Do you guys ever feel like your life needs a little spring cleaning? I have!  I recently quit a job that was making me terribly unhappy. It was a scary decision to make given the instability of the economy and the Mount Everest of our unemployment rates, but, at the end of the day, it was an easy decision.  I decided what sacrifices I was willing to make to stand up for my self-worth because, at the end of the day, I was getting a paycheck but clearly digging myself an early grave.  I feel like the convictions and passions I had often sacrificed to be a “player” in this world, are no longer pushed aside or put in storage.  Instead, they’re all off their shelves, and I’m dusting them off and cradling them because it’s just been too long.  It’s never too early or too late in our lives to do a little spring cleaning, don’t you think?

When you were little and people asked you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” what did you say? I doubt any of you defined your future selves in terms of a physical goal with clearly defined parameters.  In other words, did any of us really answer, “I want to be 135 pounds, svelte and toned!”  Doubtful (*I hope*), which is why I’m finding it ironic that now in my older age, I have been so preoccupied with such arbitrary and superficial goals when, clearly, I had it more together when I was a little girl and answering that question with the variety of answers that included: 1. a killer-whale trainer at Sea World; 2. a singer; 3. a fiction writer; 4. a veterinarian; and 5. a baker. Those goals of what I would “be” really were related more to whom I was and what I was passionate about than anything else.  Reflecting on those goals, I see so little has changed over the years in terms of what I am passionate about! Have your passions changed much over the years?

The future Feed Me I’m Cranky

I think it’s important to continue to ask ourselves “what (whom) do you want to be” — no matter how “grown up” we get.

Spring Cleaning of Life = Eating of Clean(ish) Food
Squash the Negative & Eat A Pizza

Ingredients

• One pita (I use Western Bagel Company’s Alternative Pita) — 110 calories, 0.5 g fat, 8 g fiber, 7 g protein
• One garlic clove, crushed – 4 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, 0.2 g protein
• 1/2 tomato, chopped — 15 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.75 g fiber, 0.5 g protein
• 1/2 yellow squash, sliced — 20 calories, 0 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
• 1 oz. low-fat mozzarella cheese — 45 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g fiber, 5 g protein
• Dash of oregano, red chili pepper flakes
• Nutritional information for entire pizza: 194 calories, 3.6 g fat, 9.85 fiber, 13.7 g protein
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
• Spray the pita with one spray of Pam Cooking Spray and spread crushed garlic evenly across the pita
• Add sliced squash evenly on top of pita
• Add tomato evenly on top of squash
• Sprinkle the cheese over the squash
• Add oregano and red chili pepper flakes to taste
• Place pita on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until squash is tender and cheese is melted

Noteworthy in the News & BlogLand

• Eating Bender’s Interview with Hungry Girl (8/6/09) here– I love the discussion that goes on in the blogging community about Hungry Girl, processed foods and a healthy lifestyle.  I ranted a bit in the comments section (what else is new?), but really seek out your opinions on what a “healthy lifestyle” actually means to you and how the Hungry Girl lifestyle either does or does not fit into it.
• Living Healthy in the Real World’s blog posting on “Defining Eating Disorders,” (8/7/09) here — How would you define an “eating disorder”?  Do you think calorie restriction is a form of disordered eating?
• Science Daily’s, “Fat Hormone Influences Baseline Dopamine Levels And Our Motivation To Eat,” (8/7/09) here

Give-Away Round Up

• Win a $100.00 grocery store gift card (nota bene — you will have to register with the site before you can enter) here
• Sign-up for a free sample of Honey Nut Cheerios and a $1 coupon off the cereal here

p.s. Speaking of passions…did you notice the singing-related link that very inconspicuously appeared in my About Me page?

What are you weekend plans?!  The boyf and I are going to an art museum and going to the beach as per usual!

<3, The Cranky One

“Hmm you know what would be really effective?  If they set up hibachis right in front of the treadmills!” *Giggles to self*

“yea, yea and I will yell my order out as I’m running, then the chef will calculate the calories for my order and tell me how long I have to run to burn it off.  He’ll start cooking and the sight and smell of the food will propel me to keep running!”

I think I spend too much time at the gym because I’ve been having those sorts of crazy “entrepreneurial” ideas… Do you guys ever find yourselves coming up with some random thoughts while exercising?

On to the treats!

Somersault Snack Co.

This is my “full disclosure face”

I got two free samples of Somersaults all-natural snacks simply by clicking on the company’s website — one snack for me, the other for my twin (and you can get a free sample here, too!).  I’m writing about them because these are so good I would seriously purchase them if they became more widely available (i.e. available at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods). They are described as “crunchy nuggets with sunflower seeds & toasted grains” and there are three flavors available: chez cocoa, s.s. sea salt & salty pepper.  They are about the size of a nickel and taste like little sunflower encrusted crackers.   The texture and taste are amazing.

The above flavor, Chez Cocoa, is sweet in a very SUBTLE way.  It is in no way sweet as in “dessert sweet.”  But it is damn good.  So good that I ate the entire bag and then realized that the serving size on the back was for TWO servings not one.  Yikes! One bag has a total of 300 calories, 12 g fat, 6 g fiber, 12 g protein *le sigh* I had thought I was only eating 150 calories, so, honestly, I would suggest to Somersault that they adjust the nutritional info. to reflect one serving, not two, as the size of the bag resembles a snack-size and one might be compelled to presume it’s one serving.  In other words, please make your nutritional info. idiot-proof for yours truly.

In order to provide a more rounded opinion on these snacks, I had my boyf try the above flavor, s.s. sea salt. He said they were the best “freebie” I’ve gotten so far.  He thought the sunflower seed taste was the most prominent flavor and he really liked them.  One bag has 300 calories, 14 g fat, 6 g fiber, 12 g protein.

You can purchase these snacks via the website for $1.79/2 oz. bag + shipping. Or, you can find them at select stores (Pete’s Coffee where I live…).

Two New Home-Made Sweet (& Wholesome!) Treats

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from the Whole Foods’ Market recipe here

The big cookie was the boyf’s idea

Ingredients

• 1 cup smooth peanut butter –1517 calories, 130 g fat, 15.5 g fiber, 64.7 g protein
• 1 egg — 74 calories, 5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 6.3 g protein
• 2/3 cup honey – 640.20 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 1.1 g protein
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Nutritional information for one cookie (36 total): 61.98 calories, 3.75 g fat, 0.43 g fiber, 2.0 g protein
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Line cookie sheet with foil, spray with Pam
• Stir together all ingredients
• Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, pressing lightly with the back of a fork. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly set
• Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling
• These cookies are fantastic — so easy to make and they do not taste like a “health food”

Orange Quinoa Burst
Inspired by the Quinoa Pudding recipe here

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa — 636 calories, 9.9 g fat, 10 g fiber, 22.3 g protein
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries – 280 calories, 0 g fat, 4 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 2 cups orange juice — 220 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 4 g protein
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Nutritional information for entire recipe: 1136 calories, 9.9 g fat, 14 g fiber, 26.3 g protein
  
• For one 6th of the recipe: 189.33 calories, 1.65 g fat, 2.33 g fiber, 4.38 g protein
• This is a great way to get the excellent benefits of quinoa, but the orange juice flavor is very prominent, so if O.J. is not your thang, this will not be for you!

Directions

• Place quinoa in a sieve and rinse thoroughly. Allow to drain, then place quinoa in a medium saucepan with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pan with lid, lower heat, and allow to simmer until all water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.
• Mix in all other ingredients. Cover pan and allow to simmer for 15 minutes longer. Serve warm.

Have you guys tried quinoa?  How often do you bake and what’s your favorite thing to bake? Have a wonderful day!

<3, The Cranky One

Here we go:

• Starting Weight: 138 lbs.
• Last Weigh-In July 20: 129.2 lbs.
• Today’s Weigh-In July 27: 128.0 lbs.



• Loss since last week:  1.2 lbs.
• Total loss: 10 lbs.
• Left to go: 0.0 lbs. by 8/1/09

Here are my daily exercise and calorie consumption stats from last week:

• Monday — 2000 calories, ran 4 miles, 30 mins strength training, one hour rollerblading
• Tuesday — 2000 calories, ran 6 miles
• Wednesday —1500 calories, ran 3 miles, one hour rollerblading
• Thursday — 1800 calories, ran 4.25 miles, 30 mins strength training
• Friday — 1500 calories, 30 mins walk at beach
• Saturday – 2000 calories, ran 6.25 miles, 30 mins walking
• Sunday – 2000 calories, ran 4.25 miles, 30 mins strength training
• Thank goodness I did 3 days of strength training because, if you recall, I was going to let you guys punish me with a truth or dare! Scary!

So?

Here’s me via video going off on a little tangent about the challenge.  Feel free to skip over!

URL here, too.

Since 8/1 was the challenge deadline, I will still be posting a sort of “ode to the challenge” on that day, even though it’s a Saturday.  So, I will be keeping my lips partially sealed on my sentiments until then.  I will also be announcing the Holey Donuts winner!  If you don’t recall (it was indeed nearly two months ago, see here), a lot of you entered for a chance to win by announcing your own challenge goals!  It could be you!

So how will I celebrate this 10-pound victory? By indulging in all my favorite foods, of course! LMAO!  Did you think I was serious?!  I was joking with the boyf that I was going to order a pizza (my fave) with toppings of all my favorite foods.  So imagine a large pizza topped with orange tofu “chicken,” pita and hummus, fried rice, cheesecake, brownies… Sound yummy?  Hehe. Yea…that’s not happening.  I will reward myself by laying off on the compulsive scale-weighing.  That is one habit I’m happy and excited to break.

Which Brings Me To…

The nature of a challenge.  I see a lot of you readers out there doing challenges and it’s really inspiring. I know a lot of you have gone without caffeine, have gone raw, have challenged yourselves to complete strength training routines and eliminate sugars, all in the name of a challenge.  Does it help to have someone going through these challenges with you? Is virtual support as effective as real-life support?  Is it the fact that inherent in a challenge is a foreseeable end-date?  I want to know what you guys think.

There’s No Such Thing As Free?

I want to address an issue of contention in the blog world and that’s the FTC wanting to impose disclosure rules on bloggers reviewing/promoting products on their pages.  I would suggest reading Caitlin’s post here and looking at the comments section where some very interesting and intelligent remarks were made.

Just to clarify (since we’re all on defense-mode hehe):  I will always be honest if a product is sent to me by a company and I will always be honest on whether I like it or not and why.  But the real power here, I think, is always in the consumers’/readers’ hands.  I enjoy reading about new products on other bloggers’ sites, but I will take the review at face-value and do my own research because I know from personal experience that I can only speak for myself when I give a review.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried something and thought it was amazing only to pass on a bite to my boyf who has belted, mid-bite, “that tastes like dirt!”  So, yea, we all gotta take each others’ opinions for what they are: OPINIONS.  Granted, I do realize the level of responsibility that comes from giving a product review on a blog with thousands of readers (um, not my blog, FYI), that’s why I don’t shun the FTC wanting to impose some limits.  And yes, I do hand it to the marketing departments of these companies who market to bloggers.  I wrote last post about a Fitness Magazine give-away on three different blogs!

But seriously — shouldn’t we be focusing on the “bigger fish?” Aren’t countless politicians and public officials able to weave through disclosure laws as they accept under-the-table bribes from lobbyists and private interest groups?  Also, until recently, advertisers could market to children on t.v. commercials reaching millions in one swoop without so much as a blink of an eye.  I’m just sayin’.  I think the main motivating factor in these proposed laws is lost profits.  Because big companies can reach thousands via a blog with very little over-head costs, this might be having a trickle-down effect on the economy.  Does this mean justified cuts in marketing and PR budgets?  In t.v., radio and outdoors advertising?  Just a thought.

Want more on the issue?  See these links:

• The New York Times, “Approval by a Blogger May Please a Sponsor” (7/12/09) here
• Ars Technica, “FTC to Crack Down on Undisclosed ‘Sponsored’ Blogging” (6/22/09) here
• BusinessWeek, “Blogola: The FTC Takes On Paid Posts” (5/19/09) here

On to something less serious, how was your weekend?!

<3,  The Cranky One

But did you ever stop to think that the “calorie system” as we know it — the totals listed on the back of our favorite foods that we pay so much close attention to — may be antiquated and incorrect?
Photo from The New Scientist here.
You’re just 340 calories, Mister Burger, right? So I should definitely choose you instead of that 450-cal pita with avocado, right?

Check out this article in The New Scientist called “The Calorie Delusion: Why Food Labels are Wrong” here.

Here is my very “For Dummies by a Dummy” summary (because I’m not a scientist, sorry!):

• The scientist dude who created our calories method screwed up because he based energy consumption and expulsion on an incineration method.  Our bodies don’t light our food on fire (gee, that would be interesting), but digest it instead.  So, what does that mean to me?  That means that the current way food is labeled may undervalue the fiber and protein that actually require more energy to digest than had been presumed.  That means that if you are a calorie counter and are choosing between a granola bar and a brownie (this example borrowed from the article) and you see that the brownie is actually less in calories, you might opt for the brownie instead of the granola.  Why is that lame?  Because the caloric value of the protein and fiber in the granola bar are overestimated and you might very well have been better off choosing the granola over the brownie.  I hear some of you going “duh! I would choose a granola bar over a highly processed brownie any day no matter what the calories said!”  To you I say, congrats, but the issue gets more complicated.
• Turns out that a foods “chew factor” also affect your waist line.  Softer foods take less energy to digest which means that’s more energy left in your body that you need to burn off if you’re trying to lose a few, maintain, or whatever.  Please don’t use this an excuse to go on a bubble gum and rocks diet.  However, cooking foods makes their nutrients more easily extractable and absorbed by the body. So which is better?  Hell if I knew.
• We know that energy from refined carbs is more easily extracted by the body than complex carbs — this isn’t accounted for in that brownie label. This means basically that more of your whole-wheat pasta is going to be expelled by the body in the form of fiber etc. than the refined flour pasta which your body quickly sucks up and stores for energy.

This small helpful image below: Click here for full-size.

Food For Thought (0 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein)

• Am I the only one who thinks that taking how fiber is digested into account is what Weight Watchers does with their Points system?  Does this mean I should quickly come up with a Weight-Watchers-like diet plan where we now incorporate the way protein is digested and market the hell out of it and make a million dollars?  If so, any scientist want to join my “let’s take a risk ‘cuz I’m a broke college student” brigade to make money?
• Is this article advocating a raw foods diet for weight loss?  Is this the “The More You Chew, the More You Lose” campaign?
• Am I the only one who found this both utterly confusing and fascinating?  It also made me hungry.

—-

Kashi Coupon?

• Save $1.50 off any TLC snack when you buy a box of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal and use a coupon printed from here.

Alright my friends, I know this was a really boring post, but I get a major kick out of being a nerd reading about these things.  I’m off to get ready for a nice run.  I can’t tell you how many love songs I’ve been singing to my right knee — thanking her for getting over her tendinitis and allowing me to have my favorite form of cardio and stress -relief back.  Love your bodies for all they do for you.

<3, The Cranky One

Enter, the tofu-lentil mash-up tacos…

Tofu is a relatively new product to me in terms of preparing it myself.  Each time I’ve made it, I’ve used this amazing recipe.  For the sake of novelty, I tried a different recipe found here, and as follows with nutritional info.:

“Tofu Balls” (not my title!) – Instead of making them as meatballs, I made them as “ground beef”

Ingredients

• 1 lb. extra firm tofu – I used 14 oz. as that’s how it’s sold at Trader Joe’s – 350 calories, 20 g fat, 5 g fiber, 40 g protein
• 1 small finely chopped onion – 29 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1 g fiber, 0.6 g protein
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce – I used Trader Joe’s Reduced Sodium – 45 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter — I used Kirkland’s organic brand – 300 calories, 22.5 g fat, 3 g fiber, 13.5 g protein
• 1/2 c. bread crumbs — I used 1 slice of toasted Oroweat double fiber bread – 70 calories, 1 g fat, 6 g fiber, 3 g protein
• Fresh basil or oregano
• Nutritional information for entire pan:  794 calories, 43.6 g fat, 15 g fiber, 57.1 g protein
• 1/8th = 99.25 calories, 5.45 g fat, 1.87 g fiber, 7.14 g protein
• A note: I link to Calorie King for items, particularly fruits/veggies, that do not have nutritional info. listed.  If I do have access to the exact nutritional info. on a package, I list that instead of linking to a calorie estimator site.

Directions

• Easy. Drain the tofu, then mix all the ingredients and mash into the texture of ground beef.  Wow, this should be in my own version of “Vegetarian Cooking for Lazy-Butts.”
• Saute over medium-heat until browned. Voila!
• I then mixed the cooked tofu “meat” with lentils made via this recipe.  You have no idea how good this tastes in a corn tortilla.  Like party in my mouth and no one is invited because I’m not sharing good. Add a slice of avocado + spinach + Tapatio = Bliss.
• Calories estimate for serving of tofu (99.25) + serving of lentils (56.13) + 2 corn tortillas (110 cals) = 265.38
• Note: The lentils used in the above are so delish by themselves in a taco as well.

It’s been a while since I’ve showed my obsession with love for black beans and I’ve been having BB withdrawals.  Here are some “re-fried” black beans sauteed with orange, yellow and red bell pepper, onion and tomato and placed in a corn tortillas with spinach and Tapatio.

Yum.  Calories estimate? 110 for tortillas + 220 for a cup of beans (generous estimate) = Around 340 calories and good taste for days.

Give-Aways Round-up

• Did you see all the give-aways listed on this post as well as my own Crispy Green freeze-dried fruit give-away? Enter if you haven’t!
• Happy Herbivore is having a Swanson’s spices give-away here.

Did you know?

• Trader Joe’s website offers recipes here?  They also allow you to select product lists, here, based on “vegetarian” options, “gluten-free” options, etc., so you can see all the products they sell that fit your particular food restrictions/life-style.
• Whole Foods Market’s website offers cooking videos and recipes here.

My brain’s off on some deserted Island sipping Pina Coladas, so I am simply going to show two new food concoctions of mine — one an entree, the other a lazy snack.

Bella’s Vegetarian Enchiladas (Clever title, no?)

These were made primarily for my twin so I was not as conscious of cheese usage as I would have been had I been making them primarily for myself.  I encourage you to adjust the ingredients as you see fit, but let me tell ya…these were so amazing I dropped to my knees and thanked the can of Rosarita beans for being such a flexible vegetarian menu option.

Ingredients

• 10 corn tortillas — 550 calories, 7.5 g fat, 15 g fiber, 10 g protein
• Red enchilada sauce – 14 oz – 140 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein
• One 16 oz can of vegetarian refried pinto beans – 420 calories, 7 g fat, 21 g fiber, 21 g protein
• One medium tomato, chopped — 22 calories, 0.2 g fat, 1.5 g fiber, 1.1 g protein
• 1 cup sweet, canned corn, rinsed — 133 calories, 1.6 g fat, 3.3 g fiber, 4.3 g protein
• One medium white onion chopped finely — 49 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1.5 g fiber, 1 g protein
• One small red bell pepper chopped finely — 19 calories, 0.2 g fat, 1.6 g fiber, 0.7 g protein
• 1 cup  Trader Joe’s Lite Shredded Mozzarella Cheese — 360 calories, 24 g fat, 0 g fiber, 40 g protein
• 1 cup cup Trader Joe’s Fancy Shredded Mexican Blend — 440 calories, 36 g fat, 0 g fiber, 24 g protein
• Nutritional information for entire recipe:  2,133 calories, 76.6 g fat, 43.9 g fiber, 102.1 g protein
• For one enchilada: 213.3 calories, 7.66 g fat, 4.39 g fiber, 10.21 g protein
• *Note* — The estimated calorie content of this recipe is super inflated since you won’t end up using all the cheese and, in fact, if I hadn’t been making these with other people’s taste buds in mind, I would have used hardly any cheese at all and would have only used the low-fat variety. Also, I would have used whole-wheat tortillas instead of corn. But, honestly, these enchiladas taste absolutely decadent and delicious the way they are!

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 and spray an 11×8 pan with Pam Cooking Spray
• In a saucepan, saute the tomato, corn, onion and red bell pepper in Pam Cooking Spray until translucent.  Add the entire can of beans and heat until warm.
• Heat the tortillas over the stove (I do this ghetto style where you heat them over an open flame, but I’d suggest you heat them in a pan sprayed with Pam Cooking Spray.
• Place enchilada sauce in a bowl and dip the heated tortillas, one by one, until covered on both sides with the sauce.
• Fill each tortilla with some of the bean mixture and some of the low-fat cheese. Roll up and place in the cooking dish.
• You should be able to fit 10 enchiladas in the dish.  Cover with the remaining enchilada sauce, about an inch over the tortillas.  You will have leftover sauce.
• Sprinkle the remaining low fat cheese and all of the regular fancy cheese on top.
• Cook for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted on top.

Sweet & Spice On the Greek Isle

A slice of this…

Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Bread — 80 calories, 0 g fat, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein

+
Some of this layered on top…

Oikos Organic Fat-Free Greek Yogurt, Vanilla (4 oz) — 80 calories, o g fat, o g fiber, 11 g protein
=

YUM.  That’s a sweet and hearty snack that totals 160 calories, 0 g fat, 2 g fiber, 14 g protein

Free Stuff?

Wanna win some cheerios and also see what other contests are out there?  Check out this post here (I’m lovin’ this chick’s site!)

Monday

Hey, guess what tomorrow is!!  It’s weigh-in day!  Dun, dun, dun!  Check in with Jen and me tomorrow to see how we’re coming along with the challenge. This will be week 6 and we’ve only got 3 more weeks to meet our goals! Not only are our egos and wallets on the line, there are some sweet-ass prizes to be had — but only if we reach our goal.  Think we can do it?

How did you guys do this weekend? Don’t tell me any of you fell off the wagon, did ya?

Whole Foods

First things first — I was charmed by all of you entering the Whole Foods give-away!  It was a chance for me to take my own non-scientific poll on what healthy foods and items you guys are lovin’ and also a way for me to, sneakily, learn about some new blogs out there! Buahah!  Ok, cross your fingers!  The winner is **drum roll**

Andrea at Andreas Wellness Notes! Yay!  Please e-mail me your address and I’ll send right away!

Fatty Foods

Remember when I revealed here that The Cheesecake Factory had released the nutritional information for its menu items? And we all gotta a little bit pissed, crabby and cranky?  (And check out Elina who wrote about it here, too).

Well…I don’t know if this is old news to you guys, but I’m going to run with it anyway.  The boyf and I went to the beach, he was hungry afterward, and so we headed to Claim Jumper. Even though CJ is one of my fave restaurants, I knew I had yummy food at home to devour, so I opted out of ordering anything.  While the boyf was choosing his meal, I perused a little guide called The Saloon Guide (NOT the menu) that was placed inside a little holder behind the drinks menu.  Lo and behold, the back had the NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION posted!  Claim Jumper has notoriously avoided posting calories. How did I not know this info. had been released?  How did it take serendipity (or doom) for me to find it?  There was no press release distributed (you’ll see why), no big televised announcement (ditto), so what gives?  Well, my friends, it’s even worse than The Cheesecake Factory.

Here are the ones that made my jaw drop and made the water works want to pour out (don’t worry, I didn’t actually cry, but I heard a voice inside my belly scream, “NOOOOoooooOOOOOOooooo”):

• Asian Pear & Glazed Pecan Salad (starter/appetizer size):  841 calories, 12 g sat. fat
• Citrus Chicken Salad (large): 2548 calories, 33 g sat. fat
• Citrus Chicken Salad (small): 1497 calories, 21 g sat. fat
• Cobb Salad (large): 1829 calories, 41 g sat. fat
• Both nacho appetizers and artichoke dip appetizers: All 3 are over 2200 calories each
  
• Appetizer combo: 3525 calories (however, says less on online menu), 58 g sat. fat
  
• Ham & Spinach Quiche: 3348 calories, 108 g sat. fat
• Beef Ribs (entree): Over 4200 calories

Tragic. I mean, obviously, you go to Claim Jumper and know you can’t bank on eating a meal for less than 500 calories.  And, obviously, if you’re health-conscious, you’re not going to order something that’s obviously fatty.  But here’s where obviousness becomes ominous.

Did you really think it’s possible to consume over 2k calories in a salad with chicken breast? I mean you can guess that if you order it without the dressing it will be a couple (even a few) hundred calories less; but that is still one insanely fatty salad!  How do they do it? Seriously – that is a feat of ingenuity.  They must covertly stick slabs of lard in between the lettuce leafs. Look, I get it.  Claim Jumper wants their salads to sell.  They want people to think they taste good.  But no one in her right mind would order this salad when she could get an entire cheeseburger for less calories (unless she was a vegetarian, in which case she might just order the 2k calories nacho platter!).

Another thing — do the stats for the burgers, etc., include the sides?  If you search online, you will not find stats for the fries, however, on the hard copy guide, they were listed as about 800 calories.

Any good options?  Few.  Here are three:

• The Halibut Fish Tacos (Small bites appetizer = 2 little tacos): 358 calories, 1 g sat. fat
• Chinese Chicken Salad (lunch-sized portion): 517 calories, 10 g sat. fat
• Vegetable soup (bowl): 147 calories, 2 g sat. fat

All menu items listed online here.  Pass it on.

If you remember from my post here, my favorite thing to order from CJ is the veggie burger with quite a few alterations.  Without alterations, the veggie burger comes in at over 1k calories (found exact facts on hard copy, but nothing is listed online).

Do you guys feel like we should just expect that unless we’re eating at a specialty restaurant the foods are going to be made with the least amount of health-consciousness in mind?  Is it the restaurant’s responsibility to take health concerns into account? To make the info. public and widely accessible? To offer healthy alternatives?  My boyf repeated what Gary Hirshberg, Founder of Stoneyfield Farm Organic Yogurt, said in the movie Food Inc., and that’s that whenever we purchase something we are voting for it.  I agree.  But I also ask…what if we don’t even know what we’re voting for?

How frequently do you guys eat out? Do you have “restaurant food phobia”? Do you check out calories before you eat at a place?

I hope you have a wonderful Friday!

- The Cranky One

p.s. Go check out the cool new site Healthy Yum where people post photos of their delectable and healthy eats (hey, who can really get enough food porn?!)

I was that person yesterday.  You know that person who brings her own food to another person’s BBQ/block party?  I’m sure some people find that super annoying, but I can’t care what other people think about how I take care of my body, ya know?  There’s just something about BBQs that don’t scream health and vegetarian-friendly, so I prepared and was glad I did. About temptation:  I would grow a nose the size of a blimp if I said there wasn’t temptation yesterday.  There was literally a community dessert table!  That means that at 7:30 p.m. neighbors from the entire block came out from their front yards yielding some sort of baked good to place on a table for everyone to share.  It was like Candy Land mixed with the Stepford Wives.

Anyhow!  Two foods I’ve tried recently and want to share with you:

Don Lee Farms veggie patties — From Costco, $9.69 for 14 patties (so $0.70/each wow!)

Nutritional information for one (and they’re big!): 170 calories, 9g fat, 2g fiber, 4 g protein
Ingredients: Fresh vegetables (carrots, onions, celery, bell peppers), bread crumbs (wheat flour), sunflower seeds, wheat flour, salt, carrageen, soybean oil, spice, natural flavor.  No cholesterol, trans fat, MSG or artificial preservatives.  All natural & vegan! These are my favorite make-at-home veggie patties now! The taste is lovely and I adore the whole sunflower seeds.

In case you don’t know — I wanted to look this up and thought I’d share — carrageen is basically edible moss. YUM, moss! LOL.  Can’t you just see a commercial for it?  Edible Moss.  Being Between a Rock And A Hard Place Never Tasted So Good. Ahahah my marketing tagline skills!   Oh and does moss count as a vegetable?  “Scottie, eat your vegetables!” “I can’t mom, I’m too full from the moss!”

Next up:  Vita Muffin Mix in Deep Chocolate.

$5.99 from the site ($0.50/muffin – not inc. shipping)

The mix requires that you add 3 large egg whites and 1 1/4 cup water.  I used 1/2 cup egg substitute instead of egg whites.

If you recall here I wasn’t too impressed with VitaTops, then here I caved and admitted I liked the Triple Chocolate Chunk flavored ones here.  The muffins from the Vita Muffin mix totally beat out the VitaTops if you ask me!  The pluses are:  1.  You don’t have to microwave them in a plastic wrap like the VitaTops (which is LAME!); 2. You get that home-made taste and can even pass them off as your own recipe 3. You can add whatever you want to the mix while baking to personalize per your tastes.  I added 1 tbsp peanut butter to the batter and they came out so good!  Even the boyf had two and he usually shuns healthier versions of desserts; and 4. You know that made per the instructions you yield 12 100-calorie muffins with 5 grams of fiber each!  That’s pretty rad, eh?

What would be your tagline for carrageen?  What is your favorite veggie burger patty? Any new products to add to the Stuff Health Conscious People Like list? How was your 4th?

Don’t forget to check in tomorrow for the challenge weigh in! *gasp*

Here we go:

• Starting Weight: 138 lbs.
• Last Weigh-In June 22: 134.6 lbs.
• Today’s Weigh-In June 29: 133.6 lbs.



• Loss since last week: 1.0 lbs.
• Total loss: 4.4 lbs.
• Left to go: 5.6 lbs. by 8/1/09

Alright guys, here are my thoughts using a little help from popular song lyrics.
—
I’m stickin’ to my word and continuing to weigh in even though my focus has shifted from weight loss to strength-gain. All I care about is the fact that now I’m stronger than yesterday.

When all those old insecurities of being too fat, too this, too that, start to appear, I look them straight in the eye and say beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it, no one wants to be defeated.  You know that old me who would say “all I want is to be skinny”?  I’m happy to report the old me is dead and gone.

I live my life running because one day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

— 

Anyhow, here are my daily exercise and calorie consumption stats from last week:

• Monday — 1700 calories, ran 3 miles, 35 min. strength training
• Tuesday — 2000 calories, rest day
• Wednesday — 2000 calories, ran 6 miles
• Thursday — 1200 calories, ran 5.5 miles
• Friday — 1300 calories, ran 3 miles, 2 hours strength training (abs, arms, back, chest, legs, shoulders)
• Saturday – 2000 calories, ran 6 miles
• Sunday – 1500 calories, 30 minutes strength training

Hindsight: I focused on eating intuitively and eating loads and loads of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.  This was great!  You’ll see some days I ate much less or much more than others.  That’s what happens when you listen to what your body needs.  On Saturday, however, I did my 6-mile run early in the day and tried to eat lightly because I was going out to dinner.  Eating light despite very obvious hunger pangs did not pay off.  At dinner I still ate lightly and by the end of a long night I ended up over-eating even after being full.  Lesson learned!  Just eat when you’re hungry and you’ll prevent binge-like behavior later in the day.

What will I do next week?
Add one more day of strength training and continue the focus on eating intuitively.

An Extra Post?
To make up for not posting yesterday (shhh, I was nursing a bad hangover and catching up on some reading), I will be posting twice today (*cue the shouts of glee!* No shouts of glee? Darnit!  I really am the only one who cares!).  My post later today will announce a little project I’m undertaking inspired by all you health-minded folks out there.

Cheesecake Factory Nutritional Information Available

I would have saved this for another post, but I couldn’t contain myself.  The Cheesecake Factory is my favorite chain restaurant ever and I’ve always been so frustrated that the nutritional information for their menu was unavailable.  Hungry Girl released in an e-mail that the stats were made available here and, please take a seat, you will most likely be utterly shocked at the stats.  Let’s face it, this is not so much about calories as it’s about how in the hell you can even pack 67 grams of fat into an appetizer.  It’s like a malicious feat. I usually order the Grilled Chicken and Avocado Club (yes, I do make alterations — no cheese, no mayo, no butter on the bread, no bacon, substitute broccoli for fries).  These are the stats for that sandwich as it comes: 1397 calories, 23 g of fat

The boyf usually feasts on the Fried Macaroni and Cheese appetizer as an entree, coming in at: 1528 calories, 63 g fat (Yea, well who were we kidding with that one?! lol)

The good thing?  Here’s a chance to be a smart eater.  Now you can scope out the healthier options.  After perusing the stats, it seems like the best options are on the Weight Management Menu (this is the part of the actual in-restaurant menu that lists nutrition info.).  Otherwise, aside from eating a half sandwich, there are not many decent options with less than 600 calories.  Eesh.

Despite this grim news, I still love The Cheesecake Factory…not gonna lie…

Ok, I’ve written a novel!  Make sure to check back in on Thursday because Jen and I will be hosting MizFit for another question and answer session! Yippey!

How are you guys doing on your challenges? What is your favorite song lyric? Any health-related lessons from this past week you want to share? How do you feel about the Cheesecake Factory now?

It’s been three weeks of the This Ain’t No Freshman 15, This is the Final 10 Challenge and that means it’s WEIGH-IN time!  Before you read my stats below, make sure to check out Jen, Prior Fat Girl’s, blog to see how she’s coming along!

Here we go:

Starting Weight: 138 lbs.

Weight Monday, June 15th: 134.6 lbs.

Weight Today, June 22: 134.6 lbs.

Loss since last week: -0.0 lbs.

Total loss: 3.40 lbs.

Left to go: 6.60 lbs. by 8/1/09

Umm.  What happened guys? Here are my day-by-day calorie consumption and exercise stats:

• Monday — 1420 calories, cumulative 60-minutes strength training and pilates exercises
• Tuesday — 1500 calories, 60 minute Turbo Kick Boxing, 2.5 mile run
• Wednesday — 1500 calories, 6.12 mile run & 10-minute body-weight exercises (triceps dips, push-ups, planks)
• Thursday — 2000 calories, 3.5 mile run & 35 minutes strength training
• Friday — 1700 calories, 5.5 mile run, 15 minute stair exercises & 2 hours dancing (that counts, right?)
• Saturday — 1500 calories, rest day!
• Sunday — 1200 calories, cumulative 45 minute strength training

*Calories rounded up.  (See here if you’re curious — for a reference I use on how to calculate how many calories to eat a day to slowly and safely lose weight)

Oh, I know!  I may have two little culprits to attribute this to — and they’re **drum roll**

- Budding Bicep #1 & Budding Bicep #2

Haha.  Ok, for real, I am really trying to stay positive about this.  The past week, I have, rather unfortunately, seen my weight fluctuate between 133 pounds to 137 pounds.  Since my eating and exercise habits have been stellar, if I may say so myself, I am chopping the 0.0 weight loss up to the fact that my body is actually gaining muscle!  Yes, I truly feel like I am losing fat and replacing it with its more dense and lovable housemate, Senor Muscle!

The pressure to weigh in has given me two dear-diary epiphanies:

1. I shouldn’t have made this a “weight loss” challenge. Losing an appropriate amount of weight is great for your physical health if you are indeed at an unhealthily high weight.  However, having a scale obsession is not good for your mental health!  Also, while weighing yourself is a good indicator of whether you are indeed making progress on weight-loss goals, it is not an indicator of whether you are healthy, fit, putting on muscle, losing muscle, gaining fat or losing fat (or a number of other things, obviously).
2. I want to be strong and fit, not skinny and scale-obsessed. You would think that 6 years of a health journey would make me an expert on my health goals and even on my own body, but no!  Just like with every thing else worth knowing, my health goals and knowledge must continually evolve and improve.

So, while it would have been smarter to make my challenge goal to increase my muscle mass, cut time on a mile, increase the amount of push-ups I can do in one set, lose inches, etc.  — I am *thankful* I have learned these valuable lessons and am moving forward with even more enthusiasm (is that even possible?!).   I am going to post my actual arm, waist and thigh measurements tomorrow as I feel those would more adequately measure progress than the scale.  But, I am 100% accountable to my word, so, of course, I will still be weighing in every Monday with Jen.

What will I continue doing this week?

Singing to my fruit.  Talk about a healthy relationship with my food!

Eating Like a Goddess. Look at that spinach, cauliflower & fake egg in a whole-wheat wrap!

More strength training! I am going to nurture those budding little biceps so that *gasp* I might actually show them to you next week!

So, please tell me I am not the only one who sings to her fruit…  Have you guys had any recent health-related epiphanies?  Gotten frustrated with a steady weight, or weight-gain, then realized it was beautiful muscle coming in? How are you guys doing on your own challenges?