I Am What I Chew

i do loves me some pig parts

So, after I met with my nutritionist (the lovely Nancy Bennett) in San Francisco, I walked a few blocks to the Ferry Building, which is in the shadow of the Bay Bridge. Yes, you can catch a ferry there, but most people go there to partake in the foodie experience.

Want gluten-free bread?  Organic pomegranates? Overpriced–er, I mean gourmet–chocolates? No prob. There’s a wine bar and a tea place, and if you are feeling a quart low, a fancy olive oil joint.

Of course, being the Midwest girl that I am, it was the lure of “tasty salted pig parts” that stopped me in my tracks.

I came, I inhaled, I took a photo.  But I did not eat the pig.

Instead, I got a glass of iced green tea and sat in the sunshine and looked at the Bay. It was a good day.

what does this look like to you?

I’m always looking for ways to make myself love unfamiliar vegetables.  I don’t like to say “no” until I’ve tried at least different ways of fixing them.

So, I dug out a recipe that combined two vegetables on my list of Least Palatable Foods: bok choy and beets.

I followed the instructions to roast the beets in a foil packet in the oven with some olive oil and garlic.  When I removed the packet 40 minutes later, not only were the beets still hard, but the packet broke open and leaked all over the counter.

The recipe said to cook them and rub off the skins with a paper towel.  I stood there with beet blood all over my fingers, pot holders and countertops and thought, “Uh, no.”

I ended up sautéing the bok choy in olive oil with garlic and sea salt.  Put some feta cheese on top. Yummy.

The beets went in the garbage.  I don’t care how good they are for me – any veggie that makes my kitchen look like a murder scene is on the list called “Not Worth It.”

cataloupe with cottage cheese is even better than a peach

Do you ever just wake up and feel like nothing can stop you in your quest?  That was today.  I was going to cook 3 squares and make each and every one of them healthy or take myself to the woodshed. With just a bit of quality time in the kitchen, I treated my body to no fewer than nine (count ‘em – 9!) different  kinds of vegetables and zero kinds of bad things.

Breakfast: Fresh peach and low-fat cottage cheese

Lunch: Quinoa with sauteed mushrooms(1), red peppers(2), Green onions(3)

Dinner: Turkey sausage, baked sweet potato fries(4), broccoli(5), and salad with romaine(6), tomatoes(7), cucumbers(8) and carrots(9).

Snack: The sweet taste of virtue.  And a kiwi.