My delightful elder daughter has started looking out for useful websites on weight loss. I guess it was only a matter of time before my proto-teenager started trying to improve me. Causing the abandonment of Mom Jeans must be on the cards soon. Anyway, here is today's interesting little nugget, on a food supplement called SENSA. Apparently this tasteless, scentless food supplement is sprinkled on other food, causing a suppression of appetite in eaters that, according to the product website, caused an average weight loss of 30.5 lbs among 1, 436 men and women who used it over a 6 month period.
Hmm. No dieting or exercise required. If it is so effective, why isn't everyone talking about it? Why isn't everyone using it? Why isn't Oprah Winfrey promoting it?
One alternative weight loss website notes that the main ingredient in Sensa's "tastants" (i.e. the sprinkly stuff) is maltodextrin (i.e. sugar derived from corn). The effect of that will be to give bland foods more flavor which, it speculates, may have the opposite effect of making diners want more of them, not less. Way back in 2008, the ABC news show 20/20 exposed the failings of the science underpinning this supposed breakthrough.
I remain sceptical of any product that claims seemingly miraculous results. I'd rather stick with the tried and trusted methods of portion control, good food choices, and a moderate exercise plan to promote all round health.
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
More Sinned Against Than Sinning
Little Starlet and I went up to the city today to the Sundance Kabuki Theatre see the National Theatre live broadcast of the Donmar Warehouse production "King Lear" with Derek Jacobi. He was outstanding. In fact the whole play was fabulous, there wasn't a block of wood attempting to act on the stage at all. A fine avoidance of teapot Shakespeare. Little Starlet more or less followed the play - I had forgotten, and so didn't explain, the Gloucester/Edgar/Edmund sub-plot - though she thought that Derek Jacobi had been replaced by another actor in the final scene. Quite why, I have no idea. There you are, the mind of a 9 year old.
The relevance of all this to this blog is that it meant I had a rather odd eating day. I began with a bowl of granola. We headed out at 9am. The play/broadcast started at 12:30pm and ended at 4pm, which meant that lunch would not be happening. So we stopped at the Fillmore Street Cafe for a breakfast bagel at 10:30am. I had a latte and the 49ers, consisting of ham, egg, and cheddar cheese on a plain bagel. Little Starlet had the Fillmore Special, with sausage, egg and cheese. Very hot and tasty.
We then headed up to the Japantown shopping area. It was freezing cold, icy wind blasting poor Little Starlet's uncovered legs (she never will listen when I tell her to put more clothes on), so we went inside to look at the stores. After walking though the Japanese language bookstore and admiring the plastic dolls with penises, we found ourselves at the Anderson Bakery. Little Starlet had a slice of chocolate ganache cake, while I toyed with a light, fluffy, delicious slice of coffee creme cake. As I always say to the girls, if you MUST eat food that's bad for you, at least make sure it is high quality. This certainly was worth every calorie.
We went into the theatre food-free, but once the intermission came along, it was clear that Little Starlet required yet more sustenance. So we went to the Peet's Coffee concession in the theatre and bought bags of popcorn (and yet another latte for me).
Hubby and Deep Thought have spent the week in Bear Valley. They got back this afternoon just before Little Starlet and I returned from the city. We were all exhausted and lacking imagination, so we tucked into Whole Foods' frozen pizza for dinner: pepperoni, hawaiian, and chicken quesadilla (note, three pizzas between four of us, so a small concession to thinness there).
All in all, a very fun day, but a bit peculiar on the dietary front.
The relevance of all this to this blog is that it meant I had a rather odd eating day. I began with a bowl of granola. We headed out at 9am. The play/broadcast started at 12:30pm and ended at 4pm, which meant that lunch would not be happening. So we stopped at the Fillmore Street Cafe for a breakfast bagel at 10:30am. I had a latte and the 49ers, consisting of ham, egg, and cheddar cheese on a plain bagel. Little Starlet had the Fillmore Special, with sausage, egg and cheese. Very hot and tasty.
We then headed up to the Japantown shopping area. It was freezing cold, icy wind blasting poor Little Starlet's uncovered legs (she never will listen when I tell her to put more clothes on), so we went inside to look at the stores. After walking though the Japanese language bookstore and admiring the plastic dolls with penises, we found ourselves at the Anderson Bakery. Little Starlet had a slice of chocolate ganache cake, while I toyed with a light, fluffy, delicious slice of coffee creme cake. As I always say to the girls, if you MUST eat food that's bad for you, at least make sure it is high quality. This certainly was worth every calorie.
We went into the theatre food-free, but once the intermission came along, it was clear that Little Starlet required yet more sustenance. So we went to the Peet's Coffee concession in the theatre and bought bags of popcorn (and yet another latte for me).
Hubby and Deep Thought have spent the week in Bear Valley. They got back this afternoon just before Little Starlet and I returned from the city. We were all exhausted and lacking imagination, so we tucked into Whole Foods' frozen pizza for dinner: pepperoni, hawaiian, and chicken quesadilla (note, three pizzas between four of us, so a small concession to thinness there).
All in all, a very fun day, but a bit peculiar on the dietary front.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Exhausted
Little Starlet's bake sale went very well. We raised over $92 in small change. The scene at morning recess was like a mob. I was completely exhausted by the end. Then they did it again at lunchtime, luckily with other mothers in attendance. Little Starlet was thrilled.
Alas, I ate two fairy cakes. Bad dieter, naughty dieter. Of course, on the bright side, they weren't factory processed cake, but items made with my own fair hands in my own kitchen and not an additive in sight. Yum.
Alas, I ate two fairy cakes. Bad dieter, naughty dieter. Of course, on the bright side, they weren't factory processed cake, but items made with my own fair hands in my own kitchen and not an additive in sight. Yum.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
And Doggy Makes Five
Little Starlet returned to school today. Deep Thought started her new school last Thursday. My house has returned to child-free blissfulness. Of course, since last blog entry we have acquired a new dog, so there is really another child to deal with. Dog is called Ruby. She is a rather petite English Cocker Spaniel, currently wearing a very un-spanielly short hair cut, courtesy of Doggy Protective Services (the nonprofit from which we adopted her). See photo to assess general cuteness.
The good thing is that I am now walking Ruby a couple of times a day. She does have quite little legs, and it is rather hot just now in the Bay Area, so our walks are of limited duration - about 45 minutes is the most she can manage, though at a fairly brisk trot. I guess that counts as exercise, though not as much exercise as I was managing pre-dog!
The bad thing is that I feel the need to hang out at home more to keep her company, so I'm nibbling. Mind you, the evenings are the worst and I can hardly blame that on Ruby. Last night it was some chocolate, a yoghurt and a few crisps.
The good thing is that her presence is preventing me taking in quite so many coffee shops - I'm not quite ready yet to tie her up outside while I go in to make my order, though there are many coffee shops with patio areas so, when I have overcome said reticence, I am sure that we shall be contributing to the local eatery economy in the usual way.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy Independence Day
Today is the Fourth of July, so of course we had a barbecue. Our new outdoor kitchen is finished. We decided to use today as an excuse to get some people over and try out our new grills. I thought we'd try an ambitious menu, drawn from a new cook book: "Planet Barbecue" by Steven Raichlen.
The menu included:
- Santa Maria Tri-Tip (beef)= Californian recipe
- Ginger, Garlic and Honey Grilled Back Ribs (pork) = Cambodian recipe
- Grilled Tofu with Chile Peanut Sauce = Malaysian recipe
- Grilled Bananas = Colombian recipe
- Caramelized Grilled Pineapple = Brazilian recipe
- Rotisserie Onions = Brazilian recipe
And there were various other things, including a summer pudding made by Deep Thought. We were inspired by OEM saying she had made one a couple of days ago. We'd never made one before and were pretty pleased by how it turned out. Like OEM's, ours went onto the plate without falling apart! One of our young friends had also made dessert: decorated cupcakes laid out in the pattern of the US flag (see photo). There were many left over at the end of the meal, and I cruelly made her mother take them all home. Good for me!
The grilling was reasonably successful. The best dish of those listed above was the ribs. Hubby burned them a bit, but it didn't seem to matter too much. The beef was a bit tough, though not sure why. The tofu was fine, but was an incredible faff to make, with an ingredient list as long as your arm that would have been longer if I'd bothered to buy every item called for. I think Hubby learned that both grills get hotter than he expected - and certainly hotter than our old kettle grill, which was consigned to the recycling center yesterday - and so everything is even more inclined to burn than before.
We'll be grilling for 26 people next weekend, and I'm sure there will be even more men around willing to offer their expert advice. It really is a guy thing.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Groaning Waistbands
Oh my goodness, the fondue meal. Talk about excess.
We started with the ridiculously large and unnecessary salad that comes as part of the meal. Hubby warned our guests not to try to eat it, most of it, or even any of it, but they didn't listen. Then came the cheese part. Yummy. Bacon/Cheddar/Buttermilk and beer mixture, with bread and veggies. Delicious.
Then came the meat part. Two Fondue Feast Combinations, comprising scallops, prawns, tuna, boar, duck, beef, other fish, ostrich, and other things I've no doubt forgotten about, all grilled (or as Brother John pedantically pointed out, fried) on the hotplate in front of us.
And then the piece de resistance, the chocolate fondue dessert. After much discussion, I took charge and ordered the Triple X, which is milk chocolate and fudge; eaten with fruit and bad for you bits like profiteroles.
We also downed a bottle of wine.
This morning I rose from my bed with a strong sensation that my body had not succeeded in digesting anything at all during the night. I think we were all suffering a bit. Little Starlet said it served us right for not taking her with us. However, I should point out that she and her babysitter made a chocolate fondue in our own kitchen, which they ate with strawberries and apple slices, so she isn't having too deprived an existence.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Exercise Resurgence
I can't say that I've been terribly virtuous on the food front - the three croissant for breakfast on Sunday, the Vietnamese dinner also on Sunday, and the fondue meal that is on the agenda for this evening, rather negate any feeble attempts to lessen the calorific intake by eating lettuce.
But I have been relatively, and surprisingly, virtuous on the exercise front. We have visitors at the moment - Hubby's aunt and brother - so you'd think that we'd not be exercising at all, but far from it. On Friday, we went for a walk at Sanborne Park in Saratoga (much complaining from the children), which was definitely uphill. Yesterday we were in Muir Woods, north of San Francisco. Unusually for us, we didn't stick with the flat, ashphalted path around the forest floor, but struck out up the Ocean View Trail, across the Lost Trail, and down the Fern Trail, a walk of about three miles and two hours. Then this morning we spent an hour walking at Arasteradero Preserve in Palo Alto.
The guests are looking a bit shell shocked, but we are all congratulating ourselves on how healthy we are.
But I have been relatively, and surprisingly, virtuous on the exercise front. We have visitors at the moment - Hubby's aunt and brother - so you'd think that we'd not be exercising at all, but far from it. On Friday, we went for a walk at Sanborne Park in Saratoga (much complaining from the children), which was definitely uphill. Yesterday we were in Muir Woods, north of San Francisco. Unusually for us, we didn't stick with the flat, ashphalted path around the forest floor, but struck out up the Ocean View Trail, across the Lost Trail, and down the Fern Trail, a walk of about three miles and two hours. Then this morning we spent an hour walking at Arasteradero Preserve in Palo Alto.
The guests are looking a bit shell shocked, but we are all congratulating ourselves on how healthy we are.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Food Poisoning: An Effective Weight Loss Strategy
On Wednesday, the family and I headed off to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, for a few days during Spring Break. We flew down to LA without incident - ate a rather nice bangers and mash lunch at the fake British pub in the airport - and booked into the Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel. Wow. What a place. Not too many mouse ears, but the whole Californian Arts and Crafts look gone into overdrive. Actually pretty impressive with an enormous lobby/seating area next to the check in desks.
We spent Wednesday afternoon/evening in the Disneyland Park (following Day 2 of the two day touring plan taken from The Unauthorized Guide to Disneyland). I particularly like "It's a Small World", a gentle ride designed to bust blood vessels in the head with sensory overload. We went back to the hotel, watched the fireworks from the balcony, and went to bed (all four of us in one room, which was the only downside).
Thursday we went back into Disneyland at 8:30am (Magic Morning for multi-day pass holders) and were able to get round most of the headliner rides before 10am. The Haunted Mansion has very good effects, and The Pirates of the Caribbean ride seemed longer than at Disneyworld. Just after noon, we headed out into Downtown Disney for pizza, then back to the hotel for a few hours by the pool. About 4pm we went back into the park for round three of rides...and the big mistake.
We ate dinner at The French Market in New Orleans Land. Deep Thought and I both had clam chowder in a sour dough roll and grapes. Little Starlet and Hubby had roast beef and veggies.
All seemed well until 1:00am, when I woke up with the most appalling food poisoning. I won't go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that by 5:00am I was as empty has a person could be, had taken two showers and was in a pretty feeble condition.
On Friday, Hubby took the kids out to Disneyland's Californian Adventure - which you can enter through the hotel to avoid the gate queues - while I lay limply in bed. He provided me with a couple of bottle of Coca Cola, some ice, and some Imodium and left me to it. I pretty much didn't get out of bed all day. The vomiting had more or less stopped by Friday evening, and I managed to sleep okay on Friday night.
The journey home on Saturday was uneventful, except for the plane being faulty at LAX so that we were delayed an hour. A lot of deep breathing and additional doses of Imodium got me through it. I was a bit concerned that the bus - plane - bus - car experience might be too much, but I survived. (I did fall rather pathetically onto the sofa when we got home and had to be revived by multiple cups of tea.)
This morning I am feeling fine and may be willing to tackle some soup or something. I must be very dehydrated still. My current weight is 149.6 lbs.
We spent Wednesday afternoon/evening in the Disneyland Park (following Day 2 of the two day touring plan taken from The Unauthorized Guide to Disneyland). I particularly like "It's a Small World", a gentle ride designed to bust blood vessels in the head with sensory overload. We went back to the hotel, watched the fireworks from the balcony, and went to bed (all four of us in one room, which was the only downside).
Thursday we went back into Disneyland at 8:30am (Magic Morning for multi-day pass holders) and were able to get round most of the headliner rides before 10am. The Haunted Mansion has very good effects, and The Pirates of the Caribbean ride seemed longer than at Disneyworld. Just after noon, we headed out into Downtown Disney for pizza, then back to the hotel for a few hours by the pool. About 4pm we went back into the park for round three of rides...and the big mistake.
We ate dinner at The French Market in New Orleans Land. Deep Thought and I both had clam chowder in a sour dough roll and grapes. Little Starlet and Hubby had roast beef and veggies.
All seemed well until 1:00am, when I woke up with the most appalling food poisoning. I won't go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that by 5:00am I was as empty has a person could be, had taken two showers and was in a pretty feeble condition.
On Friday, Hubby took the kids out to Disneyland's Californian Adventure - which you can enter through the hotel to avoid the gate queues - while I lay limply in bed. He provided me with a couple of bottle of Coca Cola, some ice, and some Imodium and left me to it. I pretty much didn't get out of bed all day. The vomiting had more or less stopped by Friday evening, and I managed to sleep okay on Friday night.
The journey home on Saturday was uneventful, except for the plane being faulty at LAX so that we were delayed an hour. A lot of deep breathing and additional doses of Imodium got me through it. I was a bit concerned that the bus - plane - bus - car experience might be too much, but I survived. (I did fall rather pathetically onto the sofa when we got home and had to be revived by multiple cups of tea.)
This morning I am feeling fine and may be willing to tackle some soup or something. I must be very dehydrated still. My current weight is 149.6 lbs.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Death By Eating Redux
We spent the weekend at Hidden Villa, a youth hostel about half an hour away from us. It's the oldest youth hostel in the USA, and easily contains the 21 of us in our party (10 adults, 11 kids). It rained on Friday, was dry and windy on Saturday, and has absolutely bucketed down today. On Saturday we managed to do a walk over the hill, then toured the farmyard to look at the chickens and pigs. Friday was board games; Sunday was Easter activities for the kids. ("Why do we have to do so many stupid craft projects?" asks my grateful younger daughter.)
That gives you the basic shape of the weekend.
The main story of the weekend is the amount of food we brought and ate (and, to some extent, brought home again). Friday was baked potatoes with chilli and cheese, followed by fruit; then evening crisps and Roses. Saturday was cereal breakfast followed by bagel lunch - so far so good - but then we had roast chicken, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, brussel sprouts, peas and gravy for dinner (with seconds), followed after the kids were abed by mango upside-down cake and ice cream, with a chaser of cheese and biscuits. I may have managed to eat some chocolate and rich tea biscuits in among that too. We collectively waddled to bed at midnight. This morning began with everything bagel and cream cheese; then lunch was bacon, sausage, fried egg, mushrooms, and half a hot cross bun with butter.
We haven't had a great couple of nights sleep - the beds at Hidden Villa are really titchy and, of course, sharing with the kids feels strange. So we're all rather tired. I had a bit of a nap on the sofa this afternoon... We attempted to go out for a pizza for dinner, but everywhere was shut. We ended up at Il Fornaio, which is a fancier Italian restaurant. In a moment of restraint I had cannelloni con pollo, resisting all the heavier pizza type foods, though the fact it came in cream sauce probably negates all the good intentions.
That gives you the basic shape of the weekend.
The main story of the weekend is the amount of food we brought and ate (and, to some extent, brought home again). Friday was baked potatoes with chilli and cheese, followed by fruit; then evening crisps and Roses. Saturday was cereal breakfast followed by bagel lunch - so far so good - but then we had roast chicken, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, brussel sprouts, peas and gravy for dinner (with seconds), followed after the kids were abed by mango upside-down cake and ice cream, with a chaser of cheese and biscuits. I may have managed to eat some chocolate and rich tea biscuits in among that too. We collectively waddled to bed at midnight. This morning began with everything bagel and cream cheese; then lunch was bacon, sausage, fried egg, mushrooms, and half a hot cross bun with butter.
We haven't had a great couple of nights sleep - the beds at Hidden Villa are really titchy and, of course, sharing with the kids feels strange. So we're all rather tired. I had a bit of a nap on the sofa this afternoon... We attempted to go out for a pizza for dinner, but everywhere was shut. We ended up at Il Fornaio, which is a fancier Italian restaurant. In a moment of restraint I had cannelloni con pollo, resisting all the heavier pizza type foods, though the fact it came in cream sauce probably negates all the good intentions.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Wot No Willpower
Glad to see that OEM has returned to the weight-loss fray, because I need some moral support. I've definitely been slacking in the past couple of weeks. Stinky cold, time of the month, rain...all conspire to stop the would-be slimmer doing anything than eating and sitting around on one's expansive bottom.
Today is a case in point. Here's what I've consumed today:
Rice chex for breakfast;
coffee and scone for mid-morning snackerel;
butternut squash soup, french stick and blue cheese for lunch;
tortilla chips and melted cheese (aka nachos) for mid-afternoon snackerel;
pan-seared tuna with mashed potatoes and cauliflower, followed by homemade apple and blackberry crumble with custard for dinner;
Cadbury's creme egg to celebrate the children going to bed.
Not exactly low calorie.
I did go for a three mile walk this morning along the Baylands. By the time I was half way through it had started to rain. That, combined with the biting cold that lead to actual hail stones later in the afternoon, encouraged me to walk a bit faster, so I was going at 1 mile in 15 minutes. Even so, I don't think I walked off my creme egg. Alas, Little Starlet is off school sick (stinky cold reprised) and Hubby has flown to Baltimore on a business trip till Thursday; so my well-laid plans to do 45 minutes of exercise every day this week (in accordance with the instructions in "Grow Younger Next Year") will no doubt fail dismally.
But are we down hearted? Well, yes actually.
Today is a case in point. Here's what I've consumed today:
Rice chex for breakfast;
coffee and scone for mid-morning snackerel;
butternut squash soup, french stick and blue cheese for lunch;
tortilla chips and melted cheese (aka nachos) for mid-afternoon snackerel;
pan-seared tuna with mashed potatoes and cauliflower, followed by homemade apple and blackberry crumble with custard for dinner;
Cadbury's creme egg to celebrate the children going to bed.
Not exactly low calorie.
I did go for a three mile walk this morning along the Baylands. By the time I was half way through it had started to rain. That, combined with the biting cold that lead to actual hail stones later in the afternoon, encouraged me to walk a bit faster, so I was going at 1 mile in 15 minutes. Even so, I don't think I walked off my creme egg. Alas, Little Starlet is off school sick (stinky cold reprised) and Hubby has flown to Baltimore on a business trip till Thursday; so my well-laid plans to do 45 minutes of exercise every day this week (in accordance with the instructions in "Grow Younger Next Year") will no doubt fail dismally.
But are we down hearted? Well, yes actually.
Monday, March 1, 2010
More or Less Better, No Excuses Remaining
I've just finished eating a Cadbury's Creme Egg. I know I shouldn't but somehow I just don't care. I had Cheerios for breakfast and a Caesar salad for lunch; but then I got hungry and ended up eating an almond croissant with a latte in the afternoon.
I expect to be well enough to go to dance class this week, and I've arranged to go for a walk with a friend on Friday morning; so I've got some exercise in the offing this week after doing nothing at all last week. I'm finally sleeping a bit better so I don't feel so limp and washed out.
It's funny how we all swing back and forth between being "good" (i.e. depriving ourselves of the good things in life, like Cadbury's Creme Eggs) and wolfing down as much "bad" stuff as we can find. It's a disease called Lack of Willpower. I went to the grocery store and deliberately didn't buy any treat food except for Skinny Cow popsicles (which are really for Deep Thought - I don't like them). No cakes, no biscuits, no chocolate, no crisps, not even any unusual crackers. I figure that if I can resist buying them, then I'm less likely to eat them. Not buying them at the grocery store won't, of course, prevent me succumbing at a coffee shop, but should make the overall consumption fall. It's also a good thing for Deep Thought to have less sweet stuff in the house. When you're a 10 year old diabetic, it can be hard to resist.
I expect to be well enough to go to dance class this week, and I've arranged to go for a walk with a friend on Friday morning; so I've got some exercise in the offing this week after doing nothing at all last week. I'm finally sleeping a bit better so I don't feel so limp and washed out.
It's funny how we all swing back and forth between being "good" (i.e. depriving ourselves of the good things in life, like Cadbury's Creme Eggs) and wolfing down as much "bad" stuff as we can find. It's a disease called Lack of Willpower. I went to the grocery store and deliberately didn't buy any treat food except for Skinny Cow popsicles (which are really for Deep Thought - I don't like them). No cakes, no biscuits, no chocolate, no crisps, not even any unusual crackers. I figure that if I can resist buying them, then I'm less likely to eat them. Not buying them at the grocery store won't, of course, prevent me succumbing at a coffee shop, but should make the overall consumption fall. It's also a good thing for Deep Thought to have less sweet stuff in the house. When you're a 10 year old diabetic, it can be hard to resist.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Days of Relative Goodness, Nights of Coughing
By the time we got back from Death Valley at the weekend, I had a stinky cold. I've now had it for a week and I Am Fed Up With It. The worst part is the cough, which is pretty bad during the day, but keeps me awake at night. Hubby says I was wheezing attractively in my sleep yesterday. Lovely. So I am tired, but trying to stay in good humor. Sickness is the reason I've not been posting.
Our house remodel has also reached some kind of tipping point. This week has been ghastly - activity in every room in the house - but we also got the kitchen back! Hurrah, no more obligatory restaurant food.
For the past two days I've been very abstemious with the eating. Cheerios for breakfast, caesar salad with a little chicken for lunch, a granola bar for snack, a nonfat latte for other snack, and a modest dinner. On Tuesday my modest dinner was a cheese sandwich. Yesterday it was pasta with salmon in cream (not so uncalorific, but not a very big portion). Today I whipped up pasta with egg and bacon (again not a big portion). I did also give in to the temptation of a chocolate croissant at Douce France, though....while I was watching Deep Thought do some of her homework. I couldn't bear the idea of going back to the worksite formerly known as our house, so we hung out for over an hour. You've got to buy something, n'est pas?
Also snacked on crisps this evening. Well, I'm sick!
No exercise this week. One, I'm sick (did I mention that?). Two, it's been raining. Three, I've been crazy busy with volunteering, food shopping, moving things around in the house, and so on. Like OEM, I have every intention of getting back to the exercise, but just for now I think I need to focus on shaking off this cold.
Our house remodel has also reached some kind of tipping point. This week has been ghastly - activity in every room in the house - but we also got the kitchen back! Hurrah, no more obligatory restaurant food.
For the past two days I've been very abstemious with the eating. Cheerios for breakfast, caesar salad with a little chicken for lunch, a granola bar for snack, a nonfat latte for other snack, and a modest dinner. On Tuesday my modest dinner was a cheese sandwich. Yesterday it was pasta with salmon in cream (not so uncalorific, but not a very big portion). Today I whipped up pasta with egg and bacon (again not a big portion). I did also give in to the temptation of a chocolate croissant at Douce France, though....while I was watching Deep Thought do some of her homework. I couldn't bear the idea of going back to the worksite formerly known as our house, so we hung out for over an hour. You've got to buy something, n'est pas?
Also snacked on crisps this evening. Well, I'm sick!
No exercise this week. One, I'm sick (did I mention that?). Two, it's been raining. Three, I've been crazy busy with volunteering, food shopping, moving things around in the house, and so on. Like OEM, I have every intention of getting back to the exercise, but just for now I think I need to focus on shaking off this cold.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Crazy for Fondue
I've had another ridiculously busy day, prepping for our RV trip and also the building work in our bedroom while we're away. After my Multi-grain Chex breakfast - which didn't happen till after the kids had gone out to school with Dad - I visited Safeway to buy 15 gallons of drinking water. Then I took popsicles to school for Little Starlet's birthday snack (she turns eight on Sunday), then it was back to the supermarket to do the shopping for our trip.
Hubby appeared back home with our rental RV at about 11:30am, after which I traipsed in and out of the house with armfuls of stuff: pans, bedding, towels, medicines, shampoo, etc etc. I employed several shopping bags, but it was still many trudging trips up and down the plywood path across our battlefield front yard. I truly think it counted as exercise.
The highlight of the day was Little Starlet's birthday dinner at La Fondue in Saratoga. OEM will remember it well, I know, as we went there during the Christmas holidays. We had the cheddar, bacon, buttermilk and beer cheese fondue first course; followed by the meaty grill second course (Little Starlet decided she liked buffalo, but did not care for wild boar or savage duck); and then the course we were all waiting for, the Decadent Chocolate fondue dessert. Yum. About a million calories, but well worth it. The children really enjoyed having a "fun food" experience in a fancy restaurant. We sang Little Starlet "happy birthday" and she seemed pleased by the whole experience.
Hubby appeared back home with our rental RV at about 11:30am, after which I traipsed in and out of the house with armfuls of stuff: pans, bedding, towels, medicines, shampoo, etc etc. I employed several shopping bags, but it was still many trudging trips up and down the plywood path across our battlefield front yard. I truly think it counted as exercise.
The highlight of the day was Little Starlet's birthday dinner at La Fondue in Saratoga. OEM will remember it well, I know, as we went there during the Christmas holidays. We had the cheddar, bacon, buttermilk and beer cheese fondue first course; followed by the meaty grill second course (Little Starlet decided she liked buffalo, but did not care for wild boar or savage duck); and then the course we were all waiting for, the Decadent Chocolate fondue dessert. Yum. About a million calories, but well worth it. The children really enjoyed having a "fun food" experience in a fancy restaurant. We sang Little Starlet "happy birthday" and she seemed pleased by the whole experience.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
This eating out lark is bad news
The problem with having no kitchen is that you eat out all the time. The problem with eating out is that the portions are too big. Plus the food is generally pretty calorific. Plus there is too much temptation all round. I shall be astonished if I am not fatter at the end of our four weeks sans kitchen than I was at the start.
Saturday began with Weetabix. At lunch we ate at Fresh Choice in Mountain View. Fresh Choice is a great place to take kids as there is, as the name suggests, a lot of choice. You pay one price ($4.99 for the kids) and help yourself to the salad bar, the hot food, and the dessert. The hot food includes baked potatoes, pasta, pizza, soup and other random things as the restaurant deems fit. The challenge is not to eat too much. Finding things that are healthy choices is not difficult as the calorie details are given on each item, and things which are low salt, low fat, etc are pointed out with handy little signs. I had various salads, avoided the blue cheese dressing (which is frankly the only thing that makes salad tolerable), and had a bowl of carrot soup with a piece of bread. For dessert I selected a cube of sugar free Jello, a spoonful of chocolate pudding, and a spoonful of low fat "whip". I'd have rather had one of their "decadent brownies" but I was being good.
In the afternoon I succumbed to a coffee and biscuit.
Then later in the afternoon it was Little Starlet's birthday party at a local kids' cooking center. I'd rather do parties at home, but no kitchen makes that a tough prospect. Needless to say I had to eat a scone at the end of the party as my daughter had made them. Dinner was bread and more soup with some double creme soft cheese (not the light option, but very yummy). And then, oh woe is me, crisps in the evening.
Today we ate lunch at The Fish Market on the border of Palo Alto and Mountain View. The food wasn't bad, but the service was awful. I had cajun blackened catfish with potato au gratin (instead of fries, a toss up calorie-wise, I think) and coleslaw (that's grated cabbage in mayonnaise to you). This evening we had dinner at a friends' house: chicken and rice with salad and bread...and more scones made by their children. Maybe I'd better do another walk tomorrow.
Saturday began with Weetabix. At lunch we ate at Fresh Choice in Mountain View. Fresh Choice is a great place to take kids as there is, as the name suggests, a lot of choice. You pay one price ($4.99 for the kids) and help yourself to the salad bar, the hot food, and the dessert. The hot food includes baked potatoes, pasta, pizza, soup and other random things as the restaurant deems fit. The challenge is not to eat too much. Finding things that are healthy choices is not difficult as the calorie details are given on each item, and things which are low salt, low fat, etc are pointed out with handy little signs. I had various salads, avoided the blue cheese dressing (which is frankly the only thing that makes salad tolerable), and had a bowl of carrot soup with a piece of bread. For dessert I selected a cube of sugar free Jello, a spoonful of chocolate pudding, and a spoonful of low fat "whip". I'd have rather had one of their "decadent brownies" but I was being good.
In the afternoon I succumbed to a coffee and biscuit.
Then later in the afternoon it was Little Starlet's birthday party at a local kids' cooking center. I'd rather do parties at home, but no kitchen makes that a tough prospect. Needless to say I had to eat a scone at the end of the party as my daughter had made them. Dinner was bread and more soup with some double creme soft cheese (not the light option, but very yummy). And then, oh woe is me, crisps in the evening.
Today we ate lunch at The Fish Market on the border of Palo Alto and Mountain View. The food wasn't bad, but the service was awful. I had cajun blackened catfish with potato au gratin (instead of fries, a toss up calorie-wise, I think) and coleslaw (that's grated cabbage in mayonnaise to you). This evening we had dinner at a friends' house: chicken and rice with salad and bread...and more scones made by their children. Maybe I'd better do another walk tomorrow.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Walking Back to Happiness
...woopah, oh yeah yeah. As apparently the lyrics of said song by Helen Shapiro go. So there.
Yesterday I spent in three long meetings. I don't even work, how do I get so busy? Anyway, I had toast for breakfast as we had run out of milk. Meeting one was a quick, refreshment-free trot through our remodel status with the builders and architect (for more on which see http://remodelbox.blogspot.co). Then I went up to San Francisco for a business meeting with a nonprofit I'm involved with. It was supposed to be a lunch meeting. In typical SF fashion, we went to a salad bar and chose expensive lettuce: A carb free lunch with a tiny piece of strip steak to decorate the top. Really, can someone tell me what the point is of lettuce?
I then drove from San Francisco to San Jose in the rain. It took two and a half hours. By the time I arrived, I had consumed the emergency plain chocolate from my glove compartment (which really belongs to Deep Thought because it has little sugar in it). In San Jose, I spent three hours sifting applications for an academic enrichment program that I also support. It was interesting, but also supported by the occasional chocolate, as spread on the table by the staff.
Got home just before 9pm, starving. Ate a cheese quesadilla, which is generally calorific, but we happen to have high fibre/low carb tortillas at the moment, so it wasn't so bad. Trouble is, a little quesadilla isn't very filling (though it has a nice comforting melted cheese taste/texture which feels just right on a rainy evening), so I ended up snacking on some (baked) potato chips.
So not the most virtuous of days.
In contrast, today I just got back from my six mile walk, having had only breakfast Weetabix; and I'm hoping to persuade Deep Thought to join me at a dance class this evening.
Yesterday I spent in three long meetings. I don't even work, how do I get so busy? Anyway, I had toast for breakfast as we had run out of milk. Meeting one was a quick, refreshment-free trot through our remodel status with the builders and architect (for more on which see http://remodelbox.blogspot.co). Then I went up to San Francisco for a business meeting with a nonprofit I'm involved with. It was supposed to be a lunch meeting. In typical SF fashion, we went to a salad bar and chose expensive lettuce: A carb free lunch with a tiny piece of strip steak to decorate the top. Really, can someone tell me what the point is of lettuce?
I then drove from San Francisco to San Jose in the rain. It took two and a half hours. By the time I arrived, I had consumed the emergency plain chocolate from my glove compartment (which really belongs to Deep Thought because it has little sugar in it). In San Jose, I spent three hours sifting applications for an academic enrichment program that I also support. It was interesting, but also supported by the occasional chocolate, as spread on the table by the staff.
Got home just before 9pm, starving. Ate a cheese quesadilla, which is generally calorific, but we happen to have high fibre/low carb tortillas at the moment, so it wasn't so bad. Trouble is, a little quesadilla isn't very filling (though it has a nice comforting melted cheese taste/texture which feels just right on a rainy evening), so I ended up snacking on some (baked) potato chips.
So not the most virtuous of days.
In contrast, today I just got back from my six mile walk, having had only breakfast Weetabix; and I'm hoping to persuade Deep Thought to join me at a dance class this evening.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Oh Cultural Day
Family and I went up to San Francisco today to see Swan Lake at the War Memorial Opera House. We had pretty good seats in the Grand Tier (which is the second layer of dress circle up, the first layer consisting entirely of boxes). The stage seemed a fair way away, though it must have looked tiny to the people upstairs in the balcony. The good side was that we could see all the pretty patterns that the swan chorus made. Nice costumes, minimalist but appropriate sets. Not too hammy. Good quality dancing. Surprisingly, I think Hubby and I enjoyed it more than the gruesome twosome. Deep Thought announced that she "quite enjoyed the music" while Little Starlet (for whose benefit the outing was originally arranged) pronounced it "boring" and "when can we go to see Mr Shakespeare again?"
Sitting in a theater for three hours doesn't burn many calories, but neither does it provide many eating opportunities. We did, it is true, partake of a cup of filter coffee and the cookie plate at the first intermission, but my section of the cookie plate consisted of two bite sized morsels, and the coffee was unsweetened, so I figure that wasn't bad. At least the sugar and caffeine injection helped keep my eyes open for the whole performance.
After ballet we went to Max's Opera Cafe on Van Ness for dinner. Deep Thought was desperate to have the blue cheese bacon burger but, alas, it was no longer on the menu. I had the shrimp louie salad - that's lots and lots of lettuce with cauliflower, carrots and red pepper, garnished with shrimps and avocado - with about a quarter of the dressing; then Deep Thought and I shared a half-portion of the chocolate cake. Even a half portion was enormous, so a quarter portion was just right. We scraped off the extra frosting on the top and felt very virtuous indeed.
Sitting in a theater for three hours doesn't burn many calories, but neither does it provide many eating opportunities. We did, it is true, partake of a cup of filter coffee and the cookie plate at the first intermission, but my section of the cookie plate consisted of two bite sized morsels, and the coffee was unsweetened, so I figure that wasn't bad. At least the sugar and caffeine injection helped keep my eyes open for the whole performance.
After ballet we went to Max's Opera Cafe on Van Ness for dinner. Deep Thought was desperate to have the blue cheese bacon burger but, alas, it was no longer on the menu. I had the shrimp louie salad - that's lots and lots of lettuce with cauliflower, carrots and red pepper, garnished with shrimps and avocado - with about a quarter of the dressing; then Deep Thought and I shared a half-portion of the chocolate cake. Even a half portion was enormous, so a quarter portion was just right. We scraped off the extra frosting on the top and felt very virtuous indeed.
Home cooking
We ate our first home-cooked meal in four days yesterday at a friend's house. Cottage pie. Yum. It was quite a relief to have something that didn't come with a side or a dipping sauce. (There was, of course, HP sauce on the table, but only the smalls partook of that.) This would have been a relatively low calorie day except that the aforementioned friends put out the tortilla chips and dip on the table while we played a board game. I tried, I really did, but the Trader Joe's Cilantro Dip was very moreish.
Lunch, we ate at Bappo's Pizzeria in the Stanford Shopping Center. I had a chicken ligura foccaccia sandwhich, which I'm sure had a million calories, but at least it wasn't a pizza.
No evening nibbling. No cake. No coffee. No exercise either, but not a bad day all round.
Lunch, we ate at Bappo's Pizzeria in the Stanford Shopping Center. I had a chicken ligura foccaccia sandwhich, which I'm sure had a million calories, but at least it wasn't a pizza.
No evening nibbling. No cake. No coffee. No exercise either, but not a bad day all round.
Friday, January 29, 2010
My Virtue Runneth Over
Another fine day.
Shredded wheat for breakfast - nasty, but filling. Meeting in Starbucks in the morning, with a coffee but no nibbles. Lunch provided by my lovely friend Yin, consisting of bagel, alternative crisps containing lentils, and a bit of vegetable matter. (This was a sympathy lunch, in support of those of us who are Without Kitchen.)
Another walk in the afternoon, this one involving some uphill and downhill, at the Arasteradero Preserve in Palo Alto. Unfortunately many of the most scenic paths are currently closed due to overwhelming muddiness, but I still managed a nice loop of 2.78 miles, which took just under an hour. What was even more virtuous was that I did the last 20 minutes of the walk in the pouring rain. How devoted to personal self improvement is that? OK, I was at the top of the hill so I didn't have much choice, but hey - !
Girls night out with Little Starlet. Hubby and Deep Thought went to the school's Skate Night and ate tepid pizza. Little Starlet and I went to the local noodle bar. We shared pork dumplings, then Little Starlet had "simple chicken noodles" while I had orange chicken with sticky rice. The orange chicken was extremely spicy, so I didn't eat all of it, nor more than half the rice. Portions around here really are out of control. It had been such a virtuous day that we finished off our meal with small chocolate gelato's at the local gelaterie. Yum.
Shredded wheat for breakfast - nasty, but filling. Meeting in Starbucks in the morning, with a coffee but no nibbles. Lunch provided by my lovely friend Yin, consisting of bagel, alternative crisps containing lentils, and a bit of vegetable matter. (This was a sympathy lunch, in support of those of us who are Without Kitchen.)
Another walk in the afternoon, this one involving some uphill and downhill, at the Arasteradero Preserve in Palo Alto. Unfortunately many of the most scenic paths are currently closed due to overwhelming muddiness, but I still managed a nice loop of 2.78 miles, which took just under an hour. What was even more virtuous was that I did the last 20 minutes of the walk in the pouring rain. How devoted to personal self improvement is that? OK, I was at the top of the hill so I didn't have much choice, but hey - !
Girls night out with Little Starlet. Hubby and Deep Thought went to the school's Skate Night and ate tepid pizza. Little Starlet and I went to the local noodle bar. We shared pork dumplings, then Little Starlet had "simple chicken noodles" while I had orange chicken with sticky rice. The orange chicken was extremely spicy, so I didn't eat all of it, nor more than half the rice. Portions around here really are out of control. It had been such a virtuous day that we finished off our meal with small chocolate gelato's at the local gelaterie. Yum.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
What's Your BMI?
The Kaiser Permanente website has a Body Mass Index calculator at https://members.kaiserpermanente.org/kpweb/healthcalc/bmi.do
To use it, you need to know your weight in pounds and your height in inches. If you want to go the metric route, this is the calculation: Divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. To convert imperial to metric and find BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 703, divide that number by your height in inches, then take the result and divide it again by your height in inches. (This calculation is courtesty of Kaiser Permanente's leaflet "Fit Tips: Fun Little Ideas for Big Results".)
My BMI comes out at 27.1, which is overweight. The ideal BMI for adults is considered to be 18.5 to 24.9. (I guess they use the same scales for men and women - presumably women are supposed to fall at the lower end of the range, men at the upper end.)
Just for interest, Kaiser Permanente also has a BMI calculator for children ages 2-19 at
https://members.kaiserpermanente.org/kpweb/healthency.do?hwid=calc020§ionId=calc020-sec&contextId=tf6820.
Deep Thought came out at 15, which puts her in the 15th centile for BMI. (A child of her age would be considered underweight at 14.)
To use it, you need to know your weight in pounds and your height in inches. If you want to go the metric route, this is the calculation: Divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. To convert imperial to metric and find BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 703, divide that number by your height in inches, then take the result and divide it again by your height in inches. (This calculation is courtesty of Kaiser Permanente's leaflet "Fit Tips: Fun Little Ideas for Big Results".)
My BMI comes out at 27.1, which is overweight. The ideal BMI for adults is considered to be 18.5 to 24.9. (I guess they use the same scales for men and women - presumably women are supposed to fall at the lower end of the range, men at the upper end.)
Just for interest, Kaiser Permanente also has a BMI calculator for children ages 2-19 at
https://members.kaiserpermanente.org/kpweb/healthency.do?hwid=calc020§ionId=calc020-sec&contextId=tf6820.
Deep Thought came out at 15, which puts her in the 15th centile for BMI. (A child of her age would be considered underweight at 14.)
Monday, January 25, 2010
Perfect End to Dinner
As forecast, we went to Country Gourmet - http:://www.country-gourmet.com - for dinner: Basmati rice with stir-fried vegetables and chicken. I'd forgotten that they serve gargantuan portions, so I only ate about half the rice, all the chicken, and half the veggies. Deep Thought had a tuna melt, which looked rather good and was clearly a better size for a regular human being. Little Starlet had a garlicky pasta dish which had an overwhelming aroma. Both the kids finished off dinner with a sundae, from which the teeniest bites were consumed by parents.
On the way home, Little Starlet threw up in the back of my car. My nice, clean, ten day old car. I have wiped the vomit off the back seat, but I guess my first stop tomorrow will be the car wash.
On the bright side, I participated in the children's dance class this afternoon, so I think that counts quite adequately as 30 minutes of vigorous exercise.
On the way home, Little Starlet threw up in the back of my car. My nice, clean, ten day old car. I have wiped the vomit off the back seat, but I guess my first stop tomorrow will be the car wash.
On the bright side, I participated in the children's dance class this afternoon, so I think that counts quite adequately as 30 minutes of vigorous exercise.
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