30 days of {eating my veggies}
every once in a while i like to waste my time discovering new things by clicking through links on other blogs or on twitter. i find all sorts of information this way and an occasional blog to add to my reader. for instance, i recently fell in love with this site.
the other day i was stumbling along and found Room 704 and Mrs. Flinger’s offer to join her in a quest of sorts: 30 Days of {_________} based on the premise that it takes 30 days to make something a habit, this is an opportunity to try something new, pick up a new skill, find a way to improve your life, or indulge for once – whatever you want – the sky’s the limit! i adore the fact that this tied to any real guidelines or rules besides what i choose them to be.
i knew immediately that i wanted to play along but had no idea what i would choose for my new 30 day habit. so i tucked the idea in the back of my brain and moved on. the internet gods then smiled upon me and led me to an article on the New York Times website: 101 Simple Salads for the Season. oh my, i think i’m in love! these salads are simple. none of the ‘recipes’ are really recipes with exact measurments but a list of ingredients you can toss together to suit your taste. all of the salads in this article can be made for one or a crowd. and it’s summer! when my AC system is works all day long to cool my home to 80 degrees and the thought of turning the oven on to cook can be depressing. for me, what’s better than a quick easy meal that takes no (or just a tad bit) of cooking.
there’s a tape in my voice in my head that keeps mumbling (and sometimes shouting) i need to take better care of myself: get more sleep, drink more water, exercise more, eat better…..it goes on and on. it’s a struggle and thinking about all of the things i could/should be doing better is so overwhelming at times that i continue to remain stuck. but what about just picking one thing? just one thing and work on that? i hadn’t really thought about it before. but now that i have, i really like the idea.
it’s standard knowledge that we all should eat 5-7 servings of fruit and veggies each day. fruit seems to be easy for me, it’s sweet and most of it comes ready to eat. a lot of veggies can be considered ready to eat too i suppose but for me, not so much. to me veggies need to have some sort of preparation involved and the only veggies i consider eating in their original packaging are carrots or celery – a girl can only eat so many carrot sticks! so perhaps, this is what i love most about this article – it features all sorts of fresh veggies served up in ways i never really thought about before. and none of them are the typical ‘green salads’ – a girl can only eat so many of those too.
so for the next 30 days, using the article from the NYT as a guide, i’m going to eat more vegetables. and maybe it’ll make that voice in my head shut up for just a little bit. not so earth shattering i know but it’s a start and we all have to start somewhere – although i’m thinking my husband wishes i had chosen to take on 30 days of sex instead (august ain’t the only month in the year babe)
Eating healthy and deliciously need not be mutually exclusive. Vegetables have a lot of inert flavor in them that you can let out if you cook them right. That said, there are lots of ways to cook veggies deliciously! Try the vegetable recipes at tanya’s site, I liked them!