This time of year is almost silly to be trying to get back to a fitness thing, but that could also be considered a test: How bad are you going to be on fitness, how much are you going to let yourself enjoy festivities, and how much are you going to beat yourself up over either decision? For purposes of my own mental health, I chose to try to do things in some moderation, to plan ahead on not meeting some food goals a few days but go under in other days, and so to be good in the longer average.
Anyone who has read this blog with any sort of regularity (baring the several recent months I haven’t been posting) will know that I do like to cook, and I like to bake. Hence the eggnog snickerdoodle cookies I mentioned in the last post and am still consuming (1 batch, which I couldn’t cut due to the number of eggs, made 57 cookies!!).
Something I’ve been wanting to try to make for awhile has been mini swiss rolls. I saw these in the very first episode of The Great British Bake-Off / Baking Show (different names depending on the market). Practically every child in America who is older than 30 now likely saw these suckers in the grocery store, basically they’re Little Debbie -brand “Swiss Rolls.” But, home-made. And without a lot of the fillers and cheats that a mass-manufactured product has*. I definitely liked those as a child. When my parents last visited, my mom tried to make these suckers and, well, let’s just say they didn’t turn out that well. My mom’s cooking is … well … not the best, but she tries? I have been wanting to try these because they’re kinda a stepping stone to a full-fledged Swiss Roll (which is kinda easier because it’s bigger), which is a stepping stone to a Bûche de Noël, which I’d like to try to make next year.
Anywho … Working around making my very long-time family tradition (as long as I can remember at home, and then transferred to Colorado when I went to grad school) of a Christmas pizza (green dough!), I made these mini swiss rolls tonight. Each one is 563 calories (31.9gms fat, 65.4gms carbs, 8.0gms protein). Have 1/3 of one, and that’s a nice, 188-calorie snack!
What was my point in all of this? Right … it’s where does the restriction of a fitness journey trump what you want to do during the holiday? Clearly from my log for today, near the top of this post, I over-ate. Not a horrible amount … yes, I was 94% over my fat goal for the day, but I planned for that on the week. You’ll note that the previous two days are low on fat and calories, though at par for carbs. Friday and Saturday, I should be closer to 85% on carbs and then 33% on carbs, respectively … and 120% on fat and only 37% on fat on those two days, respectively.
So, I’ve been worse this week on having an even distribution of calories and macros, but I think that the point is to have it smooth out to still meet my goal, especially to give consideration for enjoying some holiday traditions, or trying new things since it’s a good time to try ’em. Or, traditional time to try ’em.
Of course, I would like to be doing better on exercise to also help compensate, but I was literally in the kitchen today for 6 hours, between these rolls, and making pizza stuff, and cleaning up. That in itself was exhausting.
*Here’s the ingredients list for Little Debbie’s version, simplified (you don’t need to know what’s in the flour, for example): Sugar, Corn Syrup, Water, Enriched Bleached Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil with TBHQ to Preserve Flavor, Dextrose, Palm and Palm Kernel Oil. Contains 2% or Less of Each of the Following: Soy Flour, Cocoa, Soybean Oil, Eggs, Corn Starch, Whey (Milk), Leavening, Emulsifiers, Salt, Colors (Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1), Sorbic Acid, Egg Whites, Natural and Artificial Flavors.
*[Continued] In contrast, the home-made version has the following ingredients: Butter, egg (whole), Sugar, Cocoa Powder, Water, Vanilla Extract (vanilla bean, alcohol), Peppermint Extract (peppermint, alcohol), Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate.
*[Continued] Yeah, so … I’m definitely not a chemeophobe, but I do kinda feel better about putting 10 ingredients in my body than 23. It also shows baking skill, and as I noted, they cheat: They use leavening, while part of the skill is getting that sponge cake to rise with NO leavening, and have a good structure to the cake withOUT using flour. I’m also not sure why Little Debbie uses three different food colorings … they’re black-and-white, what are they coloring?!
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