This time of year is not great for newspaper advertisements for a youngish, active, childfree female.  During the holiday season, they’re cluttered with toys and other kid-related gifts.  Then, around New Years, the toys are replaced with exercise equipment for those with weight-loss resolutions.  For years before setting up a home gym, I was a member of public gyms.  I hated New Year’s, suddenly the gym was super crowded during January, waiting in line for an elliptical is not a great way to conclude a busy day at work.  But, like clockwork, the crowds would start to die off in February and be back to normal by April at the latest.  While it’s sad that so many well-intended resolutions to adopt a healthier lifestyle are short-lived, I was grateful to be able spend less time at the gym.

Of course news articles, TV shows and other media are also targeted to dieting and weight loss this time of year, including Oprah’s new drive to drop pounds again. I came across a disturbing article that stated 2/3rds of Americans are over weight and the percentage that are morbidly obese continues to increase.  Clearly there are a lot of Americans suffering with extra pounds they’re trying to get rid of.  I’m ashamed to admit that I’m noticing this more and more out in public after reading such statistics, I find myself looking around while in line at the grocery store, at the mall or in traffic to see if 2/3rds, or more, of the people around me are overweight.

This is an interesting article because not only does it claim lack-of-exercise is not the primary cause of America’s obesity “crisis”, but diet is more the issue than previously thought.  America’s average diet consists of more fat and processed foods than fiber and carbs, which are more common over seas.  I guess that’s easy to accept considering how many co-workers make daily fast food runs for lunch and families loading the back of the minivan with econo boxes of ramen noodles at the grocery store.  Processed food is plentiful, cheap and easier for those strapped for time.  Drive-thru’s and Hamburger Helper are easier than a home-made casserole, but not better for you or your kids. 

I made a resolution a few years ago to eat less processed foods and cook more, mainly to eat better and save money.  It was an easy change I had time for not having kids and cooking has become an enjoyable hobby since.  Recently I’ve increased the fiber in my diet considerably and wouldn’t trade the benefits I’ve noticed.  I’ve been trying to get my sister to adopt a similar lifestyle.  But between working full time, commuting, raising a toddler and maintaining a house, she has little time or energy to meal plan and cook, much less read or watch an entire TV show.  An average meal for her family consists of take out and/or leftovers from the previous nights take-out, not exactly balanced nutrition or positive influence for a growing toddler.  She knows this and has been struggling to change.

On average, I can have a home-cooked meal ready in 30 minutes or less.  Much less if I utilize my slow cooker, dinner is ready when I get home.  Considering that, going through a drive thru is not saving much time, but is certainly costing more and not helping the waistline.  There is no shortage of time-consuming recipes with an overwhelming list of ingredients burried in encyclopedia-sized cookbooks and I think such recipes is what prevents many people, like my sister, from thinking they can cook or have time to plan and prepare such meals.  But there are tons of great, quick, healthy recipes that have short ingredient lists and take little time to plan. 

AllRecipes.com has become one of my favorite recipe resources because it’s easy to find a highly rated, quick recipe that I have all the ingredients for.  Much easier than flipping through cookbooks and the recipe ratings assure me that it’ll be worth my time.  I could have a primary ingredient ready, like thawed salmon steaks, and find a recipe within minutes that I have all (or close enough) the ingredients for.  Here are some great recipes that I’ve found that are quick, healthy and easy for hectic week nights:

Szechwan Shrimp - This is a quick, easy one that can be used with frozen, pre-cooked bags of shrimp or mixed seafood.  I typically serve over whole wheat or whole grain pasta.  Ketchup, honey and soy sauce are easy ingredients to stock since they tend to last awhile.

Alternative Baked Salmon - I substituted the mayo with nonfat sour cream, can use non fat plain yogurt instead if you prefer.  This also uses a lot of common pantry ingredients and is quick.

Black Bean Chili - Great slow cooker recipe that will easily cook up to 10 hours on low and the pork loin meat is low fat and inexpensive.  Makes plenty of servings for leftovers and you can swap out the bean types if you like.  Slow cooking canned beans, which have already been cooked, all day reduces the, uh, gassy effect.

Simple Turkey Chili - Okay, it takes an hour, but well worth it!  The ingredients are easy to through together and you can healthy-ize it by draining the fat from the turkey after browning.  Plus, it makes great leftovers for weekday lunches.

Awesome Broccoli Marinara - a simple, quick, healthy side that works well with frozen broccoli.

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi - Super simple and tasty mahi mahi dish that works well with dried ginger.  I use the frozen mahi mahi steaks from Trader Joes.

Easy Garlic Ginger Chicken - Simple and quick chicken recipe that works fine with lime juice from a container.

Salmon with Pineapple Tomato Salsa - A little more complex, but well worth it for the taste and will surely impress friends over for dinner.

Baked Salmon Fillets Dijon - Super simple salmon recipe that even those not fond of salmon’s strong flavor will enjoy.

Ginger Salmon - Easy, tasty and works well with dried ginger also.

Tomato Basil Salmon - Awesome and simple!

Almond Green Beans - Simple, quick and tasty side that works fine with frozen green beans.

Maple Dill Carrots - Simple side with a flavor that will please the kids.

That’s just a few of my favorite recipes.  I’ve really been into using the slow cooker lately with chilis and soups, perfect for cold winter evenings and produces plenty of leftovers.  AllRecipes is great for planning recipes for each day of the week before grocery shopping.  I’ll usually print the recipes out and stick them in a clipboard in the kitchen for easy reading.  I’ve saved a lot of money, usually have great leftovers in the fridge and rarely eat processed foods now and feel great about that.

As I was leaving work for lunch, I was cut off by a Porsche leaving McDonalds’ parking lot.  “No big”, I thought, “It’s a Porsche and will surely move it, right?”  Yeah, wrong!  The driver was apparently having problems getting past first gear to get through the intersection and in the left (formally fast) lane no less.  Tired of waiting for a the action, I switched to the right lane and accelerated past it seeing the reason for such piss-poor driving performance – apparently the guy was finding it hard to shift and eat a Big Mac at the same time.  I don’t think he noticed my economy car and many others angrily flooring it around him.  Truthfully, I felt bad for the guy – how horrible to have to cram food on the run like that and not have time to relax and enjoy it, especially such a caloric indulgence as McDonalds.  And having to eat and not get to really enjoy driving a freaking Porsche!

Still, that’s a pretty common site today, I see many drivers eating fast food of some sort during their commute and usually while on interstates.  Having a relaxing, peaceful meal is important to me.  It’s not always possible, but I do value sitting down for breakfast and actually eating lunch during lunch breaks.  Who wants to cram 1,500 calories and a days worth of fat in minutes and without actually enjoying it?  I notice in my job that it’s common for co-workers to skip lunch, opting to hurriedly cram something at their desk instead.  Not much better than trying to drive and eat.  In the same breath, eating and trying to juggle toddlers can be equally stressful and distracting, I’ve watched my sisters do this many times.

As I become more of a foodie, it saddens me that so many people don’t get to enjoy their meals, a nasty by-product of a busy society I guess.  But, I wonder if and what health problems can arise from stressed, hurried eating habits.  Stress eating is nothing new and commonly mentioned in obesity articles, eating to relieve stress, not hunger, is bad and apparently in our nature.

Most advice to prevent stress eating, here and here, really, err, hammer relaxing while eating and eating slower to savor the food and give your stomach more time to register when it’s full.  Even if you’re not a stress eater, but occasionally cram something on the run, that habit could snowball into more stress eating.  I multi-task a lot of things, but mostly draw the line at eating, it’s not something I want to hurry through and/or maximize my calorie intake in a shorter amount of time.  One major side-effect of such a relationship with food is indigestion, a nasty little problem commonly related to stress and eating too fast according to WebMD.

Having those symptom regularly just does not sound like loads of fun to me.  Drug commercials are constantly reminding us what problems can arise from long-term heartburn and other indigestion symptoms.  Yeah, stressed eating habits just seem like an overall lose-lose situation and something that many people do and don’t think about today.  It’s worth it to look analyze if stress and limited time are interrupting too much of your meal time and do something about it.  How much time do you actually get to enjoy your food without trying to multi-task?  How long do you actually get to sit down and relax to eat without having to jump up for work or kids?  If you’re stressed just thinking about the answer, time to do something about it.