Boot Camp and Food

First, a Mike Update

Mike has been moved to the normal Cardiac Unit and out of ICU!!! And they think he may be able to come home this weekend. Again, muchas gracias, merci beaucoup, and THANKS to everyone who prayed or even took the time to think positive thoughts for him.

Now on to Boot Camp

It's time to put myself through my own personal boot camp. The few pounds I've put on have made my waist a thing of the past (did I leave my waist in DC? NY? SF? Who cares?!) and I want it back. So it's time to do all the things that I know work:

Drink a gallon of water a day
Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables
Exercise at least once a day
Reduce or eliminate processed foods

Today's workout will be mostly using a Body Bar, since I have a new book (hooray!) that has all sorts of exercises I want to try out before I share them with clients. And maybe tonight I'll do a run/walk workout, or head to the gym for some cardio.

Food

We live in an area that's the perfect climate for growing tomatoes. And right now our Sweet 100s (cherry tomatoes) and our Sun Golds (orange cherry tomatoes -- they taste like candy!) are coming on strong. I picked Sweet 100s for nearly an hour yesterday (but like in the book Blueberries for Sal, I ate just as many as I picked!), and will be working on the Sun Golds today. I do wish I was better at gardening, especially at growing vegetables, but I don't wish this hard enough to actually expend effort on it yet. Maybe soon...

Speaking of growing vegetables, I've signed up for a harvest box through a local farm. It's part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, and it works like this: you pay for the size of box you want (I chose a small vegetable and small fruit box) for the growing season. Then each week you go to a pickup location in your town and get a box filled with fresh organic local produce, along with recipes and ideas for use. I love the idea of supporting local farmers, and to get organic and locally grown in the same food? Perfect!

I suppose some of my love of and enthusiastic support for CSAs comes from two books I'm reading: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and What To Eat, by Marion Nestle. In the first book, the author and her family decide to eat only locally grown foods (preferably grown by themselves) for an entire year. The author discusses the ramifications of food transportation, both in terms of the impact on our health and the impact on our environment. And in the second book, the author examines every aspect of our food -- suppliers, marketers, growers -- and I don't know what else to say at this point, cuz I'm only a few chapters into this book.

Another food-related note is that I'm trying to convince Austin to attend a cooking class with me. It's called "From Farm to Table" and here's the description:

Join Jeanette Nuss, author of Bistro Cooking with Jeanette, for a delightful day at Twin Brooks Farm in Loomis. Participants will meet at the farm, pick what is in season, walk up to the farmhouse, and make and enjoy a wonderful lunch together.

It's designed for parents and kids and I think it sounds like so much fun. Tucker's already turned me down, and Austin's concerned that at age 13 he'll be the oldest kid there (which he doesn't like), so I'm going to call and find out about the demographics. I'm bummed, though, because I SO want to do this. And to make it even tougher, I have a friend whose 13-year-old daughter came to train with her last week (my first experience with training two people at once -- super fun). Her daughter just loves spending time with her mom, and right now both of my sons are in the "my friends are my priority" frame of mind. Wish I had a thicker skin, because seeing my friend and her daughter makes the cooking class thing a little harder to take. (Yes, I know if I offered to take them to a skate park or a video arcade, they'd be more likely to say yes. Maybe I just need to rent a kid to go to the class!)