Slow and steady wins the race

In late January, after being told by a doctor that all my heretofore efforts at lowering my blood pressure weren't good enough, I challenged myself to lose eleven pounds by my 34th birthday. That would put me at 134lbs and 34 years old (I liked the symmetry of it). As a person who prides herself on healthy eating there wasn't a lot I could do to alter my diet - so my options seemed limited to restricting alcohol consumption and increasing exercise (I was already working out three days a week) - so that is what I have done. 

There are just two weeks left in my personal weight loss challenge and tonight I weighed in  at 138lbs! I know that losing four more pounds in two weeks is unrealistic for me - especially because there seems to be a direct correltation between motivation and how hard it has become to keep a bra on. I do want to say - even though I am already really happy with how I feel at this weight - I will continue to try and reach my goal just because I am that kind of person. 


For me, the last few weeks have been a great reminder that fad diets are crazy. To lose weight and keep it off a person must change their habits. As an individual who tried Jenny Craig in high school, a lazy version of Atkins in college, Slim Fast and one frightening week of diet pills as a young adult I feel I have the experience to say "there are no short cuts to genuine health". Take your time, do it right and enjoy the feeling of knowing that your health is more then just skin deep. 


Oh and by the way - my blood pressure is looking GREAT. 

As sweet as moonlight through the pines

We spent Saturday night visiting with the world's best next door neighbors. (Yes, we happen to be the lucky couple who live next door to those elusive neighbors). Cool night, big moon, warm fire, TRAMPOLINE, a couple glasses of scotch and lots of talk about adovating healthy eating habits for Atlanta's school children. Thanks Margaret and Eric!


Tonight was another gorgeous night; so warm that we ate outside. (Dinner had to be photographed by smart phone because I accidentally left my digital camera on my desk at work.) In addition to our favorite jerk chicken we cooked mustard greens for the first time. They were - interesting; very bitter. (I preferred the brussel sprouts and mashed sweet potato.) Oliver also threw an eggplant on the grill for us to snack on later in the week. Looking forward to some baba ganoush!

Mushroom Risotto

For dinner Oliver made a mushroom risotto using dried mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, parsley, chicken stock and Parmesan cheese. A 100% real food meal that may not be the best example of heart health (also not the worst). Deliciously rich; quite romantic for a Monday too!


Check out our new springtime centerpieces. Made from moss growing on the side of our house! I'll take a better photo of them soon.

Bye bye bicycle

The beauty you see before you is my trusty bike. A 1997 original. A gift from parents when I went off to college. It was too awkward to carry up the narrow flight of stairs to my college apartment so it spent those years chained outside in the rain and snow. Have I mentioned it's very heavy and exceptionally slow? I get passed on the street by senior citizens riding featherweight bikes. For years Oliver has been suggesting I buy a new one. I've refused. My unexplainable loyalty to this bike has been going strong for fifteen years - but sadly I think our time together has finally come to an end.


Yesterday, while riding around Piedmont Park, my front tire blew. Neither of us even considered fixing it. We just looked at each other and knew. Oliver cycled home and came back with our pick up truck to ferry the old girl to the house. That means it's bicycle shopping time; I have no idea what I'm looking for. I'm could use some suggestions. The majority of my rides are in the city and Atlanta has a decent number of steep hills so keep that in mind. (Guess I'll need some new stickers too.) What kind of bikes do you all ride? Do you like them?

What's for breakfast? Omelets

Omelets with pickled tomatoes*, pickled peppers*, green onion*, thyme, goat cheese, ham and paprika. Toast with avocado, red pepper flakes and lemon. A dollop of greek yogurt on the side. Happy Saturday to you! We're off to ride bikes.


*from our garden

What's for dinner? Slow cooked chuck roast and vegetables

The chuck roast went into the crock pot first thing Wednesday morning (Oliver was simultaneously grinding coffee beans and chopping onions ). By the time I got home from work (12 hours later) the house smelled UNREAL. On the stove were mushrooms a jus and fennel braising in a bit of butter and chicken stock. I could hardly wait for him to finish up so we could eat. Truly a delicious meal. Thursday we (happily) ate the same dinner. This time on the front porch (it was 70 degrees at 7pm) and with some roasted kale.

 

What's for lunch? Arugula with lemon and parmesan

It's that time of year again: arugula is in season! Tuesday I picked up a pretty big bag of organic arugula from YDFM for only $2.50. There's enough to make three lunches the size shown here. As usual, I dressed mine with the juice of one lemon, a slosh of olive oil and topped it with shredded Parmesan. It's a great lunch to bring to the office because it can be packed the night before.


This is how I do it: before bed fill a resealable container full of arugula, shred the desired amount of Parmesan over it, close and put in the fridge. In the morning take one lemon, a slice of bread, the aforementioned container and put them all in a lunch bag. (NOTE! I keep a small bottle of olive oil in my drawer at the office. If you don't, then be sure to bring that with you too.) At lunch time slice the lemon and squeeze the juice into the resealable container over the arugula. Add a dash of olive oil. Reseal the container and SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE! Then dump all contents into your bowl and eat. Easy! Filling too!

Breaking the habit: sweets

Sugar, sweets and artificial sweeteners have recently been the topic of conversation among both my friends and the media. One friend asked how I handled my craving for sweets while another friend expressed concern about her daily Diet Coke. A blog I follow just did a post about Stevia (a sugar substitute). Food Matters is promoting their new documentary by highlighting the fact that Americans eat 22 teaspoons of sugar every day and both the Huffington Post and MSNBC ran articles in February about the possibility that diet sodas increase the chance of stroke.

My response to all of the above is bound to unpopular: it's time to retrain your taste buds to only enjoy naturally occurring levels of sugar (think: strawberry at season's peak). Once your palate has changed artificial sweeteners and sugar/corn syrup based foods will not taste good, instead they will almost burn. Have that happen in your mouth a handful of times and you will no longer crave those foods. 

Don't believe me? What if I told you that in college, when my roommate and I ran out of tea bags, I would happily drink hot water and Sweet'N Low? In the ten years following college I drank at least one Diet Coke can everyday and couldn't recognize the taste of corn syrup. And until two years ago I was a major fan of sugary breakfast cereal. Today, I neither crave nor like any those foods.

It started in 2009 when I began the slow and steady work of phasing all artificial sweeteners out of my diet. I started with breakfast cereal (it was hard giving up my Honey Bunches of Oats) and worked my way through Quaker Oats granola bars, Vitamin Water, M&Ms and flavored yogurts (think Yoplait). Only one habit remained: my daily Splenda** packet served with my morning cup of coffee. In January I decided it was time to give it up too. 

The first six weeks of coffee without sweetener were bad. One of the best parts of my sleepy eyed, slow moving, morning ritual had suddenly become one of the worst parts. I tweeted about it to my close friends and I grumped about it to Oliver*** whenever he would listen. I declared I'd quit drinking coffee altogether. "Who needs it?!" But still, I brought my travel mug into the office with me everyday and day by day I drank a little more and a little more. Until now, now I think I ALMOST like coffee without sweetener (just don't ask me to give up the half and half). 

My heart healthy perspective on sweets is simple: abide by the same "real food" rules used for other foods. Eat foods made from ingredients you can picture growing in nature. If it came from a plant eat it - if it was made in a plant don't. Treat treats as treats. Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Abide by those rules for long enough and I think most sweet tooths will naturally sort themselves out. And you might even be surprised by what unexpected* real foods start to taste like real treats!

* Now that I dislike foods like flavored yogurts and chocolate chip granola bars I've been surprised to discover to how much I love juicy in-season watermelon, carrot juice with ginger, and strawberries with cream. 

**There is currently a television commercial that shows a woman sprinkling a packet of Splenda over a bowl of strawberries. I find this commercial ABSURD. If strawberries are not sweet enough then they are either terribly out of season or it's time to reevaluate your palate. 

*** Oliver, we met three years ago today. You inspire me. I love you more then ever. Thanks for everything you do.