Chili’s -- Never again!

Ok, so I wasn’t going to announce on the blogosphere that it was my birthday today but a disappointing lunch at a Chili's left me no choice but to post it.
My day started off nice enough. Tushar let me sleep in late and had made tea and breakfast (omelet and toast) for me. I do not prefer to eat out much and especially not in a restaurant which serves American and Italian fare on the same menu. We usually do a restaurant lunch only two or three times a year for a couple of reasons. I prefer homemade food to restaurant food for the same reason I prefer home baked cookies to store bought. Since it is usually for a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary we prefer to go to a nice eating joint run by a chef or a family instead of a chain restaurant like Chili's.
Today was an exception since we had to go to the shops and decided to go to a nearby mall which also has a Chili’s restaurant. Usually, it is not our choice of restaurant for any occasion but we had a couple of gift certificates our friendly pest control guy had given us. We shopped around for a while before we went in to eat. Before leaving the house I had googled “Eat this not that at Chili’s” and there was not much to choose from their decadent but grossly unhealthy menu. The Men's Health Magazine which has conducted the survey of hundreds of restaurants around the country, had given the Chili's menu a D grade in terms of serving healthy fair but recommended ‘Guiltless Grilled Chicken burger’ and 'Chicken Fajita Pita’ as a means of "survival strategy".

We finished our meals and ordered their decadent Molten Chocolate Cake since it was my birthday “which comes once a year”.
The food, I have to say, was at best, mediocre. Tushar's burger was “ok” and the side of steamed broccoli was bland. My grilled chicken fajita had sautéed onions and bell peppers smothered in oil and the pita was soft and crumbly. The only redeeming feature of the meal was the dessert but even with the two of us sharing it became too sweet by the time we were almost done with it. With 1150 cal in the cake topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce, it is little wonder we left the restaurant feeling full and heavy. As the day progressed the feeling soon turned to lethargy and an intense thirst (high sodium). By evening I was drinking water like a fish. The two of us had not felt hungry by the time this piece was written (it is nearly midnight) and we had lunch at about 2 in the afternoon.
I shudder to think how we would be feeling if we had gone with one of the more decadent menu choices. A lesson learnt at the expense of our stomachs.

Cheapskate Diaries

"Stand Back," said the elephant, "I'm going to sneeze!" Even as I laid my eyes on the title I knew it was going to be a good book for my 3 year old. The best part was I was paying .25 cents for it at our neighborhood garage sale. It is a 1971 first edition written by Patricia Thomas and my 3 year old loves it. In addition to the ‘elephant sneezing book’, I found “Oscar Otter”, Heidi, Thumbelina and a first edition Charlie Brown book, all for .25 cents each.
At another house I picked up a Mexican hand painted clay mask for .50 cents. The lady was also selling Hearthside Garden Festival stoneware in a box for $12. When I asked her about it she said the box contained eight 5 piece place settings (dinner plate, salad plate, soup bowl and cup and saucer). They were made in Japan in the 1970s and the pattern was hand painted. It was the cup and saucer that pinched it for me. I haven’t found a lot of cups and saucers that look nice or are the right size. They are either too big or too small. This were just the right size and I ended up buying the whole set for $10.
I am a cheapskate at heart and nothing warms my cockles than to get a good bargain. When I looked up the stoneware set online, it turns out a set of 4 dinner plates of the same pattern sell on e bay for $14.99. So I think I’ve got a pretty good bargain.

Counting Calories

Image by ninahale via Flickr

I don’t think I started obsessing about my weight till about six years ago when I returned back from India. I had put on some eight odd pounds and it became obvious when the jeans I had left behind were too tight and my my T-shirts were too tight for comfort. Fortunately for me, one of our friends, Dipa Patel, put me on to the 20-min Pilates workout. And boy did it work. I stayed away from all sweet fare except ice cream, ate healthy and started losing 1 lb a week. At the rate of 4 lbs a month I had lost all the extra poundage by the end of two months.
More exciting than losing all that weight was watching it melt away week after week. One problem with losing weight this way is you expect it to work every time. Imagine my surprise when after giving birth to my beautiful baby boy I couldn’t lose 20 lbs in 4-6 months.
By the time my son had turned a year old all I had managed to lose was six lbs, with 14 more lbs to go. I had also realized by then that not only was it harder to lose weight as one grew older, it was also harder to lose your pregnancy weight. Imagine my bewilderment when I started looking around, at the park or the doctor’s office for example, and realized there were moms who had lost all their baby weight within the first six months of giving birth. It was enough to make you want to go on a crash diet and pills.
I had to take a hard, long look at my lifestyle. I was walking at least two times a day if the weather was good as well as trying to squeeze in 20mins of Pilates almost every other day. Then one day it hit me. I had added a lot of pasta in my diet, almost twice a week, not to mention the heavy cream I would put in the sauce to make it tasty.
Tushar, my husband, and I had also started socializing and one night a weekend invariably would be spent drinking wine and eating cheese and sausages with friends. Not a good combination when trying to lose weight.
I had to evaluate my weight issues soon, especially since we wanted to go for another baby. Of course I wanted to get back to my pre pregnancy weight before I got pregnant again.
It helped that I had friends who were of the same mindset as me. Of them, Pam, was the most helpful. We would read different diet books and discuss what the best way to lose pounds fast was. We agreed on the 6-meal diet, which was rich in calcium, protein and fiber. I would eat a boiled egg in the morning with my morning tea, two hours later a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and for lunch leftovers from the night before. Late afternoon I would eat some baby carrots with humus, two hours later portion controlled dinner and then an hour before going to bed an apple or some yogurt.
Now this diet combined with exercise is supposed to boost your metabolism and burn calories. But all that extra fibre and calcium made me gassy. I couldn’t stick to it for more than a month. It did bring me down a couple of lbs but nothing significant.
The obsession with losing pounds was getting to me. I would check my weight three-four times a day; try to do push-ups and crunches between meals, at night while watching TV and any chance I could get. I would be happy if I lost ½ a pound and worry myself trying to figure out how I could have gained 2 more pounds in a week. A friend brought up the possibility of water weight. It put me on a diet of celery which is supposed to be diuretic. But no matter what I did, the scales weren’t budging.
Finally, I decided to join a gym, started eating regular, healthy meals and cut down on my wine intake over the weekend. Gradually, the scales began inching down. It took me almost a year to lose the last 10 lbs but I was happy. I had done it without any crash diets or pills and although my weight loss was gradual, it was worth it. I was more toned and sculpted, felt healthy and had a lot more energy than before.
But all good things must come to an end. A couple of month ago we went to visit our family in India. I came back six lbs heavier. I am back on the treadmill again and the scales are moving really slowly this time. But if I did it twice, I can do it the third time. Hopefully, this time it won’t take another year.

The Novice Soccer Mom

Image via Wikipedia

NOVICE SOCCER MOM
Two weeks ago I became a soccer mom literally, with one exception. I drive a sedan instead of a SUV or a Van. Apart from that I am doing everything a Soccer mom does – driving to practice sessions and games, cheering and coaching from the sideline and arranging for post game snacks and drinks.
I guess it was inevitable that I become a SM eventually. I have an active 3-year old who loves the outdoors. I had my doubts on the first day though. During his first practice session he was happy to take turns kicking the ball into the goal post but when it came to running with his team of four he wasn’t too thrilled. He kept hiding behind my legs or wanting me to pick him up.
I was going to give it two more tries before I said goodbye to my $55 fee. But the second practice session was more promising. He liked dribbling (which is basically running after the ball and kicking it) and even ran with his team. Of course I had to run alongside him but it was better than him hiding behind my legs.
That was also the day he got his team jersey and socks, a nice red color too. Two days later he was excited to go to his first game. After the initial confusion over the assigned field the game started. The two team’s coaches decided to play four players against each other at a time. Which was a good thing too because once the game was on it was hard work to contain the ball in the field.
My son was having a good time running around with the melee. Everyone on both teams was kicking the ball in one general direction. It didn’t matter which team they were on, if the kid nearest the goal post had the ball with him he would kick it in. With all the running around, a kid tripped and fell. My son thought it was funny and pretended to fall and sprawled down next to him.
One kid was bawling to his mom because he wanted to play in the game but it wasn’t his turn. Another cried because it was his turn but he didn’t want to play. It was a pity that the kids were from opposing teams or else they could have exchanged places.
The parents meanwhile were busy cheering from the sidelines or taking pictures or videos of their precious soccer players. I was glad to note that none of the parents were the super competitive types and were just happy to see their kids have a good time.
Before we knew it, the game was over. The kids took their snacks and juice boxes. The parents collected the blankets and chairs and it was time to go home with their tired tots.
Next week it is my turn to get the team snacks and drinks. I am already on it.