There are a few giant coffee chains out there you can get a semi-decent cup of iced coffee from. However, it hurts to spend so much money on one cup. One. Cup.
There is a local grocery chain around the Phoenix/Scottsdale area called Aj's that does a great iced coffee concentrate. The large is a 32 oz cup and the cost is about $3.00. Not bad, but still not worth the inconvenience of stopping every morning for one and more or less blowing $15 bucks into the wind.
I was talking with my former office mate about how much I adored iced coffee but didn't want to spend the money on buying it all the time. My office mate was what I referred to as Kyle-i-pedia -if he didn't know the answer he'd find it in seconds, usually with statistical data that he had stored long ago with the purpose of knowing one day he would need it as backup for another not yet known fact.
Kyle told me about a bunch of different cold brew systems but said that I would be able to make it at home pretty easily. I tried his suggestions.
I'm guessing that everyone is making a resolution this year...
..except me
I don't think that resolutions are things that people tend to really stick to.
Resolutions seem to be exactly that...what seemed like a good idea at the time.
Why break yourself into thinking that you have to do this or have to stop doing that in order to get through the year?
Losing weight isn't a resolution. Its a lifestyle change. You have to be committed. When I started losing weight, I told myself I wouldn't use the word diet in my vocabulary. Why? It makes you psychologically feel like you are being restrained. If you make a 'lifestyle change' you can still eat better without feeling all of the restrictions and negative connotations that stem from the word diet.
It's been some time since I posted. Its been difficult to find the time to do it. On July 3, my dad went in for emergency pacemaker surgery. Emergency as in he was getting a stress test and they admitted him to the hospital and had a pacemaker in within 4 hours.
We knew he had an abdominal aortic aneurism and had been waiting for the day the surgery was going to be scheduled. It was delayed because in the beginning of August, he was admitted to the ICU for 16 days for developing a MRSA infection in his heart at the pacemaker site.
Shortly thereafter his release, they scheduled the aneurism surgery for September 6. He told me the night before the surgery that I needed to be strong for everyone. That it was going to be hard when he wasn't here. I told him, verbatim, "Shut the hell up. You're talking out of your ass again. You'll be fine and when you're out we'll have a beer on the patio. Deal?" He said, "I'm being serious. You need to be strong, kid."
If you've followed me for a while, you know I'm not opposed to trying a different way of eating to try see if I like it. I'm a semi-vegetarian. I like chicken and fish, but mostly stick to the vegetarian choices here at home.
I found a few recipes a while back ago that I wanted to make my own and try to see how they came out. Today, I threw together a kale salad with a home made lemon basil dressing and a quinoa burger base.
And, I am happy to report they were FANTASTIC!
I got the idea for the quinoa burger here. I followed the recipe including the carrots (I thought I had zucchini but when I got in my fridge, I was mistaken) I used mozzarella for the cheese since it melts better and overall is a little better for you than cheddar. I also added a tablespoon of fresh basil and used a lot more freshly ground pepper. I used less oil than was suggested, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Now, the big difference for me was that I wanted to make the mix to keep a few days to have for dinners the next few nights, so I did NOT put the egg in right away. I made the mix and put it in the fridge for a few hours. I separated it into thirds and added one egg to the serving I was making then. That way, a raw egg isnt just hanging out in my food for a few days. Of course, if you're making the entire batch right away, then you don't need to do this.
After making them, I'd suggest adding two cloves of garlic into the mix and omitting the cumin. It seems a little odd tasting in with the rest of the veggies...even though its a minimal amount, a little cumin goes a long way. I think just a little more salt and pepper or maybe even celery salt would be a little more flavorful.
I'd also consider adding another veggie, like a red onion with a fine mince or even a cucumber... I love the taste of quinoa with fresh sliced cucumber and perhaps next time I'll substitute the cheese with a little bit of feta instead making it a greek quinoa burger.
On the side, I made myself a fresh kale salad.
I shredded the leafy parts off the stem and cleaned them well. I dried them and put a tablespoon of sunflower seeds and a pinch of fresh grated parmesan cheese on the top. For the dressing, I found a recipe here but didn't have any oregano, so I subbed basil instead. I also used a little more garlic than they suggested and a ton more black pepper. I like the flavor that fresh ground black pepper adds (we have a pepper mill) so I would probably say I doubled what the recipe called for. I put it in the fridge for a few hours before I ate.
By far, this was the freshest tasting, satisfying summer dinner in a long time! You should try it!
Let me just say, out of all of the stuff I've put together for dinner. . . tonight was by far one of the best ones we've had and was completely vegetarian.
I used this recipe I found online for the baked 'fried' zucchini slices. I followed this recipe about 98%. I used panko bread crumbs instead of any other ones. However, the only recommendation I have is to put the zucchini on either parchment paper or foil directly to avoid the coating from coming off. I had used a rack that I put them on and struggled to pull them off of it without stripping the coating. . . They tasted amazing. I think next time, I might use the same coating method, although use baby portobellos instead to see how that flavors out. And, I snuck in a veggie with dinner. WIN!
For the main part of dinner, I read this recipe and decided to fiddle with it. I decided against parsley and used basil instead and added red onion.
I used a box of quinoa spaghetti noodles. I did use the full 8oz box.
Why you ask? They are traditionally healthier for you than regular noodles and quinoa has an immense amount of nutrients and protein that you wouldn't really expect for a type of grain.
While the zucchini was cooking...
- a pound and a half of roma tomatoes and diced them up (removing the seeds).
- about a quarter cup of red onion
- a quarter cup of kalamata olives
- three tablespoons of garlic
- about two tablespoons of capers
- three tablespoons of basil - I used this instead of fresh basil due to the cost (and it tastes the same)
- about a teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper
I added the six tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and instead of just using it raw like the recipe recommends, I added all the veges and seasonings above and put them in a large deep pan on the stove. I put the heat at medium low and covered it. This broke down the tomatoes a little more and made the onions more palatable since they weren't crunchy anymore. I think the total cook time on that was around 20 minutes. Just watch the liquid in there; if it looks like its burning off (every stove is different) turn down the heat- you want this liquid.
Once the pasta was done, I strained it and added it to the tomato mixture and added the quarter cup of feta cheese and mixed well.
Needless to say, it was enough to feed the both of us and for me to have a little more than three servings (about 1/2-3/4 cup) for lunches or dinner later this week. My man even said the spaghetti was really good. He is a true meat eater, so after tasting it, I believe either a grilled chicken breast diced in there or shrimp would be amazing.
My lack of blogging has finally started to catch up to me. I'm getting comments asking when another post will be available. I have no real excuse other than working, school and planning a wedding (oh, is that all?) I know that in order to keep people interested in your product, you need to constantly be in their face. I don't know about you, but pushy salespeople make me want to pelt them in the face with rocks. So, lets just go with that I'm not trying to be pushy. How's that?
How was everyones holiday? Did we all do well watching our waistlines? I, was ok. I did indulge a bit. Well, alot. New Years Eve was a feast of sorts at my place. I took that day to make all the food I always wanted to make, but never do because I know JUST how bad it is for you. I made pizza dip with crusty bread to dip it in, buffalo chicken blue cheese eggrolls and garlic parmesan pull apart bread. For dessert, the piece d' resistance, sopapilla cheescake. Yes, my friends. I indulged. I also looked at the scale on January 1 and almost fell over. I'm surprised the glass didn't break when I stepped on it. I moved it, thinking it was wrong. I moved it again. Then, I had a long conversation with my pants. My pants must have shrunk. Did I accidentally throw them in the dryer? Were there extra calories hiding in my pants adding to the extra padding? It was an eye opener. I let myself, after being good for so long and watching what I ate, careen into a few extra pounds on top of what I had lost.
Things have been quite busy for the last month for this busy little blogger! I wanted to give you all something, so here is a recipe I threw together today for Chocolate Sugar Cookies!
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons (room temperature)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of Pam's All Purpose Baking Mix
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
Cream butter and sugar.
Add vanilla
After vanilla is mixed in, add the baking mix, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and eggs.
Mixture will be thick once incorporated (about a minute with the mixer)
Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375
Take three tablespoons of white sugar and one tablespoon of cocoa and incorporate together on a plate. Once dough is chilled, form into balls and dip the top in the cocoa/sugar mixture. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Cool on cooling rack.
I will tell you this is the first time I made these cookies. I used 3/4 cup white sugar, but believe if you use 1/2 white and 1/4 brown, it will add that depth to the flavor of the cookies. They were sweet, but not overly sweet.
Yesterday was the first day of the preseason for football. In honor of this day, I wrote a little poem.
T'was the afternoon before football when all through the house, everyone was preparing, even the chips to douse. The nachos have been prepared with precision and care, don't eat them early! Don't you dare! There are no children to distract our attention, for Football season has arrived, I must mention. With visions of cheese dip and beer in my head, the first thing said today was, "GO BIG RED!"
Yes, I am an Arizona Cardinals fan. My man is a Minnesota Vikings fan. As such, it has led to bets resulting in something humiliating for the other party. We didn't bet last year because, well...football sucked last year. Hard. The year before though, I won a bet.
The picture above is my love, in my pink and white, glittered Arizona Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald jersey. Ahh, the wonder of football season.
I am not sure about you, but football season is a great time of year. Almost worse than the holidays, diet wise. There is always someone having a get together for a game, there are always calorie laden choices to snack on and there is most certainly beer. Now, you can prepare for the holidays by ramping up your work out routine for a month or two, so the shockwave doesnt hit you at once. But, lets be realistic, football lasts until the beginning of February. Thats a lot of nachos, chicken wings and beer to avoid.
I'll usually have one meal during the week that I don't count calories, fat or anything. I just eat what sounds good. And after several years of eating right, its usually not too bad. For example, I had two chicken tacos yesterday at lunch. It wasn't necessarily healthy, but it wasn't what I used to order-a chimi slathered in a jalapeño cream cheese sauce filled with cheese. Or, last Friday we went out with friends to Yardhouse for dinner. I picked the veggie burger and fries. I ate all of the veggie burger and 1/4 of the fries. You just need to decide what exactly you want and the calorie equivalent- then find something that might be a titch better for you.
I find no shame in checking a menu online for a restaurant, looking at the calories and fats and then trying to pick something better based off of the good choices (Did you know that TGI Friday's turkey burger has a thousand calories and absolutely no veggie burgers?!?) I tend to know exactly what I want to order prior to going out. Yes, it makes me weird, but it also prepares me for what I want so I don't get distracted and lean to the bad choices. If I put in my head what I want it becomes something of a craving, if you will. Then, it becomes harder to be tempted to eat the bad stuff. Except for chips and salsa. I could eat 14 bowls of home made tortilla chips and the same with salsa. I usually have to stop myself. And when I say stop myself, I mean tell the server to take the bowl away post haste to avoid injury to herself. The same can be said about ice cream but my work around on that is cones. If I get the small cones at the store, there are usually about 10 calories in the cone. And, you can only fit whats equal to about one serving in the cone so once you're done you're done.
So for football season, I tend to let my I-don't-give-a-rats-behind meal be on Sundays.
I was recently cruising through a craft beer magazine (Draft) and saw a pretty neat little gadget. I will add that this "little gadget" is almost $300. I can't justify spending that much on this one little thing. However, if there are any of you that purchase it or have purchased it, please let me know how it works. I'd be interested to hear a real persons candid review. Its called the Actifry. It claims that it can make two pounds of "genuine delicious home made french fries" with ONE TABLESPOON of oil and two pounds of fresh potatoes. This, is amazing. Like the equivalent of no calorie no fat chocolate in my book. Or, catching a purple unicorn named sprinkles that craps nothing other than sprinkles red velvet cupcakes.
I did make a home made green chili recipe the other night that is super easy and not bad for you at all. I will preface this by saying that my level to tolerate spicy food is probably relative to licking the sun. My man refers to it as "blow fire out of your ass hot" You can modify this recipe to your liking, as the ingredients put into it are available in the little girls with ringlets in their hair versions (with no heat factor)
Green Chili (this was enough for two people and enough left over for one more serving)
One can of Macayos Green enchilada sauce (I use this because there is no MSG in the sauce)
One can of Rotel Hot tomatoes with habaneros (also in mild)
One can of Ortega Hot roasted green chiles (also can get just plain roasted green chiles)
Two large chicken breasts
Cumin (to taste)
White pepper (to taste)
Mexican oregano (to taste- warning: a little goes a long way. I'd keep it a tablespoon or less)
Cilantro
Salt
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Ok. This is where it gets SUPER hard to make (I jest). You open the cans, put the chicken breasts in a crock pot and place all the stuff from the cans (including juice) and the chicken breasts into the crock pot. We have a crockpot that defies all logic. High on this crock pot for two and a half hours is the same as all day long on low in my other one.Turn it on, add your own personal preference of spices- I used the above spices and did a dash on each one. Probably about a teaspoon of cumin, white pepper, salt, garlic powder and chili powder. I like the taste of the mexican oregano so I used about a tablespoon. Then let it simmer until the chicken is shreddable. This was about two and a half hours for me on high in our nuclear crock pot. I put the chicken back in after it was shredded, tasted the sauce and made sure it was to my liking. I let it simmer about another half hour before I added two tablespoons of corn starch. I like it thicker (more like a stew) I used some of the sauce, put it in a cup, added the cornstarch and stirred until there were no lumps and then put it back into the pot.
You can serve it in a bowl, with a tortilla as a burrito (they do have low calorie tortillas now) garnished with fresh cilantro and not feel bad. The enchilada sauce only has 390 calories in the entire can. The rest of the stuff is more or less veggies. I don't feel bad about eating it- the chicken breasts are good for you, veggies are good for you- the sauce is the worst component and coming in at less than 400 calories for two people to have a dinner and leftovers isnt something I'd be fretting over.
I'm going to make a resolution with myself to blog at the bare minimum once a week, because I've built a fanbase now. My extreme apologies to those who have been looking forward to new posts every day (Mom) and I haven't been following through.
The last few weeks has been rather ridiculously crazy. I have been again, searching for jobs. Its been quite a struggle to maintain any sort of schedule given the interviews, searching, running errands, etc. I am quite hopeful one opportunity works out. I've been on a few interviews and conducted a few tests for them. The opportunity sounds amazing... its more in line with what I've done in the past as well as plenty of opportunity for advancement; even after my degree. BOOM! I hope to know sometime this week what the status of my application process is.
As far as the exercising goes- have you all been exercising?? Hmmm? I bet not. Its damn near excruciating outside after 9am. Well, I have been exercising. My man found me a bike path that was out of the way of traffic, for the most part. If I do a loop 4 times around, it equates out to about 10.5 miles. I load my Camelbak up with ice water and go. I strive to ensure I leave no later than 8:30, that way I am home in a decent time. My goal last week was to do 50 miles on the mountain bike, but that didnt happen. I did go on Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday I wasn't feeling too froggy when I got up and didn't want to force myself (as I had gone Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday). Thursday was spent scrubbing our house and Friday I had a job interview early enough that I didn't want to rush getting ready. I'm one of those types of people that likes to research the company I am working for prior to the interview, so I can see if there are any questions I may have about what they do.
Friday night when my man got home from work, he noticed the AC didn't seem to be working so well. In fact, it got to be 10pm and it had been running consistently since 3pm... and was still 82 degrees in the house. No good. Now, I'll mention my man is from Minnesota so his delicate eco-system doesn't do well in climates above 100 degrees. Our thermostat is set (automatically) to start working down the temp at 3 until it hits 75. . . seven more degrees doesnt sound that much, but its the difference between say, 73 and 80. You'd notice that difference.
So, we talked about it for a bit and decided to turn it off since we didn't know what was wrong with it. We moved the fan that we keep in the living room (because out of ALL the rooms in the house, its the one that DOESN'T have a ceiling fan) into the bedroom. Cranked it up on high. Cranked the ceiling fan on high. And tried to sleep. Tried is the optimal word in that sentence. It was very warm. Saturday, my man had to work so he left early. I had some errands to run, but we had been waiting to hear back from the landlord. He was out of town until Sunday, with limited cell reception. We heard back from him on Saturday night (after calling his recommended guy and not getting a response) to call a different company. We did, but we also left and went out to dinner to try to escape the disco inferno that was slowly becoming a blaze inside our house.
Sunday we had the repair guy out, but he said the work that was needed was about a thousand dollars. We had to wait for the landlord to approve it. He did on Monday evening and I am now currently sitting in a house that appears to be cooling down. Fingers crossed.
How have all of you been doing diet wise? I've been doing alright. I was ecstatic that Fry's started carrying the Chobani Greek Yogurt. If you have not tried it, by far its the better of any greek yogurts I've had. The most of them that I have tried have the consistency of spackle. This has a thicker texture, but it also has great flavor. My favorite is the strawberry. Fresh fruit is also at its peak now, with peaches, cherries, cantaloupe, watermelon... all of it is in season. This is my favorite time of year, because I LOVE fresh fruit. Apples can be eaten any time of the year (not Honey Crisp ones out here though, my fave) but the strawberries, cherries and peaches are definitely summer fruits. I could eat them all day.
I challenge you all to do something active over the next few days that you would not normally do. I didn't think that I'd be able to do a ten mile bike ride, but sometimes you surprise yourself if you really try.
Today I will leave you with a recipe that is my basic balsamic recipe, adapted from a recipe I got from my mans dad on a trip out to Minnesota a few years back.
Basic Balsamic
One cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
a dash of dried parsley
a dash of white pepper
a dash of crushed red pepper
a pinch of sea salt
I take all of the above and place it in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a slow boil, then turn off the heat. Once it is cool, place it in a refrigerator safe container. Before you are ready to serve, take the mixture and place it in a food processor. This emulsifies the oil/vinegar so it becomes almost creamy. Serve immediately.
If you have leftovers, a great idea is to buy the Good Seasonings Italian dressing mix from the store... you get a free cruet when you do. I use the seasoning packets for chicken recipes, not for dressing. So, it leaves the cruet open for me to store my home made balsamic with a lid. Just shake it before you are ready to use it again, or re-blend if the oil is too separated out from the balsamic. Enjoy!
Yeah, yeah... I know, I haven't posted in about a week. Forgive me. I've been rifling through job applications and going on interviews so my time has been spent on the computer, but fully searching for a job. By the way, if any of you are interested in becoming an indentured servant... available all weekends, working til your hands bleed, no benefits and have a masters degree and want to earn $9.00; there are a ton of jobs out there for you my friend.
It's been a struggle to find motivation on many different facets, looking for a job, eating healthy and trying to exercise. I feel like its continuous frustration applying for jobs that no one calls you back. As of late, in the last month I have applied for 122 jobs. This of course is only the jobs that an email is generated from and there are companies that do not send you a confirmation of your application. So, in theory... its about 150 jobs. I've been on a few interviews and one gentleman said that he definitely wants me there, just not in the capacity that I was interviewing for. So, he intends to contact me once something opens.
On the healthy eating note; I was good all week until Friday last week. I had exercised, I did well. Friday I met a friend for lunch that I hadnt seen in a while. We both ate a half a sammy and I had a beer. We talked more than we ate or drank. Then, Friday night my man suggested we go out to dinner since I got home at the same time he did and had no idea what to make. We went to Old Chicago and split some wings and a pizza. I had another beer.
Later on Friday, I went to meet some friends for a birthday party. I had a ball. I did do the atrocious thing and drank a bunch of diet coke (yes I know, its not good for you.) However, after the party was over, I had a very heartfelt discussion with a friend whose brother passed away exactly a year ago that day. This brother of hers was a friend of mine during high school, I dated him for a small period of time. He was an amazing dude. His sister and I laughed and cried... Talked about a lot of different things. The next thing I knew, it was after 4am. I think I got more out of that discussion than she did, but it was so nice to have just a one on one with her talking about him. It was the first time in several years I can remember being up 24 hours straight.
Saturday, it was another friend's 30th birthday. We went to her parents gorgeous house over in Cave Creek. It was like a resort, absolutely beautiful... complete with a bartender and caterers. Needless to say, I had to partake. The bartender was very nice. There was a keg, delicious food. They also had a candy bar in addition to the cake. Skittles, Good N Plenty, Hot Tamales, M&M's... I mean, how do you say no to this?
I was quasi-good. I had no cake. I did have a handful of Skittles but mostly was sad I drank my calories.
Yesterday, I had an errand to run up to the bank so I decided to get up early and ride my bike over there. It was 10 miles there and back. I was thrilled that I was able to do it. It was hot as hades outside as it always is here, but I'm still trying. You can only take things a day at a time. I messed up, but I ate better and I've exercised since then and surprisingly weigh a little less than I did before I went to the parties. How does that work?
I fully intend tomorrow to do the same thing, the 10 miler. I have another errand I need to run to grab something for my man for his brothers wedding and the store is across the street from where I went before.
Yesterday for dinner I made artichokes and little mini pizzas. You have a choice on what you want to put on the pizzas so you can make them as calorie laden as you so choose.
Mini Pizzas
1 Orowheat 100 Calorie Sandwich Thin
1 tablespoon of Pizza Sauce (your own or what you choose at the store)
Toppings (I used Chicken hot italian sausage- 1 link from the deli was plenty for three little pizzas) and black olives)
1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese.
I par baked the sandwich thin on a baking rack on a tray for about 8 minutes at 400, so it wasnt so soggy after it got covered. I did not split the thin, just straight out of the package.
After topped, I placed it back in the oven for about 10 minutes or so. Just watch it to make sure the cheese it melted.
For the Artichoke
Follow instructions on how to clean and cut the artichoke- which I have attached here.
From there, what I did was carefully pull apart the artichoke, cleaned out the choke part (the hairy leaves inside) and put minced garlic, some olive oil and a splash of balsamic.
I put it in what I refer to as my spaghetti pot and filled it until the liquid was about 1/4 way up the artichoke. I used organic chicken stock. I put the pan on about 7 so it was boiling. I checked it about every 10 minutes to make sure the liquid level was where it was supposed to be. I ended up boiling them for about an hour and a half that way.
Hope you all can forgive me for my lack of blogging in the last week :) Hopefully two new recipes will make you happy for a little bit.
How was everyone's weekend? Did everyone stay on their diets? GOOD! Because I didn't.
Ha.
It was our anniversary, my man and I... we've been together for two years. So, I planned a nice dinner for us to munch on. I made sauteed shrimp, roasted asparagus and for dessert an apple and strawberry cobbler.
Everyone that knows me knows that I'm thrifty. I love shopping at Goodwill, Savers... Any thrift store. I love being able to purchase something out of season for .50. Or, buying shoes that still have the price tags on them that were over a hundred dollars that I bought for $3.00. Don't get me wrong, I do see value in certain things, such as Victorias Secret and Coach. Its like the mother ship is calling me home. I thought people were nuts to spend hundreds of dollars on a purse. Then, I got one when we went to the Coach outlet store in Vegas about 6 years ago. I'm rough on my purses and that bad boy still looks new. Same idea with Victorias Secret. I was large enough for a while that I wasnt able to wear VS. Then, the first time I was... it was like a new me hatched. I can spend money on a bra with VS that will last for a while, or spend 18 bucks on one at Target that falls apart after a few months. If I would have continued to purchase purses at Target or Kohls at 25-35 bucks a piece over the last 6 years, I would have more than paid for my Coach purse and a trip to VS.
Face it, we all have a daddy but having a father is something different. And, my father is definitely different. He often jokes that he pissed The Man off upstairs by his shenanigans when he was younger. Which is why when he and my mom were pregnant the first time, he was hoping for a boy. Well, he got me. Then, when they were pregnant again, he said... its my boy! And proceeded to have twins. Girls. When he and my stepmom were pregnant, he said... this is it. This is finally my boy! And my youngest sister was born. The man just can't catch a break, even the dogs are girls.
Ok, so I'll be the first to admit that I still by crap at the grocery store. I have a nasty sweet tooth. There is never a shortage of sweets in the house. I also love hot and spicy foods. By that account, there is never a shortage of hot sauce either. My brother in law asked me when he was over once how many bottles of hot sauce I had. I pulled them all out of the fridge and at that time- 6. This did not include the home made salsa that I frequently have.
Dieting isnt really so much of a diet, its more of a lifestyle change. Hell, if I used the word diet in my normal vernacular, I'd have been on a diet and starving for the last 7 years! I know I've used that term here in previous posts, but if you tell yourself you're on a diet it sounds like you are denying yourself certain foods. You can still eat great stuff and not deny yourself, just remember its in moderation. If you want a slice of that cake someone brought in from work, take the smallest piece. Take a few bites. If its not that great, toss it. The temptation is out of the way and you've participated in the obligatory office celebration. Win Win. I remember when I worked in the construction department at this bank, everyone would bring in food, it seemed; at least once a week. I didnt eat alot of it, because I didnt want to waste calories on stuff that didnt look that appealing to begin with. But, one day, someone brought in this cake from AJ's ( if you dont know what AJ's is, its a gourmet supermarket here in town). It was their orange dreamsicle cake. I had seen it there when I was walking through the store once and thought it looked so divine. But, I didnt have 40 bucks to drop on a cake so I was safe... until the cake appeared at work. Its like it heard me and followed me into the office. Well, I tried to tell myself I didnt need it. I tried to tell myself it wasnt going to be good (...basically a bunch of inner dialog on how sexy the cake looked). So, what I did was wait until everyone else got their slice of it. If there was any left, I said to myself I'd grab a piece. Well, time went by and there was still cake left. So I walked over, cut the smallest piece I could-as in-it was transparent-didnt hold its shape-crumbs on a plate type slice. And you know what? It was good. But, just that little bit satisfied me because I had made a barter with myself before I had it. I didnt need to go home and devour a box of cupcakes because I had a mental process I followed through with and got what I was 'craving'.
Roasted Garlic Herb Chicken