Bend and Stretch into the Fridge

My husband doesn't understand my obsession with cooking shows. His logic is simple: Why are you watching shows that focus on food when you're trying to eat less and lose weight? While I admit there is a certain morbid curiosity in watching other people create and eat food I shouldn't have, it's really about eating different, not necessarily just less of "bad" foods. I would never eat octopus, but I might pick up a cooking technique that I can apply to another type of seafood. Chef's say a lot of things in passing that turn out to be useful when applied to something else.

I especially enjoy "healthy" cooking shows. Cheerful chefs who are enthusiastic about fresh ingredients and layering flavors to produce something so wonderful tasting that it is a "must have" meal in and of itself. It's not trying to be "the original," it is an original. It's not a full fat wanna be or watered down version of something else. It's something yummy and desirable that just happens to be good for you. Manufacturers of kid-friendly foods have been trying to capitalize on this concept for years. I recently saw a commercial for canned pasta, loaded with sugar and white flour pasta, marketed as having a full serving of vegetables in every bowl. What diligent and conscientious parent doesn't want that for their child? Or for themselves? And tomatoes are considered a "power food." It just gets better and better! Butter should be a power food. Just ask Paula Deen.

So then it comes to my kitchen. I enjoy cooking, but not doing dishes or cleaning up the kitchen. I loathe meal and menu planning, but enjoy grocery shopping. This combination of preferences makes for some interesting meals and a depressing kitchen space, not at all condusive to producing culinary works of art and taste. Working out consistently has been good for my culinary skills because my body won't keep up with the physical demands unless I pay attention to what I'm feeding it. The planning then becomes a necessity as important has having a clean sport bra and socks every morning. It would seem that the exercise continues to reach into all the parts of my life.