Category: Food

A French Cake Wrecks Meetup and Disney Steampunk Inspirations

Cake, Dessert, Disney, DisneySMMoms, Food, Geeky Pursuits, Photos

Have you ever read CakeWrecks?  If not, you definitely should.  People from all over send Jen and John photos of badly designed/executed cakes done by professionals.  These might be funny on their own, but Jen and John don’t simply post the photos.  They include hilarious commentary as well.  The end result is a website that can often result in you laughing out loud thus alerting your co-workers to the fact that the website you’re on is not work related.  (Not that I’d ever do that, mind you!)

Anyway, as we were planning to go to Disney World for DisneySMMoms, I noticed a Cake Wrecks post that mentioned that Jen and John reside in Orlando.  I asked if they’d be interested in a meet-up and they said yes!

While walking through Disney World, I was so looking forward to meeting the folks behind Cake Wrecks that I began seeing Steampunk influences in various locations in Disney World.  Ok, this might require some explanation.

Many of you are probably saying “What the @%^# is Steampunk?”  First of all, you should all be ashamed of yourselves for using that kind of language.  That aside, Steampunk envisions a world in which steam powers everything.  (For a detailed analysis of Steampunk, consult Wikipedia.)  From many readings of Jen’s other blog Epbot, I know that they like Steampunk.  So my brain seemed to home in on Steampunk elements.

One thing about Steampunk is that gears and bronze coloring are big.

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Those shots are from the Dumbo ride.  Yes, the ride known for letting kids of all ages fly atop an elephant is secretly a Steampunk ride!

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This robot can be found outside of House of Blues in Downtown Disney right near where La Nouba is located.  I’m not positive that Steampunk includes robots, but if it did, I think this is what one might look like.

Of course, my imagination being what it is, I couldn’t help but expand on Steampunk.  Introducing Junglepunk!

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These are from the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.  The river turns the big wheel which pulls ropes to move a series of buckets.  The buckets collect water, get lifted high up and then spill their contents onto a series of drainage gutters which lead to a storage vessel in the kitchen.  I’d bet you could design a whole series of “technology based on running water”  I believe Futurama has already provided one:

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Getting back to the Swiss Family Treehouse (which my boys loved so much that we walked through it twice back-to-back and then they complained when we didn’t go through a third time), I loved the look of this piano.

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Getting back to the “*punk” genre expansions, though, how about “Toypunk”?

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I’m thinking that the Lincoln Logs could be miniaturized and used to replace gears in a Steampunk-esque design.  Steampunk meets Toy Story!

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Cake Wrecks-TechyDad/TheAngelForever meet up.  We had agreed to meet in Epcot’s France area.  Twice prior to this, the boys and I (and B on one of the occasions) ate at Patisserie.  Both times, the boys had Cheese Tartine – French bread topped with a touch of sauce and some cheese.  No, it’s not pizza.  That would be found in Italy and this was France!  Both times I had the vegetable quiche.  Both times, I eyed the pastries.  Please excuse the drool as I think of them again.

When we met, we got a seat and then John, the boys and I went to procure some snacks.  JSL wanted chocolate cake, NHL saw John getting a strawberry tart and wanted one.  Me?  I had my eyes on the Napoleon.  (There’s that pesky drool again.)

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As good as it looked, it tasted even better.  As we ate, we talked about various subjects both online-related and offline-related.  A good time was had by all.  Even when JSL – with perfect kid-timing declared he needed to use the restroom and I had to walk all the way from France to Morocco to find one for him.  The lengths dads will go for their kids and I didn’t even get any frequent flier miles!

Pretty soon the snacks were consumed and it was time to head out.  We said goodbye and went out separate ways.  Here’s hoping we can meet again the next time we go to Disney or if they happen to be in the Upstate NY area!

20 Pounds In 20 Weeks: Week 10: Disney World Weight Gain

20lbs in 20 weeks, Disney, DisneySMMoms, Fitness, Food, Travel, Vacation, Weight Loss

It was to be expected.  I gained weight while at Disney World.  It was always going to be a battle between the calories burned by walking throughout the parks (and sweating in the Florida heat) and the calories consumed from the wonderful food Disney World has to offer.  The food won.  When I left for Disney, I weighed 188 pounds.  Upon returning home, I weighed 193 pounds.  That’s a gain of 5 pounds.

Starting Weight 205
Current Weight 193
Goal Weight 185
Lost 12
Left Until Goal 8

This setback, though expected, means that I now have 10 weeks to lose 12 pounds.  I also have Passover looming on the horizon.  During Passover, I’m not going to count points as Passover food tends to be high calorie and high in carbs.  Matzoh alone is 120 calories and 27 carbs per sheet and I can easily eat 3 slices for breakfast slathered with cream cheese before I feel full. There is no option of low calorie/low carb bread or rice during Passover.  Matzoh seems to permeate everything that gets made and so it won’t be a good situation to be tracking points in.  I’ll try to give myself a fighting chance by loading up on fresh fruits and veggies and by not buying a ton of Passover cakes/cookies (no loss as they tend to taste awful).  Still, I expect weight gain during those two weigh-ins.

I guess that just means I’ll have to try extra-hard to lose weight during the 8 weigh-ins that I have left during which I’ll be tracking points and (hopefully) losing weight.

20 Pounds In 20 Weeks: Week 9: Last Pre-Disney Weigh-In

20lbs in 20 weeks, Disney, DisneySMMoms, Fitness, Food, Travel, Vacation, Weight Loss

This marks the last time I will weigh-in before we go to Disney World.  (At least, the last “official” weigh-in before Disney.  I might weigh myself just before we leave out of sheer curiosity.)  While at Disney, I’m putting the weight loss plan aside.  This doesn’t mean I’m going to pig out just for the sake of pigging out, but neither am I going to count points.  Let’s face it.  This is Disney World we’re talking about.  The food there is incredible and I’m not going to ruin our good time by trying to figure out which dishes are the lowest in points.  Besides, going to Disney World means a lot of walking.  (Last year, I only wound up gaining half a pound during my trip.)

Starting Weight 205
Current Weight 188
Goal Weight 185
Lost 17
Left Until Goal 3

All that said, I weighed in at 188 yesterday morning.  This puts me a mere three pounds from my goal.  Were Disney not a factor, I could probably reach my goal in the next two or three weeks.  I’d say I’m doing pretty well.  Now, I’m off to prepare to celebrate in Disney World!

20 Pounds In 20 Weeks: Week 7: The Challenge of Eating Out

20lbs in 20 weeks, Fitness, Food, Weight Loss

Last week I gained weight (though just half a pound) and said that you needed to persevere through these dry spells.   Keep your weight loss routine up and you’ll soon see the numbers begin moving down again, I said.  Sure enough, this week saw two more pounds flee my body.  I’m now down 13 pounds since I started this seven weeks ago.  That’s almost two pounds per week on average.  At this rate, I should be in the 180’s by the time we go to Disney World!

Starting Weight 205
Current Weight 192
Goal Weight 185
Lost 13
Left Until Goal 7

On Saturday, we went to B’s parents’ house for dinner.  This is nice as we get to see them, the boys get to play, I get the day off from cooking dinner.  However, there are problems.  For some reason, my willpower drops when I’m at my in-laws’ house and I tend to eat a lot more than I should.  They also are not on the same diet we are on so I worried that the food they served would be high in points for us.

The latter issue was easily resolved.  They used a frozen, pre-made chicken product that turned out to be surprisingly low in points.  They also didn’t serve us the usual high-point fare of rice or bread.  Instead, I helped out by sautéing some bagged vegetables with dried onion and minced garlic (bottled).

SIDE NOTE: While a “true chef” might recoil in horror at the mention of bagged or frozen produce, dried onion flakes or bottled minced garlic, I find them to be essentials.  I don’t have time to mince my own garlic (and clean up the mess) or keep a stock of onions to chop.  While I do like using some fresh veggies, sometimes a quick frozen bag in the microwave (or in the frying pan) is in order.  It gives me a quick and healthy side dish with little to no cleanup.  Very handy for the healthy parent/cook!

All in all, our dinner was 13 points including a salad, the aforementioned chicken and veggies, strawberries and even a few small cookies as an after-dinner indulgence.  Not bad at all.  It just goes to show that you can eat out while trying to stay healthy.  It just takes a little planning before hand.

20 Pounds In 20 Weeks: Week 5: Snack Time Sweets

20lbs in 20 weeks, Fitness, Food, Weight Loss

This week was another surprise.  Given the big drop last weigh-in, I was expecting a one pound drop.  I wound up with two pounds gone.  With four weeks to go before we leave, hitting 190 before the Magic Kingdom seems quite doable.

Starting Weight 205
Current Weight 193.5
Goal Weight 185
Lost 11.5
Left Until Goal 8.5

One thing that is always tricky when we start watching our weight again is snack time.  When one isn’t watching one’s weight, it is easy to listen to the beckoning of cookies and cakes.  You can fall into the pattern of filling your stomach with sweets.  When you begin watching your waistline, your natural inclination is to eliminate the sweets.  Of course, once you do this, you begin craving them more than ever.

While you might think you should resist these urges at all costs, that would be a mistake.  I’m not saying you should indulge in a nightly hot fudge sundae with every topping possible.  Instead, take a path of moderation.  If you’re craving ice cream, get some fat free ice cream or frozen yogurt.  You could even add a little chocolate sauce and whipped cream for an extra indulgence.

Of course, since “a little” can quickly morph into “that looks like a little but it really is five servings”, a kitchen scale and a good set of measuring cups are invaluable.  Since we’ve been watching what we eat, we’ve found some good snacks.  Besides fruit, we’ve been snacking on Reece’s Puffs cereal (1/2 cup = 2 points) or sliced strawberries with chocolate sauce and whipped cream (also 2 points).  These snacks provide a good taste of chocolate, peanut butter and/or other sweetness without a ton of calories and fat.

What not-bad-for-you snacks do you partake in to get rid of a craving for sweets?

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