Year 4, Day 109: Nuts

Tim Russert's tribute.  Thunder road makes me cry. Work makes me eat nuts.

Breakfast

Kashi

Heritage Flakes

Strawberries

Blueberries

Banana

Unsweetened Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch : Russo's $5.48

Romaine Lettuce

Red pepper

Chicken

Feta Cheese

Cheddar Cheese

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Balsamic Vinegar

Snack

Beef Jerky

Tamari ALmonds

Dinner

Brisket

Romaine, Cabbagte, Feta

Year 4, Day 108

After several days of buying strawberries at Russo's, I realize my refrigerator has shriveled them all to a unpleasant raisiny-version of themselves.  To add insult to injury, they taste like my refrigerator. 

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.45)

Green leaf, mushrooms, broccoli, red pepper, cheddar & feta cheese, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Snack

Lots and lots of almonds

Beef jerky

Dinner: Cabot's

Baby spinach salad with chicken

Year 4, Day 107: 19th Hole Golf Mix

Part of working at an Internet startup is long hours, and often needing to eat without having the time to plan a good meal. I have certainly been loading up on popcorn and almonds but the 19th Hole Snack Mix (rice crackers, wasabi peas, honey-roast peanuts, sesame crackers and spicy cheese crisps) is off the hook. Yet I finished the container, then hit the almonds. Oh, and I finished the bag of sweet and cheesy popcorn. So sad.

Breakfast
Peanut butter bread

Lunch: Russo's ($5.54)

Romaine Lettuce

Red pepper

Chicken

Feta Cheese

Cheddar Cheese

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Balsamic Vinegar

snack
all of the above

dinner
breast of chicken
cabbage

Year 4, Day 106: Father's Day

Hung over.  Must remember to give up alcohol.  In our effort to keep things moving through as a family, I did not get to go to the gym.   To make matters worse, we took out the family for ice cream for a special father's day treat.  Naturally, I opted for the fat-free soft yogurt, but at this point, does it really make a difference?

Breakfast

Tea

Coffee

Peanut Butter Bread

Lunch:

Burger, Corn, Pickles

Tuna, Corn Chips

Snack

Maple Vanilla Yogurt

Dinner

Chicken Thighs

Bok Choy

Dessert

No Fat Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookie Cone

Peanut Butter Bread Crusts

Year 4, Day 105: Saturday at the Pool

Lately I have been waking up without an appetite.  Unfortunately for me, this is cured by beginning to eat, at which point I become ravenously hungry.  Today there was no shortage of opportunities to overeat.  A chef who lives in the neighborhood offered up gourmet sausages for his daughter's birthday.   Then, we were invited to a friend's house who is recuperating from a leg-injury.  Naturally, I brought over home-made bread and rice krispy treats slathered with dark chocolate and drizzled with Carmel.  Plus, I had three beers.   Wow.

Breakfast

Peanut butter bread

coffee 

cheese

lunch: Izzy's birthday party

Sausage.5 Mustard

Chips & Salsa

2 Fruit 2Os

dinner

chicken salad

chips & salsa

carrots & hummus

3 beers

rice krispy treats

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 103: Might as Well Face It, You're Addicted to Strawberries

I've gone to Russo's every day this week for lunch, and I have already planned my walking gang for tomorrow's lunch.  It's a clean sweep. I have been buying (and eating) strawberries every day.  I have also been eating everything that's not nailed down.  Including today's 19th Hole Mix, which although is somewhat SoBe friendly, contains many no-no's like rice crackers.  That's really a great example of something I shouldn't buy, or be left alone in the room with.

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

1/2 container 19th Hole Mix

Lunch: Russo's ($5.45)

Romaine, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, feta, broccoli, red peppers, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Dinner:

Strawberries

6 oz Stonyfield Yogurt (with Splenda)

1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter

I was going to have a fudge-pop or a beer, but brushed my teeth and put the yearning away.

Year 4, Day 102: No Leftovers

Today was very stressful. It saw an unprecedented third trip in a row to Russo's, and with it, an impulse buy of "Sweet and Cheesy" popcorn.  Not sure why this particular, and I'm sure to some, unnattractive sounding bag of treats called out to me, but it did.  I gnarfed half the bag in what has to be the saddest example of anxiety eating seen in recent times.  Thankfully, a colleague who is also staying late and anxiety eating came by to finish the bag and save me from a fate worse than death-- finishing the whole bag.  When I got home, ALL of the Chinese leftovers had been fed to some company, so I ate the leftovers from two nights ago.  Cheesy indeed.

Breakafast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Snack

4 Sticks Beef Jerky

Lunch: Russo's ($5.45)

Romaine, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, feta, broccoli, red peppers, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Dinner:

Three of Emily's Meatballs

Leftover, and way too crunchy cooked Cauliflower

Year 4, Day 101

It was so hot for the second day in the row.  Went to Russo's and bought more strawberries. They are so amazing it's easy to forget the world can be an ungainly, difficult to place to inhabit. Ruby and I headed over to Cabot's for our usual meal of a hamburger and ice cream (her) spinach salad and sugar-free yogurt (me).  I can't tell you what I'd be eating if it were 2004-- I'd be having the french fries, chili, and then splitting a huge sundae with her.   As it was, their air conditioning was broken, causing me to high-tail it out of there for the cool confines of the Chestnut Hill mall, where I ordered spicy food and sweated like a stuck pig.  

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Blueberries

Strawberries

Banana

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.35)

Romaine

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Peppers

Tomatoes 

Cheese (Assorted)

Olives

Chicken

Balsamic Vinegar

Snack

Almonds

Strawberries

4 sticks beef jerky

Dinner: Bernard's

Shrimp Soong

Moo Shi Pork

Boneless Spareribs

Broccoli/Snowpeas

Year 4, Day 100

Strawberries are back.  I was just starting to think about them.  Then, like someone you're waiting for in the airport I saw them. I couldn't wait and starting eating them right away. It's really amazing how the locally grown strawberries are so good, and so unlike the awful, white, tasteless, unnaturally large ones that come from Driscoll, the evil anti-strawberry farm located somewhere (and everywhere) in California.  Vive la Massachusetts strawberry!!

Breakafast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Banana

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Russo's ($5.35)

Romaine, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, feta, broccoli, red peppers, chicken, balsamic vinegar

Snack

Almonds

Beef Jerky

Strawberries

Pistachios

Dinner

Steak Tips

Bok Choy

Cauliflower

Year 4, Day 99

Amaingly, the heat wave continued and I took myself to the gym. Though I did 40 minutes on the elliptical, and I started to feel not so great so I didn't push it on the weights and stuff.  If figured you're not supposed to push yourself when it's hot.  So I took myself  home to the air conditioning and had two or three lunch entrees.  Then, to the pool, and home for a high-carb and red meat dinner. No peanut butter today.

Breakfast

kashi go lean

heritage flakes

banana

strawberries

blueberries

soy milk

coffee

Lunch: 

Tuna and Salad

Plus two ribs from Whole Foods

and Chicken Thighs

Snack by the Pool

Grapes, Almonds

Dinner

Steak Tips

Corn

Blue Moon beer with Lemon

Year 4, Day 98: Needham Fair

Saturday saw me trying to get the gym and continuing to shake off my cold. I didn't get to the gym, but I did feel better for the first time in quite a while.  Emily and I decided to take the kids to the Needham fair. The first few times we went to this when we lived in Needham it was really enjoyable. Now I see it for what it is-- just a lot of businesses giving away free waters and pens for people who think they're going to a fair.  But there's really not a fair, just Cablevision and free sucking candies.   I have nothing against it, I'm just saying you shouldn't tell your kids you're going to fair when the highlight of the event is four contiguous card tables loaded with Michaelson's discount shoes.     To add insult to injury, the (very slow) line for the ponies was so long I could tell just by looking at it that it didn't make sense to wait on.  Added to that, I think the ponies got too hot and had to be retired to a dark mulchy place where they could eat oats.   To get out of the sun and avoid the ear-splitting noise level, we ducked into the very mediocre stone hearth pizza restaurant.  Then we went home.

Brakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Blueberries

Strawberries

Banana

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Stone Hearth Pizza

Caesar Salad with Chicken

Meatball Poppers

1 Slice of Pizza

Snack

Popcorn, Almonds, Coffee

Beef Jerky

Dinner

Meat 

Corn on Cob

Salad, Squash & Zucchini

1 Blue Moon Beer

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 96: You've Got Trees

Today we had chapter two of our tree plantings.  Even though our trees are to real trees what matchbox cars are to real full size cars.  Even though they brought them up the mountain yesterday, they were unable to plant them due to the rain. Today, they got planted and so far, we're happy, even though you can still see the monstorous 350 complex behind it.   After all, they are only 14 foot trees.  Today I could not finish my breakfast, after not finishing my lunch yesterday.  

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Strawberries

Blueberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan

Chinese Celery with Beef

Moo Shi Pork

Wonton Soup (with Wonton)

Dinner

BBQ Chicken Thighs

Bok Choy

Cauliflower

Dessert

32 Chocolate Chips

Year 4, Day 95: Trees

This morning they came to install trees in our back yard.  Where did we want the Spruce? The Maple? The Tall Pines? I don't #(*&$# know!  You're the guy carrying the trees around! You put them somewhere!  Make sure they don't crash into each other!  A cold, rainy wet day, which I suppose, is good for trees, but bad for people who can't get out of bed in the morning.

Breakfast

1 Slice of Whole Wheat Toast with Super Chunky Peanut Butter

1/2 Bagel with Cream Cheese that Ruby didn't finish

Coffee

Lunch:  Russo's ($5.65- but I didn't finish it)

Romaine, cheese, chicken, tofu, broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, balsamic vinegar

Dinner

Chicken thighs a la emily

Romaine + Feta + Cabbage + Balsamic

Dessert

1 Healthy Choice Pop

Year 4, Day 94: Not That Diety

As the primary season winds down, my sickness progresses and somehow I find the strength to get up and go to work every day.  Between a big Chinese lunch and dinner with Ruby at Cabot's (with dessert) it just simply wasn't a very diety day.  Add some more old, bad almonds in the mix and you have a real profile. 

Breakfast

1.5 Slices of Whole Wheat Bread

Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Coffee

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan

Chung King Beef

Moo Shi Pork

String Beans

Dinner: Cabot's

Baby Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken

Dessert

Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cup Yogurt

Year 4, Day 93

Ruby did not get to bed until nearly 11:00pm last night. Of course, this means we spent most of 9:00pm-till then trying, unsuccessfully to get her to go to sleep.  This lead to a bad night of sleep which is really not what I needed before a big week at work.  I decided I was well enough to go without the sudafed.  Sadly, I purchased a container of almonds from Russo's last week (or maybe two weeks ago).  They were, for some reason, bad.  So I put them aside, intending to return them. However, I never got to do that, and instead, I ate most of them today.  

Breakfast

1 Slice of Whole Wheat Bread with Super Chunky Peanut Butter

Snack:

2 Sticks of Beef jerky

30 almonds (or more)

Lunch:

Greek Salad with Chicken

Dinner

Emily's Chinese Ribs

Cauliflower

Dessert

1 Healthy Choice Pop

Year 4, Day 92: No Work Out

I knew there would be no work out today when I got up, I just wasn't up to it. Though as a sacrifice to our children, we took them to the local pool, even though we both dreaded going.  It was only for 90 minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.   Naturally, I got hungry and there and tried to get a tuna wrap. They were out of tuna, so I opted for chicken, but it sure wasn't even my second choice.

Breakfast

Some bread crusts and peanut butter

Lunch

Chicken Salad Wrap

Dinner

Chicken Breast

Corn on the Cob

Dessert

Healthy Choice Fudge Pop

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Year 4, Day 91: Saturday

Sick, sick, sick absolutely sick. Sick as a dog.  Wow.  Even though I was sick, I got up early and took Ruby to the hospital for a blood-drawing. From there we tried to get Emily's car inspected, but unfortunately the registration had expired.  So we went searching for an RMV office that was open on Saturday, but alas, there was none.  I thought we were a gonner, but then we thought- what about the Internet!  We found out that you could renew your registration-- even if it expired, albeit for a usurious fee.    Ruby and I had breakfast, but that was about it for the day.  I thought finally, a sickness where I've lost my appetite.  Finally.

Breakfast: Johnny's Luncheonette

Three Eggs

Turkey Sausage

Bacon

Coffee

A bite of Ruby's French Test

Lunch

Some Popcorn

Dinner

Tea with Honey

Year 4, Day 90: Lunch With An Old Friend

I met an old friend for lunch.  We went out for a big Chinese lunch.  Even though I was coming down with a cold, I soldiered on and went to the card game.  There, I got progressively sicker.  On the good side, I was the big winner.  Additionally, I tasted the best potato chips the Lord has ever made.  They're called Tyrell's Sweet Chili and Hot Pepper Chips.  Absolutely yummy. 

Breakfast

Kashi Go Lean

Heritage Flakes

Blueberries

Strawberries

Soy Milk

Coffee

Lunch: Shangri La

Chinese Pea pods

Pork Meatball

Chicken with Cabbage

Beef with Asparagus

Dinner/Poker

1 Corona Light

Almonds, Cashews

Popcorn

Turkey, Corned Beef, Roast Beef

Provolone, Swiss, American

Pickles

Dessert

Healthy Choice Pop