Mocha Lite What
do you get when you mix the one-of-a-kind taste of Starbucks® coffee,
real milk and luscious, chocolaty Mocha? Bottled euphoria. What donât
you get? One third of the calories youâll find in Mocha bottled
Frappuccino®. And though this creamy treat is even lighter than our
lowfat original, the great taste of Mocha still shines through. Whatâs
not to love about going Lite?
Sarah from Obesity Help had mentioned these to me a long time ago, and I had not seem them in the stores until this week. I bought two four-packs immediately - I was certain I would LUUUUURVE the bottled sort of better for me coffee confections.
Not so. Upon chilling and cracking open a bottle, I did my pre-requisite sniff test. FAIL. I could not detect the coffee, it smelled like wet puppy. Not a dog, but a puppy. Ick. I sipped on it - because I was sure it had to taste better than it smelled.
Overall, it's alright, but I could not finish one 9.5 ounce bottle, not because I was full, because I really did not enjoy it. It was very blah, milky, with no detectable espresso taste, and the smell really threw me.
Now, as the disclaimer: I am a huge 'bucks fan. I drink gads and gads of their coffee, even at home, I grind their beans. I drink 'bucks beans all day long, when I am out, I order 'bucks.
This? Did not taste like a Starbucks product, I suppose I expected a sharp espresso and chocolate taste, but never got it.
Boo.
Product - Starbucks' Bottle Mocha Lite Frappuccino
Via - Local Grocery Store
Price - ??
Pros - 100 calories, somewhat low in actual sugar
Cons - Smelling wet puppies, liquid calories without a huge nutrition punch... but...
I sent a child off to day-camp today in the pouring rain. I noted that she wasn't on the clip board list, but that was cool because she also was a late sign up. The staff member shuffled the kids on the bus, and said she's good to go. So, I leave to pick up two more kids from two other locations, and this takes hours because we live in the boonies. I get back - to a message, "Mrs. Wronglastname? We have your daughter here, everything is fine, she's having a blast, but -- we can't find her registraion."
I have this crazy vision of my child sent packing, lunch bag in hand, in the rain, walking home.
"I <sniff> can't <snort> stay."
She left the car with a case of anxiety, "What if it rains all day? What if I lose my lunch? Will I know anyone?" I can only imagine her reaction if the staff said anything to her about not. being. signed. up. The woman asked when I was there to register, did I use another name, were we just stupid?! (She didn't but I was starting to think it.) I swear to you - I went. I signed up THREE kids for two sessions each. I paid three registrations and one session via my debit card. $75 x's 3 + one two week session = I would remember this payment.
Well, they can't find it, and I'm asking if they need to send her home, I'll be right there. She's having a good time, no need, but they will keep looking and send home a new one if necessary. I also asked for a receipt for the debit, because it's out of my account!
(Just so you know, this is how things work for me. LOL.)
Before this, I picked up my boy from his over-night birthday party, and he's got big bruised welts from paintball. I ask him if he's going to do THAT again, "Maybe, but with protection." HA. He says he got a good shot. "Oh yeah, who'd ya get?" He says, "The referree, I shot him in the head." This boy will never have a real gun.
We made it home, after a huge circle, and everyone is safe and sound. It's going to be a long summer.
The Cheesecake Factory has always been a bit unwilling to part with their nutrition stats, until the passing of some laws that require the disclosure.
Join me in a 1900+ calorie Carbonara, will you? KIDDING. Sort of. If I had a stomach capacity of a football at this moment, goodness knows I would hit the carbonara and back it up with fried mac and cheese balls. (Yes, my heart just stopped.)
I order the following at Cheesecake Factory, you know, to save calories for a slice of low carb 570 calorie cheesecake. :x
(See, now 2,000 calories is the recommendation for a male adult for an entire day - NOT ONE ENTREE - NO APPETIZER - NO DESSERT - NO DRINK! Think about that.)
(Not my photos, from the event, photos here show a lot less crowd.
Edited to add this, since I note people searching for this event, companies maybe who were involved: This was just our experience, maybe we would have had better results had we gone early in the morning, the day before? We were just SO overwhelmed, and were not expecting it.
I made my family head into Boston for the 2009 Boston Health + Fitness Expo. After reaching the convention center - and finding a parking garage - we went around in circles until we couldn't find a parking spot and left this particular garage. The parking attendant asked us for $9 for spending 11 minutes circling for a spot, and Mr. nearly screamed. He was a little bit twitchy because we had hit the "Low Fuel" indicator light on the way into the city, and were really, really low at that point. Then, we couldn't find a gas station, we left the garage and circled for gas. I suggested we go BACK and find another garage. We did, and eventually found a spot.
Lesson learned: TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORT! :) (I told you!)
Walking into the Hynes Convention Center - we quickly realized much of the city was also there. I had big hopes for this expo, I figured I would at least snag a reusable shopping bag and some literature about the products and services being displayed. I was so wrong. We entered a massive crush of people in one spot. People in lines resembling Disneyworld attractions. I wondered what they were giving away.
We were pushed, physically pushed, through the displays. Seriously, people were pushing to get through! I've been to expos before, and I never witnessed anything like this before. I was trying peek what the big draws were, why were folks squeezing, pushing, and generally being douches. Have a wheelchair? FORGET ABOUT IT.
One huge line? ICE CREAM. ICE CREAM at the Health + Fitness Expo. o-O Other big crowds surrounded the WHDH Channel 7 Boston's events, they had kids on camera, playing weather, and a cooking demo. But, many of the booths made no sense in a Health Expo. Bathfitter? Basement refinishing? Mountain Dew? OK - so they WERE skateboarding.
Sure, there were relevant exhibits, LOTS of hospital-sponsored ones full of super information, blood donation, teeth whitening, health awareness, some MLM vitamin sales, MLM chocolate biz, and many others, but nearly impossible to navigate to, or TALK to a representative at any of them. If you stopped to consider a chat with somebody - you got pushed out of the way.
I wonder if the fact that it was so heavily promoted in the area as "FREE! TOTALLY FREE!" that it drew a lot more people who might not have ever considered hitting an event like this? I totally understand the need to draw more people IN that might not typically attend - but it was chaos.
We quit after one loop through. It could have been the timing, afternoon on a Sunday? I really looked forward to checking out the exhibits, maybe getting some cool information or products to share with you. I stopped at ZERO booths, the only one I could get close enough to? SOYJOY, which, been there done that.
I nearly shoved my own kid, "YOU WANT FREE SOYJOY BAR, QUICK DOITDOITDOITDOIT!" She was all, "Uh, no mom. I'm all set." Hee-hee.
The highlight of the trip - we took off and hit the Prudential Center shops. Wow. Gorgeous, I don't think I have EVER been in there. We tried to consider stopping for dinner but someone was too cranky and had to have "icescrrrream," (right?) we did a few laps in there and took off for home with our $12 parking somewhat validated.
I am nearly ready to start driving again, (I was on a six month wait for seizure control) but I am determined to MAKE FOR DAMN SURE my blood sugars (in addition to my brain explosions) are controlled before I get behind that wheel with my kids. Most of the time, I cannot predict a hypoglycemic event, but I must be prepared. I could very easily become dangerously hypoglycemic at any moment, and lose control of a car (or a lawn mower for that matter!) so trying to avoid a low is imperative.
I've been driving during a 30 mg. blood glucose level. That's really safe, no? o_O In fact medical professionals have told me that my blood sugar levels were not 'compatible with the living.' Nice to hear while you're sitting having your blood drawn!
NO, IT IS NOT OKAY. YOU CAN KILL PEOPLE, AND YOURSELF, DRIVING WHILST UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SCREWED UP BLOOD SUGAR. DON'T DO IT.
If you're a hypo like me, you must consider yourself a 'drunk' - (carb drunk perhaps?) - and TEST YOSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOSELF. (I know.) I have heard/read too many of 'us' (post WLS hypos) driving while hypoglycemic, and they're all, "Oh well."
Too high or too low blood sugar levels are dangerous when you're behind
the wheel of a car. Monitoring your blood sugar is important if you're
the driver. Stress, time changes, and changes in your eating and
sleeping schedule can affect your blood sugar level, so it's best to
test more frequently when driving with diabetes.
Hypoglycemia is an abnormally low blood sugar level typically less than
70 milligrams per deciliter or 3.9 millimoles per liter. Early symptoms
of low glucose include shakiness, dizziness, hunger, headache,
lightheadedness, moodiness, pallor, and confusion. As blood glucose
levels continue to drop, loss of consciousness and seizures may result.
Some people aren't aware that their blood glucose is dropping. This is
a condition known as hypoglycemia unawareness.
Hyperglycemia is an abnormally high blood sugar level of 180 mg/dL (10
mmol/L) or greater. Symptoms of hyperglycemia that you may notice while
driving include blurred vision, fatigue, hunger, excessive thirst, and
frequent urination. Symptoms and effects of hyperglycemia may not be
noticeable until blood sugars are above 250 mg/dL (13.9 mmol/L).
If your blood sugar is too low or too high you may not be able to focus on driving or control your car.
Some tips for driving with diabetes:
Always test your blood sugar before driving.
If the
value is below 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) don't drive. Eat and retest and
drive when blood sugar is above 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L). (In this case, I would NEVER drive. I am typically 70-90 all day long until I am hypo. So, I think this number can be a bit off.)
Follow
rule of 15 â treat blood sugar below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L) with 15
grams of fast-acting carbohydrate â and retest in 15 minutes. Test and
retreat every 15 minutes until blood glucose is up in goal range.
Always carry a source of carbohydrate in your car.
Test blood sugar every two hours when driving long distances.
Don't drive with impaired vision.
Wear a diabetes medical ID.
Insulin
and some medications can cause low blood sugar. Test your blood sugar
before you drive and don't drive if your blood sugar is too low. Check
with your health care team as to how often you should check during the
drive.
Don't miss or delay a snack (depends on your diabetes medication program).
It's
never OK to drive with a low blood sugar. Stop the car if you
experience symptoms of hypoglycemia. Check your blood sugar. Treat with
fast-acting sugar tablets, juice, regular soda, or hard candy. Wait 15
minutes. Test and treat again as needed. Do not drive until your blood
sugar level has reached your blood glucose range. You should eat a more
substantial meal containing protein as soon as possible.
I add: If you have severe, continual problems with hypoglycemia, it may benefit you to have a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. (I have one, it's going back in this week.) It's a gadget that looks like an insulin pump, that watches your sugar 24/7, and can be useful to predict trending sugar levels and AVOID lows.
Supplies to take with you:
Glucose meter
Snacks (in case meals are delayed), a fast-acting sugar such as glucose tablets, juice, regular soda, or hard candy. (I recommend glucose GEL, because I have found when I am super low, I cannot deal with the chew-chew-chewing or sucking on candy, I need INSTANT relief.)
I add for the hypos: a carb/protein/fat combo to back up the glucose/sugar to maintain your sugar level afterwards (Peanut Butter cracker pack)
Overall - it's about avoiding a problem and remembering that you must take extra care in keeping yourself and others SAFE.
Totally unrelated, but it's my blog: I've been trying to kill some plants out in front of my house. I thought they were poison ivy. Turns out - they might be STRAWBERRY plants - now stunted. I love strawberries. I am dying to go picking, if the rain ever. stops. We're having a monsoon this very moment, and it's been rainy for weeks here.
I was happy to open the door and find a box on my porch, with two new products from Bariatric Fusion, first a new flavor of multivitamin for weight loss surgery patients:
Bariatric
Fusion Vitamins are chewable tablets taken four times daily, that
include all of the major vitamin and mineral needs. That means you're
not taking several different tablets, yes. (For someone like me - that
may have been beneficial, because I didn't take all of them, and
didn't take enough. I took kids' chewables. And, nothing else,
really.)
The Bariatric Fusion vites hit all the majors with four tablets spread over the day.
Meeting needs in 4 tablets daily allows for adjustable dosing. Early
post-op, taking 1 tablet 4 times per day avoids overloading the body
with nutrients at one time, ensuring maximum absorption and
utilization. Because the dosage is flexible, taking 2 tablets twice a
day, a month or two post-op, can improve compliance and ensure nutrient
needs are met for a lifetime.
The chewables from Bariatric Fusion, which came in a new! sample! bag! that I can actually open. (See video.) They are slightly bigger than other chewable vites. The smell, super strawberry. Texture - smoooooooooth - hardly any grit to it. Like buttah. The taste? It's like a smooth and creamy powdered sugar-like strawberry flavor. No aftertaste - which is awesome - considering all the minerals contained within.
