Forays into Organic Goodness

Because of a book I read, and in the interest of trying to stay healthy, I've changed my diet somewhat. I'm eating less dairy, though by no means cutting it out. Cheese is so delish. I'm not swilling pints of milk daily, though, and I haven't been eating ice cream, though Summer's coming so that will probably go right out the window.

I've been eating practically no meat. I hadn't really had any since mid-February, with two exceptions: chicken from chinese rice. I thought it was veg. And prosciutto from Al Fresco in Holden (review to come). Last weekend, I broke down and had the chopped salad from The Cheesecake Factory, which included grilled chicken and bacon. If I was going to fall off the wagon, that was the way to go. This salad was freaking fantastic. I always love the chopped salads because they're so easy to eat. It also had avocado, and was dressed in a house vinaigrette. I'll definitely geti again!

Anyway, I wanted to give an update on what I have been eating.

Fish. Fish and more fish. Salmon and haddock, mostly. It's lighter than meat and is good for you. I do need to read up on the mercury factor, though.

Beans and veggies. I've been making many variations on my favorite black bean soup recipe, and have cut out the taco seasoning, since it's high high high in sodium. Basically, any kind of bean, frozen or fresh veggies thrown in the pot, seasonings including garlic, and served over rice or with tortillas. Sometimes I add cheese and/or sour cream. I read somewhere that you should always eat beans with rice because they digest well together.

Fruit shakes, homemade. This is for breakfast. OJ or whatever J, though I like OJ best. A banana. Frozen berries (straw, black, blue). Frozen pineapple or fresh, frozen mango (from Trader Joe's). Blend it up, drink. I usually make about 16 ounces. It keeps me full for quite a while, though without the banana it's not as filling. I think that you could also do peanut butter, milk, and banana. That would be good. This is a good book, though I know there are other smoothie books out there.

Nuts. Pistachio, mixed, whatever's on hand. A good afternoon snack that helps me not starve when I go to the gym after work.

Organic pepper jack cheese from Trader Joe's. Soooo good.

I've been trying to buy everything organic or pesticide free. It's not always easy in this city of Worcester because the grocery stores don't always have good organic sections. If they do, often the frozen foods are mostly meat items. Shaw's in Shrewsbury has a decent section. Big Y on May Street is terrible. Shaw's on Gold Star is ok, but the produce is really lacking. I guess I could try the Living Earth but I hear their prices are really high, and I don't really like their parking lot. You could get a ding in your brand new car just like that.

Also, I hear there's a food co-op that I've been meaning to try out but I don't really like the neighborhood and I can't get there during the week. I'll probably check it out during the daylight hours. So, this is a plea to Whole Foods... Please come to Worcester. We will pay the high prices for the quality food. We will!