When All Else Fails, Add More Wine

And sorry not sorry for yelling about it, because I am very, very happy. I am so very lucky that the market closest to my house is one of the bigger ones in my county, and it has so many good vendors. Over the years, it’s just gotten better and better.

I’d say it’s about 50% produce vendors, then 5 or 6 bakeries, two meat vendors, a seafood vendor, a coffee stand, and the rest is awesome local freshly prepared foods! We have:

– 2 empanada stands
– 2 pickled food vendors – from dill to kimchi, it’s there!
– Fresh pasta
– Jamaican food (New this year! Jerk pork FTW!)
– New Zealand meat pies
– Salsa and Tamales
– Quiche & rice dishes (we have paella for dinner tonight!)
– Chinese food
– Lebanese food

And they already have cherry tomatoes. I did absolutely hesitate buying May tomatoes – these are poly tunnel grown right now and they are pretty darn good! Not quite a June/July tomato – but waaaaaay better than anything I’m gonna find in the grocery store. I find it a bit hilarious what a tomato snob I’ve become in my old age, especially considering that I hated them as a kid.

I may have already had a tomato salad for breakfast.

So – take a look at see if you have a local farmer’s market! It’s a little weekly food festival, and who doesn’t like that?

So, I got hit with a stomach bug earlier this week (so far Covid negative, so, yay for that?) and it was a good two days where I was feeling better but basically afraid of food.

Finally yesterday I was hungry enough to overcome any food fear. But I also hadn’t had anything substantial for two days, so I was kinda weak and shaky. Mashed potatoes seemed like a good choice, but honestly, even the idea of measuring everything out to pop it in the microwave just seemed kinda daunting.

Then I remembered that last week I’d picked up some frozen roasted potatoes. They cook in the bag, and were ready in 5 minutes and I had a nice substantial lunch that got some much needed calories in my body.

Sometimes the most important thing is getting food in your body and anything that makes that easier is A-OK, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Not what’s in your fridge (but yeah, you need to keep an eye on those, too) – but when you’re out shopping.

I don’t know if it’s just my local market, but it seems that supply chain issues and changes in buying/ordering have resulted in stock not getting rotated nearly as often as it did in the past.

Went to get eggs yesterday and came very close to accidentally buying a dozen with a Use By date of today… And there were a lot of cartons like that.

Today I had to pop back in and thought it might be nice to have some ready cooked sausage patties – all with a Use By within 4 days. (I think next time I’ll just go straight to the frozen section.)

Like I said, it might just be something weird with my market right now, but keep an eye out, because it’s no fun to get home and realize 3 days later you have expired stuff.

So, yesterday I got my hair done and I always grab dinner to-go afterwards, cause I can’t be messing up a new ‘do cooking dinner, LOL. (Also, Friday night, just did not want to cook.)

So, popped open the Wendy’s app and see they have a Grilled Chicken Ranch Wrap. I have zero idea if this is new, or been around a while and I never noticed it. But as someone who really liked McD’s Chicken Snack Wrap, I had to give it a whirl.

It’s tasty!! And freakin’ HUGE. Had half last night, put the rest in the fridge and finished it off today.

Now, we all know fast food isn’t necessarily healthy – but this is what I would call a healthier option.

Tortilla, grilled chicken, some shredded cheddar, and lettuce – all reasonably decent things to eat. I did get the bacon add on – and I would recommend it, just adds a little more…IDK, goodness to it.

So, if you’ve seen it and hesitated cause you weren’t sure it would be any good – I can tell you, it is good!

Popped into the market this morning and realized, I need some veggies to snack on. Yep, low effort all the way. (The “light” dill dip is only because they were out of the regular…but it’s surprisingly decent!)

In fact, I’d say it’s pretty great!

I have a job that has been beating the crap out of me lately, and it doesn’t leave much energy for well, anything.

But – ya gotta eat!

Pre-sliced cheese, aka “cracker cuts” – awesome and fit perfectly on a Triscuit! Good source of calcium and protein, and ready in moments. Grab a package of sliced salami and you’ve got yourself a charcuterie board! Cheese and Triscuits are one of my go-to’s when I’m at that “oof, I should eat” point.

Raw veggies and your favorite dip! It’s OK to get a ready to go veggie tray, especially if you’re like me and know you’ll never get around to actually cutting up full sized vegetables. And, the dip doesn’t take away any of the benefits of those veggies and if that dip makes you eat more veggies, then it’s worth it.

Frozen chicken patties. I really like these, cause in just a minute or two, I’ve got hot protein. I don’t even make sandwiches of them, just cut ’em up and have some BBQ sauce and/or mustard for dipping. And there are tons of variations on the theme out there – nuggets, strips, tenders and whatnot. All quick, tasty, and reasonably good for you.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with low effort food and don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it.

I’m not going to link directly to Gwynneth Paltrow’s terrible interview about eating, because I don’t want to give it more oxygen, but if you saw it and it didn’t set off alarm bells or it has you reconsidering your eating habits – just stick with me here for a minute.

First, I am not a dietician or nutritionist – but I love food, I feel like I have a fairly healthy relationship to food and eating, and at least a little common sense.

Iced coffee for breakfast, bone broth for lunch, veggies for dinner, and IV’s for nutrients you can ALREADY GET IN FOOD – well, that ain’t it, kids.

Yeah, coffee isn’t breakfast, we’re pretty much all guilty of treating it that way – I know I am, so I’ll give a half pass on that.

Breakfast is important, but it doesn’t have to be big and it doesn’t have to be breakfast food! Slice of pizza? Leftover combination fried rice? Ready to go chicken caesar salad because that is what strikes your fancy at the moment? Grapefruit? Little bowl of pineapple? All can be breakfast cause they’re all food, just like cereal, eggs, english muffins and toast are all food.

Bone broth. Now, I know that people who like bone broth REALLY like it. But unless you’re dealing with stomach upset and all you can keep down is broth and toast, fine. But other than that – it’s not lunch on it’s own. Great base for a good soup, or stew, or ramen? Absolutely.

I know, time/energy/etc and trying to hit the sweet spot between “just enough fuel for the afternoon” and “oh no, food coma” is all hard – I’m not discounting that. But, please, have some lunch!

Veggies for dinner. Veggies are great! I should eat more! But if the rest of the day has no protein or carbs…

Remember – protein isn’t just meat. Nuts, beans, dairy, tofu, among others are all proteins and go well with veggies!

Carbs aren’t evil. Carbs are what your body uses first for fuel. Nothing wrong with pasta. A slice of good bread and butter alongside your chicken and lima beans? Well, I’d toast it and put some garlic butter on it. And you can’t have a great curry without rice.

I am lucky and self-regulate to an extent to boot. Fettuccine Alfredo one day? 9 times out 10, the next day my body wants a salad.

I know sometimes eating feels like a chore – we’re tired, and putting something together feels like scaling a mountain.

But it’s a gift to your body. Give yourself that gift, and give it with joy and kindness.

With nice, soft, edible kidney beans! Yes, we are a chili over rice household.

This is the recipe I use – scaled and tweaked from one I found on Allrecipes.com that makes 6 gallons… (I thought I had posted it before, but maybe not.)

1 pound lean ground beef
~ 1/2 cup chopped onions
2 decent sized cloves garlic, minced – 3 if they’re smaller
1 small can tomato sauce (1 8oz can)
1 small can tomato paste (I like the garlic infused when I can find it.)
1-2 cans kidney beans (don’t start with me)
1 tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Brown beef, garlic, onions, drain off excess fat.  Add the rest, simmer 1 hour.  Eat!

For the kidney beans, it really depends on how much you like them in your chili. I like them a lot and usually go with 2 cans. I drain off most of the liquid.

If it seems too thick, I’ll put a glug of beer or red wine in. You could also use a bit of chicken stock, or more tomato sauce.

If you are using dried beans, please learn from my mistakes and cook them separately ahead of time.