Month: August 2011

so far so good

So far I have been surprisingly able to stick with my omission of starches for a couple of weeks, with exceptions only when there was nothing else to eat, or I was at a restaurant with things I needed to sample (twice). At home, I’ve not caved. I astound myself.

I have very occasionally allowed a tiny bit of brown rice (I needed a gazpacho thickener; it’s not especially successful, as it doesn’t melt in like bread does) and potatoes. Corn is so far legal, and frankly I won’t leave fresh summer corn off the menu in any case. The pasta and rice I have not really missed much so far.

Braised greens make a remarkably able substitute as a neutral underlayer for things like curries. Ditto steamed yellow squash. And these have worked fine even before dancing, though I am legitimately hungry again by the time I get home.

The hungarian dill zucchini is like crack — I will dip into it when I feel snacky. Going to have to keep it in steady rotation. Same thing for hummus, a spoonful of that straight up can fix the kitchen-prowl problem by being filling and savory and speedy.

little green lasagne

I had a really tasty little morsel at Rendezvous in Cambridge last night. They call it a “little lasagne” and it’s a freeform stacking of pasta sheets, ricotta, comte and swiss chard, with a pungent, salty, dark green salsa verde and chopped almonds alongside.

Absolutely delicious late-summer vegetable treat, savory, filling and not too heavy.

The rest of the menu was pretty good too. Duh. Try the Summer Breeze if you like whiskey drinks or bitters. And the summer chowder is dreamy.

Just as long as I don’t become one of THOSE people

Damn it all straight to hell.

I have in the past had some success losing weight by eliminating wheat and grains in general from my meals (I’m looking at you, mid-90s Zone Diet), so I went and sort of half-assedly tried it again the last week or so. And it is depressing to report that I do seem to feel a lot better when I do this. More energy, less lethargic in the brain, better digestion, and I even look a little thinner even though I am most certainly not.

So there you go. Drat.

I guess for a while I am going to have to cut out the grains when I’m cooking for myself, and most of the sugar (easy for me, as I mostly lack a sweet tooth anyway), and only make special dispensations for unavoidable situations such as a trip out for pho. And really, I guess I am going to have to do that even after I fit back into my 90s jeans, since it’s not just the girth, it’s the sense of well-being. Sigh.