With the flipping of the 10-year digit from zero to one, the thought of a new decade brings a lot of positive momentum for me. I’m in the midst of completing my first personal annual review (the idea courtesy of Chris Guillebeau at The Art of Nonconformity), and it is definitely filled with positives and negatives. I feel like I’ve spent an awful lot of time on the negatives lately here on Almost Fit, so I’m going to keep that part of the summary short.

Equally as important, with the new decade upon us it’s time to set a few goals, and start knocking those pins down, one at a time if I have to.

The Good

On the positive side, I’ve done one thing really well: I’ve maintained steady income for a year – though the impact on my diet hasn’t been so great. For some this idea of having a consistent income is an assumed fact of life, but for many of us it is far from assured. Along the lines of work I’ve also greatly downsized the number of side projects that I was pursuing at the beginning of the year (in January of last year I had 9 personal, full-time projects/business beginnings – and was coming up short on all of them). Taking a quick mental inventory I’m down to 3 enjoyable part-time projects, including Almost Fit.

This is progress.

Another positive includes dramatically improving my cooking and prep skills (in my opinion at least); my wife and best friend is an excellent cook, and I’ve been under her culinary wing for a few years now. I feel that in the last 6 months I’ve really started to develop stronger culinary instincts – meaning I pair food together better, I cook more efficiently, I burn or overcook food much less often, and have good ideas on how to improve a dish I’m cooking by taste. I’m getting to know the flavor profiles of foods and seasonings much better, and I have a clearer understanding of herbs and spices that balance flavors.

These advances in cooking have made cooking at home that much more enjoyable. Of course, it also makes overindulgence a bit too easy at times, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Other positives (that are no less important) include keeping up with my ever-changing children – solving problems and setting them up for success (no small feat); remodeling my wife’s painting studio from bare bones to finished product (finishing this weekend); several small family vacations; and I’ve greatly improving my photography skills and knowledge – as well as starting a new project on the subject.

The Bad Read the rest of this entry »

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“Dad, this is the best day of my life.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I have two paper airplanes.”

It seems that I have a thing or two to learn from my soon-to-be 5 year-old, especially lately. I love paper airplanes as much as the next geek, but his simple statement resonated with me on a slightly deeper level – and hopefully woke me up a little. Let me explain.

[Warning: I'm about to get a little waxy and slightly philosophical here. You might want to change the channel for a few minutes if this sort of thing makes you squeamish or, well, bored out of your mind.]

Like most people these days, I have a lot going on. You probably do too. To me, the name of the game in an economy like this is one word: Hustle. I don’t mean card tricks, shell games, or a ’70s dance craze; I mean if you want to find some sense of financial stability, you’ve got to keep moving forward no matter what. If you stand still for too long, the world will pass you by. I’m currently very fortunate to have a great contract for which I’m very grateful, but it means I often work long hours in front of multiple computer screens. Along with that, I have several side projects on the Web, not including this one; I write for a community blog here in Portland; I am an amateur musician trying to take music seriously; I do design work on the side occasionally; provide ongoing Web support services to a non-profit arts org.; I have a book in the works (who doesn’t?); and the list goes on.

But clearly, there is nothing of greater importance than the care and energy that I direct toward my home relationships. Specifically, my amazing wife and my beautiful children. And I imagine that I should include myself in that mix. In a sense, it is a task at times to maintain a “relationship” with myself, keeping (or seeking) a vision of who I am now, and who I want to be. Of course, that concept of having a “relationship” with myself is a little flawed I think; it’s better to actually be me than to have conversations with myself over who I want to be. (I’m not crazy. Are you crazy? Nope, me neither.)

Perhaps I’ve said too much.

At any rate, my son’s insightful words reminded me that I’ve got to focus more on being happy with what I accomplish each day, and less on the things I haven’t finished, or the things that I’ve let slip, or the things I wish I would have started already. As many readers of Almost Fit have commented, sometimes I spend a little too much time being hard on myself about what I haven’t done, or how things have regressed from time to time, and I think that’s a fair assessment. How much better it is to look at each day as it’s own set of challenges and rewards, putting less emphasis on the history of successes and failures, and more on this question:

What am I doing TODAY?

Rather than falling into a self-defeating cycle of obsessing over what I haven’t been doing food and exercise-wise, I think the right answer is found in a familiar old song from the ’30s – I think a lot of us say these words internally, but today, I’m saying them to you.

“Nothing is impossible, for I have found, when my chin is on the ground, I pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.”- from the 1936 classic film, Swing Time, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

It’s cliché without question, but ya know what? There’s truth in it, and it’s what I’m doing today. Here’s the clip:

What am I doing today? I’m finishing this post, making time to play with my kids, work out, and then going on a quiet date night with the love of my life. Sounds like a pretty good day to me.

What are you doing today?

[UPDATE: Just a quick P.S.: Apologies for the misspelling of "Astaire". I corrected it shortly after the post went out in email...Ah dang. ]

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I am writing this note in a few moments of quiet, while my 2-yr-old daughter sleeps. I’m sitting by a picture window, with this view:

My son is with my wife at a swordsmanship demonstration, over which his 4-yr-old imagination has been going bonkers since yesterday.

Last summer I wrote about Ma Petite Maison in Port Orford, Oregon (A Taste of France on the Oregon Coast), and the sense of transcendence that I felt during those warm days. We’ve returned for a brief holiday along with our friends J and G, who are the owners of the duplex, and the place is true to memory. Port Orford is notoriously windy; but it also has much more sun than towns only an hour north. We’ve been enjoying the sun, relaxing in the small town atmosphere, and generally taking a break from the rigors of work and school.

Returning to this place always reminds me of Joie de Vivre, which in turn leads to thoughts of, what else, food. Actually, come to think of it, I can relate just about anything to food, but this place in particular is so reminiscent of France that I can’t help but think about what we’re going to eat next. Yesterday we ate a heavier breakfast – I actually had fresh eggs Benedict, which is not a staple for me by any stretch but was a great vacation treat. With such a bold breakfast under our belts, we more or less skipped lunch in favor of snacking a bit throughout the day on fruit and nuts.

After a walk through Prehistoric Gardens, we finished the day with a great dinner of fresh halibut, a reasonable, shared portion of quality steak, grilled vegetables, and a little fresh bread. We also complimented the meal with a great Tempranillo made by a winery a few hours from here. For dessert, a small touch of vanilla ice cream along with sliced grilled peaches.

There may also have been a craft beer or two consumed as part of the grilling duties carried on by the fathers of the house. But we’re on vacation, so what else can you do?

For tonight’s dinner, slow roasted rosemary chicken and vegetables, a scent that is filling the house as I write.

Over the last few months it’s become clear that one component of healthful living that I’ve been neglecting is deliberate relaxation. I seem to have  a hard time setting projects down, whether it’s my work, music, art, or writing. Although I imagine this isn’t universally true, for me I have great moments of clarity at the beach, whether it’s walking along the shore, sitting quietly, or building something out of found objects. Currently, my health is heavily on my mind – everything from needing life insurance coverage to finding the mental tools I need to really stay on track with a diet and exercise plan. The beach is a great place to contemplate both the important and the trivial.

Today, resting both with my family and alone in my own thoughts for a while on the beach, I realized that exactly what I was doing in that moment – taking time out of the day for solitude – is a key component that I let slip all too often.

Over the coming days I’ll be writing a bit about where I’m at diet and exercise-wise this week, and some interesting developments that have occurred over the last few days. But in the meantime, I have some relaxing and playing with the kids to do.

More to come.

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Ed. note: This entry is about working toward lifelong dietary goals by eating real food in moderation. The list of techniques will change over time, but this is where I’m starting from. This is actually an update from an article I wrote a little over a year ago, including my observations, corrections, and a handful of new ideas. Your constructive feedback is always appreciated. If this is your first time here and you enjoy this article, please consider subscribing via RSS. Thanks.

“Action Feeds Motivation.”

This thought occurred to me as I finished my first run of the year today, in the rain and wind. Yes, you read correctly: my FIRST, as best I can recall. As many readers have noticed, I’ve been a little scarce lately. I’ll write another post soon with my theories (and a few personal facts) on why that has been so, but for now I thought it was more important to simply do something about it. And as it turns out, that phrase, “Action Feeds Motivation” is going to be one of my recurrent themes for Almost Fit in 2009.

A year ago I was fully motivated to pursue these techniques. I didn’t need a whole lot of inspiration; I was ready to go. Over the last few months however, I haven’t been “feeling it” like I was. That tide however, is changing. So in an effort to really rekindle that fire I decided to review some of what I wrote a year ago to try to learn from my successes and mistakes, which is one of the great side-effects of writing your thoughts down in a public format like this one. For this analysis, I came back to one of my all-time favorite posts: 33 tips on how to lose weight without dieting, and one that I now think, after a year of trying out this approach to eating, needs a little revision.

As regular readers know, my focus here on Almost Fit is to do one simple thing: Eat Real Food in Moderation. No low fat this or low carb that; just real, whole foods in moderate amounts. As simple as the statement is, the principle is much harder to apply, particularly if you live in what I think of as a culture of excess. Most of us have come to accept as normal the gigantic, oversized meals that are available at every restaurant you go to, and on every food commercial or ad you encounter. We’ve confused quantity with value, and we’ve also convinced ourselves that the cost of food should be minimal – meaning it’s common to think that we simply can’t afford to eat better. I disagree; however, applying it on a daily basis is a lot like trying to light a candle in a hurricane.

In the 2008 article, I stated:

“I don’t believe that moderation in itself is the answer; eating moderate amounts of garbage still means you’re eating garbage. If I eat real food, in moderation, I am convinced that the weight will come off naturally. Changing my diet to focus on vegetables first, and then moderate amounts of high quality meat, grains, and dairy, makes sense to me. And so far, its working with little or no negative side effects including the emotional struggle that I associate with every diet I’ve ever tried, and I haven’t had to buy a single pre-packaged plan or frozen low fat dinner to do it.”

I still very much stand by these statements, and my diet and current condition is living proof. And that’s because I’m now thin, right?

Read the rest of this entry »

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“OK Dad it’s your turn.”

“OK, let’s see. What made me happy today was drinking hot chocolate with Jonah and his Mama after sledding.”

“OK Mom, now your turn.”

“What made me happy was…well Dad stole my idea, but I’m going to say getting to sleep in a little today on a Sunday morning.”

“OK my turn: My favorite part was…Dad can I have the same favorite part as you?”

We’ve begun a new tradition in our house.

Of Tequila and Artichokes

For whatever reason we don’t really seem to have many family traditions; Neither of us have a lot of “extra” things that we simply have to do regularly out of a sense of duty, solely because that is what one does under the circumstances. We have definite habits, patterns, and schedules, but the vast majority of the time we’re not conscious of daily, annual, or seasonal out of the ordinary traditions that we look forward to. Having just passed through the holiday season, it is pretty clear that many families have a lot of food-related traditions, which come in every shape and quantity imaginable, but it’s also equally clear that many of us have lost those traditions.

I would say my wife’s family has a few traditions that we honor; when they get together my wife’s siblings and their Mother truly enjoy sharing a steamed artichoke together, which reminds them of times gone by when sharing an artichoke was an extravagance. And in times of either joy or sorrow, a shot of tequila is their family drink – a tradition that as an inlaw (or, “Outlaw” as we’re collectively named) I apparently heartily embrace. Read the rest of this entry »

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Editor’s note: Welcome to Almost Fit. As you may have noticed, I’ve been away from the site for a little while taking care of some personal matters. I’ll be writing a short post soon to explain, but in the mean time, this post is a recipe I just came up with for tonight’s dinner that I just had to share. Thanks for reading.

Since I’ve started making all of our own bread, having bread dough around has meant that pizza has become a staple for us. The great thing about homemade pizza is you are in control of the ingredients, meaning that you can eat very well using the pizza “format” for your meal.

Throwing a handful of fresh ingredients on homemade dough is not only simple, it is something everyone should know how to do. From start to finish, this meal takes no longer than ordering the delivery of an industrially produced pizza that generally includes ingredients that you can’t verify as being real food. At least, in my long, prior history of ordering pizza delivery, I do not believe I’ve ever asked the person who answers the phone whether their pepperoni has nitrates, which should probably be the least of my concerns.

In talking over dinner and evaluating the meal, my wife and I figure that in the last 6 months I’ve probably made over 100 pizzas at home, often as dinner for friends. The keys to this are the bread dough recipe from Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day, and a decent baking stone. That’s truly it. I generally make 2-3 smaller pizzas per meal, 1 for the kids (though I enjoy it too), and one that is a little more on the experimental side. I’ve made as many as 5 for one night of entertaining, serving them to guests as they came out of the oven.

For tonight’s dinner, the first pizza course was a classic tomato sauce and mozzarella pizza with artichoke hearts and olives. Believe it or not, that was the “kids” pizza; our kids love things like olives, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts – a fact that I attribute (science or not) to the fact that these elements are common in the food we eat, so our kids have developed a taste for them.

For the second pizza course, I took a few risks. Tonight’s pizza creation, the Ham and Creole Cream Cheese Pizza turned out exceptionally well – good enough that I thought I’d share it right away. Actually, given that I’ve been quiet on this site over the last couple of months (I will explain in an upcoming post), I’m going to call this December’s recipe. I’ll be returning to writing more soon, including a fresh batch of food suggestions, but for now you get pizza. There could be worse fates.

Recipe: Ham and Creole Cream Cheese Pizza

First things first: This pizza has nothing in common with low fat anything – and in my opinion, it’s probably best to let it stay that way. The key to enjoying this pizza is, as always, moderation. The richness of the ingredients makes this possible if you slow down a bit and listen to what your stomach (not your tongue) is telling you. That of course is easier said than done; but you will find that with a glass of wine and a salad, a couple of pieces will satisfy. And if after a 1/2 an hour you’re still hungry, have another piece! But if you play your cards right, you’ll have a great lunch of leftovers the following day. Or breakfast, if like me, you just can’t wait.

One other thing: The Creole cream cheese is important in this dish because it is lighter in flavor (and a different texture) than typical cream cheese. We were lucky this week because our raw milk supplier was also selling homemade Creole cream cheese, so that is where we found it. If you can’t find Creole cream cheese, Mascarpone is a good substitute, and is that much richer. Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to Almost Fit. Almost Fit focuses on improving your health by eating real food in moderation. This post is a continuation of the series of photographs of What We Eat. If you enjoy this post, please consider subscribing. Thanks.

Supper, summer

• Grilled Oregon Albacore Tuna with leftover homemade Beschamel sauce
• Cippolini onions and fresh green beans (CSA, Farmer’s Market)
• Fingerling potatoes (CSA)

I love this photo for one personal reason: growing up, when we ate green beans, they typically came from a can. I really didn’t discover how great fresh green beans can be until adulthood, I think mostly because my palate has changed over the last few years. 

We have been spending every evening outdoors if at all possible knowing that summer is winding down. I have no doubt that there are already queues of clouds forming in the deepest nether regions of the Pacific, but it’s kind of a taboo thing to think about in early September. Summer in the Pacific Northwest is hard to beat, and when it is accompanied by fresh, local food, there are few simple things that are more enjoyable on a perfect September evening. 

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Welcome to Almost Fit. Almost Fit focuses on improving your health by eating real food in moderation. This post is a continuation of the series of photographs of What We Eat. If you enjoy this post, please consider subscribing. Thanks.

Supper, Tuesday evening

• Lamb masala: Braised lamb (locally raised), zucchini, eggplant, organic garbanzo beans (canned), potatoes (CSA), chopped cipollini onions, celery, and carrots (CSA and our garden), fresh garlic (CSA), 2 cups of premade masala, 1 cup premade curry, golden raisins, garam masala spices, dania powder, whole Thai coconut milk (canned)
• Raita: Whole milk yogurt (Nancy’s), salted cucumber, cilantro (from our kitchen garden), fresh lime juice, pepper
• Salad: Greens from the garden and CSA, olives, basic balsamic vinaigrette
• Naan (store bought)
• Rice: Brown jasmine rice cooked in chicken stock and water

The highlight of this meal had to be the lamb. We’ve found that braising the lamb at high heat is the key to keeping it tender in masala or curry. This dish cooked for about an hour. Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to Almost Fit. Almost Fit focuses on improving your health by eating real food in moderation. This post is a continuation of the series of photographs of What We Eat. If you enjoy this post, please consider subscribing. Thanks.

Monday evening, supper

• Chipotle sausage and seasonal vegetable soup: Organic chicken stock with water, Niman Ranch Chipotle sausage (chopped), swiss chard, celery tops, and beet tops (all from our garden), mirepoix of onions, celery, and garlic (from our garden and our CSA), potatoes (CSA), salt and pepper, topped with grated parmesan
• Homemade artisan bread

The goal of Monday evening’s dinner was simplicity. We had just come home from our trip to Seattle, and didn’t have much to work with in the refrigerator. Thankfully we had an abundance of produce from our garden and from our CSA. Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to Almost Fit. Almost Fit focuses on improving your health by eating real food in moderation. This post is a continuation of the series of photographs of What We Eat. If you enjoy this post, please consider subscribing. Thanks.

Supper, Saturday evening, 5 Spot in Seattle

Saturday evening in Seattle we ate with friends and family at 5 Spot on Queene Anne. 5 Spot is one of our old hangouts, and was a frequent late night dinner stop for us when we were out on the town. 5 Spot’s atmosphere is what I would call “hip quirky” – lots of odd, seemingly random elements on the walls that make it fun just to look around and investigate what’s new, and a really broad range of patrons. This time, they had “spooky” radio drama piped into the bathroom sound system, which is par for the course for 5 Spot. Read the rest of this entry »

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