Dieting is for the birds...

Like most people, I hate things I'm not good at -- which means I REALLY hate dieting. Fact: I once went on Atkins in college and lasted 8 hours with carbs before I found myself crying in my closet, clutching a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints. It was a real low.

So since I'm a dieting flunky, I have been scavenging for healthy-ish food that I like. Here are my big winners:

If you, like me, hate diet soda but like carbonation, La Croix is where it's at. I highly recommend the lime and lemon flavors. It has no sugar, no calories, nothing -- just flavored sparkling water. Sometimes during lunch at school (possibly even less glamorous than it sounds), I pretend I'm drinking champagne. I don't usually believe myself, but it's still a more fun alternative to plain, boring water.

Ok, this isn't technically "healthy" -- well, it's not really healthy at all -- BUT I used to drink flavored lattes almost every morning from the coffee shop on my way to school, and I'm pretty sure that this delicious Almond Joy flavor mixed with some low-fat milk and a shot of espresso is less sugar-filled and lower in fat. Plus, Mr. J makes it for me every morning, and it's pretty much my reason for getting out of bed.

Oh, how I love Ezekiel Bread. It's low-glycemic and it's got more fiber and protein than a bagel. Just put a smidge of cream cheese on a piece of this toast, and you've got yourself a mighty fine breakfast.

I used to think all Greek yogurt was an acquired taste. I liked most brands, but it's pretty tart, so I can understand why my sister had gag reflexes the first time she tried it. Yoplait, however, makes a much more mainstream version that is oh-so-tasty, low in fat, and high in protein. Yum.

The term "burrito" once scared me. A lot. It conjured up images of the middle school cafeteria where ladies with flabby arms and hairnets would scoop soggy tortillas filled with week-old chicken onto a plastic tray, then cover it with a neon-orange "cheese" sauce. Amy's is not that burrito. Instead, it has very non-suspicious ingredients like organic beans and rice inside a very normal (and tasty!) tortilla. Plus, it's easy to heat up in the school microwave. Score.

Dear VitaTops,

Where have you been all my life??? How is it possible you taste JUST LIKE CHOCOLATE CAKE and yet only have 100 calories and a third of my daily fiber? How do you only take like 30 seconds in the microwave to turn into a delicious dessert?! You are ridiculous, VT (hope you don't mind me calling you that.)

I also hope you understand I'm not technically stalking you, even though I visit your aisle in the grocery store every single time I'm there. And even though I put you front and center in my freezer, just in case I need a little afternoon pick-me-up. And even though I like to put you on my fine china and eat you with a little fork...


xoxo,


KK

Welcome

Howdy, and welcome to my home sweet e-home. My name is KK, and I live in Austin with my husband Mr. J and our precious little dog Izzy. Most of the time, I'm at school, teaching a writing and design to high schoolers. It's a fun job but can be very consuming -- which is why I started this little online space. Those of you who know me may think of me as a bonafide gangsta (hence my shout-out to my homey Michelle P. and the Dangerous Minds crew via my blog title) but I'm gonna take it down a notch for this blog. No brass knuckles or gripping stories from my days dodging the po-po here. Right...

Here's the deal: I'm a *recovering* oldest-child-perfectionist-color-inside-the-lines kind of girl. I wanted to be a corporate lawyer and make tons of money until I realized that a) it did not seem so fun after all to wear pantyhose to work; and b) I really want to use my days to craft and create instead.

A trashed law school app, a journalism degree, a (currently useless) master's degree, and a couple of jobs later -- including a terrible stint in marketing and a couple of cool but low-paying journalism gigs -- I'm finding out what makes for a full, well-lived life. I think it involves copious amounts of creating. And wine. But mostly creating.

And because I'm just really not dependable unless you give me a firm deadline and threaten me with horrible consequences (like no cheese for a week), I figure I need some sort of framework to spur me on. Otherwise, I will find other more pressing matters to attend to... like Facebooking or looking for online recipes I'll never cook. So here's to hoping that this blog will help me be accountable in exploring what kinds of designs, writings, crafts, and other fun creations can emerge with a little structure.