Two important things:
1) There won't be a new EE post tomorrow. I just don't have the time. I might crank one out this Sunday, but for the ten of you that read it, sorry...I'm a slacker.
2) Due to an insane schedule, there won't be detailed updates here either, at least until Sunday afternoon. I will, however, try to give brief accounts of what I ate to keep myself honest.
Breakfast--Oatmeal. At 4:45 am. Suck.
Snack--Cherry sours...we stopped at a gas station. Those aren't good for me.
Lunch--Taco Bell. Again. I had three crunchy tacos, fresco style, and two chicken soft tacos, also fresco style.
Snack--Fiber One bar.
Dinner--Quiznos turkey bacon club. Turkey, bacon, lettuce, on wheat, with a mango on the side. Pretty good dinner.
Dessert--Small Oreo shake from Jack in the Box. I still don't understand why people eat there.
That's it folks...pray for the students competing tomorrow at the various events! (That's cryptic, but I'll explain it later. Promise.)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Day 87--Rockin' the Early Weekend
For reasons that will be explained later, I don't have to go to school again until Monday. SCORE.
The one downside is that I have to get up at around 4:15 tomorrow. WHATEVER THE OPPOSITE OF SCORE IS.
...and that pretty well sums up my day.
Breakfast--Chocolate cheerios (I overslept today to make up for getting up early tomorrow) and a Fiber One bar. Waaaaay too much chocolate for one morning.
Lunch--Hot dog, seasoned cauliflower...oh yeah, and a banana. My life during school days is kinda blah. This is why I enjoy weekends...the rest is nice, but the food is wonderful.
Dinner--Two peanut butter and peach preserve sandwiches with whole wheat bread.
Snack--As opposed to dessert, I went with edamame, with my special cayenne/sugar/salt mixture. It proceeded to light my mouth on fire. Totally worth it.
As for losing weight, well...the malaise continues. Perhaps things will get better after the weekend?
The one downside is that I have to get up at around 4:15 tomorrow. WHATEVER THE OPPOSITE OF SCORE IS.
...and that pretty well sums up my day.
Breakfast--Chocolate cheerios (I overslept today to make up for getting up early tomorrow) and a Fiber One bar. Waaaaay too much chocolate for one morning.
Lunch--Hot dog, seasoned cauliflower...oh yeah, and a banana. My life during school days is kinda blah. This is why I enjoy weekends...the rest is nice, but the food is wonderful.
Dinner--Two peanut butter and peach preserve sandwiches with whole wheat bread.
Snack--As opposed to dessert, I went with edamame, with my special cayenne/sugar/salt mixture. It proceeded to light my mouth on fire. Totally worth it.
As for losing weight, well...the malaise continues. Perhaps things will get better after the weekend?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Day 86--Baking as a Stress Reliever
About halfway through today, my wild weekend finally caught up to me. I was exhausted, had stopped up sinuses, a slight cough...and therefore I went home at lunch. I can't afford to get sick, so some sleep and fluids were necessary. For my 6th and 8th period students who take the time to read this...sorry I bailed on you, but its better than the alternative. Trust me.
Today wasn't a great food day, but I'm getting back on track. I have this weird habit where the best stress relief I can get actually comes from cooking and baking. Unfortunately, when you're on a diet, baking can be a problem. Now, I understand you can bake healthy stuff using applesauce and sweeteners (see yesterday's post to see what I think about Truvia...) but lets be honest: good baking involves sugar, butter, and usually an addition of chocolate and/or cream. On that note, I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I followed the recipe in my Joy of Cooking (if you don't have one, leave this page, go to Amazon, and buy one. Now. I'll still be here when you come back) and I have to admit, it needs some tweaking. I need to increase the chocolate chips and tinker with the sugar ratios, but they were GOOD. I'm going to keep a couple, then send the rest to school with Abby tomorrow to minimize temptation. After the nap and the cookies though, I feel much better.
Breakfast--Cinnamon Swirl High Fiber oatmeal. Like I said...getting back on track.
Lunch--For our campus ministry team meeting, Brenna had the brilliant idea of getting Taco Bell. Not only do I love Taco Bell, but they have relatively healthy options when you drop the cheese like I do. I had four tacos, which is 670 calories but 11 grams of fiber and a load of protein. Good work Brenna.
Dinner--I had breakfast sandwiches comprised of 3 strips of bacon (around 200 calories), 3 eggs and 4 slices of whole wheat toast. So for the day, with about 3 oatmeal cookies thrown in, the calories might a bit high, but I think they were pretty good calories and nothing too extreme. Just gotta keep it up!
Also, I'm at 6,000 pageviews for the life of this blog, about 4,000 of which have come in the last 86 days. Thank you all so much for reading and sharing my journey. It may seem rambly (word I made up...feel free to steal it and enrich your vocabulary) and often times disjointed, but you have no idea how much its helped me become, well, less of me. Here's to 6,000 more!
Today wasn't a great food day, but I'm getting back on track. I have this weird habit where the best stress relief I can get actually comes from cooking and baking. Unfortunately, when you're on a diet, baking can be a problem. Now, I understand you can bake healthy stuff using applesauce and sweeteners (see yesterday's post to see what I think about Truvia...) but lets be honest: good baking involves sugar, butter, and usually an addition of chocolate and/or cream. On that note, I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I followed the recipe in my Joy of Cooking (if you don't have one, leave this page, go to Amazon, and buy one. Now. I'll still be here when you come back) and I have to admit, it needs some tweaking. I need to increase the chocolate chips and tinker with the sugar ratios, but they were GOOD. I'm going to keep a couple, then send the rest to school with Abby tomorrow to minimize temptation. After the nap and the cookies though, I feel much better.
Breakfast--Cinnamon Swirl High Fiber oatmeal. Like I said...getting back on track.
Lunch--For our campus ministry team meeting, Brenna had the brilliant idea of getting Taco Bell. Not only do I love Taco Bell, but they have relatively healthy options when you drop the cheese like I do. I had four tacos, which is 670 calories but 11 grams of fiber and a load of protein. Good work Brenna.
Dinner--I had breakfast sandwiches comprised of 3 strips of bacon (around 200 calories), 3 eggs and 4 slices of whole wheat toast. So for the day, with about 3 oatmeal cookies thrown in, the calories might a bit high, but I think they were pretty good calories and nothing too extreme. Just gotta keep it up!
Also, I'm at 6,000 pageviews for the life of this blog, about 4,000 of which have come in the last 86 days. Thank you all so much for reading and sharing my journey. It may seem rambly (word I made up...feel free to steal it and enrich your vocabulary) and often times disjointed, but you have no idea how much its helped me become, well, less of me. Here's to 6,000 more!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Day 85--Back to the Grind
I'm falling off the horse here. We haven't worked out in three weeks, I'm not eating as well, I'm certainly not controlling portions...this isn't good. I've got to make sure I stay under control, because fluctuating weight is almost more dangerous than being overweight. So here we go.
Breakfast--A cup of Chocolate Cheerios. I really need to start my days out better, but after this weekend I couldn't get myself out of bed this morning. I hope to start out with oatmeal and yogurt and stuff better than chocolatey cereal, even if that chocolatey cereal is actually relatively healthy.
Lunch--Chicken teriyaki, snap peas, and white rice. Admittedly, not the best lunch either, but I had a rough morning for various reasons...it was an eat and run adventure.
Snack--Cherry Fage with honey and chocolate chips.
Dinner--Chipotle. I got a bowl with rice, black beans, fajita vegetables, chicken, hot salsa, corn salsa, and lettuce. For once, willpower kicked in and I had water. Been a while since I did what I was supposed to do...sigh.
Dessert--I made brownies, but I wanted to try truvia in them to cut down on calories. I've heard really good things about it, but...eh. Too sweet, goofy aftertaste...not a fan. I'll stick with the real stuff, since it's cheaper, tastes better, and its easily controlled. So thanks truvia; you screwed a perfectly good pan of brownies.
Not a terrible day, but I know I can get better. Here's to trying again tomorrow!
Breakfast--A cup of Chocolate Cheerios. I really need to start my days out better, but after this weekend I couldn't get myself out of bed this morning. I hope to start out with oatmeal and yogurt and stuff better than chocolatey cereal, even if that chocolatey cereal is actually relatively healthy.
Lunch--Chicken teriyaki, snap peas, and white rice. Admittedly, not the best lunch either, but I had a rough morning for various reasons...it was an eat and run adventure.
Snack--Cherry Fage with honey and chocolate chips.
Dinner--Chipotle. I got a bowl with rice, black beans, fajita vegetables, chicken, hot salsa, corn salsa, and lettuce. For once, willpower kicked in and I had water. Been a while since I did what I was supposed to do...sigh.
Dessert--I made brownies, but I wanted to try truvia in them to cut down on calories. I've heard really good things about it, but...eh. Too sweet, goofy aftertaste...not a fan. I'll stick with the real stuff, since it's cheaper, tastes better, and its easily controlled. So thanks truvia; you screwed a perfectly good pan of brownies.
Not a terrible day, but I know I can get better. Here's to trying again tomorrow!
FCC Dinner 4/2/11
Here are the pictures and my recap of the Food Creates Community event from Saturday night. It was above and beyond anything I could have hoped for...much thanks to Jordan for trusting me and to everyone who came out!
Amuse: Artichoke hummus with flatbread, a parsley leaf, and capers. It was refreshing and a great way to start out the meal.
3rd Course: I'm sad to say I don't have a picture of this one...we ate it too fast. Jordan made a sweet potato cornbread that we turned into a bread pudding, with chives, roasted red bell peppers, and topped with purple kale, roasted Texas smoked sausage, and a splash of honey. My favorite dish of the night, save the dessert...but I'll get to that in a bit.
4th Course: Roasted chicken with an herbed oil, with the herbs coming straight from the garden outside the restaurant kind enough to lend us their kitchen. The Garden Cafe in Dallas is a stand-up establishment run by some great people. Can't recommend it enough. The chicken was topped off with a cauliflower-kale puree, sauteed mushrooms in white wine and sauteed red peppers in some of the chicken fat. We garnished with orange juice, parsley, and some collard green flowers. Just a remarkable plate.
Amuse: Artichoke hummus with flatbread, a parsley leaf, and capers. It was refreshing and a great way to start out the meal.
1st Course: Caramelized onion and mushroom soup with an herbed goat cheese crouton. I have to admit, as someone who doesn't eat cheese, having to spread 50 croutons with a creamy chevre was...unique? The croutons looked delicious, even if I wouldn't like them, and the soup was fantastic.
2nd Course: A sweet pea puree, blini (small savory pancake), creme fraiche, asparagus, whole peas, and smoked salmon, garnished with lemon juice and shaved carrot. Lots of components, lots of work, and completely worth the effort.
4th Course: Roasted chicken with an herbed oil, with the herbs coming straight from the garden outside the restaurant kind enough to lend us their kitchen. The Garden Cafe in Dallas is a stand-up establishment run by some great people. Can't recommend it enough. The chicken was topped off with a cauliflower-kale puree, sauteed mushrooms in white wine and sauteed red peppers in some of the chicken fat. We garnished with orange juice, parsley, and some collard green flowers. Just a remarkable plate.
5th Course: Sweet, sweet dessert. Jordan made a batch of brown sugar biscuits that acted as the shortbread in our Texas Strawberry Shortcake. I made a sabayon sauce (a vanilla custard flavored with wine) and a strawberry-citrus jam to garnish the plate, and then we topped it all with whipped cream and grapefruit zest. I ate my fair share of biscuits and of course tasted the sauces as they came along, and let me tell you...you missed out.
I encourage all of you to check out Jordan's catering service as well as FCC, because its not only incredible food, its an unique and fantastic experience. I hope he lets me participate again, but even if it doesn't work out, I got to say I was a professional chef for one night, and for that I am grateful.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Day 84--Yep. I Skipped a Day.
Our little Food Creates Community endeavor Saturday night was amazing. I would be more than happy to share the menu, but its so far above and beyond what I usually put on here I'm afraid it would set the bar too high. I might come back tomorrow and add my pictures in a separate post.
This weekend was just an absolutely incredible time. From seeing my family to being able to cook phenomenal food to a wonderful service at Creekside this morning, I've very rarely had so much fun or been so ultimately exhausted. Creekside is a church in Midlothian where my cousin Steve is worship minister. For the first time in my life, I was able to spend time with Steve twice in the span of 12 months. Usually he's in Nebraska or I'm in Colorado or something gets in the way, but it was great to get to see him and his beautiful family.
One unfortunate byproduct of FCC was that we didn't get to eat. We were working so hard that first thing I knew, it was midnight and I'd eaten two biscuits and a spoonful of strawberry jam I made for the dessert course of FCC. So in some ways, that explains the food, um, debacle thats about to ensue. Also, I have no free-will.
Breakfast--Another one of Jordan's brown sugar biscuits, a blueberry muffin, and some strawberry jam made from strawberries from Jenna's wedding.
Lunch--A burger with mustard, lettuce, onions, pickles, and bacon, and then a side of fried okra. Because I was so tired/hungry, I honestly didn't care what I ate, which is a horrible way to pick food. However, lunch with Steve was excellent, and it really was an incredible burger.
Snack--Another Bucky's trip...not so good. I had some sour belts.
Dinner--Whole wheat rotini with chicken, diced potatoes, onions and peas sauteed with some garlic and white wine. I will admit, cooking with wine is a pretty great way to add flavor. That whole acid spiel I gave/read about is certainly true.
Dessert--Strawberry Fage with honey and, for a little variety, some chocolate chips. It was amazingly good...maybe a new dessert tradition.
After a long and industrious weekend, some sleep and routine will actually be nice. Here's to another week of school!
This weekend was just an absolutely incredible time. From seeing my family to being able to cook phenomenal food to a wonderful service at Creekside this morning, I've very rarely had so much fun or been so ultimately exhausted. Creekside is a church in Midlothian where my cousin Steve is worship minister. For the first time in my life, I was able to spend time with Steve twice in the span of 12 months. Usually he's in Nebraska or I'm in Colorado or something gets in the way, but it was great to get to see him and his beautiful family.
One unfortunate byproduct of FCC was that we didn't get to eat. We were working so hard that first thing I knew, it was midnight and I'd eaten two biscuits and a spoonful of strawberry jam I made for the dessert course of FCC. So in some ways, that explains the food, um, debacle thats about to ensue. Also, I have no free-will.
Breakfast--Another one of Jordan's brown sugar biscuits, a blueberry muffin, and some strawberry jam made from strawberries from Jenna's wedding.
Lunch--A burger with mustard, lettuce, onions, pickles, and bacon, and then a side of fried okra. Because I was so tired/hungry, I honestly didn't care what I ate, which is a horrible way to pick food. However, lunch with Steve was excellent, and it really was an incredible burger.
Snack--Another Bucky's trip...not so good. I had some sour belts.
Dinner--Whole wheat rotini with chicken, diced potatoes, onions and peas sauteed with some garlic and white wine. I will admit, cooking with wine is a pretty great way to add flavor. That whole acid spiel I gave/read about is certainly true.
Dessert--Strawberry Fage with honey and, for a little variety, some chocolate chips. It was amazingly good...maybe a new dessert tradition.
After a long and industrious weekend, some sleep and routine will actually be nice. Here's to another week of school!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Day 82--Dallas Bound
I apologize for my late posting. It's going to be another late night tonight, but I'll get around to posting about today...sometime.
Breakfast--Chocolate cheerios. Trying to cut down on dishes since we're leaving; seemed like a good choice.
Lunch--Grilled chicken sandwich and a peanut butter sandwich. Also, pray for my student Khadeem Lattin. Right before lunch, he fell during basketball practice and suffered a concussion, among other complications.
Snack--Fiber One and cherry Fage.
Dinner--Leftover Pei Wei: spring rolls and kung pao veggies. Delicious the second time around as well.
Dessert--We stopped at Bucky's on the way to Dallas, so the wheels fell off a bit here. I had sour cherry punch straws, a Code Red Mt. Dew, and sunflower seeds. Meh.
Sorry this is so stilted, but I'm getting ready for tonight's adventure. I'll report back later!
Breakfast--Chocolate cheerios. Trying to cut down on dishes since we're leaving; seemed like a good choice.
Lunch--Grilled chicken sandwich and a peanut butter sandwich. Also, pray for my student Khadeem Lattin. Right before lunch, he fell during basketball practice and suffered a concussion, among other complications.
Snack--Fiber One and cherry Fage.
Dinner--Leftover Pei Wei: spring rolls and kung pao veggies. Delicious the second time around as well.
Dessert--We stopped at Bucky's on the way to Dallas, so the wheels fell off a bit here. I had sour cherry punch straws, a Code Red Mt. Dew, and sunflower seeds. Meh.
Sorry this is so stilted, but I'm getting ready for tonight's adventure. I'll report back later!
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