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July 31, 2007
California Cafe, Vacation, and the Need for the Rug Exorcist
"Your nose knows when you have a cat."
-- kitty liter commercial.
Well, your carpet knows it too. Especially when you have particularly barfy cats who enjoy barfying dark colored food. More info than you wanted re: the inner workings of the Smith-R household? Too bad. Maybe it will make you lose your appetite just before you were thinking of embarking upon a cheesecake and Krispy Creme with Lays potato chips (not the Light Olestra variety) on top. Then I've done a public service.
We rented the Rug Doctor. I love the Rug Doctor. It really does do an amazing job on carpets. Makes them look like new... unless, of course, they have serious stains. Like cat barf. I don't need the Rug Doctor. I need the Rug Exorcist.
I tried. Really, I did. My parents are on their way here from North Carolina. My step-mother is the best housekeeper I've ever met. She keeps a smashingly beautiful home. She was a home ec major, and she could be an interior designer as a profession if she wanted to. She knows how to fix everything, and that which she can't fix (like a German car) her son, my step-brother can fix. They are visual, mechanical people. They make beautiful things, easily, with grace. Without crying, throwing a temper tantrum, or complaining about the fact that when one owns a house, one can not simply call the apartment people to fix little problems like flooded basements.
My father and I, however, are from the visually and mechanically challeged branch of the family. If confronted with a vial of ebola virus on one side and an Ikea futon needing assembly on the other, we'd seriously consider ebola. We have developed skills, such as the ability to charm those with handyperson abilities, and the ability to get good jobs that make decent money, so that we don't have to do these sorts of tasks. We are also both very good cooks, and we make a decent low carb mixed drink. My father has used his talents to attract and keep for more than twenty years a woman who could put together a futon, install screen doors, turn a pigpen into a palace, and still look gorgeous at the end of the day. I alas, have attracted a mate who is perfect on all scores, but not a handyman.
MR isn't much for mechanical stuff. His parents soaked up all those genes. They're HOUSE PEOPLE. They remodel things for fun! I can't imagine. They saw a million things that needed to be fixed in our house. I resisted the temptation to hide under the couch. I am not a HOUSE PERSON. I'm glad I have the house. I am excellent at paying the mortgage. I am grateful that the roof doesn't leak. But other than that, I don't much care.
My parents are coming, and for the first time in my life, I am not stressed out about their visit. I guess it's good at that 33 I've finally accepted that I will never be as good a housekeeper or decorater as my step-mother. They don't care either. My father thinks I have the most exciting life of anyone he has ever met. A lot of times I think it's like that Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." But he finds it exciting. He did make a snide comment in 1996 about the state of my college apartment four days before I had to move out. That was unwise: we are Southern, we hold a grude. I was angry, hurt, humilated, and beat myself up for years about not cleaning the place properly (just after finals and before graduation when I was moving out.) But I got over it. Day before yesterday. Now I'm fine with the whole project. My house is okay.
The good thing is, my step-mother, who really is a genius, and Southern so never critical at least not to your face, can help me figure out how to arrange the place so that it's beautiful. It's a question of where should the furniture go? And should there be different furniture? If so, what? I don't think about these things. I like the fact that the walls are blue. Should there be blue furniture? Do I have to throw out the old hand-me-down couch from my former pastor that is the world's greatest couch to sleep on, but is covered in a ratty old slip cover that has been clawed half to death by a giant tabby? Do I need to buy end tables that match? MR's parents say that the thing I call a coffee table is not a coffee table, but an end table. I said something to the effect of, politely, I really don't care. I know that you are only expressing your love and concern for us, your adored child and child-in-grace. But I do not care if the coffee table started its life, leaving the Ikea factory, thinking it would live out its days as an end table. It's perfectly happy in the middle of the living room.
As you can see, I am not a house person. I vacuum, I clean the bathroom, MR and I share the cleaning of the kitchen, I take care of the various cat issues, I wash the sheets towels and change them, I dust. The department of health will not be closing the place down. But decorating? What about throwing around a few candles? Does that count? My old best friend framed some art prints for me a few years ago, and I hung them. That's good, right?
Rugs, I think, may be the answer. When the cats die, which I hope will be never, we'll buy new carpet. But there's no point till then. Perhaps dark, washable rugs? I decorated my old apartment in an array of carpet remnants and bathroom rugs. It was like a patchwork quilt, actually. It was absurd but rather cute. I was single back then and decorated my entire bathroom in Hello Kitty. My mother, who is also single, did the same. We like it. We are grown women... we can have all the Hello we want. We are Kitty: hear us roar!
Today, I met a lovely woman in the grocery store who admired my Hello Kitty hot pink purse. She said her daughter, age five, would adore it. I gave her directions to the Sanrio store at King of Prussia mall and then found two Hello Kitty stickers in my bag and gave them to her to give to her daughter. She was most grateful. Good kitty karma, thought I. You do a cat a good turn, or a five year old girl, and you get good karma. I need all the karma I can get.
Steph was exactly right on re: what I ate: wine country salad, grilled shrimp instead of chicken. Saved the tails for my "cat." My mother took me out for a wonderful birthday lunch, then we wandered the mall, soaking in the air conditioner on a hot day. She also gave me a new Hello Kitty wallet, in addition to the birthday jewlery set she bought for me: delicate pink necklace and earrings from our friend the jewlery maker. Very nice.
Dinner at home was brussels sprouts in a lemon basil broth with garlic, purple onions, Lancaster farm tomatoes from Mom, a dash of Worstershire sauce, and eggwhites for protein. That was MR's dinner; I ate my quotidian lunch salad as I had eaten lunch out. See, there I go, eating my own stable, boring but well-loved food again.
Tomorrow my parents (father and step-mother) drive in at around two. I know we'll have a wonderful time. I miss them, as I don't see them often. It's hard, living so far away. I'm glad that I'm sufficiently un-worried about the house that I am looking forward to their visit with all excitement and no trepidation.
I am, at the moment, one of the most successful union organizers in the country. I am in love with the most amazing man on earth who shares his cat-a-tat with me (that's what they call a habitat at Big Cat Rescue, and I've gotten rather hooked on the terminology.) I'm healthy, happy, in love, still happy at my job after all these years, and managing to make it to Pilates class on time. Even to loan a fellow Pilates student a sweater when the studio is cold.
I will never be Martha Stewart. But perhaps I will avoid going to jail for insider trading.
One must, always, count one's blessings.
Posted by april at 7:50 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 30, 2007
Readers Pick April's Lunch
Yes, I am still very sad. Yes, I still look like somebody punched me in the fact, I've been crying so much. Yes, I keep replaying every memory of my lost little loved one in my head. But I'm not going to curl up and die so I'm trying to do other things.
To that end, my mother and I are getting together tomorrow. We're going to go to the King of Prussia Mall, where it is air-conditioned, which it is not in my house. We're having lunch at the California Cafe, then doing some window shopping.
If you go to this site and click on menu, you get the PDF of their menu. I've already picked out my lunch, but see if you can guess it. Hint: it involves a substitution on the protein source, but I'm fairly sure they'll let me do it.
As to why I'm making substitutions on my protein source... well, I'm thinking of a change in my diet, and it's not methionine restriction. But more about that later...
Posted by april at 12:21 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Wild Climate Gyrations
That phrase has nothing to do with either me or CR... it's just a random thing I heard on NPR while I was making breakfast. The piece was about climate change, but thinking of wild climate gyrations made me imagine storm clouds dirty dancing in the sky.
Thank you all so much for your comments, thoughts and prayers. I'm doing a little better. I know the deceased wouldn't want me to miss out on life because I was busy crying about her for too long, and I've made a donation to Big Cat Rescue in her memory. I think she would have really liked that... in fact, I'm sure she would.
Saturday was a nice enough day... Aubrey de Grey was in town meeting with MR, and it's always fun to have Aubrey around. He's the perfect guest: he doesn't care what the house looks like, he loves whatever you feed him, he'll sleep on anything, including a floor (though we do provide him with a bed or at least a futon mattress), he likes cats, and all he needs to be happy is an internet connection and a beer. He sets a new standard it what it means to be a good guest. Even though I woke up Saturday morning looking like I had been crying for twelve hours (because I had) with huge circles under my eyes, and my eyes so swollen I could barely see, and I never got out of my Hello Kitty pajamas, Aubrey didn't bat an eye. How many world famous visionary scientists can you say that about? I suppose we'd have to do the experiment to find out. Since I don't want to spend too many more days crying my eyes out in my Hello Kitty pajamas, I probably will leave this as a one mouse experiment.
I did manage to clean out a closet, vacuum the floors, cook lunch and dinner, and keep my calories to 1200. It's not hard at home. With two dinners out coming up whilst my father and step-mother are in town for my birthday, I'm sticking to a lower calorie number. Sunday morning we had a lovely Sunday breakfast with our traditional vegetable eggwhite omlette and some Big Train low carb buttermilk pancakes, which I adore. I start makeing chu-chu train noises on Saturday night in anticipation of the Big Train. I actually like them more than I ever liked "regular" pancakes.
I cooked some nice food: various combinations of artichokes, squash, brussels sprouts, broccoli. I ate my quotidian salads for lunch, but I did eat the other half of the soup I made for Aubrey, split up between dinners Sat and Sun. The soup was:
can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes
175 g Quorn tenders
can of black beans
bag of Trader Joe's organic frozen mixed veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snap peas
cumin, chili powder, paprika, jalepeno Tabasco
topped with teaspoon of flax oil at the table
Today a friend is coming over to help me organize and decorate the house. I'm not much of a house person, so I need consultation from those who are better with such things. I thought about cancelling but just sitting around feeling sad and watching Big Cat Rescue videos doesn't make much sense for the indefinite future.
Meanwhile, it's so hot here that Philomena the calico cat has taken to sleeping in the bathtub, most likely because it's the coolest place in the house. She's so cute. A 21 year old cat sleeping in a tub is adoreable, if you're a cat person.
Hey, good news everybody: Chris is back!
Posted by april at 5:30 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
July 28, 2007
I Lost A Friend
Hi everybody,
Yesterday I received some very sad news that an old friend of mine has died. It was an entirely preventable death, and I am beside myself with grief. I've basically been crying for twenty-four hours. I don't want to go into detail for the privacy of the family and the fact that I just don't want to rehash it. But I may be out for a little while... I just can't stand to be Happy Cute posting recipes right now. MR has been wonderful... he held me last night through hours of crying. I'm a little better this morning, but I think it will just take a long time to heal.
When these things happen it sometimes makes us reflect on what a blessing our time on earth is, and how much we must be grateful for every minute we have with those we love. Go cuddle your spouses, lovers, parents, friends, children, kitties and doggies and bunnies and even your turtles. I'm sure at some point I'll recover, but right now it feels like the pain will never stop. I'll probably surface faster than I think I will, as writing usually helps me feel better. But if I'm out for a few days that's why.
Thank you for all of your love and well-wishes and prayers.
Posted by april at 9:22 AM | Comments (18) | TrackBack
July 27, 2007
When Bad Kale Happens to Good People
I never understood why people didn't like raw kale. Not until a few weeks ago when the gentleman who works at the restaurant in Scranton at the hotel where I eat most of my meals started giving me kale from the kitchen.
I was so very appreciative of his special effort to bring me kale, since he knows I love it. But this kale, manufactured to be garnish, is awful. Even when it's fresh, it's just bitter and tough and not kale-esque at all. With kale like that, who needs radicchio? Ick. If that was my only taste of kale, I'd hate it too.
I eat organic kale: usually the big green leafy kind, but also purple/red kale and dino kale. Dino kale is very entertaining and really does look like my vision of dinosaur skin.
Thanks to my new commenter for pointing out this Eat More Kale site. Sounds like MR may need a new t-shirt...
My vacation starts today, as I am taking the afternoon off, so I was up at three in the morning finishing work that has to be done before I can leave. I'm not going anywhere, just cleaning out my closets and then my father and step-mother are coming to town to visit for my birthday at the end of the week!
This afternoon my friends are taking me out to lunch and then to the spa for a facial! We're all getting facials or massages.
I can't believe I am actually going to have a vacation. I may fall over dead. Wait, I can't do that, I'm a life-extensionist!
And in Februrary or March, we're making a trip to Big Cat Rescue! Me and my mom and our friend Lisa, that is. Not MR. He's got all the cat he needs over at Little Cat Rescue, aka our house.
Posted by april at 7:47 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
July 25, 2007
What Do You Eat?
I got a question from one of my favorite commenters and CR soulmates, the great Allswellinhell/Ashley Jedi Warrior Writer Goddess.
She asks: why don't you post what you eat like Robin does?
Well, mostly because I am just not as cool as Robin is.
That's the fact of the matter. Robin is my role model. I want to be Robin. I don't want to eat cereal, but other than that, I want to be Robin.
But I'm not. I'm April, and I am on the road a lot and I love to eat out. And I know enough to know that it's a foolish exercise to attempt to estimate those portions or calories. So I don't.
When I'm home or eating the delicious foods that either I pack for myself or MR packs for me, I could easily report on them. But here's the problem:
I'm afraid you'd get bored.
The fact is, I am much more of a Dean than anything else. I love to eat the same thing every day. I find a quotidian diet that works for me and I stick to it except for meals out or the occasional strange creation that I have to try at home.
I love cooking: it's my hobby, to be sure. I adore creating fabulous dishes for MR or other friends or family from the freshest, prettiest sexiest produce at the market. It's art. But to me, it's totally divorced from eating.
Here is what I like to eat.
KALE.
And MORE KALE.
So much kale you wonder why I'm not orange yet.
Here is my lunch of paradise:
KALE (100 grams)
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
2 tablespoons Trader Joe's salsa verde
avocado or olives, 100 cals worth
Glass of deep earthy Frenchy cab or dry crisp Frenchy rose
I eat that every weekend day, and quite a few weekdays (though minus the wine on weekdays unless it is a special occasion.)
My breakfast: 1 cup cottage cheese with 1 tablespoon Carolina Treet and 1 teaspoon flax oil.
My lunch almost every weekday: salad that MR makes me of napa, kale, green peppers and grape tomatoes, topped with 1 cup nonfat plain organic yogurt, some salsa or hot sauce, some almonds on the side (10 g).
My dinner almost every night when I'm home: a piece of nonfat cheese for an appetizer, or for an after dinner silly goofy cheese course with my wine (I love to say I'm having wine and cheese!), brewers yeast soup with veggies, or some veggies with cheese or yogurt or salsa and flax oil. Or olives or avocado.
Sometimes a frozen dinner, but MR doesn't like me to do that much and I know I shouldn't cause of the sodium and such much.
When I'm on the road I eat:
-- Subway Club salads
-- salads with grilled chicken or shrimp, vinegar on the side
-- too much off of other people's plates, but we're working on that.
I drink:
-- red wine
-- in the summer, occasionally a glass of pinot grigio or chardonnay
-- if the wine is disgusting at the bar, rum and Diet Coke with a lime.
I am not allowed to drink vodka with Diet Coke because vodka makes me mean. I pick fights after I have a vodka drink, then I have to spend the entire next week grovelling and promising not to do it again. All of my friends can attest to this. April + Vodka = scary woman from hell.
I rarely drink hard liquor anymore because a) it is a totally unredeemable source of empty calories b) it seems to give me circles under my eyes.
Today, I am on the road. For breakfast I was at home so I had cottage cheese as usual. For lunch I had... drum roll please...
A salad! With grilled shrimp! And yellow peppers, eggs (I ate the whites not the yolks) romaine, kalamata olives, tomatoes, and vinegar.
For dinner I had:
The exact same thing!!! Yes I did! Only this time I had it with a glass of chardonnay! Look at the variety! What an exciting lifestyle!
You see why I don't bother reporting my daily food intake? It's boring. But not to me. To me, it's the height of deliciousness. I love my real, ordinary foods. My simple to make, cheap, happy, easy to transport foods.
Sure, I love the occasional meal out, and I'm willing to eat simple, well-measured and balanced portions on other days to allow for the calories to eat out. Tomorrow night I'm going out to Blackfish to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of the day I took my current job. I'll have a light breakfast and skip lunch and be very good and hungry for the feast, then I'll settle right back down to 1200 calories a day, which is where I'm hanging out now on non-going out days, since in the post-campaign + birthday + vacation era seem to be once or twice a week.
My average is around 1600. I am doing Pilates and treadmill (though I didn't from Friday - Tuesday... couldn't bring myself to move much in my post-campaign exhaustion... was all I could do to buy the groceries and cook them up in a pan.)
I doubt that I will ever give up the occasional excellent restaurant meal out. And why would I? I don't mind the other days being lower. It's the eating off other folks' plates that gets me, and the allowing stress to be an excuse.
But the campaigns are over, and I've been doing well lately. Feeling quite good. Wonderful to be home and cooking for my angel.
So what if I'd rather just eat kale?
Posted by april at 5:02 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
July 24, 2007
When Working Eight Hours a Day Feels Like a Vacation
Two days in a row... eight hour days... okay, plus some calls from home at night but still... it feels like a vacation.
Tomorrow I'm back in Scranton cause we've got to get folks ready to negotiate a contract. Then Thursday I'm in negotiations on the one we won in May. Then my vacation starts!
Yes, a week off. Please try not to die of shock.
The first day, my friends are taking me to the spa for a facial. Then I'm spending a few days cleaning the house and organizing (the house, not the nurses) before the parents come to town for a visit.
I haven't had that much time off since a week off in 2005, so I'm not quite sure if I'll be able to handle it. My first nine years of organizing I didn't take any more than a long weekend off. It seems like there's always something. This time I've attempted to convince everyone at work that they should NOT CALL ME on work related matters... though they are welcome to call me just to hang out. They are, after all, my best friends. We will no doubt hang out at some point during the week. But no one is allowed to call me to a) ask how to print labels for a mailing b) ask "What is the message?" c) have some sort of crisis that could be easily solved by looking deep within oneself and asking, "What would April tell me to do?"
I've been cooking a lot since the campaign ended, and it's been wonderful for the soul. Played with zucchini, fresh jalepeno, all sorts of things. Some quick and easy cooking and some more elaborate. MR has been happy.
Watched hours of Big Cat Rescue videos. A fairly harmless hobby. My mom and I have decided that we're going to visit Big Cat Rescue this winter.
Not much else to say for now... off to Pilates first thing in the am, then to grab some flyers at the office, then back up to Scranton.
I feel like I should say something about the Harry Potter book because everyone is reading and commenting on it. Here is my statement:
I do not read Harry Potter. I have no problem with him, or the books, or those who do read Harry Potter, but I don't happen to do so, so I have no further comment.
Posted by april at 10:22 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
July 22, 2007
Would Jesus Have Us Eat Eggwhites?
I got a most perplexing comment this morning on the previous entry. For convenience, I'll repost it here:
Now egg whites are being rationed?! My God, what a living hell MR is in! The irony is that, for all this obsession on living forever, you can go out and get hit by a car tomorrow (or today).
I'm all for a low-calorie, healthy diet, and this bog and April's recipes are a great help (thanks April!); but this obsessing over the "latest study" in a bid to live forever is un Christian and mentally unhealthy.
Hmmmm. Un-Christian. Interesting. That's a new one.
I wonder if this is some sort of Leon Kass type of thing.
As to MR being in a living hell, I think he's addressed that one many times. Believe it or not, we're actually happier this way. Making decisions based on a rational evaluation of scientific evidence and thoughtful consideration of our own goals and priorities is actually more fun than responding on a minute to minute basis to social pressure, biological compulsion, and whatever marketers are trying to sell to us.
All religious traditions that I am aware of teach that a disciplined lifestyle can be more rewarding on every level, including spiritual and physical, than a life of simply responding to the environment. That doesn't mean being an ascetic, necessarily. But it does mean making choices in accordance with one's own beliefs and goals. If you're a Christian, it would seem to me that you would want to discern God's will for your life and attempt to conform your actions to same. MR doesn't happen to be a Christian, so he's not on about that project. But even if he were, I doubt that being a Christian would cause him to eat more eggwhites than he is currently consuming.
My father wrote an excellent book called Jesus and the Pleasures that goes into great detail about Jesus' relationship to the pleasures of this world. He frequently cites the passage:
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have life more abundantly".(John 10:10).
Our lifestyle of taking care of our bodies to the best of our knowledge and ability is all about having life more abundantly. Exercising self-discipline doesn't put one in hell.
You know what I think must be a living hell? The way so many people in this country live, where they exercise little or no control over what they put into their bodies. They constantly complain about their weight and watch their health deteriorate, but they lack the information and skills to do something about the problem. Waking up every morning saying, "Today will be different," and then continuing to take the same actions as the day before. Having lived both ways, I find it much more satisfying to do what I do now. Definitely much less hellish.
I've read a few times that the defition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
The more I read these bizarre trollish comments on my blog (though I'm glad the trolls consistently like my recipes) the more convinced I become that people are just plain threatened by the fact that someone, somewhere, lives a lifestyle that involves self-discipline in regards to food choices. The rest of the culture has come to believe that it is right and good to consume anything and everything one can, regardless of the consequences. The same engine of consumerism that drives America's epidemic of consumer debt drives the obesity epidemic. Consume, consume, consume! The second you start to exercise some choice in the matter, instead of responding to the drumbeat of "Consume!" you get labeled disordered, unAmerican, and as of late, unChristian.
I play nice most of the time. I try to consider the feelings of those who post trollish negative comments, and to either a) not respond or b) respond as pleasantly as possible. But sometimes I feel I sacrifice honesty in the attempt to be nice. Who really is the one with the problem here? Those of us who have ordered our lives in accordance with our goals, or those who feel compelled to write nasty comments about us?
We are not trying to "convert" anyone to CR. If you're interested, then do the research and make your own decisions. If you're not, but you enjoy the recipes, then I'm happy to have provided you with something you can use; feel free to leave the rest.
If you feel like posting nasty comments, I might just feel like taking you on.
Or not... sometimes I'm too busy with my work, my life, my wonderful fulfilling interactions with some of the most amazing people on earth, to take time responding to the comments of those who have nothing better to do than spread a little negativity throughout the blogosphere.
But every once in awhile, I just might treat myself to a tart response.
It is, after all, much lower in calories than a tart pastry.
Posted by april at 8:49 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
July 21, 2007
Filet of Yellow Zucchini with Wine Soaked Spring Onions
Here's another way to love and honor your zucchini. It's also a great Pick-Your-Own-Protein dish, as I did it with Quorn and eggwhites but it would be lovely with chicken, shrimp, scallops, tofu, or turkey.
I had a giant yellow zucchini from the Farmers' Market, so I sliced it longways, forming two zucchini filets. Then I finely diced my sweet spring onion and simmered it in one of my strong Italian reds for half an hour, stirring frequently. You could simmer for less time if you weren't concerned about cooking down the alcohol. I carefully arranged Quorn tenders and eggwhite chunks on top of the zucchinis, then topped with the wine/onion mixture. Finally, I topped the zucchini filets with 56 g fat free mozzarella. I chopped up a large amount of cauliflower and surrounded the zucchini filets with cauliflower on a large plate. Just before dinner, I'll pop them in the microwave for two minutes to lightly steam the veggies and melt the cheese, then I'll top with one teaspoon flax oil. MR is also getting a ricotta sundae on the side with hazelnuts, hazelnut oil and Walden Farms chocolate syrup.
You may notice that I'm cooking with fewer eggwhites. That's cause there's a new study on methionine restriction (not protein restriction) that MR is concerned about, so we're consuming fewer eggwhites. I don't have time to go into the details, and my brain is too shot from work to bother explaining it to you now, but I will get around to it eventually.
For now, go worship your zucchini, or zucchini in general if you have none.
But beware of zucchini envy... it frequently strikes people who lack gardens or convenient farmers' markets...
Posted by april at 8:21 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Tarragon Tower of Zucchini Power
It's a common debate in our household: is it a yellow zucchini, or is it a squash?
Well, this weekend it's resolved. I met a farmer who had both crookneck yellow squash and a bright yellow, nearly orange yellow zucchini. I love to make a sunshine plate with yellow zucchini cut into disks lining a big glass plate, topped with whatever. This time, I cut up a large yellow zucchini, lined the plate, topped with Quorn tenders, eggwhites, avocado chunks and nonfat ricotta, covered with tarragon vinegar, tarragon and dill, and then covered with a layer of green zucchini. Final top was another dollop of nonfat ricotta and a dash of dried tarragon, teaspoon of flax oil and another of olive oil. Tower of zucchini power!
Today's lunch was another zucchini creation: I took that giant zucchini that frightened MR yesterday when I got it out of its bag and sliced it thin to form the base of little zucchini pizzas. Topped with Quorn grounds, fat free mozzarella, and no-salt tomato sauce. I served a side of cream of spring onion soup on the side: a pink concoction made of fresh sweet purple onions from the Farmers' Market diced tiny, boiled in water with a dash of half salt, and then cooled, cup of nonfat plain organic yogurt stirred in at the last minute. I liked that one better than MR did, but he was so excited about the megamuffin nonfat ricotta sundae I made him with hazelnut oil, hazelnuts, and Walden Farms blueberry syrup that he could handle the not-rocking-his-world soup.
Tonight's dinner will get posted once it's done...
Posted by april at 5:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Big Cat Rescue
This isn't about CR, but it's how I unwind these days: watching videos of large cats who have been rescued from bad zoos, backyard breeders, or people who abandoned them after they realized that wild animals don't make good pets.
Check out Big Cat Rescue. The 2006 in review film is the best. Don't worry, the baby cougars turn out very happy in the end.
Back here at Little Cat Rescue, we're playing with zucchini all weekend. Zucchini recipes to follow. Today was very relaxing... got my hair done, nails done and toes done. Made lunch. About to make dinner. Listening to my favorite NPR shows.
Posted by april at 4:43 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 20, 2007
We Won
Hi all,
Well, Sara got married and I won my second election of the summer.
I need a lot of sleep.
I went to the Allentown Farmers' Market and bought every vegetable I wanted, including a huge zucchini that nearly frightened MR when I brought it out of the bag.
I'll write more when I have even the smallest amount of energy.
Posted by april at 3:32 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
July 18, 2007
Really Good Entry by Emi
I am too busy to write today so I'm going to let Emi do the talking for me by referring you to this entry, which I found excellent.
Posted by april at 11:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 15, 2007
Beets and Broccoli
Yes, we still have more beets. Everything is pink.
I was trying to think of something new to do with them, and the old Chinese restaurant dish "Beef and Broccoli" jumped to mind because it sounds like "Beets and Broccoli." So that's what I made. Beets, that is.
Simmered three raw beets (finely sliced) in water. Added 170 g Quorn tenders. Added a lot of broccoli. 1 tablespoon Trader Joy's low sodium soy sauce. Garlic powder. Teaspoon of olive oil before serving.
This would be really good with scallions I think but I didn't think of that till it was too late.
I'm serving a side of nonfat plain organic yogurt that MR fixes up with Walden Farms chocolate sauce, 1 teaspoon hazelnut oil and some hazelnuts.
I'm eating my quotidian salad for lunch, with Trader Joe's nonfat cottage cheese and salsa verde and avocado. I love avocado on the side of my salad. It's all very green.
What a preppy table. All pink and green today.
Tomorrow I'm back in Scranton and I'll be there all week. May not have much time to write, as things will be crazy busy. If anyone doesn't hear from me, fear not. If anything happens to me someone will let the blog know. Assume I'm just busy.
Posted by april at 12:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
A Pretty Common Misconception About CR
Oddly enough, it's a pretty common misconception about CR that CR means being in perpetual negative energy balance. Certainly, this is true during the initial phases, which result in weight loss. However (and this is why I preface with "oddly enough") if you were to continue to be in negative energy balance, eventually you would die. Literally waste away to nothing. That's no fun.
Another common misconception about CR is that it lowers your metabolic rate. It does, in the initial phases, just like any weight loss diet would. But over time, the specific metabolic rate (which means the metabolic rate per unit of metabolically active tissue) returns to normal when you find a sustainable energy balance (at your new lower weight) where you are no longer losing weight. Of course, the smaller, lighter person will require fewer total calories to be in energy balance than he or she did pre-CR. Fewer total calories. But, that doesn't mean that he or she is in constant energy deficit, or that his or her metabolic rate is actually slower. (This is the distinction between "basal" and "specific" metabolic rate ). MR had a period of strange weight loss, while he was eating exactly (and I mean exactly) the same number of calories when his metabolic rate jumped back up after the initial (fairly long, as he lost weight slowly like a sensible person) weight loss phase. During this time, he wasn't eating any less or being any more active, but he lost a little weight. His metabolic rate is now much more steady. That was years ago, of course.
Most people never really notice things like that since they don't carefully weigh and measure their food.
I don't buy Tony's "CR Calculator" because a) it's impossible to come up with a generic "control twin" for a human b) his "% CR" tells you what energy deficit you would have relative to a person of a given BMI (the "control twin".) It calculates total energy deficit (relative, again, to an arbitrarily-selected BMI), not degree of calorie restriction, and part of that energy deficit calculation is exercise which has nothing to do with degree of CR.
MR's "control twin" on Tony's calculator weighs more than the real MR ever weighed, eating ad lib (and that was a diet full of pizza parties and mac and cheese.) My "control twin" weighs 120, which was a weight at which I was moderately overweight, and eating a diet that I don't even want to think about now. Sure, I fit in on the height weight charts. But people vary, a lot.
What people do not do, however, is defy the laws of thermodynamics. Those who remain in constant energy deficit will lose weight. Did you ever see that weight loss calculator which tell you, in rather big letters, that at this rate of energy deficit, you will weigh NOTHING in x number of months and days? That's not the object of the game.
The final problem I have with Tony's "CR Calculator" is that it asks folks how many calories they eat. Very, very few people really, really know. Because they don't weigh and measure and they eat out a lot. That's fine, you can restrict yourself to somewhat (a few) fewer overall calories than you had before without knowing exactly precisely how many fewer. But a device that relies on people to accurately report their calorie intake is only going to work for about ten people who actually know how many calories they are eating for sure. I suspect that I can name those ten people. They are very nice.
Because the people who read my blog are in large part very nice as well, and I don't want them to pull a Julian Dibbell and eat way too few calories with the resulting too fast weight loss and becoming convinced that long term CR is impossible, I get rather touchy about impossibly low calorie number reports. I wrote a rather curt letter to Grazia after they misquoted me saying that I eat 1000 calories a day. Sure, I eat 1000 *some* days... but that is balanced off by days when I eat much more. If I ate 1000 calories a day, I would rapidly cease to exist, and that would cause great inconvenience to my cats. Since I can not bear the thought of inconveniencing a cat, I try to eat in a way that is responsible to my health. That means eating enough, while trying to eat no more than just enough, and getting the right nutrition. And not fixating on an arbitrary number but constantly readjusting my practice to improve my health and my quality of life.
This isn't a competition to see who can eat the fewest total calories. It's a long long journey into what we hope will be a healthy, vigorous future.
Posted by april at 5:56 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
July 14, 2007
It's worth eating 1200 calories a day all week if you can eat this on Friday night.
Robin averages 1500 - 1600 and weighs less than 100. I am shooting for 1600 right now (to account for my exercise, which is going very well thank you.) But I love the Philly restaurant scene, so I've got to make room in my averages for meals out. This week I've gone light in order to prepare for tonight's food fest. Today I had an eggwhite omlette with veggies for breakfast and then nothing till dinner. But it was worth the wait. YUM YUM YUM!!! Ahhhhhh! My friend Jim, the lawyer who likes to feed me, took me out tonight.
I'll just cross post my letter to the owners of James, a new Philly restaurant that I highly recommend:
Hi Kristina and Jim!
I just wanted to write to tell you personally what a wonderful experience I had at James last evening.
The second I walked in the door I loved the decor. It's elegant and unpretentious but also fun, much more so than the boring old "We're still doing Calvin Klein minimalism" style that you see in a lot of Philly restaurants. The spacing of the tables so that I can actually hear my dinner companion and not risk falling into the lap of the stranger at the next table if I trip on my handbag on the way back from the restroom is much appreciated. Kristina greeted us so warmly, and it's always an honor to meet one of the owners of the restaurant. The room where we sat had the beautiful mini-chandiliers, which I thought were an inventive, fun touch.
Robert took care of us, and he was one of the best servers I've had in a long time. What really impressed me was how he explained the menu in a way that didn't make us feel silly for not quite knowing which dishes were appetizers and which were not! We were clearly staring in some confusion at the menu sheet, and he jumped right in with the answers to our unspoken questions. I find that in Philly restaurants, a lot of times the servers are so concerned with appearing professional that they won't chat, which makes me feel less welcome in their establishment. Robert chatted with us quite a bit, but also kept a good distance if we were engaged in conversation.
Onto the food. The olive roll was so light and sweet it was almost like a blueberry muffin! I loved it. And when I mentioned that it might go well with hazelnut oil, Robert got some hazelnut oil from the kitchen!
I had the chilled avocado cucumber and shrimp soup, and I was glad to see that you're not pureeing everying in sight. I do love the chilled purees I've had lately at Blackfish, but it was a relief to see someone actually putting chunks of avocado into a broth. It's always fun when the soup is poured at the table (though I'll admit it did confuse me the first time I saw it happen.)
My dinner companion had the risotto milanese appetizer, and I think it was my favorite dish of the night. Unbelievable!!! I said to Robert, "I could eat this for breakfast every day for the rest of my life." I was tempted to order it for dessert... then I read the dessert menu... but more about that in a minute.
I will have more of that risotto. Next time I come over, I'll be ordering that. The two bites I had off my friend's plate were nowhere near enough of such a heavenly creation.
For entrees, I had the hand rolled gargarnelli, cockle & celery broth, crisp house cured pancetta. I'm not a huge eater, so eating an appetizer portion was just right for me. I also almost never eat pasta, but as Robert had explained that the pastas were among the best dishes, I wasn't going to miss out. I'm so glad I ordered it! It was just perfect. The crisp pancetta was a special treat on top.
My friend ordered the hand cut pappardelle with duck ragu, shaved chocolate & orange. AHHHHHH! Scary good. I had several bites. He's used to this sort of thing... eating off other people's plates is my weakness in life, but when you're at a great restaurant, you've got to try everything, right?
Then onto dessert. Well, first cheese. We had the cheese sampler with five cheeses. I wish I had written down their names, but they were excellent. The sheep's blue was my favorite, though the smoked something or other was also amazing. I'd have to say, I thought you were getting a little crazy with the candied fennel: who candies fennel? Appparently you do. But it was fun! Makes me wonder if you could make candied kale... but that's a project for another day.
Then dessert. We shared the trio of ice creams, one scoop per ice cream. The goat cheese ice cream rivaled the risotto as my favorite dish of the night. Goat cheese ice cream: can they do that? It somehow managed to be cheesy yet creamy, sweet yet not really sweet, just plain weird but absolutely fabulous. "Ingenius!" I kept exclaiming the entire ride home.
My friend with whom I was dining is the wine expert, so he ordered us an Italian wine that was one of the best I've had in a long time. I'll find out what it was (should have taken notes!) but it was the kind of Italian wine that I love most. I'm not educated in wines at all, but I drink a lot of Moore Brothers wine and I've fallen in love with Eurpoean wines that taste like they recently came out of the ground. This wine was like those, only more so.
For an after dinner drink I had the lavender cosmo, which was a fun way to end the evening (especially since I wasn't driving!) Loved the leychee nut at the bottom of the drink.
I couldn't leave without making a reservation for a future visit. My parents will be in town for my birthday in August and we'd already reserved a table at Gayle's for the actual date, but we'll be visiting you the next day, August 3. I may not be able to stay away, so I might see you before then! Everything about the experience at James was fantastic. I can't think of a single complaint. Even the restroom was lovely!
Thank you for such a memorable evening. I look forward to seeing you again soon!
You see folks, doing CR doesn't mean giving up fine dining. And it certainly doesn't dull your tastebuds... if anything, it makes you more alert to the flavors you meet. But the balancing it out does take some effort... I'll be back on 1200 tomorrow, and 1200 most of the week following. Because I have another dinner out planned. It's not for everyone, but I'm finally realizing that I do best when I take my natural snake nature into account: I like to eat a lot and then spend some time digesting it, and while I'm digesting I eat a lot fewer calories. As yet, I am not eating live rodents, but you never know.
Keep in mind that 1200 is a low point in my average: my real average is closer to 1600, and as of late (campaign stress, blah blah blah) has been higher than that. Do not think that you can eat 1200 a day every day unless you are shorter than I am and completely inactive. Awhile back a woman posted to CR that she weighed 98 pounds at 4'10" and ate 1200, and I said to myself, "Wow, someone who actually knows how much she eats!" Cause you have to be that little to eat that little. I used to think I could go that low, but it's just unreasonable: I'm not half the size of MR, I'm 5/6th the size of MR, and he eats 1913, so it's absurd to think I'd be eating nearly half of that.
Anyhow, enough of my rant. Go make your reservations at James.
Posted by april at 2:38 AM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
July 12, 2007
Flood
There's a flood in our basement, I'm in Scranton working, so MR is heroically dealing with.
Ate a big salad today.
Posted by april at 3:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 8, 2007
Isn't this something that could have come to my attention yesterday?
Is that a proper quote of the Joan Cusack line from "In and Out?"
This is what I said to MR when he explained that he had taken the filter off the garlic powder jar. You know, the thing that keeps all the garlic powder from jumping directly into the dish? Yeah, well, I knew it was broken, but it was usually affixed to the spice jar. No more. Not now.
MR came running down the stairs because I screamed. Really, really loud. I quickly followed up the shriek with an exclamation that I'm fine, I'm not hurt, I haven't been attacked or burnt or confronted with a rabid Krispy Kreme donut. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes, but I can't say the same for your lunch."
I was just going to add a shake of garlic to a creation of beet green stems (pink!), yellow squash, cauliflower, and tarragon with plain yogurt, stirred together for a cold soup for a hot summer day. Oh well.
MR had a flash of genius and fetched the collander, put the doused veggies in it, and we washed them. Now my hands smell like garlic but there's nothing wrong with that!
He says that he threw out the garlic fliter thingy (proper name?) yesterday. Wish he had mentioned it...
Posted by april at 12:11 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
On the Other Side of No Tomorrow
Katy tried
I was halfway crucified
I was on the other side of no tomorrow
-- Steely Dan, "Dr. Wu"
"'After the campaign,' we always say at this point in the campaign," I have been known to say over and over again to my staff. Less than two weeks out from our second major election of the summer and we are all fried and exhausted and imagining what our lives might be like if we didn't work twenty-four hours a day. It becomes a habit to list things one will do "after the campaign" in a misty tone of voice, much like the one my father used to use to describe all the things he'd do after I graduated from college. "After the campaign" I'll eat better, "After the campaign," I'll clean the house, "After the campaign" I'll work out.
During my last campaign, the one we won on May 16, I had all those familiar "Nothing matters until this is won" feelings. I let my CR go, the house was a disaster, and the water company was lucky if it got paid anytime close to the due date of the bill. My friends and family are used to the fact that a month out from an election I pretty much disappear. Leading up to that date, one really does think of almost nothing else. But to put it in perspective, in my career I've averaged one major election per year, maybe a bit less. While work can be insanely busy and crazy and nuts, it's not usually quite as all-consuming soul-destroying exhausting I just want it to be over as it is a month out from an election.
This year, as all are aware, we have two major elections, two months apart. So I finished one and went on to the second, straight away. To add to that, the person who was supposed to be the primary organizer on campaign two became a new father three weeks before my first major election, so I've had to cover for him during his three and a half week leave and during the times when he wants to be home to care for his wife and child. And his wife works for us too, but is now out on six month leave, causing me to have to cover part of her job while my partner in running the organization has to cover the other parts of her job. So we're all stretched to the limit.
However, one can't exactly let the nurses suffer for all this, so I just keep working. I have some pretty heroic co-workers who have done above and beyond the call of duty to make everything work out in the midst of an intense fight. I am so proud of my two girl organizers, who continue to prove their absolute exceptionalness on a daily basis.
But I really wish they would stop ordering yummy appetizers.
Because it's really hard to resist the nachos, the hummus, the mussels, the bruchetta, when you're too stretched, too stressed, but too dedicated to quit.
Of course I can do it. The devil did not make me eat those nachos, nor did the nurses, nor did the co-workers, nor did the evil spirit of nacho and margarita hell coming back from years ago to haunt me. I can choose not to eat gak, just like I can choose to eat my healthy food. Sometimes I wonder if I just do these things as a reminder that yes, I really do feel better when I'm on my CR game. Makes me laugh at the internet trolls who say things like, "You don't live longer, it just feels like longer!" The way I feel after eating a meal of Standard American Crap is just, well, crappy. I wouldn't want to live like that for 100 years... in fact, I don't want to live like that for half an hour! But I guess if you've never known any other way, you don't know what it's like to really feel good. I know that before CR, I never felt as vibrantly healthy, energetic, alert, happy, calm, etc. as I do when I'm in my CR groove. And now I know what I'm missing when I'm not in the groove.
The irony of course is that I need my health the most when I'm under the most stress, and those are exactly the times when it's so easy to say, "I'm so stressed, so I'll eat the (insert name of gak.)"
Please don't post a host of comments saying, "Don't beat up on yourself," "It's okay to eat crap now and then." I'm not beating up on myself, feeling guilty, or otherwise engaging in stupid food-related self-talk. I'm making an observation that some of my recent food choices haven't served me well, and that I have to take some steps to avoid making the same mistakes in future. For instance, I need to just tell my co-workers straight up that I can't keep eating like they do, and that it's fine with me that they eat whatever they happen to wish to eat, but that I won't be sharing the appetizers. I just have to get it out there, because as much as the appetizers are yummy and I can eat like that every few weeks and have it not even make a dent in my overall health and well-being, I can't do it on a daily or even weekly basis and not come out feeling icky. My friends are super-supportive once I tell them where I'm at with this stuff... in fact, several of them come to me for weight loss advice, and if I am chilling out on the appetizer action it might even help them opt for lower cal choices.
The fact is, life will always present a host of excuses, if we choose to take them. Part of being a responsible adult, I've thought for awhile now, is being able to make a reasoned decision about your long term goals, and then act in accordance. My long term goals are very different from most people's, so my actions will often be different. For instance, most people don't want to help the nurses in Pennsylvania get a voice on the job and reform the health care system. So most people wouldn't be interested in working the long hours, dealing with the emotional stress, and giving up stuff like having kids in order to do an unusual but unusually rewarding job. Fine, don't. We're actually not hiring right now. I don't blame people for wanting to live "normal" lives... sometimes I think I might like one. But I'm weird, I love what I do, the people I work with, and the possibility of making the world a better place in my own little orbit. There are many ways to make a contribution, this is mine. It comes with a price, and I've made a well-thought out (oh how well thought out!) decision that I'm willing to pay the price.
Most people don't want to pay much attention to what they eat, so they certainly wouldn't be interested in CR. Cool. No one is trying to convert anyone.
But there is no question that we live in an obesogenic food environment, where high calorie, low nutrient foods surround us at almost all times. As Bruce Hornsby once said, "Look out any window," or rather, "Read any menu." There's a lot of bad and not a lot of good. I spend most of my time outside my house, in that obesogenic environment, so it just takes more self-discipline to keep from giving into the biological programming to eat the food.
The end of a campaign feels like there is no tomorrow... like the world will end on election day. Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die! But the fact is, eating and drinking too much doesn't make me merry, it makes me miserable! (Yes, maybe it makes you absolutely ecstatic, but we're talking about me.) And I won't die on July 20, or at least I doubt that I will. I'll go on living, go on organizing, and go on wanting to be young and healthy in body and mind. So I'm not going to use this campaign as an excuse to eat crap. Excuses don't make me feel good: taking care of myself does.
The good news is: exercise is going great! Pilates + treadmill, every day but one. The stress reduction benefits are amazing, and I love the way my body is changing. I've got about five pounds extra campaign weight on, which is gradually disappearing, but the muscle under it is already quite visible and feels great! I've also noticed lately that if I have more than one glass of wine, I start to rattle on like an evangelist about the benefits of Pilates. It's just the greatest exercise. Easy, efficient, beautiful, powerful. I wish I had started exercising when I first started CR. There's no way I'll let my exercise routine go now that I've discovered how many benefits it has.
There are so many reasons people offer for putting off life. Post-CR, I can never say that I'll do x after I lose weight! Too late for that... I actually had to do all those things I might have wanted to put off! These days, I know what it takes to feel my very best. I've known it for a long time, and I've spent large parts of the last three years feeling extremely good. Time to put it all back together. Not in two weeks, not after the campaign, now.
So I'm going to go measure 100 g kale (that's a lot of kale!) and go on with my life.
Posted by april at 8:51 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
July 7, 2007
Beets!
My mom gave us more Lancaster beets. MR ate the beet greens this morning in his breakfast. I'm now cooking the beets.
I steamed the beets in water and tarragon vinegar and added 85 g Quorn and some eggwhites to bump up the protein. Now I'm serving it over a plate of cold napa cabbage with raw broccoli and raw yellow squash, topped with tarragon and pomegranete balsamic vinegar, and another top off of pomegranete balsamic vinegar on top, crowned with chopped avocado and olive oil. The hot ingredients slightly cook the raw veggies, but they're not overcooked.
Beets!
Posted by april at 10:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 4, 2007
All She Wants To Do Is Sleep
I am home for today, as in located in the town where I own a house, but I am spending the entire day working. Did manage to hit the gym first thing, between 7 am literature revisions and 9 am staff meetings. Holiday? Right. That's for people who aren't two weeks out from an election.
I am just so tired. Maybe it's because I woke up at 4 am on Monday to hit the road by 5 to be at meetings by 7:30 and then worked late (cause there is nothing other than working late in our line of work) and then had early meetings on Tuesday then drove home and didn't make it home till after 8 pm because people kept calling me needing direction/assistance/other so finally I just stopped at a Turnpike stop to deal with it all instead of talking while driving.
Food is okay, I guess. Not much time to think about it. My body looks a bit strange to me... a tiny bit of post-campaign weight gain lingering from the last one, but Pilates + treadmill + weight lifting muscle under it and I definitely do not look skinny, but I can't complain. Two weeks out from an election is not a time when one thinks about one's appearance, other than to make sure that one looks professional, and puts on enough make-up that the nurses do not confuse one with a zombie or a vampire.
I am cooking dinner tonight, which will be nice. I need to think about something other than the campaign for twenty seconds.
Posted by april at 1:28 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 1, 2007
July Challange, Beet Vinegar, and the Importance of Wearing Purple
When I was small, a huge treat was to go to the big salad bar at the local Southern steakhouse (Golden Corrall, to be exact) for a gargantuan salad. My mom and I would dress up and go to meet her best friend at the only place in our small Southern town where you could get a decent salad. I was so excited to be included in big girl activities: to me, eating a huge salad was a marker of being a woman. It cemented my lifelong love of salad bars.
My mother taught me most of the things a woman needs to know: how to deflect the attentions of a man you're not interested in... what to order as an appropriate drink at a bar... how to fend for myself, work hard and make my own money and never expect a man to take care of me... and how to navigate the perils of a salad bar.
Today, one of my mother's lessons comes back to me. BEETS STAIN.
Permanently. Those beautiful purple beets on the salad bar will make giant purple spots on your lovely white Southern summer dress, little one. So be careful. Learn how to eat your beets so they don't end up on your dress.
My mom gave MR some fresh beets from the Lancaster Farmers' Market. Currently, I am marinating chopped raw beets in tarragon white wine vinegar. Once I'm done (about two hours of marinating) I'm going to drain off the vinegar and keep it: beet vinegar!!! I may even take it to Scranton where I'll be spending most of the week. Luke, my co-worker who will also be working in Scranton, is a vinegar junkie just l like I am, and I think he'd enjoy the beet vinegar. Anyhow...
I think I'll saute the beets in dry chardonnay. Same chardonnay as last night's culinary adventure (btw, Mizzi, it was a sweet pepper but not a bell pepper, hence the confusion of naming.) Then I'll serve them over some other vegetable, maybe squash, with nonfat ricotta in little puffs on top and something or other else. Will keep you posted.
I happen to be wearing the perfect outfit in which to chop beets. A deep purple t-shirt and black yoga pants. I just came from the gym. I've been working out every day, doing at least twenty minutes but more like forty most days on the treadmill, followed by 20 minutes of Pilates at home or in my hotel room or wherever. It's so tempting to let everything go to hell during the last week of a major campaign, but I just can't let that happen again. There will never be a time when I'm not busy, so I have to take care of myself today, tomorrow, and indefinitely. I don't feel at my peak work performance when I'm not at my peak health, and I don't want to sacrifice my stress reducing exercise. So this weekend I'm working and exercising and working some more. And cooking!
Which brings me to my July challenge.
I will work out every day in July, except for July 19, which is our actual election day during which I will have not even five minutes of a break from 4 am until 10 pm.
I will do at least 20 minutes of cardio. I will do at least 10 minutes of Pilates. I will aim for 40 minutes treadmill and 20 minutes Pilates. I will take Pilates class whenever I am in town.
I got this idea from Jake, of course. The thirty day challenge is a great way to break your previous limits and adopt a new, healthier habit. I have to make this exercise thing a priority, and I need some public accountability to do that. So there you have it. I'll check in...
Posted by april at 10:44 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
It's A Green That Can Hold Its Own
On Wednesdsay, I had a lunch meeting with Edward and Susie at a favorite local eatery, the place where they already know that I'm ordering the Cobb salad with no bacon, no blue cheese, no dressing, and plain vinegar on the side. I had just gotten back from Scranton, and I was trying to fit a million things into an already packed day. MR needed some napa cabbage, and since we have only one car and I needed it all day, I was in charge of going to the store to grab the napa.
So we sit down to read the menu at restaurant and I see that another dish features napa cabbage.
"I wonder," I wonder out loud, "if they'd let me buy a head of napa cabbage from the kitchen."
Edward starts to shake his head. "No, no you can't," he says. "You can not ask for a head of napa cabbage."
"Why not?" I ask. "It's not like I'm asking for a gift. I'd be happy to pay a fair market price for the cabbage."
"If you do that," he says, "I am going to tell everyone that I am not with you."
Susie is giggling at this point.
"Edward, what are you going to do? Ask the restaurant to call security and have me removed from your table?"
"Why do you like napa cabbage so much anyway?" asked Susie, attempting to avert a fight by changing the subject to nutrition.
"It's a green that can hold its own," said I. "It's pleasantly crunchy, and it's strong enough that you can use it in place of a cracker in an appetizer.
"And," said Edward, repeating a line that he uses often in discussions of food, but that every once in awhile accurately describes reality, "It's a great source of zinc."
Truth be told, it's not a super super great source of zinc, but it's low in copper while high in zinc, which is important for zinc/copper balance.
So there you go.
The moral of the story is: sometimes you have to compromise to maintain the peace on the job. Like the elusive zinc/copper balance, there's a balance between unusual food behavior (like asking for the dressing on the side, or asking the chef to hold certain ingredients) and goofiness that will send your co-workers right round the bend. I strive for balance, and usually I hit it right. There's CR in the real world: it's not easy but it can be done. Then there's attempting to buy napa cabbage from a chef, which is not at all necessary for CR and is downright bizarre behavior. But you'd have to admit, it makes a funny story.
Posted by april at 11:28 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack