The Confessionals of a Kettlebell Instrutor. Part 2. Section 35 – Food Follow Up.

Challenge – Marcia vs. the vegetables…
(Or: I had a plan. Then the plan changed.)

A while ago I came up with a plan for how to enjoy veggies and make ingesting them as inevitable and natural as brushing my teeth.

Friends – My written plan was glorious. The execution… may have left a little to be desired.

I learned a lot of useful information:

• I really do enjoy red peppers.
• Check that your fancy salt grinder isn’t faulty…
• Overcooked omelettes are completely unappealing.
• I really don’t know how to cook properly.

So, for all my fine talk about easing into vegetable-love, it turns out that I did the same thing as those of us who see an uncomfortable number on the scale and make a sudden (and drastic) life decision on the spot (like starting a 45 day colon detox, or signing up for 4 months of 5 am daily bootcamps). I didn’t have the right approach or education on how to change a lifetime habit. I was too fast out of the gate and tripped over my feet instead of starting with small, careful and achievable steps.

When I called out for help, a wonderful friend came to my house and showed up with support needed: bag of groceries, bottle of wine and an easy recipe that just so happened to include red peppers. I didn’t have to grocery shop, pick a recipe, or figure out why a cheese knife is different from a paring knife (that was an actual conversation). Instead of trying to do everything, I was able to focus on doing one thing correctly (two, if you count pouring wine).

Previously I wrote about small achievements in fitness. This scenario is on the same path in a different medium: a small achievement in the culinary arts.

The successes (and lessons) that came from the grand red pepper challenge were:

1. Figure out what your plan A is. Decide how you will know if it is working (clear deliverables are the secret to any successful project).
2. Be prepared to change plan A if it does not appear to be working.
3. If it is definitely not working, step back from what just happened. Ask yourself:
   1. What happened? (salt grinder exploded all over my food)
   2. What failed? (the salt grinder’s mechanism, apparently)
   3. Make a plan to avoid it next time. (note to self: purchase new salt shaker without fancy grinding mechanisms)

These three steps take any situation from an accident to a ‘learning experience’. You are learning.

1. Be a sponge. Soak up any education and lessons from your first kick at the can. If you don’t know the first thing about what you are doing, it’s hard to know where to pay attention, and what things are less important. Ask questions! Now you’re more prepared than you were before.

This all being said – I can now make a badass quesadilla. Check out the progress.

Tomato, red peppers, green onions, salsa, fromage, chicken thighs, small burrito wraps.  And most importantly – wine.

 

No fingers were lost in the making of this dish. No foodsafe rules being broken by having a glass of wine in the same proximity as the green onion.

 

Yes. I need a roll of the paper towel in place of napkins when I eat.

Written with love by Marcia Lucas
Edited with vigor by Megan Chalmers