Food challenge update #4: Good to be home
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
I spent most of the last week hosting a house guest and traveling, so I did a lot more eating out than usual. I don’t feel particularly good about this, though I did have some great meals, including my favorite salad—grilled halloumi cheese with fruit and greens—at Gypsy Cafe, the amazing restaurant run by my brother and sister-in-law in Pittsburgh. But I ate too much, and not as healthily as I’d like.
Usually I eat very simply at home—lots of fruit, salads, soups, and omelets. But when someone is visiting me, I feel a little inferior about serving these plain meals. Also, when people come to New York, they don’t want to necessarily sit in my apartment and eat beans—they want to get out and sample what the city has to offer.
Like most everyone who lives in New York, I end up having a lot of houseguests, so this is an issue that comes up at least several times a year. Readers, do you have any suggestions on a better way I could handle this? I don’t want to be a killjoy, but I also don’t like being broke and feeling uncomfy in my favorite jeans.
Yesterday I went to the food co-op to get some good food in the fridge again. Right now the apples look sad, but the plums are incredible, so I got a bunch. I also splurged on a bag of Rainier cherries, the yellow and red swirly ones. They are only available for a few weeks every year, so I really look forward to them.
Speaking of the food co-op ... I’ve been wanting to write a bit about this unique and wonderful place for a while now. The oldest in the country, it’s been going strong since 1973, so it’s almost as old as me! The food is the freshest, and the prices are really low—only 21% markup over cost.
In order to shop there, members must work a 2 3/4 hour shift every 4 weeks—there’s no getting around it. Some folks have a problem with this system, but I think working there is a lot of fun, kinda like playing store when I was a kid. My job is to ring up people’s purchases, so I get to see the staggering variety of things we sell. I also get to meet some really interesting people—a math teacher from Bed-Stuy, a professor from Russia, the blue-haired tattooed woman who shops my shift and always has a smile for everyone.
We have a good time, and, since everyone has to work, we tend to be pretty patient with each other. Knowing you’re going to be doing someone’s job in a few weeks helps you cut them some slack when they are overwhelmed. You hear lots of “excuse me"s and see people helping each other bag items and carry boxes. I’ve even seen people jump into empty cashier spots when the lines are long just to pitch in.
Sure, it can be crowded, and sometimes there are as many people working as shopping, but these are small inconveniences compared to the community, camaraderie, and gorgeous food.
Other updates: the veggie garden is going crazy! I have at least 10 little tomatoes, my lettuce looks almost ready to start harvesting, and my second round of beet seedlings are coming up strong. I think I will be ready to harvest some compost from the worm bin pretty soon, too—the food scraps are almost gone!
How’s your challenge going?
(image by kimberlykv via flickr)
I was recently visiting a great friend in a fun place, and we ate out pretty much every meal. I had a wonderful time, and enjoyed every place we went—but I wouldn’t have minded eating a simple breakfast of toast and fruit in the morning or packing a homemade picnic somewhere or even a simple dinner meal.
Eating with someone in their home, no matter what it is, is very hospitable. It always makes me feel special. I wouldn’t worry too much about serving simple meals at home for guests. It is the act of sharing gracefully that matters, not necessarily what is shared.
I am doing really well eating local and organic foods and cooking at home. This week I want to focus on using what I have on hand since I have a lot of local meats, cheeses and grains on hand. I’ll need to get some produce, although I have some lettuce and herbs from my garden I can use.
It’s definitely challenging to live in NYC and limit going out especially when I want to show friends different restaurants and try new ones myself. I tend to agee with Tiffany that having a home cooked meal no matter where you are even if it is in food savvy NY, is a welcoming gesture. Good part is that you could prepare many esoteric foods/local produce from all the great specialty markets and farmers markets here, so a meal at home need not be plain jane. Also, I think everyone appreciates a simple, healthy meal free of too much spice or unfamiliar ingredients. Eating at home of course is cheaper and also you get to spend time and talk in a more relaxed setting, without feeling pressure to leave should it get too noisy, crowded or closing time nears.
This may be self-centered of me, but my tummy can be delicate and I’m trying to lose weight consistently, so I pretty much eat when I need to, even if I know that I’m going out to eat later on. when I do meet up at a restaurant, and if I’m not hungry, I’ll order just an app. or a salad. Lately, whenever i have eaten out, it’s been at pretty mundane restaurants, so i haven’t felt the pressure to seize the opportunity and order the most daring menu item. It could be helpful to keep in mind that you can always come back to a place, in order to keep your food choices reasonable.
I’m away this week, & I was talking to my sister in law about the price increases of basic groceries. The price of milk, flour, dried pasta for ex. have all increased as fuel prices are skyrocketing. we both noted that we are more mindful when food shopping to only buy what we need. Also, been contemplating how the phrase, “know thyself” applies to all areas of my life, not just my emotional/psychological health. How does this apply to who I am, what I have, and where I am going? Lately I think that it’s more of a challenge to be honest with the strengths that I have and that I can further develop, rather than defaulting to personal faults and limitations. The latter is definitely a more sunny attitude!
Being that we are talking here about the concrete challenges of eating healthy, and being more in touch with the foods that we eat my own challenge really is about utilizing the food I already have. So for the rest of my trip and when I return home, I am going to take stock of what I already have, how I can still eat it, or otherwise give it away, or compost it. Being honest with where I’m at and making space as well as eating the fresh summer produce of this season are most important to me.
I grew up in NYC and my parents still live there. I’m living in Central IL now and only get back to NY 1-2 times per year. The food I miss most (besides Mom’s ;-))is also the cheapest—-New York pizza, REAL bagels, knishes, and Dim Sum in Chinatown. All can be (reasonably) healthful. And they just aren’t available in other parts of the country. Your out-of-town visitors are likely to be as impressed with these “simple” foods as they would be with a fancy (calorie-laden) restaurant meal.
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