Year 4, Day 104: Missed it By That Much

Today I had planned to go to Russo's for the fifth straight day in a row, and walk there no less. My plans were interrupted by a meeting with NY.   We ended up going to Demo's, for salad and kebab.  This not only thwarted my best chance at a five-in-a-row, but squashed my Strawberry dreams.  I made up for it by eating almonds, pistachios and popcorn.

Breakfast

1 Slice Balthazar Bread

Super Chunky Peanut butter

2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Coffee

Lunch: Demo's

Chicken Shish Kebab

(On Salad)

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

Almonds, Pistachios

1 Bag of Popcorn

Dinner:

Tilapia a la Emily

Broccoli

Year 4, Day 97: Friday with No Walk

Still feeling the hangover of being sick.  Rain cancelled the planned walk to Russo's.  We went by car in the rain and it was super crowded. I can't for the life of me understand why so many people walking through Russo's just stop, in the middle of the tiny aisles, for no reason. They just stop. They just cease to move forward.  Then you're forced to either crash into them or carry your little red basked above their heads so you don't knock the precariously balanced fruit all over the place, which would then necessitate you bending over and picking it up. 

So maybe someone can explain that to me.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Blueberries

Strawberries

Banana

Soy Milk 

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.35)

Romaine, mushrooms, broccoli, olives, red peppers, cheese, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Snack

Almonds

Beef jerky

Dinner: 

Fish with Ginger & Scallions

Dessert

2 Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares,

Almonds

Year 4, Day 73: Another Walk

Amazingly, went for a walk today, which is good because on Tuesdays I go out with Ruby for a little Daddy & Me date.  I pick her up at clay class (where she 1) covered with clay and 2) eager to hug me so I am then covered with clay).  Then I ask her where she wants to go to dinner. Tonight's answer was "Cabots," which is the Hamburger and ice cream shoppe in Newton. It's not FANTASTIC, but it's so rare to find an above-average, family friendly place with good food and good ice cream that you really can't complain. Plus on Tuesdays it's not busy.  I asked if they had any "low calorie" yogurt. Their answer: "We have sugar free, lactose free, wheat free and dairy free" desserts.   I asked which one was the lowest in calories.  She didn't know, she was stumped. I guess no one ever came to Cabots looking for low-calorie desserts.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk 

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.35)

Romaine, Peppers, Hot Peppers, Mushrooms, Chicken, Tofu, Broccoli, Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner: Cabots

Baby Spinach Salad

with Hard Boiled Egg, Cheese, Bacon and Grilled Chicken

Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette (lots of calories, I only used half)

One french fry

Dessert

1/2 sugar free Chocolate yogurt.  A few Reese's cup pieces that fell off Ruby's dessert.

Year 3, Day 208: Bad, Bad People Behind My House

Ruby had trouble going to bed. Then she was up in the middle of the night. Then up at 6:15. Not very promising for a day. When I came home at night I noticed they had totally taken down the forest behind my house. There was no wine, so it was straight to the chocolate.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch: Russos' ($5.69)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
Jerky
1 Honey Crisp Apple
1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
30 Smokehouse Almonds

Dinner
Steak
1 Applegate Organic Hot Dog
Cauliflower

Dessert
1/3 Dark Chocolate with Almonds

A dark day. I can barely type.

Year 3, Day 199: Broken Refrigerator

Have you ever realized something was wrong, but not really understood what it was? This was the case as I went through the morning breakfast ritual, until the painful realization dawned upon me that our refrigerator was broken. Now I have a lot of problems with our refrigerator. First of all, I don't like it. Second of all, it was supposed to have an ice maker but it doesn't, or it wasn't connected, or something but the bottom line is I have to make ice in ice trays and someone in my house who is tall enough to reach the ice trays without a chair is always putting them back with only one ice cube in them. But I digress. So I realize the refrigerator, is in fact not working. I call the number on the refrigerator and they tell me they can't get anyone to my house until Monday. Does that work for me? I ask how I can get it done sooner. The people at Maytag tell me to call the local repair shop they are contracting with and see if they will come sooner. I call them and ask and they say "Maytag tells you to call because they could have us come sooner but it costs more so they have you do it. But we can't come out any sooner unless they pay." I hung up the phone and started working Angie's List.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.05)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini


Snack
4 Sticks Beef Jerky
1/2 Honey Crisp Apple
1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner
Romaine, Broccoli, Tuna, Balsamic

I finally got a local guy that would come by today and do it, and he fixed it for a hundred and something dollars. I continue to hate my refrigerator and long for the day when I can rip its door off and put it out on the street.

Year 3, Day 191: OMG Return of the 100 Nut Day

You really can't get around it: 25 Nuts=170 Calories, Therefore 100 is nearly 700 calories. There's really no way to make that OK, unless possibly you're running a marathon.

Breakfast
Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
6 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 Very Bad Pink Lady Apple
100 Almonds

Lunch: Russo's ($5.21)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Fish
Cabbage & Balsamic
Edamame

Feel quite bad after my flour binge last night and nut-binge this afternoon. Really bad. Lots of stress in my life right now: Father in hospital, trip to NY for the holidays, travel to NYC next week.

Year 3, Day 173: Biggest Russo's Take Ever

I took the day off to get ready for our trip to the vineyard. Aside from working out (5 miles in 45 minutes, 100 ab crunches) Emily and decided to do a power shop at Russo's. (Amazingly, I did not get a salad from there, due to the timing).

Our take $138.00-- we got everything we could think of that was a plant, fruit or nut (including two batches of Quebec strawberries). I was heartened also to see local blueberries, especially since the day before they had only California Strawberries (with no labels but marked 'fresh') and blueberries from Michigan (are they known for their excellent blueberries?) Amazingly, there is (but only if you believe the state of Michigan). Amazingly, they own the URL blueberries.com. From their site:

There's nothing more basic than blueberries. A staple of our early ancestors, they're as much a part of our heritage as country quilts and wood-burning stoves. In addition to their visual appeal, intense blue color and sweet delectable flavor, blueberries are a healthy and convenient food. Luscious, sweet blueberries have a nutrition profile fit for the new millennium. They're low in fat, sodium free and a good source of both fiber and vitamin C. In fact, a one cup serving of fresh blueberries will give you five grams of fiber - more than most fruits and vegetables - and 15% of your daily vitamin C at a cost of only 80 calories.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch
Salad with Grilled Chicken
Cabbage Feta
Balsamic

Postwork Out, Post Lunch Snack
3 Tablespoons Peanut Butter (Super Chunky)

Snack
3-way split of Microwave Popcorn with Magnolia and Ruby

Dinner
Salmon with Garlic Butter
Raw Cauliflower

Tonight was about the dreaded 'eating what's in the fridge.' If there's a phrase known to send shivers up the spine of any married man (aside from "My mother's coming to stay- for a while") it's that. This involved eating some fish standing up because we were trying to get kids ready for bed, stuff packed for seven days away and you know the song.

Year 3, Day 169: Vineyard in T Minus 4

I have been working hard and getting ready for vacation. It's been hard to track down good strawberries, but the Canadians have been coming through for me. Unfortunately, they only have them at Russo's when I walk there, necessitating I carry them home while sweating with my salad. I ate quite a few on the drive home, too.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.17)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
5 Sticks Beef Jerky
2.6 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner:
Hamburger
Pickles
Asparagus

Went for a brisk walk today. On the way back we noted that there was a police investigation in progress. No doubt looking for perps. Should I start worrying about this walking thing?

Year 3, Day 156: Everything tastes better at McDonald's

Every once in a while, you wake up with the determination and the power to stand up to the nut-monster. Today I vowed to be good and strong and really keep on the program. 30 Almonds? Ha, that's the ticket.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
4 oz turkey
3 sticks beef jerky
30 almonds
1 oz Boston lite popcorn

lunch; russo's ($5.25)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

dinner:
tilapia a la emily
green beans

From Slashfood.com: Everything tastes better at McDonald's
Posted Aug 7th 2007 3:06PM by Bob Sassone

That's according to preschoolers, anyway.

A study done by a researcher at Stanford University has concluded that kids think that anything that McDonald's does taste better than anyone else. And not just the burgers and fries. This also extends to the milk, carrots, and apple juice! As long as it has a McDonald's logo, it's better. To quote Diane Levin, a childhood development specialist: "You see a McDonald's logo and kids start salivating."

There has already been news recently that some companies are going to stop advertising toward kids and I'm sure this news will add to that. Though I think McDonald's is probably advertising to adults more than ever now, with their "I'm Lovin' It" campaign. Over at the Obscure Store and Reading Room, a reader makes a good point, that when he was a kid going to McDonald's was a special treat, not a daily dietary choice. Now it's seen as a regular thing, I think, with many parents. I remember when I was a kid it was something that was done once in a great while, something I got excited about when we went out of town to the mall and we got to stop at the golden arches after shopping with family. But McDonald's are everywhere now, even in your small hometown, so those days are probably gone.

Year 3, Day 142: Hernia!

I thought a hernia was a strain, like a bad back. Little did I know it resulted in a visible protrusion. I apparently got myself one by bringing two buckets of rock salt to my shed on Friday so they wouldn't be on display for Ruby's party. And really, why is the rock salt on the porch in July anyway? I thought I was in good shape and I could handle it. Apparently not. I go to see my new doctor, who both confirms the diagnosis and makes me long for Dr. Parent. I called Dr. Parent, but she was on vacation. So I guess it's back to surgery to correct this unfortunate problem. All I could think of was blue-collar workers who wore belts 'for their hernias." I thought "Will I have to wear a belt now?"

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack:
4 sticks beef jerky
65 almonds
1 jazz apple

Russo's ($5.27)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Breast of Chicken
Salad

First day back to work and it's back to old reliable Russo's. I never seem to get tired of it, though I am tired of people who bring their shopping cart down the salad bar aisle. And the people who cut really need a schooling. But sometimes I'm just not up to it.

Year 3, Day 127: First Day of New Job

It's really amazing that after nearly 11 years with one outfit (that was three different outfits) I reported to the same office but a totally different set of goals, employers and a totally uncharted future. I could not be more excited about the opportunity, and the amazing thing is that I get to keep the walking gang, and Russo's, too. You really couldn't get any luckier and so I am literally counting my blessings, trying to remain calm and not to overdose on nuts. Well, okay maybe not the last one.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
4 Beef Jerky Sticks
2 cups Boston Lite Popcorn
60 Almonds
25 Cashews

Lunch: Russo's ($5.17)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Trout
Cauliflower

Dessert
Cherries

I don't usually have dessert, but today seemed to call for something special and the cherries were soooo good.

Year 3, Day 114: More Normal

The first of many hot days. Me and the lone other Domaniac went for a walk to Russo's. I vowed I would only buy my salad, I filled up my basket. It's hard to explain, but the walk back, and carrying more than one thing (like a salad and strawberries and bananas, for instance) makes your gait unbalanced; they only give you the crappy, landfill-laden plastic shopping bags that have no shape and are designed to allow things like tins of salad that want to be horizontal to angle themselves. Therefore, you have multiple problems of trying to keep things from opening, spilling or being crushed, and keeping an even walking position. Then you have to keep up a good pace and much of the walk in the hot sun. I cursed myself, and my inability not to buy things at Russo's, the whole way home, sweating.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.31)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini


Snack
4 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner:
Burger
Broccoli
Salad, Pickles
10 Cashews

I want to go back on phase one but can't give up my breakfast during strawberry season. They are just so good. I am eating them all the time. If loving them is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Year 3, Day 20 Bringing Down the Horse

It looked like nice weather, but when the Domania walking gang took to the streets, we were met with howling winds, uncleared sidewalks, dirty snow and angry drivers as we walked back and forth across busy Pleasant street on our first ever walk to Russo's. Yes, we took the plunge many of us only dreamed of. We calculated it at about 2.4 miles, which is only slighter longer than our usual walk. However, due to inclement conditions, we had to take California Street back, thereby making it the longest walk ever. To top it off, I was carrying my salad and three apples and the bag was likely to give tear if I didn't hold it just so. But it was a great walk and I was glad to be part of the team, though my ears were ringing for quite a while after we got to Russo's.

Breakfast
2 slices of jane's new bread
super chunky peanut butter
coffee

snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno cheddar
4 sticks beef jerky
1 fuji apple
2 cups boston lite popcorn

Lunch
russos's ($5.45)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms,
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Robert's Faithful Brisket
Cauliflower

I don't know if anyone ever had this experience when you have a rent-a-car (I had to get a loaner because my car needed service): I came out my office at the end of the day I realized my car wasn't in the parking lot. I came home, had dinner, and then drafted Ruby to come with me to get my car. I was thinking about what a nice car dealership it was, as they lent me a car for nothing. The man had said "oh, since you're having your 30,000 mile tune-up, you can have a loaner car at no cost." Then I realized the 30,000 mile tune up costs FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. I could buy a NEW CAR for that! On the way there, I took Ruby to Ben & Jerry's and let her get any cone she wanted, which in this case was a fudge-laden, sprinkle-covered coffee chip ice cream cone (kid-size, natch). The counter help were impressed that she picked coffee, because most young'ens pick chocolate or vanilla. Because I am an enabler, I brought home a pint.

Year 3, Day 6: True Love Never Runs Smooth

Again I am trying to stay true and on course. As usual, finding it challenging. Living in New England, with its frigid winter temperatures is really making reach me for the food (in all shapes and sizes).

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
2 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 Fuji Apple
10 Almonds

Lunch: Russo's ($5.51)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms,
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

+2 slices toscano picante

Dinner
Shrimp & Snap Peas

Most of you know my feelings about cereal. I love cereal and have always loved cereal. The truth is, even some of the cereals you would consider 'the worst' are all about the same ~ 150 calories per serving, add about 30 for the 1/2 cup of lowfat milk. The real difference is whether the cereal is made with unnecessary stuff, like artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, BHA, BHT or partially hydrogenated oils. Of course most of the great kid cereals are made with sugar, and parents have to watch out for that. Yes, cereal companies use cartoons to sell sugar to kids, but in reality it's no different than companies using sex to sell products to adults. What gets me is how we've literally hit the skids when it comes to ideas. Now some folks might disagree with me, but when I saw the Eggo cereal, I really bummed out. Not that I wouldn't like it—especially in it's higher calorie (but lower carb) cinnamon maple version (made interestingly enough with cardamon)—but something about taking a product that was ALREADY a convenience food (the eggo waffle) and making it into an even more convenient food just hits me wrong. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's a lot like when they make a movie out of a musical that was made out of a movie—you just ask, 'where are all the good ideas?" And the answer is 'they are killed because the heads of corporations just want to copy what is successful.' The truth is, I should have said something when Eggo waffle started crossing the line by making French Toast sticks—a clear violation of the Geneva convention. But now it's too late.

Year 3, Day 5: I Don't Like Mondays, Again

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but this march has continually roared but at the weirdest and most inconvenient times. Just when you're ready to break out the shorts, it got freezy, and this really could lead you to eat a lot of chocolate chips, for instance.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
4 sticks beef jerky
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Russo's $6.01
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms,
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Turkey Crumble by Emily
Lettuce Leaves
a few hamburger bites
2 bites of a Joseph's Net Carb wrap with cheese (to entice magnolia to eat it)

I love Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas. They have the greatest marketing right on the package (but no web site). "No trans fats! 5 Net Carbs! Excellent Source of Omega-3s (a health benefit on which the jury is still out) are striped across the package. Yet, the name defies all of it's fans- it's like they had a marketing director but he/she quit prior to the naming and Web site creation. If you don't believe me, do a google search- you'll find lots of people talking about how good they are, but no one getting the name just right. And what kind of name has 9 words in it? Though it must be said they are everything a tortilla should be that a pita (and honestly most some tortillas) is not: they are pliant, and perfect for- well, wrapping things in. Since Magnolia loves cheese I thought she would dig what is really a grilled cheese sandwich but in a spherical roll-up that she could hold in one hand. Alas, I was wrong, but I did eat a lot of it trying to get her to eat it. Such is the burden of parenthood.

Year 2, Day 339: Cold Monday, Bad Monday

It always feels good to make it through the day without overt bad snacking, but then 3:30 rolls around and watch out! In come the nuts.

Breakfast
Kashi
with Go lean Crunch!
Coffee

Lunch: Russos ($4.90)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
2 cups Boston Lite Popcorn
35 Almonds
4 Beef Jerky Sticks
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Dinner
Chicken Breast
Cauliflower
Celery, Carrots & Onions from Last Night's Brisket

Dessert
Wine
Chocolate, Almonds

They say that after a big sporting event players' metabolisms are lifted for days. I'm not sure if that happens outside the sports world but I wonder if my little engine runs hotter or faster in the day after my workout day because I am always so much hungrier on Mondays than any other day. It is probably some combination of the post-workout metabolic lift and the anxiety of returning to work plus being in close proximity to so many yummy nuts. Someone please help me! I'm a nutaholic.

Year 2, Day 332: And A Cookie To Go, Thanks!

Today we had a guest from corporate headquarters here in the local office. In the old days, this would have been a signal for me to go out and get donuts or bagels and cream cheese. I would have gotten a dozen of either, even though there are only six people in my office. As a result of having too many bagels/donuts I would have eaten at least two. And, I would have loved them. As it was, I took him out to lunch at Strip-T's, a place that sounds ribald but is really just an excellent sandwich & lunch place (It does raise eyebrows on the expense account, though). They are well know for their desserts, if not especially for their sheet cake. Since it is located exactly at the midpoint of where my old office was and my new office is, it has been in my rotation for nearly six years. And I must say that whenever I had lunch there, I was in the habit of 'bringing something back,' like a peanut butter cookie, or a slice of sheet cake. Another habit I fondly bid adieu to as I walked out of there today.

Breakfast
2 soft boiled eggs and one yolk
3 slices Turkey Bacon
2 (small) slices of Jane's bread
Coffee

Snack
1 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn
1 Fuji Apple
5 sticks beef jerky
2 oz. 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Lunch: Strip T's
Chicken Kebab
over Greek Salad
(with Balsamic Vinaigrette instead of Greek)

Dinner
Chicken Breast
Bok Choy
String Beans with Ground Turkey

With dessert being so prevalent in my household, it's no wonder that GUMSERT didn't come around sooner. Of course GUMSERT, like its distant relative, NUTSERT, is the act of having that 'after dinner treat' that is comprised only of a few lonely sticks of chewing gum. While in reality it is not very satisfying, it is the modern way for those looking for their after-dinner sweet without their after dinner calories.

Year 2, Day 320: No Chicken at Russo's

It happens once in a while that due to timing, or other factors, there is no chicken at the Russo's salad bar. Long time readers will appreciate that while rare, this sad turn of events gives me pause to reflect on my new attitude towards food. Years ago I would have abandoned salad plans and gotten something else, and probably something else very fattening. But now, recognizing what my father-in-law has been saying for years "Food is a biological requirement," I simply substitute tuna, and move on. It's funny to think that I've grown more mature as the result of a diet? It might actually be true.

Breakfast
Balthazar Bread
2 Soft Boiled Eggs
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Snack
50 Pistachios
4 Sticks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Russo's ($5.01)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
tuna, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Chicken Paprikash
Leeks
Broccoli

Dessert
Nuts (that I ate with Magnolia)

Starting to teeter back to a nut-frenzy. It comes in waves and it's difficult to control. I realize why most people don't have the same problem with nuts that I do. They ARE TERRIBLY EXPENSIVE! For Pete's sake, it's nearly five dollars for a bag of Almonds, whether you're buying the delicious Whole Foods variety, the delicious but less expensive Russo's variety, or the tasteless, cardboard-esque, good for nothing Trader Joe's nuts. Their expense keeps you from buying too many of them, and a result, you never quite have the same volume of nuts you'd have of say, Cheetos Extra Crrrrunchies. So they're self-limiting, unless you're me and you buy LOTS of them to keep around you all the time. This decision will need to be revisited.

Year 2, Day 276: The 40th Almond...

...is the almond that accompanies shame, disappointment and failure down your throat. It's also the hobgoblin of anxiety. There is no good reason to keep almonds on your desk if you occasionally will have to stay late because a very important project takes much longer than you thought it would. It's that kind of project that drives you into the arms of the almonds. Even the unsalted ones are so good. And here it is, poker week, and I'm trying to resist. I'm trying to be good and stay inside of the confines, but it was a five-beef jerky day. Wow, I mean does that say it all or what?

Breakfast
Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean
Heritage Flakes
Blueberries
1 Small Banana
1 Cup Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
5 Sticks Beef Jerky
40 Almonds

Lunch: Russo's ($5.37)
Romaine, red leaf, red pepper, red onion
pepperocini, feta, broccoli, mushrooms,
TUNA, balsamic vinegar

Dinner:
Chicken Paprikash (a la Maria)
Bok Choy (a la Emily)

Today there was no CHICKEN at Russo's. I think that there should be a sign up at the parking lot saying "no chicken" so we don't even have to come into the parking lot. It is very disheartening to find not an empty chicken bin—or even a slightly picked over chicken bin, possibly meaning that there will be more chicken soon—but the place where chicken usually is replaced by Tuna. Now I like Tuna (as does Ruby, who eats it three times a week, in violation of many experts' safety opinion vis-a-vis mercury poisoning) but just like coke tastes bad when you think you're going to drink orange soda, Tuna is no replacement for chicken. Whatever. I made do. That's what I do.

Year 2, Day 270: Twinkies and Meat and Fisticuffs at Russo's

Came across this book in my travels. I thought. "No, not really. You're kidding, right? Twinkies and Meat? Just how desperate do you have to be to push high carb, high fat, all-sugar foods with no nutritional value?" Answer: that desperate.

Breakfast
1 Cup Heritage Flakes
1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean
Banana
Blueberries
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
4 Slices Beef Jerky
12 oz. Decaf Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.29)
Romaine, Red Leaf, Red Pepper, Red Onion
Feta, Chicken, Broccoli, Mushrooms
Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner:
Lime Shrimp a la Emily
Green Beans
Avocado Salad

Dessert
1/3(4 Squares) of 1 Serving of Green & Black Chocolate (Espresso)

So it's hard for anyone to understand this if you haven't been to Russo's, but I'll try to explain (sorry my powers of charting and graphing are not up to par). One short-side end of the rectangular salad bar at Russo's is dedicated to three kinds of salad: iceberg, romaine and green leaf. The red leaf is at the very corner of the long side. At the other short-side end there is prepared foods like pasta salad and roasted vegetables which I never take because whether they are good for me or not they are VERY HEAVY and so must be avoided. The tin trays and plastic covers are stored at the same short-side end where the three lettuces are. That makes it an ideal place to START your salad at the salad bar. Now, I may have grown a little possessive. It does feel like MY salad bar. But if someone is filling up their tin tray with iceberg lettuce and I am taking some romaine, they shouldn't feel that I'm "busy" when I have clearly angled my body to read that I am "on line." (Since I am from New York I will have to translate that that means I was "in line.") This woman, had to make a slidy kind of bendy motion that to most onlookers, would have telegraphed that she was sliding PAST me to get to the beginning of the salad bar. In horror I said, "Hey you are cutting." Without looking at me (more proof she knew she WAS CUTTING, she said "I'm just getting salad." Note: she did not say "you weren't in line." I said "You still cut!" to the back of her head. She wasn't responding. I was out of luck. Luckily, there was plenty of chicken for both of us, or I am certain we would have come to blows.