There's a lot of distractions this time of year. The holiday seasons are approaching, there's Halloween around the corner, which can result in an overload of sugar. We always buy too much candy and always wind up eating it all. No one comes down this street except the kids that live on this street and a few strays. They all go to Piedmont for the "good" candy. Then there's the pies, cakes, cookies and desserts for the holidays, which are right around the corner.
There's an upcoming visit to Mississippi in November which could be a trip down the fried food highway if I'm not careful. All these obstacles are barriers in my way to a healthier life that have to be navigated like a sea of icebergs. My compass to navigate these icebergs is my weak will.
There's also a trip to Escalon in late October for a writing class. Escalon is famous for it's fresh baked bread that is available 24 hours a day.
I've set forth in motion a blueprint of a plan for the month of October that might not be sustainable. I hope I'm not setting myself up for failure. I have my doubts about the fasting component of my health plan. It's difficult for me to gauge how effective that element has been in talking weight off.
I weighed in one last time this morning and I won't weigh in again till Nov. 31 Halloween, but I'm dead on 210 pounds. It does't matter if I cycle 3 fucking hours or not, the scale doesn't budge,
If I stick to all the other points of my October plan I think I'll accomplish the goal of 4 measly pounds off my fat ass.
No coffee starting today. Here comes the headache.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; nothing
Lunch; nuts, andouille sausage, 1 plum
Dinner: Cannellini beans w/red onion, fresh parsley, and andouille sausage, sauteed w/olive oil, salt and peppper
Exercise; 1 hour cycling, 5.5 miles walking, 1 hour cycling
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Food Extravaganza + Cycling + The Rolling Stone Article & The Bills
There is a huge food festival down at Jack London Square today. Massive amounts of people, and maybe a hundred food trucks. There's was also the regular Sunday farmers market going on, so it was food, food, and more food, for three city blocks. Geri and I drove down there, unloaded the bikes, made our to the market bought some food, and got out of there for our weekly ride to Alameda.
We drove all along the waterfront and through the canal, and on the way back to Jack London Square we stopped at Quinn's lighthouse and got some horrible nachos. We were so hungry we didn't care. There was some amazing looking food trucks at the Jack London event, but we were too hot, too tired, and too thirsty to wait till we got back there after riding for 3 hours. Quinn's is famous for good drinks, bad food, and great views of the waterfront.
Crowds of people don't get me excited anymore. In fact it's the complete opposite, I genuinely dislike them. It's hard to navigate around all those folks. There's always someone who is rude, and many of them are so busy looking at their fucking cell phones they can't see anything that's going on around them, oblivious to their environments, HELLO.
Most of the people down there are 30 somethings, which I have no problem with most of the time, at least on a one to one basis. Sometime I yell at people to get their attention, "old man coming through", or "age before beauty". 99% of the time they just don't get it. This is why I refuse to go to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. 200 thousand people on any given day, no fucking thank you.
Lastly, if you have a pension plan, especially if you are in the public sector you owe it to yourself to read the article on the Rolling Stone appropriately titled, "Looting The Pension Funds" by Matt Taibbi. This is the issue with Miley Cyrus on the front. The poor thing is obsessed with her tongue. Every time I see a shot of her these days she has her tongue out.
As I was saying about the article in the RS, the Wall Street hedge fund boys, and the folks who we have entrusted with our money are having a field day looting it, and no one is doing anything about it. They're running it up the flag pole once again. If you thought the last recession was a doozy the next one should hit us like a Fukushima tsunami. To quote Matt Taibbi, "It's a scam of unmatched balls and cruelty, accomplished with the aide of some singularly spineless politicians."
Last night we saw the fabulous Bills from British Columbia at the 5th Ave Boathouse for 20 dollars a head. They can squeeze maybe a 100 people in there. Now that's my kind of crowd.
Go away, my head it full.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece of whole wheat toast, 1 small potato pancake, coffee 1 sugar
Lunch; plumb, chicken cheese nachos, ice tea 2 sugars,
Dinner; nothing
Exercise; 1.5 miles walking w/dogs, biking 3 hours
We drove all along the waterfront and through the canal, and on the way back to Jack London Square we stopped at Quinn's lighthouse and got some horrible nachos. We were so hungry we didn't care. There was some amazing looking food trucks at the Jack London event, but we were too hot, too tired, and too thirsty to wait till we got back there after riding for 3 hours. Quinn's is famous for good drinks, bad food, and great views of the waterfront.
Crowds of people don't get me excited anymore. In fact it's the complete opposite, I genuinely dislike them. It's hard to navigate around all those folks. There's always someone who is rude, and many of them are so busy looking at their fucking cell phones they can't see anything that's going on around them, oblivious to their environments, HELLO.
Most of the people down there are 30 somethings, which I have no problem with most of the time, at least on a one to one basis. Sometime I yell at people to get their attention, "old man coming through", or "age before beauty". 99% of the time they just don't get it. This is why I refuse to go to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. 200 thousand people on any given day, no fucking thank you.
Lastly, if you have a pension plan, especially if you are in the public sector you owe it to yourself to read the article on the Rolling Stone appropriately titled, "Looting The Pension Funds" by Matt Taibbi. This is the issue with Miley Cyrus on the front. The poor thing is obsessed with her tongue. Every time I see a shot of her these days she has her tongue out.
As I was saying about the article in the RS, the Wall Street hedge fund boys, and the folks who we have entrusted with our money are having a field day looting it, and no one is doing anything about it. They're running it up the flag pole once again. If you thought the last recession was a doozy the next one should hit us like a Fukushima tsunami. To quote Matt Taibbi, "It's a scam of unmatched balls and cruelty, accomplished with the aide of some singularly spineless politicians."
Last night we saw the fabulous Bills from British Columbia at the 5th Ave Boathouse for 20 dollars a head. They can squeeze maybe a 100 people in there. Now that's my kind of crowd.
Go away, my head it full.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece of whole wheat toast, 1 small potato pancake, coffee 1 sugar
Lunch; plumb, chicken cheese nachos, ice tea 2 sugars,
Dinner; nothing
Exercise; 1.5 miles walking w/dogs, biking 3 hours
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Saturday Stats
Geri and I took a grueling ride today to the farmers market at Lake Merritt, then around the lake, up a couple of long hills that almost killed me, and then back home. I know fall is officially here, but the weather is no indication of that today.
I broke down and had a cup of coffee at the market. I was sluggish this morning and I needed an energy boost. It might take me a few days to ween myself off the dark master again. My legs were tired from hiking in the hills yesterday.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece of brown bread, small potato pancake
Lunch; 3 handfuls of cashew, peanut butter sandwich, cup of coffee, 1 samosa, water mellon
Dinner: going to a house concert with food, who knows?
Exercise; 2 hours cycling, 2 miles hiking
I broke down and had a cup of coffee at the market. I was sluggish this morning and I needed an energy boost. It might take me a few days to ween myself off the dark master again. My legs were tired from hiking in the hills yesterday.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece of brown bread, small potato pancake
Lunch; 3 handfuls of cashew, peanut butter sandwich, cup of coffee, 1 samosa, water mellon
Dinner: going to a house concert with food, who knows?
Exercise; 2 hours cycling, 2 miles hiking
Friday, September 27, 2013
Larry & 3 things I Learned
I forgot to congratulate Larry Ellison and team Oracle for winning the America's Cup race in SF Bay. It only cost him a quarter of a billion dollars, give or take 50 mil here or there to be the macho man that he is. Just think of all the good that could have been done with that money.
I wonder who catered the party they had for their closest 60,000 friends the other evening. What would I do if I had his money? Help people, what else. Cest la vie!
Three things I learned about loosing weight is 1) I can do it 2) I can keep the weight off and 3) you've got to burn more than you put in.
Have a lovely weekend.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; 2 egg omelet w/broccoli & black pepper (no salt), small bowl of cereal w/bran, granola and almond milk, black tea w/lemon
Lunch; nothing
Snack; apple, 1 handful of cashews, juice
Dinner; leftover wild rice, sausage, broccoli, salad, grilled eggplant
Exercise; 8.5 miles walking, 1 hour cycling
I wonder who catered the party they had for their closest 60,000 friends the other evening. What would I do if I had his money? Help people, what else. Cest la vie!
Three things I learned about loosing weight is 1) I can do it 2) I can keep the weight off and 3) you've got to burn more than you put in.
Have a lovely weekend.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; 2 egg omelet w/broccoli & black pepper (no salt), small bowl of cereal w/bran, granola and almond milk, black tea w/lemon
Lunch; nothing
Snack; apple, 1 handful of cashews, juice
Dinner; leftover wild rice, sausage, broccoli, salad, grilled eggplant
Exercise; 8.5 miles walking, 1 hour cycling
Thursday, September 26, 2013
BMI - Over Weight V.S. Obese
Today was the BIG yearly physical with my doctor. I have gone from obese to over weight and that is actually pretty good news considering I'm kinda stalled at this juncture in my quest to be physically "normal", and I need to kick my ass in high gear.
My BMI is 29.7, which is a mere .3 off of obese. My other stats, BP, pulse etc., were actually phenomenal. I had the usual probes, a shot for the shingles virus, blood tests to be done, cholesterol levels to be analyzed, but overall I'm pleased.
This is my agenda for the month of October.
It's back to the basics for me. a) I need to cut back on my sugar, salt, fat intake i.e., reduce my processed sugar intake, animal fat, lighten up on the salt, b) no eating in between meals with the occasional healthy snack. c) seriously curtail my obsession w/milk chocolate, at least two hours of walking or cycling a day, continue the little weight lifting and resistance work I been doing. d) maybe a bowl of cereal with almond milk and some fruit for breakfast. e) watch the carbs, the dairy, and the bread, the wheat, the gluten. Cut back on the potato pancakes. f) portion control g) no alcohol for me for a while. I like waking in the morning as clear as an old man can be, and then party with Alice in the afternoon and early evening. I haven't had a drink since my birthday on Sept. 8th. January 1st is my dot date to have a drink again. h) I need cut out the coffee, period. i) I need to work on the mind as much as the body.
On the entree side of it I want to eat more legumes, and whole grains. It's fall so it's time for soup. The time is ripe, the crops are in, and there's lots of healthy fresh food to eat.
I am hosting 2 pizza parties this month. Now that is temptation for me. So, I'm going to limit myself to 1/2 or 2/3's of a pie at each gathering.
I'm going to check my weight at the end of October and hopefully be at 206 pounds. Four measly pounds is all I'm looking to lose, one pound a week. The battle never ends, never. I actually did a lot today, but I was wiped out. October isn't going to be a cake walk.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption; 2 eggs over easy w/potato pancake, tea w/local honey, pistachios
Lunch, 2 chicken apple sausage
Dinner; wild rice, sausage, large salad w/a lot of great fresh stuff
Exercise; 3 miles walking
My BMI is 29.7, which is a mere .3 off of obese. My other stats, BP, pulse etc., were actually phenomenal. I had the usual probes, a shot for the shingles virus, blood tests to be done, cholesterol levels to be analyzed, but overall I'm pleased.
This is my agenda for the month of October.
It's back to the basics for me. a) I need to cut back on my sugar, salt, fat intake i.e., reduce my processed sugar intake, animal fat, lighten up on the salt, b) no eating in between meals with the occasional healthy snack. c) seriously curtail my obsession w/milk chocolate, at least two hours of walking or cycling a day, continue the little weight lifting and resistance work I been doing. d) maybe a bowl of cereal with almond milk and some fruit for breakfast. e) watch the carbs, the dairy, and the bread, the wheat, the gluten. Cut back on the potato pancakes. f) portion control g) no alcohol for me for a while. I like waking in the morning as clear as an old man can be, and then party with Alice in the afternoon and early evening. I haven't had a drink since my birthday on Sept. 8th. January 1st is my dot date to have a drink again. h) I need cut out the coffee, period. i) I need to work on the mind as much as the body.
On the entree side of it I want to eat more legumes, and whole grains. It's fall so it's time for soup. The time is ripe, the crops are in, and there's lots of healthy fresh food to eat.
I am hosting 2 pizza parties this month. Now that is temptation for me. So, I'm going to limit myself to 1/2 or 2/3's of a pie at each gathering.
I'm going to check my weight at the end of October and hopefully be at 206 pounds. Four measly pounds is all I'm looking to lose, one pound a week. The battle never ends, never. I actually did a lot today, but I was wiped out. October isn't going to be a cake walk.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption; 2 eggs over easy w/potato pancake, tea w/local honey, pistachios
Lunch, 2 chicken apple sausage
Dinner; wild rice, sausage, large salad w/a lot of great fresh stuff
Exercise; 3 miles walking
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Chestnuts, Fall, Squirrels, and Stats
I have these two dogs, Hattie and Hank, that I walk in Piedmont everyday. They're both wonderful little dogs. The streets where I walk them are lined with old growth chestnuts, beautiful golden brown chestnuts. You an tell when fall is here because the leaves turn yellow and the chestnuts are on the ground.
The problem in Piedmont is everything is manicured. The people, mostly Mexicans, who keep the homes groomed and looking beautiful, sweep up the leaves and chestnuts before you can even get a chance to gather them. The squirrels barely have any luck getting any, let alone us dog walkers.
If you go down to Chinatown in Oakland you'll see the very same chestnuts selling for ten dollars a pound at the produce stands. Chestnuts are high in dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin C to name just a few health benefits.
It was still common to see hot chestnuts sold on the streets in New York when we were growing up. When we were in Italy our friends served hot chestnuts after dinner. My father loved chestnuts, and my cousins had several trees down the street from us. We used then to have chestnuts fight when we were kids. They have a prickly outer layer that hurt like hell when you got hit, kids. A fungus wiped out most of the mighty American chestnut trees in the early part of the 20th century, too bad.
If you decide to serve them after dinner you can put them into the oven to heat them. Make sure you score them first or they'll blow up. It will sound like a gun went off when that happens. I've done this so I know. They go nicely with fresh fruit and grappa.
That's it today.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food Consumption;
Breakfast; potato pancake w/Irish cheddar, 2 poached eggs, 1 piece of brown bread
Lunch; Turkey cheese burger on brown bread
Dinner; salad w/cucumber, feta, beets, olive oil, s & p, fresh lemon, single chocolate ice cream
cone
Exercise; 5 miles walking
The problem in Piedmont is everything is manicured. The people, mostly Mexicans, who keep the homes groomed and looking beautiful, sweep up the leaves and chestnuts before you can even get a chance to gather them. The squirrels barely have any luck getting any, let alone us dog walkers.
If you go down to Chinatown in Oakland you'll see the very same chestnuts selling for ten dollars a pound at the produce stands. Chestnuts are high in dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin C to name just a few health benefits.
It was still common to see hot chestnuts sold on the streets in New York when we were growing up. When we were in Italy our friends served hot chestnuts after dinner. My father loved chestnuts, and my cousins had several trees down the street from us. We used then to have chestnuts fight when we were kids. They have a prickly outer layer that hurt like hell when you got hit, kids. A fungus wiped out most of the mighty American chestnut trees in the early part of the 20th century, too bad.
If you decide to serve them after dinner you can put them into the oven to heat them. Make sure you score them first or they'll blow up. It will sound like a gun went off when that happens. I've done this so I know. They go nicely with fresh fruit and grappa.
That's it today.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food Consumption;
Breakfast; potato pancake w/Irish cheddar, 2 poached eggs, 1 piece of brown bread
Lunch; Turkey cheese burger on brown bread
Dinner; salad w/cucumber, feta, beets, olive oil, s & p, fresh lemon, single chocolate ice cream
cone
Exercise; 5 miles walking
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
A 16 + Daily Stats
I've said this over and over, add nausea, that I am not a food critic. I'm not getting paid to be a food critic. I'm not going to go into great detail about this restaurant. A 16 is at the site of the old Girabaldi's on 5356 College Ave. in Oakland.
It's expensive, so bring your cards. This was not a loud room. In fact if they had a stereo it was not turned on, or someone forgot to turn it on. We were the loudest people in the house for sure. There was 6 of us total. We had 3 or 4 appetizer. Most worthy of description was a large anchovies, the size of a 6 month old trout from the hatchery, poached in balsamic vinegar, raisins, deep fried encrusted walnuts, a little lemon, and wine. It was delicious.
The service is OK, but I found myself looking for a new plate and folk often. Speaking of forks, Geri dropped hers, and no one came over to retrieve it. It made a hell of a racket too. I don't see how you couldn't hear it. There were wait staff 10 feet away from us, hello. No one ever asked if I wanted fresh pepper for my salad, which was a little to saturated with dressing, but tasty none the less. No bread or olives were served before dinner.
We shared everything with each other, because we wanted to taste everything and get the whole experience. Some of the entree' items were great. There was a fresh pasta dish that was almost like a gnocchi with a hot oil sauce that I could eaten an entire plate of, no problem.
The pizza was fair to good, but not great. The tomato sauce on one of the pies was sweet as can be, as was the mozzarella di bufala, very nice.
Of the 3 desserts we had the apple turnovers were the best, and the fresh gelato ice cream was very good as well. The cappuccino was heated to the perfect temperature, but they only brought one sugar with it, no chocolate, no cinnamon.
We brought our own wine and I think the corkage fee was $25.00. No big deal.
I found this restaurant lacking something, but I couldn't put my finger on it, and then I realized the two words I was looking for was excitement and details. Besides the fact that I was excited to see my friends, I didn't feel any excitement from the wait staff. They completely missed the little details that make a decent restaurant a great restaurant. There was not a festive atmosphere, and a restaurant should be festive. I don't need or want bubbly service, but dour service is worse. There was no show of enthusiasm. It was a low energy atmosphere and it should be a high energy. SHOW TIME PEOPLE.
Maybe it was an off night. Monday's are tough on a restaurant staff, and I usually don't go out to restaurants on a Monday. The food often times lack imagination and again, attention to detail. Everyone is burnt out from the weekend. As Elvis Costello said, "I don't like Monday's, I want to shoot, oh oh oh, the whole day down."
This west coast 24/7 bullshit burns people out. If I owned a restaurant it would be closed, without question, Sunday and Monday.
This restaurant doesn't have enough for me to go back again.
I give the food 1 and a half joints, and the service 1 joint.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; potato pancake w/Irish cheddar, 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece of olive bread (no butter), black coffee 1 sugar
Lunch; nuts
Dinner: brussel sprouts, chicken cheese ravioli w/cherry tomatoes, fresh garlic, and artichokes, Romano cheese, small salad
Exercise; 6 miles walking
It's expensive, so bring your cards. This was not a loud room. In fact if they had a stereo it was not turned on, or someone forgot to turn it on. We were the loudest people in the house for sure. There was 6 of us total. We had 3 or 4 appetizer. Most worthy of description was a large anchovies, the size of a 6 month old trout from the hatchery, poached in balsamic vinegar, raisins, deep fried encrusted walnuts, a little lemon, and wine. It was delicious.
The service is OK, but I found myself looking for a new plate and folk often. Speaking of forks, Geri dropped hers, and no one came over to retrieve it. It made a hell of a racket too. I don't see how you couldn't hear it. There were wait staff 10 feet away from us, hello. No one ever asked if I wanted fresh pepper for my salad, which was a little to saturated with dressing, but tasty none the less. No bread or olives were served before dinner.
We shared everything with each other, because we wanted to taste everything and get the whole experience. Some of the entree' items were great. There was a fresh pasta dish that was almost like a gnocchi with a hot oil sauce that I could eaten an entire plate of, no problem.
The pizza was fair to good, but not great. The tomato sauce on one of the pies was sweet as can be, as was the mozzarella di bufala, very nice.
Of the 3 desserts we had the apple turnovers were the best, and the fresh gelato ice cream was very good as well. The cappuccino was heated to the perfect temperature, but they only brought one sugar with it, no chocolate, no cinnamon.
We brought our own wine and I think the corkage fee was $25.00. No big deal.
I found this restaurant lacking something, but I couldn't put my finger on it, and then I realized the two words I was looking for was excitement and details. Besides the fact that I was excited to see my friends, I didn't feel any excitement from the wait staff. They completely missed the little details that make a decent restaurant a great restaurant. There was not a festive atmosphere, and a restaurant should be festive. I don't need or want bubbly service, but dour service is worse. There was no show of enthusiasm. It was a low energy atmosphere and it should be a high energy. SHOW TIME PEOPLE.
Maybe it was an off night. Monday's are tough on a restaurant staff, and I usually don't go out to restaurants on a Monday. The food often times lack imagination and again, attention to detail. Everyone is burnt out from the weekend. As Elvis Costello said, "I don't like Monday's, I want to shoot, oh oh oh, the whole day down."
This west coast 24/7 bullshit burns people out. If I owned a restaurant it would be closed, without question, Sunday and Monday.
This restaurant doesn't have enough for me to go back again.
I give the food 1 and a half joints, and the service 1 joint.
That's it.
Peace,
Make Food/Not War
Food consumption;
Breakfast; potato pancake w/Irish cheddar, 2 eggs over easy, 1 piece of olive bread (no butter), black coffee 1 sugar
Lunch; nuts
Dinner: brussel sprouts, chicken cheese ravioli w/cherry tomatoes, fresh garlic, and artichokes, Romano cheese, small salad
Exercise; 6 miles walking
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)