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Saturday, August 25, 2007

You Want Moderation? You Want Moderation? You Can’t Handle Moderation!

Comes a time in one’s life when one must bow to the weight of objective evidence presented against the hopes and beliefs upon which one has trellised one’s understanding of immediate reality. Yes, this weekend, I came to grips with the fact that ... we’ve gained weight.

It became clear on Friday night. I’d just returned from four days in Fargo (a trip I now call unintended detox--the bar in my Courtyard Marriott closed at 10 p.m., well before I finished my obligations for the night), and honey P. and I were getting dressed for a night at Everest. We both complained about how uncomfortable we were going to feel in our dress clothes ... only to find that we no longer fit in the roomiest of our options. Beautiful clothing of Nordstrom provenance--snug! Britney snug! Something had to be done.

Anyone who’s read this blog for a length of time knows the running theme of my dance with food and wine and exercise and weight. I once thought that moderation was the solution, but I’ve realized that we first needed a sea change in our habits. The thing about moderation is the scale slides so easily--and in this case, our scale was sliding up.

So today I cleaned kitchen. Out with the white rice and pasta, in with brown rice, lentils, and bulgur. Out with the ribeyes, in with boneless, skinless chicken breast. Out with duck fat, in with canola. Turkey sausage. Reduced-fat mayonnaise. Spices! Single-serving portions! Frozen and fresh vegetables! Yes, yes, oh baby, yes!

My strategy: get rid of all of the snack foods (even the Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips, which Honey P. threw into the trash with glee). Fill the house with vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins. Learn how to develop flavor with spices rather than gratuitous fat. Train myself not to overeat when we go out for dinner. Stop going out for dinner. And cease cooking like my mom, who taught me that in the kitchen, more is more. Why cook for two when you can cook for 10? It’s an Asian thing.

Tonight’s meal, the turnaround dinner:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon clarified butter
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup vermouth

First, pound the chicken down until it looks larger (and more even) than it did when you started. It’s a nifty trick, really, making the portion look larger than it really is. Salt and pepper. Dusty lightly with flour on both sides, and saute in the proper All-Clad pan using the meager portion of butter you’ve alloted to the recipe. Once both sides are pleasingly brown, remove chicken and add shallots and capers to pan. Saute briefly and add lemon, and vermouth. Scrape the brown bits from the pan and reduce until the smell of alcohol has burned away (just a couple of minutes). Adjust the seasoning of the sauce, spoon over chicken, and serve with steamed green beans, broccoli, or other vegetable devoid of fat.

I felt better after the meal than I have in a very long time. Honey P. wasn’t quite full and did comment about expecting to have wet dreams sometime soon about my homemade lasagna. Who wouldn’t? But that’s what holidays are for.