So, it is party time again, folks!

[wiseheart]

Each year this time, we launch my virtual birthday party, which starts on October 1 and ends on October 9 at midnight, sharp. The goals of the party are to post as many comments and collapse as many threads as possible, on as many new pages as we can. It is always great fun, as you can see if you check out the similar entries of the last few years.

This year, I'll also throw the real party at mid-time - and post the recipes of all the food that will be there for you, so that you can all participate if you want to. Virtual food has no calories.

Fandom-related discussions are as welcome as the ones about coffee or chocolate (just to name a few favourites from previous years), and, of course, pictures and recipes of birthday cakes. ;)

So, drop by, tell your story, post your pics or silly poems, ask questions you always wanted to ask and have a good time!

Soledad, in excited expectation




Oh, and by the way, to provide birthday gifts hobbit-style, I've got a revived story and a Kansas 2 update for you.

Enjoy!

Comments

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I don't like parsnips, either. Sweet potato is wondeful, though we don't eat it very often these days -- we used to do a fried side dish of spiced sweet potato with curry, but we've had to give it up as too calorific.

I know several vegetarians who don't like large numbers of vegetables. My mother-in-law, for instance, doesn't seem to like any vegetables very much and has been a vegetarian for ~40 years.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

One of the recipe books I got for my birthday this year, had a recipe for a sweet potato gratin with peanut butter, which was positively scrumpcious! It would probably sadly fall in the category of 'too calorific' though, because it contained quite a lot of cream...

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Peanut butter's another thing on my Can't Abide list! But sweet potato gratin sounds delicious -- and one could always try it with low-fat yoghurt instead of cream.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I love peanut butter, and thought it worked really well in this dish. My plan is to use coconut cream/milk next time I make it, because I think that would be a good taste combination, but again you may find that rather calorific. My recipe also had the zest and juice of a lemon in it, which worked really well with the sweet potato.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I love peanuts, it's mainly the texture I don't like in peanut butter, so it might work ok. I adore coconut milk -- we used to cook with it a lot but we've had to give it up as part of the calories drive. (Which has rather taken over our lives, sadly.)

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I am trying to not let my plan to loose weight become the big thing in my life; to that end I aim to eat things I like, just in smaller portions, and not having (too much) unhealthy snacks about the house. Actually, the way I usually do dinner during the week, reheating a box with a precooked meal from the freezer helps with that; I can simply make the portions smaller when I freeze them. The trick then is to not 'fill up' on snacks afterwards...

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Smaller portions really helps and after a while one adjusts to them. I've found it's important to eat enough t meals to feel properly full, otherwise I just overeat on snacks, and end up eating more overall.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

One trick that I find does help is also drinking plenty of water; it fills up your stomach, without adding any calories at all! But yes, I do find it is important to come away from a meal feeling full, because as you otherwise you very easily have more by snacking. I wish there were some really tasty, low calorie snacks, but I find that snacks are usually either or...

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I'm really bad at drinking water, I keep forgetting -- but yes, it is supposed to suppress hunger.

I agree about snacks... After long experimentation, I've been eating beetroot paste on rice cakes with a dollop of zero-fat Greek yoghurt (the Liberte brand is quite thick) which is tasty and only about 70 calories a rice cake.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I mostly try to avoid having snacks at all, because I find that partly once I start snacking it is very hard to stop. Also, I was brought up to not really have snacks between meals, because it is bad for your teeth so that is still very much at the back of my mind. If I don't think about having snacks, I find I can go quite long periods without them, but once the idea gets into my head I have a lot...

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I find I lose energy if I don't eat every two or three hours. Sigh. My metabolism definitely wants me to be fat.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

A lot of my snacking have to do with being bored, or wanting/needing a break. So I try to make the 'snack' a cup of tea instead, or just go for a walk to check my pigeon hole or something. Though sometimes I get a proper craving for something sweet, and then only that will do!

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Believe it or not, there's a limit to how many espressos I can drink -- at least without getting so wired I can't sleep for days!

We're a bit in the middle of nowhere here -- no pigeon holes to check. But conversely the nearest shop is a mile away so I can't pop round the corner and buy doughnuts/biscuits/potato salad/marzipan, as I did when I worked in London or Cambridge.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

The shops being not-to-close does indeed have some advantages! When I used to live in London, there was a corner-shop downstairs in my building, and another three mini-supermarkets within less than five minutes walk. If I wanted a snack, I could get easily get it even if I didn't have any at home. Here there is a little local shop not that far away, but I don't go past it in my regular travels to and from work, so I mostly don't really think about it being there. The nearest shop I do use, is the Tesco about a mile down the road along my cycle path to work. While it is still possible to nip out to just get a snack, my laziness usually wins over my desire for snacks...

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

The nearest supermarkets to here are about 7 miles in one direction (where we usually shop) and 6 in the other. It does make dieting easier! Especially these past few days when my car has been in the garage.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I haven't got a car, though I am intending to buy one since it can be very useful for getting things for the house and garden, not to mention getting out into the countryside. However, my plan is to exchange my Swedish driving license for a Northern Irish one (as the UK government tells me I should do after living in the country for more than three years) before getting a car; that way I won't have the hassle of trying to get a car insured with a non-standard driving license, or having to change things over when I do have to 'renew' my license in a couple of years' time. The progress I have made on this plan so far is: 1) Getting the form I need to fill in, which was not as straight-forward as you might think; it certainly wasn't available on-line and I had to email several times before someone actually answered and then sent one by post. (Achieved a few months ago) 2) Getting photographs of myself to send with the form. (Achieved this week).

At the moment I mostly cycle, to work and to do grocery shopping. For going into town, I use the train; my house is less than five minutes walk from the nearest railway station, so it is really handy.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Getting any official documents in the UK can be very hasslesome. I recently renewed my passport and was appalled to find that while it was possible to fill the form in online, one still has to print it all out and post it. Surely all they need is the photographs and a signature? Well done on getting the photographs done - -that's a real slow step.

Cycling is really good for one's health -- unfortunately I stopped when I injured my back and have never managed to get back into it, despite buying an expensive reclining bicycle, which I've never got to grips with.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I've given up on the losing weight project as long as I can't retire. During school term, there is just too much stress and too little time to eat healthily; and besides, I need my comfort food to survive with the last shards of my sanity intact.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I had got really frighteningly overweight, and Mr EA got told to lose weight after his knee operation, so it seemed like a good move to join him in dieting. But I know what you mean about needing comfort food to survive sanity intact... It's really hard.