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Friday, October 15, 2010

Formspring: health and beauty

On formspring people have asked questions.  The first involved when mouse had the facial injury and how she covered it, if family saw it and how did she explain it.  Well, thankfully none of the people I work with, or the family noticed it.  Lancome cosmetics makes a great concealer, and that helped covering the bruise.  Puffiness was controlled by ice, and regular make-up was applied as needed.  Also I'm lucky enough not bruise very easily and they don't seem to last long, so the whole event only lasted about  a week.  However Omega did photograph it as a reminder of what can occasionally go wrong.  


Heatherone asked a different question: 


"What advice would you give to a new submissive to get in shape/loose weight for her Sir/Master?"


This is such a difficult question to answer, believe it or not.  One of Omega's most important rules is that is if mouse isn't healthy she can't serve her Master well.  It sounds soooo simple doesn't it? Sounds easy...well it's not that easy.  I have learned or adapted to make heathy choices based on what I already eat (which wasn't horrible but also didn't help).  The only things I buy that are "low fat" are dairy products.  Whenever possible I'll swap a low fat or fat free even cheese for a regular one.  Fat free doesn't mean calorie free or mean that I can eat as much as I want.  My big issue was portion size.  I grew up in the 70s, a time of casseroles made from cream of chicken soup and Swanson's TV Dinners.  Half the family was Italian, the other half Irish and both families were originally from the mid-west home of meat and potatoes.  Sunday meals were more like Thanksgiving.  

This wasn't an issue when I was a kid, because I was active (like all the kids growing up at that time, before cable TV and video games...the dark ages).  The problem was my career of choice isn't that active, in fact demands that I sit behind a desk for hours collating and analyzing data.  


Best advice I could give is tell you to sign up on spark people (it's free).  Start tracking what you eat and drink for a couple weeks and then start making small changes.  Like give up sodas during the week, or whatever your biggest issue is.  Try to cook as much at home as possible and not eat out (it's cheaper).  Drink plenty of water and get plenty of exercise.  


Find a diet buddy to talk to or complain to....Never ever go to the store without a list or without eating something first.  Plan your meals for the week in advance and buy those things you need.  


Bake your own muffins...cookies and anything else.  Find ways of cutting calories without giving up taste.  When they say don't diet..it's really true.  


Additionally Heatherone asked another question about menu planning, which follows nicely with the previous one:



How do you come up with a different menu each week? Do you have standard recipes you rotate in over the course of the month? I've ask Isabelle this question also, as I pull out my recipe books and then just stare at them. Never coming up with a menu.

I have tons of cookbooks, but honestly I'll find most of my recipes online.  I'll print them off and make them, see how it goes and make my own notes (like if I swap lower fat cheese or something).  Sometimes I'll start by looking at what I have on hand and make a menu around that item (recently I realized that I had lots of pasta on hand, so for the next few weeks I'm incorporating a pasta night).  If a meal really works (meaning I get raves) then I'll put a mark on the recipe and keep it in a folder.  If the meal falls flat then I won't be trying that recipe again. 


I also tend to throw a bunch of stuff I have on hand together at the last minute, sometimes it comes off wonderfully and other times...eh.  If it works I do write down what I did so I can reproduce it.  


So, how it begins is with me looking through hundreds of recipes (I'm also a cooking show junky), and I start putting together menu items together.  Sides that will go well with the main dish.  Of course I have my go-to sides as well, those are the sides that go well with everything.  LIke zucchini tossed with olive oil, a little red pepper flakes, garlic and lemon zest.  Another side I'll make is with shallots, garlic, balsamic vinegar, toasted slivered almonds, red chard.  


Thanks again for asking such great questions!


Hugs,
mouse

7 comments:

Alujna said...

OMG mouse, you're making me jealous with your cooking skills!

mouse said...

Thanks Alujna but I'm not that talented.

sometimes I hit the mark and other times I fall waaaaaay far away from it. LOL

Oh and before Omega says it....I don't do chicken well (always ends up a bit dry).

Hugs,
mouse

Heather1 said...

Mouse, don't you know that's what cream of mushroom soup is for - dry chicken. LOL

Thank you for answering my questions. I too have one of those jobs that I sit all day and over the years I've put on the weight. I'm trying to loose it and get active again. You and Isabelle are very inspiring.

Hugs,
heather1

Jz said...

I had to giggle a bit at the thought of me trying to hide a facial bruise. I just about never wear makeup and I only own eyeliner and a lip pencil. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't cover up without a special shopping trips first.
Fortunately, however, I am such a klutz, I could just say, "I tripped" and no one would be at all surprised or doubtful. :-)

(With ya on the chicken. I only cook chicken tenders these days. For some reason, I can gauge the timing on those much better...)

ronnie said...

Have some catching up to do Mouse. Some good questions. Great printing off recipes and only keeping the ones that go down well.

Love,
Ronnie
xx

turiya said...

Hmmm... I've honestly never had issues with cooking chicken. My mom always did, though. I have no idea what I'm doing differently or I'd help you out there. Although, if you're talking about a whole chicken and your using one of those roasting stands where all the fat can drip out, that could be the problem, though. I've heard you literally have to baste like every 10 minutes throughout the cooking process with those things.

My mom used one of those once and the chicken tasted like cardboard (we ended up ordering pizza). So I tend to do it the old fashioned way in a roasting pot with some water in the bottom... covered until about the last half hour and the basted every 10 minutes until it's golden brown. It always comes out perfect that way... loaded with fat? Sure... but it tastes soooooooooo damn good. I don't make roasted chicken often, though. I actually prefer to stir fry most of our food. Cooks quickly and in the long run is a lot healthier cause you can trim off all the fat before cooking, and especially with chicken, it's moister because it cooks faster.

Now pork chops and lamb chops... and just about any chops... those always come out dry and bland tasting for me. Haven't been able to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Thankfully Asha is not big on chops... of course that could be because his mom (and now me) really suck at cooking them. LOL

Maybe we should exchange some chicken and chop recipes. I made a really nice chicken and veggie salad the other day that tasted awesome. Even Asha ate it and he's not very fond of veggies.

*hugs*

turiya

mouse said...

Heather1......LMAO at the mushroom soup...should have thought of that! Aww and thanks for the compliment.

Jz...well as far as being a klutz, mouse has had her share of bumps or bruises for that reason! LOL Once she got nailed at work with a door knob, bending over to pick something up and her admin assistant came in...whack!...

Ronnie...the printing of recipes works well!

Turiya, whole chickens aren't really the issue (normally before cooking whole poultry mouse brines it first), but the problem is with chicken breasts...yanno those boneless, skinless ones...that go from being raw to over done in a minute.

Lamb chops have to be cooked rare, so mouse has no problem with those. Shanks can be braised so again no problem there...Pork chops, are always brined, as are pork ribs...You gotta do the brine...OMG they come out beautiful time and again.

And as always if you have any tried and true recipes...please pass them along!


Hugs,
mouse