Steaks and Lentils

It’s been another grueling week at the gymnasium. We’ve been dealing with dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, squats, lunges, and every sort of pain-inducing piece of equipment the Marquis de Sade and the Inquisitors have been able to conjure up.  The good news is it seems to be working. I’m down 15 pounds and Victor is down 14. And we’re still eating like kings!

It’s a flippin’ miracle. Or something.

Rumor has it that going to the gym and exercising releases endorphins that make you feel good and reduces the perception of pain. I would like to call bullshit on this rumor. Getting beat up does not take me to my happy place. I’m doing this good-naturedly. I’m not doing it happily. But, happily or not, it’s working – and that is what counts. We’re both feeling better. We have more energy. Simple tasks are easier. And we’re definitely eating better.

It’s been a lot of fun refocusing on the basics – and scaling back recipes. This website has been great at tracing our eating habits all the way back to 2005. I shake my head in horror at the portions we were consuming! The real miracle is we didn’t weigh twice as much as we did when we started this. I have pretty much always cooked what I wanted when I wanted – without any thought at all to portion size or calories. It was fun, but it certainly wasn’t realistic. And most definitely not sustainable.

I’m liking it better this way.

Our celebratory dinner was steaks and lentils with roasted vegetables – and a fried Italian Long Hot pepper on top. These peppers are scorching-hot. I love it! We just cut the stem off and fry them – seeds and all. A pinch of garlic and anchovies towards the end. H.O.T. I’ll be making a nice batch of hot sauce next month as they start turning red.

For the lentils, I roasted golden beets, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic – all chopped relatively small – and then mixed them with the cooked lentils. I added a splash of sherry vinegar, salt, pepper, and some herbes de Provence and stirred it all together. It was great hot – and will make an excellent cold salad, tomorrow.

We’re not suffering in the food department.

Victor will head to the gym tomorrow for a solo trek, and I’ll be there Sunday for mine – and then Monday starts Week Eight.

Bring it on!