When It Comes to Major Lifestyle Change, Leave Perfectionism In the Past

After many years of trying to eat healthy (in the whole-foods kinda way), I have finally learned my lesson: I can't. I just can't! Do it all the time, that is. I can't expect 100% adherence to a strictly sugar-less, bad-carb-less, processed-food-less diet. It ain't gonna happen.

Multiple times I've tried the old cold-turkey approach, several of those with great success! For years I gave up coffee, sugar and chocolate every lent, so I knew I was capable of greater change.

I have always been afraid to take the approach which weans oneself off of given foods or substances. The few times I have tried it I failed miserably. Therefore I've always thought my only option to do and do it right was to quit bad habits entirely, at once, and expect perfection.

Now, after so many trials and spectacular failures, I know better. I no longer expect perfection of myself. I do the best I can... within reason. This does *not* mean that I allow myself the occasionally sugary treat! It does mean however, that I won't hate myself on some bleary-eyes morning when I remember "no sugar!" but forget "no sweeteners!" -- and down a coffee with Splenda. It is not a failure, I don't have to start Everything all over again, I can just acknowledge my mistake, learn from it and move forward.

It's going to be a lot easier this time around, and it's going to stick.

Today's Sucess: Pho-fabulous Dinner
So I had organic grass-fed beef bones for stew, limes, basil, mushrooms and spring onions. The E.P. (my husband for any new readers!) added bok choy and watercress. Throw in some mint, ginger, garlic, star anise, and rice noodles, and we ended up with an "instant" homemade pho from scratch.

OK it wasn't quite instant -- I put Wegman's Beef Broth in a huge pot at around 2PM, added the bones and some water, a couple juniper berries, the anise, fresh garlic and a bit of sea salt -- and let them simmer for several hours.

Later I added red onion and minced ginger. By now it was smelling really good.

Later I added chopped bok chop stems. The scent was divine.

Later I added almost everything else, including shredded mint leaves, grated daikon and the bok choy leaves. So much I scrounged up went in there that I can't remember it all -- whatever we had that seemed appropriate. (We frequent an excellent pho restaurant in Leesburg.) In the last ten minutes I added the noodles and watercress and removed the pot from the heat source.

Everyone used their chopsticks first and soup spoons second. I served it with a little plate of spring onions, fresh basil, a lime to squeeze, and a salad I made up from daikon, red cabbage and red onion marinated in rice wine vinegar and lime juice with a dash of umeboshi vinegar. It soaked for several hours and was tart but quite good. If I think of a way to add sweet to it without adding a sugar, I definitely will!

My Mom enjoyed the pho but said it lacked something -- perhaps, she thinks, I should have cooked the noodles separately in salted water. I think she's right, as I wasn't aware until too late that the noodles are traditionally cooked separately. The E.P. loved it. I'm so proud of myself!