MEAT

i think every man in whole foods was staring at me (or at least my groceries) longingly as i hoisted my items onto the conveyer belt yesterday evening. in my cart was: steak, beer, milk, sour cream, lettuce, and bananas. well, and women’s running magazine, too.

yes, i made steak last night. i’ve never made steak before. some background: from around 1998 to 2002 (sarah: the college years), i was a quasi-vegetarian. i say quasi, because i still ate fish and seafood, but that was about it. why? to this day, i really don’t have any clear idea. part of it i think was that i didn’t really like meat all that much back then and this way i had an excuse not to eat it. part of it was late-onset teenaged rebellion. part of me thought maybe it would be healthier. part of it was just being picky.

i remember the first time i ate meat after this prolonged veggie-era: my mom had made her (fabulous) turkey-apple-grape-pasta salad, and it looked really, really good. and i remembered (from eating it many times prior to veggiedom while growing up) that it in fact was very good, including the nice little chunks of white meat turkey. i weighed the pros and cons of sticking to my veggie regimen, and couldn’t come up with one good reason why i shouldn’t shove the turkey into my mouth. so i did.

and i never looked back.

i still love vegetarian food, and often have days where i do not eat any meat (although i’m never anywhere close to vegan because i like yogurt, cheese, and other milk products too much). but knowing more about nutrition than i did in 1998, i actually find that having some meat in my diet makes it easier to be balanced and healthy. there are many meat-centric items are actually relatively low-fat and very satiating (sliced turkey, for example). and while i know there was probably a hefty dose of saturated fat in the flat-iron steak i made last night, each serving was only 3 oz (i made 4 pieces out of a 0.75 lb = 12 oz cut) so i know the damage couldn’t have been that bad. plus, it was from whole foods and from some hoity-toity grass-feeding organic-esque farm, so i feel less bad about the devastating environmental impact. plus, it has iron.

also, it tasted great.

thanks, martha.

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today is my LAST day of christmas coverage! while i really have not been working that hard, hours-wise, i also have not had a day off since december 14. blah. fortunately, my 6 day break begins tomorrow! i haven’t even decided what i am going to do with myself (other than a hair appointment and a 2 day jaunt to miami). here’s to hoping that the babies behave for just ONE more day.

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12.26.08

workout: 6 miles on the treadmill while reading marie claire with hill intervals. i kept the pace constant (8:57/mi) and then increased the incline from 0.5% to 2-3% during every 3rd song. it was fun.
20 minutes weights to top it off:
– pushups, 2 x 12
– bent-over rows, 15 lb weights, 2 x 12
– bicep curls, 12-12.5 lb weights, 2 x 10
– wall squats with ball, 8 lb weights, 2 x 12
– lateral/forward raises, 6 lb weights, 2 x 10 each side
– abs: 2 x 15 regular crunches, 2 x 15 bicycles

doin’ time: and here it is: the aforementioned delicious and satisfying steak dinner. served with martha’s romaine salad with creamy chili dressing and half of a ginormous sweet potato baked in the microwave. i used a flat-iron steak rather than skirt steak because the meat guy at whole foods said it would be better. i mean, i couldn’t really argue with the meat guy. links to recipes are on the sidebar!