First, thank you so much for the support and encouragement after my big announcement about starting a private practice. As someone who generally isn't a risk taker, this decision was one of the most terrifying things I've ever done. Each comment, email, text and facebook message made me feel a bit more confident and for that, I am eternally grateful. I'm still scared, but I know the fear will always be there, I frankly, I kinda like it that way. As long as I can harness my fear as energy and motivation, I won't be paralyzed by it.
The other day, I stumbled across a quote that I immediately connected with.
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. ~ Dale Carnegie (of How to Win Friends and Influence People fame)
Being in transition is probably the scariest part. Fear of the unknown is the most intense fear of all. The deeper I delve into private practice, the more confidence I'll build. I keep reminding myself how scared I was to teach a class or approach another provider when I first became a dietitian. Now these are things I do without a second thought.
My other big fear is how to make it work financially. Luckily, we've always lived well within our means. Our only "luxury" expense really, is travel. Starting a nutrition consulting practice doesn't require much capital, so it won't be as difficult or risky as it is for other entrepreneurs. Still, we need to cut back, like, a lot.
When we sat down to look at our expenses, we found two places where we could realistically save money. The first was what we'll call the random nonessentials - a latte here, a Target run there, a 12th LBD - it adds up when you're not paying attention! The second category, of course, was food. Gulp.
I've always been mindful of our food expenses. I purchase most of my pantry ingredients from the bulk bins. I rarely buy processed food or meat, the two biggest expenses for most people. I comparison shop. We don't go out to eat as often as most people our age. And as much as I love goji berries, raw cacao powder and kale chips, I don't buy these expensive health foods. Still, it adds up.
Finances are one of the biggest barriers to eating healthy, but unless you're looking at extremes (ex: someone on food stamps trying to follow a raw, paleo diet) I don't think it's necessarily more expensive to eat healthy. With careful planning and setting some limits, it's entirely possible to eat healthy on a budget. Here's a look at the steps Scott and I are taking.
1. Limit dining out to once a week. I cook at home most nights, but there are plenty of nights when I was too tired to cook or friends invited us out. Often times, we'd end up ordering something not so good for you, so this step will help us be healthier.
2. Cut back even more on meat and dairy. Yes, it is possible.
2. Purchase less organic food. Unless the price difference is insignificant, I'll be purchasing mostly conventional foods. I hate it, because I feel strongly about the environmental benefit of purchasing organics. I've been justifying this by telling myself I can better promote organics by expanding the blog, and this will cancel me out. At least, that's how I'm sleeping at night. One exception - I will continue to purchase organic meat, eggs and dairy. Shhh, don't tell Scott.
4. Get a bit more liberal in my adaptions of recipes. I'm trying to be better at adapting recipes based on what I have on hand. For example, the bean dip recipe I made last night called for fresh mint, but since I had parsley, I just used that. Two bucks saved right there.
5. No weeknight drinking. We're not big drinkers, but we are beer and wine snobs, so it adds up.
6. Selectively purchasing convenience foods. No, you won't catch me with Hamburger Helper in my cart, but I'll probably purchase some things that are a little more processed than I would prefer. This week, I'm making vegetarian enchiladas. Normally, I would make enchilada sauce from scratch, which would likely require $10 of dried chiles. Instead, I picked up a jar from Trader Joe's for $2.50. It has a few ingredients I try to avoid, including enriched flour and corn/soy oil, but, it was about $4 less than the organic version at the health food store. In the scheme of things, enchilada sauce probably won't be the death of me.
So get ready, cause you're going to be seeing quite a few bean recipes here on this blog (as if there wasn't enough already). Might as well get started today with these incredible black bean tostadas.
Black Bean Tostadas with Creamy Cilantro Sauce
Serves 4This recipe is all about the cilantro sauce. I mean, the tostadas are good and all, but the cilantro sauce takes them to another level. You may never hear me say this again, but you could easily leave off the cheddar and not even notice the difference. I used a little bit of a high quality, aged cheddar I had leftover, but between the creaminess of the beans and the tangy sauce, I could barely taste it. Quick pickled onions are an easy and inexpensive way to dress up Mexican dishes. Try them in quesadillas, chopped salads, or to garnish my green posole. They'd even made a great condiment for my spicy tofu burgers.
Tostada:
1/2 red onion, thin-sliced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup water
8 corn tortillas
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (optional)
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cucumber, seeded and diced
Cilantro Sauce:
1 cup plain, organic yogurt (preferably full fat or 2%)
1 cup cilantro
Juice from 1/2 lime
To pickle the onions, place the onions in a bowl with the vinegary, salt and sugar. Let sit at least 15 minutes, or until the rest of the food is done cooking.
Next, make the sauce by blending the yogurt, cilantro and lime juice in a blender until pureed. Season with salt to taste.
In a large, deep skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium-high heat. Add peppers and saute 5 minutes until tender. Add onion and garlic, saute an additional 5 minutes until tender and lightly browned. Add cumin and stir until combined. Add black beans, water and season with salt and pepper. Cook until warmed through, about 3-5 minutes. Mash lightly with a potato masher, so about half the beans are still whole.
While the beans are cooking, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a skillet. Heat on medium-high. When shimmering, fry each tortilla about 2 minutes on each side until lightly browned and crisp.
After the tortilla is crisp, place it on a large baking sheet. Divide the black bean mixture over the tortillas. If using, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and place under the broiler a minute or so until melted.
Divide the shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and pickled red onion over the tostadas. Drizzle (or bathe) in cilantro sauce.
Love beans, so there's no problem there, great flavor combinations and the cilantro sauce sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cheri! I think I could eat the cilantro sauce on everything!
DeleteOh wow that looks good. I agree, cilantro sauce sounds so good. I can imagine eating this outside on the patio, maybe with a light beer.
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm always up for Mexican and a beer!
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