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May 30, 2009
The Decision To Quit Caffeine
The decision was not difficult. It started several months ago with the realization that drinking full-caf coffee made me anxious. So I quit full caf coffee and switched to decaf, but was still drinking diet sodas with full caffeine. The caffeine in diet soda is much, much less than in coffee, but it's still there. Within the last few days I've quit drinking caffeinated diet sodas, and switched to entirely caffeine free sodas. My anxiety is dramatically decreased, in spite of extreme stress at work. Those of you who have anxiety know that it's a separate phenomenon from worry: it's not necessarily *about* anything, though it pretends to be. It's a generalized fear that makes your mind spin over and over again on the same pointless point, and it can be anything from distracting to debilitating.
I am still drinking green tea, which is very low in caffeine, but I don't think I would have more than one cup at a time. I strongly urge anyone who has anxiety problems to try cutting back on caffeine. I suffered my entire life with anxiety and it's been almost eliminated simply by cutting out caffeine. If you don't have anxiety and you love your coffee, drink up! I don't think it has negative health effects, I just find that it causes anxiety for me.
Meanwhile, work is crazy, life is wonderful, and I am cooking with rhubarb while making get out the vote calls for the election that is Wednesday!
Posted by april at 3:31 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 28, 2009
Twins
Those of you who have been around since 07 remember the Twins, the two organizing campaigns I ran at the same time, one in Philly, one in Scranton. Two of my favorite readers were nurse leaders on each of those campaigns!
Well, now I'm really having twins. I have two elections within three weeks of each other: June 3, and June 17 - 18. That means I'm not doing anything other than working, so I apologize for the bloggie silence, and I warn you that there may be more blog silence for the next three weeks.
I'm still CR'ing, trying to fight off conference room food and avoid weight gain with the twin campaigns. I've developed a quotidian diet of cottage cheese, flax oil, salad, yogurt, almonds, and my superfood bag o'veggies cooked in eggwhites casserole that I'm pretty much sticking to five days a week, then when I go out with non-CR'd friends (is that what the kids are calling it these days?) I can eat a bit more liberally. Also keeping up with my yoga practice because I have noticed that if I don't, I rapidly start to go nuts. It's hard because the work time pressures are near impossible, but I'm doing the best I can.
So expect vigorous blogging in late June, after I pick myself up from the dead sleep I plan to be in for at least a day.
And look for the next chapter... we have three new campaigns beginning...
Posted by april at 4:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 13, 2009
The New Superfood
2 cups eggwhites
1 bag frozen veggies
2 oz nonfat mozzarella
microwave the eggwhites and veggies in a pyrex covered dish for as long as it takes to cook the eggs most of the way through. It's good to thaw the veggies in advance and drain them. Then let the eggs sit, then cook a little longer till firm. Top the part you want to eat with one oz cheese, microwave till the cheese melts. Eat half at a time. Super high protein and if you use broccoli, cauliflower and carrots like I do, super-cruciferlicious.
This is my new superfood. I can eat it for any meal, anytime, and it re-microwaves really well.
Posted by april at 2:32 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 4, 2009
The Need to Eat a Bag of Frozen Vegetables Every Day
Oriental Blend. Italian Blend. Avoiding Soup Mix because it's pretty high calorie for a bag of frozen veggies. Sometimes just broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, or just broccoli and cauliflower. Trader Joe's Harvest Hodgepodge.
In chicken-free chicken stock. In beef stock. In pseudo clam chowder with a can of clams and a can of fire roasted tomatoes. Or just on a plate, covered with two tbsps Lewis Labs brewers yeast and a teaspoon of flax oil. In a casserole with eggwhites and Campbell's low fat cream of mushroom soup.
Almost everyday now.
Definitely healthier for me than conference room food, Lean Cuisines or even the long lost South Beach Diet wraps.
The strange thing is that I never was much of a volume person. I didn't need large amounts of food, as long as the calories weighed in right. In fact, I couldn't eat the huge plates of veggies that MR so joyously consumes.
But now, for some reason, I require a bag of frozen vegetables on a daily basis.
Quite a good thing. Lin will be glad that I'm getting my cruciferous veggies in. MR is glad I'm overdoing it on the veggies. The makers of generic frozen veggies are lining their pockets with the profits from my fro-veg addiction.
In a world where there are so many mysteries to ponder, this is a minor issue, I realize. But since the blog is about food, I figured I'd better write something food related. And I haven't been doing that much creative cooking, so fro-veg it is.
Posted by april at 9:46 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Grand Pronouncements To Come... But Not Tonight
I'm not dead, just busy with work.
I have not given up CR, though conference room food has been a challenge.
MR's father and step-mother were over this weekend, and though I had to work more than I would have liked to, I did manage to spend some time with them, and we had a great time.
I made:
carrots and celery with spinach artichoke dip
scallops in white wine with garlic and lemon
arugula salad with homemade salsa, guacamole, tomatoes, green peppers
hazelnut pear dessert pizzas
veggie dip with carrots and celery
a pinwheel of portabella pizzas: regular pizza, taco mushroom, and mushroom cheeseburger
Caesar Quorn arugula salad
mangos in white zinfandel with cinnamon
My sleep schedule is messed up due to flipping from early morning meetings to late night shifts at the hospital, so I've been up since 2 am but now it's almost half past four and I'm going to try to get a nap before Pilates class and another day of work.
More reflections and recipes soon!
Posted by april at 2:13 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack