thoughts on things…
Just a little note to “me, myself and I”. The next time you think to yourself “I’ll just run down and pick up a couple of slices of pizza for lunch…” stop, take a deep breath, and remember how crappy you feel afterwards. Greasy pizza sucks, and it especially sucks for lunch.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming.
I made African Safari Pilaf tonight. (Found via the Healthy Hillbilly Housewife by way of this really good blog post on eating more meals at home). I honestly have no idea what a pilaf is, but it ended up tasting pretty good. There weren’t any vegetables so in the future I’d probably have to add a side of something green. Looks to be a recipe I could tweak out a variety of different ways. It called for “beef broth powder”, which I assume meant beef bouillon because I couldn’t find any beef broth powder in the store. I skipped that, cause it looked like it had a ton of salt. The recipe originally called for ginger but I accidentally added curry instead. Didn’t seem to be a problem.
In the future I could also probably cut back on the amount of ground beef. I stuck to the prescribed one pound but I think it overpowered the rice somewhat. Also another note to self: The amount of water they suggest with brown rice never seems to be enough. I could probably have safely used 3 1/2 cups. The next time I’d also season the ground beef more when I was cooking it.
I’d try this again.
Wanted to give myself a little pat on the back here. I cooked dinner for myself tonight. Nothing fancy… A couple of microwaved grilled fish fillets with some cous-cous and a salad. It’s been ages since I’ve cooked, with all of the home reform going on. It’s something that I’m just going to have to force myself to do. I’ve hit a wall with the whole Chinese food/McD’s/KFC/Thai thing. Thought of it makes me queasy. But then again, maybe that’s just my cooking coming back to haunt me…
I really need a cookbook and some skills super quick.
I just wanted to make a quick note of something that happened to me earlier this evening. I’ve been really good the last 3 weeks (I think it’s at least 4 weeks now…) about not eating crappy Chinese food or other fast food. For the most part I’ve cooked for myself. I was running around this evening trying to finish up some chores. I’d not eaten and was getting pretty hungry. I started my laundry and figured “You know… I can eat Chinese this one time. It’s not going to kill me.” I stood there looking at the menu and everything really seemed pretty awful to me. I remembered how bloated I’d feel after eating it. I remembered the taste of the various items. Nothing appealed to me. I went home and cooked some pasta with green beans and fish.
Granted the meal that I cooked was nothing special. Most would find it downright unappealing. It was however quick, reasonably tasty and it satisfyed my hunger. I’m not saying that I’ll never eat fast food again. I just want to mark a moment in time where I made a clear decision not to.
It supposedly takes 3 weeks to form a habit. Fine. I need to eat healthier. Cooking and eating at home saves a hell of a lot of money. Problem: I have basically one or two recipes that I can successfully manage. I also tend to not cook because of the time involved and the inevitable clean up that is necessary.
Solution? I have a Turbo Cooker (yes a turbo cooker) that my mom gave me. (It was a gift to her as well…). I’ve used it successfully a couple of times, but have never really put it through the paces. Enter my “Cooking Challenge”. I went through the enclosed recipe cards and have chosen 7 or 8 that seem tasty. The incredients are all pretty basic. I made a list of what I’ll need to keep on hand. My goal is to cook at home for 3 weeks straight. Here it is laid out with a couple of exeptions/caveats:
3 Week Cooking Challenge
I will cook at home for the next 3 weeks with the following exceptions:
- Special dinners out with M. are considered an exception to the challenge.
- Days where I am out all day working or running errands and am unable to get home to cook are considered an exception to the challenge.
My thinking is that the “one pot” nature of the Turbo Cooker will make clean up easier. Laying out and deciding on 7 or so dishes that look tasty should also make it easier to maintain for the 3 week stretch.
Things that I need to watch out for:
So there it is. I have fear about making such a bold commitment to something like this. Really what it is is my fear of this being just another thing that I’ve tried to do and been unable to stay with for the long term. I need to remember that this is something that I’m going to do for three weeks. I’ll then assess the process at that time. I need to put this out there and then just “act as if” I know what the hell I’m doing.
One of the main reasons people tend to eat poorly is a lack of quick and convenient healthy choices. (Grabbing a banana and juice puree at the health food store next to my apartment is one choice that meets both of these criteria.) To that end, I need to remember to keep the following packaged food on hand at all times.
Because my schedule can be hectic, I’ve hesitated to purchase alot of fresh vegetables and fruits. They always seem to go bad on me. Usually what happens is that I’ll have a stretch of really busy time where I’ll have to eat out alot and I forget that there is a bunch of broccoli or half-used squash gathering moss in my refridgerator. What I’m wondering is that maybe it’s ok to just plan on purchasing a few staple vegetables to have on hand, whether you use them or not? What’s frustrated me in the past is the lack of consistency in my cooking habits. It was like a rollercoaster: Purchase alot of vegetables, cook a nice meal or two and then not cook for two weeks. I felt like I was wasting all this food and wasting all this money. Perhaps it was the extremes I was going to that was the problem. I think I need to reframe it so that these staple items are a part of my monthly purchases whether or not I use them. The trick here is to make it small. Always have fresh lettuce on hand. Know that lettuce in the spinner lasts about 2 weeks if you don’t use it and be prepared to buy more lettuce every two weeks. Maybe do the same with Zuchinni, or something small. The concept is that by planning on these small expenses, you avoid the bigger expenses of A.) Eating out and B.)Putting bad food in your body. The same has held true in the past for milk. It’s good to just plan on buying milk once a week, whether you use it or not. Even if you only use it twice all month, the 4 dollars you invest purchasing it each week (and thus always having fresh milk on hand) might keep you from choosing a McDonalds Crappy Meal, or a 10 dinner someplace else because you had milk to cook mac & cheese, or to use in a recipe, or for breakfast cereal. Rather than thinking of this as wasted food if you don’t use it, it’s better to think of this as insurance against eating improperly. My guess is that I’ll end up cooking more if I have food on hand consistently.
Financially for one month it comes out roughly to this:
Total: $28 a month
Those are the bare essentials that I’ve succesfully used in the past. $28 dollars a month insurance against bad eating habits and expensive meals. We’ll see how it goes.
In creating new habits, I’m realizing the benefit of establishing a baseline of where you currently are in order to have a clear place to move upward from. This is true of money (it’s important to know where you spend your money currently in order to define places of improvement) and I think it’s also true of diet. I know that I’m eating better today than I used to (for now I’ll define “used to” as the time before say January 1, 2005), but I want to be clear about how I currently eat so that I can see how to better refine what has become a good thing for me.
Here’s how I’m eating these days. I’ll break it down by meal.
Breakfast.
Just eating breakfast is a step forward for me. I’m still not as consistent as I’d like, but I’d say I’m eating something as my breakfast probably 2 times a week. (It might be more.) For breakfast I usually eat:
From time to time I’ll have a bowl of oatmeal instead of the cereal. Occassionally I’ll go to McDonalds and have a sausage and egg McMuffin with hash brown. (Don’t really do this that much… it’s more of “once in a while”, rather than a regular occurence). I don’t like to eat a huge breakfast, but definitely feel better if I’ve got something on my stomach to start the day. I just need to remember that I do indeed feel better when I’ve eaten before starting my day, and do this more consistently.
Lunch
I have trouble sometimes with this meal. What the hell makes for good lunch food when you’re making it yourself? I purchase lunchmeat and end up not eating it alot of times, because the whole “bread/processed meat” thing isn’t as appealing when I do it here for myself. (I’ll go and get a sandwich at the Deli from time to time… somehow that’s different). Maybe it’s because the sandwiches I make for myself aren’t that appealing. Maybe it’s those little packages of lunchmeat that you buy. (I never know how long they last in my fridge and I’m alternately worried that the meat has gone bad, and frightened that it still might be edible after 3 months because of all the preservatives.) Sometimes I’ll have leftovers from the night before (see “Dinner”, below…) or perhaps soup. So lunch usually comes out like this:
Sometimes…
When I do have to eat out because of scheduling, I’ve been alot better about not eating junk. My fast food consumption has dropped way down. As my exercise routines are bearing more and more fruit, I’m finding that it’s just not worth the calories for me anymore to eat at these places (McDonalds/Wendees/Slices of pizza/etc.). Ditto with my soda consumption. That’s something that I attribute alot of my physical progress to. There’s a hell of alot of calories in a bottle of soda (not to mention the refined sugar) and I’ve been finding that when faced with the temptation, I’m measuring it against my leaner meaner waistline and just not wanting to lose the later. It’s the same with the fast food temptation. I’m still tempted big time by it (I love McDonalds fries) but just want the slamming body more. When I do eat fast food, I’ll skip the value meals and just order a cheeseburger and a small fries and drink water.
Dinner
I still need to work on this one as well, but it’s gotten better. I’ve at least developed a couple of options for cooking at home that are palatable. My marinading strategy has been quite effective. I usually have 3 or 4 types of marinaded beef or chicken on hand, and frozen vegetables. Combine that with some cous-cous and I can throw together a meal pretty quickly. (I’m thinking that it’s also pretty healthy.) I usually keep a couple of Voila meals handy as well. They’re kind of a frozen “meal in a bag” that you just throw in a skillet and heat up. Sort of a healthier tv dinner. When I eat out here in the neighborhood, it’s usually Chinese food. I’ve have a couple of dishes that I like (Beef Mei Fun, and chicken and shrimp with mixed vegetables) and I’ll usually add an order of onion rings (occassionaly fries). I’ve eliminated the sticky fried sesame chicken that I used to get quite frequently.
Probably the biggest shift I’ve made when it comes to dinner (and lunch) is what I do when I have to eat on the run. In the past I’d grab a slice, or McD’s or something else damaging and go. What I do now is stop at the health food store by my apartment and get a banana and one of those thick juice purees (the name of the company escapes me at the moment). I find that the banana is like the meat of the fruit world. Very filling and stays with you longer. Likewise with the juice. This will usually tide me over until I’m able to eat a better proper meal.
So, here’s my usual dinner menu(s):
Conclusions
I’ve made a great deal of progress with regards to my eating habits. I think that it comes from realligning my values and habits to make my health a number one priority. It’s not perfect yet, and obviously will always be a work in progress. I need to come up with new strategies for cooking healthy and quick dinners (and lunches) for myself at home. I have however come up with one good strategy for eating on the run (banana & juice puree). Good stuff, and a strong foundation to build on for better long term health, I think.
Tools:
Tip:
When you come home from the grocery store marinade your beef and chicken right away. Don’t just place the packages in the refridgerator thinking you’ll do it later! You’ve only got 3 to 5 days that those suckers will keep in the fridge and chances are you’re going to forget them. Then you have spoiled meat. Nasty. Marinading right away allows the meat to better absorb the flavor, and it gives you little baggies of meat to throw in the pan and cook when you don’t have alot of prep time.
Steps:
A new category: Meals I know how to cook, and the time it takes to cook them.
Dinty Moore / Peas / Farfalle – 30 minutes from boiling water to clean dishes / Washed dishes while the food was cooling / (really hustling)