Tasty spork!

I was up at 5 so I could be at school at 7 to prepare lunch for 200 mouths with my students. It was a lot of fun, went even smoother than last year, and people seemed to enjoy the food. And the students seemed to get a kick out of it.

Kids don't start showing up to school until 8, and first period is at 9 (though two of my fiercest and most loyal students met me at 7am to get the turkeys in the oven!) From 8 to 9 there is a cooler in the caf with bags in it -- free school breakfast. It was hard to not to notice that maybe only 1 or 2 students availed themselves of this really nice service. So I investigated, and ate one.

The picture above is the contents of the breakfast bag. A half pint of 1% milk, a quarter cup of fruit punch, a little container of dry cereal, a "bagel burst" and a little packet with spork and napkin. I think the cereal and the spork were tied for most-appetizing.

• 1% milk: Diet milk is nasty no matter how "used to it" you are. Whole milk, yes, has more fat. Big deal. Drink less of it. Fact is kids ain't drinking the diet milk.
• Fruit punch: Too sweet, despite being "100% juice" -- it's from concentrate, so the sugars are concentrated. Might as well be soda, but soda that has the distinct flavor of the inside of an aluminum can.
• Cereal: Kinda like cheesy poofs, minus the cheese. Actually pleasantly mildly sweet, slight corny flavor. I wouldn't buy this, but I'd eat it.
• "Bagel Burst": I took a bite of this small round baked good, chewed twice, ran to the garbage can and spit it out. In theory, this is supposed to be a small cinnamon bagel round with cream cheese injected in the middle. In realty, it is a dry crumbly stale little brick that feels like rough sand in the mouth, with too-tart white mush in the middle. Absolutely inedible. And notably, the packaging had no ingredient list -- must have 20 chemicals to keep it "fresh" for months in storage.
• Spork & napkin: brought back memories of school food pre-high school. I remember quite enjoying the hot lunches in the 70s, a nice alternative to the boring pb&j sandwiches my mom would pack. Even back then, they had cheaped-out on the food, going from production kitchens to reheating stations.

Anyway, no wonder no one eats that crap -- it's an insult to the students, a loud message that says that money and bottom line are more important than a healthy breakfast for the kids.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, pot luck dinner with B's family. I'm making Grandma Birdie's Chiffon Pumpkin Pie, cinnamon ice cream and a chocolate pecan pie. I am going to take a break over this holiday, and will continue reporting my eating next Monday. Happy Thanksgiving, all 3 of my readers!

BREAKFAST: 5:30am, iced green tea, chocolate covered coffee beans


AM SNACKING: 7am-noon, a school lunch, a glass of ginger ale, little bites of turkey, stuffing, string beans, a glass of iced tea, a glass of fruit punch, a few squares of brownies, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:45pm, a small plate of turkey, mac n cheese, Cesar salad, string beans, candied yams, a few brownies, a few too many cups of iced sweet tea, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, basil fried rice, curry puffs, Thai salad, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workin' & teachin' & cookin'

Slow to wake up this morning, my hips and feet actually felt a bit sore from carrying the Edles in the back pack contraption all over the city yesterday. I guess it's good to be sore, as it'll make me stronger for next time? Right?

I am now officially in the the thick of Thanksgiving. I went to the shop to open, and got relieved around 2 so I could go to school and cook with the kids. Cooking went well, got home at a reasonable time. Gotta get up at 5:30 to get to school by 7 to start the final push.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
LUNCH: 11:30am, 4 slices of superthin pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Very lightly topped, quite light and delicious.


SCHOOL SNACKING: 3:30-6:30pm, a few tastes of brownie batter, a few snippets of cornbread, some freshly baked croutons, water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, shrimp lomein, quart of water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Out

Didn't eat much until a large dinner, but perhaps my body needed that. Took Edie out for a playdate in the morning, then strapped her into a back pack and took her to the Museum of Natural History in the afternoon. It was good to be out today.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, iced green tea, toasted pumpernickel bagel with butter, ,75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Edie went nuts for a few little bits of my bagel, it was quite heart-warming.

PM SNACK: noon, cheesy poofs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:30pm, shrimp saag with basmanti rice, a few pakora, garlic naan, a lot of water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Not sick-sick

Intended to wake up at 7am to have a morning out with the fam, but when I tried, something felt very off and I slept until after 10 -- thank goodness B was around to cover the Edles, or I wouldn't have had a choice. Woke up groggy, lacked energy or appetite, spent most of the day on the couch, with a 4 hour nap that started when Edie went down around 11.

I'm not sick-sick, but I suspect my immune system is fighting something that could go there.


BREAKFAST: 10:30am, iced green tea, cornflakes with organic dead milk, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 4pm, ramen noodles, a little mint ice cream, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, pasta with homemade sauce, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Out of practice

Dreamt I was trying to take the Staten Island Ferry back to Manhattan with my bike, but there was construction. There was only a small crowd of us, but the ferry workers directed us to this very narrow ledge overlooking a canyon, which we had to walk across to get on the ferry. It was way to risky, and we all refused to take this walk, so the ferry left without us. As we all talked and got angrier and angrier at the gub'mint for cutting back service so drastically, someone stole my bike. I definitely think this was about work, and the cutting back of the restaurant.

Had an old friend and her family over for brunch, made pizzas, lotsa fun. Haven't made pizza in forever, my stretching is very out of practice.


AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
 
BREAKFAST: 9:30AM, BLT on rye, homfries, diet coke, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Thing about diet coke, it is excellent as a mouthwash. My mouth still felt slightly pasty from a weird night of dreams, and the diet coke really cleared it out, like paint thinner.

LUNCH: noon, 4 slices of various homemade pizza, 2 slices chocolate pecan pie, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 7pm, cheesy poofs, water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Abattoir of Aches

Baked chocolate pecan pies in the morning, rode bike with Edie to market for good bread in the afternoon then some play time in the local playground. Off to T's Abattoir of Aches in the eve, followed by a very nice snickleevening despite a quite horrible movie.


AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 8:30, toasted bagel & hummus, a pickle. .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: noon, hot dog, potato nick, pickled daikon, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4pm, cheesy poofs, a slice of super hippy bread, a slice of streetza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


SNICKLESNACK: 8:15pm, slice of big vegan pizza, 4 cups seltzer, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


SNICKLESNACK: 9pm, half a bag of popcorn, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

i cooked a whole lot

Woke up groggy. Caffeine kick helped me start the day off right with just me n' Edie in the house.

Had a "healthy" organic vegetarian burrito thing out of the freezer case for lunch. I used to eat a lot of these in college and in my early days in the city. Why? They are NASTY. And expensive, $3 for the little thing. Had me thinking that as we head into winter, I need to start cooking things that are filling, in large quantities to have in the freezer. Get some whole wheat wraps, cook up some refried beans, sprinkle so high-quality sharp cheddar, and I'll have microwave burritos in the freezer that are a) fresher, b) tastier, and pennies on the dollar. 


School lightened my mood, felt productive and successful. Me and 9 kids, in 3.75 hours, knocked out 3 plain cheese cakes, 3 pumpkin cheesecakes, 5 sheets of brownies, about 12 dozen biscuits, 5 big trays of corn bread, enough Cesar dressing for 100 salads, a gallon of jerk marinade, 20 meatloafs and a bucket cranberry sauce, all from scratch. We'll be cooking another ton on Tuesday, and the home stretch will be early Wednesday morning, when at noon we'll be feeding the school, about 170 mouths.


Didn't eat much today, just didn't feel like it.


AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea, small handful of chocolate covered espresso beans

PM SNACK: 1pm, frozen burrito, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5 


SCHOOL NIBBLES: 3-7pm, 1 biscuit, a couple of chipsahoy cookies, about a cup of sprite


DINNER: 9pm, frozen vegan breakfast burrito, 2 mini burgers, cheesy poofs, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Dad disappoints Mom

Had some absolutely weird dreams last night. Then again, most of my dreams are similar, so when one emerges that is radically different, it needs to be puzzled over.

I dreamt that my brother and I were on a road trip with just our dad, we were adults and my dad was elderly, but pre-strokes and in full health. We went to some mildly Canadian city, like Denver or something, a little too clean. We were staying at a hotel with a very narrow, very rickety elevator, on a high floor. I was responsible for driving this large boat-of-car, and my dad did not want to pay for parking, so the night we got in, we spent an hour looking for free on-street parking. The next morning, after waking up late, I go down to get some stuff in the car. The elevator is slow, so I walk down the narrow, rickety stairs and pass a large number of celebrities going up the stairs. First it was people I like, like Woody Harrelson and Neil Young, but as I got further to ground level it was all Kim Kardashian and Kesha. I got to the car, and there were piles and piles of parking tickets on it, and a parking cop was writing another. I tried to argue, but the sign said no-parking after 5am or something. I decided to pocket the tickets and hide it from my dad, and figure out a way to pay them later. I went back up to the room and my brother was in the bathroom, standing over the toilet but unable to pee. My dad was lying in bed watching TV, and I got into bed with him and gave him a long, big hug, it was great. At this point, I started to realize it was a dream and wanted to take full advantage of being in his presence. You don't get to hug your 6-year dead dad too often!

Woke up to a smiley wife and a smiley baby on the bed, both crawling all over me and giving me kisses. It was pretty awesome way to start a day that has great potential to be depressing again.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
LUNCH: noon, vegetarian sandwich, small sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Surprisingly disappointing. The sandwich came this week on a nice rosemary focaccia, but it was cut too small, the contents were overstuffed, and the oil and moisture of the vegetables made the bread a little soggy. Still ate it all, it was delicious, but not up to Almondine's standards.

PM WATERING: 1:30pm, 1 pint
LUNCH 2: 3:30pm, 2 slices super thin pizza, small almond ice cream, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5, 1 pint water
PM SNACK: 5:45pm, 2 small slices of pepperoni roll
The pizza cook was fooling around and rolled up a thin-stretched dough with pepperoni to make what is essentially a small under-raised stromboli. This brought back a strong food memory from my childhood.

I remember my dad came home from work one day, and my mom had to stay at work, so it was his responsibility to feed me and my brother. He brought a package of stromboli, which involved moz and wide thin slices of pepperoni wrapped in dough like a babka. It was ok, nothing great, but it was filling and there was some left over. When mom got home and saw what was in the fridge, she was very upset that dad has served her two children "such garbage".

I felt bad for my dad, and I was surprised that he would feed us "garbage". For trash, it wasn't that bad. I also knew that the stromboli was just pizza, rolled up without sauce and left to sit around too long. It's not THAT evil?!

This little piece of stromboli brought me right back to the kitchen in Staten Island, wondering why my mom was upset, and why my dad could of disappointed her.

DINNER: 6:15pm, 2 slices Sicilian, pint of water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, burger & fries, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Bleah

Very quiet day at work, which did little to raise my spirits.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
LUNCH: 12:30pm, 4 superthin slices, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 2:30pm, 2 small slices with artichoke & olive, water. .5 bowl, hunger 3/5
PM SNACK: 3:30pm, small almond ice cream, water, .25 bowl, hunger 3/5
PM SNACK: 6:30pm, large green salad, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 10pm, wonton soup, shrimp fried rice, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Monday at home

Spent the day in doors, finishing painting the walls, made the menu/recipes/lesson plan for Thanksgiving with my class, and basically chilled. Had a large bowl of pasta, but an hour later, was still definitely hungry.

AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea


LUNCH: noon, Stouffers French Bread Pizzas, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 5:30pm, spaghetti with home made tomato sauce, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 7pm, small handful of chocolate chip cookies, large amount of chocolate ice cream, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

The weekend report

I've eaten quite poorly these past couple of days. Feeling a little bit blue about the cold season coming on us. I did pull out a nice brunch for a few of B's friends on Sunday morning, and toiled all day Sunday painting some walls in the apartment.


SATURDAY


BREAKFAST: 9:15am, iced green tea, a spoonful of freshmade mint chocolate ganache ice cream

PM SNACK: 12:15pm, cheesy poofs, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1:45pm, rice noodles with fishballs, lotus leaf wrap, weird rice wrap, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6pm, miniburgers & cheesypoofs, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5 


SUNDAY


AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea


BRUNCH: 11am, 2 homemade bagels with homecured salmon, pickle, pumpkin cheese cake, one mimosa, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 5pm, beef lomein, shrimp toast, spare ribs, orange soda, cheesecake, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Friday Chillin'

Did chores around the neighborhood with Edles in the morning, took care of more on bike with Edie in the afternoon, capped by a nice social play in the playground down the street. Spent the evening kicking off with a snickle with T, then off to T's Domicile of Dread. Picked up some nice Indian food from a taxi stand I used to eat from weekly years ago.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, pumpernickel bagel with goat cheese, 2 cups iced green tea, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1pm, 4 mini burgers, cheesy poofs, 4 cups water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


SNICKLESNACK: 5pm, vegan espresso ice cream, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8:30pm, vegetarian samosas and chickpeas, roti, 4 cups water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Mellow

School was closed due to Veteran's Day. Spent the morning in with the Edie, then met Y for lunch at Katz's. Surprisingly packed for a Wednesday lunch. Caught a movie, then went food shopping, then home. Mellow.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, 2 buttermilk pancakes, iced green tea, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 12:45pm, handful of roasted pumpkin seeds, 4 cups water


PM SNACK: 1pm, cheesy poofs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 2pm, 2 hotdogs, fries, pickles, 1 cup water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8:45pm, pasta with home made sauce, bar of dark chocolate, 4 cups of water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Watery

Up to 20% of your water needs can come from the food you eat, assuming you're eating "healthy". While my morning sandwich was full of vegetables, I know the roasting process removes moisture to intensify flavor, but it still has more healthy moisture than, say, a brick of Chinese food.

I am thinking there might be a relationship between hydration and sugar cravings, as the last three days without sugar have been a snap....

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
BRUNCH: 11am, vegetarian sandwich, 2 cups water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Had a busboy get me a sandwich from Almondine, as they weren't ready when I stopped by on the way to work. This time, it came on a fresh, crisp and chewy baguette, mercifully free of cauliflower but seemed to have nicely marinated mushrooms instead. Tangy goat cheese as always, this sandwich was a different ballgame from those on flatter bread, but still aced it.

PM WATERING: 12:15pm, 2 cups
LUNCH: 5 superthin pizza slices w/o crust, small quantity of freshly roasted potatoes, 2 cups water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Super thin, crust blistering up and pushing the toppings aside, the basil cooked on and slightly paper-crunchy, pretty much perfect if you like thin. If this was my place, I'd run this as a special to see if others agreed how amazing it is. Infact, I may have to get my wife and child in at some point to try this pizza style.

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, a few snippets of bacon, a few cubes of cold roast pork with skin, 2 cups water

PM SNACK: 7:30pm, green salad, 2 cups water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 10:30pm, burger, fries, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Water, water everywhere, and many drops to drink

I think I realized this morning that 10 cups/5 pints/2 quarts and a pint/a little over half a gallon of water a day is about average for me. I don't transcribe it here because there is already enough monotony on this very day-in-day-out blog. But I shall record it this week never the less.

I took an internet quiz about how much water I should drink today, I had to plug in my weight (230), how many minutes of exercise I plan to do today (0), am I pregnant (no), am I breastfeeding (certainly not), am I at a high altitude (no), am I in a dry climate (no, how man alcoholic drinks will I consume (0), is the weather extremely hot or cold (yes, it's kinda a hot-tea wrap yourself in cashmere kinda day), do I have fever or diarrhea (no). My answer was as follows:

131 ounces of water today (that's 16 and a half cups)
If you eat a healthy diet, about 20 percent of your water may come from the foods you eat. If you eat a healthy diet you an drink 104.8 ounces (13 cups). Water is the obvious source of your daily fluid needs. Other good beverages include milk, herbal teas, low sodium broth, 100% fruit and vegetable juices. Soft drinks will also count toward your daily total of fluid, just remember that sugar sweetened soft drinks and fruit juices add extra calories to your daily diet that you don't need.

So strictly speaking, they say I may not be drinking enough water, but that may also be total bullshit.  I didn't include my daily green tea (1 pint/2 cups) or the various crappy sodas I've been drinking....

BREAKFAST: 8am, the good steelcut oatmeal with a pat of butter, 1 pint iced green tea, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 11:30am, fresh baked bread, handful of olives,  2 cups water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 1pm, 2 slices of pizza, half a glass of wine, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM WATERING: 2:30pm, 2 cups water
PM SNACK: 4:45pm, green salad, 2 cups water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 5:45pm, 2 slices white Sicilian with shrimp, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM WATERING: 6:30pm, 2 cups water
DINNER pt 2: 8pm, 3 slices super thin pizza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, small pork fried rice, 2 cups water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Watery

The best thing about consciously drinking 10 cups of water per day in this week's challenge is that it matches well with the restriction to only go for 2 sweets this week. There is no urge for sweet soda because I'm just not thirsty.

Thursday I'm going for a decadent lunch with Y, which will probably involve sweets, and Friday is a pre-yoga snickle for  vegan ice cream, so I'm pretty sewed up for the week.

BREAKFAST: 9am, iced green tea, good yogurt with agave, vanilla and peanuts, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:45pm, 4 slices of thin but overtopped pizza, 2 cups of water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM WATERING: 3pm, 2 cups, with a slice of lemon

LUNCH 2: 4:45pm, shrimp in garlic & wine, 2 cups of water with lemon, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7pm, large green salad, 1 slice of pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK 8:15pm, 8oz diet coke
Needed caffeine, didn't want sugar.

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, 2 mini burgers, cheesy poofs, 3 cups of water

Sinful eating in celebration of people running

Left out early on bike, which is easy to do when the clocks fall back an hour. After a power-breakfast, pedaled over to Bed Stuy to drop a cheese cake off on C and her family, then down to South Park Slope for a brunch in an apartment overlooking the marathon. Ate a bunch of sinful of sinful food, but it was all home made from scratch.

B is feeling better, but still took Edles out for an epic wander around the outside of the building in the afternoon, such fun. Chilled in front of the TV in the eve, getting ready for the week ahead.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, steel cut oatmeal, iced green tea, a few chocolate covered espresso beans, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

BRUNCH: 11:30am, cheddar biscuit with sausage gravy, apple scrapple, a spicey pickle, a narrow slice of pumpkin cheesecake, a slice of spice cake, a decadent cinnamon bun, a very potent screwdriver, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7pm, singapore chow mei fun, shrimp toast, 2 pork dumplings, a little ice cream, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Laid Back Saturday

A very mellow Saturday. Woke up around 4am to an unhappy Edie. B got her back to bed, but not me. So after staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, I got up and made an epic batch of pancakes. Watched a little TV, and fell asleep as the ladies rose.

While I was powering up with some green tea, B was powering down with a slight fever, so she went back to bed and I did the Edie thing. Watched a movie while she napped, fed her, ate a small portion of school-made kasha, then went for a nice 2 hour walk with Edie around the neighborhood. On the sidewalk, she now doesn't resist holding my hand, which is suuuuper cute and wonderful.

When we got in, B arose and I tuned out on the TV with a big hearty bowl of school made farro & sausage. I forgot how satisfying this is -- whole grain, pork, potatoes, beans, all redolent of fennel and chicken stock. I wasn't really hungry for the rest of the day, only getting some veg down before hitting the sack around 10:30.

BREAKFAST: 5:30am, 4 buttermilk pancakes, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 10:30am, Ito En unsweetened green tea

PM SNACK: 1:30pm, kasha varnishkes, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


LINNER: 4:30pm, farro & sausage, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 6:30pm, baby carrots & cucumber slices with ranch dressing, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

T's House of Hurt

Stayed indoors with the Edie, she's better but not 100%, except in the adorable department. Evening Tenement of Torture with T.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, iced green tea, homemade granola with organic dead milk, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Brought home a couple of bottles of Ito En green tea from the shop, we recently hosted a party for their Brooklyn staff and they brought their own tea, including a case of their high-end Japanese-import only stuff. Unsweetened, nutty flavor, no bitterness at all, it runs rings around my clownish home-brewed variety. This was free, but to buy retail is 10x more expensive than my own.

LUNCH: 2pm, farro & sausage, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Made in school yesterday, a stew featuring whole-grain farro & crumbled Italian sausage, cooked in chicken stock, with fennel, potatoes, tomato & kidney beans. Heavy, but good.

PM SNACK: 5pm, cheesy poofs, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

SNICKLEDINNER: 7:45pm, vegan Cesar salad, cup of dahl, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Moody Thursday

Mellow day with a slightly sick day in the morning, good class in the afternoon, a round of food shopping in the evening.

BREAKFAST: 8am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 11:30am, sardine and kimchi on superhippy bread, 4 miniburgers, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, squares of several kinds of chocolate


DINNER: 6pm, rice pilaf, kasha varnishkes, diet soda, water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, large amount of cheesy poofs, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Super-thin!

Uh oh. It just occurred to me I'm going to have to take my one sweet-exception tomorrow for the week instead of during snickling with T. I have a chocolate-tasting scheduled with my students tomorrow. It'll be one milk chocolate, and 4 different levels of dark chocolate. It's not about scarfing a ton of chocolate, but putting a little bit on the tongue, feeling it melt, swishing it around the entire tongue, and paying attention to the different flavor notes. This (and cheese) is the only tasting we do on this level, as they are all too young to sample wine.

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, iced green tea, the good oatmeal, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Second time around, the oatmeal is still good, but I may have went a shade too far with the salt. Next batch, I'm going to measure rather than just do it by feel, so I can adjust more accurately to make the good oatmeal perfect.

LUNCH: 12:30pm, 3 slices of experimental pizza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
I had my cook make a super-thin pizza, with basil cooked on to it. What I didn't know is that due to an oopsy, the oven was not getting hot. I checked the pizza after 10 minutes, and it looked like it was just put in. The oven was hovering at 259 (the proper temp is 550), so I found the issue and it started to slowly rise. So the thin pizza stayed in the oven for about 45 minutes, until the crust looked a little tan. It was extraordinarily cracker-like, the cheese never spread, just formed a crunchy blistered skin with a bit of cheesy flavor underneath, and most wonderful of all, the basil leaves on top dried out like Japanese nori sheets, thin crackly & see-through, and bursting with basil flavor. The pizza had become a pizza-cracker: thin and crunchy, not the least-bit burnt. It reminded more than a little of lavash crackers. If it wasn't for the 45-minute cook time at a different temp, I would push to have this cracker-pizza on the menu. It would make an AMAZING bar-snack. Maybe when I have my own joint....

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, green salad, handful of industrial pretzel bites, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
A colleague brought in some store-bought mustard-onion pretzel that were surprisingly gross. Why do people eat this maltodextrin-palm oil laced garbage?

DINNER: 6:15pm,  2 meatballs, sliced roasted potatoes, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, burger, fries, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

The challenge continues.

No sugary junk food or soda wasn't too bad today, but I wonder if I'm eating a little bit heavier to avoid cravings. Maybe not heavier, but certainly more often, keeping my blood sugar even all day. Notably, yesterday and today, I had no urge for snacking late at night, which is a good thing.

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, smoothie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Woke up hungry, and knew I would not be scarfing donuts and chocolate this morning, so went to the smoothie. In a slight daze, I underground the flax seed and the whole affair was a bit gritty, but still good. Good enough to pour the extra into a freezer pop mold for emergency sugar jones later in the week!

AM SNACK: 10:15am, vegetarian sandwich, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Not as good as the last one -- too much goat cheese, too much roasted veg. I forgot to pick out the cauliflower in the first few bites, but it's rank flavor of shoes and sweatsocks reminded me to take care of them.

LUNCH: 1:15pm, half a very thin pizza, seltzer, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Sugar cravings becoming more notable. Bottle of carbonated water instead of sugary soda brought in to fight the good fight.

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER PT 1: 6pm, sliced roasted potatoes, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER PT 2: 7pm, 3 slices of Sicilian, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Stabilized

229.6 --> 229.0

So for the most part, my weight stayed steady this past month. 230 is pretty much the weight my body strives to be, no more, no less at the age of 39. I have been fitfully eating much better the past week or so, forgive a gyro here or there. As I go into the winter months looking forward to the heavier meals I love to make (chili!! mac n' cheese! cheesecake!), I must think in terms of quality more than quantity.

T & B have remarked how "thin" I look this past week or so, but the numbers and the amount of exercise I've been getting don't bare it out -- maybe I'm more comfortable wearing non-baggy clothes? But there is a delivery driver at work, a nice but strange Asian woman in her 20s with limited English, who bluntly told me the other week that I'm very handsome, but too "wide". (Don't worry, B, she's not interested in men, wide or narrow!)

Today is the first day of a desert-fast with T -- no refined sugar, no sinful treats like brownies or soda. Sugar itself is fine, if in a nutritional package, like fruit or a smoothie. The trick will be to manage the cravings until Friday, where T & I will indulge!

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, steelcut oatmeal, iced green tea, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
I seasoned the oatmeal while cooking, with a good shake of brown sugar, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. While reheating my portion in the micro, put a pat of butter on top which I mixed in when done. Wonderfully delicious, basically what those fake packets of instant oatmeal try to strive for, but with cartoony flavors, sickening sweetness and chemical enhancements. This, on the other hand, is the Good Oatmeal.

AM SNACK: 11:45am, 3 pieces of freshly baked bread, handful of olives, a few slices of cucumber, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 2:15pm, 6 very thin slices of pizza, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5:30pm, half slice of white pizza
PM SNACK: 6:15pm, large green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
A half-filled tub of nutella fell on the counter in front of me as I went for something on a high shelf in the kitchen. A twinge of sweet-lust coursed through my noggin for a second....


DINNER: 8pm, shrimp & clam pizza, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Full-woo

I woke after 11 hours of sleep feeling pretty even, but B was a little run down, so I plopped Edles on the bike and we went to Brooklyn Heights to the bagel shop me n' B used to hit up when we were in full-woo. Edie played in the playground that I did when my Aunt lived in the neighborhood in the 70s.

In the afternoon, we went to a neighborhood Halloween party with a whole bunch of other babies, but it did not go smoothly -- Edie fell asleep when going over, and when she woke up to a relatively loud, crowded new place, she just was not having it. Didn't help that her piggie costume was probably too warm. We left before I could stuff down too many sweets!

In the evening, I was searching the cupboards for sweets, as tomorrow starts a sweets-fast for about a week. I didn't even feel like eating sweets, just wanted to get some in before it was too late. But Betsy already hoovered up everything except the baking chocolate, so that was that.

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, 9 grain bagel with butter, lettuce tomato and onion, seltzer, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

AFTERNOON SNACKS: 3pm, mini pigs in blankets, a cupcake, a few bites of cheese, carrots and spinach dip, a rum drink, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, shrimp fajita with rice, beans, guac and salsa, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Halloween Central

Felt bleah, felt the urg for heavy carb-loaded food all day. Me and the gals went up to Sleepy Hollow to visit a friend and her family, good time visiting Washington Irving's grave on Halloween weekend, perfect weather, good company, wonderful train ride. I stayed in while B went out to party with some other moms, and after getting Edie to bed quite smoothly by 8, I found myself passing out in front of the TV by 8:30! I'm an oldie!

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9:45am, bacon and cheddar on a bagel, chocolate cupcake, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1pm, gyro platter, diet coke, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:30pm, cheesy poofs, Stouffer's French Bread pizzas, a little chocolate, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

T's Terroir of Terror

Woke up early, made pumpkin-gingersnap mini cheesecake cupcakes and fed Edles her breakfast.From there, we hopped on the bike, did a chore in Soho, pedalled up to Chelsea Market to visit our friend MAP, then home for nap. After lunch, we took a walk in the neighborhood, ending at the park. Edie chose to bring her monkey doll, which was horrendously cute, and for the first time she discovered squirrels, where she would point, squeal with delight then run after them.

In the evening, Yomomma came over and I took off to T's Penitentiary of Punishment. Not quite as bad as last week, but definitely underlines how badly I need strength training right now. We had a wonderful snickle at Dojo, and unfortunately she carpetbagged me into a no-sweets challenge next week. Oy. Well, I know sugar has been kicking my ass recently, so it makes sense.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea


AM SNACK: 8:15am, dark chocolate
Didn't intend to, but I got it as a gift for B, and of course the first thing she does when she rolls into the kitchen is bust it open.

AM SNACK: 9:15am, pumpkin-gingersnap mini cheesecake cupcake


LUNCH: 1pm, large green salad, cheese ravioli with homemade marinara, a small piece of pumpkin cheesecake, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, 3 tiny slices of pizza, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


SNICKLESNACK: 8:15pm, large spinach salad, hijiki tofu patty, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, hotdog with kimchi, small piece of potato nick, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Listless

Woke up tired, felt listless at Edie's playgroup, and when she took a nap, I napped too, a solid 1.5 hours. Kinda skipped lunch, and snacked a bit on the food me and the students made for the 100+ people of the PTA meetings. On the way home, still not horrendously hungry, but picked up some noodles so when I went food shopping soon after, I wouldn't overspend by being hungry.


BREAKFAST: 9:15am, iced green tea, toasted pumpernickel bagel with chevre and sable, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 1:45pm, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans


SCHOOL SNACKING: 3:30-6:30pm, croutons, a spoonful of mac n' cheese, a brownie, seltzer, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:45pm, beef lomein, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, cheesy poofs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork pt 3

Well, the intention was for a healthy breakfast, but I ended up revving my engines hard. I was a little hungry at home, but had visions of a roasted veg and goat cheese sammich in my head. So I contented myself to some espresso beans, but when I got to Almondine, the sandwiches weren't ready yet! So I went across the street to Jaques Torres and got a slammin' cookie. Not healthy, but perfectly indulgent and satisfying, makes me happy to focus on healthier options later on.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans
BREAKFAST: 9:45am, large chocolate chip cookie, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:45pm, 2 slices of green apple pizza, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Further experimentation. Definitely a worthy seasonal pie. Key is a balsamic reduction, no tomato sauce, and a healthy dose of salt and pepper. Thin slice, no need to pre-fry the tomatoes.

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, green salad, two small almond ice creams, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 5:15pm, 3 meatballs with Romano, a few olives, water, 3 chocochip cookies,1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
A coworker brought in homemade cookies, had to have a few. Man, today is turning into an overboard sweets day!


EVENING SNACK: 7pm, 2 thin & crispy slices, .25 bowl, hunger 3/5
Experiment stretching a medium dough to large and lightly topping it. Reminded me of the cracker-like pizza I had many years ago at the very first 'artisinal' pizza place I experienced.

EVENING SNACK: 10:15pm, 2 burgers & fries, 1 bowl, hunger 3/5

Workworkworkwork pt 2

Woke up to B placing Edie on the bed, and B narrating while Edie gingerly poked my face. "Nose!" Nose poke. "Hair!" Beard poke. "Where are poppa's ears?!" Ear poke. "Eyes!" Eye poke. Perhaps the most awesome way to wake up ever.

Had some dreams about being stuck in a construction zone of the Manhattan side of the Staten Island ferry, trying to get to the Island but being thwarted by the construction. Stranger, the construction worker explained I could not leave the zone the same way I came in, but would have to take a rickety single-person pontoon boat from there to Governor's Island, where I'd have to wait many hours for a ride to Staten Island.

Due to a self-locking door, a kitchen guy and myself spent a brief part of the morning jimmying the lock of the office, pretty annoying.

BREAKFAST: 8:45am, organic wholegrain chex with the good milk, half portion of iced green tea, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 1pm, roasted potatoes with fennel sausage, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Freshly sliced potatoes cooked in a caste iron pan with onion, season with salt, pepper and parsley, and some seared crumbled sausage sprinkled on top. Pretty much the best off-menu lunch I'm gonna get in the pizza restaurant.

LUNCH 2: 2pm, 3 slices of green tomato-balsamic pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Pizza experimentation. Seared some thick slices of green tomato in caste iron, thin sliced some and placed directly on pizza. Thin cooked-on definitely the winner. The nice bitterness of the tomato against the acidy sweetness of the balsamic just worked, and complimented perfectly by the bed of moz and garlic. Gotta try this at home for friends.

PM SNACK: 4pm, a small cup of almond ice cream, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, green salad

DINNER: 8pm, 2 slices of white pizza with bacon and olives, 8 oz sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork

I'm still a little sore from T's tournament of terror last Friday, and the new layer of weariness from riding a strong 70 miles yesterday didn't help me feel much better when I woke up this morning. But I started with a good breakfast while racing through chores, and hoped for the best.

Mildly busy in the resto today, trying to hold myself to a better eating habit.

BREAKFAST: 9am, steelcut oatmeal, iced green tea, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Already we're out of oatmeal. Guess I gotta put a new pot on to soak tonight.

PM SNACK: 3pm, green salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
 
LUNCH: 3:30pm, 4 slices of Sicilian, small almond ice cream,  8oz sprite, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
 
PM SNACK: 6:15pm, cranberry lime soda
 
DINNER: 7:30pm, sauteed shrimp in light garlic sauce with a little bread, another small almond ice cream, half a vanilla soda, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, wholegrain tortilla chips with salsa, chocolate chips, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Spent

Pretty much a perfect day. Woke at 7, saw a little Edie & B, then took off for the Tour de Bronx. Beautiful weather, the bike felt great, the ride went smoothly. Coming home, my friend E got in touch and dropped in on her in Greenpoint for some seriously Polish food, hit the spot perfectly. Spent the even refreshening myself, playing with the Edles and just enjoying the feeling of a spent body.

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, granola with the good milk, iced green tea, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 11am, cliff bar, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 12pm, bagel with cream cheese, apple juice, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 4pm, slice of streetza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 5pm, kielbasa, perogies, stuffed cabbage, kraut, potato pancake, slaw, a few tomatoes, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, large quantity of ramen noodles, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Paint the town mauve

Surprisingly sore from T's tribulation of terribleness, man I need to toughen up a bit. Plans to travel today cancelled, so me and the fam had a nice morning in Soho, then a swing by the Hester Street Fair for a revelatory snack. Babysitter came in the eve, and me and B painted the town a nice shade of mauve, just like a nice pre-middle age couple should!

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, pumpernickel bagel with chevre and sable, iced green tea, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Holy crap, using goat cheese on a bagel with smoked fish makes something so familiar so interesting. Damn, why didn't I do this years ago?

LUNCH pt 1: 1:30p, beef empanada, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Fried to order at the Hester Street Fair. Perhaps the best empanada I ever had. My only complaint is that when the dude offered my hot sauce and/or spicy mayo, I should have taken him up on it -- if a guy who makes something this good offers a condiment to go with his product, it probably makes it even better.

LUNCH pt 2: 2:15pm, large green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
I used boston and ice berg lettuces. While there is lots of water and a little fiber in it, I probably should aim for a greener, more nutritional leaf next time.

PM SNACK: 4pm, half a brownie


DINNER: 5:45pm, sausage and kraut, kale pakora, guacamole, whole wheat naan, pint of beer, water, a little chocolate souffle, a little apple cheesecake, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Took B out for dinner and a movie. Went to an old standby, Tabla, which is going to be closing in the next month or so. Food was good but not as good as I remember, the level of service was trimmed back, and all and all the specter of the  bad economy hung in the room like stagnant cigarette smoke. Still, I had a lot of great dinners in that room and it was nice to have one more time there.

T's Dwelling of Discomfit

A good Edie day. In the morning we were all over downtown Manhattan via bike doing chores, after nap, we met up with a friend and his baby in the 'hood. In the evening I yogacized at T's Palace of Pain, then we snickled in the East Village. Two conclusions: I really need to focus on strength training, so I'm not flopping around like a nearly-dead fish at T's Circus of Stress, which I hope to be doing every Friday eve for a while...

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, iced green tea, plain pinhead oatmeal, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Betsy finished the oats this morning by heating them up to absorb the last of the water, but she failed to season them with anything before putting it away -- now I'll have to individually season each portion with salt (sea salt!), spices (cinnamon! cardamom!), sweetener (brown sugar!) and maybe a fat (butter! olive oil!). But this morning I ate it Betsy-style, and appreciated it's oatiness. It was a little cardboard flavored, but I really appreciated the pleasant snap of the oat kernel between my teeth within the smoothie thick and creamy starch.

LUNCH: 12:30pm, sardine & avocado sandwich on superhippy bread, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Finally acquired some proper superhippy bread from the farmer's market, dense but soft, nutty flavor, the color of golden wheat. Sandwich was delicious, why have I not eaten one of these in so long?


PM SNACK: 1:45pm, freshly baked brownie, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Cooked up brownies while I fed Edie. Too delicious, but I'm sure my B will hoover them down in no time!

SNICKLEDINNER: 8:30pm, mock duck & noodle in curry, a few fried vegan bites, a small ginger-jasmine soda, water, vegan ice cream, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Pizza seeping through the cracks

A day off from work, and I still find pizza a cornerstone of my diet! Lunch was leftovers that B shared with a friend the night before, and dinner was a result of freezer-fishing. Busy day, with taking Edie to the play group at the local community center in the morning, an intense session of teaching in the afternoon, and running out to the supermarket for a good big food shopping in the evening sans-Edie.

On the positive side, I put a huge dose of pinhead outs on the oven to soak overnight, to avoid 20 minutes of high-power microwaving...

AM SNACK: 8:15am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 11:30am, half a lame vegan pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


TEACHING SNIPPETS: 3:30-7pm, some boiled shrimp in a mayo-based sauce, a few strips of grilled chicken, a bunch of freshly baked buttery croutons, many little tastes of student mayo, 4 oz of coca cola, a bunch of seltzer, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, some dark chocolate with peanut butter


DINNER: 9:45pm, Stouffers French Bread pizzas, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, cheesy poofs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

A good sandwich

Mellow day at work, enlivened by a visit from C & her baby. Starting to find myself naturally swing back towards healthier eating habits, it's just time.

AM SNACK: 8:15am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 10am, vegetarian sandwich, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Wow wow wow wow. I was at Almondine again this morning, craving a sandwich. I've stuck with the turkey & cheese, as the tuna and 'vegetarian' didn't hold much interest. But in the name of getting back on track of my nutrition, I looked closely at the vegetarian sandwich: it was on a nice slice of rustic whole wheat bread, and it didn't have meat and cheese in it.

When I sat down with it, I first said "yuck!", and picked out the cauliflower. I did notice a nice wide selection of veg -- eggplant, zucchini, onion & red pepper, as well as broccoli, asparagus, mushroom and the aforementioned ick. It smelled slightly vinegary, the way proper roasted sandwich veg should. The bread had a squirt of fragrant olive oil, and little bits of curdy pot cheese studded the affair.

When I took my first bite, I realized a few things: the pot cheese was chevre, a nice tangy goat cheese. I noticed the balance of vegetables and cheese to bread was in perfect balance, and I noticed the veg was marinated in something involving roasted garlic.

Despite my reservations, again Almondine delivered the best ever vegetarian sandwich to mah mouf. Again, an ordinary food item is elevated to something wonderfully special in their bakery. Maybe not the ultimate health sandwich, but a step up from the turkey & emmenthaller with mayo on white bread.

PM SNACK: 1pm, 1 slice of experimental white pizza, .25 bowl, hunger 2/5
Not hungry, but had to eat it, it's my job.

PM SNACK: 3:15pm 8oz  sprite, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5:30pm, 2 freshly baked meatballs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5:45, 3 homebaked cookies
Coworker baked them, using my advice greatly improved them. Nice.

PM SNACK: 7pm, one half of a slice of pizza


DINNER: 10pm, burger and fries, a slice of cold pizza, 4 mini muffins, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

I am the first person in the world to have steel cut oats!!

Woke up from a good night sleep a little stuffy, but in a good mood. Determined to start the eating day off right, I downed some green tea then proceeded to make myself some pinhead oats (aka steel cut) for breakfast. It ended up taking over 15 minutes in the microwave, so I had to package it and take it to work. It was quite delicious, but I think I may have to make it in larger batches in a slow-cooked style, then reheat as needed over a week.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 10am, steelcut oatmeal with a little brown sugar, salt and vanilla, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
To be honest, I was inspired by Alton Brown's Good Eats episodes on oats, which he proclaims as one of the most healthy things you can have for breakfast. It definitely fits in well with his lose-weight scheme, as a whole grain.

Oddly enough, I think this may be the first time I've eaten/paid attention to steel cut, as opposed to old fashioned rolled outs. The technical difference is steel-cut are whole oats that are chopped up into large grit, so that's why it's called "pinhead". Rolled oats are rolled between huge metal rollers at high pressure to press then flat. Rolling makes them faster to cook, but also lowers the amount of the mucous-like starch that is produced when cooked, which makes them very slow going through the digestive system (and therefore more nutritionally rich and more filling.) (Instant are rolled oats that are chopped up and par-cooked, greatly reducing nutritional value and flavor.) While rolled oats are good for baking in granola, I don't think I'll ever use them again for oatmeal.

Steel-cut has a nicer, fuller mouth feel, both firmer in the grain and thicker in the starch released. I cooked them in water, but for my bigger quantities, I see milk, cream, buttermilk or a combination. Throw in a small amount of brown sugar, salt and pie spices, and it's going to be a crazy-health party in mah mouf.

NOON SNACK: 3 pieces of freshly baked bread, handful of olives, a few slices of cucumber, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 1:45pm, large green salad, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 3:15pm, 2 slices of pizza, a small sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, 4 misc. home baked cookies, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
A coworker has been consulting with me about baking, so I had to try them.

DINNER: 7pm, 3 small slices of pizza, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10:15pm, 3/4 of a waffle, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Ass, Kicked.

After yesterday's thoughts, I'm going full-out for half-full. Started with a delicious smoothie, which I really should make twice a week -- it just tastes and feels so good going down, and it powers me up with just the right hit of sugar.

The restaurant was oddly busy in the afternoon, and being that I had a bare-bones staff, I ended up running around taking orders, busing tables, running the register, sitting customers, fixing the ice machine, answering the phone, dealt with a 20-person table of all Spanish speakers who could not comprehend why we were giving them 1 big check and not 20 individual checks, bartending and running food out. It was hella-fun, kinda like playing a real life video game where they just throw everything at you to knock you out and it's up to you to kick some ass. Ass, kicked.

Didn't eat enough, and after the rush felt a little wobbly, but I scarfed down a large amount of pizza and felt better pretty quickly. I drank several pints of water in the early evening, but my appetite didn't really return until after I left for home.





BREAKFAST: 8:30am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
A banana, the good yogurt, acai juice, frozen mango, blueberries and cherries, a splash of vanilla and salt, freshly ground flax seeds.

AM SNACK: 11:15am, freshly baked bread, olives, a few slices of cucumber, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 2pm, sprite

LUNCH: 4pm, 4 small squares of Sicilian with mushroom, onion & garlic, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 7:30pm, 1 slice of white pizza, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 9:30pm, beef lomein, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, 1 apple-turnover sourdough muffin

Half full? Half empty?

Is my health half full or half empty? I got to bed the night before around 9:30, not feeling quite right and a little worn down. I woke at 4am with a bathroom issue, and got back to bed soon after. I finally awoke at 11am, feeling a little groggy but with energy rising from below.

I went on to have a fully-functional, active day, but the original plan was to wake at 6am and ride the bike into the early afternoon. On one hand, I feel like my body successfully fought off a cold or illness that could have been more serious if it lingered. On the other hand, another week has gone by late in the season where I did not get a good ride in. I can only conclude that my lazy eating habits of late are catching up with me.

BREAKFAST: 11am, BLT on rye toast with mustard, homefries, diet coke, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Lazy eating habits, indeed. B was on the Edie case, and I needed comfort in a bad way. I went around the corner on my block, to my local greasy spoon. The guy behind the counter greeted me warmly, said he hadn't seen me in a long time. I wanted to say, "That's because your food is shit and your style of eating establishment reeks of death," but I just smiled and said "Yeah, well." Of course, I don't go for the food, I go because every other weekend or so I'd come here with my parents and they'd greatly love the cheap prices, bottomless cup of coffee and egg plates. I go here to be with my parents.

I had a diet coke for two reasons -- that was the one thing me and me parents would both guzzle, and I felt a little mucousy from the long sleep -- the acid in the diet coke which I usually abhor felt good for clearing out my throat!

PM SNACK: 1:30pm, a few bites of random pickled stuff
Me n' Edles went to the LES Picklefest, very fun, very tasty. I picked up some really well-done kimchi and pickled diakon for later eats. Perhaps when I break down and eat a hot dog, this stuff will give it a dose of flavor and nutrition!

SNUNCH: 3:30pm, Gatorade, corn chips, 5 little onion rings, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
The fam & I rode bikes to Prospect Park Zoo, with a stroller strapped to the back of my bike. When we got there, we sat and fed Edie, and I realized I was very hungry. The "cafe" at the zoo is oddly a set of 5 or 6 vending machines. After the chips and Gatorade, I was so curious about the kosher hot-food vending machine I had to try it. It had pizza, french fries, and a knish, but I went for the onion rings. Basically, for $3, I got 5 small, microwaved rings of super-processed deep fried onion/bread rings. Pretty shockingly crappy AND expensive. Kosher eaters are suckahs.

DINNER: 7:45pm, pad see ew, shrimp rolls, small green salad, water, a bunch of pumpkin chocolate chip  cookies, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Family Saturday

Spent the morning baking, the afternoon in Hoboken at a party of some of B's friends, and the evening going to sleep early. Not sick, but fighting something.

AM SNACK: 9:30am, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans


BREAKFAST: 10am, 3 apple-turnover sourdough muffins, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Baked up a ton of muffins using a week-fermented sourdough starter, with sauteed apples hidden in the bottom of the pan. Pretty groovy.


LUNCH: 1pm, potato nick with mustard, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 3:45pm, slice of pizza, a few bites of caramel popcorn, a bite of a few vegetables, a beer, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, pasta with clams, oil and garlic, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Potato Potato

Edie Day!! We got on the bike and hit up the Union Square area for shopping, then out in the stroller for some local grocery accomplishments, 11am nap, then stayed in on the windy, cold afternoon. Didn't have a proper breakfast, and ended up eating a lot of potato products in the afternoon, then went crazy in the evening. Need bigger breakfasts, smaller dinners...


AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea


BRUNCH: 11am, large piece of potato nick with mustard, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Funny, I was hungry for more food for about 30 minutes after I ate this, but I waited it out and then I was fine.

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, creamed mashed potatoes, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
I was only going to have a bite, but it was so good, I finished the container.

DINNER: 7:30pm, sushi, shumai, spring rolls, small green salad, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, cube of dark chocolate


DINNER pt 2: 9pm, White Castle burgers, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
I ordered in Japanese, but found it was not enough, and ended up freezer-fishing.

Busy

A busy day. Edie hit up playgroup in the morning, I took off for school in the afternoon for a well-received session, then a bike ride from Red Hook to the Meat Packing district in the cold dark rain for a nice meal with EB. Looking forward to an all-out Edie day tomorrow...

BREAKFAST: 8am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 11:15am, curry noodle with fishball, 2 lotus leaf wrap, 2 donuts,  1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
From a cart at East B'way & Essex, real Chinese-Chinese eats.

SCHOOL SNIPPETS: 3-7pm, seltzer, a few spoonfuls of decadent mashed potatoes, a bite of sauteed chicken breast, a bite of chard & caramelized onions, a small handful of kalamata olives, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8pm, rib-eye steak, a few bites of potato, a spoonful of creamed chard, cured hamachi with a bite of duck bacon, a few spoonfuls of risotto, 3 little bread rolls, water, 1 glass wine, ice cream, a half a chocolate tart, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Dinner with a EB, celebrating her new job, at Collichio & Sons. Very disappointing. The food was good, but certain flavor combinations and preparations were surprisingly sub par. Chocolate tart was strictly mediocre.


EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, donut
An HVS-laid donut was found, and had to be defused.

BA BA BA

Woke to a happy baby and a happy wifey, which makes any day a good day. I can't wait until "BA BA BA BA" turns into "Wake up, poppa!

Work was surprisingly busy in the evening, not a lot of time to sit around and eat!

BREAKFAST: 8am, iced green tea
I'm really happy with the consistency I'm getting. This is my method:

• Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil
• Turn off heat, add: 10 bags of jasmine green tea, 5 bags of Himalayan green tea, 3/4 cup of white sugar. Lightly stir.
• Cover. Rest for 10 minutes.
• Remove tea bags, light squeeze. Allow tea to come to room temp. Bottle and refrigerate.

AM SNACK: 9:45am, chocolate croissant, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
On the way to work, from Jaques Torres.

LUNCH: 12:30, Sicilian with mushroom & onion, sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
I keep returning to Sprite because it comes in reasonable 8 oz bottles, not the 12 the other sodas come in. The 8 oz bottle look "old-fashioned" and small, but they make sense, nutritionally.

PM SNACK: 4pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, 1 slice shrimp & clam pizza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, glass of apple juice


EVENING SNACK: 11:30pm, burgers and fries, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Bananahead!!

Edie was in her seat watching videos in the kitchen with me, and she started going "AH!" and pointing at my breakfast. I put a punch of cheerios on her plate, and when she was done, started pointing at my banana. Instead of cutting off little pieces, I stuck the whole peeled business end of the banana in her face and she took big bites, like an adult, except she couldn't get her tiny mouth around the end of the banana. It was soooo cute!! Aaaaigh! Quite a way to start the day.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, organic wholegrain cheerios with organic dead milk, banana, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 11:30am, fresh baked bread, olives, Manhattan Special, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 1pm, 1 slice of pizza, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4pm, green salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6pm, 1 slice white pizza, 1/3 of a meatball hero, sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, waffle, hotdog, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork pt 2

Due to Columbus Day, the restaurant was mobbed like it was a weekend day rather than a Monday Ghosttown, so I was on my feet and didn't have too much time to focus on eating.

BREAKFAST: 8am, good yogurt with agave and vanilla, iced green tea, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1pm, 1 slice of pizza, a sprite, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, green salad, meatballs with extra bread, cranberry lime soda, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING MEAL: 10:30pm, pork fried rice, wonton soup, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Family Vs. Bike

I prepped for a bike ride last night, and got up at 5:30, and was out the door at 6:30 sharp in full kit. The problem is, Edie woke a couple of minutes before leaving out, and I picked her up and brought her to Betsy. You know how it is when you haven't seen someone in years, and when you meet it's all hugs, laughs and pure pleasure? Well, it's like that almost every morning when Edie wakes up. So when I got out the door, I turned on a podcast and it was a woman calling in, talking about all the horrible things her husband was doing. Even though I was psyched for a good day on the bike, I longed even more to spend some time with my beautiful 15 month old and my wife, with whom despite disagreements on some matters is pretty much my best friend, girlfriend, partner in life and all matters Edie-related. With our jobs and various activities, time is thin, so I turned the bike around and came home about 10 minutes after I had left.

We took a nice morning bike ride to Battery Park to let Edie get some time in a playground, and when we got home for Edie's nap, I broke out the waffle iron and experimented with high heat/short cooking time. The result was a beautiful brown to a little burnt color, but the most tender, soft yet crisp waffle yet. A nap followed, conjoined with B & E taking to grandma's house while I chilled, got some work done and chilled.

BREAKFAST: 6am, good yogurt with vanilla and agave, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 11:30am, waffles, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6:45pm, eggplant hero, green salad, some onion rings, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Cook-on

A relaxed Saturday. Spent the morning making some granola bars made with some homemade granola from a NY Times recipe -- way too sweet, next time I make it, I'll halve the sweetener aspects. Fell asleep in front of the TV for a nice afternoon nap, then loaded Edles on the bike and we spent the afternoon in Park Slope with a high school friend I had not seen in 20 years. Brooke is now married to a woman with twin 2 year old boys, but it STILL seemed like only a few days had passed.

Got my cook-on for dinner, something I haven't done in quite a while. Had some sofrito in the freezer from march, so cooked up a pot of brown rice & beans with extra porcinis and morels. Cooked a mess of shrimp in olive oil and sake with garlic and parsley in a caste iron pan in the oven, for a Spanish-style dish -- never cooked it, just eaten it, and my approximation was surprisingly good.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, organic wholegrain chex with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:30pm, multigrain tortilla chips with student made salsa, hot dog, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 2:30pm, homemade granola bar, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, shrimp in wine, evoo and garlic with sofrito brown rice & beans, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Push & Pull

Got out of the house and made it uptown by bike for a dermatologist appointment by 8:15 (as with yesterday's general doctor, all is well.) Rushed back and had a proper Edie day. After napping and feeding, we pedaled over to the supermarket, and after we got home and had a quick snack, spent a couple of hours in the playground.

I almost went to yoga, but I had two forces preventing me. Push: the HVS would not be teaching it. Pull: MAP called me a few hours before with a spare ticket to a panel discussion at the NY Times with Frank Bruni, Daniel Bouloud, Jean Georges Vichtrewhatever and Michael White, so I took off for that. Ironically, despite being part of the Food & Wine festival, absolutely no food was allowed anywhere in the building, so I took myself to my favorite lunch spot from when I used to work in the area. Got home at a reasonable time, got to bed at a reasonable time, all in all a well rounded day.

AM SNACK: 9:30am, iced green tea


LUNCH: 11:30am, 2 Stouffer's French bread pizzas, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 3pm, multigrain tortilla chips, student-made fresh tomato salsa cruda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:45pm, pork tonkatsu over curry rice, shrimp shumai, miso soup, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, small piece of dark chocolate with the good peanut butter

My Inner-Louis

I had my check up this morning, my blood pressure is 120/90, which the doctor & I were very happy about. Pending some blood, pee & chest x-rays, all signs point to perfect health for a 39 year old guy.

Spent the afternoon teaching the first class of the culinary after-school program. 15 students, a good start, hopefully we'll retain 8-10 by the end of the semester. Went really well -- I found since all the students were new and didn't know me, it was an opportunity to change up my teaching style a little bit. I called on my inner-Louis and made myself a bit more aggressive, a bit more shouty, and a bit more full of side-stories from my time in the biz to illustrate points -- less academic, more 'street', but with a focus on the content. It seemed to work, because the kids snapped too, the work got done efficiently, the cleaning process was good from the get-go, and on the end-of-class discussion, every one seemed to be a little bit glowy with excitement.

I rode over to Brooklyn Borough Hall to hang out at an Italian Heritage month even in their main room, celebrating Italian food and restaurants -- the resto had a little space among the many restaurants for people to sample food. It was fun running around stuffing myself, though honestly most of the food was very unremarkable, except for one spot that was doing thin little slices of octopus terrine with the most wonderful cucumber-salsa.

BREAKFAST: 9am, pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans,  1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:30pm, ramen noodles, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

SCHOOL TASTINGS: 5-6:30pm, about a cup worth of fruit smoothies, some chips and freshly made salsa, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5\'
DINNER: 7:30pm, lots of different samples of Italian dishes, a few desert things, pelegrino, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Satisfying

I really enjoy making breakfast pancakes and waffles from scratch on the weekends -- the best part is it's easy to make many extra to freeze, so Edie can enjoy them all week long. And enjoy them she does, I think it's my first non-baby dish that she can't get enough of. Making enough money to support a family, providing a roof from the elements, those are all great, but being able to make something from raw pantry items into something my child just loves, there are few more satisfying feelings. Other than, maybe, squashing a multi-day heated argument with my wifey.

Tomorrow is two milestones -- in the morning I got to my generalist for a check up (and a blood sample, ick!) and in the afternoon I go to teach the first class of the culinary after-school program at the Brooklyn High School. Yes, I look forward to Friday (only hitting up a dermatologist to get some skin tags removed) and Saturday (dentist - cleaning) where I can spend some quality time making waffles for the McFeedles.

BREAKFAST: 8:15am, 2 banana pancakes, iced green tea, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:15pm, half a medium Sicilian pizza with onion mushroom & sausage, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 3:30pm, green salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 6pm, 2 cookies
PM SNACK: 7pm, 1 slice cheesless shrimp pizza, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, 2 little burgers and fries, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Inspirational Sandwich

Woke up late, had a lot chores to do on top of Edie needing attention, rocketed out without a proper breakfast. Picked up a fantastic sandwich on Almondine on the way to work, fresh as can be, a nice focacia, rosemary mayo, tomato-tasting tomatoes, turkey and a creamy gruyere. Clearly, this place has a vision of good food that doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator, to make a humble turkey sandwich so outstanding. When I have my own thing, I hope to project a similar vision.


AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 10:15am, turkey gruyere sandwich, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 2pm, 1 slice of chicken-salad pizza, small Sprite, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5The guys in the kitchen made a cheeseless pizza with salad, but hidden beneath was pieces of deboned buffalo chicken wings, yuck!

PM SNACK: 4pm, green salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4:45pm, a few spoonfuls of nutella
LINNER: 6pm, half a calzone, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, chocolate digestive biscuits, water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Grind

Rainy-ass Monday. Feel good, though I worry how 3 days of rain are going to grind on me.

From today's NY Times:

"When people make numerical estimates, they are notoriously subject to the distorting influence of “anchors”: numbers previously observed that linger in the mind and drag up or down the later estimate. A new study describes a related but opposite effect: when the anchor is in a very different category, it can drive the target estimate away, rather than pulling it closer.
In the study, students who contemplated a rich, calorie-laden food (a “decadent” cheesecake) followed by another caloric food (a cheeseburger) saw the cheeseburger as relatively low in calories. But when they first contemplated an organic fruit salad, the cheeseburger looked 33 percent more caloric than before.
“When we see items which are intuitively classified in different categories, that leads to contrast effects,” said the study’s author, Alexander Chernev, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University. The study is to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research. ■"

I think I've been looking from the higher end of the calorie scale lately, when I should be looking from the lower. I think I will be focusing on the color code system again soon.

BREAKFAST: 8am, 3 banana pancakes, iced green tea, .75 bowl hunger 4/5
AM SNACK: 11:30am, Manhattan Special, piece of freshly baked bread, handful of olives, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 2pm, 3 small slices of shrimp and clam pizza, small sprite
PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad, bread, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 7pm, meatball appetizer, 1 slice white pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

gut.

For the past 2 nights, I've been sleeping for about 11 hours, and it can't just be chalked up to jet lag anymore. My nose is a little stuffy and I feel a little low energy, so I assume my body is fighting (mostly successfully) a bug. My original plan was to wake up before the sun and do a mega ride out to my parent's resting place or up the Croton Aqueduct to the reservoir, but when I woke up and took stock, my first thought was not to ride at all and take it easy. But with the family and the job and all that, riding is very much a rarer privilege that is not to be taken lightly, particularly with my weight concerns and winter's cold blanket descending rapidly.

So I did a slow tug out to Coney, a ride I've done hundreds of times but enjoyed it thoroughly anyway. When I got home, Betsy herself was in a bit of a bleah stay-in mood, but I got her, Edie and Grandma to come out to the playground and enjoy Edie's running-about. Once home, we ordered in and I spent the night zoned out on the TV and zoned out in Edie's room helping her wind down into her sleep.

Just when I think Edie couldn't be more fantastic, she unveils another trick -- she's earnestly starting to mimic language, rather than randomly make sounds that sound like words ("papa", etc) -- her first word may well be "good", but with a German accent.

Me: "GOOD!"

Edie: "GUH!"

Me: "GOOD!"

Edie: -- pause -- "GUT!"

Me: "GOOD!!"

Edie "HAHAHAHHA! gut."


BREAKFAST: 8:30am, pumpernickel bagel with butter and sable, iced green tea

BIKE SNACK: 11am, clif bar

BIKE SNACK: 2:30pm, cherry ice

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, baby carrots, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, crappy chocolate ice cream cone, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 5:30pm, shrimp panang curry with sticky rice, spring rolls, small green salad, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Tummy Ache!!

I passed out around 9pm yesterday after an exhausting rainy day of doing nothin' much other than containing the Edles. Woke up feeling fresh at 4:30, so drank tea and watched the tube until the inspiration hit to make a batch of pancakes before the E-D rose. Suffice to say, when she did, she downed almost 2 entire pancakes, a new worlds record in Edie-pancake-consumption.

AM SNACK: 5am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 6:45am, 2 banana pancakes, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 9:30am, handful of chocolate digestive tea biscuits, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK 1:15pm, hotdog with kraut and mustard, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4:30pm, lobster roll, small bag of chips, root beer, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:30pm, chicken enchiladas with rancheros mole, rice & beans, guac & chips, 2 bowl, hunger 4/5
I ordered in from my face local Mexican place, but I keep forgetting how huge their portions are. I didn't have the focus to cook because of looking after Edie, and she was trying to mooch food off my my plate while I was eating, so I ate quickly, resulting in eating more than usual, and giving me a tummy ache!

Weigh-oof!

226.8 --> 229.6


Yesterday I wore a tshirt I bought in Finland back in 2003, with Homer Simpson's face on it with a a phrase in laplander that I never bothered to translate. It is XL, but being from a very blond, relatively skinny nation, it never fit -- it was incredibly tight. Yet yesterday, after being told over the last month by multiple unrelated people how thin I look, I tried it on and was very pleased to find it fit close without being tight or binding.

And yet on weigh in this morning, I'm up for the second month in a row. 221 to 227 to 229.5. Part of it I must chalk up to the liter of water I chugged last night, part of it to the increase in muscle mass in my legs, but part of it must be the poor eating habits I've fallen back on lately. Now that we're in the fall, I must rearrange. B has book club today, but starting next week I hope to hit up the HVS's basic yoga class early Friday eve (with inspirational vegan snickles after!)  and biweekly rounds of weight lifting starting....this weekend!


AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9:30am, organic wholegrain chex with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: noon, pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and sable, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4pm, gruyere-paprika pretzel with whole grain mustard, .5  bowl, hunger 4/5
Wandering in the rain with the Edles (under a stroller's rain cover ) and came upon a new fancy pretzel shop on Ave B -- really impressive. It was empty, and I don't know how this new iteration of the shop-doing-one-very-specific-thing-well will do, but the next time I'm down for a small nosh, I may have to swing by.



DINNER: 7:30pm, pad thai, thai salad, curry puffs, chocolate babka, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Ridiculous cocktails

A playdate in the morning, food shopping in the afternoon, out for pizza and a drink for MAP's birthday in the eve. Didn't eat a proper breakfast and got uncomfortably hungry, but had nothing in the house. I gotta start cooking.

BREAKFAST: 8am, iced green tea

PM SNACK: 1pm,  digestive cookies, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 3pm, brown rice shrimp nori rolls, inari, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:30pm, 2 slices pizza, a couple of mini cannoli, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNORT: 9pm, ridiculous cocktail 
At a bar with a few friends for a birthday. We were at a trendy bar that only had a few bottled beers, but a menu of very, very complicated and strange cocktails. Mine included rum, some alcohol I never heard of, Aztec Chocolate bitters, cream, grapefruit juice and a few dashes of things on crushed ice. It tasted like acidy cream, and the fruit juice curdled the cream. Over all, ridiculous and disgusting. I remember in the mid 90s, "grandpa" cocktails were briefly trendy, like gin & tonics and Rob Roys. I'll start drinking cocktails when those come back.



EVENING SNACK: 11pm, ramen noodles, chocolate babka, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Back

I intended to record last Thursday, but it fell through the cracks due to a Grand Snickle Snack with the HVS and Vise, as well as getting ready to go off to England. I flew out Thursday evening and came back last night.

I haven't been over to visit Tania & Elijah in a few years due to financial restraints, a new Edie, etc, so it was long in coming -- I used to visit anually, and Tania would visit me annually, so 2.5 years without contact was a bit much, but as with all best friends, a minute after I arrived it seemed only a few days went by. Except, of course, for the kids in the family, some who are undeniably young adults now. Scarey.

My visits there are defined by the ceremony of what we eat -- first night always Indian, last night always fish n' chips, a shopping trip for groceries at Tesco first day, and a homemade big lunch at Sunday dinner at Tania's sister's house on the Sunday I'm there. Indian and fish are always great, the trip to Tesco always unveals the deeper ways how the UK and the US are different, and the Sunday dinner is always a bit difficult to choke down, he he.

Happy to be back, happy to hug Betsy and Edie, happy to get back to the work thing.

Friday is the 1st, so time to take a look back. I have not been eating great, but I think my portions have been more reasonable over all. I've been getting a lot of 'thin' comments, or more precisely, 'not overwhelmingly fat' comments. I'll be curious if my weight has really changed. And with the cooler weather and less biking, can yoga and weight lifting be back in the picture soon?

The DOH inspected the restaurant today, giving a jolt of nervous excitement to an other wise boring, rainy slow day. It's something I studied about in school, and it was cool to be riding side-saddle on an inspector as she went through her paces.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, organic whole grain cheerios with organic dead milk.
LUNCH: 12:15pm, 3 slices shrimp & clam pizza, 1 small sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad, diet coke, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
The diet coke was an experiment, felt like some caffiene. Yuck, I really don't have a taste for artificial sweeteners anymore. It's not even the taste, it's the mouthfeel -- too watery -- watery beyond water, like slippery, plasticized.

DINNER: 6pm, 2 slices white sicilian, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, 2 slices cold pizza, a few digestive cookies, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Reverse Jetlag

I love reverse jetlag. It's like when you get an extra hour of sleep with they set the clocks back, but instead of 1 hour, you get 5. It's easy to get to sleep before midnight, and it's easy to wake up all energized at 6 in the morning. I should go to England more often!

Found myself eating an unusually large lunch. As I was eating the 4th slice of a large pie, I started wondering why I was so hungry, then remembered waking up at 6am with a full steam o' energy...

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, 2 slices of demi-hippy bread with hummus, small handful of chocolate covered espresso beans, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:30pm, 4 slices of sausage and onion pizza, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2pm, vanilla cream soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 8pm, slice of banana/nutella pizza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, a handful of chocolate digestive cookies, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork pt 2

Went to sleep and woke up with a stuffy nose, but slept well and felt refreshed regardless. Work was mild. Looking forward to leaving the country later in the week.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea
PM SNACK: 12:30pm, snippet of bacon
LUNCH: 1:15pm, 3 meatballs, a slice of pizza, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 3:45pm, a slice of nuttella pizza, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 6pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8pm, 1 slice pizza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, small box of Entemann's chocolate chip cookies, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork

Woke up a refreshed but a little sick this morning, scratchy throat and a drippy nose, but happy to have a happy wife and a beautiful healthy baby, albeit also with a drippy nose. Work was a little busier than it's been in a month or so, so that was a nice relief.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea
LUNCH: 1pm, cheesless Sicilian with shrimp & clam, a sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:15pm, calzone, cranberry soda, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: midnight, hotdog, peanutbutter with a little homemade hotfudge sauce, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Responsible Dad-type stuff

I had readied my bike gear for a 5:30am departure, but through the night B kept on getting up to negotiate with a very stubborn and cranky 15 month old. When my alarm went off at 5am, my first feeling was not "BIKE RIDE! WOOO!" but "my poor betsy!" I groggily asked B if I should cancel my bike ride, and she said oh no, go go go.

But her stridency was not enough to overcome my potential guilty feeling that would follow me on the bike, so I slept in. Around 9, finally got up to a thrilled B&E, and announced immediately that Edie & I were going out, and B was to sleep. B pretty much passed out on the spot.

Instead of a stroller, I opened the door of the apartment and Edie walked on out to the elevator. In the lobby she negotiated the 3 steps by crawling down them. When it came to walking out to the sidewalk, Edie found this an excellent spot for peek-a-boo and we spent a few minutes of her walking to the sidewalk, running to behind a hedge, me popping in on her, then repeat. I then put her on my shoulders and walked around to the local greasy spoon, but it looked too crowded to negotiate with an Edie, so I put her down and followed her.

She ran over to the gate of the park behind our building, and that's where we spend the next hour or so. Slide and steps over and over again. We got home a little after 11 and I spent most of the day either playing with Edie or laying on the couch vegetating with my large TV.

I did a little ride to pick up cat food, and stopped in on my favorite ramen shop. but did not have much of an appetite. I met up with B & E on the street and we went back to the park from the morning, where our coop was holding a little social gathering. A few people who I hadn't seen in a while commented on how thin I looked, which is weird, as I don't think I look particularly different. But I guess the numbers at the end of the month will tell the tale...


AM SNACK: 11:15am, chocolate babka, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 2:30pm, shoyu ramen, shrimp fried rice appetizer, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 7pm, eggplant parm hero, green salad, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Break fast.

Edie didn't quite sleep the night before, so we two headed out on the bike around 9am so B could get some proper sleep. We popped over to Greenpoint to have breakfast with E and her T, then pedaled over to Clinton Hill to visit Y doing her stoop sale. Edles fell asleep for the last leg of the ride, but was still crazy-fun having a happy, smiling baby take in the world with fresh eyes as I road these routes that I've covered many times before.

B's family came over in the early evening for the bagels I spent the afternoon making, as well as the babka I made the day before -- it was Yom Kippur. It was a good vibe, though I can't help but think I want Edie's religious training to be a bit more formal.


AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 10am, ricotta pancakes with a little fruit, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1:30pm, fresh pasta with olive oil, garlic and parm, snippet of babka, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6pm, 3 small homemade bagels, with cream cheese, veg & a little salmon, chocolate babka, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Friday Funday!

Friday funday! Started out with a superhealthy fruity smoothie with lots o' flax, chilled with Edie in the house in the morning, then B got home and we rode bikes to Edie's doctor checkup -- healthy across the board, and right in the 50% percentile for weight -- half of 15 month olds are lighter than her, half are heavier. But she's in the 75% for height, so supermodeling is not to be ruled out yet.

We popped over to Red Bamboo for lunch, a vegan soulfood type place for lunch, hit up some supermarket shopping then home. I spent the afternoon baking a round of chocolate babkas (threw in extra filling, extra egg yolks in the dough, extra salt, too) which came out the best yet, and after Edie went down, B & I got cosy on the couch for some video-consumption. After she went to bed, I couldn't help myself and tried a piece of babka.

BREAKFAST: 9am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:30pm, mock-chicken parm hero, a few French fries, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7pm, pork dumplings, pork fried rice, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, chocolate babka, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Chill

Spent a good part of the day at school, recruiting kids with brownies, stopped by a lobster roll restaurant in Red Hook, then home with the fam. Looking forward to teaching culinary again in October...

BREAKFAST: 8am, peanut brittle ice cream, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 10am, brownie scraps


LUNCH: 1:30pm, lobster roll, lemon-lime soda, chips, pickle, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, vegetarian Ethiopian food, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Optimistic

Felt optimistic today. Restaurant slow again, but enjoyed my Wednesday-cum-Friday. Looking forward to going to the school I teach at tomorrow and recruiting. The only sucky thing about it is I have to wait until Friday to get down with the Edie McFeedie!!

B got initiated into the society of NYC cyclists by having her bike stolen from in front of work -- evn though she had access to a new bike room in her building. But it was her old beater, not her new fancypants bike, which she will now ride to work....AND lock up in the bike room!

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 10am, chocolate croissant, chocolate chip cookie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5Treats from Jaques Torres, start the day off with an indulgence to help get through. Maybe a little too much, made me feel a bit queer to my stomach.

LUNCH: 2:15pm, four slices of onion & mushroom Sicilian, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 6:45pm, 2 meatballs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, large bowl of popcorn, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

McShmetsy

A slow but peaceful day at the restaurant. Drank a lot of water in the morning and early afternoon, which seems to really work at routing my desire for soda. A quick goodbye drink with D (who is moving to Portland tomorrow) followed by a small grocery run got me home by 11. One more day in the salt mines before 4 days of freedom! And Edles McFeedles! And Betsy McShmetsy!

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, 3 banana cinnamon buttermilk pancakes, a banana, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: noon, 4 slices of cheeseless clam & shrimp Sicilian, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
I had a typo on "cheeseless", and auto-correct thought it was "cheerless". Hmmmm.

PM SNACK: 2:30pm, roasted potatoes, .25 bowl, hunger 3/5
PM SNACK: 4pm, green salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5:15pm, 3 small cold slices of pizza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 8pm, Sprite


EVENING SNORT: 10:30pm, small glass of beer


EVENING SNACK: 11:30pm, small portion of ice cream

Slow

Found myself drinking a lot of water this morning, probably balancing out after my ride yesterday. Very slow day at the restaurant, slowest I've ever seen, due to rain and being Monday.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, organic cheerios with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:15pm, prosciutto pizza, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5Funny, easy to resist the sugared sodas after sipping water all morning.

PM SNACK: 4pm, house salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 5:45pm, meatballs, Sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, Cranberry-Lime soda


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, cheezy poofs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Ride

Today was the NYC Century, a 100 mile ride in the city sponsored by Transportation Alternatives. This was my first 100 mile ride back in 1999, and my mom and friends met me at the finish line that year, it was quite dramatic. I've only missed it once or twice, once because I was riding my bike cross country, the other time because I was sick or in England or something.

This year it started raining about halfway through, and I ditched after the rain became steady, around 11am. Still, it was a good 70 miles all told, though the food supplied by the organizers was a bit meager. I did find by eating a minimum and taking no longer than 3 minute breaks at the rest stop, my energy level stayed pretty well even. I was feeling the burn by 11am, but mentally I was ready to go on, except for the danger of riding on wet, slick roads with cars -- on a different bike, less of a big deal, but this bike had thin, slick tires that weren't meant for this weather.

The rest of the day was bathing, ordering in Chinese food, dropping in on a neighbor's 1yr old's b-day, and taking it easy with the family.

AM SNACK: 5am, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans
BIKE SNACK: 7:15am, peanut butter on whole wheat bread, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
BIKE SNACK: 9:15am, small bag of potato chips, small cliff bar, a pretzel stick, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
BIKE SNACK: 11am, jelly on wholewheat, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
AM SNACK: 11:15am, slice of pizza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 2pm, shrimp toast, wonton soup, Singapore Chow Mei Fun, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4pm, espresso ice cream with chocolate sauce, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4:30pm, small serving of veg lasagna, pasta salad, alcoholic punch, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 8pm, hotdog with sour kraut, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5