Smooth Operator

I've been drinking a lot of smoothies these days. It took me a long time to fully appreciate them. I had heard that they're a great breakfast idea because they are easy to digest and can pack a Vita-C punch first thing in the morning. I think I was hesitant because I really enjoy chewing, but when I got the braces on, chewing became unappealing. Anyway, I've had some Vega Shake 'N' Go powder in the cupboard since last year. I bought it before my first round of P90X thinking I'd have it after workouts instead of their pricey recovery drink. When I first tried it, I was like "blech." It kind of tastes like stevia and chalk by itself. But after I started incorporating it into smoothies with fruits and non-dairy milks, I began to really dig it.

Anyway, for posterity, here are my two favorite smoothie recipes. Roughly.

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

1 cup non-dairy milk (I like unsweetened soy here)

Espresso powder (1tsp) OR 1/2 cup cold coffee

1 Tbsp Vanilla Almondilla Vega Shake N Go

1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks

1/2 cup unsweetened soy yogurt

3/4 - 1 cup non-dairy milk (I like vanilla hemp milk here)

1/2 cup (or enough to thin it out) coconut water

1 Tbsp Vanilla Almondilla

I've been trying to cut down my caffeine intake (coffee), and I can honestly say that these smoothies generally keep me pretty energized. I do get hungry earlier than I did when I ate oatmeal regularly, but for the sake of keeping my metabolism up, I think it's wise to have a smoothie and then a small snack rather than eating a huge dense bowl of oatmeal and then waiting another 4-5 hours to eat again.

Over the last year, I've been pushing pretty hard on the fitness end of the health scale. I assumed that was enough-- that I could continue to eat like I had and I'd magically become all fit and sexy. When that didn't happen, I got kind of discouraged. Since I started P90X2 (December 28ish?), I've been chiseling away at my diet and seen better results. I don't claim to be perfect, but I feel pretty good about the state of things.

And because I am a narcissist, here are my guns.

Three week update

I've had the old brackets and wire for just over three weeks now. In spite of the literature in the handout (nothing hard, sticky, or sweet), I've been eating pretty much what I want... which includes liberal amounts of chocolatey substances and nuts.

Which is probably why my teeth hurt today.

I had some raw broccoli for lunch that I had to cut into itty bitty pieces. I'm not a fan of eating around other people. Makes me self conscious. Anyway, the front left side of my top set of chompers is pretty tender. And I thought the only time there would be discomfort was after an archwire adjustment?

Speaking of which, I have my first adjustment in 3 weeks. I know the teeth are moving, although they don't really look that much different. I guess is to be expected.

Day 2

Or is it Day 1 still? I technically have not had these things on my teeth for a full 24 hours yet. Sleeping with them was fine. I sleep like a champ anyway, so my only concern was waking up with ripped up gums.

The worst problem I am coping with now is that my mouth feels dry when I talk and I make that gross dry-mouth sound. Also, my gums are, indeed, ripped up. I had a tooth filled on Tuesday and it's definitely more tender now than it was before.

Oh, and I can't chew. I can't chew at all. Any foods I put in my mouth need to be soft enough to either immediately swallow or mash against the roof of my mouth with my tongue. I'm not sure how long this will be a problem.

The verdict so far: tolerable but not pleasant.

BB: Before Braces

Back in October, I made an appointment with the dental school faculty practice to get an estimate on how long and how much braces would be for me. Turns out, quite long and quite expensive. It's something I've wanted to do for most of my life and I keep getting older and my teeth keep getting more crooked, so it seemed like it was probably now or never.

Fast forward a few months to Groundhog Day 2012. I'm eating popcorn and a crunchy granola bar for breakfast. For lunch, I'm having my favorite samosas and chutney. These will be my last 2 means sans-braces.

The estimated time is 2 years, although I am expecting longer. The estimated cost? Almost as much as I paid for my car 7 years ago. Will I keep up with this blog to document my progress? Doubtfully. But, I thought it would be nice to capture my last day of crooked-ass-hillbilly-teeth.

White Rice

I've been pretty ill for the past week, so I've been eating a lot of white rice, mashed potatoes, and other such plain tasting foods. Today, I decided to go a little crazy and have a breakfast sandwich. I'm sure I will know shortly if that was a bad idea.

One of my favorite sandwiches is Gimme Lean "sausage" patty + daiya + onions + jelly. I know the jelly sounds odd, but it's sweet and unexpected and delightful! I actually contemplated slicing up some apples to put on my sandwich this morning, but opted for blueberry butter instead. This photo is from the summer when I was going crazy for grape jelly. I must have had some spinach on hand, too!

Nate's birthday party - August 2010

Everyone likes a peanut butter cupcake with chocolate frosting. Even more popular are mustaches on sticks!

Naturally, the Charlie Chaplin 'stache was made specifically for me, and the big rectangular Groucho 'stache was made with Nate in mind.

Something recent!

For the past month, everything has found its way into everything: pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin french toast. Last weekend was my favorite of the pumpkin treats: pumpkin cinnamon rolls!

This was seriously the best recipe for cinnamon rolls I've used in a long time. In fact, before I found this recipe, I was convinced that my cinnamon rolls would always just be dried out and kind of flavorless. But, this recipe really delivers on a nice chewy roll with a kick of pumpkin spice and a perfectly blended gooey center. You can find it here.

Unfrosted & Frosted!

I met a friend that morning for coffee and I brought him a couple of these. Otherwise, I would have just eaten the whole pan myself. Anyway, he kept saying "there are really good!" So, it isn't just my opinion. Two of us agree, so it must be fact.