Martin and Shelley take a juice cleanse for a test drive

I have friends that have tried a juice cleanse and Shelley's sister recently completed one as well. Plus, tons of celebrities do them too so how hard could it be, right? Right.

I'll just get this out of the way right now. I do NOT think you need to 'cleanse' your body or 'get rid of the toxins'; I firmly believe that if you live even a moderately relatively healthy lifestyle (which we both do) that your body does everything it's supposed to and does it way more efficiently than you can with juice or powder or capsules or whatever you want to spend lavish amounts of money on.

So why was I even entertaining doing this? For the challenge of course! Everyone talked about how hard it was and then I read an article in The Stranger about one of the staff doing a 5-day cleanse and it sounded kinda burley which only fueled the competitive fire that much more. So a couple of weeks ago Shelley (who had been wanting to give this a try too) and I decided it's only money and dropped bank on BluePrintCleanse.

Hey, I drink a smoothie just about every morning anyway and I love fruit and vegetable juices so how hard could this be? For starters, let me introduce you to 'breakfast'.

The BluePrintCleanse comes in three varieties. There is the Renovation Cleanse (for beginners - obviously not what we were going to try), the Foundation Cleanse and the Excavation Cleanse. Did I mention that Shelley's sister had told us she spent a not insignificant amount of time camped out on the toilet? Yeah... maybe we won't do the Excavation thing. Foundation Cleanse it is then thankyouverymuch.

I mentioned dropping bank and this 3-day cleanse cost us a total of $450. That included six juices per day for each of us and shipping to our house. That's a total of 36 16 oz. juices so if you do the math we're looking at $12.50 per bottle. I know, outrageous. Still, I was down with the experiment and no doubt I have spent wasted money in WAY more frivolous ways so I wasn't upset. Besides, I made the decision and knew the cost going in so there was no surprise.

Along with the juices we got these cute little insulated lunch bags and a shit ton of gel-filled freezer packs to keep your juice cold at work in case you don't have a refrigerator. That was kind of neat. And no doubt smart on the part of BluePrint as I suspect it helps take people's minds off of the extravagant cost of the juice.

ASIDE - turns out the bubble wrap in the insulated shipping box is recyclable! Way to go BluePrint.

We unpacked everything and the Shelley lovingly arranged our next nine meals in the refrigerator. Ready, set, go!

DAY #1 - Friday

We decided to try this over the weekend so that if a worst case scenario materialized it would not affect our co-workers. You're welcome.

I was also going to try and continue to exercise while on the cleanse. Reports of how easy/hard this was going to be varied quite a bit so I had no idea what to expect. Friday went okay. And really, why wouldn't it? I don't usually eat before I go to the gym in the morning so just had to deal with a but of hunger while riding the exercise bike at lunch. If anything I felt pretty good!

Diner time was another story though. I added up the calories in all the juices and the six bottles give you about 1,000 calories total so in spite of the fact that we're not exactly starving ourselves, it's way less than I usually consume in a day and a huge mental game when you don't get to chew. Hence the challenge.

At 'dinner' we cheersed each other, made a couple of jokes about our meal and went to bed hungry. Day #1 done.

DAY #2 - Saturday

I was resolved to go to the gym and ride my bike today. Just because. My gym doesn't open until 8:00 AM on weekends and I usually wake around 4 or 5 so I had three solid hours to think about how much I was not eating as I drank some tea. Still, the gym went okay and I was not suffering physically. Yet.

When I got home from working out I had my first bottle for breakfast and then made my workout food which today consisted of bottles #2 and #4 each in a large water bottle and topping that off with some green tea. I know what you're thinking, that's some wicked heavy shit; how was I going to be able to digest all 220 calories while out on the road? Let's just say that the ride today was not fast. Like zone 2 max.

When I got home I had bottle #3 (#2 & #4 were fruit-based, #3 was veggie-based hence the switch up) as my recovery drink. Hahaha... I know, ridiculous.

I think I tried to fill the rest of my day with tea and projects as it was way easier to do this when you are not sitting around with time to let your mind wander and your stomach growl.

Come dinner time I was SO appreciating the BluePrint strategy or giving you a nice, rich (by juice cleanse standards anyway) drink for dessert. #6 is mostly cashew milk which tastes like manna from heaven by the time you drink it rolls around believe me. It also gives your body some calories and fat to work with while you sleep - smart move.

On this day my stomach was rumbling the most for sure. But... no shitting! So much for all the 'cleansing' and 'excavating' that was supposed to happen. In fact, I just dried up and with nothing going in, nothing was coming out. Except for the fact that I had to pee like every hour. Turns out tea tastes really good when you are not eating.

DAY #3 - Sunday

On this day I had planned to participate in a Washington Trails Association work party. I was a little worried as I normally get pretty cold when I'm standing around in the shade and the wet and with no food for fuel I was thinking I might get extra chilly. I was right. But I survived.

I had on four layers up top, a hat and my rain coat but only one layer on my legs, running shoes instead of proper boots and work gloves that were not insulated. Oops. Three or four times I had to take a break just to walk up and down the trail while swinging my arms in an effort to warm up. I vividly recall this one kid that got so warm he stripped down to a t-shirt! I was incredulous.

The hardest part was when everyone else took a lunch break and started pulling out these thick, tasty looking sandwiches, food bars, potato chips, you name it. Did I mention the work party organize brought along a huge bag of assorted Halloween candy? That was one of the times I went for a walk.

Some other volunteer: "Did you bring a lunch?"
Me: "Yeah, I already ate it..."

Which was in fact the truth as I had been drinking the three juices I brought along pretty steadily.

When I got home I was cold, tired but not as hungry as I expected to be. By day #3 my body was starting to get used to this caloric intake and like I said above, I was not starving and I was almost too tired to eat. Almost. If was not trying to exercise, I bet you could live off of this for a long time. Hell, there are millions of people in the world right now that are living on much, much less. It's hilarious sad sometimes what 1st world people will subject themselves to isn't it? Not only are we making ourselves hungry, we're paying someone else to do it.

On the upside, if I had not been on the trail work party I would have had a miserable time with the cleanse on this day. Having something to do all the time was a HUGE assistance. Thanks WTA.

Did I mention that drink #6 was delicious? Oh my f'ing god did it taste good on this night. Liquid gold and all that.

DAY #4 - Monday

No, we didn't do this for four days but on day four I did try to go to the gym in the morning before eating anything. It worked.

CONCLUSION

Would I do it again? Maybe, but I just tried it to see if I could do it and I don't think there are any health benefits to a cleanse so probably not. But never say never and even one year ago I would have never dreamed of giving this a shot.

How hard was it? With Shelley doing it with me it was actually not as hard as I thought it would be! Had I tried it alone I would have no doubt caved on day #1. I'm nothing if not weak. But really it is just a mental game as 1,000 calories is still living just fine if you are not doing any endurance activities.

Did we cheat? Nope, neither Shelley or I cheated even once. We looked at all the 'acceptable' ways to cheat in preparation but ended up not needing to. Nice.

Was it worth the cost? NO. But like I said, we knew what we were getting into so this was more of a scientific experiment for me and I'm okay with that.

Did I shit my brains out or break out or get a rash? No. None of the above. I was fully prepared to have my body freak out and when nothing - nothing at all - happened I was surprised. I chalk that up to the fact that Shelley (who also experienced no surprises) and I were already eating super healthy with tons of vegetables so simply cutting back and blending everything was not any kind of shock to our systems.

Was the Foundation Cleanse the right one to go with? In retrospect I wish I had tried the Excavator just to be able to say I did. The only difference is they only give you veggie juices with that one whereas the one we tried had fruit/sweet juices as well.

Was it fun? BluePrint does send you some pretty humorous emails when you place your order and throughout your cleanse but they only go so far.

Is the marketing way hyped? Well... BluePrint walks the tightrope fairly well but ultimately they are out to make money and when they sell this thing to brides who are trying to fit into unrealistic wedding dresses it shows their true colors. Then again, people are stupid and I have little sympathy and was mostly just entertained.

Here's to being entertained! Next time I think I'll do it by adding food instead of subtracting it.

Technorati Tags: BluePrintCleanse,juice cleanse,Foundation Cleanse

smoothie 2.0

Boy do I love smoothies… always have. But, ever since I started leaning Paleo, some (read: most) of the original ingredients are off limits.

Here then is Martin's new, revised smoothie recipe.

• Three (sometimes four) pieces of fruit. That's right… sometimes four! Usually one or two bananas, an apple and a pear. Peaches or nectarines or kiwi are awesome substitutes when they are in season.
• One heavy pour of Udo's Oil.
• Some coconut milk.
• A small handful of walnuts.
• A small handful of almonds. Hey, Costco has both.
• One scoop of CytoSport chocolate whey protein powder.
• One scoop of CytoSport vanilla whey protein powder. Hey Costco has them both.
• One ground up multi-vitamin.
• One ground up iron supplement.
• One ground up vitamin C tablet.
• One ground up Glucosamine tablet.
• One fish oil capsule (probably redundant with the Udo's Oil).
• One vitamin D capsule.
• Some frozen berries.
• Water.

I have this breakfast very regularly. Is that a good thing? Perhaps not as all that fruit contains a lot of sugar. But I keep telling myself that since I'm trying this Paleo thing I'm probably getting way less sugar in my diet than most people. I mean how do four pieces of fruit and some berries compare to a can of soda? Or a candy bar?

Here you go.

20 oz. soda (because most people don't drink just 12) - 65 g

4 pieces of fruit and some berries - 80 g

Guess I was wrong. But my smoothie does have a much higher nutritional value than soda. So there.

Technorati Tags: smoothie,Paleo,Paleo diet

and the flavor of the month is... The Gay

Did you know that Cupcake Royal features special flavors every month? I did not.

Now that I know they do it seems so obvious. Feature something special, make it colorful, maybe even theme it with current events and boom, mo' money.

Seeing as Cupcake Royal is a Seattle company and seeing as June is pride month it seems so logical that the featured flavor would be something relevant.

I'm just wondering how you order this flavor, do you say, "I'll take a dozen of The Gay."? Perhaps if you know the person working behind the counter you could wink and say, "I'll take a dozen Gays..." What about, "I'll take The Gay." Anyway you slice it, this has got to be a lot of fun.

Speaking of mo' money, I'm not afraid to admit that this is one of my favorite songs. And, I can't think of a gayer anthem to sample so bonus extra credit to me for me adhering to the theme of this post.

Technorati Tags: Cupcake Royal,the gay

Mountain Dew Pitch Black-this (marketing) shit is serious business!

Three days ago this coding savant (who also happens to be the youngest person in our office) announced that he had just purchased all of the Mountain Dew Pitch Black that his local QFC had in stock.

I was like, "By 'all' do you mean every last one...?"

He smiled and proudly said, "Yes."

Turns out 'all' in this case meant only about 20 bottles but still.

I think it's great when companies bring back 'original' or 'classic' or 'limited edition' versions of products to drum up interest and increase market share when sales are flagging. The story of Coke is a prime example. In a nutshell here it is.

- First there was plain old Coke.
- Then there was New Coke.
- Then there was Classic Coke.
- Then there was even more classic (read: older) Coke made with real sugar instead of Con Syrup frequently referred to as Mexican Coke.

It's truly marketing genius to create a limited edition and then actually limit it! Every time you bring it back you get huge press, the latest generation of pimply-faced, up-all-night-gaming, it's-energy-drink-or-nothing kids will flock to you and bingo, you have hooked another generation.

ASIDE – which is my McDonald's has playgrounds in their restaurants.

Technorati Tags: Mountain Dew Pitch Black

Marshmallow Peeps-they can haz lots of fun

At work today we had a staff meeting. One of the units asked for volunteers to participate in a mock game show and so I raised my hand. It was pretty fun; and each participant won a prize! Here is what I got.

What was even more fun than squeezing my prize was thinking of things to do with the Peeps because you know none of them were going into my mouth. by the time I got home I decided on a photo essay. You know, the kind you might do in a photography class in high school.

So presented here for your entertainment is a Peeps party. Just like any people party everyone lines up to get in and then proceeds to stand around like a bunch of wall flowers. But add a little alcohol to the mix and watch the inhibitions disappear.

This photo essay was inspired by the Durex Condoms – Kama-Balloon-Animal-Sutra Commercial; one of my favorite ads ever.

Technorati Tags: Marshmallow,Peeps,Durex,Condoms,Kama-Balloon-Animal-Sutra Commercial

When is light ridiculous? When it’s Select 55.

This rant is long overdue.

I was having a Facebook chat with a friend yesterday who happened to have a birthday and I suggested he do something for himself since we rarely spoil ourselves and this seemed like as good a time as any. He replied that a light beer was on the agenda and it made me think about how crazy America is when it comes to food.

Not only are we the fattest country in the world with fully 34% of Americans now officially falling into the obese category, we are also the nation most obsessed with diet products, pills, cosmetic surgery, cleanses, and the like.

ASIDE – obese is not just some colloquial/slang term that means you could stand to lose a few pounds, it is a medical condition that means you are in trouble and it’s time to see your doctor!

But that is another topic for another post, today is just about light beer.

First there was regular old light beer, think Bud Light. This has 110 calories and 6.6 g of carbohydrates. Then things started to go awry.

At some point marketing department realized that selling us beer that costs less to make AND sells for the same price would be a huge hit with the sales department and boy were they right. All you have to do is spin something as ‘healthy’ and people come running. Enter the era of our-light-beer-is-lighter-than-your-light-beer. This is also known as the era of beer that tastes like, well, water.

The first foray into this was Miller Light. The slogan was, “Less filling! Tastes great!” and although the adds were hilarious they did not make up for what was/is pretty damn light beer and marginal at best.

Miller Light – 96 calories, 3.2 g of carbohydrates

Michelob Ultra was the next to give it a go and if you watch one of their adds you would think they had a lock on some sort of miracle fountain of youth formula but really it was just the same as what was already out there. Plus they spent a boat load in order to get everyone’s favorite Tour de France winner and cancer survivor to endorse it so it must be great, right? Oh by the way Lance, comeback 2.0 is over, you just retired. Again.

Next up was MGD 64 which –surprisingly – contains 64 calories and 2.4 g of carbohydrates. As a bonus it also had half the alcohol as the other light beers. they had to cut the calories somehow after all.

Finally we get to the winner (loser?) – Budweiser Select 55.  55 calories and 1.9 g of carbohydrates.

It makes me wonder, at what point in this progression did said beverage stop being recognizable as beer? Because the last incarnation of this drink evolution certainly is not.

What’s next, will somebody start selling beer in a skinny can like this?

Because as we all know, if the can you drink from is skinny, so are you.

ANOTHER ASIDE – remember these cigarettes? Same idea.

Technorati Tags: Bud Light,Miller Light,Michelob Ultra,MGD 64,Budweiser Seleect 55,light beer

no meat is not American

I have been vegetarian for about 18 years now and here in Seattle and in the circles I keep it is NOT a big deal. Other than the accidental, occasional bite of something meaty it has not been a chore by any means. I have also rarely put any host out which is a concern if you want to keep getting invited to events. Luckily I am not a picky eater and will gladly consume just about anything and genuinely appreciate it.

Thinking back there was just one major lapse that comes readily to mind. Two years ago Shelley and my father and I travelled to Germany to visit my family and my aunt served venison (deer). She had been prepping all day for this big, family meal, the local butcher had just gotten the first kill of the season and I would have been a first class asshole if I had declined. Plus, it was pretty much the entire meal... we had some asparagus (for color probably) and Spatzle and that was it. Except for lots and lots of gravy and bottle after bottle of wine. I don't think the wine contained any meat.

You know how aunts are, as soon as you finish your portion they are piling more on your plate because even at 45 years old I was still apparently a 'growing boy' or some such thing. So that night I had thirds. And a ton of gravy. Bring it.

My position has always been that I don't want to cause unnecessary suffering to sentient beings. I am not vegan nor do I have any desire to be. Even though there is some moral appeal it would be a shit ton of work and then for sure I would be 'that guy' who never eats what you serve and who never gets invited back. No fun. For sure I am playing fast and lose with the term 'vegetarian' because all I exclude from my diet is beef, pork and poultry. That seems to be where factory farming is rampant and so even though this deer did not fall under the abused animal heading it has been easier for me to eliminate all mammals from my diet.

And honestly, because of this moral reason behind my choice it has been a very simple one to make. I can truthfully say that I have not missed meat since I cut it out. I do like some flavors usually associated with meat like Teriyaki but you can get that in a bottle and add it to most anything so no biggie. People always ask me, "Don't you miss the meat?" The answer is no. I sometimes miss the flavors of sauces you put on meat or the char from a grill but not the substance itself. And since you can get all the stuff I do miss without using meat I am good to go. People also ask, "Are you worried about getting protein?" Never. I eat tons of dairy, nuts, beans, you name it. There is no doubt in my mind that people are 1) totally obsessed with protein (just check out any muscle or fitness or Muscle & Fitness magazine) and probably eat too much and 2) people would be a lot better off if they substituted a vegetable or two for some of that crap they call 'protein'.

There have been times when my diet is inconvenient.

I recall a time I was in some fast food-ish establishment in Idaho and after not seeing any meatless entrée on the menu I asked the waitress if they had any vegetarian options. "Oh sure!" said the waitress, "We got chicken."

When Shelley and I were in Portugal it was a bit tricky as well. Meat is just what people eat there and so the kitchens had to go to some lengths to prepare our meals by making omelets or similar fair. I kept trying to insist that I would be fine and not to worry but they always made a huge deal out of it. Thank goodness I do eat seafood (I try to avoid farmed fish) so this did not happen every night. Luckily I also do not get bored of cheese and jam sandwiches on long rides...

Being in these situations makes one think. There is no doubt in my mind that factory farming is not just morally bad but also destructive to our planet in so many ways. In maximizing their ROI farmers push animals FAR beyond what they are capable of naturally and you end up with salmonella contamination, meat that is full of antibiotics and steroids, bacteria that is resistant to the daily dose of drugs the animals get fed, animals being ground up and fed to animals – you name it. It's kinda sick if you take the time to think about it.

ASIDE – anyone who eats meat should take the time to think about what they are doing. If you can walk out of a typical factory farm that produces the burger you just put away at that last tailgate party then more power to you. But if it makes you queasy then freaking give it up. I have very little patience for hypocrisy.

That being said, if you go and kill an animal (as humanly as is possible/reasonable) and butcher it and eat it I guess I'm okay with that. It's just when people don't take responsibility for their actions that I object. This was how I justified eating all that venison in Germany.

This is all the long way of explaining to you what happened at lunch the other day. It made me smile.

I decided to hit up one of the food trucks that are dotting the UW campus these days since the HUB (which contained the largest cafeteria on campus) is being remodeled. The Siganos truck was serving Mexican food and the menu offered up a veggie burrito with some sort of fake meat and they even had a vegan option with no cheese so I figured perfect. I got in line and ordered my fake meat (with real cheese) lunch.

They were pumping out the orders pretty efficiently at this place. Order number 6 was a chicken burrito and my order (I was 7) was a chicken flavored meatless burrito. After #6 left they called out another chicken burrito to which no one responded. When they skipped my number and started serving 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 I finally went back to the window and asked them were my order was. They guy behind the window apologized, reached down and grabbed something that was already made and handed it to me. Stoked, I walked away.

Luckily I was hungry and began to unwrap my food as I walked and took a bite. Chicken. The real thing. Something clicked in my brain and I remembered the unclaimed order. I walked back right away.

At first the guy behind the cash register tried to tell me that the fake chicken looked a lot like the real thing but after I handed him my burrito he admitted I was right and apologized. In fact, he was super nice and offered me a free lunch coupon (which I accepted).

Minutes later the guy behind the pick-up window yelled, "Vegan burrito!" and I claimed my food.

As I walked away I again started to unwrap and eat my burrito and discovered that not only was it not vegan (there was cheese in it) but there was also no fake meat. Oh well, this I could deal with and I had a free lunch in my pocket so I left with a smile on my face.

This experience drove home the fact that no meat is not something most people deal with well or even understand. Ditto for the terms 'vegetarian' or vegan'.Just like that waitress in Idaho who thought vegetarian meant just no beef, this guy in the burrito truck really did not understand what the hell it was that I wanted to eat on this day.

And really I don't blame him. It seems to me that the condition of being vegetarian is mostly a consequence of being relatively affluent, having time on your hands or in some cases being devoted to a cause to the point of being a zealot. Back in the day when you had to hunt to survive vegetarian would have equaled starvation. It's only now that we have all these other options that it's really a viable lifestyle. This has got to be why the most affluent country in the world (America) has such an issue with meat. We produce the most, we eat the most and we hate it the most.

No doubt this is the same reason we have more obese people than any other country and we have the most insane diet industry of any other country. One word: progress.

I guess I was not entirely correct with my title, no meat may not appear to be American but it actually is; big time. Just in a messed up way.

Technorati Tags: vegetarian,factory farm,meat

Mary's gone crackers–and it tastes like more.

Ever stumble on a food that just hits the spot?

I do all the time. Then I usually overdo it with wild abandon, grossing myself out and end up swearing it off for a few weeks or months. I guess doing stuff to excess – eating anyway – is in my nature.

The other day I needed to bring a snack to a party and so hit the store on the way and look what I got:

Sticks & Twigs. In a word: yum

In three words: CONTAINS CHIA SEEDS

Funny how you can say pretty much anything and if's done so with affirmation and gusto or contains the words 'natural' or 'organic' or 'whole grain' or 'home cooked' people flock to it. Oh yeah, you can also list all the stuff your food does NOT contain. Because as we all know, deductive logic mandates that if it does not contain one bad ingredient (or better yet two!) it must be good for you... Marketing genius or a sad commentary on our education system? You make the call.

ASIDE – 'home cooked' is about as much of a guarantee of a quality meal as 'hand dipped' is a guarantee of great tasting ice cream. How many people do you know that make absolute shite at home? Likewise, who knows what is in that bucket in the freezer... C'mon people.

Here is all the stuff these sticks and twigs do not contain.

• GMO Grain
• Dairy
• Wheat
• Refined Flour
• Gluten
• Hydrogenated Oils
• Trans Fats
• Nuts

A skeptic might argue that since the label is so exhaustive but says nothing about lead, arsenic, paint, radioactive isotopes or leached aluminum you obviously should not assume anything.

So what is left when you can't use all the stuff that usually makes a baked item tasty? Well, for one there are those Chia seeds. And Millet. And Quinoa and Amaranth. Who even knows that this stuff is? Not me. But it's listed proudly on the bag so it must be delicious. And if you are a woman it gets the gray out and firms the bootie and if you are a man you will last all night long. Totally – you have my word. I mean why would any manufacturer lie?

In spite of all my cynicism this is a damn tasty snack! It took me all of two sittings to drain the bag and if it had been bigger the result would not have been any different.

Lord give me strength for I am weak.

Technorati Tags: Mary's gone crackers,Sticks & Twigs

volunteering at FareStart #2

I had so much fun helping out in the FareStart kitchen back in September that I decided to do it again in November.

As testimony to how popular volunteering at this charity is, I reserved my spot two months in advance and by the time we showed up they were booked through the end of the year. Nice. This time around I didn't go alone and was joined by Dean J, RC R and Jennifer W. Good times.

The chefs wasted no time putting us to work. My first task was...

Sandwich efficiency!

We're talking 50 sandwiches in record time. One slice of bread, meat, lettuce, tomato, the second slice of bread, condiments, apple, carrot sticks, done.

In the mean time Jennifer was tasked with chopping tomatoes. Kitchen efficiency seems to be all about large, mechanical devices. Why use a knife to dice the tomatoes when you can just cut them in half, remove the stem and then use a massive, cast metal contraption to pulverize them?

Jennifer does tomatoes.

Everything here is big. Need to add a pinch of spice? Here is how you do that FareStart style.

Meanwhile RC was getting his hands dirty (figuratively only – see gloves for proof) with some vegetables.

That guy has some work ethic! Just check out the fruits (or vegetables in this case) of his labor.

Of course slicing vegetables is not all RC did. Chef Louis also put him in charge of the salad dressing using what can only be described as some slasher movie prop.

1000 gallons of 1000 island.

This theme was repeated more than once...

Even just sitting there it looked menacing.

He got so good he could do it one-handed. FareStart has obviously tapped into some hidden talents here.

Dean was doing what I started off with last time I was here – slicing bread.

There were a rash of injuries on this day. Not only did I get blisters from slicing bread again – proving irrefutably that I don't have a single blue collar cell in my body – but Dean and Jennifer cut their fingers.

Note phenomenally cool, cloth adhesive bandage. These things are the best I have ever used! They stuck like crazy, are flexible and last. Why can't they sell stuff like this in drug stores?

I must have felt pretty indignant from my injury because when Dean tried to document it, I proceeded to give him a load of crap for not knowing how to operate my camera.

Blister

Speaking of big, mechanical devices, this kitchen is loaded! Here are some of my favorites.

The steamer/fryer/cooker thing.

The crockpot(?). This was fully five feet tall.

Not sure what this was but damn it was big.

They do everything big here at FareStart. Not exactly sure what this was for either but Chef Louis said if I keep coming back he might show me.

In spite of all the injuries, being intimidated by large appliances and tired, sexual innuendo we got our jobs done. Case in point; croutons for everyone.

We call it enchilada, you call it industrial grade calking.

Lunch! I think...

Dinner. I'm pretty positive.

Part of the thrill of working here is you get to eat your own food. And really, they help you cook up quite the lunch buffet as you can see here.

As industrial as the kitchen looks in the hands of skilled FareStart chefs it produces some extremely delicious food. Here is what we sat down to for lunch.

Can you say fresh asparagus, mixed green salad, new potatoes with sautéed mushrooms, various cheeses and a chicken/rice dish? We could.

Thanks to my friends for joining me, to FareStart for allowing this and to the invaluable service they provide.

Here are all the pictures and video.

Technorati Tags: FareStart,Thumbprint Racing

smoothie

Pretty much anything that's smooth Martin loves to shove in his mouth.

I like soft desserts, pudding, ice cream, yogurt, whipped cream, parfaits, custard, eggnog, you get the picture. So it's no wonder that I like smoothies. And no, they are not just for breakfast. Any time I want to chug as many calories as will sustain a third world family for an entire week in a single sitting, I just pull out my blender and go to town.

ASIDE - what a freakin' cash cow industry, eh? Put a lot of shit in a blender, serve it up in a huge cup, make people pay more for some ground up flax seed or a crushed multi-vitamin and laugh all the way to the bank. I should buy some stock… Did I mention covering the cup in labels like "Natural" (what the hell does that really mean anyway?) and "Pure" (does pure heinousness count?) and people flock to your counter.

Smoothies are a breakfast staple of mine at home and I have been asked on occasion what the heck I put in them (and then ridiculed based on my answer by my wife and son) so here goes. Submitted for your approval – not that it matters because this is my blog – here is what Martin blends on a regular basis.

• Two or three pieces of fruit, two of which are usually bananas. Yes, I do remove the seeds if I use an apple or pear, etc. Sheesh…
• One multi-vitamin. Sometimes. I'm not a slave to dietary supplements by any means.
• One scoop of soy protein powder (usually from Trader Joe's 'cuz it's stupid cheap there) as my diet is normally about 90 percent carbs. :( Unless you count the 20 percent that is alcohol or the other 60 percent that is cheese. Anyway, that's about 12 grams of protein to you and me.
• Plain, non-fat yogurt for thickening.
• Non-fat milk for thinning. I know, don't say it. And besides, no liquid at all would not a smoothie make. More of a roughie I guess. Dryie? Scratchie?
• A handful of peanuts. Gotta have 'em.
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter. If some peanuts are good, more are better, right? Besides, these two ingredients have a different texture. The whole nuts provide a crunchy texture and the butter provides the flavor.
• Some kind of grain like oatmeal or musli or granola or maybe some uncooked hot cereal for extra body, calories and that stick-to-your-ribs substance. This is the part that grosses out most people, "You put that uncooked 7-grain cereal in your smoothie?!" Yes I do. My body is my temple and I will desecrate it how I please.
• Frozen berries. This is my latest addition and I LOVE it. It adds some sweetness, loads of flavor, all without a ton of sugar. I usually buy these at Trader Joe's too as they are quite pricy at QFC, etc. unless they are on sale.

I set the blender to pulse and away I go. Nirvana in a 32-36 (or is it 40?) oz serving.

Any guesses as to how many calories this monstrosity contains? I have no idea and have never bothered to add it all up. I do know that if I drink this I have to wait a solid three hours before I go on a hard ride and more if the exercise is going to involve any kind of jumping or impact like running. I do know it weighs about 2 lb. Maybe I should get a clue.

Or I can just continue to enjoy my blended breakfast. And I do; probably 2-3 times per week.

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volunteering at FareStart

Our cycling team has been riding in the name of FareStart ever since it was founded two years ago. As a result, and for the first time that I can recall, I have been really excited about working with a charity. When the opportunity arose to volunteer in the kitchen I jumped at it. It was a blast.

 

FareStart is in downtown Seattle and they have a restaurant, kitchen and offices all at one location.

I walked down from our house and arrived at the south door of FareStart at around 10:15. All you do is buzz the intercom and a chef opens the door and lets you in. You go down these very inauspicious looking stairs to an underground kitchen.

I think I spent about 10 seconds doing nothing and then I had washed my hands, put on an apron, some gloves, a hat and was busy slicing bread.

My job was to fill up a giant tub, so I did. I actually got a blister in the process... Man I am soft.

I love institutional kitchens. There is so much space and equipment and it's all so industrial and big and solid. As I was working I kept pausing to pull my glove off, fish my camera out of my pocket and snap a picture. People kept asking me what I was taking all the pictures for... :)

All around me people were busy preparing food and trying to be as efficient as possible. Sandwiches turned into an assembly line.

Potatoes were cut.

As were oranges.

I got to make the pizza sauce.

Chef Rick and Chef Buck were guiding us throughout the day. Turns out Buck is a graduate of the program and just moved back to Seattle to try and start a life here with his girlfriend. We hit it off (he'd probably hit it off with most anyone to tell you the truth) and chatted throughout the day.

The kitchen was full of BIG stuff. Big bins of spices and dry goods, big utensils like the whisk I'm holding but my favorite big thing was this huge steamer/fryer that we used to sauté onions.

The 'bin' is about 4x4 feet and about 18" deep. Buck poured in some oil, we dumped in all the onions we had cut and when you are done the entire rig pivots on an axis so you can dump/scoop out the contents. This also facilitates cleaning as you can pour in water, scrub the thing and then tip out the water. Into a floor drain of course. Everyone should have a floor drain in their kitchen in my opinion.

Not only did we get to prepare food for shelters, we got to eat our own cooking.

That's right, Martin made the pasta broccoli cheese thingy.

What do you do when you are done cooking? You get to clean up! Big kitchens are big clean up projects... We had to wash all the counters with soapy water AND wipe them with disinfectant. Salmonella be gone! Then we had to break down all the cardboard and tin cans for recycling, sweep and mop the floors and take out the garbage, compost and recycling.

Turns out quite a bit (all?) of the ingredients for the food we made is donated. The bread I was slicing was mostly from the Essential Baking Company. How cool is that. In addition they rely on volunteer help every weekend to get the food prepared. To see a graduate of the program working here was amazing; very rewarding to be a part of this.

Here are all the pictures and video.

Technorati Tags: FareStart,Thumbprint Racing