Intake Adjustment

I've been at home for a few weeks now, which is where Dan and I will be living until we find jobs and a place of our own. For the first week, it was primarily Dan, my mom and I at home cooking, so a lot of the food was similar to what I'd been eating before--very veggie-centric.

Then my dad arrived.

Right now, there are a lot of special food requests in our family--I'm not eating much meat, my mom isn't eating gluten and Dan has his own food preferences (like not liking vinegar). My dad is doing his best to accommodate those requests, but he's pretty stubborn in his food ways.

A few stalwart features of my dad's cooking:
1. Animal fats (yes, plural--dishes almost all contain multiple kinds)
2. Meat
3. Glutenous carbs

Some recent examples:
- Corn chowder which contained bacon, a half stick of butter and copious amounts of half and half and milk (it would have been all half-and-half if we'd had enough)
- Dinner plans for tonight include 4 8+ oz. steaks for 5 people. If I were eating meat, that would be at least a serving and a half of meat for each person.. since I probably won't have any, that's two+ servings per person
- Several nights ago, dinner consisted of pasta lightly sauced in tomato-pepper (and bacon!) sauce. Total vegetable intake: half a tomato, 1/8th of a pepper. Plus the bowls we used easily held 8oz. of cooked pasta.

Transitioning from food where I could eat massive quantities for only a few calories with foods like roasted broccoli or steamed kale, I'm having a really hard time.

First, I feel awful all the time. It's amazing how terrible I feel from not eating enough vegetables. I'm tired all the time; I feel bloated; I don't have the energy to exercise; my stomach has been bothering me regularly; and I really have little motivation to do much of anything.

Second, I'm having trouble controlling my calories. I've managed to maintain my weight at around 134, only around 2 pounds heavier than I was during the season, but it's been a huge struggle. I've been cutting back on dessert, trying to watch my snacks, eating smaller lunches and just generally having to pay a lot more attention. It's not fun.

I'm hoping to work more vegetables into my lunches. I've been eating a lot of fruit with lunch, but it just doesn't work as well as vegetables to make me feel good. I'm also hoping to get a little bit stricter about eating meat with dinner--it really leaves me feeling kind of icky. Finally, I'm working on decreasing my portions with dinner--it's nice to wake up a little bit hungry in the mornings and that just hasn't been happening recently.

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Tomato salad
serves one

Ingredients
2 ripe summer tomatoes
1 leaf of fresh basil
1T olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions
1. Cut up the tomatoes.
2. Chop up the basil leaf.
3. Toss the tomatoes with basil, olive oil, salt and pepper.
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How do you handle eating other people's food? Have you ever stayed at somebody else's house for a long period of time? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.

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A food tour of Berkeley, CA

As a long-time Berkeley resident, and child of an absolute foodie, I'd say I know my way around the Berkeley food scene fairly well. If you ever find yourself visiting, here are the absolutely must see things:

1. The Berkeley Bowl:
I remember when the Berkeley Bowl was still in the old bowling alley, with crowded aisles and wooden crates of fruit and veggies. There are now two locations, although the original is better. Go here to see a HUGE selection of amazing seasonal produce (don't expect to find apricots in November), a great bulk food section, and a wide collection of anything related to Asian cooking. Make sure to check out the squishy shelf—fruits and veggies on the tail end of prime condition with huge discounts. In the original store, it's located by the bulk lettuce and berries.

2. Cheeseboard Pizza
Crisp, garlicky, sourdough crust; multiple, flavorful, melting cheeses; fresh, sweet, savory vegetables... what more could you ask for in a pizza? They serve up one flavor of vegetarian pizza Tuesday thru Saturday, so make sure to check their flavor of the day ahead of time. My favorite is the fresh corn pizza in the summer months. Also worthwhile is the olive focaccia from two doors down—the original Cheeseboard. (Also a great place to sample cheeses, if you're into that sort of thing.)

3. La Farine
Ok, so this one is actually in Oakland, but it's about a half block out of Berkeley, so I'll count it. A quick bus ride from UC Berkeley's campus, this bakery has been a staple in my life since a young age. I've already mentioned their incredible morning buns, gooey sticky sugary syrup wrapped in flaky, buttery pastry dough. More importantly, though, is their rustic baguette. At one point, my father had to ask their baking schedule because they sold out so quickly. I've tried a lot of baguettes, and this is the most delightfully flavorful of them all. Great plain, or spread with some good french butter (preferably from the Cheeseboard.)