This is a guest post by Stefanie Stevenson, MD, our Integrative Physician at Nourish!
I am not an innate chef. In fact, I’m a bit intimidated by cooking at times, so when I experiment and have a success I am thrilled to share it. I had one today! I raced out of the house today to get to a hair appointment only to learn that it was NEXT Thursday. Bonus – I had time I didn’t expect! Even though I wasn’t crazy about getting the cutting board out and making a mess (the kitchen was actually clean!), I did it anyway and I’m so happy I did!
The result was a wonderful salad with green leaf lettuce, chopped up swiss chard with the yellow stems, cherry tomatoes, jicama, green beans left over from last night, currants (my new favorite thing for a salad), red bell pepper, and kalamata olives with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar….yum! (I even snapped a pic on my phone – check it out!)
I was so excited about my salad and having a moment to sit outside to eat that I found myself gobbling it down. I hate that! When I noticed what I was doing I slowed down and practiced what I teach others to do – eat mindfully – I kept the forkful of food in my mouth before I even started chewing and then I appreciated the variety of flavors as I chewed and paused before I swallowed. It was so much more enjoyable!
Try a salad yourself and tell us what you made in the comments below…we’d love to hear about it!