I feel like I have been eating out a lot lately.  I have been working out on and off – I haven’t been as strict but I haven’t been slack either.  I need to be a little more strict though – like tonight I didn’t work out but I should have.  The trick is not making myself feel bad about this.  Tomorrow is a new day!

My favorite thing I ate today was a tiny sliver of cheesecake at work.  If you know me, you know that I LOVE CHEESECAKE.  I swear – cheesecake is the only food that I literally feel like it goes straight to my soul.  When my mom was pregnant with me, she only had  a craving for cheesecake.  So it’s not surprising that my favorite food in the world is cheesecake.  A co-worker made some and I took a little sliver of it b/c I didn’t want to feel denied – but I also didn’t want a whole piece.  It’s nice that I can show myself that I can have a little of this and a little of that and still feel in control.  I will admit, when I go to NYC in 2 weeks, I am definitely going to have to get NYCheesecake (to me, the “C” in cheesecake is deserving enough to be part of the NYC abbreviation).

I ordered some cold weather running pants and a little glove and hat so now I have zero excuse not to workout even in a blizzard!

I really enjoyed Julie & Julia.  I actually liked the part about Julia Child better than the Julie part (despite my favor in name )  I think the “Julie” part – being about a blog writer definitely relates to a younger audience.  If they made a feature autobiographical movie about Julia, I don’t think it would have gotten the same audience and warm response from people of all ages.  Of course, perhaps I am just jealous that a blog writer got her blog made into a movie!

Tonight I made some spicy thai shrimp.  I steamed the shrimp in a pot.  I always find it a funny science that in order to thaw something, you let running COLD water onto it.  One would think you would do hot water.  This little tid bit makes me smile for some reason.

I mixed the shrimp in with some fresh mushrooms and spicy green curry sauce from Trader Joe’s.  Then I mixed it together with some peanut sauce.  Peanut sauce makes everything taste good!  This would have been really good with rice, but I am keeping my commitment to only eat carbs 2 times per week.  I had  a pretty “carby” weekend (I’ll just make that a word), so I served it on top of spinach.  It looks a little messy in the photo but it was very tasty!

Spicy thai shrimp

This is from my blog Live Life To The Fullest

I hope this is encouraging to you in some way!  It’s kind of like feeling sick and not wanting to go to the doctor or saying you can fix your car yourself and you keep getting stranded on the side of the road.  I’m glad I went in today!  I’m a little nervous that I’ll be eating more again (which I am…) and won’t lose weight, or it’ll be slower, but I also know that I was so unhappy these past 2 weeks.  Like I said, it’s an amazing realization to understand how enjoyable eating should be, especially when you have to do it 3 times per day

After work today I went to the grocery store and bought some low carb tortillas so that I could make some healthy wraps for lunch.  I was starting to get tired of my lunches, and a lot of those frozen meals are SO carb-centric (pasta, chicken with rice).  My doctor seemed to suggest that a wrap is a pretty good option if you fill it with high protein.  I didn’t make it to the gym today, nor did I walk to work because I had my Dr’s appt this morning, and met a friend for dinner after work.  But I did cut up some pineapple, strawberries and mixed them with red grapes and put them in a container in my fridge for the weekend and next week.  I figured this is as much an important part to my well being as working out!  

I also bought some fat free “No Pudge” brownies from Trader Joe’s to make for work.  I am leading a workshop tomorrow and wanted to make something for the folks who are coming to it.  I tasted a brownie tonight and it was pretty good seeing that it’s fat free.  Well, I did put in some dark chocolate chips in there – but dark chocolate is good for you, right?  ;-)  I made them a few weeks ago for friends and they were a little dry, so I think the chocolate chips will jazz them up a little.  

I hope you had a great day!  I’ll be back soon.

Today my family (mom, dad, grandma, sister, brother-in-law and baby) all came to the High to see the our new (and amazing!) First Emperor exhibit.  I grew up with my family taking my sister and me to the High Museum, but it was totally fun to take them today now that I work there.  I kind of felt so grown up, haha.  It was a very fun day.  Except we had lunch afterwards at Table 1280, and my Lap Band acted up when I was eating my burger.  It was just the meat part, no bread, and I ate maybe 1/3 – 1/2 of it and then I just felt so much restriction.  I don’t think that I ate too much, but I don’t think I chewed by meat well enough and I had to run to the bathroom to throw up.  Kind of sucked that my parent’s paid for lunch that went to waste, haha, but sometimes you just gotta give in to the band!

I’ve been listening to Coldplay a ton lately.  All of their CD’s.  Coldplay is one of those bands that can either be reflective and beautiful or vulnerable and depressing, just depending on what state your head is in at the time of listening to them.  The weather is cloudy today.  I’ve been really missing being in a relationship lately, and I’m trying to not let that get me down.  I’ve had feelings for some people this year, but nothing that I wanted to take to the next level.  I know that someone amazing will come into my life again at the right time, I just have to remain patient!  And I am not good at keeping patient!  I have to keep the main focus on me.  Seeing my sister and brother-in-law and their baby *really* make me want a family one day.  New Year’s Eve is approaching, and I think about the place I was in my life that time last year, and there have been so many positive changes since that time, of which I am so proud of.  Oh, this NYE I’ll be in New Orleans, which is going to be so much fun!  With 2009 just around the corner, I am looking great.  I have a great job.  I have great people around me.  I guess I’m just itching to meet that next person in my life who will sweep me off my feet  - but I don’t want to do the whole online dating thing (not that there’s anything wrong with it).  I just want to meet someone again the organic, old-fashioned way – I know, that’s sooooo 90′s of me!  You know, the old way – through a friend or through some mutual shared hobby.  I guess when it’s the right time, it’ll be time.  I’ve just been thinking a lot lately about what I want in a person in my next serious relationship, as I have grown so much and know more of what I’m looking for and deserve.  

I am very excited about my life and what this New Year will bring for me.  I have to keep working hard at losing my weight and being healthy, and again, keep the focus on what I do have in my life, not what I don’t have.  And when the time comes for my heart to be open again toward love, I know it’ll be the right person at exactly the next right time!  Until then, I’m keeping positive and reflective and hopeful.  My heart is heavy with all of the love that I have to give, while my body is 75-pounds lighter.  It’s a metaphor worth appreciating…

Gabriel and his favorite aunt!

My food was a hit, and I loved sharing it with my friends.  I made tuna tar tare with wasabi on cucumber.  Chicken with whole wheat bread crumbs, low-fat Jarlsberg cheese and prosciutto.  I also made some baked apples filled with nuts and figs, and lastly I made these whole wheat pizzas with fresh basil, mozzarella, mushrooms and tomatoes.  The one ‘splurge’ I allowed myself was my mom’s wonderful low-fat cheesecake.  I’ll admit, I had another piece tonight and haven’t worked out in a few days, so I feel a little bit guilty about it.  

Whole wheat pizza dough before I rolled it out

Pre-baked pizzas

Some of my favorite healthy cooking ingredients (Mr. Potato head not included)

Healthier ingredients used to bake chicken (red bowl: soy milk and egg whites, blue bowl: whole wheat flour, pink bowl: whole wheat bread crumbs)

I haven’t weighed myself in about 5 days, so I’m not sure what the scale will say.  On one hand, I haven’t been working out as much ever since the daylight savings changed.  But I’m moving around quite a bit at work.  Yesterday I was hungry and went into the museum and bought myself a $1 apple.  It was a pretty darn good apple!  Tomorrow is our work holiday party, which will pretty much be a lot of bad-for-you-food, which is the fun of it, except when you’re trying to lose weight!  Most people I’ve had a chance to really talk to at work know about my Lap Band, so that’s pretty neat.  I am looking forward to the party though, because it’ll be a good time to socialize.  I’m bringing some cookies from Trader Joe’s.  I’ll have to really be good though!

I snapped some pictures for my Blog.  I will say that the food was excellent.  Kind of a gourmet Southern style with a modern flare.  Unfortunately, RB wasn’t there that night (he was in NYC for the Today Show…who does he think he is to not have been there on my Birthday?!), but the waiter promised me that next time I came in he would make sure I met RB and have him give me a tour of the kitchen!  This would be a total dream come true, since cooking has become one of my biggest passions next to Photography (and I’ve already met Annie Leibovitz…what more is there?!)  

I probably ate the most bad-for-me food here since I got my surgery.  I splurged a little bit, but couldn’t finish everything so I didn’t feel too guilty.  The menu had a lot of fish dishes on it, so next time I go I will surely get a fish.  But this time, I opted for some Southern goodies:

A watermelon Mojito!  Refreshing and anti-oxidants 

Biscuits are brought to the table.  I had a little bit and gave the rest to my dad.  Biscuits are my FAVORITE bread-item-food, so it was hard to say goodbye, but I didn’t want to fill up on it.  It was damn good though.  It came with some honey butter and pimento spread.

The Arugla salad with goat cheese and grapefruit…yum!

My dad got these Fried Green Tomatoes for the table.  I had one of them.  I’ve never had FGT like this before.  They were amazing.  

It looks really yellow in the picture, but it was prettier in person  I got fried chicken with honey vinegar and it came with fresh veggies a la carte and cauliflower mac n’ cheese.  I could only eat about half of my plate.  I’ve never been a huge Fried Chicken fan, I have probably only ordered it once in my life and that was at KFC!  This was by far the best Fried Chicken I’ve ever had.  Apparently they soak it in Vodka and flash fry it and then get it back to room temperature and then cook it again.  It was so, so good.  The mac n’ cheese was awesome.  

And for dessert they brought me out some Red Velvet cake  I shared it with the table.  The ice cream was really awesome – I think it was like sour cream ice cream or something, which sounds awful but it was really rich and creamy.  If you watched Top Chef, you wouldn’t be surprised by Richard Blais serving sour cream ice cream!  My mom got their famous home-made moon pie which I had a bite of and it rocked.  

All in all, Home was a terrific restaurant.  I can’t wait to go back.

Golden Delicious she is not.  The woman is a pioneer on Food Network.  I get that.  But people always give her the benefit of the doubt, “But did you know she used to be agoraphobic and never left her house?”  Really?  I don’t care.  She scares me!  

The episode we watched was all about CHEESE.  And I do *LOVE* cheese, myself.  But it’s frightening what she cooks.  How does she still have a pulse?  Has she not had a cardiac arrest?  Are her arteries not clogged with fat and resentment?  

The best was the “Fried White Chocolate Cheesecake” she made.  As if cheesecake (which is my FAVORITE dessert) isn’t fattening enough, why make it white chocolate?  AND WHY FRY IT?  How are you still alive, woman?  It was funny to watch because the audience was in glutton shock.  Every time you thought she was done with the damn thing, she’d continue in her southern drawl by going, “And that’s not all!”  … “Now we’re gonna drizzle it with chocolate…and that’s not all … now we’re gonna wrap it in a crepe … and that’s not ALL, y’all … now we’re gonna fry it.  And that’s not all … now we’re gonna top it off with real whipping cream … and that’s not all … now we’re gonna drizzle it with chocolate and powdered sugar … don’t forget the fresh mint on top!…”  

Katie and I were in such horrific shock we were screaming at the television set as if Paula could here us, “Please Paula!  Make it stop!”  We added up all the calories on Katie’s calorie counter on her computer and I think it came to about 2500 calories for just the cheesecake.  I’m supposed to have 1200 calories a day on my Lap band.  Most women are supposed to have 1700-2000 calories a day for a healthy metabolism.  WTF Paula!  One piece of your cheesecake is over double what I’m supposed to have in a day.  You are evil and I think your teeth are too sharp and pointed for you to be a human being with a heart (that’s not clogged).  

I’m telling you that this charade of “And that’s not all’s…” went on for what seemed like my entire 26th year of life.  I could feel my heart clogging just watching this.  Her overly bleached teeth and blue hair and that scary smile revel with delight that she is an evil monster that hides beneath fat people’s beds at night.  She is Paula Deen, dammit.  And this is her party.

I’m a sucker for strong flavor and sauces.  

Please note – my recipe’s rarely are measured.  Hey – I’m an Artist!  I just go by look and taste.  This is why I’m not a good baker!

The Ingredients:

1.  Trader Joe’s chicken strips (unbreaded)
2.  Fresh mango
3.  Soy Sauce, low sodium
4.  Garlic (I use lots of garlic)
5.  Bay Leaves
6.  Chestnuts
7.  Water Chestnuts
8.  Sea Salt & Pepper
9.  Red and Yellow Curry
10.  Sundried Tomatoes
11.  Lots of Ginger
12.  Touch of Splenda 

Side Dish:
Fresh fruit

Thinly cut eggplant
Spray with Pam or whatever (not butter or oil)
Sprinkle with lots of pepper and a touch of parm. cheese
Bake in oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes 

Voila!

I am a sucker for strong taste.  Since I am eating less with my Lap Band (rarely any seconds) I want to make sure that what I am eating is super satisfying.  That’s why a lot of people who eat a lot of carbs might feel full and satisfied for a time being (carbs are the super comfort food) but rarely does your palate really get excited.  Therefore, your brain sort of never gets satisfied.  That’s why I use strong flavor.  I keep a lot of the aforementioned ingredients in my place at all times, like the spices.  

Two of my favorite additions are this Trader Joe’s Peach Salsa and of course Hot Sauce!

(Okay, I’m caught.  I was watching
So You Think You Can Dance)