A Tomato is a Fruit, and Sometimes a Veggie

Tart Tomato Raspberry Salad: Who would have ever guessed that this combination of things from the garden could taste so divine? Tomatoes, Raspberries, and Basil, are all coming on in abundance at the end of the summer.  This is light, easy, and just as appealing to your eyes as it is to your taste buds.

4 Fresh Sliced Garden Tomatoes

1 Cup Fresh Raspberries

½ Packet Sweet Leaf Stevia

2 Tbs. Fresh Basil, Cut into Thin Strips

2 Tbs. Grated Mozzarella Cheese

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, mix the raspberries and stevia using a fork to make a raspberry sauce.  Place fresh sliced tomato rounds on a platter.  Pour the raspberries over the top.  Sprinkle with the basil, then the cheese.  Serve cold, or at room temperature.  

Keeping Track Lightly 

Life is busy.  It can be difficult to keep track of what you've been consuming throughout the day.  There are days it's hard to remember what I had for breakfast, or if I even had breakfast...although, of course, I try to never skip the first meal of the day.  In using the Food Modification Guide, and the Modified Food Pyramid, (found in my June 11th, and August 4th 2012 blog posts,) I've developed a simple tally system to help with keeping track.  If you sit down to a meal and think, "What have I already had today?"  Sometimes it helps to make a quick note on paper, or in your mind about what might be lacking.  For example,  I'm hungry.  The kids are hungry.  I don't have a clue what to make for lunch.  "What did we have for breakfast?"  A smoothie, containing two veggies, and three fruits, yogurt, and protein powder.  We also had some whole grain toast with almond butter on it.  The tally system would look something like this:

Veggies:1

Fruit: 2

Whole Grains: 1

Dairy, (this includes dairy substitutes): 1

Protein: 1

Sugars: 0

Notice that I've been somewhat loose about serving size per person.  It's just a rough estimate of how many types of foods I've had that day.  No counting calories, or weighing exact portions.  Really this is just a way to ensure you do indeed get the variety you need in your diet.  By the end of the day, it becomes very easy to see what foods you could use a little more of.  Over time choosing what you need over what you might want becomes easy--because you will begin to want what you need.  Decisions of what to eat next are simplified greatly.  Sometimes my 6 year old son will get out grapes, applesauce, juice, and some oranges to eat for lunch and I'll just explain, "We really had a lot of fruit already in our smoothie this morning.  Don't you think we should have some protein?  Maybe a sandwich would be good, would you like that?"   At times it's a compromise, so we might end up having a sandwich and some grapes on the side.

So, is a tomato a fruit, or a vegetable? It just depends on what I want it to be!  If I need to up the tally marks in my vegetable category, it's a veggie.  If I need it to be a fruit, it is.  Sometimes, it's both.  Isn't that liberating?

Staying on Track

My father has always been full of great analogies.  He has been a great teacher to me and my family, and many others in using simple ideas that stick in your mind like glue.  He is an avid mountain biker, and often while on the trail, (and off the trail,) he would remind us that we want to look where we are going.  Look where you want to go, not at the obstacles that are in your way.  If you are on a single track, riding fast downhill, and there is a rock you would prefer not to hit, don't look at it.  Keep your eyes on the track. 

This is a simple visual analogy symbolizing the focus we must have on the things we want in life, not those we are trying to avoid.

During yoga class, my students and I will often remind ourselves of this same principle on the mat.  Jumping lightly from Down Dog-(Adho Mukha Svanasana) to the top of the mat, I'll say, "Remember, look where you are going!"  It all comes together through mid-line.  Finding a focal point on the floor within a standing balance, the gaze travels slowly upward to a full residing drishti, where gradually we move upward, looking where we want to go. Balance is achieved.