Living Richly, Simply

Last night I spoke with Julie. She'd seen yesterday's post and wanted to clarify that it's not her Energy Treats recipe but her personal trainer's.

Julie hasn't made her favorite snack this week-- apparently Lisa ate Julie's number 1 ingredient: the chocolate chips.

I wondered if Lisa was getting back at Julie for eating her sliced, honey-baked turkey, or if Lisa had had a genuine, uncontrollable attack of the munchies?!

Either way, this has been an interesting week: first grocery shopping with the 30-something roommates, and now hearing their stories about how they've been struggling to manage their food purchases effectively.

Not that this is any reflection on what has been going on between Lisa and Julie and the issues around sharing an apartment and their groceries, but I believe Julie is going to find her own apartment this summer.

She has started to collect a few household items in preparation for setting up her own place, and at the same time, she shared with me that she wants to live simply, i.e. uncluttered, and in a smaller, less expensive space than she's been used to.

I'm going to direct her and anyone who is interested to a terrific article I read, How to Live Richly on a Budget.

I love the title of that article. I think the definition of what it means to be rich has been distorted such that we wrongly identify living richly with accumulating and consuming stuff.

As people increasingly have less to spend on stuff, there's greater opportunity to realize a simple uncluttered life is paradoxically richer by virtue of it being spacious and thus potentially more spiritually fulfilling.

Speaking of living richly on a budget, the roommates purchased a lot of food on their grocery budget, and in keeping with the format of this blog, I'm proposing another meal idea using ingredients from their list ...

Chicken in Tomato and Lime
1) Heat an oil-lined pan and toss in chicken pieces, brown slightly.
2) Slice a lime, and a couple of tomatoes, toss over chicken.
3) Add pan lid and turn heat to low.
4) At around the 15 min. mark, remove the lime pieces. If you have any lemonade, or a fruity, oaky white wine (if not use water), moisten the bottom of the pan with your choice of liquid. Cook another 15 mins or so.
Note: The lime infuses the chicken with sourness that sweet tomatoes, lemonade or fruity white wine compliment by offsetting the sourness.

To Serve: Spoon chicken, tomatoes and juice over cooked pasta moistened with olive oil, or plain boiled rice. A simple side salad of lettuce mixed with arugula tossed in olive oil, crushed garlic and a little vinegar would make a great side with this chicken dish.