Everybody Loves Pancakes, Right?

Okay, I promised a few people I'd post this pancake recipe. It's really good, and not too complicated. The worst part is the sifting.

After making these, I'll never go back to pancake mix. Well, probably not.

This batter can be mixed up the night before and refrigerated, just bring it to room temperature before baking.

2c flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
1 ½ c milk
2 tsp melted butter

1) Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl.

2) In large bowl, whisk together egg, milk and melted butter.

3) Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the egg and milk.

4) If batter is too thick, add a little extra milk.

5) Whisk until smooth.

6) Add a small amount of butter or margarine to griddle/frying pan. Cook on medium heat (number 4 or 5 on electric stove). The trick here is to make sure the pan is fully heated before adding the butter/margarine and the batter. I've often found I'll start off at the number 5 setting, then end up turning the heat down to 4, once it's hot enough.

7) I use a small gravy ladle to measure each pancake. This is about 1/8 of a cup. You can make yours as big as you'd like.

8) Cook until batter appears to bubble, then flip. Check pancake after about a minute to see how well it's done. They should be slightly browned on both sides, but can be cooked so they're less toasty. Basically, you just want to make sure they're done in the middle.

That Smelly Smell That Smells Smelly

Salads are good for you. Mine stink.

I need more vegetation in my diet, so salads are a good choice. Roughage, as they say. It's not that I avoid my veggies, but I don't go out of my way to eat them either. If they're on my plate with dinner, great. However, you won't find me sitting at my desk munching on carrots unless I'm desperately dieting.

Anyway, I prefer the Bag O' Salad. This is usually called something like “Spring Mix”, “Baby Lettuces”, or “Tender Shoots Of Unidentifiable Green Things”. You know, the kind of weird lettuce that resembles a clutch of leafy weeds from the back yard.

Then I add blue cheese, cranberries and some kind of wine vinegar. My daughter says it smells like poo. Or sweaty feet.

Well that's the nature of blue cheese, isn't it? Contains mold, smells disgusting, but tastes fabulous.

In other news, something that doesn't stink: Mini Weetabix.

Wegman's just started carrying this in Choco Chip. We picked up a box and loved it. They're like little fiber-sponges that soak up the milk. With nutty little things in them. And! Chocolate! With Fiber!

If you eat it fast enough, it stays nice and crunchy. So basically, not kid food. If you don't eat it within 10 minutes, it turns into fiber-soup.

Yay for a healthy colon!

Exotic Instant Meals – Also, Dieting

I'm a sucker for the “International” aisle at our local Wegman's grocery store.

I love checking out all the stuff we don't normally see in other supermarkets. Jammy Dodgers and Wine Gums from Britain. Naan, sauces and spices from India. Neat little instant meals from Asia, like this one:

These Nong Shim Neoguri noodles will kick your butt, with their yummy, spicy hotness. Usually, I won't buy instant noodles because of all the sodium, but these are a special treat. I've never had noodles that were this spicy, except in restaurants. Soooo good! Just drink lots of water.

I also tried this microwave curry from India recently:

Comes in a sealed silver baggie, and looks awful when you pour it into a bowl. After a few minutes in the microwave, it's really quite good. Tastes like vegetarian chili. Not super-spicy. On the plus side, the sodium levels are less insane than the noodles (610mg vs. 1040mg).

Neither of these are too terrible in the fat and calorie department, provided you only eat half the package. It's not hard to do if you're watching what you eat, but still want something different and yummy.

Which brings me to the next thing. My diet.

I've put on close to 20 pounds in the last 6 years – although some people would say I was too thin before anyway. I still hate that my old clothes don't fit, and now that I'm getting older, the extra weight only makes my jawline saggier.

Anyway, I'd be happy to lose 10 at this point. I've tried so many diets. Low-carb was the last one, and I didn't lose a pound. I felt great getting off all the carbs, but even with working out 3 days a week, I lost nothing.

Seems the only thing that works for me is “eat less and exercise”.

Yeah, I know. DUH.

I'm trying better portion control, along with healthier, lower fat and calorie foods. And exercise, of course. I picked up a box of Slim Shots to help curb my appetite:

They're supposed to be used in conjunction with a healthy diet, and don't contain any weird drugs. They look like little coffee creamers, and you take one with breakfast, one with lunch, then eat a healthy dinner.

I read quite a few reviews, and the biggest complaint was that they tasted terrible. I didn't think they were heinous - definitely odd, but not bad enough to stop me from using them. Kinda tasted the way an old, plastic water bottle smells. With vanilla.

Supposedly they're made of a patented blend of natural palm and oat oils, which somehow trick you into feeling full longer. I've been using them for the last 4 days, and it does curb my appetite. We'll see. It's still too soon to tell. I could wake up next week and find they do nothing.

Besides, I'm a stress eater. When work gets crazy (which is most of the time recently) I want snacks. Lots of them.

So I'm reading a book on stress eating, but I won't say too much on that now. I'll report back once I've finished it, and can reasonably apply anything I've learned.