated with baby scale, so she had to be passed around and admired. Accurate to the tenth of a gram!
For dinner we went out to a Mexican place where I had a salad with chicken, no cheese, no dressing, and put salsa on top. I split a bottle of wine with Brian Delaney, Miss Tenacity and others.
Lunch the next day turned out to be quite respectable salad at the hotel restaurant salad bar, complete with cottage cheese. I was cold after lunch so Luigi Fontana let me borrow his jacket. Very dashing, very Italian. Dinner was a group event with salmon (which reminded me of cat breath but was the only protein so I ate it) and salad and more of the excellent fruit. I finally got to catch up with Robert K, and then got a glass of red wine afterwards with Brian Delaney, who has promised me that he will visit me and MR in Philly at some point in the summer or early fall.
Today I had eggwhites, a big salad at lunch, and for dinner we went back to the Mexican place where I had a big salad with roasted chicken and some guacamole in addition to a mountain of veggies. Had a beer with Aubrey de Grey beforehand, a beer at dinner that I thought I was going to split with Robert K but then he ordered his own, and a glass of cabernet afterwards at a meeting with Aubrey and some CR Society luminaries. Miss Tenacity pointed out that I had quite a tolerance, but I explained that it's all a matter of timing: spaced out over about six hours and with lots of food, I can handle several drinks. On an empty stomach or in rapid succession, the same amount would have made me fit only for being carried to my room.
More soon on the science, which has been fascinating. For now, to bed. MR is already asleep and I'm afraid my typing will wake him.
Posted by april at 11:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 6, 2006
The Party Is Already Starting!
That's what Aubrey de Grey said as he explained to MR why we needed to take a cab from the airport to the CR Society conference instead of waiting for a shuttle. We shared a cab with Aubrey and legendary CR researcher Luigi Fontana and arrived just as the welcoming reception was going into full swing. It was wonderful to catch up with all my old friends from last time and also to meet new friends. I find it amazing how everyone at the CR Conference looks younger than they did 18 months ago! The divine Robert K. is even sexier at 55 than he was at 53, Little MR is gorgeous in her new haircut, and Brian Delaney, president of the CR Society and co-author of The Longevity Diet has lost weight and is even better looking than I remember him. It's quite jarring to be in a room filled with so many gorgeous geeky skinny guys again... though I've gotten somewhat accustomed to having my own at home, I find that in regular life, I always look at men and think to myself, "You'd be so cute if you lost 30 pounds." Looking around the room here, I just think, "You're all so cute!" I know, I have unusual taste, but for once, I am enjoying the scenery.
Speaking of scenery, Tucson is beautiful. Cacti, big mountain type things, and nice warm sunshine. I had to step outside to talk to Luke for a few minutes this morning, and I may have gotten some sun! Shocking!
The conference has been great. It's just starting and I'm already feeling revitalized in my CR. Watching MR get up to ask questions reminds me of how I fell for him in the first place. Meanwhile I've met several blog readers, including Sarah's parents, Miss Tenacity in the flesh, and a long time blog reader and CR practitioner who lives in this area who has been reading for ages and never commented. It's so nice to see people in person!
The thing I find most inspiring about the CR Conferences is that everyone here is enjoying life so much that they want to keep living, and are willing to do what it takes to do so. We're feeling great now, and we plan to keep on feeling great. We're looking forward to the dawn of radical anti-aging biomedicine, but we're taking control of our lives and health in the meantime. As Aubrey said, "The party is already starting."
Posted by april at 2:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 4, 2006
Seems Like I Can Finally Rest My Head On Something Real
T'was the night before the CR Society conference, and all through the house, not a leftover was safe, not even that kale that was about to go bad.
"A big honkin' salad" was what MR requested for dinner, in an effort to use up the greens that were on the verge of going very very bad. So I have just made him a salad of 146 g kale (dino and green), 74 g red pepper, 96 g tomatoes, tons of eggwhites microwaved, cubed and marinated in red wine vinegar and oregano, garlic and basil to form a strange eggwhite feta that is really quite delicious, and a side of leftover cauliflower. Oh, don't forget the spaghetting squash and Muir Glen Organic Fireroasted tomatoes. And the 3 oz pinot noir.
I'm so excited to be going to the conference. It's 80 degrees in Tucson, lots of my friends will be there, the magnificent Aubrey de Grey will be in attendance, and my CR needs some rejuvenation. I've focused so much on my work lately that my CR has been on autopilot, and while I haven't done terribly, it's time to re-focus.
In good news, this morning at about 7 as we were leaving the hospital where we had spent an hour and a half dropping off flyers with various health care professionals (my favorite is of course the dietician!) Luke was contemplating breakfast and said, "I really want one of those protein muffins you have." The man requested a megamuffin -- a sure sign that conversion is right around the corner. Will he have a mystical conversion experience over a bowl of asparagus and cauliflower soup? Will he find enlightenment when he cracks open the hazelnut oil MR and I gave him for his birthday? Stay tuned!
On my way home I heard that Ashlee Simpson song, "Pieces of Me." It's such a cheesy song, but the part that goes "On a Monday, I am waiting, and by Tuesday I am fading and by Wednesday I can't breathe. Then the phone rings and I hear you..." reminds me so much of the waiting time between when I sent MR the fateful email confessing that I was madly in love with him (a fact that was plain to all the CR Society, Aubrey de Grey, and blog readers all over the world, but which somehow managed to allude the boy in question!) and when he finally *read* the email and responded that he too was more than a bit interested. In one of the great timing gags of our century (which to be fair is only six years old and therefore hasn't had many years to create real life farces) I waited on pins and needles while my friends, family and co-workers planned to roast, carve and eat the man if he didn't respond in the affirmative soon. It's been utter bliss since then, and going back to the CR Conference where we met 18 months ago is going to be a lot more fun now that I can spend the nights in his arms. I wake up with my head on his pillow and his arms around me (and usually a cat howling in my ear, but no matter.) We're making our lives together, and we're going to make them very long lives.
It seems like I can finally rest my head on something real
I like the way that feels.
Posted by april at 7:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 3, 2006
Dinner On The Table Fast
When you need a high protein, high quality, delicious dinner on the table fast, the CR'd frittata, aka The Tatta, is the way to go. This morning before work I mixed up an asparaga-tatta for MR: asparagus, 1/2 cup nonfat plain organic yogurt, a little less than a cup of eggwhites, and a dash of fresh ground pepper. He can throw it into the oven while I'm at work and just before dinner I'll top it with some fire-roasted Muir Glen organic tomatoes and some more yogurt for a creamy tomato topping. I'm serving hot apples in cinnamon and hazelnut oil for dessert. I will be eating my quotidian brewers yeast soup, this time with brussels sprouts as my crucifer of choice, and nonfat cottage cheese with flax oil and the omni-present Carolina Treet Carolina barbeque sauce.
Sometimes you just don't have a lot of time. I love to cook for my angel, but my work is so busy that I don't always get home in time to prepare a CR feast. The tatta is a quick and easy treat that is delicious with almost any combination of veggies. MR's favorites include asparagus, broccoli, red peppers (organic) shiitake mushrooms, and cauliflower. It's an excellent source of protein with no saturated fat, and you can top it with the oil of your choice after removing from the oven.
Luke just called me to confirm that I'm picking him up at 5:50 am... we're meeting our health care professionals in front of the hospital starting at 6:20 in the morning. My last day of work prior to the CR Conference... then Wednesday it's on a plane and off to Tucson!
Posted by april at 8:32 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Life-Extension
People keep asking me why Aubrey de Grey is attending the CR Conference. "Is he going to debate?" they ask. "Has he had a conversion experience?" Lots of people know that Aubrey doesn't practice CR himself, and that he doesn't think it will cause the kind of slowing of aging in humans that we hope it will.
Unless I am gravely mistaken, Aubrey is coming to the conference to share his presentation on the SENS platform, a series of interventions that could, if researchers would actually pursue them, lead to reversal of biological aging. People at the CR Conference are, as a rule, not just interested in restricting calories. We're there because we're interested in living much longer, much healthier than our neighbors. While we've determined that CR is the only method available for doing that *right now*, we're very interested in other methods for extending healthy life that might become available in the future. We might enjoy the short term benefits of CR: never getting sick, having a body that looks and feels great, being able to fit twelve people at a table that seats six. But we're after the long term, and we want to hear about anything that might help us get there in one live piece.
Mostly I'm interested in hanging out with Aubrey because he's one of the most fun people I've ever met. Here's my question: who's in charge of picking up the beer?
Posted by april at 6:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 2, 2006
Circles
I have circles under my eyes.
It's not just because we had to "spring forward" today. It always happens when I stray too far off my CR plan and eat too much, drink too much, and in general behave like radical anti-aging biotechnology is right around the corner waiting to slam into me. It's this kind of instant punishment that keeps me on track.
The last few weeks have been crazy. Between training new staff, very busy campaigns (won the one on March 24, btw, 29 - 3. Yippie!) and trying to keep up with everyone, I've been paying less attention to my CR than I really should. And now I have circles under my eyes. This is unacceptable. Visible signs of aging have a way of motivating me like nothing else. I do not want to look old. "Vanity will save your life," said the waitress in the bar in Nashville three years ago. Actually, she said "Writing will save your life," but in my blog, writing and vanity merge.
We've had way too much fun as of late, most recently going out for Luke's birthday on Friday after work. We went to a French restaurant where we sat outside (first really warm day here) and shared a salmon and endive salad, mussels, a warm goat cheese salad, a cheese plate, two desserts and a bottle of dryish pinkish French wine. Shared between five people, mind you. This was Luke's first birthday with us. He's 38, but looks much younger. I expect him to look even younger next year when he turns 39. By 40, he's better look 27. Sharing dishes was his idea, and a good one it was. Between lots of people we were able to try several amazing tastes without going too crazy on the total calories.
Later I met my mom at the art museum and we split a crab cake... almost all crab, very little breading. Glass of pinot noir. Yum! Got to see the Wyeth exhibit, which was quite good, though I expected it to be bad. I never liked his more popular paintings, but the total exhibit was quite amazing. Kinda a cross between Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper but without all the color. If that makes any sense. Lots of American landscapes and seascapes like Homer, lots of thresholds and windowsills like Hopper, but all neutral earth tones. Apparently that was Betsy Wyeth's idea. Must be a pain to be married to an artist. I'm glad I'm permanently partnered with a writer... at least there's no paint to clean up.
Speaking of cleaning up, our Sunday breakfast dishes are calling out to me so I must go.
Posted by april at 9:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Decaf Folgers? Dried Apricots and Mangoes?
It's rare that I take on Little MR on any question, but on this one, I just have to take issue.
Decaf Folgers? Ick! But taste is taste.
And apricots and mangoes? Dried? That's tons of unnecessary calories, mostly sugar. I'll take my iced coffee, nothing in it, any day.
And since Luke and I carpool to work, saving twenty minutes each way of driving an unnecessary car, I forgive us for wasting three minutes worth of fossil fuel. Sometimes, you just need to get away for a minute. Why not do so with a calorie-free delicious beverage?
Posted by april at 5:36 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack