The Sweetness of Sour

Since I started this blog, I've had three jobs, been a full-time care giver to my grandmother and gone through the pain of her death and the pain of an injury, struggled emotionally and finacially.  On top of all that, a doctor visit revealed that my weight was 303.1 lbs.

Two years ago, I wrote an inspirational message to myself and anyone else listening that I was beginning a journey to achieve health, strength and endurance by losing weight and gaining my life.  Well, it just goes to show you that you really aren't ready to change until you're READY.  And you know you're ready when nothing, nothing will stop you.  Not your schedule, not your family, not your torn rotator cuff.

I've lost 16 lbs since that day in early April. And I'm not stopping.  You see, I've gotten a glimpse of the real me and she's tired of waving and screaming like a maniac trying to get my attention.  So, I've changed.  A lot.  Soon, almost everything will be different, not just my waistline.  I'm not gonna keep track of calories and fat grams here (go to myfitnesspal.com and look for turquoisequeen), that's not what this blog is about.
This blog is about living a healthy and elegant life.  This blog is about inspiration. This blog is about the              Open-faced Sourcado Sandwich.

I absolutely adore this sandwich.  It's my new favorite go-to dinner meal.  I learned a very important lesson while preparing this a few nights ago. I'd like to share it with you.  First the background. Usually, I only have one long slice of toast, but I ran out of that bread, so I had to use two shorter pieces of a different brand.  No biggie, right??  Wrong.  Two thirds of the way through eating the sandwich, I knew I was going to be full before I finished the second one.  But I made it, so I had to eat it. (This is not the type of sandwich that tastes better the next day.)  

Well, herein lies a frequent dilemma for me.  I don't know if you grew up with a grandmother who forced you to clean your plate because of the starving children in Africa, but mine made me eat enough for all the babies in Africa, India and the Appalachias. Now, I'm not blaming her for being overweight, but she did plant the seed of a "finish it all" mentality.  So, 25 years later, I'm faced with a half eaten sandwich, that I bought and paid for and put together myself, with love and gratitude and I'm too full to eat another bite. Long story short, with Grammy's voice shouting, "Chile, you bettah eat dat food!" and my mind comparing the grocery store receipt with my bank balance, I threw the rest of the sandwich away, grumbling something about getting a dog.  

It was a sacrifice.  It was an act of discipline, because more important than saving a few pennies or appeasing my Grammy who is now with Jesus, is making the best decision for my health.  I should have taken the advice I give my students, "Start with one spoon and if you're still hungry, you may have more."  When your eye is bigger than your stomach, usually some other things will end up out of balance as well.  My dilemma is solved, but I want to know, what's YOUR eating dilemma? What would you have done in my shoes?  Tell me all about it - after you make the Open-faced Sourcado Sandwich. 

Open-faced Sourcado Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients:

1 slice organic sourdough bread (Trader Joe's or any local kind you like)

                                                                1 clove organic garlic, peeled 

                                                                1 half organic avocado, sliced or mashed

                                                                1 half organic Roma tomato, sliced or 3-4 organic grape  

                                                                tomatoes, halved

                                                                1-2 organic eggs

                                                                11/2 cups water (filtered or Reign Supreme Mountain Spring   

                                                                Water)

                                                                1 tsp olive oil

                                                                3 tbsp distilled white vinegar

                                                                salt and pepper to taste (Celtic Sea salt or Pink Himalaya salt are very tasty and better than regular table salt)

                                                                 Preparation:

 In a small sauce pan add the water and vinegar.  Bring to a slow rolling boil.  Crack egg and gently drop into the water.  Repeat with second egg, if using.  Turn heat down to low.  Allow eggs to cook for about 3 minutes then turn over with a large slotted spoon to cook for 30 seconds.  Remove eggs and place on a paper towel to cool.  Toast bread.  Rub garlic clove over the bread.  Top bread with avocado slices and tomato slices.  Place eggs on top of tomato and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Drizzle olive oil over the whole delicious thing and dig in.  

                                                                

                                                                 *Note:

It takes between 10 minutes  and 3 hours to prepare this meal based on whether or not you keep your bread in the freezer (like I do) and whether or not you've ever poached an egg before (which I have).  If you are a novice poacher, you may want to spend a portion of your food prep day practicing.