Once upon a time, there was a seedy birthday cake.
Round, brown, grity and goo. It was the epitome of a birthday cake gone wild – with seeds and grains.
Yes, our friend’s mom had taken the healthy food movement one birthday cake too far. It was the world’s biggest bummer, trying to pretend we liked a birthday cake made of seeds.
Was it healthy?
No doubt.
Was it a birthday cake?
No! It was a fraud. It was our friend getting totally ripped off on his birthday.
Sure, the American diet is typically a poster child for disaster, but some foods can’t be messed with. Some foods are tradition, like sugary birthday cake and vanilla ice cream. Just don’t mess with cake, ok?
Because this week’s 80 Day Project is focused on food … really good, make your toes curl, legitimate birthday cake kind.
More than the stuff we use to fill our faces, food is a delight to the senses – the feel of cooking, the scent, the sight, the sizzling. It hit me: food can be sexy. Here’s some of my favorite food fetishes:
- Stirring anything with a wooden spoon. There’s something natural and right about it.
- Rustic, homemade bread. I want to bottle the smell.
- Strawberry jam with fruit chunks.
- Lettuce torn by hand. Never chopped.
- Drizzling olive oil.
- French cream puffs dusted with powdered sugar.
So about that seedy cake. Yes, I have a passion for real, unprocessed food. But it has to taste good, too.
I decided to dig up the past couples week’s of our dinner menu. Here’s a peek.
Week 1.
- Chicken stirfry & rice
- Lasagna & salad
- Tilapia, wild rice, green beans
- Beef roast w/ veggies & biscuits
- Ribs, potatoes & cornbread muffins
Week 2.
- French toast, syrup & fruit
- Perogies, red sauce & veggies
- Brats, spinach artichoke dip, salad
- Pokemon soup (code name for vegetable soup)
- Pizza (storebought) and veggies
Week 3.
- Tuna melts on a bagel
- Chicken quesadillas & veggies
- Eggs, bacon & fruit
- Potato soup
- White chicken chili
Healthy check: There’s some bad grades in there. There’s a lot of meat, including some bad offenders: brats and bacon.
The challenge: substitute our menu with food that matches our story (without getting seedy). Like:
- Whole wheat pasta
- Swapping meat with veggies. Veggie lasagna instead of beef, portabella mushrooms instead of brats, bean quesadillas instead of chicken.
- Make our own pizza. So much tastier, less procesed and pretty easy to do if you plan ahead.
What do you think? What are some easy, sexy recipes my family can try? How can we make our typical meals even healthier?
Photo by Gabriela Camerotti
{ 6 comments }
*Sigh* Of course I read this right after I finish lunch – now I’m hungry again! The smell of rustic, homemade bread – oh man. I could live on that.
I know it’s not exactly what you’re going for, but I’ve been working on cutting down on my portion sizes: I eat a 6-inch sub for lunch, instead of a footlong, for example. I’ve discovered that I’m not actually hungrier for having eaten less; it was more like I overate simply because I had food in front of me.
More to your question: perhaps you could try some simple stir-fried veggies: A little vegetable oil, salt, a liberal helping of minced garlic – drop in veggies, stir, cover, then serve. Simple, delicious, healthy
Yum, the veggies sound awesome! I’ll have to try that.
Good point about portion sizes. Many times what I think will not fill me up actually does. Have a peaceful week!
My family had mango pomegranate bbq chicken local baked potatos, and a salad for dinner. Very sexy!
That sounds SO GOOD! We have to cook more slow food together.
we use cloth napkins and our nicest plates/glasses to make even the most simple meal feel “sexy”. light a candle and we’re set for a sit down meal with our 3 little guys! even if we’re cleaning up spilled milk at least we feel like adults
I love how you still inject romance into everyday life. Just today I wrote down my priorities in order and Mr. Right was at the top of the list. I read another mom’s perspective about how it’s her job to encourage and support him and I totally agree. Our marriage is a cornerstone to a healthy family. When we get stressed with each other, the whole family suffers.
xoxo see you soon!
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