Gotta Love a Pantry!

I have to say the combo we put together tonight was SO good!

My husband had purchased some turkey sausage a couple of days ago, and since we hadn't frozen it, we decided we'd better use it.

I had some Spanish rice in the pantry, along with cans of diced tomatoes to draw from. I also had some cans of black beans. There was a head of iceberg lettuce in the fridge, along with some apples.

So I thought about what we could combine. I fixed the Spanish rice (tomatoes included), and then added some black beans for fiber to help offset the carbs in the rice. That was served up with about three ounces each of the turkey sausage. Then I cut a couple of wedges of iceberg lettuce, added some apple slices, again for fiber; and topped that with some balsalmic dressing.

I have to say it was all delicious, and it all came from my pantry except the turkey sausage and lettuce.

Having a pantry stocked with rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, beans and broths goes a long way when you're putting together a meal.

What I did was put some things together in proportions that I thought were balanced and healthy. You don't need a recipe for that!

Good Vibrations

I tossed the bag of Ruffles potato chips I bought tonight.

Not sure why I picked them up after many many months of never buying that genre of stacks, but I think it had something to do with my frequency channel. (No, not as in "ham radio"!)

I've been reading Dr. Wayne Dyer's book, "There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem." Very insightful, because, in a nutshell, he concludes that our problems coincide with our energy frequency.

Mine was rather low today ~ I tried to cram too much into one afternoon, and topped it all off with an irritating phone conversation that pushed my delicate ego buttons.

Dr. Dyer says low energy frequencies resonate with and attract other low, dense frequencies ~ something that over the long term can translate into mental or physical illness. Of course, we're just talking one choice here: Ruffles potato chips.

But for folks who are less aware of what's driving their eating behavior, it's simply a marker on a path strewn with other low-frequency food choices. So when your depressed, which is going to appeal to you the most: celery sticks or brownies?

Had my telephone chat been more positive, and had I taken a few moments now and again over the course of the afternoon to just relax, I wouldn't have even walked down that snack aisle. Instead, I headed right for it.

I knew what was going on, and after chip number ten or twelve, I opened the garbage can and threw the rest away ~ knowning that bag would be otherwise be empty by dinner time.

That alone boosted my energy frequency up a notch.

I had made a clear choice.

A sliced pear sounded pretty good!

Awareness Trumps Knowledge When It Comes to Eating Well

I'm intrigued with the realization that awareness of our needs can guide our choices more accurately than knowledge.


More simply, I wasn't feeling that great last night after I had a meal of albacore tacos, rice and beans, PRECEDED by a plate of fried calamari. I didn't have to add it all up to understand intuitively what my body had to say about it. It was seeking a cleanse, so I settled on an apple and some lemon water before I went to bed. Fortunately, it helped.


Granted, this was a special occasion. My husband and I were trying out a new restaurant ~ and we love calamari. It's the only fried food I ever eat, so we ordered a plate of it. But when we left, I found I didn't have that familiar sense of well-being I associated with eating lighter in the evenings.

So tonight, while my husband enjoyed a grilled cheese sandwich and some tomato soup, I checked in with my stomach and opted instead for a sliced pear and some ginger tea.

So what does that suggest about abstinence? Absolutely nothing!

I'll go back and have albacore tuna tacos, but next time, I'll split the order with someone else (there's two to an order), and I won't have calamari, too. Or, I'll just order the calamari and a side salad, and bring several people with me to share the appetizer plate.

Because the deal is, it's never "all or nothing." We get ourselves into big trouble that way because we end up thinking the choices we made were wrong.

But every choice has a consequence. It's as simple as that. It's not a judgment or a punishment, and it's not good or bad. It's just what happens!

Eating Patterns for Our Times

These are complicated times.

For that reason, we're all seeking some simplicity. My belief is that if you can simplify eating,  other things become simpler, as well.

Just consider how much money you might be spending on food you don't need, or fixing meals that aren't that good for you. We do that without thinking while our minds are preoccupied with a roster of problems and worries.

We chomp on chips, cookies, crackers  ~ or anything that's handy when we decide we absolutely need something to eat. The question that often remains, however, is "what are we really hungry for?"

For a long time I enjoyed the pacifying, sedating effects of sugar, fat or salt when I was  feeling anxious or stressed. But now that I've incorporated heathy, fiberious fruts and vegetalbles into my day ~ specifically the apple ~ I'm feeling a lightness and a heightened sense of being. But here's the key ~ it's easier to know when I'm hungry, and define what I'm hungry for.

What this means is if you focus on getting enough of the good stuff, you won't be inclined to eat the bad stuff.

I have to say it's liberating to eat lightly, but to eat often.

                            

One Change Affects Everything

Maybe I've said it before: "Change one thing you do every day and you change your life."

We'll see. So far, I think it may be valid.

A week ago I basically parked my car to see how attached I really am to all those monthly operating expenses for the sake of convenience. I bought a bike (soon to arrive!) and started riding the bus ~ Grand Valley Transit in this community. When the bike arrives, I'll ride it between stops, rather than walk.

So what's this got to do with eating. A lot!

Despite all we may understand and know about healthy eating, when the boredom factor kicks in, it's hard to resist culinary indulgences. (Even if it gets reduced to Cheetos!)

Emotionally, it would have probably been easier to board a flight for Africa than to give up my car. It gets me where I want to go quickly, and makes it possible to tick down a list of errands on a lunch hour. Without my car, I've had to time appointments with the bus schedule connections, and allow lots of time.

So when I leave in the morning, I have to think ahead because there's no running back to the house if I forgot something. Interestingly, the challenge has been stimulating. And if this makes any sense, it's easier to eat healthier.

Maybe it's the liberating feeling of getting out of the driver's seat, and letting go of expenses ~ like gasoline ~ and maybe car insurance!

I don't find slices of apple pie so hard to resist ~ now I resonate more with eating apple slices.  I carry my lunch ~ a half sandwich of fresh veggies, and an apple. I also carry my water bottle. It all fits efficiently into a fanny pack ~ convenient for the bike ride.

The other thing that occurs to me is how much gasoline I wasted just making unnecessary trips ~ to the mall, to the grocery store, or downtown ~ often because I didn't plan ahead.

Time is money ~ and it's energy ~ and I feel that now I'm conserving both.

Maybe that's what I've been craving!

The Grounding Benefits of Food Prep

I really felt like staying on the couch this afternoon. It was raining, and I was mesmerized by watching the play-by-play of Hurricane Irene's path on TV.

Mentally, physically and emotionally I was on a low "frequency" ~ the food equivalent of which would be a combination of sugar (or carbs), fat and salt. Slide a dish of Ruffles potato chips my way and my best resolve would be finished!

That's exactly why I don't keep them in the house!

I'm on a frugal path these days, so I thought about the station-wagon sized zucchini that had lazed too long in the sun in our backyard garden, and a bowl of ripe tomatoes in the fridge. Fortunately for me, I had to get up off the couch to do some prep work if I wanted something good for dinner.

Refusing to dwell on the approach this month of my 65th birthday, I instead focused on slicing up the zucchini for grilling. I combined some olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, basil, and some cayenne pepper in a bowl, and then basted both sides of the slices.(No recipe, mind you ~ just combining a few things I thought might work well together!) I placed them on the grill, along with some onion slices, and continued to baste them until they were tender.

Meanwhile, I sliced the tomatoes as a side dish, and heated up some left-over linguini, as well.

As I did this, I had time to once again be mindful that I'm so fortunate to be healthy and active at this age, and that it takes so little ~ really ~ to nourish me. When I finished eating, I realized I was satisfied. I didn't crave anything else. I was reminded that this is how I feel when I eat what my body needs.

I had a different frame of mind ~  on a "frequency" that didn't resonate with potato chips, or TV.

That's the challenge of the practice of eating mindfully ~ every single day!

Money & Food ~ It's All Energy!

I found after tallying up trips to the store and restaurant items on my bank statement that I was spending a lot more than I thought in that area. Nothing provides more clarity than journal entries or bank statements!

It occurred to me that we can "nickel and dime" our way into the red, just as, bite by bite, we can loose awareness of what we're eating. My resolve was to change that pattern, so on my way home from work I purposely avoided a stop at the supermarket. I knew by walking in for one item, I'd come out with three or four more.

In my car, I already had a Japanese eggplant, an onion and a zucchini that I had picked out of a box of veggies harvested from a co-worker's garden. I had stir-fried some veggies the night before and spooned them over rice, so tonight I'd do the same thing but use linguini, instead of the rice. Here's what I love about this: to the diced vegetables, I added a can of diced tomatoes (Italian seasonings included) from my pantry and a few black olives and mushrooms from the fridge, cooked them for a few minutes, and then spooned it all over a bit of the pasta. A dash of Parmesan cheese and it was perfect!

I'm careful to save "a bit of this" and "a handful of that" in the fridge rather than tossing them down the garbage disposal for just these kinds of preps.

Turns out it didn't take much time, energy or money to make that meal!

That translates into money in the bank, not to mention the huge health advantages of eating simply!