My Malt-O-Meal Dilemma
One of the things I love about living in the Chicago suburbs is the diversity of things to do, see, and EAT! If you’re open to new adventures, you’ll never get bored.
Okay, that is the good part.
Here is the annoying part. I live within close proximity to many different grocery stores – ALDI, Garden Fresh and Target (my favorites) as well as Dominick’s, Jewel (avoid if possible) – but sometimes cannot find the things I want to buy. So I have to ask my family to pick them up for me in Iowa.
In frickin’ Iowa!!!
HyVee is a grocery store chain in Iowa and other parts of the midwest, but not Chicagoland. They have a huge “health” selection with more vegan options than I have seen out here in Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s! What gives?! I thought we were supposed to be the progressive big city.
And funny thing, the product I often ask my mom to buy for me isn’t a vegan specialty. It’s Maple and Brown Sugar Malt-O-Meal – my go-to weekend breakfast treat.
We have Malt-O-Meal out here, but I never see that flavor! I found this ALDI imitation (Millville brand above) last weekend.
I made it Sunday morning with high expectations (still have to try the Chocolate).
Blech. It is NOT the same.
I just think it’s ridiculous that I have a plethora of grocery stores around me and cannot find some products. Seriously, we pick up items in Iowa, and sometimes even drive to Woodman’s in Kenosha, WI (which is actually closer to our house than Chicago).
And yes, we have tried talking to the grocers about carrying certain items. That never seems to work for us.
So… this kind of turned out to be a rant. Oops!
I will say, there are definitely many items I buy here that cannot be bought in Iowa. It just seems silly that I cannot find the simple things, like Maple and Brown Sugar Malt-O-Meal, here.
Are there any products you like but cannot buy near your home? What are they and how do you procure them?
We used to love the Nueva Cucina Mexican Rice Mix. When they stopped selling it at Target, we started buying it on Amazon! Since then, we have moved on to other rice mixes (and really, we need to make up our own). When I was at Whole Foods with Jen two weeks ago, I found the mix, but it was not the same. Good thing I only bought one box (when I brought it home, Steven asked why I didn’t buy more, ha ha).
Bagel Quest
As you may recall, our favorite food from our culinary trip to NYC was the bagels. Simple, awesome, bagels. I fear that Steven and I will be haunted by those bagels for life – how will we ever find any as awesome? We can’t rely on Gina and Steve to send them to us all the time (can we? CAN WE?!?!!??!).
Steven and I were discussing this dilemma and came to the conclusion that we have not tried many bagels in the Chicagoland area, especially from small bakeries. It’s time to get out there. It’s a tough challenge, but we’re up to it!
Let the bagel quest begin.
First stop? New York City Bagel Deli.
Funny thing – I walk by this place every morning I go in to the office, and never thought twice about it. I went in this morning and was honest about why I was there.
I told the cashier I just got back from NYC and wanted to see how their bagels compare. He told me (in a NYC accent?) that their store has the only “NYC” bagels in Chicago. I told him my NYC friends were skeptical, because NYC Bagel Deli doesn’t use NYC water to make the bagels*. He told me it’s expensive, but they import the water from Long Island. Ha ha ha.
So I bought three to try – poppy, sesame and cinnamon raisin – the same ones Gina and Steve sent us last week!
We actually still have a cinnamon raisin one at home to compare the one I bought today to! Just from the look and feel of these though, I don’t think there is going to be much to compare. They are smaller and firmer. We’ll see… the quest may have to continue…
Who makes your favorite bagels? Which place should we try next?
And please don’t say Dunkin’ Donuts. Yuck. I bought one of their bagels in December and it was so dry and hard I took one bite and threw it away. And I do not throw food away!
*Gina says the myth is that the NYC water is what makes the NYC bagels so good.
The power of napping
Ah, napping. One of my (and Data’s!) favorite pastimes.
Sometimes I feel like napping doesn’t get the credit it deserves. That it’s only beneficial for the very young or the very old. But I don’t think that’s true!
I read an article on the NY Times blog yesterday (read here) about the importance of napping for N.B.A players (and sometimes N.H.L. players) on game day*.
Because their schedules have them up very late at night for games, interviews and traveling (sometimes not in bed until 3:00 am), and up early in the morning for practice (around 9:00 am), they don’t always get a full night’s sleep – and a full night’s sleep for them is 9 hours.
So they take a pregame nap in the afternoon, for about 20 minutes to two or three hours. According to the article:
Czeisler [known as the N.B.A. “sleep doctor”] said that players who got nine hours of sleep were more likely to react quicker, remember plays better and generally maintain their health more consistently. He said that biologically, the body rests best at night or in the midafternoon, enhancing the value of a nap.
Sounds good to me! Now, how can I apply this to my life? I get about 6-6.5 hours of sleep a night… do I get to take 2 hour naps the days before races? Or how about a nap or two every weekend?
Do you ever take naps? Do you feel like there is stigma associated with adults taking naps? If you are an athlete, do you nap more in the competitive season?
The other day I was talking to some running club friends and telling them how there is nothing better than getting up at the butt crack of dawn on a summer day, doing a long run, then coming home and taking an hour nap (after showering and eating). It feels so good!
*I am not sure how often the N.B.A. players play, or if they take naps on non-game days.
Snow cat says…
When will all of this snow be gone?!?!
(Yes, he got up there on his own)
Soon, Snow Cat, soon.
Thankfully, there is not much snow here. A lot of it has melted. All that is left are these big ugly piles of it.
Is there much snow left (if it was ever there!) where you live?
It feels like spring is on its way – it’s getting lighter earlier, there have been birds singing early in the morning, and I can actually see (ugly) grass! Even though I struggle when we move back in to Daylight Savings Time (next Sunday) I will appreciate the extra light in the evening.
When did tea become so complicated?
I love our new tea box.
It’s nice not to have our tea in a plastic shoe box anymore!
Everything’s so nice and organized (okay, except the Celestial Seasonsings brand tea that we still keep in the pantry because they come in pillow tea bags)…
and I have loved trying the tea shared with me by Gina, Jen and Erin, and some of your recommendations!
But, I am a bit sick of tea.
And not because I don’t like the way it tastes. Or the fun of making and drinking it. Or the social aspects of it. I actually really enjoy all of that!
I am sick of using tea as a substitute for food.
And no, I am not drinking tea when I should be eating food. I eat plenty of food.
I am sick of trying to control my urges to snack when I don’t need to be snacking, by drinking tea.
I guess I am just sick of having the urge to snack when I am stressed, bored, anxious, nervous, happy, alone, etc. I am sick of having urges to sometimes binge eat, because I am avoiding something. I am sick of living between two extremes – fear of eating too much/and out of control eating.
Why does food have to be so complicated for me?
There have been very few times in my life where I have just been able to eat to fuel my body, without emotion attached.
Sigh.
I hate talking about stuff like this, but I needed to get it out there. I have been trying to get to a healthy weight, and it is frustrating. And not how slow the weight loss is – that is fine! What is frustrating is the “thinking about food so much” part. I hate having food on my mind.
Do you ever feel like you think about food too much? Any tips for me?
Training Week 72
My next race is the Rotary Shamrock Shuffle (5K) on March 13th.
Day 498 | February 28, 2011: cross
Ugh. On Monday morning I woke up at 2:30 to use the bathroom and couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up. And stayed up. Needless to say, I was very tired most of the day and felt like I could fall asleep on the bike! Maybe I should have taken a nap instead of worked out during my lunch break!
Recumbent Bike Time: 45:00 | Distance: 7.62 | Set on “Manual,” Resistance Level 5.0
Day 499 | March 1, 2011: 5 m run + strength class
I ran 5 slow and easy “recovery” miles in the morning before work.
Distance: 5.0 | Start Temp: 22° | End Temp: 16° | Time: 50:05 | Avg Pace: 10:00 | 1: 10:24 | 2: 10:02 | 3: 10:13 | 4: 9:42 | 5: 9:40
In the evening, I attended a group workout session with 6 other Grayslake Running Club members. The session was run by Essential Fitness, but we did the workout in one of the club member’s basements. The workout was about 45 minutes of a lot of dynamic movements with weights – running in place, knee highs, squats, forward and side lunges, crunches, pushups, tricep work, deadlifts, and so on, followed by stretching. Needless to say, I loved the workout and am excited for the next session!
Day 500 | March 2, 2011: yoga
I did the YogaWorks Beginners DVD – first time in a long time! My neck was sore, maybe from the workout the night before? My legs were sore all day too, from those deadlifts.
Day 501 | March 3, 2011: 7.2 m run + strength
I ran before work with a few Grayslake Running Club members (3 of us met at 5:00 and 2 others joined at 5:30). My legs were still store from those damn deadlifts, but the run felt easy, otherwise.
I know I’ve said this before, but it’s truly amazing how fast running flies by when I am with friends!
Distance: 7.2 | Start Temp: 29° | End Temp: 30° | Time: 1:06:46 | Avg Pace: 9:15 | 1: 9:46 | 2: 9:03 | 3: 9:17 | 4: 9:27 | 5: 9:02 | 6: 8:58 | 7: 9:18 | 8: 1:52
In the evening Steven and I did Level II of The Thirty Day Shred. Ouch. What is with all of the plank moves? They hurt my hips.
Day 502 | March 4, 2011: 12.9 m run
I met up with a few Grayslake Running Club members for my long run. It was pouring rain when we started, but the rain let off after a few miles and turned out to be a nice temperature for running!
Have you ever run in the pouring rain?
We ran all over Grayslake, which was fun for me, because I am not very familiar with the town yet.
I had a great time running and participating in the conversation, but I started to fall apart at mile 8 (when two of the other runners left and it was just me and one other person). My legs were tired (damn deadlifts!) and my pants were still heavy and wet. My last two miles were my slowest. Darn! During most of the run, I had the Garmin covered and didn’t even see my pace. I wonder if that is a better technique for me – forget the pace and just run. Seeing how slow I was running the last two miles was frustrating.
But the goods news is, I had a very special snack waiting at home for me – bagels from NYC! Gina and Steve sent them to us. They aren’t lasting very long in our house!
The Squirmle is just a toy they sent with, not necessary for bagel consumption but fun to use to tease Data!
Run stats: I wore my orchid Asics Cumulus 12s. I wore capris, a short-sleeved top, a “rain-proof” jacket, and gloves. I took the gloves off at mile 3 because they were soaked. We would stop every few miles to drink water. I had a Vanilla Bean GU at mile 4, a packet of Honey Stingers at mile 8ish (YUM!) and drink about 12 oz. of water.
Distance: 12.9 | Start Temp: 37° | End Temp: 46° | Time: 1:58:31 | Avg Pace: 9:11 | 1: 8:45 | 2: 9:15 | 3: 9:12 | 4: 9:09 | 5: 8:59 | 6: 9:07 | 7: 9:10 | 8: 9:15 | 9: 9:07 | 10: 9:02 | 11: 9:12 | 12: 9:35 | 13: 8:36
Day 503 | March 5, 2011: strength
Steven and I did Level 2 of The 30 Day Shred. It was just as hard as on Thursday!
Day 504 | March 6, 2011: 6.15 m run
In the morning I met 6 other Grayslake Running Club members for a quick run. It was exactly what I needed to get my mind off of my frustrating morning. My breathing was off for the first 3 miles or so, but then I figured it out and felt really good.
Distance: 6.15 | Start Temp: 25° | End Temp: 29° | Time: 52:20 | Avg Pace: 8:30 | 1: 8:39 | 2: 8:40 | 3: 8:19 | 4: 8:21 | 5: 8:25 | 6: 8:39 | 7: 1:14
Week Summary: 31.25 miles
Wow! This is my highest mileage week this year! Pretty cool!
I need to work harder on fitting in yoga and stretching though. It’s not my favorite thing so I get pretty lazy about it. I am going to pick up that yoga package I won later today – maybe that will encourage me!
Need help with WordPress comments
It seems that WordPress is turning off all comments on new posts, even though I have comments turned on on all new posts, and turned on in the discussion settings. I’ve tried deactivating and deleting all plug-ins and that didn’t help. If you know anything about this, please email me at kimilax@yahoo.com. Thanks!
(I noticed comments are working on this post – they do not show up in the post preview.)
I hate technology
I am having the most awful two days, technology wise.
- My netbook is operating really slow (think, dial-up speeds, takes 10 minutes for it to run at a normal operating speed – it needs more memory)
- My laptop is operating really slow (something is wrong with it)
- My website wouldn’t allow comments because I used the ≠ symbol
- I am getting “corruption” errors when I try to back up to the external hard drive
- My laptop will not open certain programs
- My laptop will not recognize certain portable devices when I plug them in to the USB ports
- The task manager is all messed up on my laptop, and does not show all of the menu options
- Despite continual “restarting” these issues do not go away
WHY does this sh*t piss me off so much? Seriously, I wanted to cry when I went to bed last night. I feel like something is wrong with me for letting these little things bother me so much.
I need help.
(How ironic that starting last night and until midnight tonight is the National Day of Unplugging. I think it is going to become the National Day of Destroying Your Personal Electronics for me.)
Vegan does NOT = skinny
After I browsed through the April issue of Glamour, I noticed this little gem on the bottom corner:
Please! Let me know the “shocking” way celebs lose 20 pounds! What could it be?!?!
Well, you may have guessed by my title, it’s by following a VEGAN diet!
Now, to be fair, the article was more of an introduction to what a vegan diet is, but it did have plenty of celebrity references mentioning how slim celebrities became by following this lifestyle.
This annoys me for two reasons:
- Magazine cover titles are SO misleading. Really – when you read that blurb, what did you think you would read? Something about a magic cleanse? A grapefruit only diet? I mean really, what else would make you “lose 20 pounds fast”? I know magazines do this to get people to buy the issue, but it’s so annoying. And the actual article title ended up being “Why Is Everyone Going Vegan?”
- Vegan ≠ skinny. Oreos are vegan. Some pop tarts are. A lot of cookies are. Some french fries are. If you overeat junk on a vegan diet, you will not lose weight, just because you are not eating any animal products. Case in point:
That’s me at Christmas. Looking pretty heavy! And I have been vegan since June of 2009! But I didn’t follow a very healthy diet for the end of 2010.
So, while I appreciate the exposure Glamour is providing on veganism, I don’t appreciate the misconception. Going vegan does not guarantee you will lose weight. You certainly could, but it does not guarantee it.
It feels weird to be writing about weight loss. That is a topic I try to avoid! But I had to say something.
Do you notice all the weird misleading article titles on magazine covers?
Friday Question #151
Are you similar or vastly different in personality to your parents? Which traits do you share/not share?
If you have children, which of your personality traits do you notice in them?
During my morning run yesterday, one of the runners mentioned how his older daughter is just like him. He sounded somewhat concerned! I think he mentioned how she has a hard time making decisions (gets frustrated by it) and he does too.
So, how are you similar to your parents (or whoever raised you)?
Dad, Mom and me.
Me and my dad:
I am similar to my dad in the sense that I have short temper, am impatient, stubborn and get easily frustrated (sorry dad, that made you sound awful). We also both like to pick at things. But like him, I am also very willing to help friends/family when they need something. I’ve noticed my siblings are like this too. I am also independent like my dad, and like to travel and explore new things like he does. And I share a similar need for speed. Ha.
My dad is somewhat quiet, and I am not quiet at all. He is also very talented on working on cars, can fix anything, and is skilled at building things. I also do not share those skills!
Me and my mom:
I am similar to my mom in the sense that I am giving, constantly thinking of other people, very compulsive, and always spilling food on myself. She is game for trying anything, and I am too. She is usually in a good mood, and I like to think I am too. She is outgoing, and I am too. We never know when to shut up. We both love to have fun!
Here is where we are different – she will drop anything for anyone, and I don’t always. AND, she rarely thinks anything bad of anyone and is super nice to everyone. Again – I am not super nice and have plenty of judgmental thoughts.
Hmm, I wonder what my parents think of this. Ha ha!
Side note: Sorry I left the nasty oatmeal picture up for so long! It’s been a rough week and I couldn’t think of anything to blog about.
Hi! I’m Kim, a 40-something-year-old living in northeastern Illinois with my husband Steven, and our cats, Khaleesi, Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard aka Ned. My current main hobbies are running, painting rocks, flying, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and work in an account management role. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂
