Tag Archives: bad eating habits

2010 Year In Review

Somehow it is difficult to believe that today is the last day of 2010. Time seems to fly really fast lately. Even though I don’t set up goals, I still like to look back and see what I have achieved over the period of one year. Could I have achieved more if I’d set goals and specific measurements? I don’t know. But what I do know is that I don’t limit myself by goals. There is a certain feeling of freedom and of endless opportunities when there are no measurements set in stone.

More Writing, More Reading, Less TV Watching

I am very pleased with myself because this year I wrote so much more than usual. I wrote five chapters of the book and queried some agents (bad idea! exciting time!). The query of unfinished, unpolished, unwritten novel attracted the attention of a couple prominent agents. Nothing happened after that but I concluded that I can come up with some creative plots, ideas and characters, and, yes, I can write. Not very humble, I know, but hey, two agents wanted to see my chapters.

I wrote a short story and submitted it to more than twenty magazines. It never got published but it was great just to write a complete piece.

A Random Thought (Not A Resolution) for 2011: Keep writing (maybe an e-book this time) and reading!

Blogging

In 2010 I started three blogs and closed them down. After a few blogging debacles, I finally found myself in my current blog. I joined the Yakezie challenge, met quite a few great bloggers and made some friends. My blogging direction emerged, and The Kitchen Sink became a lifestyle blog with emphasis on personal finance. I became a staff writer @Beating Broke. Do I consider all of this an accomplishment? Yes, I do.

The most popular posts of The Kitchen Sink in 2010 (according to the unique page views):

1. Five Reasons To Stop Being Frugal And Get A Life
2. Beware of Men Counting Pennies
3. How A Debtless Aloysa Became Buried in Debt
4. My Life Without Christmas
5. Seperate or Joint? Mine or Yours?

A Random Thought (Not A Resolution) for 2011: Keep blogging, keep supporting my blogger friends and the Yakezie network.

Paying Off Debt

We were able to pay off $13,000 of our debt. This is a huge success because my spending habits are not the best, and we still love to take trips and go on vacation. Could it have been better? Of course. Could it have been worse? Sure. What matters in the end, we did the best we could and paid off a good chunk of debt.

A Random Thought (Not A Resolution) for 2011: Keep paying!

Healthy Food Choices

This year we improved our food shopping habits significantly. In the past we used to run to the store right after work and decide then and there what we were going to eat that night. Now, we do grocery shopping once a week and come prepared. We go to the store with a list of groceries based on a menu that we come up for a week instead of just having a vague idea of what we are going to eat.

We cook more at home, we reduced the number of out take outs from three times a week to once a week. Huge improvement.

A Random Thought (Not A Resolution) for 2011: We do need to reduce our sugar intake, eat a little bit less red meat and a little bit more fish.

Curb Those Shopping Habits

My spending habits are not the best but I was able to keep them under control this year. Most of the time. J The results speak for themselves: paid off a good chunk of debt, saved up for vacation, stayed UNDER budget during Christmas consumerist frenzy. Could have done better but a certain long and simply gorgeous pair of boots threw me off balance. Oh well… we do live only once.

A Random Thought (Not A Resolution) for 2011: Shopping my own closet a little bit more can be very helpful in 2011.

Happy New Year Everyone! Let all you dreams, hopes and wishes come true. Let all your goals and resolutions be achieved. Salute!

Eat Drink Choose

The Holidays are here, and so is overindulging with food, drinks and desserts.  I did some research to make sure I don’t bust my waistline.  It appeared that some of my favorite Holiday extras might derail even the fittest and the healthiest of us.

DIPS.  It was appalling to realize that some dips in one scoop have more fat than 12 (!!!) strips of bacon. What kind of scoops are those, you might wonder. I am not talking about the size of a football field scoops but normal (whatever is normal for you) small size scoops.

Dips to avoid:

– Crab Dip. It is usually mixed with mayo. That said, make sure to keep portions small.

– Brie. I love, love cheese but apparently this cheese has more fat than two jelly donuts. I love jelly donuts, by the way.

– Spinach Artichoke Dip. This is my favorite dip and the worst evil of all dips. It is cheese based dip which makes it a calorie bomb.

If you are like me and have to try everything that is placed in front of you, keep your portions small.

DRINKS. You do know that drinks are usually very caloric? Ounce by ounce they add what I call wasted calories into our bodies. But for some of us the Holiday season without festive drinks doesn’t sound like a Holiday season.

Drinks to avoid:

– Eggnog. Unfortunately it is one of my favorite holiday drinks. Or so it was until I did this research and found out that (depending on the portion) it can contain up to 19 grams of fat. I still love it but in a very tiny glass. I might go with anapple cider this year. It is still festive and doesn’t have any fat.

– Chocolate martini. It tastes good, it looks clear but it packs a lot of calories.

– Mulled wine. When you add sugar, honey and whatever else you want to add, you end up with twice (if not more) amount of calories than traditional wine has. Do you like champagne? Pop the cork then because it only has 80 calories per 4-oz glass.

DESSERTS. If you are a dessert lover, read carefully. If you don’t like desserts, maybe you should reconsider because desserts make our lives so much better.

My research showed that pumpkin pie carries the fewest amounts of calories and fat. This was very disappointing because I don’t eat pumpkin. Apple pie is not a bad choice either if you make your one (emphasis on “one”) slice a very small size. Don’t even think to add ice cream to it unless you are planning to run five miles on the treadmill the next day.

You are probably thinking that there is no good news in the dessert department. Wrong! Lemon Meringue Pie is another good choice for dessert lovers. Its topping is made mostly of egg whites and that is what makes it somewhat light and affordable calorie wise.

Desserts to avoid:

– Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. It sounds good, tastes heavenly but has so many calories that I am afraid even to think about one little bite. Forget it.

– Pecan Pie. I used to love this pie. But it is pretty sweet and heavy. It is probably a better option than Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie but not by much. I might have a bite of it but no more.

– Sugar cookies. They are sweet. They are small. They look innocent. But don’t you succumb to their looks. Think about all the butter that was used to make them. I bet if you can visualize it, you will stay away from sugar cookies for the rest of your life.

It is not all that bad. I did not want to scare you away from dips, drinks and desserts. It is all about making a choice. So, choose wisely and have a great time!