Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Lindt vs. Ghirardelli

I found out that Lindt owns Ghirardelli, so it makes me wonder if there is any real difference between their recipes?

Quick answer: yes, Lindt 70% dark compares most closely to Ghirardelli 72% dark, so there's a bit of a discrepancy there before we look deeper.

Unfortunately Ghirardelli doesn't put nutrition facts on their website, so we turn to caloriecount.about.com.  Lindt data from product page.

Unfortunately I don't trust CalorieCount info, somehow that bar manages to have 17 g of fat in a 3 g serving?  but assuming the rest of the info is correct:

ProductServingsFat grams per servingProtein grams per servingCarb grams per servingFiber grams per servingFat gramsProtein gramsDigestible Carb gramsCalories% fat caloriesKetogenic Ratio
Ghirardelli 72% dark1.017217417213.00213.0071.83%102.27%
Lindt 70% dark1.019317319.003.0014.00239.0071.55%104.76%

It's about a tie there, depending on if you're going with %fat calories or ketogenic ratio it could fall either way.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Fidgeter

I guess I've always been a fidget-er.  In 6th grade I got kicked out of reading class for reading in class.  In 7th grade I incessantly cleaned the desks by rubbing drops of glue dry on them, or munched on pretzels.  In 9th grade I used my compass to draw circles laid out hexagon-ally over and over and over again...  When I had the phone center job I did origami cranes while on calls.  I think the question is not why do I fidget, but why did I do it more in some subjects than others, and why has it not been a problem in my career until recently?  Nobody at work as called me on it, but I feel that I'm getting distracted too much and not giving 100%.  I want to be really good at what I do, and I can't be that if I'm distracted.  Does the type of distraction matter?  Are origami cranes small enough units to not keep me away from typing too long?  Are drawn circles thoughtless enough to leave more room for the primary brain task?  I know tatting is out as a work fidget as my fingers always end up tangled in the work right when I think of what to type next...

Friday, June 20, 2014

Sliced Mozzarella, Tomato, and Chorizo

I missed breakfast, so I had a big lunch:

ProductServingsFat grams per servingProtein grams per servingCarb grams per servingFiber grams per serving
Chorizo1.0201331
Fresh mozzarella8.06500
Plumb tomato1.00.120.552.410.7
Total Calories842
% carb calories2%
% protein calories25%
% fat Calories73%
Ketogenic ratio207%

Salmon & Cream Cheese Stuffed Pepper



ProductServingsFat grams per servingProtein grams per servingCarb grams per servingFiber grams per serving
Chive Cream Cheese3.09220
Red Salmon3.551300
Peppers, sweet, red, raw3.90.30.996.032.1
Total Calories719
% carb calories12%
% protein calories31%
% fat Calories57%
Ketogenic ratio114%

Just not feeling well, I decided to ditch my planned lunch and walk through the grocery store.  If you have someone to share it with, the texture would be improved with more cream cheese per can of salmon, but I didn't need that many calories.

The pepper I found was enormous.  You might use two normal peppers, or a baggie of the minis to stuff.

Unfortunately all the brands of cream cheese had a lot of additives.  Might be better to use a fancier soft cheese.  I was not being imaginative enough to think of Boursin while still in the store.

Just open the can (yeah, that step requires planning if you don't get the pop-top variety) pick out any bones that offend you, and mash with the cream cheese.  I also added a dash of salt, because that's how I like my canned salmon.  Serve spread on generous slices of pepper.

The pink salmon is usually much cheaper than the red, but generally doesn't come in lunch sized cans.

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers

I'm not normally a re-blogger, I think the web is elevated when we all contribute original content, but this one looked really good:

Grocery Budget 101: Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers


I'm quite fond of the sweet pepper stuffed with soft cheeses, I should experiment with more of it's hot dish possibilities.  Perhaps pulled pork in a pepper?

Friday, June 13, 2014

Running Ragged

Nothing good to report this month.  I'm running ragged around the edges.  Working full time, summer time farm chores, trying to get the house ready for my sister's visit next month...  the truck needs work, the hyper-reactive dog I can't take near a vet needs spaying, I've got some digestive issues I'd like to see a doctor about if I liked seeing doctors at all.

...and I ate a doughnut yesterday.

So much for my plan to catch up on this week by getting to bed early and getting up early.  I left my phone/alarm downstairs with hubby while he worked out details with my sister and it didn't get brought up and plugged in.  I slept for 9 hours like the old days.

Not good.

I had that annoying thing happen with my left knee again.  I wish I knew what it was, feels like old scar tissue snapping or something.  Knee feels great after I get over the twinge.

I am able to get all the physical work done that I have time for.  I get winded and take a half hour break, but I'm functional when I march out to the barn again.  That much is a major improvement over the old days.  I just don't know if I can hold it together emotionally and get my priorities straight.  Sometimes I just can't stop myself from sinking into Facebook, Hulu, or stupid phone games to escape for a bit.  Tonight I'm working until 8:30 PM to catch up on hours because I had priority issues earlier in the week.