a.y.c.e.

Update,

For lunch on Tuesday, I went to Round Table Pizza and enjoyed their lunch buffet.  It was $6 (drink not included) and it offered a full salad bar, bread sticks, cinnamon twists, and many different pizzas. They do the lunch buffet every Mon-Fri from 11:30am-2:00pm.

The place got pretty crowded so the pizza was moving fast.  The chef was sure to keep a meat, a cheese, and a veggie pizza out at most times but you might have to wait a minute for your favorite pie.

All in all, everything was fairly good.  The medium/pan style pizza was solid  (especially when it came straight from the oven) and the salad bar was diverse.  The ratio of quality to price was favorable so I will definitely be heading back.

Side note: The Round Table I visited had 8 different beers on tap. Total bonus.

Nice

all you can eat

Hey,

In general, I have a large appetite and really enjoy a big, filling meal. I also get very excited when food comes with other food.  All meals should include salad, soup, bread, rice, beans, veggies, mashed potatoes and biscuits.  

This is part of the reason I am drawn to the buffet.  I always know going into it that the food is not that good but the choices and the excitement make up for it.  When it comes to 'All you can eat', I've done it all.  Indian, Chinese, Vegas casino, sushi, salad bar, home town American, bottomless pasta, never ending bowls.  If I can pay one price and eat till my pants don't fit then I'm there. 

I know a few places here in Los Angeles that are A.Y.C.E but nothing amazing.   

I want to try Todai, but I am up for anything.

Note: suggestions should not be restricted to L.A. If you know something sweet in another state then I might have to make special trip.  

Let me hear it

taste test

Yo,

Sorry about the lack of updating, but I have been eating non stop since the cleanse.  I have been trying to eat healthier but that really hasn't happened.  I'm happy to report that the 10 lbs I lost are still gone and they are showing no signs of a Jordan-esque comeback.

Back to the food.

Yesterday I participated in a paid taste test.  The product was non-fat frozen yogurt or as Brittany would say "fro yo".  I found this job off of craigslist and it paid $40 for an hour of eating. A sweet gig to be sure.  

I first had 2 different scopes of plain/vanilla yogurt and then had 3 different strawberry and banana smoothies.  After each sample I had to answer a ton of stupid questions using this online survey.  All the answers were on a scale from 0-100 with 100 normally meaning you loved it.  I made sure to never use numbers that ended in zero or five.  

Survey- "How did you enjoy the strawberry flavor of the smoothie?"

Me - 58. 

Good to be back.

the end is near

Day 10.

My last day of the Cleanse is finally here. I am so happy to be finally done.  The next few days are a cool down where I first get to enjoy juices like orange, carrot or anything else that is raw and %100 juice.  Then I am allowed a simple vegetable soup.  The final days have me 'eating' the juices, the soup, raw fruits and vegetables.  After that I can go back to my regular diet of vodka and Taco Bell. 

It has been a long road but ultimately worth it. I lost around 11lbs and I feel healthier.  I hope to keep up my good eating habits while still indulging every once and awhile. 

Booya 

       

light at the end of the tunnel

Day 7.

The cleanse is really starting to bore me.  I am drinking less and less of the lemonade stuff because it no longer appeals to me.  I felt like crap all day yesterday but this wacky experiment is almost over.  

4th of July was hard not because I could not eat but because I could not drink.  I was sitting on a roof downtown watching fireworks and all I wanted was a cold beer or a refreshing cocktail.  I as approach day 8, I can now start to reflect on this whole process.  I am still happy about doing the cleanse and I hope this can be used as a spring board into healthier eating.  My only worry is that once I go back to solid food that it will lead to a binge of consumption to make up for the painful 10 day food abstinence.  

Lastly, my thoughts have been occupied by what I should eat on my first real meal back.  I am open to suggestion.  Some ideas are: Souplantation, The Vegan Spot, In-n-Out, Frying Fish (a sushi place where the roles come out on a conveyor belt), It all sounds good to me.

Hell, I might just stay home and make a sandwich.

Must go faster.

deeper into the mouth of madness

Day 5 of the Master Cleanse.

I am starting to go a little crazy.  Every ad I see for food looks great and I am starting to hallucinate like a character in a Bugs Bunny cartoon (I see people as giant chickens and hams that I want to eat). The hunger pains are letting up a bit, but I often get headaches or feel weak.

On the bright side, I have lost around 10lbs.  I want to keep at it, but it is getting hard.  When I think about doing it for another 5 days it sounds impossible, so I am approaching the subject matter like a recovering alcoholic.  One day at a time.

Becky, my girlfriend, read my last post and asked why a talked about pooping.  I explained to her that this is a food blog and poop is just the opposite of food.  If you looked at the word 'food' in a mirror it would almost spell the word 'poop'.  She seemed a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, but she is not one to talk because she quit the cleanse after 6 hours.  I found her on the couch eating strawberries and nutella.  

Someone should make a colored motivational bracelet that people on the cleanse can wear. Like those 'Live Strong' ones.  But maybe these would be brown and they'd say 'Poop Strong'. 

Hanging Tuff

master blaster

After returning from my Midwest tour, I decided that I needed to do some damage control from all the booze and crap I ate while away. After some research I discovered the "Master Cleanse" AKA "The Lemonade Diet".  

For those who don't know about it, here is the breakdown.  You don't eat for 10 days and you drink this 'Lemonade' made from fresh Lemons, Maple syrup, Water and Cheyenne pepper.   During this time, you poop out everything gross that has been living inside your intestines (or as I like to call it "my body's underground railroad").

So far I'm on Day 2.  It has been easier then I thought.  I get hungry but then I just drink a bunch of the juice and go back to work/whatever.  Some tips for those of you who want to try it.

-don't go to the grocery store

-don't watch the Food Network

-don't watch Pixar's "Ratatouille" 

So far so good.  I have lost like 5lbs already but I'm sure that it is mainly due to the fact that I pooped something that looked like a demon sandworm from "Dune".

Stay strong.