Dare to Compare?

Would you like to go shopping for a new purse? I thought so...an invitation too good to pass up! How long is the mall open? Who wants to drive?

Would you like to go shopping for spring asparagus? Ummm....maybe later.

All too often we place our fashion wants ahead of our food needs. We spend more time and money on the pursuit and the purchase of our clothes than we do on our food. Spring is the perfect time to take some inventory on this situation. I invite you to take the Dare to Compare challenge. You don't need to shop and tell. The purpose of this challenge is awareness, not guilt. I don't want you to say "no" to purses. I want you to say "yes" to asparagus!

The Food That Fits

P.T.D.D

Any guesses in the world of acronyms as to where I might be headed with the title of my post for today?  Post Traumatic Dress Disorder?  Post Traumatic Diet Disorder?  A bad dress can create a lasting memory that may stay with you for life, but I thought I would coin a new term for the unintended consequences that a lifetime of diets can cause.  Following a diet that works for someone else can be just as tricky as borrowing a dress that doesn't fit your body type.  Both spell disaster for your confidence and your personal compass on the topic.  Just as a personalized wardrobe needs to include fabrics and styles that meet your needs and desires, so does a personalized diet plan.  Diet plans need to embrace all the dirty details that define you.  Create a checklist of things you need to have in your life of food.  The next time you decide to try on a diet, be picky and honor your checklist...you might be doing your confidence and your compass a great service as you try to evade the diagnosis of PTDD.  Does your diet fit you?



Welcome to The Food That Fits Blog

Welcome to The Food That Fits blog, a place in which we entertain the notion that if the food fits, many other things will be enhanced for you as well. This blog invites you to share your ideas, responses, and reactions to the book, the blog posts and just about anything having to do with food. Tell me what you cooked for dinner last night or tell me why you hate to cook. One thing I can assure you - this is not a puritan food blog where only perfectionists are allowed. I eat and I cheat. I rise and I fall on the topic too. It will allow us to expand where the book does not and it will take your ideas and further the fashionable food discussion I have begun. Fashion and food share endless possibilities and creativity. Come and join me between your pleasurable food experiences and your shopping extravaganzas with the girls.....we've got lots to talk about.

I signed up some of my closest friends and foodies to receive my blog posts via email when a new post has been written. Currently, that is about once per week. I keep things brief and I try to keep them down to earth and fun. Feel free to opt out, but I would LOVE it if you would give me a fashionable chance at winning your heart over. Better yet, join me as I would love to talk FOOD with you! And, if we throw in a little bit of fashion that is swell by me too!

Yours in food and fashion,

Lori Reamer, RD

Author of The Food That Fits: A Guide To Mastering Your Food Style

The Food That Fits 

My favorite kitchen accessories "L list"

I love accessories...jewelry, scarves, hair pins, belts..... We all know that having the right accessories can add miles to your wardrobe and excitement to your food. Happy accessorizing!

Chef’s knife…an entire block of knives and I always reach for this one. One of the best tips I received was to scoot your freshly chopped food off the cutting board with the non-blade side to avoid dulling your knife.

Clothes pin…oh, how fetch of me to find a kitchen gadget with the word “clothes” in it! I use clothes pins as clips to close bags to preserves freshness.

Espresso machine…as much as I love going out to coffee shops and finding the best latte, the “Iris” in me tries to keep my morning ritual at home. (note: more on "iris-isms" in my book...)

Food processor…my mom gave me her twice used Cuisinart food processor. I inherited her intimidation of this machine but embraced my Taurean tenacity by getting comfortable with making smoothies, chopped veggies and ground meat.

Frother…if my frother on my espresso machine were not broken or clogged, I may have never discovered how great this tiny battery-operated gadget works for frothing lattes and hot cocoa with no risk of scalding the milk.

Grater or micro plane…while I don’t want to criticize any who buy chopped garlic or grated cheese, a grater doesn’t require a license to run and it allows you to capture more flavor by grating fresh upon demand.

Hand-immersion blender…my kids don’t like chunks of any sort in their marinara or pizza sauce and this easy to use blender often comes with other useful attachments and makes a mean pureed winter squash soup.

Cuisinart Hand Immersion Blender

One lever citrus hand juicer…I bought mine at a thrift store for a couple dollars to support my fresh squeezed grapefruit juice habit. You can find new at Crate and Barrel and you will never need to replace.

OXO salad spinner…I clean, spin and store my fresh greens in the fridge in the spinner for on demand salad consumption. Best of all, this swift process allows the greens to last much longer than bagged salad mixes.

OXO Salad Spinner

Rubber spatula…the absolute best tool for cooking eggs and scraping bowls to keep Iris happy. She would let me lick the bowl as a child after she was done scraping, but as you might guess, this was not a recipe for weight gain in my house.

Slow-cooker (crock-pot)…slow and steady wins the race because a crock-pot frees up time you would otherwise spend with more labor intensive cooking. My family loves the pork tenderloin and beans I cook in our slow cooker as well as the aroma of a home-cooked meal which a microwave cannot deliver.

Stainless steel skillets…provides the safest pan material and is also popular among leading chefs.

The Food That Fits

Food is the Outfit You Wear Every Day

A great outfit can hide a great deal.  Knowing what styles to wear to flatter your figure can provide the illusion of more or less.  Spanx (congratulations Sarah Blakely) can hold you in place.  Heels can give you an extra few inches.  Make-up can give you color. 

But, do you want to live life as an illusionist or do you want to be real?  I know that when I weigh the best weight for my frame, I look and feel better in everything I wear.  I think Spanx is a wonderful story and invention, but I secretly yearn for a "no Spanx necessary" body.  And, I will always be a sucker for heels but some days my feet disagree with my decision. 

I do know that if I eat the right quantity of food, I can spend less time worrying about and looking for the clothes that flatter me.  Exercise is my single best anti-gravity tool in my pursuit of my "no Spanx necessary" body.  The hue couture of fruits and vegetables packed with pigments imparts a look of vibrance I hope to always wear whether camping sans make-up or done up with the best cosmetics. 

 

Food is the outfit you wear every day.  Are you eating the right "size"?  Are you eating the right colors?

The Food That Fits