Let’s start with books. I finished this one:
It was SO GOOD. The main character is a journalist who, for personal reasons, decides to investigate an apparent suicide. The deceased is the daughter of a famous film maker, whose horror films became so disturbing they’re banned in theaters and only shown in underground screenings. This man is a mysterious figure who has become reclusive, holing himself up in a remote mansion where… possibly… strange things are happening.
I talked in my last book post about the mixed media aspect, things like magazine articles and police reports interspersed throughout the book. Now I’ll mention that there’s a bit of horror and black magic in this book- two things I’m not usually fond of, but it was inserted into the story in such a way that it made sense. The plot was still grounded in reality, although there was some exploration of that concept (is something real if you believe it’s real?) Overall, I loved this.
Now for something completely different…
HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE that I’ve never read Gone With the Wind, or seen the movie??? It’s so good! Birchie and I are doing a “buddy read” of this book, which means we’re emailing our thoughts and observations back and forth. Let me know if you want to join us!
Okay, let’s talk about food. I’m happy to say that I’ve fully adjusted to my diet. Starbucks even has a green tea option that works for me, so I can still sit in the cafe sipping tea. I mean- it’s not Earl Grey and never will be. But you can get used to anything!
I made pancakes! It’s a recipe from Rikki Heller’s book, Living Candida Free. The batter is made from millet (finally, a use for millet!) chickpea flour, coconut flour, and various other ingredients. Against all odds, these actually tasted pretty good!
I also made bread. This was an afternoon-long adventure. First you roast spaghetti squash, wait for it to cool, puree the flesh, mix it with the other ingredients (the long list includes almond butter, ground pumpkin seeds, chickpea flour) and THEN you bake it. This bread came out… surprisingly delicious!!! Maybe my tastebuds have gone berserk, but I really liked it.
After all the work it took to make it, I carefully and lovingly cut it into pieces, and put some of the precious slices in the freezer for next week, and the rest in the fridge, to be taken out as a treat, one each day. It occurred to me- maybe this is the way bread should be eaten- as opposed to scarfing down half the loaf in one sitting. Hmmm!
Anyway, I’m now realizing why I didn’t stick closer to this diet after I did it the first time. It’s not that the food doesn’t taste good- it actually does- but it’s just so inconvenient. If I could buy this in the store that would be one thing. To make it all from scratch is okay for now, but not something I want to do for the rest of my life.
Because so much of this diet is complicated and time-consuming, I’ve just been having a big salad for dinner every night. It’s easy, it’s good for me, I like it and it makes me feel good. I’m not cooking anything else!
Have you read Gone With the Wind?
Do you like big dinner salads?
Top photo by Nadine Primeau on Unsplash
16 Responses
Yes, yes, yes to restrictive/specialty diets taking so much time. That was my #1 issue with most things I’ve tried. It just takes so long (often you have to prep the background ingredients; like the spaghetti squash has multiple steps where to make “normal” bread you go to the cupboard and pull out flour and salt).
I love a big salad. I’ve been really enjoying these at lunch lately and they’re so versatile. I’m a big fan of different textures AND temperatures in mine. I love reheating something like roasted sweet potato and adding it in to my salad. Yum. Or cooked quinoa (bonus points if I’ve roasted it after cooking). Maybe you could sprinkle some millet on top of a salad?
I’ve never read Gone with the Wind but now I really want to. My TBR list is obscenely long, but after I hear your final review of the book, it might shoot to the top and become one of my summer reads?
Yes, I love roasted vegetables in my salads! I definitely like a mix of textures, and raw/cooked combinations. I also like sprinkling nuts on top.
GWTW is so good! On so many levels! But it’s long. I think it’s worth it though.
I am shook by how good GWTW is. I stopped a little past page 200 last night. I thought that I was going to want to read a little bit of GWTW and some of the other books that I have out from the library, but now I’m locked in and can’t think about anything else.
Your salads look really good, and I believe you when you say that the pancakes and bread are good. I made a pasta salad from Cheap Lazy Vegan for lunches this week with tofu feta (regular tofu marinated in a few things) and it was a wow.
Yes I know- GWTW is surprisingly hard to put down! I think we’re right around the same place, page 200, but I’m planning an afternoon of reading today. We’ll touch base later!
We just had a big dinner salad last night! I also baked bread, but the regular crusty loaf kind. I can see how complicated and time consuming this way of eating is, wow. It’s a lot, Jenny, but you’re doing it! You’re smart to have some in the freezer for a bit of ease.
I have read GWTW a couple times and I have also seen the movie! I think I read it last about 10-11 years ago. It’s really really good.
It’s so good! And I’ve never seen the movie, so I’ll be watching that when I’m done with the book. And… yum. Regular bread. SIGH!
I’m intrigued by that bread but I totally understand what you mean about this diet being a hassle because of all the prep work! Most of my meals are pretty easy, thrown together and don’t require a lot of prep because I don’t have time, even though I wish sometimes I could make more elaborate meals.
I suppose I do have the time, but I don’t want to spend it cooking! But… I’m doing it now and that’s fine. I know it’s not forever.
All your food sounds so tasty–sorry it’s a hassle to prepare. That top photo (I realize it’s not yours, but) is like a summer dream!
I remember reading GWTW after watching the movie with my parents (they were big fans of old Hollywood) and enjoying it… But recent criticisms of how it glorifies the antebellum South make me wonder if I would enjoy it today. Like there’s so little reckoning with how slavery ruined lives for generations and a lot of hand-wringing about not having fancy gowns (to put it flippantly).
Yes, for sure there’s a lot of that! It does glorify the South in a way where I actually find myself thinking “Well, that’s not so bad!” The slaves are treated well and everyone’s happy… WAIT WHAT. But I’m interested to read a book with a perspective from the other side.
Jenny! I read Night Film when DOROTHY was a baby, and it scared me SO BADLY I still remember it! Great book.
Yep- it could be pretty scary. I don’t usually get scared by books, but this one was definitely pleasantly weird and creepy for me.
The time consuming aspect was my biggest issue with W30 – and for me it was so expensive as I ended up eating more meat than usual. I was so glad to be done and didn’t really do a gradual transition. I did to some extent but I was so sick of the restrictive, time consuming diet that I went back to normal eating habits pretty quickly. But I already am GF so adding something else becomes such a pain, especially when eating outside the home. I felt like I had to be a total hermit.
I love a big dinner salad! But I usually have my big salad for lunch. Phil likes a side salad but would raise his eyebrows at a main course salad!
My husband doesn’t like a big salad for dinner either- and that’s why he’s making his own dinners these days!
Yes, in addition to being time consuming, I am buying some expensive ingredients for this diet. On the other hand, I pretty much can’t eat out at all, so I’m saving money there!
I agree- you already have the restriction of being GF. I wouldn’t take anything else away unless you absolutely HAD to.
Salads are delicious, and it is probably good that the other food is so fiddly. I went low carb in an attempt to see if I could be a fat adapted for running and so ended up buying a lot of strange flours and making a lot of strange things! I actually didn’t mind the “no-oatmeal” made from a mix of hemp, chia, coconut flour and almond flour if I am remembering correctly, but definitely it took me a little time to get the mix right, as I don’t really want it to be too heavy on the coconut.
I would love to be part of your GWTW group! Can you add me!? I have read the book several times, so I can just start at wherever you guys are! Birchie has my number! If yes, just tell me where to start!
Hooray for finding tasty options, but I totally get the inconvenience factor. Just last night I finally made these chocolate protein balls that I used to keep in the freezer. Last time I had any was probably in August before I launched the low FODMAP diet. If someone else made these, then I could buy them and eat them. I do love a big salad for dinner, but I usually eat a small salad for lunch – and only do a big salad for dinner at a restaurant. In other words, I like a big salad, but I prefer it if someone makes it for me. I read Gone With the Wind the year after I finished college, because I was taking a train to Omaha from Chicago to visit Coach in college.