Working up an Appetite
One of my biggest irritations with most food-writing is that, with all the photos of caramel sauce and marbled beef, nary a word is said about what the cook or diner plans to do in order to keep eating like that. Don't freak out yet. I'm not going to ban butter or start recommending that you always substitute mashed bananas for sugar. I am going to talk about my wonderful non-profit gym Rainier Health and Fitness and how I've come to see my hours there or running on the Chief Sealth Trail as a necessary aspect of my food-focused life. And I'm going to talk about nutrition a little bit because I have ceased to see it as the enemy of taste. In Sally Schneider's A New Way to Cook, she says:
Theirs [Mediterranean peoples] is the model for my everyday diet: largely based on plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes; moderate amounts of fish, poultry, nuts and wine; with a small amount of red meat, saturated fats, dairy products, and sugar and a minimum of prepared foods. I eat moderately day to day, and periodically I eat with abandon.
This is similar to the tagline in Michael Pollan's new book, which is something like, "Eat food. Mostly Plants. Not too much." I haven't read any of his books because the snob factor is a little overwhelming, but I appreciate the influence he's having on mindful, healthful eating. And people like Michael and Sally are influencing me.
In my post about rice and beans, I told you about the MK Family Lenten experiment last year where we ate rice and beans for 40 nights. The thumbnail version is that I realized how addicted I am to the food choices my life affords and how much rich food I had been mindlessly eating. A kind of recalibration occurred that's changed how I relate to food (though you couldn't tell it from reading this blog!) and how I think about health and wellness. I am more appreciative of the choice I have, more mindful of the creative boost I get from cooking, more apt to really use up everything in the fridge.
Another part of our Lent was a return to exercise. I've been running since high school, but in spurts. And I expect this 18 month spurt to sputter at some point, but it's my longest ever. I hope to be blogging here long enough for you to witness one of the slumps I've been in so many times. When that happens, you can remind me of this. The difference this time is the lack of negotiation. I no longer hold the Great Debate of the Century every time lace up my running shoes--Should I be cleaning the kitchen instead? I'm actually a little sore this morning. Yancey's tired--I shouldn't leave him with the kids and so on. I just do it. Sometimes I lots of energy and connect with the Universe, other times I can't wait till it's over. But I'm out there.
And Rainier Health and Fitness works for me like other gym experiences haven't. 1) It's 5 minutes from my house. This makes my negotiations seems puny. I don't have good excuses not to go. 2) I believe in their mission of bringing health and connection to this very diverse neighborhood. My hours there are some of the most integrated of my week. I attended a Zumba class awhile back. It was me, one other Anglo woman, and 10 African Muslim women in robes and headdress. RHF has "Ladies Night" twice a week. No men are allowed and they close the blinds, giving these Muslim women the chance to Zumba.
- Eating lots of fruits and vegetables takes intention even though I like them so much. They must be prepped and ready in the fridge.
- I don't skip meals and never have. This turns out to be a good thing.
- If I don't have a snack at 10 am and 3 pm, my children have reason to call the Jerry Springer Show and make an example out of me.
- After the kids go to bed at 8:00, I will find every reason in the world to justify a vat of buttered popcorn. I instituted a "popcorn once a week" rule. I call it "spending my popcorn buck."
- Eating oatmeal in the morning is as good as Mehmet Oz says it is.
- Eating family style or buffet style means a happy forgetting of portions. I try to always put things on a plate--a small one.
- After a year, I quit the food journal and have had six months off. I recently started up again because I could feel that, "You only live once!" mentality creeping in. Anybody know what I'm talking about?
Two things I know now--mindfulness about food and exercise is not just seasonal--it's a way of life. And the other is that it's possible to be obsessed with food and cooking (as I clearly am!) and still not let it rule me. There's so much more to say on this subject, but I have to take some Monster Cookies out of the oven. I'm not joking. You'll see them here soon after our camping trip with Bethany and Chris. Please go away, rain.
July 13, 2009
Reader Comments (12)
I made a batch of your granola two nights ago in an attempt to start eating breakfast. I could go on about my childhood or my sleep deprivation, but I"ll spare your readers. I am, however, trying to establish new routines in my life, and eating breakfast is one. I'm hoping to add this small thing to my day: granola and yogurt for breakfast. I'm hoping this small change will make a difference.
p.s. Does granola count as part of Mehmet's plan?
This may be the kick that I needed - thank you! Just got back from vacation where I apparently thought it was ok to eat everything in sight for 10 days because "I'm on vacation!" and spent the drive home promising myself I would find some 'nutrition religion'... I love the Schneider book & I've only made it through one of Pollan's - it's factually weighed down, but actually really interesting - you should try him.
So tonight I will re-instate one of my favorite activities - watching Food Network while on the treadmill...hey, it's all about balance, right?
This is a delayed response to your lemon cake. My initial reaction after reading the recipe was,"Are you trying to kill us all?" One pound of butter? Eight eggs? Only three cups of flour? I then saw that it made two cakes, but still.... I told your mom and dad that it should be called Heart Attack on a Plate, or actually in a bread pan. This doesn't mean I won't be making it, however. It looks fabulous, and it must taste the same. My problem is moderation. My chances of having just one slice and stopping there are slim. I may make it for our family beach trip next month. That way I'll have to share it, and there will not be a crumb left at the end of the night. Thanks, Sarah, for putting a variety of foods and recipes on your blog. I now go to it for inspiration for dinner.
What a great post. Reminds me once again that everything is connected. Eating well to taking care of ourselves in other ways so that we can "afford" to eat well. Once I started reading this wonderful blog, I started eating just a bit too much for a woman past menopause (or nearly past - those darn hot flashes just go on and on). The "you only live once" thing as you called it, I think. So, I have started remembering to pay more attention to my carb/fat/protein balance and to eat smaller portions.
I also had a wild thought. Do you suppose that it is easier to eat less when we are eating better food? I have to think that's how the Europeans do it. When we eat bland, prepared food, maybe our bodies just want more, looking for some taste. When I am eating wonderful salads with herbs from my garden and greens from the farmers market, it has a zing that is missing in my winter salads.
Sarah I really love your posts. It's funny how we've never met, but I feel right in sync with your posts. It typically goes like this...I'm thinking or pondering a specific thing in life and lo behold, you post about the same thing. This post is very timely, as I was visiting with my in-laws for a couple days with my girls and thinking, "I need to get back to exercising (my baby is just 8 months so finding the balance between nursing and exercising) and eating well." I also think about how food is to be enjoyed, but I can't just eat like the Julia Childs or I'll die young. It's that mixture of eating well, but not compromising taste, which doesn't necessarily mean it comes in large amounts of butter and sugar and other fatty substances. There are times I think heaven will be this wonderful feast, where we can enjoy (not gluttony) wonderful food and conversation in worship.
Also--it's so hard being an avid baker, because low-fat stuff doesn't taste the best--ya know?! I think I've been using more whole wheat pastry flour, or unrefined ingredients. But I don't like how in some dieting/nutrition circles they make sweets to be public enemy number one. So YES YES YES to all the ways in which you incorporate healthy living into your life and I'm going to try and do the same for me & my family. Oh yes...and I have also been thinking a lot about how I balance being a stay at home mama (i.e. giving to my family) while making sure I take care of myself. Thanks for being real!
Time to check off "been running since high school, but mostly in spurts" off on my strangely long list of things in common with you. Next time I see you we'll have to compare notes on high school track experiences. Congratulations on you new-found commitment to doing this for yourself.
I can't remember if I told you this, but I've lost 80(!) lbs since adopting the boys a few years ago. Most of it was in the the first year. I went from a size 24 to a size 18 in that year. In the two years following, I went from a size 18 to a size 14 without losing any additional weight. (Putting on muscle as fast as losing fat, I assume.) This has been with eating as much of whatever I want whenever I can get it. I order lattes with whole milk, because I like them that way and probably need the calories. The thing is, it has been very difficult to find time to eat... or sit... or sleep. I have been someone who eats on every occassion. Happy? Eat. Sad? Eat. Stressed? Eat. I have never, ever lost weight by being stressed, so it was more than that.
Also, as you know, my boys don't eat due to some loosely-defined medical issues. We celebrate that they are eating a little now, but Roo is still surviving on pediasure via a feeding tube and Bear is still managing to stay off the feeding tube because he's still willing to drink pediasure out of a bottle (he will turn 3 in October). This has changed my perspective on eating forever. It is first and foremost - something we must do to live. To look into the eyes of your very hungry child who still can't manage to eat is a life-changing experience.
I have no big conclusion here, just sharing recent events.
You've hit it right on the nose. Enjoy good food in small portions, move your body daily, and share the wealth. And I love the popcorn part. It's a weekly staple here, too! And the rice-and-beans experiment sounds fascinating - torturous for my no-bean-eating husband, but I'd love it. So is it wrong that I want to shake some sense into all my friends and co-workers that think eating a steady diet of Lean Cuisine and 100-calorie snack packs is healthy? When did we lose touch with moderation of real food? One luscious slice of homemade lemon pound cake in all its butter-flour-sugar glory is infinitely better for mind-body-soul than pre-packaged, hydrogenated, processed, sits-on-the-shelf-for-eternity, doesn't-even-resemble-something-that-came-from-the-soil low-fat cookies.
ps - I obviously have an addiction to hyphens.
pps - It's raining here too.
Thanks Sarah for this delightful mention of the ever pressing tug of war between pleasure and discipline in exercise and eating well. My goal has become on of being freed from seeing exercise and eating well as a means to a 'perfect' end and 'earned' treat, but rather as the mean to freedom to enjoy myself, creation, and the creative intention it requires. Here's to being a good steward of the body I was woven into. Best of luck to the rest of you too!
Good for you! I feel sometimes like there is some sort of hex over all the food bloggers who I love and follow where they can just eat blissfully and not gain weight, or not care, while I am on my own in the land of taking one or two bites of treats and shunning the scale. I have written a post about my struggles with body image, but I should write more honestly about how hard it all is. Thanks for keeping it real, as always.
hey sarah...glad to hear that you have found a nice gym near your place! I felt my head nodding 'yes' when I was reading your post about you not having any real good excuses not to go to the gym which is five minutes from your house. I too have found a gym that is barely five minutes from where i am living now. They offer group classes, indoor/outdoor pool, cardio room, weights...it's definately in outlet for me and I am enjoying it. can't wait for your monster cookie recipe! he he:)
Wow! Just got home from camping and am delighted to see all the thoughtful comments here. Makes me realize again how little support there is for women to talk frequently and honestly about these things. We either talk in a derogatory way about our bodies, moan about our failures, or make progress only when we decide to join Weight Watchers. I think there's a better way, and it seems like some of you would agree with me.
Kelli, I love what you say about creative intention.
Kamille, my current exercise run didn't start until Loretta stopped nursing!
Lynn, yes! I do think it's easier to eat less when we're eating well. Lots of studies have borne that out, too.
Single Gal, hilarious.
Zip, what I often do when I make sweets is give half away right away. Sometimes I'll cut off a few slices of cake (or cookies, etc.), put them in a tupperware, and just take them with me in my car throughout the day, not sure who I'll give them to until the moment comes. They appreciate it, I have the fun of giving, and I don't eat it all myself!
PDS, granola and yogurt definitely counts. Yes, granola has some fat and sugar, but hopefully you're not eating 10 cups of it, and yogurt is one of the HEALTHIEST things ever.
with the taste of monster cookies still on my lips, i too know that i really need to be more conscious of my food choices and food amounts. having a csa has helped us eat our daily veggies (don't want any of those delicious veggies to go to waste!) but getting into a regular exercise routine is a challenge. why don't i like to run? how can i start enjoying it? it's so available and cheap! anyway, thanks for those yummy cookies and a wonderful time with you family. we treasure those times.