Shrinking Sisters

Goodbye, Mr. Chips!

Yesterday was crazy busy. Pick the kid up from school, take him to golf lessons, grab a bag of dinner at Subway and then home to eat, change into his baseball uniform and make it to the game by 6 p.m.

All of that in a little more than 2 hours.

The Subway stop isn't a regular thing but we were seriously strapped for time and Subway is our go-to place for fast food. You have total control over what's going in your sub or salad and the calories are reasonable.

I usually get a footlong turkey sub on the bread with the highest fiber (even though the honey oat has 5 grams for a 6-inch, I get the 9-grain wheat at 4 grams of fiber because it has 210 calories instead of 260 calories). And then I run it through the garden -- every available veggie -- and a squirt of mustard.

When it came time for my son to ask for his toppings, he looked at the list and said to me "Oil? Why would anybody put oil on their sandwich?" Beats me, kid.

My son likes to grab a bag of baked chips with his sub but I don't do that anymore -- I don't need the extra 120 calories of fiberless carbs.

I would always ask him for a chip or two -- "just one!" I would say.

But yesterday I ended that. Mom doesn't want that chip anymore. The sandwich suits me just fine.

Just another thing I'm doing differently in 2010.

A Baja Breakfast

Had brunch today at a Newport Beach fave, Charlie's Chili. We'd been there the last time we visited California and I ordered the same thing then as I did today -- the Baja Breakfast. It's a scramble of eggs, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and jalapenos and comes with  salsa, refried beans and small homemade flour or corn tortillas.

I wasn't running a marathon, so I skipped the refried beans. But when I get back home I can definitely see myself making this for brunch or lunch. I'll sub out the eggs for Egg Beaters and probably skip the tortillas -- everything else is good.

Flickr photo/Danny Sullivan

'Order like you give a damn about losing weight!'

"Order like you give a damn about losing weight!"

That was the verbal smackdown I gave myself before we went out to dinner tonight. I usually do OK at restaurants but often look the other way when cheese, bacon, fries or some other junk finds its way onto my plate. I try not to succumb but "just one" turns into " a little bit" and even a little bit can throw off your calorie count.

I knew the place offered turkey burgers, so I planned on ordering one. I also brought along my secret weapon -- an Arnold's Sandwich Thin, in a Ziploc bag tucked into my purse.

If this place was uncharted territory, I would have checked to see whether it had a menu online -- I Iike to know what I'm getting myself into.

I ordered the turkey burger, which came with either fries, onion rings, cole slaw or pasta salad. "Can I have salad salad?" I asked.

"Sure, but that'll be an extra dollar," said the waitress. And pay I did. Actually my parents paid.
:)

I made sure the dressing came on the side and did the fork trick (dip fork in dressing then into salad), I swapped out the big, fluffy bun for the Sandwich Thin, and had a perfectly lovely dinner. And mooched an onion ring from my kid.

What made dinner taste even better was the fact that I stuck to my guns and did the right thing.

Performance-enhancing buns

Manny Ramirez lives a few miles west of me cooling his heels in his mansion while he waits out his 50-game suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing whatevers (Steroids? Fertility drugs? Mentos?). So I figured it'd be safe to smuggle something into the Marlins-Dodgers game last night and not have spies on my case.

I'm totally on the up and up with my water bottle. You're allowed to bring in your own water at Dolphin Stadium (I'm NOT calling it Land Shark!) as long as the bottle is sealed. So I bring in the biggest bottle I can find: Last night it was a 1.5-liter Crystal Geyser that I paid a whopping 60 cents for at Big Lots. 

So what did I smuggle in? An Arnold's Sandwich Thins, multigrain variety. Healthy food is not cheap or easy to come by at most sporting events, so sometimes you have to resort to drastic measures. The Sandwich Thin, encased in a Ziploc bag and slipped into a pocket of my handbag, slid past security unnoticed. Bwaaaa haa haa!

I was wearing pants that I haven't worn in a few years and I wasn't going to spoil my weight-loss buzz for a big fluffy bun. Arnolds Sandwich Thins are only 100 calories with 4 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. They look like Big Papi sat on your sandwich.

I bought my $8 chicken sandwich (with extra lettuce and tomato), an $8 fresh fruit cup (which I split with my son) and proceeded to disassemble my sandwich. I discarded the giant kaiser roll and replaced it with my Sandwich Thin, plopped on the veggies, squirted on mustard and a sprinkling of banana peppers and I was good to go.

Steak 'n' Shake chili mac aftermath

Oh, man. You wanna see something scary? I had ordered a Steak 'n' Shake Chili Mac after a hockey game last weekend. In case you were wondering, a Chili Mac has 827 calories. What was I thinking -- a cheeseburger would have been safer.

Anyway, this disgusting oil slick was left on my plate. Apparently, the spaghetti noodles created a drainage filter and the chili grease was left behind, so I probably saved some fat calories that way.

And that is what we called twisted logic.

Free pancakes at IHOP today

If you missed the free Grand Slam at Denny's earlier this month, today's your shot for another free breakfast. IHOP is giving away free a free short stack of pancakes today. In the Catholic religion, the day before the beginning of Lent is called Shrove or Pancake Tuesday, and traditionally people would make pancakes to get rid of "luxurious" products like butter, milk and eggs. Things that someone might give up for Lent. (A friend of mine is giving up Facebook for Lent -- stay strong Joyce!).

Anyway, if you do succumb to the free pancakes, the short stack is 600 calories, but that's with margarine and sugar-free syrup (that's the only way I could find the count). I'd suggest skipping the margarine and even the sugar-free syrup (yuck). That should save you around 50 calories, and for that order yourself some scrambled egg whites to boost the protein of your breakfast.

IHOP is using today to ask for donations to the Children's Miracle Network, a worthy cause, so send some pancake bucks their way.

Free Denny's Grand Slam breakfast: How to make it healthier

In this economy, people are looking for a deal, and what better deal than a free meal. Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Denny's restaurants across the country, plus Canada and Puerto Rico, are giving everyone a free Grand Slam breakfast.

The good news? It's free. The bad news? The meal (2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 sausages, 2 slices of bacon) has 795 calories, 50 grams of fat (14 of that sat fat), 65 grams carbs and 34 grams protein. And that's not including the condiments or your coffee or juice.

So how can you take advantage of the free meal and not have it take advantage of your diet?

• See if you can swap the eggs for egg whites or egg substitute -- that'll slash the egg calories in half.
• Eat one of the pancakes and skip the syrup (the pancakes are plenty sweet without it). And scrape off that blob of butter.
• Now, onto the meat. Which would you choose, the sausage or the bacon? If you picked bacon you'll be making the better choice, since 2 slices of bacon are around 70 calories, while 2 sausage links have twice the calories.

To find a Denny's location, click HERE.

How to stay focused when eating at a Chinese buffet

Took the family to an "all-you-can-eat" Chinese buffet last night for dinner -- we're on the other side of the state visiting in-laws. 

Going into said establishment, I decided to call it "all-you-SHOULD-eat" buffet. 

First tip: sit nearby the largest person in the establishment.  We were seated by a very large woman, who obviously didn't make the same resolutions we all did.  That kept me in check.

Second tip:  there are more healthy options to choose from than I had expected - for instance, this buffet had a Mongolian style grill, so I loaded up on bean sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and mushrooms, tons of ginger and garlic and shrimp.  The linebacker behind me must have had at least a pound of beef, chicken and pork on his plate, nary a green bit of vegetation.

Last, drink LOTS of water -- even though the temptation of strapping on the feed sack is great at a buffet, if you fill up on water, veggies and smart choices, you won't walk out of the restaurant feeling guilty.