Monday 10.14.13

I'll make this one of those PostIt Note sized entries.  I didn't weigh myself today. I've been having some issues lately that are getting in my head and veering me off course.  I'm getting myself straightened out and I'll be back on track sooner, rather than later.  I intimated last night that I might discuss it today, but I need to make the words right.  They aren't coming to me just yet.  Keep coming back and watch me overcome my food demons.  I'm still with this.  It's just a little more difficult these days.

I'll see y'all tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal and coffee
Lunch ~ A big bowl of homemade chicken soup
Dinner ~ I revised my turkey meatball recipe and I very much liked the results.  The added moisture which was formerly used to compensate for the 99% lean turkey was replaced with roasted eggplant.  It not only kept them more moist, but they were delicious.  Thanks for the idea, Rocco DiSpirito!  I had them with my own marinara sauce and some whole grain pasta.
Exercise ~ None. I hope to hit the gym tomorrow.  This was the first day I have had without and back/shoulder pain.

Sunday Perspective

Okay.  I've been AWOL for two days. There is a lot going on in my life and tonight is not the time to spill it all.  I need to gather my thoughts and I will speak about it, perhaps tomorrow.  I just wanted to check in and let everyone know I am still here and I am okay.  In the mean time, here is a picture of my pups to look at. Ain't they cute?

I'll definitely be back tomorrow.

M

Thursday Recap: 10.10.13

Greetings!  Thanks for swinging by.  I wish I had exciting stuff to tell you today, but it was fairly uneventful.  My eating was on point and I actually got in some unplanned exercise in the last two days. Last night I walked from Penn Station in NYC to Radio City Music Hall and back. That's 2.6 miles, round trip.  Today, I walked the mall after my haircut.  I look fabu, by the way.  That was 1.5 miles worth of walking.  The back is still troubling me, but I didn't let it get in my way.  I ordered an inversion table to hang from today.  Once I receive it, I will write a review.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal and coffee
Lunch ~ Leftover whole wheat couscous jambalaya
Dinner ~ Grilled calamari w/a ginger sauce and a salmon mango roll
Exercise ~ 1.5 miles walked

What I ate yesterday and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Lunch ~ A big bowl of chicken soup
Dinner ~ Grilled tuna and cabbage slaw
Exercise ~ 2.6 miles walked

Souper Food: Kabocha Soup Recipe

Last winter I went on and on about how much I was digging a newfound favorite, kabocha squash.  Some call it a "super food", as it is rich in beta carotene and other essential nutrients.  I just like it because it tastes good.  I'm pretty basic when it comes to things like this. Nutritious, yet unflavorful?  No thanks. Healthy AND tasty, to boot?  Get me a spoon.

Kabocha, also called Japanese pumpkin or buttercup squash in the market, to me is like a fruitier version of a butternut squash.  I get hints of cantaloupe both in the nose and on the palate, but I am a wine guy who overthinks these things.

The goal was to recreate a butternut squash soup served at Panera, but I had this kabocha staring at me on the counter.  They are interchangeable in this scenario, so kabocha it was.  I'd require a liquid, so vegetable broth was a good choice.  I would need richness. Now, most recipes would call for heavy cream, yet I opted for a mix of coconut milk and my old standby, fat free half and half.  The rest was easy.  I hope you will open your mind and try something new.  It will be fairly simple and well worth the effort.  Topping yours with either toasted pecans, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds will add another layer of texture and flavor to the party.

HELPFUL TIP: Kabocha can be a chore to dismantle.  I found that if I pierced it with a knife and microwaved the whole squash for 4 minutes, it came apart MUCH easier.  A grapefruit spoon was used to scoop out the seeds and the flesh was easy to separate from the skin with a knife.

Enjoy!
M

Creamy Kabocha Soup
serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs Earth Balance Spread or butter, if you prefer
• 1 small sweet onion, such as a Vidalia, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp fresh
• 8 cups or 2 small diced kabocha squashes
• 6 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock
• 6 oz. coconut milk
• 6 oz. fat free half and half
• 1 tsp of your favorite hot sauce.  I like Frank's Red Hot.
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Method

1. Using a large enough pot for about 1 gallon of liquid, melt the butter spread and add in the rosemary and onions, cooking the onions until tender.  About 5 minutes.
2. Add in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.  It may appear the there is curdling on top.  Don't worry.  It's fine.  
3. You may need to do this in batches.  Blend the ingredients until smooth.  ONLY FILL YOUR BLENDER 2/3 AT A TIME, BE SURE TO REMOVE THE CENTER CAP FROM YOUR BLENDER LID AND COVER WITH A TOWEL.  HOT LIQUIDS EXPAND AND CAN EXPLODE WHEN BLENDED.  SEE THIS VIDEO ~ Blender Blunder
4. You can reduce this more if you would like the soup thicker. Adjust seasoning and serve by topping with your choice of toasted nuts or pumpkins seeds.

Tuesday Recap: 10.08.13

Not much to tell today, other than there is one muscle in my upper back still giving me issues. I am going to have to work around it and exercise nonetheless.  I was feeling a bit stressed Tuesday and as a result, had myself a cocktail. SoCo rocks with a lime wedge.  This has been your full disclosure moment of the day, brought to you by emptycalories.com


Soup recipe for Wednesday, coming up next.  Someone please try it and let me know what you think.
M

Here is what I ate Tuesday and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, coffee
Lunch ~ Chicken Caesar salad
Snack ~ Fiber One Lemon Bar
Dinner ~ Leftover whole wheat couscous jambalaya
Exercise ~ none

Weigh-in: Week 89

It's been six days since the last trip to the scale and while it hasn't gone optimally, I am happy with my progress.  I say it hasn't gone optimally due to my back issues and lack of exercise.  I ate VERY well, but I actually miss going to the gym.  Makes me wonder who I am and what happened to the guy who hated exercise.  Then I remember my total distaste for The Dreadmill and I am immediately grounded back into my proper identity.

In the last six days I have managed to lose 2 lbs. even and 0.3% of my body fat.  Not too bad for a short and sedentary week.  I am not only including the picture of this week's scale, but last week's, which I forgot to post as promised.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, coffee
Lunch ~ An Amy's Vegetable Pizza.  Not bad, but not all that satisfying and there won't likely make a repeat purchase.
Dinner ~ A twist on my homemade jambalaya, I made it with whole wheat couscous.  An experiment that wasn't entirely successful.  It happens.  It's how we innovate and make progress.
Exercise ~ I had hoped to walk today and I wound up using heat and ice on it again today.

Sunday Recap: 10.06.13

It was a decent day on many fronts.  I woke early for a Sunday and made a good breakfast to start the day.  If you know me well, you know I love to play poker, so I trekked out to The Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA to play in a poker tournament.  Long story short on that is I made money.  That's always a good thing, making money doing what you love to do.

My back is feeling much better today.  Not 100%, but getting there.  I should be able to do some walking tomorrow.  Speaking of tomorrow, it's a weigh-in day.  I do believe I will see some progress.  How much? We'll see.

Cya then,
Mike

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal is a healthy, hot and hearty breakfast.  Coffee
Lunch ~ A salad at the casino with a smattering of a light dressing, some chicken, corn, edamame, peppers and spring mix.
Dinner ~ A repeat of last night's dinner.  Roasted Turkey and Wheat Berry salad, with kabocha soup
Exercise ~ None

Saturday Salad

This fine looking setting was my dinner this evening.  I wrote in a blog earlier this week that I really enjoyed Panera's Wheat Berry and Roasted Turkey Salad and, as it turns out, so did The Wife. She paired hers with their Butternut Squash Soup. Tonight I did my best to recreate that salad and do a riff on the soup.

The soup recipe will be published sometime soon, but for tonight, I'll throw a very easy oil-free dressing your way that really wowed my taste buds.  It was my way of recreating what Panera Bread had on their salad, a maple balsamic vinaigrette.  I am sure theirs was in no way similar in terms of ingredients, but the results of mine were delicious right out the gate.  I hope you try it and enjoy.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs REAL maple syrup
• 2 Tbs tahini
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

Method

Either blend all ingredients until smooth or whisk until homogeneous.  I use my Magic Bullet.

Cya Sunday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk and coffee
Lunch ~ I ate off of the buffet at Wegman's Supermarket.  I enjoyed some eggplant, tilapia and roasted chicken
Dinner ~ The above salad contained spring mix, aforementioned dressing, pistachios, wheat berries, a wee bit of Gorgonzola and roasted turkey breast.
Exercise ~ No formal exercise today, but I did discover I felt much better moving around than resting my back.  I was on my feet a great deal today.  I may walk tomorrow.  We will see how I feel.

Soapbox Alert! Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The wife showed me an article from a doctor's newsletter that she subscribes to about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  In the article it raises some some very good points that I feel compelled to parrot here. Since most of my readership is women, this is a health issue that not only should concern each of us, but has, indeed, touched everyone at some point in our lives.  As a health topic, I think it has its place among these pages.

What does wearing pink or buying pink products do to further finding a cure for breast cancer?  Seeing NFL teams wearing pink or 5 Hour Energy selling its raspberry elixir in pink canisters is nothing more than big business capitalizing on our good intentions.  Okay, so a portion of sales may go to research, but if sales didn't increase to cover that percentage, these companies wouldn't get involved.  It's nothing more than a marketing campaign, not the corporate altruism it's couched as. The Susan G. Komen Foundation lists the likes of Tyson Foods as one of its corporate partners.  Avoiding factory-mass raised meats is one of the best things we can do to lower our risks of cancers.  KFC partnered with SGK to sell pink buckets of chicken.  REALLY?  Does anyone else see some incongruence here?  What's next?  Pink Marlboro Lights?

Shouldn't this be Breast Cancer PREVENTION Month?  Education about lifestyle changes should be the main focus.  Instead of spending your money on pink products you likely don't need, buy more veggies. Exercise more.  Swear off fast food, especially if it is wrapped in a pretty pink package that sports the iconic bow.  QUIT SMOKING! These are the things that should be highlighted in the month of October, not picking up chocolate-strawberry Kit Kats to save the boobies.

Rant over.  Thanks for listening.

Cya Staurday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Potato, egg and lean chicken sausage. Decaf coffee
Lunch ~ Homemade chicken soup
Mid-afternoon ~ Apple with a smattering of bleu cheese (not a great choice considering I was going out to dinner tonight)
Dinner ~ Today is our 5th anniversary and The Wife and I went out to dinner.  I did enjoy one cocktail (Hey! It's National Vodka Day!), grilled shrimp and cantaloupe salad, and sesame crusted tuna with a side of broccoli rabe and roasted peppers.  Oh yeah.  I ate a roll too.  Bad Mike!
Exercise ~ My lower back is better, but between my shoulder blades has been on fire today.  I hope I can get back to the gym on Monday.

Now Screening...

I awoke this morning to get myself ready to take some tests.  The Wife had signed me up to have some screenings done to test for plaque buildup, carotid artery blockages and abdominal aneurysms.  What a fun way to start the day!  I rushed out, so as not to be late, and got myself poked, squoze like a Tropicana orange and sonogramized.  I'll know in three weeks whether my fate is to stroke out or have my heart explode.  Not that it is either/or.  I am betting my life will be fairly boring in the medical trauma department, but it will be nice to have someone else offer their professional opinion as to such.

Tomorrow I think I will pontificate a bit about Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I seldom if ever stand on a soapbox here, but tomorrow I will. So if flying in the face of everyone wearing pink offends you, you may want to skip the Friday offering.

Cya then
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Fasting for my tests
Brunch as it were ~ A western omelet with whole grain toast, roasted veg and coffee.  They offered the roasted veg as an alternative to potatoes.  When the veggies came they seemed to be drenched in butter or oil.  What was the point?
Dinner ~ Homemade chicken soup from my left over rotisserie chicken. It was chock full of veggies like carrots, parsnips, bok choy, celery and kale.
Exercise ~ My lower back and also between my shoulder blades is a mess.  There won't be any exercise until at least Monday, I think.

Wednesday 10.2.13

I am racing a dead battery and an appointment, so I will be brief. Ate well.  Back in agony.  Had a good cigar with a friend and drank a beer.  Not much else to say.

More Thursday.

Cya then,
M






What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk
Lunch ~ Leftover Brussels sprouts salad
Dinner ~ Veggie burger w/cheese and ketchup.  Yes cheese. I indulged a little
After Dinner cigar w/beer
Exercise ~ None

Weigh-in: Week 88

Brief recap for those of you who didn't jump on board four weeks ago.  This morning, I weighed myself for the first time since May.  After May, I was a bit careless in following my own advice and reverted back to some old habits.  I guess in the simplest of terms, I relapsed. Knowing that I likely put on way more weight then I wanted to confront myself with, I opted to give it a full four weeks to undo as much of the damage as possible, trying not to throw myself into a "depressive-foregone-conclusion frame of mind."  I need to avoid at all costs, telling myself, "Fuck it.  I failed.  Give up."

Normally you would see a picture of the scale from this morning.  That picture does exist on my phone and will be posted later this week.  I am choosing not to post it today because I would like my readers to listen to my words and understand where my head is.  Pictures tend to draw the eye and the typical reader (myself included) would feel they heard the story's ending, why bother hearing the whole tale.

I mentioned in Sunday's post a rule of thumb that I thought might apply today.  Bonus points for those of you who read it and saw foreshadowing.  That rule of thumb is, "Weight goes on MUCH faster than it comes off."  Given that truism, I know that one month of VERY hard work and diligence might not right the wrongs which I inflicted upon myself all summer long.  Just know this, dear reader: I am totally determined to hit my goal weight, totally proud of what I have achieved to date, and totally in the right frame of mind to finish this sucker in grand style.  True success is measured by how you meet what lies ahead of you, not by letting the past cripple you.  I can't change the last three months.  I can change the rest of my life.

So where does that lead us?  To the scale, of course.  This morning after my trip to the bowl, a shave, some Q-Tipping, blowing my nose, clipping my nails. a hair cut, and a chemical peel (Okay, I am exaggerating.), I stepped atop the scale and saw that I am, indeed, heavier than I was back on May 7th.  To be exact, I am 4.8 lbs. heavier, torturing the scale at 266.4 lbs.  I think I heard a sigh of relief when I stepped off.  Body fat percentage was 39.9% and water 43.2%.  I did work my ass off in September, so much so that I do notice significant changes in my body.  It is very motivating.  I am okay with all of this.  I will build upon September and keep moving in the right direction from here forward.

Thanks for listening, not judging, and supporting me always.  It means the world to me.
Mike

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ 2 eggs, one slice of whole grain toast and some pesto, jumbled up in a bowl.
Lunch ~ An Amy's Light and Lean Bowl.  Some sort of frozen tortilla fiesta thing.  Tasty and reasonably satisfying.
Dinner ~ See this?  I saw it pop across my screen this morning and realized I had the makings of it right here in the house.  "That's Dinner!" I said.  Roasted Brussels sprouts and apple salad.  This is a platter of four servings, enjoyed thoroughly for about 390 calories.
Exercise ~ None.  Still nursing a bad back.

Bad Day

It was just one of those days.  I've had a lot on my mind lately and I am just easily distracted.  Getting work done efficiently is a chore, so the day just dragged on, making me tired.  Food-wise I did just fine, but due to my returning back pain, there was no exercise.  The pain isn't nagging, it is sharp when I move a certain way.  I will be taking it easy for a few days.  I am afraid I didn't listen to my own advice last week and do just that: take it easy.

Tonight, for the first time since I was perhaps seventeen, I ran out of gas.  Fortunately, I was following a friend somewhere and had a helping hand to easily fix the result of stupidity.  Tuesday morning I step on the scale for the first time in months.  Will tomorrow be any better?

Cya then,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Egg White Delight McMuffin and coffee on the road.

Lunch ~ Protein Bistro Box and coffee

Dinner ~ Left over chili and minestrone

Exercise ~ none

2 Days Until Weigh-in

In case you didn't read the reboot post from about four weeks ago, I held off weighing myself until October 1st.  I know full well that I put on weight this summer. Probably a significant amount. Unfortunately, my personality is such that I can get easily discouraged and might pack it all in if faced with a setback. Knowing the score could trigger such event.  So I waited.

There are no, or shall I say few, rules with regard to this self-made program.  But one sure rule of thumb is this: Weight goes on far faster than it comes off.  I can only hope that this month of very hard work which I put into myself will undo whatever damage was done since June.  Either way, I can only move forward with positive action.  I cannot undo the past.

Today was a good day of hard work.  Two exercise sessions and healthy eating.  And so it will go, one day at a time, until I reach my goal. If that is by the previously ascribed deadline, great.  If not, the end goal is the same.  Health, happiness and educating others on well-being based on my experiences.  Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Cya Monday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ One egg, one slice of toast and a dollop of pesto all mixed up in a bowl.  Yum.
Lunch ~ One bowl of chili and a bowl of minestrone
Snack ~ One banana
Dinner ~ Some rotisserrie chicken and more minestrone
Exercise ~ Three miles of walking in the morning and a half hour workout late in the day.

Saturday 09.28.13

Decent day today.  I got most of what I wanted to accomplish done, including cooking a big batch of my minestrone soup and some grocery shopping.  My exercise was fit in and it was a fairly uneventful Saturday.  My only regret was that lunch, while not calorically reprehensible, was basically crap.

I felt like my blood sugar was crashing while at the grocery store and opted to have my lunch right then and there, in the form of popcorn chicken.  A bad choice I know, but for 340 calories on the run, I righted my blood sugar.  It was just devoid of any nutritional value.  At least I made up for it with a gagillion servings of veg at dinner with a bowl and a half of minestrone.

Cya Sunday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/banana and almond milk
Lunch ~ Popcorn chicken
Dinner ~ Minestrone Soup ala TDT195
Exercise ~ Power walk around the lake: 2.5 miles

Soup's On!

I'm not shy about my love for soup.  The Wife loves a good bowl as well.  The other day she said she had a desire for some broccoli soup. Always happy to oblige a request to feed someone, I happily volunteered.  I recall a while back seeing a Gordon Ramsay show where he made the simplest of broccoli soups and won a heads-up competition with it.  While this one is extremely similar, it has a couple little additions to suit our tastes.

This couldn't be easier.  It helps, however, to have a good size steamer and decent blender.  And, of course, the fresher the broccoli, the tastier the end product will be.  If you don't have a steamer, boiling the broccoli works as well.

Broccoli Soup

Ingredients
8 cups ~  broccoli florets and stems, cut to equal size, stems trimmed of tough exterior
6 cups ~ water
3 tsp ~ salt
1 tsp ~ fresh ground pepper
1.5 Tbsp ~ Olive Oil
2 Tbs ~ Dijon mustard
3 ~ roasted garlic cloves

Optional garnish ~ toasted pumpkin seeds, toasted pignoli, toasted walnuts or feta crumbles

Method

1. Steam the broccoli until tender.  Extract individual pieces once they easily pierce with a knife.  USE TONGS!  Steam is hot. Offload to your blender.  DO NOT DISCARD THE WATER!
2. Cover your broccoli filled blender half way with the steamer water.
3. Add the rest of ingredients and blend until smooth.  Add more water if necessary.  You may not require all of the water and you may need to blend in batches.  TIP: Remove the center cap of your blender lid and cover with a towel. Hot liquids expand in a blender and it can explode if you do not do this!
4. It's ready to serve! Garnish with your choice of accoutrements.

Cya tomorrow,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Egg White Delight McMuffin and coffee.  I bought bagels for a customer and it took incredible control not to eat one slathered with cream cheese.

Lunch ~ A Protein Bistro Box and Decaf Skinny Caramel Macchiato

Dinner ~ Rotisserie chicken, brown rice and seaweed salad.

Exercise ~ My back felt much better, so I tempted fate and did a 30-minute workout at the gym.  I feel good! da da da da da da da... I knew that I would. da da da da da da da.

Back Again

I used to have a co-worker who'd joke "I had a weak back about a week back." Well ask me in about a week and I will tell you the same.  I felt a twinge yesterday morning when I awoke and thought it would iron itself out as I moved around throughout the day.  It gave me no trouble during my workout last night, yet this morning, it was more prominent.  

So today I went without exercise.  I will need to double up in the next few days, but I won't risk doing damage that will take me out even longer.  I've had spells in the past that laid me up for weeks.  Stay tuned...

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk
Lunch ~ A seafood soup and 2 maki sushi rolls
Dinner ~ A salmon burger and roasted cauliflower
Exercise ~ none

Salad Days

salad days

pl.n.

A time of youth, innocence, and inexperience:

Ah, yes.  Those days when we were young and happily ignorant.  Was it just then or are most of us blissfully ignorant today?  Probably a little of both when it comes to the things we eat.  I am a firm believer that we ignore our gut instincts and throw things down our pie hole that we inherently know aren't good for us.  Enter Mr. Salad.

One of the things I like about Panera Bread is that they list the caloric content of each and every menu item right up on the menu board.  I spend less time there these days due to the overwhelming desire to eat everything in their bakery, but for lunch and some mobile office time, it's a good choice.  Today's choice for me was "You PICK 2" option, which included their low-fat chicken noodle soup and the new Roasted Turkey Wheatberry Salad (Wheatberries are delish!  Who knew?)  The YP2 offerings are roughly a 2/3 sized soup and a 1/2 sized salad or sandwich.  My salad, as listed on the board, was 230 calories. The soup only 80.  Add in an apple as a side and I'd be getting a very tasty and fairly nutritious lunch for around 390 calories and 16g of fat.

Now, my wife, being the nutritionally savvy person that she is, has always said that salads are traps.  What she is usually referring to are the calories and fat in salad dressing.  People think they are eating responsibly and all they are doing is making the healthy bits a delivery system for a ride to Cholesterolville.  This wasn't necessarily the case today, but the theory is the same.  I spotted the trap and defused it.

I received my lunch tray and what I saw was a gorgeous salad with copious amounts of bleu cheese covering the top.  The "Salad Artist" of the day painted my creation with a little too much bleu.  When I extracted the offending cheese-bombs, they amounted to about an extra two tablespoons of crumbles, which equals an additional 110 calories and 9g of fat.  That's a far cry from the posted menu board promise.

The lesson here is that you need to be your own defender of dietary intake.  It's great that mindful restaurants such as Panera are listing the caloric content of their menu items freely (except in NYC where it is law), but the $8.00 an hour food prep kid, isn't as concerned with staying within those guidelines.  Don't lie to yourself when you see the mountain of bleu cheesy goodness or a salad drenched in dressing and think, "Cool!  Who'd have known you can get all this for only 210 calories?!"  You can't and your bathroom scale will know, that's who.  110 extra calories is no big deal, but the habit it stems from means that 110 is multiplied many times over the course of a month, or even a week.

Cya tomorrow,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk

Lunch ~ My very tasty, yet dissected salad, soup and coffee

Dinner ~ Homemade broccoli soup and a grilled chicken breast

Exercise ~ A 30-minute PF Express workout 

Tuesday Recap: 09.24.13

Not much to report today.  It was a busy day at work and I came home to help a friend with some car issues.  The old me would have used this as an excuse to blow off exercise.  The new me drove to Modell's afterward and bought himself a headband to keep the sweat out of his headphones, so he could listen to his audio books and pod-casts as he exercises.  After my Modell's excursion to buy a snappy black Air Jordan terry headband, I walked the lake at a modest rate, ear sweat free.  It's the little things...

Cya Tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ An egg, ham and pesto sandwich.
Lunch ~ A bowl of New England clam chowder and a chicken Caesar salad
Mid-afternoon ~ Starbucks Skinny Iced Decaf Caramel Macchiato
Dinner ~ Pressed for time, since I put exercise above cooking, I grabbed a Quick Chek Protein Pack, consisting of a hard boiled egg, some apple slices and an almond concoction that I think had carob chips mixed in.  That part wasn't best bites of the week.
Exercise ~ 2.5-mile, 45 minute lake walk

Hard, Indeed

Get your mind out of the gutter.  In yesterday's link on Facebook I mentioned that my first weigh-in since the reboot is eight days out and I need to hit it hard. Today, my friends, I did, indeed.  Since yesterday was an exercise bust due to a misconception about the gym hours, I wanted to double up and get in both walking and a workout.

Two years ago this following statement would have been inconceivable. Today I got in not one, not two, but THREE exercise sessions.  I got up this morning and logged 30 minutes on the dreadmill.  The next part of the plan was to hit the gym after work and do the 30 minute circuit, which is a mix of Cybex machines and stepping.  That was until my friend Alex asked if we would be walking tonight.  Not wanting to look a gift friend in the mouth, we walked the lake.  Then, after dinner, I got in my PF Express workout at the gym.  Upshot to the whole day, I feel great!  

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/half a banana and almond milk
Lunch ~ A Caesar side salad (no croutons) and calamari (not fried) served in a spicy fra diavolo marinara.  No pasta.  No bread.
Snack ~ The other half of the banana
Dinner ~ A frozen Amy's Bowl, which turned out to be much better than I anticipated
Exercise ~ I am a beast!  LOL

Sunday Night Quickie

I almost forgot to do this today.  It's been just a lazy Sunday.  I vegged most of the day with the intent of cooking dinner, then, after eating, going to the gym. When I got to the gym I realized, much to my chagrin, that it closed at 7PM and not at 9PM as I assumed.  I'll be up early to walk or go to the gym with the opposite occurring after work tomorrow evening.

The dinner that you see here was Turkey Piccatta and oddly enough, after I shopped and prepared for it days ago, it popped up on my screen today as a suggestion from Cooking Light.  I'm intuitive, I guess.  I went my own way with the recipe and it was quite enjoyable.  I served it with roasted Brussels sprouts, glazed with Dijon, maple syrup and cayenne, plus some brown rice.  I am guessing the whole meal came in around 550 calories.

Cya Monday,
Mike

What I ate and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal and a banana w/almond milk.  Coffee.
Lunch ~ Ham and egg sandwich with homemade pesto
Dinner ~ See above
Exercise ~ None today

The World's Most Expensive Tomato

Back in the spring I wrote about how I had bought a Veg Trug.  This is basically a bathtub-like trough that has legs and is suitable for growing a reasonably sized elevated garden.  The whole setup including the dirt to fill it cost me about $425.  Add another $50 for the tomato plants, various seeds and food, and we're in about $475.  

Above is a representation of what I "attempted" to grow.  Granted, the season isn't over yet, but I'm unsure as to how the rest will play out with the colder weather we've been getting.  What is out there still may, or may not, make it.  Here is a rundown of how this gardening season went.

• Planted everything some time in May so we could start harvesting tomatoes in July.
• Lemon Basil grew quite well and, although interesting, I am not particularly fond of it.  It reminds me of soap.
• The regular basil (one of my favorite things ever) didn't sprout and was replaced with a grocery store plant in August.
• Cherry tomatoes started to pop up VERY small and sparse in August.  I occasionally plucked one and ate it out of hand.
• I finally started to see regular tomato blossoms in August.
• Carrots, although quite small, started breaking the surface in late July.
• Now in mid-September, I have one billiard ball sized tomato ripening in a paper bag and about 4 others of various sizes on the vine.  To date I haven't eaten a single one.
• I harvested about 10 oz. of carrots for dinner the other night and about the same of cherry tomatoes two weeks ago for a very nice roasted veg salad.
• I have about the same amount parsley from both plants than what someone would notice when they point to you and say, "You have something stuck in your teeth."

If I added up the weight of everything I have grown, it will probably yield about 3 pounds of product. That is assuming I can get the tomatoes on the vine to ripen and enjoy them.  That amounts to about $158 per pound.  In other words, FUCKING EXPENSIVE.  

I do think I have figured out the problem and it was all in the soil I bought.  Despite the crack advice from the wiz at Home Depot, the composted organic soil I bought wasn't right.  It needs to be cut with regular soil.  Also, the carrots by the tomatoes are woefully lagging behind those on the opposite end of the trough by the cherry tomatoes and basil.  I will keep them more separated next year.

I know that next year I will get more yield and the bulk of the cost was this season was from the Veg Trug, which I will have for years to come. I can tell you one thing, though.  Ripe or not, I will eat everything that comes out of that damn dirt tub.  Like it...or not.

Cya Sunday,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Exercise ~ Listed first because I got up bright and early and walked the lake with my friend Alex
Breakfast ~ Again, green eggs and ham w/coffee
Lunch ~ Chili
Snack ~ A banana and a Fiber One Bar 
Dinner ~ Rotisserie chicken and sauteed spinach

Tender is the Loin

Here is tonight's dinner.  It was a recipe I found online for Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Baby Carrots.  I was thrilled to have an excuse to finally dig up some carrots from my Veg-Trug garden.  I filled out the lack of quantity with some parsnips, which hands down are my favorite.  The meal was simply divine.  

After we ate I went for a record setting lap around the lake.  Crushed my old best time of 44 minutes, turning in a time of 42:08.  That's an average speed of around 3.5 MPH.  I'm thrilled with that!  One thing I found interesting was that although I had expected my arms to be sore this morning after yesterday's workout, it wasn't until I finished my walk today (there was a tad of running too) that my arms really started to ache. Go figure.

Tomorrow I will talk about my gardening efforts this summer.  It didn't exactly go as I expected

Cya then,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised.
Breakfast ~ Seen here is green egg and ham.  Toast with homemade pesto, a poached egg and a slice of ham. Soooooo good.  The coffee rocked too. 
Lunch ~ Spinach salad w/rotisserie chicken and a homemade vinaigrette
Snacks ~ A banana and a Fiber One bar scattered throughout the afternoon.
Dinner ~ Above
Exercise ~ 2.5 miles in 42 mins.

I've Got No Strings

I joined a gym and went for the first time last Sunday.  The plan is to go three days per week and walk the rest.  So Sunday I figured I would try the elliptical.  As much as I hate the dreadmill, the elliptical seemed like a great alternative.  I would see people gliding like gazelles, effortlessly melting away the pounds.  What I found is that it is far from effortless and I am thinking that Torquemada would've had a much easier time at The Inquisition if he threw the non-believers on these torture devices.  If you haven't "ellipted" before, it’s like trying to run while squatting.  You would think that using your arms on the ski pole thingies would help you get through, but you only wind up looking like an epileptic marionette with an agonized look on its face. The strain on your leg muscles is intense.  I lasted maybe 10 minutes.  It will be a while before I try the elliptic-hell again.

Cya tomorrow,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ 2 scrambled eggs with a spoonful of chili on top

Lunch ~ A can of Progresso Light Chick Noodle Soup

Snack ~ Fiber One bar

Dinner ~ Rotisserie chicken and a side salad

Exercise ~ A 30 minute circuit of Cybex and stepping that I will explain in a later blog

Back Home and Bushed

It's been a whirlwind three-state tour over the last two days and I am spent.  This will be real quick.  I got back home today after logging around 400 miles behind the wheel and ate a bowl of chili, then fell asleep on the couch for two hours.

The plan was to hit the hotel gym dreadmill this morning and then when I got home tonight, hit the gym I just joined. Total fail on both parts.  When I got up at 6 AM I found that I left my shorts at home.  The hotel airport wasn't conducive to walking outside.  'Asleep on the couch' speaks volumes about what happened to the second part of the plan.  I guess there is no shame in working hard, but I really needed to exercise today.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ A Kashi cereal bowl pre-pack w/skim milk and coffee
Lunch ~ A green salad w/grilled shrimp and a lemon vinaigrette
Snack ~ Some nuts on the drive home
Dinner ~ Chili
Exercise ~ FAIL...none

Biz Travel Post

Hey there.  It's been a mad-busy day that started with a trip to pick up a colleague about 30 miles south of me. Onto Brooklyn next for a trade show.  Picking up another in our group, we headed down to Philly for a business dinner and meetings tomorrow.  I left the house this morning at 7:45 AM and by the time I got to the hotel room tonight it was 10 PM.  Busy, busy day.  But a productive one.  No time for exercise, but I will be up at 6:30 and down in the hotel gym.

I am happy to report that despite many opportunities to fail, I navigated the day with good judgement.  I passed on pre-dinner drinks as well at the wine at meal.  I didn't touch the bread on the table and ordered a shrimp fra diavolo, where I ate the shrimp, but left the pasta.  Back to the hotel opted for a club soda, instead of a nightcap.  It felt good to have some control.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ An egg sandwich on the road w/coffee
Lunch ~ Pork tenderloin and veggies on a trade show buffet with 3 shrimp shumai.  Some eggplant caponata on one pita triangle.
Dinner ~ Grilled calamari and veggies for an appetizer, salad, then shrimp fra diavolo, minus the pasta.
Exercise ~ none

Recipes

While I am fairly certain that the vast majority of my recipes that I have published here have never been tried by a reader, I do know that, on occasion, I get positive feedback on a creation I have posted. More often, I get positive reviews from people that actually try a dish that I have made myself and served to them.  It's a great ego boost to know people are truly enjoying something healthy that I have created. Feeding people is a very personal and gratifying connection that means the world to me.  

My cousin John is one of my most ardent supporters.  He actively reads the blog, asks questions and makes comments.  He asked me the other day if there was a link somewhere to all of the recipes that I have posted.  Unfortunately there is not, yet I think there needs to be. Once in a while I do have a reader tell me they tried a recipe and loved it (Megan, have you made that eggplant stew again?) or tell me they would buy a cookbook if and when I wrote one (Thanks, Joan!)  I will go one better for now.  I will find a way to link the dozens of recipes that I have developed into an easily navigable page.  Perhaps that will help spread the word that these recipes aren't just healthy, but delicious.  Of course, we all think something we have created is good.  That ownership adds a few points to approval rating of anything we bring to being.  I hope that I am objective enough to trust my palate and be honest with my assessment.  

Ego plays a very small part in this plan.  I'd like to get some honest feedback and field testing on the recipes.  Sometime soon I will link all of those concoctions together and give you all a virtual cookbook.  Once I do, please take some time out to make a recipe or two and let me know what you think.  If nothing else, you'll put a smile on my face.

Cya tomorrow from a hotel room in Philly,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk
Lunch ~ Protein Bistro Box and a Starbucks Decaf Skinny Caramel Macchiato
Dinner ~ Chili
Exercise ~ Heading to the gym to try out an elliptical.  

Sunday Recap 09.15.13

If the Giants hadn't stunk so badly today, Sunday would have turned out to be dang near perfect.  I got to sleep late for the second day in a row, I kept my dietary intake under control, shopping got done, a HUGE pot of chili was made, and after the Giants shit the bed, I went for a record-paced 2.5-mile lap around the lake.  Oh, yeah!  I also went and joined a gym.

There were a few other things I was going to cover tonight, but due to not writing them down they fell by the wayside.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Egg McMuffin and coffee
Lunch ~ A salad with butter lettuce, 1/2 a tomato, celery, about 3 oz. of chopped chicken, toasted pepitas and chipotle lime dressing
Snack ~ Fiber One bar
Dinner ~ A bowl of chili, with a dollop of reduced-fat sour cream
Exercise ~ 2.5 miles around the lake in a record 44 minutes

Early Saturday Pre-Gig Blog

Hiya, kids.  It's a very lazy Saturday and I slept in late and I've been a couch potato all day.  I was going to go check out a local gym or two, but tomorrow is another day.  I need some veg out time.  I visited the local Y the other day only to find out that it is much more expensive than I remember.  For about half as much I can join LA Fitness or, for even less, Planet Fitness.  I'll be sure to take care of that on Sunday. 

Tonight we have a gig at our new favorite place, Shenanigans.  It's a nice, smallish Irish bar/restaurant where the regulars, mostly in their 50's, enjoy oldies.  We are more than happy to oblige.  Last time we were there, we did the whole three hours straight without a break.  It was that much fun.  That was a first for us.  Nothing better than soused middle-aged folks dancing and singing along.  I'll work off a bunch of calories being roadie, performer and sound tech tonight so that will serve as my workout.

Tomorrow I will make a big batch of my turkey chili to enjoy while watching some football.  We'll let you know how it turns out.

Cya then,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/almond milk and 1/2 a banana
Lunch ~ A Fiber One bar and a salad w/butter lettuce, avocado, tomato, canellini beans, toasted pumpkin seeds and my Spicy Chipotle-Lime Dressing only made with lemon out of necessity.
Dinner ~ TBD, but I am thinking either a veggie burger or a salmon burger.
Exercise ~ 3 hours of performing tonight, plus lugging around the equipment.

What a Difference a Few Days Make

I had a hell of a time getting around the lake just a few days ago.  I had to take a break, my muscles ached, and I was winded.  Tonight after dinner I set out to conquer Lake Parsippany all the same. Once I hit the one-mile mark, at around fifteen minutes, I was surprised at how "not bad" I felt.  I could never say I felt "good" after walking a mile, so I will say I felt particularly "not bad".  

I thought I would take a breather at this bench I like that overlooks the lake at one and a half miles.  Nope.  Still feeling like I can plow through. And so I did.  I did the whole 2.5-mile route in exactly 45 minutes.  That is damn near the best ever.  A far cry from the last time.  By my best estimate, that burned at least 420 calories.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ One egg and 1 oz. of lean ham on a multi-grain sandwich round
Lunch ~ One can of Progresso Lite Chicken Noodle Soup
Snack ~ One banana
Dinner ~ This here looks like many dinner photos I have posted in TDT195.  It is tilapia over spinach and canellini beans with a tomato lemon basil sauce.  The reason you see this so often is that it is easy and one of my favorites.
Exercise ~ 2.5 miles at 3.3MPH

Damn You, Steak!

Okay.  I've told the world I was staying away from red meat.  I've had it three times in the last nine days.  If this were the major leagues, I'd be batting .666 and win a batting title.  Unfortunately, here in TDT19land it's just sad.  I had lunch today with my best friend Doug at the iconic NJ diner, Tic Tock.  I went in with the intention of having a Greek salad.  On the specials there was steak on Greek salad.  Without thinking, I ordered it.  It was good.  I ate half.  There's my disclosure.  So sue me.  I made up for it at dinner and yes, I drew the cow.

I was finally able to harvest enough cherry tomatoes to actually do something with them, other than eat two or three right off the vine. Dinner tonight was vegetarian in light of the lunch scenario.  What you see here is an all roasted, warm salad of cauliflower, eggplant and my wee little tomatoes, tossed in basil (from my garden) vinaigrette.  Very delicious and very satisfying.

Cya on Friday the 13th,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal and banana w/almond milk
Lunch ~ Pea soup and the steak Greek Salad
Dinner ~ See above
Exercise ~ For the first day since I started, I didn't get in any exercise. I'll double up some day soon.

Mike? Mike? Mike? What Day Is It?

It's Hump Day!  Is anyone else tired of that already?  I like the commercial, but I hear people every Wednesday saying the above words.  Now I am guilty of the same thing for the sake of a cheap and easy title for today's blog.

I'm feeling pretty good about my efforts so far.  I will be changing up my exercise routine by re-joining the local YMCA.  The one in Mountain Lakes NJ is quite nice.  I'd like to get some weight training in and develop muscle mass.  My understanding is that when I finally go for my surgery to remove the excess hanging skin, lean toned muscles will not only make the surgery go easier, but recovery quicker and my appearance much better.  The months ahead will be the hardest I've worked at this so far.

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Cereal w/banana and almond milk.  Coffee
Lunch ~ Turkey, mustard and pickles on a multi-grain sandwich round.
Dinner ~ Here you see is a one-pan meal that I whipped up on the fly.  It was supposed to be chicken and cashew lettuce cups, but the cashews in the fridge miraculously turned into almonds. Call the Enquirer!  It's a miracle!  I paired it with broccoli.
Exercise ~ 2 mile Sansone walking video.  By my estimates, these burn anywhere between 350 and 400 calories.