Day 4

It was a good day. The two highlights were the trip to the Farmer’s Market and our dinner. Today was grocery shopping day. We decided to purchase our veggies from the Farmer’s Market instead of the grocery store. It always feels good buying and eating something that is locally grown. We also like to support our local farms. As an added bonus, our excursion was part of our exercise as we decided to walk instead of driving. It was a little damp and chilly, but still fun.

Peppers at the Famer's Market

Tomatoes on the vine

No fruit allowed, but these berries looked so good I had to snap a shot

We finally had success with one of our dinner recipes! We made Soy Meat & Bean Chili and it was excellent!!! Not only was it quick, easy and inexpensive, it is healthy! This receipe is definately a keeper. We had leftovers, which we threw in the freezer. It will be great to heat up on a lazy day. Perhaps next Saturday. Also we resurrected an old dessert that is not only Phase 1 friendly, but delicious! The ingredients are: 1 sugar-free fudgsicle, 2 tbsp of peanut butter, 2 tbsp lite or sugar-free whipped topping (like Cool Whip). Just mix all the ingredients together in place in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. We prefer ours to be colder, so we place it in the freezer. YUMMY!!!

The day went as follows:

Breakfast:
Fat-free Cottage Cheese w/ Cucumber & Cherry Tomatoes
Soy Canadian Bacon
Vegetable Juice
Coffee w/ Fat-Free Milk

Morning SnacK:
Peanuts

Lunch:
Egg-Less Caesar Salad w/ Soy Chicken Strips

Afternoon Snack:
1 Reduced-Fat Colby/Cheddar Cheese Stick

Dinner:

Soy Beef & Bean Chili w/ a dollop of fat-free sour cream

Dessert:
Peanut Butter Cup

Exercise:
Walk to Farmer’s Market (approx. 3+ miles)
20 minute Pilates

Day 3

Today was a bit more of a challenge. Saturdays we are lazy. We don't like to cook on Saturdays.

We managed to make a nice breakfast (thanks to D), but lost all motivation to make a good lunch. We decided on yesterday's leftovers. By the afternoon guilt was setting in. So we exercised (which kicked our butts) and had our planned lunch salad for dinner. All is well in the world again. We were hoping to get some more exercise in by walking to our movie theatre, but it has been raining for the past couple of days. So we were forced to take the car. Saw “Taken”. Quite the action-packed movie, but a whole lot of violence. Our day went as follows:

Breakfast:

Asparagus & Feta Cheese Omelet
1 glass of vegetable juice
Coffee w/ fat-free milk

Morning Snack:
Mozzarella Cheese Stick

Lunch:
Left-overs (Greek Soy Crumble & Eggplant Slices)

Afternoon Snack:
4 Sticks of Celery w/ Natural Peanut Butter
(D had 19 peanuts)

Dinner:

Crispy Tempeh Salad

Dessert:
None

Exercise:

60 Minute Pilates!! Whoo Hool We rock!

This turned out to be a pretty successful day. Ok, perhaps one disastrous meal… but I did exercise today! Dinner wasn't quite the way I had hoped it would turn out, but it still tasted good. I guess taste is the most important part. The plan was Greek Soy Meatballs and Grilled Eggplant. However, the balls were a failure and the poor color choice of eggplant gave the whole dish a sad beige shade. I did excercise though! The day went as follows:

Breakfast:

Egg, Soy Canadian Bacon & Tomato “Sandwich”
Coffee w/ fat-free milk

Morning Snack:
1 Mozzarella Stick
(D had a reduced fat colby/jack cheese slice)

Lunch:
Mixed Salad (greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers & kidney beans) w/ homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing
1 Cherry Creamsicle

Afternoon Snack:
4 Celery Sticks w/ a wedge of Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese

Dinner:

Greek Mini Soy Meatballs that became Greek Soy Loaf that ended up Greek Soy Crumble (Note to self: When using soy in replace of meat, avoid any food that needs to be molded, ie: meatballs or patties)
Grilled Eggplant

Dessert:
Mocha Ricotta Crème

Exercise:
YES!!! 20 MInute Pilates

Well, overall it has been a somewhat successful day, no cheating. However, exercise was a complete failure. I hope to do better tomorrow. As you read my menu for today, you will notice the use of soy meats. This is my choice, as I don't eat meat. South Beach allows most, if not all meats. Day 1 went as follows:

Breakfast:
1 egg white, scrambled
1 slice of soy Canadian bacon
1 small glass of vegetable juice
Coffee with fat-free milk

Morning Snack:
4 pieces of celery with hummus

Lunch:
Egg-less Caesar Salad w/ soy chicken
1 sugar-free orange creamsicle

This is the yummy Egg-less Caesar Salad w/ Soy Chicken. This is a keeper!

Afternoon Snack:
1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese
(D had a mozzarella cheese stick)

Dinner:
Portobello Mushroom Burger (without the bun)
Steamed broccoli

This Portobello Mushroom Burger may not look pretty, but it was very tasty.

Dessert:
Lemon Zest Ricotta Crème
(D had Mocha Ricotta Crème)

Exercise:
None. I suck.

It has become painfully obvious to me that the holidays have been far too kind to me…

and my waistline. My butt has been enjoying the good life for much too long. It is time to fight back. My plan of attack will be exercise and the South Beach Diet.

I plan on two forms of exercise. The first will be walking up Runyon Canyon. From my start to finish, the walk is about 4 miles long. With half of it being all up hill. It is not an easy walk, but it is an enjoyable one. Beautiful views (on a semi smog-free day) and many, many, many cute dogs. Runyon is a popular dog walking park in L.A. All shapes, sizes, colors, breeds and barks. Yes, a very enjoyable walk. My second form of exercise will be pilates. I do pilates on my living room floor. I have two Windsor Pilates recorded on Tivo. A 20 minute session and a 60 minute session. Hopefully, I will be able to stick with my plan.

As for the South Beach Diet, there are 3 phases:

Phase 1 will last for two weeks. It is a strict diet of NO sugars, breads or pastas. This tragically includes all fruit and alcohol!!! Now don't get me wrong, this is not a starvation type of diet. I will be eating plenty as South Beach insists that every day one consumes breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and DESSERT! One can't really complain about that meal plan.

Phase 2 is intended for people who wish to continue to lose weight. Once Phase 1 is complete the body has been purged or cleansed of all sugars. Phase 2 slowly reintroduces sugars. This phase continues for as long as one wishes to loose weight.

Phase 3 is intended for people who wish to maintain their weight. This phase allows you to eat everything you want, but within moderation. Keeping SB rules in mind. Phase 3 is meant to be more of a life style rather than a temporary diet.

The South Beach Diet has many cookbooks that provide excellent and tasty recipes for all phases. I see a lot of cooking in my future. At least I won't be doing it alone. My husband has also noticed his waistline growing as well. He has decided embark on this adventure with me. Hopefully, the buddy system will keep us strong.

I will try (but not promise) to write a daily post of Phase 1. Wish us luck!

Tippit over the years:

Were you one of the many crushed by today's announcement about the cancellation of The OC? Do your part. Let your voice be heard. Go to Fox's website Save The OC and sign their petition. Another website, savetheoc.com, has created four days of activism. You gotta love their loyalty.

Just doing my part for TV.

Today is December 31, 2006. The year 2007 is only 3 ½ hours away. This is a first for me, I am writing this blog from an American Airlines jet bound for Los Angeles. To my right, the city of Las Vegas has just been passed by. To my surprise and elation, Deutsch and I are comfortably sitting in First Class, also known as Business Class but that's less glamorous. Thanks to my wonderful hubby and his frequent flying, we have been upgraded. Woo hoo!

This is my first time flying First Class on American. I was so giddy that I thought I would share my experience with you.

We boarded the plane and found our window & isle seats in the 6^th row. Our seats look huge compared to the seats we usually sit in. I particularly enjoy the large armrest between our seats. Awaiting us are two sets of ear plugs for the movie, two bottles of water and blankets neatly folded in specially designed pockets attached to seats in front of us.

Once in the air we are offered complementary beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Since it is New Year's eve, Deutsch starts of with a glass of Champagne. Since I am unfortunately feeling a little under the weather, my choice of bubbly is ginger ale. Due to the stealth of our flight attendants, each of our glasses always seems to be full. Now the good stuff starts. We are each offered a small bowl of warm mixed salted nuts. I'm afraid that I was so distracted by my warm nuts that I forgot to whip out my camera to document the beginning of the food. The attendants continue to refill the beverages and nuts until dinner. Oh yes, I said dinner. I never knew that in these days of airline cut backs, they are still feeding the lucky bastards seated in the first six rows.

At first when I heard they were serving dinner I was a little worried. Since the upgrade was only issued late yesterday, I was sure that they would not have had time to get us our vegetarian meals in order. My First Class meal opportunity may be missed! However, once I perused the menu (the MENU?!?), my worries were laid to rest. I did remember to take pictures from here on out. Some photos may be a little dark. I avoided using the flash for fear that my fellow First Class companions would mock me…. a lot. I also didn't want to give anyone a heart attack with a bright flash on an airplane. I figured better to have dark pictures than an undercover airline Marshall jump me. Handcuffs may have ruined the rest of my First Class experience.

Mojito Shrimp served with Somen Noodles and a Combination Salad featuring fresh seasonal Greens and Chili-cucumber with a Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing and a whole wheat roll.

Eggplant Ravioli Pasta filled with a rich Eggplant Puree, topped with Bechamel Sauce and a light Marinara Sauce.

The Ravioli was delicious.

For dessert I had the Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae with my choice of hot fudge and pecans to top it off. Yum!

Now for the movie portion of the flight. I was happy to find out that they were playing The Illusionist, one that I had recently missed in the theaters. It stars Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell. I was thrilled to get in one more movie to add to my 2006 list. It was an enjoyable movie, but predictable.

After the movie we were offered freshly baked Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies. To accompany the cookies we were given a choice of milk, chocolate milk and/or sparkling water with lemon. I chose the later.

As we make our decent we are treated with good-bye Ghiradadelli chocolates. Dark chocolate with white mint filling, what more could one ask for? I saved mine for later that night after I had chilled it in the fridge.

That concludes my First Class experience. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please keep your fingers crossed for future upgrades. For an interesting flight food read, check out Airlinemeals.net.

It is 2007! Happy New Year! I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous year for you and your loved ones.

Concerts

This was a good year for concerts. The past couple of years I just slacked with music. I made a goal for myself this year to get back into the music scene. Here is a list of the concerts and venues I went to .

Sisters of Mercy – House of Blues in Annaheim
Coachella Festival – Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA (see picture of line-up below)
Ministry & Revolting Cocks – House of Blues in Annaheim
Artic Monkeys & We Are Scientists – Wiltern
She Wants Revenge – Wiltern
Yes, I Killed Him – Lava Lounge
Nouvelle Vague – The Fonda Theatre
Massive Attack – The Hollywood Bowl
Beck – Element
Sonic Youth – Wiltern
Cake – Wiltern (Almost, I was had to miss this concert due to a cold)

Movies

This year I have seen 41 movies. It may be difficult to believe, but this has been a slow movie going year for me. Early 2007 I will have to cram in all of the Golden Globe and Oscar nominated movies. Good times! Here is a list of the movies I have seen. The * symbolizes the movies I particularly enjoyed.

King Kong*
Casanova
Match Point*
The Producers
The Matador*
Munich*
Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story*
Underworld: Evolution
Failure to Launch
V for Vendetta
Thank You For Smoking*
Poseidon
Da Vinci Code
Brick*
An Inconvenient Truth*
The Break-Up*
X-Men: The Last Stand
Lake House*
Click
Superman Returns
The Filth and the Fury
Pirates of the Caribbean II*
A Scanner Darkly*
The Devil Wears Prada
Clerks II * (Q & A with Kevin Smith afterwards)
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Little Miss Sunshine*
Scoop
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby*
Crank
Idiocracy*
The Last Kiss
Hollywoodland
Fearless*
Little Children*
The Departed*
The Queen*
Casino Royale
Stranger Than Fiction*
The Holiday*
The Illusionist*

Look for Part Three of my 2006 summary in a
couple of days.

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I love martinis and Las Vegas more than the average person. However, I must draw the line at a $2,000 martini!

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's elite bar, Body English, has created the ultimate martini. The Aristocrat Martini is a blend of only the finest of spirits, Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac, 150 year old Grand Marnier, and a splash of Dom Pérignon. With a martini of this caliber it is not a surprise that they have accessorized it with a ruby and diamond encrusted swizzle stick.

This would be a good time to be chummy with the bartender!