Serious Grocery Run

Despite the title of this blog, I should note that willpower has never been a difficult virtue for me to maintain. As a practicing Catholic for many years, I would regularly give up with ease the things I now crave and am trying to distance myself from - be it chocolate, ice cream or meat. Some years it was all three. Yet now that I have started training for serious athletic events, I find I am just hungrier than usual and my sweet tooth is insatiable. Thankfully though, B-May and I went on a serious grocery run today before breakfast. But first...

Yesterday was plagued by hot and humid weather and boring eats. I did manage a quick run despite the heat - just over 20 mins at a good clip. I had to stop with a heaving chest and a foolish case of early dehydration. Poor planning on my part. For a fix after the run, I had another hummus wrap - this one with spinach and...wait...nothing else. Poured myself a helping of applesauce and fried one egg without most of the yolk to hold me over until dinner.

For dinner I think I deserve either a pat on the back or an intervention to stop drinking cheap, cheap beer. Even though Thursday saw the intake of about six pints, I still had some spare cash set aside for the bar. Yesterday it would be used for the salad bar! Hooray finding leftover cash/using it for something 100% healthier than beer. Unfortunately, the salad bar was horrifically picked over and even for this newbie, the greens looked dry and bland. Thusly, I settled for a prepared salad which was decent but probably only because of the chunky blue cheese dressing. Here's a photo so all can avoid it if possible:

I honestly tried to find a vegetarian option but there was nothing but turkey or bacon. Now, I'm not a vegetarian but I don't eat any beef and I try to limit my general intake of animal as much as possible. Turkeys are an exception as they are incredibly stupid animals. They are so dumb that roofs must be built over their heads so they don't look up at the rain and drown.

True story.

Got home after a vicious and awesome thunder/electrical storm during work and made two more cookies and a glass of milk disappear. Oh, and another beer...

But now the tide turns in the direction I had been hoping for! During commercial breaks of Survivorman we sifted through some Cooking Light cookbooks and methodically planned out our meals for the next week or so. On the horizon, for example: BBQ chicken pizza, Gnocchi, sweet potato soup and stuffed eggplant in a concerted effort to have me learn to enjoy this elusive vegetable. We walked to the grocery store and for just over fifty bucks picked up all the necessary ingredients including a couple extras for me. (York Peppermint Patties to satisfy sweet tooth and store-brand granola bars for fallbacks to keep in my locker at work).

But then we got back and had FRENCH TOAST WITH BANANAS FOR BREAKFAST! WOO!

Now of course, lunch is approaching and I forsee another hummus wrap with the requiste applesauce and a cookie or two. But I am walking to work instead of riding so it should take a little longer and with this heat and humidity I'm sure to arrive five pounds lighter.

Tonight is a birthday party for the jazz-man we saw on Thursday and I am excited for two selling features in particular: a fresh keg of Red Hook ESB and a firepit. Can't be beat! Can't also get too drunk either as 1.) it is bad for the adherence to my training and 2.) B-May and I are going peach picking in the morning with her folks! Blueberries have been in season for sometime but peaches are where it's at! Back with photos of that for sure.

What the Hell is Tempeh?

I've been meaning to post this but have been sidetracked and a million other excuses. Anyway, two nights ago, B-May served me a peculiar dish called tempeh. We did it up with some veggies - summer squash, zucchini, green peppers - and salsa to form little soy fajitas. This was my first big step towards what I am calling alternative eating. I should admit I was not too surprised to find that it was delicious! Hooray for tempeh and here's to another (soybean based product)! We munched on this stuff after a particularly hot and sweaty (keyword: sticky) day. I did manage to get a little 5k run in though. Though I didn't complete the loop entirely, it was probably for the better that I didn't try to willing succumb to heat stroke.

Okay, just wanted to make a special note of tempeh. Yesterday (I am already trying to catch up with this endeavor...) I spread out my breakfast choices and came up with this:

Here's my excuse: I worked in the morning knowing that I would not get lunch until at least 2pm. Tack on a bike ride to work (daily occurrence) and I get pretty hungry. Now I realize of course one scrambled egg, two slices of toast and a bowl of dry cereal is the course of a lousy diner but I found it quite reasonable for the order of my day. Half a banana is pretty weak also but I hate throwing food away so I perhaps I just ate it out of principle and not for potassium...

Regardless of my carb-itarian breakfast (just missing bagels, really) I brought along a blueberry muffin which I'm fairly certain held back no fatty anything because it was that good. Whoops, there's a glowing point of controversy that I am finding to be untrue: healthy foods are not all bad-tasting. I accept I sound like a third-grader refusing whole wheat crust on his grilled cheese but regarding my healthy living maturity I've got a long way to go. (Just re-read that, who says "bad-tasting?" Not. even. a. word.)

Lunch was especially delectable! It was so simple I can even post the recipe!

-a whole wheat tortilla
-liberal amounts of Garlic Lover's Hummus
-remaining grilled veggies from "What the Hell is Tempeh" night.

Add a whole bunch of applesauce (another third-grade connection...) and I was blissfully content with my first lunch in I don't know how long that didn't contain cheese, chicken or soup.





Notice the spork. That thing rules. It's made by Light My Fire and I've put it in near boiling water and it's not melted enough to make me delusional with plastic poisoning. The knife doesn't cut my mouth when I use the fork and it's red! Red is so visible at the bottom of my bag. Truly: simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.


Here's where it gets tricky for me. I'm trying to tame the crave (translation: mostly chocolate). I have a difficult time finishing a meal without some sort of chocolate fix. In my weakness I bought a Clif Mojo bar at work and ate half with my lunch and the other half before my ride home a few hours later.




Anyone who hasn't, by the way, should check out Clif Mojo bars. They are a very satisfying mixture of sweet and salty (this one with chocolate dipped on the bottom like cheap granola bars) and a perfect complement to a day-hike or cool-weather bike ride. Highly recommended.

Ugh, then the day went downhill. But not all of a sudden. B-May and I got invited over to a friend's for a BBQ and we brought along a couple veggie patties by Gardenburger called "VeggieMedley." Top it off with some grilled zucchini from Saturday's farmer's market and knock the whole effort down with a slice of American cheese for me. Burgers were quite good, zucchini was delicious and end scene for better living. Do a 180 and crack open two tall boy PBRs followed by three/four freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Repeat PBRs four more times and toss in two more cookies right before bed (with a liter of water, of course) and now you've arrived at my present desire to go for a run. I must say the night was accompanied by some top-notch jazz standards at the bar and made it all worth while. That and the fact PBRs are $2 a pop. Overpriced but this is not the venue for that debate.


Cool, I'm all caught up. Woke up without a hangover (huzzah water!) and just general lethargy. Perfect entrance for my breakfast staple: Eggo's with giant glass of skim milk. Does that really need a picture? You bet it does.



Yea, three Eggo's a day...is definitely one of the objectives of this blog. Rather, to break free from it. More on that later. Right now, I'm sipping leftover orange juice from a Dunkin Donuts run I don't know how long ago before attacking Mount Dishes that has been accumulating for a few days now. Time of attack:


now.