Cooking for One

Family members are all over the place. With so many sports, activities, meetings, youth group, business travel and various friends, it’s not uncommon for the family to be in different places at dinner time. On Friday evening, Chuck was at a business function, and the girls were in sleepover mode with friends. The girls wanted to order a pizza, and Chuck would be eating out. That left me. Now it may seem like the “easy solution” would be to grab a few pieces of the girls’ pizza. Oh no – go back to the posting on the 4th. Instead of viewing this situation as, “Well, why bother cooking for myself.” “It doesn’t make any sense to cook for one.” “Everyone else is busy, so why cook.” Etc, etc, I’ve heard all the rationalized excuses.

Instead, view this as an opportunity to treat yourself to a lovely little meal. It’s essential to remember that cooking for one can be delicious, healthy, easy and efficient – it’s just about being prepared. I had a few sweet potatoes in the panty, and some leftover fresh green beans that had already been cooked in the fridge. That morning, while I was out running errands, Whole Foods was already on my agenda, so I picked up a small (about 1/3 pound) piece of cod that was on sale. In the bakery department, I treated myself to one fresh cornbread muffin. On Friday evening, there was about 5 minutes of prep time. I put my sweet potato in the oven. I put a little sea salt and pepper on my cod, tented it in a piece of tinfoil and stuck that in the oven. Warmed up the green beans in microwave. The piece of cornbread was ready to go. You just can’t get much easier. This was awesome, nutritious (ok, maybe the cornbread wasn’t perfect), and with no hassle whatsoever. Eating healthy when you’re on your own just doesn’t have to be some difficult, time-consuming ordeal as long as you are prepared!

How bad habits get started

We have the best of intentions. Eat well, exercise and live a wellness-focused lifestyle. Occasionally, we cut ourselves a little slack, maybe indulge in a little but too much good food and wine, or rationalize why it’s OK to skip a workout here or there. But if we don’t keep this behavior in check, it’s where bad habits start.

Take my trip to China for example. I was naughty in the food department. Our hotel had a fabulous breakfast buffet of Western, Chinese and Japanese breakfast items. Since, we didn’t know where our next meal was coming from (and our bodies thought it was dinner with the time change), I ate a BIG and I mean BIG breakfast. Of course, since I was in China, each morning I had to have the Chinese doughnut of the day, and loved the fried (yes fried) Chinese milk buns that I dipped in honey. Hey, this was great, and boy was this pretty awesome compared to my ultra-regulated breakfasts at home. Take dinner for example, I had beer every night and frequently ate fried food. There was seldom bottled water in the restaurants, so beer was the “safe” choice. Hey, this was refreshing after a tough day of site seeing! This all bothered me a bit at first, but by week 2 I was in the groove.

My eating was in “vacation mode.” When I got back, it was hard to immediately shift back into the old routine. I was hungry and missed all my sweet treats! Last Saturday morning, I treated my girls to doughnuts, and I actually considered having one. I practically had to shake myself silly. This is exactly how bad habits get started. Oh, one little doughnut won’t hurt! Ladies, this is like a ball rolling down hill, it only picks up speed.

This topic frequently comes up with clients. It’s so easy to go from vacation, to holiday, to special occasion, and before you know it, you’re 5-10 pounds overweight, with bathing suit season around the corner. I’m in week 2 of my vacation detox, and am feeling on track, and a little shocked at how bad I allowed myself to eat! How about you…have you allowed any bad habits to sneak into your food routine?

Back from China!

If you ever have the opportunity, China is an incredible place to visit. The people, culture, history, food, and (last but not least) shopping are absolutely outstanding. As we explored Beijing and Shanghai, I also had my eye on their approach to wellness.

In 2 weeks, I saw one obese Chinese person. It certainly was a combination of factors – activity level, food and culture. A few observations….Due to traffic and costs, the typical Chinese person walks or rides their bike everywhere. That’s right – forget about the drive-thru, carpool and searching out the closest parking spot. Exploring Beijing with our local guide, I walked my booty off. It was actually refreshing not to be so dependent on a car. How would American wellness be impacted if there were full bike lanes (the same size a normal car lane) on every road and highway? How incredible would it be to have the option to ride our bike to the dentist or the bank?

According to our guide, the Chinese retire in their 50s. Then they spend their days at the park exercising and socializing with friends. The parks even have exercise areas with "park versions" of exercise eqiupment seen at your local gym. I found it hilarious that other "exercises" include singing and clapping. I saw many, many Chinese practicing Tai Chi, Kung Fu and flying kites. Interesting because not customary at all for adult Americans to hang out at the park. What a wonderful social outlet for adults, especially those retired and older. If we saw some guy at the park flying kites, we'd assume he was some kind of freak!

Also, it is not customary to eat dessert. Now I have to admit, I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, so I wasn’t real excited about this one! At most restaurants, it doesn’t even appear on the menu. And when there was a dessert menu, forget about the chocolate lava cake, tower of cookies, or hot apple pie with ice cream. It was typically fruit or some type of gelatin concoction. On the popular, new shopping streets, we did see Haagan Daz stores popping up. Will this be the start of a sweets addiction? With dessert almost out of the equation, how many calories and fat could we eliminate from our diets?

How many obese Americans do you see in a day or sadly even an hour? After a few days of recovering from some serious jet lag, we took the girls on a zoo outing. The number of overweight zoo-goers (parents and children) was shocking and sad. Just another powerful reminder that we moms need to get ourselves and our families moving. Are there ways that you can add more activity to your daily schedule? Maybe as simple as walking or riding bikes to school?

Off to China!

Leaving with Chuck (the husband) first thing tomorrow for 2 weeks in China. The past week as been insane - ever left the kids with the grandparents for an extended visit? Between getting ready for our trip and micromanaging the girls' schedule - well, I know I don't need to elaborate. The past few days I've been enjoying my favorite foods and doing my best to get in a few "last chance" workouts. Preparing for a vacation is another easy time to let your wellness routine slip - with SO MUCH TO DO, it's all too easy to rationalize there is no time to workout or prepare a proper lunch. I know - I've struggled with this for the past week. Not sure of my Internet situation during the trip, but I'll do my best to check in, if not I'll catch you in a few weeks. I'm totally psyched to experience the Chinese culture, and of course, get a glimpse of Chinese wellness.

Wardrobe Wellness

Anyone catch Oprah on Wednesday? It was a mommy makeover episode focused on frumpy moms who spend their lives in baggy sweatshirts, bad jeans, overalls, pajama bottoms, no makeup, ponytail – you know the look! Certainly, after Oprah’s intervention, the ladies not only looked stylish, but felt confident and vibrant. One of the moms made the comment that she realized that it’s OK and important to spend time on herself. In a funny way, wardrobe is part of wellness – I’d say emotional wellness. It’s so easy to schlep around in sweats – hey I’m just running to the grocery store and picking up the kids from school, why spend any effort on getting fixed up. I think all moms are guilty of this – me included!

Just as healthy eating and exercise gives you energy and confidence, so does fixing yourself up. I know it takes some time to blow out that hair, but after I do it, I sure do have a little more swagger in my step than when I just throw it in a ponytail. I’m super diligent about fitness and nutrition, but I admit that I can get lazy in this department. I’ve been making a conscious effort this year to routinely blow out my hair, and wear “real clothes” – which for me means non-fitness apparel. It’s so hard, but even though it seems like a pain, I’ve really started to turn the corner. I do feel more pretty and more confident when I take the time to wear makeup, style my hair and put on a cute outfit.

What’s your wardrobe situation like? I have had several giggles with girlfriends about the mom’s closest from the Oprah episode. I think our favorite quote was something like, “1987 is calling and it wants its clothes back!” It’s really about establishing a routine, just like with working out or eating healthy. The more you do it, the better you feel, the momentum builds, you feel outstanding and there’s no going back to bad old habits.

Entertainment for your Workout

Getting ready to go out for a run and I’m getting my “entertainment” ready. The I-pod is an incredible fitness tool. Sure, it’s great to have all your favorite music – mine spans Red Hot Chili Peppers to the Bee Gees. But have you experimented to podcasts? There are podcasts on everything and I’m not exaggerating. Whether your interests are Hollywood news, politics, sports, cooking, travel or even learning a new language, there are a mind-boggling number of podcasts on every topic imaginable. Talk about a fun distraction while you are working out! This morning I visited I-Tunes and subscribed to a podcast on the tv series Lost which will discuss each episode. Love that show, but it’s so confusing I’m looking forward to hearing some insights. Can’t wait to listen to it on my run!

I ALMOST talked myself out of it!

I had the best intentions. My carefully timed plan was to head to the gym around 10am to swim laps. I needed to keep on schedule, because I had a car maintenance appointment at 1pm. The morning started out easy enough, got the girls off to school, and returned home ready for a few productive hours. Well, then I got “over-involved.” Imagine that! I found myself in a rare moment of laundry inspiration. The loads were flowing, and I was actually putting the clothes away promptly. Sitting at the computer, I was cranking through e-mails, paying a few bills and taking care of Optimom business. And naturally, I had a call from friend and my mom, so I needed to chat a bit.

Time was started to slip away, and the rationalization began. Hmmm, if I go swimming, I’ll have to wash my hair. Should I shower at the gym? No that’s a pain. Maybe I’ll go running instead, but wait, it’s really cold and windy today. Trying to keep on track, I packed my gym bag. But as I started to do the math, there was just no way I had time to get to the gym, shower, fix my hair, grab a bit of lunch, and get to my car appointment. Since I was on a productive, mommy roll, it was looking very practical, rational and time efficient to just keep on trucking with my to-do list and blow off today’s workout. This is just how easily it can happen.

WAIT! I quickly shook some sense into myself and took a close look at the story I had cooked up. NO GOOD! With so much on a mom’s plate, it can happen so easily – to all of us, no matter how disciplined we think we are! I modified my plans, layered up in my favorite cold weather running gear, and sucked it up for a short run. It felt so awesome – certainly better than paying bills! Next time you hear yourself making up a similar story, try to catch yourself in the act before it gets too late! Your body and mind will be invigorated and thank you for the exercise.