Writing about farmers’ markets, chefs, home cooks, kitchen gadgets and all things culinary keeps me happily self-employed and puts dough in my bank account. Cooking is one of my talents, but food isn’t just a way to make a living for me.
Celebrations usually involve cooking and eating with family and friends. For me, eating isn't only about nourishing my body. Food functions as comfort, rewards, guilty pleasures and a solitary indulgence against hurt, anger or fear. If food was a Facebook friend, I’d categorize our relationship as ‘complicated.’
When the results of blood tests from a physical showed a blood sugar reading four points higher than normal, I needed to change the casual relationship I’d nurtured with food and cooking. Moderation forced me to to think differently about what I cook and eat. Let’s just say it ain’t easy.
Luckily, curiousity runs amok in my family, so the challenge to cook lean, clean and tasty revs my motor. I’ve tapped the search engines from the comfort of my office for ideas. Other food writers, given similar bad news, responded with articles, blogs and cookbooks. Encouraging finds, for sure.
A few library trips yielded more books than I could carry about diets and low-fat, low-calorie, nutrient dense cooking. Here’s what I learned: I didn’t know beans about cooking with little or no fat.
I’m not sure how to feed myself, but I’m learning. Because I write food really well, documenting my change of habit keeps me focused.
So it’s time to skinny up. I love that slang, meaning to own up to food issues and stay on a healthy eating track. That’s why I’m starting a blog to explore food choices, to share resources, to learn new ways to cook flavorful low-fat, lower calorie meals. I’ll have recipes, success stories, product tips, cooking methods and cookbook suggestions, too.
Because writing brings clarity for me, always, I’m eager to learn new things about myself. I’m in my sixties. Foolishly, I thought life would be a smooth glide by now, but the fates still surprise. Thank the goddesses, who keep things interesting.
Visit often. Comment and share. Enjoy the journey. I will.
A recipe for Three-Bean Salad
My doctor suggested adding at least five servings of beans, dried or canned, to my diet each week. I’m a winter bean-eater; a soups, ham & beans, red beans & rice kind of gal, so finding lower calorie ways to bring fiber-rich and protein heavy beans to the table year-round presented some challenges for me.
Since I started my new eating regimen early in the summer, I made this three-bean salad, revised from my grandmother’s recipe. Perfect for fresh green and wax beans from the farmers market, but it works with canned beans, too. The cooked sour and sweet dressing makes this dish. You may want to halve the quantities in this recipe, as it yields a generous 12 servings.
Three-Bean Salad
Yield: 12 servings
3/4 pound fresh green beans (or one lower-sodium 14 ½-ounce can)
1/2 pound fresh yellow wax beans (or one lower-sodium 14 ½-ounce can)
1 large Carmen (or other) sweet red pepper
4 medium stalks celery
1/2 large Vidalia onion
1 15 1/4-ounce can red lower-sodium red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Truvia sweetener (optional)
- Stem and snap beans into bite-sized pieces. Steam for five minutes, drain and transfer cooked beans to a bowl of ice water to retain color.
- Wash, peel and seed red pepper. Julienne into strips, then cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Wash celery. Remove any big strings. Cut ribs on the diagonal into chunky pieces.
- Peel and slice onion into strings or chunks.
- Combine beans, peppers, celery and onions. Toss to mix. Add drained kidney beans and toss gently, taking care not to break up the beans.
- In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar, oil, salt and pepper to a low boil, stirring a few times. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Cool until just warm. Taste. Add sweetener if desired.
- Pour over bean mix and toss lightly to blend. Refrigerate until chilled.
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