12 posts tagged “food”

I forgot about the mid-term thing that happens to instructors each semester. In addition to keeping up with class prep and general administrative stuff related to teaching, there is usually a boatload of papers, assignments and mid-term tests that all seem to arrive at the same time. You can try to plan it out differently, but it always seems to happen that there is a time crunch in the middle of term. You can't ask more of students earlier, in terms of major assignments, as they are just getting their feet under them. You really have to get some work in, assessed, graded and returned to them so they know where to improve before the end of term. As of last night, I'm done with the bulk of it. I'm behind on a few things but that will get all caught up by the end of the day today.

I've had several weeks of practically no unstructured time at all. Even my social engagements have been blocked in as has prep time to cook for friends, which I'm always thrilled to do. I love that so much. So, I don't mean to say that "no unstructured time" = "no fun". It has had to be calculated, planned-for fun. And there has been plenty of it, I'm happy to say.

But if I don't get some time to putter around my house, write, stare out the window, sip my coffee, listen to CBC, blog, write some more ... I'm going to bust a vessel in some critical place, I swear.

Here is my new favourite lamb curry recipe. I have no idea if it is "low fat" but it doesn't use any coconut milk or other dangerously thigh-busting ingredients. The "rich" taste comes from cooking down apples, raisins, onions and lemons. (I always use more onions than called for, and I always buy the "sweet" onions, even for cooking.) Here is my new "standard" channa masala, which appears to be vegan. I love the vagueness of some of the measurements here - It really does mimic how I cook. I made this Baked Seitan from a recipe right here off Method's Vox blog about vegan cooking, and it totally rocked, although I don't recommend it in a curry. As happens in the blogosphere, I have no idea who this person is, but she takes photographs of vegan food that make this omnivore think twice. And her recipes rock. 

I think I'm going to spend a chunk of this winter learning how to make better curries, although the folks who have sampled the lamb seemed pretty pleased with my efforts. I think I can do better, especially if I can find more "low-fat" recipes.

Because I forgot about the mid-term thing, I booked a bunch of social stuff into these last few weeks. I wouldn't change any of it ... might spread it out a little more next time. :-) This past weekend was a big "foodie" weekend, as was the weekend previously ...

Thursday night, late after class: Shopping for cooking projects. I was the woman staggering out of Bulk Barn at 10:00 p.m. carrying items I only vaguely understood how to use. Like "nutritional yeast". What the hell is that?

Friday: Cooking curries, baked seitan, vegan meat loaf ... almost all day.

Friday night: Ethiopian Food with Jan. I really want to book their coffee ceremony sometime. The place smells so invitingly of frankencense and other spices. A really cosy, yummy spot.

Saturday morning: Breakfast with Cate, which is alway a treat. We restricted ourselves to poached eggs and eschewed, rather than chewed, breakfast meats. So well behaved, we were.

(Insert frantic grading and house-cleaning here)

Saturday evening: The long-promised home cooked vegetarian meal for the Woman With Beautiful Arms (WWBA). This followed me being put through my paces at the gym as I too wish to acquire beautiful arms. I hope chick peas have sufficient requisite protein for muscle repair.

Sunday morning: After another frantic cleaning / grading session, I joined a group of dim sum lovers at the Bright Pearl on Spadina for a total dim sum blow-out.

(Insert further grading, final food prep and frantic ironing here.)

Sunday evening: The long promised curry dinner for R and M-A. Freddie was a most excellent hostess and made her guests feel right at home.

Monday morning: Get up at 5:45 a.m. to do some power skating.

Just had to throw that last one in ... :-)

Somehow, after all that food, I managed to weigh in yesterday at my lowest all-time weight since starting to focus on weight loss, and I lost 1.25 inches off my waist in a week, which is a bit shocking.

There isn't a single item I would change or trade in the above itinerary - loved it all. Having so many terrific, amazing and beautiful people in my life is such a blessing and makes me very happy. What I excluded here was discussion of the time commitment to my dog, who has been with me for most of October, and the management of a new client that I took on earlier this month. I think I need a breather. :-)

(Note to Readers: The Handbasket, i.e. this blog, will shortly be moved to a new home, after two years of cozy comfort here at Vox. The link to the new home will be made available when the switch is all set up, likely within the next few weeks. I hope you will join me there!)

Here is a partial list of the foods I plan to eat in my birthday week, starting with Jeffmas on Sept. 27: 

• KFC (one piece only - that stuff'll kill ya ... )
• Big Mac
• Pasta with blue cheese, asparagus, shrimp and pancetta
• Indian Food @ Trimurti
• Blue cheese on anything (everything?)
• Ace bakery baguette with some kind of crumbly old cheese (probably not the whole baguette ...)
• Bacon
• Sausage (the good stuff)
• Portuguese Custard Tart
• Dark chocolate
• Peanut Butter Cookies from Tim Horton's
• Cake, preferably chocolate, with icing
• Butter cookies from Kaivalya
• A cheesy croissant
• If Lex were to volunteer gnocchi,  I wouldn't turn'em down.
  

Haven't posted much about food lately. I'm such a foodie. This diet is killing me. Sigh. So I've been both bad and good this weekend.

Bad: Pizza from Magic Oven. OK so not "bad", actually so very very good. This one is the Gourmet Meaty Pizza (proscuitto and some other stuff, artichoke hearts, garlic spinach, two kind of cheese) and I had them add roasted red peppers. Mmmm ...

Between the beer, pizza and GlenLivet ... I was up three pounds the next day. Damn. :-)

Good: Sunday a.m. Breakfast.

Sundayambreakie

Venus' Silly Food Meme II: Name strange food pairings or combos that shouldn't go together, but actually do work marvelously together. I'll start ...

1. Salt AND sugar (carmelized) on popcorn.

2. Potato chips as crunchy condiment interiors to sandwiches. (Something I discovered in elementary school but found that some of my friends also used to do this.)

3. Any kind of fruit jam on scrambled eggs.

Aside: Do you think I'm being drawn towards food memes because of my diet? ;-)

Venus' Silly Food Meme: Name as many food pairings as you can that would not, under any circumstances, be a good pairing during a meal. As individual items, you must actually like each member of the food pairing but together ... eeuuww!

1. Cheddar cheese and bean sprouts. (A friend experimented with this in high school. Euw!)

2. Sushi and dark chocolate.

3. Dill pickles and ice cream. (This from a woman who has never been pregnant.)

Can you make my list longer?

I made a significant contribution to the Canadian economy last Friday. First, B and I headed off for a field trip to Scarborough, complete with a stop at Federick's, Toronto's greatest Haka Chinese restaurant. After a brief debate with the owner about whether Egg Foo Young should have dollops of oyster sauce (me = yes, Simon = no!), we headed off to Kitchen Stuff Plus for a minor consumer orgy as we rummaged through their January sales. I found so many deals that B had to help me load it all into my place when we got home.

Later in the evening, M and I headed out on the "let's get Venus in some decent jeans" mission. For our shopping pleasure, we headed to Yorkdale mall. Neither of us are mall rats, and they keep renovating the place, so we got thoroughly lost a few times. We had a stop at Jean Machine, the kind of store I NEVER set foot in. I didn't buy anything there, but I must have tried on 100 pairs of jeans - all cut for someone who is 14 and doesn't mind showing the top of her butt to the world. I mind, what with me no longer being 14. I need to say that although the clothing in this store was not age, or style, appropriate for me, the staff rocked and were determined to find something that would appeal to the old fart wincing in the change booth. At one point, there were three staff members slinging jeans over the top of the booth.

Finally we wound up at Cotton Ginny, a much more appropriate choice, where M convinced me to try on the size 16. I am grateful.

When M and I go out on a Friday adventure, we often wind up at Xe Lua, a Vietnamese Pho place on Spadina. We had planned to do exactly that, however, Xe Lua seems to have disappeared. For many, this comprises a Pho 911.  We wound up at Hello, Saigon (formerly Miss Saigon). This was a treat and proves that one should venture off the well-worn path once in a while. This restaurant appears to be owned by a husband and wife who are somewhat English-challenged but certainly not enthusiasm challenged. They really want to you like their food. Happily, that isn't difficult. The mango salad rolls were yummy and unusual and the Pho was rich and infused with an extra dash of five spice powder.

M is on the same eating discipline as me and likes to try to order her noodle soup with no noodles. This proves to be an interesting exercise if the person taking the order has limited English. Who goes out for Pho with no pho? How could someone with limited English understand that the customer doesn't want noodles in their noodle soup? Not surprisingly, after a lengthy ordering discussion involving lots of smiling, nodding and hand gestures, M's soup arrived with noodles. M wasn't about to complain or send it back as the fragrance of the soup drew us both in. Very nice broth and a generous serving. I need to say that the server, Husband, was sweet and charming and clearly wanted us to enjoy our restaurant experience. In addition to the food, I think he is one of the restaurant's greatest assets.

Rumour has it that Xe Lua is re-opening on the second floor of the same building ... anyone know? Wherever they re-appear, they may have to go way over the top to earn our Friday night Pho business from Hello Saigon.

Just thought I'd pop by the Internet Cafe on my way from the beach to my massage ... :)

This morning = Canopy Zip Line Tour ... amazing! There is a video if you follow this link that should give you a sense of what it is all about. Extra special bonus por moi ... three months ago, I would not have been able to do this as I exceeded the weight limit.

Yesterday, we met up with my next door neighbours, B & C, and wandered around Viejo Vallarta, which was a trip. C calls Mexico functional chaos with beauty and I'd agree with that. Chaos with a sense of humour, I'd add. No one takes much very seriously here and I really need a dose of that in my life. On the other hand, the "not taking things seriously" includes a complete absence of awareness of road safety, no helmets while on ATVs and motor bikes, no guard rails, an enthusiasm for tequila ...

Speaking of which ... knock on wood ... no food issues. Everything has been totally yummy and benign. Either that, or the tequila chasers are adding the appropriate amount of disinfectant to my system. Today, while S and I were out doing the Tarzan thing, J entertained herself wandering around the village and came upon a fish store that was just loading in the catch from the morning. S and I returned to a meal of freshly caught (and unbelievably cheap) red snapper and shrimp. Heaven!

The Christmas Eve seven hour trip that I mentioned before was the Sierre Madre Adventure and it was outstanding. We stopped at various spots about every 40 minutes, including a "farm" half way up the mountain. We had a short tour of the fruit trees and a termite colony before being treated to a snack provided by our hosts - homemade tortillas that we watched being made along with fresh homemade fillings for soft tacos - guacamole, salsa, beans, etc. It was the most delicious food I've had on this trip. I'd recommend anything that Vallarta Adventures does - the guides are great fun and very skilled and knowledgable, not to mention patient.

On Beauty

Note to wizzy: Your copy of On Beauty is safe and almost read. I'm warming it up for you. It might have a bit of sand between the pages when you get it back, tho ...

OK ... massage time ... hasta la vista !

So, I've lost 31 lbs since June 29, which any normal person would be happy with. Yes, I am happy with that. I am also happy with having lost 30 inches, in total. 2.5 feet. Wow. Yes, I need to go shopping. Aside from a bit of stress at the moment, I feel terrific physically.

Unfortunately, I'm 10 lbs behind in terms of meeting my overall target of 90 lbs by next May. When Fundy Boy is done, I'm going to get to the gym 3x a week. That should help get the metabolism up there where it needs to be.

People ask me two things:

a) Has it been difficult?
Yes and no. The program I'm on - which I won't name as I don't really want to get into promoting it - offers excellent support and suggestions, in addition to herbal supplements.

Some days are easier than others. There is, of course, a connection between stress and eating. I don't crave sugary foods - I find those easiest to avoid. I do crave fried or greasy carbs (pizza, fries) and bread. Some days, I'd give anything for a fresh Ace bakery baguette and some lovely crumbly old English cheese. The other night, I really craved this particular treat. I had some really lovely mozzarella on slices of apple instead, which kept me from doing anything more drastic and damaging.

I miss Gryfe's bagels.

It is very motivating to see results. To need new clothes and to fit into old clothes I never thought I'd fit into again. I love it when people notice, of course.

Some days, believe it or not, I just don't think about it. Bad food is just not an option anymore.

b) How are you doing it?

Here are my new rules for eating, probably for the rest of my life ...

1. Drink lots of water.

2. Eat a breakfast with protein every day.

3. Reduce carbs. If you are going to eat carbs, eat a small amount before noon.

4. Reduce or eliminate sodium. Of course, this is impossible - but give it the ol' college try. When you've indulged in a sodium-rich meal, move immediately, with all haste, to point 5 ...

5. Drink LOTS more water.

6. Monitor portions. Learn what a real portion is.

7. Make a deal with yourself that you can eat a "restricted" food in a limited amount (i.e. pizza) only after you eat either a bowl of vegetable-based soup OR a  lot of veggies/salad.

8. Eat something like this every single day, either for lunch or dinner:

Yummy Salad

10. What are you doing reading this? You should be drinking more water!!!

11. Ignore people who say "oh, but you have to treat yourself ... here try this cookie, I made them myself last night." Tough tittie - keep your damn cookie. These people are not trying to help, they are trying to help you stay status quo. Seeing others change can be very threatening. One week I found myself confronted by one of these people almost twice a day and I had to get really tough.

12. Plan for meals and snacks. For example, I eat an apple every day around 10:30. It keeps cravings down and holds me over to lunch. Of course, this means I have to think ahead to have the apple actually WITH me. I cook a big healthy something (i.e. lasagna or soup/stew) each weekend and divide it up for lunches and dinners the rest of the week. Here is some curry carrot soup with a lovely design on it (I'm not responsible for that ... ! :-) ) in low-fat sour cream. MMMmmmm ... I used low-sodium chicken broth and noticed no loss in taste. This would be one of my fav things ever even if I wasn't watching my weight!

Carrot Soup

13. To achieve 9 and 12, one needs to get organized and make food a priority. I think this part will get less onerous as time passes. The weeks when I have not been able to really focus on this have been my least successful weeks.

14. Keep a food diary. Write all food and liquid intake, even if you aren't sticking to plan. Keep a weight chart in the same book. Shortly, I'm going to add an activity/exercise section to mine. That way, when you have a good week, you can figure out what works for you. When you have a bad week, you can figure out exactly what went wrong. (You can also start to figure out how to "cheat" and get away with it! How much activity do you require to get the metabolism up to burn off those french fries?)

There you have it 14 ways (sort of ...) to lose weight. Come on ... your body will thank you for putting less strain on it. Taxpayers will thank you for putting less strain on the healthcare system. I'm taking it on as a personal challenge ... oh, and if you are not going to join me, please help me out by keeping your damn cookies to yourself!  

I have broccoli under my fingernails. Ick.

N and I are chopping vegetables, prepping for a huge meal I'm serving on Tuesday - Boxing Day in Canada. Why are we chopping today? Because I'm "on the road" until then ...

23rd (Today) - driving 2.5 hours west, dropping N off with her family, going to my brother's for family Christmas Dinner tonight. Two siblings, one sibling-in-law, two nieces, two nephews and lots of familial politics. Should be a hoot - must take camera.

24th - proceed from brother's to my ex's, another 2.5 hour drive southeast from there. Christmas Dinner #2. Let's see ... the line-up there ... my ex, her "adult" daughter who hates me (she hates everyone, so I don't take it personally), my ex's ex-husband (said daughter's father, he actually likes me - phew), assorted mutual friends. One rather odd acquaintance. We are playing board games and the present-opening game. The one where one person opens something and then trades off, or keeps it, etc. See note above about familial politics. Camera will be in tow.

Driving home after the merriment. Merriment a.k.a. blog entry fodder ...

25th - Christmas at my friends' here in Toronto. We were planning to go skating in the afternoon but it isn't cold enough. Much merriment, much less blog fodder. Political intrigue much less fervent.

26th - 12 people (including me) having a sit-down dinner at my place. Tortiere, ham, scalloped potatos ... etc. My place is very small. Not for me, and not even for one other person and a dog. I had my family over for Christmas dinner a few years ago and it was tight. That was with eight of us ... 12 ... wow ... should be interesting ... :-) ... I'm making my Mom's ham recipe which involves a glace made of ginger ale, cloves and brown sugar, poured over the ham that is all tarted up with pineapple and cherries. Mmmmmm ... . There was a request for me to web-cast the event. I web cast a New Year's party I had a few years ago and that was a hit. However, I don't think that will be possible this time.

Can't comment on the politics at this event ... should be low dosage ... phew ... still, I'll be takin' pics!

OK - back to the broccoli ... Merry Christmas everyone! Hope those travelling do so safely and those staying home do so surrounded by love and warmth.

I think I've embraced the concept of project management perhaps a little too deeply. Perhaps bordering on psychosis.

I've been taking advantage of some weird limbo time that I get occasionally as I watch my students slave away at their final assignments. One of the things I use this time for is to make a plan for my time over the next six days. I have blogged about this before ... my handmade, six-day planner.

(Aside: That was interesting, scrolling back over the past year of blog entries ... hmm ... more on that later ...)

So, looking forward, I need to:

• finish marking a truckload of assignments and exams and projects
• finish a number of projects around the house
• prepare food / menus for the holiday season
• shop for food for the holiday season
• buy presents for people