Home Stretch: Bring on the Chocolate and Bacon

I have the best excuse in the world for not blogging for 8 weeks. Really, this pregnancy card gives me a free pass to do (or not do) anything, short of a 2nd degree felony. So why not play it, right?

This baby is going to make his entrance in less than a month. Less than a month. Am I ready? Probably not, but Bobzilla and I have sure worked hard to get ready. Multiple childbirth and childcare classes. Furniture set up. Clothes and bedding washed. Baby gear acquired and in place.

It helps that we have been the recipients of such overwhelming generosity by family, friends, clients, associates, even strangers. Otherwise, we'd be less than broke.

The baby shower was...wow:

This remains a very healthy pregnancy. Perfect blood pressure and weigh gain. Baby Vincent is strong, healthy and active. He's developing at the rate he should be. I'm kind of annoyed that my "advanced maternal age" is the reason I have to be strapped to a monitor for an hour every week, but Vincent's strong and healthy heartbeat is the sweetest "fuck you" that this old lady can give to those over-zealous geezer haters at the midwifery department.

I'm eating healthy, well, ok, probably 70% of the time. But give me a friggin' break. I have to eat more carbs and, well, when baby wants chocolate and cheese, he gets chocolate and cheese.

Still staying active. Here's what an 8+ month pregnant woman of "advance maternal age" looks like doing cardio:

...OK, you know how I was talking about how generous everyone's been? Just now, a friend showed up at our front door bearing bags of baby clothes. Sweet! I swear, when you become a first time parent, it's like you're automatically initiated into this elite club that you never knew existed before spawning. I likey.

I'm now at 36 weeks, about 9 months knocked up.



Final countdown!

Current craving: Spicy hot cocoa. Thankfully, the generosity of a friend has come through once more.

Happy New Year!

28 Weeks Later

It's been, what, 6 weeks since my last blog post? Despite my plan to slow down in October, things have been everything but slow and casual.

Here's the breakdown:

1. I lost my mom. It's ok, tho. We knew it was coming. She was elderly, suffered from dementia and had been sick for a while. I said goodbye to her two years ago.
   
   
2. I lost a good friend suddenly. That was not so easy to take.
   
   
3. Stupid gestational diabetes screening threatened to derail my natural childbirth plans. I blew a 180 on the first sugar test. 180!! So I had to carb load for 3 days, (150 grams a day!), fast for 12 hours and do the 3 hour blood sugar test. And, go figure, I passed the 3 hour test. I no has diabeetus! But that time period in between the first and second blood test put me in an emotional tizzy, as I was worried that I was diabetic and would be put on the C-section train.
   
   
   
   While I'm relieved things turned out ok, what a flawed testing system! It demonstrates how eating healthy will actually result in a false high blood sugar reading, causing unnecessary follow up work, unrealistic dietary changes and anxiety. After all, how else is the body supposed to react when it's forced to ingest 50 grams of glucose in one shot, when it is not used to even half of that amount of carbs/sugar in any 12 hour period? And how ironic that one way to pass the sugar test is to ingest an assload of carbs/sugar. Kind of calls into question the whole "low carb" way of eating.
   
   
   
4. Bobzilla started his own film blog. This means that we've been going to movie screenings about twice a week, usually at 7:30 at night on a school night.
   
   
5. Marathon shopping for maternity & baby room stuff. It took a week of driving all over Cleveland just to find the right dresser. We could probably stand to be less picky.
   
   
   
6. Speaking of the baby room, we spent 3-4 days moving around furniture, baby proofing, packing and hauling stuff in the attic to make room for baby.
   
   
   
7. Sis had her baby!
   
   Xavier arrived after only, like, 5 minutes of push time. I hope I have a super vag like her come delivery time.
   
   
8. Bob and I went on our last "babymoon," staying an extended weekend with my BFF in the Pen Mar blue ridge mountains. Le sigh. We all entered the annual Pumpkin Cooking Contest, using recipes we were perfecting since late summer.
   
   
   Bob's pumpkin pizza took third place!
   
   
   My pumpkin & cream cheese baklava took second place!
   
   
   Bridgie's pumpkin & mango curry was delicious, but did not place. She got skunked.
   
   
   
9. Two Halloween weddings in one day. Whew! One of them was a costume reception. Here we are, as Rosemary (and her baby) and the Devil (proud papa):
   
   
   
10. Reconnecting with lots of good friends. Ben. Alan and Margie and their uber babies. Christie and Tony. And LOTS of visits with Vincent's grandparents, who are probably more excited than we are. However, Bob suspects they are just using us to have some one-on-one time with Goji, who is really their favorite grandchild.
    
    
    
11. Zombie walk. Again.
    
    
    
    And it doesn't look like things are going to let up this month, either. Just this week alone, we are busy every day. We start our first weekly childbirth class tomorrow night. They're 3-hour sessions after work. Ugh. More movie screenings. Funeral on Friday, followed by a memorial on Saturday. I also have to find time to cook some GF desserts for the baby shower/Hell-has-frozen-over party, which--holy shit--is this coming Sunday!
    
    Sure glad we did absentee voting this election.
    
    And after that? Bi-weekly prenatal appointments, more baby classes (CPR, breastfeeding, daddy bootcamp, etc.), the holidays and BAM! Baby.
    
    

    BABY UPDATE:
    
    

    I am now in my third trimester, at 28 weeks. I can't believe we're almost 7 months along now! So far, this has been a healthy pregnancy. Vincent's growth is right on target, and his heart rate is going strong. Blood pressure is excellent, as are the bodily fluid tests and misc. prenatal checkups. No edema/swelling or bloat. I've now gained around 18 pounds and am steadily gaining a pound a week.
    
    
    

    
    

    I still maintain 90 minutes of fitness every morning, one hour of cardio + 30 minutes of strength/core exercises. In fact, I think the regular exercising has really helped during this pregnancy. While I definitely poop out at times, my energy level has been pretty good. The special prenatal core exercises I follow on Babyfit will, hopefully, prime this body for some effective and efficient baby popping in a couple months.
    
    My mood is strong, and I actually *like* carrying this parasite around. The belly and its jerky, jumpy, squirmy contents are an endless source of fascination for me.
    

    
    
    

    Downsides? My hair is growing wacky and fast. I've given up on regular haircuts and have accepted bad hairdays as the norm. I pee a LOT. Especially at night, so straight 7-8 hour sleep is a distant memory. Heartburn is practically constant, with the baby pushing up against my stomach. Gum and Tums help some. I just can't eat a full meal except on a few occasions. Instead, I nosh here and there constantly.
    
    I'd like to say I will get on top of all my blog following, but I just don't know if that's being realistic. While I still read many fitness and health blogs (waves at Shelley, Cammy, Trish, TJ, Patrick, Ariel, Fat Daddy, Bobbie) I am spending most of what little free time is left hanging out at Babyfit and reading baby books (4 of them are currently stacked on the toilet tank).
    
    Current food craving(s): Peanut butter with anything.
    

Oh yeah, about that ultrasound from 3 weeks ago...

We're having a boy.

His name is Vincent Christopher. Just don't call him "Vinnie." That's too Jersey Shore for my tastes. *shudders*

All genetic screening tests came back about as good as they could get, with like a 1 in a gazillion probability that he has an abnormality. His heart is strong, over 145 bpm. He is extremely active--I started feeling him kick and squirm from the outside of my tummy at 19 weeks. Bobzilla felt him move last night. *gushes*

He has both brain hemispheres, all organs and is growing ahead of his gestational age. So despite my initial concerns about not gaining enough weight, he's getting what he needs and is thriving.

Speaking of weight...I am now 10 pounds heavier! About friggin' time. Had a growth spurt over the last 10 days or so. In just the last 3 weeks, I gained over 5 pounds!

And the belly keeps expanding. I now use it as a laptop rest. The laptop sometimes jiggles from the baby kicks. *lolz*

My sister, who is due in THREE DAYS, tells me that her boy is so fidgety and powerful that he can steer the car. Yikes!

Physically, I feel better than I have since early May. I am less tired overall and am more mentally focused.

On the other hand, my stamina for physical activity has gone down. I still work the bike an hour every morning, but not at the same speed or intensity because I overheat quicker. Bobzilla and I go to at least one show a week, and standing for more than 30 minutes or so is now a real drain. We often leave early, or I pace the club looking for a place to sit and sip my club soda and lime. We went to see an old band of his last Thursday, where I sat on the barstool all night and kept watching the clock wanting to go home. I like seeing our friends, but I feel less sociable because of this. Don't think I can keep doing that sort of thing and may be staying home a lot more beginning October. Which is fine. It'll give me time to engage in wacky nesting behavior that all the mommy friends tell us will hit this trimester. And catch up on Breaking Bad--I really want to watch that show!

I can't wait for my nephew Xavier to make his introduction early next week! My sis has an induction scheduled for the 21st. Wow. An appointment to have a baby. Craziness.

This week's food craving: Watermelon. Still.

Baking This Baby Takes FOREVER!

See this?

That's my second breakfast* I eat every morning. It's mixed fruit (cantaloupe, strawberry and red grapes), low fat yogurt and *gulp* wheat bran and wheat germ. Yeah, looks yummy, don't it? This concoction, while certainly not visually appealing, is pure baby fuel. And the added hippie dippy grains have saved my ass. Literally. These pregnancy hormones + the iron in the prenatal vitamins will plug me up for days if I don't increase my daily fiber at least triple fold.

Now that I'm 4 & 1/2 months preggers, I'm happy to report I have GAINED some poundage. I'm now 3-4 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. Weee! And who'da thought I'd be happy about gaining weight? Being pregnant is perverse.

There was some minor baby drama when I got a call from my doctor's office Tuesday, telling me that they took the wrong blood test last week and needed another blood draw stat! Little background: Because of my "advanced maternal age," I'm doing the whole genetic sequential screening, which requires two rounds of blood tests. The blood must be drawn during certain stages of the pregnancy. In this case, the test that they should have done was supposed to occur before the end of my 17th week for optimal accuracy. We were now past that. FUCK! The call came while I was at a client's house. Great timing. I had to rush from the meeting to get to the hospital lab before it closed so that they could get the blood draw in time to ship off, testing done and results back in advance of the next ultrasound. Do I have to tell you that I was a raging, hormonal, blubbering, mess by the time they jabbed me with the needle? Somebody will pay for this emotional fire drill. Oh yes.

So, about that next ultrasound....it's scheduled for next Tuesday, at which time we will find out whether the parasite is going to be a boy or girl. The Chinese gender test I took indicated it's a girl. We'll see.

Exercise is still the same. Well, except for the fact that another resistance band snapped on me, this time almost taking out the TV. I get it now. I don't need to be told a third time. I'm back to the free weights.

I have this insatiable craving for hummus, hot sauce and grass. Mixed together.


*First breakfast is a power smoothie comprised of carrot juice, orange juice, more low fat yogurt, low fat milk, and pineapple. Followed by a handful of almonds. Zing!

Wednesday Weigh In 6/...oh, wait. Nevermind.

Not having to report weekly weigh-in results has un-tethered me to this blog. I haven't posted in, what, 3 weeks?

I've been leading a pretty intense jury trial which finally concluded today with the verdict, which took the jurors 2 days to deliberate. The result? A King Solomon where both sides got something. Now, I have about 3 weeks worth of backed-up work piled on my desk that I had to put aside while doing the trial gig. No big thang.

Staying fit and eating right during these hectic last few weeks was a bit of a challenge, but doable. Had to cut back my workouts to an hour each morning (hello, five a.m.!) and stuck with less-than-perfect cafeteria fare offered at the courthouse for lunch. All in all, I did pretty well. I'm actually below 138 pounds, which was a bit of a shocker to me.

Getting new suits in appropriate sizes was the bigger challenge. I hate spending money on clothes. Hate it. Most suits retailed at about $150 on clearance and I just couldn't cave. The single size 10 jacket I have hanging on my office coat rack wasn't going to get me through each day and it was looking pretty sad on me. I did have to buy a new jacket for $70 on clearance, and it brought tears to my eyes. Thankfully, Bobzilla took me to some consignment shops later and I scored a never-worn Ann Taylor suit, dress blouse and 2 jackets for about what I paid for that damn $70 dollar coat. Oh, and they're all size 6's. Yay me.

In between all the trial work, Bob and I snuck away for a 3-day retreat at my BFF's fabulous estate in the Maryland Blue Ridge Mountains. We tried Ethiopian cuisine for the first time. Loved it. As leftovers the next morning? Not so much. Miz BFF and I share a passion for vintage clothes and we spent Saturday night modeling some crazy 60's and 70's fashion, acting the fools.

Bobzilla got me this outrageous dress as a (23rd!) anniversary present earlier this month. The hippie chick in the bodice? She's showing nip. Both of 'em. No lie. I swear, this pattern must've also been used as wallpaper:


I need the perfect shoes to go with this dress. Preferably some shiny white babies with a chunky heel. Or maybe white boots.

My garden is growing out of control. Sadly, due to the unseasonably warm weather, the broccoli bolted before it even grew full size. On the upside, the tomatillos, lettuce and the prized jolokia pepper plant are thriving. There's gonna be some good eatin' in the house pretty soon.

My other BFF just ran her first 4k last weekend and I'm proud as a mama. It was freakin' hot that day, but she still pulled it off in 45 minutes. A-may-zing!

And Bob? Holy shit, he's been hitting the bike and weights practically every morning, on top of his runs with the dog after he takes me to work. What's significant about this is that he just does it without making a big announcement about it, like it's a noteworthy event. He's treating it like an everyday routine now. Kick. Ass.

In totally unrelated fit 'n healthy news, we've been watching the TV series The IT Crowd on Netlix Instant View. It may just be better than The Office. Perhaps it's because we relate much more intimately to the show given our own geek backgrounds.

Wednesday Weigh-In 6/2/2010: The Final Edition

I never set an official "goal" for myself when I first set my mind to lose weight 3 or so years ago. I liked the idea of 140 pounds, but never put a target on that number. At around 250 pounds, I was happy at the idea of just going down to a size 16, ideally a size 14. 140 pounds has been a magical number for me. There's no logical reason for it. I just remember weighing 14o in jr. high/early high school and that I kept getting heavier ever since. And 140 seems reasonable. It's not, like, an anorexic size for someone of my 5'7" body. It's a solid, healthy zone. Yeah, 140 was pretty much the golden grail for me.

So, I finally made it to 140.0 on the beloved Tanita scale. Finally.

Now what?

Well, not much will be changing. I'm still going to work out 6 days a week, the usual program of 1 hour cardio/30 minutes strength training (different muscles on alternating days). As I head into my 40th year, this amount of exercise is about right for maintenance.

I don't think my eating is going to change. For so long now, I've been eating what I want in reasonable portions. And what I want happens to be lots of home-cooked meals made from whole foods, lean meats, veggies, nuts, cheese and fruits. I also have a serving of gelato every night. Of course, I still eat out and don't really fuss too much about what's on the menu because I only eat half of what I order anyway. I don't count calories anymore. I got this. It's ingrained.

I'm not worried about losing weight anymore, and I doubt I'm going to lose any more pounds, although I promised myself I would cut back a little on the workouts if I still lost weight. That's not likely to happen though. Getting to 140 has been a slow and easy landing. This is a comfortable place for my body to settle down.

Just to make sure that all departments in my brain are on the same page in terms of maintenance, I'm going to stop posting my weekly weigh-ins. I do still weigh myself every day, but the concept of "reporting" a weight every week places undue emphasis on weight-loss, which is not the mode I'm in anymore. If, in the future, I start noticing gains or losses of 5 pounds or more, then I'll record it and adjust the food and fitness accordingly.

And so, that's that.

I've been a bad blogger lately in that I'm rarely posting comments on anyone else's blog and just being an overall lazy bitch. I could blame work and hectic real life, but really, I do that enough already. So, I'll just acknowledge my lameness and leave it at that.

Wednesday Weigh-In: 4/7/2010 and I've Got Some Nice Garbanzos!

145.2. More of the same, more or less. There was no Easter cheatin' by way of chocolate eggs or bunnies or copious amounts of ham. I did share half a rotisserie chicken with Bobzilla, and our dessert was a GF strawberry shortcake--I supplied the fresh organic berries and homemade whipped cream, Mama Zilla supplied the GF cake. There is no shame in that.

My womanly cycle finally returned earlier this week in all its bizarrely gory glory, and Bob is getting excited about upcoming baby-making exercises. File that under TMI.

During one of our mega-shopping trips to Whole Foods, I bagged about 5 pounds of dried organic chickpeas with the idea we were going to make a lot of hummus and Indian food. BTW, once you go cooked-from-scratch chickpeas, you never go back to canned. Anyway, three months later and there is still about 3 pounds of chickpeas hanging around. Today I improvised and came up with a vegan chickpea salad that I could have for lunch. And it was no less than awesome. Even Bobzilla liked it, going for second dips after the first taste.

It is kinda, sorta like traditional chickpea salad, but I added some tahini to give it a creamy-but-vegan texture and generous amounts of cayenne pepper because its compulsory in our household.

Here's the recipe for...um, what shall I call it? Spicy Mediterranean Chickpea Salad? Sounds bland. Garbanzo Glee? Nope.

Anyway, here it is:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried chick peas, soaked overnight

1 green bell pepper, finely diced

1 small or ½ large white or red onion, finely diced

2 medium roma tomatoes, diced

small handful flat leaf or curly parsley

2 small or 1 large clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp kosher salt

juice 1 lemon

2 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 TB tahini

1/8 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I'd use more)

Ground black pepper, about 6-7 twists on the grinder

Drain chickpeas and thoroughly rinse. Put chickpeas in medium saucepan and add fresh cold water to pan, topping the beans by about 2 inches. Add a generous amount salt and boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook for at least 1 hour or until beans are tender and divine. More more water may need to be added during the cooking process, depending on how thirsty the beans are, so keep an eye on them.

While beans are cooking, chop up all vegetables, garlic and parsley and throw it all into large mixing bowl. In small mixing bowl, whisk together lemon juice, tahini, oil, salt, pepper and other spices.

Once beans are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water until warmish. Add beans to vegetable bowl. Pour dressing over top and toss until well-mixed. Adjust salt, pepper and spices to suit personal taste. Toss/stir each time before serving to properly distribute dressing.

Optional:

Add finely chopped jalapeno, cukes, kamut or cooked brown rice, feta cheese and/or olives.

Thanksgiving Weekend Breather

First off, my weight last Wednesday was 145.6, back exactly to what it was 2 weeks ago. I didn't have time to post a Wednesday Weigh-In and update, between office wind-up and food prep. I'm more interested to see what the scale says next Wednesday.

Thanksgiving itself was pretty great. We spent it with Bob's family and it was actually one of the best Thanksgivings we have shared. I handled the turkey and pumpkin squares (made from scratch...including the pumpkin itself), Bob made his GF mac 'n cheese, and his mom pretty much slaved over everything else. The turkey (which I had brined the day before) came out especially tasty and juicy. There were no food disasters or kitchen mishaps. This was also our dog's first Thanksgiving, and she was very well-behaved and goofy. She was the centerpiece of the day.

No, I didn't pig out. But I have a weakness for the gamey dark meat. And Sandi's cranberry orange jello mold. A peek at the scale the next day showed zero gain, so that's good.

For Black Friday, we avoided the big box stores and chains, and instead stuck to all local shops and artists. The highlight was hitting up the Bazaar Bizarre, featuring some of the most unique, neat-o wares by local DIY artists. Artisan glass, found object wearable art, scarab jewelry made from watch gears, marshmallow soap...I was overwhelmed by such talent. And THE coolest T-shirts I ever saw, designed and sold by Psycho Reindeer. I couldn't resist picking up a shirt for myself:

Today, we went to the newly-restored Capitol Theatre and saw The Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was fantastic. Tonight, Master Chef Bob made Vindaloo (basically, Indian hash) from some of the 10 pounds or so of leftover turkey. It was quite tasty:

Yeah, Goji wasn't too far from the turkey. She's developed quite a taste for it. Our cats don't much care for turkey, but this dog goes apeshit for it and will actually go through her whole repertoire of tricks without being commanded to do so. Impressive.

And tonight we are staying in and watching some DVDs, starting off with a zombie movie to get into the holiday spirit. Tomorrow, we'll be taking Goji to the park for a run and some frisbee action. Later, we'll be putting up the holiday decorations and tree, which will no doubt be destroyed by Monday. Goji was already trying to pull down the (empty) pet stockings that I just hung on the mantle.

Still working out every day (except Sunday). I'm up to Level Two on the Jillian shred, which I alternate every other day with the other Jillian vid, with an extra 30 minutes on the bike for cool down. Yeah, the bike's a cool down. It's my recovery after those got dam walking push-ups, plank jacks, squat thrusts and lunges w/bicep curls. *shudders*

Wednesday Weigh-In: 9/9/09 & Reintroducing the No-Nos

With the scale reading 148.6 pounds this morning (about a pound loss), it looks like the train is moving in the right direction again. But for Jillian's workouts, I probably would have reported another maintain or gain following a 4 day holiday weekend that *may* have involved copious amounts of beer & brats, amongst other things. I mean, with 3 picnics and a festival to attend, what's a flogger to do?

Now it wasn't all just eatin' and drinkin'. We went to the local Oktoberfest, where we cheered at the wiener dog races and listened to polka bands singing happily about beer, kielbasa and babes. I "danced" with an African Drum Dance troupe and watched French Can Can dancers for the first (and last) time. We saw the new film Extract, which was about as entertaining as Office Space. We also saw Martyrs on DVD, which was quite excellent but not recommended for the squeamish.

Over the past few weeks, I've been reintroducing oil and coffee into my regular diet. I was really just too strict with omitting the olive and canola oils from my foods. Not wanting to get a chemical peel/face lift before I'm 45, and wanting to maintain proper digestive movement, I figured some healthy allowance of fats would be a good thing. It was a little hard at first, admittedly. But, I'm learning to loosen up and it's getting better. For example, my lunch today was a homemade quinoa salad made with veggies from the garden (apparently, bunnies don't like peppers), toasted almonds, balsamic vinegar, honey, a little tamari soy sauce and dijon mustard. And enough olive oil to make the whole bowl glisten. *gulp*

Also, I'm having a cup of coffee during my pre-workout walks with the dog. I gotta say, it's really helped jump start my mornings. Bad or not, I think the morning coffee is here to stay for a while.

Oh God, what's next? Sour cream? Cheese? Scandalous!

Getting back to the Jillian workout, this DVD is sweet. It's cut my workout time by about 30 minutes, but I'm still getting the core and lower body workouts that I used to devote extra time on separately. And I'm sweating bullets. Efficient! I alternate the video every other day, riding the recumbent bike on the off days.

I better fit in Jillian all I can this month, because come October, she'll be on hiatus while I play this on the bike! *squeals*:

Size 6 on an All-BK Diet? Read it here first!

Friday night found us at a local Burger King. Yeah, I know. After checking their neat-o interactive nutrition menu on their website, I ordered the BK Veggie Burger w/o mayo or cheese. It was actually pretty good. I wasn't too worried about carbs and refined flours in the bun because it has the weight and density of air. With the veggie burger, I ordered a side salad. This is my impression of a BK garden side salad, sans cheese and croutons:

Well, it could've been worse.

While waiting in line at the supermarket last night, this magazine cover caught my attention:

Size 6? Really? Well, maybe she is, and the ample chest area has skewed my perspective. Either this is another example of vanity sizing, or an illustration of just how differently proportioned we all are and that ultimately size matters less than weight and measurement. Or a little bit of both. There's a photographic height and weight chart on the web that features pictures of real men and women. It's fascinating to navigate.

This song never gets old for me...it is my go-to warmup workout song:



And how are these for some killer lyrics (taken from Neko Case's website):

THIS TORNADO LOVES YOU
Neko Case 2008

MY LOVE I AM THE SPEED OF SOUND
I LEFT THEM MOTHERLESS, FATHERLESS
THEIR SOULS DANGLING INSIDE-OUT FROM THIER MOUTHS...
BUT IT'S NEVER ENOUGH
I WANT YOU

I CARVED YOUR NAME ACROSS THREE COUNTIES
AND GROUND IT IN WITH BLOODY HIDES
BROKEN NECKS WILL LINE THE DITCH
TILL YOU "STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP THIS MADNESS!"
I WANT YOU

I HAVE WAITED WITH A GLACIER'S PATIENCE
SMASHED EVERY TRANSFORMER WITH EVERY TRAILER
TILL NOTHING WAS STANDING
SIXTY-FIVE MILES WIDE

BUT STILL YOU ARE NOWHERE, STILL YOU ARE NOWHERE, NOWHERE IN SIGHT
COME OUT TO MEET ME, RUN OUT TO MEET ME
COME INTO THE LIGHT

CLIMB THE BOXCARS TO THE ENGINE
THROUGH THE SMOKE AND TO THE SKY

YOUR RAILS COULD ALWAYS OUTRUN MINE SO I
I PICKED THEM UP AND CRASHED THEM DOWN
IN A MOMENT CLOSE TO NOW
CAUSE I MISS, I MISS, I MISS, I MISS
HOW YOU'D SIGH YOURSELF TO SLEEP
WHEN I'D RAKE THE SPRINGTIME ACROSS YOUR SHEETS

CHORUS

MY LOVE, I'M AN OWL ON THE SILL IN THE EVENING
BUT MORNING FINDS YOU
STILL WARM AND BREATHING
THIS TORNADO LOVES YOU, WHAT WILL MAKE YOU BELIEVE ME?

Wednesday Weigh-In: 8/12/09 & Adventures in Lunch

I'm finally on the other side of the scale: 149.6 lbs! That's down 1 & 1/2 pounds from last week. *whew*

Lunch has been quite the adventure over the last few weeks. I've taken a break from my standard brown rice/veggie lunch delights to try different things. First, being lazy, I decided to have bunless veggie patties with rice and veggies. At first it seemed fine until 2-3 days into it, I noticed that everything was just rushing through my system. I wasn't sick, I just wasn't digesting anything either. I felt tired and light headed. As it turned out, it was the damned soy in those burgers. Really, we weren't meant to digest soy in the way and quantities that we do (soy seems just as prevalent in our diets as corn/corn syrup), especially in its non-fermented form. When you think about what it takes to make tofu (basically, like making soap), you gotta ask yourself whether there aren't better, more natural food choices out there. I could turn this post into a rant and cut and past research on the issue, but I'll save that for a future blog.

Then, I moved on to local restaurant options for lunch. At first I thought I found the Holy Grail in the form of Subway's little known veggie patty subs. And they were yummy--hot veggie patty on whole grain bread with tons of veggies and spicy mustard. Mmmm. And it didn't rot my guts like straight up soy burgers did, although there was some soy in it. However, all nutritional information was suspiciously absent from Subway's website. After much researching from other sources, I learned that it's fattier than you think and contains cheese and eggs. So much for being veggie. I don't mind eggs, but I cannot verify if the eggs are free range and organic. I'm not for putting anything in my mouth that was squeezed out of the nether regions of a genetically-modified, anti-biotic pumped, caged chicken that has no will to live.

Now, I tried being creative this week with found ingredients in my fridge. What I came up with is a yet-unnamed concoction made from scrambled "good" eggs, onions and black beans garnished with hot sauce and queso fresco, served over salad mix with brown rice cakes. While the final product looks not unlike engine sludge, it was quite tasty. Score! On the other hand, I just can't do eggs like that everyday.

Last night, we went shopping at my favorite--albeit long-distance--grocery store, Mustard Seed Market. After enjoying a dinner of broccoli & cauliflower dill salad and splitting a large asiago chicken breast with the hubs from their deli, I picked up some makings for an awesome veggie & rice bowl using this spicy peanut and ginger sauce. Can't wait to taste the results!

As I'm writing this, I'm enjoying a large, plump plum that I also picked up at the Market. Thanks for the reminder, Jelly Bean!

My little toe is still broke, but hasn't really interfered anymore. Maybe it'll just fall off one day. Sometimes evolution works way too slow.

Happy, Shiny Wednesday Weigh-In: 7/1/2009 and LENTIL SALAD!

Office fire drills gave me a mild case of the bitchies today, almost dampening my Heavy Rebel vibe. But after I got home and set to packing, cooking vaycay meals and doing final hotel bookings (Priceline massages my gambling pleasure spot), the blood pressure went down again.

Hobbes and Sebastian are a bit nervous, though. They know that when Mommy and Daddy fuss around the house and bring out the suitcases, that means that they are going on an extended visit to the grandparents. Again. *growl*

Tonight, I made a batch of gluten-free, vegan, organic lentil salad (mujadara). And, I'm not going to lie. It's all kinds of awesome. And cheap.

Here's the recipe, but I don't have time to calculate the actual nutritional value, so you're on your own:

1 cup dried lentils
2 large onions or 3 medium onions
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
1/4 tsp. Cumin
1 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice (substitute canola oil for the butter to make it vegan)
Salt
Pepper

Sort and rinse the lentils well. Put in medium saucepan and add enough water to cover the lentils by about 2 inches. Turn heat on high and boil for about 15 minutes.

While lentils are boiling, halve the onions and cut into medium thin slices. Sautee in a hot fry pan with about a tablespoon of canola oil (don't use olive oil since you're cooking at a high temperature). Basically, fry those onions until they are really dark brown, almost black. This is going to take you at least 15-20 minutes. The idea is to cook the onions until they are a dark carmelized paste.

Drain the lentils, add about another cup or so of fresh water and boil again until the lentils are tender. Add the onions, salt and pepper to taste (it's up to you how salty you want this...I didn't use exact measurements), garam masala and cumin. Cook for about another 5 minutes. Add in the rice and cook for another 5 minutes. The end result is this:

Yeah, it looks like mealy dog poo. But it tastes fantastic. It's got great contrasting textures and an umami taste--savory, sweet and a hint of smokiness and that something-something from the aromatic spices in the garam masala and cumin.

Serve the lentil salad warm or at room temperature over a bed of chopped romaine lettuce, cucumbers, red onions, sliced red bell pepper and tomatoes that have been tossed in a light lemon & olive oil dressing.

The dressing was pretty simple:

4 lemons, juiced (red wine vinegar works well as a replacement if the lemons are not your thing)
3/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
some chopped fresh mint if you have it, about 1/2 tablespoon or more
some salt
couple pinches of sugar to cut the acidity
ground black pepper

Wisk together to emolsify and voila:

This is so much better than fried starch and mechanically reclaimed chicken that's likely to be sold at the shindig.

Oh, and before I forget and post this tomorrow, giving anyone the impression that I might be scale dodging, I weighed in this morning at an even 153.00 pounds*. That's a 1.4 pound loss from last week. Put another way, that's 3 weeks' worth of Jack S**t's Half Pound Challenges. Call it paying it forward to compensate for the damage I'll be doing this weekend!

I've been working out strictly to music this week and will probably continue to do so in the near future. Video games and watching constant streams of Michael Jackson on all the morning shows couldn't raise my heart rate above 145, even during the peaks of my interval training.

*Sans waxing. No time to groom. Thank goodness that the bottom half of my swimsuit has a skirt edge!

Oh My God

I bought a swimsuit today. Yup. A 2-piecer. No, not a bikini. I'm not that deluded. But a nice halter top/sweet wraparound skirt thingy.

And I got waterproof mascara--something I haven't done in over 15 years because swimming didn't used to be an option before.

And bikini wax. Which unnerves me because there will be glorious pain. But with all the hair I gotta remove, it'll give me an edge at tomorrow's weigh-in.

Oh, and I forgot to mention earlier that I'm a solid size 10-er now. Yup. And today's clothes orgy at the store confirmed it.

And I failed to post Nashville vacation pics. Well, here's a pic of me in front of the historic Ryman Theater, channeling the spirit of Patsy Cline, who used to smoke on these very steps before her shows:

Finally, meet Peter, this headless fellow I found in my bag 'o carrots. He's a bit of a swisher:


Sorry for my unforgivable absence lately. While I got my interwebs back on at home, I've barely had leisure time between office stuff and settling in at the new place and planning for the next vacation trip.

This weekend, we're off on another multi-state rampage. This time, I'm packing the following in the cooler: baked brown rice, homemade lentil salad (mujadara), veggies, homemade lemon & olive oil dressing, jalapeno baked beans, hummus, carrots and almonds. So, I can pretend to be healthy while sipping from my flask at the festivities. There's going to be a major scale fail when I return, for sure.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Asian Noodle Joy

With our big move coming up, I decided to take advantage of the holiday to make a large batch of lunch bowls for the rest of the week and next. Either we were out of brown rice or it's been packed, so I went with a veggie noodle dish, and kinda winged it using what was left in the pantry and fridge. The end result was quite pleasing.

Here's the recipe, which makes 5 servings:

• 1 whole package of 100% buckwheat soba noodles, 12 oz. (Eden Foods makes a brand of organic, gluten-free soba noodle. You'll need about 1 & 1/2 packages for this recipe if making 5 servings, or just use one package and include fried tofu or extra veggies to pad it out)
• 2-3 "trunks" of broccoli stems (I decapitate the flower heads and steam them or eat them raw separately--Bobzilla refuses to eat stems, so this is a great way to sneak in insoluble fiber)
• 1/2 bag of baby carrots
• 1/2 head red cabbage
• 1/2 head white cabbage
• 1 medium white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1-2 TB cock sauce, or more depending on how hot you like it
• 2 TB of low-sodium, wheat-free tamari (San-J is an excellent choice)
• 1/4 cup organic peanut butter (Giant Eagle's "Nature's Basket" is the one I used)
• 1 TB canola oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 TB ginger paste

Take all of the vegetables and shred them. Cabbage is easy. Just cut lengthwise on the cutting board. For the carrots & broccoli stems, I run them through the food processor, sideways so you get longish shreds. Otherwise, just cut them into thin matchstick-sized pieces. Now, don't freak out by the butt-load size of veggies. They will cook down and fit with everything.

While cooking the other ingredients, start boiling water in a large pasta pot, with a little salt, and cook the entire package of noodles (usually about 4-5 minutes), drain noodles and rinse with cold water. Have noodles and pasta pot on standby for the finishing stage.

In a large dutch oven or wok, add oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Sautee the cabbage and onion for about 3 minutes or so. Add the broccoli and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the garlic at the end...garlic can brown easily and tastes like caca when over fried.

Then add all of the sauces, peanut butter and ginger paste to the vegetable mixture and stir over low heat until it gets saucy. You may need to add more rice vinegar, or even a little water to thin out.

Put the noodles back in the pasta pot. Add the veggie-sauce mixture and stir until well-mixed. From this batch, I was able to divide it up into 5 reusable freezer containers, weighing about 11.25 ounces each, with a little leftover for a snack. Just pop the containers in the freezer and take out to reheat as needed.

Here's the nutritional breakdown, which I calculated after adding up all of the serving size nutritional information found either on the package labels or surfing the internet for the produce, adjusting for the actual amounts actually used, and then dividing by 5:

Calories = 389
Protein = 15.4 grams

Fiber = 11 grams (finding fiber info on the broccoli stems was iffy, so I conservatively estimate it at 3 grams)
Carbs = 63.5 grams
Sodium = 780 mg (Eeek! That's a third of the daily allowance...even the low sodium soy sauce is still pretty high.)

I'd take a picture, but that means crawling over boxes to get to the camera. Fuhget it.

This also makes a great protein-packed, fiber-rich dinner, just invite over a couple of friends and break out the warm sake or Sang Som cocktails.

Hope everyone had a peaceful and fun holiday weekend. I know I did. The scale will tell all this Wednesday.

Post-Easter This 'n That

Saturday, I did even better with the running: 1.5 miles nonstop, 1/4 mile walk and then another mile run nonstop. Warm up and cool down walks added up to about 1/2 mile. At the end, my face was so red I looked like a tomato. But I had my first runner's high. It was all kinds of awesome.

Easter Sunday was hit and miss. We don't celebrate Easter and instead hit the fitness trail again. Yay! Bobzilla even ran with me between exercise stations several times. I did a *little* better on the pull-ups (in my mind). Still didn't do the vault jumps. Of course. This time, I blew my left knee doing jumping jacks of all things. But I felt better later.

Part of the bargain I made with Bobzilla in exchange for doing the fitness trail (yes, I had to negotiate with him) is that we would eat lunch at the place of his choice. The problem, though, was that most places were closed on Easter. So we ended up at a local pizza joint. He got a small pepperoni pizza (without taking his enzyme pill for his gluten allergy. tsk tsk). I ordered what I thought was the safest choice: a Tuscan grilled chicken salad with non-fat ranch on the side. What I didn't know was that the salad was more or less a delivery device for about a pound of candied pecans and oily artichokes and roasted red peppers. I couldn't finish it. As soon as we walked out of the place, I could tell that salad was not sitting well.

Then the abdominal cramps started Sunday night and lasted through all of yesterday and even a little bit this morning. It was like wild ferrets were trying to burrow their way out of my guts.

This morning I felt a little better. I ran, but didn't do as good as Saturday. Still had some cramping, which went away about 2-3 minutes into the run. Started off a little over 1 mile nonstop. Then had to walk/rest for 1/4 mile. Ran again for 3/4 mile.

As I type this, I'm eating a salad I picked up from the salad bar at the Justice Center cafeteria , listening to my stomach engage in diplomatic talks with the veggie invaders. I think things will turn out o.k. this time. The salad ain't half bad considering the waistlines of a lot of the detectives and bailiffs hanging out over there. It even has cauliflower, broccoli and chick peas!


Oh, wait. These beets aren't tasting so hot....

Garden of Eatin'

Around this time every year, I start to sow the seeds of my summer garden. While it is probably cheaper to just buy the stuff I plant, I take a lot of joy and pride out of consuming something I grew, nurtured and fussed over. Plus, I know where it's been. Until recently, you really didn't know the source of the food you bought at the grocery store because there were no laws requiring labels of origin. The time that Bobzilla and I learned that some Chinese garlic and mushrooms are grown in "night soil" quickly shot up to one of the Top Ten Scariest Moments Ever.

Nope, to ensure (and encourage) healthy eatin', it's best to develop a relationship with the food you're going to eat.

Last Tuesday, I planned out this year's garden, purchased my supplies and seeds, and harvested seeds from the dried-out husks I saved from last year. I then planted the seeds in their starter trays and put them on a mini-greenhouse that I set up by installing a wire shelving unit over a radiator by a sunny window. Check it out:

I'm not averse to giving kudos to certain products if they work well. In this case, I am using the Jiffy brand of seed pellets and trays. The peat pellets are free-standing to promote water drainage. This set-up seems to be better than if they were stuffed into little pots or deep indentations. Last year, I didn't use Jiffy. The water in each dirt pocket had no where to drain and simply collected at the bottoms. As a result, the seedlings later became infected with a fungus and almost all of them died.

Here is a list of plants that I am starting for this year's garden:

1. Roma Tomatoes
2. Genovese Basil
3. Thai Basil. These aromatic, distinctive leaves are an absolute must for any kind of Thai stir fry or other rice/noodle dish. We went through forests of the stuff last year. Plus, the plant produces beautiful purple blooms that are also edible and delicious.
4. Cilantro
5. Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
6. Bell Peppers
7. Cayenne Peppers
8. Poblano Peppers
9. Habanero Peppers
10. Jalepeno Peppers
11. Cherry Peppers. These are neat little ornamental peppers that I snatched from my friend's garden and dried out for use this year. In the fall, the entire plant turns black while the fruit remains a vibrant red:


Adding to these seed babies are the garlic, chives, and strawberry plants that have been resting over the winter.

And already, the Genovese Basil and Thai Basil seed babies have started growing! I feel like a proud mama showing baby pictures:


(I'm less proud about those dirty windows. Time for some spring cleaning. Next week. Maybe.)

Let's Do Lunch

When it comes to lunch spots around my office, there are no "healthy choices." These places cater to the traditional Cleveland waistline, offering such standard fare as the "Big Bob Belly Buster" fish dinners, mile-high corned beef sammies, fried everything, heart attack burgers and mayo-laden salads and wraps. My one ray of light--a Mideast restaurant featuring decent hummus and lentil salads--westernized its menu in less than a year.

Plus, I'm a "conscientious omnivore." I don't eat meat, eggs or milk from an animal that wasn't raised ethically and naturally. Organic and free-range, that's me. So, Subway is out.

No, the only way I can survive lunch is to bring my own food. For a while, I ate homemade turkey sandwiches on whole grain bread. However, even though I purchased the meat from a local natural foods market, I couldn't verify the source of the organic turkey and, well, it was too salty. Plus, while the bread was whole grain, it was a major calorie bomb at about 110 calories per slice and I still wasn't getting enough veggies.

So, I decided to take a break from the meat and add more veggies to my lunch by making my own rice bowls. Brown rice is preferable--it's tastier and healthier than plain white rice. The rice bowls require a little advance preparation, but the final result is yummy goodness.

Here's how I do it:

1. In a casserole dish, mix together 1 & 1/2 cups of brown basmati rice, 2 & 3/4 cups of water, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 TB butter (yes, butter. Olive oil adds a slightly unpleasant bitter flavor) and 1 tsp. salt. Cover tightly and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 70 minutes. It's that simple. The end result is perfectly cooked brown rice that will serve as a base for 5 lunch bowls:

2. While the rice is baking, roughly chop up 2-3 stalks of broccoli, 1/2 bag baby carrots, 1 white onion, and any other veggie you'd like such as snap sugar peas, green peppers, cauliflower or green beans. Steam in boiling water for no more than 4-5 minutes. You don't want to over-cook the veggies because they will be frozen and then reheated later.

Here, I've steamed carrots, broccoli and onions. I'm also adding frozen green beans, which I don't need to steam at all (fresh organic beans are preferred, but they weren't available). So, I'm letting them thaw while the rice is baking.

Dammit, I forgot the mushrooms!

4. Once you're done with the vegetables, set up an assembly line for your lunch bowls. I'm using 5 re-usable containers that are microwave and freezer safe.

5. Choose your flavor. Here, I'm going for a Thai-style lunch. I've got reduced sodium soy sauce, fish sauce, lime wedges, a pinch of raw sugar and sriracha hot chili sauce.

But you can also try green or panang curry sauces (just watch the portions...they're about 50-90 calories for about 2 TBs), add some lemon grass or make your own pad thai style rice using tamarind paste with the above-mentioned ingredients I'm currently using and a sprinkling of chopped peanuts. Bitch Cakes has a great recipe for a low-cal peanut sauce that you could add to the rice dish.

And a word about Sriracha--or "Cock Sauce:"

I friggin' love this stuff. I put it on everything. I would make love to it if I could.



6. Portion out the rice evenly into the five containers. I usually yield about 4 & 1/2 to 5 ounces of cooked rice per serving. Notice the scale. It's one of the best--and most important--kitchen gadgets out there.


7. Portion out the veggies. As you can see, I like a lot of veggies in my bowl. Not only are they tasty, but they are also very filling.

8. Add your flavor. A squeeze of lime juice. A few dashes of soy sauce and fish sauce. A squirt or two of cock sauce. If you are not a spice-aholic, you may want to cut back significantly on the chili sauce.

9. Now the best part: Shake 'em up! Make sure everything is well-distributed.



10. Then freeze. Take one out each day for lunch. I usually let mine thaw out in my desk and then nuke it for about 2 & 1/2 to 3 minutes.


By my calculations, the nutritional breakdown for the rice base for each bowl (including the butter and salt) is as follows:

Calories = 225

Fat = 2.3 g
Saturated Fat = 1.458 g

Cholesterol = 6.2 mg

Sodium = 224 mg

Protein = 4.8 g

Total Carbs = 44.4 g
Dietary Fiber = 3.6 g

The final calorie & nutritional count for each bowl is going to depend on what type of sauces and flavorings you use. You may want to add a protein punch by adding some tofu, chicken or shrimp.

Ode to the Steamer

Today, I sing the praises of my steamer:

This cheap little contraption has made a huge, positive impact on my eating habits. It is simple to use and produces some mighty tasty veggies. It even saves money when I buy fresh veggies on sale and, by pre-steaming and then freezing them, cuts down on waste due to early spoilage.

Here's how I use it:

• Roughly chop up veggies and throw them in the basket.
• Fill a large pasta pot with about 1-2 inches of water.
• Cover pot and bring to boil.
• Drop veggie-filled basket in pot of boiling water and cover. Keep it boiling.
• Leave in pot for 5-6 minutes and remove.
  

That's it.

Most types of veggies are cooked perfectly enough so that they're neither too crisp or too mushy. And the colors are eye-popping. They transform into technicolor versions of themselves after just a couple minutes in the steam bath.

This weekend, I steamed a bag of baby carrots, two stalks of broccoli and about 3/4 lb of green beans. I then portioned them into 5 separate containers of some spicy thai-style brown rice that I whipped up earlier and popped them in the freezer. These bad bundles of veggie goodness will now serve as part of my lunch for the rest of this week. And it only took me 15 minutes.

I really prefer this over buying frozen. The convenience factor variation between fresh and frozen is negligible. Plus, I am in control since I choose not only the type of vegetable, but where it comes from. Thus, I can make better ethical decisions about the food I eat, including buying organic, from local farmers. With frozen vegetables--hidden in those wasteful plastic bags--you simply cannot tell where the vegetables were farmed and processed.

And the bonus? The steamer made adding extra portions of veggies into my daily meals effortless and enjoyable.

I could practically make love to my steamer. Maybe I should give it a name. Maybe I could call it...Xavier. Or Brock.