Posts by gtsacy

Yep, which is why rather than lying about it, it's even MORE important to talk about it...he's a guy who is ok with being on a porn site, she is a girl who is clearly not ok with it...definately should have been a subject of discussion.

Astro Biobest plain 1% yogurt is definately my holy grail of yogurts. I LOVE it, it has an incredibly mild taste and smooth texture that is amenable to both sweet and savory applications....I use  it place of sour cream exclusively. I bought some fat-free sour cream for a specific recipe a few weeks ago and realized I don't even like sour cream anymore, Biobest is way better tasting and so versatile!

Of course nothing beats the full-fat sour cream, but that's just forspecial.

Stuffed eggplants. YUM. A vegetarian friend served this for dinner once, and it was so yummy I got the recipe and make it sometimes, not even for its vegetarianness.

Basically, it's this: Cut small eggplants in half length-wise. Scoop out the insides, leaving a 1 cm rim as a "boat". Place eggplants cut-side down on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil and roast at 350 for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook some brown rice, or even better a multi-rice blend (about 1/4C dry rice per small eggplant). While that's cooking, cube scooped-out eggplant and saute with chopped onion, chopped mushrooms, finely chopped celery, and some crushed garlic for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Transfer to a large bowl, cool, and add sunflower seeds, grated cheese, cooked rice, and chopped parsley. The recipe calls for sharp cheddar, I use reduced-fat...but I also think goat cheese, feta, or swiss would be awesome. Season with salt and pepper and stuff the mixture into the eggplant boats. Top with a sprnkling of cheese and cook in a 375 oven for about 30 minutes.

I use a form of raw sugar, demerera, that I buy because a. I like the taste of raw sugar better than white, it's still got the molasses in it and b. it's less processed so I feel better about it and c. it's a brand that's Fair Trade. It's about double the price of regular white sugar....I don't use so much sugar that I am concerned about the price.

I also use agave on occasion, but that bottle was nearly $10 so I have used it very sparingly. I do have a cookie recipe that calls for it, but I usually sub in corn syrup instead. I like the idea of agave, but in practical terms, it's not as sweet so you have to use more to achieve the same sweetness...instead of using a tablespoon of 25-calorie agave, one could just use half as much of 60-cal-per-Tbsp other syrup and it would be about the same calories.

People are much more impressed when you tell them there's agave syrup in it, though ;). I get around that by always throwing in some flax meal, people are also very impressed by flax and that will help gloss over the corn syrup. Raw sugar is also more impressive. Forget bleached flour, you may as well be trying to feed people actual bleach. Unbleached is ok, whole wheat is better, especially if you can manage to get it to not taste like whole wheat. Heh.

In my early 20s I was a nanny for film people. One day I was at the beach hanging out with a bunch of the watersport experts hired for the movie who weren't on set that day. They were a group of ultra-cool surfers and extreme sports-types, and I was trying hard to not feel intimidated.

The area we were sitting in had lots of washed-up logs. At one point I stood up and took a step backwards...and went flying over a log behind me, ass over teakettle, executing what was I am sure a less-than-graceful backwards somesault. I was about 260 lbs at the time.  I don't even remeber if I was hurt, all I remember was the humiliation. I went into the ocean and didn't come out for about half an hour, and even then only because I was feeling guilty for neglecting my nanny duties.

Everyone was real cool, acted like it never happened.

I don't understand why people make comments about their own weight and how they are unhappy with it, but aren't doing anything about it and don't want suggestions; why bring it up then? So maybe the fact that she makes these comments means she would be open to some input. It sounds like you are very sensitive to her feelings, so I don't think you'd make her feel steamrolled or sound like a know-it-all.

I'd just approach it as a "hey I've found these really cool websites hat have made such an impact on me, I'd love to show you". Or when she mentions your weight loss, ask her if she is interested in what you've done to get there. Mothers love mother-daughter projects, maybe it would be a welcome source of bonding.

cptbunny, I second that. The replacement blades are freakin expensive, but I can use that shaver anywhere and not worry about razor burn, and I do mean anywhere. So it's worth it.

You could pickle them, I love pickled vegetables of all kinds and carrots work great.

A fantastic garnish for any fish is fresh lemon juice, chopped dill, and chopped capers mixed together. The bright notes of the lemon and dill combined with the briney taste of the capers....omg YUM. It makes plain grilled or baked or pan-fried fish just completely delicious.

Being a nanny is tricky business. People entrust you with their children, and you'd think they would want that time to be spent expanding their horizons, learning things, being taught manners and good habits and such. You are their role model, their example, for the time you are there. Only watching them to make sure they don't get into danger seems like the lowest common denominator...shouldn't there be more? From the "none of your business" responses above ,seems like no....I guess it depends on the parents' style of child-raising. Are they open to suggestions and ideas? Do they trust your judgerment? Do they approve of you teaching the kids stuff? If so, I think the suggestion above, about presenting it as a learning opportunity for the kids and asking for a food budget, would be great. Maybe the parents would love for them to eat healthier but just don't have time to bother with it.  

If not, the best you can do is lead by example. Bring healthy food. Eat healthy food. Make it look cool.