Outside of the Box: Chili

I'm on a mission to share my love for good, real food -- Outside of the Box with you. Today, I whipped up spicy, hearty chili served with Cilantro Lime Rice. In less than 1.5 hours I created this meal and that's with me talking and entertaining. The cost was less than $25 and I used premium goods. So, see it's simple and inexpensive to eat OUTSIDE of the Box!

 

 

Healthy and sick

I pride myself on working out, eating whole fresh foods, and resting -- the key ingredients to health.

Such as life, there are periods were my habits are better, more consistent than others. The last few weeks, I found myself really dialed in on all areas. I was feeling really good everything was going swell.  Working out hard with my new training team, Northwest Personal Training, really mindful of my food choices, and proper rest every night. I even made sure to take a day off from exercising mid-week. Being extra-cautious not to burn myself out.

I was on a roll. The blog's readership hit 25,000, working on a real huge project, cookbook signing at Clark College, and coordinating the FRESH viewing at the library.


Then out of nowhere...Bitten by the flu bug. Bitten hard by the flu bug. It's been awful. Not only the physical discomforts: Body aches, chills, coughing, fever, and loss of appetite. There's something about being sick that makes me feel so vulnerable. So weak.

I've been sidelined for the past two weeks. No interest in blogging, food, or much of anything.  I'm slowly regaining my strength and my smile is back too. Being sick has surely made me appreciate my good health all the more. Even the healthiest people get sick sometimes.

Food snob

I've been thinking...I'm a food snob. Yup, I said it. A while ago, I wrote a blog post, "Grocery Shopping No-Nos" in which I was not ready to admit to my snobbish ways, but as time has progressed my snobbishness has increased.  The way I see it, there is nothing wrong with me turning my nose up to packaged, highly caloric, so-called processed food. 

I've decided to take a stand. I say no to the crap that dominates the aisles of the supermarket. I stay clear of food that is advertised and put together in fancy little packages with a long list of ingredients mostly preservatives, and sugars. For goodness sake, I do not let strangers prepare my food. I prepare and eat fresh, whole food that you can picture growing in it's natural state (Thanks, for that one Michael Pollan).

I'm willing to pay the price for my health and well-being up front. I make my health and food a priority. I take the extra-time I need to shop and prepare food. Real food. I really don't see any other way. So from this day forward, I proudly declare myself as a food snob. Heck, I'm even contemplating starting a food snob movement: A bunch of health crazed folks purchasing, growing, preparing, and eating fresh, whole food.  Hmm...stay tuned.