Day Nineteen, A few of my favorite things....

I think I figured something out.  This week has been rather lackluster.  I missed a workout on Wednesday, I messed up my eating for a few days straight now (nighttime snacking), and my get up and go has got up and went.  What has changed?  My times for working out, that's what.  I haven't meditated in a few days, either.  I guess taking the time to get up, quietly before dawn, to work out and meditate, really makes the rest of the day go much better.  Otherwise all this regular life stuff gets in the way and I end up too tired to do what I know I need to do, or I make excuses, like tonight--again, I totally didn't exercise. 

I did not start yet another lifestyle change just to discard it after a few weeks.  I do not have that short of an attention span, thank you very much.  I did not just buy new running shoes just to let them collect dust, and so on and so forth.  So, I am re-instituting the good old (dreaded) 5:45am wake up call.  This is just too important to me to piss it away, you know what I mean?

So, on to another topic.  My sister Lynda has visited my blog (hey Lynda!) and told me she liked to see the pictures of what I eat.  I'm always happy to oblige, and I have been taking some shots of things I've been eating that have been delicious/nutritious/beautiful, so I'm going to put 'em up and tell you how some of it was made.  None of this is very difficult to make, and all of it is very tasty.

First up, this one is awesome as a snack, breakfast, whatever.  Start with a half cup of low-fat cottage cheese.  In a separate, microwaveable bowl, dice up an apple, add fresh lemon juice, cinnamon, and Splenda.  Toss and microwave until the apple is to your desired level of stewed.  It's nice if it's just barely heated and the apple is crispy, and it's also good if you nuke it until it is nearly applesauce.  Combine the two, stir, and enjoy.  The apples warm up the cottage cheese, which takes away some of the cheese taste and renders it almost like a riccotta.  It is very nice when you are craving something sweet. 

Next up, one of my most favorite dishes, even before BFL.  Get a grill pan (highly highly recommend All-Clad's grill pan) and heat it thoroughly with olive oil, but do not let it smoke.  Meanwhile slice cleaned zucchinis lengthwise and salt rather liberally.  If you choose to, cut the zucchinis first and salt them and let the liquid render out.  Blot them with paper towels.  Place the zucchinis, cut side down, in the grill pan and go to town on it.  The browner you let it get, the better, flip it over, and repeat.  Continue until the zucchini is cooked through and is soft but not mushy.  It is wonderful, even my two-year old loves these.

Here are the beautiful, teensy "fairytale" eggplant I got at the farmer's market last weekend.  I cut them lengthwise and salted them to bring out the liquid, which relives the bitterness in the eggplants.  I tossed them with a fair bit of olive oil and rosemary and salt.  Here they are before being cooked:

And, after some time spent under the oven's broiler:

                                      

They lose that gorgeous color, but the broiler crisps the skins and makes for a wonderful little side dish.  All of this stuff is really pretty simple, but that's what I'm a fan of.  I don't mind making complicated stuff, but if it gets too tedious, then I'm probably not going to make it!


Other things that have been helpful for me is to make my food look attractive, not like prison slop.  I stop before eating each meal and look over the entire plate to remind myself that the smaller portions I am eating are actually just fine for me, that this is actually quite a bit of food, and that it is beautiful, and on and on.  Steve made my dinner the other night, and just about outdid himself for a simple dish of lean steak, brussels sprouts, and a kiwi.

He is such a show-off, isn't he!  :)

Other things I have started doing since starting BFL has been to label all the leftovers.  It's not because I think I'm going to have trouble identifying a salmon filet or frozen veggies, but because I am so leery of old leftovers getting eaten and all of us getting violently ill.  I admit, after about three or four days I pretty much toss the old stuff.  Steve will eat something until it's all gone, even if it's growing a beard, but I'm just not that way!  So I keep a fine permanent marker and some masking tape in my junk drawer in the kitchen, which is above the good old tupperware cabinet.  I write what it is and the date.  Behold the absolute height of my OCD! 

                                       

I never have to figure out when was the last time I made that casserole, or whatever.  I never used to freak out about that stuff, but when my dad became horribly, severely ill from salmonella, I started really paying attention.  For me, a few extra seconds in storing my food saves me standing in front of the refrigerator days later, doing weird food math.  "So...if it was a full moon and we had friends over, then this meatloaf is from...last Wednesday?"

And, just for grins, here are some cute pictures of my son doing something unheard of (in my opinion):  eating a homegrown tomato!  Note the cut up grilled zucchini on the plate behind him.

                                        

Can you belive that?  And, so you know he's also a fan of my Free Days, here is a clue as to what got eaten last Free Day:

                                        

Good night, everyone.  I am going to get back in the saddle tomorrow.  In the morning.  The very early, predawn, 5:45am morning.  I am getting back in the middle of this thing, so I don't lose out on what I've worked so hard for already!  See you tomorrow!