April 16 2014

“You can’t cross the sea 

merely by standing and staring at the water.” 

Rabindrath Tagore

Nor can you shape up that newly sprung spring garden by staring at the weeds, or clear out the flotsam and jetsam of winter

by staring at the closet.

It's really truly Spring up here in the Northern Hemisphere- well, mostly. Snow fell in Lubbock yesterday, but Lubbock doesn't count. Expecting Lubbock to match months to temperatures is a useless as expecting a dryer to match socks. 

For most of anyway, it's spring- and that means brains and backs and pinterest boards are popping with  projects that really need doing before the window of spring slams shut and summer roars in. Only the Holidays rival these next weeks in the stuff that needs doing to time it can be done in ration. The difference, the great big planetary difference, is that in spring, we are not fighting the urge to curl up with the rest of the natural world and take a nice long nap. In spring, the whole world is vibrating with energy, and all we have to do

is catch the wave.

Even though Spring is doing it's best to put a, well, spring in your step, if you want to tackle that list without developing a midwinter scowl, you'll have to eat well.  Because that's what eating well is for. Doing other stuff besides eating. No one chooses 

one of these...

instead of one of these...

because the ones of these of the first part, vis-a-vis carrots, taste better than the these of the second part, vis-a-vis a warm, gooey, chewy cookie.  Nope, you  (most of the time) choose the carrot over the cookie because you care about eating well. And you care about eating well because there's stuff besides eating that you want to do. So, in order to put my own spring project list in perspective, I asked menu advice from a friend whose spring projects include training to become....let's see, what was it?

No, no, that's Iron Giant....that's not right...
dial it down a little...

Oh! yes, Iron Man! that's right,
he's training for an IronMan.

Never a bad idea to ask someone who's  using tons of energy every day to reach a long-term goal what his family eats for dinner, and lucky me, it all sounded very tasty. Lots of vegetable protein, and lots of vegetable everything else, carbs and lean meat- here's the plan: 

Wednesday: Pork Chops and Quinoa

I learned last summer that a crock pot is the year-round friend of a busy day. Cast in the role usually played by rice or noodles in this meal is the high-protein friend of a busy of a busy tomorrow, quinoa. Both the quinoa and the pork show up later in the week, so extras are welcome and if there's energy left after the quinoa's made, it'll go into opening a bag of salad.

Thursday: Black Beans and Rice

One of our favorite sources of vegetable protein turns out to be a training day winner too. If you have time to kick it up a notch, try topping the black beans with this dressing made of tomatoes, peppers, vinegar and oil.  Beans have a law of physics all their own, and there are always leftovers, no matter how many you start with. Not to worry, they'll be great in tacos on Saturday night.

Friday: Salmon with Angel Hair Pasta and Asparagus

This looks just yummy- and take a look at that lemon mustard sauce pouring itself around where the higher fat hollandaise would go! Whatever springtime burst of energy you need for a busy Easter weekend, this'll help get it started.

Saturday: Black Bean and Pork Tacos

Pull out all the leftovers and a stack of tortillas and you've got tacos. Add a can of coconut milk, lime, cilantro, avocados and cheese and you've got great tacos. If you feel like the chips and salsa really ought to be there and you want to save some fat calories, try these homemade baked tortilla chips and open a jar of salsa or try Pioneer Woman's great (and fantastically easy!) homemade salsa.

Sunday: Quinoa and Brown Rice Bowl with vegetables

This would be a really time-consuming way to spend a Sunday; would be, if you didn't have leftover quinoa and rice waiting in the fridge, and a ripe avocado that you didn't use on the tacos. All that's left to be done is cook up the veggies an stir up the sauce, and you've got meal that will send you into next week feeling strong and satisfied.

 And I hope that no matter what you end up doing,
or what you end up eating,
that you feel strong and satisfied all week long.
whether it's running a marathon or running an office or running after preschoolers 
whether it's digging into problems or digging up weeds
whether it's taking a step toward a dream, or taking a hike.
I hope you feel the energetic earth 
giving you the lift that will float you
from one happy day

straight into another.