…has to have vegetables?

It is true that I love salads.  It is also true that I am particularly picky with what goes in those them, and ideally, vegetables are just a small part of the picture.

• Romaine lettuce
• Marinated Bean Medley (Trader Joe’s)
• Fat-free feta cheese  (Trader Joe’s)
• Sliced strawberries
• Avocado
• Red onion
• Bacon (two slices)
• Balsamic vinegar

Yes, bacon.  If you missed it, the fabulous Heather wrote a great post about bacon (and other fats) last week.  I couldn’t agree more with her viewpoint.  I will never give up bacon…and why should I, for 70 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat per serving?

I know all you veggie lovers out there probably consider this an abomination of a salad.  I can’t help it.  It’s the only way I can choke down all that lettuce

Yesterday morning, I had to get blood work done.  I have been dreading this for weeks, for two reasons:

1. My blood samples had to be taken after fasting for 12 hours.  Though I know I do this all the time when I eat dinner, go to sleep two hours later, sleep for 8 hours, and then eat breakfast two hours after waking, the fact that the “fast” was imposed by another party made me suddenly very conscious of it.
2. I have a phobia with needles and, particularly, getting my blood taken.  This developed out of a bad experience when I was little, because my veins were so small that the nurse had to go in several times in her attempt to suck me dry.  Then, the lab lost my sample, so I had to return and do it all again the following week. 

The reason for all of this was because, for years, I have sporadically and unpredictably felt severe pains on the left side of my head.  Though they are the most intense pains I’ve ever felt, they go away so quickly (2-3 seconds) that I have always brushed them off.  Then, last month, the stabbing pain lasted nearly a full 30 seconds (which may as well have been eternity), so I decided to finally go see the doctor.

After several simple tests (yes, I can walk in a straight line while touching my nose), the doctor said it’s probably just a muscle spasm, but ordered blood work, just to be sure.

My results came in today, though I have yet to get the analysis from my doctor.  I did, however, have my Registered Dietitian colleague check out my stats, and she was particularly impressed with my lipid panel:

Cholesterol: 153 (Standard Range <239-)

Triglyceride:  119 (Standard Range <199-)

HDL (“good” cholesterol):  81 (Standard Range >45-)

LDL Calculated (“bad” cholesterol): 48 (Standard Range <129-)

I may have failed biochemistry, but I aced cholesterol, baby.

I digress.  These numbers made me think back to the last time I had things like my blood pressure taken, and I remembered the full fitness test I underwent (almost) exactly a year ago today.

Instead of re-posting, I will send whoever is interested back to this post to read all about my fitness assessment and see my results.

I would be interested to see how my fitness level has changed in the past year.  I know I have gained 1-2 lbs, but I have also been strength training more, so I am hoping a portion of that is muscle.  I definitely look a little, ahem, stronger, than I did a year ago.

For those of you wondering if you should take a fitness test, I highly recommend it.  It’s kind of fun, and it’s a good gauge to measure how effective your fitness efforts have been. 

A blood test, however, I do not recommend.  Literally getting the life sucked out of you is worse than working with Crazy Craig.

Have you ever had a fitness assessment?  Were you surprised at the results?

Hi Folks!  It’s been a while, hasn’t it?  First things first, I owe it to you to announce the winner of the Uncle Sam’s Cereal.  Thank you to those who entered!

My beautiful blogging buddy, Elina!  Elina, email me with your address so I can have Attune send your cereal   I know you’ll put it to good use in some creative, healthy, yummy recipe!

This past week has been slightly insane for me.  I went on my first business trip (ever), to represent FoodCALC at The Western Foodservice Show in LA.

Let me tell you guys, food shows are a chaotic sort of Heaven.  I learned this back in January when I went to the Fancy Food Show with Deb, but actually being there with the purpose of networking and meeting people added to the excitement. 

I felt like the theme of the weekend was to work hard…

…play hard.

Lots of those. 

Lots of five-star, amazing food. 

I have lots of work to finish off tomorrow before we leave for LAS VEGAS (again) on Friday.  I hope to have some time to blog from there.

In the meantime, how do you balance work and play? 

I like to spell “classy” with a “K” when it’s that special kind of gauche classy.  Y’all know what I mean, right? 

For example: 

Classy: Wearing a dress to work.

Klassy: Accepting a hand-me-down dress from my boss, and then wearing it to work the next day.  (Guilty as charged.)

Or how about:

Classy:  Organic, nonfat Greek yogurt with fresh berries and almonds for a healthy breakfast on the go.

Klassy: Said breakfast transported in the re-used yogurt container.

Classy: English white stilton cheese infused with apricots.

Klassy: Throwing a bunch of random foods on a plate and calling it lunch.

Classy: Going out to a nice fondue dinner.

Klassy: Finger-licking in between bites.  Busted.

Classy: Shooting interview videos for FoodCALC’s website.

Klassy: The barely-visible cardboard box upon which the camera is perched.

Classy: My attempts at being sexy for a vintage-inspired photo shoot.

Klassy: Begging my readers to vote for my photo submission in the Mad Men Casting Call. (Yup, almost a whole month left of these pleads.) 

Classy: Enjoying a flourless, organic, sprouted grain muffin for breakfast.

Klassy: Eating the same darn breakfast every day this week and calling myself a food blogger.

Are you more classy or klassy today?

**Today is the last day to enter to win some healthy Uncle Sam’s Cereal!**

It’s been a few years since I’ve been to The Melting Pot, so I was pleasantly surprised last night when I remembered what an “event” the dining experience is!

August 2010

Previous trips to The Melting Pot:

July 2006

December 2006

As (I hope) you can see, a lot has changed since then!  On our last visit, we had a five (yes, FIVE) course meal.  It was completely excessive, and I was stuffed after gorging on the bread and cheese fondue.

This time, we passed on the cheese fondue and the colossal shrimp, deciding instead on the (still arguably excessive) three course meal. 

It started with a salad. I chose the spinach salad with mushrooms, red onion, Roma tomatoes, and a burgundy shallot vinaigrette.

In between courses, I sipped a nice glass of pinot noir

Matthew and I ordered individual entrees but ended up with the same dinner: Signature Selection (filet mignon, white shrimp, teriyaki-marinated sirloin, chicken breast, and cedar planked salmon).

Potatoes, broccoli, and mushrooms come with all the meat.  We ended up getting seconds on the broccoli and mushrooms.  (I need more veggies than that!)

For our cooking method, I chose a simple vegetable broth.  My choice was influenced by two factors: 1) It was one of the selections without an added charge of $6. 2) It seemed much healthier than canola oil.

Lots of waiting and watching…

Finally, the bites begin.

The sauces on the side add to the fun!  Green goddess (cream cheese, herby mix), sweet and sour, yogurt curry (not my thing), teriyaki (had to ask for seconds), and a strong blue cheese.

We were stuffed! 

Magically, a secret compartment of my stomach opened for dessert

This was the Cookies ‘n Cream Marshmallow Dream: “dark chocolate topped with marshmallow cream, flambéed, swirled together and garnished with crushed Oreo cookies.”

I may be a few pounds thinner than I was four years ago, but I’m not dumber.  I could never turn this down!

The whole dinner was a two hour experience, and I love that it really was an experience…about much more than just the food.

Do you fondue?