fat free opinions on a food centric life
My mother has always been a master at stretching a dollar because she’s had lots of practice most of her life. As a single mother of three children under the age of five by the time she was 25, she worked hard to put a …
With New Year’s Day less than a week away, I’ve found myself not wanting to wait until the traditional January 1st to promise myself that I’ll turn over a new leaf here and there in my life — or perhaps nine. Do I hear 25? …
We’ve been eating quite a bit of soup and salad lately. With the business of our lives, it often seems to be the only way to make sure we don’t fall into the take-out habit, or worse, microwaved frozen food. Call me a food snob — or better yet, consider that it’s not challenging to make a healthy meal that doesn’t take a lot of time and goes easy on the wallet.
Picture this: my husband and I pass through the house each morning getting ready for work and I begin to think about any excuse not to have to stop at the market on the way home. I mull over the contents of the veggie bin while I’m brushing my teeth, and search my fuzzy memory for ingredients that may be languishing in the pantry.
“There are carrots I could make some soup with,” I begin staring into my mirror.
“That would be good,” he mutters, peering into his mirror, busy with his own routine.
“And there are those apples you forget to eat on a regular basis. I saw a recipe for a salad I want to try — but I’m not quite sure what condition the celery is in. Do we have lemons?” I call from the closet as I’m trying to figure out what to squeeze myself into for the day.
“Anything you make will be good,” he says from his side of the closet, “and I have been eating an apple a day.”
I head down the stairs, give a quick look in the fridge, and grab my coffee before running out the door and calling my goodbyes feigning success in the accomplishment of a dinner plan.
Jump ahead 11 hours. It’s about 6PM and we’re both home. Our son has come downstairs to graciously share himself with us, then flops on the couch to figure out what we’ll watch that evening. My husband and I start peeling and chopping, sauteeing and blending. On most days within an hour of arriving home — give or take a half hour for diversions — we’re all in the family room talking about the day, slurping soup, eating salad and enjoying a DVRd show one of us has lobbied for.
On one such night, we tried a new spin on an old classic: Waldorf Salad. When I think of why I’ve never liked it, the mayonnaise would be the reason. As much as I enjoy most salads, slathering a fatty dressing on one has never appealed to me. If you’re like me or at least interested in something seasonal, but more healthy, try this. It will be a part of our Thanksgiving dinner this year.
I’d like to believe the weather we’ve been enjoying is here to stay, but I know our small slice of Paradise much too well. Instead of the often sweltering heat we experience in August, we’ve been treated to grey skies, cool, moist breezes, and yesterday, …
About this time last year, I was editing the nearly 800 photographs I took while on vacation in Italy and as much as I can say that I enjoyed reviewing our trip in front of my Mac, one photo in particular stood out. It was …