I was editing some of the photos I took during our recent swap in Mendocino, including one of a portly looking breakaway cook in a hot tub, so I decided to have a big bowl of vegetables for lunch. I don’t think I’ve spent a single minute of my life thinking about how to lose weight, but that question is now residing quite squarely in the center of my frontal cortex. I’m inclined not to worry too much though, and figure I’ll just up my veg consumption to even more prodigious quantities and drag my ass out the door and up the lovely Mt. Baldy trail quasidaily. (This is the second time I’ve lived at the foot of a Mt. Baldy — the first was in Claremont, about an hour east of Los Angeles).
And thus was born today’s hot salad, made by peeling then slicing a large carrot lengthwise and then into long thin half moon, and sauteing it with
- a handful of long beans
- some spring onions and green garlic
- a few batons of ginger
- a whole habanero, seeds and veins removed, cut into large chunks
- a few tablespoons of very soft tofu
- some green fruity olive oil
There’s something about the fire of a hab on a hot day, counterintuitive though that may sound; it seems to open up the pores and, oddly, let heat escape. Try it sometime! The soft tofu dampens the heat quite a bit, and acts as a loose binder for everything else. With a big glass of bubbly water with plenty of Sicilian lemon in it. Which reminds me: an update on my adventures in bubbly water should be forthcoming soon; I’ve changed my thinking on it.
A satisfying lunch on lots of levels.
Would love to hear your all-time favorite quickie lunches. And, just possibly, can’t-fail methods of losing weight. Besides, you know, eating less.
I’m surprised to hear that you are trying to lose weight! Most of the food you share on this blog seem to have lesser calorie than many other food blogs out there.
Eating small meals and low calorie snacks between meals sometimes help people from eating a few large meals. It’s ultimately the total calorie you take in each day, but skipping meals can decrease your metabolism, so even if you are trying to eat less, it’s not recommended.
I am a total foodie, but about two months ago I decided I needed to drop some pounds (i.e. for the first time in my life I went on a diet). I have followed a low carbohydrate diet, and have dropped about 20 pounds in two months without sacrificing my foodie loves — slow roasted pork (homemade carnitas and rillettes in particular), beautifully tender quiches, homemade sausage, etc. I suppose one could say I cut out the fillers — bread, rice, potatoes, etc. I know “low carb” is not so fashionable now, but for me it just sort of clicked and has certainly worked so far.
Yeah, it’s not the quality of the food I’m worried about, it’s the quantity! It’s as if my brain still thinks I’m 23, with the metabolism of a 23-year-old. I just have to learn to eat less, is what I think it boils down to. Sigh. Not only do I not skip a meal, I throw in a few extra meals here and there!
Low-carbing does seem to work. I can get behind the idea of a reduced-carb day, but a world totally without good bread, and pasta, is a grim one. I’ll see if I can at least cut my carb consumption by half; that would be a good start.
Low-carb does work, but the prospect of giving up crusty pain au levain (again) makes me think I’d rather: a) be fat, b) dig out my eyes, c) all of the above.
It took me a year to get used to the suggested portions of pasta, bread, and rice. What works for me is to bulk out starch with a lot of veggies. If I’m having udon, I’ll have it with a lot of broth, mushrooms, and other veggies. Things like gnocchi are difficult, because intellectually I know that a cup of gnocchi is a decent serving, but it looks like a child’s portion on a plate.
And one thing I absolutely can’t get around is exercise. I swear my metabolism went into energy-saving mode the day after I turned 34.
My metabolism seemed fine until about 45, then: whoops! Save all fat on body!
I do the same with bulking out with veggies — I guess I need to bulk them out even more.
Yoga helps too; I’d be a rolybreakawoly if I didn’t do it!
try mindful eating. it really works! check out an exercise in mindful eating here: http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/10