Mom's Just Don't Understand

With Mother's Day being a few weeks away, I should be more appreciative of my mom (and believe me, I am with everything she's done for me).  But like everyone who has a mom, there are just times when she drives me crazy.  Like today, she calls me just to ask if I've been eating?  I tell her of course I am, but she wants me to keep eating more, since she thinks I'm losing too much weight.  Her point is valid since I have been trying to lose weight, but I've been doing it to lower my blood pressure.  I thought she would understand because for years she hounded me about losing weight, but now she wants me to gain it all back; it makes no sense, and stresses me out to the point that I think even if I was ideally healthy, I'd still have high blood pressure because of everything I'm dealing with.  I know my mom is only looking out for what's best for me, but I wish she would see down the middle more, since if she did, she would understand how I really feel.

Buying A Scale

Recently, with my blood pressure rising and gain in weight, I decided to make, what was in my mind, one of the few sound purchases of my life, which was a scale.  We have one in my house, like most families, but that scale was getting old, and giving inaccurate readings, so I wanted a new one to measure myself.  With all the different options out there, I was confused which one would be worth buying, but decided on a EatSmart digital one because it had the most buys and customer reviews.  It cost more, but I figured if that many people bought it, then there must be something good about it.

The scale came to my house a few days ago and looks splendid like some minimalist painting; it's white, slim, and glass, but very sturdy for its size, which I like.  Because it was digital and I stink with technology, I thought it would be difficult to set up, but it was actually very easy, and even came with batteries.  My only issue with the scale is that even though it's  consistent, it gives different weights in different rooms, which I understand if I do it on a rug, but all my floors are hardwood, so I don't know what to think.  I don't want to return it, but I want to know my weight.  Such a dilemma; I wish I was healthier, so I didn't have to deal with all this crap, but what's a person to do?

I'm not sure, but I know I'll be checking myself daily.

Gratuitousness

There's an old cliché that "you can never have too much of anything", which can be used for economics, food, etc.  In writing, that's called gratuitousness, in which you can have too much or too little of something, such as a detail.  It's usually seen as a negative since you're doing/giving more than what the read wants, but you can't help doing it because you want to be honest and give it your all.  Speaking on broader terms though, I wonder if gratuitousness in real life really is a bad thing like the cliché says.  Usually, I would say no, but when you eat too much, that's bad for you.  Of if you have too much money or power, that can corrupt you.  I suppose it isn't important, but when I look at people who have too much time on their hands, or are too reliant on technology, I can't help wondering if we have too much.  Having a lot of something is nice and makes everyone feel more secure, but there has to be a limit, or else it would get out of hand. 

What do you think though?  Are people too gratuitous with certain things?     

Making The Food List, And Checking It Twice...

Lists are a popular thing in the world, used by media outlets, newspapers, and even by me on occasion whenever I need/want to rank or remember something.  I do rankings more than the latter, but it's still important when I want to do something such as go shopping for food at the supermarket.  Being so young, I still remember what foods to shop for, but on occasion, it helps to have a list to help remember what to shop for, especially if I need to buy a lot of food, which I usually do often.

Now that I'm back to trying to lose weight, and close to going back to school, I need to start listing foods to get and stay true to it.  Does that need I need to give up some foods all together?  Yes and no.  You don't have to give up all the foods you like just like that, but it helps to make better decisions, especially in my case when I have to lose weight for blood pressure, so here's a list of foods I can buy that will help me out, along with food I'm buying when I go to Costco this weekend.  I needed to write it down, so what better place than my blog, where I can check it all the time?

Some foods I researched online that help lower blood pressure over time are...

• Skim Milk
• Spinach
• Beans
• Bananas
• Dark Chocolate (with lots of cocoa in it)

  Foods that I'm going to get this weekend are...

• Water
• Whole Grain/Wheat Bread
• Hummus
• Fruits (Apples, Grapes, Tangerines)
• Yogurt (Chobani)
• Nuts
• Granola Bars
• Cookies or Deli Meat (Because we all need one indulgence or meat when we're at college)

That's just a rough list for now, but it can be changed in time.  I don't know if I can get all the foods, but hopefully, I can get most of them, and start my road back to weight loss.  As usual, it'll be tough, but I know I can do it.

Under Pressure To Be Healthy

Yesterday, I went to the doctor's, and the results were average to say the least.  My health is good, and my blood pressure has gone down, but I gained back more weight than I thought I did from the holidays, so now my mission is to lose 10-15 pounds.  I wish I could say this would be a cakewalk, since I've already lost 50 pounds, but everyone knows the last few pounds are always the hardest, and that it's hard going on any diet for an extended period of time.  I know I can do it, and am determined to, but it's so frustrating having high blood pressure at such a young age.  I thought it was my weight that made it high, but even after losing it, I still have issues.  And worse of all, in the past, when my weight was high, my blood pressure was low, but now that I weigh less, my blood pressure is high.  THAT MAKES NO SENSE, and is frustrating as hell!  With results like that, I sometimes question the system or how I'm even functional.

The thing I question even more though is genetics.  I understand that diseases and other things run in the family, but I can't understand how my brother is healthier, despite the fact he eats more greasier foods than I do.  Not to mention in such large quantities.  To add onto that, I know people who weigh more than me, but somehow they're healthier.  How can this be?  I love being young, since it gives me an easier chance of improving my health, but when I think about it in the grand scheme of things, it sucks.  I'm always under such pressure to be healthy, while others aren't.  But at the same time, I know there are others who have it worse than I do, so I'm grateful my health isn't too bad.

It sucks I gained my weight back, but I guarantee that the next time I see my doctor, I'll be thinner.  Hopefully, I'll be healthier, but only time will tell...

Fast Food Presently

In life, there are so many things to complain about, but one thing I don't think we can complain about is fast food because we already know what we're getting with it.  Sometimes, it can be delicious and blow you away, but more often than not, you're eating it because it's cheap and you want food fast.  I don't eat as much fast food as I did when I was younger, but I occasionally eat it, such as when it's Five Guys or a menu item I'm craving, which was the case a few days ago when I got food from Burger King.

Burger King was never one of my favorite fast food joints, but they have one item with onion rings and BBQ sauce I used to love eating, called the RodeoBurger.  It was popular when I was younger, but then seemed to vanish off the face of the earth, until recently, when I saw an commercial for it on TV.  Once I saw that, I convinced my dad to get some for my sister and I since it was a piece of nostalgia literally at our fingertips.  I was excited to eat it, but after finishing one, it didn't satisfy me at all compared to other burgers.  And worse of all, as I bit into it, some BBQ sauce fell on my pants, which I didn't notice until after I tried to write something down on a piece of paper.  My eating experience might have been better if the burger was prepared better, like with less BBQ sauce, but like I started out this post saying, you can't complain about fast food.  I like food as much as the next person, but sometimes you just need to know when to say no.  And like other things from the past I wanted to retry after I discovered them (like Fruite Stripe Gum), this food is nothing more than a childhood memory.

Vegan and Vegetarianism

Tomorrow, I have a doctor's appointment for a blood pressure check, which shouldn't be a big deal, but for me, it always is.  Having a history of high blood pressure that runs in the family, and being so stressed about everything always puts my health at risk.  Eating lots of food used to add to that, but I changed my diet around the past 2 years to help alleviate the problem.  Unfortunately, with holidays and break, I definitely ate more than I should off, which probably caused my weight to go up.  With health on my mind, lately, I've been contemplating a huge decision, which is if I should become a vegan or vegetarian?

Now, don't get me wrong, I like meat as much as the next person (and don't even like that many vegetables besides soft ones), but when it comes to your health, you have to do what's best.  And research statistics have shown cutting meat can add years to your life.  I'm not an expert of the subject by any means, since I didn't know there was even a difference between being a vegan or vegetarian, but I have friends who are/were vegetarians.  Those who have stuck with it are strong and seem happy, but those who go back to meat can't imagine living without it, and wonder how they did it for so long.  I don't know if it's something I could do, but I think it's something to definitely consider.

In the end, here's hoping to a good blood pressure check tomorrow.  I may be stressed a bit, like I always am, but I feel content with where I am in life.

Pho

Today, I had pho (prounounced fa/pha) for the first time in years, which for those of you who don't know, is Vietnamese noodle soup with broth, meat, and veggies.  I wish I could say more about it, but with all the variations of it, I don't want to give inaccurate information.  During a winter day like this, nothing hits the spot like well done soup,  Yes, the ingredients may be rich and salty, which is bad for someone like me who has to watch my health, but sometimes, it's okay to indulge, which I've learned from my attempts at losing weight.

My day as a whole was alright with ups and downs, but eating this soup definitely made me feel better, showing the power food has to make a person feel better when the world makes you feel down.

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving again!  That wonderful time of the year when autumn is in the air, the pigskin is being thrown around, and there's a delicious aroma of food.  I usually have a hard time picking my favorite days of the year because there are so many that I like and dislike, but there's no doubt Thanksgiving is one of my favorites for the reasons I just said previously.  Even in school, the day before Thanksgiving was always the best because we had pep rally's that were always a lot of fun, and since it was a half day, I could always hang out with my friends afterward.  In my mind, hanging out with my friend's on holidays is always a highlight because you get to experience it differently with people you care about, but doing it the day before isn't that bad either.  I miss those times, but I still have those fond memories of simpler times.

Since it's Thanksgiving, there are a limited amount of things on TV today.  There's the parade, football, and even wrestling (depending on if you like TNA).  But if you want an alternative to those things, you can do what I always do and watch Thanksgiving specials of your favorite shows and films.  Here are some suggestions I have...

The Recess episode "The Great Can Drive"

 A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Not to mention other Thanksgiving episodes of shows, like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, King of the Hill, The Simpsons, etc.  There are so many things you can watch and do on this day, but regardless, have a good holiday and eat well!

Washing Fruit

Eating fruit is one of the healthiest things in the world, but one thing I cannot stand is why your have to wash it every time before you eat it.  I understand we have to do it for our safety, but to me, something that is so pure should not have to be cleaned all the time.  Then again, I'm a germophobe, so I wonder why I'm questioning anything when it comes to cleanliness.  It's just frustrating!  I know fruit is pure, but with such a need for cleanliness, sometimes I wonder what's going on with our fruit?  Then again, maybe like with hot dogs, it's better to not know and just enjoy.

New King Fung Garden

Usually, I never talk about restaurants on this blog, but I couldn't not talk about this place, especially after today...

My friend Phu and I were in Boston's Chinatown to get dinner after a day of window-shopping, and walking through the rain.  Chinatown has a lot of places to eat, but there's only one place we love to go to consistently, and that place is New King Fung Garden.  I know the name sounds like a feng shui type of thing, but it's a restaurant, and it serves great, affordable food.  I had never heard of it before until my friend Phu took me there years ago, but ever since, we've made it one of our regular dining destinations whenever we're in Chinatown or just want to eat good food on the cheap.  Today was one of those days.

So we're walking in Chinatown, and we get to the location of the restaurant, when we walk in and see flowers on the outside, new tables, and people we've never seen before.  At first, I question if it's the same restaurant with just a different name, but my friend Phu realized it wasn't once he saw the food.  We were caught off guard by what we discovered, so we asked the people who are now at the current location if they knew where New King Fung Garden is?  They say they do, which is great, and give us directions, but that's where the day turns to frustration.  We followed the directions the people gave to us, yet we still got lost, and we walked around Chinatown for at least half an hour, but couldn't find it anywhere.  It was so disappointing, especially since we were both hungry and craving the place.  We didn't concede easily, but we eventually did for the day, going with our second option to eat, which was Sal's Pizza in Downtown Boston.  It was good, but it wasn't New King Fung Garden good with their giant scallion pancakes, real crab rangoons, etc.  But after the miserable day we had, I couldn't complain.

After reading this, I'm sure you're wondering why my friend and I would make such a fuss about one restaurant, especially in Chinatown where there are tons of places to eat?  I have several answers why that is the case.  One, the food at New King Fung Garden is affordable, delicious, and different than any other place I've been too.  Secondly, their service is good, and the ownership is family run.  Third, the place is a small business, so I always root for those places to succeed, especially in a place like Boston with the Back Bay and North End.  And lastly, I make a fuss about it because it's a place my friends and I can eat where we know what to expect.  That may not sound like a big deal, but since we're older, we've seen places we used to go to change, which has made it hard to find a new "place", but New King Fung Garden was one of those places, which is something that can't be replaced easily.  I know it the place isn't gone, but since my friend and I can't find it for now, like they say near the end of "Gone With The Wind", "Where shall we go?  What shall we do"?  Well, for now, I don't know, but we'll figure it out. 

My Day In Maine

Maine is known for a few things around the globe; it's bright blue waters, it's fresh seafood, and for today, I saw first hand whether it was really worth the hype.  Now don't get me wrong, I didn't go to Maine just to see this firsthand.  I went to Maine because my eldest sister has always been one of those people who always wants to do family events together.  We had meant to do this trip for awhile, but other things always messed it up until now.  With a plan in motion, and everything coming to fruition, I went to Maine for the first time today, and came away happier than when I left.

The trip up to Maine was tiresome, but surprisingly, it felt longer than my trip to New Hampshire, which is closer to Boston.  My sisters and brother wanted to go to the beach, so we went to Orchard Hill Beach because it had a little bit of everything: beach, rides, games, food.  The beach was bigger than anything I had seen in Boston, and it was more crowded, meaning there were parts that were more disgusting, like the bathrooms.  Ugh, you have to pay 50 cents just to pee there.  What a ripoff!  Because I hated the beach, I wandered off with my sister until everyone was done swimming and tanning.  Afterward, we went on one ride there, called the Superstar, which spins people in moveable carts in mid-air.  The ride itself wasn't bad, but it was scary at times because of height, and the fact it didn't seem that safe.  My brother and I enjoyed the ride, but it's safe to say that my sisters were traumatized and we were done with rides for the day.

That one ride was tough, but we made up for it by spending a lot of time and money at the arcade there.  It was a bit childish, but because Boston doesn't have an arcade, and that's the only one around for miles, I didn't complain.  I used $7 and tried my hands at games like the crane machine and pinball, but didn't win anything.  One thing I was good at though was Skeeball and Whack-A-Alligator, so it wasn't all a complete failure.  My siblings and I won 350 tickets and tried to get my dad a souvenir with it, but we didn't have enough, so we just used the tickets on something we wanted, and bought him numerous souvenirs at the many gift shops they have there.

Maine had a lot of things I like compared to Boston so far, like an arcade and cheaper prices on items like DVDs, but where they really impressed me was the restaurants and shops they had there.  The restaurant we went to called The White Cap Grille wasn't our first choice because other places we wanted to go to were packed or closed, but the service was fantastic, and the food was great.  I didn't get seafood, which is Maine's staple, since it was too expensive, but I did pick some off my sibling's plate, which I enjoyed.  After eating a great meal there, we went to a popcorn store, toy store, and clothing store before heading home satisfied with everything we bought and experienced.

So all in all, I loved Maine and what it had to offer to me.  It will never be Boston because no place could be, but I would love to visit there again.  And since I've been there once, now I know what to expect.  

NaCl

When it comes to relating to everyday problems people deal with, I think I deal with less than the average person.  One thing I do deal with though, which is a problem for most people is trying to shop and eat food, while watching out for NaCl or salt.  I know most of you reading this don't think it's a problem, but for a majority of us with health problems, it is.  Salt is everywhere, and while it's necessary for our bodies to have some, most of the time, there's too much in everyday food.

There's salt in everything from processed food to food that you wouldn't even think had any like yogurt, etc.  As people, we can make the choice whether to eat the food or not, but most of the time, when we consume more NaCl when necessary, I blame food labels or the distributors because they do not inform the people properly what's in their product.  An example on my mind is when I see Subway ads, or read labels on foods like chips.  They say they reduce the calories and fat, but never say the NaCl content, which is misleading because to me, that does more harm than calories and fat do.  There's good calories and fat for the body, but I've never heard a doctor say eat more salt.  That just doesn't make sense, and would lead to bad health in the future.

I know nothing will change as long as business's want money, so the only thing we consumers with health problems can do is to read labels carefully, and watch what we eat, which I think as people we do well enough.

My Top 6 Favorite Foods

One question I'm never asked, but think often of, is what's my favorite food?  It seems like it would be an easy answer, but for someone like me, who's indecisive and a bit picky, it isn't.  The good thing though, is that I know there's no need to limit myself, so without further ado, here's another thing you all can learn about me: My Top 6 Favorite Foods.  It's not really an important issue, but it's something interesting to think about because I could never pick my favorite foods, until now.

Without further ado, the list...

6. Eggs: In the culinary world, there's a saying that eggs make everything better.  I don't know if that's the case, or if that's even a real saying, but I agree with it because I love eggs. They're versatile, quick, and a little healthier compared to other proteins.  Most people like sweet stuff when it comes to breakfast like pancakes and french toast, but I'm never satisfied with that, so give me scrambled eggs or an omelet, and I'm a happy man.
 
5. Fried Rice: There's nothing not to love about fried rice.  It has rice in it, which is one of the most versatile foods in the world, and when combined with meats and vegetables, it can be just as filling as any dish.  Most fried rice is good to me, but like most people, nothing beats mom's home cooking.  Unfortunately, my mom doesn't make the dish as often anymore (especially since I try to eat healthier now), but whenever she cooks it, I notice it.

4. Cheesecake: Not healthy at all with the cream cheese, butter, and sugar content, but any time I see cheesecake, I have to eat it because it tastes so good.  The cheese in a cheesecake is always delicious, but the graham cracker crust has always been underrated to me, which is why I always save the crust for last.

3. Cheeseburger: Cheeseburgers are the only meaty dish to make my list, which is a surprise, considering how much meat I eat (like most people).  Cheeseburgers or burgers usually don't make people's lists of favorite foods because they're so common, and have become popularized because of fast food, but a well-made burger is a wonderful thing.  It's meaty, full of flavor, and they can be so versatile, which I always love, considering how picky I am.

2. Eggplant Parmesan: Eggplant is the first vegetable I was able to eat on a consistent basis as a child, so cover it with cheese and sauce, and you basically increase it to the point of no return.  It's not meat, but when it's well-made, it makes me think I could pull off being a vegetarian sometimes.  Although, I know that's never happening.

1. Sushi: Lastly, my number one favorite food is sushi.  Now, I'm not surprised about this result because I do love sushi, but that wasn't always the case.  As a child, I was hesitant to try it, and hated it when I actually did, but as I got older and my palate changed, I found myself loving the taste.  I'm not one of those people who focuses on texture when I eat food, but for sushi, I find it to be necessary.  Sushi is usually too expensive for me most of the time, but that's why it's my favorite food.  If I'm eating it, it means I'm indulging, and life must be going good.

Spam

I'm in the minority on this, but one food I really enjoy (probably to the surprise of many) is Spam.  Spam is that canned meat that comes in the blue can/tin.  There are many dislikes about it like not knowing all the ingredients, the taste, texture, and high sodium content, but I think those attacks are unfair, and here's why. 

In terms of the not knowing all the ingredients, you don't know lots about the food you eat, so why focus on Spam?  At least they give some ingredients.  You may not like the taste or texture of Spam, but that's the beauty of it.  Spam is so versatile that it can be eaten in so many ways, either fried, boiled, or even in sushi, which they do a lot in Hawaii.  The only legitimate attack of Spam is that it does have a lot of sodium, but newsflash, it's meat.  Like deli meat or any other canned meat, it's going to have a lot of sodium in it, so you just need to use your head to know whether or not to eat it.

As you can see from the picture above, Spam has been around for 75+ years.  It's thought lowly of by most  people now, but it didn't used to be like that during WWII, when all soldiers could eat was Spam when they couldn't get fresh food delivered.  It's funny how the image or thought of a food product can become so negative dramatically.  I'm not saying it's for everyone, because it isn't (especially if you have problems with blood pressure), but don't judge it without trying it yourself.  You might be pleasantly surprised.