You Know You Want That Fried Thing With a Tail

So said I to VLC as the butler-passed h'ors d'oeuves were passed on past us at last night's fundraiser. Needless to say, we ate nothing fried, and nothing with a tail.

The amount of fried gunk was astounding. And the funny thing is, before CR, I would have eaten it. Would have felt terrible, slept badly, and hated my body, but I would have felt like because it was there I should eat it. Not anymore!

Needless to say, VLC and I headed straight for the vegetable tray. It was pretty good, and included my beloved asparagi! No balsamic vinegar in them though... Mary's sounded better. I had some grape tomatoes, peppers, and asparagi. Later on, we checked out the buffet, which included a carving station for turkey and ham and roast beef, a pasta bar, and luckily, a giant tossed salad. We ate only salad with a tablespoon full of balsamic vinegarette and had a glass of cabernet. We were both exhausted... it was a crazy day.

After making an hour and half trip each way to do a press conference outside in the rain, we headed back, and stopped at a turnpike stop to use the restroom. We were delighted to see that the Allentown Farmers' Market, which is located at the turnpike stop, was open! We freaked out on vegetables, buying tomatoes, plums, purple cauliflower, peppers, some tomato jelly, and some hot sauce entitled "South Jersey Roadkill Sauce" that was most intriguing. When we got back to my apartment, we sizzled up a quick vegetable lunch in the wok. VLC stirred the garlic in the olive oil as I chopped a crown of broccoli, three small red tomatoes, and two small yellow peppers. We added some salt and a dash of the South Jersey hot sauce and ate the most delicous lunch ever!

Then we dashed back to the office, only to be confronted with a series of urgent demands. I had hoped to get out to grab an iced latte and a salad at Panera before the fundraiser, but it became clear that with the demands of work, I couldn't even leave my desk. So I asked VLC to grab me a double shot iced latte with skim (well above and beyond the call of duty but she's an angel) and I ate a small apple and a 100 calorie yogurt that I had left in the office fridge for emergencies. At least that way I wasn't too hungry for the fundraiser, and I got good calcium and protein in the dairy. I hadn't made up my usual red pepper and plain yogurt concoction, so I guess I was making up for it, though now I far prefer to eat the unsweetened and season it myself.

Breakfast Eggwhite scramble: 140
Vegetable lunch: 220 max (that's if you count every drop of olive oil and the baby carrots we snacked on while cooking)
yogurt: 100
apple: 50 (it was small)
skim milk in iced latte: I'd say 120, it was a doubleshot with more than my usual cup
veggies and salad at fundraiser: 50 max
tablespoon of balsamic vinegarette: 120 (I'm just using the count for oil)
glass of wine: 100 (bar pour, not Walford sized)
glass of wine after I got home while talking on the phone: 85

Coming in at 985, just under target, not bad as the day before was just over.

Good on protein and calcium, low in the usuals like copper because I didn't eat my brewers yeast. Low in fat... if I were to substitute flax oil instead of red wine at isocaloric levels I would be perfect. Maybe if I follow my cat's example and *eat* the pages of the Albatross that deal with fat [favorite quote: "It was the fat, not the vegetables or the butler, that did it."] I would really get the message and mend my high carb ways. But that seems excessive, even to me. And potentially toxic... ink and all.

It was interesting to be at the fundraiser with so much fancy high calorie, low nutrient food flying about. I felt incredibly free, lacking the compulsion to eat any of it. No one said anything about my food choices. I find that sometimes it helps to oooh and ahhh over whatever undressed vegetable you're eating, that way you seem to be participating in the feeding frenzy. VLC makes fun of me for talking for two minutes about how good the field greens salad is. But I actually do love the veggies, and why shouldn't I tell the world?

I'd have to say, yesterday was one of those days when I felt like CRON gives me magic powers. I wasn't tempted to eat the food at the fundraiser, and I kept my zen even with a million high tension things flying at me during the day. My job is very very stressful, and while I sometimes feel guilty for taking time to think about CR instead of thinking about work all the time, I know that I am much more productive and effective now, largely due to my increased energy and decreased anxiety. My whole adult life has been very focused on the labor movement, and I'm proud of that and happy with the choices I've made. Sometimes, it's funny to have something like CR that I think about and learn about and pay attention to *besides* work. But I think it's good for my mind, and I know it's good for my body.