repost of a reposted reposted recipe

I'm not a huge fan of the whole raw food thing, but I saw this recipe posted on a friend's blog and decided that I have to try it!

Basically, what you do is freeze cut-up bananas (2-3) and then put them in a food processor until they've turned into a frozen treat that resembles soft-serve ice cream.

Um, sign me up. That sounds amazing. I do have to give these raw food folks credit for their creativity—I never would have thought to try this.

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

On Nutrition Action's website, they have a list posted of the ten best and worst foods.

Some of the worst include a frozen pot pie, Dove ice cream, and a dessert from the Cheesecake Factory.

Best include sweet potatoes, salmon, grape tomatoes, and dark, leafy greens.

No real surprises on there, though some of the captions are interesting and entertaining. For example, if you eat one five-inch-high slice of "Chris' Outrageous Chocolate Cake," you take in 1,380 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat and 5 grams of trans fat—that's like having two McDonald's Quarter-Pounders and a large fries. For dessert. Fun stuff.

That's an interesting comparison, and while I want to say that no one could ever finish a piece of cake that big, there are lots of people who just plow through that stuff. Still, it sounds like damn good cake—chocolate cake, brownie, chewy pecan filling, chocolate-chip cheesecake...

If you share with a friend (or three), you can still enjoy a little.

I wish restaurants would offer mini-desserts. People's perception of portion sizes is so out of whack, it could help to have someone make it easy. There are plenty of ways to still make that profitable...

Aww Look, it's a Cupcake Truck!

I actually had a few minutes to sit down and read the Times over breakfast this morning (me, stationary for fifteen whole minutes? Concept!), and saw a little blurb about a new Cupcake Truck called Cupcake Stop, which travels between Chelsea and Union Square. Lev Ekster, the former law student who runs the truck, sure seems to know his audience (disclaimer: statement based on lighthearted neighborhood stereotyping).

The cupcakes, which are made by professional baker Manal Mady in Brooklyn, will be offered starting today (if you get to 14th Street between University and Fifth Avenue around 10 a.m. today, you can snag one of the free mini-cupcakes he'll be giving away), in flavors such as Red Velvet, Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, Oreo Crumb, and Triple Chocolate. Regular-sized cupcakes will go for $2.25, and minis for $1. 

I've never been much of a cupcake enthusiast—I'm just in it for the frosting—but I have a feeling I'm in the minority. However, I do believe in treats in general. Cupcakes can be a part of a healthy diet as long as you fit them into your day along with plenty of nutrient-rich foods. Being able to get these in a smaller size is great too, though 2009's "mini" is probably a 1959 "mammoth" cupcake. 

The truck's locations will be posted online at cupcakestop.com or twitter@cupcakestop.com. Enjoy!

Doctor's Orders

I'll tell you a secret: I hate getting on the scale—absolutely dread it—because the number is often lower than I'd like. Though I make an effort to eat enough to keep up with my busy lifestyle, I go through phases where I have a hard time keeping weight on. 

That's a big part of why I tend to think negatively on the rampant weight loss industry and the media's obsession with weight loss. However, I suppose my perspective does help balance my viewpoint and requires me to take several sides of an issue into account when I read nutrition and health articles, especially those concerning weight. 

Today I had a check up with my doctor, and was frustrated to find I'm not quite where I should be. While most people would be thrilled with the prescription she gave me: "peanut butter, shakes, and ice cream," it's tough to consciously go against pretty much everything I hear and read. 

Guess it's back to sneaking nuts and cheese and dried fruit into things and trying to be mindful to take in more calorie-dense foods. One good thing about having some knowledge of nutrition and how to meet my needs is that it does make it easier to know what to do to keep myself healthy. The issue, of course, is always habit, turning off the autopilot once in a while. 

Oh well, at least summer's coming, which makes ice cream a pretty easy choice. I wish New York would adopt Dairy Queen, that's one of the few things from the suburbs I miss!

Happy Memorial Day. Hope you have a great long weekend planned!

"Happy Everything to Everyone!" Adventures in Corporate America

To pay my bills right now, I work several jobs, one of which involves the occasional on-site meeting in a very corporate environment. Today included such a meeting, complete with a 12:30 break for cake (hah, that rhymes) in the Career Services department. At 12:34 exactly, a straggler knocked on the conference room door. 

"Oh, is it...time?" my supervisor said. 

My stomach was growling for real food, and I just wanted to get through the meeting as quickly as possible so as to obtain said real food, but I mean, I'm just the lowly hired ghost-writer. And who am I to turn down free cake anyway? 12:30 is just a really awkward time for baked goods.

When we walked down the hall, there was a substantial crowd gathered about a substantial cake on which was written: HAPPY 27th ANNIVERSARY MARY BETH, LESLIE, JOHN and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRY. 

5 candles, which Terry himself blew out as everyone clapped. Wax flew

"Happy everything to everyone!" Leslie sang, a hint of sarcasm in her voice (love her). 

 Terry's vibrant handling of the knife kind of reminded me of me at my twenty-first birthday party (see above), but that's another entry for another day. 

What really got me was how excited (!) everybody was to have cake in the middle of the workday. Like, wow. On the one hand, I wish that did it for me, but on the other...

My supervisor joked that instead of food, maybe the company should commemorate stuff by handing around cigarettes and letting employees get the hell outside for a few minutes. Those weren't her exact words, but cigarettes were mentioned in that context. 

I know that when I've worked regularly in offices, I've made sure to take "imaginary cigarette" breaks. Sometimes you just need to get the hell outside. Why do you need a carcinogenic excuse? 

I'm not putting down birthday cake—I had a few bites of the frosting, and it was pretty good. It just bummed me out to see so many adults so excited about it. 

There's a whole slew of studies and info out there about how you eat more in groups and at celebrations, and I can only imagine how it could add up if you work in a company with a lot of employees where you're expected to "participate" in office activities. That can be a lot of pressure, regularly having multi-layered cakes languishing in front of you, taunting, participate...eat me...

I guess the same goes for co-workers with candy jars or people who leave sweets in break rooms, etc. Some people have a hard time saying no even when they should be making more of an effort to say yes to healthy foods that will actually give them energy to get through their day.

Still, it kind of took me back to snack time in kindergarten, which is a much more functional practice that totally shouldn't have gotten taken out of the agenda after the age of 6. As adults, our perception of what a snack is can be pretty warped. When did juice and crackers give way to monmouth pastries and sugary drinks?

I also wish we could bring nap time back. And recess. I think that would do us all some good. Getting enough rest and outdoor time makes for a happier, more efficient worker, in my humble opinion.