Being retired is almost a challenge. Time changes, warps, stretches, contracts, undulates, there are peaks and valleys. When you’re working everything follows a rhythm, start time, time to go the restroom, lunch time, everything flows. Until the end, when you get to clock out, or push your chair under your desk, or workstation, or flip off the lights, and walk out the door. Or whatever ritual you followed for that most sacred of moments, quitting time.
Retirement opens the day to long stretches of indifferent, careless passages of time. There is nothing to mark the movement, minutes change, but they stay the same.
In the morning you wonder how much coffee to make. Coffee is important. It is routine, it is a strong bivalent tie to reality. The simple act of deciding on amount, measuring, grinding and pouring the grounds into the paper filters, adding the water, pushing the buttons, is an act of independence, a chance to take a stand against apathy. OK, it isn’t much, but I make a big deal of it. It’s how I start my day.
Diet is important, too. Eating cannot become a hobby. When I was working, I had snacks, it was a little reward, or a substitute, or a distraction, and I ate too much, and my doctor told me so. Now, snacking is almost forbidden fruit. Unless of course, it’s fruit, or vegetables, in which case it’s acceptable, in limited quantities. Eating healthy becomes a necessity more than a populist statement of restraint and maturity.
You still want flavor, but you need nutrition and dietary fiber, and there are plenty of ways to get both. It’s not a difficult balancing act, but planning helps.
We like to have several recipes laid out, some planned for the week, and some we have in reserve, for when the main ingredients are on sale. The best idea is to make it as entertaining as possible. There are several vinegars, rice, rice wine, red wine, vinaigrettes, apple cider, white vinegar, and I’m sure I’m missing some. To really branch out and try new things you’ll need a variety of spices and condiments, my wife made a list, and when she found one or more on sale, or even better, on the clearance shelf, she grabbed them, and we opened the recipe book a little more.
There is a notion about clearance shelves being the graveyard of grocery store outcasts and loss leaders. Sometimes that might be true, so you should check the date. However, a Kroger employee, and they have the best clearance shelf of any of the major grocery chains, told my wife when they run out of room to restock items on the regular shelf they mark them down to clearance prices and put them on the shelf for quick sale. It’s an ideal situation, save some money and get the Pink Himalayan Salt you needed for the salt and pepper, garlic roasted potatoes, you’ve been talking about for days.
As a personal sidenote here, I suggest you buy some “garlic-chili paste” when you have the chance, it adds a spicy flavor to so many things, chicken, pork, strip steak. We have three different types, and use them, often. It’s easy to make it as spicy as you want, or as mild as you feel. A little goes a long way, but a little less goes as far as you want, if you know what I mean.
It’s a good idea, to plan a salad and entrée, it’s a delicious way to add vegetables to a diet. It’s all about variety, and flavor. A diet rich in taste and texture helps reduce the urge to snack, and nutrients, and fiber make for a healthier and richer life, and it keeps my doctor at bay.
Here is a salad that goes well with grilled chicken or steak. Making it ahead adds a little extra time to your day. Though, as a retired person time isn’t always so crucial, still, it’s nice to have a few minutes for a glass of wine, or a bottle of beer as you grill your entrée. You’ve worked hard to get here, so enjoy yourself.
Marinated Cucumber and Tomato salad.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water oil
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 3 cucumbers, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 onion, sliced and separated into rings
Directions
- Gather all ingredients.
- Whisk water, vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion and stir to coat.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 2 hours for best flavor results.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock
