First off, week one of the new diet has paid off in a big way with a 5-pound weight loss. I know, overall, it doesn’t seem like much, but my clothes are already fitting better and I don’t feel as tired and lethargic as I had been. I still haven’t gotten a whole lot of exercise in, but that’s coming. How did I do it? No special “diet” per se, just lots of fruits and vegetables, lots and lots of protein. Oh, and I had 2 major fails with a bag of Reese’s minis and a 3 Musketeers bar. Ok – that part wasn’t so good, but for the most part, it was a success!
As for exercise, I have double impetus. Not only do I just need to get out and exercise, but I need to Get My Rear In Gear. But, you say, isn’t that the same thing? Not at all! This year, the Colon Cancer Coalition is putting together 5k races across the US in support of those impacted by colon cancer – Get Your Rear In Gear. The event in Austin will be March 4 and I need to start training!
You might think that colon cancer is something older folks get, but that’s just not the case. As with most cancers, it doesn’t recognize sex, age, ethnicity, religion or nationality. It’s estimated that in 2012, there will be 103,170 new cases of colon cancer and 40,290 new cases of rectal cancer. Combined, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and 51,690 will lose their battles this year.
Colon cancer is one of the most easily detected forms of cancer, yet most don’t catch it until it’s spread. Annual colonoscopies can be your best place to start, but if you experience any unusual symptoms, like bleeding, a visit to your gastroenterologist would be in order. It’s important not to be squeamish about the whole process – would you rather suffer a few moments of embarrassment or endure even longer treatment that will leave you tired, sick, without hair and possibly dead? Think about it.
Here in Austin, the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k is being held March 4 and is sponsored, in part, by Austin Gastroenterology, a great physician-owned practice. They’re staffed with kind, professional folks who make you feel comfortable in all stages of your visits and recognize how uncomfortable it can be. There are 5 locations around Austin, so look them up and make your appointment today!
Ok, I hate to admit it, but I desperately need to lose about 30 pounds. When I started my health odyssey two years ago, I was a svelte 135. Now, after chemo, 12 surgeries in two years, steroids with each chemo treatment, three rounds of steroid injections and just plain comfort eating throughout the whole thing, I’m now up to 165. I haven’t weighed this much since I was pregnant with my daughter 27 years ago and even then, I didn’t weigh this much.
I went to the bookstore the other day and was looking at diet books. You won’t believe how many there are, each saying they have the best way to lose the most weight with the least amount of effort. But a recent study showed that the most effective diets really aren’t diets at all but are lifestyle changes. That does, however, seem to be a problem for most people – they don’t want to change their lives, just their pants size. They don’t want to exercise and cut calories; they want to sit on the couch and mindlessly eat while they watch TV. But our bodies don’t work that way.
The simple truth is that our bodies function on a delicate balance of chemicals, liquids (mostly water) and the calories needed to fuel all the automatic processes that run. The fact that we only use 10% of our brains doesn’t mean there’s more to be used – it’s already being used by the automatic functions such as breathing, blood flow, heart beats, liver function, kidney output, etc. If we disturb the electrolyte balance, don’t take in enough water or don’t take in enough or too many calories, things go haywire and seemingly without warning, we’re tired, sluggish, foggy and hungry.
To keep our bodies running in balance, we really do need a balanced diet. Think farmers back in the 1800s – they grew what they ate and if their crops weren’t going well, they could buy what they needed, but everything was fresh, close to harvesting and the only processing was in making milk drinkable, making cheese, baking and breaking down the meat. Oh, and picking up the eggs. The farmers and their families worked hard physically every day, so eating large meals was an important part of the day, to make up for the fact that they were expending tremendous amounts of calories.
Fast forward to today. We’re no longer an agrarian society. We work in offices, on the phone, on the computer. Sure, there is a sector that works really hard physically, like cable linemen, first responders, armed forces, car mechanics, etc., but those aren’t the ones having the problem with weight control. For the rest of us, we want to eat all those things advertisers put in front of us, we want to eat it all day long and we want to sit on our butts, plain and simple. And I’m not excluding myself; I’m as guilty as anyone.
So as of today, I’m starting a new diet. I’ve met with our resident nutritionist, Dr. Lori Shemek, and have gone over a healthy diet that goes back to the idea that food should be consumed as close to its natural state as possible, while at the same time eliminating artificial carbohydrates. What does that mean? Lean, unprocessed, organic meats and chicken and the only carbohydrates will be fruits, vegetables and legumes, with the bigger focus on veggies and legumes. I’m also starting a new exercise routine, now that I’ve been given the all-clear by all my docs.
I’ll be keeping everyone posted on how things are going. Today, my first priority is cutting out diet soda and drinking more water. Stay tuned!
Want to join me? Follow me on Twitter or Facebook (lonelygourmet) and we can encourage one another!
January is National Soup Month and it’s right on time. It’s the perfect month to enjoy soups of all kinds and there’s nothing easier to make. There’s nothing better than coming in after any time outside in the cold to a hot, steaming bowl of your favorite soup.
So what’s your favorite soup? Some would say chicken noodle soup or tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. Perhaps your taste leans toward vegetable soup or New England clam chowder. Regardless of which type of soup is your favorite, it’s easy to make and warms the bones like no other food can.
But how do you make soup for one from scratch when you’re single, without having a week’s worth of leftovers? It’s not as hard as you might think. You can go the canned soup route and sometimes, there’s nothing like it. Or, you can make it yourself, using your favorite ingredients and just taking the time to do it. You can also do it without having to cut anything or “fix” anything – do it the easy way!
The simplest way to make soup is to use frozen or canned ingredients, if you’re not particularly knife savvy. For a great vegetable soup, place a can of beef or vegetable stock into a pot. Bring it to a boil. Add frozen mixed vegetables and a can of diced tomatoes. Add some seasoning to it with either minced garlic or garlic powder (stay away from garlic salt to reduce the sodium level) as well as a bay leaf. If you want to spice it up, you can add crushed chili flakes or something like Wildly Natural’s Spicy Blend. Bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and enjoy!
Chicken noodle soup for one is even easier. Pour chicken stock into a pan. Add garlic powder, a bay leaf, dried minced onion and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Add fettuccine noodles or your favorite type of egg noodle. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, until the noodles are almost done. Add pieces of chicken from your favorite flavor of rotisserie chicken (mine is honey jalapeno). Simmer another 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and you’re good to go.
If you’re in the mood for something more substantial, you can do ham and bean soup by soaking a handful of your choice of bean in water for at least 2 hours (Anasazi beans are the best for this). Once the beans have soaked, rinse and place in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and add chunks of pre-cooked ham steak. If you’d like a little more substance, you can add a small can of diced tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
These are just 3 examples of easy soup you can make for one. What’s your favorite? Don’t be shy! Even if it’s canned soup, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Comment and let’s talk about what you love. And if you’d like to see a recipe for one for your favorite canned soup, let me know and I’ll figure one out for you!
We all know that each day starts the same, with so much promise of what’s to come. Each year starts the same way, but it’s just another day. It is, however, a great starting point for goals, hopes, dreams and plans and there’s a lot going on in the world of Lonely Gourmet!
First, I want to thank everyone for following me the last year; your comments and feedback have been wonderful and I very much appreciate having you as part of the Lonely Gourmet family!
Second, I need to thank my team, because we don’t get this fabulous alone: Suzie Kummins-Poirer, my virtual assistant; Patti Blackstaffe, web developer; Fabio Viviani, who has spent a lot of time with me in the last year, giving me advice and just being the rock star that he is; Ilene Haddad, Julie Gomoll, Megan Summerville, Jennifer Cunningham, Anslee Connell, Amanda Q, Jen Wotjik, Hope Doty, Tom Meyer and everyone else from BlogAThonATX, Central Austin Jelly and Cypress Vanguard – you ladies have been wonderfully supportive and have put up with me the last year so gently and kindly. And the premier food bloggers’ group: Austin Food Bloggers Alliance – 2012 is going to be big for the Alliance! You’ve all made 2011 wonderful!
So, what’s happening for 2012? LOTS! Here’s just a partial list:
New guests on the Lonely Gourmet Friday Radio Feast! We’re going to be up and down until March as we revamp the show, get it sounding more professional (instead of like something out of my garage) and grab those great food-related interviews!
The Lonely Gourmet Cookbook, “Frying Solo,” is coming in the spring! Lots of recipes for one and lots of fun in between!
We’re putting the finishing touches on the first book in a series of reasons to be happy; this one is called, “20 Reasons To Be Happy You’re Single, for Women.” It should be out by February.
The first Lonely Gourmet cooking class is January 13 at Silver Whisk Cooking School in Lakeway, Texas! Join us and learn how to cook a whole day’s worth of meals for just one person! And we’re getting other cooking classes set up around the country for the rest of 2012, so stay tuned for additional dates!
Lots more recipes and fun on the LG website! Do you have an idea of something you’d like to see explored more for singles? Let me know and we’ll get it done!
I hope you have some great things cooking for your 2012 … it’s a great opportunity to start over, regroup, make sure you’re headed in the right direction and make 2012 the BEST YEAR EVER! Now, let’s get going!
Trista came to visit me this past weekend, to spend time away from home during the holidays. It was a surprising visit, one that really made me grateful that she was here and at the same time taught me some important lessons.
I hadn’t met Trista before I picked her up. She was very cute – bright, light brown eyes, looking around anxiously at everything going on. Her infectiously happy demeanor had everyone smiling and laughing as she tried to hug and kiss everyone in the room. I was immediately hooked.
We had a great time while she was visiting. We took long walks several times both days she was here, some in the rain; she didn’t mind though – she was just happy to be in the woods or in the field behind my apartment complex. She especially loved walking through the parking lot of a big box store close to me because the smell of the pine needles was overwhelming. I didn’t notice them until she did but once I did, it was amazing how fragrant pine trees can be, even when they’re not there any more. When we got back from our walks, we would sit on the couch, talk, munch on some snacks and watch movies. When I had to work, she camped out on the couch, keeping track of the time and reminding me when it was time to take a break. It was wonderful.
The weekend passed too quickly but, by the same token, I was ready for it to end. You know how it is when you are excited to have company but they do change your everyday routines and when they leave, there is some relief. Well, I did have some relief when I took her home but was very sad at the same time. She definitely didn’t want to go back and tried everything she could to stay with me, but she couldn’t stay.
In case you hadn’t guessed, Trista was a dog, a 1-1/2 year-old catahoula/pointer mix I fostered for the weekend from Austin Pets Alive, our no-kill animal shelter. They asked volunteers to foster pets for the holiday weekend so there wouldn’t be so many in the shelter to take care of.
It was such a joy to have Trista here; I’ve been thinking about getting a dog for a while, especially as it’s been six years since my family banned me from having a dog. Pets add so much to your life and while I do have cats, Trista reminded me what’s special about having a dog – the unconditional love, the big eyes ready to do whatever you want to do, go wherever you want to go.
By the same token, I was reminded of the need to walk her, whether it was sunny or rainy (and it was rainy all weekend). Catahoulas and pointers are both working dogs, very smart with lots of energy, so Trista needed some work time as well as time to run out the energy she had built up. She learned very quickly to sit before the door could be opened and when the pavement texture changed. She learned what “easy” means in terms of running up or down the stairs before me. She learned to walk nicely on the leash. But get that nose engaged and she was off to the races; there wasn’t anything I could do to dissuade her from following whatever scent wafted across her nose. She would make a great police or tracking dog. And she was too big for me to have all the time in this small apartment, especially with the cats; she and the cats definitely didn’t get along.
It was very sad when I took her back to Austin Pets Alive. She SO wanted to stay with me and tried everything she could not to be led back to the kennel. I have to admit that sight made me cry and still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.
Shelter dogs may not be thoroughbreds, but given love and time, they are some of the sweetest, smartest dogs out there and can only add to your life. If you’re thinking about getting a pet, definitely consider a shelter dog or cat, especially if they’re older … you’ll never regret it and you’ll find more love in a short period of time than any other experience in life.
This year, the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance teamed with a similar organization in Boston to do a “foodie” exchange – we get teamed with a food blogger from Boston and then we swap things that make living where we are such a foodie heaven. And even though I don’t celebrate holidays, I was immediately IN! After all, what’s better than sharing the Austin love with someone from back East?
So began my search for all things that epitomize Austin. My buddy, Renee, doesn’t celebrate Christmas either, so it was a perfect match! Mind you, the search was a bit limited, as I just had surgery and wasn’t able to drive until last week, so I had to get creative. What’s Austin known for?
Well, I can’t send my Boston buddy Leslie, the transvestite that adorns the random street corner in his pink tutu and sells his Christmas refrigerator magnets at Book People, although the magnets might not be a bad idea; strike one – neither of us celebrate Christmas.
Ok – so what’s next? Chili! There’s nothing like Texas chili, so that automatically goes into the box – a complete kit for making authentic Texas chili; not just what others think chili includes, but what is normal Texas chili, i.e., no beans.
Now, Renee said she loves hot stuff, so of course, some Hill Country peach salsa is a must, as is some nice spicy queso … into the box!
Ok – what else is Austin known for? Being weird! Leslie isn’t the only weird thing about Austin and we’re VERY proud of it. We even celebrate that we’ve been named the worst dressed city in America, mostly for the skater dudes in their stoner ski caps and frayed shorts. I couldn’t pack up one of those guys, so the next thing into the box was a “Keep Austin Weird” bumper sticker because, after all, we want to make sure EVERYONE knows it.
Of course, we need to make sure we tell everyone we’re also a clean place to visit, so a “Don’t Mess With Texas” patch went into the mix. It doesn’t hurt that there is a bit of rivalry between all the different sports franchises that inhabit both Texas and Boston (because apparently they don’t allow sports franchises anywhere else in New England), so not messing with Texas is always a good thing. Mostly because we rock … and we’re bigger than all New England anyway.
Ok, so: Chili kit – check. Salsa – check. Queso – check. Keeping Austin weird and clean – check. T-shirt – oops. Apparently, the beautiful orange UT T-shirt didn’t make it into the box, so that’s going to have to go in a separate package.
All in all, I had a great time putting this together and I hope Renee enjoys a little taste of Austin. Hopefully, it’s enough to encourage her to come and visit, especially during SXSW, when the whole city is insane. It’s the best time!
Renee’s package arrived yesterday and I can’t wait to dig into food from my old stomping grounds, Boston; my daughter was born in Massachusetts and we lived there for many years, so I’m thrilled to have been matched so I can get some of my favs!
Yesterday was a not-so-hot day – it had been raining for several days in Central Texas (which we desperately needed) and the skies were still grey. The temperature had taken a bit of a dip as well, down from what has been one of the hottest summers on record, with over 75 days over 100 degrees F, to right around 45; when you consider it was in the 80s last week, that’s a big dip. So I was in a rather dark mood most of the day.
I texted a good friend, just saying I was feeling a bit down, and she helped me figure out why (other than the weather). At the end of the text conversation, she asked: “When was the last time you were in the kitchen?” Hmmm – good question. It had been a while, several weeks in fact, because I’m recovering from surgery. Wow – why hadn’t I thought of that? My friend hit the nail on the head; baking and cooking for oneself is as therapeutic as it is tasty, even if your masterpiece falls flat.
With that in mind, I opened the pantry and found a box mix for brownies. I haven’t made brownies in several years and haven’t made them from scratch in even longer, so I figured I’d take a stab at the box mix. I had just gotten a new stand mixer about a month ago and hadn’t really broken it in well, so it was time to put it through its paces with a brownie mix.
One of the best parts of making brownies or cookies is licking the batter off the spatula. Mind you – raw eggs aren’t necessarily a good thing, especially in light of all the bacteria they’ve found on them lately. I figured, since I was using free-range, cage-free eggs, I was ok, so … yummmm … I licked the spatula and some of the bowl drippings after filling my glass pan with brownie mix.
I did do a few things differently from the directions – I used olive oil cooking spray on the pan instead of greasing it with butter, and I used olive oil in the mix instead of vegetable oil. I have a feeling those two things are what made the final results less than acceptable in most kitchens; I took a picture, but it also was less than acceptable, so sorry – no picture.
The first thing I noticed on taking the brownies out of the oven was that the edges were really hard and crusty; ok – now I know I’m going to have a heck of a time getting them out of the pan. They were cooked all the way through, by the toothpick test, so I let them cool about 20 minutes before cutting them. Once I stuck my knife in to make the first cut, I realized I hadn’t let them cool long enough and the brownies were just globbing around my knife. I left them to stand a little while longer, another 40 minutes or so, and went back to the cut.
Taste: Yumm – a 10 in terms of box mixes. Looks: Uh oh. Even after cooling, the brownies continued to crumble.
After eating one with a tall glass of milk, I covered the pan and put it in the refrigerator overnight. When I got up this morning, the results were pretty dismal. The taste was still there, but they were stuck to the pan and the edges that were slightly hard last night were rock hard this morning. I cut the ones I could into as reasonable a form as possible and then did something I hadn’t thought of in the past – I made a garnish out of the rest of the brownies.
Garnish, you ask? Yes! Think of all the ways you can use crumbled brownies! Topping for oatmeal, topping for ice cream – both of those are obvious ideas. But what about including them in a cookie mix? How about soaking them overnight in some Kahlua, mixing with dried bread pieces and making a Kahlua and chocolate bread pudding? The ideas are endless!
So the bottom line? If you’re not feeling yourself, or your day is really going down the tubes fast, get thee to a kitchen! It doesn’t matter what the results look or taste like … the simple activity of making something with your hands, even if the beginnings are boxed, brings you out of your own head, gets you away from contemplating your navel, and, just through the effort, is great therapy to bring you out of the dumps.
This past weekend was, according to the media, one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year in the US, so much so that each day of the weekend has been given its own name and treated like a holiday in itself - Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday. Not sure why Sunday was left out, but perhaps folks need to give their wallets a day of rest. After the events of the past weekend, perhaps we should rename it “Black & Blue Weekend.”
Most of these monikers for the days of post-Thanksgiving weekend started when economists and other bean counters noticed sales increases on the days following Thanksgiving, not as “days” themselves. Black Friday got its name because that one day can make or break a retailer’s year. Cyber Monday was first coined in 2005, when those same bean counters noticed folks shopping online more than one day than any other day of the year. Or do they?
It’s true that the biggest selling season for most retailers in the “Western” cultures is between the end of November and the beginning of January; it’s the largest gift-giving season of the year. Retailers plan all year for sales during that time but remember – they’re in business to make money, not to help you save money; if they were in business to help you save money, they’d encourage you to stay home and make gifts by hand or celebrate your family/friends all year round.
And what about those who take matters into their own hands by bringing pepper spray and guns to stores to ensure a better spot in line or sleep at the stores front door for several nights before those shopping days? Seriously? First – remember that the one sale item you’re desperate to buy is priced to get you into the store, where everything else you buy is either regular price or higher, so you end up spending more than you would on any other day of the year to buy the same things.
As a consumer advocate for several decades and having worked for two major toy companies in my career, the things that happened Thanksgiving weekend 2011 are not new. I had a man call me when I worked at Coleco during the Cabbage Patch Kids craze, really upset that the paperwork was in Spanish, not English. He actually told me that he would never be able to look his grandchild in the face again unless I gave into his request for English paperwork. Seriously? IT’S A DOLL! Get a grip, guy!
What are we teaching our children? Let’s take the woman who set off pepper spray so she could get a better place in line. Is being first in line to buy somethihildren don’t need teaching her children restraint, self-control, moderation, humility, lawfulness, fiscal responsibility manners, common courtesy? No – obviously, she’s teaching her children that other people don’t matter; the only thing that matters is getting what you want when you want it, regardless of others. That’s a nice lesson, isn’t it? We wonder why our children are rude, mean bullies who push their way in line and eventually cut people off in traffic because their restaurant reservation is more important than the life of the person in the car next to them.
And that’s really the bottom line – things should never come before people, whether you know them or not, regardless of the time of year. But at this time of year, billed as the “season of giving,” it’s ironic that most are unwilling to give common courtesy and fellow feeling. What about the people who inhaled the pepper spray and ended up in the hospital? Think about the impact to those people and their families – I’m sure they wouldn’t agree it was worth it so that woman could get into the store faster.
Seriously – let’s stop turning days into “holidays,” which is what that weekend has turned into, bigger than the original holiday and start cherishing those around us, whether we know them or not. Things come and go and can be replaced. People can’t.
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