I have always been and will always be a fat kid at heart, regardless of my fluctuating weight between periods of health-consciousness and giving less than a shit about what I put into my body. It has been said that the key to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and I can tell you, truer words have never been spoken. In this section of my blog, I will write about some of my favorite foods, places to eat, beers and breweries, awesome meals that I’ve had, and maybe even a recipe here or there. Fellow foodies rejoice, for I am here to tantalize your taste buds!
Foodies, rejoice! In honor of my abiding love of chicken wings, I am starting a new series here at The No Seatbelt Blog that will present some of my favorite places in New Jersey to eat a plateful of saucy, crispy morsels of joy. Get your wet wipes ready because it’s time to get messy. Continue reading
The confluence of popular demand and fandom can be an inscrutably powerful thing. When two such forces come together, the decision-makers act, and the loyal get what they want. Anybody who grew up in the 1990’s and was even remotely nerdy remembers drinking and loving Ecto Cooler, the Ghostbusters-themed citrus drink made by the juice company Hi-C. The green-colored mixture of water and high-fructose corn syrup came in those ever-so-convenient juice boxes that you could throw in your lunch box, as well as in those large, not-so-convenient cans , the tops of which you had to puncture with one of those old-timey can openers. Continue reading
As of this past Sunday night, Jenn and I made it to the end of our time on the 21-Day Fix and this will be the final update on our journey. We’ve experienced a great amount of success over a relatively short period of time. We’ve had some truly great meals that we will continue to make in the future, and I quickly became much less of a picky eater. I generally only like onions if they’re battered and deep-fried, and I’ve always harbored an unreasonably disdain for red and green peppers. That all changed with the 21-Day Fix, as both of those vegetables were incorporated into a significant number of the meals that we ate, and I, at best enjoyed them, and at worst simply didn’t mind them. This diet helped me become more open to trying new things, helped me deal with temptation and my usual lack of will power when it comes to food. Continue reading
The second week of The 21-Day Fix has come and gone, and the success continues. I lost another 4.8 pounds, and Jenn lost another 3, bringing our totals to 11 and 9, respectively. This week, I did get in some exercise by taking Stella the dog for some walks around the neighborhood, and with a good three or four hours of yardwork on Saturday. Even with that, I didn’t know what to expect when I stepped back on the scale. You always hear those stories about any given diet, where the person in question loses a good amount of weight the first week, and even when that person continues to do everything “right”, the weight loss drops precipitously or comes to a screeching halt altogether. Continue reading
The first week of the 21-Day Fix has been interesting, to say the least. There are aspects of the diet plan that are not as bad as I thought they were going to be, but in other ways, it’s a trial of willpower that I’m not quite used to. I won’t be providing a daily journal here, as that would be tedious for me and likely boring for you, but I’ll give you an overall view of what I’ve gone through so far. There were some struggles (all of which were mental), some success, and some surprisingly good meals (some of which I’ll describe and provide pictures for). Perhaps the hardest part for me so far has been satisfying my raging sweet tooth, which I’ve had to do with fruit alone thus far. One of my favorite things in the world is gummies of all sorts, and up to this point, a bag of them came to work with me several times a week to get me through the day. Continue reading
As of yesterday, Jenn and I embarked on a diet plan called The 21-Day Fix, in conjunction with the well-known Shakeology program. Founded upon the concepts of clean eating and portion control, the three-week program includes flavored shakes that are packed with essential nutrients, an extensive cookbook full of seemingly delicious meals, and exercise DVDs. To make portion control easy, the subscription kit comes with a collection of color-coded containers for the rationing of your daily allowances of proteins, fruits, vegetables, starches, and healthy fats. Based on your starting weight, you’ll be assigned a daily calorie intake, which corresponds to a certain number of each type of container. All of the food you eat has to fit neatly within each container, and the recipes are specially designed to ensure this. Continue reading
Hey, faithful readers! I would like to share a quick and easy recipe with you that has become one of my favorites. My fiancé Jenn and I have been making this healthier version of a cold taco dip for years, and it’s a sure-fire hit every time we bring it to a party, barbecue, or other bring-your-own appetizer gathering that we attend. You can find many different versions of this dip out there on the Web, but here, I’ll give you the basics and you can tweak it to your liking. What you’ll need is… Continue reading
One of my favorite foods in the world is the mighty buffalo wing, and I am always on the lookout for great wings wherever I go to eat. The best wing is meaty, grilled or fried to a crispy perfection, and loaded with a spicy sauce of your choice. The main problem with many joints that simply serve wings as appetizers and don’t specialize in them is that they typically bring out tiny, skimpy wings that are cooked for a few minutes and have already gotten soggy by the time they reach your table. I have had many disappointing wings in my time, but I have learned where to go for a sure-fire hit every time. Here, I will share my five favorite places to go for wings, with those proud chicken-slingers being judged on the size and texture of their wings, as well as taste and choice of sauces. Of the five eateries, three are local places at the Jersey shore, and the other two are chain restaurants. Without further ado, I give you my Top 5 wing havens! Continue reading
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