Home at last, after being on the road for approximately 63 days out of the last 90. Well, more or less home --- my opera workshop began the evening I landed, and starting Monday I will be at school from 9 a.m. to about 10 p.m. every day for the next three weeks. My schedule has always been pretty hectic, but it's been hectic mostly at home. Hectic traveling is newish, and I am still figuring out how to handle it.
I'm not complaining, mind you! I had a lot of fun at the Princeton Festival, and the show got no fewer than five reviews --- three in major papers --- a lot for a relatively small festival. The last review appeared in no less august a publication than the New York Times. It's not my first or even second mention in the Times, but it's my first review, it was a good one, and I am quite gratified (and grateful).
Meanwhile, back home, I'm trying to organize my kitchen and workout schedule for this crazy time. This first week of the program is slightly less involved than it will be beginning next week, so this is the week to do a little cooking and prep, since I will be taking lunches and dinners with me Monday-Saturday. Also, it's a scorcher of a summer here in Texas, and we're doing our best to keep the electric and water bill down, which means keeping oven use and dish use to a minimum (dishwashers use a lot of water)!
To that end, I've found a couple of lovely, healthy recipes for delicious lunches. Today I made a roasted red pepper chickpea sandwich spread, based on this recipe from Vegetarian Times. I used Tofutti (but if you don't care about it being vegan, you could just as easily use nonfat cream cheese) and added pureed chickpeas for extra protein and to firm it up. If you're making this recipe, be sure to really drain the peppers and let them dry out a little, or it will be too watery for a spread. I ended up with about 8 ounces of dip (it'll be great with veggies or drizzled on salad!) and then added the chickpeas to the remainder to make a really delicious sandwich spread. It'll be great on crusty bread with some crisp lettuce and cucumber; or if you're restricting carbs, scooped directly onto salad.
Summer is the time for a beautiful insalate caprese, but often these salads are high in fat because of the cheese and olive oil. At the store this morning, I couldn't resist a basket of colorful pear and cherry tomatoes --- yellow, orange, red, and even purple. My garden is overflowing with basil, so I washed the tomatoes and shredded some fresh basil leaves. They smell divine! Then I sprinkled about 1/8 cup of low-fat, part-skim mozzarella shreds --- just enough to give it flavor. If I were making this for a party, I'd get the tiny bite-sized mozzarella balls (so cute!). Then I drizzled about a teaspoon of Spanish olive oil and seasoned with fresh-ground salt and pepper. It's not fat-free, but it's a lot less than you usually get, and it's very flavorful. Leave it out of the fridge for the best flavor.
Next week, we'll have Boot Camp twice a week during my opera program, and I am looking forward to that though it will be HOT. These may be the only real workouts I get in during the next month; the good thing is I'm running around so much that there isn't time to eat. It's a real temptation to eat a snack when I get home late at night, and I am trying to resist that urge. Since it's so hot, I am craving ice cream all the time, too! Instead, I make a nice thick smoothie with frozen fruit, unsweetened almond milk, and whey or soy protein powder. It's cold and creamy, has a lot less fat and sugar than ice cream, and satisfies that craving. I'd like to try making my own homemade frozen yogurt with fruit and nonfat milk. I love the tart stuff! Who needs all that sugar? I just need to find a good recipe.
I feel like I am constantly walking on a balance beam -- sometimes I'm tilting more towards healthier living, and other times I'm in danger of falling off entirely! It's a daily struggle, but I have embraced the fact that this is my life, and if I want to stay healthy all I can do is keep trying. In a very real way, the journey IS the destination.
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