From the Cheap-Hotel-On-The-Road Files: 2 bad hotel Decaf Coffees with Half-and-half ....

.... and an ingenious microwaved Scrambled Eggs with Manchego Cheese and Half-and-half.

Skinny Bride Mission Recipe: Microwave 2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites, 1oz manchego cheese and 2 Tbs half-and-half for 2 minutes. Scramble with a fork and gobble up.

1 Cheesestick.

4oz dirty processed Turkey, (don't do this brand! It tastes like chemically-enhanced ham. So wrong). 1 oz Manchego Cheese, half an Organic Red Bell Pepper and 1/4 Avocado.

All of this was on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere. We took the backstreets cycling from Napa and Sanoma and ended up cycling for about 3 hours.

Sanoma was such a cute town. We stopped into The Girl and the Fig for an Organic Earl Grey Tea with Cream (me) and a beer (Dave).

Another half a White Grapefruit from yesterday's winery.

We attempted to return our bikes in Sanoma and find a bus back to Napa, but they don't exist. So to ensure I had the energy to ride back, I shared a Dark Toblerone with Dave.

Now you may be wondering why I'm apparently falling off the wagon with caffeine and chocolate again so soon? 

Well something amaaaazing happened yesterday ....

.... We were cycling through the Napa Valley and ended up in Yountville: home of the famous sister restaurant of Per Se in NYC: The French Laundry. This place is so high end and so popular you have to book 2 months in advance to get a table. It's also extremely posh with a dress-code involving thousand dollar suits.

I was a disheveled mess. I'd cycled in the sun for 5 hours, drunken wine, been through a sugar crash and back again, but for some reason I had the balls to match into the foyer of The French Laundry with my grease-stained legs and sweaty top. I beautiful man in a pristine suit came to greet me. I asked him, as a long shot, whether there'd been any cancellations for the next 3 days. I also told him I'd been to Per Se last year and it was the highlight of my life.

His ears pricked up, and suddenly he found a space at 9pm the following night. Unbelievable! We had to rush out and buy Dave some $30 black shoes and he'll borrow a suit jacket from the restaurant, but we are golden tonight!

Anyway, the diet is on hold, and the real issue will be staying awake to finish our meal. Especially since we're running on East Coast time, (3 hours behind California). By the time we sit down to eat it'll be midnight in NYC.

Bring on the caffeine and chocolate!

I had a 2% Fage and 1/4 cup Cacao Nibs + 1/4 cup Coconut Flakes to tie me over until The French Laundry late dinner tonight.

Our reservation at The French Laundry wasn't until 9pm. By 7pm I was tired and hungry, so we stopped into a cafe and I had a Coffee with 1/2 cup of Cream ....

.... and half a plate of Steamed Vegetables with Butter.

And The French Laundry Experience begins .... I forgot to take a picture of the amuse bouche. It was a delicious salmon and creme friache cone.

Dave went the Vegetarian Degustation and I chose the Chef's Tasting menu. We shared everything that follows ....

This is the Burnt Lemon Granita.

"Oysters and Pearls".

Gluten-free Brioche. Yummm! So springy and good. I had 2 and a half of these little scrumptious puffy balls of joy.

Halibut in Onion Risotto.

Pink Grapefruit and Celery with Baby Radish.

Stinging Nettle Omelette.

White Asparagus and White Truffles.

Baby Turnips with Compressed Pear.

Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster Tail.

Something yummy with Chicken and Double Bacon.

Elysian Fields Farm Lamb.

Cacao Nibs with Onions and Turnips.

Felafel.

Cow Cheese, Olive Paint and a sweet Salsa.

As difficult as it was, I faced the scale, the calorie counter and this blog for the past 2 days. I've done so much damage it's not even funny. 

It's all due to stress.

Today is a new day. Napa is the most beautiful, relaxing place on earth and my focus for the next 3 days is R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N.

Thanks to the West coast - East Coast time difference, I was up at 6am this morning. 

I ate 1 String Cheese Stick and went for a walk into the main town center of Napa.

A 100g can of Salmon, 10 Raw Pecans and 1/2 Tbs Raw Organic Cacao Nibs.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The continental breakfast served by our hotel consisted of Fruit Loops, Bananas, Apple Danish, OJ and Coffee.

There's nothing for a good half hour walk round here.

I dipped into my hiking stash for a yummy but small breakfast.

A cup of Wild Sweet Orange Tea ....

.... and a Decaf Coffee with a tiny tiny splash of Skim Milk. 

I had 2 more Cheesesticks whilst cycling through Napa Valley.

We stopped at a few wineries and tasted some wines. I had very little but ended up with a headache in a heat of the day. Alcohol and me really don't mix.

Some more wine. We tipped most of it out.

All in all I'd estimate I drank about half a glass in total.

More wine. Bleeerk. 

We scored some White Grapefruit from a lovely winery owner. Lunch was too far away so Dave and I split a grapefruit on the side of the road.

I was desperate for anything to list my brain fog.

We left lunch far too late. My blood sugar had dropped and I was exhausted. But nobody told us the Napa Wineries don't come with restaurants. We had to cycle for hours to find a grill, but when we got there it was worth it.

Check out this Rib-Eye Steak I ordered! I ate half and gave the rest to Dave.

After lunch I had a Decaf Coffee with Half-and-Half.

Manchego Cheese, about 1oz, on the side of the road.

The good thing about Napa is the quality of cheeses here. Yummo!

A few slices of dirty nitrate-ridden Turkey. (Organic Applegate Farms Deli meats don't seem to exist in California). 

I was about to pass out during the last leg of the trip. We'd cycled for a total of 6 hours all day, up and down hills and all in the sun.

I devoured another small Grapefruit half for a bit of energy to get me home.

No wonder I felt that way. It turns out I burned far more calories than I ate today.

Woo-hoo! Back on track, (despite the alcohol and fruit). Man I love exercise.

4oz of Deli Turkey with 1/4 of an Avocado. Simple but good.

Today has been absolutely disastrous food-wise. I expected as much. I spent 1 hour in a cab, 6 hours on a plane, 2 hours on a bus and a load of hours waiting in between.

But now I'm in Napa and I'm absolutely in love!!! California is my kinda place. I don't know why I stayed in dirty, freezing, angry New York for so long when the West Coast boasts sun, scenery, chirping birds, big skies and people who actually talk to you wit genuine interest in the conversation.

Anyway, back to the food. I don't even want to catalogue what went into my body today. Yesterday too, for that matter. I'll have to go back and update. 

I tried to stick low carb today, but it was irrelevant as I ate waaaaay too much food. But I just felt jet-lagged, headachy, frustrated, bored, stressed, and generally yuck thanks to the travel. Food is always my comfort. But it can't be anymore. I'm getting married in about 4 weeks!

By the way, after today my entries will be concise. I want to enjoy my vacation rather than being an obsessive slave to the computer. Bare minimum is the key. This should motivate me to eat less too. Less meals and snacks equals less blog work.

I started the day well. An Organic Grass-Fed Burger with half an Avocado, Omega 3 Fish Oil capsules, Fiber Capsules and a Multivitamin.

It all went downhill from there.

Then in the cab to the airport I had some 100% Cocoa Chocolate. 

I ate 1 Cheese Stick when I got on the plane.

An hour later I ate about 4.5oz of Chicken Breast Fried in Organic Butter ....

.... and half an Avocado.

Throughout the course of the flight I snacked on the rest of my 100% Cocoa Chocolate Bar from the other day. It was about 50 grams all up.

I ate quite a bit of coconut too in the form of Organic Coconut flakes. I probably had half a cup, (although I was doing the #1 diet no-no and eating right out of the bag so I have no clue how much I racked up).

The lady in the seat next to me gave me 1oz of Smoked Gouda ....

.... and I had another String Cheese Stick.

I had a Decaf Coffee with 1 Tbs Half-and Half. It was bitter, so I mixed in ....

.... only 1 square of White Chocolate.

Naughty.

Later I had 2 handfuls of Raw Macadamias.

When we got off the plane I felt pretty horrible. We had to wait 3 hours for a bus to Napa so I ate half a Red bell Pepper ....

.... a handful of Organic Baby Spinach ....

.... half a packet of Applegate Farms Turkey ....

.... half an Avocado ....

.... 1/4 cup Organic Blueberries ....

.... a handful of Raw Walnuts ....

.... and a handful of Raw Macadamias.

Ooooh, so much food. I ended up feeling worse afterwards.

When we finally got on the bus I ate 6 Tic-Tacs ....

.... 2 more sticks of String Cheese ....

.... and the rest of the packet of Applegate Farms Turkey.

When checking into our hotel I helped myself to 2 Mints.

We're in California, the home of In-N-Out Burger. Dave has been hanging to taste these things for months and since I was craving salty carbs, I agreed to join him. I never eat this crap, but today was a big exception. We've agreed it's the last fast-food outing until the wedding.

I ate just the meat, cheese and tomato from my burger, (had to skip the gluten-filled bun thanks to my allergy anyway). I also ate half the non-gunked fries with a bit of ketchup and 2 Tbs Half-n-Half for dessert, plus a sip of Dave's milk.

In-N-Out even gave us calorie counts when we ordered. How thoughtful of them. It made it easier to stop at half the fries.

2 squares of nostalgic childhood Firecracker popping candy chocolate ....

.... and a 2% Fage with about a cup of Blueberries.

We lose our internet connection today. Nooooo! So there may be a break in service in my blog as I travel through Napa, Yosemite and Hawaii for the next few weeks.

I usually do really well dieting when I travel as I'm so busy running around enjoying life that I don't need to eat out of boredom. The one caveat is when I'm actually doing airport and plane time. I get so stressed and bored and out of whack time wise that I end up eating far too much.

My plan for this flight is cheese sticks, turkey slices and nuts.

My plan for the week of hiking in Yosemite is canned salmon, nuts and whatever else I can get my hands on. 

2 Scrambled Whole Eggs with 4 Egg Whites, 1/4 Avocado, a slice of Spanish Onion, a handful of Organic Baby Spinach and 1/2 Tbs Butter ....

.... and 3 Coconut Water Jelly Cubes.

Fiber. 

Green soup with a Grass-fed Organic Burger chopped into it ....

.... and the very last Coconut Water Icypop before we leave the city.

Dave ate 5 Guys Burger and Fries for lunch, They have free peanuts in shells. I don't eat peanuts as a rule. Not a fan. But I was bored. I ended up eating about 20.

I'd always been curious about Serendipity's famous Frozen Hot Chocolate so we stopped in there to order one. I are most of the cream and probably about 4 Tbs of the chocolate mix. 

It was far too sweet. The cream was delicious though.

To balance out the carbs I ate a Caviar and Sour Cream Omelette. It came with cornbread, which I gave to Dave.

I was far more stressed than expected today. Our very pedantic Landlady was due for our final inspection and bond return at 8:30pm. Dave and I were biting each other's heads off and all I could think about was getting some alcohol into me to relax.

I inhaled 1 Grass-Fed Organic Beef Burger ....

.... 5 Coconut Jelly Cubes ....

.... 1/4 bottle of Coconut Water ....

.... a handful of Macadamias ....

.... 3 squares of Valhrona White Chocolate ....

.... about 20g of 100% Cocoa Chocolate ....

.... 3 Tbs Coconut Slices ....

.... a glass of Sparkling Rose ....

.... 8 Organic Strawberries ....

.... 1/2 cup Blueberries ....

.... a full-fat Fage ....

.... and half a packet of Smartfood Popcorn, (before Dave very smartly whipped it away from me). Give me stress and I crave alcohol and all inhibitions go out the window.

Bad, bad, bad eating day.

CALORIES: 3030
DEFICIT: -913
EXERCISE: walk 90 mins + House Cleaning 120 mins.

4 slices of Applegate Farms Sunday Bacon and 2 Eggs fried in Organic Butter with 1/4 Avocado, Organic Baby Spinach and loads of Louisiana Hot Sauce.

Fiber.

P.S. I weigh 129lbs today. YAY! Back in the 120's, and all thanks to less exercise and eating more fat. How good is that?!?!

A 1oz stick of Feta Cheese ....

.... 1 Tbs Shredded Coconut plus 1/2 Tbs Raw Organic Cacao Nibs.

This makes me happy. Simple. Organic. Good.

Green Soup with a butter-fried Grass-Fed Organic Beef Burger and 1/4 Avocado chopped in.

By the way, this soup contains Flax Meal for fiber, and Hot Sauce for spice.

Chocolate Quest time!!! 

It's our second last day in this city and only now I stumble on 2 of the best chocolate emporium's in New York.

The first was a Food Emporium Chocolate Shop on the Upper East Side.

I also discovered THE BEST sugar free chocolate IN THE WORLD today after speaking at length to a passionate chocolate-lover like me. We've arranged to barter chocolate bars through the mail when I get back to Australia.

She recommended this 100% Criollo bar from Francois Pralus. I'm literally speechless over how good this thing is. Francois grows his own cacao in Madagascar to make this naturally sweet bar of pure goodness. It is not even the slightest bit bitter. I am in love. Bye bye Michel Cluizel. Your 99% bar is nothing on Francois!

I ate half the block as Dave and I whizzed around the city today, (50g). Far too much as it tipped me over the sanity line. I think 30g is my limit in one day.

The chocolate lady also told me about Ecole Chocolat, a chocolate-making business school in Canada that runs online classes. I can't wait to get into this stuff for real.

She then pointed us in the direction of another chocolate emporium in the West Village: The Meadow.

Dave grabbed this fun Firecracker Bar before we left. It's Dark Chocolate with Chipotle, Salt and Popping Candy.

It made me all nostalgic for that crazy Space Gum we used to eat as kids. Pop the rocks on your tongue and they would explode like crazy in your mouth. I loved that stuff!

This bar has set me on a new course in life. The concept brought me so much joy, (I haven't even tasted it yet), that I realized joy is the essence of life. Kids find joy and fun in everything. I want to concentrate the rest of my life on filling my days with pure joy. That's all that matters.

We hiked the length of Manhattan to get to The Meadow and discovered the cutest little store bursting with fresh flowers, gourmet salts, (who knew the world produces so many varieties? Simply amazing), wine and of course chocolate. We spent a good hour in there talking chocolate to the sales girls, and I came away with 3 more bars. Another Francois Pralus 100%, a Pacari Raw Ecuadorian 100% and a highly recommended Sicilian Antica Dolceria Bonajuto 90% Modica bar. These will be my hiking energy boosts in Yosemite next week. (Perhaps not all of them!)

I ducked into a deli to buy some shredded chicken for protein. I ate about 2oz.

Oh, I almost forgot. On the way to The Meadow we passed Culture Espresso Bar again and grabbed a Decaf Espresso with Half-and-half Cream. 

Dinner was 1/2 cup of Pickled Herrings in Dill, 2oz Feta, 1 Tbs Olive Tapenade and a handful of Organic Baby Spinach ....

.... 3 raw Macadamias ....

.... a Coconut Water Icypop ....

.... and an Organic Strawberry for dessert.

I've eaten about 40g of carbs today. This feels like a perfect amount for my body type. Not sure if I am burning fat on that carb level, but I am full of energy.

A bit later I was still hungry, so I filled up on a bowl of Organic Green Soup. My carbs are now up for today .... I think eating the chocolate ruined me. Even though it wasn't sugared, I did taste a few miniscule bites of sweet chocolate today and I think they tipped me over the hunger edge.

Stress eating. I am so incredibly anxious about leaving NYC in 2 days. My body is in knots.

Before bed I ate 1oz of Feta Cheese ....

.... and 10 Raw Macadamias.

Waaaaaaay too much food today in the end. But I really wasn't feeling sane. I'm going to get of the chocolate for a while and do better tomorrow.

I still ate under 50g of effective carbs, so all is not lost.

Organic Turkey Burger Parmigiana with 10 Raw Organic Pecans.

Skinny Bride Mission Recipe: TURKEY PARMIGIANA: Fry 1 Applegate Farms Organic Turkey Burger with 1/4 Tbs organic butter. Top with 1/4 cup organic crushed tomatoes with basil, 1oz sliced peppercorn sheeps cheese and cayenne pepper. Serve with a handful of organic baby spinach.

Psyllium Husks in water.

Half an Organic Green Tea pre-gym.

In hindsight this was a big mistake.

Half a bowl of Organic Green Soup with an Organic Grass-Fed Burger and 1/2 Tbs Organic Butter ....

.... 1/2 Tbs Organic Raw Cacao Nibs ....

.... and 5 Coconut Jelly Cubes as well.

Today is a disaster. I've got so many things on my 'To Do List' and they all have to be done before meeting some mates for lunch. I only have 3 days left of my gym membership (for a looooong time), so guilt was propelling me to use it. 

Mistake #1. Don't ever go to the gym if your heart's not in it.

I fussed around the house all morning, procrastinating. Time was ticking on, leaving less of itself for today's required tasks and stressing me out in the process. Then I convinced myself I needed half a Green Tea to get out the door.

Mistake #2. Don't ever drink Green Tea on an empty stomach. Caffeine affects me in a huge way. It increases my appetite, scrambles my head and ups my stress levels.

Even after giving up my daily tea for a mere week, I felt like this half a cup whacked me sideways. I'm convinced now. Caffeine is not for me. I may do a few sips of Dave's cuppa once in a while, but that is my limit. 

I finally got to the gym, 15 minutes walk away in the freezing cold. (By the way, I gave away my winter jacket yesterday. Bad move. It's below zero celcius today). Turns out the A/C was broken so the gym floor was sweltering. It's built over New York's best bagel factory, H&H Bagels, and I swear the factory exhaust was plumbed straight into the gym. I felt like I was working out inside a hot onion bagel. Yerk.

Even worse, all the water fountains were out of order, half the machines we duds too, and the elliptical I finally got on seemed to be having issues with it's arm resistance. I suspect it's 'Out of Order' sign was around the corner.

After 10 minutes of this ridiculous malarky I tried to lift some weights. I did one, yes one, bicep curl and I was done. Over it. Never should've even come to the gym. I could've been to the post office and back, to the bank and 3 times around Central Park Reservoir had I not wasted my time with the stupid gym.

That's it. I'm done with the gym. Officially. You won't see me there ever again .... after my honeymoon I'll be all refreshed and join a new gym back in Sydney. Until then, exercise is walking, hiking, cycling, Tracy Anderson Method, resistance bands, and HIIT with body-weight training.

Also, on this low-carb plan ..... the jury is hung. I don't feel good. I've lived my life loosely following The Zone Diet for the past 6 years. It makes me feel phenomenal, stabilizes my moods, gives me boundless energy and I never ever get sick. The only problem is I tend to obsess over food because The Zone allows a few carbs, like fruit, not too much, but enough, and this fuels my appetite. I also have to eat every 2-3 hours on The Zone, which is annoying and embarrassing when I'm hanging with mates who have normal appetites. It's also too easy to eat too frequently, to still be technically 'in The Zone', but to be exceeding their recommended daily quota from my weight and activity level.

I like the low-carb/high-fat diet's ability to eradicate my hunger, but like I said, I'm not convinced it's the best for me. Perhaps it is, but with a little more than 20 grams of carbs a day. Maybe double or triple the carbs would work?

For now I'm sticking with it as I'm loving eating butter, cheese and cream. Although soon I will miss fruit and yoghurt I'm sure.

I met some friends at Norma's in Le Park Meridien for lunch today. This place definitely serves the best brunch in NYC. 

Check out my Nicoise Salad! Oh my, it was impressive in a sculptural sense. That's an entire iceberg lettuce head there, with the core hollowed out and filled with seared Ahi Tuna, Olives, Hard Boiled Egg, Potatoes and Green Beans. It was served with the most delicious Dijonnaise on the side.

I ditched the cheese sticks, (gluten), the potatoes (carbs), ate a mouthful of the carrots and 1/4 of the iceberg. Yum.

I then had 1/4 of one friend's Chorizo, a bite of another friend's Egg White Frittata and a few Blueberries with Sweet Mascarpone from Dave's Fruity Brulee Waffle. Oh, and a tiny sip of a Banana-Pineapple-Guava smoothie shot. 

Thanks to all my stress today I was craving carbs like you wouldn't believe. Or maybe it was the caffeine in the tea? Either way, I haven't had that feeling in at least 4 days and it was soooo gooood to put even one spoonful of mascarpone and berries in my mouth. But that was enough. I could never eat the entire sweet waffle Dave ordered.

After lunch we walked down to Culture Espresso Bar in Midtown again. I grabbed a Decaf Flat White, (only the Aussies will understand what that is. This cafe is possibly the only place in the US that serves Flat Whites), and asked them to make it with Half-and-Half instead of milk. 

Woah! Talk about creamy goodness. This is a treat I think I'll save for special occasions. It felt so decadent drinking that much cream in one sitting.

2 Organic Eggs Poached in Crushed Organic Tomatoes with 4 slices of Applegate Farms Sunday Bacon and 1oz of full-fat Feta Cheese. I added Louisiana Hotsauce, Chipotle Peppers and a handful or Organic Baby Spinach too.

For dessert I allowed myself 2 Organic Strawberries ....

.... and a Coconut Water Icypop.

I upped my carbs by 10g today, to 30g total (minus fiber carbs). I felt a lot better. 20g is just too low for my body type.

I do miss fruit. Those strawberries were an absolute treat. As long as I keep my fruit consumption in check, I should be fine.

I was a bottomless pit tonight. I ate 2 sticks of Feta Cheese ....

.... 20 Hazelnuts ....

.... and a cup of Psyllium Husks and water.

Breakfast was Cheesy Nutty Scrambled Eggs.

Skinny Bride Mission Recipe: scramble 2 whole eggs with 2 egg whites, 2 Tbs leftover soaked and shredded almond meal (from homemade nut milk), cayenne pepper, salt, 1/2 Tbs organic butter and 1/2oz sheeps cheese.

It ended up a little too heavy and cheesy. I'd go lighter on the sheeps cheese next time.

.... and a cup to Wild Sweet Orange Tea.

Oh, and the usual fiber boost. 1 Tbs Psyllium Husks with 1 cup of water.

I cooked up every vegetable in our fridge yesterday. Green soup will carry me through my last days in NYC.

I added organic butter and ground flax seeds to this one. Yum.

After my soup I ate an Organic Grass-Fed Beef Burger with 1oz of Peppercorn Sheeps Cheese, a handful of Organic Baby Spinach and 3 homemade Coconut Water Jelly Cubes.

Dave and I finished cleaning our apartment this afternoon. After being cooped up for 2 days straight, we finally got out in the sun and got a bit of exercise in. As soon as we started walking Downtown I realized I was feeling a bit light-headed and strange. It's been 48 hours since I began the super low carb diet and this is the time your body apparently switched to fat-burning mode over the usual glucose-burning.


Anyway, I really noticed the shift and I needed extra energy so I convinced Dave to stop in at Culture Coffee for a caffeine kick. This place is absolutely awesome. There are only 2 places I'd drink coffee in NYC: Culture and Stumptown. Culture is owned by Aussies who really know their coffee. In general, the Yanks just can't get it right.

I can't handle a whole coffee myself, but I drank about 1/6th of Dave's before he put the sugar in. It was the most creamy, delicious cup of warm goodness I've had in a long time.

The coffee got me Downtown, where I grabbed a handful of Raw Walnuts to try and get my blood sugar up. Perhaps low-carb eating is no good for my body type? Maybe I need a little more carb action to feel right?

I felt this way last week when I hit the third day of low-carbing, and I cracked it and ate everything in the kitchen. I'm determined not to fall back on old habits this time. I want to give this a go for at least a week to see how I feel.

We had a second farewell at Bondi Road this afternoon. I had a Skirt Steak Salad for early dinner, with Tabasco and no dressing.

I actually wasn't even hungry. I'm never really hungry with this new eating style, but I figured I might feel better if I get some food into me.

I then had some more Raw Walnuts as I walked the 100 blocks home.

3 slices of Applegate Farms Organic Roasted Turkey ....

.... 1 Tbs Olive Tapenade ....

.... and 3 Tbs Organic Shredded Coconut.

I've been up and down and all over the place this week. Not surprising. My diet will reflect this.

The next few weeks will be a challenge. I may also go MIA as I'll be traveling for about 2.5 weeks and internet connections could be sparse, (especially deep in the wilderness of Yosemite National Park!)

My mission for this next period, since I can't predict food sources, is to stick to a controlled-carb eating plan and exercise as much as I can.