More Bento Box Madness!

Food Porn: Cupcake Pops

Here are some Cupcake Pops made with cake and creme cheese frosting. Bakerella made these a while back and she was even on the Martha Stewart Show, but I just discovered them.

Learn how to make your own: http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/04/make-your-cupcakes-pop.html

too cute

To swim

I love to swim. I think it's a great way to work out without feeling all huffy and sweaty. Of course, I swim at my on pace...which isn't necessarily everyone else's. Since I swim in this big natatorium, I always feel like a big ol' manatee floating about compared to the other slick swimmers. Everyone else is in they're tiny tight speedos and they're fancy gear swimming theyre hearts out. Even though I'm sure they aren't paying attention to me, it still makes me self conscious. But as long as I keep swimming, soon I'll be as slick as they are. It's just like in Finding Nemo...just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Bento Box Madness!

Since Slashfood has been posting lots of pics of creative bento boxes, I've decided to post some I've found around the web. A bento is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. Bento can be very elaborately arranged. Contests are often held where homemakers can compete for the most aesthetically pleasing arrangements. The food is often decorated to look like people, animals, or characters and items such as flowers and plants.
 
 

Can't Stop Eating.

Last night I saw a really interesting documentary about people with Prader Willie Syndrome. People with PWS have an extreme and insatiable appetite, often resulting in morbid obesity and they also have some learning difficulties. I found it really interesting and touching so I figured that I'd post it.

Iron Chef America for wii!

Just saw on Slashfood that there is a game coming out for wii this fall called Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine. Part of me is excited to hell and another part of me is nervous that it might be a cheap Cooking Mama meets crappy American Idol game...or something of the sort. But either way, it sounds interesting. Though I'm surprised that I don't see Chef Bobby Flay around (even though he sticks his face onto evertything possible).



 

weird alcohol reaction

I think I might have some sort of alcohol intolerance because I had a bit to drink today and I suddenly felt really hot, my ears got super red, and I got a bad headache. I hardly ever drink cause I don't really like the taste of alcohol and if this is how I'm gonna get, I don't ever want to drink.

slowly but surely

Well, I lost .9 lbs which is almost a pound...which means  I DIDN'T gain any weight Which is good. I mean, I kinda wish the weight would come off a little faster but I don't want to be unhealthy. Anywho, ta-ta for now!

8 things to do before you die...

So I'd thought I'd do this thing that I stole from FLG, which he stole from Dietgirl. The title pretty much says it all. It's a list of 8 things I'd like to do before I die. Which hopefully won't happen in a long time.

1-Write a book: I'm not sure what kind of book. Maybe an inspirational type or a children's book, I don't know yet. All I know is that I want to see my work published, so everyone can read it. I want my voice to be heard.

2- See the world: I want to travel. I want to travel all over the world. There are so many beautiful places to see, people to meet, things to try. There are so many different cultures, and I want to experience them all. My tops are definitively Japan, Europe, Australia, Alaska, and China. Erhm, so pretty much everything.

3- Win an award: I've never won an award for anything and I don't know what I'd win one for. All I know is that I want one.

4- Grow a garden: Whether its just a couple of plants or a vegetable garden. I want one so I can take care of something. Plant it myself, nurture it, and watch it grow into something beautiful. Sort of like having children except without the fear of messing them up.

5- Learn to drive: Trust me, if you lived in PR you'd understand why I'm scared shitless of driving. The idea of driving here makes me so nervous, its almost unbearable. So one day I hope to toss those fears aside and become MOBILE!!!

6- Live in a big city: Even if its until I go insane, I want to live in an important big city. I want to feel like I'm in the center of everything. Whether its being in the capital of fashion, food, movies, technology; I don't care, I want to be there. Of course, I run the risk of getting attacked by a huge monster/natural disaster...cause you know how they love attacking big cities.

7- Go bungee jumping/skydiving: I want to take life to the extreme! Cause y'know, I don't go through enough dangerous circumstances in my daily life. I want to conquer my fears. Cause I'm not scared of heights...I'm just scared shitless of falling hundreds of feet to certain doom.

8- Love myself: I've always had really low self-esteem. Even when I was little. I've always been so shy and quiet and thought so little of myself. Well I want that to stop. I want to feel beautiful and be proud of who I am. I want to hold my head high and not think I'm less than anyone around me. I want to not care what anyone says or thinks, except for me. I want to care about me.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins!

I found this recipe on http://recipes.sparkpeople.com and it's really good! The muffins are lower in fat because they have nonfat milk and only egg whites. Plus it has less sugar (cause the apple sauce is sweet) and its also whole wheat. The site says they are about 93.5 calories for each muffin which is pretty awesome! I'm thinking for next time, I'll add some grated apple, nuts, and maybe raisins.

Ingredients:
1 cup old fashion rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup non-fat milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar (I used brown sugar)
raisins or nuts (optional)

Directions:
Soak the oats in milk for about half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.
Combine the oat mixture with the applesauce and egg whites, and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl measure and whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined. Add nuts or raisins if desired.
Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough. Spoon muffin mixture into muffin pan (I use an ice cream scoop).
Combine the rest of the cinnamon and sugar and top each muffin with some of the mixture.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until done.
Remove from pan, cool and enjoy.
These can be frozen and reheated in the microwave for a quick breakfast.

Number of Servings: 12

Soooo cute!

Okay, so I was googling cupcakes (don't ask me why) and I found these. Let me tell you, I don't care what you say, I think they are the cutest things ever!

Different

I've decided that this week is gonna be different! I'm gonna work harder than I've ever worked before. I'm gonna stretch every muscle. I'm gonna count every calorie. I'm gonna portion every...uhm...portion! Exercise will be done. Cravings will be ignored. Changes will be made!!...yea, I'm having one of those epic moments again.

I didn't know that

Do you know what are the basic tastes that our tongue can recognize? As far as I knew there were only 4: bitterness, saltiness, sourness, and sweetness. But did you know there was a fifth basic taste. It's umami or savoryness. Umami is the name for the taste sensation produced by compounds such as glutamate, and are commonly found in fermented and aged foods. In English, it is also described as "meatiness", "relish", or "savoriness". The term comes from the Japanese word 'umai' for yummy, keen, or nice. Apparently, humans have taste receptors for the detection of amino acids (which are the building blocks of protein). So yea...now you know!

A little bummed

I'm a little bummed out today. Ok, a lot. I've been having lots of problems with school lately. Mostly because my parents don't really support my decisions and won't help me pay for anything. So now I seems that I have to get a job but it's easier said than done. Unless my blog because uber popular over night and everyone feels like clicking on those annoying ads...I'm officially on the job hunt.

Week 2...a dissapointment

Well, this WOULD be the time of day where I post my weight loss results of the week...EXCEPT THERE AREN'T ANY! Thats right folks, I GAINED weight. .7lbs to be exact. Except for monday, I've eaten healthfully and worked out...I just don't understand!!! I'm so frustrated right now.

Think you're eating too much?

Since the Olympics are in full effect, I think its only obvious that I talk about the American Aquaman...Michael Phelps!

 

Mr. Phelps eats about 12,000 a day while he's training. Yep, you read correctly. That's almost 10 thousand more than most mere mortals should eat. Do you want to know what his breakfast consists of?

— three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayo
— one five-egg omelets
— a bowl of grits
— three slices of French toast with powdered sugar
— three chocolate chip pancakes
— two cups of coffee

Obviously, this is ok for an olympic athlete who burns thousands of calories per workout...but wow. 

uhggg....so sue me!

remembering...

I was just remembering how I used to be a couple of years ago and I'm pretty shocked as to how I've changed. I mean I used to do things that I couldn't even imagine doing now. For example, two years a go I took a volunteer trip to Kenya. I mean, I'm so freaking shy I have no idea how I managed to travel so far from home on my own. It was such an incredible experience too. That's pretty much where I got my love for chai tea.
Every morning we used to wake up and instead of drinking crappy instant coffee, we would have some warm chai tea. In the afternoons, when we would come back from long hours of construction, we would drink chai tea. I mean, I can't believe I helped build a classroom. I honestly don't think I could be able to do that now. When I went to Kenya, I was about 40 lbs lighter. I guess I just can't wait until I get as physically fit as I used to be. In the mean time, all I can do is work hard and remember my trip to Kenya. Come, reminisce with me!

 

  

The place, the animals, the people...the eww. Btw, I swear I'm somewhere in the last picture...but where!?

I actually have tons more pictures but I doubt anyone would like to see.

Jim Gaffigan...

I love Jim Gaffigan. He's definitely one of my favorite comedians and one of the reasons why is because he makes so many food jokes....yum.
He talks about cake...

bread...

salad...


And of course...

How I feel...

Read an article in the newspaper...

I read an article in the newspaper and it said something along the lines of "by 2012, 97% of all Puertoricans are going to be obese". I've always thought that obesity has always been a problem here, due most likely to the fact that our diets can consist of foods that are high in fat and carbs (since there are a lot of fried foods around). Also because most of the time, big hips and asses are glorified here. I mean, this is the country where Jennifer Lopez is from...well, is sort of from. I personally think that all the ruckus about losing weight is only because there's usually a lot of ruckus about that in the US. Our troubles and trends are usually magnified versions of anything that may be going on in the US. Magnified only because Puerto Rico is such a small island. I guess what I mean to say is that a lot of Puertoricans have always been fat, its just disturbing that NOW is when they're noticing

so frustrating...

I ate sooo much crap today. I guess I'm stressed out about school or about my grandma being in the hospital...but I don't know. I ate a hamburger, fries, popcorn, chocolate...uhgggghhh...I feel sick just thinking about it. I'm not quite sure where this bandwagon is, but I can't stay on it to save my life.

Why I hate hair salons

I hate hair salons. I really do. I don't think I've ever been to one and felt comfortable. Here's the thing, my mom has always taken me to really snooty hair salons. Like the type that are all fancy and high fashiony with really skinny over made up model chicks walking around in huge heels. I don't really have a problem with those things but its just not my element. I'm veeeery low maintenance. I usually don't wear much make up and I don't really care for appearances. So when I walk into one of those hair salons...I just feel out of place. So I went to get a hair cut on saturday and of course my mom wanted me to go to one of those hair salons.
I get there and I instantly feel really tense. One of these things is not like the other! You know what I mean? The guy asks me what I want and I just tell him I want my ends cut. He looks at me like I'm speaking chinese and says "uh....okay". Like, he's in shock that I don't want the Posh or the Beckham or the Rachel...or whatever is in style for the next five minutes. So he procedes to cut my hair and start making small talk, "your kinda a hippy, right?". Eh....do I look THAT grungy? And then of course he says the dreaded, "you know, you've got a pretty face...you just need to lose weight". Uhm....thanks? Look, I get it...I need to lose weight. My dad is a cardiologist, you think I don't get enough crap from him? My mom is one of those middle aged hipsters that's compulsively obsessed with looks....trust me, I get ENOUGH crap from her. I don't need YOU, Mr. hair salon guy, to tell me what I need to do!....I mean, I didn't say any of that....But I certainly thought it...and its the thought that counts!

Other things I've done

Right now I'm feeling tres sick because I think I ate some bad mexican. Well, some bad mexican FOOD....not an actual mexican. Clearly. Or maybe some bad milk...but I do think I would have noticed. Anyways, I feel like posting some other stuff I've done in the past...sooo enjoy!

 

Here's a Frangelico  (hazelnut liquor) cake with dark chocolate ganache  

  

  

This is a Tye-Dyed cheesecake (its a homemade copy of one they sell in Disneyworld). Its actually has a red velvet cake as a crust instead of graham crackers and the filling tastes like regular cheesecake (it only looks like a rainbow pooed on it) 

 
 

These are some salmon-cucumber appetizers with cilantro ginger creme cheese. 

 

I don't even remember what these are. I made them in school and all I remember was the fact that they were yummmmmmmy!

The first numbers!

I was supposed to weigh myself yesterday morning but I had to go take my grandma to the emergency room cause she was feeling really sick. I actually spent most of yesterday taking care of her and stress eating. Emphasis on the STRESS EATING part. So I figured that today I wouldn't see much of a difference but I was sort of wrong. Here are the first official numbers!

weight lost this week: 2.7 lbs

whoooo hooooo! I'm happy even though its not a whole lot. but still....whooooooooot!

New-ish cocoa butter cream

I got a cocoa butter cream for stretch marks from my mom last night. She used it when she was pregnant of my little brother, but since she's not pregnant anymore she thought I could use it. So I will now fight the vicious stretch mark army! Enemy, thy name is stretch mark! But you were not my enemy by my choice, oh no. I obliged to you when you decided to take over the tummy. But lest we forget the other fallen territories that you've taken by force; the inner thighs, the hips, and the upper arms! No we shall never forget the upper arms! So now we go into battle, and we will not offer you any mercy...only because you've offered us none! TONIGHT WE DINE IN HEALTH!!!!!!!!

yea...it might just be a little bit too early for me....

Before pics

So I finally grew some balls and decided to post some "before" pictures. Though I wasn't ballsy enough to post show my face. I find it really sad that I've let myself go so far. These pictures don't really inspire me, they just make me overwhelmed of how much weight I have to lose.

bug pops

My boyfriend's mom brought us back some lollipops with bugs in them from Alaska. He got a banana flavored pop with a scorpion in it (obviously minus all the dangerous parts) and I got an orange flavored pop with a rather large cricket. He just ate the pop with scorpion inside. I just ran it under water until all that was left was the cricket and we started playing around. In the end I ate it and I must say that it tasted like really crunchy orange chicken. Now I don't know how many calories a cricket has but I'm sure it can't be THAT much...right?

just ranting

My dear mother woke me up this morning telling me how she had heard of this new diet and how FABULOUS it was. Oh no, here we go again. My mother is the type of women that goes on every diet that she has ever heard of. No matter how ridiculous it sounds, if it promises results she has always been there trying it. Of course, she has never lost any significant amount of weight on any of those diets. And the weight that she has lost, she's gained the moment she goes OFF the diet. Which is often. I try to tell her that those fad diets never work, that she should just eat healthy and excercise regularly. She, of course just snarls back and says, "then if its so easy, why haven't you lost any weight?". I could have yelled back and told her that I'm trying and that results don't happen over night (contrary to her belief). But no, I decided to avoid that argument. Anyways, back to my mother. When I was little I used to see her only eating cabbage soup cause she was on the cabbage soup diet. Or avoiding this or only eating that. God knows if maybe she would stop going to weekly wine and cheese parties that last all through the weekend, maybe then she would lose weight. It's not like she wants to lose weight for health reasons.
When I was 13, she took me Jenny Craig cause I thought I was fat. Of course I was just chubby but seeing my mom constantly on diets must have made me very self concious. You think she would have just told me that that was baby fat that I'd get rid of. Or suggested I joined a sport. Nope. When I was 15, I thought I was horribly fat because she told me so. I was just 150 lbs. and when I look at pictures of myself, I can see that I wasn't fat at all. I wasn't fat. I had hips and thighs and an ass. But I wasn't FAT.
Now I really am fat. In fact, I'm quite over weight. And my mom doesn't make it any easier.

This is what I have to deal with!

Here are some pictures of the breads I made some months ago at school. No wonder I haven't been able to lose any weight! I'm like the carb queen of Sugary-DeliciousTopia! I guess with every gift comes great responsibility...or something like that.

 

Some onion bread

 

 Focaccia with onions and peppers

 

Naan or Indian bread

 

Cheese rolls and sesame rolls

I don't know how this will inspire anyone to lose weight...but still...yummmm

sorry lordy lord!

I had a horrible moment with my mom today. I found a medium sized box at my house today and I was looking at it and I was like "what is this?" *pick up* *shake around* and then my mom's like "that's your great grandma" (who passed away a few weeks back).....horrooooooorrr!! JUST PLAIN HORROR! FORGIVE ME LORDY LORD!! yea...it was awful

Don't be such a FitFlopper!

So I've been having this horrible urge to buy those new FitFlops. You know, the ones that say that they will make your butt and thighs trimmer just by walking around in them. I mean, its not like I'm all for not working hard but seriously...who isnt? Whoever tells you they would prefer to work out 5 times a week than just be naturally slim is lying to you. Don't trust them. If they lie about something like that...just imagine what else theyre lying about. But those damn things cost 50 bucks! For a student...thats a lot of money. Theyre damn flip flops! But there's still that little part of me that keeps going "go on...buy them! your ass will look FANTASTIC! 50 for a FANTASTIC ass...thats nothing. Its like excercise without all that fussy sweating and hard work." Obviously there's another part of me that's thinking "Oh cmon! You can't expect flip flops to actually do anything! I bet they tell you to walk around vigorously for 30-60 minutes and then they're like...VOILA! SEE THEY WORK! but really you're just doing all the work."
So anyways, most of me calls bullshit on the flippy ass toning shoes but there's always that little compulsive nagging side that still wants them.

WALL-E cake!

Here's a WALL-E cake that I did for a birthday party. Its just plain vanilla cake with buttercream icing. Yea...did I neglect to mention that I am an aspiring pastry chef? The plot thickens, does it not? Thickens like a rich meaty stew...yum....

If you're happy and you know it...

I was reading through some old magazines and I found and article about finding your "happy weight". So here's how to calculate it (just substitute my stats with yours!)

1- Multiply your height in inches by itself then by 0.031 (this is your BMI in the middle of the healthy range. BTW, I've never been a big fan of the BMI)= 139 lbs (I think I'd look like Skeletor if I weighed that)

2- Multiply the number above by 0.95 if you have a small frame; leave it unchanged if you have a medium frame; multiply it by 1.05 if you have a large frame= 146 lbs

To measure your frame, wrap a tape measure around your wrist and consult this chart:
under 5'2"= 5'2"-5'5"= over 5'5"
Small frame= less than 5.5"= less than 6"= less than 6.25"
Medium frame= 5.5"-5.75"= 6"-6.25"= 6.25"-6.5"
Large frame= more than 5.75"= more than 6.25"= more than 6.5"

3- Add 1 pound if a sibling or parent is obese= 147 lbs

4- Add 2 pounds for every decade you are over 20= 147 lbs

5- Add 5 pounds if you've had any children= 147 lbs

6- Subtract 1 pound if you exercise once a week, 2 pounds for three times a week, and 3 pounds for five or more times a week= 146 lbs

7- Add 4 pounds if you smoked at least a pack a day for a year or more and have quit (most quitters tend to gain weight)= 146 lbs

8- Add 1 pound if you allow yourself a treat now and then= 147 lbs

Final Happy Weight= 147 lbs (eeeeeeek)

Finally did it!

So I've finally done it. I've decided to start a blog. And what better topic to blog about than weight loss. To be exact, I can track my ups and downs (hopefully lots of downs...downs in weight and pant sizes). I hope that Ill be able to help myself stay on track and maybe one day be able to inspire other people to start a healthier lifestyle. So let me start off by swallowing my pride and posting my official numbers!

Starting weight: 256 lbs