McApple Pie of My Eye

Yikes. Sometimes I need to remind myself why I absolutely positively urgently decidedly need to stay away from fast food. This post was a good reminder.

Eyestrain Productions

If you know me personally at all, chances are you’ve heard about The Pie. Maybe I’ve even taken it out to show you, let you touch it, encouraged you to sniff it. The Pie is legend, and has been for a great many years now. And if you know about The Pie, then you know we’ve just passed a significant milestone on its journey through the ages and into immortality.

The rest of you I’m going to have to bring up to speed.

I mentioned an important anniversary several weeks ago in this blog. Not the one related to the blog itself, nor my comic book work. I’m talking about that other, mysterious anniversary, I was so specifically vague about. The twenty-five year anniversary.

Rather than recap the whole sordid story from the beginning, let us instead begin at the end – or at least the end as it stood…

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Mantras for Thanksgiving Moderation

Thanksgiving. It’s go time.

If you’re struggling with the idea of having that beautiful bird and succulent sweet potatoes placed in front of you all night (and the left overs placed in front of you for the following week after), all you need to do is repeat these mantras:

• It’s only one day
• I will not eat until I am stuffed
• I will drink lots of water
• I recognize that “seconds” doesn’t have to be a bad word
• I will focus on enjoying the day and the company of those I love
• I understand that a whole can of cranberry sauce is not a portion
• I will savor each bite
• I will look for happiness outside of my plate

Don’t forget that you’re allowed one day to splurge within some limits. You’re going to do amazing for 30 days, and if one of those days is merely great, that’ll be an alright trade off for a scoop of stuffing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ideas for Breakfast

All I need for breakfast is a bowl of Cheerios and some skim milk. But on weekends when I have a teensy bit more time and a clean kitchen, I like to mix up the most important meal of the day with omelets and fresh squeezed OJ.

But I’ve recently found a few other interesting recipes that I’ll just have to give a try, so see if any strike your fancy or feel free to share something you just can’t start your day without:

Garden Vegetable Crustless Quiche

Sunrise Sandwich

Hashbrown Casserole

Power Granola

Greek Yogurt Parfait

Breakfast Taco

Pumpkin Pancakes

Carrot Cake Muffin

Banana Roll

Banana Bagel

Banana-Cinnamon Waffles

How to Win a Temptation Throwdown

You know it’s time to make a change. You know that this unnecessary weight needs to come off. You know that those extra layers of fat are not making it any easier to live your life to the fullest. But how can you possibly resist when the peanut butter monster comes a calling?

How do you muster up the commitment, the motivation, the ability to maintain a new lifestyle far into the future?

For me, it works something like this:

1. I decide I want to lose some lbs
2. I research healthy eating and exercising and living and breathing habits
3. I recognize all of the nasty habits that will keep those lbs on my bum

And now here’s the gold:

1. When I want to do something bad, anything bad, when I just feel like I can’t live without that slice of chocolaty chocolate choco cake and my mouth starts to water just at the thought of reaching for a fork, I play/sing to “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley
2. While I’m singing, I find something good, anything good to do, and I begin doing it while the song plays
3. And while I’m writing a blog post or doing the dishes or hopping on the exercise bike or reading for class and that song is playing, I relax myself and focus on the good things that I can choose to do instead of feeling coerced into doing the activities that out-of-control-Katy loves the most (ex. pie eating contest for one)
   

   Chocolaty chocolate choco cake for one please

4. After taking more than enough time to actually think over what I’m about to do and the fact that I’m already doing something positive, it’s usually enough to get me to throw that chocolaty chocolate choco cake out of my sight.
5. And if by the end of the song I still have that insatiable desire, I rinse and repeat by listening to “American Pie” by Don McLean, and that calms me down for sure

Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes, and Planning Early

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, what have you done to ensure that your feast is luxurious while still being healthy?

Check out some links that I’ve found with whole sections devoted to nutritious turkey day delights:

http://allrecipes.com/howto/healthy-thanksgiving-recipes/

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/thanksgiving_collection_1

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/healthy_thanksgiving_favorites/

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/thanksgiving-menu

http://www.rd.com/slideshows/11-healthy-thanksgiving-side-dishes/

Now that’s all well and good but what happens when you aren’t playing the chef, but the guest instead?

Check out some smart eating tips for Thanksgiving:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/10-tips-for-a-thinner-thanksgiving

http://www.livescience.com/10284-healthy-thanksgiving-5-tips-avoid-overindulging.html

http://globalnews.ca/news/894944/thanksgiving-dinner-9-tips-for-healthy-holiday-eating/

http://www.fitbie.com/slideshow/10-ways-have-healthier-thanksgiving

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/top-swaps-thanksgiving

What are your favorite healthy Thanksgiving recipes? How do you prepare to be on your best behavior during a holiday that revolves around food?

Monkies and Memories

Almost two years ago (before I had discovered the joys and freedoms of blogging), I attempted to control my poor eating and unnatural cravings by keeping an all too dramatic diary of how I was feeling towards food:

October 1, 2011

This monkey is making me write. I am watching the Virginia Tech football game alone in my dorm room with fluorescent lighting that hurts my eyes as this monkey hangs on my neck, yanking more forcibly with each mental block I put in its path. I want to eat, I’m not hungry, yet my saliva flows, a lake in my mouth depleted of cheesy baked goldfish. I just want to eat, this addiction, this darn primate, wants me to eat.

Who cares about the tomorrow, my monkey reminds me only of the now, tugging roughly into the present I look longingly at the door, at the mirror on the door, at my own pathetic face in the mirror on the door.

Why have I not gone to the convenience store yet? It is right below my building, I have my own special bag to put all of my chips in so no one sees what I’m leaving with, except the cashier. I wonder how long the girl who hoards food is on their minds for. Doritos are what I crave. They are the easiest to snack on. One is never enough, the flavor never disappoints or grows old, they make me happy and that blissful ignorance while I’m in the midst of eating is the best reward of all.

During the day I eat fruit, go to the gym, and feign importance and accomplishment. At night I sit and long for company, even if it’s only the company of double chocolate brownie cookies; the sweetest of friends. To lick my fingers of delicious remnants would be heaven, to taste the savory flavors I have long been denied would be nirvana. In the time it would take for me to polish off a bag of chips, a carton of ice-cream, a dozen sandwiches, I would be happier then knowing I could fill my life with daily exercise.

But for the past ten minutes I have not given into temptation, my monkey is tired. He will bide his time, strike when I am just as weak, and most likely win. I’ll accept it, if I don’t he will seek his wrath on me, make me doubt, make me worry; make me hungry, not a craving starvation, but something worse, a legitimate need to eat. If my monkey controls my physiological need to eat I know not what I will have left to control.

My monkey has too much power, and I must lose him before I get lost in him. I never liked monkeys, I need to act. Writing his destruction as he cowers in the corner gives me power. Maybe I’ll get a nice squirrel to remind me of my poor body-image. Maybe a kitten who purrs when I am doubtful of my intellect. I welcome those pets, because they will be animals of my own choosing. If I had known what I was beginning back in the second grade, when I preferred the company of television and Chex Mix to that of children my own age, I would have perhaps delayed my first job. Being a zookeeper was never my first career choice, until I had a monkey forced upon me.

I think for tonight I am done with my craving. What monkey? A bold statement as I already feel its hands inching their way up my back. I stand by it. What monkey? I am over such dramatic illusions and metaphors; I am not a writer. Maybe I will read this next time and it will help fend off another withdrawal craving, maybe not. I may add more to this, maybe not. I just don’t want to be consumed by this, but as the monkey reminds me, I already am.

Smart Choice Menu

Every week, the University of Maryland posts a specialized menu to their nutrition web page. Deep within the confines of the nutritional battlefield that is the college campus cafeteria, can be found  a ray of light, a prospect of hope for when that heat-lamp warmed pizza riddled with grease and untold delights seems almost too tempting to resist; there can be found, a Smart Choice Menu.

This smart choice menu has been my saving grace. Instead of relying on tuna fish sandwiches every day, the menu provides healthy options throughout the campus. I can mix it up between the salad station, the Mexican station, the pasta station, and I can still get my tuna fish on occasion. I’ve even taken to customizing it around my work schedule and to fit my pescetarian lifestyle.

But I seem to get a whole lot more than variety from this smart choice menu, I also receive:

• The convenience of not having to scour the dining halls for healthy options
• A variety that doesn’t get me fed up with healthy foods
• Knowledge that it’s A-Okay to eat pizza every now and again
• The joy of marking off a week of healthy eating
• Support of my weight loss efforts from the University

I’m sure that I’m the only person in the entire universe of existence in both this and every other dimension who uses this smart choice menu. And that’s just fine with me. As long as this little scrap of paper keeps mixing up my meals and counting my calories, I’ll never have a reason to renounce it.

Orange You Glad You Ate This Fruit Today?

I’ve started losing weight again. Hurray! I’ve also started eating oranges again. Double hurray!

Not only do they provide a wonderful way of relieving anxiety (as peeling oranges may or may not be proven to reduce stress). Not only do they promote weight loss (as eating oranges may or may not be proven to help shed weight). Not only do oranges make a tasty and delicious treat for any occasion (as even smelling oranges is most definitely associated with happiness and good times). But oranges are so much fun to eat!

Here are some more credible websites that are discussing the amazing benefits of oranges:

Natural Weight Loss

All the Benefits

About the Orange

Health and Pretty Pictures

I swear that the majority of my weight loss last year can be credited to eating oranges. Despite their propensity for eroding tooth enamel with their acidity, I try to eat about one a day. And I must say, I’m loving the results right now!

Not to mention, I have so much fun eating them!

The Sweetest Place on Earth

Yesterday, I had a showdown at Hershey Park, with Hershey Park.

And I won!

My showdown began with my friends suggesting a visit to the park of our childhoods, progressed to me planning out how I would avoid drooling over chocolate at every corner, and ended with me being as happy and healthy as ever.

Hershey Park’s temptations:

• Lazing around in lines
• Chocolate
• Riding the railroad and monorail everywhere
• Chocolate
• Attending the shows and sitting on my butt all day
• Chocolate
• So many food and candy stands
• Chocolate

This was the first time that I made a plan to avoid temptation, and I actually followed through with it. True, I won a giant sized chocolate bar after participating in a character show (which is the highlight of my summer), but, what’s more important is how I didn’t throw away all of my hard work for the chance to break me off a piece of that KitKat bar.

I had an absolutely amazing time smelling chocolate, riding rides, and spending time with my friends in the last days of summer. And what’s even better, I did it all while staying fit and remaining healthy! Woohoo for small victories!

My triumphs:

• Walking all around the park all day and not stopping, even with achy feet
• My vegetarian gyro
• Dancing around at the shows that I did attend
• A small serving of (cheesy) popcorn
• Running through the roller coaster lines
• Constant visits to the water fountain
• Not attacking the dancing bars of chocolate with a slobbery grin on my face
• Being aware of my health and recognizing that happiness can exist without candy

The Seafood Buffet: An Adventure in Moderation

After soaking up some rays on the beach, playing mini golf to my heart’s content, and eating my way through some of the tastiest Maryland Crab soup while sitting a foot away from the bay, my thoughts turned to dinner.

It had been about 4 years since I last visited a buffet down at Ocean City, and I thought the time was right for a visit. Why pay $25 dollars for a regular plate of a limited seafood selection when $30 can give you access to an all-you-can-eat extravaganza? Where else can you feel free to try new and interesting varieties of seafood without fear of disliking what you’ve tried and wasting money on your plate? (This is how I found out that catfish is pretty tasty). How can you resist the lure of so many options all available hot, fresh, and more colorful than the sea?! And how, how, can you ignore a coupon for $5 off?

So I went in.

And it was glorious.

Seafood as far as the eye could see! Mussels, clams, shrimp, oh my! Embers had it all, and it was all mine for the taking!

After getting a small serving of a few different options, I made my way back to the table and began digging in. There may have been literal digging involved, as I was so excited that I’m pretty sure I neglected my utensils for the first 5 minutes.

Despite being at a buffet, I managed to avoid most fried foods (though I couldn’t give up my fried scallops entirely), I stayed away from the dessert table (holy cannoli, I still can’t believe I passed on those brownies), and I drank water like I was one of the fishes (but not the ones on my plate).

However, I ate 10 snow crab leg clusters.

Yes, 10.

The number after 9.

Because apparently 9 just couldn’t cut it.

I have this weird obsession regarding getting my money’s worth. And while it’s great for ensuring that I complete that 5K run that I’ve already paid for, it seemed to weigh me down with succulent crab meat in this instance.

I figured that if I wanted to get my money’s worth, I would have to hit the seafood pretty hard.

Enter snow crab legs.

I had eaten around 5 when I got it into my head that it’d be fun to eat into the double digits.

What the heck is my definition of fun?!

I got to 8 and I was so full that I was basically cracking open the shell, taking a little nibble, and moving on to the next one. But I made it to 10.

I don’t even know how to feel about this action.

On one hand: I ate something healthy

On the other hand: I ate A LOT of something healthy

On one hand: I got my money’s worth

On the other hand: I got MORE than my money’s worth

On one hand: I had a good time enjoying something that I rarely get to eat

On the other hand: I was so full that I realized why I rarely eat at buffets

I suppose that all in all, I’m happy with how I did at the buffet. Should I have been there in the first place? Probably not. But, I’m proud of myself for sticking to food that was good for me, even if I ended up eating it in such large quantities that I drew stares from those seated around me and the waitstaff was probably in the back betting on how long I could keep stuffing food into my mouth.