WRITTEN ON January 6th, 2010 BY Meredith AND STORED IN Beans, Dessert, Fish and Shellfish, Mediterranean, Tomatoes
I think I may have already broken my New Year’s resolutions. The thing is, I didn’t really speak them out loud. So if I were a dishonest person I could just forget about them entirely and pretend I never made any. Ugh. Sometimes I really hate honesty.
They were, as follows: 1) Only one serving of food per meal. Particularly at dinner (I make this one every year and usually break it by the 10th of January). 2) No shirking the workouts (again, an annual promise. Yeah, right). 3) Be kinder to myself when I break resolutions. That was a new one. And it’s proving to be a real problem.
Yesterday I was sure I wasn’t going to have more than one of the delicious brownies a friend gave me. As I slid the tin lid open for brownie number two I thought, “you’re a horse’s ass.” Then I remembered I had to be nice to myself, so I just stuck my hand right in there and fished out a rather large, chocolatey square.
Last night, when I was on my way to the park for what was supposed to be a 3 mile run, I found myself jogging headlong into a rather stiff wind. I turned around and ran home, never once chastising myself, because of that pesky little resolution number three.
How am I ever going to change? If I keep this up I’ll never achieve my goal of being waifishly thin and able to wear all manner of leggings, tank tops, and lycra-based clothing! As it is, the only things I own with stretch are several pairs of Spanx (a lumpy girl’s best friend)!
But, wait. I’m supposed to be nice to myself. I certainly did pick the wrong profession if I want to be a wisp of a woman. And hubby seems to like me ok. Plus, leggings are really just a flash in the pan and I’ve never been someone obsessed with trends…
As long as I keep cooking healthy meals like this one, I should be ok. Maybe get out for a walk every now and then. Yeah. That should be easy enough. I do live in New York, and I hate the subway. I should be able to handle that.
Whew. This is so stressful. Next year I think I’ll just resolve to be unresolved. After all, I’m a work in progress.
Figure friendly
Seared Tuna with Lentils, Roasted Tomatoes and Goat Cheese (serves 2)
Two 1/3 lb pieces of fresh tuna, skin removed
1 cup dried French lentils
6 baby Roma tomatoes, halved (if you can’t find these, use the Plum tomatoes and quarter them)
2 sprigs thyme
1/4 of a small log of fresh goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Half a lemon
Preheat oven to 425. Bring lentils, a pinch of salt, one of the thyme sprigs and 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Turn down to a simmer, simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Lentils will soften but still be a bit al dente. In the meantime, pick the leaves off of the other thyme sprig. Toss the tomatoes with a splash of olive oil, salt, pepper, and picked thyme. Lie flat on a baking sheet, cut side up, and roast in oven until lentils are finished. When the lentils and the tomatoes are done, toss lightly together with another little splash of olive oil, the juice of the lemon half, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Bring a heavy saute pan up to medium high heat. Coat the bottom with olive oil. Pat tuna steaks dry, season liberally with black pepper and salt. Sear each side for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat to cutting board. Toss the goat cheese in with the lentils, then slice the tuna. Top warm lentil salad with tuna, serve immediately with a country loaf, or sourdough wheat.
