Meat-free, dairy free, gluten free pescatarian. What's up, SEAN!!

This past Sunday at around 10am I decided to try not eating any meat, wheat or dairy. Not for any reason than to just see if I could and what it would be like. I have to say, not eating cheese and bread definitely makes me feel less fat. I love both of those things more than most other foods with the exception of all of the japanese foods. So I have been eating a lot of vegetables and brown rice and fruit and veggie booty. Oh veggie booty, I love you a lot. I like doing it a lot more than I thought I would but I do miss eating a sandwich. A friend recently reminded me of Liz Lemon's theory that the common denominator of all humans is that all we really want is to eat a sandwich in peace. It's not a bad theory. Who doesn't like doing that? The japanese, that's who.

Hello (hello hello)?

Is anybody reading this? Or should I give up?

New place omg shut up!

We just tried a new place and I loved it!! Basic Bites on Beverly Dr in Beverly Hills. I had a Charming Chinese salad. Not really sure what's up with the kicky names, but the place has the same taste in vegetables that I do and doesn't use the stupid ones like red onions and bell peppers. This salad had lettuce with "Chinese vegetables" which to my delight turned out to be snow peas, green beans, cucumbers and water chestnuts, avocado, tomato, sesame seeds, peanuts and "Chinese dressing." Somehow saying Chinese feels a little bit like saying Oriental to me. It seems a little red-necky and wrong, but I guess that one's still PC for now. Can't we just call it all Asian to be safe? I don't feel like this dressing was so distinctly Chinese as to exclude the rest of Asia, but I suppose they have the right to decide that more than I do. It's their recipe. It was, nonetheless, very very delicious and I will most definitely be frequenting this place again. I liked it so much that I dipped all the bread scraps (and one quiche scrap) I could find into the leftover dressing, thus saving myself no calories whatsoever by not using all the dressing. I'm competing for biggest eater and I'm pretty sure I might win. Who's with me?

www.basicbites.com

Not Chirashi

Today was Mishima. Yummy casual Japanese lunch place. They have a thing on the menu called "side of Chirashi" and it costs $3.50 and it has a little picture showing a mini little sashimi bowl. Every time I order it, I get something different, but never a mini little sashimi bowl. This time they made it a smaller version of the main thing I ordered which was "Healthy Soba Salad." Cold soba with seaweed, egg, cucumber, shitakes, tomatoes and sesame dressing. For my side of Chirashi, they sent seaweed, egg, cucumber and shitakes over rice. Not a bad thing to receive but definitely not Chirashi. I deconstructed my salad (took the tomatoes off) heated it all up in the microwave and doused it in ponzu and wasabi and Onigoroshi. I should tell all the restaurants my tricks, their food could be so much better. Most of tricks involve spicy and / or pickled things, so what I really should do is open a spicy pickled restaurant. But I won't. Too lazy.

www.mishima.com

Boring salad

Greenleaf. It's a salad place where you can build your own. I've never been to the place, only gotten it to go, and really, how hard is it to make a salad, but there's always just something off. There's not an awesome dressing despite the fact they have like 15. They don't have hearts of palm or something else I like in salads but I can't remember right now. It's just a weird menu, but we get it a lot. It's healthy. I had a salad of spinach, avocado, jicama, mint and basil with a "mom's asian mustard" dressing. Until I just wrote that I thought I had ordered the sesame vinaigrette because I think that's what I actually got. Didn't notice til now. It was a little oily but I drowned it in the juice of a giant lemon and salt and pepper which helped and it was actually pretty good. Maybe the best boring salad I've had from there. Alicia likes boring places so I sometimes let her have what she wants.
Hot tamales for dessert.

www.greenleafchopshop.com

New idea, did I have this idea already? Sounds familiar...

Maybe it's time to get back to this. As most of you know, lunch is a huge deal when working in the office. Deciding what to get starts around 5 minutes to 11 (out loud, way earlier in private). So maybe now you get to see what I eat for lunch every day. Or at least hear about it depending how embarrassing taking a picture seems. Maybe you don't care what I eat for lunch, but I am always dying to know what YOU ate for lunch, so please indulge me if you feel like it. Check back later. When lunch arrives, I should be done around 4 minutes later...

HIppie shit, apparently

I am most definitely not a vegan but I am pretty vegetarian inclined these days. I saw this and I loved the other one so here it is. The bold are the ones I've tried, the rest are my comments. You try too! (I liked the omnivore better)

The HHL Vegan Hundred:

1. Molasses
2. Cactus/Nopales
3. Scrambled Tofu
4. Grilled Portobella Caps
5. Fresh Ground Horseradish
6. Sweet Potato Biscuits
7. Arepa
8. Vegan Cole Slaw
9. Ginger Carrot Soup
10. Fiddlehead Ferns
11. Roasted Elephant Garlic
12. Umeboshi
13. Almond Butter Toast
14. Aloe Vera
15. H and H Bagel NYC
16. Slow Roasted Butternut Squash
17. White truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Freshly ground wasabi
20. Coconut Milk Ice Cream (not store bought)
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Orchard-fresh pressed apple cider
23. Organic California Mango (in season Sept-Oct only)
24. Quinoa
25. Papaya Smoothie
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet (habanero) pepper (just a bite!...hot!
27. Goji Berry Tea
28. Fennel
29. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie
30. Radishes and Vegan Buttery Spread
31. Starfruit
32. Oven fresh Sourdough bread
33. Sangria made with premium fruit and juices
34. Sauerkraut
35. Acai Smoothie
36. Blue Foot Mushrooms
37. Vegan Cupcake from Babycakes nyc
38. Sweet Potatoes and Tempeh combo
39. Falafel
40. Spelt Crust Pizza
41. Salt and Pepper Oyster Mushrooms
42. Jicama Slaw
43. Pumpkin Edamame Ginger Dumplings
44. Hemp Milk
45. Rose Champagne
46. Fuyu
47. Raw Avocado-Coconut Soup
48. Tofu Pesto Sandwich
49. Apple-Lemon-Ginger-Cayenne fresh-pressed juice...with Extra Ginger
50. Grilled Seitan
51. Prickly pear
52. Fresh Pressed Almond Milk
53. Concord Grapes off the vine
54. Ramps
55. Coconut Water fresh from a young coconut
56. Organic Arugula
57. Vidalia Onion
58. Sampler of organic produce from Diamond Organics - got it for my mom when she was doing checmo and it SUCKED!!!!
59. Honeycrisp Apple
60. Poi
61. Vegan Campfire-toasted Smores
62. Grape seed Oil
63. Farm fresh-picked Peach
64. Freshly-made pita bread with freshly-made hummus
65. Chestnut Snack Packs
66. Fresh Guava
67. Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
68. Raw Mallomar from One Lucky Duck, NYC
69. Fried plantains
70. Mache
71. Golden Beets
72. Barrel-Fresh Pickles
73. Liquid Smoke
74. Meyer Lemon
75. Veggie Paella
76. Vegan Lasagna (raw optional)
77. Kombucha - YUUUUUUCK!
78. Homemade Soy Milk
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Lychee Bellini
81. Tempeh Bacon
82. Sprouted Grain Bread
83. Lemon Pepper Tempeh
84. Vanilla Bean
85. Watercress
86. Carrot you pulled out of the ground yourself
87. Vegan In-Season Fruit Pie
88. Flowers - seriously? this is starting to get gay. no it started awhile ago
89. Corn Chowder
90. High Quality Vegan Raw Chocolate
91. Yellow fuzz-free Kiwi
92. White Flesh Grapefruit
93. harissa
94. Coconut Oil
95. Jackfruit
96. Homemade Risotto
97. Spirulina
98. Seedless 'Pixie' Tangerine
99. Gourmet Sorbet, not store bought
100. Fresh Plucked English Peas

Downer

I am sick of this stupid fog. My tomato plants haven't noticed yet that the sun isn't out, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time until they start their protest. I should take them on vacation in Palm Springs.
My dad comes home on Thursday and I am very mixed emotionally. No need to get into why, I'm sure it's obvious. I'm pretty much scared.
I'm working through Saturday and am going to the house on Sunday and was thinking about what I would make and I've really been craving the garlicky shrimp tacos and then I had to remember that my dad can't peel and devein the shrimp for me. Thank god for easy peels, but still... :(

Sober ping pong?

Well, if I weren't trying out a little break from drinking waaaaaay too much, I would be having a bbq and making ribs and watermelon salad and 7 layer dip and strawberry shortcake. Those are the things on my mind lately. But obviously you can't eat without drinking, so that won't be happening just now. It does sound like a lovely 4th of July menu though, no?
Last night I played ping pong at a bar and realized I freakin love ping pong and have the perfect spot for my very own table and may have convinced someone they should get me one. Y'all cross your fingers for me, k? In the event that doesn't work out, there's a super cool bar downtown at 7th and Mateo called Tony's and they have a ping pong table in their little courtyard. The lighting seems almost designed to make you not be able to see the ball though. And something else I learned is you shouldn't play ping pong in heels. Not because it's hard, cause it's not, but because you feel like such a stupid ass bending over to pick up those rascally balls that want to skitter away from you.

Stuff and stuff

I'm so excited to cook and eat summer things. Caprese with pesto, strawberry shortcake, strawberry rhubarb pie, watermelon salad, guacamole, micheladas...
I planted tomatoes and jalapenos yesterday. I'm so excited to grow food. I hope the bugs don't piss me off. I'm sure they will, they always do.
I also painted my dining room yesterday (and went to Costco, I know, very productive day) and I'm definitely not too sure about it. I'll have to post pictures and get a vote. I think maybe I like the dining room but will now have to re-repaint the kitchen. Then I'm sure the living room will need to be painted too and I'm already sick of the bathroom. Oh god. The wall is still down.

Aaaaand cowboys

"i walked around the corner to the bathroom and was surrounded by mini cowboys
it was weird"
- ashley rabin

Salty snack

Baked Nacho Cheese Doritos are easily as good as the real thing without the grease! No greasy fingers. Cheesy fingers, yes, but DRY cheesy fingers. It's a whole new world. They are only 90 calories a bag and they may make your tongue mildly numb and your head slightly ache, but I think regular Doritos do that, too. Worth it.

An egg

What is your favorite way to eat an egg? Not how you eat it. How it's prepared, please.

By special request

For Miss Ashley. These are not great photos. The lower wall still has to be painted and the real beauty lies in the smoothness and symmetry of the handiwork. So really you have to see it in person but, to give you an idea...

Some days are better than others

Keely has a bad case of the runs which may or may not contain blood. I have been so tired every day and now I'm going to a destination wedding which is sure to leave me totally unrefreshed for the coming week. My wall is still down, there is an underground broken pipe, and now that I can see right into my neighbors backyard I can see that his pool is a swampy pond-like mosquito heaven. The bright side is, if the wall had never fallen down, I wouldn't have known why Keely and I had gotten west nile virus this summer. Woah maybe Keely already has it. Better google search "bloody diarreah west nile virus dog."
On a lighter note, I just had my dining room wall paper installed and it looks fucking RAD!

Life

When you don't have time to get your drink on and you only get to see your dog for 30 waking minutes a day and you can't call your parents and your new house is falling down, it's sad.

Keely wears the pants in this family

What I had for dinner last night: baby carrots and hummus and a grapefruit
What Keely had for dinner last night: chicken and rice and a hot dog warmed up in the microwave

I have a very scary thing happening. I'm trying to keep it a secret from myself, but I think I'm starting to figure it out. Meat is starting to seem disgusting. OH GOD! What about EVERYTHING??

Dinner

My new favorite dinner, which I learned at the cafeteria in Reno go figure, and which I have eaten for the last two nights and will again tonight is a Gardenburger on a warmed bun with sliced tomatoes with Maldon salt on top of white cheddar cheese sliced veeeery thinly and melted on the patty, and the bottom bun is covered with pickles and pickled jalapenos and then the whole thing is smooshed down with your hand. YUM. Also, the whole thing is only like 4 points! If you know what that means, you're Sugie.

Yum

I just ate a cream cheese and Texas Pete sandwich on an untoasted double fiber english muffin. I so wish it wasn't over.

Nutter

Sometimes, when you're crazy, you have to take matters into your own hands. Let's just say I am holding matters and hoping I don't drop them. I'm feeling a little dizzy though. If you solve this riddle, I will let you take me out for sushi. Or Casa Vega. Your choice.

To my nearest and dearest

Dear Casa Vega, Farm Boy, sushi from Ralphs and fruit,
I love you and miss you and can't wait to see you again. Farm Boy, I am craving your veggie cakes covered in ponzu sauce. Fruit, it's been WAY too long. It's a wonder I can still poop. We will be back together soon, please be patient and know that I'm thinking of you always.
xo
Zoe

Hospital food. Again. I know.

When comparing hospital pizza, you know you are starting with the bar set very low. However. When you love bad pizza, is the worse pizza better? There's something to think about. The pizza at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica is far and away better than the pizza at Renown Medical Center in Reno. But is it worse??? I think it might be. They are so different that it's kind of like comparing Reese's pieces with peanut butter M&M's. Definitely in the same family, but probably not even first cousins. In Reno the pizza is big fat puffy fluffy soft yummy wedges with toppings and kind of a bland crust (think worst Costco pizza you ever had), whereas in Santa Monica the pizza is flat and thin and individual sized and comes with only cheese and sauce. You know what, I'm not going to pick a favorite. I'm going to love them both for who they are and the happiness they have given me. Because that is the kind of open minded, loving, non-judgmental person I am. xo, pizza.

Stimulate me

I think I might have had my last Casa Vega for awhile. It's too expensive. I love it for the fun times, but I don't think I can justify it anymore. I'm going to have to find some new, cheaper fun times. I wonder if there are any left. Maybe there should be a margarita section in that stimulus package. I mean a trillion dollars is a lot of money, I don't think $500,000 for margis is being unreasonable.

Funny jew

I just can not get enough of John Stewart. I think he is the world's perfect man. I would probably help him cheat on his wife and babies. Not probably.

Yes, I took a picture

Ladies and gentleman. Hoagie pie...

Don't spread the word

I have a new favorite shopping website. It's super secret unless you read the ads on the side of Facebook. www.modcloth.com
I ordered three things from there and let's just say I will not be feeling the slap in the purse that is paying for return shipping and ending up with nothing. Also, it's cheap! Especially if you buy the sale crap and it doesn't fit weird like the stuff from Forever 21 whose makers have obviously never met anyone with boobs (I'm not saying they're 8 year old Asians). This stuff actually has a very flattering cut. Almost like expensive clothes! I think. I can't really remember.

UPDATE!: omg, I didn't even see this last night when I opened the box. They put in a little free gift! Not that I would ever wear it probably, but how cute is that?! And very GG I think, although I've never actually seen the show.

Super Bowl Sunday

Some super bowl highlights:
Honey wheat pretzel twists dipped in rotel cheese dip (also, spicy sweet chili Doritos dipped in said dip or in french onion dip)
Deviled eggs that had avocado, wasabi, jalapeno, scallions and lime
Hoagie pie (I actually took pictures! you will see them later!)
The 100 yard touchdown
The Steelers win in the last 30 seconds

The chili was very good but I can't really get that excited about chili. Once I have wrapped it in a tortilla tonight with a lot of hot sauce and sour cream, that will be another story.

For Sugie

That looks better than the mexican pizzas I made. Mine rocked though. My friend sent me a recpe yesterday for loaded baked potato chip nachos. Yes, try to wrap your head around that, it took me a minute. She put very crunchy kettle potato chips and then covered them with mashed potatoes, cheese, bacon, scallions and sour cream. What do I say to that?? You forgot the butter, dummy.

Beets: Roast them in a 400 degree oven for an hour and then slip the skins off. Put arugula, sliced oranges or tangerines, the sliced beets and goat cheese together and you will be very happy.

Yams: Heat corn and/or peanut oil in a big heavy pot to 350-375 degrees. Peel the potatoes and cut them into sticks. Fry them. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle liberally with good salt. Sweet potato fries, bitches.

If you need more, I'm here for you.

Home (and mood) improvement!

All of a sudden there are three men here redoing my kitchen floors!! I've cried at least 3 times since I woke up 3 hours ago and was really dreading the rest of my day and my life on my drive home from Malibu and then I pulled into my driveway and they were waiting there for me! What a mood booster. As long as I don't think about what a huge mistake it is to be spending money when I have been working constantly and still can't afford my mortgage, this should keep my buoyed for at least an hour!

Dinner tonight

If you could have anything to eat for dinner tonight, what would it be? You don't have to buy it or cook it. Go.

My movie recommendations

Oh and I think I would not see CCBB because all I've heard is that it's long and it's basically a showcase for special effects with nothing interesting about it. If I were you, I would wait until Feb 6 and see He's Just Not That Into You (that is waay too long of a title for typing). Or I would fly out here and see it with me :) If I were you.

Sleepo bandito

Why am I so tired? I took naps yesterday and didn't do anything but read and watch TV and I went to sleep at SEVEN THIRTY! And this morning Keely woke me up at 6 and I thought, damn, I won't be able to go back to sleep now. Nope. I did. Instantly. And when I rewoke up at 7, I could have easily slept for two more hours. And last night when I was in my sleep and I heard the sound of the rain ticking on the something outside, I remember thinking, hmm, I didn't know they had that kind of clock here. They WHO?? It's my house! I wish it would stay raining all weekend because it definitely would fit my plan to sleep and snuggle by the fire in Malibu all weekend and eat whenever I woke up. I wonder if they have any of those kinds of clocks there.

Half pig, half girl

Do you ever go a day where you eat all day and can't stop and there's way too much food around? If you don't work in a job with craft service, I don't think you could really relate to this feeling I'm about to describe, and I'm pretty sure that even if you do, you may not know of this because I don't think normal people ever do this to themselves. When you're not hungry you don't eat, right? When you have overeaten a bit or a lot and told yourself, wow, that was a lot, I think I'm going to stop for awhile, you don't then eat 3 tacos, a piece of sandwich, some pickles, and a cracker, right? But when your a compulsive over eater, you (I) don't so much feel full after that as like you have actually literally gained 5 pounds, mostly in your face. And your face feels somehow stretched and soiled. I really wonder if anybody else that I know can relate to this. For you, I hope not, but it would make me feel less self loathing if you wanted to humor me.
NINE burger and fries????

Best get rich scheme ever

Well, my curiosity got the best of me. It was coming sooner or later and I am a glutton, both for burritos and punishment, so I looked. The good news is, if you wanted to be the spokesperson for Taco Bell and Weight Watchers combined, you could eat one burrito for lunch and one burrito for dinner every day for a year and lose a ton of weight! Should I do that? OMG maybe I should. Rich and skinny and full of burritos. Mmmmmmm.

I'll miss you, CBARB

This is from the Evany website I showed you guys earlier, and I have actually been meaning to mention something about this....

Am horrified, HORRIFIED, by the calorie and fat contents newly listed on Chevy's menu. I would have been fatter off not knowing! 1:14 PM Jan 12th from txt

I am SO SO not looking forward to knowing how much damage a cheesy bean and rice burrito is doing to me. WHY CAN'T THEY LET ME NOT KNOW? The government doesn't want me to enjoy myself. I think maybe they should put them behind a secret window like an advent calendar or a lottery scratcher so you could look if you wanted to but not if you didn't. But they know no one would look so they just want to shove it right in your eyes and ruin your day. I wonder how much money this idea is gong to save the health system. Ten dollars? Twenty? I've got about that, I think we could make a deal.

Deep dish

See that pizza up there? I made it last weekend and it really rocked. Maybe next time I would cook it for less time because the crust was what I would call extra crispy / almost as hard as a rock. But I kind of like that because it helps me eat slower. I think other, more reasonable people might prefer something a bit more pillowish. If you want all the secrets, go ahead and ask. I'm not afraid.
Oh, and when I say I made that pizza up there that is not at all what I mean. That pizza is from Zachary's in Berkeley where they make the most heavenly pizza on the planet hands down and you have to wait 45 minutes for it from the time you sit down and order which is at least an hour after you have arrived and put your name on the list. I have considered making a trip there just for that, though. That would be a total of 8 hours for a pizza. I bet someone's done it. I only made something like that. Not too shabby a likeness though, if I do say.

Bloated and uncomfortable but with free food

I have been a pretty big fan of Fiber One bars for a few months now. When I was shopping the other day I saw a new item: Kellogg's Fiber plus Antioxidants bars. Unlike Fiber One's they are coated in chocolate on the bottom. Also, they have 10 less calories and I think less sugar and carbs and more fat. And they come with a coupon on the back for $1 off next time and when you double that because it's always double coupons I think, right? it's $2 off and at the store they are 2/$4 so I think they are free! Go, Sugie, go! But don't eat two in one day. Seriously, just take my word for it.

Cheesy

If you live anywhere near the Nosh (there's one in Beverly Hills and one in Santa Monica) please go there and get a tub of jalapeno cream cheese. If you have an assistant, send them instead. Do what you like with it. I suggest pretzels, wheat thins or a toasted bagel with tomato, but really it doesn't matter because all you can taste is hot cheese. Run, don't walk.
p.s. I literally could not title this blog because every time I went to type words I had to eat another pretzel from my 100 calorie bag of minis.

I would like to super size that

I think I'm going to have to upgrade from soft taco sized tortillas to burrito sized. I always think I'm doing myself a favor with those smaller ones, but inevitably I need 2 and even the smallest amount of filling doesn't wrap up very nicely and you've got a mess all over your hands after the first bite. Once you've folded over the bottom and smothered everything in hot sauce, you feel like the filling isn't getting it's fair share. Burrito size, here I come. I wish I could go to the store now to get started.

Sexy bed hair

I want to thank the reader who suggested brushing my hair upside down for more poof. Things are really working out nicely with that. Big ups.

Hilarity

I want you all to know about my two very favorite blogs that make me laugh out loud while at work. In case you were doing something productive and useful, these will nip that right in the bud.

http://dooce.com/ (be sure to check out 'daily chuck.' hilarious)

http://evany.com/diary/

Holding it together (barely)

I'm squashing my munchies with tea and raspberries and the promise of Casa Vega in 3 hours. It's working.

The real me

Why am I so eager to eat everything all the time these days? Is it the cold? I can pretty much hold off until lunch but after that .... Haha. I just realized that this is nothing new. This is just back to normal. I was about to say after lunch I want to eat the whole day and can't stop thinking about food, but does that even need saying? It was the couple of months when that wasn't happening that was noteworthy. Now, let's see if I can go another day without making the PA go buy Hot and Spicy Cheezits. I managed not to yesterday. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

New favorite

Well this is not really news, but I feel that it's important enough to say again in this public forum. (hi, you 4!) My latest secret dirty obsession is Taco Bell Cheesy Bean and Rice burritos. There is a Taco Bell half way between my house and my dad's house and also in a lot of other places. When the timing and the mood are just right, I go through the drive thru, I get one Cheesy Bean and Rice burrito, 3 packets of hot sauce, and a medium diet coke. Then I pull my car into a spot in the parking lot, put it into park but don't turn it off (one time I didn't even do that, I just kept my foot on the brake), put all 3 hot sauces on the burrito, and eat the whole thing while Keely watches and I pretend that I'm busy working on my blackberry in case anybody's watching. I don't take any sips of drink until I'm totally done and driving away. It is a full half pound of flavor, they are not wrong, maybe even a little more with the definitely essential hot sauces. I be careful to dispose of the evidence before I see anyone I know. I've only done it 4 times. Only 2 of them were at the one that's on the way to my dad's house. One of them was at the weird fake Taco Bell / gas station at PCH and Sunset right across the street from the super fancy gym? Let me tell you, I'm not going there again. I totally felt like the fat binger who was about to go hack it up in the bathroom. Malibu is weird that way. In the valley or West LA it feels totally normal.

Deal

Ok, what about this. Can you guys live without pictures? Maybe there will be pictures sometimes, but if I don't feel limited to only posting when I have photographic evidence, there's a good chance you'll have my hilarious anecdotes and witticisms available to you a lot more often. What do you say?