Let's Eat!

Photo from Photobucket-YouvegonetofarMr

 After learning my health and well-being were in serious jeopardy I was sufficiently motivated to take action. For most of my life I've grappled with weight and the problems, mental and physical, excess weigh bring. Now the reality was undeniable. What I ate and how much I ate had to be scrutinized and altered.
     The first action was to calculate my Basil Metabolic Rate.  Next I decided to track my caloric intake. The next hurdle scared me. It was time to befriend my stove.
       I am embarrassed to admit cooking intimidated me. It seemed to be something other people innately knew how to do.  I only knew how to eat...a lot. Being single, therefore not obligated to take anyone's tastes into account did not help matters.
        So I turned to books for help. What a delightful surprise to find cookbooks have a tremendous range and are far from boring. What a new world.

Great Starter for Single Beginning Cooks

      Alone in the Kitchen With An Eggplant edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler is a collection of various people's experience of eating alone.
       Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder, tells us that oatmeal for breakfast and a tomato sandwich with mustard for lunch proved very satisfying for days on end. Simply put Patchett writes, "It is a pleasure to not have to take anyone else's tastes in account..."

      Jeremy Jackson, former nominee for a James Beard Award, admits one of his favorite recipes is canned black beans. Jackson writes,"...to get dried beans tender you have to boil them for approximately six days. You know what I say to that? Give me the can opener." I tried his Black Beans for One recipe and found it easy and satisfying.
     Renowned cook Marcella Hazan first ate alone when she left home for the University of Ferrara. Hazan confesses she cringes at the thought of cooking when she is alone and the prospect sometimes makes her lose interest.
       The writer who resonated with me the most was Laura Dave who writes "cooking for yourself represents-that you matter, even when no one is watching."
         The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones  can help overcome the inertia of self-care. It was in this book I found what basic components make cooking easier.  
         When her husband died Jones felt she would never enjoy preparing a meal for herself and eating it alone. It was an unexpected surprise to find cooking was a way to honor the meals shared with her husband
           It was in this book I found what appliances, tools and ingredients  make  a good kitchen. True, some of the recipes were beyond my skill set but there were enough to keep me motivated.

Other handy resources include allrecipes.com, epicurean.com, cookinglight.com and Delish.com.

 I am now twenty pounds lighter with a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry. I’m more selective when I eat out which has increased my savings account.

So my friends let us not only eat but eat well.