Friday, January 13, 2012

Food and Drink in 2012

It would be good to eat a little bit better in 2012.

Homegrown Basil

As those of you who have been following this blog for awhile know, in the later part of 2011 I planted basil seeds.  You can relive all the excitement, including a picture of a terracotta pot with dirt in it, here if you like.

My hope was that the basil I planted would result in fresh basil to add to the pasta I cook this year.

 Not so Much

Unfortunately, my attempt to grow basil failed miserably.  I did learn that if you're going to borrow top soil in Southern California where nothing grows without fancy store bought dirt that contains nutrients you will never find here otherwise, you should borrow the top soil from a place where things actually grow.  You should not borrow top soil from a place that has been recently landscaped and filled with store bought dirt that does not actually have anything growing in it.  Now I know.

If I was really cool, I'd probably set myself up with some kind of hydroponic system to grow green things like the people in this photo from the WindowFarms site.

A White Guy with a 'Fro Knows Something About Hydroponic Gardening.
Go Figure.

Eating Healthier in 2012

Some snack foods I enjoy which would be wise to eat more often include:
  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Carrots, hummus optional
  • Celery with peanut butter
  • Cucumber sliced and dipped in low-fat yogurt
  • Edamame 
  • Grapes
  • Handful of almonds, cashews or peanuts
  • Olives
  • Pear, sliced
  • Slice of cheese
  • Strawberries
  • Yogurt
Drinking in 2012

Those of us who have consumed our fair share of beer know that beer is awesome.  Not only does it taste good but it can add anywhere between 1/2 and 5 points on the standard 1 to 10 scale of rating potential mates based on their appearance.

Sadly, drinking beer it is not a good way to keep one's weight down.  Mixed drinks or straight booze on the rocks offer one an advantage in terms of being lower in calories while still serving as a transport vehicle to the land of intoxication.  I mention all of this because if you're going to drink, you should probably stick to just a couple of beers (always tough for me to do) or go with liquor.  If you're going to go with liquor, you should probably have ice involved in your drinking.  For less than $5 including shipping if you're hooked up with the Amazon Prime thing, you can get yourself this ice cube tray:



Arr, you going to enjoy your rum a little more 
when it comes with these swimming in it, matey?  Maybe.

TL;DR: Eating a little bit more healthy won't kill you.  Plus, a $5 ice cube tray that makes skull and crossbones shaped ice enticed me to shill for Amazon.

34 comments:

  1. snack list is kool. the icetray is cool too.
    Unless it is halloween party if I see these ice in any drink, I would take that as POISON and ignore.
    Yep, I learned to live my life from watching cartoons. Skulls and bones- poison that would result in immediate death

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  2. dude... you dont need to buy dirt. just take your pot of soil and add compostable materials to it (egg shells, orange peels, anything that will break down except MEAT) then "stir " it once a month and water it lightly, after about 5 months, or when winter is over you have some GREAT home made soil FULL of nutrients. easy peezy

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  3. I wish I had space for a garden.

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  4. I always love me some almonds. Full of protein and healthy fats

    Weird Funny News

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  5. Kind of wishing i had a garden to grow stuff. Love your blog title by the way :)

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    1. I too wish that I owned enough land to grow things- or any land for that matter.

      My current gardening effort is strictly window sill based for the time being.

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  6. Soo.. drinking beer makes me fat?? I should drink more!

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  7. :O You like Olives? I thought I was the only one :'D

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  8. Dirty Girl reporting in! great to find someone that is trying to grow stuff for a healthier lifestyle, make your own compost if you can and just keep planting !

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  9. Your list of healthy foods is a good one. From experience, I know the hardest part of growing (anything) is getting it started. If you saw all the different contraptions I've constructed over the years to get herbs started indoors in our sub-arctic conditions,you'd be amazed. Once I get them outside, they grow like weeds.

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  10. I don't know about eating healthier... but I think I can handle that ice cube tray thingy.

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  11. sorry about your Basil failure...eating better is always a plus too. I'm a sucker for apples, bananas, rasins, carrots and oranges myself.

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  12. Dang are you going to try again?

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  13. I'd love my own garden, nice post! made me hungry haha

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  14. Aah I love those cubes :P

    Tay
    x

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  15. I've not had much luck with basil either. Last time I tried I bought a small plant, rather than attempting to grow it from seed. A day later the bugs had feasted on it. Oh well.

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  16. I'm always amazed by how many calories are in beer...but on the bright side it's all carbs

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  17. My new years resolution was to eat all fruits, grains, nuts, vegetables. I drove thru Burger King this morning. When's Chinese New Year anyhow, I need another shot at this....

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  18. Good luck with the basil. It is said you have to steal a basil plant for it to grow right or someone should present it to you. Never buy one. Ha Ha.
    www.thoughtsofpaps.com

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  19. You had me at basil and pasta. Sadly, there is no basil. Now I will drink a box of wine to drown my sorrows.

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  20. I love my beer! And that ice tray is pretty cool. Don't know what to tell you about growing basil...I can't even keep a simple house plant alive!

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  21. As someone who works ridiculously hard year round to stay shredded;

    Eggs are a godsend!

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  22. I'm pretty sure you can still buy basil at the store, so need to worry. Unless there's some worldwide basil shortage that I'm not aware of, which is completely possible because I haven't watched the news lately.

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  23. Sorry to hear about your basil!

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