Nooowwwww, how will you navigate through Thanksgiving?

The big day, Thanksgiving, is one week away and I think about it. I do. If I let my mind go in that direction, I think about how I'll miss German chocolate cake, macaroni and cheese and candied yams. I was recently asked the above question by someone I was having a e-mail conversation with and here's my response:


I really approach Thanksgiving the way I approach any other day. However, I do make an exception for sweet potato pie and, even with SP pie, I've found a lower calorie recipe for sweet potato puree. So, I'm even going to put the kibosh on sweet potato pie soon.

I'll eat the turkey and green beans but I'll pass on the dressing, mac and cheese etc.

There's a feature in Fitness magazine called You ate it, negate it. When I see how long it takes to burn off calories for, say, key lime pie, it makes me lose my desire for that item.

I did 65 minutes on the AMT yesterday and it wasn't all fun and games but I gutted it out.

In general, when I think about how much time I've spent in the gym and on my way to the gym, I don't take food lightly anymore. And every book that I read says the same thing: diet and exercise -- you won't be successful unless you pair the two.

And, now, I don't even feel like I'm sacrificing a lot in the taste department if I eat reduced Swiss cheese as opposed to the non-reduced Swiss version.

As early as this week, I decided to clamp down even harder on casual consumption of food. Even my family has gotten on board, to a certain extent, asking me if I'll eat a certain item. Sometimes the answer is no and it's okay for both parties. I used to feel a bit guilty and a bit like I was missing out on something -- especially when the cook made something that I used to fawn over but, in the end, it's quality time that you're spending with that person and not what dish they made.

Several of us are supposed to go out-of-town and I'm already thinking ahead regarding packing lunch and snacks. I fear, though, that there won't be enough room for my almond butter, hummus, Kashi bars and Lesser Evil veggie sticks.

The Good Times

I went to my fourth grocery store in three days.


Today I worked out on the EFX, my newest cardio friend. The gym is close to Big Lots where I went to see if they had any Wasa crackers and chocolate-covered peppermint sticks. I didn't find what I was looking for but I did score some Kashi ripe strawberry bars.

I couldn't very well bypass Sappington Farmers' Market which is in the vicinity. I had to, at least, get the part-skim cheese that I really like from there. I also picked up a few other goodies and I grabbed a Hanuta for, as Al Green would say, the good times.

Standbys

On Friday, I went to a work-related luncheon and I wondered what would be on the menu. As soon as I entered the dining room, I saw slabs of cheesecake on the table. Haha, my first temptation.

I ate my salad sans dressing and passed the bread basket without reaching in. Those little balls of butter were visually appealing though. Lunch consisted of tilapia, pasta and mixed vegetables. The tilapia had a very nice flavor but had a cream sauce on top. At first, I was trying to eat around the sauce and I just finally gave in and ate it but I left the pasta alone. I do eat pasta but I try to make it whole wheat these days.

I also noticed that my tablemate had a tiny shrimp (disguised by cream sauce) on top of her tilapia. I was really hoping that the tilapia and shrimp had not been cooked together because I knew that there would be a shrimp on my plate as well. If push came to shove, I could have gone to Walgreens for some Benadryl.

Fast food is so off my radar these days. I didn't even notice that the Pizza Hut by skanky Schnucks had closed.

I don't cook all the time but I do have some standby meals like Kashi entrees.


I've tried Kashi's Black Bean Mango frozen entree and the Pesto Pasta Primavera.
I prefer the Black Bean one since the sodium count is 430mg compared to 750mg on the Pesto Pasta. As Dr. Oz would say, don't go for the head fake. As vigilant as I am, I didn't even look at the nutrition facts, I just assumed that the Pesto Pasta would be comparable to the Black Bean as far as the sodium was concerned.

If you would like to try a Kashi frozen entree, now is the time since they are giving away coupons for a free entree and Kashi is pretty good about sending out the goods.

http://www.kashi.com/picturehunt

Throwing Away the Cookie

I have been trying to decide whether or not to indulge in this Kashi cookie. Kashi makes good products and this tasty little cookie has oatmeal, dark chocolate and 3g of fiber. Still, 130 calories seemed a lot for one cookie.

Well, my decision has been made for me. Yesterday, I received and e-mail from Kashi explaining that one of the facilities that baked their Oatmeal Dark Chocolate cookies shared a line with products involved with the recent peanut recall. Luckily, the cookie was a sample and Kashi was able to alert me:

...Therefore, we have voluntarily recalled all of our Kashi TLC cookies, including the cookie sent to you. If you still have the cookie, please throw it out just to be safe; we would never want to put our consumers’ health at risk.

I've also been holding on to this Hollyberry cookie that someone shared with me around the holidays. I finally wrote to Hollyberry to ask for nutritional information. I was given the following link:

http://www.hollyberrycatering.com/BoxLunchesAndBuffets.html

I clicked on the health holly choices and my cookie didn't make the cut. Hmmmm, maybe it will also be recalled. I'm going to hold on to my Hollyberry cookie for awhile. Maybe I'll conduct an experiment to see if it will be unchanging like a McDonald french fry or a Twinkie.