Year 3. Day 180, Vineyard, Day Seven

Ah the last night. I woke up again determined to walk the ~3 miles back and forth to Katama Market even though the morning was misting and the garbage man had run away from me coming out in the AM in my skivvies.

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

All Sorts o Snacking:
Microwave Popcorn
1 Small bite of a cinnamon roll
various almonds and cashews
2 beef jerky sticks
a few bites of pesto pasta

Lunch: The Right Fork Diner
Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken
a bite of Ruby's Hamburger
5 French Fries with Ketchup

Dinner:
Flank Steak, Shrimp
Salad, Corn

Dessert
1 Reeses & Death by Chocolate Cone

Again, I tried to get back on track, but again the vacation and the intrusive through disorder of having to return to the mainland really got to me. I succumbed to another full ice cream cone, several ears of corn and who knows what else.

I did swim for about 30 minutes though.

Year 3, Day 179, Vineyard Day Six

After last night's SoBe debacle, I got up this morning and walked to the Katama market instead of driving. It's about 1.5 miles each way, so it was a good walk. It won't make up for yesterday (or today, for that matter) but I know that every little bit helps, physically and psychologically.

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

Lunch:
Hamburger
Salad

Snacks
Popcorn at Oak Bluffs
Dried fruit
almonds, cashews
fruit nut chew
sahale sanck
few slices of zucchini bread
crumb cake

Dinner
Ribs, Brisket
Salad
Glass of wine

Today's plan was to have my Mom, her SO, and my brother and his family, who were vacationing in ever-so-near Cape Cod come over on the ferry and hang out with us. We initially thought we were going to take them out to Edgartown or Oak Bluffs and go shopping, but we decided at the last minute to just bring them to our house to hang out. Fortunately, we had told them to bring their swim suits! I had the good presence of mind to go shopping (again!) for stuff for the grill. Amazingly, really amazingly, the grill at this house was EXACTLY the same as the grill I purchased in 2003 when I bought my house but used only once. For some reason, this one is easy and I'm really getting the hang of the grill thing. We had a great time with everyone swimming, and snacking, and resting and having a good time. We had set up the golf game and David helped me set up the badminton net that my brother in law had left for us. He beat me, but it was good exercise.

Year 3, Day 178, Vineyard, Day 5

Could be the worst SoBe diet day in three years. Yet, that has kind of a majestic poetry to it, too. After all, where would you want to go hog wild if not on vacation, and where would you expect your worst day to come in a seven day vacation, but right about in the middle? The only thing that can be offered up is that I went for a three mile bike ride this morning, and did my 40 situps also. Though I think I'll need a few days in the gym to recoup from this one.

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

Snackz
3 Handfuls of Go Lean Crunch!
1 Bite of Balthazar Bread with Super Chunky Peanut Butter
1 Bag Microwave Popcorn
Cashews

Lunch
Meat of a Lobster Roll
Greek Salad
10 French Fries with ketchup

Dinner
Steak Tips
Cabbage Salad

Dessert
1 Ice cream cone (Reese & Death by Chocolate)

Emily's sister and her family went home today, which was kind of sad because it meant we were going to be alone on the island, which really meant we were going to have get more into the routine and less 'let it all hang out.' We were able to take it easy because where we were situated, Ruby was able to walk over to her Aunt's place, which was pretty swinging when you wanted to take a nap or something. We bravely soldiered on, and had lunch at a GREAT place called the Right Fork diner which is everything you want in a diner. I could have done with a little air conditioning and a few less flies, but otherwise perfect. I did however eat a lot of french fries which made me feel bad.

THEN Emily wanted to take the girls for ice cream (which had been the habit all week) so we all drove the six miles to Oak Bluffs and went to Richardson's where they did indeed have some of the yummiest ice cream I have ever had. I begged the Ukrainian dipper boy not to 'overscoop me' but he insisted saying "you can eat it, you can eat it." How could I explain to him that my ability to eat it was not in question? I paid for the four cones and we all sat in the slightly cool ocean air, licking away in silence. Ruby and Magnolia both helped me finish my enormous cone as we watched tourists and locals mix it up.

We're on vacation.

Year 3, Day 177: Vineyard, Day Four

Again, I get up and go the Katama Market. I ostensibly do it for to get the newspapers, which include the New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Vineyard Gazette. There is a Cape Cod newspaper that I've purchased a few times. The smell is so great and the vibe is so swell I can't help loving that store. I got more cinnamon rolls. I am a bad man.

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

Lunch:
Cold Hamburger, Some Omelet, Salad, Cheese

Snack
Sahale Snack (See picture), Tamari Almonds, Some Coffee Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies, popcorn

Dinner
Chicken, Cheese, Salad a lobster claw a glass of wine

Well, there's more chance to eat on vacation then there is it at home. Especially hard when you bring a lot of snacks. Then you're snacking all the time. I've kept on my sit-ups program and I did do a little a bit of swimming today. When Ruby got up up, her eye looked like Rocky Balboa after the fight. We took her to the ye olde tyme pharmacist who agreed that Benadryl was the way to go. I had my first MV lobster. It was good. We saw the sunset at Aquina. It was up-island and far away, we came back at a ridiculous hour and had a dinner party at our house. Yesterday I vowed to stop reading my work email I have been drinking not a lot but often. Emily has been eating ice cream. We're all on vacation. I'm starting to relax. Wheee!

Year 3, Day 176: Vineyard Day Three

The house has two floors and it's kind of a strange setup since the stairway divides the house in a way that we couldn't get used to. We often walked around it several times trying to find it. It might sound silly, but I suspect if a house-psychologist examined the house they might conclude that it violates the CIPU (Clear if previously understood) principle--they put the stairs in the wrong place. This was a bad night of sleep, we tried to let Ruby sleep on a different floor from us. She wasn't ready. In the middle of the night we had to carry a mattress of a flight of windy stairs. I couldn't get too upset, since we expected it.

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

Snack
A few bites of cookie, coffee cake and cinnamon roll

Lunch:
Breast of Chicken, Salad, 1 ear grilled corn

Snacks
Popcorn, Salea Snacks

Dinner:
Hamburger, Salad

Post dinner
A few bites of lobster out of a lobster roll, some tuna, a bite of cracker
2 glasses wine, 2 squares chocolate

Every morning, I do the same thing. I get up, put my shoes on and make my way to the Katama Market, which is the greatest place in the whole world. Now you could argue that anyone who goes to Martha's Vineyard and loves a store not some kind of nature is a philistine, plain and simple, and that would be me. I got a cinnamon roll for Ruby since I am a junk food mule but they smelled so good and she DID love them. I continue to cook on the grill. Later in the day, we took a trip to Menemsha and Dutcher Dock to watch the sunset with Emily's sister and family. It was beautiful but we were foiled in our dinner plans because we wanted to eat at "Bite", reportedly the 'best clam shack in the world' or at least on the Island. However, they have a very hostile paradigm: they close at sundown. Actually, Emily and I had fed ourselves and the girls before we left because two years ago on the trip back Ruby was so hungry she nearly passed out and I think we were eating five year old life savers from the bottom of a car seat.

With "Bite" closed, we disappointedly walked back to the actual dock and bought a few things to eat. Ruby ate the local lobster shop out of crackers and we bought some tuna salad which she devoured.

Year 3, Day 175: Vineyard, Day Two

Of course, I bought a lot of Quebec strawberries, Michigan blueberries and regular old South American bananas so I could continue to have the same exact breakfast every day while I was on the vineyard. In addition to Whole Foods and Russo's, we went to Costco prior to arriving and I got some 'healthy snacks.' They of course, like the Dale & Thomas Popcorn are somewhat high in fat but I continue to delude myself and eat them, and the calories just keep coming. We have rented a house with a pool, which is good for the kids (they love the pool) and good for us(we don't have to go anywhere) but it also PREVENTS us from going anywhere which would be good, because then it would be away from all the food!

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

2nd breakfast
1 slice of balthazar bread with super chunky peanut butter

Snackzapolaooz
1 stick beef jerky
cashews & almonds
some fruit & nut chew
a few bites of popcorn at Mini Golf

lunch:
hamburger (I made it on the grill)
salad

dinner
tilapia, salmon and chicken
string beans
salad
1 glass of red wine

peach crisp

We discovered that the basket of peaches I got from Russo's was full of unripe peaches, so I did what anyone would do: I made a peach crisp. I am incorrigible. I immediately brought it over to my sister-in-laws rented house where all of her family looked at me as if I had created a monstrously deformed DNA experiment. I left it there, and my brother-in-law apparently fell in love with it to the point where his wife had to forcibly remove it from the house, and then Emily had to hide it our house.

Year 3, Day 174: Vineyard, Day One

Got up at 6:30am after a fitful night. I knew we had to bail out of our house by 8:30am to make it to the ferry and I was afraid that the Saturday AM Bourne Bridge would give us the fidgets. Luckily, it was not a problem and we arrived at 9:55, earlier than expected but not early enough to get the earlier ferry, which as luck would have it, was the nice 'big ferry.' The seas were rough and the waves high, so I was not hopeful about a smooth trip when I saw OUR 11:00am ferry, something out of the movie "Used Cars" but only tug-boat sized. We got on excitedly, but Emily turned green rather quickly and had to repair to the car (on the ferry)

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

Pre-ferry Snack
4 pieces of beef jerky

Post arrival, pre lunch
Cashews, Almonds

Lunch:
Romaine, Cabbage, Red Cabbage, Feta, Balsamic, Tuna

Fruit & Nut Crunch

Dinner
Hamburger
2 Ears of Corn
More Lettuce with Balsamic
A Few Asparagus
1 square of 65% Dark chocolate
glass of wine

Emily got us this house, which was amazingly on the same road as the house her sister her family stay at. It was a very large house, whose space is laid out somewhat poorly, but it HAD A POOL. Now the truth is, you could really rent a house anywhere with a pool, and that would be a great vacation for kids. But being on MV made it good for the adults too, since it was quiet and peaceful and allowed us to get away from the weeks of construction that we had already endured, and that we were likely to endure upon our return to Needham. We had hundreds of dollars of groceries that I made a mental note to force my family to eat so we would not have to drag them back off the island. We went on a bike trip today which I counted as a victory for my calorie count.

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 172: Tennis Loss

Last day of work for eleven days! I can hardly wait. Today Emily and I played tennis. My shoulder and neck have been aching form working on computer plus sleeping wrong. I lost 5-7, and 3-6. Afterwards, We went to Isabella's wearing sweat clothes and we craned our sore necks so we could stare, tounges-a-wagging at someone who was demonstrating their new iPhone. On our way out we asked to touch it. The woman who owned it obliged. We were super-amazed by its coolness, and tried to remain unfazed, but we honestly, we acted quite goofy, like we'd never seen a fancy gadget before.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($5.26)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
3 slices ham
2 sticks jerky
4 oz Buffalo Blue Cheese Popcorn

Dinner: Isabella's
Mixed Green Salad
Salmon with String Beans and Pea Vines
Crab-Avacado Salad

Getting ready for vineyard. In a fit of pique, I ordered a tremendous vat of buffalo-wing and blue cheese popcorn from Dale & Thomas. It cost like $50.00 and it's amazingly high in fat. I might as well have chocolate for breakfast lunch and dinner. Well, I saw it on 'unwrapped' on the Food Network and I thought it was health food. So much for believing everything you see on TV.

Year 3, Day 171: No Walk But Yes to Russo's

A 1:00pm meeting meant no walk, but I did go to Russo's. Had to drive there. Fretting about the constant deployment of white plastic, oil-based bags and so have garnered some 'honey' bags from Whole Foods. However, I keep forgetting to bring them, so it is doubly-useless.

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


Snack
3 Slices of Ham
2 Sticks Beef Jerky
1 Apple
4 oz. Dale and Thomas Hot Wing Popcorn

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


Dinner:
More Salad, with Bread & Circus TUna

Dessert
Peanut Butter with Chocolate Chips

Started thinking about all I have to and Martha's Vineyard and my father's surgery and my step brother's wedding, it drove me right over the edge to the chips. Then the popcorn arrived.

Year 3, Day 170: Another Fine Walk

The Dog Days of August are usually unbearably hot and sticky, and days that you wish you had a corporate job so you could stay inside the cool air conditioning. Due to the climate crisis we have had temperatures in the 70s this week. Luckily, they'll go up a bit next week, touching on the 80s, but from the wrong side to really enjoy the beach. Though it's perfect walking weather.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($6.09)- Not paying attention
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
2.6 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
five sticks jerky

Dinner:
Flank Steak & Asparagus

Dessert
An Apple

Still counting down the days to Martha's Vineyard.

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 168: No Sunday Workout

Spent $300 at Whole Foods. That's a record even for me, though probably not anywhere close for the store. We realized we really had to get to ready to go away. I wasn't sure I would have another no-pressure time there. So I took my time and thought really hard about what I needed. And yes, of course, the answer was: A LOT OF NUTS.


Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee
+ crusts of a slice of Balthazar rye bread with butter

Lunch
BBQ pulled chicken
salad

Dinner at Neighbor's:
2 Chicago style sausage with cheese
1 Omaha-Steak-Hambuger
Peppadews
2 tortilla chips
1,5 ears of corn
a few carrots with hummus
2 Bubbie's Pickles

Dessert
1 slice of crisp

Made two pies with my not-ready-for-primetime-fruit: old blueberries, cherries about to go bad, a peach I almost threw away, a soft nectarine and a plum Magnolia took a bite of in Whole Foods. One was a pie, one was a crisp. THey were a hit. The pie disappeared quickly, and half the crisp was left over.

Year 3, Day 167: Bedeviling Coffee Cake

My baking odyssey continues. I have no expanded into coffee cake and have had to procure a bunt pan to make it correctly. I have nailed the butter crumb topping but the crumby-cake part is still eluding me. To use sour cream or not? Yeasty, springy thing or light-crumb quick bread? I'm obsessed. Luckily one of my neighbors loves coffee cake so I continue to send the majority over to them.

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

Coffee Cake

Lunch:
Breast of Rotisserie Chicken
Salad

PostTennis Snack
6 oz Stonyfield Yogurt (Plain)
Super chunky peanut butter

Dinner: Zaftig's

Lenox Omelet (FIre Roasted Tomatoes, Goat Cheese & CHives)
Side Salad with Balsamic VIngarette

Tonight Aileen (original SoBe partner) was in town for a visit so we schlepped the whole family to the old stomping grounds of Brookline. While the gals went shopping, me Ruby and Magnolia played at the Devotion school and I imagined what it would have been like to have kids while I lived in Brookline. I supposed it would have been nice, but there would have been less parking, more bugs and a lot more train-chasing.

Year 3, Day 165: The Costcoization of America

I just can't help but think everywhere I go the nation is succumbing to "Costco-ization." Specifically: everybody is buying too much of everything because it's cheaper in bulk; there's nobody to help you, and you have no idea what you're buying. Every store is more and more the same. And then there's Nordstrom. But I digress.

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

Snack
Orville Redebacher Bag of Popcorn
30 Almonds
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
4 Sticks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Aegean Fare
Greek Salad with Chicken
Saginkoka

Dinner
Salad
Brisket

Took the staff out to lunch today. Was nice. I ordered the saginkoka, which is a Greek cheese served melted in a bowl. It's yummy.

Year 3, Day 165: Cramps

Went for a walk today and boy was it hot. We were schvitzing like stuck pigs when we got back. Spent under$5. on my salads at Russo's today, so I was feeling kind of keen. I had a real jazz apple for snack but I did also eat 50 almonds. I knew with my fast walk and tennis tonight it would be OK. I guess I've gotten to that place where a little bit of being bad is OK.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($4.94)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Added Tofu

Snack
4 Sticks Beef Jerky
50 Almonds
1 Jazz Apple

Dinner: Paparazzi
Mixed Greens with Goat Cheese
Grilled Boneless Breast of Chicken
SPinach
Broccoli

After
1 Glass of Watered-down gatorade

Emily and I were entering our second hour of tennis play she took the first set, 6-4, after leading 3-2 and then I pulled ahead. Drats! In the second set she was about to serve at 3-2 when I felt the familiar rumblings in my calf. We took a break and called Amy; she yelled at me for not having orthotics, said she didn't want to be liable for a decision and said to get some gatorade. We got off the court, grumbling.

Year 3, Day 164: Bad Snacks Ruin Afternoon

First of all, stay away from the almonds. Secondly, I have taken to eating my popcorn in a bowl. I know, that's how families have eaten it for centuries, but I was literally eating it off my legal pad. That's not very couth. Unfortunately, I added a second bag which was totally stale to my fresh popcorn, therefore ruining all. To save my snacks I turned to my Jazz apples but realized that I either bought the wrong apples (they were Braeburn) or Russo's played a trick on me. I tried one, but it was powdery and slightly mealy. After two bites and a philosophical argument with myself about whether or not to eat an apple whether you enjoy it or not, I chucked it and got another one-- it was also a Braeburn! Drat. For solace, I turned to the almonds, and you know how that goes.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($5.25)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
5 Sticks Beef Jerky
50 ALmonds
1/2 Braeburn Apple
1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner:
Arctic Char
Bok Choy
Wonder Beans

Dessert
A few chocolate squares (Milk, natch)

Sometimes you just have to come home, and after a healthy dinner, eat a lot of chocolate.

Year 3, Day 163: My New Web Site-Unhappy Parent (& Gino Vanelli)

Unhappy Parent.com: Rate restaurants in number of flies (five flies is a must avoid). Papa Gino's wins the coveted five-fly award for having a number of employees who carefully avoid any and all contact with the impatient, justifyingly frustrated, and downright miserable folk that have the misfortune to arrive there, hungry. I called my order in at 5:50 and 6:25 it still wasn't ready. The manager was not managing, he was making pizzas. The counter boy could hardly run the register because he fielding a personal call for a female employee that appeared to be on a break. Another female employee had her back turned squarely to the ever-growing line of angry and hungry people.

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

Lunch: Chang Shin Yaun
Pea Shoots
Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce
Beef with Assorted Vegetables

Snack
3 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
4 Sticks Beef Jerky
7 oz Turkey

Dinner
Cheese from one slice of Pappa Gino's Pizza
Chili Con Carne
Salad

When I went to write about Papa Gino's, I accidentally typed Pappaginos and for some reason a page of links leading me to the Ebay section featuring Gino Vanelli ("Living Inside Myself") was revealed. Ah, the ever-unknowable and unwinding mysteries of the Internet.

Year 3, Day 162: Bad Day, Saved by Tennis

Today was just another typical 100-almond day that was going nowhere fast. I have been having trouble with the almonds because writing makes me want to do something with my mouth; chewing gum and eating jerky only go so far. I also ate all my popcorn. Things got worse when I got home and Ruby told me she was having 'chocolate' for dessert. "What chocolate?" I asked. "The bar" she said. I asked Emily what that was, and discovered a humongous Hershey's bar in the cabinet. "How much does she get?" I asked Emily. "Four Squares" she answered. Unfortunately for me, the four squares on top of Ruby's were cut in half, and you know the rule- you have to eat those, you can't just leave them there, all cut in half. Then I remembered I had recently purchased Consumer Report's best dark chocolate and I said "Ruby, do you want to try some really good dark chocolate?' She said yes. I told her that dark chocolate was better for you than regular milk chocolate. She was eating some and then asked me "What's in dark chocolate that makes it better for you?" I replied, thinking I was about to kick a soccer ball into an unguarded net "It's not what it's IN it, but what's NOT in it-- Milk." She paused for a moment and then said. "I thought you said milk was good for you." I replied "It is, but it's sugar and milk. Now don't be so smart." I gave Magnolia a piece of dark chocolate and just told her it was chocolate. I tried a piece of chocolate halavah I got at an Armenian store in Watertown. It wasn't very good, and being five days old, I tossed it.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($4.70)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
6 Sticks Beef Jerky
2 oz 50% jalapeno cheddar
3 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
100 ALmonds (Tamari & Regular)

Dinner:
Turkey Crumble & Lettuce LEaves

Dessert
Assorted Lite, Dark Chocolates, Chocolate Halavah

Then Emily suggested we play tennis at night, which I said yes to automatically, For the first time in years, I took the first set and she took the second set. 6-3, 4-6. I could have taken in her that second set, but it was not to be.

Year 3, Day 161: Today's Triathalon

Today I woke up determined to make my streusel recipe. Because the best part of the coffee cake is the nut/sugar topping, I put some in the middle of the cake too. Ruby ate an entire piece in three seconds and handed me a few whole pecans declaring "I don't like nuts". After my workout I met my family at the pool, where I swum one lap and most oversaw the children. I only did 6.3 miles in 65 minutes and 100 ab crunches.

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

Lunch
Salad
A few bites of Pool Hamburger

Dinner
Some (but not a whole) Chicken breast
salad
1 full ear of corn
10 almonds

Emily brought me lunch by the pool, which was a nice treat, though I do hate to eat outside when it's hot.

Year 3, Day 160: Primos Via the Bubbling Brook

For the first time since I started the diet, and only time I can remember when I have not been sick, I was not hungry when I woke up this morning. So I did the only natural thing: I didn't eat. It took about two hours until I was ready. Then we didn't have lunch until nearly 2pm-- and dinner at 7pm. Not surprisingly, there were no snacks today, which again, excepting sickness, is the only time I can ever remember that happening.

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

Lunch
Tilapia a la Em
Salad with Feta & Almonds

Dinner: Primo's
Mixed Field Greens with Balsamic
Pollo Espinche

Emily, my niece and the kids wanted to go to the Bubbling Brook for dinner. Since it's in Westwood, we decided to find a nice restaurant down there we could go to en route. We figured if all the places were bad along the way we'd just eat there. It's a Howard Johnson type place, hamburgers and fried clams. As it turned out, the last place we visited before that plan took place was Primo's-- an Italian restaurant that absolutely had not one visitor. We practically surprised the staff who claimed the absence of ANY patrons was simply "Westwood in August." The chicken was dipped in egg and fried- not advertised on the menu- but the food was good. Then we went for ice cream, which I wisely demurred.

Year 3, Day 159: Chung Shin Yuan at Home

From the South Beach Newsletter: Dairy 101

It's easy to shop for dairy on the South Beach Diet® once you know a few basic guidelines. The South Beach Diet® recommends choosing low-fat and fat-free dairy products, which are low in artery-clogging saturated fats. In Phase 1, dairy options include low-fat (1 percent) or fat-free (skim) milk and low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt. (Feel free to flavor your yogurt with a sugar substitute and an extract of your choice, like vanilla extract.)

Beginning in Phase 2, you can also choose an artificially sweetened, no-sugar-added, low-fat or fat-free yogurt. You may also substitute low-fat plain or artificially sweetened soy milk (though unsweetened is better-Ed.) for dairy products in all Phases. Low-fat or fat-free, lactose-free milk is also fine in all Phases.

It's also worth noting that cheese is considered a protein on the South Beach Diet®. (Yay!-Ed.) To control your saturated fat intake, look for cheeses with 6 grams of fat or less per ounce. While there is no serving limitation for cheese, some people report stalled weight loss from eating too much. If you're experiencing this, cut back on your cheese consumption. (Drat.-Ed.)

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

Lunch: Russo's ($5.25)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
4 sticks beef jerky
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
1 Jazz Apple

Poker/Dinner
Pistachios
Cashew & Almonds
Popcorn
1 Frito Corn Chip

Chinese:
3 Moo Shi Pork
Kung Pao Chicken
Mongolian Shrimp
String Beans with Beef & Garlic
Boneless Spareribs
Beef Teriyaki
Double Cooked Pork

A few bites of pie
1 beer

Went crazy with the Chinese food. As always, I order too much and then try to make up for it by eating too much. And dessert didn't help.

Year 3, Day 158: Do Diet Foods Lead to Weight Gain?

Do Diet Foods Lead to Weight Gain?
By Alice Park
Time Magazine
Wednesday, Aug. 08, 2007

If you think you're cutting calories by eating diet or low-calorie versions of your favorite foods, think again. A new study by Canadian scientists published in the journal Obesity suggests that our bodies can't be fooled that easily.

Led by David Pierce, researchers at the University of Alberta studied the eating habits of young rats, and found that they tended to overeat when they were fed "diet" foods. Though the new study was conducted in animals, it adds to a growing body of research in humans that suggests a diet-foods paradox: the more low-calorie (or even zero-calorie) sodas and foods you consume, the more your body demands payback for the calories it was deprived.

Pierce and his team started with the assumption that animals, and young animals in particular, are adapted to crave high-calorie foods that are packed with fat and carbohydrates, the crucial biological fuel that rapidly growing juveniles need. Using classic Pavlovian conditioning techniques, Pierce trained his rats to associate low-calorie foods with a "diet" taste, and high-calorie foods with a different taste. So, when the rats were fed a high-calorie food that had been flavored with the diet taste, their brains assumed that their bodies were running low on calories. These animals then overate at their next meal in an effort to refuel and make up for the lost energy. "Animals have the ability to sense the caloric value of food they take in," says Pierce. "We found out that an animal can learn to use flavors to predict calories in an attempt to achieve energy balance."

This same phenomenon could explain similar results in recent studies of dieters, says Pierce. Two years ago, scientists at the University of Texas reported in an eight-year study that for every can of diet soda that a person drank, he raised his risk of being overweight by 41%, compared to a 30% increase in drinkers of regular, sugared drinks. Earlier this year, another study of diet-soda drinkers came to a similar conclusion, this time about metabolic syndrome, the dangerous constellation of risk factors, such as obesity, high cholesterol and insulin resistance, that increases the likelihood of heart disease. In this report, part of the 60-year-old Framingham Heart Study, researchers found that soda drinkers, regardless of whether they consumed diet or regular beverages, had a 48% higher risk of metabolic syndrome than non-soda drinkers.

At the time, even the study authors conceded that it was impossible to implicate diet drinks completely, since it's possible that those who drank low-calorie beverages were already overweight or at higher risk of metabolic syndrome, and chose the diet drinks in an effort to get healthier. But Pierce's work hints that a more basic, biological mechanism may be at work. The animals in his study were able to predict the amount of calories in a food based on taste, demonstrating that the body uses cues like taste and texture to make sure it's getting enough fuel. Just as Pierce's rats were fooled into thinking they hadn't absorbed enough calories after eating diet chow, people are preprogrammed to anticipate sugary, high-calorie fulfillment when drinking a soda or noshing on a sweet-tasting snack. So, the diet versions of these foods may leave them unsatisfied, driving them to eat more to make up the difference.

All of this emerging work could make the food and beverage industry, which has invested billions in diet and low-calorie versions of almost every food imaginable, a bit uneasy. "This study simply defies common sense," wrote Dr. Richard Adamson, scientific consultant to the American Beverage Association, in a prepared statement responding to the study. "To suggest that foods and beverages with zero calories contribute to weight gain contradicts the overwhelming body of scientific evidence that supports that they can help you reduce calories and maintain a healthy weight."

Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, lead author of the Framingham study, however, notes, "A zero-calorie drink could produce a metabolic response if it is sweet. It can condition you to develop a preference for sweet things, which can lead to weight gain or metabolic syndrome. So something that is sweet could produce a metabolic effect even if it doesn't have a whole lot of calories."

Of course, none of the studies has yet proved that diet foods or beverages actually cause weight gain or heart disease; they have merely found an intriguing association, which scientists are still trying to explain. Well, nobody ever said counting calories was easy.

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

Snack
5 cups Boston Lite Popcorn
5 Sticks Beef Jerky/Barbecue Beef Jerky
3 tsps Peanut Butter

Lunch: Fordee's Grill
Chicken Schwarma Salad with Feta

Dinner: Sol Azteca
Pork with Orange Juice
Tilapia with Tomato and Jalapeno
Salad with Cactus
a few chips

Emily and I played tennis. We split sets, 4-6, 6-4. She didn't want to play the tiebreaker. In our continued frustration to find a restaurant that we want to go to that has no wait on a Thursday night in Summer, we end up at an old sawhorse called Sol Azeteca in Newton Center. I forget not to order rice and get heartburn from the refried beans. I also succumb to eating lots of chips and would have ordered sangria but I wizened up.

Year 3, Day 157: Muggy Muggy Walk

Today a coworker made Rugleach and entreated me to try it. I did, knowing that I had to (especially because I almost killed my coworkers with crumbly banana cake just a few weeks ago) and that further more, as a result of having one, I would have to go on a fast walk or bust. It was good and tasty, but when I discussed with the baker du jour we determined that it didn't have that spongy-bounce back I like in a Rugleach. He said that was because he omitted cream cheese, therefore eliminating a lot of the fat (and natch, the flavor). I got my walking shoes on which was good because it had been raining cats and dogs all morning.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($4.70)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
Assorted Jerky
3 cups Boston Lite Popcorn
No nuts

Dinner
Hamburger
Broccoli
Salad

We went on a walk today but it was so unbelievably hot that we were dying and sweaty when we got back. THough I have said it before, it was good that my office is like a meat locker, very helpful.

We got a huge order of jerky today, much thanks from the owner of Buffalo Bill's, which is the greatest jerky on the planet. I tried the Spicy Jerky today which was incredible, though honestly, not very spicy.

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 155: Almond Monday and a loud tsking noise

Compared to a lot of previous 100-almond Mondays, this wasn't so bad. However, when you compare it to any other day, it was a nut disaster. There really only is one secret to overindulgence when all self-discipline fails: abstinence.

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

Snack
4 oz sliced turkey
65 ALmonds
1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
2 Sticks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Russo's ($5.73)
Romaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner: Legal Seafoods
1 bite of Tuna Sashimi
mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette
wild salmon with tomato, artichoke
asparagus

We ate at Legal Seafoods and because of my heavy snacking, I decided to bypass the traditional wave of appetizers and just order an entree. Though it originally came with a 'mushroom risotto cake', they were out of it, which is good because it was deep fried and I wouldn't have eaten it anyway. I asked to have a salad substituted- the mixed greens with goat cheese. The waitress asked me twice if I meant goat cheese and I answered in the affirmative. Amazingly, I got an appetizer salad AND a side salad (which was mysterious) but neither of them came with cheese. I realized I probably lucked out anyway, and just ate quietly.

Year 3, Day 154: Baking Madness Continues

Today Ruby and I got up and made chocolate chip walnut squares. Last time there wasn't much, so I doubled the recipe. I ate a lot of it. No exercise today, but I was still sore from swimming yesterday.

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

Lunch: Yama
Edamem
Salad
Miso Soup
Sashimi Special

Snack
.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
3 Teaspoons Peanut Butter

Dinner
Left over chicken with Cashews
Cauliflower
Salad with Balsamic Vinegar

We had made the chocolate chip squares for the birthday of the son of a friend of Emily's who just moved to Wellesley from Sudbury. Though her son is nut-allergic rendering the gift both thoughtless and useless, we all had a nice visit. Then, en route home, we decided to take a chance on Yama, a Japanese restaurant for lunch for all the kids. We sat in the pit with our shoes off, and a good time (and lots of lunch) was had by all.

Year 3, Day 153: Dessert Out of Control

In a another fit of baking on gym workout day (3 laps in pool, 6 miles on elliptical 100 ab crunches) I attempt to make a coffee cake. I am obsessed with making a coffee cake and I want it to taste exactly like the Boston Coffee Cake and the Sara Lee coffee cake and they are both really totally different, so I must keep trying. Fine crumb or yeasty layery thing? I remain afraid of yeast. I'll need a master class to take it on. Maybe Jane, my sister-in-law will teach me. At night I attempted a recipe from Gourmet magazine, which was quite nearly a total failure.

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

preworkout snack
1 big slice of coffee cake

lunch
tuna romaine, cabbage, feta

pool snacks
1 bag boston lite popcorn
hot grapes
1 oz peanuts

various snack
2 oz 50% jalapeno cheddar
10 Tamarind Almonds

dinner
two remainders of pizza slices (make at home, 8 inch)
caesar salad
chicken with cashews

dessert
funky chunky popcorn
more cake

Realizing I was going to have to go to surgery, I bought a $14 container of funky chunky popcorn, which aside from being a shameless copy of Dale & Thomas original, is fantastic and impossible to stop eating. I have successfully hidden it in the house, but unfortunately now it has gone stale, so what was a savings in calories was a waste of hard-earned dollars. But even the small bit I had was so so worth it.

Year 3, Day 152: Nobody Doesn't Like Sara Lee

For some reason, I was remembering an absolute obsession with frozen cake products in the late 70s and 80s, mostly Sara Lee and Pepperidge Farm. For Sara Lee it was All Butter Pound Cake (why haven't they followed Sugar Pops and changed the name of that product!) and Pecan Coffee Cake. For Pepperidge Farm it was their line of double layer chocolate cakes with white frosting or white cakes with chocolate frosting. My brother and I used to make them disappear. In an effort to stop this from happening at so rapid a rate, my mother banished them to the refrigerator in the back of the utility room. But it didn't help-- we just kept sneaking in there and eating it. I can't remember ever getting sick, but I do remember skipping a lot of dinners.

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

Lunch: Russo's ($5.25)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Snack:
3 Sticks Beef jerky
125 Pistachios
3 cups Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner:
Salad
Chicken Breast

When I'm writing, I like to eat. I'll be doing a lot of writing in the next few months. This does not spell good news for the nut eating. I'll have to stock up on gum.

Year 3, Day 151: The Fruit Scientist

OH GOD, LET IT BE TRUE.

August 1, 2007

Summer's sweet headliners
Strawberries are here - the real, local deal - and the crop looks bountiful. Chefs who wait for them all year find intriguing roles for that perfect flavour

JULIAN ARMSTRONG, The Gazette
A bumper crop of Quebec strawberries is forecast and, in contrast to earlier times, it won't come all at once and then be gone. "It will be a big, big, big strawberry season, for sure until the beginning of October," says Andre Plante, a Marche Central official.

Montreal chefs are already working their magic with the berry they have been waiting for all year long. Responding to the prospect of all those sweet, juicy local strawberries, they are expanding their strawberry repertoires, from Grandmother's shortcake and a strawberry mille feuille, to the more far-out: Strawberries with seafood, anyone? Or in vinaigrette with the savoury likes of red onions and basil?

"It's one of our best strawberry years ever, and maybe we'll even have Quebec strawberries at Thanksgiving dinner," said Plante, executive director of the Association des jardiniers maraichers de la region de Montreal.

Fruit scientist Shahrokh Khanizadeh agreed, citing the traditional varieties of Quebec's favourite berry that are on sale now, and the new breeds that have extended the season into autumn. "We had wonderful temperatures (this spring), no frost at blossom time, and the perfect amount of sunshine and rainfall," he said from his federal research farm at L'Acadie.

Breakfast
Kashi
Canadian Strawberries
Massachusetts Blueberries
Bananas from Ecuador
Soy milk from Silk
Coffee from Peet's

Snack
1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn
4 Sticks Beef Jerky
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Dinner: Quince
Assorted Olives
A few bites of very white bread with mushroom butter (this sickened emily)
Smoked Salmon on a Slice of Pickle
Field Greens "Dressed for the Season" (this meant Almond Slivers, Cherries and Goat Cheese)
Artic Char, on Spinach and White Bean Succotash

Dessert
1 Small Meringue cookie with Almond Slivers

I came home early and Emily and I played tennis indoors at the Wellesley spot. The lights went out in the middle of our second set. She won both 2-6 and 5-7. We tried to go to Sweet Basil (a fave Italian spot in Needham) afterwards, but it was crawling with ants (shaped like people) and so we tried the next best thing, which was the place across the street with very few people in it. This turned out to be a good choice and certainly better than the Rice Barn, a restaurant a little farther away with absolutely NO people in it.

Year 3, Day 150: The Word on Water

From the South Beach Diet Online Newsletter

The Word on Water
Certainly, bottled water is a convenience that helps us stay hydrated while on the go. But convenience aside, bottled water isn't necessarily more virtuous than tap water. In fact, did you know that bottled water is sometimes nothing more than
purified tap water? Fortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has strict labeling rules for bottled water, but it's up to you to learn the differences between various terms and what they mean. There are three major types of bottled water:

Purified water is water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or other suitable processes. Purified water may also be referred to as "demineralized water."
Spring water is water that flows naturally from the earth and is collected directly from its natural source.
Mineral water is spring water that contains dissolved minerals and other trace elements (at least 250 parts per million) that come directly from the source.

In general, safety standards for bottled water and tap water are the same with a few exceptions. For example, because tap water may become contaminated with lead as it travels through pipes, the government limits the amount of lead in tap water to 15 parts per billion whereas the limit is set below 5 parts per billion for bottled water. Another major difference is that tap water is fluoridated, but most bottled waters do not contain fluoride.
Most people can safely (and inexpensively!) drink water straight from the tap. If you want to improve the taste of tap water, you can purchase a water filtration pitcher, which reduces the amount of chlorine in the tap water. If you prefer the taste of bottled water and you're serving it to your family, let your dentist know because young children require fluoride for healthy teeth.


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

Lunch: Russo's ($5.19)
omaine, red pepper, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, No pepperocini, so added 'spicy pickle mix' from company fridge. Not very good.

Snack:
4 sticks beef jerky
3 cups Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner
Wonder Beans & Ground Meat
Salad

Fast walk to Russo's today. Still no Strawberries from Quebec. Having to make do with Driscoll's, which are sub-par, hard and white on the inside. Why can't I just give up the breakfast I've had every day for nearly a year? I am pathological.