Ramblings – Page 11 – Fervent Foodie

Ladies who lunch

June 23, 2011 12 Comments

I’ve often joked that my ultimate goal is to be a Lady who Lunches.

I bet you know the lady I’m talking about. Think about the last random workday you had off from your job. If you’re anything like me, you probably headed to lunch at a local restaurant. And if you did make this wise decision, chances are you saw some ladies who lunch. These are the ladies who–on those workdays when EVERYONE else is monotonously moving through the daily grind–somehow manage to break away from it all to enjoy lunch and laughs (and perhaps a few cocktails) with each other.

I often wonder about these ladies. How did they get here? What do they do for a living (or not do for that matter) that allows them to have such decadently diverting lunches on a regular basis? How happy they must be.

While walking home tonight, my mind drifted to my adoration for this concept, and somewhere near E 4th Street I linked it to one of my my all-time favorite TV shows. Sex and the City. Four women from varied backgrounds with varied careers and varied interests BUT with a few key things in common. First, of course, they had the city. Second, would be a shared love of experiencing that city. The sights, the sounds, the food. And third, would be a love of their bond. The ladies-who-lunch-bond.

Wouldn’t it be fabulous if I had my own group of ladies to lunch with? Ladies from varied backgrounds with varied careers and varied interests. Ladies who lacked even an ounce of superficiality but instead came to the lunch table wholeheartedly and ready to just be (and also to eat of course). Ladies who (without actively trying) keep each other grounded while simultaneously lifting each other up.

Could this idea work? Would it work?

I guess you never know unless you give it a shot, right?

…

Now recruiting for the Charlotte Ladies who Lunch Club. If interested, please email: ferventfoodie@gmail.com.

My Favs, Ramblings

Lighter

June 22, 2011 4 Comments

After 2 hours and 45 minutes at the North Carolina DMV, I walked away… lighter.

Lighter from the extreme amount of sweating I did while standing outside the DMV in 94 degree heat… in my business suit… for one hour and 55 minutes.

Lighter from the calories I must have burned while frantically fanning myself with a copy of the North Carolina Driver’s License Manual that a coworker so nicely gave to me.

Lighter from the evil glares that shot from my body toward the DMV worker who told me (after waiting 2 hours and 15 minutes) that I was “wasting my time cuz there was no way they’d get to me before the 4:30 close time.”

Lighter from the happy dance I did when, a mere 5 minutes before close, that same worker said they’d take ONE more tester, and low and behold, that one more was ME! EEE!

Lighter from the woosh of air that escaped me when the same DMV worker told me, a mere 15 seconds later, that I absolutely had to have a social security card, and no a passport would not do, and sorry ma’am but the manual absolutely does not say that an Ohio driver’s license will suffice even if it has your social security number on it. And yes while laminating your social security card seemed like a good idea when you were 16, nowadays that makes the card void…

Lighter from the tears that gushed down my face as I bolted to the car frantically flipping through the manual to the page that listed the required identification documents.

Lighter as I stormed frantic yet triumphant back into the DMV with a moment to spare, past a long line of eyes wondering who this crazy suit-clad crying lady was, as I frantically pointed at the guide SHOWING her I was not crazy and that the guide DID say my social security number laden license would do.

Lighter from the defeat that washed over me simultaneously sucking out every ounce of gumption I’d mustered as she flipped to the inside cover and showed me the guide I had been giving was sadly three years out of date and no longer valid.

Lighter from the mental break down I had in my car in the DMV parking lot.

Lighter from deciding in a rash moment to close myself off from the world by symbolically turning off my cell phone (which lasted a whole 27 minutes).

Lighter.

…

I need some ice cream.

Fitness, Ramblings

Stop.and.go.

June 17, 2011 7 Comments

Stop and go. Stop and go.

Ya’ll may recall my short-lived escapade with running last summer. And you might also recall when I hurt my knee. And if you recall those two things you might also recall that I tried to get back into running by purchasing new running shoes and starting interval training. And then remember when I hurt my knee AGAIN? And then I went to the orthopedic surgeon and he told me “some knees just aren’t made for running.” And then I said screw you, doctor. I’ll show you, doctor. And then remember when I tried to do interval training again? And then I hurt my knee.. AGAIN. And then basically said yeah screw running?

That was fun, wasn’t it? Smile

Sooooooo…. about 2 weeks ago I went to the Charlotte Running Company to buy *new running shoes* … Stubborn might just be my middle name.

Note that I purchased the new shoes BEFORE trying to start running again. Let’s give Mary a cyber pat on the back for at least taking one step in the right direction.

The coolest thing about my visit to the Charlotte Running Co., was the personal fitting. This involved me running on a treadmill while they videotaped my ankles and feet. The playback was pretty interesting to watch. I learned that I do not over or under pronate (roll the ankles inward or outward), which I was always curious about. What I do do is over extend my legs when I run, which causes my heel to hit the ground first. Apparently, the balls of your feet should hit first. The salesman told me to pretend that I’m running on hot coals and take quick short steps.

Verrrrrry interesting. It’s funny to think that there’s a “right” way to run. There’s more to it than strapping on any old pair of tennis shoes and hitting the payment. Really, Mary? Cuz that worked oh so well for you last summer, didn’t it?

After trying on about 10 pairs of running shoes, I ended up going with the Asics Gel Nimbus 13:

Even with my new shoes and my new hot coal running technique, I didn’t want to just jump into running head — strike that — ball-of-the-foot first. I decided to ramp up with… you guessed it.

Interval training.

Originally, my goal was to start with 1 minute running and 1 minute walking for 20 minutes. Then each week gradually increase the run portion of the interval by 1 minute.

Good plan, eh?

Probably was, but it just wasn’t challenging enough. But as much as I just want to just get out there and RUN until my legs can’t carry me any further, I have a little nagging voice in the back of my head reminding me how devastated I’ll be if I hurt my knee again this summer. Sooooooo I reached a compromise with the nagging voice. Instead of bumping the run time up a minute each week, I’m bumping it up a minute each day that I run.

My feets in action:

I’m also running every other day (as opposed to EVERY day I tried to run last summer), and I found a pretty nice path to run on (as opposed to hard streets/sidewalks).

If I stay on this plan, I should be able to run 5K no (knee) problem by mid August! That would be the ultimate accomplishment in my mind. I know 5K isn’t much—I mean it’s no walk in the park but it’s also no marathon—but in my knee-injurfied world it’s quite the accomplishment!

Fitness, Ramblings, Restaurants

So fresh and so (not) clean

June 13, 2011 5 Comments

I’ve been in Charlotte for nearly 2 months now, yet my place is still in disarray. So, my primary goal for the weekend was to be OOBER productive. Looking back I’d say I did a fairly good job of meeting that goal—good enough that I may even be able to post some pics of the apt in the next week or so Smile

Amidst all my oober productivity, I squeezed in a Body Pump class Saturday morning and a “run” (Ah! more on that to come) Sunday morning.

After the Body Pump class, the instructor called me a “real regular”. I know it seems silly, but her little comment and acknowledgement that I’ve been body pumping on a regular basis gave me this sense of pride and accomplishment. I guess it’s because I’ve NEVER been able to stick with any sort of strength training program. I’ve tried. I’ve failed. Annnd repeat. I mean, you all remember my strength training powerpoint, right? Fail.

The hard part for me was finding something I could stick with, and something that I KNEW wasn’t a waste of time. I’m happy to report I’m four months in to Body Pump and going strong! So strong in fact, that today without thinking I flexed my biceps in the bathroom mirror at work. Who does that?! Luckily no one walked in on my “which way to the gym” routine Smile

Anyway, after body pump Saturday I headed home for a quick shower and scooted out to run some errands. I was about 5 centimeters down my street when I realized that I had not only forgotten to shave my armpits, BUT I’d also forgotten to put on deodorant. I slowed the car down to a crawl contemplating on whether or not I should turn around. On one hand I had my goals of oober productivity. On the other hand I had my newly formed goal of not ruining my chances of making new friends in Charlotte because I smell like B.O.. Now if it had been my cell phone I’d forgotten, you’re darn tootin I would have turned that car around. But hairy au naturale armpits? Not so much. I guess we all have our limits Be right back

I hit up Lowes, Target, and Trader Joes before rolling my famished self (neglected armpits included) into my first ever visit to Zoe’s!

Simple.Tasty.Fresh!
My strength training obsessed BF tells me I need to make sure I get bookoo protein in after body pump, so as I perused the menu for something meaty I giggled when I saw they had a dish called The Protein Power Plate. Really?

REALLY??

As unappetizing as the name sounded, the description really hit a special place in my heart. Flat-grilled chicken, caramelized onions, and slaw. Say it with me. CARAMELIZED ONIONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

I was also pleasantly surprised that the dish was sprinkled with a bit of feta. You know what they say. Feta makes everything betta.

This was one DELICIOUS dish. One that I’d eat again regardless of my body’s protein replenishment needs. Zoe’s has a ton of other things on the menu that look worthy of a taste – several sandwiches, kabobs, salads… not to mention the hand-made chocolate cake and homemade cookies. Can’t wait to go back!

After lunch, I headed back to the apt where I unloaded my booty… as in all the goodies I scored shopping… not as in #2… ummmm moving on….

One thing I scored was this lamp shade from Lowes:

I love the color and pattern. Yes, I plan to take the plastic off. Please note the pile of crap on my nightstand. Now envision a 1,000 square foot apartment filled with similar piles of varying heights. That’s what I’m working with, folks.

Slowwwwllyyyy but surely Smile

Fitness, Ramblings

Beef Cake Mary–part 2

May 20, 2011 11 Comments

Lucky for me the BF doesn’t read this blog. If he did, he’d catch one of the RARE instances of me admitting to be wrong. One of the far and few between moments where my big brains did not perform to their maximum outrageously high potential. Lucky for me, this little admittance will stay between you and me Smile

Last post, I admitted that there might just be a little something to this whole weightlifting thing. Perhaps.

Of course I did some (extensive) research. Hello, have we met?! And apparently it’s not just about WHAT you eat that’s key, but the combination of foods you eat.

Way back last year I revamped my workweek meal plan to include lots of healthy and nutritious meals. Step in the right direction? Check. The combination of foods in these meals, however, never crossed my mind. I had a really good plan based on ZERO exercise. So if work got insane, at least I was eating healthy. And if I did exercise I got to eat more. (more=better, am I right?!)

My anal teensy bit neurotic self likes to keep track of everything I eat (I use myfitnesspal.com). This means I have TONS of data of the foods I’ve consumed over the past year. When I sat down and started analyzing all this information I realized something. Something kinda big actually. I was doing such a great job of eating healthy during the workweek (weekends are another story), but those days that I did exercise I filled those extra calories “earned” with the junk that I’d worked so hard to get out of my diet. If I ran on the treadmill I earned a cookie or two or a big bowl a cereal before bed. None of these are “bad” things, but if you think about it I was forcing my body to work overtime so that I could refuel it with crap. No wonder I have been feeling so weak. Busting your butt exercising results in your body needing FUEL. Not cookies or chocolate or Peanut Butter Puffins, but rather lean proteins and slow digesting carbohydrates.

Lean protein and slow digesting carbohydrates… that doesn’t sound nearly as tasty Sad smile

So my new project at hand is tweaking my meals to focus on the pairing of foods and the quality of “fuel” for my body. All without sacrificing the level of tastiness my mature pallate demands 😉 The other issue to take into consideration is that I get super bored eating the same things day after day. So my lunches and dinner NEED TO be especially varied.

For those who are interested, here’s what I’ve come up with so far. No, I’m not a nutritionist or any sort of dr. This is meant to be a rough guide to help me make smarter choices throughout the day—not a rigid list of requirements.

Granted this is Week #1, so I foresee lots of adjustments to come. Suggestions are WELCOME!

Pre-workout (EARLY am)

1 slice Trader Joe’s 7 grain Sprouted Bread (protein & slow digesting carb)
2 tsp Smucker’s Organic Natural Peanut Butter (protein & healthy fat)

Breakfast #1 (post workout)

1 whole egg (protein & healthy fat)
3 egg whites (protein)
1/2 cup strawberries (fast digesting carb)

Breakfast #2 (mid-morning)

Overnight Oats (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, cinnamon, 1 tsp brown sugar) (good carbs)
1/3 cup Greek Style nonfat plain yogurt (protein)

Lunch

Flexible, but frequent large salads with protein (chicken, tuna, shrimp, etc) (protein and lots o healthy veg)
2 tbsp cheese (fat/protein)
1/4 beans (good for ya carbs)
Small piece of dark chocolate (mandatory for mental health)

Afternoon Snack

1 apple (carb)
~~Small protein shake (protein)~~ Bleghhhhhh… I tried. I promise I tried. I just can’t stomach protein shakes. I’m still seeking a good protein to pair with the apple…

Dinner

Flexible. Focus on protein, veggies GALORE, and minimal processed carbs.

Late night snack

Cottage cheese Strike that… cottage cheese is absolutely disgusting. It literally made me nauseous the first night. Dry heaving commenced. So I cut it out IMMEDIATELY. For now I’ve replaced it with 1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt (protein)
2 tbsp nuts (healthy fat)

I’m really interested to see how my body reacts to these slight changes in diet over the next couple of weeks. I’m also really interested to see if alternating Body Pump days with cardio days will hold my easily bored self.

We shall see……………

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