This blogger is going to lose weight eating real food only. Nothing processed or canned or packaged frozen meals or etc. Something to aspire to, certainly. I think we do a good job of that. Our freezer contains a tub of peach sorbet, some whole wheat waffles, and um... tater tots. And ice cubes.

The Farmers Market in my town finally reopened this past Saturday. I plan to make it a regular weekend trip.

Though I'll have no need to buy any $5/lb tomatoes. I now have nine healthy tomato sprouts. I am going to have so much lovely fresh fruit for free this summer.

Tags: food, links

The "baby" carrot lie.

I can't stand "baby" carrots. They don't even taste like real carrots, and they are not immature at all, rather they are chunks of unattractive full-grown carrots that have been cut to uniform size, peeled, rinsed, packaged, and sold at an incredibly high markup.

Real carrots on the other hand, are sweet and delicious, cheap, and so easy to prepare that it's totally absurd that people gravitate toward the stumpy, overpriced alternative.

Do yourself a favor, buy some big orange whole carrots in bulk, and a stalk of celery too, while you're at it. Spend three minutes rinsing, peeling, and chopping. Now you have a couple days' worth of snacks. Better, cheaper, and fresher than the prepackaged versions.

Tags: food, links

Last night I ate leftover brown rice with cheese on it for dinner. And some frozen blueberries. I felt pretty crummy about it, and found myself thinking about the lack of thought I've been putting into my diet. I've been working out more lately, but not really eating conscientiously. Like, earlier in the day I ate Kettle Chips and onion dip (made with yogurt). It made me feel kinda groce.

I really don't want to be eating ANYTHING that makes me regret doing so right afterward.

Okay so I sat down last night and made a list of foods I want to be eating, ones that are low in sugar and fat and unprocessed. Need to go shopping today.

Breakfast today was: scrambled egg whites with a little bit of leftover rice, roasted red peppers, a tablespoon of tomato sauce, and a sprinkle of grated cheese. Served over a slice of wheat toast. No butter or oil.

I made lunch right after my 30-minute strength training workout, which followed forty minutes of running/walking: slice of wheat toast with natural peanut butter and little bit of good honey; half of a green apple; half of a banana; handful of almonds; some chopped cucumber; one lowfat fig newton. It was yummy and none of it made me feel yucky.

I'm excited about the strength training. We do it three times a week and we record what we do so that we can steadily challenge ourselves. It has been missing from my workouts. I used to have these incredibly cut arms, a long time ago. That would be fun to have again.

Tags: fitness, food

This is what I made for breakfast this morning:



French toast made with fresh French bread and an egg custard infused with orange juice and nutmeg. It was delicious.

Later we went for a run. Total distance was three miles, though I probably only jogged for a third of that due to my lack of endurance. However we did do a couple of hundred meter sprints. Sprinting is my favorite running style. It's fun and you get to go fast.

We got home and stretched, then I weighed myself. I hadn't been on the scale since before Thanksgiving, so I should not have been too shocked that I have put on five pounds. The weather in December kept me from walking every day. Bleah.

So I took a shower and for lunch we're having brown rice and vegetables. :D

Tags: fitness, food

It didn't rain today. We walked downtown and visited the used book shop, then got apple ciders. It was actually quite lovely. On our way home we got a nice clear look at the Mount Olympus, covered with snow. And Greek gods.

Earlier today I went to the market to get a few last-minute items for dinner tomorrow. It was only noon, but the place was absolutely nuts with people. I had to park illegally! Which is totally okay in this town, on xmas eve. I wanted to get some Bailey's liquor but then remembered again that here in WA, that requires a trip to the State Liquor Store. Oh well. I was done shopping and went home.

The cranberry apple crisps are in the oven. Mmm. I think I am going to pre-make the meatballs tonight and put them in the fridge overnight. More time saved, more time to work on my current knitting project: fingerless gloves that are being knit "in the round", on a frame of tiny double-pointed needles. It's about as complicated as it sounds and I will probably screw it up, but I'm determined. Luckily my mom will be here tomorrow to help.

Tags: food, knitting

A delicious holiday dessert, which I am making right now:

+ + +

Fresh pineapple poached in cinnamon syrup

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
3 cinnamon sticks (or 2 tsp ground cinnamon)
3 1/4-inch-thick slices peeled fresh ginger (or in my case, a piece of ginger candy)
1 1/4-inch-thick slice fresh lemon
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 3/4-inch-thick chunks

Stir water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, ginger and lemon in heavy large pot over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring syrup to boil; cover and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Add pineapple and simmer until pineapple is just translucent, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Transfer pineapple and syrup to bowl. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.

+ + +

Today has been rainy, and we stayed inside watching a marathon of the best reality/game show in history: The Mole, starring the delightful Anderson Cooper.

Tags: food

Sun came out today, so I walked three miles. At the midway point I stopped for a coffee and read a couple of essays in my library book, including a very interesting piece by Malcolm Gladwell about the phenomenon of six degrees of separation.

Brian is at hapkido. For dinner I am making roasted vegetables (red potatoes, carrots, acorn squash) tossed in a vinaigrette of olive oil, shallots, balsamic, salt and pepper, and sprinkled with diced sharp cheddar. Plus I'm going to throw in some avocado because I have a perfectly ripe one and wanted to eat it. Mmm.

Nice to have vegetarian meals once or twice a day. I am cutting back on red meat.

Tags: books, food

possible holiday dinner menu at our house:

hungarian cucumber salad
toasted israeli cous cous
sesame lamb meatballs with minted yogurt
cranberry apple crisp

who needs ham and mashed potatoes?

Tags: food

1. Just finished making a Mediterranean chicken pasta salad. The dressing is a tarragon/olive oil/mustard/lemon juice/balsamic vinegarette, and it includes elbow noodles, diced kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, pine nuts, tomato, cucumber, diced chicken, and golden raisins. It is chilling in the fridge and is going to be so good.

2. On the stove: a stockpot full of simmered stock, as well as celery, carrot, potato, and onion, and various chicken bones and flesh hanging off of a dismembered bird carcass. I plan to use the strained stock in a minestrone soup this weekend.

3. There is still a dish of squash in the fridge, and a pitcher of excellent homemade gravy. I will combine these two for lunch tomorrow.

Ok now officially hungry.

Tags: food

I got a lot done today. Crossed off almost everything on my to-do list. Right now, a banana bread is baking in the oven and making the house smell wonderful. The sky has been clear and blue all day. As soon as the banana bread is done, I'm going for a walk. Though to be honest, I kind of want a nap right now.

monday!

Tags: food