Smarmy Cogitation

Is there always a cause for "celebration"?

2010-10-15T12:00:00.001-07:00

As I sit here digesting the grilled veggie burrito I had for lunch, I'm pondering over being approached not one, but FIVE times, this week to go to the "Bosses Appreciation Day" breakfast. I won't go into all the reasons I think this little "celebration" is absurd, only the one foremost in my mind. Must everything be recognized by stuffing our faces with food? Greasy muffins, stale white bagels and cheap orange juice has nothing to do with appreciating your boss. It's hard enough to make good decisions in my own time and it irritates me that I have to fight off the foodpushers at work as well. You'd think when I didn't respond to the first two emails or the invite that it would be necessary to ask me again in person twice. NO I do not want to eat that crappy food. No, really. Really, really, really. I honestly believe birthdays, baby showers, bosses day, admin assistants day and all the other "special days" that are used as an excuse to eat crappy food together have no business being in the workplace. I'm proud of myself for not caving. Maybe if I keep saying "no" for the next six months of parties, it will finally get through.

A matter of percentages

2010-09-16T16:16:00.001-07:00

I made a poor decision for lunch today. I had two fried fish tacos from Rubios which equates to 14 Weight Watchers points. A 3 oz. serving of beans (2 pts) and a 3 oz. serving of rice (2 pts). So with 25 points for the day and already having used 18 for lunch, I'm either having lettuce for dinner or today is blown. I got to thinking about how much time I spend actually eating. I don't think I spend more than 10 minutes eating any meal, even dinner. And 10 minutes I probably on the high end.
Do I really wait hours in anticipation for something that only last 10 minutes? And then spend hours regretting it until the next time? Yes and yes. When I bring my lunch with me, I know it's already portion-controlled and planned. Not only is this conducive to my weight loss goal, it frees my mind up to think about other things. I brought my lunch all week and then today I didn't. That resulted in me spending a good chunk of the morning thinking/fantasizing/fighting with myself about what I was going to have. The results are much better when I let my rational, non-hungry side of my brain do the lunch packing so the neurotic, fat and sugar craving hungry side doesn't take over and make a bad decision later.
Back to the time spent actually eating. I would say breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks come out on the high side of 40 minutes a day. If I'm awake 16 hours a day that's 960 minutes. That is only 4.2% of my day I spent actually eating. The other 95.8% of my day I usually spend regretting what I've eaten and wishing I could stop eating crap so I could lose weight! Too often when I'm making food decisions, I'm only thinking about the next 10 minutes, not how this food is going to make me feel in 4, 6 or 8 hours. The next time I'm tempted by greasy fish tacos at 12 pm I am going to remind myself that by 4 pm it won't matter to me anymore so I might as well eat something healthy and work towards feeling fit and healthy the other 95% of the day.

- Posted using BlogPress

Napa Chicken Salad

2010-04-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

I can't take much credit for this recipe (it was inspired by a sandwich I had at Panera Bread), but it's quick, tasty, waistline-friendly and it reminds me of summer. Mix these ingredients together:

-2 tbsp of Trader Joe's Sweet Poppy dressing (2 pts)
-8 oz cooked plain, boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cubed (7.5)
-1/8 cup raw, sliced almonds (2 pts)
-1/2 cup red, seedless grapes, halved (0.5 pts)
-1 stick of celery, sliced (0 pts)
-salt & pepper to your taste

6 points per serving | 2 servings

I served this up on two slices of wheat bread w/ a leaf of heirloom lettuce. The poppy seed dressing is not very sweet and has a bit of a vinegar taste to it. It's one of my favorite things at Trader Joe's.

Why I went to all the trouble, time, expense and stress of moving 2,421 miles

2010-02-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

The fabulous tomatillo

2010-02-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

I have seen these little gems so many times at the grocery store and never knew what they were or what to do with them. Then I found out that tomatillos are the main ingredient in salsa verde which is my favorite salsa. When I get fish tacos with rice and beans at Rubios I smother the whole plate in salsa verde and lime juice and it is heavenly. I haven't tried making my own salsa verde yet but I did try tomatillos in an omelet and it was delicious. Basically I diced tomatillos (after removing the outer husk and stem), red onion, garlic, jalapeno, and some cilantro and sauteed everything in a pan coated with nonstick cooking spray for about 7 minutes. While that was cooking, I poured a half cup of egg beaters into an 8 inch pan also coated with nonstick cooking spray and let the egg cook all the way through. You know it's done when it bubbles and you tilt the pan and no raw egg rolls around. Otherwise, keep tilting and cooking! Fold the tomatillo mixture into the omelette and ta-da! Tomatillos have a very bright, almost limey flavor that plays well with the hot jalapenos and the onion. In fact it's kind of like the love child of cilantro and tomato.

An Investment

2009-06-24T18:44:00.001-07:00

I recently procured the help of a personal trainer after joining a gym about 2 miles from my house. I was so happy to find this gym, KO (Knock-Out) Fitness. During my college days at WVU, I was a member of Gold's Gym for several months my freshman year. It eventually closed down. I wasn't a member of any gym for a couple years - where did I work out? I can't remember, those times were a blur. I never gained the Freshman 15 but soon after moving into an apartment the weight started to creep up. Anyway, I loved Gold's Gym and KO Fitness reminds me of it a bit. The staff at KO is friendly and helpful, they remember my name! What a concept. People are there to WORK OUT, not grabass and socialize, which is the main thing I disliked about 24 Hour Fitness - the gym I was most recently a member of when I lived in Anaheim Hills.

My new membership came with a complimentary personal training session. I have worked with two other personal trainers and this was the first time I felt this person truly had an interest in helping me reach my goals and was completely capable to doing so. I signed up for 6 months of training 2 times a week. It is a fair chunk of change but I am happy to spend the money on something so important. My personal trainer has pointed out mistakes in form that I would have never noticed or thought of on my own, even in front of a mirror. For example, I have done hundreds of squats over the years and never realized I wasn't getting the full benefit of the exercise. The workouts are hard but I have confidence I'll become stronger. I now actually look forward to going to the gym again. Next, I'm going to tackle the kickboxing classes. So far my cardio has been the elliptical machine because I'm still a bit intimidated by the kickboxing. I plan on getting my boxing gloves Friday on my day off, watch out world!

Crafting in binary?

2009-06-06T00:56:00.000-07:00

At times, I've been tempted to get into scrapbooking, as well as stamping. Both of those hobbies seem like they could get really expensive though. When I think of more stuff just sitting around collecting dust, I always talk myself out of it. I recently heard of digital scrapbooking - it's free (to a point) and seems like it could be really fun. I wish I had Photoshop for my Mac but right now I'm busy blowing money on the house and ridiculously expensive skin cream... priorities, ya know.

A Post for April

2009-04-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

While waiting for one of my raster calculations to run (and distracting myself), I realized I hadn't posted anything for April. I am also harrassing my boyfriend to watch Twilight and not the 90s era boxing movie Diggstown. Okay, if it's not Twilight, at least don't make me watch Wolf Blitzer trying to make jokes on CNN. I feel like I will never be done with this thesis. Truly, it is just taking me f-o-r-e-v-e-r. After working 10 hours and being awake for 13, I am just really not feeling it. But I am working anyway, because I will finish. I WILL.

Two Healthy Chocolate Snacks I Am About to Plotz Over

2009-03-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches - The chocolate-vanilla variety has only 2 WW Points. For 3 Points, you may indulge in the Cookies n' Cream variety. Now I just need to know where to get the Low Fat French Vanilla Truffle Bars - also 2 Points!

Clif Z Bar, Chocolate Chip - Only 2 Points here as well. These are meant for kids, but they are perfect for dieting adults. I have tried a lot of energy bars; my favorite up until now was the Odwalla chocolate chip. Zone bars are also okay but both those and Odwalla have about 4-5 points each. The chocolate chip Z Bar actually tastes like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. There is also a brownie variety that I am anxious to try now.

Pepperoni Cheese Calzone

2009-03-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

During my WVU days, few foods were as welcome on a cold day as a hot cheesy calzone or stromboli with marinara dipping sauce. My beloved pepperoni stromboli at Sbarros has 890 calories, 44 grams of fat, and only 3 grams of fiber. That is 21 WeightWatchers points. Throw in a medium Coke and that's pretty much a day's allowance. And I would still probably be craving DP Dough's BBQ chicken calzone for dinner.

I think this was a pretty good substitute. Served with a side salad with light balsamic dressing and a diet coke, it's pretty darn good.

18 pieces (yes, 18!) Light Gallo Pepperoni - 2 pts

1/8 tsp olive oil - 0 pts

1 oz Shredded Mozzarella cheese - 2 pts

4 oz Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough - 4.5 pts

1/2 cup Trader Joe's organic Tomato Sauce - 0 pts

Sesame seeds for garnish - 0 pts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Roll out dough in as much of a circle shape as possible. Pizza dough is very elastic - like trying to roll out a rubber band! :)

3. Sprinkle cheese and place pepperoni on one half.

4. Fold other side over and press the edges together.

5. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

6. Make slices if desired, or poke a hole with a fork for an air vent.

7. Place on a cookie sheet coated with non-stick spray and bake for 10-15 minutes or until dough is firm.

8. Heat the tomato sauce for 30 seconds or so in the microwave and use for dipping.

Total Points Value: 8.5

Luscious Strawberry-Brandy Crêpes

2009-01-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I was experimenting with making some crêpes, one of my favorite foods. I love them because they are simple yet decadent. I have tried unsuccessfully in the past to make them at home with the Williams-Sonoma crêpe mix; but even following the directions, I could never get the batter thin enough. Easy and wonderful solution: Melissa's ready-to-use crêpes ; they exceeded my expectations. I have learned with crêpes that you have to be quick, quick, quick because they will burn easily. On the upside, you can have yourself a gourmet meal in almost no time. Here's what I came up with this afternoon, it was filling and WW-friendly.

2 of Melissa's crêpes

Non-stick cooking spray

1 tbsp 2% milk

3 tsp powdered sugar

1 tsp brandy

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 tbsp light whipped cream cheese

1 pint stemmed and sliced strawberries

1. Blend milk, powdered sugar, brandy, vanilla extract, and cream cheese in blender until well-combined (milk should not be separated from cream cheese).

2. Pour cream cheese mixture over strawberries and stir a few times until strawberries are coated.

3. Coat pan with non-stick cooking spray and set over medium heat.

4. Place 1 crêpe flat in the pan and spoon half of strawberry mixture on top.

5. Let the crêpe brown for about 15-20 seconds, fold in the sides like a burrito. brown for another 5-10 seconds, remove from pan. Repeat with second crêpe.

Total Points Value: 7.5

That Pretzel Necklace

2009-01-24T22:21:00.000-08:00

I saw this Pretzel Necklace on fredflare today and it reminded me of the one Carrie wore on Sex & the City. This would have been years ago now, probably 2003, thereabouts. I thought it was cute then and now. I would probably buy a cheaper version (maybe not 14k gold) and wear it if my love of food wasn't already obvious.

Blogging, I missed you.

2009-01-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

I must wake at 5

So I can sit in a cube

And dream of blogging