by Ethan Johnson
June 14, 2007

Note: Please refer to the ethmar.com Food and Drink Ethics Statement regarding food and drink reviews on this site.

by Ethan Johnson
May 7, 2007

(Updated below.)

In providing my occasional updates regarding my fitness goals, I have been downplaying the dietary changes that I have made perhaps to a fault. Lest I give off the impression that I have only lost weight through exercise without changing anything else, I wanted to take a moment to rattle off what I've been doing. These aren't particularly major changes in my estimation, but here they are anyway:

by Ethan Johnson
April 9, 2007

My exercise regimen is quite Stalinist in its structure, namely that I'm forced to report that the 2nd 30-day block has been completed, which in turn leads to the 3rd 30-day block. Chocolate rations are up! We have always been at war with the Omentum!

by Ethan Johnson
January 9, 2006

[Updated below]

I just bought a Vegan cookbook. I didn't do this as part of a larger plan to "go Vegan", however I was impressed by the recipes in this particular cookbook over other "vegetarian" cookbooks. Considering that Veganism is often thought of as the "no fun league" of consumption, and that Vegetarians have more leeway in what foods to choose from, for whatever reason Vegetarian cookbooks manage to make the majority of their recipes look downright unpalatable, whereas the Vegan cookbook is rooted more in practicality. For example, if you enjoy a nice tomato and basil bruschetta, you're probably eating Vegan (or at worst, Vegetarian), depending on how the bread was made. The rest? Vegan city. How about potato slices dusted with say, cumin? Vegan again. See? Not so awful. As for giving up meat in its entirety, I am aware of the various arguments against meat consumption, but then there's my personal preference, which wins.

by Ethan Johnson
July 31, 2006

Mar and I recently signed up for a 2-week trial of Netflix. One of the first movies we watched via this service was Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock. I'll have a more definitive review later when I produce my next installment of At the Movies, but the short version is that while we didn't become instant Vegans, we became more cognizant of the negative effects of bad food choices. The movie doesn't necessarily beat viewers over the head with a huge guilt trip about being fat (as told by a rather slim guy, mazel tov to him), instead it points up crappy fast food as being a significant contributor, if indeed it is your vice. At issue is whether the fast food companies are being above-board about the negative effects of their food offerings. I am really trying to crack down and read labels before I buy anything packaged, and my latest trip to the grocery was really eye-opening, and some otherwise staple items didn't make the cut.

by Ethan Johnson
June 14, 2006

Sadly, it's back to the microwave again. This is kind of like quitting smoking: if you can quit outright and never smoke again, great. It's the "social smoking" and whatnot that creeps up on you and poof, you're back to your old habits. Fortunately I never got into smoking.

But if one must fall off the wagon, one may at least pick one's vice. I went to Sprouts and opted to check out their microwave-ready fare. Since space is at a premium there, they try to make their shots count as much as possible, and they are picky about what they carry. As a result, it was no surprise to see some Ethnic Gourmet offerings. I picked one up for the next time of need, but decided to go a different direction and try the "Burrito Grande with Chili Verde Sauce" by Cedarlane Foods.

by Ethan Johnson
June 12, 2006

I am trying to flat-out eliminate my use of the microwave, but some days there is no avoiding it. I have been wrapped up in a time-consuming project at work this past week and I knew that I'd have a short time window to heat up something for lunch. Cruising the frozen foods aisle at my local Market Street store, I found a line of microwave-ready meals from Ethnic Gourmet.

by Ethan Johnson
March 24, 2006

I have been trying to train my mind - and by extension, my body - to resist the urge to eat snacks between meals. Having tipped the scales at my record highest weight this past week, I am motivated to reverse the trend. I am aware of my bad habit of snacking for the sake of having something to do, not to survive.