nourish myself daily with a healthful vegetarian diet and eat mindfully

We have been cooking from the cookbook I bought before leaving the retreat—Yummm! Two nights ago I made Spinach pie, and over the past several days I have made Rhubarb Dream Dessert several times. There are lots of other dishes to try!

Also, at Saturday night’s potluck, T made a lovely rice salad from Moosewood Cookbook. I liked it so well that I made it at home the next day!

the vegetarian food here was wonderful!! And it is so nice and rare to find such generous vegie selections away from home…

Ahhh, this time of year is so satisfying! This afternoon we enjoyed bok choy, spinach and lettuce from the garden. Thought about having asparagus, too, but am saving it for tomorrow!

This evening I put hummus, avocado, fresh parmesan, salsa and browned onion and parsnip on multigrain bread and grilled it like you would a grilled cheese sandwich. I added lettuce and spinach and sprouts once it was grilled. Holy cow, it was SO good! I have to admit that I do enjoy the sensory pleasure of good food … ahhh!

Sometimes, I find myself off in thought when eating. That’s when I rush through the meal. I want to change this habit, so that’s something I will be focusing on.

I think I eat pretty well, but since I’m focusing on physical wellness, it seems wise to simultaneously make sure that I’m consuming a well-balanced diet. I plan to keep a food diary for one week, using the http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/ website to track my nutrition. While USDA is notoriously not focused on vegetarian or vegan diets, they do have a useful website for keeping track of meals, physical exercise and the resulting energy balance. I’m not likely to keep a food diary for more than a week, but it’s a good periodic check.

For anyone who is doing a weightloss program, it seems like www.mypyramid.gov would be a great free resource. They also have a menu planning page. Only downside I see is that as near as I can tell the menu planning page does not interface with the tracker page. Regardless, still a useful tool.