resolution countdown: #7, sustainable eating

December 28, 2009

the raw, vegan, macrobiotic diet starts january 1st!
image a far cry from martha . . .
HA, AS IF!

come on, you know i wouldn’t last very long without pizza and wine. it always amazes me how many people go on these stringent ‘diets’ at the beginning of the new year, determined to take off holiday pounds. i really do think that really low-calorie diets are evil and ineffective, and that they fuel disordered eating patterns. but that’s a post for another day! today is all about my eating/cooking goals for 2010 — another resolution bundle (forgive me).

they are all centered around eating sustainably — since i am attempting to sustain several things: my body, my love of cooking/cuisine, and the environment!

part 1: eat more local, organic, and sustainable foods. i’ve already made some progress in this arena — food inc was pretty eye-opening in showing me just how environmentally devastating our current methods of bringing food-to-table are — not to mention, how GROSS!

i still don’t want to make hard and fast rules about what i will and will not eat. i think perfectionism really backfires when it comes to food! however, i am going to make an effort to choose local foods, buy in-season produce, and enjoy the farmer’s market/community agriculture delivery. i will also aim for the most humanely treated meat and fish available, and we will eat less meat overall.

part 2: eat slower!. this one is a holdover from last year! i feel like residency has taught me to eat as fast as possible, because i MIGHT get paged away and have to leave my precious meal uneaten, still hungry. while there are times that this does happen, i can SLOW DOWN the rest of the time! it doesn’t help that i was never a slow eater to begin with, and josh eats at the SPEED OF LIGHT (ie, surgery-style).

i know i will enjoy my meals more — and feel more satisfied — if i sloooow on down. so i will continue to work on this in 2010.

part 3: enjoy cooking and eating out. doin’ time was fun but i admit i got tired towards the end. this year, i’ve chosen a much more flexible and fun challenge . . . to be discussed in a later post (sorry! i wasn’t planning on leaving this cliffhanger, but i want to give this project the attention it deserves, and i have to go to work).

like last year, i’ll also come up with a list of restaurants that i’d like to try, and a list of restaurants to return to! and i will continue to enjoy eating out sustainably by practicing moderation at restaurant meals.

speaking of restaurant meals
you know what? I LOVE EATING OUT. there, i said it. i consider it my reward for cooking the rest of the week. there is just something so luxurious about getting to have your food made FOR you — and i am lucky to live in an area where there are so many delicious and wallet-friendly choices!

last night before josh’s night shift started (bah!) we headed to an old favorite: the loop, in chapel hill.

josh enjoyed this chicago dog the “authentic” way: WITHOUT ketchup.
i chowed down on the gorgonzola-walnut salad with tomatoes + balsamic dressing
we shared some ubercreamy tomato bisque.

AND we made it to the TCBY next door for kids waffle cones of EGG NOG
not quite up to LoYO standards, but still pretty (#*&$(# good.

off to my LAST day of work in 2009!!! 6 day staycation begins tonight — i can’t wait!

————————————————————–

12.27.09

workout: i almost napped instead, but convinced myself a workout would feel better. i’m glad i did! 45 minutes on the elliptical + strength training made me feel a million times more energetic. i did:

– 2 x 11 pushups (working back up!)
– 2 x 12 squats with ball, 10 lb weights
– 2 x 10 pullups with gravitron — 50 lbs assist for 5, 60 lbs assist for 5
– 2 x 10 walking double lunges, 8 lb weights
– 2 x 10 tricep pushdowns, 15 lbs
– 2 x 10 seated rows, 40 lbs

7 Comments

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    I&#39m really liking your resolutions so far. The sustainable eating one is going to be one of mine as well.

    We had the Loop here, but it went away. I&#39d never been. It&#39s mainly pizza, right? Or am I thinking of a different restaurant with the same name.

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    i&#39m really hoping that once i graduate i can partake in the eat locally part of the resolution. i try when i can but it&#39s tough at school.

    but YES to slowing down when eating. i speed eat like it&#39s my job

  • Reply Diana March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    I&#39m working on eating more sustainably as well. Maybe we can keep each other in check? 🙂

    Diana

    PS I&#39m having a new challenge! Eat in Month in January: http://thechiclife.typepad.com/the_chic_life/2009/12/eat-in-month-challenge—january-2010.html Wanna play? Maybe just for a week so you can enjoy those fab CH restaurants?

  • Reply Susan March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Ohhhh I love a creamy tomato bisque…so good! I definitely understand the shove-your-food-in-as-fast-as-possible mentality. Sometimes I wonder why I don&#39t just take a Clif bar and a banana for dinner since I often shovel my food in. We&#39re supposed to get a "30 minute uninterrupted" break, but we all know that never happens…especially if a DOCTOR calls you. 😉 Those doctors don&#39t like to be told the nurse is at dinner!

  • Reply BroccoliHut March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Yet another fab resolution! Hope you don&#39t mind if I copy a few of your ideas;)
    Ah, The Loop. I used to love it…until I was forced to eat at the one on Duke&#39s campus 5 nights a week. They have a good black bean burger though!

  • Reply atilla March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    keep the resolutions coming
    Happy New Year

  • Reply caryn March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    For any of you looking for a reason to follow (or not!)the "sustainable" eating concept, I highly recommend Michael Pollan&#39s book, "In Defense of Food."

    And for those of you who feel you cannot afford to eat that way, since it is almost always more expensive to do so, I will quote from his book:

    "…just in the last decade or two we&#39ve somehow found the time in the day to spend several hours on the internet and the money in the budget not only to pay for broadband service, but to cover a second phone bill and a new monthly bill for television, formally free. For the majority of Americans, spending more for better food is less a matter of ability than priority. We spend a smaller percentage of our income on food than any other industrialized society; surely if we decided that the quality of our food mattered, we could afford to spend a few more dollars on it a week–and eat a little less of it.

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