Part of getting older is needing less calories to get by each day. For a foodie and recipe creator like myself, that has been a tougn transition. I love making good food for people, and in generous quantities. But there are only so many gatherings I can throw. Only so many parties to provide the food for, and only so much freezer space to store portions for future use. People do look forward to my celebrations of the culinary arts, but there's only so much they can take.
Eventually, it gets to be like...zucchini. If you've ever grown it, then you know that (a) it's a voracious and productive plant, and (b) there are only so many things you can do with it. It's the tofu of vegetables, a filler that needs flavor injection, or augments other ingredients. Ever want to alienate your neighbors? Keep leaving zucchini on their porch.
As for myself, my body is quite comfortable consuming far less calories these days. 1400 well-balanced ones are just fine as two meals a day, one late morning and another in the early evening. This does not include my morning cup of coffee with collogen peptide powder and a hint of coconut sugar added, useful nutrients for a strong body. A thermos of water with lemon and salt follows. It's what I take my vitamins and supplements with, and provides electrolytes that stave off any afternoon munchies.
Of course, there's still the occasional desire for something indulgent, a.k.a. dessert foods. I make them in small quantities, leaning towards fresh flavors, but rarely keep any for myself. Oddly, the neighbors don't mind these items at all. Last week it was a Meyer Lemon Cream with Graham Crackers and Sea Salt, the lemons coming from my tree. I look up or calculate the nutritional imformation ahead of time, determining that a 1/4 cup could fit into my limits.
And then, there was yesterday. I had picked some fresh strawberries from the garden that morning, and was giving consideration to how I would enjoy them when my roommate's box of Cheerios leapt from the pantry shelves and said, "Pick me"!
Okay, maybe that required some of my imagination, but Cheerios were a staple when I was young, and are promoted as a healthy cereal to eat, which is true when compared to the sugar bombs around it at the market. I especially loved eating them with fresh berries mixed in. Bowlfuls in my teen years were fine, but nothing close to that now.
I looked at the nutritional information, and determined that a 1/4 cup serving, berries included, would be tolerable for my diet. However, adding dairy milk would not.
I sighed and went to put the milk back, resigned to eating the ingredients dry, when a solution sprung forward. Chocolate protein shake. Of course! Everybody loves chocolate and strawberries, right?!
I thought about how all this would taste together: Check.
I looked at the calories: CHECK!
I considered how this would fit into the day's consumption: CHECK!!!
That's nutrition!
"Well done!" I commended myself, then poured the liquid into the bowl and savored
every
single
spoonful
as loving arms from memories past comforted me. It wouldn't get any better than this!
(The image is the property of the author, the contents of which are safely nestled in his belly)