Thursday, January 15, 2015

No One Said This Was Going to Be Easy


So this is how my night went.

Wanda went to bed early. I stayed up to watch the last half of The Devil Wears Prada. I watched the first half a few nights ago and just like 2006 I turned it off when the twins were reading an unpublished Harry Potter manuscript while on a train. Nine years later I got no further. The kids are still on the train.

Instead I watched a documentary about the KKK in North Carolina in the 60's, mused some about the Tea Party then caught up with the Gallagher family and Shameless. At 10:30 I went to bed. Ten minutes later I got up and ate an apple slice. At 11:00 p.m., I ate another apple slice and a handful of pita chips. At 11:30 I ate another apple slice, a handful of pita chips and a couple of Wanda's Holiday Special Brown Butter Iced Pumpkin cookies.

And this is the first thing I saw this morning.

TheDailyMeal.com: Fruits and Vegetables That Aren’t All That Great for You

Grapes
A large bunch of grapes actually has about 39 grams of sugar, so if you find yourself mindlessly snacking on grapes, you could be getting much more sugar than you bargained for.

Oh, I may be in trouble here, what's next? Calories in wine?

Green Peas
According to Alissa Rumsey, registered dietitian, green peas are best eaten in moderation. "Starchy vegetables like peas have higher calorie and carbohydrate content," says Rumsey. "So while they are fine in small amounts, you want to try to fill up your plate with non-starchy vegetables instead like leafy greens, asparagus, mushrooms, or beets."

OK now someone is criticizing green peas? They're so easy to cook. 

I eat lots of leafy greens and even though asparagus is expensive and makes my pee smell like a 1700 Paris sewer I eat it too. I gave up mushrooms in 1968 and the only beet I'm familiar with is the base beat that often booms from a neighbors house, or if I'm extremely fortunate, his car as it's moving away.

I know I'm mixing my fruits and vegetables, or homophones but you try coming up with something interesting to say about beets. I heard someone say a beet tastes like dirt.

I've never eaten dirt or a beet so I'll take his word for it.

Mango
Mango is another sugary fruit that Lauren Slayton, author of "The Little Book of Thin" encourages clients to skip. Instead, she recommends grapefruit and keeping fruit intake limited to one serving a day while detoxing.

I'm sure at some time in my past I recognized an unfamiliar taste in my fruit compote but I've never knowingly consumed a mango. And now I'm wondering since I've never officially detoxed does that mean I'm toxed?

Orange Juice
There's nothing wrong with oranges, but orange juice shouldn't be considered an acceptable substitute for the solid fruit. Orange juice is a great way to get vitamin C and potassium, plus there are options with calcium and vitamin D," says Maggie Moon, author of "The Elimination Diet Workbook." "However, a dieter may be better served by eating whole fruit instead of juice. Juice concentrates all things by nature: flavor and nutrients, as well as sugars and calories."

Ya, ya....tell it to my vodka.

Potatoes
Americans adore potatoes, but they're not the best choice for maintaining a healthy diet, according to Moon. "Even though potatoes are a great-tasting way to get potassium and vitamin C, the problem is that Americans love adding fat and salt to this humble root vegetable and removing the skin, which contains fiber. Additionally, nearly 60 percent of all potatoes consumed away from home are fried," says Moon.

Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented grains or potatoes. Potatoes and orange juice both have potassium and vitamin C. 

I don't need that orange juice after all.

Broccoli
While broccoli is a healthy vegetable, like Brussels sprouts, it’s not a great one if you’re looking to detox (again with the detox). Broccoli can also cause excessive gas and bloating, which might leave you feeling too gross to hit the gym.

I eat a lot of broccoli. I try to buy organic. At one time I sliced the sides of the stalks down and cut the tender centers on the bias but that's a lot of work. Now I just cook and eat the flowers, or crowns.

Oh, by the way, you'll need to adjust the time slightly depending on size and amount but I've found 14-16 minutes in a small Black & Decker steamer makes for a tasty side dish. Add your choice of flavored grease, a small amount mind you, a little spice or cracked pepper and you are good to go.

However...as Ms. Rumsey points out you may have excessive gas and bloating which is a nice way of saying you may fart. But if you want to go to the gym, by all means go. With all that sweat smell in the air no one should notice a little methane.

I haven't been to a gym in years.....do people still sweat there?

Bananas
While she doesn’t consider them unhealthy, Lauren Slayton, author of The Little Book of Thin, recommends that those trying to lose holiday weight skip starchy bananas in favor of fruits like raspberries. “However, having said this,” Slayton continues, “I tell clients if you’re running through an airport, don’t skip the banana and opt for the candy bar. It’s all relative.”

Make up your mind there Lauren. I am so tired of people knocking the banana. Where would the Minions be without them?

Coconut
Coconut should be considered more of a treat than a fruit, says Maggie Moon, author of The Elimination Diet Workbook. “Coconut is sometimes considered a fruit, sometimes a nut, but is high in saturated fat either way, and that means cholesterol-raising calories that add up quickly.”

Not even in Hawaii have I eaten real fresh cut from the shell coconut. I don't like anything about coconut, not the pina colada drink and certainly not the song. I once had the misfortune of trying to behave in a polite manner in public while eating a slice of coconut frosted wedding cake. 

I was sure I was eating confetti and straw.

It could have been worse, it could have been German chocolate.

Cherries
Slayton also recommends that clients skip sugary cherries when trying to bounce back from holiday indulgences. “Overfruiting is super common,” she says. “What happens is that excess fruit sugar (fructose) is easily welcomed by your fat cells.” Therefore, munching cherry after cherry could be counterproductive to your goals.

Lauren.....really? Spitting cherry pits is one of the joys of life. I love cherries.

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I won't be eating the cherries but I've heard pumpkin is very healthy.

Pass me another cookie.

I'll scrape off a little icing.

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