Sneaky Snacks

Snacks are that special something that I hate to love. Snacks are my enemy that I can't seem to get enough of. Snacks are like a secret agent who infiltrates the thickest web of secret service and somehow finds its way in the middle of the oval office staring at the president. Snacks sneak. They hide in the darkness and whisper in your ear, telling you to walk zombiefied to the pantry and the fridge and just look. There's no harm in looking, right? Yes, a snack is my kryptonite. I must regain my power over the snack. I must arm it with some kind of proximity alarm system so when it comes near, my common sense will be alerted and I can protect myself from the incoming snack attack. When all is said and done, my alarm is me, I am allowing myself one snack per day. I have it sitting in front of me. Its a small bowl of pretzels. When its gone, its gone. No seconds or convincing myself a tuna fish sandwich with bacon is in fact a snack and not a meal...because in order for it to be a meal you'd need some chips or a side of fries, right? EEEEEK!!! It's scary how some thoughts can help justify things! I've been going without an evening snack for a couple of days. I must say I am incredibly hungry when I go to bed. Yeah, I know I'm complaining a little bit. Maybe if I continue going snackless, the hunger will go away and I'll stop whining...

The King and I....sigh....

While on vacation, I chose to keep up with my posts with plain old pen and paper. So here is an entry from our week away from reality...

It's extremely humid here, by the ocean. The paper I'm writing on is damp and the fan is blowing the page every time I lift my hand. I think a little boredom has set in with the kids. They can't fully grasp the concept of relaxing or doing little to nothing. Between the bike rides, walks, swimming and late nights you'd think we'd be scooping them off the floor because they've oozed into some kind of gelatinous substance. As one of my dear children is peering through a broken kaleidoscope and the other is making necklaces with string and various odds and ends that she calls beads, my thoughts wander to food. What will eat? I suppose our lives revolve around eating, whether we'd like to admit it or not. If we don't eat, we don't function so whether we're planning our days around each meal time or cleaning up from the mess that is required to keep our bellies happy, there it is staring at us each and everyday, the need to eat. Ok, enough about trying to make myself not feel guilty about thinking about food or pondering about how much food we actually have to consume and how many times a day we're stuffing our faces....back to vacation....We've decided that each person will get to pick one restaurant to choose from. Today is my youngest's day to choose. Of course, like every fine 5 year old, who somehow sees every fast food window display, she has chosen Burger King but only for the happy meal toy....sigh.....We don't usually go out to eat so I suppose a trip to BK is ok....its vacation so anything goes, right??

The key to better tasting food: VACATION!

Vacation, a time for whatever you feel like. Whether its scheduling yourself so you can cram every last ounce of fun, excitement and sightseeing as you can or just "mozying" around, doing nothing. Basically, I like my vacations to be guilt free. Free from guilt even if the sun is shining, the water is perfect and I decide to take a nap! Free from guilt even if I blow our food budget on chips, taboule salad and Tasty Cakes! Its OK. I think everything tastes better on vacation. Maybe because I'm doing what I feel like or I'm out of the usual routine. When we go to the cottage, we like to make a spaghetti dinner. For some reason, it always tastes better there than at home. Now, while we're at the cottage, we're usually biking, walking or swimming. All of which works up a good appetite. So that could have something to do with it. Although, there maybe scientific proof for why things do taste better. I recently heard an interview with a neuroscientist who studies mice and the taste section of their brains. He explained how he had the brains mapped out and had a visual of their brains on a computer monitor to show if the taste section would light up when he gave them certain foods. He explained one day how he placed his coffee mug down, which made a noise. When the mug made a noise the taste section of the brain lit up. So after doing multiple tests, blah, blah, blah he published his findings. He found that taste is connected to sight, sound and smell. So not only is your mouth connected to taste but what your hear, see and smell counts when you taste something. So atmosphere really does matter! That got me thinking, if we surround ourselves with things that are pleasing to us such as decorating, music or lighting our food might in fact taste better to us! We may not fully understand it but if it works, then hey go get yourself a new table cloth or get dressed up for dinner and see what happens!

A Healthy Brownie: Myth or Legend???

Could I be arrested for saying there's such a thing as a healthy brownie? Well, in Steaky's World there is. When I make brownies I add some oat bran and flaxseed meal, making sure to add extra water and olive oil. Yesterday I made some from a ghiradeli box mix that contains no dairy. I think it was a double chocolate with chocolate chips mix. I spooned the mixture into cupcake papers and baked them....sooo good! Whenever you add some oatbran there is some, let's say "texture" to it. If you can get past the texture issue, its a great way to get some much needed fiber into your diet. Plus, if its in something thats "chocolatie", there's more motivation to eat it! I started to use my 4 mile walk video again. I've tried walking up and down our dead end road and doing multiple laps around our driveway circle but the video seems to keep me at a good pace and motivates me to complete the 4 miles. I seem to give up too easily and don't push myself hard enough when I'm on my own. The walking is supposed to help in the chub banishing mission along with the food journal. Yesterday I had 2 cups of coffee, too many slices of amish bread (3 to be exact--2 of the slices had bacon between them-how did that happen!?!), a banana shake, a handful of wheat thins, a bowl of cereal, chicken n mashed potatoes along with the peas from our garden and then 2 brownies!! EEEEEEK!!! What was I thinking!?! I guess there's a danger in exercising because it gives you a false sense of being able to eat more than usual. I definitely don't want my exercising and eating to become a wash...or to exercise so I can eat more! So today I did 4 miles again and I plan to make my green banana shake, not too sure what I'll do for lunch but I think some tomatoes and cucumbers should be included. As for dinner tonight? Not sure....we shall see....could brownies topped with raspberries be considered dinner??

Rain, rain down....

Last night was filled with odd dreams. As well as odd thoughts that made perfect sense. I had one thought of a black square that was inside an envelope, it being inside an envelope was to prove something....can't quite remember the something that was trying to be proven, thankfully I don't remember the details when that happens...it always makes for a strange day, the morning after, trying to figure out why you thought that thought was so good!! Anyway, the rain is falling now, only a screen door separates me from being completely soaked. The rain is good! Not only for its value but for its smell, sound and the sights. The garden really needs the rain. Yesterday I picked some cherry tomatoes and peas. A large bowl of peas became a small bowl of peas once we took them out of their pods. The girls and I worked on the peas together. I told them how I used to help my grandmother with the peas she picked. I remembered how helping was a great way to spend time with my grandparents. Even though they had certain chores they had to do, they would let me help. They included me. Whether it was peeling apples and me eating the apple peels or taste testing the frosting or watching the beans soak, it was time spent. The girls reserved some of the bigger peas to make maracas. Now they're drying on the counter. My youngest asked if they were ready to be maracas only 20 minutes after we put them out to dry. The simple mind of a child is priceless and yet a little redundant at times...So now, as the rain is falling, a cup of coffee is calling for me. The porch beckons me to join it so I shall relinquish my will and do as they command.

Spaghetti breakfast

This morning as I was contemplating what to have for breakfast I saw the leftover spaghetti sitting in the fridge. Throwing away any scrap of will power I heated it up and ate it. Yes, spaghetti for breakfast and some amish bread on the side. I am thoroughly satisfied and warm with contentment. What does this mean for the rest of the day??? Maybe a bowl of cereal for lunch and for dinner....but it was good and I'm glad I had it for breakfast. The spaghetti sauce was an experiment. The experiment came from some bacon meatballs I make sometimes. last night, I chopped up some bacon, crisped it up, added some chopped onions and then the ground turkey. Splashed in some worcestershire (woostahsheer) sauce, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and basil. Once that was cooked I added some crushed tomatoes to it, added more garlic and basil and a little salt/pepper to taste. We had some angel hair pasta and the amish bread I had made earlier in the day. This might not sound very good to some of you out there but you're not eating it, I am :) We make the foods we like and we cook 'em the way we like them!

good food day!

I keep a food journal when I see that my chub is becoming more and more comfortable showing its face in public....let's just say the chub has slumped down in the comfy couch, put its feet up, cracked open a Pepsi, ripped open a bag of chips and has gotten unlimited cable installed with a pack of no-dose sitting beside it. So here it goes, my food journal for yesterday

coffee: sugar and silk creamer

chocosilk green banana shake (12oz)

cucumber & tomatoes on oatnut barowsky's (no preservatives) bread with miracle whip

chicken breast on romaine lettuce, topped with zuchini'n'summer squash soaked in balsamic vinegar

fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

YUMM!!! I have no idea how many calories it was but it was a great food day! Hopefully I can shame my chub into repentance and it can go back to lurking in the shadows....far, far away from any public appearances.

The calm before the storm...

Today is the day. The day I switch on the coffee mill. I've read over the manual for the thirteenth time and I think I'm ready. I bought some whole beans and they're ready to go in the hopper. I washed the bins with warm soapy water and now they're drying. The only thing missing in the grand perfect cup of coffee equation is a tea kettle. Right now I heat the water in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring bowl. In the grand scheme of things, I suppose its not the worst way to get hot water into a frech press....

This morning was a wonderful morning. I made my coffee and went out on the porch. My oldest daughter came out with me and as we rocked in the rocking chairs, we talked. As the clouds meandered by, we talked. As I sipped my coffee, we talked. It was so very relaxing and nice. I love those quiet times when you slow down and really listen to someone. Isn't that what we all want, is just someone to listen? I listened to my daughter talk about so many things, including her excitement of buying school supplies, at times I had to reel her back to reality when she started wondering about all the different colors of whatever and which one she would pick. But those times of just listening are so important and coffee time is a great time to do that. There's no rush, no hurry, no multitasking....just sipping and enjoying the calm before the storm. The storm of the day, when you cramm all you can so you can have a productive day and feel like you've accomplished something. As a mom, I feel more productive in that 15 min it takes to drink a cup of coffee, when I sit and listen and talk...giving my time and myself is just as important as doing the dishes, laundry, bills or making meals. Its what builds that bond that can last a lifetime. Coffee isn't only for the drinker, it can be so much more than that. It can be a tool to slow down and give yourself to that person who needs to be heard.