One Year Later

Renewing my commitment.

I promise to cook. I promise to go to the gym. I promise to be aware of my drinking. I promise to avoid Ramen.

But like all New Year's Resolutions these will have no power if I don't do something else first...

I must schedule them.

My new iPod will be the best friend I can have for this purpose. If I schedule it I will have another layer of accountability. And the iPod has a calendar built into it. I will cook on Mondays and Saturdays. I will go to the gym on Saturdays, Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I will Blog on Thursdays and Sundays and/or Mondays.

Short term goal...

To lose 10 lbs by the end of February

Mid-length goal...

To lose an additional 10 lbs by June

Longer term goal...

To lose an additional 10 lbs by Labor Day

Obstacles...

My new lifestyle...I have recently begun going out to the club much more regularly and the drinking has therefore increased. Unlike last year I am not willing to forgo the alcohol for the weight loss. This means I will have to work doubly hard and be more aware of my alcohol intake.

The continuation of my former lifestyle...In that I am working 2 part time jobs and still broke. I need to remember to eat breakfast even though I am generally frazzled in the mornings, and more difficult...eat lunch after I have been cooking for 4 hours or so. Working with food really kills my appetite.

Original starting weight...207lbs (or so)

Current weight...186lbs

2009 weight goal...156lbs

Ultimate weight goal...125lbs

Today's log:

Food: No breakfast. Lunch was leftover Chinese food...Mai Fun (rice noodle dish) and some stir fried mixed vegetables with a Red Bull. Dinner was half of a ham and provolone sandwich with spinach a dill pickle and some mayo on a French roll. Post Dinner...an Effen Cherry Red Bull at the club and I am making some pasta right now for eating before I go to bed.

Exercise: Went to the gym and used the Elliptical trainer for 45 minutes went 3 miles! Did a little dancing at the club.

Where did I go wrong?

Comming up on my one year anniversary in just over a week. How did I do?


Well...I did great right up until April. I did pretty good for 4 month. What do I want??!? A cookie?!

I didn't completely fuck up though...I did lose some weight. I did make some lasting changes to my life.

I didn't stick to the plan though. I never realized how much losing my job would screw up my plans. I wasn't employed again until August - the end of August! Blame it on the economy.

But what happened then. I got a job...I should have jumped right back on the diet train but I didn't. WTF?

I don't know. I wish I did. I will however use the oldest excuse in the American Lexicon...I didn't have the time.

So...Where do I stand?

Weight: 187lbs (down from a starting weight of roughly 208lbs)
Average meals cooked in a week: 0 (yes, you read that right...I don't cook anything anymore. I suck...I know.
Average number of breakfasts eaten in a week: 3 (I know... seriously...Last year I would have rather faced a firing squad than miss breakfast and now I am a habitual skipper)
Average times I get to the gym in a week: 1 (I am being kind here. I get to the gym like 3 times a month and they generally are all in the same week)
Alcoholic drinks at home in a week: 0 (this much is still in effect. I will have on average 1 drink at home in a month but it is usually to try something someone else is drinking.)
Alcoholic drinks in a week out: 2 (in a normal week, the first weekend a month is Leather and Lace at the Inferno and then it is more like 5 or 7 drinks but that is only at the club)
Ramen consumption: 0 (with the exception of the couple times I was sick and then I only had a few and stopped eating them when I was better)

How can I do better?

I'm wondering how I could do worse.

Joking aside...I really do see now how much blogging made a difference. I was answerable to this media for my actions and inactions. If I want to keep losing weight I need to:
1.) Blog at least once a week. More often if I can make the time to do so.
2.) Freaking eat breakfast everyday.
3.) Cook at home (this one is hard because I cook for a living now...I know it sounds counter-intuitive but...remember the friends episode with the gynecologist..."Do you ever come home from work and not want to look at another dress?")
4.) Get my ass to the gym - I'm going to shoot for the standard 3 times a week
5.) Keep the drinking down to a decent level. (I feel where I'm at in a normal week is pretty good. Special occasions notwithstanding)


Today's food:
Breakfast....Lunch...(I slept late, as it was a Snow Day for work) A can of Campbells Chicken and Rice soup with Corn, crackers, and some sesame oil, and Bangkok Blend Spice.
Dinner: an embarrasing large portion of serve-yourself Chinese from Sentry, a small container of Italian Feta Pasta Salad from Sentry, A can of Red Bull, and half of a very dry, very large cupcake
Post Dinner: I have had most of (and I intend to finish) a 20 oz bottle of Mello Yello.

Exercise:
Just getting the bus to ERic's today was a work-out. The snow was deeper than my knees. I didn't go to the gym. My pedometer ran out of batteries today so... no numbers.

Drunk 'N' Blogging

It is not recommended that anyone drunk 'N' Dial. ( the process where in you become so inebriated that you feel the necessity of calling someone - generally an ex - and pouring out your innermost feelings)

So instead, I will impart the wisdom of the ages... or at least what I have learned about being drunk. That is...I will Drunk 'N' Blog.

1.) Whoever it is...They don't need to hear from you at 2:00 AM or 3:00AM as the case may be.
2.) Your time is better spent on preventing your horrid hangover.

So you've had a little (or a lot) too much to drink. You've called it a night (It's bar time, or you're out of booze and too lazy to go out for more). What do you do now?

How do you feel? Drunk has many levels.

Level 1.) Other people have seen you drink. You don't feel any incapacity or lowered inhibitions but you now feel like you can blame any faux pass on the alcohol.
Level 2.) You've had enough alcohol (be it one or 5 drinks) and you feel pretty good. This is the kind of good where you are pretty happy to keep drinking. Kind of like taking a little of the 6-demon bag from Egg Foo (ala Big Trouble in Little China)
Level 3.) You feel a bit like a V-8 Commercial (the old version from before when people where bonked on their foreheads, back when they were all slanty..I'd show all you young whipper-snappers a clip but I couldn't find one on youtube while I was so drunk...maybe later) but you doubt that is important because you have only have 3 or was it 7 drinks. Math isn't important any way. Ohh...Shiny!... What were we taking about?
Level 4.) You've thrown up. Which is good, because you have more room for booze, right?!.

If you are Level 1 or 2 and you are already done drinking...I either commend you or feel like you've been cheated which ever suits your temperament more. Feel Free to go to bed with a clear conscience.

I take that back...If you are at level 1 and you do something really stupid or inappropriate, or both you should be ashaimed and I hope you can't sleep because you are such a jack-ass.

If you are at Level 3 or 4 you need my (patent pending*) miracle "no hang-over in the morning" treatment.

It is fairly easy to follow. (Steps one and two are optional.)

Step 1.) Don't get so freaking drunk, You Moron. What?!?! Do you want to be hung over??!!!!
Step 2.) If you insist on drinking so fucking much how about alternating between alcoholic drinks and water. (proper hydration will help the liver to process the alcohol-poisons, there by keeping you from being sick tomorrow.) Or atleast eating something before drinking a liquor store dry (Having a carbohydrate heavy meal before drinking has been shown - at least in personal experiments - to reduce the sighn of over-indulgence the morning after)
Step 3.) If you feel like it might be a good idea (even if no the coolest thing right now) please vomit. The alcohol that is in your stomach will not end up in your barrel, it has served its purpose. You don't need to fully process every drop of booze you drink. You have had the full experience. Please barf and call it a night on the drinking scene.
Step 4) If you have already thrown up..STOP FUCKING DRINKING!!! Alcohol Poisoning is NOT sexy!!!!! Please don't make someone have to take you to the hospital it won't get you laid or help you forget your troubles ar make a great end to a fun night on the town.
Step 5.) Get your ass to a safe place, be it home or someone else's home who you truct. Don't just go somewhere if you are tanked. you may not like where you are when you sober-up otherwise.
Step 6.) Eat something salty (if you can hold anything down...If you can't go directly to the hospital, Do not pass Go...Do Not get $200.00) Ramen works like a fucking charm here but any thing salty is good. I have read (though I couldn't remember right now where even if my life depended on it) that a strong part of the process of the hang-over has to do with a significant reduction in electrolytes due to the salts necessary in processing alcohol-poisons out of the body.
Step 7.) Drink some water, or watery item like soup (Ramen is good for both) or Koolaid. Again, to help with the proper balance of electrolytes.
Step 8.) Try to stay awake (preferably with a friend) until you are a bit more sober. Shoot for between Buzzed and Tipsy (Somewhere between level 2 and 3). If you go to sleep tanked you might just wake up that way, and wouldn't that suck! At the very least you are likely to end up Hung-over in the morning. If you stay awake your body is more active and your metabolism is higher so that you can process more alcohol and become less drunk overall.

If you think I'm sober right n0w you are wrong. I am happily coming off a high level 3 night and by following the Ramen Philosophy in the past I have avoided bad hang-overs. This has even been the case when I have been drinking until at least bar time and then had to get up the following morning to go to work at the Day Care (work starts at 7:30am). If you let yourself sober up a little (or even a lot if you can stand it) your morning, no mater how soon, will be better off for it.
Give it a shot. It has worked for me.

Though...I didn't need these thechniques until I was in the mid-20's. If you are a light-weight you may want to look into this strategy now. For everyone else...Your liver won't be young forever...Read, learn. plan. Don't be caught off guard. Hang-overs suck.


**Not really Patent Pending, though if I thought I could I might try.

Breakfast of Champions?

Unless you live under a rock, you surely have caught some of the Olympics either in the news or even some of the “Live” coverage on tv. My favorite events are the triathlon and swimming. But even if I wasn't a fan of watching the swimming competitions I would have watched them this year. Micheal Phelps is an amazing athlete. He just might help encourage people to hit the pools in their areas (not me of course as I'm allergic to Chlorine alas). So in someways you could definitely say he is a role model but not in the realm of healthy eating. Several news agencies have gotten an interview from him describing his training diet.

Now... I suspect that in his off time (when he is only in the pool like 4 hours a day instead of the 12 or so hes in the pool when training) he doesn't eat like this (if he did he would weigh a 1000 pounds!). But here is a typical days worth of food for America's Midas Touch swimmer:

Breakfast: Three fried egg sandwiches; cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; fried onions; mayonnaise; three chocolate-chip pancakes; five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast; bowl of grits; two cups of coffee

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta; two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise on white bread; energy drinks

Dinner: One Pound of pasta, with carbonara sauce; large pizza; energy drinks

The caloric estimate tips the scales at over 10,000 calories!! More than 5 times what the average person should eat in a day!!!

Not to mention the cholesterol and saturated fat he is ingesting. Who ever his nutritionist is, I hope they know what they are doing. It would be a real shame for him to keel over of a heart attack from clogged arteries.

Don't eat like a champion if this is the champ you intend to emulate.

Incredible Hulk ... Drink

This weekend was the opening weekend for a great little movie: The Incredible Hulk…a much better movie than the unfortunate Hulk movie from a few years back. The plot consisted of mostly action with some minor comedy and romance. It is a fun way to spend an evening.

To honor the movie and my new ability to drink I am providing you all with the secret of how to make an Incredible Hulk in your own homes!

For this you will need:

A Rocks Glass

Ice

Hpnotiq

Cognac

Take your glass and add ice to about half way.

Take 2 shots of Hpnotiq and add to the glass.

Take 1 to 2 shots of cognac (depending on how strong you want it) and carefully float on the Hpnotiq.

Swirl the glass and watch the magic!

Drink!

Meatloaf Meal: Take 1

I received a request via my sister while I was in Florida for Meatloaf Dinner. I am more than happy to oblige my friends and family with meals of their request so...Here is my first attempt at meatloaf.

First a few words about the humble meatloaf. I feel that meatloaf is a formidable weapon in any parent's arsenal of comfort foods. However, if done wrong it is not a comfort but a torture. Bad meatloaf is a common problem if the media is to be believed. Nearly every show and occasional movie that features a family portrays the overtaxed mother placing a lump of something slimy, gray and coated in ketchup as the family dinner. To which the family in question groans and begins the arduous task of eating the tasteless mass.

This doesn't have to be the case! Don't let bad meatloaf ruin your self-respect or the respect for you of those around you!

Meatloaf may appear deceptively simple but it really is just this simple. Meatloaf is a couple kinds of ground meat combined with some binders and flavorings. Don't over think it. There are a two secrets to good meatloaf: spice and patience. Spice for flavor (like I needed to explain that) The Patience is a little trickier...Patience comes in a two part trial. Part one: Meatloaf takes a long time to cook, you will have to check on it a bunch of times because over cooking will make it awful and under-cooking is gross. Part two: You are going to have to let is sit for at least 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven to redistribute the juices or it will be both horridly dry and greasy at the same time.

A lot of people top meatloaf with ketchup. I feel that this is a mistake on multiple levels. 1.) Ketchup is a very strong flavor and is fairly obviously being used in this instance to cover up for bad meatloaf. 2.) The appearance and texture of baked ketchup on a meatloaf is fairly unappetizing. 3.) The natural accompaniment to meatloaf is mashed potatoes...therefore gravy should be the toping of choice for meatloaf.

This meal does utilize several fairly uncommon pieces of equipment that, though not completely necessary, do make things much easier: Food Processor (blender can be substituted), Loaf Pan, Masher -for chunky potatoes (Food Mill-for smooth potatoes). Other than these odd items you probably have everything you are going to need already on hand.

So with out further ado...Meatloaf meal Take 1

Italian Meatloaf with Garlic/Vermouth Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and Dilled Baby Carrots

To make this you will need:

1 Small Baking Pan (brownie style with high sides)

1 Cutting board

1 Sharp Knife

2 Medium Sauce Pans

A large Mixing Bowl

A Food Processor

A small Scraps/Prep Bowl

A Fork

A Masher or Food Mill

A Glass Loaf Pan

A Small Sauce Pan

Ingredients:

1or 2 Heads of Garlic (actual garlic not the pre-chopped stuff in the jar)(Number depends on how garlicky you want the potatoes)

½ C Dry or Extra Dry Vermouth (more if using 2 heads)

2-4 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¾ lb of Yukon Gold Potatoes (ordinary Idaho russets will not do, you need to get Yukon Golds)

9 Tbsp Butter

0 to ¼ C Chicken Broth (Depending on how moist you want the mashed potatoes)

½ lb Ground Beef

½ lb Ground Pork

1 large Onion

10 baby Carrots

1 Tbsp Garlic if Chopped (3 large cloves if fresh)

3 Slices of whole wheat bread

2 Eggs

2-5 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

2-5 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

0-5 tsp Hot Sauce (Optional)

1-3tsp each of 2 to 5 different spices (I chose Tarragon, Oregano, and Marjoram)

4 Pieces of Bacon (Optional, I recommended not using any it makes it very greasy and adds fat and calories no one needs)

½ lb of baby carrots

4 Cups of Orange Juice

½ C Fresh Dill

¼ C Fresh Cilantro

¼ to ½ a Jalapeño (Optional)

4 Tbsp Flour

Salt and Pepper to Taste

3/4C or more Chicken Broth

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (This will take at minimum 15 minutes, some ovens come with a buzzer that lets you know when it has reached the desired temp.)

2. Cut the top ¼ to ½ inch off the top of the head(s) of garlic

3. Place the garlic in the small baking pan

4. Pour the Olive oil on the garlic

5. Pour the Vermouth in the pan

   

6. Bake the garlic in the oven for 25 to 35 min (until golden brown but not burnt check periodically)

7. Assemble the meatloaf ingredients...Beef, Pork, Onions, Carrots, Garlic, Bread, Eggs, Vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, Hot Sauce, Spices...on a clean surface along with the food processor, knife, cutting board and a mixing bowl.

8. Place the meat in the bowl and mix some with your hands (rubber gloves can be worn and are recommended if you have long nails)

9. Peel and quarter the onions (Go ahead and cut both the top and bottom off the onion then peel it. Then cut in half lengthwise and width wise)

10. Place onion and carrots in the food processor. Pulse until the onion and carrots are evenly chopped and look kind of like wet pencil shavings. (don't liquefy these veggies)

11. Round about now the garlic should be ready in the oven. Take the pan out and cool down. Leave oven on and at the same temp.

    

12. Add the garlic (if while cloves are being used) and the bread (after tearing it into medium sized pieces...6 to 10 chunks per slice) to the food processor and pulse again for a few moments. The result should look kind of like a slightly coarser version of cooked instant oatmeal in texture.

    

13. Add the bread/veggies mixture to the meat in the bowl and combine with your hands.

14. Add the eggs and incorporate

15. Add the spice and sauces/vinegar to the meatloaf mixture in the bowl and incorporate.

16. Carefully put meatloaf mixture in the loaf pan. Top with a few slices of bacon. (I now feel that the bacon is a bad idea as it makes the meatloaf very greasy, I recommend omitting or perhaps cooking the bacon ahead of time and adding to the meatloaf at the end of cooking time)

17. And put meatloaf in the oven for the next 60 to 90 minutes. (My meatloaf is fairly dense and just wouldn't cook, I ended up upping the temp to get it done.)

18. Seeing as the meatloaf takes so very long to cook you can freely take 30 minutes and talk to you family...watch the news...read a book...Or you can keep cooking and reheat everything at the end if they finish before the meatloaf.

19. Peel and Chop Potatoes into 1 inch pieces (roughly the size of standard dice)

20. Put potatoes in a medium sauce pan and cover with water, add salt if desired. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes until done. (Check doneness with a fork, stab a potato piece, the fork should pierce the potato easily but the potato should not fall apart.)

21. Place the remaining baby carrots in a pan and cover with orange juice. Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. (Check doneness with a fork . Carrot doneness is a matter of choice and can be cooked until they feel like fully cooked potatoes – see step 19 – or until the fork can barely pierce the side)

22. While the carrots and potatoes are cooking...chop some fresh cilantro and dill herbs and some Jalapeño if you are using it.

23. Take the small the sauce pan and melt 4 Tbsp of butter, but do not burn. To the melted butter add the flour, some of the same spices you used in the meatloaf, hot sauce if you like it and stir until the flour has begun to brown. You will know your roux is ready when your flour butter mix is slightly darker than your favorite khakis.

24. When the roux is the right color slowly add some chicken broth and then whisk until the mix is smooth and repeat (if you have the dexterity or help you can whisk and pour at the same time). Stir occasionally over low heat...This gravy is done.

25. Drain carrots but do not drain completely, add a Tbsp butter the pepper and the herbs and stir.

26. Put a lid on the carrots...They are done.

27. Drain potatoes. (A colander is useful for this but not necessary) Feel free to leave some water in with the potatoes if you want to forgo the chicken broth (This will also help preserve some of the vitamins)

28. While the potatoes are still hot, but after that have been drained, add 4 Tbsp of Butter. (You can choose less or even none but I would not recommend more than 4 Tbsp) And then begin mashing by whatever means you prefer or have available. (A food mill will give you a creamier result as the potatoes are going to be smaller and more uniform in the
    resulting mash; a masher will give you a home-style lumpier result) (If making food for children...remember that texture is as important as flavor for winning them over on a food. If the didn't like your mashed potatoes last time, try them the other way and see if they like it this way – Of course the same goes for picky eater adults)

    

29. Carefully (the garlic might not be fully cool) remove the individual cloves of garlic from the head(s). You can squeeze them out with a firm grip on the head or you can pick them out with a fork. I tend to prefer the fork method as it is less messy. Drop the garlic cloves as you acquire them into the mashed potatoes and them mix them in with more mashing or simply stir them if you want more of a surprise bite than a uniform flavor.

    

30. Put a Lid on the potatoes...They are done.

31. When the meatloaf is done it will be brown in the center when pierced with a knife. It will be very moist. You can check the internal temp if you have a handy meat thermometer...it will read: 160° to 170°.

32. You will need to let the meatloaf rest for at least 10 minutes and probably better off at 30 minutes...During which you will reheat the side dishes.

This meatloaf was terrific but is needs to be better. Some questions...Why didn't my meatloaf cook like the websites say it will? Can I cook the bacon by itself to prevent the added fat?

This meatloaf will feed 8 well.

Nutrition:

Calories per serving: 548

Fat: 37g

Protein: 17g

Cholesterol: 129mg

Sodium: 677mg

Potassium: 989mg

Fiber: 3g

Calcium: 137mg

Iron: 5mg

Zinc: 3mg

Vitamin C: 36mg

Vitamin A (as Beta carotene): 7384IU

B6: 4mg

B12: 1.2mcg

B1: 4mg

B2: 3mg

Folacin: 77mcg

Niacin: 6mg

Miracle Fruit

So...I just read an article on the New York Times website -read this- about Miracle Fruit!

Apparently the stuff makes sour things taste sweet. The sensation lasts about an hour per berry which is good because the berries run you over $2.00 each! I doubt I could get them here in town. These are definitely special order material!

Maybe if I ever get a decent job I'll treat myself and some friends to a sour/sweet taste party with some of these.

Month 5 Check In

Well as if the last post didn't give it away I've made some big inroads, at lease as far as weight-loss goes. How did the month go...

Food:
I didn't cook much this month. I've been eating less and spreading out what I had on hand. I have been going to the Farmer's Market every week since it opened (with the exception of 1 week when I had to be diverted). I haven't bought much but I haven't been cooking so it is ok. better to not waste it, I say.

Exercise:
I got in to the gym infrequently maybe 6 times this month. But with the weather being nicer out I've been walking a lot more. I have a pedometer and in the winter i was getting an average of 6000 steps a day and now I'm getting 9000 every day and over 12000 most days.

Self-Denial:
Well as of a few days ago I no longer have to deny myself alcohol! Yay! I'm still not touching the Ramen and I intend to keep it that way. The booze still presents a problem as I can't gauge how many calories are in any particular drink. I expect mixed drinks, like those I prefer, are fairly high in calories so...I've decided to make a new rule: No drinking at home. This should limit the alcohol I'm getting in my system because I am too poor to go drinking all the time. I will lift this self-imposed ban after the next 20 come off.

Weigh In:
190! Now officially , at least according to the official starting weight, this is not a full 20 pounds of weight loss but it is close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.

Total weight loss in 5 months….17lbs!

Plan:

I want to lose the next 20 in 4 months. To do this I need to be a little more on the ball with exercise and cooking.

Today's food log:

Breakfast: The very small leftovers of the smothered steak and mashed potatoes from Claddagh Irish Pub and a Red Bull

Lunch: Home made shrimp with Arugula Risotto and a pasta salad from Pinkus

Dinner: A BLT from Amy's Cafe and A Sprite and a Pepsi (both standard cans)

Gym: Nope and only 6285 on the pedometer.

Cheers!

Wow, it's been a while! I bet you all are wondering what happened to me...Not much actually. I lost my job and I've had to scramble to find a new one and make enough money on e-bay selling some crap I had in storage to make rent. I've been very tired at night and haven't had time to drop any notes here but I hope for that to change.

I have not been cooking much but I have been working out when I can and the result is here to see...

CHEERS!

20 pounds gone! Or at least what I'm going to call 20 pounds. I've come to the decision that I can't really be sure how heavy I was when I started this mess because I was not weighing in regularly and on the same scale so...I've decided to call 190 the point at which I get to drink again. I hit the magic number last week and on Saturday night I toasted my success with some friends at La Hacienda on Park Street. And later that night at Maduro's on King Street. I decided to go ahead and drink for a variety of reasons and now I'm glad I did.

There is a country song that with some minor adjustments could have represented me these last few months, at least if you ask my friends: “You ain't much fun since I quit drinking”. The difference of course being that I sobered up and I stopped being fun. Apparently “There is a kingdom called Passive Aggressiva, and I am their Queen”~Addison from Grey's Anatomy. Everyone seems to think I am more forgiving of faults when I know that there will be a drink available at the end of the day. Granted I didn't drink every day before I gave it up for the diet but hey...These have been some rough months and I have been without any vises all year. (Last year I broke-up with my boyfriend so that go rid of the sex, I don't smoke or do recreational drugs, and then I quit drinking) So I was starting to take up the vise of being mean to everyone and everything I guess. Well, no more!

I have lost weight to reach the first milestone and now I can have the booze back, but not the Ramen. That is gone for good. There is nothing that the Ramen can give me that I can not get from a better source! (Although it is pretty much the perfect hang-over preventative or palliative)

I do realize that sobriety has played a role in my weight loss and I will not discount that role just because the alcohol is back in my life. I could not have lost this weight with the ease and speed that I did if I had been drinking hard the way I had last year. Because of this I have decided that drinking is to remain a special treat and not to return to my former drunken ways – at least not for another 20 pounds.

The booze is back but only at restaurants on special occasions and at parties in my home or the home of others. Hopefully I will cease my sour ways now and everyone can breather a little easier, especially me... I have a lot let weight on my chest!

So toast to me. “To 20 pounds! And 60 more around the corner!”

Month 4 Check In

Hello and welcome to the Month 4 review! Despite my near total silence on this blog I have not been doing all that badly. I've just been tired at night and not had the energy to post. I promise to make it up to all of you my faithful readers. So how did it go?

Food:
I cooked a bit more than I have been up til now. This has been good for the diet I think.


Exercise:
I was averaging 2 times a week but I'm still going and trying for better. I did not get in to the gym everyday like I wanted at the end of last month.

Self-Denial:
Still going strong on the no Ramen no Booze.

Weigh In:
194! I've lost all the weight I gained in March and one pound more.

Total weight loss in 4 months….13lbs! Only 7 pounds until I can drink again! I'm going to shoot for the rest of this 7 pounds by Cinco de Mayo. I really want a Margarita.

Plan:

Cooking every Monday and Thursdays if I can afford to.

Go to the Farmer's Market every Saturday now that it is open. This works towards 2 goals: I get more exercise and I get more fresh veggies for food.

Drag my ass to the gym even if i don't feel like I have the time. 5 times a week should be reasonable.

Get a job (Last month I lost my job at the University so I am going to have even less money this month to work with for food but hey I will find a way. I always do.

Today's food log:

Breakfast: 2 Pieces of Breakfast Pizza (Glass Nickel) and a Red Bull

Lunch: A left-over Orange Chicken from Asian Kitchen (normally a really good cheap Eat but the Orange Chicken is not good, don't order it. Get the Tso's Chicken if you want a spicy breaded chicken dish)

Dinner: More left over Orange Chicken (there is at least 1 more meal in the dinner I got possible 2 more) and a Red Bull and half of a Baby Cake from Sentry. (I love those cakes they are so cute and small. ~I was feeling stressed out and I bought it to feel better. I'm not going to claim that I don't stress eat like so many women out there. but I try to limit my stress eating to only a handful of items and only a couple times a month.)

Gym: Supreme 60 minutes of Cardio on the elliptical and arm weights

Belated post on Florida

When I was in Florida I tried a little experiment...I attempted to take pictures of everything that I ate. It was kind of like a conscious eating thing. I figured that if I had to take a picture of everything that I put into my body and show it to all of you I would be less inclined to eat poorly. I'm not sure how well it worked but I did get most of the food I ate on digital memory and here is just a silly little slew of pictures and comments about the food I ate while on Vacay.

So first off...This is my sister. Isn't she great! She hosted me down in FL and drove my ass around so she deserves kudos (and no I'm not talking the candy bar)

Here is my first meal (I am using the term loosely). Red Bull at the O'Hare Airport.

Here is my lunch at JFK. (JFK, by the way is a terrible airport. The plase smells like the kind of public toilet no one ever cleans) The sandwich I brought with me from Madison (Rathskeller) but the soda and Chinese I bought at the airport. I only ate half of the sandwich but I ate most of the Chinese. The most disappointing thing about the Chinese...

They used jarred mushrooms! How difficult would it have been to get real mushrooms? The flavor and most importantly the texture would have been vastly improved! But I guess that was just too difficult for them after all, they are operating out of the JFK Airport, not Times Square or Madison Ave.

This is what I had for breakfast every day I was at Mary's. Red Bull, Banana, and Yogurt. This Publix brand fat free key lime yogurt was divine just so's y'all know.

First Lunch, Fantastic Japanese place (I don't remember the name) Mary and I shared a Pork Tonkatsu Platter and Tempura Appetizer. We each had a Miso soup. That night we had Chinese take out.

Then we went to Universal Studio's for a day. We brought our own lunches to save money and eat slightly healthier (Sandwiches from Publix). The following day I cooked for the pot luck we went to. I made:

Vegetarian Moroccan Couscous Salad. It is easy and yummy. I've been making this dish since High School when I was a vegetarian. The spread at the Pot Luck was amazing and i did not hold back:

After the pot luck we ran off to Spam-a-lot. and then I ate dinner at Mary's place (Left over Chinese Take-away). The next day we stayed in and I have no idea what I ate. The last day I was there I cooked dinner for Mary Phil and my Dad who had arrived. I make Chicken Casserole and for some reason I have no pictures of it. Oh well. Then I left Florida and had the naughty breakfast I always get in Florida:

Dunkin Doughnuts French Kruller YUM! Then I headed home.

I'd like to think that I didn't do too badly on the eating front. But then again I always want to think that.

Month 3 Check In - Revised

I'm back from Florida. Actually, I've been back for a week but as so often happens when I travel when I returned from my trip I was sick. I also suffered my monthly mayhem (PMDD) just after I got back. So...Hopefully I won't have to take anymore down time for the rest of the month.

What, you might ask, does any of this rambling have to do with the check in? Well...I didn't have an official weight when I checked in from Florida. So...The official weight from the scale in the Supreme Fitness Gym Ladies Changing Room is....198. A weight gain of 3 pounds.

Obviously there must be something wrong with what I'm doing.

Food:

Again I hardly had any time set aside to cook last month and...Surprise I didn't cook anything! I really have to work on my time management if I'm going to get this taken care of. The day just seems to melt away and I'm left with it being 10:00 with no dinner in sight and not even ingredients in the apartment often. This is just silly. I am not going to lose weight when I'm eating most of my meals from Pinkus McBride.

Exercise:

I got into the gym so seldom last month it really isn't a surprise I gained weight. I think I averaged 2 times a week but that takes into account the week I went every day-You do the math.

Self-Denial:

I still haven’t had any alcohol or Ramen. I miss them both.

Reflection:

I hosed it last month! I am not going to impress anyone with my amazing weight loss if it never occurs!

I have a couple of new incentives to lose the weight, too.My favorite Waitress has offered to take me out for drinks on the house if I meet my 20 pound weight loss goal. I really shouldn't keep her waiting. And...One of my dearest girlfriends from High School is getting Married on July 5th. I want to be smaller than I was in Hight School when I go to the wedding. I was a 14 and about 150 when I graduated. I want to be in size 12 or smaller when I arrive in the 'Burgh.

Plan:

Starting tomorrow I hit the gym every day. I get up in the morning, even on weekends, before 9:00 am. When I go to Eric's I work for no less than 4 hours. I will go the the grocery store and buy ingredients next Monday Night and I will use them to cook a meal at that time and another meal which I will cook next week Thursday. I will repeat this scenario every week until the end of the month.

Food Log:

Brunch: Red Bull and Italian Sandwich on multi-grain bread (Pinkus McBride)

Snack: Hand full of very sour Strawberries

Dinner: Doctored can of Condensed Chicken Soup with crackers and more sour strawberries.

Exercise: None to speak of

Month 3 Check In

I've been at this for 3 months now...I had really hoped to have lost the initial 20 pounds by now. I can't say one way or another if I have as right at this moment I am in Florida (Visiting my sister) and I do not have access to "my" scale. And as I've complained before all scales seem to be different for each other and even from themselves sometimes.

I don't think I have finished the first 20 pounds yet. In fact I would not be the least bit surprised if I gained some of the lost weight back this month.

What is up? Well, I've gotten even lazier this month. I only cooked a handfull of times, I skipped the gym a bunch and I ate poorly a bunch of times. I'm not going to appologise or give up because of these things. Maybe I've fallen off the wagon, as they say ,but that does not mean I can't get back on.

I have been spending far too much time "working" at my job with Eric and not actually doing anything. This is the biggest problem. This time waste is causing me to be unable to cook and exercise on those days. This is going to be April's project. I'm going to actually work when I go to Eric's and not just mope about.

Ironically it been stres about money that kept me too out of it to work and therefore make money. But next month I will work everytime I go to Eric's and this will ensure that I will have the time and the money I need to work out and cook.

I will have the official weigh-in when I return from Florida on Tuesday.

Plan for April:

Acutally work when I show up at Eric's. Cook every Monday night. Exercise after work at the Nat on Monday's and Fridays. Exercise with Eric at Supreme Tuesday Mornings, Wednesday Mornings, Thursday Mornings, Saturday monrings and Sunday Mornings. Shop every other Monday. try to lay off on the soda some as I surmise an over abundance of high fructose corn syrup has something to do with my voluminous waist, Diary my food intake everyday.

Hardly a tall order right?! Nothing I'm suggesting here is all that difficult but I still need to write it down and make it happen.

Frittata: First Draft

Cooking is a lot like writing/reading a novel. The ingredients are like the characters and the steps are the story lines. When you don’t have a recipe you are writing your own stories. When you have a recipe to follow you are reading someone else’s finished product.

I think one of the reasons that people don’t cook something new is perhaps they think that the recipes that they have used sprouted fully formed from some master chef’s imagination. Well, somehow I doubt that that is the case. It takes many drafts before the recipe is ready to be published.

I didn’t want to put any recipes on this blog for people to read that I myself had not put through a stringent drafting process, and had several very tasty and consistent final drafts. However I realize that this is the wrong way to think about this. I would be habitualizing the same problem that I am railing against if I did that.

Since I’ve decided that you all deserve to see the whole processes I will walk through the steps I took last night to make a frittata. The end resulting dinner was fine tasting but not nothing special and the visual appearance was less wonderful than I was hoping for.

So without further ado…Spring Vegetable Frittata – Take One:

Frittata is kind of like a quiche, kind of like an omelet, and kind of like a German pancake. It is also one of the easier foods to make...in my opinion. It is certainly easier than all of the afore mentioned food items that it is similar to.

One of the great things about frittatas is that you don’t really need to plan them into your week. As long as you have eggs you have everything you need to make a frittata…guaranteed. This is true because you can put basically anything into a frittata. Some good combinations are: Bacon pieces-green onions-Swiss cheese, Pees-cooked chicken-cheddar, spaghetti noodles-cooked hamburger-peppers-mozzarella, Feta-Black Olives-Capers-Diced cooked potatoes. Just open your fridge and look to see what you have available. Any starch veggie and cooked meat will work fine. All cheeses are good, though some are better than others.

For this frittata I decided to use some angel hair noodles, Asparagus spears, diced ham, chopped onion, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, feta cheese, garlic, oil, and some spices. And of course, eggs.

I turned my oven on to 250 degrees because I figured that eggs are pretty easy to cook and didn’t need to have a high temp.

I did not have any leftover noodles in my fridge, so I made some to start off. While I was waiting for the noodle water to boil in my large pasta pot, I chopped up an Onion and then sautéed it in a small frying pan/sauté pan with some Garlic in Olive Oil.

Then I added the Noodles to the boiling water and cooked them until they were fully cooked. And then I drained them fully and added some Olive Oil to the drained noodles to keep them from caking together.

Then I cracked 6 Eggs and scrambled them in a bowl. To the eggs I added some leftover Artichoke Hearts, some leftover Diced Ham, some fresh Asparagus Spears snapped into 2 inch pieces, and the sautéed onion/garlic mixture. I also added some spices and herbs to the egg mixture: Marjoram, Paprika, Salt, Pepper, Oregano.

Note: You don’t need a knife to prepare asparagus for the dinner pot. If you hold the asparagus in both hands near the cut –off end you can break off the woody end and the remaining spear should be fairly tender. For this meal I just snapped the remaining stalks into bite sized pieces using the same technique all the way up the spears.

The oven is ready and now so are all of the ingredients. I took out my cast iron skillet and placed the noodles in the bottom of it to act as a kind of base. Then I poured the egg mix over the noodles and finally I added the Cheeses to the top. At this point I realized that there was not enough egg as the whole thing looked fairly dry so I quickly scrambled 2 more Eggs and poured those on top and placed the whole thing in the oven.

After 25 minutes I checked the frittata and it really wasn’t cooking to I turned up the oven to 350. After an additional 20 minutes the frittata still wasn’t done so I put the oven put to 400. Then it cooked. It was done about 10 minutes later.

The result was stuck in the pan, when it should be easily plated as you turn the pan upside down with a plate on the top like a lid. It did eventually come out with only a little that stuck into my skillet – this may have only been because my skillet is not well seasoned.

Joe and I ate the frittata. It was good but as I said earlier not great and required some condiments. Joe added hot sauce and I used mayo – my favorite condiment.

I will work on this until I think it is just how I would serve it to the people on the Food Network's: Nest Food network Star.

The frittata servings have:

P.S. Food journal for yesterday: Breakfast-Banana and Red Bull. Lunch-Chicken Pot Pie from Pinkus and Pepsi. After work Snack- BLT from the Library. Dinner-1 Serving for Frittata and Red Bull.

Exercise: Nope-missed my workout time and had to get to the grocery store. I promise to go today.

What is healthy...Exactly?

I’m doing this whole Blog thing because I heard it will help me lose weight. I want to lose weight. Ideally I want to lose the weight much the same way I gained it – unconsciously. Since that won’t happen, I want to lose the weight in as healthy a way as possible.

But what is healthy? I can think of a bunch of things that aren’t healthy weight loss plans – Anorexia, bulimia, eating only yellow foods, etc. But these are all extreme examples. (for some more extreme examples check out this Daily Mail Article)

American’s are health obsessed and some of the least healthy people on the planet. Is too much information as bad as too little when it comes to health knowledge? There are as many health myths out there in cyberspace as there are sites with good solid advice about health and it is nearly impossible to distinguish the difference. Even if all we are talking here is weight loss and not health in general (health in general being one of the main reasons I’m on this expedition to begin with).

I sit down at my computer to find out the best things I can do to help myself lose this weight. I wonder if: Eating late at night makes you fat? Low-fat foods help you lose weight? Pasta makes you fat? Drink 8 8oz glasses of water a day is really the way to go? I look at the RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) and wonder what on earth constitutes a serving?!

I am no health expert. My degree is in Psychology, not nutrition. So how am I supposed to figure all this out? For instance…When I started my new job on campus I found an article that laid the whole 8 glasses of water thing on the table. (I don’t still have the article or I would cite it…I’m looking for it again so I can tell you all where I got this) According to what I read the 64 fluid ounces of water came from the Surgeon General’s recommendations in 1969. The whole thing came from 1 study that ascertained that the average human body loses 64 ounces of liquid in digestion and respiration, and therefore that would be the amount of liquid that the body would need to replace to keep the body running smoothly. The Surgeon General then went on to state that this liquid was found in the food that we eat and that therefore much less was needed to be taken-in in the form of water and other beverages. So from what I read the 8-8oz glasses of water thing is a myth. But then my overly active brain goes into analysis mode…Did all this come from 1 study? Have these findings been replicated? Who were the study’s participants? Are they representative of me or even the average American today? (Let us not forget that the study that gave us the average age of puberty onset and the normal body temperature of people came from a study at an orphanage, where most of the children were underweight and had low grade infections.) Were these people active? What was the water content in the 1960s of the average diet in comparison to today? And on and on…

If I go over every aspect of my diet with as much mental energy as the water question I will be so mentally exhausted I will probably lose weight because I have no energy left to eat. And these questions don’t even begin to scratch the surface. To me healthy also includes social and environmental questions like: Is organic the healthier way to go not just for nutrients but for the world? Can I afford to be a locavore? Is it even possible to get enough meat to satisfy my protein needs without eating corn-fed animals? Is it possible to cut high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats out of my diet?

My brain hurts. Yours probably does too.

Cooking Basics 2

I got a bunch of response regarding what cooking basics are. Most of these were not on-line.

So here, I think, is a nice list of the basics that everyone over they age of 10 needs to know how to cook...unless they are rich and will always be that way but as the song said “Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.”

Coffee -even if you don't drink it- Why? Because according to the NCA Coffee Drinking Trends Survey 2000, 54% of the adult population of the United States drinks coffee everyday and an additional 25% drink it occasionally. Therefore you are likely to have a coffee drinker in your place at some point in your near future.

Eggs – Why? Because estimates show that the average American will eat 259 eggs a year. This data does not include my sister who won't touch eggs but my brother more than makes up for her avoidance.

An Entre/Meal – This was suggested by Mary on the comment section. I have to agree and up it to an entire meal because just because you know how to make meatloaf does not mean you should serve it unless you also have mashed potatoes and peas (for instance). Why? Because you need something to wow the new boyfriend with or to serve you parents when they come to visit, before you ask them for some money.

Cookies – Suggested by Joe. Why? Because you've been asked to bring something to the meeting, you are trying to sell your house, or you want to impress your date.

Hamburger and Chicken – recommended by my Boss Cindy. Why? These are staples of the American diet. It is important to know when they are done cooking and how to make the most of them.

Rice and Pasta – The typical American meal seems to consist of (as Eric once told me) “A slab of meat and 2 side dishes.” Often one of these side dishes is either rice or pasta so it is a good idea to know how to make these.

If you can think of anything else please drop me a line.

**Important Note** The statistics cited above are taken from sources that have reason to encourage people to consume more of the product studied. Please keep these numbers in mind as only guidelines which are likely inflated.

Cooking Basics Are What Exactly?

I'm reading this great book called Cooking and Castle Building by Emma Ewing. It was written in 1880. It is just fantastic. I'm only into the 3rd chapter but I am hooked. It is a memoir following 3 wealthy American ladies as they decide that they need to learn how to cook. Their logic for doing this is wonderful. They want their husbands to stop drinking and instead of becoming militant in their involvement with the Temperance movement they have decided that harmonious living is all that is needed to keep their men from drinking. And harmonious living can not be attained if one does not cook well.

These women, wealthy as they were, did not cook at home. They had servants to cook for them. However, they decided that there was no better way to assure good food than to do it themselves. So, they headed off to the country where their mistakes may not be remembered by their peers while they learned.

I have not read all of the book so I don't know how it will turn out or what all they will learn to cook, but they start out the book learning to cook bread. They chose bread because it was the staple of the diet of the time. Bread was eaten in some form or another at every meal and so was necessary to have whether you baked it yourself or ordered it from a baker.

These women have the right idea. Even 100 years later so many of the country's problems could probably be related back to the fact that people don't cook, especially the obesity epidemic. I would like to cover the same concept as the ones in Cooking and Castle Building here on the Blog but I have a small problem. People don't eat bread nearly as much as they did in the 1800's. So what are the basics of cooking for the modern day?

I asked the girls I work with and we came up with Coffee and and eggs are things that everyone needs to know how to make and most people don't know.

What other things are basics that people need to know? Post your thoughts.

Hey!! Watch out for that Karma!

I got an unpleasant dose of Karma yesterday. I decided not to go to the gym yesterday. I was feeling very tired, my asthma was acting up, and my home computer was calling my name (I really wanted to get home and play Heroes of Might and Magic); so I didn’t go to the gym when I was done with work yesterday.

If I had gone to the gym I would have probably walked over to Transfer Point to catch the bus. But instead I choose to skip the gym and walk just up to the corner to catch the bus. As a result of this, I slipped on the ice in front of the house on the corner and messed up my back. Karma.

My back is better today and I’ve learned my lesson. I will be going to the gym even if it means not pushing myself because I’m tired or my lungs are acting up.

Diary: Yesterday: Breakfast – A yogurt, Banana, Red Bull. Lunch – A serving of Hamburger Soup with Crackers. Dinner: Country Fried Steak (frozen) with rice, cabbage, and corn.

Today: Breakfast – Banana and Red Bull. Lunch (planned) – A serving of Hamburger Soup.

Gym: At least 30 minutes at the Nat.

Month 2 Check In

Today is February 27, 2008 and that puts me 2 months into the lifestyle change. Hows it going?

Food:

I have not hardly cooked at all this month. Some of this lack can be blamed on my horrid flu that I had in the middle of the month, some of it can be blamed on my sparse bank account, some can be blamed on my being too busy/too lazy ( a combination that is truly winning!).

Exercise:

I’m still averaging 5 days a week, I might even say (when I’m not dying from the flu) that I got in 5.5 days a week on average. I am going to the gym for a longer amount of time than last month so I can say that I am improving in this aspect. I even went in to see a personal trainer last week and got some new weight training exercises to do!

Self-Denial:

I still haven’t had any alcohol or Ramen. And although I do miss having both as options I can say that I could go forever with out them if I needed to (thank goodness that is not likely to happen)

Weigh In:

I hopped on the scale that is at the gym (Supreme) in the women’s locker room this afternoon just before my work out. I have decided that this is the most reliable scale I have available. (Though I do appreciate the gift of the new scale from my dearling sister) According to this scale I weighed just under 195 today.

Verdict...I've lost another 3lbs. Total weight loss in 2 months….12lbs!

Reflection:

This was a tough month on me. I got sick which is never anything I bounce back from easily. It always takes me a little time to get back into my routine. I would have liked to see more weigh loss (especially if I am going to be able to have booze with my sister when I go visit at the end of next month), but I am still pleased to see some progress. And I can in fact say I do see a difference now. My clothes fit looser and my face is a bit slimmer (no more double chin!). I don’t have more energy yet. But I have seen a fairly dramatic drop in my appetite. This is both a boon and a bane: I eat less overall as I am less hungry and I nearly never want a snack between meals, but I have to force myself to eat breakfast as I have no appetite in the mornings anymore. Oh well, I still do what I can.

Plan:

I want to try and cook something next month as I will soon be out of frozen home-made dinners. This may be a bit of a challenge as I am flat broke and can not even afford Red Bull (though I keep buying it as the thought of giving it up too makes me want to cry). I need to go to the gym 6 days a week for at least an hour each time.

Today's food log:

Breakfast: A banana and a Red Bull

Lunch: A left-over Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich from Falbo’s

Dinner: Some hot wings from Sentry and a slice of Sentry pepperoni pizza with a Red Bull
Snack: A bunch (literally) of green grapes and some blueberries

Gym: Supreme from 3:30 to 5:30 Cardio on the elliptical and arm weights

Notes from the Kitchen: Canned Soup Magic

'Tis the season for the Flu and I have had a doozy! I had one of those buggers where you have just enough energy to drag yourself to the kitchen and open a can of soup for food. I am well now but I can assure you all I was not a few days ago.

With my recent stint as an invalid fresh in my mind I wish to impart some lessons in canned soup magic.

As with everything…you can’t please all of the people all of the time. I have begun to suspect that with mass-market food the plan has been to succeed at doing the opposite…pleasing none of the people all of the time. Canned soup is bland, salty, mushy, and kind of gross when you think too long about it. So lets not dwell on it and move on to what we can do about it.

If you are very sick or just being lazy then cheap canned soup can be your friend. But it does need some help to become palatable. For this you will need to acquire (in addition to your canned soup of choice): frozen corn or peas (or both), a variety of spices or your choice (ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, curry powder, basil, oregano, marjoram, etc), Flavored oil (toasted sesame oil, chili oil, or spice infused olive oil), frozen pot stickers, fresh spinach, fresh shredded cabbage (like for making coleslaw), eggs, and crackers.

Now…You don’t by any means need all of these things but a good combination of them will enliven even generic condensed soup.

Step 1: Open soup, dump into a medium pot, and reconstitute according to directions on the can.

Step 2: Season with a combination of spices. This is especially necessary if you bought the low sodium soup. I like to use ginger, chili, and garlic in combination with the sesame oil for an Asian influenced soup.

Step 3: Add vegetables. This is when you would add the frozen corn or peas and the cabbage. You can add the spinach at this point if you like your spinach well cooked, if you only like your spinach wilted (like I do) hold off on adding the spinach now.

Step 4: This is when you all the pot stickers or the egg if using these.

Step 5: Leave the pot alone to get to near boiling or actually to boiling temp. Since there is nothing dangerous raw (unless you added the egg) you don’t need to cook this to death.

Step 6: Prepare your bowl. I like to put my spinach in the bottom of the bowl so that the hot soup pours over it and makes it wilted but not cooked per se.

Step 7: Pour the soup, add crackers (if you desire) and eat. Try not to burn your mouth.

Diary:

I’ve been sick as a dog, so of course, I have not been into the gym! And as for eating right…I’ve been indulging myself some as I’ve been miserably sick, so give me a break.

I am back on target now that I am well. I’ve been in to the gym 2 times since Saturday and plan on going today. And yesterday I met with a personal trainer so I should see the pounds just melting off soon.

Breakfast: Leftover Vientien Palace 3 star noodles with tofu (Probably not the healthiest thing and certainly calorific) and a Red Bull

Lunch: (not yet eaten) But I plan on having some home-made lasagna (400 cals) and a Mellow Yellow.

Kitchen Techniques: Ingredients: Onions

Onions are one of my favorite ingredients. I use them in nearly everything. I enjoy them both raw and cooked.

Recipe Note: When I say onion, I am generally referring to the common yellow storage onion. There are many other onions in the world that are available at your well supplied grocery store like Green onions – scallions, Sweet onions, Leeks, Shallots, Ramps, Red Onions, White Onions, and Pearl Onions. I use these in recipes but I will always specify which variety when I am not using standard yellow storage onions.

Why use them? They provide a flavor punch with very few calories. In about ½ a cup of chopped onion (3.5 ounces) you only have 38 calories. They also provide 10% of the Vitamin C and Folacin you need.

Shopping for Onions: Onions should be heavy for their size. This means if you have two onions that are about the same size the one that feels heavier is the better onion. The difference in weight is due to water content. The outer skins should be papery. You can select your onions individually or you can just go ahead and buy the orange mesh bag of them (that's what I do). The mesh bag offers a fast way to get a bunch of onions.

Availability of Onions (Seasonality): Onions are available year round but are most common March to September when they are fresh to most markets. Onions store well given the right conditions so stocking up on them when you have a good price at market is not a bad idea.

Storage of Onions: Onions can last several months in ideal conditions and can go bad in a couple of weeks in crappy conditions. What, pray tell, are ideal and crappy conditions you may ask? Onions want a cool dry place with lots of circulating air. If it is too humid you will get sprouting onions or rotting onions. The mesh bag is ok for storage if you are going to eat up the onions in about a month (I go through a mesh bag every other week if I'm cooking 2 times a week), or if you hang the bag so it is exposed to a lot of air. If you are going to hold on to your onions for longer you might want to try to store them in pantyhose hung from the ceiling. (To store them in pantyhose place them - one at a time - into a clean pair of hose and tie a not between each so that they have their own little nylon sack.) As you need them you can cut off the onion(s) you need and leave the rest hanging. (This is a great use of nylons with runs. You can also use this with thigh-highs too.) Do Not store them in the fridge!! Storing them in the fridge causes them to rot – The exception to this is an onion that has been cut but not used entirely. If you have a half-used onion you can store it for about a week in the fridge before it will go bad.

Preparing Onions: Onions can present somewhat of a problem for cooks in that they are round and not easily chopped into regular pieces. Be sure you have a sharp knife. A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one as they tend to slip off what you are cutting and cut you instead. Also onions can make people cry so the faster you can get them cut the better off you are likely to be. Here is the technique I use to more easily deal with onions:

Cut off the stem end first, leaving the root end intact. Discard the stem end into the scrap bowl.

Then you peel off the papery outer layers and the first thin inner layer and discard into the scrap bowl. Then you turn the onion onto the cut stem end and slice off one side of the onion the thickness of the chop you are looking for.

Then turn the onion onto the freshly cut side and again slice off an un-cut edge at the same thickness.

Now make parallel cuts across the width of the onion making sure not to slice through the root end.

Now turn the onion over onto the second of the side cuts and make cuts parallel to it making certain not to slice through the root end.

Now you cut across the length of the onion getting the exact size pieces you want. Discard the root end into the scrap bowl. Chop the two remaining side pieces and move all the cut onion into a prep bowl.

Hints and Tips for Onions: Onions can make your hands smell funny after you've been handling them – try rinsing your hands with lemon juice to rid yourself of the smelly fingers (also works for garlic-fingers). Onions can make you cry – lots of old wives tales for solving this (and just like cures for hiccups) some work for some people others don't. Try a few until you find one that works for you (Light a candle next to your cutting board, hold matches in your mouth – heads out- to block the smell, put bread under your tongue, etc) Raw yellow onions are bitter – after cutting them, soak them in ice water. Change the water several times over the course of up to 2 hours before serving they will be oniony with out being bitter. Onion Breath? - Chew fennel seeds, Parsley leaves, gargle vinegar, or drink some coffee.

History: Onions have a long and distinguished career as a domesticated food-stuff. There is evidence from the Bible and other sources both literary and archaeological that the onion has been cultivated since about 3000 BCE. It is believed that onions were part of the diet of the slaves who built the pyramids.

Myths and Legends: It is said in early cultures that onions were linked to the afterlife or eternal life because of the concentric circles you see when you slice an onion across its middle. Onions are also believed to have medicinal qualities. I don't know if I believe that they can cure any diseases but I eat them and enjoy a decent level of health. (Then again my sister won't touch them and she is as healthy, and perhaps more healthy than I am)

Food Journal-

Breakfast – 2 doughnuts – Red Bull

Lunch – Lasagna (my own) and a bowl of wild mushroom and rice soup (also my own) – Mellow Yellow

Dinner – Spicy shrimp over rice noodles (my own) – Mellow yellow

Exercise? - Sort of, I walked home instead of hitting the gym.