Very Early Un-resolution for the New Year

I don't make new year's resolutions. I don't waste my time promising myself and everyone around me that I'll make lifestyle changes. I don't have to make a pronouncement to the world. If I intend to do something, I do it. A "resolution" shared with others or even a contract with myself isn't going to make it happen if I'm not dedicated to make it happen.
Here's an article about other health professional's personal resolutions:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-12-24-resolutiononline24_ST_N.htm

Here are some things I'm thinking about for the new year:

1. Unlike others, I think I'm going to try to cook more simply. I spend way too much time in the kitchen. I spend way too much time reading cookbooks and magazines and searching web sites for the perfect recipe. I spend way too much time chopping and dicing and sauteeing and searing. And I spend way too much time thinking about what to cook. I'm going to try to cook my food as simply as possible so that the true flavor of the food is the dominant feature and not the spices and herbs and aromatics.
2. I'm going to try to think about things other than food. I spend way too much time thinking about food. About shopping for it and cooking it and eating it. About where to eat and what to order.
3. I'm not going to "cook" with fruits and veggies. Instead, I'm just going to eat them as simply as possible (see #1 above). An apple or an orange, a cucumber or a radish. I'll just eat them. I won't add them to salads or smoothies or stews.

That's good enough for now.

Latkes, cookies and more

Two holiday parties in one night. Maybe not a lot to most of you but difficult to manage time wise and food wise. Both were potato latke parties. It's the last day of Chanukah and I guess everyone wanted to use up their potatoes! Opted out of latkes at the first event. Enough to eat with veggies and hummus. Second event, latkes smelled a whole lot better. In fact, they were good. Good enough that I ate three of them (they were mini latkes!) with a tiny slice of brisket. Not really overeating but over-caloring for sure. Shame on me. I had "real" Coke. Delicious. Gosh, I do love soda.
But I didn't overeat quantity and I'm feeling pretty good right now. Like I could maybe eat something later. Like a hot fudge sundae. Yeah. Like some ice cream. Cold creamy ice cream. It just slides right down. Doesn't take up a lot of space. Very little space in fact because it melts.
Logic according to Sharon.

Ali Vincent and Me

I interviewed Ali Vincent today for an article that will appear in the spring issue of Edible Phoenix Magazine (www.ediblephoenix.com). She was gracious, vivacious, warm, generous with her time and most of all, inspirational! Oh, and the girl looks fabulous! Toned and svelte and just gorgeous. I haven't read her book, Believe It, Be It, but if the writing is only half as dynamic as she is in person, then it's a winner. The girl has charisma.
Can you tell I'm a fan?
I don't usually tape record my interviews. I'm pretty good at taking notes and I've got a dynamite memory but I knew I would be gaga over the girl so I decided to tape the interview just in case I was unable to listen and write at the same time.
Ali was so full of interesting anecdotes about her time on the show and her "new" life that I ended up just listening so it's a good thing I had the recorder running.
She made my day!

OMG....I get to meet Ali Vincent

Look. I'm not really star struck. I mean, I go to LA all the time and my heart doesn't go flutter flutter when some star walks by. And my daughter is a movie producer, after all. I've been to Sundance Film Festival and to a real Hollywood movie premiere.
But, Ali Vincent. The first female winner of The Biggest Loser. Give me a break. Hello. I'm a fan. I was a fan at the start of the show because she's from AZ and also because I just loved the relationship between her and her mother.
Soooo, I'm interviewing her for a story. I'm going to her house. Holy crap. Excited. I'm a little too old to be this star struck but I'm impressed with what she's accomplished.
Hmmm. Maybe she can motivate me!

Biggest Loser Finale

I know. I bad mouth the show and then I watch it religiously. What can I say. Watching the contestants lose weight doesn't actually motivate me (obviously!) but their successes gives me hope--not so much for myself, you understand. But I think they show us that weight loss is possible without surgery as Dr. H said last night. Yes, the way the contestants lose weight is unrealistic. Most people don't have the time or the resources to do what they have done in the time they've accomplished it. But if people are willing to take it a bit slower, the results seem to indicate that eating and exercise can make it possible.
So, back to the show. How many times did my eyes well up? A lot. A marriage proposal. The two mothers rushing into each others' arms. Seeing Shay. Daniel. Well, everyone. Amazing. Pish tosh. I know they all starved and dehydrated themselves for the finale. But if they can hold on to most of the loss, they've got it made.
Because this group of contestants were so big, their weight losses were even more amazing. Over 200 pounds! What!
So, when the contestants are home, eating well and exercising, why don't the spouses also lose weight? Just curious.
And, hello, Jillian looked fabulous last night. I'm just saying. She was strangely subdued, I thought. Bob? He doesn't look well. He doesn't look fabulous. I sure hope he's okay. Because, honestly, he looks kind of frail and sickly. I wonder why they don't plaster make up all over him the way they do the other people on the show. Because whoever the make up person is for the show has a heavy hand.
Thankful that Tracey (is that her name?) didn't win. She looked gaunt. Not healthy. She lost too much weight. Which is what I would have expected from a very obsessive angry woman. Last season I thought Helen had lost too much weight for the finale. But it's what they do for the bucks.
So the show is unrealistic. The contestants lose weight way too quickly. Some of them do it in an unhealthy way. Jillian bugs the hell out of me. I hate that the dietitian on the show, Cheryl Forberg, is never mentioned and that it's Jillian and Bob who do all the nutrition stuff. I am annoyed at all the product placement. But, in the end, I watch. I love the success the contestants have. I hope they're happier. And I hope they're healthier.

Decadent Dessert

I bet the title of this post caught your eye. "Is she posting a recipe for a scrumptious caloric dessert?" Nope. Just trying to make a point. I don't like when a dish is labeled as "decadent". The implication is that you will go to hell--or more correctly, get fat--if you eat it. Decadent means full of fat and sugar and calories. It means "stay away" or accept the consequences. The word implies that it is an indulgence and that you will most certainly over indulge. And if you tell me that something is decadent, I probably will over indulge because if it's "decadent", then I'm guessing I won't have it again for a long time.
Let's be honest--cheesecake is "decadent" whereas an angel food cake is not. It's doubtful you would ever describe a slice of angel food cake as scrumptious whereas a slice of cheesecake...well, that's a horse of a different color. Isn't it?
So I'm saying that we should change our mindset about "decadent". Let's think of it as especially delicious and worth every calorie but not something that we have to be afraid of if we follow mindfulness principles. Taste it. Savor it. Enjoy it. Put it down when you've had "enough" and before it's become a "decadent" over indulgence.