Category: Food

Glass container with flip top lid for spice organization
Curate Your Spice Cabinet

Curate Your Spice Cabinet

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Spices are the cat’s pajamas. Especially when I am trying to eat healthy. Focusing on flavors to satisfy with quality above quantity, and an effort to eat home prepped meals, drives me to up my spice game. Lately I’ve been better about adjusting flavors, adding a little of this and that, with repeat taste testing before sharing my dish with others.

The Cat's Pajamas are spicy

Spice Benefits

  • You can give flavor to a dish that is individualized to your taste.
  • Spices contain healthful things your body needs, such as trace minerals or antioxidant compounds.
  • You can prep satisfying meals at home that are fresh and better for you than packaged, processed, or store-bought foods.
  • Experimenting with cooking using your favorite combinations is fun.

Buying just enough spices to get you through each meal, every time you shop, works with fresh herbs, or small quantities of items that you seldom use. Then there are go-to favorites you always want in stock, keeping them at the ready for impromptu meals and snacks. For these you need spice organization and storage, and you should curate this collection with love and care.  It is important for the home chef to feel prepared and in control.

A jumble of tiny bulk bin bags begs for spice organization
Scary spice.

 

I am embarrassed to say I am a spice slob. For the last 8 years I had been buying most of my spices in bulk and keeping them in the little plastic bags from the store. This is unorganized, messy, and risks commingling flavors. There is no excuse for this, other than laziness and the fear of buying the wrong spice bottles, causing deep regret and shame.

A spice walks into a bar.."Wanna commingle? I'm kinda a big dill."

Don't let your cake sprinkles commingle with your spices. Nobody wants an Old Bay flavored birthday cake.
“Mom, why do my cake sprinkles smell like Old Bay seasoning?”

I have also let fresh herbs go to waste that I grew myself, instead of drying them and saving some for later. All because I didn’t have a system figured out. How dumb.

Then I decided to be the master of my home cooking destiny and curate my spice cabinet.*

Curate your spice cabinet

  • Pull out all of your spices and put them where you can go through them all at once
  • Discard old, stale, discolored stuff and anything you know you will never use
  • Decide what quantity is reasonable to keep, and if you are missing something you need
  • Pick a storage system and location
  • Fill containers, label, and store them
  • Feel like you accomplished something and admire your work. Who knew you were so organized and in control?

Spice Organization

The type of system you use will depend on the space you have and the amount of spices you use on a regular basis. I have 6 kids and entertain large groups weekly, so the quantity I keep of salt, pepper, and garlic might be larger than some people think necessary. I think of my spices in 2 categories: the ones I use all the time, and the ones I use less often but want to keep for impromptu meals. My system is built with these distinctions in mind.

A cabinet in desperate need of spice organization
The cabinet before spice organization: a jumble of plastic bags and bottles

What Spices to Keep?

Start by making room for everything you use on a daily or weekly basis.  Then add in anything you will use at least every month, and if you have enough room you can keep less-used spices.  If you won’t use it within the next six months you are probably better off buying small quantities specific to a meal when you grocery shop.  Some sources say that dried spices can last 2-3 years, but flavor and potency can start diminishing after a few months.

Think about your spice cabinet like your clothes closet: let it evolve with your tastes and style. Get rid of things that no longer suit you to make room for something that does.  Keep your reliable standbys and throw in something exciting once in awhile.

The cabinet with spice organization complete
The cabinet after spice organization: a curated collection

Location and Storage

Keep your flavors handy, but away from moisture and direct heat or sunlight. These can damage your spices. Choose a place that is no more than 3 steps away from where you do your spicing, whether it be prep or actual cooking spaces.  I keep mine to the left of my stove top, protected inside a cupboard.

Drawers, racks, cabinets, or shelves can all be good choices. Just be sure to make it easy to find and access what you need. Most people want to see everything they have without moving things around. Organizing by name or type of spice can help you, especially if you have a large collection.

If you can easily see and retreive what you want, you’re so much more likely to use what you’ve got.

I keep spice jars in flat trays so I can bring them down for use quickly from the cupboard. The easiest to reach tray is filled with the spices I use most, like cinnamon, granulated garlic, and chili powder. Other large bottles and extracts of various sizes are kept here in my spice cupboard too. I arrange these in a line around my trays so I can see where they are.

Glass container with flip top lid for spice organization

 

Containers

Whatever you use, make sure to have tight fitting lids to keep spices fresh. Think about whether or not you need shaker tops, wide mouths for scooping, or grinder lids. Most people can get by with 1-2 ounce vessels—go too large and there will be a lot of air around to damage flavors. Containers made of metal, glass, or plastic all have their pros and cons.

Metal—Lightweight and easy to clean. Can’t see contents through package.

Glass—Can see contents, less likely to contaminate food with chemicals or absorb smells. Heavier and more expensive.

Plastic—Inexpensive and lightweight, see-through. May absorb odors and can contain unwanted chemicals.

I chose glass containers with pop-top shaker/pour lids (and reusable chalk marker labels).  The jars I bought came with a funnel for filing, but it was impractical to use because it got contaminated with the flavor of the first spice it touched. Use a rolled up piece of paper instead to make a disposable funnel for preventing spillage.  I keep a clear plastic tub with a snap-lock lid for my sea salt cellar and grinders for Himalayan salt and black pepper.

For ideas on different types of spice organization, containers, and storage, check out my nerdy Pinterest board.

Spicy Tips

  • Label bottles on the lids AND sides so that you can see what’s inside from any angle.
  • Mark the date you last filled the container to keep spices freshly in rotation. You can do this directly on the bottle or on a piece of paper you keep nearby, such as on the back of your cupboard door, or folded and nestled in the end of your rack or drawer.
  • Buying spices from bulk bins, as opposed to prepackaged, could save money and eliminate waste. When buying tiny bits you can usually get enough for a few meals for less than a dollar. I buy from Winco. They not only sell from in-store bins, but also ship large quantities for great prices. Their online store gives an idea of how low the price per pound can be—compare this to the net weight of jarred spices to see potential savings. Large, full unit purchases go for 5% less.
  • Check the specialty food areas of your grocery store for additional deals. My favorites are El Guapo spices, found in the “Hispanic” aisle at large chain grocers—this company is owned by McCormick but costs less than a third when compared to the name brand bottles found on the spice aisle.
  • Pre-filled spice racks might be stale when you go to use them. If you choose one of these, be prepared to refill it.
  • Drying fresh herbs, or freezing them in oil, will allow you to extend your bounty, if you grow your own.
  • If you seem to be missing a spice for your exotic dish, visit an import grocery store or order it ahead online. The extra trouble might be worth it for authenticity of flavor.
  • Flavoring packets and spice mixes may contain unwanted additives. Make your own seasoning combos ahead instead.

If you feel the need to get organized, curating your spice rack is one way to get instant gratification. The little bottles are just waiting to find their places and give you a sense of accomplishment and pride. Get to spicing up your life, and eating food from the best place in the world—your own kitchen.

*Disclaimer: just because I organized my spice cabinet does not guarantee my cooking will be flavorful, nor that it will contain any spices at all. I may just eat an avocado from the skin with a spoon. And that’s ok too.

**Home cooking inspires Worth-it food stories, so write the next chapter!

 
3 big family breakfasts made easy

3 big family breakfasts made easy

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Hosting overnight guests for the holidays means having to serve them breakfast (or brunch if you do things right and sleep in). Nobody wants to spend time cooking in the morning instead of chatting, playing board games in a bathrobe, or staring at a wall as you recover from the night before. Now’s your chance to take the easy road.

Making stuff ahead and letting people serve themselves equals less stress, and you don’t have to deal with whiners asking for special treatment. You can appease most by offering options for picky eaters. Tell people if it’s not out on the table you don’t have it, and you are not making anything else! For those of you with “mixed” families, be sure to offer vegan/vegetarian or gluten free options.

The other bonus with these recipes is that you can control the calories and added sugar in your own serving without depriving everyone else.

Oatmeal buffet (serves 10-12)

Oatmeal bowl with nuts and bananas

Breakfast doesn’t have to be a pain in the ass. Make steel cut oats the night before in the crock pot, or just quickly make some old fashioned oats in the morning. Old fashioned oats can be made in less that 10 min on the stove top. Quick cooking oats in my opinion aren’t worth the couple of extra minutes saved.

Slow cooker steel cut: 4 parts liquid to 1 part oats. (I use 12 cups water and 3 cups oats.) Butter or spray crock before adding ingredients. Add 1/2 tsp salt if desired. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs.

Stove top old fashioned oats: 2 parts liquid to 1 part oats. I used 12 cups water and 6 cups of oats. Boil water, add 1/2 tsp of salt and oats, cook 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to desired texture.

Cooking pot of oatmeal

Milk, raisins, bananas, cinnamon, and sugar for the oatmeal buffet

Set up different fixings and let people create their own masterpieces. You can keep it simple or go crazy.

Fixings ideas:

Milk (or milk alternative)

Cream or alternative

Fruit (dried or fresh). I like sliced bananas, chopped apples (cooked for 2-3 minutes in the microwave), blueberries, dried cranberries, cherries, raisins, apricots

Flavorings (cinnamon, vanilla or almond extract)

Sweeteners (brown sugar, maple syrup, coconut palm sugar, agave, honey)

Flaky salt

Butter

Bonus items, like chocolate chips, nuts, seeds, shredded coconut, and maybe even sprinkles for the kids

Breakfast burrito bar (serves 8-10, doubles easily )

Open breakfast burrito with fixings

Prep your fixings the night before, or better yet get your guests to help after they’ve had a couple of whiskeys. I put everything into little lidded containers on a cookie sheet in the fridge so it’s ready to pull out and use the next day.

Oven scrambled eggs stirred with a spatula

Beat 1 dozen eggs with a half cup of milk or liquid of choice. Bake in a greased 9×13 pan at 350 for 20-25 min, or until set, stirring once halfway through. Fluff and break up the eggs a bit when done cooking for easier serving.

Heat up some flour tortillas (or wrap of choice, like these) in the microwave and cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm. Provide 2-3 tortillas per person if using taco-sized, 1-2 per person if using burrito-sized.

Fixings on a tray for breakfast burritos

Breakfast burrito bar fixings ideas:

Something spicy—Salsa, warm enchilada sauce, picante

Something creamy—Sour cream, cubed avocado or guacamole, shredded cheese

Something beany—Prepared beans—canned or homemade (pinto or black beans). Need 1 can per 3-4 people. Microwave to warm If needed.

Something green and strong—cilantro, green onion

Something salty—Crumbled cooked bacon, sausage, meatless breakfast sausage, black olives

Something crunchy/wet—shredded jicama, shredded carrots, fresh sprouts, shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, diced onion

If you are extra motivated you can soak beans overnight and cook them quickly in a pressure cooker while the eggs bake.

I personally don’t like to make quick soaked beans or pressure cook beans from dry. It’s like wishing for Farty the Christmas Elf to surprise you with gifts by afternoon.

Baked French toast (serves 8-10)

Slice of blueberry French toast topped with whipped cream

This is a great way to use up old bread or dinner rolls. I used these hamburger buns leftover from my son’s birthday dinner. I like my French toast bake barely sweet, and people can add their own dang sweet things on top after cooking. Eating sweetness on the outside of your food, where it is instantly accessible to the tongue, allows you to use less sugar.

Cut bread into 1” cubes. You will need 10-12 cups. This is about a loaf of bread’s worth.

Bag of old hamburger buns to make into French toast

Bread cubes in a pan for baked French toast

Make your custard. 8 eggs beaten with 2 cups milk of choice.  Flavor with 1/2 tsp cinnamon, the scrapings from 1 vanilla bean (or 2 tsp vanilla extract), and 1/2 cup maple syrup. I used my blender to make this easier.

Add bread cubes to a greased 9×13 pan and pour custard over. Cover and let soak overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake uncovered for 40-50 min, until set and browned to your liking.

Tray of golden baked French toast dotted with blueberries
My kids loved this blueberry version of baked French toast. They did not recognize the sesame seeds from the old hamburger buns.

Variations:

Add berries to top before baking

Add 2 mashed bananas to custard mix, top with walnut pieces.

Add 1 cup pumpkin purée and 1/8 tsp nutmeg to custard mix.

Gluten free version

Vegan version

Baked French Toast Fixings:

Warm fruit compote or sauce 

Whipped cream, coconut whipped cream, or cashew cream

Maple syrup for drizzling

Chopped toasted nuts

Banana slices

These breakfasts work for anytime you want to kick back and actually talk to the people in your house, whether they are guests or your doting spawn. I personally don’t need guests to arrive in order to eat a giant breakfast, and you don’t have to either: save your leftovers and you will have breakfast all week!

Halloween's disappointing holiday candy bags with wrappers
Open Candy Season

Open Candy Season

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It’s here! Halloween through Easter is open candy season, which means that there are bags of candy around, and if you open them they may get eaten. Maybe a bag will be obliterated during a commercial break or while you think you are asleep at night. Even if you don’t want any it will find you. At home, at work, at your Aunt Mildred’s house. If you have kids it will be at school parties, at trick-or-treating, and in their stockings.

When I was little I remember seasonal treats, like candy corn at Halloween, candy canes at Christmas, and Valentine’s conversation hearts traded at school.  But now I’m noticing the same cheap candy at the store every holiday, just repackaged with different colors on the bag. Aisles of it. Ginormous bags the size of dog food sacks. Everything is so redundant and unremarkable; it’s just not special anymore. There is only one season and it tastes blah. But yet I keep partaking.

Typical store offerings encourage quantity, not quality. The food is sweet, cheap and accessible, but doesn’t really add much joy to the celebration or gatherings.  I doubt I am creating lasting memories of the holidays for my kids with these small “chocolate” bars sitting around the house, or plastic eggs brimming with fruity gummies in their Easter baskets.  What they really ask for are holiday activities, and if they want food it is always something we make together or eat around the table with family. No one ever puts “cheap-ass candy”* on their wish list to Santa.

I told my son that if he really cared about a girl he shouldn’t buy her Russell Stover anything, ever. He was hesitant when he showed me what his girlfriend that year got him for Valentine’s Day. Yup, a Russell Stover heart. It sat in our pantry with its lineup of lonely pink and orangey crème middles, only a few bites nibbled off. They broke up not long after. The heart box and its contents eventually got thrown away–it just wasn’t meant to be.

True love deserves better candy.

bags of candy and wrappers

And maybe I should remove these disappointing holiday candy bags from my nightstand. The Hubs put them there with the intention of hiding them from the kids until Halloween for the trick or treaters.  Then he had the balls to open one of the bags. It was all over after that.

(For us not eating the candy, not for my marriage, although he did buy some cheap-ass candy*. BUT, if he shows up with those lame Palmer peanut butter pumpkins after these are gone, I might be gone. Thankfully, he knows me better than that!)

*Cheap-ass candy should not be confused with cheap ass-candy, which may actually be on some Christmas wish lists, not that I would know or anything.

Bonus! Emoji Charades, candy style!

Guess the candy name

  1. 🍒💣
  2. 🌌
  3. 😆
  4. 👆🏽
  5. 🤷🏽‍♀️📞
  6. 👴🏼🎸 or 🍾💎💎💎
  7. 💼🐱
  8. 💪🏾
  9. 👩🏽👩🏼💋
  10. 🍔🍔
  11. ☄️
  12. 🤓🤓🤓
  13. 🤣👨‍🌾
  14. 💵📆
  15. 🍬🌽
  16. 🍼🎓🎓
  17. 🔴🌿
  18. 🔴🔥
  19. 🗣🛑

  20. 💨👤

Answers

  1. Cherry Bomb
  2. Milky Way
  3. Snickers
  4. U-no
  5. Whatchamacallit
  6. Pop Rocks
  7. KitKat
  8. Big Hunk
  9. Hershey Kiss
  10. Whoppers
  11. (Atomic) Fire Ball
  12. Nerds OR Smarties
  13. Jolly Rancher
  14. PayDay
  15. Candy Corn
  16. Bottle Caps
  17. Red Vines
  18. Red Hots
  19. Gobstoppers
  20. Air Heads
Vegetable dipping soup instant pot
Vegetable Dipping Soup (Instant Pot)

Vegetable Dipping Soup (Instant Pot)

Print Recipe
 Vegetable Dipping Soup (Instant Pot)
This mild tomato-based soup takes the place of overly sweet canned stuff, and it is easy to cook in the Instant Pot, making it perfect for busy evenings. It's just tame enough for kids to tolerate but has a comforting flavor that makes me want to find more things to dip so I can eat more. I like to pour it into a mug for maximum sandwich dunking. My favorite pairing is a crusty whole grain grilled cheese made with my beloved Tillamook cheddar. It is a great way to use up prolific oregano, hidden weird carrots, and the truckloads of tiny tomatoes that are still hanging around the neglected garden of early fall. I like to leave the tomato seeds in: they give just a hint of texture and bitterness that add to the depth of the soup. Leftovers taste even better!
Vegetable dipping soup instant pot
Course Dinners, Lunch
Cuisine comfort food, Healthy
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 40 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Dinners, Lunch
Cuisine comfort food, Healthy
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 40 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Vegetable dipping soup instant pot
Instructions
  1. Turn on Instant Pot, set to sauté.
  2. Pour in olive oil, adding onion when hot, and cook for a couple minutes.
  3. Add celery, cook until onion translucent, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add garlic, oregano, and basil, stir to combine.
  5. Deglaze bottom of pot with a splash of water, broth, or stock, scraping any brown from the pan with a spatula.
  6. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.
  7. Add tomatoes, carrots, and rest of 4 cups of stock (or water).
  8. Stop sauté function, add pot lid and set pot to manual, high pressure for 20 minutes.
  9. Use natural release (15-30 min).
  10. When pressure valve drops, remove lid and add up to 2 cups cold water, depending on preferred thickness. Use hand blender to carefully process soup to desired consistency.
  11. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
  12. Pair with hot grilled cheese sandwiches, panini, breadsticks, or crackers for dipping.
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Worth-It and Not-Worth-It Food Stories

Worth-It and Not-Worth-It Food Stories

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I have been intermittently tracking Worth-It and Not-Worth-It Foods—trying to pay more attention to what I eat, recognizing food experiences that are worth it in terms of calories, taste, and enjoyability.  On the flip side, I am trying to stop myself from making eating decisions that are not worth it to me and make me feel bad in the short and long term.  Here are some of the things I have eaten:

Not worth it

  • Horrible (work meeting fare) grocery store doughnut with chemical aftertaste
  • Reheated old stale Belgian waffle found in back of my fridge on a busy morning
  • Sonic drive in chicken sandwich with soggy bun and limp lettuce, eaten in the car before grocery shopping
  • Carl’s Jr. “salad” with $5.49 of iceberg lettuce—what a rip off
  • Hard salt water taffy (couldn’t tell you what flavor) at my desk from the community candy bowl
  • Boring pizza, even ate the crust nubs, in my underwear while sitting on the family room rug

Worth it

  • Half of a buttery croissant with raspberry jam on a sunny lunch out with friends
  • Fresh berries and spinach from my garden, from ground to mouth
  • Corn on the cob at dinner with my kids
  • The Hubs’ homemade clam chowder with bacon, made with fear that we wouldn’t like it (and also with love!)
  • Smoked pork butt, on a lazy group camping weekend, along with delicious potluck samplings
  • Vanilla ice cream with coconut cookie crumbs in the quiet dark of my kitchen, kids tucked in and asleep
  • A tall glass of iced tea with lemon—the same drink my mom always likes
  • Chicken enchiladas verdes at my kitchen table, in a late but hearty home-cooked meal

Most of my not-worth-it experiences happened when I felt rushed and unprepared. Or when I felt desperate to not taste the inside of my mouth after hours of work dehydration. When I make food an afterthought I also make myself insignificant, worrying more about completing tasks or shoving more plans into my day. The more panicked and overworked I am the more I feel like junk and eat like junk.

Worth-it foods happen when I am relaxing with my family and friends, or savoring a snack in a peaceful moment alone with the sun of my backyard.  If I am in a good place the experience tends to come out positive. The contented feelings already in progress contribute to what I decide to eat and how I enjoy the food.

This exercise has made me reevaluate how I judge my intake.  Foods never stand alone, but instead are part of a story.  So much of popular good/bad food rhetoric is shaped by nutritional science and hard to follow rules.  But when it comes down to it we are shaping our own sagas, with food as a supporting cast.  What we eat is a byproduct of how we live.  I am in charge of my own story, so I should worry less about what I eat and instead think more about creating a happy and satisfying life in general—good choices should follow.

 
What Reminds You of Your Real Goals?

What Reminds You of Your Real Goals?

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I often lose sight of what I really want.  It is easy to get caught up in things that don’t really matter, distractions and avoidances that help dilute the sting of failure when trying to reach a goal.  Sometimes those coping mechanisms are in direct opposition to my true desires.

I can get depressed or bored thinking about my health problems and it makes me want a Monte Cristo sandwich or something fried dipped in ranch dressing.  It is no secret that I have overeating tendencies and I also have what I like to refer to as “blood sugar issues”.   Hyperglycemia can lead to so many poor outcomes.  I am fully aware of how losing one’s eyesight, kidneys, or legs can be devastating to quality of life. I have personally wrapped the stumps of newly amputated legs of diabetic patients. And then watched the patients call their families and friends to sneak them thick stacks of tortillas or a 2 liter of cola. Even when loss is fresh, and literally painful, old habits die hard.

I have considered tattooing the likeness of my kidney or heart on my arm as a reminder that what I eat might take those things from me someday. It is damn hard to keep motivation going, to keep goals and realities at the forefront of my thoughts, intentions, and actions.  Ultimately it is my desire to live a long and healthy life.  To spend as much time as possible with people I love doing things I enjoy.  In order to do those things I need my organs and my ability to walk, to see.  So why can’t I be honest with myself when I binge eat a cake, that I am sorta killing myself in shortened life or functionality?  The ideal would be to preserve my health, not squander it foolishly.

…

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Birds of a Feather Buffet Together: Social Eating Thoughts

Birds of a Feather Buffet Together: Social Eating Thoughts

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I once told a very stressed out friend that I could no longer hang out with her if she didn’t like eating anymore.  I was joking to cheer her up (sort of) but hoped that she would feel better quickly and join me at the fro-yo buffet. Usually I feel uncomfortable around people who don’t enjoy food–there is something so human and social about meal sharing that can’t be separated from who I am, and this leads to problems for me when it comes to mindful eating. How we relate to food affects how we relate to people and vice versa since it is so omnipresent in our lives.  It is usually easier to overindulge when I am not eating alone.  Making the right choices for myself as an individual gets fuzzy when made in the context of a group, a relationship, or at a social event.

Food gifting

At the hospital where I work we are constantly receiving food in the form of gifts from bosses, coworkers, vendors, and even families of the patients we serve.  At home I tend to receive presents in the form of treats on holidays, as well as the random donation from a well-meaning family member who wants to share their bounty.  I never want to appear rude, and usually the food is well received and tasty.  There is however a sense of obligation to finish it off, and an increased aversion to wastefulness when the food isn’t just food, but also represents a relationship in my life.

Special Events

Similar to food gifts, parties and holidays bring chances to bond over gorgeous cheese platters and alluring colorful confections.  I look forward to times of celebration with loved ones—and the uninhibited behavior that comes along with them.  It is so easy to graze, sip, and sample my way into a bloated coma and find myself waking from a party nap feeling greasy.  I let peer pressure sway me:

“Just try one…these are the best.  I made them myself!”

“Have you eaten? Yes? Well at least have a small plate or take some to go.”

“It’s my birthday and I want everyone to have a lamb shank.”

When hosting I try to provide the most delicious things I can think of to serve my guests, and sometimes this is a cake covered in toffee (a baby shower MUST!) or mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese.

Let’s Do Lunch

Going to lunch is like my favorite thing, and I’m usually the one to suggest it. This is an excuse to eat whatever I want while catching up with friends. I don’t have a personal Facebook account for multiple reasons, and having to meet over pork so my friends can remember what I look like is one of them.  It’s like a conspiratory meeting where calories don’t count but hugs do, and everyone is in collusion.

Happy fat

This is the idea that when life is going well for you indulgent behavior sets in, such as when you find love and settle into the domestic bliss of eating nachos in bed next to the best thing that ever happened to you.  The Hubs and I are sooo bad for each other in this way, and have been for most of the last 25 years.  If he gets himself a pudding cup (or a street taco, or a foot long sub) I get one too.  I ask him every night what he wants to eat for dinner rather than just making what I know I should eat.  We love canoodling over noodles.  What can I say?  He completes me.  And he was there giving me googly eyes (is it supposed to be goo-goo eyes?) while I completed the extra 40lbs I have gained since we met.

I only have googly eyes for you. And for street tacos.
I only have googly eyes for you. And for street tacos.

The truth is that he will love me even if I eat iceberg lettuce and rye crisps for the rest of my life, and I him.  My friends wouldn’t be friends if our relationship was based on waffles alone.  Family gatherings CAN be done with slightly less butter involved.

There is nothing inherently wrong with sharing delicious food with great company.  It is one of the cornerstones of human social interaction. The role we play when giving, receiving, or sharing food likely has something to do with what our ancestors were doing when they gathered berries together or shared a big hunting kill.  Modern American life has become so much less communal, which leads to some confusion over the way social pleasure factors into what and when we eat.  There are probably more hierarchical nuances going on than most of us want to think about when splitting the happy hour check.  Maybe instead of getting together for the sake of eating it is the other way around—we are making the excuse to be together under the guise of special food.  Am I secretly afraid no one will love me if I don’t pay them off with snacks?  Will no one hang out unless tater tots are around?

No matter how much I love food, I love the people in my life even more.  Sometimes we will gather together over rich food, and sometimes it can be done with more sensible fare, or during a long walk instead.  If they’re cool they’ll understand they won’t always be offered dessert.

Worth it/Not worth it Food Journaling
Worth it/Not Worth it Food Journaling

Worth it/Not Worth it Food Journaling

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This past weekend I celebrated my birthday and I ate like a fool.  It wasn’t just one meal out with loved ones. It was a parade of indulgence, including 4 restaurant meals, 3 chocolate desserts, 2 different kinds of creamed spinach and a host of forgettable things in between.  Some of it was good, like the lobster dinner, the flank steak pho, and homemade black forest cake with whipped cream–totally worth the calories in my opinion.  But not everything was worth the intended hedonism, including plain dinner rolls slathered in butter and this mayonnaise-y coleslaw thingy.

Intermittently this year I have been journaling which foods have seemed “worth it” vs “not worth it”, including reasons why and sometimes feelings about choices I made.  The intent is to create awareness about the emotional aspect of food and cut down on eating things that add little pleasure value but take up prime space in my belly.  Some of the foods I have enjoyed the most aren’t traditional  indulgences, but feel like a treat for their flavor, experience, or the company with which they are savored.

    Worth it/ Not Worth it

One of the reasons I have trouble with overeating is there was a time where I did not have enough to eat, and there wasn’t much of a choice of what to put in my face.  It was more like I had to beg, scavenge, or sometimes even steal what I could. And that feeling has not left me although it has been almost 20 years since I have really been hungry like that. I always think of food as scarce no matter how abundant my life has become or how well stocked the pizza section at the buffet is. Thankfully, I have hit the point in my life where I can buy food every day if I want to and don’t have to worry about going hungry. I know this, but I want to feel it and live with the reality that I can be choosy.

The hardest decisions are when there are too many choices or too few. I get so delusional when I am hungry that everything looks good.  When confronted with an array of foods, like at Costco with the aisles of samples, I usually feel compelled to try them all. If someone has brought shitty donuts or cookies to work I will sometimes eat one (or more) just because they are easy and right there, they are free, and they were a gift of sorts. When I am stuck somewhere or am super busy I might cave and eat what’s available rather than holding out for something decent.  I really don’t need to eat another piece of disgusting neon-colored grocery store bakery birthday cake at the next kiddie party–I have already had that adventure.

This is the lone, stale, broken cookie from the break room table that I almost ate but didn’t in a moment of clarity–definitely Not Worth It.

I stay away from “diets” per se, but I’ve been working on changing my eating habits for the better. My hope is that journaling the Worth its and Not Worth its will be helpful for me to mindfully eat the things that sustain my body and that I like.  Eating should be joyful. Feelings of shame, guilt, or loss of control should have no place at my table. Just because eating should feel good doesn’t mean that I should let my feelings alone tell me what to eat. I need to let some logic into my choices so that impulse and conditioning do not dictate everything I consume. A balanced diet is not only about what types of food you eat, but negotiating pleasure with healthy sustenance too.
Green Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Green Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

I started drinking this smoothie because I wanted something quick with some protein and no added sugar for breakfast.  It works really well with my Ninja using the 16 oz single serving blender jar.  Some people will think this is not sweet enough, so I say put in a whole banana if you don’t care how much sugar you are drinking.  Bananas are rad as a natural sweetener, but they have so much natural sugar that I only use 1/2 of a medium banana or 1/3 of a large banana in my smoothies.  It is a great way to use up all the frozen bananas I store when we don’t eat up every one in the bunch.  I also store leftover greens in the freezer and use those in this recipe too, only the volume will be a little off since the leaves compact when frozen.


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 Green Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Simple green smoothie with a mellow, not-too-sweet taste. Packet with peanut protein but without the full calories of peanut butter. Perfect for breakfast, a snack, or post-work out.
Course Breakfast, Drinks, Smoothies, Snacks
Cuisine Healthy, High Protein, No Added Sugar
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Passive Time 0 minutes
Servings
person
Ingredients
Course Breakfast, Drinks, Smoothies, Snacks
Cuisine Healthy, High Protein, No Added Sugar
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Passive Time 0 minutes
Servings
person
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Add ingredients in order to blender (this allows items to fit if using a single-serve blender jar). Blend or pulse until no pieces of green leaves can be seen.
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