Hey All,
Holy smokes its been a long time since I've written here. Things are generally good. I accepted a Chemist position with the Utah Department of Health in the CDC funded LRN-C program. Its nice to be back in the lab. I work with a small, but great team.
I also have come a long way with addiction, recovery, and getting us back on track. I've had a couple of setbacks, but have been generally sober and clean since November 23, 2016. I owe a ton of that to Fit to Recover. Fit to Recover (FTR) is the gym I started going to when things got really bad. I found a supportive environment that asked only that I be clean and sober and try my best. It started with one clean and sober day, then a couple more, and now I'm doing very well. It was a great adjunct to the bizarre mish mash of treatment I had to pursue. I'm done with the hard parts of therapy and counseling, now its continuation to success.
FTR is built on "Four Pillars" of recovery. The four pillars are: Fitness, Food/Nutrition, Service to others, and Creative expression. I've found a fondness for their food/nutrition program. Monday I gave a talk about menu planning and shopping. It was super empowering. I've moved out of my shell with service, primarily reaching out more with the gym, being supportive of new folks, and building new friendships around that. I think I'll do more with the blog as creative expression. The really cool part is that I happened into a treatment adjunct that has been show to improve treatment outcomes by 450%. I'll have to pull the references later if anyone needs me to.
So to food:
First up, here's the link to my menu organizer. It is a live document that updates frequently. So if you wonder what my food world is looking like, check it out. I also post sales information in my shopping list.
Today I made Granola. I did the ginger apricot with the addition of 2 cups of crisp rice cereal. Cereal is a great addition to add crunch and flavors. I still have a few cups of yogurt, so I'll use that, a spoonful of peach jam, and the granola for breakfasts this week. After that I'll make some vanilla soy milk.
I also wanted to talk about vinaigrettes. This week Food to Recover is talking about balanced meals. I'll admit, I struggle with getting my vegetables, but have recently started incorporating salads again. I'm not a fan of having tons of bottles of salad dressing laying around, so have started making small batch vinaigrettes in a jar. Its a single jar, usually only lasts a meal or 2 and is super easy. Just throw in the ingredients and shake.
I do things a couple of different ways, so let's start with the basic vinaigrette.
Basic Vinaigrette
2 parts sugar
2 parts vinegar
1 part oil
This is the basis for tons of things, poppy seed dressing (poppy seeds and onion), sesame dressing (use rice vinegar and add 1 part soy sauce, 1/4 part toasted sesame oil, and sesame seeds), and tons of other variations. Adding muddled fruit will give you a fruit vinaigrette.
Savory Vinaigrette
1 part sugar (more or less to taste)
2 parts vinegar
1 part oil
I use this for things like Italian vinaigrette (garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, a bit of minced bell pepper) or ranch vinaigrette (onion powder and dill weed).
Creamy Vinaigrette
2 parts sugar
2 parts vinegar
Mayonnaise to make creamy to taste, it doesn't take much and helps everything emulsify.
This style works well for just about every variation I've mentioned above....adjust the sugar for the savory ones.
I hope you all are well and eating good food. I look forward to writing up more soon!
Lotsa Love,
3day
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