Salmon Pizza and Other Random Musings

I made Sam’s salmon pizza last night for dinner. I love Sam’s recipes because they’re easy to make and tasty. If I’m going to cook, it has to be easy because otherwise I get frustrated. It has to be tasty because — well, duh.

Anyway, the pizza took about 15-20 minutes from start to finish and tasted delicious. The hardest part was chopping the onion, which my wife did.

As I’m hurtling toward 40, I find myself thinking more about my health, namely how the strategy of taking it for granted through most of my 20s and 30s may not have been so great. Now I’m trying to make up for those wasted years and get myself in better shape. This is challenging to me for two reasons:

1. I hate exercise.
2. I love food.

You see the problem, no?

On the first front, I’m taking a two-pronged approach. There are a couple of ways I can trick myself into exercising. One is to play competitive sports. Unfortunately I’m in no shape to be doing that right now. The other is to engage in physical activities that don’t “feel” like exercise — long walks along the beach, for example. I mean, really long walks, like 7 or 8 miles.

These long walks provide a good cardio workout as well as a nice side effect: I don’t dread going to the gym as much. I figure this is probably because walking gets me in better shape, and also because I don’t feel so much like a hamster stuck on a wheel when I’m riding the recumbent bike at the gym. I love walking, and somehow that activity increases my tolerance for more mundane exercise.

Or maybe I’m full of crap.

As for the food, I’m trying a few different things. One is The Shangri-La Diet (aff link). I don’t do diets, but this is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of and it’s simple; it’s also proven remarkably effective — I’ve lost 12 pounds since Thanksgiving.

Then there’s the usual stuff: portion control, less time between feedings, more fruits and vegetables, less fat. All of these are made easier by preparing one’s own food, of course.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, I’ve never taken much comfort in a “home-cooked meal.” My wife is an excellent cook, though, and she has helped me overcome the belief that the only good food is restaurant food.

But she can’t (and shouldn’t have to) do it alone. The snag in getting me involved is that I’m very impatient, and if I can’t figure out how to master something right away, there’s a good chance I’ll just drop it altogether. I know, that’s not a good habit — I’m working on it.

The point is, when I find an easy recipe that tastes good, it’s pretty much the Holy Grail for me. Sam’s salmon pizza qualifies on both fronts and is now officially a part of my repertoire. Hooray for me.

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