Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The Funeral

So last night, Claire and I drove to Shawano, Wisconsin to say goodbye to my cousin Michael, who died last week.  I haven't seen Michael since I was a kid and when we were looking at pictures of him, I pointed out the Michael I remembered.  It was hard to see him in the casket, but I'm glad we went.

Both Claire and I noted that while Michael had health problems unrelated to his weight, he was still obese and that surely didn't make things any easier.  He was 40 when he died and I'd like to live at least twice that. 

So I don't know how I'm going to get there yet, but I know I'm going to get there.  I'm going to be active, healthy, and happy for a good, long time yet. 

We spent a long time in the car today and stopped at an Applebee's for dinner.  I got a bruscetta salad and it arrived looking like this.

Those brown things are some kind of fried mozzarella balls or cheese curds or something very anti-salad.  While I couldn't resist all of them I only had two or three.  Did I get these with this salad because I was in Wisconsin or because Applebee's always tries to sabotage dieters?

6 comments:

  1. I got that once too... I was very surprised when they weren't croutons.

    Glad you made it to and from the funeral safely... and that it reinforced your need to fight evil! I mean fat. Yeah... Fight fat!!! with the powers of fitness!

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  2. so I mean this in a non-snarky way. Doesn't the menu list what comes on and with the salad? or was it just a surprise. I ask this because it's on the plate and usually they list major items in case people have allergies. I might be wrong about this dish but I think at restaurants you HAVE to read the menu very carefully. Sometimes salads are more calories than say a burger depending on what is in it. Did you check that book recommendation?

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    Replies
    1. So I don't mean this response in a snarky way, but I think Andrew would have looked more closely at he menu if he hadn't been on his way home from his cousins FUNERAL.

      He had the willpower to choose a salad rather than something fatty. And THEN when he realized the salad had some unhealthy items, he didn't eat them all - he had only 2.

      I think instead, he should be congratulated for choosing a healthy dish, and then making it healthier than as it was prepared.

      Good Job, Andrew!

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  3. I HATE when restaurants add junk to an otherwise healthy meal! I also can't really understand why anyone who intends to order and enjoy deep fried mozzerrella would be ordering a salad in the first place. Are there people clueless enough to think they ate healthy after eating a salad smothered in ranch dressing, or with deep fried cheese chunks?

    Congrats on limiting it to 2 or 3. I'd have had to throw them under the table immediately and step on them to stop the very nagging thought of them being there, so close, so scrumptious, at my table....next to my pitiful salad. Ugh!!

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  4. Salads like that frustrate me. It's like the restaurant wants you to think, "Hey! I'm making a healthy choice! Yay me!" But then they sneakily throw a bunch of not-so-healthy things in it, too. Ugh.

    Good for you, though, showing those cheese curds/mozzarella nubs who's boss!

    Also, so sorry to hear about your cousin! 2012 has been off to a very rough start for a lot of people in that way, it seems (me included). Hope things start to get better for you soon!!

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  5. I agree that Applebee's is one of the worst things for anyone trying to lose weight. The sodium content alone is horrible and makes me feel bloated for days after. The boyfriend and I have sworn the place off. Another interesting thing I found out is that in a large number of their Weight Watcher's 550 cal meals, that 550 cals only counts the protein and not the plate as a whole most of the time. Although that may not be a huge issues if ordering steamed veg etc, I think it's very deceiving.

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