Don Genova's Blog

September 8th, 2005 –  First, a correction.  In a previous Picket-Size Me! post, I wrote that spelt and kamut were suitable for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.  Wrong!  Both of these ancient grains contain gluten, and as such, are not recommended for celiacs.

Numbers Update:  This week I picketed on Tuesday and Wednesday at the CBC station in Victoria.  Thanks to the folks there for being so welcoming once again.

Distances:  Because this week contained Labour Day, we only had to picket for 16 hours, so I did 2 8-hour shifts, walking 11.1 kilometres on Tuesday and 11.5 on Wednesday.  The ‘circuit’ around Harris Green across from the building on Pandora Street is only about 200 metres, so you need a lot more ‘go-rounds’ to put on the kilometres.

Weight:  I’m now down to 188, six pounds less than my starting point of 194 on August 29th.  Have to make sure I keep up some sort of exercise for the rest of this week before returning to the line next week.

Temptations:  CBC fans in Victoria are very generous.  In my two days on the line I have been staring weight gain in the face and succeeding in holding back.  There are cookies, and muffins, and biscotti, and chocolate-covered coffee beans and potato chips, all of which are out of bounds for me right now.  Michael T. on the line in Victoria tells me he has actually gained weight over the first couple of weeks, since he partook of all the goodies, and isn’t as active in the evenings as he usually is.  Be strong, Michael, resist those chocolate brownies crying out to you!

South Beach Update:  I’m currently in week 1 of Phase One of the South Beach Diet, so even the delicious blueberries brought to the line by Monique this week were off limits.  Two weeks of no booze, no fruit, pasta, sugar, bread, rice or potatoes.  It’s now day 4, and I’m hanging in there, eating shrimp omelets with salsa in the morning, chicken stir-fries for lunch and steak with salad and broccoli or green beans for dinner.  I still crave some sort of chocolate or a nice piece of coffee cake with tea after dinner, but so far so good.

Budgets Getting Tighter:  Over in Vancouver, locked-out technician Alison V. sent a note to me about bargain shopping:  With the lockout dragging on most of us are becoming more conscious of the price of groceries. I’ve been watching the specials and of course the best prices are family size. Last week I bought a package of "melt in your mouth" sirloin medallion steaks priced at $2.25
each. The catch was to get the good price I had to buy the family
pack of 6 steaks and there’s only one of me. They freeze nicely but
other things don’t.

So… Don, I think you should write a cook book for those on a
budget who want to buy in bulk: "Cooking for One or Two, the Best
Things Come in 6 Packs."

Hmmm….sounds like a good idea, Alison, I’ll keep it in mind.

Events:  In Victoria we have been busy planning a fund raising event for Victoria’s READ Society, a local literacy group.  It will take place at Floyd’s Diner next Thursday night.  Click here for more details.  In addition to great entertainment, there will be silent auction items up for bid.  I’ve already donated 6 brand-new cookbooks, including the Lumiere Light cookbook, autographed by chef Rob Feenie, as one package, and have secured a pair of Feast of Fields tickets as another item.  Please come out to see some of your Victoria CBC’ers missing in action and help out with a good cause.

Monday, Sept. 5th:  This morning I ferried/drove back to our house in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island.  "Every trip is an ocean cruise," as Rick Cluff likes to say. When I arrived I pulled out the digital scale I had weighed myself on in Vancouver last Monday when I began this feature on the Pacific Palate Blog. 

Drum Roll, Please:  I have dropped almost 5 pounds!  4.5 to be precise.  Some folks will tell you that loss could be accounted for by water, or a normal swing in your body weight, but I’m going to take it as a sign that the 30+ kilometres I walked last week on the line actually helped.

What Doesn’t Help:  I’m a food journalist.  That means I make my living by experiencing the world of food in as many ways as possible.  Thursday night meant attending a new restaurant opening.  NU is the latest creation of Harry Kambolis of C Restaurant and Rain City Grill fame. It’s right at the foot of Granville Street on the north side of False Creek and promises to be another winner.  So, when you go to a restaurant opening you eat and drink.  What else?  I won’t bore you with all the details but I know you might be just a bit curious so here we go:

How about this salmon candy?  Chewy and smoky and sweet all at the same time.

Then there were these little servings of steak tartare on a crisp, house-made potato chip.

Oh yeah, and then these battered and fried oysters that were served with a little plastic tube full of beer.  As you shoved the oyster in your mouth, you’re supposed to squeeze the beer tube so you enjoy both beer and oyster at the same time.  I think they need a little work on that one.  There were other nibbles as well, but wouldn’t you know it, my gang was still peckish, so…we went out for dinner!  This is why it is hard to lose weight when you’re a foodie.   Fortunately, our choice of going to hapa izakaya on Robson Street was wise as the food there is fairly light, including these melt in your mouth Kobe beef slices that are carefully seared with a blowtorch at your table. I guess I’m getting a little off topic here…on Tuesday morning I will head down to the CBC office in Victoria and start picketing as we begin week four of the lockout…

South Beach:  Almost forgot.  To up the ante on the weight loss, today I began Phase One of the South Beach diet.  No bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, fruit, sugar or alcohol for two whole weeks.  Do you know how hard that is for a food guy like me to attempt?  I’ll keep you posted….

Sunday, September 4th: Well, it has been a lazy Labour Day weekend for me so far.  Having completed my picket duty on Friday with just 1 hour needed to fill out my 20, I have fallen off the walking parade.  But having said that, I did manage to ramble around a bit with the pedometer:

Thursday:  10.103km

Friday:  2.915km

Saturday: 2.862km

Sunday: 3.40km

Good Things: Thursday morning on the picket line I received a visit from Victoria Pawlowski, the nutritionist from Capers Community Markets.  Victoria and Capers Community Marketing Coordinator Trish Kelly brought along a beautiful basket of healthy foods that make more sense to snack on than loading up on some of the sugar and fat-laden temptations.  Highlights of the basket included some wild salmon chunks that had been cured with maple syrup, the No Chocolate Cookie Power Pack, some tofu sesame strips, and a duet of delicious salads.  The first consisted of lentils, onion and tomato, very similar to those that Margaret Gallagher had concocted earlier in the week, and my personal favourite, a crunchy concoction using whole kamut and spelt as the base. Kamut and spelt are known as ‘ancient grains’ and are suitable for people who have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant. (wrong! Victoria wrote me after this was originally posted to tell me spelt and kamut are part of the wheat family and as such, are not recommended for celiacs) The cookie power pack also employed spelt flour, along with oats, raisins, sunflower, flax and pumpkin seeds, even some hempnuts.  Tasty and very filling.  Victoria stressed the importance of eating a breakfast with some good protein before heading to the picket line and had lots of advice regarding the kinds of foods you can eat while exercising that will help with weight loss.  Listen for details on one of my upcoming podcasts.  Marie-Helene Robitaille has been careful with her diet on the line, and Thursday was no exception, as she brought along a green salad laced with canned tuna and other crunchy veggies.  Other good things:  Fresh vegetables grown by the grandfather of a locked-out employee and beautiful chunks of watermelon. Now for some BAD THINGS:

Shame on whoever brought these glistening chocolate cupcakes that I really wanted to just shove into my mouth, but somehow resisted.  Maybe by taking a photo of the food it makes it easier to turn down.  More bad things:  Attended a new restaurant opening, ate food there, then went out for dinner!  Details on that, and a weigh-in after Week One of Picket-Size Me!, coming up tomorrow evening.

On Wednesday I took the day off the picket line to complete next month’s column for Shared Vision magazine.  I also had to run a couple of errands, but then met some friends and headed out to the PNE.

Bad Boy:  Okay, I knew that I was going to eat some bad things at the PNE, but was determined to keep it to a minimum.  The rest of the day I had been good, a couple of scrambled eggs for breakfast, vegetables and roasted red pepper dip for lunch.

Jimmy’s Lunch:  Big disappointment.  The vaunted Jimmy’s Lunch has been around for decades, and I thought a nice juicy hamburger covered with onions wouldn’t be too outrageous for my main meal of the day. Well, starting with the bun, which tasted like cardboard, and finishing with the burger, which was not only small, but tasteless, led me to believe that the legend of Jimmy’s was just that, a legend that the company no longer measures up to.  The only flavour came from the condiments and the slowly caramelized onions.  For 5 bucks, I could have done a lot better.  My friend Steve bought some fries to go with his burger, and they came from frozen stock, and didn’t go very far to appease my hunger that had built up during the day.  Oh well, time for dessert:

Those Tiny Donuts:  These are always a big hit, and always fresh and hot and tasty.  Somehow seeing them made right in front of you, the little rings of batter floating down the channel of hot fat, adds to the anticipation.  A quick shake in sugar and cinnamon, and each donut is a little explosion of delight in your mouth.  And at two bags for $5, not a bad deal, either.  No, I didn’t eat two bags, shared with friends and actually didn’t finish them all.

Osteria Napoli:  However, after time spent on the Midway, the casino, the arcade, and watching people get terrified on the rides, we were still hungry.  So it was off to Osteria Napoli at 1st and Renfrew for a delicious salad and nice bowl of pasta.  Joe Brefa always puts on a fine rendition of traditional Italian food and tonight was no exception.  I had a half-order of pasta alla matriciana, which included pancetta, mushrooms, garlic and basil over penne covered in tomato sauce which tastes just like my mom’s.  Here’s to Joe!

I’m back on the line today.  If you want to hear more about what’s happening on the line, make sure you listen to the second podcast of CBC Unplugged from Studio Zero.  You can listen/download from this page.

p.s. 4.527 kilometres on the pedometer on Wednesday.

Wednesday, Aug. 31st.  Taking a bit of a break this morning after 7 hours on the picket line yesterday, some of it in drizzle, some of it in steady rain, all of it made a little more miserable by the damp and the humidity.  I hate being hot and damp and chilled all at the same time!

Significant Numbers: – Distance around the CBC Block bordered by Hamilton, Georgia, Robson and Cambie Streets:  Approximately .4 kilometres.

– Time it takes to walk around the block:  About 5.5 minutes, depending on traffic.  This day there was always a slowdown around the ATCO trailer, as picket duty cheques were being handed out.

– Total steps on the pedometer: 18971, which means I hopefully burned off about 900 calories.

The good: The steps translate to 10.434 kilometres on the pedometer. I didn’t partake of any sugary junk food on the line. Did eat a lot of fruit, which was donated by the folks at the party I was at on Monday night.  The organizers over-ordered the stuff that was coming from a caterer, so there were three fruit platters that we transferred to this one large container, leftover birthday cake and leftover mini-chocolate cakes.

The Bad:  When I arrived at the line today, most of the birthday cake and chocolate cakes had been demolished by hungry picketers…who passed up on the more healthy fruit offerings. And while I didn’t eat any sweet treats, I did eat several handfuls of this excellent popcorn someone had brought in, which was delicious…mostly because of the gobs of butter infusing the crispy puffed kernels of corn.  Oh well, I figured it was better than sugar.  Oh, and apologies to Margarget Gallagher, it was she who made the lentil salad I attributed to Lisa Christiansen on the previous post.  Margaret had given some to Lisa, which led to the confusion.  Margaret had more salad on hand, which I did get to taste, and Lisa had made an equally-tasty salad featuring tomatoes and ripe avocadoes…thanks for the samples!

The Ugly:  Shame on you, LG, for this little gem of a snack.  A Fruit Loops snack bar, supposedly Fruit Loops held together with milk…hah, I think the whole bar is probably about 90 percent sugar.  Despite the bright colours, I was able to resist asking for a bite of this ‘thing’.   

Looking ahead:  Late Thursday morning Capers has kindly donated the services of its staff nutritionist to come down to the line with some samples of good snacks to be consumed during picket duty and some hints on proper nutrition on the line.  Looking forward to that.  Also would like to hear your comments about food on the line and what you’re doing to stay healthy during the lockout.

Finally, thanks to Arnold Amber, CMG-CBC Branch President, for providing such a great response to CBC President Robert Rabinovitch’s rant in the Globe yesterday.

I started picketing this week at the CBC building in Vancouver, at the corner of Hamilton and Georgia Streets.  A pleasant surprise was seeing my name, along with many other on-air personalities, sketched out in chalk on the sidewalk.  Today was our ‘Walk A Block with a CBC Star’ effort, and lots of folks turned out to support us as locked-out employees walked the picket line.

It’s a very different vibe walking this line than the one in Victoria.  Sheer numbers make up for most of the difference.  While Vancouver draws on hundreds of employees to picket and design websites and podcasts and even perform for passers-by, there are only about 20 folks in Victoria to try to get our point across, and the CBC Building in Victoria is not in a high traffic area.  Still, we are developing a website there and will be doing a fundraising event soon for a local literacy charity.  See you back in the Capital next week, guys.

Back to the main reason I’m writing about the picket line in this space is that I want to let people know about the kind of food that is coming into the lines and my efforts to lose weight while doing my picket duty.  First step was to weigh-in.  Scary:

I tipped the scales at a whopping 198 pounds.  I figure I should be around 175.  Now, I was fully clothed for this weigh-in, in the privacy of my own home I checked in at 194, so I still have about 20 pounds to go.  Gee, I hope the lockout doesn’t last that long!

I also clipped on a pedometer for today’s strolls around the building.  I wasn’t walking all the time, part of it was spent catching up with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, and Mark Forsythe (pictured right) interviewed my for a future CMG Vancouver broadcast/podcast.  At the end of my four-hour shift I had logged 5.440 kilometres.   I kept the pedometer on for the rest of my busy day away from the line, getting ready to cook at a friend’s birthday party, and added on more klics to get to 9.874.  I hope to speak with a personal trainer and a nutritionist over the next few days to get a better idea of what I can do on the picket line to help me lose the unwanted pounds.

    Part of the goal includes resisting the urge to chow down on all the treats that constantly show up on the picket line.  Today I succumbed to one piece of red licorice and a chocolate chip/raisin cookie.  Good things brought to the line included green seedless grapes and what looked like a yummy lentil salad made by my colleague Lisa Christiansen.  She didn’t offer me any though…That’s okay, Lisa, you were almost finished anyway.   Of course our colleagues at Radio-Canada outdid everyone, munching on pate and freshly-made peach tart.  Hmmm….Marie-Helene didn’t want to share with me, either.  Maybe my reputation as a fearless food filcher has gotten around…more from the line tomorrow.