09 May 2010

Inny or Outy?

Did you know there's another food recall? This time it's romaine lettuce in 23 states and again it's e-coli. Along with the notice came the advise to shop the center of the grocery store, buying canned and frozen veggies.  This is exactly what I try not to do, preferring fresh items without all the additives and preservatives. I prefer doing what other 'experts' advise: shopping outside the aisles and going along the perimeter of the store. In the summer, I hit the farmers markets.

Although I don't always make the energy and take the time, I do like to cook. As Zetta indicated in a comment to a recent post, not everyone likes to cook at all. I think wherever we get our daily nutrition, we need to be aware of what we're eating. I want to be aware to make wiser choices. I mean, I know I'm only going to live as long as I'm going to live, but while I'm here I want to reduce as much pain and discomfort as I can. And, one one to do that is to eat better, eat wiser. Now, to make these words part of my habit!

Over the Christmas holidays, I caught the author of Eat This Not That on a talk show. He was revealing how Yoplait yogurt can have as much sugar as a Milky Way bar, how a personal pan pizza from Pizza Una can be higher in fat and calories that a a large Papa Johns and more. I had to get his book! In addition to have pictures of good and not so good choices from a cross section of restaurants, he also compares grocery items and recommends healthy food items. There are several books in this series written by authors at Men's Health.

I guess we just have to work to gain the knowledge and decide what we feel is best for us. Inny or outy, which shall it be?

01 May 2010

Creating with Food

That photo is a Sunday breakfast in Pingtung. My breakfast today in Indy was sweet potato fries, omlette with green peppers, cheddar cheese and sundried tomatoes, a side of fresh strawberries and cinnamon coffee. I couldn't do bread. A friend brought back some Garrett's caramel corn from Chicago and I am still feeling the carbs in my system. I enjoy cooking and really don't know why I don't do it more often. For a while I was preparing nice, large dinners on Sundays that would last 2-3 days into the week. Then, I got on this Asian kick and did a lot of bean sprouts and rice. Now, it's planning where I'm going to stop on the way home, and the stop must be on the way. Can you say 'rut'? It's one thing to be in a rut but another to know you're there!
Where are you right now, a mountain or a valley?
I'm more on the incline than at the bottom. I feel the need to make so many changes! I don't think I can make good, clear choices unless I'm healthy. I am eating way less meat. I found a bread shop here in Indy (and it is on the way home!) but I eat so little bread that for now that I don't need to buy a lot of it. So, I'm picking up artisan loaves at Trader Joes. These were my first food changes. It's time for another!
Vasilly at 1330v recently reviewed Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Living , a new book by Thich Nhat Hahn and Dr. Lilian Cheung. Vasilly says

To me if you’re ever read one diet book, you’ve read them all so the second and third parts of the book don’t really stand out. We all know that it’s healthy to eat smaller portions, whole grains, and not skip meals. The third part of the book talks about meditation, becoming more aware of where our found comes from and that everything and everyone is connected.


Yep! I just added that to my TBR list!

This reminded me of a former co-worker who told me how she used food prep as her calming, her meditation. Each evening she would prepare full meals for herself and the process of chopping, seasoning, measuring, mixing and creating would relax and energize her. I think we're forgetting about the joy that can be in the process as we stop to get food on the way home, we send emails rather than compose letters or buy clothes rather than make them.

I've pulled out the lentils for dinner tonight. I try to prepare beans at least once/month. Maybe I'll get really creative and do cornbread. From scratch!