The last few days, I haven't had any real breakfast cravings. Some days, I didn't even have the desire to figure out what to eat, let alone to actually push myself to go get it. Today, though, I purposefully walked into a pricey, chain bakery and told myself that I would buy the first thing that made me salivate.
It's no surprise that I chose a childhood favorite-- something my dad would buy us on random mornings when he just happened to pass by the neighborhood bakery. Ahh, the sticky pecan roll. What a treat. And I'm savoring it this morning just as I did years ago. Only problem is that my stomach isn't handling it as well as it used to. *shrug* Oh well. It was worth it for 10 minutes. And, boy, do I feel energized for my long day ahead! ;)
I found out I was anemic a long time ago. I was going to donate blood in high school-- but when they pricked my finger and dropped the blood into clear liquid, it didn't fall to the bottom like it was supposed to. Honestly, I felt relieved because the thought of a needle drawing blood from me made me queasy. So I went to the doctor shortly after and he pretty much just told me to take iron pills. So I did for a bit, and then I got lazy and stopped, and then I'd feel tired or lightheaded again so I'd start again, and then after awhile I'd stop . . . and that's pretty much been my regimen for years.
Nowadays, I have no idea if I'm still anemic-- but whenever I feel really tired or weak, I automatically start craving a steak or a cheeseburger. And every now and then, I'll pop an iron pill. This morning, I felt like I had just run a marathon and I couldn't move or open my eyes for anything. My coworker at work has anemia too and she has this mysterious green elixir called S.S.S. tonic, so I chugged a bit of it as soon as I got in. Now, I'm trying to plan my lunch accordingly. Steak may be a bit much for lunch . . . so I'm thinking either a burger or some meatloaf. Huge plus side to having struggling red blood cells or unnaturally heavy blood loss: getting to eat yummy foods. Ha.
Honestly, burgers by themselves are the most boring food known to man. If I had the choice between a plain burger and an overgrilled chicken wing . . . I would most likely opt for the latter. Without a beloved slice of cheese or some other scrumptious topping, burgers are really quite sad.
Last night, though, I had a burger that was almost too exciting. Imagine melty queso atop bold chili atop a well-seasoned burger. I sure love me some flavor . . . but this was really going above and beyond. So, I had to deconstruct my burger-- which actually proved to be quite delightful. I alternated between a burger piece dipped in queso and a burger piece smothered with chili. In between these scrumptious bites, I would have a little piece of the top bun or a bite of pickel. :}
Ah, a balanced burger is the ultimate feat.
Polish grandmas, like most grandmas, have this weird desire to stuff as much food as possible into the young. This was especially the case last night. A friend and I decided to check out this Polish restaurant by my house. We ordered one dinner plate to share along with some soups and different salads. There was so much rich food that we started going into food coma less than halfway through the meal. Our sweet elderly Polish lady server (who I assume is a grandma) kept coming by to see how we were doing—at times smiling at us, at other times yelling at us. Ha, go figure. When my friend and I were absolutely stuffed, she came over and said, “You are not done yet. Keep eating.” We looked at her in desperation, saying, “No, we can’t eat anymore. We’re stuffed and falling asleep!” She shook her head and said, “You sleep then and keep eating after,” and then she turned her back on us and walked away.
I looked at my friend in horrified realization. “She’s never going to let us leave, is she!?” We both laughed at the situation and ended up trading plates in an attempt to eat some more. We soon came to the conclusion that we couldn’t fit anything else into our protruding bellies. I started feeling trapped and needed to get us out of there, so I rummaged through my purse and found a rolled-up plastic bag. I immediately opened it up and started shoveling the contents of our plates into the bag. My friend was dying with laughter, which unfortunately brought the lady back out to check on us. I almost got caught as I very slyly twisted the bag closed and threw it back into my purse. The lady walked over and surveyed our table, finally saying, “Okay. That is better. You are finished now.” We both breathed a sigh of relief as she took our dishes and finally brought over the check.
*shaking my head, laughing* Oh, grandmas. You just gotta love them.
These days, I rarely go out to lunch-- and now I pretty much eat whatever is around, whether it be from the convenience store downstairs or leftovers from home that I threw together. While that sounds quite boring, I get really excited when I haven't spent a lot of money but my lunch ends up being delicious. My lunches from the last two days definitely fit into that category. They made me happy. :)
Yesterday's Lunch
Kimchi-flavored noodle bowl: $1.50
Feeling warm for the first time that day: priceless
Today's Lunch
Bowl of Easy Mac: $0.75
Cut-up pieces of two beef hot dogs: $0.00 (randomly given by coworker)
Feeling like a little kid again: priceless
I really don't like to waste food, and that often becomes a problem for me because I generally tend to overeat and feel sick after. Well, this weekend was full of bachelorette festivities in honor of my cousin who will be married next month-- so, by the time yesterday came around, there were a lot of random leftovers. In an attempt to not be wasteful, I decided to have a little bit of everything for dinner. 1 and 1/4 slices of deep dish sausage supreme, a handful of cheese chunks (three varieties), several salami slices, and a toasted blueberry bagel.
Because I like to have a nice balance of sweet and salty food, I found that I had way too many salty things and needed more sweet things. So I added a banana and two firecracker popsicles to the mix. Needless to say, I felt pretty gross for the rest of the night. This may also have contributed to my oversleeping and being late for work this morning. I guess that's what I get for having absolutely no sense of restraint. *sigh*
I'm sure we've all heard about how amazing Michael Phelps is. And, honestly, I'm terribly jealous of him. But not because he's the best swimmer in the world or because he's racking up the gold medals. I'm jealous because he burns about 10,000 calories a day. Umm . . . I can't even burn 300 calories in an hour on the treadmill! In addition, he has to make up for those calories in eating. Eating all kinds of yummy things!! *sigh* Hate him.
HIS DIET
HIS EATING HABITS
You know . . . I think I may take up swimming . . .
I remember one time many years ago when I went to eat at a diner with my friend and my cousin. My cousin ordered a turkey sandwich and, upon receiving it, seemed unhappy with her decision. "What's wrong with it?" I asked. She said it tasted too much like turkey. I didn't really understand what she meant. My friend then put the plate up to her nose, wrinkled her nose in distaste, and said, "Eww. It smells like turkey." I laughed at how ridiculous they sounded. "Isn't turkey supposed to taste and smell like turkey!?" I asked. Despite my amusement, my cousin ended up ordering something else to replace her sandwich.
It's been over five years, I think, since that happened. Five years of thinking they were being picky and ridiculous. Well, this morning, I ordered a scoop of scrambled eggs and one sausage patty from the restaurant downstairs. As I was biting into the sausage patty, I was overwhelmed . . . by the strong smell of pork. I tried to ignore it by holding my breath but ended up just being overwhelmed by the strong taste of pork in my mouth. I have to say, a light bulb lit up in my head as I tossed the sausage into the garbage. Ugh. Porky pork sausage is gross. And I'm sure turkeyish turkey is equally gross. I should have understood. *shaking my head* I have an aversion to fishy fish. Ha.
My bridesmaid dress workout consisted of zero exercise and a whole mess of junk food. In the days leading up to the wedding, I accepted the fact that I most likely would not be able to breathe. But thankfully, surprisingly, wonderfully . . . my dress zipped up with little trouble! And I could breathe!
It's funny because, when I felt forced to work out, I felt no desire to go to the gym. But now that I have no reason to work out, I think I'll try a spinning class sometime soon. Ha.
. . . will not fiiit." That's what my coworker was singing to me in the kitchen just now, after she found me picking at some leftovers from a breakfast celebration we had this morning.
I have no other words to say. She's a perceptive woman. *sigh*
FATTIE RATING: 4.75
