Cruise Ship Pop Quiz

I had the great fortune to work out next to this guy on day 1 of our Thanksgiving Week cruise.  In case it's difficult to see, he has an ice cream cone in his left hand, a cup of coffee in his right hand and he's on the elliptical machine. Feel free to take the following quiz. You can vote for several answers. And please leave your own answer in the comments section!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! 

Q: Are you a good multi-tasker? Or do you work best on one project at a time. Feel free to share any great Thanksgiving memories of your own, and to add your own answers to the quiz!

When Free Isn't Free

All you can eat! Free!

Who doesn't love a deal? Getting something for nothing always seems like a good plan, especially to a natural frugalista like me. What could be wrong with getting something for free?


But think of the buy-one-get-one-free deals. Well, that just means that it's 50% off and you end up with more. That's good, right? But was it something you would have bought anyway, or are you 'settling' just because it's cheap? As someone who despises (and battles) clutter, I have to ask myself this question every time I make a purchase. I'm still using colored pens that I bought at Costco about 12 years ago. Sure, such a deal.  But now that I no longer keep a food journal, they sit unloved. But really, unless you teach elementary school or journal in fun colors, how often do you use a green or purple pen?

Perhaps you see why I gave up journalling? These were 'light' entries.

One of the most important lessons I've learned about freebies has to do with breakfast buffets. Anyone who knows me well knows that I do not eat a traditional breakfast. First of all, I'm not hungry in the mornings. Second of all, I often train successfully on a nearly-empty stomach. Finally, if I eat proper, chewable 'food' (balanced macronutrients and sufficient calories) at breakfast, it seems to awaken The Beast and then The Beast is ravenous and foraging for food all day long until I go to sleep at night. The only foods that seems to slip past The Beast undetected are smoothies, or something light like a protein muffin, fruit or some nuts. 

Typical late breakfast (possibly more of the same later)

Toppings for sure- these are my personal favorites

Now let's move on to the 'freebie' issue while traveling. Due to Derek's line of work in the travel industry, we are lucky enough to get good deals on cruises (aka floating buffets), and I also tag along with him on business trips. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to get free breakfasts- a nice problem to have, unquestionably. But just as "Freedom isn't Free," neither is the free breakfast. Not for me, anyway. I will explain.


If I give in to the temptation to "take advantage" of the deal, and just eat the breakfast meal, I set myself up for dietary disaster for the rest of the day. If I do this every day, I set myself up for failure for the entire trip. This means that I come home much heavier than I left and makes me unhappy that I can't wear clothing on Day 7 that I could wear on Day 1. Turns out breakfast isn't free for me one little bit. It comes at a huge cost to my well-being. Coming home from a trip miserable sucks. So I decided to just say no to the free breakfast. 

Even healthy smoked salmon in the foreground will awaken The Beast

So tempting, but best for me to just have a tiny bit of fruit at breakfast, if any at all.

Plenty of time later in the day for this deliciousness.

On the other hand, Derek would be insane to turn away a free breakfast. Often, he eats so much and so late, that his breakfast even carries him over past lunchtime. For him, it's a sweet deal. Especially if chocolate muffins are involved.  
 

I get a muffin top just thinking about having this for breakfast

Derek, on the other hand can happily partake in a chocolate muffin for breakfast (and more, plenty more)

You might be wondering what I do instead of eating the free breakfast? You can call me crazy if you want to, but this is what works for me. I will have tea or coffee (with probably half a cup of milk) with Derek while he eats and not feel deprived one bit. After all, I'm not hungry. However, if there is something very special on the menu that I can't get at home, I will have a taster. I'm not insane, after all! Then I'll have either a smoothie or something light a bit later, when I am really and truly hungry (or after my workout). I see this as listening to my body, and it works for me. It probably would not work for you!

Oh, this is a very exciting Southern Delicacy to a California girl!

Look at the flecks of cheese!

Note! Please do not misinterpret this post as a call to toss your wonderful bowls of oatmeal out the window.  Most people could not function in this way and I would never, ever suggest this way of living for others. But this is what works for me. You should only ever do what works for YOU! 

This could be you at breakfast. But it's not me.

Bottom line: Skipping monetary freebies that are in fact psychologically or physically costly to myself is in fact, priceless.

Q: What about you? What's the best freebie you ever got? Which are ones that work for you? That work against you? Are you a breakfast eater? Anyone else have A Beast living in their abdomen?

Cacao Protein Sticks

If there is one skill I possess, it’s having the ability to take my chances in the kitchen and shrug it off if it doesn’t work out. I'm not always lucky, but my protein muffin was stumbled upon by grabbing random items. Today's recipe was born in much the same way.

It’s hard to describe these treats. Are they "a dessert?" Well, perhaps. Wait. Yes.  Are they bread-like? Yes, actually. Well, sort of. Are they a good snack? Definitely. Are they tasty? In my opinion: Yes. The really good news is that they are extremely easy to morph into whatever you’d like: sweet or savory. And they are just plain easy to make. Plus: they are high in protein (7 grams per stick), high in fiber (4 g) and low in calories (110 calories). I love those stats.

What makes them so high in protein? Vital Wheat Gluten. It’s what you use to make seitan (my next experiment?). Official thanks to Janetha for turning me on to the stuff ages ago, when I made a couple of attempts trying to pimp out my protein muffin. I didn't have much success, so the stuff sat in my pantry until today when I decided to give it another shot.

Browned outside

Light and airy inside

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Flour
• Stevia or other sweetener (I used about 6 packets of NuNaturals, plus another for dusting the tops)
• 1/8 tsp Baking powder
• 1/8 tsp Baking soda
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup pumpkin or other mashed winter squash
• 1 Tablespoon coconut Manna, coconut butter or other nut butter (or just plain butter!)
• 1 oz Cacao Nibs (or chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Allow Coconut Manna to become runny by immersing it under hot water or nuking for a few seconds (it’s hard and can be grated with a fork at room temperature, except in the summer time)
3. Mix dry ingredients together except cacao nibs
4. Mix egg whites with pumpkin
5. Combine dry & wet ingredients & mix- it becomes slightly doughy
6. Add manna, making sure that dough isn’t cold
7. Form into 5 sticks (or any shape)
8. Roll sticks into cacao nibs
9. If using chocolate chips or anything else that will melt, combine them within the rest of the dough



Click picture to enlarge

10. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until tops are slightly brown.

Pumpkin is always my 'carb' of choice in baking. You can sub banana, yogurt, mashed strawberries, etc.

Whisk the egg whites with the pumpkin

Mega protein: From wheat

True, it's a little spendy

Check out the protein! 23 g per 30g. That's nearly as high as whey protein powder!

Coconut Flour...Another amazing product that is a bit spendy (but cheaper at TJ Maxx!). They'll be wrestling a bag of this stuff from my cold, dead hands. It is the 'silkiest' of all flours I have ever tried.

I use stevia- you can use any sweetener (or none, if you are making these savory)

Combine dry ingredients

Mix wet & dry ingredients

This stuff is amazing! It's made from dried coconut. It's not dissimilar to coconut butter, but it's not exactly the same either. I love it because it's hard at room temperature (not in the summer) so it's a great sub for butter. And it's delicious, and melts in your mouth.

 

Mix until you have a 'moist' dough (there's that word!)

Cacao nibs: I LOVE these. They are just tiny pieces of cacao beans (before they go on their life's journey to the Ghirardelli factory) and are cocoa-y despite being not in the least bit sweet. They do not melt either and remain crunchy or chewy in baked goods and smoothies. Great as a topping on oats or yogurt.

 

I decided to have fun with shapes: and doughnuts are all the rage now.

And I used real chocolate in these

Not gonna lie: these were good

These may have been Fauxnuts but they were protein packed and delicious

Edited to add: I just returned from a trip where I brought the rest of this batch with me on planes, cars & ships. They traveled well and saved me in times of hunger. I'll be experimenting with other flavors, but I'll be using this recipe again.  The cacao nibs stayed nice and chewy/crunchy even after about 4 or 5 days. 

Q: Do you ever buy a product only to sit on it forever until actually using it? Are you a recipe follower or do you just throw random stuff together? Have you ever used any of these items that are a bit unusual? Like them or not? If you make these, I'd love to hear about your variations!

Keeping things fresh

"Yeah, I'm Ace"

Due to the fact that our new kitten, Ace has had a couple of  bed-wetting incidents (TMI!) we decided to consult an animal behaviorist to examine and treat problem (yes, really, we did.) But we learned so much more than simply what might have been causing his “Inappropriate Elimination” or IE for short (not to be confused with Intuitive Eating).  

(Edited to add: She thinks it was the TYPE of litter we were using, and possibly too few boxes. She also taught us about a billion other fascinating facts about cats, but I'm highlighting the "keep it fresh" angle because I feel that I can relate to it...)

So I thought that I would pass along some of the facts that the doctor taught us about our cats that I felt can actually be extrapolated to humans.

Kittens and cats get bored easily and you need to be creative to keep them interested, entertained and stimulated. If you fail to do this, they'll get into all sorts of trouble. This is true for humans too. Let me give some examples.

Cat example: Sure you can go out and buy the $6 leopard print fur-ball on a string gadget:


(Are cats supposed to look at that and say “Wow, that must be what my big-cat cousins look like in Africa?! I had better play with this!)

There seems to be some interest...

“Yup, looks just like my great great great great uncle Lester before he emigrated from the old country…”

They are interested for about 6 minutes (a dollar per minute for those of you keeping track)

It’s fun for a romp or two across the savanna, but then…

Yawn

Seriously, sometimes a candy wrapper will do just fine. I found this on the floor and I can assure you that I didn’t put it there.

I get excited over the candy. The cats love the wrapper.

Human example: We sometimes get bored with those fancy-schmancy machines at the gym, right?

Woo! This is exciting! (For about five minutes)

Sometimes, we can use simple toys and have just as much fun:

Janetha loves how the cat-pee theme leaks in (hee) through this post

How "Sweat" it is...not a type-o! (40 lbs of litter that is)

Oops...

Sprung a leak

Back to the Cat Examples: 

Something simple: A yogurt container that you’ve filled in with kibble and Greenies: (they sell expensive pre-made versions of these in pet stores FYI)...

"The Tweedles" are interested...

But don’t kid yourself. They’ll soon tire of the home-made contraption too. At least it didn’t cost you $6 (unless you bought Fage)

 Boring!

Feeling spendy again? You can shell out $5 on a bright blue feather-on-a-stick thingy and that will entertain them for 5 minutes (again, $1 per minute/stalking some wild bird in their ancestral birthplace on another continent)



BUT if you attach a pink string that came on some other gift!? Now you’re talking!



So much more fun!

My Little Mister, Ace

 
       


Human Example: Swanky Gym:

So fancy!

But for a change, maybe it's good to just get out and hike:

With Eden

With Heather and Bekah

Have I not mentioned the bathroom recently? Well, as you all know, toilet roll holders are the key to good times. Especially if you tie some twine through it.






Then to be the life of the party, you need a smoothie straw, obviously...

    

My next smoothie might not taste so hot.

Incidentally, the doctor told us that we should remove toys after a day or two and hide them temporarily. When we rotate and re-introduce them, it’s like “Voila! New toy!”  Humans can do the same thing by switching up workouts and moving locations. You'll be like "Wow! A dumbell!"

By the way, the following photo is evidence of what happens when you fail to stimulate your kitty properly. They find stimulation elsewhere...

Poor Eden's shoelaces died last sumer in the jaws of Ellie.

 Finally:  sometimes, it is just more fun to play together:


Definitely.

Edited to Add: I changed the commenting format slightly which Blogger said should help the problems readers have had commenting.  Fingers and paws crossed!

Q:  Are there any funny toys that your kids/pets love? Do you prefer to mix things up with workouts or do you like the predictability of consistent workouts?  Do you prefer to train alone or with someone else?