Greetings!
I loved reading your I Believe comments from this morning…what an amazing bunch you are.
I forgot something from my I Believe list this morning…
I Believe…
- The key to a happy relationship is telling your partner one specific thing you appreciate about them and why, every single day.
This applies to all kinds of relationships…romantic, family, friendship, co-workers, etc. Everyone loves to be appreciated!
When I tell Eric something that I appreciate about him I can literally see his entire face light up with pride. Sometimes all someone needs is a ‘I notice what you do and I thank you for it.’ Now, go on and tell someone in your life how much you appreciate them!
In other news, I could not fathom eating anything cooked/hot/heated up today. It was another scorcher! I was cooking myself and needed to be cooled off…
LUNCH:
2 pieces of Eziekel bread with 1 cup of tomato curry chickpeas. I used 1 cup chickpeas + 2-3 tbsp tomato paste + 1/4 tsp Arvinda’s curry masala spice.
[Ok, ok I lied…the bread was toasted!]
+ Purslane Green Monster made up of 2 cups of Purslane, 1 cup almond milk, 1.5 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp raw maca powder, ice, ice baby. The cinnamon was fabulous and I didn’t even need any fruit! I can’t believe I have not been adding cinnamon to my Green Monsters all this time. I will also be adding some cinnamon to my next batch of Vegan Overnight Oats too. I remember how much I enjoyed it when Eric made me some and I totally forgot about it.
I am loving Purslane greens in my Green Monsters!
The Purslane is so energizing, largely in part to all the wonderful omega oils and antioxidants it provides. I felt on fire this afternoon and cranked through over 200 Glo Bars baked, packaged, labeled, and boxed up!
Today is our Plan B CSA day which means scarfing some major veggies to make room for the new box! If you need some motivation to eat more veggies I highly recommend getting a CSA share. Eric and I eat more veggies now than we ever have. Surprisingly, I think we have ended up saving money because we have cut down our grocery store trips by half and we aren’t making those impulse purchases like before.
Everything But The Kitchen Sink Salad
Ingredients:
- Greens = Spinach + Mixed greens
- 2 small carrots
- 1 large tomato
- 1 large avocado
- 1 huge green onion stalk
- 1.5 cups snow peas
- Dried parsley, to garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper, to garnish
- Better than bottled balsamic vinaigrette
Awesome salad! The snow peas were a nice addition!
On the side we each had a slice of cold pie…IN A JIFFY VEGGIE PIE!
I had mine on a bed of TJ’s Habanero and lime salsa.
It was a great dinner!
Dessert was the last of the Cherry, Banana, and coconut butter bread. I am fighting tears as I type this.
This was the defrosted leftovers and it was even more moist and gooey than before. It was so doughy…I was in love!
Just look at that gooey bread!
For Eric, this gooey bread was a texture nightmare.
He stuck to his ‘dry’ mini loaves that I cooked the hell out of last week (he just loves them though!).
To each their own. :tongue:
Healthy Eating: A Love Affair With The Kitchen
Recently, I received an email from a reader named ‘Krista’ telling me about all of these wonderful changes she has made to her health. One of the things that Krista mentioned was that since she has started eating healthier, she spends so much more time in the kitchen prepping vegetables, washing dishes/new appliances, and cooking among other things. She didn’t say that this was a bad thing necessarily, as she enjoys it for the most part, she just thought it was interesting to point out how much more time is required to eat healthy.
Oh did this email hit home with me!
I thought this was such an interesting point about how healthy eating requires not only a commitment to EAT healthier foods, but it involves a commitment to spend the time to prepare healthier foods.
As you can imagine, I spend hours and hours in the kitchen, not only because I run a bakery, but because I prepare and cook most of my meals. Eating healthy is a huge time commitment- there is the washing, drying, chopping, roasting, sautéing, prepping, packing, planning, shopping, DISH WASHING, APPLIANCE WASHING (damn you, juicer!!!!!!), cooking flops (story of my life), etc. Eric always jokes that I should put Professional Dish Washer (P.D.W.) on my resume because I wash so many dishes and so many appliances each day.
Because my time is limited, I rely on very quick and simple recipes. That is why you will rarely see me whip up a meal that takes longer than 15-20 minutes. Over time, I have figured out what will work for me. While some days the last thing I want to do is prepare a healthy meal for myself, often I enjoy the satisfaction that comes with creating healthy meals that I can feel good about.
Can you relate to having to spend more time in the kitchen to eat healthier? Do you spend more time in the kitchen now than in the past? What are your time-saving tricks to limit the amount of time it takes to eat healthy?
One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story
I’m always amazed at how little of time it takes me to prepare the boy I nanny for’s meal. Throw some chicken nuggets in the microwave with some leftovers and plop down a couple of baby carrots. Voila.
I on the other hand definitely feel like I spend a majority of my day in the kitchen, but I don’t mind it one bit!
I have to say that cooking my own healthy meals has become second nature to me. I can’t imagine not cooking my meals most days.
It also helps that I love to cook. My mom has struggled with her weight for years and it’s so taxing for her to make changes because she doesn’t like to cook and she “doesn’t have time” to prep and plan her meals, much less cook.
That salad looks so amazing! I am so joining a CSA ASAP. I have a few in mind and want to chose the right one. ;)
Yes, being healthy requires times in the kitchen, but I absolutely love it! As a kid I would spend hours in the kitchen dreaming of being a chef, then as I got older (and unhealthier) I strayed away from it. I am SO HAPPY to finally spend time again whipping up healthy creations. I think everyone can grow a love affair with the kitchen. :)
Case in point – my mom made pancakes from Bisquick this morning. It’s a lot quicker apparently, but I don’t think so… It won’t keep me full for as long, either. I’d rather make those “healthy spelt pancakes for one” recipe that you have!
When I start living on my own I definitely will be trying to learn to cook healthy and from scratch. But until then, I can only try to “bake” healthy… :D
Wei-Wei
glad you like the pancakes!
Yes yes! I always ask my husband how two people can go through enough dishes to have to run the dishwasher at least twice a day. It’s maddening because I HATE doing dishes. On the other hand, I know it’s what I need to do if I want to make fresh, whole foods for us. Since we started our CSA share, I have had to think of even more ways to stuff fruits and vegetables into every meal and snack. This is a good thing, but sometimes takes more creativity and resourcefulness than I naturally have :).
It’s definitely worth it, but I sure could use some tips on time-management in the kitchen.
What would we do without google? Its helpful!
Why yes, I have heard of Google, thank you.
Was just stating what I was thinking, not asking for your help, specifically.
I did not mean that sarcastically at all…sorry if it came across that way. I was referring to how I google the CSA stuff that I don’t know how to prepare.
Oh I can totally relate to that – I have my blender out SO often during the day..it’s a nasty to clean, but in the end I think it’s worth it :)I’d rather that than take out the rubbish stuffed with take away boxes or something :P
Oh, the kitchen love! One favorite subject for me too. :)
Yes, I spend a lot of time in my kitchen prepping meals, but at the moment I (unfortunately) have a busy schedual and can’t spend as much time in my kitchen as I want to. Sooo, that means a lot of prep time for food (like soking of time in oven), but not really that much actual time spent in kitchen cooking. That’s a shame, ’cause I love it. As for now, I have to accept the fact that spending more time cooking food will only stress me more, so I make a lot of quick and easy recipes (VERY grateful for all the inspiration from here and other food blogs) and plan all week what to do in the weekends when I got more time on my hands.
And one other thing about kitchen time, if you make it a habit to do a little planning – Which food I feel for this week? Gonna try any new recipe? – make sure you got the ingredients at home, prepare what can be prepared and make larger serving and put some of it away in the freezer, it’s actually easier to keep to the healty path (easIER… not always eay. :P).
I’m soo gonna try In A Jiffy Veggie Pie this weekend – I think our suggestion for hummus at the bottom and tomatoe sauce on top will work! Speaking of hummus, every tried to sprout garbanzo beans? They get so much more flavour and you only have to boil them for 10 minutes! I often make hummus of sprouted garbanzo beans and think it gets a much richer flavour… they are delicious in a salad too! :)
Have a great Thursday!
No I have not tried the sprouted G beans…sounds fun!
Let me knowhow the pie turns out. Its good cold too!
I have only just started on my journey to a healthier life and yes, even though I am only slowly introducing cooking meals from scratch into my routine I can tell that I am definitely spending more time in the kitchen! I enjoy it though and really want to become a more accomplished cook. Even though learning is slow I know that one day I’ll reach my goal – three months ago I couldn’t run for more than 10 minutes and now I can do 50, which proves that if you do anything regularly enough you will improve! I don’t think I’ll ever have time to do any hardcore cooking that takes hours but you can still make tasty food in a half hour or less, right?!
I AGREE! I’m in the kitchen SO MUCH more now, too!!! My problem is, I SNACK while I’m in there! AGH!!
And hello yummy salsa- I haven’t tried that kind yet!!!!
Your Green Monsters always look so great! Mine never look that awesome.
I love that quote at the end!
Although eating healthy is time consuming, I really feel like it is one of the best ways to nurture oursevles….and so many great memories are made around food! I love meal planning and thinking about what the weather will be like on a night we we grill veggie burgs or what friends might stop in on the night we make DIY pizzas.
Most days I feel like I’m in my kitchen 50% of the day but then it balances out other days because I try to do alot of my prep over a few days each week.
I spend a ton of time in the kitchen…but I like the sense of connectedness I have with my food when I take the time to mindfully prepare what I eat. I have learned some tricks along the way that have helped streamline my food prep, though. I plan all my dinners on Sunday based on what we bought at the Farmer’s Market and chop or cut anything that will keep well for 5-6 days in a chopped-up state. By planning dinners and posting the plan on the fridge, I can come home in the afternoons and get straight to prepping for dinner–no more poking around in the fridge to figure out what to make. This has worked wonders in increasing the number of home-cooked dishes we eat and reducing wasted produce in our house! It’s so much more pleasant and easier to make dinner when everything is thought out (and chopped) ahead of time. It works for breakfast too; I’m able to grab some pre-cut fruit for a smoothie in just a few seconds. I use the Magic Bullet for my smoothies and clean up is so, so easy. I don’t think it would work for Green Monsters, though…although I haven’t tried it so I don’t know for sure.
I love my Magic Bullet for smoothies, it’s awesome little appliance. I tried using it for a green monster and it was a bust.
Yes I have heard of many readers who use the bullet for the GM’s and they love it! It would be great for travel too I would think?
I love putting cinnamon in my Green Monsters too!
Healthy eating definitely takes a lot more commitment – I think you have to be truly dedicated to it, and it really helps if you love food as well! Sure it costs a lot (time and $$), but I like to think that the health benefits and feeling fantastic outweigh the costs. To speed up time in the kitchen, I chop up fruit after I buy it and store it in tupperware containers, and I often make leftovers (such as high-protein salads) that I store in single-serve containers. That way, when I need to take a meal to campus, I can just grab something already made, rather than worrying about preparing a balanced meal or trying to find something healthy to eat while I’m out.
I spend tons of time in the kitchen. I rarely make leftovers or do prep work though, so I’m probably spending a lot more time in there than necessary! I tend to make a lot of stir fries and salads though, which are fast and easy to prepare.
Oooo, gotta try the cinnamon in my Green Monsters. Hey, this pursalane you speak of….hmmm, a friend of mine gave me some twigs from her garden last weekend that she thinks is pursalane. I put it in my juice Tuesday night after my workout and I was full of energy after that…not sure if that is what caused it and I don’t know if that was pursalane. I may have to take a picture of it so you can tell me if that is what it is. She said it just suddenly appeared in their garden, when she showed it to me, I was like….hmmmm, that looks just like the stuff you showed recently.
I love cooking and making my meals as healthy as possible too. I’ve found that even though eating healthier is more time consuming and more costly, in the end my thinking is that it is more beneficial and cheaper healthwise. Ever since I found your blog, I find that planning a lot of my meals come from what you’ve fixed over the weeks. One of the things I do to cut time out, especially with berries, some other fruits and salads. I wash all of my berries, then I put them in tupperware containers for the week, same with melons, i.e., watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe. For my salads, I always fix one big green salad on Sundays and pull out what I need on the days that is what I’ll be having for lunch. I also freeze fruits, berries and bananas for my smoothies.
Your salad looks so refreshing!
LOL I love that you throw random greens in your smoothie! I cannot get over how energizing Purslane is…I totally notice a huge difference. I think it is the omegas!
I definitely spend much more time in the kitchen now that I eat healthier; but as most of the commenters have already said, it is totally worth it! I enjoy it. :)
I spend time on either Saturdays or Sundays and cook a lot of things for the week. A big batch of vegan burgers (I like to take them for lunch- you can crumble them up over a salad, slice them up and put them in a wrap, cover them with lentils, hummus, tomato paste, sprouts and other fresh veggies…). I’ll make another big batch of something else that I can eat for dinner (I’m a creature of habit and don’t mind having a few repeat meals throughout the week. I live alone and it helps save on time and money.
I go to Costco, Trader Joes and local Farmer’s Markets (I live in Indianapolis and the are all over the place) and stock up on fantastic veggies and fruits. When I get home from work and the gym, I just make my meals all at once (dinner and also breakfast and lunch for the following day). It has become routine so it doesn’t seem so bad.
I too feel like I’m constantly doing dishes :)
If this is the small price I pay for feeling this great, then I feel like I’m getting a pretty great deal!
I spend more time in the kitchen and I don’t mind that at all but the dishes..oh goodness, I am not enjoying that part! I think a dedication to a healthy lifestyle is time consuming but I borrow time from tv watching and other activities that aren’t going to contribute my over well being in the same way.
The question regarding how much time you spend in the kitchen is an interesting one. I’d say the amount of time I spending cooking does not vary by the health/quality of the food — possibly because I cooked a lot with my family, and a lot on my own (and usually that was healthy anyway). My husband and I eat meals that usually take about 20 minutes to make, so I don’t really see how you can say it takes longer. How hard is broiled/grilled turkey/veggie burgers and veggies? How hard is whole wheat pasta with a some chopped tom. and basil? How hard is quinoa and poached salmon? All of those are about 20 min prep/cooking + 10 min clean-up. Hummus takes about 10 min to make if you buy the chickpeas in a can. . . And as for the cost: has anyone noticed how much icrecream is — or how much chips/sugary cereals are? I think that if you really considered your time, it wouldn’t be any more difficult to make a nice healthy meal, than a nice (yes — nice!) unhealthy one. And the cost would probably be the same.
I definitely spend more time in the kitchen now than I used to! Until I was about 25 I never spent more than ten minutes in the kitchen and that was mostly watching the KD in the pot or the entre in the microwave. Now there’s a LOT more planning, prepping and cooking but rarely do I spent hours in the kitchen. I just don’t have time, but on those rare days I have off I find myself making batches of food so I can just grab and go on my way to work and I’m completely obsessed with anything kitchen-y!
My Mom is quite proud at the moment! I don’t think she’d ever thought she’d see the day when I would actually ENJOY cooking and now she’s asking ME to make things at family gatherings! I love spreading the healthy meals around!
Oh my god, the juicer. I was so excited when I finally got one, until I realized it is a HUGE pain to clean. It says it’s dishwasher friendly, but I don’t run the dishwasher every day. AND it says you’re not supposed to leave it sitting for too long without being washed (I guess it can get stained?). Arggghh. I love the idea of fresh juice daily, but I can’t deal with the thought of all the constant cleaning. Especially that mesh filter part… that is the worst!
haha the mesh filter eats my soul and spits it out.