Creative solutions...

I have a talent.  It is a talent for solving problems.  Solving problems in a totally convoluted, ridiculous manner! 

So here was my problem:  I enjoy relaxing after all the day's work is done (okay, okay, at least the dishes are done) with a glass of wine.  Not a problem.  Unfortunately, with the temperatures the way they are, it is downright warm in the evening.  And since I am too stingy to run the AC enough to keep the inside temperature lower than 85 during the day--my red wine gets too warm.  Sadly, I have this affliction of the brain where when I eat or drink something that is unsatisfying I decide that the best way to fix it is to have MORE (as in ANOTHER glass of wine--seriously!?!?!?)  Now, let's count the EASY ways I could fix this problem, starting with 1)  Don't drink red wine in the middle of the summer. 

BAH, who needs an easy fix?  I had other problems to solve too.

The second problem:  I live in the boonies of So Cal (really, they do exist--I can hear cows mooing in my backyard--of course they belong to the FFA at the high school--but hey, the high school has an FFA).  That means I am blessed/cursed with a backyard full of fruit producing trees.  I have nothing against citrus, but I really can't manage more than a couple of oranges a week (I'm an apple, banana and blueberry kind of girl), I don't drink OJ or lemonade, and there are limited low cal ways to use lemons.  I also have this kooky little pear-apple tree.  These fruits have a nice crunch but not a whole lot of flavor.  They are ripe right now.  As an unemployed, coupon challenged grocery shopper--I keep thinking that I really should take better advantage of the free fruit in my backyard rather than letting it go to waste.  (I also spend a LOT of time picking up rotten fruit--which is not bad exercise BTW.) 

And so that brings me to a blog post from can you stay for dinner?  It was about healthy evening snack choices.  Strangely enough it did not include red wine (or any alcohol--imagine that).  The last thing on her list was:  Fruit and _________.  Such a simple, yet powerful way of eating--I try hard to focus all my eating on the concept of centering around either fruits or vegetables dressed up with small correctly sized portions of protein and fat and high fiber carbs.  But it had never occurred to me to apply that principle to my after dinner drink. 

All these ideas finally came together to produce a nice cheater's sangria.  I chopped up a couple of the pear-apples and an orange (into fairly large sized chunks since I knew I'd prob end up eating them with my fingers).  Stuffed them into a couple of wide mouth jars (pint-ish).  This left just enough room for 4-5 oz of wine and about an ounce of sweet rum.  Then I tossed the jars in the fridge.  After the kitchen was cleaned last night, I was able to  settle back in my chair with a GIANT size glass of my fruit and wine which I poured over ice and topped with some sparkling water.  It took me forever to drink.  And those pear-apples--absolutely divine.  Warning, if you attempt this at home, I did need a straw to drink it with and a paper towel for my fingers (thankfully my chair is red leather). 

Just in case you are still reading--sorry to be so long winded, but that is me--I was up a pound at weigh in Wednesday.  I'm okay with that since I just got back from vacation.  I did actually track for about 5 of the 9 days we were away.  I really only disappointed myself with 3 situations.  The first was a day that I spent painting outdoors.  I let myself get dehydrated AND was so exhausted that I ate food that I'd usually avoid (crazy flavored potato chips to be exact) or at least measure out.  I worked my butt off that day, so I'm sure the calories didn't matter, but it was still a learning experience.  If you are too tired to measure it but you know you should, you probably shouldn't eat it.  The second situation was one where I had consciously decided that I was going to save up enough calories to get myself a box of Junior Mints when we went to the movies.  I was DONE after about a serving and a half--but I was sitting there with an open box and a whole bunch of movie left.  So, I ate the rest of them.  Yuck.  Lesson there, don't overindulge just because you are treating yourself.  In a similar vein, the third issue involved eating a big portion of ice cream.  As I was finishing it up I realized that I had probably stopped being able to taste it several bites prior.  Dang clean plate mentality. 

I like to learn something new everyday--but it seems that I get to re-learn something old everyday too.  Wonder what it will be today?