Healthy Winter Eating

Like many this time of year, I'm attempting to start 2009 by eating sensibly and shedding a few pounds in time for my birthday (my 45th!). There's nothing like a new book to provide much-needed inspiration.

My current favorite is Food Matters by Mark Bittman. As the author of numerous cookbooks and one of my favorite food writers at the New York Times, I figure he might have a handle on how to remain a gourmand (a much nicer word than foodie) and maintain some semblance of long-term health and nutrition. Oh and a figure.

The book is good. No earth-shattering information here. Just good, common sense advice and reminders about how to replace all the crap in our diets with foods that taste good and are calorically dense and good for you. And the positive impacts this can have on our bodies, our health and the planet. It's all about more eating more plants (echos of Michael Pollan). Pollan and a whole lot of common sense, I think. It has struck me lately how our bodies reflect what's going on with the planet. All this excess consumption on so many levels results in some major bloatation and sickness.

This comes at a good time. It's winter. There's time in the schedule and a renewed interest in breaking old habits and starting fresh. And I'm pretty bored with the way I've been cooking anyway. So, I'm open to suggestions. And Bittman provides them. Coupled with a new five-day-a-week workout schedule (with weight training and heart rate monitoring to stay in the proper "zone" -- recommended by my trainer), I hope to make some progress on the girth I seem to have put on the past few years. We'll see!

So, my mantra for the new year is eat more plants as well as more beans, grains, nuts, fruit and berries. How could I get fat eating all that good stuff. If I can do that, then maybe I can even afford a few treats along the way. Treats in moderation.

We're off to a good start. Now, if I could just accomplish making breakfast and lunch my biggest meal of the day, I'd be in business.

Here's what yesterday looked like...

MENU: JANUARY 26

breakfast
Toast with Honey
Banana
Cafe Buzz Coffee

lunch
Curried Lentil Spread
Veggie Slaw
Crumbs Multigrain Crackers

dinner
Pan Seared Mahi-Mahi with Lime & Cilantro
Ginger Curry Sweet Potatoes
Sauteed Mustard Greens with Sesame
White Rice

dessert
Organic Honey-Puffed Corn