Saturday, September 18, 2010

elyssa: a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils

location: on the commuter bus (toronto to hamilton)

week in review:

it was quite the week. school finally started rolling - and the boy and i happily celebrated our 3 year anniversary. having been prone to anniversary meltdowns in the past, this year went entirely unplanned, except for the meal. i planned that in meticulous detail. i had my heart set on butternut squash soup, bison burgers, and homemade creme caramel. i dragged my non-morning person self out of bed at 6 am for circuit training and a stop over at whole foods for the dinner ingredients. by 9 am, i was extremely proud of myself - but exhausted. ergo, why i don't do mornings. i lack the stamina. never again.

note: there are no pictures of the above mentioned meal because it didn't happen. fine by me. the bison went into the freezer, and the boy and i set out for a fancy soirée to which he had been invited. in the midst of toronto's rich and skinny (i won't say famous - because we're talking canada here) - i devoured skewer after skewer of caprese tomatoes, braised lamb, roasted eggplant, and fresh figs. picture me - sitting in the corner marveling over the quality of high society food (that nobody was eating!) - while the boy did his best to mingle and do his thing. hilarity ensued. we came home to a shared creme caramel from whole foods with a side of you've got mail (a timeless classic). greatest movie quote ever? 'if i knew your name and address, i would send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils'. all in all, the strangest, perfect day.








apart from our galavanting, this week saw more fall soup frenzy. this time -
chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage and bell pepper. paprika. mmm. frozen and stored for those busy december days.








also, with the return of school, i'm always in need of portable snacks. this prompted me to try my hand at angela's salt and vinegar roasted chickpeas (leftover from the huge batch i made for the soup).

boiled in vinegar. tossed with olive oil and sea salt. roast.

dinners have been fast and easy. quick chili being a new fave.

scrambled tofu. tomato. beans. cumin. paprika. cocoa.

spinach tossed in at the end.

and of course, orange pumpkin bread to take to the boy. i made up the recipe - so i won't tell you it, because i can't remember it.

another triumph for ad hoc baking.

new challenges:

the general theme of last week was exercise hard, eat moderately. it worked. the one time i forgot my gym shoes, i switched over to yoga - no guilt in sight. i worked hard, but not too hard - and that is key. i found myself pondering: why do i exercise? the answer came to me quickly: because i love it. it has been 4 years since i first embraced the gym - and i'm finally reaching the place where i go simply because it makes me feel good.

this past week, a gust of honesty seemed to sweep over the blog world. there were posts on budget problems, weight gain, and a whole variety of 'imperfections'. it is the awareness of the shared struggle for healthy living - more than the success stories - that helps me through my day. it's that feeling that i'm not alone when i spend $11.99 on chia seeds or wake up at 6 am to hit the gym.

i had a bit of a revelation on calorie counting. the absolute worst thing i can do to myself - and the reason for many of my downfalls - is count obsessively. natural moderation is clearly the goal here. however; because i am intensely physically active, i need to have some sort of ongoing count of my protein/carb/fat ratio and my overall intake. for this reason, my new goal is to eat without counting during the day to cultivate this natural sense. at night, i plan on adding up a quick tally (i remember what i ate anyways) in order to see how i did and to plan accordingly for the next day.

blog moment: the sprouted kitchen explains why we bother to eat well

current obsessions: peanut butter (more than ever).
raw organic food bar. my indoor herb garden. gossip girl!




2 comments:

  1. hey ... so inspired by your soup frenzy, I finally made my famous carrot soup. So good... comfort at its best, and to top things off Mikey (aka Felix in this case) loved it !

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