Day 74 - The Grill Pan!

My wife made this incredible investment and bought this grill pan about a month or so ago. It's basically a 100% iron (I think) pan that you can use on your stove top. Here's the breakdown:

The Good:
- Veggies grilled on this (with absolutely no seasoning whatsoever) are AMAZING. Don't ask me why or how, but grilling on this thing somehow brings out the natural sweetness and aroma of any veggie. Steaming/boiling/frying/sauteing doesn't even come close. I came home one night and there was just this amazing aroma coming from the kitchen. It smelled like she was making a stew or something. Come to find out, all my wife was doing was grilling carrots. Just carrots!
- The only thing you need to add is a touch of oil (we use olive oil). However the oil is needed just to keep the pan "oiled" so whatever you are cooking on it doesn't stick to it. As you can see from the ridges, there is minimal contact between the pan and whatever you put on it, so I think the actual oil that gets onto the food is pretty minimal.
- The pan itself was about JPY 3,000, which is about USD 30. I'm sure you can find it for cheaper outside of Japan, but considering what it does, I think it's a great inexpensive investment.

The Bad:
- It's not as straightforward to use as you would think. I guess because it is iron, you have to bring the heat up very gradually before you can start grilling veggies on it. We place the grill pan on the stove top and turn on the stove at it's lowest heat first. After 2 min or so when we can tell the pan is warmed up, we'll turn the stove up to the next setting. Another 2 min and then the next setting. And so on until we get to the number 4 setting on our stove. It's not difficult, but it takes time and patience.
- Upkeep takes time also. To clean it, you have to wait until it's completely cooled down. Then you soak it in warm water and use a brush to take off anything that got stuck on it (absolutely no cleaners or liquid soap, just warm water and a brush). Once that's done, you have to wipe it down and wait until it's completely dry. Then you'll want to oil it (with a piece of kitchen paper and whatever oil you use to cook) to keep it in good condition and ready for the next time you will use it.

Overall I would say if you have the time and don't mind the extra effort it takes, I would highly recommend trying the grill pan for your veggies. Without using any seasonings whatsoever (and only a minimal amount of olive oil), you will have incredible tasting veggies prepared in a very healthy manner! Below is a pic of the grill pan in action!

Day 67

It's so funny, it seems like the program is going by so quickly - I mean it's Day 67 of 90 already and in one sense I feel like the remaining 20-some odd days are not enough to get where I want to be. I mean physically speaking I am happy with the energy and focus living a healthy lifestyle brings. Some of the habits I have built around enjoying basic foods simply prepared and jumproping daily are habits I know will continue with me well beyond Day 90. However there are some things that I am still working on: being voluntarily automatic about doing jumproping/cardio first thing in the morning is one thing (I'm pretty consistent with it, but sometimes I really have to battle myself to get my lazy ass out of bed). Another thing is my stomach: the six pack is a nice-to-have that I would like to achieve eventually, however I mainly just wanted a flat stomach by Day 90. It's funny because the upper part of my stomach is starting to show my abs, but the bottom part still has a pretty good layer of fat there... Stuff like this really strengthens my resolve to finish the program up strong so whether or not I achieve these things, at least I can say that I gave it my all.

That's what my mind is saying. My body however, is very conscious of the fact that we have been going through this very challenging program for just over 2 months now, and sometimes its telling me that we are running out of steam. I have also been experiencing the grumpiness/aggression that others have been blogging about (I think mostly because of the food volume restrictions in Month 2) - this is something very unusual for me as I am normally a very mild-mannered person. I've also been having misc aches and pains recently, like a tendon in my right ankle and my left shin. Usually these will go away if I rest for a day or two, but resting a day or two means that many less jumprope sessions or leg sessions, so I am trying to strike the balance between doing the exercise and knowing when not to.

Anyways, enough about that, how about some food pictures! Up until about 2 weeks ago, I would bring my breakfast to work at eat at my desk (along with lunch and dinner). However recently as I have been trying to do my jumprope in the morning, I'm also trying to eat breakfast at home so I don't have to bring so much to work (and not spend as much time there either :))

Here is one hard boiled egg, steamed carrots, celery, and spinich over rice, and a green tea latte (lowfat milk, matcha powder, and a touch of honey). I find eating breakfast at home after jumproping is a nice calming moment for me during the busy week!

Now here is a breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday when my wife and I can leisurely have breakfast together: hard boiled egg with grilled broccoli and eggplant and paella. My wife found a great way to grill veggies that I will blog about next time ;)

The indulgence arrives in the nick of time

Probably had one of my busiest weeks at work this past week since starting the PCP. Month-end work plus a key project milestone equalled a very long and draining week. Missed one jumprope session and one exercise session, but otherwise stuck to the diet throughout the week. Once we got the go-ahead from Patrick on the indulgence, it really couldn't have come a second too soon for me. My friends were planning dinner/drinks for Friday, so I thought this would be the perfect way to end the week!

We went to this place called Billy's in Ebisu, where they have an excellent selection of international beers (and underrated food as well). Instead of planning on eating one dish (or meal) as my indulgence, I just decided to go to Billy's and be sensible, yet not go overboard. On the food front, I thought I accomplished what I wanted to. I naturally gravitated away from the fried foods that I used to partake in and ate mostly veggies (veggie sticks, avocado/tomato salad) and protein (chicken - buffalo wings-style) with a slice or two of tomato/basil pizza. Aside from the salt content, I think it was mostly PCP-friendly. The cool thing is that I didn't feel restricted or anything, I just gravitated towards what I wanted, and it felt satisfying to eat out as a treat.

Now on the drink front, things didn't go as planned. I planned on having only one beer, but I ended up having three:

Pipeline: Hawaiian beer (porter) made with 100% Hawaiian Kona Coffee (didn't really taste like coffee, but a very satisfying dark beer)

Viru: A light, easy to drink Estonian beer with a nice clean wheat flavor

Hoegarden: on tap, always good!

Funny enough, I wasn't affected by the alcohol as much as I usually am. And the next day wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (felt kinda sluggish - low energy, but no stomach problems). I guess it was just the fact that I was planning on having only one beer and I ended up having three that bugs me. One of my goals through PCP is to get to the point where I naturally gravitate towards healthier options, not because I feel I have to, but because I want to. On the food side, I think I am making good progress. On the alcohol side, I think I still have a bit to go. On the plus side though, the indulgence experience on the whole was a planned event, so in that respect things went okay.