When Nia and I first met, we were both wee undergrads at UCI.

We were both chosen to be writing tutors for a pilot tutoring program assisting on-campus residents. We immediately bonded over love for indie music, literature, and film. It was like meeting someone who spoke my same snarky and sarcastic language. Many guitar jam sessions, concerts, wine dinners (that I can hardly recall), and years later, I’m stoked to introduce her here. So, obviously I adore her and know you will, too. Without further ado…
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Intro

Hello, friends. I’m Nadia, I’m 24, and my goal is to be a queen of comedy, with my own TV show that I write and star in (along with subsequent spin-off shows and rights to animated characters). This requires diligence, hard work, patience, and, unfortunately, a killer body. Therefore, I have made it my goal to lose 25 pounds by the end of this year – and to keep it off.

Why am I publicizing this? My dear friend Annabel challenged herself to lose weight, and completely changed her lifestyle in the process. Her journey has inspired me so much that I wish to follow in her footsteps. I may have different reasons, different goals, and a different methodology for losing this weight, but I hope that I can achieve this goal and let you guys – Ana’s beloved readers – in on the process.

I am a good listener and love being part of the conversation, so if you have tips, advice and words of wisdom to share, please help me out! Leave comments in the blog posts or follow me on Twitter at @nahdeeeyah.

Let’s drop these pounds like your loser boyfriend! Who’s with me?

Week 1 Re-cap:

What a week to start trying to seriously lose weight – it turns out that I’m being let go at my job! It’s not due to performance, but because one of our clients is choosing to move their work internally. Thus, there is not enough work to go around. Even though I’ll be working full-time until the end of the month, I’m out of work by the Fourth of July.

Now, this could have very well put me in a tizzy. I could have become a huge stress-eater for the past week, but I chose to stay strong and stick to eating within reason…except for the weekend. I slept in very late on Saturday and Sunday, causing me to skip breakfast and go straight for a big ol’ meal.

However, I did manage to stick to three days of vegetarianism – I’ve been practicing this for over a month now, so it’s become habit (Cranky’s note: Nia calls this “part-time vegetarianism,” which I love!). Still, I thought perhaps being stressed-out over looking for a new job would mean that I would be prone to not just overeating, but for also going straight for the meat!

Best Meal:

Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Baked Ziti – at 350 calories, this lower fat, lower sodium dinner was a steal – and a tasty one at that! I added a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to add flavor. I recommend a cup of broccoli also sprinkled with a lil Parmesan for some veggie love with flavor.

Worst Meal:

Del Taco Regular Taco – yea, if you’re on a diet, you should not make a taco run past midnight. But I limited myself to 2 of these regular tacos that are smaller in size (and less in everything else bad). Next time, however, I’ll make sure to eat a snack like almonds or yogurt before going out late at night. (Cranky’s note: Each regular “taco” at Del Taco has 130 calories & 7g of fat. These are actually the lowest cal item on the menu outside of a side of salsa, so you could have done much worse, Nia!)

Food I Didn’t Realize Would Be Bad:

I love the Veggie Burger at The Counter. However, instead of looking up nutritional info before going, I decided to take my chances. My veggie burger ended up being 840 calories! My recommendation: skip the bun and go for a veggie burger in a bowl with salad. That will shave off 270 calories.

How I Worked Out:

Please bear in mind that I’m not a weakling, but I have not been really physically active for quite some time (since my free gym in college, really). So, I am easing into working out regularly again. I went running twice combined with strength training exercises for my arms and legs, as well as danced around like an idiot working up a sweat with Girl Talk. Three times in one week – it’s a start! This week, I’m aiming to add another day to that…and I’m looking to get back into a pool! More on that next week…

What Did We Learn?:

Choose your dressings wisely! This is something I already knew, but when you slap a fancy name like “aioli” on something, how can you resist? I could have saved myself a couple HUNDRED calories by choosing barbecue sauce instead of the aioli! (Cranky’s note: The Chipotle Aioli alone has 180 cals & 20g fat. The Roasted Garlic Aioli? 340 cals & 35g of fat — Sweet lord of calorified darkness! Go for the vinaigrette or soy glaze for 25-45 cals & 0-1.5g fat!) The next time I order anything involving a dressing or condiment, I am doing one of two things: 1) if the salad has other fatty items, like cheese, I will choose a super low-cal dressing 2) if the salad is all green, with no croutons or other caloric disasters, I will allow myself the option of choosing a fattier dressing.

This Week’s Goal:

Given that I was able to weather the storm of losing my job (and the potential stress-eating that could have come with it), I’m focusing on another dieting vice: SLEEP! I don’t get enough of it, and I need it to make sure I choose my food wisely (instead of eating Del Taco *hangs head in shame*). This week’s goal is to sleep for seven and a half hours every night – no exceptions! And this is with performing, practice, filming, writing, and job searching…wish me luck!

Start Weight According to Crappy Target Scale: 150.2

End Weight According to Crappy Target Scale: 146.6

Remember, you can ask me or Ana questions on Twitter at @nahdeeeyah and at @feedmeimcranky1, or leave us comments below!
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Notes from The Cranky One:

Way to go, Nia! You lost 3.6 pounds in a week! That’s awesome! Make sure you’re eating enough and drinking enough water (yes, eating ENOUGH! You don’t want to drop weight too quickly – it could shock your body into holding onto all poundage (I speak from experience, eep!)).

Check in next Tuesday for Nia’s second-week re-cap and join her on her journey!

p.s. Not to sabotage anyone’s healthy eating, but today is National Jelly-filled Donut Day (who comes up with this stuff?!), and if you want to celebrate, I recommend these vegan ones you can make yourself — at 150 calories each, they’re muy bueno!

Anyone want to join Nadia on her mission to lose weight? E-mail me here if you want a platform of your own!

<3,

The Cranky One

The boyf and I are on vacation in Solvang, CA — which is the “Denmark Capital” of the United States.

It’s full of beautiful Danish architecture, foods and culture. It’s a perfect place to escape to! Given that Denmark was ranked as the second most peaceful country in the world (first was Sweden), it’s no wonder its little mirror-image here in Solvang evokes the tranquility and calming aura that I’ve been seeking in my life.

What makes Solvang so great can be summed up in one word: Æbleskiver. Æbleskiver is like a doughy pancake mated with a funnel cake and had a little baby ball…covered with jam and powdered sugar…*licks lips*

Actually, Æbleskiver mix and a baking pan would be a great gift for the cook (or foodie or blogger) in your life, if you’re still at a loss for creative ideas for holiday gifts. I just searched and saw you can get a Æbleskiver cooking pan from Amazon.com here and the recipe from this book here!! (or check out the recipe from Rachel Ray here)

Aside from the Æbleskiver, the food here has been “eh” so far. I’ll be honest — every where I turn it’s a healthy-eater’s nightmare — trans-fat infused baked goods abound. I obviously have unresolved food “issues,” but I actually get upset when I visit places and find it a herculean task to find something I can eat. I think I’ll resolve this issue by heading to the home-made fudge shop right next to our hotel…they had a peanut butter chocolate slab that was singing my name in a beautiful Danish accent…

So far, the boyf’s eaten this Danish open-sandwich plate:

He said he’s made better sandwiches at home. I believe him — it didn’t look too appetizing.
I had this vegetarian sandwich:

Not very European, but the options here are meat entrees with a side of meat covered in cabbage, so…(like I said, I think I’ll go with the trans-fat-laden fudge…;)

We’re trying to get some well-deserved r&r in and, seeing as we’ve got a beautiful garden outside our door, it’s not hard to do. We may fit in some horseback riding and a visit to a lavender farm today *fingers crossed*

Did you see the article today in The New York Times about ethical eating here? It’s a very interesting argument about eating and ethics — two topics that have become increasingly intertwined these days. Basically, the author asks if even as vegetarians and vegans we may truly be considered ethical eaters given that plants are sentient and intelligent creatures. An interesting thought — but also one that I think trivializes the positive impact of vegetarianism and veganism on the environment. I think if we see ethics as a process and not as a righteous tool we can make better personal and meaningful choices. I’d love if you’d share your thoughts on the article.

What’s your favorite vacation spot?

<3,

The Cranky One

<3, The Cranky One

Hi guys!  Happy day-before-Friday!

Here is my second “quick tip” video on the topic of my favorite healthy snacks:

URL here, too. To see my first “quick tip,” click here.

Random tidbit about one of my snack faves — did you know one large kiwi packs 3 grams of fiber? The medium ones I show in the video pack 2 grams each.  That’s quite a lot of fiber for the size, seriously.

Other Feed Me I’m Cranky Snack Picks

• Top 7 Pre-portioned & packaged snacks

Feed Me I’m Cranky Snack Recipes

• Bella’s Skinny Apple Pie French Toast
• Pita Pizza Goop

In the News/Blogs

• Cranky Fitness’, “Ethnic Eats: How Healthy Are They” (8/12/09) here – Loved this post and reach out to you guys to answer how you manage to lighten up your favorite ethnic dishes (or do you?), what are some of your fave ethnic dishes? Have any recipes to share with me?
• Hanlie’s guest post, “Your Body’s Design” (8/12/09) here — Hanlie is a blogger I follow and admire and she writes here why she believes we are designed to be herbivores. Very interesting post with tons of food for thought!  While I am a vegetarian myself, I am not 100% convinced that humans were meant to be so.  I think that as fruits and veggies are now accessible to us from across the world during all seasons, and as we’ve evolved ethically (yes, I don’t necessarily believe we were innately against killing animals for food), vegetarianism is now a practical and healthy choice.  But I don’t think it’s the only healthy choice.  What do you guys think?
• Live Science’s, “High Fat Diets May Make You Stupid and Lazy” (8/12/09) here — Interesting summary of a study: “A new study on rats finds that 10 days of eating a high-fat diet caused short-term memory loss and made exercise difficult” but lacking way too much information and making far too many presumptuous statements (such as exercise being made “difficult” some how translates to laziness?).  I would guess by “high fat” they meant bad, saturated fats, but they don’t say (which is unfortunate because this may just fuel the misconception that all fats are bad for you).
• New York Times’, “Phys Ed: Can Running Actually Help Your Knees?” (8/11/09) here.

Give-Away Round Up

• Win a $100 gift certificate to Dick’s Sporting Goods here (this is the 2nd contest like this open.  Other one here)
• Win some coupons for LightLife tempeh here
• Win a coupon for a free box of Sunshine Burgers here
• Win tons of cool loot, including a gym bag and some ProBars (and wish Amanda a happy birthday!) here

What are your fave snacks both store-bought and self-made?

<3, The Cranky One

Hey guys!

In an effort to return the positive karma sent in my direction, I give thanks to the dude who ran up to my car and knocked on the window to return my debit card which I had left in the ATM machine (even though I was blasting Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed,” dressed like a work-out fiend, and scowling).  What an angel!  Thanks to my friend Lauren for showing up to my house with these picked from her garden:

Totally brightened my life.  Thanks to the Citibank class action law suit that sent me a $45 check yesterday — Trader Joe’s will appreciate my business. And last, but not least, thank you to you readers who commented on my post yesterday.  It’s nice to know I’m not alone. Your turn!  Any random acts of kindness or general random and unexpected things you are thankful for?

Food Double-take

Know how I said yesterday that the Thai curry tofu I made was too bland?  Well it tastes so much better the day after (since it’s been saturated in curry goo) and loaded with hot sauce! Delish in blue corn tortillas.  I used the recipe here, but did not use any butter, used coconut milk from a carton not can, and used coconut oil instead of canola.  I bet if you do add the butter and use canned coconut milk, you’ll get a much richer, flavorful sauce. But you’ll also get added crap, so you pick and choose!  Did you know blue corn is higher in lysine (an essential amino acid that builds protein), zinc and iron than the more commercial yellow and white varieties? (Source: here).

Noteworthy News/Blog Posts

• New York Times’, “More Americans on the Road to Obesity” (8/10/09) here.  The study parameters are iffy (aren’t they all?), but still interesting.
• F-Word‘s, “Open Post: How can people with thin privilege help fat people?” (8/10/09) here — Is it “ok” for thin people to be a part of the “Fat Acceptance Movement“? This is a touchy subject with some interesting propositions made by Linda Bacon, author of Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight. Bacon argues that thin people are privileged in our society.  Do you agree?
  
• We are the Real Deal‘s, “Fat is Not a Dirty Word, but Maybe it’s the Wrong One?” (8/10/09) here — A good question is posed (esp. in comparison to the article above):  Roni asks, “So why focus on fat acceptance and create a fatosphere. Shouldn’t we be spreading the word on health acceptance, teaching people proper nutrition, the benefits of whole foods, how great it is to be active? Shouldn’t we be creating a healthosphere?” What do you guys think?
• Calorie Lab’s, “Uncovering the Secrets of Solo Meals” (8/10/09) here — Discusses the book What We Eat When We Eat Alone: Stories and 100 Recipes by Deborah Madison.  Would be an interesting read, esp in light of the other “eating alone” book referenced here.
• Diet Blog‘s, “New PETA Vegetarian Anti-Obesity Campaign Asks Us to ‘Save the Whales’” (8/10/09) here — Ok, I’ll preface this with the fact that I could not find the ad online to verify this story and also will say that I appreciate PETA’s love for animals.  Now that that’s said and done, PETA – if this is true – you’re lame.  Seriously — a) You are totally messed up if you put a robust women in a bikini and title your ad, “Save the Whales. Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian”;  b) Vegetarianism does not necessarily = weight loss or health.  Ice cream and donuts are technically a vegetarian diet.  Kirsti Allie was famously vegetarian when she gained a ton of weight, by the way.  And alternately, there are plenty of thin, healthy meat eaters.  About your studies that vegetarians are 10-20 pounds lighter than meat eaters, are you referring to the study that linked vegetarianism to disordered eating particularly in teens as it’s used as a scape goat to restrict calories? I’m not knocking vegetarianism — hello, I’m a vegetarian — but I knock the means of an anti-obesity campaign to, oddly and ironically, get to the end of the ethical treatment of animals.  Ethics, eh?  Do I really need to say it?  Oh and p.s. — Who does your PR?  I could use a side job and am certainly not stupid enough to say in a press release that vegetarianism is a diet where you can eat as much as you’d like (and miraculously lose weight).  This is an ad that fuels the fat = immoral paradigm.  FAIL.  How do you feel about this ad?

Update:  Thanks to Fabulous @ 50 for Finding this ad and to Ella for Directing me to the post

Give-Away Round Up

• Win some Chavrie goat cheese & a foodie charm here.
• Win some lesser evil snacks here.
• Win some VitaTops here.
• Win a kettlebell and kettlebell work-out here.

<3, The Cranky One

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*

New Food Find — 16 snack-sized Tribe Hummus 100-calories packs — $4.99 at Costco
Umm, I am STOKED about this.  Like..totally…stoked (am I a Valley Girl or what?!  Hey, gotta mix it up! Ghetto fabulous can get old!)

Stats for one little mini tub: 100 calories, 7 g fat, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein (Is that a lot of fat for one little tub? Eh well! LOL.  I can’t fret about everything or I’ll go loca!)

Does Whining Count as Protein?

Man, I’ve certainly earned a few gold medals in whining and wish I could transfer that skill to more useful things like adequate protein consumption and absorption.  But, alas, there is not a pill for that yet.

So I was doing some highly scientific research Googling to see how I may ensure I get adequate protein being a vegetarian and I was pleasantly surprised. I was under the assumption that protein combining was necessary to ensure that the proteins I ate were as “complete” as animal- and dairy-based proteins (though some grain-like foods such as quinoa are complete proteins in themselves, which is awesome).  Anyhow, this is from Wikipedia (the most reliable source out there tee-hee!) regarding the complete protein theory strongly espoused in earlier years (propagated by Frances Lappe’s bestseller I joyfully – seriously – read in a freshman sociology class) and a general move away from this theory:

“The protein combining theory was based on interpretation of studies performed in the early 1900s on the growth of rats. The theory entered popular consciousness with the publication of Frances Moore Lappé‘s 1971 bestseller Diet for a Small Planet. In later editions of Diet for a Small Planet, beginning in 1981, Lappé changed her position on protein combining. In this later edition, Lappé wrote:

‘In 1971 I stressed protein complementarity because I assumed that the only way to get enough protein … was to create a protein as usable by the body as animal protein. In combating the myth that meat is the only way to get high-quality protein, I reinforced another myth. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods. Actually, it is much easier than I thought.

‘With three important exceptions, there is little danger of protein deficiency in a plant food diet. The exceptions are diets very heavily dependent on [1] fruit or on [2] some tubers, such as sweet potatoes or cassava, or on [3] junk food (refined flours, sugars, and fat). Fortunately, relatively few people in the world try to survive on diets in which these foods are virtually the sole source of calories. In all other diets, if people are getting enough calories, they are virtually certain of getting enough protein.^‘”

Complete Proteins
From Wikipedia:

“Complete proteins, also known as high quality proteins, ‘contain all the essential amino acids in amounts adequate for human use; it may or may not contain all the others. Generally proteins derived from animal foods (meats, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and milk) are complete, though gelatin is an exception. Proteins derived from plant foods (legumes, grains, and vegetables) tend to be limited in essential amino acids. Some are notoriously low, such as corn protein.

Some foods contain all the essential amino acids on their own in a sufficient amount to qualify as a ‘complete protein’. Complete protein foods that also obtain the highest possible PDCAAS score of 1.0 are certain dairy products, egg whites, and soy protein isolate. Other foods, such as amaranth, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, buckwheat, hempseed, meat, poultry, soybeans, quinoa, seafood, and spirulina also are complete protein foods, but may not obtain a PDCAAS score of 1.0″

Know anything about adequate protein consumption for vegetarians?

Some Recent Eats

• Refried vegetarian pinto beans sauteed with red onion and roma tomatoes in a low-carb, whole-wheat tortilla, with spinach
• Steamed broccoli

• Refried vegetarian pinto beans sauteed with red onion and roma tomatoes atop a bed of spinach
• Raw broccoli and baby carrots with Tribe hummus 100-calorie container
• A whole-wheat pita

About vegetarian refried beans, from Nutritiondata.com here:

Some Plans for The Weekend

• Two Recipes I want to try out:

1. No Meat Athlete’s sis’s Home-Made Energy Bars
2. CCK’s Little Vegan Fruit Cobbler

• I’ve got to get started on reading The New Rules Of Lifting for Women recommended by MizFit (along with “book club reading“):

Plan on making anything yummy this weekend? What are you guys reading this weekend (even if it’s just the newspaper lol)?

p.s. You guys know I’m an English major and love reading.  I also cannot, I mean CANNOT, read a word I do not know without looking it up. Diction is so important, guys   Especially when it’s 11:00 p.m. and you are wondering if you should or shouldn’t do weights and then your boyf says, “Yea, you’re spry enough!”  I didn’t know what the heck “spry” meant!  I could imagine it had the same root as the word “sprite” but was not sure.  For you guys that do not know:  Spry (adj.) = “(esp. of an old person) active; lively.”  Ummm….

I’m just sayin’…I hit the weights like I was young again just to prove him wrong.  Woe is me. W-O-E is me. 

<3,

The Cranky One