Cherry Picking

When I moved to Oregon, one of the things I was told repeatedly was to go and pick my own fruit at any one of the plethora of farms located around Eugene. I had also heard that the Oregon cherries are far more delicious than the California ones that are sold in Supermarkets in the Midwest. Since I love cherries, I decided I was going to go and pluck them. One of the farms that had been highly recommended, started it's cherry plucking season on Saturday.

I went yesterday - there were perhaps five others on the entire farm. I picked lovely, delicious Lambert cherries. We were allowed to eat as we picked, and I took ample advantage of this allowance. I ate about a pound of the cherries, sampling each tree to find the sweetest yield. Since they were so sweet, I almost made myself sick. I am much more of a savory food person, and my sweet-tooth is somewhat underdeveloped. When I had my bucket half-full, I started to yearn for something salty. But, I stuck it through, and picked the entire bucket - 12 lbs of cherries. It cost me only $15.47. And I got loads of exercise. Well, that is an exaggeration, maybe. But I did get to walk a lot, and jump to reach boughs that were higher up, and had to raise my arms and pull at branches and so on. Anyway, it was too enjoyable to actually be called "exercise".

Breakfast
Toast w. Apricot Jam, Sour Cherries from my friend's yard, Iced Tea
I am looking for a new store-bought jam. Any recommendations? I hate this Apricot Jam. A different fruit, perhaps?

Lunch
A pound of cherries while plucking these

A naan and a half; Baingan Bharta

Dinner
Mushroom and Olive Pizza, Garlic Sauce
After this, I had some more pizza, I am ashamed to say. However - that is the point of this blog - to be honest about what I eat!

After the Hiatus

Long time no see. And in this ensuing long time, I have put some weight back on, have not stuck to my resolutions, and in general have been a mess health-wise. One of my friends was recently diagnosed with Type I diabetes. This was pretty shocking to her, and to me - especially since I am a million times worse when it comes to eating and exercise. I have recommitted to health, but it is slow-go at the moment. I had a binge last night, and woke up feeling ashamed. I need to bring my eating under control. I thought posting pics of what I have eaten would help - it did the last time around. I am going to try again.

Brunch
I bought a new grilling machine - this was the first thing I made on it:
Grilled Tofu, Peppers, Zucchini
Half an old avocado
Watermelon, Sour Cherries
Rose-flavored water

Late Lunch
Garlic Naan, Baingan Bharta
Half a Papaya
(I need to remember to disable flash on my phone)

Then I went to watch Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the OBF:


Snack
Have you had these? These are fantastic - mostly nuts, seeds and fruit, with a teeny amount of sugar to hold them together. Wonderful. 170 cal.

Dinner
Puff Pastry Pizza - Caramelized Red Onion and Chevre

Second April Recap

I wish something exciting would happen to me... food-wise or fitness-wise.... so I could report it here. But my life is quite boring. I made bean and banana blossom enchiladas. Is that exciting? My sister laughed when I told her - she thought it was an awful combination. I thought it turned out quite tasty.

4.6.11

Breakfast
Same as yesterday - Plum Tea, Toast w. Butter

Lunch
Also same as yesterday - Potato-Broccoli Soup, Sourdough Toast

Blood Orange

Snack
Some kind of cake-thing with icing on a stick x2

Dinner
Lavash Pizza w. Artichokes, long-beans, greens, jalapenos

I made bean/banana-blossom enchiladas for lunch at work, but could not resist a piece.

Walnuts, Orange Juice. (Dinner happened over 4 hours, so I was not too stuffed.)

Exercise
Nada! Too bad!


4.7.11 (reminds me of the famous perfume)

Breakfast
Unphotographed Sourdough Toast w. Butter

Snack
Chocolate Chip Cookie, Grapes (no pic)

Lunch
Bean/Banana-Blossom Enchilada, Avocado, Broccoli, Hummus

Snack
Broccoli/Hummus, Blood Orange (no pic)

Dinner
Bean/Banana-Blossom Enchilada

And overindulged on icecream bars

Exercise
3-hr contra-dance. On a weekday too!


4.8.11

Breakfast
Look familiar? Sourdough Toast w. Butter

Lunch
Bean/Banana-Blossom Enchilada
Apple

Dinner
Veg. Pakoras, Mint Chutney

Walnuts, Orange Juice

Exercise
None!

First April Recap

Not much to report. I did follow through on one goal - a day-trip to Portland. I visited a very serene wooded sanctuary complete with high cliffs, lovely waterfalls and a monastery. I also tried very hard to take pictures of everything I ate, although it was hard to get back into the groove of doing that.

Sun 4.3.11

Breakfast
Jalapeno Cheese Bagel w. Labneh

Kumquats

Lunch
Mediterranean Platter - this looks much nicer than it tasted.
I only ate the falafel and some of the tabbouleh

Cinnamon Almonds while walking down the Portland Waterfront

Snacks
Cashew Cookie Larabar

Mathri - an Indian Snack

Dinner
Spinach/Tomato/Gorgonzola Pizza. The nice guy at the shop gave me two pieces for the price of one. I like cute shop-guys who give me free pizza!

Exercise
Four-mile walk around Portland downtown and by the waterfront


Mon 4.4.11

Breakfast
Cereal w. Milk, Apple

Snack
Mini-Twix that got eaten before it was photographed

Lunch
Salad w. garbanzos, tomatoes, artichokes, cherries, olives, mozzarella
Blood Orange

Tea
Rich Tea, Mathri

Dinner
I went on a Hazelnut binge. I was horribly ashamed after I did. And I did not photograph it either. However, I am committed to documenting everything that I ate.

Exercise
2.8-mile walk at lunchtime when I saw this:


Tue 4.5.11

Breakfast
Sourdough Toast w. half a pat of butter
Plum tea in my fun mug! I felt hopeful!

Lunch
Potato-Broccoli Soup; Sourdough Toast w. the other half pat of butter
Cheese, Apple (no pic)

Snack
Banana-Hazelnut Muffin

Dinner
Brown Rice, Long Bean/Banana Blossom Stir-fry, Yogurt

Walnuts, Dried Cherries

Exercise
Folk-dance class

The Eugene Saturday Market

Two days after I moved to Eugene, my sister and I were driving around, and chanced upon a gigantic gathering of people. We parked our car, got out and asked someone what was going on. He looked at us as though shocked that ignoramuses like us had been let out of whatever institution we must have hitherto been locked up in.

"It's the Saturday Market", he said.

That was my introduction to the oldest weekly open-air market in the U.S. (see wiki page). I went a few times last year until it closed for the winter, and then I regretted not going more often.

It opened up for the year again today - the first Saturday in April. It was cold and wet, but I went, and am happy I did. I wish I had taken more pictures, but I did not. I bought hazelnuts and a large batch of Spring greens that you'll see in my salad pics all week.

My favorite part of the Saturday market, however is the food:

Leek and Onion Pasty at Cousin Jack's Pasties

Some kind of cheese and veggie thingy at a Mexican food stall. Tasty!

And local hazelnuts - wonderful to snack on!

Over the rest of the day, I also ate:

Broccoli-Potato Soup w. Blue Cheese and Sourdough Bread

Champagne - really fitting because I'd love to be in France right now!

Ave Avril

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
-------------------------------------------------------------Shelley



Last month, it was almost as though I took the month off from doing much that was worthwhile and disregarded the resolutions that I had made. I resolve to make this month better. In the last two days, I have already seen a return to old eating and exercise habits, and resolve to do them over.

1. Eat Healthily: I have come to the realization that for a very long time yet, I will have to make a concerted effort to eat the way I think I ought to. I will never be one who looks forward to eating small quantities of healthy things. But in order to lose weight, and keep diabetes and joint problems at bay, I need to. I will make an extra effort to eat well this month. I resolve to make at least one meal a day either a salad or a soup. I will also limit my snacking.

2. Exercise: What I said about needing effort to do what I think I ought to be doing is all the more true for exercise. I hate exercising, and every time I set out to do it, I have to battle the inner loafer in me. This is going to be a very busy month for me work-wise. I will start the folk dance class again, and will walk more. I will reserve more strenuous exercise for later.

3. Vocabulary: When I first came to the US, people remarked on the versatility of my vocabulary. Over the last decade, I have lost a great deal of the fluidity I used to possess when talking. I sound mundane and banal now. I hope this month to continue to put into use words I know that have gone into premature retirement.

4. Travel: I have larger trips scheduled in May and June. For this month, I restrict myself to: (a) A day-trip to Portland, and (b) A weekend trip to the Oregon Coast.

5. Busy-stuff: I have been postponing some tasks, and propose to do them this month for sure: (a) Help my sister with her business school applications, (b) Apply for licensure, (c) Finish what I need to do to apply for my belated graduation walk in May.

March Resolution Wrap-Up

This was a bad month for resolutions. I did not do almost half of what I resolved to do. And as a consequence, I did not blog as much. When there isn't enough to celebrate, I don't blog. Oh well... there had to be a bad month this year...

RESOLUTION EVALUATION

1. Eat Well: I did not do well on this goal at all. I had resolved to eat lots of Indian food, but only ate very little Indian food. And what I did eat was not all that great either.

2. Exercise: I decided to quit bootcamp after all. And I felt much better after I did. No more 4am waking up. And my knees are thanking me profoundly. I still do the push-ups in order to keep my arms strong, but other than that, I am taking a total hiatus from non-dance exercise for a while. In the meantime, I purchased a 1 mo membership at a gym that I will redeem sometime in the next couple of months. I also bought another bootcamp membership which I will redeem when the winter of this year rolls around. I am walking more. Exploring Eugene on foot is fun!

3. Detox: I decided not to do the raw-food cleanse, but picked a detox based on Fast Track Detox Diet. I started out strong eating liver and colon friendly foods, but halfway through, upon further research decided that the detox was more-or-less bogus. The recommended way of eating was good, but I doubt that I was ridding my body of any significant toxins. So, I ended up doing a half-measure detox. I will continue to eat lots of liver loving foods nonetheless.

4. Self-Care: I did not do any of what I resolved to do except socialize. I also purchased myself a 1-year membership to a fitness magazine.

5. Financial Goals: Check! I did my taxes! And I enrolled for retirement benefits.