Soup and Sandwich
Let’s play Name That Yogurt Container.
The Sharpie I keep in the junk drawer (really more of an entire counter) to ID containers destined for the freezer rarely gets used. I always think I’ll remember, and I never do. Everything looks the same when it’s frozen.
So I’ve taken to pulling containers at random out of the freezer, a sort of a game of Russian roulette where the only risk is ending up with half a liter of thawed antipasto for dinner. Tonight’s winner: squash soup! Phew. I’m sure I made it at some point last year. If you’d care to peruse the lovely new Index I’ve been working on, be my guest.
I’m also baking a Happy Winter Fudge Cake into a dome shape for our wee neighbour’s 1st birthday. The end result is supposed to look something like this. (Damn, I didn’t find that recipe until just now.) I’ve never baked a dome-shaped cake but the birthday boy’s Mom thought me better suited to baking it than she, and so entrusted me to it. I chose a sturdy chocolate cake recipe (Happy Winter) and am baking it in a Pyrex bowl right now. It was almost done at an hour (at 325F – you generally need to turn the temp down 25 degrees for a glass dish, which conducts heat better than metal) and needs about 15 more minutes. I made a slight indent in the middle of the thick batter to even it out somewhat, and it doesn’t seem to be doming too much on the surface. This house smells so good I would chew off my left arm if I thought it might taste like chocolate.
Speaking of hunger and having to chew gum while baking so you don’t lick the bowl and spoon and down half the bag of chocolate chips: 205 this morning. So that helps with the hunger pangs somewhat. Somewhat.
A lot of people ask me: what do you eat? (Like exactly, so I can copy it?) I could give you a play-by-play of everything I eat every day, but you have to find your own way. It has to be suited to your tastes and lifestyles and family and history. So how much food? Less than you’re eating now. How much exercise? More than you’re doing now. (Unless what you’re doing now is giving you the results you want.) A many fruits and veg as you can handle – whole grains, less butter and cheese. 1% milk. Smaller portions. No all-night munching. And no eliminations. I can eat some things less often, but don’t like the idea of spending the rest of my life without them. I find it far more empowering to think “I choose this”, rather than “I can’t have that”. It’s these little mental tweaks that make a huge difference.
And it really is a matter of calories in vs. calories out. There’s no way to “trick” your body into losing weight, and you can’t, no matter what anyone says, eat whatever you want and exercise for a mere 5 minutes a day three times a week and see pounds melt away. This is a perfect example of getting out as much as you put in. If you’re going to bother going to the gym, break a sweat, dammit.
January 23 2009 | leftovers | 33 Comments »
