apples are everywhere!

Surprisingly enough I have not yet had apples incorporate themselves into my dreams...I am a vivid dreamer so perhaps typing this out will make it come true. Anyway, since starting this challenge, apples have literally become a part of my life; like flossing, I think about them all the time, I will go out of my way to purchase more when I suddenly run out and feel guilty when I miss a day, but generally am very happy they have an established place within my routine.

Today waiting for my Honda shop to finish my shockingly expensive brake repair I decided to delve further into apples and have discovered the following:
1. I need an apple core. I used one last night and today. At first I thought it was just an extravagance, but it makes my apple consumption easier. Quick press and you have a lovely sliced apple...be warned, push straight down or the core will slice sideways...whoops.
2. If you google the word apples, there are 38,400,000 results in 0.18 seconds. That is a lot of references to apples. That crazy company, you know the one with all those gadgets, appears a lot but there is truly a lot of crap out there regarding this fruit! However, this listing seems promising as a general guide to apple varieties.
3. People think I am insane. We all knew this before, but challenges really make people see how dedicated one can be to an odd topic. Not as many people are ready to embrace apples at every meal as I thought perhaps they would be, hmmm.
4. Does anyone remember my friend Trevor who came with me to roller derby once (at the Soccerplex) and put apples in his bell bottom overall pockets? When I think of this challenge I think of Trevor and his penchant for apples long before this challenge began.

I dunno, that's all I have today. Apples are controlling my life but all things considered it is a pretty good obsession.

Lastly, dinner! Grilled cheese on whole wheat bread from Christopher's (Westside Market), sharp NY cheddar, lavender goat chevre (from some CA creamery, SO good), and sauteed spinach...of course with a side of apple!

Apples: Weight Loss, Award Gain

You too can lose two-and-a-half stone and win an Oscar*! It's as simple as eating apples*:
Christian Bale Ate Just Apples For 'The Fighter' Role









*not a guarantee

Fun apple song

Atmosphere - Apple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT-07C7Hi2s

Mike's post made me think of this song.

Video is just the album cover.

Apples In The Tub

In the "amazing facts" that mental_floss magazine, tweets, they've got an apple-related post on this fine day:

Writer's block be gone!

I had to do some food shopping tonight for tomorrow's big Chili Cook Off at work (my chili does not contain apples), and as I was walking in, there were two fellas outside talking. If they were in a movie, they'd be credited as Gangsta #1 and Gangsta #2. As I walked by, Gangsta #1 said, "Apples, motherfucker, apples."

I wanted to stop and see what the context was, but of course I didn't. I thought, Hey, maybe he recognizes me as that guy who once posted on this apple blog! But I doubt that was it.

Anyway, later I was walking down an aisle, and here came Gangstas 1 & 2. This time, the part of the conversation I heard was, "You know it was her fucking feet."

I wish I was hanging out with these guys. The only thing I could figure is that Gangsta #1 was actually an undercover CIA agent or something, and he thought that maybe I was one also who came to save him. "Apples, motherfucker, apples" was probably code for "My cover's been blown. Call the chief!" Does the CIA have a chief? I dunno.

That's all. I've been eating a lot of apples lately. Five in the last two days. I will not give up, unlike some Apple Challengers I know.

A witch!

I'm a big fan of Monty Python. (Don't worry. I'm going to circle this back around to being relevant.) I've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail many times. So many in fact, that whenever I think of apples, I think of the witch scene from the Holy Grail. Here it is in case you've never seen it. (And I hope that's not the case for anyone. And if it is, you should remedy that situation ASAP.)




It's a bit long, but funny. The important part is the section regarding what else floats in water. Apples!

So I was in the West Side Market (not the one in Cleveland, the one at Broadway and 110th) picking out some more Granny Smiths when I said "Apples!" because that's the only way I can say that word. I said it out loud. It's okay, New York is full of crazies. I didn't think it would cause sideways looks. However I didn't expect that a person on the other side of the fruit bin would respond, "very small rocks!"

Totally made my day. Best moment in NYC so far.

Limit Yourself

Painting by yamiyoujitsu

Any of you who are pregnant shouldn't be eating 5 apples a day:

Fruit Juice, Apples Linked To Fetus Harm

Alright, so the article is really about overall fructose intake, not just apples, but does anybody really have to be told to avoid that many apples in one day?  Who would do that?

Concentrate On Concentrate

I don't think this technically applies directly to any of us as we're not Vermonters (right?) but this commentary by Sarwar Kashmeri is an interesting take on local economies, the general mindset of food processing/consumption and of course involves apples or I wouldn't be mentioning it: Kashmeri: Concentrate On Apples

Right up your local alley, k.ry. And for the record, despite my occasional fascination with the Grāpple® and other such novelties I like to go local when I can also.

Hey Fellas ...

For those of you who don't work with me, I like to keep boxes of cereal at work. I have a bowl and a spoon there and bring some milk in a Thermos® and have my most important meal of the day right at my desk. I guess eating breakfast at home would be more relaxing and perhaps more "normal" but that would mean getting up earlier and I think we can all agree that the idea of that routine is less than ideal.

Anyway, one of my current breakfast cereal options is Kellogg's® Apple Jacks®. Healthy and mature, I know! Before you get all riled up, despite containing dried apples and apple juice concentrate I am not counting Apple Jacks towards my Apple Challenge consumption count.

I really don't know what any of this rambling has to do with anything really, but I liked this frame off the Apple™ and CinnaMon™ comic on the back of the box.  Just a little confidence building shout from Apple™ to his non-personificationized apple friends (and football -- part of the "What's Wrong With This Picture?" game on the box):

Looking good indeed.

Apple Hunger Test

Not much apple blogging as of late, but not to worry, we're still here.

I ran across an article from the Yuma Sun that has some apple health facts and a little trick for figuring out whether you are actually hungry or not (in case you are trying to avoid eating crap): Guaranteed 'Apple a Day' Diet