If you see a whole thing - it seems that it's always beautiful. Planets, lives... But up close a world's all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life's a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. - Ursula K. LeGuin

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Fresh Start

I'm not a huge fan of New Year's Eve (although we had a lot of fun this year with Pumpkin and her friends) but I do enjoy New Year's Day. I like the chance to turn over a new leaf; start afresh; begin again. I like the beginning of the academic year for the same reason.

I get a perverse joy out of taking down the tree and putting all the holiday fare back up in the attic. Suddenly my living room seems super large and it feels like there is more space to breathe.

I bought this book the other day. According to Bittman, I've been a flexitarian for many years now, eating only poultry and fish. I've also tried out various cleansing fasts over the years. When I diet I prefer to think of it as practicing new and healthier eating habits and I try to get at least one good habit to stick.

One of the big problems with omnivore diets--for me--is that the primary focus is on the protein source. This has pushed us into finding many many ways of eating chicken. I have always preferred meals that consist of small tastes--sort of a tapas approach to dining. I also really enjoy making a meal out of leftovers. So I'm going to try a complete vegetarian diet for a few weeks in an effort to learn how to cook and approach meals differently.

We happened to rent this movie today and it only increased my resolve to eat differently.

In the spirit of New Years and a new approach to eating I spent some time yesterday cleaning out the pantry. Below are some pictures of what was expired and needed to go. It is painful to admit but some of this moved down to SouthLite with us already expired. Reducing food waste will be another important habit to work on this year.




4 comments:

~profgrrrrl~ said...

Ooh, that looks like fun! (I'm saying that seriously. I would love to have the energy to clean out my kitchen right now).

life_of_a_fool said...

wait - canned stuff expires?? it's amazing I'm still alive, what with all the expired-food eating I do. I should clean out my pantry, but sadly, it does not sound like fun to me.

Seeking Solace said...

Cheers for moving to a more veggie diet. I have been in a conversion for the past two years after a brief hiatus of only eating chicken and fish. I am 95% veggie, eating fish twice a week for the Omega 3's to help with the RA. I can share some good and quick meals with you, if you like!

Breena Ronan said...

Ok, I know canned food expires, but spices? I just keep using them. Actually I just wrote a long post about my efforts to save on my food expenses. Buying spices in "bulk" from a natural food store really saves money and you can buy smaller amounts. That's a lot of bay leaves!