It’s the end of January, which means that it’s about the time that everyone out there who has made promises to himself to Be Healthy! Be Virtuous! Be Peaceful! Be Healthy! (I’m repeating myself, I know) is starting to fall off the bandwagon. I don’t know where you live, but right now, I’m writing this while staring out my office window at a fresh, 3 inch layer of snow, which is covering another, now not-so-fresh 5 inch layer of snow, which fell earlier in the week. Underneath it all is about an inch of ice, which means that when I take the dog for a walk, I risk life and limb. All of which means that I’d rather have a bowl of that Cassoulet I made last weekend then, say, a plate of steamed vegetables.
But today, we have two problems:
Problem 1: My partner, one of those obnoxious, softspoken souls who can eat an entire box of Epoisses and still have cholesterol hovering around 160, now has cholesterol hovering around 230. Yes, it’s true. We got word the other night, when the doctor called us. Nine years with me, and my partner’s cholesterol has gone up 70 points. I guess the red wine and Cassoulet haven’t worked.
Problem 2: After reading Mark Bittman’s brilliant new book, Food Matters, I have come to the shocking realization that it’s cheaper and healthier to eat more vegetables. Who knew? Too bad that I’m my father’s daughter (he once said that the only green vegetable he liked was pastrami).
Truthfully, while Susan has just been diagnosed with high cholesterol, the only reason why mine is okay is because I take Crestor. Along with Diovan. And Toprol. Given the fact that my father had two quadruple by-passes and my grandfather had five heart attacks, this is something I should probably take fairly seriously, lest I go down the Laurie Colwin route.
So, to get back to Mark Bittman. Mark comes to the table with something of a small reputation as a grump. He’s direct in the extreme, and while people sometimes love to hate him, his endeavoring to teach readers how to make simple, extraordinary meals has more or less changed the modern American culinary lexicon. So in my book, reputation not withstanding, he’s alright. A couple of weeks back, the 10th anniversary edition of How to Cook Everything showed up in time for Christmas, with a disclaimer announcing that his food was healthier, more vegetable-focused. How nice, I thought, while I read his Minimalist column featuring the recipe for cabbage and buckwheat noodles (pizzocherri) cooked with a stick of butter, a cup of parmigiana, a cup of fontina, a potato, and breadcrumbs, yielding 3-4 servings. Well, at least it was vegetarian.
The irony here is that while I was thinking about the recipe, I was also thinking about Food Matters; I had heard that Mark had dropped a good amount of weight, and that his new non-diet diet wherein he literally is a vegan until 6 pm, was working very well for him, not to mention his wallet.
Now, I will never, ever be a vegan–I love eggs and dairy far too much–but if someone is going to promise me that I’m going to spend less money on food, not buy dreck, and be a lot healthier as a result, I’m going to sit up and listen. And so, I have. Because healthy food that is too expensive just isn’t going to fly in this economy (see Whole Foods numbers, if you don’t believe me), and frugality-minded people who have to eat healthfully simply won’t, because it’ll be too cost-prohibitive.
So I’m listening to Mark.
Next: The 33-Meal, $81 Shopping Trip
