Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
What a fine day! And a week!
I'm feeling great! For no reason and for all the reasons. Most likely it's a combination of all the good things in the past week, such as:
Monday: 1 hour volleyball game, first game in at least 6 months. Plenty of good spikes, and no back pain. Hooray!
Tuesday: Kettlebell class and sauna - sweating like hell in both, sleeping like a baby in the night and feeling nicely sore muscles the next day.
Wednesday: Walked home (45 min in -20c) and gave a 10$ Tim Horton's gift card to a homeless man.
Thursday: Voted for a better Finland. Go Haavisto Go!
Friday: Dinner at a Mexican restaurant and a brisk 30 min walk in -20c.
Saturday: An afternoon nap on a sunbeam on the sofa after a great kettlebell class and a delicious lunch.
Sunday: Homemade salmon soup and Finnish rye bread (with cheese - guilty me!) from an Ukrainian store.
Monday: 1 hour volleyball game, first game in at least 6 months. Plenty of good spikes, and no back pain. Hooray!
Tuesday: Kettlebell class and sauna - sweating like hell in both, sleeping like a baby in the night and feeling nicely sore muscles the next day.
Wednesday: Walked home (45 min in -20c) and gave a 10$ Tim Horton's gift card to a homeless man.
Thursday: Voted for a better Finland. Go Haavisto Go!
Friday: Dinner at a Mexican restaurant and a brisk 30 min walk in -20c.
Saturday: An afternoon nap on a sunbeam on the sofa after a great kettlebell class and a delicious lunch.
Sunday: Homemade salmon soup and Finnish rye bread (with cheese - guilty me!) from an Ukrainian store.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
No means no ... to chocolate too
One week of NCNB, and the challenge doesn't even feel like a challenge, so well it is going! The toughest moment of the past few days was on Friday, when a cold beer in the fridge was winking at me after sauna ... but I quickly closed the door and drank some sparkling water instead. However, another reason for this easiness might be that I'm challenging myself with wrong targets, cheese and booze. The real evil seems to be chocolate, which has become a true headache this week.
Throughout the year my chocolate consumption is steady, but small, because we mainly depend on Fazer chocolate sent from Finland. Not that there wouldn't be any chocolate in Canada, but there isn't any Fazer chocolate, and Fazer really truly is very good. Maybe even the best chocolate in the world. (Very objective Finnish opinion about Finnish chocolate.) However, since Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Finnish chocolate, our cupboard is full of it now.
Knowing that it's there, and especially seeing Abdallah eating it with full pleasure, no guilt, makes it very difficult for me to say no to it. Therefore I've been doing my part by eating a couple of pieces everyday. (Except yesterday, when I had chocolate ice cream instead.) But extreme time requires extreme measures; since moderating chocolate intake has been close to impossible, I have no other option than to add it to the list. No cheese, no booze, no chocolate. NCNBNC.
With one tiny exception for chocolate - I can have some on the weekends. Otherwise Abdallah would eat it all, and that's not fair!
Throughout the year my chocolate consumption is steady, but small, because we mainly depend on Fazer chocolate sent from Finland. Not that there wouldn't be any chocolate in Canada, but there isn't any Fazer chocolate, and Fazer really truly is very good. Maybe even the best chocolate in the world. (Very objective Finnish opinion about Finnish chocolate.) However, since Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Finnish chocolate, our cupboard is full of it now.
Knowing that it's there, and especially seeing Abdallah eating it with full pleasure, no guilt, makes it very difficult for me to say no to it. Therefore I've been doing my part by eating a couple of pieces everyday. (Except yesterday, when I had chocolate ice cream instead.) But extreme time requires extreme measures; since moderating chocolate intake has been close to impossible, I have no other option than to add it to the list. No cheese, no booze, no chocolate. NCNBNC.
With one tiny exception for chocolate - I can have some on the weekends. Otherwise Abdallah would eat it all, and that's not fair!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
No cheese, no problem!
Days 2 and 3 of the NCNB challenge ("no cheese, no booze" - see previous post if you have no idea what I'm talking about) have been extremely easy due to two reasons:
1) I've substituted cheese with chocolate.
In a long run this obviously beats the point of no cheese, no booze, since part of the challenge is to be a little bit more health conscious and say no to other temptations too, not just to cheese and booze. However, I thought that saying NO to everything at once would be a too big of a shock, and therefore chocolate and nuts have been welcomed with open arms so far. Gradually they will be eliminated (or at least cut down) too. For January.
2) I've caught a cold and tea is more appealing than wine.
However, since this is a second cold in a month, and chances are that it lasts as long as the other one (=forever), I might be soon tempted to switch tea to hard liquor. Also, the results of the current scientific experiment called "How Many Liters of Chamomile / Ginger&Lemon / Sore Throat Tea Can a Person Drink in a Day?" supports the switch: after 3 liters of herbal tea in a day you'll feel tead-up and want to drink anything else but tea. But let's not be too pessimistic .. yet. Oh well, maybe the new Echinacea Elder Tea makes the difference!
And at least I have VERY pretty tea pot stands, thanks to Santa Claus (aka Noora and Mom):
Btw, going back to the cheese ball accident of Day 1: I woke up on Day 2 thinking that since the cheese ball was made of cream cheese, I'm saved - because Philadelphia is not forbidden! Hooray!
1) I've substituted cheese with chocolate.
In a long run this obviously beats the point of no cheese, no booze, since part of the challenge is to be a little bit more health conscious and say no to other temptations too, not just to cheese and booze. However, I thought that saying NO to everything at once would be a too big of a shock, and therefore chocolate and nuts have been welcomed with open arms so far. Gradually they will be eliminated (or at least cut down) too. For January.
2) I've caught a cold and tea is more appealing than wine.
However, since this is a second cold in a month, and chances are that it lasts as long as the other one (=forever), I might be soon tempted to switch tea to hard liquor. Also, the results of the current scientific experiment called "How Many Liters of Chamomile / Ginger&Lemon / Sore Throat Tea Can a Person Drink in a Day?" supports the switch: after 3 liters of herbal tea in a day you'll feel tead-up and want to drink anything else but tea. But let's not be too pessimistic .. yet. Oh well, maybe the new Echinacea Elder Tea makes the difference!
And at least I have VERY pretty tea pot stands, thanks to Santa Claus (aka Noora and Mom):
Btw, going back to the cheese ball accident of Day 1: I woke up on Day 2 thinking that since the cheese ball was made of cream cheese, I'm saved - because Philadelphia is not forbidden! Hooray!
Monday, January 2, 2012
No cheese, no booze January - Day 1
Little Christmas parties, holiday with plenty of socializing, New Year's party with sparkling wine and sparklers ... time to start 2012 with a 31 days long No cheese, no booze challenge. With one exception: Philadelphia. In moderation.
First breakfast of 2012 was an immediate test of my willpower, as Lebanese cheese was calling my name. Brain started to rationalize that since Philadelphia is an exception, maybe the Lebanese cheese could be too. As the Yes - NO - Yes - NO - battle was still going on in my head, my fingers were approaching the cheese in a slow motion, getting closer and closer. In the last second brain said NO and fingers did a quick turn to grab chocolate instead. Willpower 1, cheese 0.
Nepalese lunch at friends was delicious, and for sure white wine would have complimented the food amazingly, but willpower won. 2 - 0.
The big battle was a January 1 party at another friend with plenty of cheese and booze available. Hostess carefully inquired whether I could start my challenge a day later, but after a little hesitation I said no. Armed with a liter of tea I entered the kitchen to help in preparations. Ham rolls were safe to attack, but a constant no nibbling-reminder was needed when rolling cheese slices.
No matter how many plates of dips, pickled things, veggies and ham rolls the table carried, the cheese was the king. Cracker without a cheese? Unheard-of. But doable. Sigh. When the fellow-party-goers heard about my no cheese challenge they were eager to point out any hidden cheese, like mascarpone in tiramisu. Simultaneously they were trying to convince me that it's actually not cheese, it's just cream. Tough call, but no to tiramisu. Heartbreaking.
In the early stage of the party, while I was avoiding brie, gouda and getting bored with carrots I indulged a mysterious ball, rolled in sesame seeds. The flavor was slightly lemony and texture a little too creamy to my taste, but good nevertheless. Only later, when someone mentioned "cheese ball" my mind connected the dots - that's what the familiar has been taste: cheese! Dammit. But since it was an accident, it doesn't count, right?
First day of no cheese, no booze had been full of challenges, and even with the little cheese ball accident I congratulated myself for the 3 - 0 score. 30 more days to go!
First breakfast of 2012 was an immediate test of my willpower, as Lebanese cheese was calling my name. Brain started to rationalize that since Philadelphia is an exception, maybe the Lebanese cheese could be too. As the Yes - NO - Yes - NO - battle was still going on in my head, my fingers were approaching the cheese in a slow motion, getting closer and closer. In the last second brain said NO and fingers did a quick turn to grab chocolate instead. Willpower 1, cheese 0.
Nepalese lunch at friends was delicious, and for sure white wine would have complimented the food amazingly, but willpower won. 2 - 0.
The big battle was a January 1 party at another friend with plenty of cheese and booze available. Hostess carefully inquired whether I could start my challenge a day later, but after a little hesitation I said no. Armed with a liter of tea I entered the kitchen to help in preparations. Ham rolls were safe to attack, but a constant no nibbling-reminder was needed when rolling cheese slices.
No matter how many plates of dips, pickled things, veggies and ham rolls the table carried, the cheese was the king. Cracker without a cheese? Unheard-of. But doable. Sigh. When the fellow-party-goers heard about my no cheese challenge they were eager to point out any hidden cheese, like mascarpone in tiramisu. Simultaneously they were trying to convince me that it's actually not cheese, it's just cream. Tough call, but no to tiramisu. Heartbreaking.
In the early stage of the party, while I was avoiding brie, gouda and getting bored with carrots I indulged a mysterious ball, rolled in sesame seeds. The flavor was slightly lemony and texture a little too creamy to my taste, but good nevertheless. Only later, when someone mentioned "cheese ball" my mind connected the dots - that's what the familiar has been taste: cheese! Dammit. But since it was an accident, it doesn't count, right?
First day of no cheese, no booze had been full of challenges, and even with the little cheese ball accident I congratulated myself for the 3 - 0 score. 30 more days to go!
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