Eating Transparently

For seven days, I have committed to chronicling all of my meals here. This is Day One.

I knew I was going to embarass myself with this little project. Matter of fact, I can't believe I got myself into this in the first place. I eat a shocking amount of food. And I realize, now that I'm looking at the absurdly long list of things I ate yesterday, I eat all day long.

It's a long list, folks. And yet I inexplicably lost a pound yesterday.

I'm sorry.

BREAKFAST:

- 2 cups Cafe Choco Andes coffee (organic, fair trade, locally-roasted coffee purchased at the farmer's market) with organic vanilla soymilk. I would have had more, but I'm still nursing a baby.

- big bowl of Heritage organic whole grain flake cereal with organic unsweetened soymilk

MORNING SNACK:

- 2 figs (picked from the organic tree in my yard)

LUNCH:

- big bowl of leftover Italian vegetable soup from Saturday's dinner (made with organic zucchini and leeks purchased at the farmer's market, organic broth, and dried organic oregano from my mother's garden)

AFTERNOON SNACK:

- small plate of fettucine with fresh pesto (the pesto was made with organic basil from my mother's garden and organic olive oil; the fettucine was the delicious organic whole-wheat Bionature brand that I highly recommend)

LATE AFTERNOON ADDICTION:

- homemade cappucino made with Cafe Choco Andes coffee and organic vanilla soymilk (if you're addicted to Starbucks and haven't bought yourself a Krups, please let me give you a little push in that direction)

DINNER: this entire meal went over very well with the family and the current crop of houseguests, most of whom are carnivorous

- Spicy corn on the cob (recipe below; made with organic butter and organic corn purchased at the farmer's market)

- Squash ribbons (made with organic squash and onions purchased at the farmer's market)

- Orzo with tuna and garbanzos (recipe below; made with organic whole-wheat orzo, organic canned garbanzos, organic lemons grown 3000 miles away, organic olive oil, and organic parsley from the farmer's market)

EVENING SNACK:

- Stove popped popcorn (cooked in organic olive oil)

LATE EVENING ADDICTION:

- Three Edy's strawberry popsicles (I am so ashamed)

SIDE ORDER OF NEUROSES:

- In the Italian vegetable soup, I used some white bowtie pasta. White noodles stress me out, but I really wanted to use bowtie in this dish, and I couldn't find whole-wheat bowties. I should have made my own from scratch. Please hold while I flog myself...

- The canned tuna in the orzo is a guilty pleasure. I need to find a source that is more sustainable than what I picked up at the supermarket, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I feel bad about this.

- The popcorn was not organic this time because Walmart doesn't carry it and that happens to be the store I was in when we had run out of our organic brand. Conventionally-grown corn is a bit of a nightmare though and should be avoided.

- Some people don't like to run out of crack. I feel much the same way about those Edy's popsicles. I'll give them up when you pry them out of my cold, dead fingers.

*****

SPICY CORN ON THE COB (adapted from Cooking Light, serves 6)

• 6 ears corn
• 5 Tbs butter
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne red pepper

1. Melt the butter and combine with the herbs & spices.
2. Shuck the corn, and brush the herbed butter onto the corn.
3. Wrap corn in aluminum foil.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes.

*****

ORZO WITH TUNA, GARBANZOS AND HERBS (adapted from Bon Appetit, serves 4)

• 9 oz uncooked whole wheat orzo (this can be tough to find - I found it at my health food store; substitute regular white orzo if necessary)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (conversely, you could use dried beans if you plan ahead, which I didn't in this case)
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh herbs (I like to use basil and parsley)
• 2 1/2 oz crumbled feta cheese
• 1 can tuna in olive oil, drained
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook orzo in large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.
2. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice and minced garlic in large serving bowl.
3. To the bowl, add cooked orzo, drained beans, chopped herbs, feta and tuna. Toss well.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature. Note: leftovers make a delicious lunch for the next day.