Monday, August 31, 2009

Dessert for your Health


It seems like everyone has been ganging up on dessert lately.  They’re bad for your body.  They’re high in fat.  They don’t have any nutritional content.  And that’s true if what you’re eating for dessert it chocolate cake and fudge brownie ice cream.  Everyone knows that.  What I’ve discovered is that dessert can be more that cake, ice cream, and cookies.  Of course, I do enjoy some fudge brownie ice cream on occasion, but I’ve also found that most of the time I can settle for a lot less calories and much more nutrition to satisfy my sweet cravings.  The most important part of my dessert conversion was simply a habit change.  Instead of reaching for the Chunky Monkey as soon as dinner was over, I had to take a bit more time to think about what I really wanted.  Not what I thought I wanted. 

            The first and most important thing to do when picking a dessert is to think about how hungry you are.  Do you really want the double scoop ice cream?  Or will a single scoop satisfy your need?  Next, think about all of your options, not just the obvious ones.  Clearly you could have a cookie.  But what about dried fruit?  Popsicles? (Edy’s  coconut pops are my favorite.)  How about Stonyfield chocolate yogurt for a taste of organic dairy?  Maybe canned pineapple would suit you. Or, if you can’t live with out ice cream, try topping it off with some delicious (and filling) banana slices, walnuts, strawberries, frozen blueberries, or even a handful of granola.  Oftentimes I am satisfied with a small bowl of honey nut cheerios or frosted flakes when I’m craving a new flavor in my mouth after eating dinner.  This might sound absurd, but sometimes, an orange or an apple might be sweet enough.  If you’re craving something in the middle of the day, try some chocolate Graham Crackers instead of a chocolate bar.  Once you find some favorites, they will be easy replacements to some of your blacklisted items with some more nutritious alternatives.    

            Now that I’m in the habit of thinking twice, I find that I don’t really ever feel like having a gigantic piece of cake or a double scoop of ice cream.  Suddenly, just enough feels like enough.       

                 

Monday, August 17, 2009

A Wardrobe Diet: How to Make Your Favorite Jeans Fit into Your Closet!


                      The August heat was so dense in my upstairs bedroom last night that it made me uncomfortable to even look at the cotton sweaters that I was pulling from the depths of my walk-in closet.  Despite the temperature, I was able to reduce the amount of clothes and in my closet, dresser, and shelves by 23.4%.  I went from an ostentatious 254.5 articles of clothing (and shoes) to a slightly trimmer 195 pieces in a little more than an hour’s worth of spontaneous energy.

            I got the idea to sort through my clothes on my way home from Ogunquit, Maine yesterday.  I had just bought myself a pair of brown, leather, 60% off boots at the Bass Outlet.  If I could have designed a pair of boots to be made for me, they would look just like these babies.  The problem was, I felt guilty about even having them.  Although they were perfect, I knew it was ridiculous to spend half a week’s worth of pay on a pair of boots when I already have so many clothes and shoes at home.  Plus, my goal had been to bring less stuff back to college this year, so why was I buying more? That’s when I got the idea to do a total closet cleansing ritual.  Even without boot guilt, I usually drop off a shopping bag’s worth of clothes at Goodwill every 3 months or so, but this was going to be a wardrobe liposuction to tell my great-grandkids about. 

            I started a chart on the back of a used piece of computer paper to keep track of how much I was ditching.  At first, my categories were broad, like “shirts” and “shoes,” but I realized that I needed to narrow my listings because I was losing count.  I had to separate my “shirts” category into “tee shirts,” ”sports shirts,” ”tank tops,” and “dress shirts,” which doesn’t even include my separate “sweatshirts” and “sweaters” groups.  I also decided to keep track of how much I was donating and throwing away so that I would know exactly how much progress I had made.  Here are the numbers:

 

 

Shirts

Skirts

Dresses

Jeans

Pants

Shorts

Sport shirts

Original

23

7

15

4

3

3

25

Toss

4

0

0

0

1

0

2

Donate

2

2

2

0

1

0

2

Keep

17

5

13

4

1

3

21


 

 

Sport shorts/pants

Pairs of socks

Bras

Underwear

Bathing suits

Tank tops

Sweatshirts

Original

11

36.5

13

22

6

18

13

Toss

0

9.5

1

4

1.5

0

0

Donate

1

4

4

0

1.5

3

3

Keep

10

23

8

18

4

15

11

 

 

 

Sweaters

Dress shirts

Sneakers

Flip flops

Boots

Shoes

PJ pants/ shorts

Belts

Original

10

8

7

6

4

8

4

8

Toss

0

3

0

2

0

0

0

0

Donate

3

0

0

1

0

1

0

3

Keep

7

5

7

3

4

5

4

5

 

 

            I found these numbers shocking.  For a girl who considers herself a minimalist, 13 dresses seem a bit extreme.  And even though I only ever wear the same 2 belts over and over again, I still could only part with 3 of my 8.  What I found most surprising was that even after getting rid of 19 shirts I could still wear a different top from my closet for 54 days straight (not including dresses)!  That’s almost 2 month’s worth of shirts. 

            I’ve definitely still got some work to do to slim down my closet, but I did make a lot of progress last night.  I was able to get rid of 57.5 shoes and clothes combined, 31.5 of which was donated to Goodwill.  I also discovered 2 systems that I plan to enforce in my closet.  The first is to make trade offs.  When I come home from the Gap with 3 new shirts, I need to get rid of 3 old shirts.  The second idea addresses the clothes that I always keep but never seem to wear.  I had a blue sweater with sleeves that may have been inspired by the elves in Lord of the Rings in my closet for years.  I never wore it, but I always thought that an occasion might come up when I would want it.  There’s other stuff that I don’t wear, but keep.  Shirts with memories.  Pants that are nice, but I never seem to notice in my drawer.  Instead of keeping them all eternally, I put aside 10 questionable pieces at the beginning of the summer.  They stayed in the back of my closet and I didn’t look at them for 4 months.  Last night, I took them all out and realized that I didn’t miss a single one.  For some reason it was much easier to let go when I knew that I had already lived without them and, for the most part, forgotten about them completely.  I recommend these two systems to anybody who, like me, has a morbidly obese wardrobe.  It sounds silly, but I felt lighter this morning when I got out of bed.  It was like I had been carrying those 57.5 clothes and shoes on my back until today, when I noticed the load was gone.

            Even if you don’t have 13 dresses like me, I recommend taking a guillotine to your wardrobe.  Get out a pencil and paper and blare the radio.  It only took a few extra minutes for me to write down my progress, and it made me more motivated to let stuff go.  Knowing that I had 36.5 pairs of socks exactly shamed me into getting rid of some questionable ones.  Another piece of advice I have is to not skim anything in the sorting process.  Even stuff you wear regularly.  Does it have a tear?  Armpit stains?  Bleach stains?  Ditch.  Chances are you put it on out of habit, but if you saw it at a store in its current condition you wouldn’t consider wearing it.  Not only are you getting rid of stuff you don’t need, you are also refining your style.  By trashing the crap you are making sure you will only go out dressed in your best!                             

                           

Saturday, August 15, 2009

How I Made Lasagna in Less than 4 Months


             Before this summer, I knew how to cook pasta of many varieties, fried eggs, and pancakes.  I had never experienced the tender crunch of holding a frozen chicken breast or the pleasure of preparing a meal that had the delicious, steaming aroma of all 5 food groups. 

            What made me nervous about pulling out the chopping knives was that I knew from observation that cooking is an art, not a science.  Baking I could handle.  I had been carefully sifting, making wells, and mixing until soft peaks form since the 5th grade.  During my first few weeks of cooking lessons I would ask my mom how much olive oil to add, and not turning from her cutting board she would say, “two glugs.”  Aside from teaching me her famous recipes for lasagna, stuffed shells, and shepherd’s pie, my mom showed me how to transform my tight-ass baking techniques into “glugs,” “shakes,” and “sprinklings.” 

            Another bonus was that I was also able to bond with my mom while standing over the simmering pans on our 1917 Hotpoint stove.  This eased some of the college-student-home-for-the-summer stress that I was nervous would arise during my first extended stay back home.  Instead, we planned meals, went grocery shopping, and experimented with new recipes together.  At a quick glace, we could have been mistaken for a Pillsbury Doughboy commercial, both happily grasping our wooden spoons, laughing at spilled batter, and voluntarily poking at that strange, pudgy, and completely white little man dancing around our kitchen table. 

            As a dessert to a successful summer, my mom and I went to see Julie and Julia together on its opening night.  Being a new blogger and chef-in-training, I was enthralled by a blogging and cooking-themed film.  Meryl Streep gave, as always, a show-stealing performance that made me leave the theater hungry, and brewing some great ideas. 

            If you’ve been thinking of giving the old meat cleaver a go, first take your mom out for a date to see Julie and Julia and get inspired to make your first lasagna.  You’ll learn the basics faster than you think and you’ll have a skill that is perfect for staying healthy, saving money, and impressing a date. 

 

 

Recipe for Rachel’s Mom’s Lasagna

 

Lasagna Pasta

2 eggs

1 cup grated cheese

1 package ground beef or ground turkey

1 container Ricotta cheese

Half an onion

Tomato sauce

 

1.  First cook the pasta and begin browning the ground beef on the stove.  Chop up the onion and add it to the meat.  

2.  While the pasta and ground meat are cooking, mix together the 2 eggs, ricotta cheese, and grated cheese.

3.  After straining the cooked pasta, you can begin assembling the lasagna in a large glass pan (approx. 8x13x2).  Begin with a layer of tomato sauce, then meat, then pasta, then cheese mixture and repeat for about 3 layers or until you have used up most of your ingredients (there tends to be leftover pasta).  Pour a bit more tomato sauce on top and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about a half hour or until you see it start to bubble.   

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

so like, what is Three Squares?

This week I have been sunbathing, eating baked goods, going for scenic runs and taking an excessive amounts of naps in Wilton, ME with 20ishof my Salois relatives for company.  The weather has been beautiful and the water warm, so, of course, the only thing that I’ve been lacking is my beloved cable Internet connection.  Today, I made a jaunty 20 minute hike to the Wilton Public Library to fulfill my craving with a bit of Wi-Fi.  The library is dainty-sized with elaborate woodwork embellishing its walls, making it a petit fours of architecture and the perfect place to get back to the blog that I have been missing.  Really missing.  I don’t want to seem clingy because I know it’s only been 5 posts, but I think I’m starting to fall in love with Three Squares.  I started it as a project to keep my writing sharp over the summer and also start a portfolio of pieces that would make me irresistible to future employers.  Already it’s become more.  Three Squares has been the fuse to an explosion of ideas.  It seems like an obvious concept, but I’ve realized that what I really, really want to write is words that make people understand their responsibilities to the world and to themselves.  I’m not a self-help writer.  I don’t want a photograph of myself on the cover of a book and blocky red letters that say, “A BETTER YOU!”.  My purpose now is to become a writer who can articulate meditated ideas in entertaining and approachable ways.  I have a goal is to change the world with a mosaic of lifestyle tweaks.  I hope you will keep reading as I pick my way through words until I find exactly what I want to say.