RANT  .... Why is smoked salmon (which is sooo good for me), so gosh-darned expensive?

=^..^=  MOLLY

If the people in China are so healthy, why isn't Chinese food ?? Is their secret those chopsticks? Because they drop so much before it reaches their mouth? Or do those wooden sticks absorb the calories?? Is it because they eat those little paper fortunes instead of the cookies their in?? Is it those tiny little cups of tea they drink??

Oooooo .... now I want a smoker for smoked salmon. (Gosh, wouldn't THAT make me popular with my kitties? It was bad enough trying to eat smoked salmon for breakfast with a herd of purring furkids all over me!)

Hmmm.... maybe I need to dig out the chop sticks (and some old shirts -- to drop on!) and start shaving off calories by drizzling my food down the front of my outfit! LOL!

Am I correct in assuming that pouring melted Cheez Whiz all over these !)&)@&* brussell sprouts does not equal a "healthy food choice?"

=^..^= MOLLY (one rant burns 5 calories)

Ah, Cheez Whiz...stuff of my dreams! How often Mom would get us to down "bad" veggies by disguising them under a river of the orange stuff!

Now if cheese is made from milk, and milk is made up of calcium and protein, how come it's so bad for us??

Oh, the high fat, you say? but there are low- and no-fat versions....."processed cheese food". Why is it I can't eat just one slice/ounce/package/pound/wheel (that's 3 or 5 pounds to the uneducated cheese person)???

Guess that's my answer, huh? A pound???? Worse than Lay's tater chips...can't eat just one!!!

Now brussel sprouts...why do they have such a bad "rep"?? Just little green baby cabbages, ya know. Good for ya...green leafy things, right? Did Mom cook them to mush? Did she force us to eat and we gagged? Here's a hint...cook lightly then sprinkle with (fresh, preferrably) lemon juice! YummY!! 

Oooooo ..... fries. (wistful sigh)

I'd rather have Tots from Sonic ... 210 calories.

(happy sigh)

Today I had tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, red onion, brussell sprouts, an apple and an artichoke.  My lean proteins were salmon, lean ham, and lean sirloin.... yum! (I was boycotting turkey today!) And for the first time ever, I made brown rice ... yay!

Oh well, at least I am getting a lot more variety in my diet.

=^..^= MOLLY

tasty & delicious brussels sprout recipe... (no, seriously, these are really, really good):

serves 8

1 pound brussels sprouts, washed & halved

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Place sprouts on baking sheet and douse with olive oil. Roast for 10 mins. Add chopped garlic & salt, toss to coat. Return to oven for 5 mins. Rub sprouts into the garlic before you take them from the pan, and sprinkle any remaining toasted garlic over them when you serve.

 (from Isa Chandra Moskowitz' Vegan with a Vengeance)

ohio45 .... Yes, crying DOES burn calories! And you will burn even MORE calories if you fling yourself melodramatically on your bed, kick your feet, flail your arms, and WAIL! (Note: if you have dogs (like I do) this may cause some unintended howling.)  If you cry so hard you get the hiccups, you get bonus points. Be sure and log this activity in your activity log.

prospectpark ... thanks for the yummy recipe. Surely there must be some way to zip up my yummy brussell sprouts. Someone sent me a PM suggesting that I dip my brussell sprouts in peanut butter .... which sounded absolutely dreadful.

fatandold ... first off, let me say how much I can relate to your name ... hee hee hee! Some days, I feel especially fat and old! (Other days, just fat ... LOL!) Welcome to our cheery little rant thread. Whining, b*tching, complaining, moaning and witty sarcasm are also allowed! Thanks for joining our happy little group.... we put the fun in dysfunctional! (hee hee hee)

jkpetterson...OK, you think I'm a comic genius .... so you can stay! (hahahahaha) Does massaging my own ego burn calories? How on earth would I log that? Oh, shoot ... now I have the giggles .... and it isn't even 10am!

* * *

Well .... today I have yet another dentist visit .... the first of a series of three that I have scheduled within the next 30 days. May I take a moment and just shriek "EEEK!  EEEEK! EEEEK!"  My last visit to the dentist did not go well (for me OR the dentist) --- I accidentally bit him. But the receptionist assures me that his stitched are out, he's completely healed up, and he vows to be more careful today! (Oh my!) And don't even get me started on the evils of dental insurance!

So far today, I've been good at what I've eaten .... but it isn't even 10am yet! (snort!) Two pieces of light bread toast, a little fat free cheese, one cup of Special K, 1/2 cup of skim milk .... just under 300 calories. I am pleased and proud to report that today's breakfast did not include one single vegetable .... YAY!

Keep rantin'

=^..^=  MOLLY (I don't wanna go to the dentist ....)

"FAT-FREE"

Can we talk? If my sour cream is fat free, how can it be called "cream" which by definition is the fat part of it?? Same with fat free cream cheese?? Now, processed cheese food, labelled fat free, is understandable...it's not even "cheese" right?

I laughed out loud at the dairy section while shopping when I saw "Fat free Half & Half"...how in the world can I believe THAT???!!

And those deceptive labels... 75% fat free REALLY MEANS it's 25% FAT!!! Reduced fat, I can understand, but how are those percentages figured, I wonder? Must be some new-fangled math.

Gee, I'm so tied of reading labels only to find that the lables have mysteriously meaningless information!

[Cough] Can I come in? I'm a foreigner, observing from across the Atlantic, and finding this very funny insight into US life very scary.  What I am about to say could be considered a very British rant!  

As a society, you are getting fatter, and we are catching up so I can see our future in where you are. You have foods I have never even heard of ("Cheez Wizz"? "Sausage and syrup"???) and eat things I have never eaten in my life (McDonalds, BK - we have them, but I couldn't bring myself to go into one as they seem to be populated in Britain by unsavoury-looking people). Your food comes in portions designed for entire African tribes, and you seem to drive everywhere. These trends are catching on here.

I am increasingly worried about many things: global warming; reality-show TV; world hunger (and I'm old enough to know better) including how out of touch we are getting with what it means to be alive, to use our bodies as nature intended and to entertain ourselves. We live in what has been called an "obesogenic society", and my mission is to persuade concerned citizens to boycott those in whose interests it has been created and persists.

For a witty description, read this: eprints.gla.ac.uk/2928/01/obesity2pdf.pdf

So I am tempted to start a one-woman campaign to refuse to buy anything from food manufacturers which looks over-engineered so they make less profit and hopefully either go out of business or are forced to sell more basic and healthier foods. This is not anti-capitalism, it is pro-humanity. And of course I hope it will make me healthier and leaner too.

As part of this campaign, I do not own a car either. My kids walk to school; I bike 8 miles to work (in London) and back and we go running together for fun.

Perhaps we can succeed in our goals by turning the personal struggle into a political one (not party-aligned)?

What do others think?

Slow-coach .... welcome to our cheery little rant thread. Bravo to you for biking 8 miles to work everyday in London. When I did work (I quit 2 years ago and never looked back), my office was about 25 miles from my house and our summertime temperatures here are usually well over 100 degree Farenheit, so the thought of biking ANYWHERE just didn't cross my mind.... hee hee hee. Of course, I didn't even OWN a bicycle back then .... my wonderful DH just bought me one about 3.5 weeks ago and I DID go bike riding around my neighborhood this morning!

I applaud your desire to fix the mounting global warming problem and to turn your personal struggle into a political struggle. You go, girl!  While my nifty yellow Mustang (license plate: RUBRDUX) may not be the most fuel efficient car out on our busy U.S. roads, at least I don't drive a nifty, silver Explorer like my DH does .... hee hee hee.  For us, we need a large vehicle .... I do an inordinate amount of shopping, plus we are very active in animal rescue and we spend a lot of time transporting crates-full of puppies, kittens, cats and dogs. (Just last weekend we helped rescue and transport a momma dog and her 7 adorable 5-week old puppies!)

You probably won't find many rants on this thread concerning global warming, the evils of corporations manufacturing Spam, Cheez Whiz and Snickers, or rants against gas-guzzling autos. What you WILL find is a group of health-minded, fun-loving, witty, delightfully sarcastic, and extremely funny people who like to rant about food, dieting, food, dieting, dentists, shopping, silly friends, and related matters. So far, we've successfully avoided politics, religion, and whether or not the toilet seat is supposed to be UP or DOWN. (Down, of course!)

* * *

Ratinhat88 ... thank you very much for your kind words. We rant, therefore we are .... happy! (LOL!) Remember, a rant a day burns calories!

* * *

Krismasself .... LOL! You are so right. If Half-and-Half is SUPPOSED to be half milik and half cream, and they take all of the fat out of cream and turn it into milk .... it's not really "Half and Half" anymore, is it?  That's ok ... I was in the store just last night, and a lady there was looking for "fat free oil" .... how is THAT for a contradiction in terms? I suggested she just buy some olive oil and use LESS .... and she looked at me like I was some sort of freaky genius. (Well, I AM .... but how did SHE know?)

=^..^=  MOLLY

Food Log Rant .... why can't the food log thing-y let me log 2.5 servings of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup? My choices are 2 servings, or 3 servings. Come on, people .... a can holds 2.5 servings .... and that's what I am EATING! (And is it bad to want to add salt to low sodium soup so it tastes better?)

Anyway, after spending the morning at the dentist, I am a bit grouchy today ... and I just wanted to log my darn chicken noodle soup! (Hey, is this burning calories?)

MOLLY, BY GOLLY ....