Sunday

1:58pm Chicken salad sandwich. I still had chicken leftover from earlier in the week and while some might think Monday chicken is iffy on Sunday I’m ok with six-day-old food. I mixed in green onions, chile sauce, tomatoes and a touch of light mayonnaise.

 4:45pm Veal parmigiana hero. Ok, this is incredibly random. Last week I was assigned to review swanky Grayz while this week I happened to get the pizza place up the street from my apartment. This was kind of unfortunate because Italian-American food is probably my least favorite cuisine on the planet (it’s not offensive, just meh).  I did eat a third of this sandwich, though. It wasn’t a bad rendition, but it’s just not my thing.

8:02pm Remaining chicken salad with Wasa crackers.

10pm James wanted to make Sichuan dry-sautéed string beans. It’s supposed to be beans with a bit of pork but he seemed to have reversed the proportions. Not that pork isn’t tasty.

10:30pm Leftover (lots of leftovers today) green curry with duck and brown rice. It doesn't look pretty.

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Saturday

12:57pm Greek yogurt with a crumbed up trail mix variety Kashi TLC bar mixed in. Sometimes I’ll also include a drizzle of my trusty agave sweetener or a spoonful of no sugar added fruit spread, but really the granola bar is sweet enough if you’re not a total sweet tooth.

3:37pm I have an addiction to Sabra hummus. Seriously. It’s my go-to I’m starving snack.

4:05pm Not crazy about carrots, not one bit. But I need something fiber-y to last me ‘til dinner. This is my portable travel snack while shopping in New Jersey.

5:20pm I managed to make it out of Target junk food-free. I used to have a serious Poppycock problem that I quit cold turkey earlier this year. But James broke out some Cheetos Cracker Trax in the car and I’m a sucker for new inexplicable brand name treats so I had to sample these. I only ate four paw-shaped crackers. They weren’t really spicy, just faux cheesey like Cheese Nips.

8:30pm We made reservations at Bonefish Grill because we’re classy like that. A new location to me in Roselle Park, not the one in New Brunswick that I’d visited previously (you don't need a proper review because it's a chain and how different can they be?). I had a martini with blue cheese-stuffed olives at the bar because it was the only cocktail that didn’t contain sugar or fruit or juice, or God forbid, chocolate, plus it was only $7.90 (all the drinks had bizarre non-rounded prices) which is pretty reasonable for such a drink. There’s one plus to suburban drinking.

I'm still a little weirded out by Bonefish's affinity for '80s music, and not the '80s music that annoys me a la Nu Shooz. I wasn't really paying attention but I did catch Bryan Ferry and Split Enz on this occasion.

We split the Bacon-Wrapped Atlantic Sea Scallops topped with chutney and served with mango salsa. The chutney was kind of bitter and horseradishy. I’m not sure if that was a good thing.

Very strange that I would eat soft shell crabs twice in two nights, considering I only eat the delicacy maybe once or twice a year normally. But they were a special and I acquiesced. It wasn’t until we were heading back to Brooklyn that I remembered I received a promotional Bonefish email last week touting their soft shell crabs (yes, I’m on their mailing list—same for Melting Pot, of course). Do you think I was semi-subconsciously influenced?

I don’t know that I’ve ever ordered a bottle of wine in a chain restaurant before. But here we were with a Brancott Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. It was a screw cap, which gave our exhaustingly perky waitress trying to use a corkcrew considerable trouble.

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Friday

8:57am Marcona almonds.

10:28am After seeing my food laid out like this, I realized what a cheerless workaday existence I have. No wonder I’m always listless and cranky (I don’t know where the idea that cutting down carbs increases energy originated. Same with that wretched master cleanse that two friend are currently doing for reasons beyond comprehension. I don’t see how subsisting on liquid for 10 days could possibly give you so-called clarity.)  So, I rectified that with a bagel and cream cheese. Oh yes, I’m cutting loose early for the holiday weekend. I have not partaken in my office’s “Bagel Friday” since February, but I don’t think a little fluffy bread every now and then is going to cause organ failure or something.

1:30pm That damn bagel threw off my schedule so now I’m back to fruit and vegetables. Ok, just apples. Um, plus I’m thinking of where to eat tonight and I haven’t Thai in ages and that will inevitably involve fried pork and lots of coconut milk so I have to cool my jets.

3:57pm I got to leave work at 3pm, so I picked up my recent inexplicable fascination, the vegetarian chicken salad sandwich at a deli in the neighborhood just in time to tune in to Judge Judy, and it was a freaking repeat. That is no way to kick off the weekend.

Huh, I just saw a commercial for Bagelfuls (I have bagels on the brain). Sure, the product is weird but I was more baffled by the two ladies featured in the ad eating said weird foodstuff while standing on a bus. Do white women in suits ride the bus to work? That’s not really been my experience in NYC which is more subway-oriented, nor Portland where only spazzes rode public transportation. The premise doesn’t ring true to me, but I would totally try a Bagelful is someone offered me one.

6:30pm Wasa crackers and “supremely spicy” hummus.

8-ish I haven’t been to Sripraphai since February when my sister was in town, so a visit was overdue. I can’t believe the crowds that have developed over the past few years. When we left there were at least 30 people outside waiting to get in. From a distance is looked like a club scene. I don’t like club scenes.

We went a little overboard with fried things. I probably ate half of the crispy watercress salad and a third of everything else.

 
Crispy watercress salad

Soft shell crab with chile and basil.

Crispy pork with chile and basil. Hmm…two chile and basil dishes weren't probably neccessary. The pork and crabs tasted very different, though. This was dry and rich while the crabs were saucier.

Green curry with duck. I never order plain ol' red or green curries, but this was better than expected and super spicy. Much more so than any of the other dishes. There were also sliced chiles, tomatoes and pineapple chunks in the mix.

  
Oh, and just one beer. I had a horrible headache all night and didn't feel like drinking, and that's just not like me.

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Thursday

10:30am Black coffee and a Kashi bar, peanut butter this time.

1:20pm Good ol’ Wasa crackers and Laughing Cow cheese. When I was a kid Laughing Cow cheese was a special treat that I only got when we went to the coast (Canon Beach) maybe once or twice a year. It seemed fancy at the time, gourmet, French, never mind that it’s not even real cheese (or is it? The fact that it doesn’t have to be refrigerated is kind of distressing). The processed cheese has certainly lost its allure for me over the years, especially since I can just buy it in bulk at Costco now.

2:10pm Chicken chowder and multigrain bread.  I normally get the split pea with ham, so this was totally wild. Crazy.

6:43pm  Leftover chicken from Tuesday.

9:40pm Chile-garlic shrimp and brown rice. This was tasty and vaguely Spanish tapas-ish (minus the brown rice) but I totally could’ve eaten double the amount. 

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Wednesday

10:25am Trader Joe’s cranberry oatmeal and extra large black coffee. I’m convinced that my coffee cart guy totally did see me at a competitor yesterday because this morning he said, “long time, no see” and I swear there was a darkness to this seemingly benign pleasantry. I got nervous and offered, “oh, I got to work late yesterday,” which was true but not so late that I didn’t get coffee across on the other side of Broad St.

12:13pm This is the same apple pic from yesterday but the apple itself was slightly higher caliber. Still boring, though. In fact, my weekday food is almost always boring and I can’t say that I’m exactly thrilled about it. The monotony is bringing me down. But it tends to balance out weekend excess, which I haven’t got to yet. And being a three-day weekend, there's going to be trouble…

2:15pm “No Bread Grilled Chicken Provencal” from Pret a Manger. I am still not clear how this line differs from their salads. I hate paying $6.97 for a salad that’s not even giant, but I like this better than those pick a mix deals. Maybe I just pick poorly because mine always end up mediocre and the ratio of stuff to lettuce seems wrong—there’s no way so many things are remotely healthy (um, but it’s my fault for choosing heftier stuff like dried cranberries, almonds, blue cheese and smoked turkey).

4:50pm Yogurt with agave sweetener. Yep, repetitive. That's not really Pelligrino. Well, it was at one point, but I refill the bottle with tap water at home and water cooler water at work, and I usually hang on to it for 2-3 weeks. I really only drink water, and if I'm not drinking water I'm drinking alcohol. Those are my only two beverages. Oh, and coffee, but that's not like a beverage.

8:17pm Kashi TLC Mediterranean Bruschetta Party Crackers with manchego and assorted salumi, capicola and something else.

9:45pm Grilled steak, salad and miso dressing. I didn’t intend to eat two main course salads today and it’s totally inappropriate for the soggy weather. I really only can handle salads when it’s warm out. This wasn’t half-bad, and I managed to get it together in time to watch the American Idol winner announcement. Even though I don’t care for the show, I need to know who wins these things.

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Ladies Who Lunch (and breakfast and dinner)

I’m afraid that those who obsess over what they eat online can be divided into two groups: food dorks and the eating disordered. The dreaded cheese sandwich crew and the girls who could stand to eat a grilled cheese.

Obviously, I’m not in the latter camp. Lady-style competitive eating—attempting to eat less than the women around you—disturbs me. This isn’t how I live and I can’t imagine being friends with anyone who freaks out over what’s on my plate or theirs.

Not that being judged for what you eat isn’t an unfounded fear. A study cited in the Allure article linked above had women read fake food diaries and rate the keepers. Unshockingly, the less a lady ate the more attractive and feminine she was deemed.

Perhaps that’s why unabashed eaters fascinate me. Food blogs have opened a window onto what people eat, but they really only show part of the equation, what the author wants you to see. I’ll admit that there’s a part of me that’s always been a little jealous and suspicious when I read about all the wonderful goodies ladies are enjoying (even more so now that I’m a frakking diabetic—oops, I can’t be the only one watching Battlestar Galactica, right?). What I call the Padma paradox. Are womenfolk really plowing through pork belly, tacos, ramen and macarons on a regular basis? I kind of hope not because that would be kind of depressing (for me, not them). What goes on off the blog, anyway?
 
To satisfy my nosiness and serve as an antidote to the salad, dressing on the side existence that is the American feminine ideal, I am starting a project, Ladies Who Lunch (and breakfast and dinner) to share what women who like to eat actually eat.

I’m not the most community-minded blogger but I would love to round up a variety of participants to showcase here weekly (and will be soliciting volunteers shortly). I will kick this week off myself because I have no shame, but this isn’t meant as a self-indulgent solo effort. I don’t care if you’re organic-only or a junk food glutton, I just want to focus on women who aren’t afraid of food.

Name: Krista Garcia
Age: 35
Occupation: Researcher/Writer
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Blog: Goodies First (duh)

Tuesday

7:57am I’m not normally awake this early and don’t eat until I’m at
the office but I had to get my blood taken at 9am and I’m a minor freak
about needles (though a hundred times better than I was in my teens) so
illogically I thought eating a few peanuts might keep me from getting
light headed. Black coffee.

11:28am Kashi TLC trail mix bar and extra large black coffee.
Normally, I go to the Bulgarian coffee cart guy in front of Starbucks
but my morning was all screwed up because of a doctors appointment and
coming from the 5 train put me at a Latino-run cart with Styrofoam
cups. Odd (the cups and the owners—I’ve always had middle
Eastern/Eastern European coffee guys). I swear I saw my coffee guy see
me getting coffee on the opposite corner or maybe I just have coffee
cart loyalty guilt.

1:32pm This apple was disgusting, mealy with skin that was peeling
off. I don’t even like fruit on a good day so this bad specimen wasn’t
doing his ilk any favors.

3:44pm Greek yogurt with a drizzle of agave sweetener. I guess this
is my lunch though it doesn’t feel very substantial. I will be sorry
later that I didn’t leave my desk for something tastier.

5:35pm I call Wasa crackers giraffe crackers because when I was kid
you could buy crackers to feed giraffes from vending machines at the
zoo, and I swear they looked like this. They probably tasted better,
too. I eat a lot of giraffe crackers because I’m laying off the bread
but I probably overcompensate imagining that all the fiber somehow
makes it ok.

7:05pm Piece of salami, slice of manchego, two more giraffe crackers and some hummus remnants.

8:57pm Leftovers from last night. Red-cooked chicken, bok choy sautéed with garlic and chile bean oil and brown rice.

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