Today was the 2nd day of the art class I took. Yesterday there was a big bowl of cutie tangerines. I had two. Today, there were no tangerines. Somebody brought a big container of homemade molasses cookies. ARGH. I had one. Then another. I probably had five. Damn it.

One of the Weight Watchers “helpful habits” is to “control your environment.” Well today my environment controlled me.

At least I had a good lunch.

Soon I’m going out with Mr. McBody and will update later. I wish I’d brought my own tangerines and had skipped those cookies!

For some reason my coffee cup (believe me, you’ve seen it before) did not come through. For breakfast I made a red onion/portobello scramble with a little sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top. It was SO GOOD.

‘

Junior and I took a class together today and we went out to lunch to an Indian chaat cafe. I had a tandoori chicken plate. I had about 75% of this chicken and half a round of naan. SO GOOD. Also a little bit of the dal to dip it in.

During the workshop I had two cuties (tangerines) for snacks. So refreshing. I also had 2 squares of low-carb dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s.

For dinner, I made turkey meatloaf muffins (2 PPV each!) and pureed cauliflower (1 PPV). It was delicious but sadly I did not remember to photograph. They were so cute too! For dessert we had Skinny Cow chocolate truffle bars (3 PPV). Excellent.

It became very clear to me recently that something needs to change up. I wouldn’t say I was in a rut, but I was in a something – some unhelpful habits, so to speak. I noticed myself eating more and differently than I have, and I’ve been feeling weirdly “fat.” I’m only a few pounds over my regular weight, but I find myself wanting to reach toward my really, really big clothes again. I want to hide. I don’t feel super comfortable.

I’ve been on a work trip this week, and I’ve had very little control over my food choices. I mean, I always have control but my choices have been very limited. A “free” breakfast that really means a massive carbfest. Lunch consisting of white bread sandwiches with cold cuts brought into the meeting room. And while there is always SOME sort of choice, it’s been limited.

For the first couple days of the trip I think I just fell into an “Oh well” trap. “Oh well, I might as well eat breakfast sausage patties! And maybe a biscuit!” OOPS, there goes 12 points for breakfast. UGH.  Last night, the company took us out to a pretty nice seafood restaurant as a treat. I didn’t eat everything in sight but it wasn’t the greatest thing ever. When I got back to the hotel I was in a panic that I’d eaten myself into some sort of diabetic emergency state – because I had also forgotten to take my medicine in the morning. I felt like I was just going to pass out. But the truth was I was jetlagged and exhausted from this super intense course that went from 8am to 9pm (including dinner). I frantically tested my blood and it was a fairly innocuous 140. (what I would expect after a biggish dinner)

But it was a wake up call. It made me realize that in past months I have not been as, er, mindful, as I was last year. I realized that if I was still foodblogging (taking photos of and blogging about) my dinner, I would have made different choices. I wouldn’t have kept dipping into the bread basket. I would’ve maybe not eaten the entire serving of cheesecake.

So this morning I woke up feeling determined to change things up. I’ve decided to go back to foodblogging. When I was doing it last year, I was really feeling good about my food choices. Even when I chose to have something rich or sweet, I did so being fully conscious.

I decided that I’m going to take a picture of my food as soon as I eat it and upload it right away. And then I’ll go back and add any reflections later. I am not going to fool around with cables and fancy cameras and uploading. I can upload directly to WordPress via my phone, and I don’t have to spend time plugging stuff in.

So that’s my new resolution. Already I feel a difference in my choices today.

I started out with coffee, an apple (still uneaten; it’s in my bag) and two hard boiled eggs. Those eggs (yay protein) kept me totally satisfied until lunchtime. I got a little mini box of Cheerios to save as a snack, and late morning, it was the perfect thing. (instead of reaching into bowl of candy they put right on my table, and which I could not resist yesterday).

Lunch choices today were much better than yesterday: turkey wraps in a spinach tortilla (I had ½ a wrap), salad and fruit salad. Perfect, really. I had some deliberation about the cookie plate. I spent too much time fretting and Tweeting about it and finally decided (thanks @czilka) to take a bite of one and then decide. That really helped. I took one bite of a macadamia white chocolate chip cookie (which I love) and as many had predicted, it didn’t taste very good. So it was easy to let it go.

I noticed SEVERAL times that I felt this itchy urge to get up and wander over to the snack table. But then I’d ask myself, “Are you really hungry? Are you committed enough to take a picture of this thing?” And the answer was always no. I was stressed, anxious, tired, bored and sleepy, in turn, but never hungry. So I didn’t eat anything. Now THAT’s awareness.

After the course was done I got to the airport and had the 2^nd half of the turkey wrap. I really don’t like eating food on planes so I pretty much considered that my dinner. I checked in and I realized I wanted something cold and sweet.  FroYo would have been great. But there was NOTHING like that here. I wandered around the airport and finally found this (believe it or not) at McDonald’s. Yeah, McDonald’s.

I ordered a mini Oreo McFlurry and ate two spoonfuls. That was all I wanted. It was perfect. And it was conscious, you know, so I didn’t mind taking a picture or posting it here. I don’t feel guilty or bad about it.

When I got home after two long flights, I was really hungry. I got a cheese stick from the fridge and crashed.

And that’s what conscious eating is about.

It was really some of the simplest and nicest chai I’d ever had, and SO much better than the ubersweet stuff from Starbucks because we could add our own sugar (or not).

After about my 4th cup, I asked to learn how to make it and was amazed at how simple it was. Here you go!

Simple Chai

Ingredients: black Assam tea (loose, not in bags), fresh ginger root, water and milk (you choose from nonfat>>whole)

Step One: Cut up ginger root into small slices – about half a thumb’s worth.

sliced ginger root

Step Two: Add ginger and about 2 tablespoons of black tea to about a cup of water. (note: the ratio of water to milk is 1/3 to 2/3, so if you’re making a LOT, 1/3 of the pot is water and 2/3 is milk. Same is true no matter the quantity). Bring to a boil.

Step 3: When it has come to a nice boil, add the 2/3 part of milk. If you put in one cup of water, add 2 cups of milk. It can be whatever kind of milk you want or combo of nonfat, whole, half-and-half. I use 2%.

Step 4: Now bring the heat down to a simmer and watch it closely (this key). When it just starts to foam up, REMOVE FROM HEAT. Look at the picture. One or two more seconds and it would have foamed over and made a BIG HUGE MESS on the stove (I witnessed this one or two times during the weekend).

the tiniest hint of boiling foam!

Step 5: Use a tea strainer or sieve to strain out the tea leaves and ginger.

Step 6: Add the tiniest amount of sweetener (optional) to taste. I experimented with this stuff and it was pretty good. And note that this is an iced tea spoon, so it’s very small. Like half a teaspoon.

THAT is IT. Unbelievably simple, huh? This chai is very simple and delicious and soothing and has a nice little kick from the ginger. You can experiment by adding cardamom or cinnamon or other things (in the first step with the boiling water). I came to love this chai and had it multiple times a day during my snow weekend in the mountains. I am never going back to the commercial stuff!

We have been pretty lazy when it comes to Christmas breakfast. Lazy, and traditional. We pop open a couple cans of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and that’s our breakfast. I wanted BETTER this year and we got it.I wanted something nice and proteiny and easy and healthy. Thanks to the awesome Kalyn’s Kitchen site I found these Mexican Baked Eggs. They were perfection. Incredibly delicious AND easy. My only regret is we didn’t have any tortillas sitting around. Ah well. Next year!

Then our budding baker, Juniorette, offered to make homemade cinnamon rolls instead of the instant kind. WOW. She used the recipe from this book, which she has been making incredible goodies from ever since last Christmas. They were breathtakingly amazing! We are never going back to Pillsbury!

drizzly goodness

ta-daa!

Mr McBody says "Yum!!"

I’ve also been making piles and piles and pounds of sugared pecans, which is my go-to holiday giftie treat.

Today I stopped off at our local frozen yogurt place. I like to get just 2 or 3 ounces, a little taste, which just satisfies. I like the “tart” flavor with pomegranate seeds (YUM!), almonds, and teeny tiny cheesecake cubes which are about the size of peas. YUM YUM YUM!

That’s not all I’ve been eating lately. But it’s what my camera caught.

Here’s some stuff I ate/photographed/noticed:

fish tacos from place near work

one package = 6 PPV

This is an example of something I would not have eaten or chosen if I were “actively” food blogging. But I did eat it. I chose to eat half a package which was 3 PPV. But.. hmmm.

Moosewod Gypsy soup

This soup is so awesome and comforting. I think I ate it 3x last week.

Satsuma orange

I’m eating tons of these. Zero points and so so good.

tomato-onion scramble

I got to work early one day last week, and the nice lady at the lunch counter made me breakfast.

fancy tea sandwiches

I went to a fancy holiday tea last week and boy was it yummy. They also had a gorgeous arrangement of fruit.

tangerines, blackberries, pomegranate seeds

required to wear fancy hats

So that’s the highlights of this week. There have been a fair number of holiday celebrations and I am managing to hold my own.

I’ve decided not to shut this blog down, but to surprise my readers with posts every now and then, and when I have something to say. Nobody needs to see a parade of endless mugs of coffee, do they? But sometimes I DO eat things, and they are either so blogworthy I just have to mention them. Because they are delicious or strange, or because I made some kind food choice that is remarkable (to me, anyway).

Here are a few highlights since I’ve been here last.

Yesterday I went to the hippiest grocery store I’ve ever been in. It makes Whole Foods look like NPR. Anyway, they had this great vegan hot-food bar and I got a beautiful snack of two kinds of eggplant, brown rice and quinoa. And heaps of self-satisfaction.

Oh. Just when I said “no more mug photos” I realize I have to post this. It mysteriously appeared in my kitchen cabinet. It makes me laugh no end. Maybe it came from Junior. I have no idea. I just love it. What does it mean???

I had some of this irresistable jam in my oatmeal this morning. YUMBERRIES. For real!

Okay, now here’s a story. Anyone who knows me know that I have a terrible weakness for macaroni and cheese. I LOVE IT. So a few weeks back I was really, really hungry. I found myself at a Wolfgang Puck fast foodie kind of restaurant. I ordered a salad (also ordered below) but I was sooooooooo longing for that mac and cheese. I paced around that counter like a shark for about 15 minutes before I ordered. I ordered the mac and cheese.

And guess what. It was not all that. I ate about 3 forkfuls and it just was not sending me into paroxysms of ecstasy. So what you see here, dear readers, is what I LEFT on the plate. I LEFT THIS! UNEATEN!

Can I have about ten bravo stars, please? Because this was a huge breakthrough for me. It was GOOD mac and cheese but it just was not GOOD ENOUGH.

The salad, on the other hand, was wonderful.

Did I show you my insanely large bowl o’hummus topped with eggplant? MMMMMMMMMMMM. Considering that we normally measure hummus in tablespoons rather than VATS, this is a gigantic portion. I ate about 1/3 of it and then waddled out.

Totally worthy treat: pumpkin cupcake from the Cupkates Truck. Made me SO happy.

“First Date Soup” (which I made for Mr. Mcbody on our first date, in 1982!) aka Moosewood cookbook Spinach soup. SO GOOD. And quite the aphrodisiac.

So that’s what I’ve been up to the past few weeks.

How about you? What’s the most memorable thing you’ve eaten this week?

Started out by sleeping late and then, oatmeal.

Later on, I had ideas about what I might like to prepare and eat but I did NOT want to go out to shop. We often fall into the ridiculous notion that “we have nothing to eat here” but really, look at our refrigerator.

And our pantry (sorry for the blur; you get the idea). It is insane how much food we have.

I scrounged around and found this packet for black bean soup/chili.

It took a good 3 hours to cook, which pretty much explains why it’s been sitting in the pantry for I don’t know how long. It came out pretty good.

Meanwhile,  I continued experimenting with various chocolate concoctions.

The Fiber One chocolate and PB Haystacks: Um, not very tasty. I’m not bringing them to the event on Wednesday.

The choco-fudge bites from the WeightWatchers.com site: tasty but tiny. I sprinkled half with powdered sugar and half with Mexican cocoa. Both good.

Finally, I tried some chocolate-dipped strawberries. For some reason I can never get the chocolate to be liquid enough to actually dip. It was way too thick, and a little lumpy. And didn’t stick to the strawberries very well. However: very tasty.