As I was walking to the subway from happy hour on Wednesday, I had a quick phone chat with my dad. As fathers do, he asked how my work day had gone [uneventful], what my post-work plans had been [unintentionally ended up here], if I’d had anything exciting to drink [dirty gin martini, yum].
Of course, in typical parental manner, he also asked about the food situation to balance out the liquor situation. I responded that I hadn’t gotten there yet, but not to worry, I was headed home for a meal.
2 for 1 martinis all served at the same time. hmm.
The meal waiting for me was a nice one, not to mention one that was practically effortless. On a morning earlier this week, I forced myself to make a big batch of hummus soup, knowing I would need some readily available home-cooked food this week. I’m working on getting my kitchen mojo back, and recreating some of my very own recipes seemed a good place to start.
I had also thrown a sweet potato in the oven while I showered that preparatory morning, and I had steamed a pound of green beans earlier in the week as well. Post-martini dinner, therefore, became officially easy.
this time i made cilantro hummus soup. left out the onions due to laziness, subbed cilantro for sundried tomatoes, and added some sea salt. i ate it chilled, and it was perfect.
I believe a large part of being a mostly-responsible adult means taking the initiative to care for myself. I can go out X number of nights a week if I choose – I’m a single twentysomething, so why not – but an important piece of this grown-up thing also means providing myself with real meals. It might be easier to skip dinner when I’m too tired, or eat a bowl of cereal and call it a day – but I take pride on my ability to meet my nutritional needs.
Of course, there are exceptions. There are times when that spontaneity that I love or those work obligations that we all have might interfere, and in those cases, I make do with what is available to me at the time. I never beat myself up for those occasions, because I know they are the exception rather than the rule.
I might be spending a lot of time with beverages in hand, but I never forget about my need for a plate. I truly believe going out as often as I have been can and should be a part of balanced living, because whether I prepare the meal myself or end up in a restaurant, I am not letting my nutritional needs fall astray. It is possible to do both, and I am determined to continue acting as happy proof.
Is providing yourself with real meals important to you?
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obviously you know my answer to this question. take last night, for example. i forced BT into eating dinner with me at 7A (sweet diner on… you guessed it, 7th street and avenue A!) at 1:30AM because I hadn’t eaten anything substantial since 4PM. got a so-so burrito and vanilla ice cream – now, i don’t like to eat this heavily so late all the time, but special days call for special circumstances. :)
anyway, you are super efficient with your pre-cooking and whatnot. I sometimes am capable of this – I find I eat much healthier during the week if I cook up a big batch of quinoa in advance. I can throw whatever in it and make a fab salad every night, which is especially nice in the summer when I don’t necessarily crave warm foods.
wow. that paragraph was somewhat informative and helpful and not totally ridiculous, as per my usual whole plate comments. progress.
Since I haven’t before… can I sing your praises now?
I, obviously, prioritize real meals like you. Equal parts vegetables and alcoholic beverages (ha, or maybe not equal) makes for an amazingly fun and fulfilling twenty-something lifestyle. Enjoy!
Yes, definitely. I find it the hardest to be on the road, as much as I love traveling, because I get tired of eating out. Once I have access to a kitchen where I can prepare real food, I feel much better. And healthier.
Real meals depend…I’m more likely to cook and plate something when I’m with folks, but when I’m alone (this whole month, for example) I tend to eat just as nutritiously, just in a less structured fashion. I think I’m naturally a grazer, whereas I enjoy the social ritual associated with food so much that I tend to force myself into actual meals to stimulate the interaction. I also really like seeing people eat stuff that I made :)
Real meals are so important! I totally feel it when I have chips and salsa for dinner… and my schedule has been so hectic that I have done that a few times this month. They are flax chips with homemade salsa though :)
Having a real meal is SO important to me. When I know I’m going to be scrounging for lunch or dinner, I turn into quite the crank. Last night, for example, we left to go back to the city at 6:30, which meant I didn’t get home until after 10. Too tired and hungry to think about what I was going to eat, I popped a pack of Annie’s Mac & Cheese into the microwave. Not as bad as it could have been, but far from ideal.