Brunch: Samantha's Southern Cuisine

yum. Yum. YUM. So, so good.

This past weekend, after the Brooklyn Book Festival (check out Daniela's recap here), my other LitSnit cohort, Erin K, and I were starving and decided to check out Samantha's Southern Cuisine in Brooklyn, off the Clinton-Washington C-train stop.

All I can say is OMG. SO GOOD. SO CHEAP.

More often than not, I'm afraid to go into places claiming to serve 'authentic southern cuisine' because that usually means 'authentic salty, greasy cuisine'. I find that a lot of establisments assume that all food from the south is just an excuse to drench a bunch of food in butter.

NOT THE CASE.

Anyways, Samantha's hit the nail on the head. After we sat for several minutes just staring at the menu (there were so many good options) Erin chose the Eggs Bennetsville--scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, peppers& onions, laid upon a slice of brioche toast

And I had the Chicken Fried Steak...

Both were delicious….perfectly seasoned and very filling. Even while full we still managed to each squeeze in a serving of homemade, twice-baked Mac & cheese:

The best part?

Two brunch entrees + two sides of macaroni & cheese + coffee + Grandma's Punch = $32

Not bad at all! We left full & happy. Perfect weather for a chilly/rainy day! (My only gripe was that they didn't have sweet potato pie. I clearly didn't need it but I just felt like that would have been the icing on the cake!)

Samantha's Southern Cuisine: 980 Fulton Ave (Fulton & Grand), Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 780-3090

Award for worst blogger ever goes to...

ME.

Hands down, me.

I don't know how people post so often...I get caught up in work...LIFE, and I just forget. It's not just my blog, either. I haven't logged into Twitter forever. Thank God we have a schedule for LitSnit, otherwise I would have been bounced by now. I'm trying to be better but we'll see...

So, to update you on the weight loss challenge...I'm at Day 41 and I've only lost 4 pounds.

FOUR.

I'm not even gonna lie...I have completely fallen off the wagon. Between all of my friends' birthdays in August-September, boys and stress at work, I've been eating like I'm about to hibernate for the winter. To make matters worse, I've had no time for the gym (or at least very little time) so I haven't even burned off what I've been eating.

UGH!!!

I think I'm going to join Weight Watchers. I think the idea of actually weighing myself in front of actual people will hold me accountable, because right now I'm not doing so well. With that being said, I'm not beating myself up about it. I'm going to get back on track and get focused. Plain and simple.

I have learned that I'm an emotional eater. I eat when I'm sad, depressed, stressed. Food makes it better. I need to figure out a way around that...

Either way...I'm back!

Georgia Nail Salon Charges More For Overweight Customers | A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss

Georgia Nail Salon Charges More For Overweight Customers | A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss

Are you kidding me?

Reading the comments on Erika's blog, I do see certain points. 1)If airlines can charge overweight people, then a nail salon owner can do the same. 2) The nail salon owner should have had the surcharge posted so that customers would know.

I understand these points. Fine.

Honestly, though? How can you say that it's SPECIFICALLY because of women over 200lbs that your chairs are damaged? If you had years of 150-175lb women or, heck, even years of 100lb women sitting in the chairs they would still wear out. Does she have a scale weighing these women when they come through the door? People carry weight in different ways. Someone can look like they weight 140 and actually weight 175-180. It's all about how the weight is distributed.

Do I think it's a protected class suit? No. Do I think it should be? Yes.

1) Weight is influenced by a number of issues, it isn't always as simple as one 'letting themselves go'. There are people that suffer from various physical/emotional issues where the result is weight gain.

2) While I SLIGHTLY see the airline reasoning, this woman is NOT paying for a seat. She's paying to get her nails done. I feel like the salon should have anticipated various sizes and ordered accordingly. I find the '200 lb.' capacity to be weak.

3) The owner didn't even inform the woman of the surcharge. The woman had to be overcharged and then ask before the salon owner would admit to why she charged extra. It's may be just me, but if you truly thought there was no problem with this practice then you wouldn't have any problem stating it upfront.
Am I missing something here??

Um, hello? McNuggets are NOT that good, lady!

Ok. First things first.

Weigh-in: 168.6

I gained .6 of a lb?? REALLY?? Ugh. I'll work harder this week. Now on to important things!

Thanks to The Bitchy Waiter, I came across the following video. In it, the woman tries to order McNuggets before 10:30am and McD's isn't having it. Hot Cakes or nothing, ma'am. Check it out! (Heads up: there's no sound...make up your own dialogue!)



Now, Ms. Dushane of Toledo, Ohio? Was it really that serious? You couldn't go find something to do until it was time for McNuggets? Do you feel good about causing that scene at McDonald's over some chicken? I mean, I love chicken as much as the next person but let's be serious...chicken should not be the cause of jail time.

Oy.

Weight Loss Challenge: Day #11

Woo!
I'm excited because my family has jumped on board of this Weight Loss Challenge! Starting Monday, my mom & dad are going to actively try to make healthier lifestyle choices and lose weight with me. It's nice to have a support system! :) We're using  Fat Bet, which allows you to set your own challenge up and keep track of your progress. You pick your own deadline and target weight, then you set up the prize. It's pretty awesome and it will allow us to keep track without having to chase each other down.

So far, I've worked out 3 times this week. Tonight's workout will be the 4th. I've started the Couch to 5K program because 1) I'm seriously out of running shape and 2) I'd like to start from scratch and establish a steady running pace because mine is all over the place. I guess I just gave up after last year's half-marathon. I'm paying for it now. Eh. Anyways, that along with Wii Fit is what I'm doing right now until I join Crunch! I super excited about that because I've loved their classes for EVER (check out that pic of the anti-gravity yoga. NO. JOKE). I'm now in a position to be able to afford it, so I'm going to bite the bullet and do it. Then I'm going to get my bhangra on. : D

I've maintained my calorie count. I realize, though, that I don't eat nearly enough fruits & vegetables and I need to drink more water. So starting next week I'll be taking a page out of Madame's book and itemize exactly what I'm eating. It'll help me to hold myself accountable.

(On a side note...you should really check Madame's blog out. It's called Madame: The Journey of a Weight Loss*ista and it has a lot of really great content but it's not boring by any means. She's not preachin'...she's just inspiring.)

Also, those who are trying to lose weight should check out Healthy Dining Finder -- It seems to have just started but it gives some great options for who want to eat out but want to make healthy choices when doing so. Just enter your zip code and voila! It gives you restaurants in your area and tells you what their healthiest dishes are. Sweet, right?

Awesome Contest at Books Obsession!

Okay, it's very rare that you find a contest as fantastic as this one...

Books Obsession is sponsoring a contest where you can win 2-4 books in your preferred genre (Paranormal, Historical, Romance and Suspense) and cool swag to go along with it. How sweet is that??

See the blog for more info: Books Obsession

Get in it, folks!

Weigh In #1: Success! Also? Olive Oil can suck it!

Okay, so today's Day 6 of the WLC (Weight Loss Challenge. Also, because it's Monday, today's the first official Weigh-In of the WLC.

Original Weight:   170
Today's weight:    168
TOTAL LOSS:  2 LBS.

I know that's not a lot but I feel pretty good! I'm excited. I didn't cheat at ALL this weekend (and I won't lie, I really wanted to! This is why I didn't leave the house. One brunch would have ruined my momentum.) and I've been really good about what I've been eating so far. My goal for this week is to work in 3-4 servings of fruit/vegetables & to cut back on the carbs. (Not give them up, mind you...ya'll wouldn't like me if I gave them up.)

Tonight I'm working in the workout part of this challenge at the gym. The plan is to do 45 minutes worth of intervals on the treadmill and then weight lifting. Wish me luck!

On another note: this weekend, I decided to slice some zucchini and yellow squash, and drizzle it with olive oil. As I pick up the bottle of olive oil, I happen to glance at the back of it and OH MY GOSH. Do you know how many calories are in a serving (1 tbsp.) of olive oil??

120 CALORIES.

Are you kidding me?? Do you know how often I've drizzled this over my salads? Ate at restaurants where I've constantly dipped bread in it? Arg!

Olive oil can suck it.

Ok, ok...I know. It's not it's fault that I never took the time to read the label but I feel like I've been betrayed! Oy! How do you use just 1tbsp a day? Can someone help me with this?

Blah. I didn't intend for this to become a weight loss blog. It's just my main focus for the moment. Things will shift shortly. :)