Saturday, March 29

Fried Chicken, Cheese Steaks, Pizzas, ice cream....and Brownies

ADDENDA:
Well enough to take the bus to Union Square for the farmers market and Wholefoods, then go to deep Brooklyn in the afternoon for lunch. Hopefully next week will be a bit more productive.

BREAKFAST: 9am, apple, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 11:15am, boca burger on sprouted whole wheat with pickles, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 11:45am, a few spoonfuls of chocolate soy ice cream batter, .25 bowls, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 2pm, a few bites of fried chicken, fried shrimp, fried fish, cheese steak, fries, macaroni and cheese, bread roll, coleslaw, sweet potato pie, grape soda, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
For reasons I can not reveal yet, I went deep into South Slope to a non-descript fried chicken joint, bought up a selection of stuff off the menu, and brought it home and tasted everything. All was quite gross, even the chicken was dry - how can a fried food be dry?! Sweet potato pie was surprisingly mild and vaguely cinnimony, and $21 bought enough food to feed 4 people well.

Thought I ate 1 bowl, but the heaviness in my stomach feels like 2. Not the food I should be indulging in so soon after an illness...

DINNER: 8pm, 2/3 of a magical brownie, spinach salad, homemade pizza, homemade chocolate soy ice cream, 1 glass presecco, seltzer, 3 bowls, hunger 4/5
Made pizza for a couple of B's friends, shared a singular brownie with 2 others. Dinner was great, pizza even better than before, and before desert everything went a bit berrrdoing. Had to lie down, should of had 1/4 to 1/2 brownie, fo sho....

Got up a few times during the night feeling berrrdoing, fortunately not the least bit hungry...

Friday, March 28

Anita Gofradump

ADDENDA:
Surprising to say I didn't really leave the house again today, I'm on my way to becoming like the woman who sat on the toilet for 2 years. I got on the bike around 10:30 to go to Wholefoods and less than a block out felt weak, sweaty, wobbly and increasingly tired. I was to cook a vegan pie for the HVS's birthday today and totally blew it, and was gonna test run magical brownies, which will have to wait.

Maybe got 4 hours total of sleep last night, replacing Nyquil with ice cream, probably not the smartest move I've ever made. I do know whenever the first night of no sleep-meds happens, it's rough. Getting ansy, really want to get out of the house and do things and see people. I think Betsy is a little nervous I've been sick because I may be depressed, I think it's on the edge of being the other way round if I don't feel significantly better tomorrow.

AM SNACK: 4am, wholewheat pretzel with peanut butter, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, 1 apple, .5 cups, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:30p, whole wheat pasta from a box with homemade tomato sauce, 1.5 bowls, hunger 4/5
My pasta is so superior, sniff sniff. Gotta figure out a whole wheat recipe, though.

PM WATERING: 2pmish, 50+ oz of tap
Rereading the blog, I wonder if I'm not drinking enough water.

DINNER: 7:30pm, half a mushroom and onion pizza from Isabellas, water, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5

ADDENDA II:
After spending a week on the couch, I found myself doing things like searching 'pizza' on Youtube. This classic Bart Simpson gag at a pizza place was the only vid to make me laugh out loud:

Thursday, March 27

Holistic Nutritionists Are Wicked Overseas!


ADDENDA:
Saw this program today, "You Are What You Eat" on BBC America, which follows a holistic nutritionist around England to her clients, to which she is totally direct and refreshingly brutal in a very English kind of way. Ilsa could definitely do the American version of this show! (Do a search on Youtube to find more parts and episodes.)

Feel better, still took the day indoors, though did some work and puttered around a bit.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, organic chex with soy milk, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Real milk spoiled, reconfirmed my belief that soy milk is nasty.

LUNCH: 2:15pm, cold sesame noodles, wonton soup, sticky rice & mince bundles, 24 oz water, 3 bowls, hunger 4/5
NOT a Chinese brick, but vegan food ordered in.

DINNER: 6:45pm, vegetarian Ethiopian food, 1 bowl, hunger 3/5
B brought in the food from a local place, unfortunately their quality control has tumbled and we probably won't be eating from there again soon. Good thing I had a heavy lunch.

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, almond ice cream, .5 cup, hunger 4/5
Really craving sugar.

Wednesday, March 26

Day of Rest

ADDENDA:
Slept fitfully, uncomfortable. Postponed another birthday dinner tonight with a friend, and a birthday breakfast, seems I have a lot of good meals out banked! Damn, I love to eat good food. The 'sick' food I've been eating yesterday and today is mostly homemade, it's a good vibe.

I remember in past years when I came out of an illness like this, I'd be really hungry and I'd break the health-enforced fast with a brick of Chinese. Seems kinda self-abusive now, he.

On a side note, I just picked up a small but potentially exciting non-graphics freelance gig that involves....food! It's too early to say more, but when the poop hits the fan, I'll tell ya all about it.

AM WATERING: 2am, 24 oz still

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, chocolate soy icecream, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Have homemade ice cream in the fridge, too, but don't think dairy would do me well in this state.

LUNCH: 11:45am, homemade pasta and tomato sauce, 24 oz still water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5 Appetite coming back, feel better but still out of sorts. Skipped the grated cheese.

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, homemade powerbar, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER:
7:30pm, boca burger with pickles on superhippy toast, brown rice, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
Not a lot of energy to cook, but throwing rice and vegetable broth in a rice cooker with butter is easy peasy. I was originally supposed to have a birthday dinner with Yana this evening, and the cooker was her wedding gift, so I guess it balances out.

EVENING DRUGGING: 10pm, shot of nyquil

Tuesday, March 25

Happy Birthday to Me

ADDENDA:
Did not go to sleep the night before, as I was using the WC regularly on the hour. No appetite, fuzzy head, achy. Too much rich food the past few days, rereading the blog I see that these bouts are set off by high concentrations of rich food...

Did not leave the house, postponed fancy dinner with B....

PM SNACK: 12:45pm, 1 apple, 1 small homemade powerbar, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, 1 apple, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:30pm, vegetable broth, 2 pieces buttered toast, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM DRUGGING: 9:30pm, shot of NyQuil

Monday, March 24

Junk Food Armageddon

ADDENDA:
My first summer at summer camp, we had parent's day right in the middle of the month I was away. It was the very first time I was away from my parents, and I struggled with home-sickness for the first week. I was OK for the second, but then my parents visited.

It was a glorious day, and I cried when they left, probably the first time I ever cried for my parents (I was 10). One thing I remember clearly....most of the other campers were from Long Island, and came from much wealthier homes than I did. The camp fed us 3 squares a day, 'family-style', meaning you could as much as you wanted. No one was in need of food. Regardless, other parents would mail their kids all sorts of junk-food which counselors would collect and put into big plastic barrels to keep the animals out.

But when parent's day came, it was JUNK FOOD ARMAGEDDON. Parents would just bring tons of crap to eat all day, take their kids out off campus into the wilds of Pennsylvania to get 'real food', etc. I don't remember what we ate that day, but I do remember a small blue cooler which had some simple things for a light lunch, probably bread and cheese and fruit. My parents never gave me sweets, so it was a huge treat for my mom to give me a plastic baggie full of chocolate chip cookies she made (undoubtedly the recipe off the back of a Nestle's morsel's bag) before they split. I cried, hugged, it was difficult for the three of us.

That evening, the counselors and staff had all the kids take out the huge amount of junk food crap they received that day and put it on the picnic table in the middle of our bunks. Basically, we were told this has to be eaten now, whatever's left thrown away. I had not eaten a single one of my cookies because I wanted to wait till I was hungry and try to make them last for the 2 weeks I had till I saw my parents again. But, it was share and eat and throw away, and I really didn't want to share or throw away, so I took my bag of cookies and ate the whole thing - all these kids had this horrible store-bought cheesy-poof crap in vast quantities, and all I had was my bag of cookies, a little part of my mom right with me. I distinctly remember eating the whole bag, taking a few steps, and chucking my guts out. Wasn't pleasant, but I was glad those stupid kids didn't get any of my cookies, they wouldn't of appreciated them anyway. Still kinda glad.

(When I did a google image search for 'Junk Food Armageddon', this Hulk Hogan pic came up - he was at the height of his popularity when I was arounf 10....)

Brought my Easter candy to the office today, some others also brought theirs in, and put it on the lunch table for whoever to eat. Kinda like the adult version of the parent's day picnic table.

Weighed myself this morning, perhaps not what one is supposed to do the day after Easter dinner, 234. Though others might be disappointed, losing a pound over a few weeks seems right to me. Still, gotta step it up.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, 1 fuji apple, .5 bowls, hunger 3/5
Feel like I have a food-hangover, but I need to go into a client's to pop out some work, would be foolish to eat nothing.

LUNCH #1: Noon, tomato soup, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Swung by B's office and we went to lunch together. Not very hungry and just ordered soup, but once I ate it, it went down my throat fast, guess I was hungrier than I thought.

LUNCH #2: 2:15pm, handful of cocktail shrimp, prime rib sandwich on super hippy bread with b&b pickles, 2 bowl, hunger 4/5
Left overs from last night's feast, 20 seconds in the micro and still tender and juicy and yummy. Matched well with the toughness of the superhippy. Tried the Rick's Picks super-expensive pickles, was good, not as cloyingly sweet like industrial bread n' butters, but still, not a big deal, not worth the money. Guess I'm just not a pickle fanatic.

PM SNACK: 5pm, a headless solid dark chocolate bunny, .5 bowls, hunger 4/5
A little bit too much. Threw out the remainder of the Easter sweets.

DINNER: 8pm, 2 little rice balls, 2 little fried olives, spoonful of eggplant parm, 1 meat ball, gnocchi with sausage in a light cream sauce, about 2 teaspoons worth of various chocolates, 1 glass prosecco, water, 2 bowls, hunger 3/5
Birthday dinner for a close friend at a nice local restaurant, really good vibes. Cupcakes were also distributed, showed a rare restraint because after the tiny bits of fancy chocolates, the last thing I wanted was a cupcake.

Sunday, March 23

Eat-ster

ADDENDA:
B & I went to deep dark NJ to a friend's family's house for Easter dinner, my first. It's an eating holiday, and there was about 3x more food than necessary for the 7 guests. After a huge spread of appetizers, I got B & her friend out on the 3 rusty bikes in the garage to pedal around the neighborhood for a wee bit, but when we got back were confronted by a gob-smackingly large dinner. It was fun but goyishly weird.

The other day at Grimaldi's Pizza, the server was slow with refilling our water glasses. Around us, almost every person in the place had 20-oz bottles of coke, diet coke and 7-up at their sides. For a hot second I wished I had a bottle of diet coke to wash down the pizza, then it hit me in another hot second - diet coke tastes like battery acid, what I really want is hydration and a palate cleanser, for which either still or sparkling water is ideal. It's the consumer culture, the push to charge me more, which tries to present sodas as the logical choice, when really it's quite insane and unhealthy.

BREAKFAST #1: 8:30am, fuji apple, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
B still asleep, feel 100% better, glad I didn't go out last night. Don't feel like eating, but the slight pangs in my tummy say otherwise. Apple beats caffeine hands down.

BREAKFAST #2: 10am, waffle, bacon, homefries, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
Dragged B out to the East Broadway Cafe in our hood, a Polish diner of the old school where I used to go regularly with my parents on weekends. The food was definitely better (and less pretentious) (and a whole lot cheaper) than the place we went to brunch yesterday. Bacon was too salty, given, but sitting in the same seats where I used to sit with mom and pop with B at my side, made any sin of bacon a lot more tolerable.

DINNER: 3-9pm, shrimp cocktail, fritos with various dips including 'caviar pie' and chili cheese goop, bread with sundry dried meats and cheeses, water, prime rib, potato au gratin, asparagus, spinach, salad, chocolate, apple & blueberry pie, vanilla ice cream, weird spicy cookie, short bread, 1 glass wine, 1 glass prosecco, water, 4 bowls, hunger 4/5
So many tchokes on the table, we couldn't find the salt & pepper...