In the Kitchen With Lori

Recently Stan and I decided that we needed to be more health conscious in our eating and made a decision to get started. Since I am the main "cook" in our home (it was in our wedding vows), I knew that I would be the one responsible to make a healthy menu for us. I did some looking around on the internet for possible healthy menus and came up with a list of recipes ,and then spent Sunday afternoon "food shopping" (as my friend Michele calls it) at three different grocery stores buying the items I would need to fix delicious healthy meals.

With my list in hand, I scoured the stores and filled my cart with a plethora of healthy food stuffs which included brightly colored fruits and vegetables; brown rice; plain Greek yogurt and almond milk, just to name a few. It was a tiring day, but I happily drove home and unloaded the many bags, and then loaded up my cupboards and fridge with the grocery store booty. However, as I looked at all my beautiful groceries, I had a small, but harmless panic attack thinking about the job I had created for myself. Needless to say, in order to use all of those items I was going to have to spend significantly longer periods of time in my kitchen than I normally do, doing things that would actually involve using my old, but still bright and shiny, pot and pans. The food was purchased however, and so I knew I had to follow through on the preparation.

On Sunday evening I chopped lots and lots, and lots and lots and lots of the vegetables that I had purchased, and made a yummy vegetable soup that simmered on the stove for over an hour. Stan took big sniffs of the savory air as he walked in and out the kitchen, and I beamed with pride and delight at his sniffs. We feasted on the bounty that night and felt satisfied with ourselves. I went to bed on Sunday night ready to begin the new week, and on Monday morning I made wonderful fruit smoothies for breakfast with added flaxseed and rice protein powder. I was a little wary, but they were good! After our smoothies, we somewhat enjoyed a hot cup of green tea with lemon which we decided would replace our morning coffee.

All was going smoothly (no pun intended) until about mid-morning when I noticed a dull headache had arrived. I said to myself, “Probably just a little sugar and caffeine withdrawal”. Shortly after that, Stan emerged from his office and said, “I don’t feel very good”. He was as white as a ghost. What is a wife to say when her husband looks like death? With my now raging headache I replied, “Well you don’t look very good either”.

Stan tends to have low blood sugar when he doesn’t get enough protein. I recognized this as the problem, so I told him to go sit down and I would get him something to eat. In order to get his blood sugar up quickly, I gave him some orange juice and then went back to the kitchen to get him something more substantial. As I walked back in to the living room with some food, he waved me out of the way as he hastily made his way to the bathroom. On his way back to the living room his comment was, “What a waste of all those vegetables”. I inwardly concurred. I could have quit our new healthy lifestyle right then, but then what would I do with the harvest in my kitchen? My refrigerator looked like the produce department at Kroger! I knew there was no turning back, at least not yet. I had to carry on.

It took a few days of making adjustments, but now we are doing well. No more headaches or throwing up! This is progress! Today is Thursday, and although I was very worried about whether I would be able to follow through, so far, so good! I have even actually ENJOYED cooking, which for me is a very big deal. I have been making things "from scratch", and for tonight's dinner I made almond & lemon crusted cod fish with sautéed lemon and garlic spring mix salad as it's foundation, and I made brown rice pudding with raisins as a side dish. How about THAT! It was very yummy and very beautiful. I should have taken a picture of the finished product for Facebook like I notice other people do, but I was too busy thinking about how EXTREMELY impressed Stan was going to be with my FANTASTIC meal, and so I didn't think of a "dinner photo shoot". I know I am bragging, but lots of people brag on Facebook and mostly people ignore them, so who cares. Anyway, here is to healthier eating adventures! Bon appétit, ya'll.

P.S. I have come to the conclusion that if you have to chop, dice or mince A LOT of the ingredients for a recipe, it is bound to taste good; especially if fresh garlic is involved.

P.S.S. If you are going to chop almonds in your blender, don't forget to put the lid on before you push any of the numerous buttons on the blender dashboard. If you forget, you may end up with various sizes of chunked-up almonds flying all over the kitchen and into your eyes and hair while you are frantically trying to find the right button to turn the thing off.

In the Kitchen With Lori

In the Kitchen With Lori :: Comments

In the Kitchen With Lori