food imitates life...

Day 5

2009-10-16T15:30:00.002-04:00

Kinda what I feel like right now.

'Tis friday, no less. Few things going on, which are very inviting, but I'm trying to maintian my compulsion to go destroy my insides and brian cells by way of overpriced liquids in an effort to deal, or not deal rather.

Work has been crazy busy the last couple of days, which is good, since it's kept my head out of the gutter where it would otherwise be. Been staying late, and leaving work late seems to be good for time-killing.

Meal plan for friday, also has not really worked out as planned. First breakfast was thrown out the window by the kind people of Washington Metro who ruined my life by making me arrive to work significantly over my start time. Followed by a surge of inner depression caused by...let's say, the weather. Which compelled me to go get myself a ridiculous bowl of pho, which I ended up picking up as carry out and eating at a bagel restaurant, where all I wanted was to stuff myself with 35 sesame bagels with jalapeño cream cheese. My chicken pho was a good option though, as well as a treat.

Today's meal plan was a little too ambitious, and more so as time has progressed from the beginning of the week till now.

Day 5
Breakfast - none
6 oz juice
Western 1 egg omelette
Decaf coffee/tea
Snack
Turkey Rollups - none
2tbsp cilantro mayo
Lunch - chicken pho
Gazpacho
Grilled turkey burger (half bun)
Tossed salad
Sugar free Jello/apple/pear for dessert (choose one)
Snack
Cucumber rounds with babaganoush - none
Dinner - i have a feeling it is not going to be anywhere near what I had planned.
Balsamic Chicken
Sautted tomatoes and onions
Steamed Spinach
Tossed Salad
Dessert
sugar free pudding cup/sugar free fudgesicle

there will not be any gym tonight, but most definitely so tomorrow and sunday.

Money spent thus far: $12
Balance left: $10.00 (maybe a six pack of something cheap and I'm out of comission till next Monday)

Day 4

2009-10-16T14:32:00.002-04:00

Things are not very stable right now, so I'm holding on to this in need of a constant, although I really don't want to. Nothing would make me feel better than a piece of pie, some ice cream, a slice of cheese, and some baked ziti from Tony's.

I need to focus my energies on something else though and not let things affect me as much as they are. Today was another day where keeping food in check was difficult and I slightly faltered at night. I'll just have to keep on keeping on.

Day 4
Breakfast
6 oz juice - none
1 egg florentine - none
2 slices canadian bacon or turkey bacon - none
Decaf coffee/tea - none
Snack
Baby carrots or celery w/ laughing cow cheese - none
Lunch
Shrimp Salad with Herb Dill dressing - grilled chicken ceasar salad
Sugar free Jello/apple/pear for dessert (choose one) - none
Snack
10 cherry tomatoes with fat free feta (or low fat cottage cheese) - cheesestick
Dinner
Broiled Sirloin/Chicken - Cheese quesadilla and half a bean burrito - i felt severely ill afterwards
Steamed Broccoli - none
Broiled tomatoes/jalapenos - none
Mashed cauliflower potatoes - none
Dessert
sugar free pudding cup/sugar free fudgesicle - none

Money spent today: $15.00
Balance left: $22.00

The gym was bust again today. But Saturday and Sunday I plan on hitting it hard.
I have a feeling Friday is going to be pretty insane.

Day 3

2009-10-16T14:20:00.004-04:00

When life throws curve balls your way, it tends to get difficult to maintain a new discipline, especially when you're your first week in. The plan comes to a certain stage of arrested development. Fortunately, I've had nothing but time to focus on me and how I'm going to make this work. I've dodged birthday cakes, chocolate gifts, and heavy drinking. omg. Heavy drinking. How i miss thee.

Although I had set a meal plan for the rest of the week, I haven't been able to eat as I planned, but have tried my best to use it as a guide to plan on what I ingest.

Day 3
Breakfast
6 oz juice - none
I egg asparragus/mushroom omelette w/ 2 oz part skim mozz - 1 hard boiled egg
Decaf coffee/tea - coffee
Snack
Baby carrots or celery w/ laughing cow cheese - none
Lunch
Chef's Salad - hummus, feta, cherry tomatoes, and avocado, with pita squares
Olive oil and vengar dressing - - none
Sugar free Jello/apple/pear for dessert (choose one) - none
Snack
10 cherry tomatoes with fat free feta (or low fat cottage cheese)- none
Dinner
Baked tilapia in scallion ginger sauce - none
1 small whole wheat roll or wheat pita (if bread wanted)- none
Steamed snow peas - none
Mashed cauliflower potatoes - none
Dessert
sugar free pudding cup/sugar free fudgesicle - sugar free pudding

No gym today, but life indeed is starting to give me a work out.

Money spent today: $13.00
Balance left: $37.00

Day 2

2009-10-13T09:59:00.004-04:00

Ok, so day 1 was interesting. Spent about half of my $100 weekly budget on groceries, which brings me to my dilemma. Are groceries to be counted as fixed expenses? I mean, we have to eat no? In any event some of the stuff I bought will probably last longer than a week, hence making it cheaper next time I go. Hypothetically.

We ended up doing really well on our eating, following the meal plan as closely as possible. And crushed 1 hour at the gym no problem.

Today is day 2 - the challenge continues.

************************
Day 2
***update***

Breakfast

6 oz juice - done
1 egg (hard boiled or scrambled) - done
1 tortilla/slice of toast - done
2 slices canadian bacon or turkey bacon - done
Decaf coffee/tea - done

Snack

Turkey Rollups - done
2tbsp cilantro mayo

Lunch

Tuna chopped salad - Grilled chipotle chicken chopped salad
Sugar free Jello/apple/pear for dessert (choose one) - done

Snack

Baby carrots or celery w/ laughing cow cheese - cheese stick

Dinner

Baked Chicken breast - grilled veracruz salmon tacos
1 small whole wheat roll or wheat pita (if bread wanted)
Steamed broccoli
Tossed salad (mixed greens/cucumbers/green peppers/cherry tomatoes)
Olive oil and vinegar dressing

Dessert

Jello cup

Day 1

2009-10-12T11:33:00.008-04:00

I've transferred all my money out of my ING Checking account and into savings., leaving only a little over a $100 (to avoid any inadvertent overages). These $100 will have to go until Sunday night. !!!

For the mealplans, I borrowed the SBD format and modified it to fit my needs. I will track progress by adding an update to this post at the end of the day.

**************************
**UPDATE**
Here's how the eating actually turned out -

Today's meal plan:

Day 1

Breakfast

6 oz juice - Mango Juice
1 scrambled egg w/ 1 tortilla - 1 poached egg w/ 1 tortilla
Decaf coffee/tea - coffee

Snack

1 Part skim mozz cheese stick - check

Lunch

Grilled chicken breast salad - Rotisserie chicken salad w/
w/ low sugar balsamic vinaigrette - oil & vinegar
Sugar free Jello/apple/pear for dessert (choose one) - none

Snack

Baby carrots or celery w/ laughing cow cheese - cheese stick

Dinner

Grilled fish (salmon/tilaps/mahi mahi) lemon and rosemary - baked lemon salmon
1 small whole wheat roll or wheat pita (if bread wanted)
Steamed asparragus - check
Tossed salad (mixed greens/cucumbers/green peppers/cherry tomatoes) - steamed brocc and cauliflower
Olive oil and vinegar dressing - none

Dessert

Sugar free jello/pudding - OMG YES!

Gym:

1 hour of cardio at the gym. - Done

the 66 day challenge

2009-10-12T10:13:00.010-04:00

3. Do a 30-day Challenge. In my experience, it takes about 30 days to change a habit, if you’re focused and consistent. This is a round number and will vary from person to person and habit to habit. Often you’ll read a magical “21 days” to change a habit, but this is a myth with no evidence. Seriously — try to find the evidence from a scientific study for this. A more recent study shows that 66 days is a better number (read more). But 30 days is a good number to get you started. Your challenge: stick with a habit every day for 30 days, and post your daily progress updates to a forum. [66 days Habit Changing = via: zenhabits]

Discipline has never really been one of my strong points. It takes a while, but I have proven before that sticking to something, even if I don't see results right away, can, in fact, serve a purpose and feel really great once a goal is reached.

In an effort to control things in my life, which seem to be spiraling downhill, I (along with some people) will be attempting a challenge in hopes of feeling better, saving money, and getting back in shape. For the next 66 days, beginning today, Monday, October 12 I will be undergoing the following:

1. Money

In an effort to save money and discipline myself into not being a sucker for consumerism, which I am, I will attempt at curving my behavior and training myself to be more minimalist in the material goods department. Do not buy if I do not need. Limiting myself, for the next 66 days to $100.00 per week as spending cash. This is not to include fixed expenses (ie. utilities, rent, etc...) but to include things I need to be better about (ie. work lunch/breakfast, nightlife, weekend entertainment, etc...) This should theoretically begin to change my behavior and train me into being better about money and the way I spend it.

2. Time

I feel like I spend a lot of my time idling around online on incredible time-wasters such as facebook, twitter, and worst of all pages like hulu and netflix. I say worst of all because I got rid of my television so I could be more productive and now instead TV has found me and it sucks the living life out of me. Yes there are some shows I watch continuously and religiously, but having a set time to watch these can potentially reduce the time I spend with my head sucked into the monitor. Coupled with the goal of blogging and writing more in general, if I'm on the computer, I shouldn't just be clicking around. So, I;m trying to track my progress on this challenge and in this blog to give me a push forward in my blogging and my writing, and hopefully assist in the behavior change.

3. Food

OH. EM. GEE.!!!! This is going to be one of the 2 worst and most difficult goals. Why with me trying to be a chef and all, and here I am trying to limit my intake. For a few good reasons, however, I need to. My health is something that worries me continuously. I seem to come from a line of health issues and I seriously do not want to propagate my ending up in the hospital for reasons that could have been prevented, and especially don't want to reach old age not being able to care for myself. So I'm devising a bit of a "diet" portion and foods controlled and this plan is to be followed as closely as possible in search of results at the end of the deadline, not only of how I feel, but also of how I look (size 32 is only a hop and a skip away). I will try and blog my progress on this as well by posting what day meal plan is, and how close I came to eating what I'm supposed to.

4. Health

Also trying to get back on track on the gym thing. It's an ongoing battle, especially with as little time as one seems to have in this DC metro area. I seem to spend 40% of my time commuting, along with work, school, family life, and the 5-15 minutes of sleep I get per night (which will lead into point #5). To start myself off correctly and start getting back in shape, I'm going to set smaller short-term goals in hopes of reaching the ultimate long-term goal of being in shape and having normal persons sleep schedule. I'm setting also an exercise plan that I will track progress on as well to see where I'm at when day 66 comes. Heading to the gym in the morning at times trying to be tired enough when I come home from work as to not stay up until 3am fiddling around online and such. (hopefully this will also start helping push away the smoking habit)

5. Sleep

As before mentioned, I'm not the best sleeper. I have a tendency to get home and stay up and just be awake. forever. making me extra tired the next day. I'm setting myself to be in bed by 11pm on weeknights for the next 66 days. hopefully my sleep patterns will adjust to normality.

6. Weekend activities

Another one I'm very guilty off and serves as a precursor to set off my whole week. I need to keep weekend activities as such. FOR THE WEEKEND. I'm hoping this also allows me to be sharper at work, school, and at home.

I'm really bad at limiting myself on things I enjoy. I let myself indulge too much, to the point where it affects me physically, financially, and inter-personally and this needs to stop and change. 66 days doesn't seem like much and it seems like the world at the same time. Reaching the deadline accomplished will feel good. Reaching the deadline incomplete, will really suck. So part of my publicizing this is not so much for myself, but rather a way of having people witness what I'm saying I'm going to do and hoping to keep up in order to not embarrass myself by not reaching this short deadline.

Here we go.

the bi-monthly post

2009-09-13T17:53:00.002-04:00

If not tri-monthly. It seems as of late that the blogosphere has not drawn me in as much as I wish it would. There are a million things that I constantly want to blog about and I just never get around to it for one reason or another.

In any event, I'm here now and I'm on a bit of a baking kick.

Yesterday I spent most of the hours past midnight formulating a red velvet cake, which to my surprise was incredibly delicious. Everything from scratch. Cake, red velvet, and frosting.

Waking up in a blaze of glory from the red velvet success, I decided to finally use that matcha powder I had sitting around and made some green tea mini muffins for the girlfriend's mom (and for us), which just as the previous, came out spectacularly.

I would get more in depth and write down recipes, but my current state of laziness prevents me from doing so. Instead, should you need the recipes, I'd be happy to send to you.

Edible Vinyl: Playing Catch Up

2009-07-01T09:49:00.004-04:00

So in my long hiatus from the blogosphere (that's right, I said blogosphere) it would appear I've missed out on some updates from our secret bf ilovedragonfly. He's been hard at work while I've been, well, hardly working. He's got a few delicious vinyl pieces that again make me want lick my monitor in ways I can only imagine dogs lick their empty bowls after eating a ginormous raw steak. Get ready to get hungry.

Cheeseburger Munny

Peppered Country Bacon Illazilla

Gingerbread and Fruitcake Munnys

This next one took me by surprise. I thought nothing could make me as hungry as the pecan on that last one's head, but then, my boy delivers the Banana Split Dunny

OMG. Halloween! Candied Apples!

And to end the obsessive posting, I will leave you guys with the Chocolate Preparedness Kit Dunny, which looks awesome.

back

Please be sure to stop in and check out his page, he's got tons of other vinyl treats for your gazing pleasure. Or stop in and buy us one at the Dragonfly Store

Edible Vinyl: Sushi

2009-06-30T13:26:00.005-04:00

As you may or may not have noticed, I've been away from the blogging for a while again. Not for any particular reason other than my sincere and/or severe apathy towards writing words of self-importance because i may have been the 23908429420th person to stumble upon a link of somewhat relevant importance to my social circle of peers. In any event, the reason for this post is not some revelation of how I've hit higher ground in life or some earth-shattering statement of prolific wisdom. Merely some SICK vinyl I MUST have. It's not often that I see a food theme toy that tickles my fuzzy in such a way that it makes me hungry. In line with the before posted Food Toys, along comes the O-No Food Company with some amazing concept art put into production.

NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

2009-03-02T21:41:00.002-05:00

To continue my lack of updating and the string of video cop outs to make up for any real posting, here's a sweet video on the joys of eating, furry cute animals, and the at some point interweb adapted international word for eating and enjoying fare.

'Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom,' by Parry Gripp

Happy Holidays from GUE!

2008-12-25T18:49:00.000-05:00

They're back!!!

2008-10-25T14:21:00.002-04:00

Omg! a site I once thought lost to the internet vortex, seems to have made a comeback. In full effect. Food Porn at it's best! Check it out!

Tastespotting <3

Food Meets Nu Rave

2008-10-25T14:09:00.002-04:00

Japanese Electrorrific sensations, Polysics, bring it back to basics.

Shopsin on the Times

2008-10-11T13:39:00.008-04:00

[photo cred: Larry Fink, via the NY Times]

So it's no secret I've been hyping up Kenny Shopsin for a while now, and as so I've been a bit more alert to his publicity. The NY Times had a pretty sweet piece on him (The Way We Eat: Flipping the Bird) and his quaint little shop and the modest menu that comes with it.

I have yet to experience Shopsin's, and I hope I get to at some point, considering his reputation for client refusal, but I'd have to say that although I'm unfamiliar with his cuisine, much like the case with Bourdain, I admire these two solely based on their personalities and attitudes towards the culinary world and society (and women, heh). They do what they do with passion and don't very much care about what people have to say. Maybe it's the egotistical, arrogant bastard in me, but I slightly identify with these two, and until I learn otherwise, they will continue to be on my list of top chefs.

“I dedicate myself to consuming all sorts of ideas,” says Shopsin, an avid reader and Internet crawler. “Eventually something inside me, probably skewed by my erotic feelings about breasts and things like that, assembles a product and just shoots it up.” [NY Times]

There's such a level of romanticism in his story. The fact that he's estalished himself and provided for his family, for almost 30 years, the work that he's put into his career, and the love he expresses for all elements that sustain him. His clients (the valuable ones, not the shitty ones), his establishment, his trade, and of course, his family. And he's been able to do all this without selling out his principles and just letting any asshole come into his realm demanding to be served. He asks that patrons prove themselves worthy of being served by him and not the other way around. After all, his food has been around long enough to understand that it's quality and he's busting his ass behind the burners to feed you. He owes you nothing and you shouldn't expect him to serve you hand and foot. Good business practice, ethic, and personal integrity and principles in my opinion.

Unlike other restaurateurs, Shopsin has refused publicity. (Whenever I tried to write about him, he would tell the fact checkers that Shopsin’s was a shoe store or out of business or insist that they do something uncheckable to themselves.) But two regulars, a Knopf editor and a literary agent, persuaded him to write a cookbook. “Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin” blends recipes with his uncensored thoughts on cooking (“The only explanation I can give for . . . how I came to this method of cooking is that it’s a product of a lot of psychotherapy, drugs and making chicken potpies”) and running a restaurant (“My approach . . . is the exact opposite of ‘the customer is always right’ ”). Like the restaurant, where three of his four children work, the book is a family affair, designed by his daughter Tamara and photographed by his son-in-law, Jason Fulford. [NY Times]

He does what he does because he loves it and not for the fame and riches and now, inadvertently all of that has come to him because he was himself. Thousands shoot for the stars and crash and burn severely. Not him. Self-awareness and a solid foundation of personal values go a long way.

He is full of deep (or shallow, depending on which side of the fence you're standing on) little excerpts on life and food full of a degree of sentiment and heart one can only hope to achieve at one point.

DC Best of Guide

2008-10-11T13:27:00.003-04:00

[photo cred: stgrmh]

This guide has a list of what, by the Serious Eats Team's standards, are the best eateries in the area. Some I agree with (ie. Amsterdam Falafel), som I don't (ie. 2Amy's). In any case, it's a pretty concise guide of hot spots in the city complete with addresses, reviews, and some flashy pics of the local fare.

Wish List: AK Ice Tray

2008-10-11T13:21:00.003-04:00

So, browsing around the blogs, more specifically, SlashFood, I came accross this sweet ice cube tray sure to make people talk at your (or my) next party. *want*

via: find me a gift.com

Shopsin on Conan

2008-10-08T16:28:00.002-04:00

Just because I'm on the Shopsin kick, he was somewhat recently on Conan and it was pretty hilarious.

Wishlist: Kenny Shopsin's Cook Book

2008-10-08T12:52:00.007-04:00

If you are unfamiliar with Kenny Shopsin then I fear for your life in the culinary world.

He is the most ridiculous, loud, and hilarious hi-octane philosopher and culinary personality I have come across yet.

He runs Shopsin's in New York, part diner-part heaven, and serves from what could easily be the most ambitious menu I have seen with mine own eyes. Not leaving out the fact that if it's not on the menu, and he has the ingredients, he will make anything for you. Providing he likes you, of course.

Should you need a crash-course into who and what Kenny Shopsin is, you should definitely take some time out of your day and check out "I Like Killing Flies". A chronicle and documentary of Shopsin's coming-of-age story, featuring his family and friends who have over time helped this establishment be everything it is today.

Aside from being one of the greatest people ever invented, he is no also an author and has come out with a grand cook book full of insight into his cuisine and recipes for the hungry-hearted.

Serious Eats did a great write-up on it back in August (just now getting around to reading it and writing about it) and they've been posting random one-off recipes from the book, which are interesting enough to make even the worst grilled cheese maker want to throw down on the burners.

Ostensibly, Eat Me is a cookbook, but it's also equal parts memoir and philosophical tome. [via Serious Eats]

'My Sliders'- makes one set of 3 sliders -
Adapted from Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin by Kenny Shopsin.

Ingredients:
1 big yellow Spanish onion, thinly sliced
5 ounces chopped meat (20 to 30 percent fat)
Salt Butter for the rolls
3 Martin's dinner rolls, or any soft rolls about the size of Parker House rolls, cut in half but leaving them attached to one another if possible
3 slices American cheese

Procedure:
1. Fry the onion slices until they're brown and crispy (Kenny slices them very thin and throws them in a pot of hot oil until they are charred).
2. Divide the meat into three equal-sized balls. Preheat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it is searing hot. Place the balls of meat on the griddle or in the pan and press them down with a heavy spatula or bacon weight to form patties about 1/2 inch thick. Season them with salt. Place a bacon weight or heavy lid on top of the patties to keep them smashed down and cook about 2 minutes per side, until they are cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, butter the insides of the rolls and toast them in whatever way is most convenient for you. Place the patties so they are all in a row, butting up against one another. Put the fried onions on the patties, and then top each patty with one slice of the cheese. On top of the cheese, place the tops of the buns and on top of the tops, the toasted bottoms. Then, on top of everything, place your bacon weight or a lid and cook for 1 minute to melt the cheese and steam the bun.
4. To serve, place the bun bottoms on a plate. Carefully slide your spatula under the three patties to lift them up in one piece and place them on top of the bottom buns. Serve at once.

Greenification

2008-10-08T12:38:00.004-04:00

It's no secret that Ted Turner has had his bite of restaurant industry experience, and now he's also trekking cross-country preaching the green to restauranteurs everywhere. [via: TreeHugger]

Click here to watch video

Donuts and Bacon in '08

2008-10-08T12:36:00.004-04:00

Bacon!

Serving Like Animals

2008-10-08T12:28:00.005-04:00

Well, not like animals, but by animals. The Japanese are hilarious. We all know that servers have a bit of an arch-nemesis label when it comes to us in the kitchen. About time they got replace. (jk!)

So they're all done up in Japanese serving gear and walk around with your food. I wonder how the Health Department would feel about letting me implement something like his here. Heh.

Absence Trends

2008-09-25T13:44:00.003-04:00

So it would appear that my everlasting condition of chronic procrastination has caught up with me again and I've been missing. Well, that added to the hectic schedule I was undergoing with school and work and such has left me without a post, and you, my noble and trusty reader, without material to judge me based on my poor writing skills.

Alas, I'm back. At least for now, and I have a bit of things to blog about. Random life happenings, coupled with a number thingas the internet has brought to my attention that I wanted to share.

In any event here we go!

Princess Toadstool!

2008-07-16T11:42:00.004-04:00

[Serious Eats]
Gamers everywhere rejoice. Eat your 1up green shroom! Tastes like burger!!!

I've got to give this a whirl on the grill soon! Instructables tell you how you too can bring a bit of Super Mario to the party. No Wii necessary.

the hypocrisy of world leaders

2008-07-16T11:28:00.003-04:00

I constantly see this type of stuff happen. Large meetings of world heads on how to get potable water to remote villages and areas without. Large meetings held in large rooms with fountains of water and water drip wall formations.

Here it is once more.

Just two days ago, Gordon Brown was urging us all to stop wasting food and combat rising prices and a global shortage of provisions. But yesterday the Prime Minister and other world leaders sat down to an 18-course gastronomic extravaganza at a G8 summit in Japan, which is focusing on the food crisis. [Huffington Post]

The world lacks serious organization. In a planet where more foodis thrown away per day than what it would take to feed everyone. It's a sad thing to watch capitalism, the answer to socialism, collapse not only country people, but the world entirely in it's greed-fueled rampage to dominate. Sad really.

All the fun is in NYC

2008-07-16T11:16:00.003-04:00

Like my dream come true. A party en Español!

Fresa Salvaje: It's a whole experience. It's a party with Latino music -- music that isn't mainstream reggaeton or salsa -- that also includes visual elements, like photo projections and art. It's a way of doing away with stereotypes about Latino music and what Latinos like while promoting art and really good bands people might not have heard about, and just letting people have a good time [guanabee]

Some one take me to New york, please!