On our 2007 Road Trip Hubby brought along Michael Pollan’s dictionary-sized book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” which shattered the illusion that grocery stores carry food–they carry processed food-like items that are mostly just corn fillers. Now hitting the best seller list is Pollan’s new, very practical “In Defense of Food” which answers the question “So if everything is full of corn, what should I eat?” The answer, for Pollan, is simple: “Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.”
But you already eat food, right? And you already know that you should eat fruits and veggies. Food, Pollan explains, would be something your great (or even great great) grandmother would recognize. So food is a baked potato, not Betty Crocker Creamy Butter Mashed Potatoes, food is bread made from salt, flour, yeast and water, not Sara Lee Whole Grain White Bread (talk about illogical). This book finally shines a light on the question I have long been asking: if the American public is eating less fat and less calories than ever before, why are our lovehandles getting much much bigger and diabetes becoming the norm, rather than a rarity?
Based on Pollan’s commercially-void research and my own personal experience that a calorie is not just a calorie, we’ve made the switch. What remained in our home of products like Sweet N Low, Diet Sodas, non-fat yogurt and milk have all been replaced with unrefined sugar, water or tea, and whole fat milk and yogurt (from grass fed cows whenever possible).Â
And while we moved to all organic veggies some time ago, we’re sharing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box of locally grown organic vegetables each week and I’m happily growing the tomatoes (see my previous post), Swiss chard and mixed lettuce right on our deck.
What ways can you think of to eat more food?
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What do you do when you have a room in your house that you hate? A space that you avoid, shut the door and pretend doesn’t exist? Instead of letting it (the ugly space) rule you, you embrace it, find its strengths, and make it into somewhere you love.
This is what we’ve been doing the past six months. Our downstairs bedroom, the eyesore of our house, had hideous dark brown shelves, a ripped up carpet, poor lighting and a tiny closet. Functional, yes, but nothing to write home about. So we stepped back and envisioned the possibility of what could be. We knew we wanted to make it an office, recycle as many components as possible, keep the cost low, and end up with a space where I would enjoy working, reading and even watching the occasional DVD on our iMac.
Finally, months later, we’ve claimed success. The once brown shelves that dominated the room are now bright, sage and white bookcases, the old carpet has been replaced by Maple laminate, the closet has built-in shelving perfect for holding file boxes, and we’ve made a little reading nook with a day bed and yummy chocolate brown rug under foot (Guinness really likes the rug, as illustrated in this picture).
So far I’ve spent every morning drinking my coffee and catching up on the news in my new favorite room. I can even invite you to come and stay on our day bed (it unfolds into a double).
If you’re interested in what we did, here are the components we used:
Lubi Day Bed, in Khaki, CB2
Wool Rug, in Brown, Cost Plus World Market
Two cafe-style pendant lights, Home Depot
Gorm Shelving, Ikea
Throw pillows, Best of Everything (local)
Pittsburg Zero VOC Paint, Kings Paint and Paper (local)
Harmonics laminate, Costco
What’s left? Hanging some artwork, reorganizing the bookcases a bit and a few other odds and ends. But now when a guest arrives instead of shooing them away, I can say “Have you seen my favorite room yet?”
One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2007 was to eat more “whole” foods, in other words things that didn’t come from a package. My ability to fulfill this wish was significantly improved by our weekly CSA box from Two Small Farms, but now that we’re in the throws of Winter the boxes have stopped and my cooking creativity suddenly stunted. One reliable place for inspiration is Real Simple Magazine (I teased about it in my last post saying my life is to hectic read Real Simple) who regularly print simple delicious recipes. No Martha Stewart recipes here, just quick 5 ingredient meals anyone can make.
This month I found this one and was utterly delighted. The ingredients might not sound that inspiring, but give it a try and you won’t be disappointed. In terms of ingredients, we used Bertoli Cappelini, Trader Joe’s jar of chopped garlic (for the ultimately lazy), Better then Bouillon for the chicken broth, whole red pepper flakes (not crushed), curly parsley (they were out of flat) and Asiago instead parmesan cheese. My hubby said maybe we should use a little less parsley next time, but honestly I thought the quantities were spot-on. One change I will make next time is to add a spinach side salad. With the smaller pasta and no meat you aren’t too full after your serving, so bulking it up with some green leafys would be a good idea. Enjoy and tell me what you think.
Super Delicious Chickpea Almond Pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
7 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 pound angel hair pasta
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted roasted almonds, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth, red pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook, stirring, until the broth is nearly absorbed and the pasta is al dente, about 6 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and parsley.
Divide among individual bowls and top with the almonds and Parmesan.
Somewhere between my projects, work and family autumn has fallen. This being my favorite time of year, I thought I’d share my recipe for the tastiest fall:
1 part fat knit sweater
2 bowls Spiced pumpkin soup (this recipe is really good!)
1 cup hot Ginger tea
1 hour walk in golden afternoon light
3 turmeric hued pillar candles
5 lb pumpkin for decoration
1 super cute hat
1 fuzzy friend to share it with
Repeat daily!