I Think There's A Kitchen In My Apartment

[plumtreeblossom]

Weight loss magazines from the supermarket make the erroneous assumption that all dieters have time to cook each of their meals. The magazines are loaded with recipes, but the recipes require shopping, prepping, cooking, general effort and a schedule as free as a bird. Sure I want to eat the chicken florentine or the fat-free raspberry mousse, but I want someone else to shop for the ingredients, cook the food, plate it, bring it to me at work, and serve it to me. And lift it to my mouth.

I'll just have to settle for Lean Cuisine. Luckily, I like them. I am determined to lose 10 pounds by the opening of the show in July. I did 2 miles of walkies yesterday, and have lots more walkies ahead if I'm going to be down to fighting weight by then. Company welcome!

Comments

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Most of the Lean Cuisines are actually kind of yummy. Sometimes I eat them when I'm not dieting.

But dude, are you sure about 15? I'm envious of your flat belly and you have a smokin' hot bod! It would be fun to go walking some time, though. :-)

[beowabbit]

Jeez, you want us to be able to play the xylophone on your ribs? I mean, if I’m gonna play xylophone on anybody’s ribs, I’m happy to play it on yours, but I’m quite fond of (as plumtreeblossom so aptly puts it) your smokin’ hot bod as it is!

Oh, and you and dabunny should have plumtreeblossom and me over to cook for you some time. I find it a lot easier to cook when I’m looking forward to sharing the result.

[beowabbit]

Unfortunately, restaurants have lots of incentives to make their portions large and high-calorie. (To be fair, one of those incentives is that that’s generally what their customers want, but that’s not the only one.)

However, once in a while instead of taking the Red Line to the Orange or Green Line at Downtown Crossing or Park Street, I get off at South Station and walk to Chinatown to get the Orange Line to work. That doesn’t save me any time (loses me about 10min), but it’s a nice little extra dash of walking through an interesting neighbourhood in the morning.

This morning, based on which streets were sunny and which were shady, I took a slightly different route to Chinatown, and stumbled across a fruit stand selling bananas, apples, oranges, clementines, and peaches three for a dollar. (Also grapes, etc.)

If that place is there consistently, I predict more fruit going into my belly and less money leaving my pocket over the summer.

(Sometimes, though, you just want something hot and protein-laden.)

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I bet you chose the sunny sides of the street. :-)

Last night I discovered that from work I can walk to the Kendall T station in about 15 minutes. I took it two stops to Harvard, go off to walk, then stopped in Porter for cat litter which I carried home the rest of the way. That burned some calories!

Chinatown's fruit is so yummy and ripe. I need to get into the spirit of fruit more. And oatmeal. All those breakfast sandwiches have created more of me than there should be!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And I'm looking forward to the walking.

Totally off topic, but does Lou have Sunday Dinners anymore? I haven't seen him or Emily in so long, though they live right around the corner from me now...

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

One of the reasons why I've been hesitant about job hunting is the commute in which I have the option to walk to the Davis Square Red Line and go from Kendall to my job. Cooking can be stressful, but it can also be stress reducing, especially if you're cooking with someone.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I love cooking with Jay. Only problem is, we make fattening food! :-)

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

Try adding mushrooms or popcorn next time.
It worked for me, though I still need to drop a few pounds by the next sunspiral party.

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

I found someone who will cook for me, and all I have to give him is sex! And I'd do that anyway! It's a great bargain! ;)

Seriously, though, those recipes are for women who are housewives. What I really need is not recipes, but a shopping list on how to stock my kitchen. Once I get the low-cal supplies, I can make something happen, but yeah, ping-ponging from recipe to recipe gets me nowhere.

I'm looking to lose 20lb by the beginning of August. Good luck!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Good luck to you too! I really want to be slimmed down for the show.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for all those tips! And I'm so happy that you're dancing again. And, mazel tov on the 15 pound drop!

EVERYTHING she said!

[http://users.livejournal.com/urban_faerie_/]

I am also a busy, single person trying to cook on a budget who's ALWAYS on a diet. Nothing I cook takes more than 20 minutes or uses more than 2 pots. usually I can get it doen to one on the stove, 1 on in the microwave, and some roommates have commented that my EZ meals look gourmet.

The few things I've learned:
The freezer is your friend. Cook one good meal a week and then bring the leftovers to work or use them for dinner.
Frozen veggies are also your friends. I used to think they were bad but you can get organic veggies at trader joe's, dole out the portion that you want, and then cook them in the microwave and pour them over pastas, etc.
Trader Joe's prepared foods are your friend. they have awesome prepared foods or meals in a bag that are veggies with a delicious sauce, some of them even come with meat and rice. They also have amazing soups, frozen meat and fish already seasoned that you can throw in the oven and cook all in one pan, delicious soups, the list goes on and on. check it out.
I prefer Amy's frozen meals to other kinds because they are all organic and mostly low cal, they say they are the type of food busy, health conscious people would cook for themselves and they are pretty much right on.

I shouldn't talk. Now that I've go work, 3 shows in production, moving and jury duty I've gone back to meals being from chez Store 24. I can't wait until I have time to cook again!

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Trowa and I are planning to be in Davis Square at 6:30 to listen to Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, and then I'd like to take a walk afterward. Would you (or anyone else here) like to join us?

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Ironically, I'm meeting beowabbit for dinner (at a buffet, oy) tonight. But I'd love to go walking with you guys sometime soon!

[cowgrrl.livejournal.com]

After I move to Arlington I'll be looking to explore the good places to go walking there, and I'd welcome company! :-)