The Deep Fryers Fry On!

       EEK. So I was off on my return date by about 5 days... but here I am again! Not too much time to detail a blog tonight - that'll come soon - because I'm packing to leave home. BUT. For now enjoy these more deep fried finds...

1. Deep fried butter

 

http://www.dallasvoice.com/instant-tea/2009/09/01/state-fair-fried-foods-duke-it-out/comment-page-1/

2. Deep fried grilled cheese

 

http://dandyscotchbrawlers.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/grilled-cheese-more-like-grilled-awesome/ 

3. Deep fried spaghetti and meatballs (on a stick, no less!)

 

http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/food_and_drink/index.html

4. Deep fried pickles

  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26845282@N00/273588759

5. Deep fried ice cream

 

http://www.howtomakeicecreamvideo.com/how-to-make-deep-fried-ice-cream

6. Deep fried pecan pie

 

http://www.newraleigh.com/articles/archive/omg-deep-fried-pecan-pie/

       I'll be here tomorrow dears ! (With an actual blog)

Gone!

Away for the weekend, be back Monday!

Have a wonderful holiday (:

Campus Conundrums: Student Alternatives

 

Loot from CVS after a joint trip with a friend.

     Ah, living away from home. It's amazing, isn't it. You can eat what you want when you want, you have money to spend, and you have your life to live. Compared to money and living life, quality and quantity of food doesn't seem like that big of a deal. However it's is as big of a responsibility as anything else. Trips to CVS, Target, and Walmart are to be expected, but here are some better snacks to stock up on.

1. Dasani's Fruit Flavored Waters

 

http://popsop.com/26067

      0 calorie drinks like these are great alternatives for fruit juice lovers. Although they don't have the same kick as Gatorade (which is basically dyed chemicals anyway), they are much healthier and don't give your body the same unhealthy boost of sugar, causing a spike in your energy and upsetting the stability of crucial things like your mood, your energy, and your attention span.

2. Fuze Slenderize Drinks

 

http://coolspotters.com/beverages/fuze-slenderize

     If flavored water just wasn't cutting for you - these are another great option. They come with only 10 calories, but they taste amazing. Seriously a great replacement for soda, and though the flavored waters are good because they contain NO empty calories, these only have 10 so they do not do much damage.

3. Baked! Lays

 

http://bestuff.com/stuff/baked-lays

     At around 110 calories per serving (14 from fat) the Baked! Lays originals are a super alternative to, say, Lays original non-baked, which have 150 calories per serving (90 from fat). Although I can't endorse chips as the Item du Jour, this is a lighter option with, in my opinion, a MUCH better taste. 

4. Quaker's Chewy 90 Calorie Bars

 

http://www.quakeroats.com/products/oat-snacks/chewy-90-calorie-granola/chocolate-chunk.aspx

    These super little snacks or mini-meals are a great choice as a dessert/treat/pick-me-up, because they are only 90 calories (18 from fat) and I think they taste amazing. Some nutrition bars can have up to 200 calories and taste like cardboard, but Chewy bars are really something to take to the bank, or at least put in your shopping basket during your next trip to CVS. 

5. Orville Redenbacher's 100 Calorie Mini-Bag Microwavable Popcorn

 

    1 whole bag of popcorn is 2.5-3 servings, TONS of calories, and sometimes leaves you hungrier than you were before and craving more salt. Mini-bags are an exact serving size of popcorn, so you can eat the whole bag and feel completely satisfied. Also they are only 100 calories! Who can complain?

     More Campus Conundrums will come, but for now I have to end this one as is. Muah, dears. More soon.

 

Shameless Promotion

 

http://jrenseyblog.wordpress.com/2009/04/

     For the next few minutes while writing this, I am going to set down my pen, remove my spectacles thoughtfully, dab my brow with a pocket 'kerchief, and, while clasping my hands in an introspective way, announce that...    

     I would like to credit my success in losing weight and maintaining it to a wonderful website, which is also a godsend for this blog because it provides me with all of the great low-cal recipes, exercise corners, and calorie information of the foods used in the Diet Destroyers series.

Check it out:

www.caloriecount.about.com

Diet Destroyers: The Pizza Parlor

 

A small shot of the destruction done in one night at a friend's house.

 

     Forget chocolate, pizza is my weakness. Seriously. It is a wonderful combination of tomato sauce, tons of cheese, and thick (or thin! I'm diversified) crust. During my freshman year when our cafeteria was being renovated and the temporary one was a good 15 minute walk from my dorm, my friends and I would often skip dinner and just order in Domino's (conveniently overpriced, but in a small enough way that desperate students like us would still pay for the pizza). My best friend and I sometimes did it twice a week during finals and winter term where it was NOT worth the trek to get to healthy food. We would order the same thing - 1 medium cheese pizza, 1 order of Cinna Stix, and 1 Orange Fanta - and would then divide everything in half. And consume our halves. Unfortunately, there is one major difference between my best friend and I... she has the metabolism of a Nigerian long-distance runner, whereas MINE is more akin to a turtle. A fat turtle. So she continued to stay thin, but I noticed a difference quickly. Talk about The Freshman 15. Anyway, just recently I looked up the calories of the pizza types that I had been eating so long ago. No WONDER I ballooned out like a whale!


1. Domino's Pepperoni Feast Pizza (large)

http://www.dominos-now.com/campus.html

   One slice of this meaty wonder alone is 178 calories... 136 of those from fat. In case you're wondering where all that fat came from, reread the title. Pepperoni Feast. Pepperoni FEAST. I hope the combination of those 2 words allowed you to come to an accurate conclusion. Yes, it is from the incredible amount of pepperoni.

2. Domino's Meatza Pizza

 http://www.newenglandbites.com/2007/05/papa-johns.html

   Aww! Meatza Pizza! It rhymes! A boy in my grade used to order a large Meatza, along with breadsticks and Cinna-Stix, and consume it all himself. Of course, he obsessively worked out, so it made no real difference other than it was generally unhealthy. But most people can't afford to consume an entire Meatza, especially with each slice being 217 calories, 143 of them from fat. 

3. Domino's Cheesy Bread

 

http://smartcanucks.ca/canada-freebies-free-cheesy-bread-from-dominos-with-first-online-order/

      This is something I never quite understood. Cheesy bread. As a side to a pizza. Pizza is (at it's purest state): cheese, bread, tomato sauce. Cheesy bread is cheese, and bread. And in case the difference between the two was too extreme for you, there is a dipping container of Marinara sauce, so you can have a practically-pizza side with your legitimate-pizza main course. But even justifying it like that doesn't make the additonal 140 calories (63 from fat) per piece seem more reasonable, so once again I am clueless as to why this is ever ordered.

 

4. Domino's Breadsticks

 http://www.ucfdominos.com/index.php?a=breadsticks

     Like the cheesy bread up above, I also don't understand breadsticks. Although I admittedly DID used to order breadsticks (and love breadsticks) a lot, I came to realize that they were an extra 130 calories (63 from fat) in addition to the massive amount of pizza I was eating... A really unnecessary 130 calories when you consider that the crust of a piece of pizza is practically a breadstick AND is already included in the calorie amount of the slice.

5. Domino's Cinna-Stix & the Sweet Icing

 

http://www.copykat.com/2009/07/09/dominos-cinnastix/

    A favorite side among all my friends (and loved, as far as I know, by most everyone who has tried them), Cinna-Stix are really addicting. But the Sweet Icing that comes with it is 100x more so... almost to the point of it being a bit strange how good it was. I checked how many calories were in an order of Cinna-Stix...140 calories (63 from fat)... and wasn't really surprised. They are covered with sugar, after all. Then I checked into the icing... my stomach dropped. That one container of icing is 250 calories (27 from fat). No wonder it tasted so good.

6. Domino's Garlic Dipping Sauce

 http://wordosity.com/

    This used to be my favorite sauce when I was younger, because I didn't use to like tomatoes (eliminating the marinara sauce) and I found the fake cheese sauce to be too spicy and overpowering when I put it on my food. So garlic sauce was the winner. When I was researching for this blog, I figured, what the heck, might as well see what the calorie content of that is. I didn't expect much, as is apparent. I nearly had a heart attack when I read what I had been putting in my body. One container is 440 calories... with all. 440. Calories. Being. From. Fat. 

7. Pizza Hut's Personal Pan 6" Cheese Pizza

http://www.morinnbuzz.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

      This shouldn't be TOO bad, right? It's only 6" in diameter, and it's just plain cheese. It's tiny! Well, this tiny pan of pizza brings a whopping 620 calories to the table (234 of them from fat). It's a sad world when things marked "personal" are what really needs to be split.

8. Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Pizza

 

http://forums.montrealracing.com/off-topic/662779-post-picture-your-weakness-food-2.html

      If you didn't have enough cheese on your pizza, you can now have it oozing out of your crust! One slice of this baby and you've already packed away 380 calories, 144 of which are from fat. And since when does anyone eat a single slice of pizza?

     I am not saying "no pizza." Partially because that would be controlling of me, but mostly because then I would have to abide by that rule too seeing as everything I say on this blog are things I truly believe in. I would recommend only having it maybe 1 time a month. It makes it taste SO much better when it's a true treat because you haven't had it in so long. Also, I would say ix-nay on the eesy bread-chay. Breadsticks aren't that necessary either. A salad makes a refreshing side to a couple of piees of pizza, AND it helps move the greasy carbs and dairy through your system, instead of it all sitting and sticking.

Dumped & Dieting

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_4724645_break-off-hurting.html

      Breaking up is hard. My first break up was brutal, actually. Young love typically ends badly, especially in my case because apart from my tender age, it was young, summer, going-to-be-long-distance-after-the-camp-where-I-met-him love. After it ended, I bit into everything I could find, and when people gently hinted to me I was being a little crazy, I bit their heads off too. Everything about me at that point was orally related - I was snappy, sobby, and ALWAYS snacking. Although it goes against my whole healthy eating blog, a friend's recent break up with her boyfriend inspired this post. I decided break up BINGING is most assuredly banned, but I cannot wholeheartedly ban the Dumped Delicacies (frozen treats and chocolate) because I know that sometimes you just need something sweet to dull the pain. So. These are healthier alternatives to several pints of Ben & Jerry's and a bag of Hershey's Kisses. It's the calories that are sacrificed in these choices rather than the taste, and they're a much healthier, much less chemically-created (in the case of Hershey's) set of options.

Frozen Yogurts/Dark Chocolates

(Here are a few suggestions...comparative to ice cream's approximate 250-300 calories per 1/2 cup...AND high fat content)

1. Edy's Fat Free Vanilla Chocolate Swirl Frozen Yogurt

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iateapie/3251331049/

  Calories: 90 per 1/2 cup (0 from fat)

  

2. Edy's Fat Free Carmel Praline Crunch Frozen Yogurt

 

http://www.onsecondscoop.com/2009/08/new-culinary-circle-caramel-pecan.html

     Calories: 100 per 1/2 cup (0 from fat)

3. Dreyer's Fat Free Chocolate Frozen Yogurt 

 

http://www.healthcastle.com/product-listing.shtml?catid=6

     Calories: 90 per 1/2 cup

4. Dreyer's No Sugar Added Fat Free Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream

 
 

http://www.onlyicecream.com/article.asp?articleid=51495&Chocolate-Fudge-Brownie-Ice-Cream 

    Calories: 100 per 1/2 cup

5. Trader Joe's 100 Calorie Chocolate Bar, 70% Dark Chocolate

 

http://healthyandsane.com/category/eats-by-ingredient/shrimp/

     Calories: 100 per bar, 72 from fat

6. Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Bar

 
 

http://healthyandsane.com/category/eats-by-ingredient/shrimp/

     Calories: 100 per bar, 42 from fat

Walk It Off

     Some girls during a time of sadness love nothing more than to duke it out with their feelings at the gym until they're so exhausted they can't feel anything anymore. I admire those girls. Like I previously mentioned, I would shun all movement, grab a blanket, some food, and mope. But it is crucial in any time of emotional duress that you get at LEAST 30 minutes of cardio a day, to keep your metabolism going. So. Make a playlist of comforting, relaxing songs. Counting Crows, Dave Matthews, Mariah Carey, Mario, whatever works for you. Then, grab your tennis shoes and take a walk around your neighborhood or campus, let the music flow through you and just relax.

  One last thought. It is OK and NORMAL to cry. It's actually very healthy and often makes you feel a lot better. But once you have cried yourself out, channel your emotions to bettering your body. Use it as motivation to keep you going at the gym when you are getting tired, and to keep your hand from straying towards that extra piece of pizza. Work it, so you can have a whole new boat load of self confidence and more guys (including your ex!) will desire you when you have reached your desired results. (Honestly, ladies, it's not about men wanting you... but guys are usually drawn to women who have confidence in themselves and their figures. That's why I suggest working it out harder. But of course, the most important person that your figure should please is yourself so if you like the way you look, then just maintain it with healthy eating and regular exercise)

 

Recipe Break!, Pt. 5

 

http://boston2008.drupalcon.org/session/ghop-google-highly-open-participation 

     Ever find yourself skipping breakfast? SKIP NO LONGER! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It starts your metabolism, it keeps your energy stable, etc. If the skippage is simply because you are trying to cut back on the calories, I recently discovered a recipe for pancakes that have almost NO calories at all (only 26 to be exact, and 0 from fat)! Topped with fruit, fruit spreads, or even some syrup, these are a guilt-free, wonderful start to any day. 

The Recipe

**yields approx. 17 pancakes**

Ingredients: 

- 3/4 cups cake flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cups skim milk
- 2 egg whites   
 

Directions:

1) Sprinkle dash of salt on egg whites and beat until they are stiff, but not dry. 


2) Add milk to flour and salt. Beat until smooth.


3) Add baking powder and beat a few seconds more
 

4) Fold in beaten egg whites.


5) Pour batter on a heater skillet or pan until brown.

Read more: http://caloriecount.about.com/low-calorie-pancakes-recipe-r55272#ixzz0Pu9QyG4m

Exercise Corner, Pt 4.

 

http://c2texercise.com/index.php/examples/stretchingprogram 

Jump on it!

     Well, this post is about jumping over it, actually. Jump rope happens to be a GREAT calorie burner... it is an extreme, filled-to-the-brim of cardio activity that disguises itself as a child's game.  I am NOT speedy at jumping rope... or attractive while jumping rope... my coordination is so lacking it's almost crippling. But, going at a pretty slow pace and paying attention to the floor and my feet, I can keep it up for a pretty long while. When I was looking up how many calories it burned on caloriecount.about.com, I was shocked!

Calories burned per hour: 531 calories per hour

Which is the same as...

- 2 Grande Starbucks Cafe Lattes (made with Whole Milk)

- 0.8 of a McDonald's big mac with cheese

- 6.7 glasses of wine (3.5 fl. oz.)

- 1.9 Snickers bars

- 2.6 cans of Coca-Cola

- 17.7 carrots

     Needless to say. I shall be purchasing my OWN jump rope immediately. My coordination had better deal with it.  

Musical Motivation: Exercise Tip

 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPod_Mini_with_headphones.jpg

    Musical motivation. This is not a new concept. Whenever I go to the gym, or exercise period, I ALWAYS bring my iPod along with me unless I'm working out with a trainer who is giving me instructions I need to listen to. Although I love how good I feel afterward, I am not a person who relishes the feeling DURING working out. My iPod, filled with techno, club music, rap and hip-hop playlists, is the perfect way to ignore the discomfort of sweating and of aching muscles. Today in the gym, I noticed about 95% of the people in there were plugged in to their iPods, MP3s, or whatever music playing device they had on their person.
     A song with a loud, consistent background beat gives your brain something to concentrate on, rather then focusing on, "oh, God, do my legs feel tired." The sound waves going into your brain distract it from the anti-exercise signals, and sometimes if it's a song you really like you'll feel a huge burst of energy while listening because your brain is rewarding you for distracting it.
     That is why music like rap, techno, and hip-hop are great while weight lifting, running, or anything like that. You can even time your reps and steps and breathing with the beat of the music!

     My suggestion to you. Make several playlists of fast paced, loud music specifically for working out. In each playlist, have a different number of songs, so one playlist can be used on a day when you work out for 30 minutes, another for a day when you work out for 45 minutes, and another when you work out for an hour, etc. That way, when the last song plays and your music shuts off, you'll realize your period of exercise went by in a flash because your brain was not devoting all of its attention to how hard whatever exercise you were doing was. It makes exercising go faster, become easier, and also just become a lot more enjoyable and fun.

Diet Destroyers: The American Steakhouse

 

http://www.hardrock.com.hk/menu/index.php

     Meat and potatoes. What defines Americans more? It's the meal men crave at the end of the day. A huge slab of red meat, with a side of creamy mashers. Nothing better to absolutely stuff oneself with. Unfortunately, with the amount of wine that is usually consumed with a steak-and-potatoes meal, people usually leave steakhouses drastically over their daily calorie allotment. 

1. Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 

http://www.eldoradobbq.com/ordereze/Catering/Summary.aspx

      I am totally a mashed potato girl. Honestly. If I didn't have public decency and someone put a plate of good mashed potatoes in front of them, I would probably stick my face in them. Unfortunately, these starchy sides are not light on the calories. Regular mashers are a lot better, but the typical garlic mashed potatoes found on steakhouse menus are about 320 calories (135 from fat) per serving... pretty rough considering it's JUST a side dish.

2. Shoestring Potatoes

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39258668@N00/29297219

     Do you ever order the shoestring fries to come along with your meal, and intend to split them with the rest of the table? My family does often. These salty, crunchy, AMAZING bites are just so easy to eat. But just because they go down easy doesn't mean they're healthy... in fact, they do something else with ease too... transform into fat cells. 1 tiny OUNCE of these little guys is 150 calories (81 from fat)... and considering you're probably also eating a salad, a steak, potato side, and drinking wine... it really adds uneccessary hurt to an already painfully heavy meal. 

3. Lone Star Steakhouse's Texas Ribeye 

 

http://www.ploughbasted.co.uk/steak.html

     A true man's meal, no? Approximately 14 oz. of 100% American beef. It's also approximately 1,092 calories (with a whopping 794 of them from fat). Most people who order this down the whole thing, not including their sides and wine, and easily are a pound heavier in the morning.

4. Sirloin Steak

 
 

http://pinegrovemarket.com/cart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

      Although it's less caloric then the ribeye (simply because it's from a different part of the cow so the fat content is different) this cut of meat brings at least 789 calories to the table, with 424 being from fat. Again, because humans have been hardwired since time began to crave heavy, protein-rich meals, most people will eat this entire cut, along with sides and wine. 

5. Bread and butter

 

http://thewanderingeater.com/2007/04/27/an-artful-lunch-at-the-modern-bar-room/

     Always, always, always will you find these tasty starters placed in a basket on your table. STAY AWAY. Save your hunger for your meal (and save yourself the calories)! You came to the restaurant for a steak, not for the bread. 1 piece of bread is around 150 calories, with 14 from fat, but the real killer is butter. 1 teeny TABLESPOON is 102 calories with, you guessed it, ALL 102 CALORIES FROM FAT. 

     When the food is there, it's hard not to eat it. Trust me, I know. That was my biggest problem and it was why I got so heavy. Here are some hints that REALLY helped me cut back on unnecessary calories, and in the long run, my weight.

1. Look up the menu online. Try and do this as early in the day as you can. I understand that often dinner is only decided when it gets closer to the evening, but if you even are considering a steakhouse (or any restaurant for dinner) Google the menu, see what looks good, and plan your daily meals accordingly.

2. Plan your meals accordingly. Decide whether you want to eat little during the day, so you can treat yourself to a larger dinner, or decide whether you want to eat a bit heavier during the day, so you will be less tempted to eat as much for dinner. However, if you do eat heavier, you HAVE to make yourself order/eat less of your dinner than you regularly would.

3. Stay away from bread. Like I mentioned, did you order the bread? Usually, no. DO NOT EAT WHAT YOU DID NOT ORDER. Save room for your dinner, which will contain important nutrients like protein that your body needs, not empty carbs slathered in pure fat. If you really find yourself starving, drink water. Often your body's hunger signals can be confused with the desire for water, so always sip before you eat.

4. Easy on the meat. Red meat is good, there is no denying that. But steakhouses offer a variety of meats, like much healthier fishes and poultry dishes. If you really have to have a cut of steak, order a petite filet, or split one of the larger cuts with a dinner partner. If you eat slowly, and drink and talk between bites, you'll quickly discover you don't need the entire 14 oz. of meat to feel satisfied. 

**calorie information found on caloriecount.about.com**

Upcoming: Musical Motivation: Exercise Tips