Food diary: A Lesson in Obsession.

This week I did a food diary.  I wrote down everything I ate and looked up the caloric content in each item.  I have to say, this made me very obsessive.  I’ve never been one to overly watch what I eat.  It has only been in the past few years, as my metabolism has gone down, that I’ve started to worry about the choices I’ve made.  But this really made me worry about what I was eating, and guilty when I went over what I was supposed to have.  For me, this is no way to live.  I’m glad I have a general idea now of what I can eat, but I am no longer going to obsess about it.

I can see how this would be a great exercise for someone who is really looking to lose weight.  As you start to add up the calories you eat as the day goes on, you can see how it would be easy to exceed your daily intake.  I calculated my calories per day by finding my basal metabolic rate; this is how many calories you burn per day, so therefore, how many you should take in each day.  If you are looking to lose weight, you would reduce that intake by 500 calories, so you are burning more than you take in.  However doctors suggest never going lower than 1200 calories a day.

I calculated my intake which ended up being 2000 calories per day based on my weight and height.  I’d say I do pretty well most of the week.  The only thing that kills me is booze and dessert, oh and late night eats after the booze.  I found that I do actually tend to go a bit lower than 2000 calories, but I think moreso since I was obsessing over every little thing that I eat.  I’d say in general, I hit the mark exactly, but there are always those times when we splurge.  A whole meal at In ‘N Out would put me over half my intake for the day.  So hence keeping fast food to a minimum.

Anyways, here’s what I ate for the week and how it added up.  I also walk 6 miles a day to and from work, and I went to the gym 4 times this week for an hour.  As you can see on Friday, I had a bit to drink.  Alcohol has a shocking amount of calories.  Yikes!

Monday:
2 cups cornflakes  (200)
nonfat milk (86)
banana  (100)
Foot long Veggie delite from Subway, with cheese, no sauce. (500)
1 apple (53)
Baked chicken katsu(200), curry sauce(100), white rice(220), spinach salad with
vinaigrette.(80)
2 glasses red wine (300)
small sliver of pumpkin pie (150)
1989 for the day.

Tuesday:
1 English muffin with some margarine. (189)
1 cup Special K (117)
1 cup skim milk (86)
Foot long Veggie delite from Subway, with cheese, no sauce. (500)
Bean Tostadas with Spanish brown rice (390)
Strawberry yogurt (180)
1462 for the day.

Wednesday:
1 English muffin with margarine  (189)
Grilled chicken sandwich with red onion, tomato, and spinach. (350)
1 small apple (50)
1 tangerine (37)
1 cup special K (117)
1 cup skim milk (86)
Bean Tostadas with Spanish brown rice (390)
Strawberry yogurt (180)
1399 for the day.

Thursday:
2 pieces wheat toast with margarine (200)
apple (65)
6 inch turkey sub from subway (340)
apple (65)
1 piece whole grain bread with peanut butter (200)
Chicken goulash with Parmesan potatoes  (500)
Berry cheesecake yogurt (90)
1460 for the day.

Friday:
2 pieces wheat toast with margarine (200)
6 inch turkey sub from Subway (340)
apple (65)
1 piece whole grain bread with peanut butter (200)
Chicken goulash with pasta, spinach salad  (600)
wine: 400
Alcohol: 1200
Burger and fries: 1200
4205!  Yikes!

Saturday:
3 eggs with spinach and lo fat sour cream. (900)
2 pieces wheat toast with margarine. (200)
Cherry yogurt: (78 )
Pasta with tomato, spinach, mushrooms, lite ricotta (500)
Chocolate cake:  (400)
2078 for the day.

Sunday:
Two pieces wheat toast with margarine (200)
Half an order of stir fried noodles with veggies. (300)
Pasta with tomato sauce and vegetables. (600)
1/2 cup natural yogurt with berries. (100)
1300 for the day.

Just try to keep an eye on what you eat, especially at restaurants or fast food joints.  Or you might just need one meal a day…

Photo Credit

Have your cake and eat it too… And a couple glasses of wine.

As per usual, I eat quite healthy during the week, then once the weekend hits, it all kind of goes to shizz.  We all have vices, and sometimes they are unavoidable.  I guess my health motto is “everything in moderation”.  Denying yourself is the worst, and I don’t ever want to have to do that to an extreme level.  So I enjoy my vices, but within moderation.

There are some easy ways to quickly health up your life.  Here’s some food for thought:

1.  Eat breakfast in the morning!  Yes, it may sound like a good idea to skip your morning meal.  It cuts calories but it can has some bad side effects.  If I don’t eat in the morning, I will be extra hungry by lunch and gorge on something I wouldn’t have normally ordered.  You also can end up craving things that are worse for you like sugary or extra salty snacks.  Eggs are great way to start the day, and can be much more filling than bread or cereal and also give you a great dose of protein.  If you have toast, put some peanut butter on it. Protes!

2.  Pack your lunch for work.  This also encompasses the whole cooking at home thing.  Basically being in control of what goes into your food is one of the easiest ways to eat healthier.  You won’t be tempted by bad choices at a food court or strip mall.  There’s no additives, extra salt or any other number of bad things you don’t want in your food. If you look at the ingredient lists for some of your favorite take out food, they can go as long as a hundred ingredients.  The simpler, the fresher, the better.

3.  Watch what you drink.  Drinks can be a huge downfall for many people.  I know until recently I didn’t quite grasp how many calories were in a glass of wine or an alcoholic beverage.  I seriously thought, well it’s liquid, it can’t be that bad.  There are so many sports drinks, sodas, and juices that are brimming with loads of extra sugar that will turn straight into fat.  I’m not a big soda person, coffee wires me like a crazy woman, so I stick to water for the most part.  If you are starting a diet, cut out sodas and alcohol and you can drop pounds!

4.  Eat more, eat less.  Try eating 5 small meals instead of 3 large ones per day.  By spreading out your eating, you are more consistently full and less inclined to binge later.  I know personally, I need a snack around 11 am and 5 pm everyday.  I’ll usually grab a bowl of special K or cheerios, with skim milk, or have some dried cranberries and almonds.  Maybe even a piece of wheat toast with peanut butter on them.  My stomach isn’t growling ever, so when dinner time rolls around, I’m ready to eat a smaller portion.

5.  Simple swaps.  This has been a new thing for me.  Swapping out something I ate before, with a lower calorie version or substitute.  For dairy products, I’ll look for a version made with skim milk.  In Australia, milk is very rich, so skim actually tastes quite normal to me now.  And I’ve saved myself a good amount of calories.  I’m still not a big fan of the sugar substitutes they use instead of real sugar to lower the calorie count of many sweet things, so I try to just reduce portions sizes of those things.  Try low sodium broth or soy sauce.  It can save you a hell of a lot of sodium intake, and you never notice the difference.  Just swapping out simple things like that can save you a lot on the scale.

6.  Leave the car keys at home.  This is the first time in my life I have lived without a car.  Obviously I live in a city that is pretty pedestrian friendly.  I even calculated the other day, that I walk 6 miles round trip everyday to and from work.  Some people don’t even get that kind of exercise at the gym.  Try walking to the grocery store, or restaurant down the street.  It’s a nice low impact exercise and it’s always nice to get some fresh air (depending on what city you live in).

I think doing small simple things, that aren’t grand gestures is the way to go.. for me at least.  The whole point is just to develop healthy habits and not be constantly dieting or restricting, or denying yourself.  Crash diets aren’t sustainable, and the key to success is finding a lifestyle you can maintain and be happy with.  Have your dessert and your wine, just maybe not every night…

I’m gonna go finish my chocolate cake now.  Then maybe do some sit ups… tomorrow.

Photo Credit

Sweet sleep, I have missed thee.

With some upcoming changes in my life right now, I have had a very hard time sleeping lately.  My body is completely exhausted, but my brain is still spinning 100 miles a minute.  After feeling like a zombie yesterday, I asked my roommate if I could take some of the melatonin he had been raving about.  I took a half a pill, so as to make sure it didn’t have too strong of an effect on me.

Results:  Amazing.  After about 10 minutes, a calm washed over my brain and my body.  I felt for lack of a better word, mellow.  I layed my head on my pillow, turned on an episode of Six Feet Under and drifted off to dreamworld.

So what are the facts about melatonin?

Melatonin is a naturally occurring compound in animals and plants.  It’s secreted into the blood by the pineal gland in the brain, and is known as the “hormone of darkness”.  It regulates the sleep-wake-cycle by chemically causing drowsiness and lowering the body temperature.  It is sold over the counter in the US, but is prescribed or even illegal in other countries!

Melatonin can also cause vivid dreaming.  And wow did I have vivid dreams last night.  I was in an arena, fighting King Kong (the Peter Jackson version), we were waiting for Megatron to show up to fight us; at this point King Kong was on my side now.  Then, another Transformer showed up.  He looked like a giant robot eagle, with a huge head.  He name was Proteus and he spoke with an English accent.  He was very wise.  I forget exactly what happened next. But I can’t believe I actually remembered the made up name of the fake Transformer I invented in my dream.

Anywhoo, studies seemed to have shown that adults who take melatonin in small doses, for no more than 3 months shouldn’t expect any bad side effects.

All I can say is, I got amazing peaceful sleep last night.  And I am always for a natural remedy whenever possible…  I woke up today feeling rested and fresh, and I even have an idea to pitch when I get to ILM now!

Photo Credit

Pizza. Everyone loves it.

Homemade pizza is a glorious thing.  I never thought I’d become such a pizza snob as I did when I moved overseas.  I used to eat anything from Ameci’s to CPK to Pizza Hut.  Pizza was pizza.  As I soon discovered in a country that has different cooking methods and ingredients, all pizzas are not equal.

In New Zealand we would buy raw pre-made dough from a local pizza shop and use our own ingredients and a pizza stone to cook them.  These were fantastic.  Now living in Sydney, I wasn’t sure where I could get fresh pre-made dough, so I decided to take on the task myself.

It’s incredibly easy to be honest.  The word dough seems frightening to many.  It’s not nearly as tough as it seems.  All you need is:

2 tsp. dry active yeast (found in your baking section)

1 tsp. sugar

1 cup warm water

2 cups pizza flour (you can use bread flour or all-purpose as well)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. olive oil

In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar, and warm water.  In a larger mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt, and yeast mixture together.  Drizzle in the olive oil as you mix the dough together for about 3 minutes.  You can use a food processor, a dough attachment for a Kitchen Aide,or as I do, mix with a spoon.  The dough should come together in a large ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl.  It should be moist, but not too sticky.

Grease another bowl with olive oil, and place the dough in the bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap or a clean damp towel.  Let sit in room temperature until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 475 F with pizza stone already in the oven.  If you have no pizza stone, you can use a cookie sheet, but do not preheat the cookie sheet.

In the meantime, you can chop and prep any toppings you would like for the pizza.  I like to chop everything and set them up in separate bowls so guests can make their own personal pizzas any way they like.

I like to make a homemade pizza sauce as well.  It’s sort of one of those “no measure, throw stuff in the pot” sauces, but if I had to write it down it would be:

I large jar crushed tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small onion diced

a handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/8 -1/4 a cup of Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

a hefty spoonful of crushed red pepper (I like mine spicy)

In a pot, saute the onions for about a minute, add the garlic, and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is soft.  Add the crushed tomatoes, cheese, salt and pepper, and red pepper. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes, then add the basil.  At this point you can use the sauce on the pizza or let sit on stove with lid on to keep warm.

Once the dough has double in size, take out of the bowl, onto a floured surface.  Sprinkle a bit of flour all over the dough.  Punch down the dough a bit.  Can divide in half to roll into two balls.  Then roll the dough out with a rolling pin.

I like to brush a little olive oil on the crust part of the dough and sprinkle a bit of Parmesan so it bakes into the crust.

Add toppings and cheese and place on the pizza stone or cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, til crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbling.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes if you can stand the wait.  The pizza will cut up much nicer once the cheese gets some time to rest and cool.

Enjoy… I really have to say there is not much better than pizza from scratch.

Photo Credit:  Kevin Estey

How much do I eat in a week?

I have never done a food diary before.  From what I’ve heard from others, it’s supposedly a good way to take a look at your eating habits from a better vantage point.  I’d say my biggest problem with eating is, I will eat healthy and be good, then if I’ve done that for a day or so, I feel as though I deserve a treat.  Hence me not really changing size or shape at all.  Not that this is a bad thing.  At this point in my life and health and size, I am very happy with my body, and for the most part, I workout in order to feed my addiction to delicious food while maintaining my weight.

I’ve decided this week I’m going to write down everything I eat, everyday, then take a look at it at the end and see exactly how much I am eating.  I know one day this weekend was particularly bad which ended with french fries, about 8 glasses of wine, and some nachos.  I can’t even imagine how far over my calories-per-day I went.   I recommend using this little calculator and finding out exactly how many calories you need to maintain your current weight.  It’s not something I live religiously by, but it’s nice to know what sort of ballpark to stay in so I don’t wake up 10 pounds heavier after a bad weekend of eating.

Mmmmmmm, that picture makes me hungry.

Photo Credit

Read what you eat…

Ok, not actually corn itself, but a product that is produced from corn.  The dreaded high fructose corn syrup.

Here’s some backstory:  In the 1970’s, an addition of sugar tarrifs and sugar quotas increased the cost of imported sugar, and US producers searched for cheaper sources.  The use of corn syrup cuts the costs in half, and along with government subsidies to corn farmers, US producers saved infinite amounts of money.  And so the US became the largest consumer of high fructose corn syrup.

Corn syrup is most used in sodas, yogurt, bread, cookies, salad dressing, ice cream, syrups, ketchup and soups.

Now here are some of the dangers:

• Studies have found measurable amounts of mercury.

• It has been linked to liver disease, including scarring of the liver, fatty liver, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
• And most recently in an article published by Reuters, in a scientific study where scientists fed tumor cells fructose as well as glucose (sugar), the cells fed fructose increased cell production!  So basically fructose corn syrup fuels the growth of cancer cells.  Grrrrreat.

Now the US government has a great stake in high fructose corn syrup, and I’ve even seen ads by the corn syrup council (or something) talking about how safe it is.  Ayyy.

I guess part of the reason I have began to cook more, is being able to know exactly what I’m putting into my body.  My mom raised us fairly healthy, but even now, something seemingly healthy can contain some very dangerous ingredients.  I guess all I can say is read the labels of things you buy.  Look for as many natural ingredients as you can, and hopefully consumerism will drive the market to return to more natural ingredients.

Photo Credit

And the secret ingredient is??…

The next step in my journey with food came along with some of my best friends in NZ.  We slowly realized how much we loved to eat, and luckily they loved to cook.  My friends Kevin, Derrick, and Mark loved to cook healthy and I was lucky enough to try out some of their delicious concoctions.  Once Kevin’s wife Haej arrived in NZ, the food just got better.  I was introduced to Korean style cooking for the first time, and damn, can that woman make tofu taste delicious.

We began weekly Battlestar Galactica nights (nerds, I know), and soon enough we would try to cook something before each viewing.  It started off simple enough with a pancake “brinner” as we called it.  Pancakes, egg scrambles, and mimosas of course.  Then we decided to try our hands at homemade pizzas.  We bought pre-made dough from a local pizza shop and all added out own toppings to each pizza.  The result:  Amazing.  Better than any pizza I had tried in Wellington.

The Battlestar nights turned into setting aside Sundays for cooking, which eventually led to us making up a fun little game that we called “Cooking Challenge!”.  Original, I know.  So here’s how it worked:

We all would write down the name of a dish; something we had never cooked before or in some cases weren’t even sure what it was.  We would all meet at the local grocery store, put the names of these dishes in a hat, each draw one, then have to shop, prepare, and cook the dish with no recipe.  The results were fantastic!

Yes, in some cases we didn’t quite get the recipes correct, but everything always tasted great.  It was such an amazing way to learn to cook.  For the first time we all really had to think hard about what goes into a dish, how does one thicken a sauce, make a glaze, etc…

Here are some of the delicious meals we made in NZ:

Photo Credit:  Kevin Estey

She’s my cherry (apple) pie!

Pie.

This was the first super all-American craving I had in New Zealand. Now if you are in the market for a hearty meat pie then you are in business. But unfortunately I was craving one of the fruit variety. This is not so easy to come by in NZ. And it hasn’t been much better in Australia…

I had never baked a pie alone in my life. My mom had always made chocolate or banana cream pies around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I’d never attempted to make my own crust from scratch or anything. After scouring foodnetwork.com, I found a simple enough sounding recipe and went off to the store to by ingredients.

No Crisco!!! Fail. Although the good people of New Zealand do have a lovely product called Shreddo. Haha. It’s not the moistest of all vegetable shortening, but it had to do for the time being. So I got me some shreddo, butter, flour, salt, sugar, eggs, and vinegar. Combined my drys and my liquids… mixed together and voila! Dough.

Baking can seem daunting to an amateur cook. We often hear, it’s a science and much more complicated than cooking. Is that true? In some ways yes, but if you are a good instruction follower like me, you’ll get it in no time. Also, we have to try so we can fail, once we fail, we can fix it the next go around. As you can see from my photos. My first pie wasn’t the greatest or most beautiful, but it has paved the way to the kinds of pies I make today.

First pie ever:

Pie I made a few weeks ago:

(Note the keyboard in the backround, mixing work and pleasure!)

Nowadays, I have pie cutters and other tools to help me make them more beautiful, but I recommend simplicity in the beginning, and you’ll be baking up a storm in no time!

Apple pie recipe:

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Crust:

• 1/2 cup crisco or vegetable shortening
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 1/4 cup cold water

Mix dry ingredients, shortening, and butter in a large bowl.  Mix egg, water, and vinegar in separate bowl, then combine.  I start off stirring with a spoon to mix, then use my hands the fully incorporate the ingredients.  Try not to work the dough too much, just ‘til it’s all combined and doughy.  Roll into a ball, split in half, and roll into two smaller balls.  Cover each with saran wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

While the dough is in the fridge, make the…

Filling:

• 5 Granny Smith apples
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel and slice the apples into thin small slices.  Mix the apples and all other ingredients into a bowl.  Then on the stove in a large pan, pour the mixture over medium-low heat and cook slowly for about 8 minutes, just enough to slightly soften the apples.

Remove dough from fridge and roll out and place in pie dish.  Make sure you flour the counter space and rolling pin.  Also sprinkle a little on the dough before you roll it out.   Pour the filling into the pie and cover with the other half of the dough and crimp the edges closed with your fingers or a fork.  If covering the entire top, cut a few slits in the middle to release heat.  Also, brush some egg whites over the top crust and sprinkle a little bit of sugar.

Place on a low-middle rack and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

I suggest letting the pie cool for an hour or so, otherwise the mixture can still be a bit watery on the inside.  Letting the pie cool will let the mixture solidify a bit and be more like a classic gooey apple pie.

Enjoy!

Photo credits:  Kevin Estey, Lindsay Thompson, Paul Perrott

Welcome sinners…

My name is Lindsay. I love food. I know, people say that, but I really do. I’m a bona fide foodie. Everyday I wake up excited at the prospect of what I might eat, and can be left entirely disappointed with the day when it isn’t up to standards. I’ve decided to create this blog to talk about food, cooking, diets, health, tips, tricks, fumbles, and failures. I hope to post recipes, articles of interest, and of course photos of food! I am by no means an expert, chef, or health professional, but in my journey to find a healthy lifestyle full of delicious food, I hope to share a little bit of wisdom.

A little about my journey with food. I was a painfully picky eater ‘til the age of 20 or so. My taste buds opened up and soon enough I was trying everything from sushi to kangaroo! For the past year and a half, I have lived and worked in New Zealand and Australia. As a Los Angeles native, I was quite accustomed to being able to find any food I want, anytime of the day, anywhere. It was a bit of a shock to me moving to New Zealand and not being able to find the foods I was used to. Although I had cooked a bit before when I was in LA, I knew I would have to learn more in order to cook the things I was used to and missed.

So started my journey into cooking…errrr…. baking. Well, it all really began with a pie…

Photo credit:  Kevin Estey