Also known as the day after Fat Tuesday, Repent Wednesday is my own personal term for those days following events of gluttony (such as Mardi Gras, New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving…not always a Wednesday, but you get the point). Repent Wednesday is usually full of regret and the phrase “why did I eat that?” along with an unhealthy dose of guilt and/or shame.

This year, I say repent not! Beating yourself up for enjoying too much food is not going to undue the situation. Instead, following this advice from wikiHow:

Do:

• Calm down and stop blaming yourself.
• Eat a healthy, balanced breakfast like high-fiber cereal and low-fat milk with fruit. Fiber will help keep you feeling full.  
• Drink lots of water (especially if  you indulged in foods high in sodium).
• Get some protein at lunch and dinner (low-fat cheese or yogurt, lean meat, beans). Try to limit carbs, especially if your indulgence was carb-heavy.
• Go for a walk or do your regular workout, but don’t over-work to compensate. Try stretching, deep breathing, and other gentle exercises if you feel too bloated.
• Get a good night’s rest, about 8 hours.
• Repeat the next day if you still feel guilty, bloated, or sluggish. Then stop worrying about a few extra calories and get back into your regular routine (or adopt a new, healthier one!).

Do NOT:

• Starve yourself. This will only lead to more binges.
• Hop on the scale the next day, it will not be an accurate reflection of your weight. Hold off at least two days, if not longer, for your body to adjust back to its normal weight.
• Think of food as “good” and “bad.” For the most part there are no “bad” foods, just bad portions. Learn proper portion sizes and indulge in moderation.
• Beat yourself up, it is not productive. Look at the big picture and learn to love and take care of your body.

This week is also National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. If you think you or someone you know may be suffering from an eating disorder, please visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or call their helpline at 800-931-2237. Many college campuses are also offering free screenings and health assessments this week. Constant over-eating or binging and purging can be signs of an eating disorder.

It is Sweet to indulge, but not-so-Sweet to overindulge. Remember that moderation is the key, but if you find yourself feeling crummy the day after a major indulgence, following the above tips to get back to normal. If you make a regular habit out of overindulging,  you could be adversely effecting your health and you should consult medical profession for proper diagnosis (see disclaimer below).

**JENN’s DISCLAIMER**
Once again, allow me to point out the obvious: Please note that I am not a medical professional. I cannot diagnose eating disorders. The preceding is simply the result of my own online research, meant to inform and draw attention to a critical health issue. If you think you or someone you know may have an eating disorder, please consult a medical professional immediately. You can also call 800-931-2237 for assistance.

On Thursday, local news and weather pundits were warning of a weekend snow storm. A Winter Storm Warning was issued with 8-11 inches of snowfall predicted. Even in Michigan, 8 inches is a heck of a lot of snow. On Friday night, I hatched a plan to do some late evening grocery shopping and hunker down for the weekend.

James accompanied me to the grocery store, where I immediately delegated the cart pushing duty to him. Normally, I grocery shop alone, so I am left to manuver the cart. Unrestricted by cart duty, however, I found myself meandering and weaving though foot traffic, looking for inspiration and goodies on sale.

Apparently, when I am not tethered to a cart, I roam like a bison. James had an increasingly difficult time keeping up with my wandering. He eventually gave up and stayed in place while I fetched items and returned to the cart. It began to occur to me that this erratic shopping style was leading to a strange combination of items in the cart: beef strips for stir-fry, quick-cook barley, asparagus, fresh rosemary, and pickles to name a few.

Now, maybe there is a delicious recipe out there for beef stir-fry with barley and asparagus with a side of rosemary pickles, but I doubt it. I attempted to seize this opportunity and added items to the cart to make full meals: goat cheese for pasta with asparagus, vegetables and saffron rice for stir-fry, green beans for vegetable soup with barley, turnips and apples for roasted vegetables with rosemary. Other items made their way into the cart as well: chicken, wild rice, and red onions for baked chicken and wild rice pilaf. When I got home, however, there were already two jars of pickles waiting.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why you should never go grocery shopping without a list. Random grocery shopping will usually lead to extra trips to the store for missing or forgotten items. I usually excel at individual meal planning, but when it comes to planning for the entire week it’s a little hit-or-miss. Meal planning is definitely an art, one of which I am yet to master. If you too struggle with meal planning, here are a few Sweet sites to check out:

7 Secrets to Easy Meal Planning

Healthy Meal Planning Made Simple

Everyday Meal Planning

50 Tips for Grocery Shopping

Creating a Weekly Meal Plan

Are you an eggplant lover who constantly faces ridicule for your superior tastes? Join the Eggplant Crusade! This is my fight to win over the eggplant ney-sayers of the world. Recently, I commented on the battle James and I have regarding The Misunderstood Eggplant, and I refuse to go quietly into the night.

To join the Eggplant Crusade, hope over to the Discussion Board and pledge your support for this unappreciated purple vegetable. Let me know how you serve eggplant in your kitchen, and if you have to wage any battles of your own in order to get eggplant on the table.

I will start things out by listing a few of my favorite things about eggplant:

1. Eggplant are cheap! Usually $1/pound. 
2. Eggplants are beautiful, especially the jewel-toned skin.
3. Speaking of the skin, it is packed full of antioxidants.
4. Eggplant is an easy vegetarian/vegan substitute.
5.  I’ve never seen reports of E. coli in eggplant, have you?

To keep the Eggplant Crusade going, I will continue to post recipes as part of the Frugal Nation project as well as post more information here on Bitter/Sweet about how awesome eggplant can be. Go ahead and join, it is Sweet to stand up for a cause (no matter how silly).

Not too long ago, I wrote about Greek Seasoning and how many common seasonings are blends of dried herbs and spices most people probably already have in their pantries. Greek Seasoning, for example, is usually a combination of salt, oregano, garlic and onion powders, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg (among other variations).

Two popular blends I did not include are Herbes de Provence and Italian Seasoning. Both are fairly basic mixtures, mostly of dried herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, and/or parsley along with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, and occasionally dried lavender. Again, most home cooks probably already have these items on hand and need not purchase yet another bottle of dried herbs or spices.

Unlike some other spice blends and rubs, however, Greek Seasoning, Herbes de Provence, and Italian Seasoning are mostly comprised of dried herbs and salts or powders. Many cooks will contest that dried herbs do not have near the flavor of fresh herbs, and many of these flavors could be achieved through the use of using actual onions, garlic, and fresh herbs along with simple salt and pepper.

Spice blends such as Curry Powder, Chinese Five Spice, and Ras el Hanout have more complicate compositions, sometimes including a dozen or more different spices. In this case, it might be wise to purchase the already-made spice mixture rather than make your own, unless you already have all of the ingredients on hand.

Then again, spices have a surprisingly long shelf live, so it may be worth the investment to purchase the individual spices and create your own mixtures (check out my post The Scoop on Spices for shelf lives and storage tips). Spice blends also tend not to last as long as individual spices, but spices and dried herbs do not “go bad” or spoil. Over time, they simply lose flavor and potency.

At $3 or more a bottle, it can feel like a large commitment to purchase a new or seldom used spice. Most ground spices will last 2-3 years when properly stored, so while it may seem like a gamble to purchase an entire bottle for one recipe, chances are if you continue to cook you will want to use it again. If not, the price per year is about $1, which is not bad a bad price if the spices inspire you to create new dishes and push you to try new types of cuisine. The results can be pretty Sweet.

Eggplant is almost the equivalent of a four-letter word in our home right now. It started last summer when I wanted to make eggplant and one of the first recipes I used called for steamed eggplant. Now, either steamed eggplant has the texture and taste of a semi-dry sponge or I don’t know how to steam eggplant. Irregardless, the results were not tasty. I later transformed the pieces of steamed eggplant into the delicious Spicy Sesame Eggplant & Snap Peas with Quiona.

Never mind that I also scored big successes with Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan and Moroccan Eggplant with Couscous that summer. Anytime I mentioned eggplant,  James’ reaction is one of horror and mocking. In an attempt to finally win him over, I recently made  Pasta w/ Sausage, Eggplant & Feta. Again, the dish received rave reviews but the eggplant continues to get no respect. Out of frustration, I even threatened to change the name of the website to “The Misunderstood Eggplant” as a sign of protest.

In an article from the New York Times, author Russ Parsons is quoted from his book How to Pick A Peach:

“Let’s get one thing straight: most eggplants are not bitter (even though they have every right to be after everything that has been said about them).”

The article continues to state that most people have strong opinions about eggplant, one way or the other, so it might be hard for me to convince James that eggplant is not all bad. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try, because eggplants are fabulous. While eggplant isn’t exactly Sweet, it certainly isn’t Bitter. Just give eggplant a chance!