Tag: dinner

Change and Motivation

Christina BruniLeave a comment

I was known as the Salad Girl at my job because I consistently had salads for lunch in the staff kitchen.

Suddenly after 23 years of having salads for lunch I was done with having salads at noon time. The buying of the lettuce and other food, schlepping it to work, and preparing the salad nearly every day took its toll.

I remembered what my trainer at the gym told me a year ago after I lamented to him that I wondered what particular kinds of food I should eat to be healthy.

He responded to my granular ethic thus: “Eat food. You just have to eat food. Whatever kind of food it is just eat.”

That said it got easier when I changed up my weekly routine this winter. Buying organic lettuce and organic salad toppings in my weekly grocery order. Prepping salads for DINNER three or four days a week. Having the salad with a side of steamed shrimp one night or a can of Cento tuna in olive oil with the salad on another night. With slices of avocado.

The curious improvement was that when I started having salads for dinner I felt good in the evening. The food you eat can improve your mood. Feeling good was the motivation I had for continuing this new dinnertime habit.

In keeping with what my trainer told me I found other food to have for lunch at my job. Though I’m not a vegetarian and I have chicken I eat chicken only once or twice a week. Buying organic chicken to have as a meal for one dinner with an organic vegetable from a frozen bag.

My old friend the deli counter is where I buy a baked salmon filet to heat up on one other night. With regular Brussel sprouts or a beet salad from the friendly deli counter offerings.

Like I said it’s often when we decide “Enough is enough!” that we’re motivated to change our habits or our routine.

Turning 60 in the spring I’m going to create a 20-year plan in which to achieve my goals and resolutions. A person like me isn’t supposed to live to 80. We die 20 years earlier than the regular population according to naysayers who parrot this claim.

This simply isn’t true when you take care of your health the best you can with what you were given. Any of us with a disadvantage–popping pills we need to take to be well; having a genetic medical issue; whatever it is–we can choose to do what’s in our control to improve.

The things we can’t control we should accept. Focus instead on what’s in our power to change. Know that there’s no shame regardless of our fitness level or lack of fitness.

Perfection is a myth because it implies there can be no growth. What I’ve learned and have come to accept is that I can have other food and maintain my health.

In coming blog entries I’ll talk about the epiphanies that hit me in recent weeks re: achieving and sustaining wellness.

Bacon Butternut Squash

Christina BruniLeave a comment

This recipe is from the Joanna Gaines cookbook Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering Volume 3. Since the recipe is too long and detailed and owing to copyright I won’t reprint it here.

Of course my version looks nowhere near the prettified bacon butternut squash photo in the cookbook.

Plus I didn’t use bacon so instead of sauteing the butternut squash and shallots in bacon dripping I splashed a little organic EVOO in the skillet. Too I would say you definitely need to add a splash of water to the skillet halfway through so that the pan doesn’t get dry and burnt.

This is a tasty dinner I had that was listed in the Side Dishes section of the cookbook. I would definitely use this recipe again as the food is so delicious.

It calls for 4 cups of butternut squash and I was one person having this meal. For a side dish like it was intended it might serve 4 people.

In fact I might buy this Volume 3 of Magnolia Table as I want to try other recipes in the cookbook.

I buy the Magnolia Journal magazine which also has recipes and interesting articles to read.

Now that butternut squash is in season it’s the perfect lunch or dinner.

Be aware that you need counter space or else use your sink basin to prepare the ingredients.

I accidently bought a brick of parmesan cheese that I had to grate. It was OK to buy the parmesan cheese pre-grated however I didn’t realize this. Save yourself the trouble and buy a container of grated parmesan.

My Insight on the Nutritarian Diet

Christina BruniLeave a comment

In here I’m going to write about my take on the Fridge Love author’s stance.

The fact is it appears people who *need to* lose weight have been successful in doing this using the Nutritarian Diet. On this strict diet you limit your salt intake to 1,000 mg per day. You cut out using any oil–even don’t use olive oil.

Limiting sodium to 1,000 mg per day sounds OK. Though I take with a grain of salt the author’s advice about “meal-prepping” for hours on a Sunday everything you’re going to eat in the coming week.

Doesn’t chilling out sound better than overworking yourself over the stove in your limited free weekend time. I’d like to talk about “workarounds” for those of us with a low energy level or who are otherwise unable to make our own soup from scratch every week.

The canned soup I buy has salt and sometimes cane sugar. I use the Amy’s Organic varieties that are free of safflower or sunflower oil: split-pea, low-in-sodium lentil, tomato bisque, quinoa red lentil and kale, French country vegetable, and porcini mushroom.

The other Amy’s soups list safflower or sunflower oil as an ingredient. Those are unhealthy fats. Dr. Frank Lipman, MD in his book How to be Healthy advises readers to steer clear of these oils as well as to not use corn, canola oil, cottonseed, and vegetable oil too.

Sadly, the Amy’s Organic Soups used to cost $3.29. They are now $4.99 each. Still a “time savings”: when you don’t have the energy to make your own soup.

As a one-person household I spend 30 minutes each evening cooking dinner for 5 days a week. Some of us have the energy and love cooking elaborate recipes with 8 or more ingredients. I dare submit that this is not real-life for most of us.

The Fridge Love author to her credit cites mushrooms as a super food. For years now I’ve scrambled organic shitake mushrooms with organic eggs for breakfast. She is against using eggs.

Eight ounces of tofu has 18 grams of protein–more than two eggs. I’ll give you here the one Fridge Love recipe soon that I’ll be using: Tofu Eggs. It requires only three or so ingredients.

Sadly too, it’s hard to qualify for SNAP benefits or food stamps when your income is too high. I recommend using a food pantry. Even though a person might be too proud to want to do this it’s worth considering.

Lastly: I’ll end here with a sage idea: “Take what works and leave the rest” when another person–even a so-called expert–gives you advice.

I accept that I can’t adhere to the nutritarian diet. (I’m Italian–I’m going to have a pastry once or twice a month!)

What I have done is reorganize my fridge and freezer according to Kristen Hong’s guidelines as to where to store food items inside. I’m also buying the Anchor Hocking glass True Seal containers to store food in.

My New Year’s resolution is to focus on health. Coming up a few new recipes that are easy to make.